Camy here! Did you know that you can give Kindle ebooks to people?
All you need to do is enter their email address. The person you’re giving the Kindle ebook to doesn’t even have to own a Kindle! They can receive the book and read it on their computer or iPad. However, they can’t read it on any other ereader device like the Nook or Sony.
(Barnes and Noble, you are failing me. When can I give Nook ebooks to people????)
My first Love Inspired Suspense, Deadly Intent, has been out of print—or rather, off the shelves. The ebook version is still available, but I don’t have any more print copies to give away.
But I can give away ebook copies!!! Yay!!!!
So on my Street Team Book List, I added Deadly Intent, Kindle version, so that anyone who wants one can pick that book. I can just get their email address and give my wonderful Street Team member a copy of Deadly Intent via email!
I know lots of you prefer print books, but I have to admit that for me, reading a book on a Nook or Kindle is pretty much the same thing. I still get lost in the book and don’t notice the carrots burning. Also, you can shove an ereader into a plastic ziplok bag and take it into the tub with you for a bubble bath. 🙂
And yes, I have accidentally dropped a book I was reading into the tub. It was a horrible experience that will scar me for life because I tend to be really careful with my books. I don’t like to crease them if I can help it.
I will read used books and library books, but I don’t really like it that much. I prefer new books. And Nookbooks and Kindle books never have a funny smell from the pages of used books (like cigarettes or wet dog or body odor or mold) nor do they have dog-eared pages or nasty unidentifiable stains on the covers that feel unpleasant as I hold the book.
Yes, I am a freak. But especially stains and smells from a used book will drive me NUTS. I can’t even enjoy the book. I think that is why I’ve been so gung-ho on the entire ebook thing. Ereaders are as clean as you keep them, and books never have smells or stains.
Okay, I went off target, sorry. Anyway, I am thrilled to be able to give the Kindle version of Deadly Intent! Naomi is one of my favorite characters. Although I think her sister Monica (whose book is coming out in Spring 2012, Stalker in the Shadows) might be a close second.
So, weigh in! Do you mind used books? Would you rather receive a Kindle book or a used print book?
Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Out now is the fourth book in her Sushi series, Weddings and Wasabi. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Visit her website to sign up for her quarterly newsletter.
Click here to find out how you can join my Street Team—it’s free and there’s lots of chances to win prizes!
Christians Read 
I love my Kindle and while I still love real books I love ebooks too. I dont like second hand books either just not keen on books others have read first. I want to read it first. I have loaned books out to people and some I got back I look at them and think wow how many people have read this book then realise its me and the friend and realise some people are not as careful with books as others. A couple of the books look like they have been read by heaps of people not just two of us. That is the down side of a kindle lending the book to a friend, not sure how that can be done.
The other annoying thing is the page are not numbered on the kindle its percentage. while thats ok in some ways I want to know how many pages and its nice to know what page I am on. but I love the percent too as hitting 50% feels great.
never tried the book in a bath for fear of ruining the book.
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I’m Kindle all the way. Mel won’t let me read in the tub, but I don’t, typically, anyway. I bought my first ereader last year and never looked back. I don’t miss much about the paper books except i like to look back where I’ve read to recheck something, and can’t do that with ereader. Thanks for the info about giving away ebooks, Camy. Excellent! I didn’t know I could.
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I absolutely love my Kindle! I read all kinds of books on it, including my own rough draft manuscripts. It gives me a whole different “feel” than reading my work on a computer screen, so I catch all kinds of things I think would otherwise pass by – not necessarily typos, because I try to catch those before I send it to my e-reader, but bigger-picture things to make sure the book is progressing like a “real” book. Reading it on the Kindle gives me that real-book feeling.
So I’m with you about reading a book on my Kindle feeling like a “real” book – tho I’m not brave enough to take it into the bathtub yet! But I do admit I still prefer bound books. For one thing, I miss seeing the cover, although perhaps that’ll change once I get my Fire which offers color. I’m not sure I’ll like the backlighting though, so that might be a problem. But I’ve also noticed I missed out on a few things in e-reader form – like a glossary of terms when reading a foreign non-fiction book that had a lot of unfamiliar words. I didn’t discover it until after reading the last page of the book itself. And a couple of maps!
And in the translated book I mentioned last week, which had many, many characters with German names, I later learned there was a character index that would have been helpful. I didn’t discover that until I finished the book then pressed the “back to cover” button and it came up right after that.
So…while I do love my Kindle, I still love real books even more. 🙂
As far as used books, I read really old research books so often that I absolutely do not care how many people have read the book before me. Library books are great! Unless of course I find some evidence of bodily fluid stuck on a page… Then I’m sufficiently grossed-out until I can clean it with a tissue and wash my hands – and then keep washing my hands until I’ve read what I need.
