Ereader Confessions

Jaede · 02-07-2012, 01:08 PM

I posted once under the thread title "The Ultimate Sin" whereas I confess to the crime of trying out a new Ereader over the tried and true Simple Touch that kept me sane through my deployment in Afghanistan. And then the argument was not whether what I did was wrong, but whether the Readers we use and love are female or male, and what sort of relationship we have with them as they tell us stories. Some people called us crazy-hell maybe I'm crazy, but it was all the library's fault. All those books, all those stories just waiting to be read. Who would have thought you could carry a library around in your pocket? For a bookworm it's like winning the lottery. You gotta love technology.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, the Nook is a decent Ereader to be sure, but I wanted more, or maybe I wanted less. The Simple Touch, or rather the Nook brand in general over-hyphenates everything, and you can't have your book cover as your screensaver unless you make a seperate screensaver with just that cover within it. Also the shelf management system is brutal, and if you have to do a reset, and you shelved books from the SD card then you might as well start weeping now. I know these reasons seem petty for not being entirely satisfied with the Nook, but I just can't help it.

When I got back in country I went out and bought the new E-Ink reader from Sony I thought I had found the perfect Ereader. I was sorely disappointed. But that was a couple of months ago. I rebought the Simple Touch, sold the Sony, and moved on with life.

Now I've done it again. I've played with Kindle Keyboard, Sony, and Nook, but I thought I'd give the Kobo Touch a try. I bought the Special Offers before I realized it, and when the first commercial screensaver assaulted me I feared I had erred. But I returned it, bought the one without the commercials, and now feel that I might at last have found E-Reader perfection.

First off, the custom font thing is pretty cool, and that alone really sealed the deal for me. I put a font called Hobbiton on it-had a geek moment. While the Reader is not quite as fast or as responsive as the Simple Touch it's still works magic in my opinion. But trying to load 2500 books on it at once causes it to scream, then freeze, and then scream some more. I've had to feed it small chunks of my library to keep it from panicking.

The way it sorts books by Author is the same as for the Simple Touch. No Calibre renaming here, and it doesn't have the Shelf Feature. As much as I want an awesome shelf-management system I found that without it I don't miss it, nor am I tempted to be less than happy with the Kobo. Also the screensaver is the book you're reading. Sony does this, too, but has a shelf-feature that tempts me something horrible. Now I can't seem to find a custom screensaver option on the Kobo, and that doesn't bother me, either. The Kobo looks to duplicate the book experience more closely than any reader I've used so far. Nook and Kindle have slightly better screens, but you can hardly notice it.

My wife claims I have OCD when it comes to books, and organizing them, and gathering them, but I like to think of it as a proper appreciation of books. She also says I'm addicted to all things electronic, but I don't have a problem unless I admit it to myself. AND THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!

So at the end of this confession I have this to ask. I've been trying to convert someone away from the dead trees, and to the E-Ink. If I give that person the Simple Touch, but not sell it, and said person is converted does that balance my karma for setting the Nook aside? Does the Nook forgive me, or does a solar flare wipe out all readers across the planet, thus returning all of us to the dead trees anyway?

PS: If you've read this far thanks for your patience. My mind wanders sometimes when I'm writing, or reading. Mostly reading!

Asawi · 02-07-2012, 01:25 PM

The Nook has a very understanding nature and will forgive you as long as you try to find a good new home for it.

I'm sure you wife is a very smart woman, but even smart people have erroneous thoughts now and then.

vice-versa · 02-07-2012, 03:48 PM

Have you made a call to a rescue association to find it a good new home where it'll happy giving a lot of reading joyce to its new owner ? Because, I don't wan't to be selfish, but I'rather avoid a solar flare that would blow away MY personal ereader because of YOUR inconstancy

Jaede · 02-07-2012, 05:03 PM

I haven't called anybody, but I just loaned the Reader to a friend, and told this person to use it for a week to see what they thought. If in a week they are converted then they can have the Reader with no cost to them. He's convinced dead trees are the way to go. Given my inconsistancy, the Karmic balance of the universe, and all that jazz I don't want him to be right. If a solar flare does happen I hope I have my reader powered off that day.

