Are E-readers worth the cost?

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jzt83
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Post by jzt83 »

My analysis of e-readers:
- Initial costs are expensive; $114 w/screen saver ads and $139 without ads for the Kindle. I spend around $20 a year on books and borrow the rest from the library for free. I doubt a Kindle would last 7 years to recoup the costs (assuming I don't buy a single e-book and only rely on free ones). One could argue that one has access to lots of free e-books, but I have access to lots of free books from the library and I could easily not buy books for years if I choose to do so. With the Kindle, the upfront cost is fixed and can only be reduced slightly if I buy it used.
- E-readers encourage multi-tasking. I am more than certain if I had dozens of books stored in a e-reader, I would be tempted to constantly switch between books causing me to become less focused on what I read. It's better to concentrates one's focus on one book at a time (perhaps two is okay but stretching it) to be able to digest the contents well.
- Information overload is already wrecking my brain, and I don't need another piece of technology to cause further damage. I'm trying in vain to reduce my overal informational input and having an e-reader would be detrimental to that goal, as it would just add another layer of informational input to my brain. It would be like introducing heroin to a cocaine and meth addict; I don't need anymore highly addictive dopamine releasing drugs further amplifying the endless cycle of searching for new information leading to further social isolation and psycholigcal damage.
- Yes e-readers have their plus sides; they're highly portable, they can store lots of book in a tiny tablet and they can download and display many free books. However, the overall negative psychological impacts of e-readers outweighs their portability and versatility.
Am I missing something? Are e-readers worth the cost in your opinion?


M
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Post by M »

I own an Amazon kindle 3g, so I feel inclined to chime in here.
Short answer:
Is an E-reader going to help you retire early? No. So the short answer is no, an e-reader probably doesn't make sense for most ERE folks.
Long answer:
The only way that an E-reader can recoup it's initial investment and be ERE compatible is if you buy the kindle 3g and cancel your home Internet and only use the free internet on the kindle.
If you buy a lot of new books all the time, having an e-reader could potentially pay for itself over the course of its useful lifetime as well, considering that the price for digital books is almost always cheaper than their paperback counter part. But if you're spending that amount of money on books you're probably not on an ERE track anyway, and as my Aunt likes to point out, the digital book may be cheaper than the new print version, but the digital version is rarely, if ever, cheaper than a used paperback book. But then if you take into account the price of gas and/or chipping to go and get the used paperback, it could turn into a wash situation.
Bonus answer:
My wife and I are both addicted to information, so the e-reader is kinda like a vice. Did I need it? No. Did I want one? Yes. Is it something I can fabricate myself? No. So I bought it. I exchanged ~ a day of freedom to buy an Amazon Kindle.
The Kindle will not help you retire early. Neither will a sail boat. But if you understand the cost associated with having an e-reader, and you understand the benefits, and if it seems worth it to you, then buy it. If not, then don't buy it. The answer, like everything, is subjective and will differ from person to person.


JohnnyH
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Post by JohnnyH »

For a lot of people an ereader isn't necessary, just another cool device. If you: travel/camp a lot, have a local ebook collection (especially if technical PDFs, PRS950 much better than K3 for these), don't have a good library, then an ereader might be useful.
Advantages of ereaders:

+carry reference material easily... entire wikipedia, dictionaries, technical guides, field manuals (medical might come in handy), maps, travel guides, flight/train/bus tables. Seems ideal for academics who have a large library of publications.

+carry personal materials: notes / to-do lists, contact phone #s/addresses, photos (good way to display to friends/family when traveling).

+Priceless search function.

+Can format webmaterial for ereading: I've read 500 page monster forum threads on my reader (again search function great). Blogs, news, journals (formatted and delivered periodically via Calibre), RSS... Much preferred to reading on LCD...

+Don't have to sully books with notes, something I was never comfortable with... Never have to worry about setting a bookmark. Or the laborious task of turning a page, for that matter. ;)

+My physical library now takes up only 1 bookshelf, instead of an entire room... I sold all the books that would have little value if the power went out.

+You can collect libraries that have ebook collections. I have access to several libraries out of state with great ebook collections.
Disadvantages:

-Smell/feel of book in hand. I don't get it, but I hear this a lot.

-Can't resell books you buy... A pretty big one.

-Takes time and effort to acclimate. It took me about 3 weeks of effort to get used to not having a traditional book. Now I much prefer ereading.

-Time/effort involved in formatting reading material. Not a big deal for the experienced, but daunting and confusing for many newbies.

