Will my son get a lot of use from a Kindle?

December 7, 2010 7:02 AM

My soon to be 12 year old is hankering for a Kindle as his only gift this year. He's responsible with his electronics and takes extremely good care of them. I have no hesitation on that end. Are there many free books for teens (he's a very avid and advanced reader). Also, with the way he goes through books, I just wonder how much I'll end up spending. Anyone have any experience with their children and a Kindle? Oh...and the libraries in my sleepy town haven't caught up with this technology, so that's not an option. Thanks!
posted by littleflowers to Technology (33 answers total)

Before you buy a Kindle, check out what other sorts of e-books are available. For example, the Gutenberg Project has a huge catalog of public domain books; I'd check to see what format those are in. An iPad might be more useful. Also, many libraries have e-books on their catalog. Many of them restrict "borrowing" the e-book to members of the library, but some might let you become a member even if you don't live there. Thus you could "borrow" (temporarily download) e-books from other states or even countries.
posted by musofire at 7:06 AM on December 7, 2010

Response by poster: Sorry...should have noted that while he takes good care of things, and ipad is not something I could consider.
posted by littleflowers at 7:08 AM on December 7, 2010

It's my understanding that the Kindle does not support book borrowing -- there are some other e-readers that do, but not the Kindle.

I'm a very avid reader, although I don't have nearly the time for reading that I used to. You can check on amazon.com for book prices for the books he is interested in reading. For new books (in hardcover), the Kindle prices are typically less than the hardcover prices. For recently released paperbacks, they are typically the same as the paperback price. For books older than that, the prices are typically cheaper than paperback prices. There are some authors going direct to Kindle and pricing their books at $0.99 -- I've read a few of those and they aren't bad. There are also free libraries of books out of copyright (e.g. H.G. Wells), but to get the latest Harry Potter or Twilight or whatever the kids are reading these days, you'll need to fork over the $$$

If you are typically checking out books from the library, buying used books, etc..., I think you'll find the Kindle is a much more expensive solution.

The Kindle (and other book readers) excel at giving you a lot of books in a relatively small, lightweight package. But, they aren't cheap -- when you factor in the cost of the hardware + the cost of the books -- they're a pretty expensive solution.
posted by elmay at 7:13 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I just got a Kindle for Winter Gift Holiday, and I've got to say that I'm not finding a huge number of free modern books available, period. Kindle doesn't play nicely with public or university libraries. There's a hack to make the Kindle work with public domain stuff on Google Books, which is useful for my purposes, but I'm worried that this thing is going to lead me to spend significantly more money on books, since at the moment I rely heavily on the library and second-hand bookstores for pleasure reading.
posted by craichead at 7:14 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

With a Kindle, you can only get your books through Amazon, so the library is of no use even if they have eBook capabilities.

A large number of classics are available for free and Amazon occasionally has special deals for other free books, but they seem to be mostly cheesy romances. Here's the link to what's available at no cost.
posted by something something at 7:15 AM on December 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

It really depends on what he reads now. Most older books (like Mark Twain) are available free on the Kindle. Take a look at the Top 100 list to see what's available. I think overall, if you already buy him a lot of books, then the Kindle is a good option. However, if you're mostly a library person, it could potentially end up costing a bundle.

Even if your library system does e-books, be aware that not all types are kindle compatible. My library does e-books in an ePUB format, which isn't Kindle friendly. I looked into getting a "guest" memebership to library systems that have Kindle friendly formats (Seattle, NYC, and Washington DC), but I haven't had much luck with that route because it seemed like a few of the programs were discontinued. Hopefully someone here has the scoop on a good system!
posted by smalls at 7:16 AM on December 7, 2010

I don't have experience with kids and Kindles, but I have one and it would probably be a good idea to not enable one-click purchasing. One-click allows you to purchase books from the Kindle itself and I could see where it could easily get out of hand. He can "purchase" free books from the Amazon website without entering credit card information (but he will need to be logged into an account that knows about his Kindle) and they are automatically sent to the Kindle. If he wants a book that is not free, you can make the purchase for him.

There are a lot of free books available, mostly classics, but sometimes authors make new works available for free as a promotion. He may find a lot to read without ever paying a cent, depending on what interests him.

The Kindle is not compatible with the e-pub format that libraries use, so that's a moot point in this case (unless you go for the Nook).
posted by radioaction at 7:17 AM on December 7, 2010

The Gutenberg Project, which already provides Kindle format, together with Calibre to convert eBooks from other sources to Kindle format, provide thousands (millions?) of books free and legally if they are old enough to be out of copyright. If you disable the link in the Amazon Store between the Kindle and your credit card, you should be able to cap his spending.

