In a previous article, I told you that I took the big leap in terms of reading books and I bought a Kindle!
For those of you who are not familiar with what a Kindle is, it’s an e-book reader. Basically, a tablet specially designed for reading electronic books (e-books). You can definitely read books from your laptop, tablet or even smartphone, but what’s so special about Kindle is that there is no light.
I know. An electronic device with no light in it makes no sense. That was my thought about it as well. But there is simply no light, just a very sensitive reflective surface that won’t help you read in the dark. Which is great because we all know how harmful the blue light can be.
I am quite a bookworm, so, image I couldn’t give a good, old, printedbook up too easily. I thought that nothing will compare to the feeling of turning sheets of paper and the smell of an old and a new book can’t be reproduced.
But giving all of these, I bought a Kindle as a gift. And giving the fact that that someone lives with me, I had the change to see how it works and so on. After a couple of months, I decided to buy one for myself and see how it goes.
I had 0 expectations. I have to admit, I was rather sceptical about it.
Let’s start with the bad parts, shall we?
The cons
I think it depends on person to person, but here are some of the things I found as disadvantages.
It’s quite small
I mean, they do say it’s a little over 15 cm (6″), but I didn’t expect it to be so small.
It’s smaller than a regular book and the frame might make the screen look even smaller.
Once it’s gone it’s gone
Giving the fact that it’s an electronic device, it becomes sensitive to scratches, water and other threats. So if you break it, it will probably be gone for good. Books are not so fragile – except when your dog eats it.
Anyway, in case your Kindle breaks down, your books are safe: they are stored in the Kindle cloud (or something similar) so you can access them through your Kindle account or another Kindle device anytime.
You have to charge it
For someone who charges her iPhone twice a day, this is a con.
The battery lasts quite a while, but I always hate it when I have to put a good book down and let it charge. You can still read while it’s charging anyway.
Tip: Kindle comes with a charging cable, but no socket. So if you want a socket as well, make sure you buy one.
You can’t lend books
Kindle does allow you to lend books for a couple of weeks, although it’s a digital book and the person who’s borrowing it should finish reading it in two weeks or less and it also requires a Kindle device.
It has Wi-Fi connection
For many of you, this might sound like a pro point, but to me, having a wi-fi connection means dis-trac-tion.
You can spend lots of money too easily
You can buy books from the Kindle store with one click. And when you see your wish list full of books around 5 euros… lots of money will be spent.
Some books might be more expensive
Some Kindle editions might be more expensive than the actual printed book. This usually happens with old books that didn’t come in print and digital format. It takes some extra work to make those books digital, thus they are more expensive.
You don’t know actually the page
Oh, God, this was very annoying for me at the beginning. My Kindle gave me a “loc” number. Apparently, no one knows what it means or how it works. Because you can adjust the formatting of the pages, numbering the pages would be irrelevant.
The pros
Some of them might be the opposite of the cons, but you probably already guessed it.
You can store lots of books
I have the glare-free version, which has 4 GB storage. According to Amazon, you can store up to 3,500 books. Not to mention the cloud service that can store much more. So that’s quite a lot of books on such a small device.
You can adjust the formatting
That’s definitely not possible with a traditional book. I love reading printed books, but when I stumble across one that written in font size 6, it drives me crazy – and I wear glasses.
On a Kindle, you can adjust the font, the font size, the alignment of the page, the spacing between rows and the margins of the page. This is very handy for all sometimes-blind people like me out there. I said sometimes-blind because I read books in font size 2 and others in font size 5. I guess my eyes are simple lazy sometimes.
Cheap books everywhere
… and lots of money spent. But the good thing is that I read them all so far.
Even though some books might be expensive at the moment, it doesn’t mean they will be expensive forever.
Tip: Save the books you’re ‘hunting’ to your wish list. Check the list every now and then to see which books got a significant discount – I found one book from $12 to $2.37; quite a bargain!
