# The Kindle Gift-Giving Reactions Thread!



## Guest (Dec 22, 2010)

So how did the people who got Kindles for Christmas take it? Obviously it's not Christmas, yet I have plenty of cause to get this thread going. As I mentioned before, I'm giving my Mom a K3. She's a huge reader but not technologically inclined at all. It also turned out she's got a bit of an impatient streak. All of a sudden I catch her fiddling with the package saying: "You didn't wrap it quite right!" I didn't realize correctly wrapping it involved taking the Kindle out of the box! Her first words were: "There are so many buttons!" But I told her all she really needed to focus on was the one that turned the page.

Since then, it's been several hours since anyone's seen her. How long do I have to wait to file a missing person's report?

So if you got a Kindle, what did you think If you gave a Kindle, how did they take it Of course people who received one for Hannukah or other holidays are welcome to share their reactions as well!



--Jason


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## hidden_user (Dec 20, 2010)

My sister emailed me a week ago on the pretense of getting her husband a Kindle but she wanted to know my opinion of them. Cathy isn't tech savy, so I wasn't surprised by her questions.

I did not own a Kindle but had done some research concerning them and other e-readers and gave her my views.

About two days later, an Amazon package showed up here at my house and it was a Kindle Wi-Fi for me, from my Mom !!!

Wi-Fi only, is perfect for me since I'm retired and don't travel much.

So far I've only downloaded free classics from Amazon's Kindle site and I'm loving the Kindle experience.

I had previously used "Palm Reader" on my Garmin iQue 3600 PDA a few years ago while active duty military and deployed. The Kindle experience is just much bigger and much better


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## Guest (Dec 22, 2010)

hidden_user said:


> My sister emailed me a week ago on the pretense of getting her husband a Kindle but she wanted to know my opinion of them. Cathy isn't tech savy, so I wasn't surprised by her questions.
> 
> I did not own a Kindle but had done some research concerning them and other e-readers and gave her my views.
> 
> ...


Haha, that sounds great! It seems like you have a very sneaky family! I'm also impressed you've been able to stick to the classics, because apparently those are the gateway books that get you in the habit of 1-clicking every book you find. Enjoy it!


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> So how did the people who got Kindles for Christmas take it? Obviously it's not Christmas, yet I have plenty of cause to get this thread going.


You certainly do.

From this board it is apparent that the tradition of carefully picking out a present for someone based on what you know of them and presenting it on Christmas is long dead.

Instead, people appear to place their order - for a Kindle, a particular Oberon case, etc. The giver fulfills the order, often prior to Christmas.

No surprise. No thought by the giver. Instant gratification.

There are a few that know what they are getting, but are waiting. Kudos.

Our culture continues to involve.


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## Guest (Dec 22, 2010)

Elk said:


> From this board it is apparent that the tradition of carefully picking out a present for someone based on what you know of them and presenting it on Christmas is long dead.


Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Elk! It definitely is interesting how the actual celebration of a holiday gets played out. I will disagree with you though that there wasn't any thought put into this gift. She is an avid reader, and I considered a few other options with the help of people on this board, and we decided that this would be the best move. I'm very pleased that it seems like I was right. As for her knowing beforehand what it was, the fault of that rests entirely my shoulders for prodding her in recent months that "you should really get one of these!" So at least she was going on a hunch.

I'm sure there are a million different ways that people will celebrate and so making any firm declaration about which traditions are or aren't dead is very difficult.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Excellent, Jason!  I showed my mom a Kobo once.  Her reaction was also perplexed.  "What, this is a book, what are those buttons, this is a computer, no?"  I might need to get my parents one someday....  I think a Kindle is an excellent gift.


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

Elk said:


> From this board it is apparent that the tradition of carefully picking out a present for someone based on what you know of them and presenting it on Christmas is long dead.


I'd disagree with that still. The only gift I'm giving this year that the person knew what it was was one of the non-kindle related books, and was for my boyfriend who I live with. In that case, I'd started looking for something, told him about it, and he helped me find the one that was appropriate for him (in this case it was a metal french press so he can have his french press without worrying about packing glass when we go anywhere).

