Library Onboard the Navigator

[elmwood]

As we are getting closer to leaving, little details are the ones we have questions about and I hope that those of you who have travelled on the Navigator can help out here.

I am a great reader and my family always giggle at how many books I insist on taking with me when we go away. This time, however, I am rethinking this a little as we seem to be taking more clothes with us than usual and I many not have space for the five books I would take, plus the one each for my husband and son. So, my question is how good is the book selection on board? I am pretty eclectic in my tastes and will read just about anything, except romance novels. I am assuming that the library would contain a few copies of big name bestsellers. Would I be correct?

[Pam]

Yes. They might not have the very newest best sellers yet, but they have fairly new books by a lot of good authors. They also have a fairly good selection of oversized print books, and unless something has changed, they have a "paperback swap" shelf where you drop off the book you have read and pick up one somebody else dropped off. My husband and I have used the library a lot, can you tell? Now we have Kindles, so not so much.

[UUNetBill]

I was also going to suggest Kindles (or Nooks) - my wife and I both read quite a bit, and she travels extensively for business - electronic readers have been a Godsend for us! Before we leave on a trip, we download a dozen or so books and have plenty to read the entire trip. We can even swap Kindles if we so choose. DW has both the Kindle and the Nook; either is a fine choice. We thought we'd miss having a 'real' book in our hands, but so far, not a problem. And you can buy travel cases that fold open like a book, so you actually get the feel of a leather-bound book. Pretty nice, IMO.

:D

[elmwood]

Now we have Kindles, so not so much.

Thank you, Pam, that certainly gives me the information I needed to leave some of the books behind. I've been thinking about a Kindle as a possible solution, but they have only just become available here in Canada and I haven't been able to see one up close yet. I don't want to rush in and buy one if I hate the way the screen looks. Was it easy to get used to using one?

[elmwood]

UUNetBill, I still have time to research and purchase a Kindle, so I will definitely look into that.

[symarb1]

I've got a kindle, go ahead and order it, it is wonderful. You can read even in harsh daylight with no problem. The font can be enlarged and it even has text to speech built in. Books do download in less than a minute which makes life oh so easy for me.

I have a USA only version, which means that I have to be inside the USA to download, but they do have a new international version. My main problem is deciding which books to purchase!

[txladycruiser]

I've got a kindle, go ahead and order it, it is wonderful. You can read even in harsh daylight with no problem. The font can be enlarged and it even has text to speech built in. Books do download in less than a minute which makes life oh so easy for me.

I have a USA only version, which means that I have to be inside the USA to download, but they do have a new international version. My main problem is deciding which books to purchase!


I have one of the original kindles. Would that be a US only version? We have a couple of international cruises coming up so I do need that version.

Anyone have both a kindle and nook? Are they basically the same or does each one have different advantages?

Karen

[symarb1]

Yes, that is the USA version. I'm leaving next week on Navigator so I spent about 2 hours on/off selecting what books I want to read. So far I've loaded 7 books besides the one I am currently reading. I love this darn thing and the first time I ever saw it was on the Mariner, another passenger had one and told me all about it.

[gldnbull]

I'm on the Navigator now and have used the Kindle and think it's great. I also get a newspaper subscription for it but it costs extra when out of the US. A fantastic tool and it is easier to read on the pool deck and so compact. It was a great Christmas gift!

[hsottnek]

Just left the Navigator (January) read four books during the ten day voyage. All from the Navigator library. One section has NY Times best sellers, each book I read was a 2009 edition from this section. Don't sweat it - the only book(s) you need to take is for whatever travel before you get to, or after you leave the ship.

[txladycruiser]

I'm on the Navigator now and have used the Kindle and think it's great. I also get a newspaper subscription for it but it costs extra when out of the US. A fantastic tool and it is easier to read on the pool deck and so compact. It was a great Christmas gift!


Have you purchased any new books since you've been on the ship? We have just booked the World Cruise for 2011. Obviously, there will be a lot of books coming out while we are cruising. We want to be able to get these books while we are on the boat. It looks like from the 3G map on amazon that we should be able to do that in most places.



Karen

[Gmeg]

We live in Australia and have no problem in downloading direct to the Kindle on the 3G networks here. Sometimes if you change locations you may lose the 3G default connection and may need to select the network manually. To do this go to menu - settings and type 311.

If you are taking a laptop with you and there is no 3G connection in the place you are in it is also possible to download your Kindle books on to your laptop by internet and then transfer to the Kindle

[txladycruiser]

We live in Australia and have no problem in downloading direct to the Kindle on the 3G networks here. Sometimes if you change locations you may lose the 3G default connection and may need to select the network manually. To do this go to menu - settings and type 311.

If you are taking a laptop with you and there is no 3G connection in the place you are in it is also possible to download your Kindle books on to your laptop by internet and then transfer to the Kindle


Thanks for that info.


Karen

[SuitCaseBears]

Was it easy to get used to using one?

I found it very easy. I adore my kindle. I can't speak highly enough about it. And for travel - WOW! take as many books as you want. I'm one of those people who ends up reading slowly to save my books, and now I can read as quickly as I like.

Having said that, my husband is not as crazy about the kindle. One difference is that he reads a lot of non-fiction and "how to" kind of books that have.... pictures. He also tends to browse around a book, rather than reading from the beginning to end.

But even he finds it a great advantage when traveling.

[elmwood]

I think I would probably like the Kindle, but the problem foe me is that I need to actually see one and try it out and, unless I can find someone I know who has one, I won't be able to do that so I am reluctant to go ahead and order one.

[Pam]

When the Kindle first came out, there was a place on Amazon where you could look for someone in your area who had a Kindle. I don't have any idea how it was supposed to work; maybe people had indicated that they would be okay showing newcomers their Kindle or something. I didn't pursue it.

[gldnbull]

I think I would probably like the Kindle, but the problem foe me is that I need to actually see one and try it out and, unless I can find someone I know who has one, I won't be able to do that so I am reluctant to go ahead and order one.

Go to an airport or anywhere traveller's are and I'm sure you'll see someone using one and they'll show it to you.

As far as being able to download on the ship, it was no problem. The cheaper way to do it is through your PC to avoid the international download charge but both ways work on the ship.

[PaulaJK]

gldnbull......Also rec'd Kindle for Christmas...am trying to learn it and have loaded several books. Questions is how to load from PC when on board cruise? Is a special cord required?

[Gmeg]

No - just the USB cable you normally use to charge the Kindle from power outlet.
See http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200375630&#usb

[hillorama]

UUNetBill, I still have time to research and purchase a Kindle, so I will definitely look into that.
Could not manage without my Kindle on a trip. It stores so much and is so readable and holds its charge for a long time!:)

[UUNetBill]

That seems to be the biggest advantage to the Kindle over the Nook - the battery life. Honestly, though, I don't think I could travel ever again without a Kindle (or equivalent.)