Reading Logos Books on a Kindle Device

I currently do the bulk of my Logos reading on my 10.5" iPad Pro or my iMac Pro (for more in-depth studying), occasionally reading on my iPhone SE when on the go.

With Amazon Prime Day going on, tech news has brought up Kindle device reviews. I don't have Amazon Prime, so I can't take advantage of the Prime Day sale anyway.

However, the reviews had me begin thinking about Kindle devices in general, and if there would be any advantages to me getting a Kindle device for extensive reading.

I purchase some books in Kindle format, but the bulk of my Bible study books are in Logos or other Bible software formats, plus I've also purchased some books in Apple Books format, which Kindle obviously cannot natively read due to DRM and the different formats.

I also know that the "Send to Kindle" feature introduced in Logos 6 was decommissioned a while back.

So here are my questions:

1. What would be the easiest way to get Logos books (or other non-Kindle format books) onto a Kindle device? Would PDF be the best route to go? I would probably need to send book files to the Kindle in batches (possibly per-chapter) to work around copyright restrictions.

2. How do scanned documents without OCR (such as if I've scanned excerpts from a print book) look on a Kindle device versus a computer or tablet?

3. How many devices can be signed into a Kindle account at once? Right now I have two Macs, an iPhone, and iPad signed in.

4. Afer I finish reading PDF files or other files on a Kindle device, how easy is it to remove them (permanently) from the Kindle device?

5. What would be a recommended Kindle device model for reading exported Logos books and for intensive, long-term reading?

6. Are there any advantages to reading exported Logos books on a Kindle device versus a 10.5" iPad Pro? I love my iPad Pro, and it does an excellent job for reading, as well as for getting some work done on the go (where I haven't needed to carry a notebook with me most places now). However, the 10.5" iPad Pro is a large, bright screen, and battery life still needs to be charged at least once a day, plus with the other apps and notifications, it's easy to rabbit trail unless I switch on DND.

Thanks!

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

JT (alabama24)

The use of the term "Kindle Device" is nearly worthless, since it can mean two distinct things:

A Kindle (e-Ink) reader (highly recommend!)
A Kindle Fire (Android hybrid).

If you mean the later, you would not need to convert anything... you would simply run the FL Android apps. If you mean the former, there are tutorials for converting Logos books. It isnt hard, but it isnt "push a button" quick either. NOTE: having a Logos book on a Kindle eInk device is great for simple reading, but you can't transfer notes/highlights back.

J. Remington Bowling

Whether you're talking about a Kindle Fire type of device or a Kindle eInk reader (seems obvious you must mean this latter option though), I would say don't bother. It isn't worth it if you already have an iPad Pro.

The Kindle app on iPad Pro is equal to, if not superior to, simply owning a Kindle. The main (really, only) advantage to an e-Ink display is supposed to be less eye strain. However, the screen quality on an iPad Pro makes this negligible (in fact it was probably a moot point to begin with, most people don't notice and aren't effected by eye-strain from reading on a computer screen--unless people were reading small text on a small computer screen with a really low refresh rate).

To answer your questions,

6. Another alleged advantage to reading on an e-Ink display is battery life. You say that you have to charge your 10.5 iPad Pro at least once a day. This strikes me as very unusual. I have an iPad Pro 10.5 inch and I only need to charge it every 2 to 3 days. To give an example, I charged my iPad Sunday night. On Monday I used it for several hours reading and multi-tasking with Kindle & MindNode in split-screen view. Then I did some other hand-written type work with the apple pencil. Just looked at my iPad battery and it's at 80%. So will probably last me another two or three days.

Even if you find that you need to charge your iPad every night, since charging your iPad is simple, the better battery life on a Kindle is another moot point. It would only really be an issue if you found that your iPad needed to be charged twice or more in a day. If that's you're issue, then there is probably something wrong with your iPad (or you're watching videos on it non-stop?).

1. From Logos you can send it to Microsoft Word and I think you might be able to just send the Word doc to Kindle, though I don't remember. It seems like, if I remember correctly, PDFs can be a bit of an issue because the Kindle screens are pretty small so font size will need to be big on the PDF. Trying to resize the text doesn't work or doesn't work very well.