However, I've gotten a guardian for my boyfriend's sister without her knowing (his mom knows only because we made sure that her kindle had been replaced under warranty after the screen cracked before putting the order in, because otherwise she'd not have a kindle 2). I debated convincing my dad to get my mom a kindle (I couldn't afford it), and every other gift within my family people are unaware of, though possibly someone who isn't the recipiant knows about it (such as me ordering the present for my mom from my dad because I had access to prime and he didn't).

Sooner or later my mom is going to have a kindle though. It probably would have been this year if I had been willing to loan my kindle for my parents' two week vacation, but I wasn't willing to give up my kindle for two weeks.

Though I didn't get it this year, when I got my kindle (may 2009), it was a birthday gift that I was completely unaware of. I had been interested in the kindle having been interested in ebook readers since the first time I saw one (with eink). My parents jokingly asked me what I thought I was getting, having given me a wrapped box. They had chosen the kindle because of every time they asked me what I wanted before then (which they hadn't asked for once), I'd replied "books and surprises". They decided that a kindle was good as both.

While I'm not giving anyone a kindle this year, I'll update others on reactions for kindle acessories too. My boyfriend's youngest sister is getting a guardian from us, which she is unaware of, and I'm looking forward to giving it to her as its something she needs.


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## vg (Oct 28, 2008)

foreverjuly said:


> So how did the people who got Kindles for Christmas take it? Obviously it's not Christmas, yet I have plenty of cause to get this thread going. As I mentioned before, I'm giving my Mom a K3. She's a huge reader but not technologically inclined at all. It also turned out she's got a bit of an impatient streak. All of a sudden I catch her fiddling with the package saying: "You didn't wrap it quite right!" I didn't realize correctly wrapping it involved taking the Kindle out of the box! Her first words were: "There are so many buttons!" But I told her all she really needed to focus on was the one that turned the page.
> 
> Since then, it's been several hours since anyone's seen her. How long do I have to wait to file a missing person's report?
> 
> ...


I remember when you were trying to decide whether or not to give kindles to your sister, uncle and mom. I'm so glad you decided to buy one for your mom - from what you told us, I think it is a great choice!

so... what did you get the other two?


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## meeko350 (Aug 25, 2010)

I got my bff a K2 and a cover & a book light. I told her in advance that part of her gift was also her b-day present (Jan bday). She  kept asking questions and wondering if we could still have girls night out on her bday.   We exchanged gifts Monday since we wouldn't see each other again until after Christmas. When she opened it, she said, "OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!"  She was very surprises.

I actually spent A LOT of time transferring books & organizing her collections. She isn't tech savvy at all and doesnt even have a computer.  So I'm keeping her on my account so she can read my books.

I can't wait until my mom opens her K3 that my sis & I got her! She's going to be shocked!  And my step-dad wanted to get her a cover for it, so I ordered her a burnt orange lighted cover. Then my mom called wanting me to get a light for my step-dad's K2 because the bedside lamp has driven her insane for the last two years. I did all of the ordering since I have prime, so I got to play around with all of them for several weeks while they have no clue.


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2010)

vg said:


> so... what did you get the other two?


That's great you remembered that thread. Yeah, nothing so exciting for my uncle and sister. A book of nature photography for my uncle and apple gift card for my sister. They'll like them, but it's hard to blow someone away harder than with a Kindle.



meeko350 said:


> I got my bff a K2 and a cover & a book light. I told her in advance that part of her gift was also her b-day present (Jan bday). She kept asking questions and wondering if we could still have girls night out on her bday. We exchanged gifts Monday since we wouldn't see each other again until after Christmas. When she opened it, she said, "OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!" She was very surprises.
> 
> I actually spent A LOT of time transferring books & organizing her collections. She isn't tech savvy at all and doesnt even have a computer. So I'm keeping her on my account so she can read my books.
> 
> I can't wait until my mom opens her K3 that my sis & I got her! She's going to be shocked! And my step-dad wanted to get her a cover for it, so I ordered her a burnt orange lighted cover. Then my mom called wanting me to get a light for my step-dad's K2 because the bedside lamp has driven her insane for the last two years. I did all of the ordering since I have prime, so I got to play around with all of them for several weeks while they have no clue.


