How to use this Page

Did I mention that I bought myself a Kindle for my birthday? (The new, Kindle 3 version.) Oh yeah, I did. And I’m loving it so far. (grinning) I got myself the Kindle 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6), which was $189, but there’s also a Kindle Wi-Fi without the 3G (internet access like cell phones use) for $139. I almost got that one, but I decided I wanted the fun and ease of purchasing ebooks instantly wherever I am, not just when I’m in my own wi-fi area or free wi-fi access. I researched the various ebook readers available, and decided that the Kindle looked like the best fit for me, and the one that people most consistently recommend as a good reading experience.

Right now I’m finding a lot to love about the Kindle. I do indeed like the screen–the e-ink screen that is NOT backlit, and so easier on the eyes–more like an actual book. I like that I can change the font if a font feels too small (or too big). I love the easy-to-use forward and backward buttons on *both* sides of the Kindle; it makes it really easy to turn pages when reading left or right handed (or both). The buttons (including for text, home, back, etc) are intuitive, and press easily. I love that I can carry thousands and thousands of books around without weighing down my bag.

The Kindle is easy to use–so easy that you can use it right out of the box. (Though I love that they include a detailed user guide, that you can read in your leisure or look up items in–as well as a quick-start guide.) The Kindle itself is easy to hold. It’s actually easier to hold, at least for me, than a thick hardcover book (which hurts my hands).

I love, love, love that I can take notes or “highlight” any section of a book. I would never highlight a paper book–I treat them with such care–but I do have post-it notes stuck all through some of my favorite books with notes on them. So the note and highlight features in the Kindle are much appreciated. I also love that I can *search* for anything in a book–which is very useful to find a specific section in someone else’s book–or in my own document. I also love that I can search my entire Kindle, or collection of books, for a particular title or author–OR search the store–OR search google, wikipedia, or the included dictionary. I also love being able to look up a word while I’m reading, if I’m so inclined, and am glad they included both an American and a British dictionary. The ability to take notes and to look up words in the included dictionary are part of why I chose the Kindle.

I also love that I can put Word and text documents (and more) on my Kindle, and can read them. I can put my own manuscript that I’m working on, on the Kindle! Or, I suppose, ebooks for review (though I still prefer

I just saw that Astak’s 5″ EZ Reader is on sale at $199 until the end of September. That’s one of the best prices for an e-ink reader I’ve seen, especially one that has 20-plus open formats, including PDF, DOC, and HTML, AND plays MP3s (for audio books or music), AND has 8 levels of greyscale and extra storage up to 16 GB. AND you can also read digital library books on it! It even comes with a leather cover.

It’s one of the e-ink readers I’ve been seriously thinking about getting. Open format is important to me–and so is price. Check out the ZDNet review; they like it, too!

ZD Net’s Astak EZ Reader video review

The other ebook reader I’m still considering is the Cool-er ebook reader, @ $250.

Do you have an e-ink ebook reader? Do you like it?

There’s a new, affordable ebook reader out, to compete with all the others! Cool-er e-book reader, which uses the same e-ink technology (easy to read, even in direct sunlight), but is almost 60% lighter than the current e-readers out there, at 5.6 ounces–compared to 10 oz and up (which is very appealing to me, when I don’t want to weigh my bag down more). Cool-er also comes in bright colors that I love–purple, pink, turquoise, silver, black, red, brown, and green. It also runs on Linux, and has a 1 GB storage card slot. It doesn’t offer wireless…but do you really need that? I don’t. Also, since it doesn’t use wireless, Cool-er can be used in any country–a bonus for any of us outside the US. Cool-er supports ebooks in ePub, Txt, JPEG and PDF formats. It’s PC and Mac compatible, and one charge lasts for overn 8,000 book turns.

And the best part of this appealing e-reader? The price! The Cool-er is $250, and will be available June 1st from the manufacturer’s website. So far, it’s the most appealing e-reader, at least to me, on the market.

I’d still like to see a reader review, but…it’s tempting me.

How about you?

**update: US residents can pre-order using this link, while people in other countries should check back in the next two weeks.

A Guest Post by Kim Allen-Niesen, co-founder of Bookstore People

For information on becoming a contributor click here..

********************

When I tell people I write a blog about independent bookstores, the discussion quickly turns to e-books. Aren’t they the death knell for bookstores? Aren’t I beating a dead horse by promoting visiting and shopping at bookstores?

Hardly.

I received a Kindle for Christmas, 2008. I read the New York Times and half a book before putting it away in my bottom drawer. My husband tried it twice. My teenage son tried it once. My son may have used it more, but it’s one thing to lose a book and quite another to lose a $399 Kindle. A Zogby poll just over a year ago showed that 82% of readers preferred a printed book to an e-book. Cuddling up to a screen isn’t inviting to many.

Literary agent Bonnie Nadell said at the LA Times Festival of Books that she prints out material sent to her electronically because reading on a screen converts everything to the same voice. I agree, for me it is a fairly flat voice. Also, I find with screen reading that my concentration level is lower. The researcher Jakob Nielsen proved my point scientifically by testing 232 people on how they read from screens. The research subjects tended to skim. In fact, Mr. Nielsen noticed an “F” pattern. People read the top, then down the side and taper off towards the middle. Just like me.

Booksellers, Allison Reid and John Evans of Diesel, described the difference in reading on a screen and from a printed page. Screen reading is for information. They foresaw a time with the reference section or travel section in bookstores disappeared. Avid booklover that I am, 99% of the words I look up are on dictionary.com. Years ago, I used to research a trip for hours in a bookstore eventually buying three or four travel books. Now I buy one overall book for the area I’m visiting and spend hours researching on the Internet. However, Allison and John said that book reading was necessary for knowledge. In their opinion, and there are studies that back this proposition, the concentration and evaluation needed to truly know a subject and build on it required reading from paper.

I’m not a Pollyanna though. People are reading books on their iPhone, and while just visualizing that gives me a headache, electronic reading is part of the future. I’ve met several people who bought the Kindle and think they would like it if only they could get it away from their kids. In part, this could be an age issue; the younger generation is more comfortable reading from electronics. Either way, e-books are here to stay.

The discussion over which reading is better is a battle booksellers need to be aware of to help direct their customers. But it doesn’t stop there, with the advent of e-publishing, there will be an avalanche of choices for readers. This is exactly where booksellers shine, taking a myriad of choices and winnowing out the best. As Bob Lewis pointed out on this blog in “The Second Renaissance-bigger, better, faster!” these are exciting times, and one of the questions is how do booksellers add value and receive compensation in the e-book world? The answer will require innovation and experimentation. What are your thoughts?

Introduction:

Kim Allen-Niesen is co-founder of Bookstore People, a blog that reviews independent bookstores to encourage people to visit them and shop. In addition, books and various literary topics are discussed.

The first color ebook reader is now available for consumers in Japan–FLEPia by Fujitsu–at a $1000 price tag. That’s too much for most people in the market for an ebook, but eventually the technology will get cheaper and the general public will be able to afford it.

Personally, I love the idea of having some color–being able to see book covers in color, and hopefully being able to read comics and manga in color on an e-ink ebook reader. How cool is that? But it sure won’t be in my budget until it comes down a lot.

How about you? Would color entice you to get an ebook reader if the price was right?