Ironically I'm looking for a solar charger for the reader in spite of my fears of the solar flare. Something to allow me to keep the Reader alive after the nation's power grid fails. It could happen, you know. And there's always the Zombie Apocalypse. Never forget that.

RDaneel54 · 02-07-2012, 06:27 PM

I gave my Sony 505 away Christmas before last. The person who got it doesn't use it so it just languishes in lonely silence in some forgotten closet.

How do I know? I have these dreams, you see.

You've been warned! E-readers need love, too.

CWatkinsNash · 02-07-2012, 06:41 PM

I actually find this thread comforting. You see, recently Amazon replaced my K3 due to a cracked bezel. To overcome my anxiety through the process, I convinced myself that my original Kindle's soul was transferred into the new one via calibre.

Thanks to this thread, I feel less crazy. Thank you. But I have no idea what will happen if I get the Sony T1 that I'm considering. I've no intention of getting rid of my K3 - she's my first and true love. But I do worry.

Latinandgreek · 02-07-2012, 06:48 PM

I gave my first dedicated ebook reader to my husband, so I can keep an eye out to make sure that she is taken well care of (she is).

Jaede · 02-07-2012, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I actually find this thread comforting. You see, recently Amazon replaced my K3 due to a cracked bezel. To overcome my anxiety through the process, I convinced myself that my original Kindle's soul was transferred into the new one via calibre.

Thanks to this thread, I feel less crazy. Thank you. But I have no idea what will happen if I get the Sony T1 that I'm considering. I've no intention of getting rid of my K3 - she's my first and true love. But I do worry.

I got the Sony T1. That was what I thought would be the reader to take the place of the Simple Touch in my heart. I cheated on the Nook with Sony, and found myself feeling terrible. The Sony did not live up to my expectations. Sure, it's got some neat features. Current book cover screensavers, and and custom screensavers, along with an MP3 player that shuffles, but if you load it up with too many books it freezes, and complains, and just doesn't want to do the work. That, and it's author sort is backwards to the Nook. Much pain in Calibre.

I'm not sure the Nook forgave me when I sold the Sony, and came crawling back, but what else could I do? I also had the K3 for a little bit, but I'm a sucker for the current book screensaver thing. As much as I liked the Kindle I couldn't stand the dead authors every time I put it too sleep. I think they were accusing me of E-Reader unfaithfulness.

You're not crazy. Every Reader out there has a soul. Not too get too religious, or to offend anyone who is, but I think that the library you build is actually a piece of your own soul. Move it from reader to reader without forcing it to change too much, and everything should be alright.

See! How can you possibly be crazy among something so logical and sane as loving books?

Elonwy · 02-07-2012, 11:38 PM

You go to the store and find an E-reader. You buy it, bring it home, and fill it with all of your books. Then in a couple of months you look at it, and say maybe I can find a better one. You go to the store again, buy another E-reader but this one isn't as good as the first one.

Let me guess...You give it away or sell it, and go back to the first E-reader. The cycle starts all over with you again wondering if there is another E-reader out there that is shinier and better then the first one you gave up on.

Where does the cycle stop? Are E-readers just a quick fix to you or a cheap date that ends in a one-night stand?

caleb72 · 02-08-2012, 12:52 AM

My mother is currently road-testing my sister's Kindle. My sister wisely thought that the best way to win my mother to the right side was to loan it to her for a while. You can't convince someone that they desperately need something that they've never needed in the past, especially when they've never actually experienced it.

So now I'm sitting and waiting. The new Kindle Touch Wi-Fi is now available from Australia. If she loves the experience, I may purchase the new Touch and then give her my Kindle Keyboard.