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I don’t remember who told me about it, but if you put your ereader in a ziplok bag and seal it, then even if you do drop it in the tub, it doesn’t get damaged. However, I will admit that while I have taken my ereader in a ziplok bag into the tub with me, I haven’t accidentally dropped it yet so I don’t know for sure that the bag will protect it. But it does protect against accidental splashes, which is nice.
Jenny, I didn’t realize that about the Kindle. You can’t adjust the settings to show book pages rather than percentage? That would kind of annoy me, but that might be just me.
Hannah, I don’t know about the Kindle, but on my Nook Touch, I can flip back a lot easier than with the old original Nook. It’s almost like flipping pages on a real book because the pages flip so fast with the Nook Touch.
Maureen, I didn’t think about reading my manuscripts on my Nook, but that’s a good idea, since I know that I catch more of my mistakes when I read hard copy than on my computer, and my Nook is probably the next best thing to printing it out, which is too expensive for me to do.
The footnotes and stuff is neat, which is why I like reading nonfiction books on my iPad–the footnotes don’t show up on the black and white ereader very well, although now that I have a Nook Touch, I haven’t tried a nonfiction book yet and it might show up on that since it’s a touch screen. I’ll have to try it!
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Camy it really annoys me too and no you cant change it. Some books do have the page number like pdfs and a few others depending on the company but most are percentages. But after awhile you tend to get use to it a little.
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Oh, my. I’m such a Nook girl 🙂 Yes, when will they let us give books that way. And I find it interesting that the newer Nook is easier to flip pages. May have to check that out!
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Jenny, maybe the new Kindle will allow you to change that? I don’t know anyone yet who has ordered the new one.
Debbie–I love my Nook! Yes, go into a Barnes and Noble and try out the Nook Touch. If you press and hold the page turn button, the pages start flipping super fast!
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So far, real books are for me. I have the free Kindle for PC but haven’t read a book on it yet. Though I’ve read a couple of books for review on the Adobe Digital Editions (including Camy Tang’s new book Protection for Hire (review coming soon)). I’m hoping and planning for a really good Thanksgiving/Christmas sale on the Kindle (or at least a gift card with purchase from a local store)! The Adobe (I think it’s a pdf type) did have page numbers, which I really liked.
I agree that the creasing/smells/etc can be a big downer from borrowed books but I don’t feel like I have to read only new books. I’m not a big bath taker and one reason might be fear of dropping a book in the tub so it would be cool to try the Ziploc/Kindle idea. I usually get books from the library but sometimes I have to hold it as far from my nose as I can so I don’t smell it. 😦
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Ewwwww a smelly library book would get returned right away and I’d try to find another copy! Yuck! Thanks for reading Protection for Hire!
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I really am enjoying my Kindle which I bought in April of this year (I was dismayed to see the new version that just came out -making mine outdated already ) Somethings I really like about my Kindle is that I can read it with one hand and have my small dog in my lap, I can easily slip it in my pocket or purse , and it is not obvious to everyone what I am reading . My financial situation has changed to there really isn’t much room in my budget to buy new books, so I have been delighted to find out the free e-books on Kindle. Sometimes the free titles are not available so I have Nook for PC and one other e-ready as well .
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Yes, the free ebooks are wonderful! It’s introduced me to different new authors, too.
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I have asked for a kindle for a gift, and have been researching more since then.
I have just downloaded a free kindle reader for my pc, and I am really loving it. I downloaded a bunch of free books from Amazon (mostly classics, a few new ones, but still FREE). I have picked up a few that I would have skipped over in book form.
One thing I did notice is that the classic books are abridged, though I don’t know how much.
I used to have a windows phone, and it would have been great to download the smart phone kindle. I love using my cell phone to read things, especially since it has it’s own light. Since the kindle doesn’t have it’s own light, that could be problematic, especially when hiding under the covers at night to read (yes I still do!).
I do enjoy that the Kindle will keep the “last page read”, instead of picking up a book and skimming until I find the right place. I am also reading three books at once, and it’s nice to be able to switch easily. I
However, since I am not the only one in my home and I must share my pc, I still carry a paperback around to read. I am also mindful of potential power outages that could affect my battery life on the kindle (though I’ve read that some are for a whole month!).
Overall, Kindle seems like another great medium for reading. I love using my cell phone, and there’s nothing like holding a book in my hands, but Kindle has it’s place in my library.
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Jaimn, good point about power outages!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s always possible to read by the light of a candle or a propane lamp!!!!!!
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