cece, YES I AM LISTENING! And I am going to check out the Free Library of Philadelphia right away! With all of these new ways to read in addition to my favorite (which is good ol' books with pages) there is now even more of a reason to quote, "Too many books, too little time."!

Thank you!

PAM

Wait a minute -- I thought you were talking to me! My name is Pam and I used to work at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Too funny.

My local library system (Phila. suburbs) now offers books to download to a Kindle, too. I have been able to download to my mp3 player for a long time.

I still like books with pages borrowed from the library, but the Kindle Fire is very tempting.

dedtired,
That is too funny! I do not live in or near to Philadelphia nor do I work for the library. But I do live in Pennsylvania which would allow me access to their books via "access PA" as cece mentioned.

As for the "Pam" part, there are three or four of us here! Or at least there used to be. That is why I sign my name in all Caps. It was an easy way to help differentiate which Pam was which! It must surely be a great name for book people. Rumor has it that our name was created by Samuel Richardson when he wrote Pamela but I cannot substantiate that claim.

PAM

I am very intrigued by the Kindle Fire. One thing to think about, however, is that if you have a corporate or business e-mail you may not be able to receive and answer that e-mail on it. It seems to only take gmail and other more generic accounts. At least there are numerous sites where people are discussing whether all types of e-mail can be used or not. This may be a deal breaker for me.

Pam and PAM,
our county library system has had limited ebooks for a while too, and those are now available to be downloaded to Kindle and Kindle-ized devices-but the list is small and there are often no books available to borrow. The FL of P has many many MORE books to loan. I am hoping my card comes soon so I can load up my "kindle-ized devices" for some autumn travel I am planning.

cece, did you apply for the card online?

PAM

The only drawback to the Kindle books that you borrow from the library is that they "go back" to the library when your time is up. They expire and disappear from your Kindle or whatever you are using.

PAM, I also read that our name was invented by Richardson. I have a copy of "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded" in my room. One of these days I will read it. I also want to read the parody of Pamela called Shamela, by Joseph Andrews. In Shamela, virtue is not rewarded!

Pamela was a very popular name in the 1940's. My sister's name, Patricia, was even more popular. I hated that we were Patty and Pam. Ugh.

I am still trying to decide whether to get a Kindle Fire or an iPad. I want the iPad but they are a lot more expensive. I was volunteering at the library today and a patron was showing me her iPad and it is very cool.

pam

Here is a link that might be useful: Shamela

PAM-yes, I did. Card should be in the mail very soon. Go beyond the pdf form and there is an online submission form.
dedtired: they work just like "real" library books-those have to go back by a due date. I am fine with that feature. Actually, it makes life easier-no remembering to put them back in the library bag.
Just like with real library books, if it is one I decide I want to own after reading, I will buy it then.

dedtired,
I have an iPad and from what I've read about the Fire, you can do all of that and more with the iPad. Price is an issue, though. I already have a couple of Kindles, but I did pre-order the Touch because of its better portability than even the K3. I *love* my Kindles.

Thanks. I wish price were not an issue but at the moment I am working hard to rationalize buying an ipad. The Kindle Fire is a little easier to rationalize, like $400 easier.

I'm also leaving on a trip before the Fires are released and would love to have a tablet to take along. See? I am talking myself into an ipad!

cece, got my library card from the free library of Philadelphia! Now I just have to figure out how to use it. If you have used yours already, please share. I am technologically inept with most things!
But like you, I am glad that the books automatically go back to the library without me having to remember to physically take them there.
PAM

I am having a bear of a time getting the library books on to my Kindle. I can only get them via wireless, not 3G (to be honest I am not that knowledgeable about the difference). So it seems it would be no big deal to get them by simply plugging in the USB cord but that hasn't worked either. The books don't download into my computer properly and it is one-shot-deal. The book won't open and Amazon thinks I already have it and won't let me try again. I have been experimenting and it has been quite time-consuming and frustrating, reminding me of early days on the computer when stuff never worked the way it was supposed to. Anyway, I am reconsidering my purchase of the new Kindle Fire as I don't need a useless toy. Maybe I will wait for the next generation. I wish there was tech support for this.

Here is a link to my County library system. In the middle of the page, on the left, are links to instructions for downloading ebooks onto your Kindle. Eventually it sends you to Amazon's Kindle support. I can't test it since I don't have a Kindle.

In order to download non-Kindle books, I had to first download the Overdrive software. I'm not sure if you need that for Kindle too. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Kindle Help

Thanks for that, I wish my library had that page. I am going to get this solved and then the sky's the limit!

twobigdogs,
I have also just ordered a library card from the FLP. There are some good instructions at the Kindle Boards forum that might be helpful. Someone kindly posted a step-by-step for me.
Pam (yet another one!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Kindle Boards - Philly Library thread

Thanks Pam! I will very happily scout out the Philadelphia Library for help downloading to my android phone. This is exciting! Books everywhere!