The best home for a superceded Kindle is in the hands of another avid reader.

alecE · 02-08-2012, 02:04 PM

I was just so fond of my first Sony I decided that polyamoury would be better than abandoning it. So I am now in a ménage à trois with my two liseuses. So far I've not been tempted to wander again...:-)

Jaede · 02-08-2012, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elonwy

You go to the store and find an E-reader. You buy it, bring it home, and fill it with all of your books. Then in a couple of months you look at it, and say maybe I can find a better one. You go to the store again, buy another E-reader but this one isn't as good as the first one.

Let me guess...You give it away or sell it, and go back to the first E-reader. The cycle starts all over with you again wondering if there is another E-reader out there that is shinier and better then the first one you gave up on.

Where does the cycle stop? Are E-readers just a quick fix to you or a cheap date that ends in a one-night stand?

I think she might be right. Everytime I try to settle with an E-Reader another tempts me from the window displays. All new and pretty with a slightly different shape than last year's model. Do I truly just use them, and toss them aside when something better comes along? When the Sony 505 came out I bought that, and was very happy with it. But I was a novice back then, didn't think having a cover on the reader was a needful thing. Two broken screens later I learned my lesson.

After this I became a wanderer. I tried to make sure that whenever I moved on to a new Reader the old one had a home. My mom, my wife, and my wife's best friend all have inheritated my castoffs. Or I sold them. Ah well, I just can't help it with the E-Readers. I like E-Ink, and I like having books in my pocket; used to be one paperback, but now thousands ride with me at all times.

The Kobo so far is very close to what I'm looking for. I think I'm ready for a serious commitment, even if it doesn't want to hold my entire library. It's slowing down after a thousand books, becoming sluggish, and I might have to limit what I let it handle.

The friend I'm trying to convince of abandoning dead trees gave me back the Simple Touch; claimed he would have no time to read books. I was appalled, but took the reader, anyway. Who can't find the time to read? I'll snatch moments in anyplace I'm at: grocery store, doctor's office, my own office, bathroom. No place is not without a chance for a few paragraphs.

I think I might hold onto the Simple Touch. So far it rides in my left cargo pocket, and the Kobo in my right. As long as they don't know about each other I might be able to juggle them for years yet to come. I won't abandon them to the whole one-night stand scenerio-or should I say one-book scenerio?

Latinandgreek · 02-08-2012, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaede

I think I might hold onto the Simple Touch. So far it rides in my left cargo pocket, and the Kobo in my right. As long as they don't know about each other I might be able to juggle them for years yet to come. I won't abandon them to the whole one-night stand scenerio-or should I say one-book scenerio?

Just don't let the T1 see you, she will be fuming

I have two readers on the go, myself. My T1 is my faithful homebody, while my PRS-350 is a hot pink lady who likes to travel in my purse!

Jaede · 02-08-2012, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Just don't let the T1 see you, she will be fuming

I have two readers on the go, myself. My T1 is my faithful homebody, while my PRS-350 is a hot pink lady who likes to travel in my purse!

The Simple Touch and the Kobo Touch. The Simple Touch is the stronger of the two, but the Kobo Touch is more delicate and visually more pleasing. Hobbiton font rocks when reading from it. But there is truth in your words. The Simple Touch can never know that I am with the Kobo. The two of them might do something crazy like refuse to turn on, or suddenly lose all my books, or worse yet, and fry my computer with my Calibre library, and backups.

My wife has a hot pink lady of her own, (350), and I just discovered she rocks as well. Send to device with Calibre, and she seems to make her own collections independent of the Reader Library from Sony. I haven't fully experimented with this, only a few series that I loaded onto it for my wife, but it looked cool, and convenient.

I'm not crazy! I don't give form and personality to my E-Readers. They had them already when I bought them, or maybe when I loaded them with my libraries.

morriss003 · 02-08-2012, 08:00 PM

I am still a virgin, I do not have an ereader. Yes, sometimes I wish for the thrill and the excitement. I long for that special device that I can hold to my chest as I gaze down tenderly and read the passion emanating silently from the screen. Sometimes, at night, I ache for the companionship that I am denying myself. But my parents raised me to wait until I was ready to make a proper commitment, and I know when that time comes, I will be glad that I waited, and I will be happy; at least until the great breakup or breakdown.