It tells you how much time it takes you to read
A Kindle might not tell you the page number, but it will tell you how much reading time you have left from the book or from the chapter. It evaluates your reading time based on how fast you read a page and gives you an approximate value.
It has no light
I love this! For someone with sensitive eyes, the formatting option and the lack of light are a dream come true. Also, the lack of light makes the reading experience closer to reading a traditional book.
Of course, Kindle Paperwhite has light in it, but Kindle became a thing because it had no light in it.
You can listen to audio books too
While Kindle does not have a jack port, it allows Bluetooth connection. So you can connect it to a Bluetooth speaker and listen to audiobooks as well.
Did you know?! In 2007 a Kindle was $399; now it’s around $80.
It actually feels sooo good
I said that nothing compares to the feeling of turning a paper sheet, and I won’t take that back. But Kindle’s display has a granulated, matte surface that resemblance with paper. So you don’t lose that feeling after all.
You read faster
This sounds crazy, and probably there is no scientific way to prove it, but I swear that I feel like I read faster when I read on my Kindle. Call it brainwashing or whatever you want, but you can read faster.
You help the environment
I don’t know how many of you thought of this, but this is actually the reason I bought a Kindle. I felt a little guilty for buying printed books (you know… printed on paper…) and I decided to ditch the illusion that reading a digital book is not as fulfilling as reading a printed one.
It’s true that the printing industry will suffer if lots of people would start to read exclusively e-books, but it’s for a greater cause.
The Conclusion: Is a Kindle Actually Worth It?
Take this from someone who swore she will never, ever give up printed books. I still read printed book; some I borrow, some I receive I presents. I still read traditional books and I enjoy it.
But investing in a Kindle is actually worth it. It is small, compact, adaptable to your eyes needs and even though it can’t substitute the feeling of holding a real book in your hands, remember that the information and the things you will learn from it are the same.
Do you have a Kindle or do you think of buying one? What do you love/hate the most about your Kindle?
24 comments
I need a new kindle! I’ve been reading with the kindle app on my phone. I really miss having a dedicated device for reading.
I actually have a Kindle that I purchased years ago. I notice though that blogging has taken over my world so I hardly read these days. I still cant decide whether I prefer reading real books or a kindle. It’s just the time for me. But I remember taking it with me on holiday where I did no blogging and I did actually enjoy lazing around and reading my Kindle.
Thanks for sharing this post.
Personally, an e-book reader hasn’t worked for me. It just doesn’t feel the same. I got it as a birthday gift and honestly I haven’t read more than a couple of pages on it. It’s been lying in the bedside drawer. I know buying books can be expensive but I love collecting books I really love or if there’s a book I just want to read, I get it from the library. I’m glad you’re liking your Kindle! Happy reading!
Cheers!
Parul | http://girlinchief.com
I want the Kindle Paperwhite, but I have a Nook that I don’t even use. So I’m not sure if it makes sense for me to purchase one, but I do love this post! I enjoy reading the pros/cons to see if it is worth purchasing an item.
I’m thinking of getting one but I would only love to get audiobooks though. But so far, Im kind of having a hard time deciding if I will get one or not. Thanks for these tips.
If you’re more into audiobooks you can use the Audible app from Kindle. I don’t think it’s worth buying a Kindle since you have to connect it to an external Bluetooth speaker in order to listen to audiobooks.
The lending situation isn’t ideal. I think you might not be in the States so I’m not sure what the situation is over there, but for anyone else reading – something else to keep in mind though is that most public libraries here now have an e-book library that you can borrow the same way you would a normal book from the library! It stays on your device for 3 weeks and then you have to delete it. Most libraries use a system called Overdrive which is compatible with Kindle.
What do you say the lending books through Kindle is not ideal? The borrower will have 2 weeks to read the book and during this time you won’t have access to the book. Sounds quite the same to the public library system you described. We have it mostly for Uni libraries, but I never tried to use it, to be honest.
