Buying an e-reader

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Alphaville
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Alphaville »

hey, all the stoics are out of copyright already :D

but yeah ok there are modern academic editions & new translations, etc.

for me, charity shops (“thrift stores” in ‘merican) are thick with unreadable garbage. once upon a time i used to troll their aisles frequently looking for reading material and vinyl records: there was never anything good there, but in the end i’d buy something to justify the trip, so: waste upon waste.

now that i got pickier with my purchases (one has to choose carefully what to read as death approaches) i wouldn’t dream of wasting time sorting through junk in a thrift store.

this was different from 2nd hand book dealers, always knowledgeable people & always a pleasure to deal with, but that world is long gone.

i’ve been mulling over getting a kindle as well since i burn so much ipad battery all day. it’s been like 5 years mulling it over, i might decide some day :lol:

the kindle paperwhite is a relatively recent model, it was a revolution over the early iterations, so the lcd thing you seem to be holding probably belongs now in the recycling bin.

UK-with-kids
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by UK-with-kids »

Alphaville wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 12:58 pm
for me, charity shops (“thrift stores” in ‘merican) are thick with unreadable garbage.
....
this was different from 2nd hand book dealers, always knowledgeable people & always a pleasure to deal with, but that world is long gone.
Thanks, I've added a note into my last post to "translate"!

Actually the kind of shop I visited is a hybrid. It's quite a high end 'thrift store' (or charity shop) that only sells certain kinds of books, so it definitely isn't junk. They just didn't seem to have any books in stoicism that day, or maybe I was looking in the wrong place. Being an introvert, I struggled to ask anybody, especially wearing a mask.

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Alphaville
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Alphaville »

nah, no need to translate, we don’t all have to speak ‘merican, do we? i enjoy learning britishisms and use them interchangeably with american expressions these days.

anyway, check this:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/ ... rch=Search

i have to ask though, do you have any local universities that might extend borrowing privileges to locals? my state university does that. good for academic tomes, etc.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by tonyedgecombe »

UK-with-kids wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 1:03 pm
Actually the kind of shop I visited is a hybrid. It's quite a high end 'thrift store' (or charity shop) that only sells certain kinds of books, so it definitely isn't junk. They just didn't seem to have any books in stoicism that day, or maybe I was looking in the wrong place. Being an introvert, I struggled to ask anybody, especially wearing a mask.
There is a pretty good Oxfam bookshop near me that I often visit. The only real problem is there are no bargains in there, I've often found better prices on Amazon even when you include shipping.

Scott 2
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Scott 2 »


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Alphaville
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Alphaville »

yup, i ordered mine yesterday 🙈😂

(no ads for me)

$50 off from the price that held in my cart for the last 6 months

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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by jacob »

I bought the ad-supported version of many a year ago. Eventually (after 3-4yrs?) they stopped pushing new ads onto it.

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Alphaville
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Alphaville »

the extra $20 for the ad free is insurance to keep me from smashing the thing in a fit of rage before 4 years pass :lol:

(i did consider ad supported, then saw a youtube of how it works, and felt my blood pressure spike)

but if you can space it out, the $20 discount is nice

it’s removable/non terminal though: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X5kswBD0NM0

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Sclass
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Sclass »

I have multiple library cards with libraries around the state of California. Many big branches in the cities I frequent like SF, Los Altos or DTLA don’t require you to live in town. I phone in every two years and they reactivate my card. These libraries have huge ebook collections. I never connect my kindles to amazon anymore. I just turn off the internet and upload books over USB.

I refurbed Kindle 3Gs for a few years. I have a small pile of spare parts and five working ones. I like the 3G for its text to speech engine. Poor man’s audiobooks for commuting. Text to speech is a primitive form of data compression that saves space on my ancient device.