I would not hesitate to buy him a Kindle if I were in your shoes.
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 7:18 AM on December 7, 2010 [3 favorites]

Unless he would be interested in some of the classics - Jack London, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley, etc. - there isn't a whole lot out there that's free. Yes, there are some modern books. But the bulk are books no longer covered under copyright.

That said, there is a TON of free books. On my ipad, I've been reading all the old classics that I was supposed to read in school and never did.
posted by thatguyjeff at 7:18 AM on December 7, 2010

With a Kindle, you can only get your books through Amazon

This just isn't true. I've downloaded at least 40 free classics from Project Guternberg and I can upload them directly to the Kindle with the handy-dandy USB cord.

I will say, though, that I am buying many, many more books than I bought before I had my Kindle, b/c I'd rather read books on it than read my pile of library books. A lot of kid/YA books are in the 5.99 range--cheaper than the usual Kindle books--but the prices do add up.

I do wish I could get library books on it, but that just isn't happening for the Kindle right now.
posted by leesh at 7:19 AM on December 7, 2010 [3 favorites]

Since I just went through the whole kindle thing myself, I can share some information, although it is not specific to children. Hopefully someone else will chime in about that.

A lot, if not most, of the free books are "classics" since they are no longer under copyright. Would your son read Dickens? H.G. Wells? One of the best places that I've found to download free books is manybooks.net. Check it out and see if there are books there that you're son would enjoy.

As for the library, you know that you can get a card from other library systems including those outside your state (for a nominal fee)? For example you canget card to the Philadelphia Free Library for $15 as a non-PA resident. I'm sure there are others. You are not tied to the libraries in your sleepy town.

It's important to sort this out before you get him an e-reader, as you cant read DRM protected ePubs (which is what the majority of library books are) on a Kindle. Pretty much any other e-reader (Nook, Kobo, Sony) works for library e books. Seriously, I wish that I had sorted this out more before I got my kindle; it's great, but I am thinking of returning it for a Nook so that I can take advantage of free library ebooks. The selection isn't spectacular, but I'm sure that it will grow.
posted by kaybdc at 7:19 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Excellent responses! I was concerned about him ending up spending every cent on books, and your answers are leading me to believe I was correct. Seems like I'd be better off giving him a bookstore gift card and letting him go wild that way.
posted by littleflowers at 7:20 AM on December 7, 2010

Anything in the public domain has been made available in .mobi, which is compatible with all e-reader devices including the Kindle, and Amazon has many of them in the native Kindle format for free. If you google 'free kindle books' you'll find out lots, and there's a couple of good blogs and twitter streams that stay on top of current free offerings as well as very cheap ones - there's a lot of Kindle books on Amazon for less than $3.

So you can load him up with free classics and old pulp science fiction etc, and then talk about a budget for contemporary books. I would suggest implementing the same rule I made for myself - no purchases from the Kindle, anything not free has to be ordered via web with your knowledge (or by you). This keeps me from blowing $50 mindlessly in a lazy weekend.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:20 AM on December 7, 2010

No libraries have this as an option, regardless of sleepiness. Some libraries have open PDF collections that could be used with a Kindle, but there is no mechanism for libraries to loan first-run titles to a Kindle, and a 12 year-old boy is not going find many free PDFs he wants to read. YA titles, especially ones that are any good, are a real weakness for the Kindle store and I don't think there is very much there of appeal to a 12 year-old boy... see the pathetic results for a search on kindle YA novel. As for free, there is almost nothing unless he's interested in public domain classics like Dickens or Doyle. You shouldn't buy him a Kindle unless you're prepared to spend at least $10 a week feeding it.

The Kindle was invented to sell books, not to borrow them. An iPad or even an iPod touch would be a much more flexible and useful gift; and you can run the Kindle app on either if he finds Kindle titles he likes. Why wouldn't you consider it? If it's fears of breakage, my kids are a bit younger and I trust an iPad in their hands much more than a Kindle, it really is a relatively flimsy thing.
posted by ulotrichous at 7:21 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Have you checked to see if your public library carries NetLibrary or something similar? Then, your son could just download audiobooks to an mp3 player.