So you're handing out 1 1/2 Kindles this year? Whoa, big spender! That's so funny what your friend said: "Oh no you didn't!" LOL


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Friend of mine ordered the newest Kindle for his mom...and it never showed up. He cancelled the order like two days ago and bought her a jewelry box instead. He's a little bummed because he couldn't afford the higher priced K2 (the 140 was stretching his budget as it was) and he had to make sure he got her gift in time before she left.

Santa fail, Amazon. Santa fail!


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Both of my younger daughters (13) are getting WiFi Kindles this year. (They don't know it yet.)

They are voracious readers, and they like the Kindle games too, which they frequently play on my K3.

They'll love it!! This'll be the 4th and 5th Kindles in our house. I'll report back here on their reactions. We also got them the Amazon Kindle lighted covers, one in green and one in blue.


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2010)

Harvey said:


> Both of my younger daughters (13) are getting WiFi Kindles this year. (They don't know it yet.)
> 
> They are voracious readers, and they like the Kindle games too, which they frequently play on my K3.
> 
> They'll love it!! This'll be the 4th and 5th Kindles in our house. I'll report back here on their reactions. We also got them the Amazon Kindle lighted covers, one in green and one in blue.


Oh yeah, I remember you talking about that! Definitely let us know how they like them! Which Kindle games are they into, Scrabble?


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

I got my older daughter one for Christmas. She just told me that she plans to use her Christmas money (Grandparents always give cash) to buy a new laptop for college instead of buying herself a Kindle, to be responsible. I am proud of her and also snickering inside because she DOESN'T KNOW.





Spoiler



PS I love the way an earlier not-so-nice post was glossed over politely and then left alone.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> It definitely is interesting how the actual celebration of a holiday gets played out.


Thank you for your gracious response. I find such things fascinating. I am amazed at how many here know what they are getting for Christmas and have their present(s) already.

I expressed it poorly however and am not pleased with how I presented the issue. I need to re-read, with feeling, what I write sometimes.

Sorry for the bad presentation on my part.


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## parakeetgirl (Feb 27, 2009)

Elk said:


> Thank you for your gracious response. I find such things fascinating. I am amazed at how many here know what they are getting for Christmas and have their present(s) already.
> 
> I expressed it poorly however and am not pleased with how I presented the issue. I need to re-read, with feeling, what I write sometimes.
> 
> Sorry for the bad presentation on my part.


My ideal is also to surprise people, but with some people, they are just horrible to buy for-like my mom.  So, I ask her in advance. But, I managed to throw in some items she didn't ask for, but that I know she'll like.

Personally, I like to be surprised when it comes to my presents but I'm the gadget hound in my family. So, I have to give detailed instructions sometimes.


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## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

I told my husband what I wanted to him to buy and a few days ago I checked his Amazon account and he still hadn't bothered to order me the new Kindle DX, so I did. Got it today. Love it and its just what I wanted. Love that new lighter screen and clear print.


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2010)

luvshihtzu said:


> I told my husband what I wanted to him to buy and a few days ago I checked his Amazon account and he still hadn't bothered to order me the new Kindle DX, so I did. Got it today. Love it and its just what I wanted. Love that new lighter screen and clear print.


Haha, maybe he was intentionally giving you the pleasure of ordering it yourself!


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

I ordered one last night for a friend and am kind of holding my breath that it gets there in time, even though Amazon SAYS it will arrive tomorrow. I paid for gift wrapping, too, but I suspect she'll know what it is as soon as it arrives.

I don't know what her reaction will be...I know she seriously, seriously wants one, but I am a little worried I overstepped the lines of appropriateness. We're really just online friends (though I would love it if she lived near here and we could hang out) and the extent of previous gift giving has been stuff like home made fudge, so I'm a little nervous about it. Don't want to embarrass her, but at the same time she had a really hard year and deserves something nice.

Yeah, I'm weird and worry about chit like this...


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Thumper said:


> Yeah, I'm weird and worry about chit like this...


