Reader’s Guide to Traditional Books vs Kindle Editions
From the reader’s perspective, for convenience, portability, and readability there is much to be said in favour of the Amazon Kindle but there are times when print still comes out on top. Here are five key factors to think about when you deciding which format to purchase.
- Newspapers: Surprisingly, Kindle is better for newspapers than both print and iPad in my opinion. Firstly, if you are a broadsheet reader, the Kindle is much easier to manipulate – particularly if you read in tight spaces such as reading the paper on your morning commute. Secondly, thanks to Whispernet, newspapers arrive on your Kindle early in the day and without any need to stop off at the shops. Thirdly, it’s quick to skim through and select the stories that interest you, and you can even tweet or post links on facebook to articles you want to flag to friends or colleagues. There are some drawbacks – you may not get the full paper (eg ads, photos, family notices, etc). If you want the full traditional experience via digital, you should probably opt for the iPad edition. But bear in mind that the iPad requires that you download an issue before reading, and the downloads can be very time consuming making them not entirely practical if you plan on reading the day’s newspaper on the way to work. Who’s going to get up earlier to allow time for downloads?
- Illustrated Books: Garden guides are better in print. A Kindle edition is not going to help you identify or select plants for your borders. Nor is useful if you wish to browse books showing the gardens of historic houses. Art books, some science, space, anything with beautiful images is better in print or on the iPad. But there’s a trade off. The Beauty Bible, for example, despite the images, is one I’d prefer in Kindle edition so that I could use it as a reference source. Having it in my handbag would be a lot more effective when shopping than having it beside the bed at home.
- Notes: Kindle allows you to highlight text and to make notes. This is a tremendous advantage if you like to write reviews or want to remember passages or share them with friends. It beats pen and paper and it’s faster to highlight than to transcribe a passage.
- Sample Chapters: If, like me, you purchase books on the strength of reviews it is a definite advantage to be able to download sample chapters. Not only does it allow you to taste before you buy, it also means you have a record of books that you are interested in purchasing, and you can proceed to purchase at a time and place convenient to you.
- Portability: The iPod/iPhone gave us the ability to carry our entire music library around with us all the time. The Kindle does the same for books. It also means you won’t be constantly running out of space on your bookshelves
Image: istockphoto.com
To sum up, then, my advice is Kindle for fiction and selected non-fiction such as biography, history, etc. Print or iPad when colour and illustration is important.