UK-with-kids
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by UK-with-kids »

Scott 2 wrote:
Wed Oct 14, 2020 1:30 pm
deal on kindles today:

https://www.amazon.com/All-new-Kindle-P ... 07CXG6C9W/
Thanks for the heads up. I don't like the pressure sell with a deadline tactic though. I might have a think about it for 12 months :lol:

Hristo Botev
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Hristo Botev »

UK-with-kids wrote:
Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:30 pm
Thanks for the heads up. I don't like the pressure sell with a deadline tactic though. I might have a think about it for 12 months :lol:
In the meantime, you can accumulate some actual print books that Jeff Bezos won't be able to memoryhole with a click of a mouse.

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Alphaville
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Alphaville »

UK-with-kids wrote:
Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:30 pm
Thanks for the heads up. I don't like the pressure sell with a deadline tactic though. I might have a think about it for 12 months :lol:
hahahah!

i’ve been waiting half a year for this sale (it’s been years of me reading kindle app and years too of looking at the paperwhite) plus you already have an older model, so 12 months is way too soon :D



eta: they sent a $5 credit towards a kindle book which should go towards reference materials rather than consumables

Scott 2
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Scott 2 »

I paid the extra $5 for blue. Got ads though. From what I recall, you always have the option to pay and disable them. I'll see how invasive they are.

With more time on my hands, I've read a couple library books on my phone. Instant delivery of free books is fantastic, but I can't wait to have it on a device designed for reading. I'm also looking forward to audio books at bedtime, but on a device with no realistic internet portal. It is a bummer that audible is the only audio option.

I got the $5 coupon, a free 3 month trial of kindle unlimited and a free 30 day trial of prime. It's hard to believe Amazon makes money on that sale.

Scott 2
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Scott 2 »

I already paid to remove the ads. I don't know that I would have ordered, if the price was 20% higher. They got me.

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Alphaville
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Alphaville »

Scott 2 wrote:
Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:39 pm
I already paid to remove the ads. I don't know that I would have ordered, if the price was 20% higher. They got me.
haaahaahaaa. how horrible were they? i saw they stayed open with the device turned off and said nope nope nope—i don’t want a billboard following me around all day. i always calculated the price from ad-free.

Scott 2
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Scott 2 »

Every time you turn the device off, the content is replaced with an ad. When you are scrolling the store or using the home screen, the bottom 15% of the screen is an ad. You have to opt out of targeting based on you prior browsing, as well as separately disable ads for 18+ content. Not even close to worth it.

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Alphaville
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Alphaville »

once the ads are removed— are you enjoying the device though? mine hasn’t arrived yet so i don’t know. i look forward to good outdoor visibility and long battery life, but beyond that, i don’t know.

eta: my relative discount was 33% from usual retail

Scott 2
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by Scott 2 »

I enjoy the device enough that I paid an extra $20 to remove the ads :D

I wanted something for bedtime media, that didn't have the same infinite scroll of a phone. It is working great for that. I have not used it outside.

Getting library books on there is pretty easy. Kindle unlimited is pretty marginal, but I knew that going in.

I was a little bummed that while you can listen to audible books, I was not able to listen to a book included in my Audible Plus membership. So if I want the audio book on the kindle, I have to burn a credit on it. IMO that distinction was not clear at order time.

macg
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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by macg »

So I'm a bit confused... Has the "with ads" changed? I have the first backlit paperwhite, from maybe 2014... When I look through my list of books, there is a small ribbon on the bottom, and when I am not using it, there is a full screen ad (which is fine, I'm not using it lol). When I am actually reading, there are no ads whatsoever.

Granted, the only time I turn on Wi-Fi is to sync books I've gotten through overdrive or bought... Otherwise it's always in airplane mode to preserve battery.

So for me at least, I never even really notice any ads...

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Re: Buying an e-reader

Post by jacob »

@macg - Same footprint here but with the 3G keyboard model from 2011 or so. Eventually amazon stopped updating ads on this model (maybe 5 years ago?) so now there's a generic image when not using it and nothing when I am.

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