I’ve blogged a couple of times before about my Kindle, including reviewing how much I liked it. Now, nine months into my ownership, I’ve discovered a few drawbacks I hadn’t considered or discovered back then. I still love my Kindle and it’s awesome to be able to take more than 150 books everywhere I want, but there are a couple of issues.
The big one is something I discovered just in the last week or so. I’m reading a research book at the moment and fervently wishing I’d bought hard copy instead of the ebook version. The huge reason is this book has a lot of charts and graphs. These graphics were shrunk down to fit on the Kindle screen, but there is no way I know of to enlarge them. Making the font bigger makes the caption beneath the graphic larger, but that’s it. The graph/chart remains exactly the same size. Which basically means I have a Kindle screen filled with shades of gray and fonts so tiny that I don’t think Steve Austin and his bionic eye could read what it says.
Most of what I’ve been reading on the Kindle has been fiction, and while I have read a few research books, none have had the extensive graphics that this one has. It’s been an eye-opener for me.
My second issue is my car. If this research book I’m reading right now was a paper copy, I would have hauled it out to my car this morning, dumped it on the passenger seat, and left it there all day. Then, after the Evil Day Job was over, I could sit in the parking lot, waiting for my engine to warm up, and read. I can’t do this with my Kindle.
Reason number one–the temperature. The high yesterday was 5 degrees and it felt colder than that. I’m afraid that the cold would damage the reader if I left it sitting in my vehicle all day. I’d have the same concern if it was 95 degrees, but in the summer, I don’t have to wait for my car to warm up. And no, I don’t want to haul it in my tote bag up to the office. I already have that thing filled with heavy stuff, including my netbook to write on during lunch hour.
Reason number two–I’d be worried that someone would break in and steal the Kindle. My office isn’t in a bad area, but you just never know. Why offer temptation? With a paper copy of this book, I could leave it on the seat and not worry about anyone wanting it that bad. And even if someone did, the book would cost maybe $20 to replace. The Kindle is still at $250.
I do like the idea of having multiple research books with me, but in this case, it’s just not working out for me really well. I still love my Kindle, but if I had it to do over, I’d definitely buy this book in paper.
Tags: kindle
I like the idea of having 150 books in one tiny place but how do you check on something in the story you are reading. In a print book you can go where you roughly think you saw what you want. In an e-book?
Also I go to a UBS, and can get credit for the books I bring in. Right now I have over a $100 in credit. Its great for back copies of an author or for trying a new author.
What do you do when you finish an ebook?
Joyce,
The only way to check something in a story is if you marked the spot, then Kindle lets you flip back. It's really not as convenient as a paperback, especially for research. The fact that I could order it and have it instantly and be able to cart around multiple references is what tipped me over to get the ebook version. Now I wish I'd gotten paper. Live and learn.
My understanding on ebooks is that you can either keep them or delete them, but there is no trading or reselling. I could be wrong, so don't hold me to this.
I never trade my paperbacks in anyway. The one time I tried, I ended up rebuying some of them. ::hangs head:: I am an obsessive book hoarder.
Patti