NFR - Kindle

[Dan in Notts]

Anyone know any decent free books on kindle. The top 100 free books seems to have become overrun with sex books ever since stupid fifty shades came out.

Volunteers at the excellent Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org) have been digitising out of copyright books, and making them available for free, for ages - so no good for contemporary stuff, but most of the (older) classics are there.  There are instructions for getting the books onto Kindle here: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Free_Kindle_Books (there's a site you can 'point' your Kindle toward directly using its inbuilt web browser - only used it once, as an experiment, but it worked fine).  I think they often lack advanced navigation features (contents pages with direct links to chapters, etc.), but it's fine for anything you want to read through from beginning to end and, unlike a lot of the free or v. cheap books in the Amazon store (and even some of the expensive ones by supposedly reputable publishers), they're relatively free of typos / mistakes introduced in the copying process (one of my reservations about Kindle is that publishers who should know better often don't seem to employ copyeditors to read through and check electronic versions of their texts).

[theo]

Do any of you know anything about Kindle? I am thinking about getting one and would appreciate any advice, good points and pitfalls please.

Might be late to the party and all, but I have one and I love it. I still prefer to read proper books around the house, but being able to take as many books as you want on holiday and not having to drag a hardcover tome around on the commute to work makes it worth it alone. Add the free books and magazines you can get on it and it's a pretty nifty little gadget.

[Gozorich]

Just one point, I live in a country where the quality of bookshops is appalling so my Kindle is a Godsend. I now read twice as many books as I used two (OK, 2 points).

[Gozorich]

Obviously doesn't improve my English - should be 'to' :wine:

[Berserker]

I read an awful lot of paper books, my house is full of them. I not only give to charity shops i buy from them as well. The National Trust headquarters here in Swindon where i often go for lunch sell second hand books for £1. I also buy second hand books that are over 100 years old. I now have a kindle as well, Mr B uses one all the time and it is the only way to share the books he reads, we have to share a kindle account to do it. The problem with Kindle if you read a lot of non fiction like myself is the pictures, they are generally rubbish, plus not in colour. I just love paper books though, can't help it.

[Burt]

Having just been on holiday the big benefit of a Kindle is the weight saving... Between us, Mrs Burt and myself get through 8-10 paperbacks on a 2 week summer break and not having to cart that sort of volume around any more is quite handy.

[Burt]

Just one point, I live in a country where the quality of bookshops is appalling so my Kindle is a Godsend. I now read twice as many books as I used two (OK, 2 points).

Hi Richard, when I was in Gozo last time I stumbled across a copy of "Fortress Malta" which was an account of island life during WW2. A really great read...

[Gozorich]

Hi Burt. Yes I've seen it in the book shop in Victoria but never bothered to read it. Will have another look.

Thanks :wine:

[BalDrick]

Do any of you know anything about Kindle? I am thinking about getting one and would appreciate any advice, good points and pitfalls please.

Might be late to the party and all, but I have one and I love it. I still prefer to read proper books around the house, but being able to take as many books as you want on holiday and not having to drag a hardcover tome around on the commute to work makes it worth it alone. Add the free books and magazines you can get on it and it's a pretty nifty little gadget.

Although I don't commute (work at home, though feels like live at work a lot of the time), I can see that advantage, particularly for going on holiday. Trouble is, I really don't have 90 quid spare just to make my holiday packing lighter. Can remember a few times being on holiday and discovering the last book I brought was crap, of course with a Kindle I could simply have bought another. (This is giving me a sense of deja vu writing this, apologies if earlier in the thread I've said the same thing - consistency if nothing else!)

[Berserker]

Do any of you know anything about Kindle? I am thinking about getting one and would appreciate any advice, good points and pitfalls please.

Might be late to the party and all, but I have one and I love it. I still prefer to read proper books around the house, but being able to take as many books as you want on holiday and not having to drag a hardcover tome around on the commute to work makes it worth it alone. Add the free books and magazines you can get on it and it's a pretty nifty little gadget.

Although I don't commute (work at home, though feels like live at work a lot of the time), I can see that advantage, particularly for going on holiday. Trouble is, I really don't have 90 quid spare just to make my holiday packing lighter. Can remember a few times being on holiday and discovering the last book I brought was crap, of course with a Kindle I could simply have bought another. (This is giving me a sense of deja vu writing this, apologies if earlier in the thread I've said the same thing - consistency if nothing else!)

I don't generally use the Kindle my other half bought me so I could read his kindle books, but I'm taking it away on holiday loaded with quite a few books for the very reason you mention

[Peabody]

I think I saw on Amazon that they have brought the price down to £69

[Peabody]

Yes Idid and here it is

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0083Q04M2/?tag=googhydr-21&hvadid=16773479768&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=21463253181176663042&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_dddc7xsv7_b

[BalDrick]

Yes Idid and here it is

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0083Q04M2/?tag=googhydr-21&hvadid=16773479768&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=21463253181176663042&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_dddc7xsv7_b

Still about £68 more than I need to spend right now! Oh and haven't got any holidays booked. Not a bad price though, have to agree.

[Berserker]

Christmas is coming :-)

[Alan N]

It's worth looking at the other e readers available like kobo and nook, as with these you are not tied to amazon, and can borrow books from libraries (not sure if this is available everywhere). I have been using a Sony e reader, but and now upgrading to a Kobo glo which enables night reading without a light. My wife has a kindle, and loves it, but I prefer the freedom of using other ebook sellers.

[Snibbo]

It's worth looking at the other e readers available like kobo and nook, as with these you are not tied to amazon, and can borrow books from libraries (not sure if this is available everywhere). I have been using a Sony e reader, but and now upgrading to a Kobo glo which enables night reading without a light. My wife has a kindle, and loves it, but I prefer the freedom of using other ebook sellers.

Kindle isn't tied to Amazon. I've got hundreds of books on my Kindle and I haven't bought any from Amazon.

[Ron Sheepskin]

For what it's worth, I've just started a course through work, and the lecture notes are provided electronically. I now have to choose between carrying 2 or 3 massive folders full of paper home for revision, or converting the files to pdf, and sending them to my kindle. No brainer, really.

[BalDrick]

For what it's worth, I've just started a course through work, and the lecture notes are provided electronically. I now have to choose between carrying 2 or 3 massive folders full of paper home for revision, or converting the files to pdf, and sending them to my kindle. No brainer, really.

That's interesting. Keep toying with the idea of relearning Spanish

[LBNo11]

...if anyone is a fan of James Herbert they are selling his new book 'Ash' for 20p - normally £10.74 in digital format -  it has to be a mistake - so get in quick!!!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ash&x=0&y=0

[epsomraver]

Done!