-Initial cost... I'm sure I'm under 1 cent a page by now, and the reader still has a high resale value. My last ereader, the PRS505, I sold for only about $30 less than I bought it for 2 years later. Fantastic ereader, I'd still be using it if the new pearl screens didn't have much improved contrast. I can't foresee any improvements to make me upgrade from my PRS950... Note: I don't consider an ipad/tablet an ereader, only e-ink, otherwise you might as well read on any LCD monitor. The eye irritation of LCD reading is why I bought the ereader to begin with.
As far as information overload, it is possible, but it's the same discipline as finishing a paper book before starting a new one... Even though you COULD carry 5000 books on an ereader, it just becomes unwieldy. I only put a manageable number of books on it at a time, depending on how long I'll be away from a computer. I don't find my reading habits have changed for the worse, despite the easy access to more material.
I went on a camping trip for 7 days, so I brought about 20 books @ 8000 pages. I read maybe 5 and 1700 pages (still had 25% battery!). I also had "stacks" of magazines for ADD reading... It's also nice feeling to know you're not going to run out of books. Often on such trips I think I would have happily paid 25,50,100 dollars for the easy access to (and not having to physically carry!) the books I just read.
Ereader barely leaves my side, all in all, I feel it one of the best purchases of my life.


mikeBOS
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Post by mikeBOS »

I'm about as much of a gadget geek as an ERE-er could be. I like my laptop, gaming desktop, media pc and wish I had a garage and a car I was planning on keeping for 20 years so I could put in a custom car computer. The tinkering with it all is kind of an end in itself for me, plus it's not that pricey when you build from components you buy individually and salvage parts from old computers. I consider it fairly cheap entertainment compared to the alternatives.
But anyway, despite this, I still don't have an e-reader. The free 3g on the kindle is tempting. But I'm in wifi range 95% of the time with my laptop anyway.
I'm a fairly frequent reader. About 45 books a year or so.
But as others noted, used paperbacks are so cheap it's hard to compete. Especially when you factor in the resale value. My M.O. is basically order something used on half.com or amazon, read it within a month or two of its arrival, then post it back on half.com for roughly the same price and ship it off to whoever buys it in 1-2 weeks. I keep a fairly small bookshelf. If I ever want to revisit a book I'll just buy it again (hasn't happened yet).
My books don't break. I won't care if I lose them. I can feel free to give them to a friend to borrow or keep. And they only cost a few bucks.
Maybe in 10 years or so when there's an e-reader that has the several days of battery life, but also has the ability to snap on a keyboard and perform some lightweight laptop functions as well, I'll be more inclined to jump in. I think the technology's still just a little too young for my liking.


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jennypenny
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Post by jennypenny »

I've owned my Nook about 18 months. A day hasn't gone by that I haven't used it. If you go by cost per use it has been very inexpensive. And honestly, there are very few things in my life that get used daily--bed, coffee pot, Nook, toiletries, running shoes, iPhone.
Things I like in particular--

1. I can bring several books with me when I travel (we travel frequently).

2. Less paper is good for the environment.

3. Less clutter in my house (I can't part with books I like).

4. Lots of free/inexpensive content if you look around (except for Jacob's book!!)

5. When someone suggests a book to me, I can immediately search for it and add it to my wish list to order another time. I hate when someone recommends something and then I can't remember it later.

6. I like being able to adjust the size of the type. Certain situations require me to make the type larger (bad lighting, tired eyes) and it's an easy thing to do.
One bad thing--I wanted to go to a local book signing for one of my favorite authors this weekend, but I had nothing for her to sign :)


jacob
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Post by jacob »

The ERE book is MORE expensive as a used paperback than on kindle :)
I'm very close to buying a kindle 3g

1) It takes a few days to gets classics from the library which delays my reading of them which delays my writing.

2) The free internet.

3) The size of it compared to the size of physical books---I've almost gotten rid of all of mine. I have less than 10 left.
However, if my laptop (powerpc mac) actually had a kindle-reader, I'd just use that.
Cost-wise... it totally depends on your library quality. Where I live it is almost 100%---I can get almost anything that wasn't published very recently (and I can wait 6 months).


Shandi76
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Post by Shandi76 »

I love my kindle dx and think it was worth the cost. I work in education so it beats carrying around a load of heavy textbooks. It's also great for saving on storage space, and I sometimes use the free internet, which looks fabulously retro.
My local libraries (and college library) are pretty limited in the book selection available and my reading tastes are a bit obscure, so the library isn't really a viable alternative for me.


akratic
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Post by akratic »

I bought a nook around two years ago, and it wasn't a great purchase for me, because it turns out that I still get almost all my books from the library.
In fact, the one good thing I did with my nook was download the entire ERE blog, format it for the nook, and read the entire blog while traveling in Peru, where I did not have internet access.
It turned out that reading the entire ERE blog sooner more than paid for my nook.