02-07-2012, 01:08 PM	#1
Jaede Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 494647 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T2	Ereader Confessions I posted once under the thread title "The Ultimate Sin" whereas I confess to the crime of trying out a new Ereader over the tried and true Simple Touch that kept me sane through my deployment in Afghanistan. And then the argument was not whether what I did was wrong, but whether the Readers we use and love are female or male, and what sort of relationship we have with them as they tell us stories. Some people called us crazy-hell maybe I'm crazy, but it was all the library's fault. All those books, all those stories just waiting to be read. Who would have thought you could carry a library around in your pocket? For a bookworm it's like winning the lottery. You gotta love technology. Anyway, don't get me wrong, the Nook is a decent Ereader to be sure, but I wanted more, or maybe I wanted less. The Simple Touch, or rather the Nook brand in general over-hyphenates everything, and you can't have your book cover as your screensaver unless you make a seperate screensaver with just that cover within it. Also the shelf management system is brutal, and if you have to do a reset, and you shelved books from the SD card then you might as well start weeping now. I know these reasons seem petty for not being entirely satisfied with the Nook, but I just can't help it. When I got back in country I went out and bought the new E-Ink reader from Sony I thought I had found the perfect Ereader. I was sorely disappointed. But that was a couple of months ago. I rebought the Simple Touch, sold the Sony, and moved on with life. Now I've done it again. I've played with Kindle Keyboard, Sony, and Nook, but I thought I'd give the Kobo Touch a try. I bought the Special Offers before I realized it, and when the first commercial screensaver assaulted me I feared I had erred. But I returned it, bought the one without the commercials, and now feel that I might at last have found E-Reader perfection. First off, the custom font thing is pretty cool, and that alone really sealed the deal for me. I put a font called Hobbiton on it-had a geek moment. While the Reader is not quite as fast or as responsive as the Simple Touch it's still works magic in my opinion. But trying to load 2500 books on it at once causes it to scream, then freeze, and then scream some more. I've had to feed it small chunks of my library to keep it from panicking. The way it sorts books by Author is the same as for the Simple Touch. No Calibre renaming here, and it doesn't have the Shelf Feature. As much as I want an awesome shelf-management system I found that without it I don't miss it, nor am I tempted to be less than happy with the Kobo. Also the screensaver is the book you're reading. Sony does this, too, but has a shelf-feature that tempts me something horrible. Now I can't seem to find a custom screensaver option on the Kobo, and that doesn't bother me, either. The Kobo looks to duplicate the book experience more closely than any reader I've used so far. Nook and Kindle have slightly better screens, but you can hardly notice it. My wife claims I have OCD when it comes to books, and organizing them, and gathering them, but I like to think of it as a proper appreciation of books. She also says I'm addicted to all things electronic, but I don't have a problem unless I admit it to myself. AND THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! So at the end of this confession I have this to ask. I've been trying to convert someone away from the dead trees, and to the E-Ink. If I give that person the Simple Touch, but not sell it, and said person is converted does that balance my karma for setting the Nook aside? Does the Nook forgive me, or does a solar flare wipe out all readers across the planet, thus returning all of us to the dead trees anyway? PS: If you've read this far thanks for your patience. My mind wanders sometimes when I'm writing, or reading. Mostly reading!

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02-07-2012, 01:25 PM	#2
Asawi Gadgetoholic Posts: 1,462 Karma: 2731820 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Libra2, Tolino Vision 6	The Nook has a very understanding nature and will forgive you as long as you try to find a good new home for it. I'm sure you wife is a very smart woman, but even smart people have erroneous thoughts now and then.

