tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post8334285199810793159..comments2023-11-16T18:28:45.786+08:00Comments on Rambling Librarian :: Incidental Thoughts of a Singapore Liblogarian: My (outside US) Kindle experienceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-52233740963928605262010-03-08T15:16:39.247+08:002010-03-08T15:16:39.247+08:00Hi zlamushka, you've got a very good point abo...Hi zlamushka, you've got a very good point about not being able to lend another person a book. Yeah, ou'd have to let the person have your Kindle and not just one book. About buying Kindle books, basically you go to the Amazon.com site, under "Kindle Books". Basically pay and have the book downloaded to your personal Kindle.Ivan Chewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02727226573817276108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-43039022759708640192010-03-07T12:56:56.434+08:002010-03-07T12:56:56.434+08:00Hi Ivan,
Thanks a lot for the review. I was playi...Hi Ivan,<br /><br />Thanks a lot for the review. I was playing with the idea of byuing a Kindle for some time now. I see people carying it around and reading on the buses, etc. I love it, but still, one thing puts me off. <br /><br />I love the feeling of my books. I want to know how far I have left, I like to see pictres on the front page, but most importantly, there is nothing like a smell of a book :-) <br /><br />Plus you cannot borrow it to people, then u re left with nothing to read. <br /><br />How does it work, btw with buying new books? I imagine they have to be speacially tailored for the machine, which surely limits the options.zlamushkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12359856305294505035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-26849132526456666612010-03-02T23:58:38.455+08:002010-03-02T23:58:38.455+08:00Ivan: So far, I haven't tried an ebook reader-...Ivan: So far, I haven't tried an ebook reader--but I'm nearly certain that, if the content was compelling, the device would fade into the background pretty quickly: You'd be too engrossed in the book itself to pay attention to the format. So, yeah, I think you're right.waltchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09820646745646868292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-14445203176930660762010-03-02T23:55:30.829+08:002010-03-02T23:55:30.829+08:00@Walt - hmm... good point about 'eBooks' V...@Walt - hmm... good point about 'eBooks' Vs eStories. Yeah, the length of the content may affect the readability. I've not read more "ebooks" to say for sure, though with Doctorow's "I, Robot" when I reached the ending I felt surprised that I'd reached the end. I mean that as a compliment, in that I wouldn't have minded reading more. In the context of my post, I still maintain that alot has to with the content itself. I can imagine myself reading Frank Herbert's Dune on the Kindle, and would enjoy it as much.Ivan Chewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02727226573817276108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-42481200835150507132010-03-01T23:37:28.794+08:002010-03-01T23:37:28.794+08:00Ivan: Whoops. You're right. And, of course, ti...Ivan: Whoops. You're right. And, of course, titles aren't subject to copyright, so Doctorow could legitimately do that. <br /><br />Still: it may be an "eBook," but Doctorow's story is a novelette, roughly a third of the minimum length for a novel. (I am acutely aware that, in the earlier days of ebooks, claims for numbers of ebooks downloaded/sold included individual short stories and poems as "books.")waltchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09820646745646868292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-23967265854287679202010-03-01T22:48:01.062+08:002010-03-01T22:48:01.062+08:00Kevin - you've expressed what I wanted to say ...Kevin - you've expressed what I wanted to say in another way. I agree with you -- it's a different reading experience. For some, the touch and feel is as important as the content. I think it's easy to overlook that wood pulp/ paper is a also a "reader" format.<br /><br />Walt - nice to have you here! Actually, Cory Doctorow did write his version of "I, Robot". It's a Creative Commons licensed eBook from his website (I provided the link above). It's just above "I, Row-Boat" in fact.<br /><br />Floral - give me a week to get my thoughts in order :) Oh, and thanks for letting me know about the similarities with the Sony reader.Ivan Chewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02727226573817276108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-52404580272089412902010-03-01T11:33:51.218+08:002010-03-01T11:33:51.218+08:00Hi Ivan,
Thank you for your long and interesting ...Hi Ivan,<br /><br />Thank you for your long and interesting review. If only I could get my hands on one of those!<br /><br />Now you’ve piqued my interest; I hope you will post your views on why offering ebooks for loan is not a sustainable model for libraries very soon. I had the impression that the ones in the USA are doing really well with Overdrive and other digital media services. These type of services may well attract those people whom you mentioned will not normally use the library.<br /><br />I have been using the Sony PRS-505. (It was purchased just before the newer models came out :-() Everything that you've said about the Kindle pretty much applies to the Sony as well. Except that this version does not do any dictionaries or text-to-speech and it may have a slightly shorter battery life and is also a bit thicker and heavier. However, these shortcomings are not bad enough to pose too much of a nuisance and I have really enjoyed using it. Especially since I could download ePub format ebooks from a digital collection service which our library will be launching very soon.<br /><br />Flora<br />MalaysiaFloralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16763294886505274325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-75112104982991419892010-03-01T07:52:46.722+08:002010-03-01T07:52:46.722+08:00Correction to my previous comment: "I, Row-Bo...Correction to my previous comment: "I, Row-Boat" is, technically, a novelette at some 14,000 words: Longer than a short story, shorter than a novella, a <b>lot</b> shorter than any but a children's book.waltchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09820646745646868292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-65009365411365862552010-03-01T07:49:37.971+08:002010-03-01T07:49:37.971+08:00Two quick corrections: Isaac Asimov wrote "I,...Two quick corrections: Isaac Asimov wrote "I, Robot." The Cory Doctorow item is "I, Row-Boat." And it's a short story, not an entire book, which may explain why you read it from beginning to end. Otherwise, fascinating, detailed post.waltchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09820646745646868292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-61277729771943614122010-03-01T06:21:30.573+08:002010-03-01T06:21:30.573+08:00Having own a Kindle, I sympathize with the lack of...Having own a Kindle, I sympathize with the lack of visual/tactile feel in these eBook readers. I juggle between books, and often when I get back to a previous book, I can't recall which "location" I was at since all the "pages" look and feel the same, unlike a real book (e.g. remembering where I last thumbed to). <br /><br />Although ebook readers can recall your last reading location, I read on different devices (iPhone & Kindle), and the last point syncs one way (I think).<br /><br />In short, getting lost in an ebook is my greatest fear. Real books let me quickly browse and the shape of the text on a page as well as the pressure from the bend of the bound book can sometimes be familiar cues where I last left off. These are subtle, but important I think.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093603817500103421noreply@blogger.com