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jennypenny
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Post by jennypenny »

@Jacob-I was a good girl and ordered the book from the printer per your suggestion.
I was able to pass it along to DH when I was done so I was glad to have a hard copy.


dot_com_vet
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Post by dot_com_vet »

I don't have an e-reader, but I think a (refurb) laptop has the ultimate flexibility.


AlexK
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Post by AlexK »

I don't know how you people's eyes can handle all that reading. I love reading too but have to limit myself or my eyes physically hurt and my distance vision noticeably suffers. I've been listening to audio books and podcasts a lot lately and love it. No eye strain and I can actually do something else while "reading" like drive, pull weeds, work in the garage, cook, etc.
The selection isn't as good for audio as print, not even close, but it's worth it for the convenience and eye health.


Chad
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Post by Chad »

I have to vote for the e-reader. Lots of free or cheaper books on Amazon. As others have said the library only has about 20-30% of what I want to read, so I have to buy some books. Secondly, my library allows Nook users (I use the Kindle on the iPad) to take out books electronically and will be giving Kindle users the same benefit some time this fall.
The peripheral abilities of the e-reader, such as the auto dictionary and copy/paste are also nice.


irononmaiden
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Post by irononmaiden »

You don't need the e-reader itself. I had a Kindle and gave it away, but I still read Kindle books (and others) on my iPhone and my computer. (Kindle software is free for all platforms.)
I'm so used to having a backlit screen that I really didn't like using the Kindle anyway. And now I have one less gadget to carry around.


tjt
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Post by tjt »

After reading Your Money or Your Life, my Kindle recommended this strangely titled book, Early Retirement Extreme. Sounded cheesy (no offense, Jacob), but since the whole first chapter was a free preview, I indulged.
As soon as I finished the free preview I bought the eBook and read it beginning to end. 3 months later I'd moved states, sold my car, downsized my home, and pulled my retirement in by 20 years.
Yeah - for me the Kindle was worth it. :)
(There are lots of other benefits too, all mentioned above)


EMJ
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Post by EMJ »

Surprised to see no one mention losing/breaking an ereader and losing all books at once. Only way I would lose all my books is by fire.
I chose hard copy books because:

they can can be borrowed and lent (library and friends)

they can be resold or traded

they don't need need power and internet to work

the risk of ereader becoming obsolete

books I want to read not available on ereaders

I don't want libraries to become extinct


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jennypenny
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Post by jennypenny »

Ebooks are backed up on my computer. And Barnes & noble has a record of your purchases if something happens. I'm assuming Amazon does the same thing.


Chad
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Post by Chad »

Amazon does the same thing. Losing or having an e-reader destroyed does not endanger your ebook collection.
@EMJ

"I chose hard copy books because:"

"they can can be borrowed and lent (library and friends)"

- This can already be done at my library with ebooks and there is limited ebook lending to friends with the Nook and Kindle.
"they don't need need power and internet to work"

- They only need the internet maybe once a week or once a month and the power supply for a dedicated ereader is a long time. Plug it in once a week and you are easily good to go.
"the risk of ereader becoming obsolete"

- Highly unlikely. Amazon and Barnes & Noble don't make money off of selling $100 ereaders. The ereaders are actually loss leaders per the WSJ. They make money off of selling you books. They would actually lose money by making you buy another one.
"books I want to read not available on ereaders"

- This is going to be the exact oppposite soon. One of the reasons I actually wanted an ereader was that some of the books I wanted were only for ereaders.
"I don't want libraries to become extinct"

- It isn't going to happen. They are already lending ebooks in many areas (mine definitely). Might the actual library buildings get smaller as they get more ebooks and less paper? Yes, but isn't that a good thing? Overhead costs would drop and they could buy more ebooks to lend. Means less books you would have to buy.


dragoncar
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Post by dragoncar »

I'm all for e-readers, but there are legitimate concerns about the current form of e-books. Anything with DRM has suspect longevity.
For example, there's the story (http://consumerist.com/2011/07/who-ate- ... count.html) of someone who's account was flagged by Amazon for suspicious behavior and the account was unilaterally deleted along with all his e-books and notations. Amazon issued gift certificates so he could repurchase the books, but the notations were lost forever.
I wouldn't put so much faith in the businesses selling the books either. For example, Walmart recently announced it is closing it's MP3 store (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390866,00.asp). Although Walmart has promised to keep its DRM servers running, how long do you think that will last?
Unless you are willing to illegally strip the DRM, I'd consider any e-book purchase to be a consumable entertainment expense... more like a movie ticket than buying a book. E-readers can still be great for DRM-free PDFs, references, etc.


JasonR
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Post by JasonR »

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Last edited by JasonR on Mon Mar 18, 2019 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

George the original one
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Post by George the original one »

>I'm sure that's a rare occurrence
Call me paranoid, but the fact that someone can do it to a single account means that someone can do it to many accounts. Whether on purpose or on accident.


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