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Anyway, since I don't know anything about e-books, how do you get free books?
There are a number of places to get different types of freebies.
From Kindle's store, there are the popular classics: Amazon.com: Free eBook Collections: Kindle eBooks which are old, out of copyright books in the public domain where you'll find authors like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and even Shakespeare - but also some lesser known stuff that's pretty interesting. There are over 15,000 of them so to browse more specifically, click "Kindle ebooks" on the left, under where it says "Department" and it will display genres to choose from.
Then again we have to buy the device which will most likely be "upgraded" to force people into buying the latest and greatest.
Not at all - there are plenty of people still using their first generation Kindle model which was released in 2007. And while I did just post about how great e-ink is, you don't necessarily have to buy a Kindle to read Kindle books. Amazon provide free Kindle reading apps for computers, smartphones and tablet computers. I started reading Kindle books on my iPhone and PC about 9 months before purchasing an actual Kindle. Amazon.com: Free Kindle Reading Apps
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I will really miss trading my used books with other readers.
I really don't think paper books are going anywhere any time soon. It's true Borders is probably going out of business but I doubt it's because ebooks are putting them out of business. While the ebook industry is growing, it still only makes up a very small percentage of the book industry. Amazon may be selling more ebooks than paperbacks but that's because they're an online retailer - it does not mean ebooks are outselling paperbacks in the whole industry. And lets not forget that we are still in a recession and there are plenty of struggling businesses out there.
I love ebooks and think they are a great option for many people but I do not believe their current purpose is to replace paper books. They simply provide an alternative format for now. It will be a long time before the production of paper books stops and certainly even longer before used books stop circulating.
I love book shopping. I love touching them, the smell of them and running my fingers through the pages. I'm starting to miss movie rental shopping now.
You can actually flip to your favorite parts more quickly with an ereader in my experience. A highlight or bookmark on your favorite parts will allow them to be literally just a few clicks away.
And if you didn't highlight/bookmark those parts? Would you be clicking through multiple pages instead of going to approximately where the part is?
And if you didn't highlight/bookmark those parts? Would you be clicking through multiple pages instead of going to approximately where the part is?
No, because you can search for words or phrases, you can enter a location number (and now, on some books, a page number like a printed edition), you can use the table of contents (assuming the books have one, and most do) to go to a particular chapter.
I love book shopping. I love touching them, the smell of them and running my fingers through the pages. I'm starting to miss movie rental shopping now.
I also sort of miss video rental stores. I always liked going and browsing through for movies to watch for a couple of days.
It won't go *all e-books*. You'll be able to buy on-demand printed e-books.
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No, it won't go all e-books but down the road a few years, books will be like the vintage LP vinyl I collect. Who doesn't remember the transition from records to cassetttes to eight track to Cd's and now personal devices like MP3?
If reading would stop because of a change in format, reading would have died when things shifted from papryus scrolls!
So apparently Amazon is selling more e-books than hard covers. No doubt they're giddy as it moves them a step closer to getting rid of the shame they feel for originally being a bookstore website. Anyways I'm about half and half hardcover and softcover. I can't see myself continuing to read if it goes to all e-books, or even only e-book on the books I want to read. Am I the only one?
I believe you are the only one who would stop reading if there were only e-books to read. That's pretty drastic. If you don't like e-books don't buy e-readers. But stopping the joy of reading is, like my mother used to say, "cutting off your nose to spite your face."
I doubt I'll be getting an e-reader anytime soon. I love books! And though I haven't been in a bookstore recently (ie. borders or B&N) because I'm an online shopper, I love to browse through bookstores.
I love book shopping. I love touching them, the smell of them and running my fingers through the pages. I'm starting to miss movie rental shopping now.
This is why I posted a question on how to rent movies. I miss going through and actually looking at the covers and reading the synopsis.
One of the things I love is walking through a bookstore and looking at all the different sections, books, ideas, ect.
Since I work on a computer all day, I find it hard to want to pick up an e-book when I want to read. E-readers are a great invention, and even if I get one, I don't think I would want to give up actual books all together either.
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