2. Resizing text is cumbersome and doesn't come out looking as nice as it will on computer screen or iPad where you can zoom pretty easy.

3. I think (not positive) you can be signed into Kindle on as many devices as you want--what is restricted is the individual books, which will have their own DRM limits. For instance, back in the day I had some textbooks on Kindle and found that some had DRM that only allowed me to have them on 2 devices. Other books I never ran into a DRM limit with, but also never needed or tried to have them on more than 3 or 4 devices.

4. Removing a book from your device is easy (but also kind of pointless since they hold so many books), but the sent-to-kindle books will still be stored on your Kindle cloud. You can then delete them from the cloud by going to the relevant website.

5. The Oasis is the best, but I'm not sure any of them are really worth it. The Kindle app on iPad is *really* good and has some advantages over the e-Readers. For one thing, you can highlight in multiple colors (this is nice for coding the relevance of the text: if you disagree with a point in one color, if you agree in another, etc.).

For another, the iPad app has recently introduced a scrolling feature where e-books no longer page turn, but now scroll along the way Logos books do. This may not seem like much, but it's actually a very big step forward. Kindle was stuck trying to make digital book simply imitate print books, but this is the wrong way to think about ebooks. Digital books are a different medium with a different set of advantages (and possibly drawbacks) and when you just try and make a digital book mimic a physical book you are actually hamstringing what some of the advantages are to ebooks, while you don't actually gain the advantage of a physical book by mimicking it on a digital format. I won't bother going into more detail here, but suffice it to say that I think the scrolling feature is a superior and more natural digital experience over the page-turn feature that any Kindle e-reader is going to be stuck in.

Bill Anderson

Nathan,

#1: For sending Logos resources specifically to a Kindle device, Mark Barnes created a great video and step-by-step process after the direct functionality was removed from within the desktop version. Here's the link: https://community.logos.com/forums/t/124007.aspx

#4: The process I use is to log into my Amazon account, go to my devices and there is an option to remove files you've sent to your Kindle.

#5: I have the newest Kindle Oasis and it is a great device.

Nathan Parker

The use of the term "Kindle Device" is nearly worthless, since it can mean two distinct things:

A Kindle (e-Ink) reader (highly recommend!)

A Kindle Fire (Android hybrid).

If you mean the later, you would not need to convert anything... you would simply run the FL Android apps. If you mean the former, there are tutorials for converting Logos books. It isnt hard, but it isnt "push a button" quick either. NOTE: having a Logos book on a Kindle eInk device is great for simple reading, but you can't transfer notes/highlights back.

About to run some errands, so I may respond to the rest when I get back.

I was referring to #1. I forgot the Kindle Fire existed for a moment (you mean there are other tablets besides the iPad?). ;-) I was referring to #1 since I already own an iPad Pro and see no reason to invest in an Android tablet (since I heavily use Apple's ecosystem), plus my iPad Pro would certainly be superior to the Kindle Fire. my curiosity is how regular Kindle e-Ink devices stack up against tablets for reading.

Running my errands now. Will be back to respond to the rest.

Thanks!

JT (alabama24)

my curiosity is how regular Kindle e-Ink devices stack up against tablets for reading

I have two meanings for "reading."

"Plain" reading (Read a book front to back for enrichment/enjoyment)
"Study" reading (Reading for knowledge, taking notes, etc.)

I understand that there are overlaps there, but when I am just "plain" reading, I think that nothing beats an eInk Kindle. My current device is a paperwhite. Great "readability" in all areas, including size and the type of illumination.

When I am studying, however, I want something that I can mark up, in different colors, type notes, sync with Logos, etc. I need my iPad for that.

I do hope you read this tonight and buy a Kindle while they are on sale. [:)]

Bill Anderson

my curiosity is how regular Kindle e-Ink devices stack up against tablets for reading.