This doesn't strike me as weird, perhaps because I, too, would give this serious thought.

You are trying to be thoughtful and hope the present is received as you intend.

(Fun avatar)


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## meeko350 (Aug 25, 2010)

luvshihtzu said:


> I told my husband what I wanted to him to buy and a few days ago I checked his Amazon account and he still hadn't bothered to order me the new Kindle DX, so I did. Got it today. Love it and its just what I wanted. Love that new lighter screen and clear print.


Does he know you ordered it? I hope he didn't buy it at Best Buy, lol!


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## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

meeko350 said:


> Does he know you ordered it? I hope he didn't buy it at Best Buy, lol!


That is what the 30 day return period is for.

If he did, she can always return the one she ordered and have plenty of money for books.


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## meljackson (Nov 19, 2008)

BruceS said:


> That is what the 30 day return period is for.
> 
> If he did, she can always return the one she ordered and have plenty of money for books.


379 in credit for books? That would be a dream come true for me! That would last me 2 months I bet 

Melissa


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## ladyknight33 (Feb 2, 2009)

meljackson said:


> 379 in credit for books? That would be a dream come true for me! That would last me 2 months I bet
> 
> Melissa


It would last me about 3 hours.  I received $100 GC for my nirthday and within 15 minutes I had purchased all the books that were $9.99 and over. I did snag about 7 books under a dollar. Most of the books I purchased were for the other people on my account so that when they turn whispernet on, the books will download.


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## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

You all give my husband way too much credit. He didn't buy me the DX Graphite anywhere.

I have been busy loading up the new one with my entire library (very extensive) and today the DXG locked up during a reboot. After many tries to get the little black bar moving, contacted Customer Service with no luck. Got a new one coming overnight. I left the new DX connected to my computer and about an hour or so later, it restarted all on its own. I couldn't get any pages to turn, but finally was able to delete all my book files off and restart after a reboot. It is running now, but still having problems. Must be a bad unit. Just hope I can use it to read one of my newest books while waiting for the replacement.

My old white US DX had been having some battery glitches recently and today after I started using the new DX, the old battery up and died. The old one must have been in deep grief. Guess I will be calling Square Trade on Monday. I think I originally bought a 3 year warranty on that unit. Hope they will just give me a new battery.


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## AmberLi (Sep 15, 2010)

Well I have been anxiously waiting since the second week in October to present my BFF with her kindle! She's not very close with her family, so she usually gets much less than I do, and we agreed years ago not to exchange, so she should be pretty surprised!

Today she had a $20 coupon at Best Buy that she had to spend by Xmas, and she was thinking about getting a kindle - - luckily they were out!

She's actually at this moment testing out my kindle to see if she wants to buy herself one 

It's fine though, I'm reading a library book on one of my nooks at the moment.

I also bought my aunt a nook, and she will also be surprised, but I am sure she will have one of those awkward moments of "why did you spend so much?"

Don't you hate that??


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

We had Christmas yesterday with my family.  I gave my grandmother a kindle.  She is 77 and liked the kindle I gave to my mom for her birthday in Sept.  I was showing her how to use it and she said "this will be perfect for sitting with Papa (my grandfather). He is sleeping most ofmthe time now." which was heartbreaking.  My grandfather has alzheimers and my grandmother lives in assisted living one building over from him but spends much of her days sitting with him and taking care of him.  She was very excited and we picked out a couple dozen books from my account to get her started but that was still heart breaking.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Except for the younger nephews, I haven't gotten any gifts specifically for Christmas.  Instead I've gotten various and sundry gifts year round for different people as the mood struck me.  I have given 3 kindles as gifts this year.  

My sister received hers the day before leaving on vacation (a pure coincidence that I decided to overnight as I didn't know she was leaving) and instead of being the good mom and driving to FL herself, she made her eldest drive so she could sit and read all the way to Disney World and back again.


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## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

I suspect her eldest enjoyed the drive more than DisneyWorld anyway.

I certainly would have during the first couple of years after I got my license.