PAM

One thing I "do" like about the 3G iPad is that unlike a cell phone contract, I can turn my 3g service off and on. If I am traveling, or need to have access to 3g for the next 30 days, I turn on the service and pay $14.99 which will give me service for the next 30 days. Then, if I want, I can leave if off a month, or however many months I want...and NOT have a charge that month. At home, I really only need wi-fi, but I love having 3g in the car when we're traveling...makes the miles go by faster.

redcurls,
Would you explain more about how the mobile 3G works and how and where to sign up for it? I have an iPad2 with wi-fi and would enjoy having the 3G in the car, too. Thanks!

You have to buy the WiFi + 3G version of the iPad. Mine was the original iPad, not the iPad 2, but I'm pretty sure it's the same. There was a significant price difference - like $150 if I recall - and I pondered which version I wanted for a long time. My son's iPad is only Wi-Fi, but he has a mobile device from his cell phone carrier that allows him to use it anywhere. But that, I believe, is costly. His device is also used in his work, so it is paid for by his employer.

Siobhan, did you get the problem resolved? Try watching this step by step video. :) Even if you aren't in MD, the basics are the same. Your library probably has someone who can run through the steps with you, too. And you are right, no 3G for this, WiFi or USB only.

Here is a link that might be useful: downloading library books to Kindle

I finally got it to work, although I am going to set aside some time and get someone from tech support to call. For some reason I have to use Internet Explorer to get the book via USB, which is odd since the forums I have looked at recommend Google Chrome, my preferred brower. I suppose it has something to do with the way the book loads onto my computer. Thanks all for your help. I am hoping the Fire will be easier, although it is apparently my own computer that is the weak link.

Thank you redcurls! Since my iPad2 is just wi-fi, I'll have to do without.

And now we have to add the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet to the decision making mix.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nook Tablet vs Fire

Pam and PAM, I seem to remember that there were three members named Pam on this forum at one time. I wonder if the third one is still around. I know that TwoBigDogs Pam was one of the originals. I think DedTired is one of the others. Am I right?

I have the second generation Kindle, which I enjoy but use only for traveling, being an ardent fan of the printed book. I also hate to invest a lot of money in books that I will lose when the device grows old and fails. Electronic devices don't last forever. Printed books can last for a lifetime or longer if they are on good paper and are kept safe. But for traveling, nothing can suit a voracious reader better.

My DH and I recently debated getting the new Kindle Fire as a gift for his daughter, but decided to stick with the regular Kindle. Our point of decision was the flicker-less screen on the Kindle. You lose that when you get color. She works on a computer all day and rarely even turns on her laptop at home, so we thought that she would prefer the more book-like device. It turned out to be a good decision for us. She absolutely loves it, and has already downloaded several books.

Rosefolly

I have a very hard time getting on this forum! I am struggling still with getting library books on my Kindle. I got the downloading Overdrive and the borrowing bit, but when it asked what program I wanted to use to download the book, somethng went awry and I cannot get the book from my computer to my kindle 2. The kindle 2 does not have wifi so I have to go through the computer first. My local library is having a workshop on Wed. and I am so hoping I will learn how to do this! What a big savings in money! I still borrow regular books from the library. I love both kinds of books. Siobhan, did you get the Kindle Fire? Any one else? Rosefolly, do you know you can archive all your Kindle books and call them back anytime? I'm sure this is true for when it is time to get a new kindle too. They are yours.

Amazon let me know today that my Kindle Fire will be delivered tomorrow! Today I received the cover/stand I ordered with the Kindle Fire. The device is getting some really good reviews so I'm definitely looking forward to it.

I believe I counted five Pams on this forum at one time. When I went off to college in 1965 there were five Pams just on one floor of my dormitory, including my roommate. I bet the same thing has happened with names like Jennifer and Emily that each have been so popular at one time.

I am leaning more towards the Kindle Fire just because of the access to Amazon content. I have to have cataracts removed from both eyes in December, so this will be my gift to me for being brave.

Frances, can't wait to hear your review.

Pam25f, how do you archive your Kindle books? On your computer? A lot of my books came from free online sources. Only a few were purchased from Amazon.
Rosefolly

Dedtired, I have had cataract surgery with excellent results. On the first one, I was really uptight. When the nurse took my blood pressure, she asked if it were always very high. I said no, and she put me to sleep in two seconds. That time, I had a reaction to the drops I had to put in after surgery and felt as if I had sand in my eye for three weeks.