Since you have an iPad Pro (I do, too), let me ask if you feel the strain of the brightness of the screen at all when you read stuff on it. My older eyes can't handle it for very long, so I read on an inverted black background. Even with that, I can feel my eyes strain. With an e-ink device like a Kindle, I don't experience that. Another thing to mention is that a Kindle is a devoted e-reader. If you are like me, I can get distracted by the many things I can do with an iPad Pro, which makes it harder to concentrate when I read. A Kindle is way smaller and lighter than an iPad Pro, so if you are carrying it while you are out and about, that will be easier.

Nathan Parker

Whether you're talking about a Kindle Fire type of device or a Kindle eInk reader (seems obvious you must mean this latter option though), I would say don't bother. It isn't worth it if you already have an iPad Pro.

The Kindle app on iPad Pro is equal to, if not superior to, simply owning a Kindle. The main (really, only) advantage to an e-Ink display is supposed to be less eye strain. However, the screen quality on an iPad Pro makes this negligible (in fact it was probably a moot point to begin with, most people don't notice and aren't effected by eye-strain from reading on a computer screen--unless people were reading small text on a small computer screen with a really low refresh rate).

To answer your questions,

6. Another alleged advantage to reading on an e-Ink display is battery life. You say that you have to charge your 10.5 iPad Pro at least once a day. This strikes me as very unusual. I have an iPad Pro 10.5 inch and I only need to charge it every 2 to 3 days. To give an example, I charged my iPad Sunday night. On Monday I used it for several hours reading and multi-tasking with Kindle & MindNode in split-screen view. Then I did some other hand-written type work with the apple pencil. Just looked at my iPad battery and it's at 80%. So will probably last me another two or three days.

Even if you find that you need to charge your iPad every night, since charging your iPad is simple, the better battery life on a Kindle is another moot point. It would only really be an issue if you found that your iPad needed to be charged twice or more in a day. If that's you're issue, then there is probably something wrong with your iPad (or you're watching videos on it non-stop?).

1. From Logos you can send it to Microsoft Word and I think you might be able to just send the Word doc to Kindle, though I don't remember. It seems like, if I remember correctly, PDFs can be a bit of an issue because the Kindle screens are pretty small so font size will need to be big on the PDF. Trying to resize the text doesn't work or doesn't work very well.

2. Resizing text is cumbersome and doesn't come out looking as nice as it will on computer screen or iPad where you can zoom pretty easy.

3. I think (not positive) you can be signed into Kindle on as many devices as you want--what is restricted is the individual books, which will have their own DRM limits. For instance, back in the day I had some textbooks on Kindle and found that some had DRM that only allowed me to have them on 2 devices. Other books I never ran into a DRM limit with, but also never needed or tried to have them on more than 3 or 4 devices.

4. Removing a book from your device is easy (but also kind of pointless since they hold so many books), but the sent-to-kindle books will still be stored on your Kindle cloud. You can then delete them from the cloud by going to the relevant website.

5. The Oasis is the best, but I'm not sure any of them are really worth it. The Kindle app on iPad is *really* good and has some advantages over the e-Readers. For one thing, you can highlight in multiple colors (this is nice for coding the relevance of the text: if you disagree with a point in one color, if you agree in another, etc.).

For another, the iPad app has recently introduced a scrolling feature where e-books no longer page turn, but now scroll along the way Logos books do. This may not seem like much, but it's actually a very big step forward. Kindle was stuck trying to make digital book simply imitate print books, but this is the wrong way to think about ebooks. Digital books are a different medium with a different set of advantages (and possibly drawbacks) and when you just try and make a digital book mimic a physical book you are actually hamstringing what some of the advantages are to ebooks, while you don't actually gain the advantage of a physical book by mimicking it on a digital format. I won't bother going into more detail here, but suffice it to say that I think the scrolling feature is a superior and more natural digital experience over the page-turn feature that any Kindle e-reader is going to be stuck in.