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## sonjay (Dec 9, 2010)

I gave my 88-year-old mom a Kindle for Christmas ... she had actually asked for one, and she usually doesn't ask for anything, so it was a no-brainer. But I don't think she really thought she would get one, because she almost fell out of her chair when she unwrapped her gift last night and saw that it was a Kindle. She looked at it, gasped in delight, then looked at me, then she seemed to think it couldn't possibly really be a Kindle, because she looked back at the box and muttered something like "is it....?" I sat down at her computer with her and helped her get signed up with an Amazon account and a one-click payment method and registered her Kindle and helped her buy her first couple of books. She was absolutely delighted!

I'm also a new Kindle user.... I had been dropping hints for about 2 years that someone should give me a Kindle for my birthday or Christmas, but no one ever did. So I told my husband, "You're giving me a Kindle for Christmas this year, I ordered it from Amazon." He said, "Oh, good, I hope you like it!" And I absolutely love it! My reading list has grown out of control and I can hardly tear myself away from it. All the many dozens of books that I've been putting off because I didn't want to buy the dead-tree version because I knew I would get a Kindle at some point... Those are all suddenly in dire need of being read immediately!

I've discovered that the marketing hype is true: the technology doesn't get in the way of the reading enjoyment, and I don't miss dead-tree books at all, not one little bit.

And now I think my whole family suddenly wants a Kindle of their very own.


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## Someone Nameless (Jul 12, 2009)

I gave one to my DIL and she tore into it with much excitement last night and sat playing with it for a good part of the evening.  She told me this morning that she stayed up entirely too late checking it out and playing with it.  My son is deployed to Afghanistan right now and this will help her pass the time while he is away.  I'm really happy with this choice for her gift and I think she is too!


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## amandab33 (Dec 25, 2010)

I'm new to the site, and I just got my very first Kindle today. It was a birthday/Christmas present, and I got a lighted case, the warranty and an Amazon gift certificate. I'm so excited, I've already played around with it this morning and will be doing so for quite awhile.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

My 13-year-old daughters opened their Kindles this morning, and my wife and I enjoyed their exclamations of delight!! They like the covers too - we got them a blue and a green lighted cover. 

We're now a 5-Kindle household!!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

My husband and I gave a Kindle 3 to our son-in-law. He was completely surprised, and was somewhat speechless. (I think that means that he loves it!)   My daughter has been helping him set it up, and he's now on the road to being hooked on his Kindle, just as my daughters and I are. It was a lot of fun to give him something so great.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

My youngest daughter (9), got her Kindle today and she was thrilled. I don't think she was surprised because it was pretty much the only thing she asked for. She wanted the K3 with a Green Amazon cover with light and the Moon Tree DecalGirl skin... And that's EXACTLY what she got... I also preloaded and organized about 150 books for her.

Right now she's reading Winnie the Pooh.


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## Pinworms (Oct 20, 2010)

Check out this kids reaction when he got books for Christmas....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGq3IXFmvs


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## htears (Dec 25, 2010)

My dauhgter was extremely happy with hers...until she opened the laptop to lol.  We put the Anne of Green Gables Series on hers, its FREE! I'm going to get me one in a couple of months.


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## skeeterman10 (Feb 26, 2009)

Well,received a K3 from wifey thing this morning. what a surprise. my poor K1! son, daughter, and 76 yr old mother have K-2,s middle brother a K3. youngest brother and I were last holdouts on K1. guess I will have to give wifey thing my trusty K1. Miss my scroll bar   and where is slot for my SD card? he-he but I have folder like things once I figure em out. Harvey even though its not 1 household now have you beat.  A 7 Kindle family!


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

skeeterman10 said:


> Well,received a K3 from wifey thing this morning. what a surprise. my poor K1! son, daughter, and 76 yr old mother have K-2,s middle brother a K3. youngest brother and I were last holdouts on K1. guess I will have to give wifey thing my trusty K1. Miss my scroll bar  and where is slot for my SD card? he-he but I have folder like things once I figure em out. Harvey even though its not 1 household now have you beat. A 7 Kindle family!


That's a lot of Kindles!!

