So, you Kindle people...is it worth it?

My bookshelves usually make people dumbstruct, or they used to.

I used ta like the coffee place, Ramone's, in an old home town: good bakery, good coffee, comfortable room with local art put up any which way (gnashes teeth), and, towards the restroom, a shelf of freebee books, which kept changing.. that was the kind of place you could start to chat about books.

Another one, similar idea but cozier, was back on Marine, between Venice and Santa Monica. Places made for book talk.

Alternately, I can be chary about approaching zealots. Reminds me of a greyhound bus ride I took from San Diego to LA. Longest ride ever, while the older woman next me went on and on and on and on about the Lennon Sisters.

yes, that's exactly my point.

what do you think the cover of a book does?

I've been reading books on my Palm PDA for almost 10 years now. The Palm is smaller than the Kindle, and I can read it one-handed. I like that I can read without lights on and without bothering my spouse if I'm reading in bed. Books for the Palm OS are available through ereader.com, and they're usually less than the hard back version.

I got one last June. It's great but you have to pay FULL price for books. New releases cost the same as a hardback book. Plus it's slow to match the paperback price when it drops.

Personally I think that electronic media should be cheaper than buying the book. They have a mark up in order to make a profit (understandable), however when you purchase the book at full price their markup is drastically increased. How much, I don't know, but I'm sure it's well over 300%.

I've been going back and forth on this for over a year. I was given a Kindle a year ago but returned it unused; there were many reviews at that time saying, wait until the next model or the one after that, and wait to see who jumps in as competition. There were definite drawbacks...can't page back quickly to find something you just read and want to check on; no backlight; can't use this device if you have been told to turn off electronic devices while you are on a plane (e.g., when you are stuck on the tarmac in a queue to take off, and it can be an hour); hard to read gray-on-gray screen.

A big plus for me would be that you can get all major newspapers downloaded on some of the new readers; a negative trumping that plus is that many books are not available on the Kindle or on other e-readers. So...when I go abroad, do I take my Kindle AND a book in carry-on luggage? This is what I was trying to avoid by buying a Kindle. Can you download while outside of the US or must you download anything you want before you leave? Last I heard, you must download before leaving US.

Still dithering but I wouldn't buy it, or hint to anyone who asks, until the market shakes out a bit.