Great points, which is why I wanted to ask fellow Logos users versus merely reading reviews on Amazon and tech sites. In terms of your comments on eye-strain, due to my work and school, the majority of my time is spent reading some type of screen (unless I'm eating, sleeping, or occasionally reading a print book. I should probably take a vacation somewhere to get away from my tech devices, but then I'd probably take my DSLR along and look at its LCD screen during my vacation). Since I use Apple devices across the board, the screen quality has been excellent, and I don't notice major eye-strain even after the hours I spend on my iMac Pro, iPad Pro, or iPhone screens (occasionally, I'll get a slight headache through my eyes if I'm working intensely with screens, or it could be a virus or something else since it only occurs occasionally).

To respond to your feedback:

6. Some of the settings on my iPad Pro are probably leading to decreased battery life, and I can disable them during the times I need to squeeze additional battery life out of my iPad. I mainly leave them on since 99% of the time, I'm close enough to my power outlet, and I have a USB-C fast charger I purchased from Apple, so re-charging my iPad would be pretty painless if the battery gets too low. Honestly, I could probably get a couple of days use per charge, even with my current settings, but I perform a nightly charge just in case I need to take my iPad somewhere away from a power plug. On my previous iPad, I watched my share of videos. With PIP on macOS now, I've moved my video watching to my Mac while doing other tasks. This iPad is only a few months new (my previous iPad Pro had an actual hardware battery defect where it wouldn't charge to 100%), so the battery hardware on this one is OK (adjusting a few settings would likely be to my benefit).

1. Good information on that point. Thanks for that. Another benefit to the iPad Pro is since it runs all the apps for the books I read (Logos, Apple Books, Kindle, etc.), I can launch the app and all the books are there. No conversion process needed.

2. Thanks for the information on that as well. It is pretty painless to adjust text on any reading app on the iPad Pro.

3. Thanks for this information. Since Logos files once sent to one would be non-DRM anyway, I guess this another moot point.

4. Sounds good and thanks for this info as well.

5. Thanks for the info. In terms of highlighting, I don't do a ton of highlighting (I probably should do more). Generally I just read books then copy/paste excerpts of books into documents, add notes with them, then eventually file them in Nota Bene (my academic word processor).

Thanks for also mentioning the scrolling feature. I haven't tried it yet. I've been using the page turning feature and overall felt comfortable with it over the years as I graduated from using mostly print books to mostly electronic books. It might be time to graduate into scrolling. :-)

Nathan Parker

Nathan,

#1: For sending Logos resources specifically to a Kindle device, Mark Barnes created a great video and step-by-step process after the direct functionality was removed from within the desktop version. Here's the link: https://community.logos.com/forums/t/124007.aspx

#4: The process I use is to log into my Amazon account, go to my devices and there is an option to remove files you've sent to your Kindle.

#5: I have the newest Kindle Oasis and it is a great device.

Thanks for your feedback, responding to your feedback:

#1. Thanks for the link to the video. I'll watch this and take a look at it.

#4. That seems pretty simple. I also have an Amazon Drive account. I think I can access Send to Kindle files through Amazon Drive as well.

#5. Thanks for the info. What are your thoughts on reading on it versus a tablet?

Nathan Parker

my curiosity is how regular Kindle e-Ink devices stack up against tablets for reading

I have two meanings for "reading."

"Plain" reading (Read a book front to back for enrichment/enjoyment)

"Study" reading (Reading for knowledge, taking notes, etc.)

I understand that there are overlaps there, but when I am just "plain" reading, I think that nothing beats an eInk Kindle. My current device is a paperwhite. Great "readability" in all areas, including size and the type of illumination.

When I am studying, however, I want something that I can mark up, in different colors, type notes, sync with Logos, etc. I need my iPad for that.

I do hope you read this tonight and buy a Kindle while they are on sale.

Thanks for the update. In terms of your meanings for "reading", 99% of my reading falls into "study" reading (although I occasionally do some "plain" reading for enjoyment), but here's how my "study" reading habits go:

When "study" reading, I typically don't highlight books (print or electronic). Maybe I should but I generally never do. In terms of note taking, I generally copy/paste excerpts from books I need to refer to later, type some notes under them, then export everything which eventually goes into Nota Bene (my academic word processor). So my notetaking at the time of reading is very basic and simple since everything ultimately goes into Nota Bene. I don't use Notes in Logos (or other apps) for permanently storing notes since I ultimately consolidate all my research in Nota Bene.