02-07-2012, 03:48 PM	#3
vice-versa whippet addict Posts: 382 Karma: 689884 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: France, Normandy, Gisors Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura 6", Kobo Glo HD, Kobo Aura One, Kobo Sage	Have you made a call to a rescue association to find it a good new home where it'll happy giving a lot of reading joyce to its new owner ? Because, I don't wan't to be selfish, but I'rather avoid a solar flare that would blow away MY personal ereader because of YOUR inconstancy

02-07-2012, 05:03 PM	#4
Jaede Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 494647 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T2	I haven't called anybody, but I just loaned the Reader to a friend, and told this person to use it for a week to see what they thought. If in a week they are converted then they can have the Reader with no cost to them. He's convinced dead trees are the way to go. Given my inconsistancy, the Karmic balance of the universe, and all that jazz I don't want him to be right. If a solar flare does happen I hope I have my reader powered off that day. Ironically I'm looking for a solar charger for the reader in spite of my fears of the solar flare. Something to allow me to keep the Reader alive after the nation's power grid fails. It could happen, you know. And there's always the Zombie Apocalypse. Never forget that.

02-07-2012, 06:27 PM	#5
RDaneel54 Aging Positronic Brain Posts: 633 Karma: 2155452 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Aurora (when off-Earth) Device: Amazon Oasis; iPhone, iPad Mini	I gave my Sony 505 away Christmas before last. The person who got it doesn't use it so it just languishes in lonely silence in some forgotten closet. How do I know? I have these dreams, you see. You've been warned! E-readers need love, too.

02-07-2012, 06:41 PM	#6
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	I actually find this thread comforting. You see, recently Amazon replaced my K3 due to a cracked bezel. To overcome my anxiety through the process, I convinced myself that my original Kindle's soul was transferred into the new one via calibre. Thanks to this thread, I feel less crazy. Thank you. But I have no idea what will happen if I get the Sony T1 that I'm considering. I've no intention of getting rid of my K3 - she's my first and true love. But I do worry.

02-07-2012, 06:48 PM	#7
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	I gave my first dedicated ebook reader to my husband, so I can keep an eye out to make sure that she is taken well care of (she is).

02-07-2012, 11:38 PM	#9
Elonwy Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Simple Touch	You go to the store and find an E-reader. You buy it, bring it home, and fill it with all of your books. Then in a couple of months you look at it, and say maybe I can find a better one. You go to the store again, buy another E-reader but this one isn't as good as the first one. Let me guess...You give it away or sell it, and go back to the first E-reader. The cycle starts all over with you again wondering if there is another E-reader out there that is shinier and better then the first one you gave up on. Where does the cycle stop? Are E-readers just a quick fix to you or a cheap date that ends in a one-night stand?

02-08-2012, 12:52 AM	#10
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	My mother is currently road-testing my sister's Kindle. My sister wisely thought that the best way to win my mother to the right side was to loan it to her for a while. You can't convince someone that they desperately need something that they've never needed in the past, especially when they've never actually experienced it. So now I'm sitting and waiting. The new Kindle Touch Wi-Fi is now available from Australia. If she loves the experience, I may purchase the new Touch and then give her my Kindle Keyboard. The best home for a superceded Kindle is in the hands of another avid reader.

02-08-2012, 02:04 PM	#11
alecE Evangelist Posts: 412 Karma: 546196 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: UK canal boat Device: sony prs505, prs650, kobo Glo HD liseuses	I was just so fond of my first Sony I decided that polyamoury would be better than abandoning it. So I am now in a ménage à trois with my two liseuses. So far I've not been tempted to wander again...:-)

02-08-2012, 08:00 PM	#15
morriss003 Evangelist Posts: 438 Karma: 3409790 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Maui Device: kindle	I am still a virgin, I do not have an ereader. Yes, sometimes I wish for the thrill and the excitement. I long for that special device that I can hold to my chest as I gaze down tenderly and read the passion emanating silently from the screen. Sometimes, at night, I ache for the companionship that I am denying myself. But my parents raised me to wait until I was ready to make a proper commitment, and I know when that time comes, I will be glad that I waited, and I will be happy; at least until the great breakup or breakdown.

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