I received one for Christmas last year after seeing my husband use his for about 6 months. I like it, but I don’t love it. I use it mainly for 3 things: to pray the daily office. I use the web browser (very basic) and just pull up dailyoffice.org each day. No flipping of pages! And for special feast days, it is usually just ready to go. Love it!

Second, I keep the Douay Rheims (sp?) version on my kindle. It isn’t my favorite version, but I just keep it as a back up for when I can’t find my regular bible (RSV).

Third, I read fiction on it.

I don’t really care to use it for more serious books—I want to be able to flip pages more easily, to maybe take notes or underline. I can take notes and underline in the kindle, but it just does not have the same effect for me. For sure, if you are in a class setting trying to use the kindle (which I have done), it just is not as easy to flip to the correct spot.

So I have learned to mainly just use it for those three things; really, for just the main two. Reading the bible on it is just backup. I like always having a book with me, I like being able to read something instantly rather than waiting for a book to be delivered. I like that my husband, daughter and I can all share books on our ereaders (2 kindles, 1 ipod all linked somehow—my RHL did that). But for meatier reading, for things I think and ponder and study, I prefer a book that I can touch!

Hope that helps!

I don’t have an e-reader and haven’t allowed myself to really look at any, since I know I would immediately want one. I think it would be nice to have for “textbooky” types of books that I wanted to be able to have on hand without then taking up a lot of shelf space. But I love the experience of reading a traditional book.

I’ve had my Nook for less than a year, and I love it! I was also reluctant to make the switch, and I still read real books too, but I’m so glad I have it. Some advantages, since I have the Nook, I can check out ebooks from the local library. That means that I can browse for books at midnight if I want to and then check it out or request it right then. With 4 kids, even when I go to the library, browsing is a luxury and doesn’t happen often. There are so many things I’ve read lately I would have never found otherwise. Also, with my current infant I’ve been able to devour books while nursing, especially early on when she nursed often and was calm and sleepy during that time. It’s so easy to prop the Nook on the arm of a chair or pillow next to me and then my hand’s are free except for turning pages. And it doesn’t matter whether I’m reading a hefty 400 pages or a 150-page easy read, I can tuck it safely into the diaper bag and it’s lightweight and takes up almost no space. That way if I’m sitting at soccer practice or other lessons or appointments and the baby is sleeping, I can read. It’s also nice when traveling because you can have several books with you and it takes up almost no space. So I would say take the plunge, you’ll probably be happy you did.

I got a Kindle for Christmas.  I love it and I dislike it.  I have heard that we will be able to check out books from the library and that will make it alot better.  I was a library girl and those are free.  Kindle wants you to buy books and while it is nice and immediate anytime night or day.  It is expensive.  But if you want a book NOW it is a nice feature.  Right after I heard about Unplanned I was able to get it on my Kindle.  That was nice,  but I still love really books, too!

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  I haven’t yet jumped on board the e-reader train, though I’m not saying I never will ... just that it’s hard for me to imagine that I’d ever find the same pleasure with a screen as I do with a page.  It sounds weird, but paper and covers feed my sacramental imagination in a way that a screen doesn’t.  http://blog.maryandme.org/?p=8026

That said, my father-in-law adores the Kindle, as does my cousin.  They have definitely been converted! 

I’ve been avoiding taking the plunge - at first I scoffed at the idea of no longer buying books. I am not all that interested in having more technical stuff to figure out.  I was a lit. major in undergrad and a theology majore in grad school - I have a lot of books - and I Love having a lot of books - I always tell my husband “I can just breath easier when I walk into a book store”.  All that being said, I think I’m ready—although I have plenty of books,  I hardly ever pick them up to read (and I’ve read most of them already).  I have a small house and really don’t have room for books - infact, I recently went through some books that I think I’m ready to part with.  Detachment is a beautiful thing - perhaps if I can get some of my same books through e-books I can part with even more of what I have.  We’ve been trying to decided betwee a Nook and a Kindle -it sounds like the Nook is the winner and hope to purchase one soon.

As someone who works in the Catholic publishing world, I can certainly tell it’s been on the forefront of our minds as well! I was very against them until…well, a friend gave me his old Nook when he got a color one. So far, I’ve had it for four days and I love it. I’ll never get rid of my favorite books from my beloved and overloaded shelves, BUT I can sure tell you that I love only having to carry around a small device over a large book due to my morning commute (usually biking, sometimes bussing, and sometimes walking).

