I Bought One of These…
I’ve found it’s nice when you can chalk up spending money to “conducting researchâ€. That’s how I’m rationalizing my recent Kindle purchase.
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And the beauty is, I’m not completely lying to myself this time. I figure I’ll need to know about these infernal contraptions (I mean that lovingly) for this site, for my elementary school libraries (which just received an e-reader grant (we’re buying Nooks)), and for an upcoming column I’m writing.
So I’ve been dipping my unusually large big toe (seriously, I’ll let you check it out some time) in the e-book waters to see if the temperature is up to where I like it. Turns out, it’s getting there*. Then I read an article like this and remember I may have just sold my soul.
A couple quick thoughts:
It’s almost off-puttingly quiet. Put your ear to it – no sound. Shake it – nothing shaking.
The e-ink display is nice.
I like being able to sample books. Also, library lending is gloriously simple.
*Bonus Feature* I can use it to read my blogs. Aww, yeah.
*Picture books, graphic novels, and pretty much any other heavily illustrated work of bookery is not part of this equation. That, friends, is a whole ‘nother story.
Have you taken the plunge yet?
Filed under: Articles
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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http://www.klip.me/
I like using the above site and Instapaper to read longer articles I find online on my Kindle. I’m curious, though, why you went for a Kindle if your school is going for Nooks and why you got one of the keyboard ones when there’s a new one for $79? Or is it because you needed it now and couldn’t wait until November? Just wondering how you decided. (I got my keyboard Kindle last October and love it but still read physical books, listen to audio books, etc).
From what I was hearing, the Nook seemed to be the best fit for school libraries (more flexibility in setup and management), so that’s why we went that route at my schools. For me, I wanted the ability to access the web (hence the Kindle over Nook) and I thought the keyboard would make that process quicker (hence the keyboard) Also, I wanted the 3G and the keyboard model was cheaper than the touch model with 3G.
Thanks for the klip.me recommendation – I shall check that out!
I received a Kindle for a wedding present. Best wedding present ever…
I haven’t really played around with mine yet. I have mixed feelings about the e-reader revolution, but as a school librarian, I know I need to put my personal feelings aside and go with what’s relevant with the future of the library and reading in general. I’m very interested in reading how your e-reading grant works out. Are you going to check Nooks out to kids or just teachers?
The plan is go all the way and allow student checkouts. This comes with a ton of added details and decisions, but we really wanted to get the e-readers in kids hands. We’re using the experiences of school librarian Buffy Hamilton as a guide:
http://theunquietlibrary.libguides.com/kindles
http://theunquietlibrary.libguides.com/nooks
Thanks! I saw Buffy speak at a conference last weekend. She’s fabulous…
I have an iPad that I absolutely love and cannot live without it. I use the Overdrive app to get eBooks and audios from the library. My fiancee uses the Kindle app on the iPad to get his school textbooks. There is a really cool feature that allows you to rent either whole eBooks or just specific chapters. His professor let them know that they only needed certain chapters so he is renting those for the semester which is pretty awesome. If price isn’t an issue, I can’t really see why anyone would go with anything other than an iPad, to be honest.
Price was definitely an issue with me, but I also wanted something very close to the book experience. All the advantages you mentioned, however, do sound nice!
I can respect the price issue! Even with the enormous amount of access provided through the iPad, I still find myself preferring hard copy books. My public library system’s eBook collection is pretty solidly adult orientated right now but I know it’s working towards getting more YA, juvenile and picture books. I still can’t get myself to actually buy eBooks though. There are some great interactive storybook apps on there, too, that are really pretty awesome.
Keep us updated on your experience with the Kindle!
I love my kindle (just like yours, Travis) for YA novels. It’s unbeatable for reading while walking the dog, and reading in bed with one hand! I pre-ordered the Fire for picture books and MG novels with color illustrations. Katie, the Fire will weigh less than the iPad, which is also important for bedtime reading!
Why? Why? Why would you choose a Kindle over a Nook?? When you buy a Nook you support a REAL brick & mortar bookstore that, thanks to the prevalence of eReaders and internet shoppers is definitely undergoing serious changes due to these current reading and shopping trends.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have worked for B&N for over 16 years and do not read eBooks on anything…
Ha – I respect your opinion. I don’t really feel like there are good guys and bad guys in this. B&N has committed their fair share of wrongs as well. It’s indeed a complicated new world with these e-reader things.