Agree with you. So far we have downloaded heaps and heaps of good Promoted books which are free. My husband takes his Kindle everywhere with him (it was a gift) – I have only read a couple of cooking books as I read a lot online. But the person who gave it as a gift gave us a second Kindle. Which helped once when hubby left his at the gym! He can’t be without it. Loves it!
I have a Kindle Voyage and I absolutely love it! Mine has a dimmable backlight, so if I don’t want any light at all it looks just like a regular kindle, but when I’m reading in dim lighting I don’t need a book light. And it surprisingly doesn’t hurt my eyes either! I made the switch to an e-reader years ago since I fly through books – it was way more convenient to carry 1 e-reader around than 2-3 books, and your point about spending more money on books is def a pro/con for me too. One one hand, I’m clearly reading a ton and I’m getting the e-book version at a cheaper price than the printed, but at the same time, I’m spending more than I used to on books haha! Glad you like your Kindle too though!
So the light built-in Kindle is not that bad. I didn’t get a paper white because I thought the whole point of the Kindle is no-light at all.
Well, the good part of spending more money on books is that I read more, so I can’t say I wasted any money so far.
In 100% agreement with this post. I can bet 99% people who take the risk of buying a Kindle end up loving it. I have been using one for 5 years now and consider it one of my best purchases ever.
Oh, glad to hear it lasts 5 years. I’m even more impressed by it now. I thought it will last me a couple of years or so.
I love my Kindle. I read a lot of books. I have a Kindle Unlimited subscription and definitely get my money’s worth. Yes, you encounter some duds but overall there are lots of good books to read. The real bonus is travel. I could never take enough books on a trip to keep me entertained. Now I can.
I had no idea there is a Kindle Unlimited Subscription. I’ve just checked it and 10 euros/month for everything Kindle has is not bad at all. Thanks, Gillian!
I had a real issue not buying physical books at first — I mean, they look so nice on a shelf! BUT I love my Kindle! It’s so light and easy to travel with. I love carrying it in my purse and pulling it out whenever I have a moment. But every now and them, I still buy a physical book. 🙂
I have a Kindle that I got ages ago in college. I was taking a lot of German literature classes and I was able to download most of the classic German works for free on my Kindle. Plus I could flag passages in the book and take notes for discussion, or if I came across a word in German that I didn’t recognize I could look it up directly from the text on my Kindle. I don’t know how the new generation Kindles compare – my old Kindle still works fine, though I’ve mostly gone back to physical books – but overall I like my Kindle 🙂
I’m so happy to see that a Kindle lasts for so long!
Well, mine works pretty much as you described. You can highlight passages, make notes and check for translations for certain words. I guess what’s new is that due to the internet connection you also get some explanation from Wikipedia.
omg I’ve been super back and forth with a kindle and this post kinda made me want to get them more. I love printed books and all, but I am quickly running out of shelf space!! Agggh. May I will get one after all. Thanks for the insight!
-Katrina | http://www.hellayoung.com
My husband bought me a Kindle for Christmas about 6 years ago. I really didn’t think I would like it, but I do! I ran out of room on my (multiple) bookshelves years ago, and now I don’t need to keep buying more bookshelves. I still love reading a printed book, but my Kindle is very convenient. And while you can’t lend out a book, you can share an account with another kindle owner. My kids and I share the same account and it is great.
Oh, but you can lend book via the Kindle app or through another Kindle device: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_rel_topic?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200549320 I haven’t tried it yet, but I will give it a try soon after I finish the book I’m currently reading.
I also love that Kindle saved me a lot of space. My partner kept buying books, but never read them. The Kindle saved me.
Oh, I didn’t realize you can lend books! Thanks for that!
Anytime. I haven’t tried it yet, but since it’s on their website, it should work.
Great article on the pros and cons of getting a Kindle. I personally use my Kindle app on my iPad to read most of my books. I prefer physical books when reading a personal development/business type book but I like digital e-reader copies for books read for entertainment. When I read at night I try to remember to wear my blue light reflective glasses because I’ve recently learned how important that is!
Arielle Joy from http://www.livinglifewithjoy.com