I was so miserable that I put off having the other eye done for six years! I needed new glasses for reading this fall so I had the second surgery, reminding the doctor of my earlier experience. He had changed the drops three times before and said we would begin this time with where we ended the first time. This was an absolute breeze, and I love my new glasses. I hardly need them for distance but am wearing them all the time anyway.

This is all to say, take heart. You will be pleasantly surprised after the deed is done.

Carolyn, thanks. I am not really so concerned about the actual procedure. What I am struggling with is choosing what kind of lens to have implanted. I have a choice of the standard lens that gives you great distance vision but you must wear readers; or multifocal lenses that give you the ability to see at all distances, but have a few more risks, such as seeing halos and glare at night. Right now I see very well close up without glasses but have awful distance vision. I do hate giving up the ability to read things close up without glasses.

Dedtired, I chose mono vision which means I have far sight in one eye and close in the other. The doctor said this drives most people crazy, but I had had that for the years in between sugeries and was used to it. I am wearing my new glasses all the time now as I do see slightly better with them, but in a pinch I can read without them.

I haven't had the Kindle Fire long enough to give a good review but I can say that it is beautiful. It is more similar in operation to my iPhone than to my original Kindle, which was to be expected, but I am using it now to continue reading a book started this morning on the original Kindle. The book contains color pictures and the pictures on the K. Fire are sooooo much better than on the Kindle.

So far I've downloaded an Audible audiobook with the free Audible app (sounds great), downloaded a magazine (the jury is still out on the magazine), did some web searches (perfect, fast response), and set up e-mail (easy as could be). I've not yet downloaded or watched a video or downloaded or listened to music but I have no doubt they will work just fine. I don't see a way to print wirelessly (or any other way) yet and that may be my one concern, although I didn't really expect to be able to print. I'm sure that capability will be available soon if I can't figure out something now, which I probably can.

I do believe I'm very happy with the Kindle Fire!!!

Yay! I want one! Could you attach something to an email, send it to your PC and print from there? Just curious.

That is what I'm planning to do but I'm not sure if I can copy something from a magazine, like a knitting pattern or a recipe. I hope to try that out tonight.

The Kindle Fire is probably best for anyone who uses Amazon extensively, not that it won't work for others, but it is really great for retrieving books, movies, or music from Amazon. They are my first choice for ordering just about anything. I fully expect that someday I will order a pizza from them for dinner that night!

I've been toying with getting either the Kindle fire or the Barns & Noble Nook (the new one). It's a difficult choice as both are fairly compatible.

The Nook is a little more expensive, but I have a B&N just up the road from my workplace so it's easy to go there if I need any help and I can download books from the library to it.

On the other hand, the Kindle has all of Amazon's selections available for downloading and many libraries now offer downloadable books for the Kindle. Since I've never had an e-reader, I thought I'd break down and order one of these. Sigh...it's a tough decision.

I ordered the Fire and it is a wonderful little gadget! Movies are crisp and clear, I like the format of scrolling through books and movies, etc. I agree that it's a tool to access Amazon content and that is Amazon's intent. As it turned out for me, though, it was just too small for comfortable reading/viewing. I returned it yesterday and in the afternoon the Kindle Touch arrived. It's fabulous and a keeper for sure.
Pam

How is the Fire for just general web surfing?

dedtired,
It is quite quick and responsive. but, for me, I found myself having to expand the page (using the iPad "pinch" method) and look at the page section by section. Maybe go to a local retailer and play with one to see how you like it? All the Kindle Board comments I've read are positive, though, so everyone seems to love it.

Hello All,
I am thinking of getting a Kindle Fire and already looked at it at a store. From what I saw I really like it. I mostly will need it for reading magazines and here is my concern. Does anybody know if you can copy for examples recepies or articles and put them in a file.

lovedancing, I cannot find a way to copy or print from a magazine. I'm actually not very happy with magazine reading on the Fire but since I've only tried one magazine I really shouldn't give an opinion yet.

My Kindle Fire arrived today. Yes, I broke down and ordered one. I can't tell how I like it yet because I need to access Wi-Fi and there isn't one nearby. I will have to wait until I go to work this evening or sit in my car in the library parking lot. I can't do anything on it until I register and get online, so there it sits. It is very attractive and surprisingly light. I expected it to be heavier. I have been using my regular Kindle a great deal and wonder how my behavior will change with this new device. I love the grayscale of the regular Kindle - so easy on my poor tired eyes.

Maybe tomorrow I will have more to report.