Will it replace “normal books” for me? Absolutely not. Is it nice to have as an option. You bet! (especially when it’s free! So far, I’ve only downloaded from the public archives and my giant Boston library online version).

I got an Archos 7 Home Tablet to use an e-reader, but I still prefer to read paper books.  The tablet is great because you can carry lots of e-books and audio books at one time.  You can get lots of e-books and audio books free at gutenberg.org and librivox.org.  The tablet allows me to listen to audio books, podcasts or my downloaded music when my hands are busy but my mind can concentrate on something else.

Here’s why I got and love my Nook Color:

1) We are allergic to dust and the many dusty books on our shelves were bothering my family.  Fewer books = fewer allergy problems.  I just donated several shelves of books.
2) We have a small house but are big readers and homeschool as well so we just don’t have space to store a lot of books
3) I can bring it with me so many places that have WiFi and check email, etc. (I don’t have an Ipad or Iphone)
4) I can make the font size as big as I want so I don’t need reading glasses.

I love my Kindle but tell people that it really depends on the kind of ‘reader’ you are and what you have available to you.

My library access is little-none because we have a really bad rural library. I read multiple books at once, I like old books, I already own thousands of books and we have full bookcases everywhere. I read a lot and I read in a lot of places besides home.

For someone who reads a book at a time and has a good library….an e-reader may not be a really good investment.

For someone like me? It is a great tool. I like the feel of a real page but when it comes down to it all the pros of an e-reader far outweigh the aesthetics of real book vs. e-reader.

We got a Kindle for Christmas and we like it.  My husband uses it in adoration.  There are several wonderful books that can be downloaded for free.  One of my first downloads was “Story of a Soul” by St Therese and it was free!  I’d still rather hold a book in my hands, but the Kindle is great for traveling.  One thing I really like about the Kindle, though, is that I can enlarge the font size!  At the end of the day (when I am most likely to read) my eyes are tired!  Increasing the font size is a major perk.  There have been a couple of occasions when I couldn’t wait to read the next book in a series and I was able to download it immediately.  I agree with the statements about the library, though.  Our system has e-readers, but none of them are compatible with the Kindle.

Rachel - Thanks for starting the discussion. I am as old school as they come, but I’m now sold on the Kindle thanks to several thoughts shared above:

1. Our book collection can’t keep expanding forever either.

2. The LOTH app people have mentioned above. Daria, can you tell us how this works?

3. Enlarged font size. I never thought of it, but this will make reading so much more pleasant for this 47 year-old who is forever searching for her specs.

My teenage son wants a Kindle for his birthday. Are there down-loading issues to be wary of?

I am technologically savvy, but am still on the fence about getting a Kindle.  I love the feel of a “real” book on the beach.  Maybe next year.  Honestly, I have heard so many good things about it that I “really” want it, but am holding off just a little longer so I can save a little money to buy it.

I don’t know if this might help, but my local library just started offering e-readers for checkout.  You have to give them your blood type and index fingerprint (kidding!) and promise to pay for it if you break it (obviously), but it’s been fun to try out the different readers.  The only limitation is that you can only download books from the state library, which has a limited selection, and they do it for you.  It’s been an interesting experiment. 

I have to agree with those who mention the convenience of changing font size.  That is a real perk.

Well, I am glad to see I am not the only hold-out.  Like Rachel and others, I just love the feel of a book in my hands.  I like turning pages, underlining if I want, writing notes in the margins, etc.  I even like the messy look of books strewn in piles all over the floor because it says “there are readers in this house.”  It’s the only form of clutter that I don’t mind that much.

The other thing about it is that I feel we’ve become so disconnected in our society with all our technology that supposedly keeps us connected.  It’s just one more thing to stick my nose in for too long.  For some reason, I can’t just set aside the computer the way I set aside a book.  When I am on the computer, I get irritated if I want a little time from the kids but they constantly distract me with their requests.  I don’t get that way with books.  Bizarre I know, but there is something about technology…

I would maybe consider an iPad since that can basically replace my computer (for the most part), and I sure do like the idea of having the Divine Office in a very compact form.

Love my kindle because it’s compact and perfect for travel. Am curious about the divine office app - hadn’t seen that yet, though I only download free books on there.