/lit/ - Literature

>>15593046
is having free, instantaneous access to every book ever written worth it?

free?
do you not pay for ebooks?

No, get a Kobo. Or some other e-reader that can handle epub without having to convert them to a worse format.

>>15593066
no i download them for free using the site linked in the /lit/ sticky. the only time i pay for a book is when its a contemporary author that I really like and want to support, because people like that need the money. im not paying a dime to read Plato or Chaucer.

>>15593046
No. But it is worth getting a Kobo.

>>15593059
You can do that on a phone or on your computer already.

>>15593066
If you get a kindle borrow the book from the library and then turn on airplane mode until you finish it

>>15593046
no. buy a refurb kobo from ebay

>>15593087
>>15593169
/thread
t. kindle owner

>>15593046
No, but if it's the only one that e-reader that are available on your region that's probably worth it.

not really. i have 4th generation kindle touch with no backlight. I cannot read at night without light. Also it is very bad at handling pdf files. You can read them but screen orientation is terrible, in addition to that you have to convert all of your epubs into mobi format. I recommend you to get a windows 10 or android tablet.

>>15593046
i got a 6th gen in 2014/15 and still have it. however, i no longer use it because i love having the more analog feeling of a real book and i think real books have more personality than kindle books. other than that, having a kindle if youre not going to steal books is better in every other way. you can buy anything instantaneously for a cheaper price and you can read it whenever and whever you want. battery life is great (shit theyre probably even better with the newer ones.) the backlight is excellent for night use and you can adjust it if you still prefer the "book" look. having backlight off in the day time or under decent lighting looks and feels virtually the same as a real book and you dont get that eye fatigue and stifled memory retention from reading from pure electronic devices/screens. long clicking a word brings up the dictionary and even wiki for things that need a bit more explanation, highlighting passages is extremely easy.

>>15593046
I have one but it's collecting dust because I just read on my phone. It's unironically the only thing I even really use that device for nowadays.

>>15593921
I feel like this would be brutal on the eyes

>>15593046

Absolutely. I have a Kobo He and it's fucking wonderful. The only people who say otherwise are literally egoists who need people to know that they're deep and interesting when they read a page in public. I still collect all the books I've read on my Kobo, but it's so much better than just holding a big book for an hour or two.

>>15593921
how big is your phone? i could see this working if you have a “phablet”

>>15593097
No joke the paper-like screen and its manner of lighting makes it way less strenuous on the eyes. And the not needing to charge daily (or even weekly)

>>15593066
Only when you're retarded

>>15593066
Gutenberg has thousands upon thousands of books written before ww2. I tend not to read books written after ww2, everything seemed to get worse after that: the cars, the whiskey, the beer. "Pre-war whiskey" (when you could get it) was always preferred, and cars made before the war were also seen as superior. same with writing, with a few exceptions.

>>15593046
dont give bezos more money

>>15593046

Yeah. Either a Kindle or some other reader. I use mine all the time. One of the best pieces of tech you can get if you read a lot.

>>15593046
Why not read on your compyuder

>>15593046
No, reading on eReaders is disgusting. Epubs have no formatting, so the books always look like trash and the devices themselves are laggy. Reading pdfs on a tablet is much better.

What’s the benefits of a kobo over kindle? Just easier format wise?

>>15593046
Yes. +lib.gen +b-ok

They're good to have for the option, but I've gone back to hard copies because I found I don't retain shit from reading ebooks. I only use it for pirated stuff now.

>>15593084
This guy gets it. I, too, do this exact method.

>>15593046
No. You can never truly appreciate a book if you read it on an e-reader. Paper is the only way. Not being sarcastic, either.

>>15593046
In my experience yes. Would recommend/10
If you're on the fence about it, buy the basic version since it's dirt cheap

>>15593080
>worse format
>azw3 is literally just an epub container

>>15594642
>epub
>no formatting
>this faggot has been trying to read converted .txt files the whole time and is pissed he has no formatting
>reads on a tablet
you're a whole bowl of retard, aren't you?

>Kindle devices may report information about their users' reading data that includes the last page read, how long each e-book was opened, annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar markings to Amazon
Seems like a no-go to me. Is it possible to completely permanently disable internet connection on it, or do I have to live in a Faraday cage?

>>15595264
It has an airplane mode.

>>15595269
But it's Amazon, they could still be collecting to the info and when airplane is every turned off, it's immediately sent. Or it could be a placebo entirely. I just don't trust them. They ought to make a model that is incapable of external connections beside usb-c or whatever. Still might not trust it though.

>>15593046
not right now.
>still slow and bad at pdfs in 2020
>color eink ereader is about to come out which will devalue the current lamestream b&w eink ereaders

literally want them to be good so bad but the truth is theyre still shit and only incrementally improving

>>15595264
>>15595290
just never connect to wifi, retard.

>>15595335
And what if it uses 4G on its own? Or picks up on public networks? Or there's some Amazon satelllite that picks up the data on passover once a week? Hm?

>>15593046
Yes, especially if you travel alot, have no space, or don't have the money to invest in a library with your current mean. A kindle or any durable ereader with good software is a great choice. My setup is to just install calibre along with using sites like libgen and archive.org to get most books i want for free, while i also sandpapered off the kindle logo from the back and front to make it look aesthetically pleasing, then there is the last step for old kindle owners of jail-braking their model if possible to read any format you like except for PDFs with lots of images which i would just buy a tablet for consuming.

>>15593046
Yes
>download an epub
>convert it to azw3 using Calibre
>download metadata
>copy paste the amazon ASIN
>copy paste the goodreads page
>create x-ray files

Seconding this:
>>15594710

>>15594561
isnt a kindle way better than a computer or phone when it comes to eye strain?

>>15595632
that's about it and not giving your money to a monopoly
>>15595670
i can read for hours at a time with e ink screen while my eyes get strained doing the same on my desktop monitor

>>15593046
Yes, it must have been the best purchase I've made in decades.