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To E-read or not to E-read

About7Narwhal

In the book market today, digital copies are king. They are cheaper, faster, and easier to manage. I tend to by my MS books from O'Reilly because I get the MCP discount through them and they are DRM free. I have a 7 inch tablet but I can sometimes get distracted when I use it due to all the lovely features it provides. In addition, they are not allowed in the Data Center at work.

I was curious if anyone has had any luck with the Kindle E-Readers when using them with textbooks or manuals as opposed to recreational reading. They look nice and aren't too expensive, but I'd rather not waste my money if there is no value. I tend to find it difficult to read long winded entries on my computer screen at work, but it isn't impossible.

Thanks for the advice.

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Comments

Qord

I've used my kindle for a few textbooks as well as a few tech books for school purposes. I did not enjoy the experience, it's not for me. I love being able to flip pages to immediately go back and reference something quickly, which I haven't been able to do on my kindle. However, I do have 2 books I'm reading for pleasure (exam 410 ref and SSCP) and I don't mind them on my kindle because I'm not studying to pass a test or do some homework, I'm doing it just to do it which is working out just fine.

demonfurbie

i like the kindle for reading if its text only

inscom.brigade

I like the ebook for sure, it is great to find things very fast, but then I can pull out the real book and flip around. (BOTH)

chrisone

e-read for the win!

hoktauri

I like ebooks mostly because they don't take up any room, I already have a couple bookcases full and no room for more. I also have no problem reading them on my PC, netbook or phone.

DoubleNNs

I like ebooks except I tend to get distracted easier and I read slower on a screen than on paper.

My preferred method is to find a pdf book and print out packets - 1 chapter at a time. I use a highlighter and separate sheet of paper for notes.
2nd preference is an ebook.
3rd is text.

General guideline. Sometimes the order gets reversed. I'm using a physical book now instead of reading on my Nexus10 now for the CCENT.

gorebrush

I own a Kindle, and while it is great for the .mobi files - it is pretty hard going trying to read PDF's on it.

Thus my Nexus 7 is great for that, whilst the PC is better.

Can't beat owning the physical text - but then the Nexus allows for great portability.

NetworkVeteran

About7Narwhal wrote: »

I was curious if anyone has had any luck with the Kindle E-Readers when using them with textbooks or manuals as opposed to recreational reading.

I love Kindle for that purpose. It's lighter than a textbook and easy to toss into your laptop bag or pocket. The book you have trumps the one on your bookshelf and e-Ink is easier on the eyes than a PC monitor.

krjay

I buy both versions of all the cert books I buy. Physical copy I use for the first read through, and digital version for my second read through and note taking. I find it difficult to type notes in OneNote when reading from a physical book.

And I get distracted too easily. For example seconds before this post I was trying to read EIGRP chapter of Odom's book, I have no idea why I decided to visit this website at that particular moment....

veritas_libertas

If I'm just reading to learn and not studying for an exam I use my iPad. For studies I need to be able to immediately flip to a page and also be able to leave notes card in it.

jahsoul

I purchase both. When I want to do light reading in the bed or on the go, I read the ebook on my Touchpad. (yes, until a manufacturer decides to release an awesome 9.7" 4:3 Android tablet, I'm holding on the the Touchpad.) When I'm in study mode, I'm usually flipping through a book but both works for me.

About7Narwhal

Took the plunge and ordered a Kindle PaperWhite for 119.00 USD. Should show up sometime tomorrow. I will give it a go over the weekend and let you guys know what I think. Thanks for the information.

NetworkVeteran

Enjoy! The first hurdle you may hit is small diagrams in technical publications. You can enlarge them by tapping on them.

About7Narwhal

After a few days with the Kindle Paperwhite, I have to say that I enjoy it. I have been reading more with it, both technical and non-technical, than I have in years. It could just be that I am abusing the thing to make sure it is really worth the money, but thus far it has had a lot of my attention.

The technical diagrams are a pain sometimes, but it is simple enough to enlarge them for proper viewing. Sadly, you cannot read AND have an enlarged graphic. Else, Wikipedia and the dictionary are very nice for technical and non-technical alike. Gone are the days of guessing what a word means!! As an example, I am reading some classic Sherlock Holmes. While Doyle's works are great, they are difficult to comprehend as some of the words simply are not used in today’s lexicon. A simple tap clears up any confusion with a definition of said words.

Overall, I feel like it was money well spent. The ability to customize the layout of text and other such features make it easy to use. An exception would be the fact that the Kindle supports only .mobi files. I quickly stumbled upon Calibre to resolve format problems. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.