[FauxTaimer]

So I got my Kindle and love it. I bought it for all the wrong reasons, but have found other reasons that make me want to keep it.

Originally, I purchased it because the free 3G web browsing and text-to-speech feature which can only be found on the Kindle. Before purchasing it, I already knew that the web browsing would be slow and clunky, so I wasnt really expecting to use it except for those emergency moments and having that peace of mind that I have it if I ever needed it. Turns out, once I had it, I felt that I could live without it. As for text-to-speech, I knew it would be pretty bad and robotic as I've heard samplings of it but I felt it was good enough, however, having to listen to an entire chapter with it is impossible for me.

I did read a book on it and found it very pleasurable though. I like reading lying down, and I mean actually lying down... not just sitting up in bed or reclined. It's probably bad for my eyes but I like being completely relaxed when I read. The problem with lying down on your side and reading with books is that books have the left side and right side, which equates to either having the thickness of the book being in sight as you read one side or having to hold the book a few inches up to read the other side. When lying on your back, the issue comes from holding the book in the air. The Kindle (or any ereader for that matter) solves both issues by being both light weight and having a single surface.

My problem, and ultimately the reason I prefer buying books instead of digital copies, is when I decided to buy a few books. Everyone says that the big selling point to the digital format is that it's cheaper than paper books... except that I've found they are not... at least with the books I buy. When I see that I could buy a used version for $5 post shipping price vs $10 for the Kindle edition... there's no reason for me to choose a Kindle edition. I have no need for the book to be delivered RIGHT THIS SECOND, and I like to have my books on a shelf. Books are as much of a conversation piece as they are reading material and having the digital version removes that. In addition, purchasing a book can always be converted to a digital format later. So it seems that, to me at least, purchasing actual books is the way to go... the only issue I have is that having digital versions is just so much more convenient.

While having books on a shelf may create a wanted conversation in controlled settings, having a book out in public may draw unwanted conversation from strangers when all you want to do is read. An ereader fixes that. In addition, I mainly read educational non-fiction so it's advantageous to have multiple books with me at once in case I wanted to reference anything outside of the current book I'm reading. So there in lies my dilemma. I have reasons for wanting both formats, but there is no way I'm willing to buy a book twice. If only there was a voucher of some sorts that allowed new book purchasers to buy the Kindle edition for an addition$1 or $2... I would definitely go for that.

So I've come to the conclusion that my only solution for obtaining both versions is to purchase the paper book used, and digitize them on my own. While perhaps the extra cost in time and money that come from this path may outweigh the cost advantages of purchasing the Kindle version, it does not in my opinion outweigh the cost of buying every book I own and want to own in the future twice every time. So does anyone have any experience on the best way to do this? It would also be nice to be able to digitize my existing books too.