The big question for me though was how it would compare to regular books. Here is what I have found out so far since I started using the Kindle and continued to read regular books.
Book advantages:
- I can leave a regular book sitting on a chair or table or beach blanket in public and not be terribly worried about whether its going to be stolen while I'm away unlike leaving my Kindle in these spaces.
- I can pick up a regular book and quickly envision my progress based on where the book mark is located. I don't get that same kind satisfaction from looking at a bar chart on the bottom of the Kindle as to what percent progress I have made.
- With a book, I can give it or loan it to a friend quite easily or I can trade it in to a used bookstore for credit. I'm not sure I can do that as easily with an e-book.
- Not all books are in e-book format yet. An example is I wanted to read Roger Zelazny's Dream Master book (published in 1966) but it was not available on Amazon.com in e-book format.
- There is a short time period on airplanes where you can't read e-books but you can read regular books.
- My library does have e-books available but often the book I want is not in e-book format while it is on the shelf!
- A book can sometimes serve as conversation starter and I have had fun discussions in waiting rooms or airport gates with someone about how they are enjoying their book or how I like my book. This has not happened to me with an e-book.
- I still prefer the touch and feel of a real book to the touch and feel of my Kindle.
E-book advantages:
- I can buy new e-books just about anytime I want. I don't have to wait for a bookstore to open or wait for the book to come in the mail after ordering it online. Its really fun to want to read a book and be able to buy it and start reading it in literally minutes!
- It is handy to be able to set the text size for an e-book. I can't change a book's text size.
- An e-book is great for reading hefty sized books (think War and Peace). The Kindle is small and light like a paper back book but you still have the entire hefty book inside it!
- Its much easier to carry around lots of e-books than books!
I don't think I'm going to give up regular books any time soon. I'll keep my Kindle and use it in the situations where its handy like while traveling or when I want to get and start reading a book right away, but for most of my reading I will probably continue to stick with regular books.