My daughters just bought Seabiscuit and Gone with the Wind and they're spinning through them... occasionally one will ask the other how far she is in terms of percentage complete.

I can see I'm in trouble with sharing my Kindle Store account with these bookworms!!


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## meljackson (Nov 19, 2008)

Harvey, isn't it great to have kids that love to read though? I was thrilled when I realized my daughter caught the bug. One of my son's reads occasionally but my other son thinks it's a punishment and won't touch a book. 

Melissa


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

We gave our older daughter her kindle today, and she keeps coming into the living room saying "ooh, it does..." and "ooh, thank you..."    Of course, she's looking through my archived books and some of the titles are a little questionable, lol, but she is 18 so she knows sometimes I read garbage books.  lol


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2010)

So many great stories! Thanks for sharing, everyone!


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## AmberLi (Sep 15, 2010)

I finally got to give my BFF her kindle on Xmas Day - she said it was the best gift ever!  

Although I had bought it back in October at Target, it must have been in a deep sleep state because it had plenty of charge for her to use it on the 1 hr 45 min train ride back to NYC on Sunday that she hadn't prepared for (blizzard up here) - she said it was a lifesaver as her iPhone was almost dead for the trip!

My aunt also didn't question the nook purchase, she just kept saying "No way!!" 
And then she found Sudoko (sp?) on the thing and didn't "read" anything! haha


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2010)

AmberLi said:


> I finally got to give my BFF her kindle on Xmas Day - she said it was the best gift ever!
> 
> Although I had bought it back in October at Target, it must have been in a deep sleep state because it had plenty of charge for her to use it on the 1 hr 45 min train ride back to NYC on Sunday that she hadn't prepared for (blizzard up here) - she said it was a lifesaver as her iPhone was almost dead for the trip!


That's awesome about the battery, Amber! I would've guessed the thing would be way past dead. You've must've felt great after she said it was the best gift ever. That's what Christmas is all about!


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## klenart (Dec 4, 2010)

There we no kindles exchanged in my immediate family.  However, a friend of mine told me an awesome story.  He had been talking about getting a K3 himself for quite some time, at leat six months or more but kept mentioning he wasn't sure the family could afford it.  (They live a very modest lifestyle).

He has a wife and one child, a 18 yo daughter.  Anyway, Christmas came and the daughter opened up a gift from under the tree "from Dad."  It was a K3.  She looked confused and said "Dad, this must be yours from mom, but it was labeled for me."

He replied, "No Sarah, it's yours.  If you want it that is...."  She was so shocked and excited.  

He had talked with his wife and they decided to get her the K3 because she had told her mom how cool one would be but didn't want to dare ask her dad since she knew money was tight.

So here he is once again forgoing his own purchase until later in the year.  Random acts of unselfishness are so heartwarming!


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2010)

klenart said:


> There we no kindles exchanged in my immediate family. However, a friend of mine told me an awesome story. He had been talking about getting a K3 himself for quite some time, at leat six months or more but kept mentioning he wasn't sure the family could afford it. (They live a very modest lifestyle).
> 
> He has a wife and one child, a 18 yo daughter. Anyway, Christmas came and the daughter opened up a gift from under the tree "from Dad." It was a K3. She looked confused and said "Dad, this must be yours from mom, but it was labeled for me."
> 
> ...


That is a great story, klenart. It's always nice to hear about people being generous during the holidays. Thanks for sharing!


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## pomlover2586 (Feb 14, 2009)

I gave my 14 year old sister a K3 Wifi, with a sky blue Butterfly Oberon. She was thrilled! She's just beginning to be an avid reader, and I hope this will encourage that habit. She spent the first night pouring through it until 1 am when I made her go to bed! Best Xmas gift I gave this year- so worth it!


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## JenniferBecton (Oct 21, 2010)

My parents both got Kindles, and I spent part of Christmas day gifting them books (mostly from writers here). It was so fun to load their Kindles up with lots of books. Then, I had to talk them through how to "get them on their Kindles." "Do we need to turn them on first?" Uh, yeah.  LOL


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

My 8 year old daughter was delighted with hers and promptly sat down and re-read all of the Percy Jackson books. She hasn't been this quiet in years.


