Kindle Reviews VII

I do feel a  sense of guilt engendered by the disapproval I imagine  poured down on me from my  crowded bookshelves .  I love these books, as indeed I love the chatty , busy and obliging staff of our library, conveniently just a hundred  yards away in the village.  I haven't been there for ages.

My daughter gave me a present of the Kindle, and I have hardly opened a real book in the last six months being absolutely smitten with it.

It so enhances certain situations.  For instance; the bottom layer of my holiday suitcase is no longer six inches deep in books, my reading starts/continues on the train/plane, reading in bed now uncomplicated by arranging pillows, bed-lights etc., infinite choice of subject according to one's mood.  Regrettably a certain degree of mental idleness can too easily be indulged.  Selecting PG Wodehouse instead of Wittgenstein just at the touch of a button.  Too easy !

The one pathetic deficiency is the keyboard which (to my 89 year eyes) is only operable in strong direct light.

BP

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

I was interested to read your piece about the Kindle in the February Oldie.  I too was sceptical about the whole concept but I was recently given one as a birthday by my children.  I have found it very good and enjoy using it but there seem to be some glitches in the Amazon system.  The first book I bought was fine but then something went awry.  I chose my second book and enjoyed the sample chapters and then pressed the "buy" button.  But what came was just another sample identical with the first.  My attempts to get Amazon to sort it out have failed miserably.  When I went through the buying sequence again in the hope of second time lucky  the system told me that I had already bought It.  I then chose another book and this worked except that when I reached the end of chapter 6 and turned the page to continue the next chapter was number 20.

So I now have two samples of one  book and an incomplete copy of another, having paid for both.  Have you heard of this sort of thing before?

The complaints system has defeated me - I would like to talk to a real person but can find no telephone number an any of the complex Amazon/Kindle websites.  I feel somewhat let down.  I am reluctant to buy yet another book in case something goes wrong again. 

HB

________________________________________________________________________________ 

Agree with you 100% re Kindle.

As for the joy of subscribing to online magazines....why not suggest to Mr Ingram that it's high time the Oldie went online for people like me at the other end of the Med. I can only get the mag.  If any kind visitors bring me one.

JS

_________________________________________________________________________________ 

I’ve always loved reading but when my son gave me a Kindle for my birthday I was quite reluctant to start using it as I still had so many unread books.

However when my husband and I went away for a week recently I took it with me rather than packing two paperbacks in addition to the one I was reading.  I’m now hooked, finding it so convenient to read anywhere.  I also appreciate being able to instantly refer to its dictionary when needed.

However, I do wish there weren’t so many mis-spellings in the text and also dislike there way that sometimes there is only one word on a line, then a long gap and the next word is on the following line.

BM

_________________________________________________________________________________ 

What I particularly like about the Kindle is the ability to read a review, perhaps in The Oldie, and then be able to download a title I fancy (assuming it to be available through Amazon, which it usually is) immediately.

CT