The problem with free eBook sites (like Project Gutenberg) is that they only release titles that are in the public domain--stuff written before 1923.
posted by sugarbomb at 7:22 AM on December 7, 2010

I just checked out the Philadelphia Free Library link that kaybdc posted. It appears that the ebooks are all in the non kindle friendly ePUB format. Something like the nook or sony's reader will work for this.
posted by smalls at 7:32 AM on December 7, 2010

Also, check out (heh, heh) the Nook for book lending/borrowing opportunities... it's not the Kindle, but it's Kindle-esque without being an iPad, and everyone I know who has it loves it.
posted by Night_owl at 7:33 AM on December 7, 2010

Seems like I'd be better off giving him a bookstore gift card and letting him go wild that way.

That's a perfectly comulent idea, but as other people have pointed out, this is specifically a problem with the Kindle, not with e-readers in general. If you like the e-reader idea, I would take a look at other e-readers, rather than thinking the only options are the Kindle or the iPad.

For all that it's going to bankrupt me, I have to say that the Kindle is a nifty little device. I like it much more than I would have expected to.
posted by craichead at 7:37 AM on December 7, 2010

Inkmesh is a site that lets you search various ebook providers at the same time. It might be worth doing a search on some of the types of books your son likes to read and see if you can find them on Kindle at all, never mind free.

I tend to find that genre publishers -- mystery, romance, SF, fantasy -- are more on board with ebooks in general, so a lot more of that type of material is available than "literary" fiction. Business and self-help also tends to show up a lot in eBook form, but I'm guessing your not-quite teenage son won't care about those.

There are also non-legal ways to obtain books for free, which may be what your son has in mind.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:42 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

My similarly aged daughter has just started reading books on her phone via the Kindle app (she got my very old iphone when I upgraded). Thus far, she's downloaded both free books and paid, but has tended to prefer the "modern" books she's gotten. The way we've been doing things is via Amazon gift card -- she gets a gift card for a birthday or holiday or whatever, and she uses that to purchase books to read on her kindle app. So far it's worked out. The two things she misses using ebooks instead of physical books are: seeing IRL what books she has (digital bookshelf just isn't quite as satisfying as seeing a stack of books on her desk), and knowing what page she's on. (The kindle app has a "location," which isn't as satisfying for her. I think she likes knowing she's on page 35 of 150 -- something more definite than "location 3315-3326" or 67% or whatever.)
posted by mothershock at 7:52 AM on December 7, 2010

I've downloaded at least 40 free classics from Project Guternberg and I can upload them directly to the Kindle with the handy-dandy USB cord.

They can actually be downloaded directly to the Kindle from the Gutenberg site using the Kindle web browser.
posted by joyceanmachine at 7:54 AM on December 7, 2010

The Kobo is cheaper than a Kindle and supports ePub and PDF. That might be a better option if you're more interested in free e-books. And it comes pre-loaded with 100 public domain books. (I hope your son likes Jane Austen!)
posted by elsietheeel at 7:56 AM on December 7, 2010

Looks like you're leaning away from the Kindle, but, just in case: the Baen Free Library. If he likes sci-fi, that is.
posted by SirNovember at 7:58 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's not true that you have to buy Kindle books from Amazon. I've bought many books for my Kindle from Baen, which my son liked as early as age twelve, and Baen also has a hundred or so free books. I like the lack of DRM on the BAEN books, so I'm not locked into staying with the same brand of reader. My son especially liked books by Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, James H. Schmitz, and Eric Flint.

If the boy is really hankering after a Kindle, and if you can afford it (they've come down so far in price!), then I say get him one.
posted by Ery at 8:00 AM on December 7, 2010

A resourceful 12 year old with a Kindle, no money and all in the time in the world, will find books that he wants to read and get them on the Kindle.
posted by geoff. at 8:04 AM on December 7, 2010 [12 favorites]

With a Kindle, you can only get your books through Amazon

This is not strictly true. It's like saying that "with an iPod, you can only get your music from the iTunes Music Store or by buying CDs."

While doubtless that's how Amazon would prefer you to get books ... there's a very large elephant in the room, and that's the widespread availability of books on the Internet, on the same sorts of places you can download music from. And in the amount of time that it takes to download one movie, you can grab a small library's worth of books. (And frankly, I think Amazon is aware of this, in the same wink-wink-nudge-nudge-say-no-more way that Apple was and is aware that there's no freaking way most people can afford to fill a 160GB iPod legally either.)

I don't know any 12-year-olds these days but I'm going to assume that, in the finest tradition of pre-teens with unlimited wants and limited access to parental credit cards, these sort of sites are common knowledge. And I expect the same thing is true with the DRM-removal tools, which would allow you to share Kindle books from one device to another.