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2010)

KMA said:


> My 8 year old daughter was delighted with hers and promptly sat down and re-read all of the Percy Jackson books. She hasn't been this quiet in years.


Wow, that's impressive! You'd better be careful she doesn't turn into some kind of cyborg with that thing!


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I love reading these stories.. that video of that kid really bummed me out.. sure he is cute, but the fact that his parents were cackling away while he had his rather ungenerous temper tantrum.. clearly behaving as he has been taught to behave.

I cannot remember a time in my life when I wasn't delighted to with a gift of books.

My mom had this magic way of producing a book if I was sick or in need of more to read (magic shelf in a closet where she kept a stock of books) and she did all the series like Nancy Drew but also gifted me with many excellent biographies of really strong women, which was a great thing.

Mom was also a reader so there were lots of books around to explore, even at times before she might have wanted me to explore them 

===

I have a friend who had expressed that he still loved his books, when I mentioned my love of Kindles.  Well guess he remembered that because I got an email asking for help.. his daughters gave him a 3G/wifi K3.  So I shot back a longish email and of course pointed him here, too.. and last I heard he had started reading a book by his favorite physicist.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I gave my son a K3. . .he was expecting it so basically opened it up, plugged it in right away, connected to our WiFi, synced it up and started reading. . . . .

I gave my DX to my aunt. . . .she was very happy with it.  Had to give her a brief tutorial -- she was having a little trouble with the 'wake from sleep' switch but I think she'll figure it out.  I'd put small stickers on the next page button so she could distinguish it by feel from the previous page.  She'll need help when selecting books, but she has some home care folks in who can help her with that if needed.  Mostly she was concerned that I'd given her my only one, but I assured her I had another.  She has macular degeneration and needs the second largest size print as it is. . .on a 6" screen that's only about 2 words per page.  And she would have felt bad if we'd spent the money for a new DX and then it still didn't work out for her -- she knows what things cost and while she loves to get presents, has very definite ideas about what something is 'worth'.  

Anyway, she really liked my gently used one and is hoping that she will be able to read more with it. . .She was saying that with the newspaper she can really only make out the headlines . . .


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I gave my son a K3. . .he was expecting it so basically opened it up, plugged it in right away, connected to our WiFi, synced it up and started reading. . . . .
> 
> I gave my DX to my aunt. . . .she was very happy with it. Had to give her a brief tutorial -- she was having a little trouble with the 'wake from sleep' switch but I think she'll figure it out. I'd put small stickers on the next page button so she could distinguish it by feel from the previous page. She'll need help when selecting books, but she has some home care folks in who can help her with that if needed. Mostly she was concerned that I'd given her my only one, but I assured her I had another. She has macular degeneration and needs the second largest size print as it is. . .on a 6" screen that's only about 2 words per page. And she would have felt bad if we'd spent the money for a new DX and then it still didn't work out for her -- she knows what things cost and while she loves to get presents, has very definite ideas about what something is 'worth'.
> 
> Anyway, she really liked my gently used one and is hoping that she will be able to read more with it. . .She was saying that with the newspaper she can really only make out the headlines . . .


Macular degeneration sounds rough. I really hope the Kindle works out for it. It could be miraculous if it does. Nobody should have to go without reading.


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## bobavey (Sep 14, 2010)

I don't know. But I can always dream about it.


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2010)

bobavey said:


> I don't know. But I can always dream about it.


Haha, what? Would you like to pontificate on this a little further?


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## pooka (Jul 31, 2009)

I gave a Kindle to my sister in law, in a little gift bag with an apple green m-edge go cover and a kandle light. I planned on adding it to my account, since I have a ginormous library already. I had it all charged, synched, and organized into folders for her. 

She said, "Oh my lord! Is this.... Is this one of those readers? I can't remember the name! You didn't!!" 

I said, "Open it, silly!" 

She's so happy.. She figured it out pretty much immediately. She loves to read as much as I do, so it really is the perfect gift.