Well, I am returning the Fire. I am having a lot of trouble with the touch screen and it just doesn't do what I need it to do. I wish it came with a better instruction manual! When you have a problem, there is nowhere to turn. I spent some time in the Amazon help chat, but it is very awkward. Also the device is not 3G, wireless only, so I can't go online in my home, a major defect. I had understood that it would be 3G. Maybe I will try again in awhile after some bugs get worked out and they are a couple of generations down the road. I just can't justify it now - I can buy a decent laptop for $400. Not as sexy but way more practical.

I am popping this to the top again. Does anyone have anything to add pro or con for the Kindle? My birthday is coming up in a short while and the boyfriend thinks perhaps a Kindle would be a great gift for me. I am sure I want a kindle and not a nook or other device. I am looking for opinions about fire vs touch vs keyboard kindles. And covers... covers with lights? Covers without lights? Reading in bed? Durability? (I drop everything at least once.)

And a question: I have a kindle-ized phone but I cannot get library books downloaded to it. I check them out on my computer and they never make it to my phone. I have wi-fi in the house and the kindle app says it is synched but no book. Any ideas of where it got to?

Thank you.
PAM

I pre-ordered my Fire when I first heard about it. I have had my K2 for nearly two years and love it.
I had a little difficulty at first since I am techie challenged (!).
Once I was told about getting a stylus, I went straight out and bought one, and that really made a 100% improvement getting around the Fire-no problems since.
I have both my email accts loaded on it and I love seeing all the covers of my books etc. in color-the color on the Fire is really good.
For Fire owners they offer an Free APP each day, a really big variety of Apps and 100 Free ones, plus the ones you can purchase.
I am hooked on Words With Friends which I play with my DD who lives in another state. I also am hooked on Angry Birds-my family couldn't believe that when I told them, both of these Apps were free.
So anyone that is thinking & hesitating about getting the Fire, I do recommend it.
I participate in a Kindle forum and have learned so much and also got loads of freebies to read!
I know people rave about their Ipads, but it has far more features on it than I would ever use, plus it is so pricey

Pat

Confusion is over. Now a proud owner of a Kindle Fire. I so wanted to love the less expensive versions. My phone is huge and has all of the bells and whisles so I don't need to dulpicate the apps et al. But with my "new" post-op vision, the contrast and crispness of the Fire is what sealed the deal. I don't care about the gadgets and gizmos, I purchased it for reading and the better visibility of the Fire screen made it the winner. Now on a search for libraries that allow me to borrow via Kindle. Thanks to cece, I am using the Free Library of Philadelphia but the waiting list for Kindle versions of a book is sometimes quite long.

Pat, Welcome back! And where is the Kindle forum? Free books? Sounds intriguing.

Thanks to everyone who posted their thoughts and opinions on this thread from the very beginning.

PAM

Hi Pam-glad you are enjoying your kindle!

I still read on my K2, but love to look at the colored book covers to help me decide what to read next & remind me what the book is about.
Kindle Lovers is a forum on Delphi Forums. Since the popularity of all e-readers it is a very popular place to visit. The hostess-Gigi-posts the long list of Free books each day.
So far (in nearly 2 years) I have 225 still to read, which includes 17 cookbooks and I have already read and archived 147 books. Some of course I did buy, but the majority of them were free.
I also ck Amazon each day for their "Deal of the Day" which is marked down book for that day only.
Also I ck the App store each day for the free app of the day.

Pat

PAM-the kindle books on phone thing is SSSOOOO annoying-
they are there, but you have to-hang on, let me get my phone and open the app-okay. "bought" a free book, loaded it onto my laptop, now-open my phone Kindle app, go to "home" which is a list of books, don't see the one that amazon says is synced, scroll all the way down to the bottom, hit "archive" and there it is-The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin!

PAM, here is a link for a very active Kindle Forum called Kindle Boards. There is a specific forum for the Fire.

For free books, go to Amazon's home page, at the left side of the page click Kindle, then from the drop down menu choose Kindle Books. At the right side of that page you'll see an ad for 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less and just below that are two tabs....one of them is the "Top 100 Free" books. This lists changes frequently so you might want to add it to your bookmarks and check it weekly. Enjoy your new Fire!
another Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: Kindle Boards

Bringing this up -

cece, I removed all kindle and nook apps from my phone. You are absolutely right. It is a huge hassle and quite frankly, it is far far easier to pop a book in my bag, or grab the kindle. No more 'phone reading' for me.

Also, I just found an interesting link... not sure if it was ever mentioned here. From the website: 'The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.' They have etexts, movies, music, television and more. I have just started nosing around but have downloaded a few texts to my Kindle Fire and look forward to discovering more.

PAM

Here is a link that might be useful: Internet Archive