The only downside to the Kindle is that if you want to allow purchases from the Kindle store, you need to link the Kindle to your credit card. So there is a certain degree of trust required if you choose to enable this feature. (You can, however, just choose not to set up the one-click purchase, or only enable it when your son has asked to buy something, and disable it afterwards. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an "allowance" or "spending limit" feature, although it's frequently requested.)

You will get an email every time a Kindle book is purchased against your account and credit card, so you can keep an eye on purchases that way -- provided you check your email frequently.

I think they're pretty neat devices, even with the obnoxious and consumer-hostile DRM ... if I'd had one when I was 12, I suspect I probably would have read a lot less crummy pulp (or not read the same book for the 37th time) just because it happened to be what was available when I was bored. The public domain content on the Kindle store alone (which is free) would almost justify the cost of the device to me.

That said, it's not like paper books are dead, and e-reader technology is only going to continue to improve and decrease in price the longer you wait. If you do decide to go the paper-book route, I'd also consider showing your son PaperBackSwap.com, if you don't use it already; it's a good way of trading books that you or he don't think you'll read again.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:05 AM on December 7, 2010 [5 favorites]

I just cruised through my library's epub collection, specifically young adult. In that area it's small but decent, and I've been assured that it is growing quickly. The check-out process is easy and fun. So you might consider a reader that's not a Kindle. I agree, though, with not allowing purchase directly from the device. It could really add up.

I have a Nook, and I don't think I've spent $100 on ebooks yet. Most of the ones on my device are from the libary or in the public domain. I still go to the libary for print books, and I'm still reading my way through the hundreds of unread books we've got at home. But if I were 12 with a credit card? I would have spent literally thousands by now.
posted by BibiRose at 8:05 AM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Something something's comment is incorrect. You can get books to your kindle from a variety of sources, and transfer them to the kindle in a variety of ways. Calibre and Gutenberg is a powerful combo.

You can "share books" on a kindle, by temporarily associating the device with a different account and downloading books from that account to your device and then re-associate the device with the original account.

Another option is to create a new amazon account and purchase all kindle's and books from that account. This way all kindles will share the same library.
posted by askmehow at 8:51 AM on December 7, 2010

Just popping in to note that the Kindle will support 14-day lending periods by the end of the year.
posted by InsanePenguin at 8:51 AM on December 7, 2010

Just as a data point, my similarly-aged son is enjoying the free Tom Swift and His War Tank; the old Tom Swift novels (obviously dated) are available for free in iBooks.

Used books and the library make the majority of our reading, too. We haven't yet figured out how to match the of books we get used or checked out with electronic equivalents for a similar outlay (or in many cases, no matter what the cost). It's a shame, since I'd love to reduce the physical size the books take.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 9:25 AM on December 7, 2010

I have a kindle and I adore it. However, it is really sad that I can't borrow library ebooks onto it. I guess that's not too much of a concern for you though, yet. There is a program called Calibre that you can use to convert other ebooks into a format that the Kindle can read, so I don't know why people are saying you can only read books bought from Amazon.

I also have an old Sony PRS-505 that I used before my Kindle (and will be using still to borrow ebooks) and while the kindle is a tiny bit lighter and much faster and has a better screen, the Sony honestly functions just fine, and was a marked improvement over reading on my phone and my laptop (or on the old hand me down PDA I used when I was his age).

I feel like a bookstore gift card when he wants a Kindle is going to be a serious let down. It would have been for me if I was in his position. I think he's at an age where you might want to consider this as a good opportunity to learn how to budget and treat money as a limited resource. Maybe give him an ebook allowance to encourage buying them at a rate more similar to the rate he buys physical books. You could set him up with an amazon account and give him gift cards every now and then to use (and he can earn his own through various things online, like swagbucks). And that way you don't have to link your credit card to his account. If he doesn't have his own credit or debit card, you also get to control how much money he can blow on books.
posted by quirks at 10:03 AM on December 7, 2010

YA titles, especially ones that are any good, are a real weakness for the Kindle store and I don't think there is very much there of appeal to a 12 year-old boy... see the pathetic results for a search on "kindle YA novel."

I just wanted to say that there are actually a ton of YA novels available, but they're lumped into the Children's Book section so searching for "YA novel" won't get you very far. They are, however, mostly not free.
posted by grapesaresour at 12:01 PM on December 7, 2010

I have a Kindle and think it's wonderful. I avoid bankrupting myself by reading the free classics or using Amazon gift cards to buy ebooks. Every month or so I get a $25 gift card and use that to buy books ... I use the same system to limit my spending on itunes. I think I'm actually saving money because I seem incapable of walking out of a bookstore without spending at least $50 a visit.
posted by Allee Katze at 7:44 PM on December 7, 2010