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## ladyknight33 (Feb 2, 2009)

My DIL gave her mom a K3 3G. She was hesitant because of the whole " I like to feel and smell the paper of a real book." I told her I had the same reaction 2 years ago. But upon opening the box, she stopped paying attention to all the other family members that where opening gifts. She turned it on and said "Look, it say's Millie's Kindle and it already has 20 books on it" I added her to my account and loaded all of the biographies I thought she would like. The next day, we purchased 6 additional books for her. We walked her thru turning on wirless over the phone and watching the books download.


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## Hippie2MARS (Sep 3, 2010)

My step-dad and I got my mom a WiFi/3G K3 with a lighted cover. She was thrilled, and by the end of the day she was showing me things I didn't know about my K3! 

I surprised my step-dad with a gently used Nook. He was tickled pink but the freakin' set-up was a nightmare. He finally went out and bought a router so he could use wi-fi instead of struggling with downloading to the computer and transferring with a USB cable. I felt bad. I wish I'd picked up a used K2 from here instead.


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2010)

Hippie2MARS said:


> My step-dad and I got my mom a WiFi/3G K3 with a lighted cover. She was thrilled, and by the end of the day she was showing me things I didn't know about my K3!
> 
> I surprised my step-dad with a gently used Nook. He was tickled pink but the freakin' set-up was a nightmare. He finally went out and bought a router so he could use wi-fi instead of struggling with downloading to the computer and transferring with a USB cable. I felt bad. I wish I'd picked up a used K2 from here instead.


Hmm...that story seems very telling. The title of your post could be: A Tale of Two E-readers


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## GinnyB (Dec 19, 2009)

My son-in-law opened the present, unzipped the cardboard pull tab and when he saw a real live K3 his mouth literally dropped open and he turned to my daughter with his mouth still open as dumbfounded and totally speechless! It was priceless! He just sat there like that in utter disbelief. It was a really great moment for me to see him thus!


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Re: Nook



Hippie2MARS said:


> He finally went out and bought a router so he could use wi-fi instead of struggling with downloading to the computer and transferring with a USB cable.


Yeow.

Not to derail the thread, but what was the specific issue? One would expect a computer to recognize the Nook and allow access like any other memory device.

I hope he gets everything running well. I'm sure you feel at least a bit responsible.


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2010)

Elk said:


> Re: Nook
> 
> Yeow.
> 
> ...


Yeah, it really doesn't seem like that complicated a thing. Of course, I was trying to put my books on a friend's nook one time and it turned out to be a battle and a half because the thing kept freezing. Pretty much turned me off to Nooks for good.


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## Hippie2MARS (Sep 3, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> Yeah, it really doesn't seem like that complicated a thing. Of course, I was trying to put my books on a friend's nook one time and it turned out to be a battle and a half because the thing kept freezing. Pretty much turned me off to Nooks for good.


His computer wouldn't recognize the Nook, then we realized that we needed (we think) to download the desktop version first. It's MUCH heavier than the Kindle and takes way too long to "wake up", compared to the Kindle. Also, the website led him to believe that he had to subscribe to their discount card in order to get his Nook books, which he did before I could stop him (at a $25 cost). It literally took us two days to get a single book transferred to his Nook, which is when he decided to just get a router and hook up wi-fi. He was disappointed in the free book offers for Nook as well, especially after my mom was excitedly telling us about all the free books she'd already downloaded. He's much happier with it now that he has wi-fi and I'm sure it will all work out for the best!


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2010)

Hippie2MARS said:


> His computer wouldn't recognize the Nook, then we realized that we needed (we think) to download the desktop version first. It's MUCH heavier than the Kindle and takes way too long to "wake up", compared to the Kindle. Also, the website led him to believe that he had to subscribe to their discount card in order to get his Nook books, which he did before I could stop him (at a $25 cost). It literally took us two days to get a single book transferred to his Nook, which is when he decided to just get a router and hook up wi-fi. He was disappointed in the free book offers for Nook as well, especially after my mom was excitedly telling us about all the free books she'd already downloaded. He's much happier with it now that he has wi-fi and I'm sure it will all work out for the best!


Wow, setup sounds like a nightmare! Hopefully everything works well from now on. Thanks for telling us about it!


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