In terms of the sale, I don't have Amazon Prime at the moment, so I can't take advantage of the sale. I have enough time to really ponder the decision before going for one since I'd either be paying full price for it or waiting until Amazon's next sale. If I could get Amazon Fresh here, I'd join Prime in a heartbeat. Other than that I still haven't decided if I'd use enough perks of Prime (even though I'm a Student so I could get in at the Student rate for now).

Thanks!

Nathan Parker

my curiosity is how regular Kindle e-Ink devices stack up against tablets for reading.

Since you have an iPad Pro (I do, too), let me ask if you feel the strain of the brightness of the screen at all when you read stuff on it. My older eyes can't handle it for very long, so I read on an inverted black background. Even with that, I can feel my eyes strain. With an e-ink device like a Kindle, I don't experience that. Another thing to mention is that a Kindle is a devoted e-reader. If you are like me, I can get distracted by the many things I can do with an iPad Pro, which makes it harder to concentrate when I read. A Kindle is way smaller and lighter than an iPad Pro, so if you are carrying it while you are out and about, that will be easier.

In terms of eye-strain, since my work and school keep me tied to computer screens (I'm pretty much looking at some form of screen unless I'm eating or sleeping, thank you Lord that virtual food isn't a reality yet), I haven't noticed major eye strain so far. Occasionally I've felt a headache through my eyes if I've intensely looked at screens (or since it's occasional, it could be a virus or something else). I've also had a issue with my glasses (I need to upgrade my prescription) where certain color bands (like the traffic light buttons on my iMac Pro) look distorted or slanted (I've switched them to the gray buttons, and I've also enabled Dark Mode in apps I use heavily, especially at night, and I'm looking forward to trying macOS Mojave Dark Mode. On "Pride Day" my eyes go all over the place when checking social media). So far these have helped on that issue until I can schedule an appointment with my eye doctor.

The distractions can be an issue for me as well when using my iPad Pro. When I receive push notifications, I tend to want to act on them even if I'm knee-deep in reading. It seems to be worse when I'm on a computer, but it's still there on the iPad. Granted, I can flip the DND switch (and probably should) when reading which would alleviate much of that, although it has been one reason I've considered a dedicated eReader.

The size/weight was another factor I've considered as well. I love my iPad Pro, and for what it does, it's amazing you can fit all of the functionality into a device the size and weight of an iPad Pro (it's far more convenient to travel with than a MacBook Pro when I don't need to do major intensive work on the go). It's still a little large compared to a Kindle though for dedicated reading, which has been another consideration I've thought about.

Thanks!

J. Remington Bowling

5. Thanks for the info. In terms of highlighting, I don't do a ton of highlighting (I probably should do more). Generally I just read books then copy/paste excerpts of books into documents, add notes with them, then eventually file them in Nota Bene (my academic word processor).

So you'll have to approach this in two different ways for the Kindle vs. the iPad and, in my opinion, the iPad method is superior.

Kindle has a great feature where all of your highlighted passages can be exported from the book and sent to your email (I haven't done this in a while, but I think you can choose the format--plain text, pdf, etc). This makes it extremely simple to extract all your highlights and then insert them into OneNote or EverNote.

The problem, from my perspective, is that this only really makes sense once you're done with the book. If you export your highlights after each reading session you are slowing things down and there may be an export limit. I'm not sure if there is an export limit, in the same way that there is a highlight and copy limit. Whether you export after each reading session (and risk running into a limit) or only once you've finished the book, you will then have to go through the highlights and sort them individually. This is takes a lot more time than the iPad method I'll describe below. (You may not want to sort highlights, but I find it helpful.)

Also, I'm not entirely sure that you can export highlights from imported books. In that case, your highlights will be stuck in the ebook same as in a physical book.

On iPad you can copy and paste passages from the Kindle App directly into your note-taking or mind-mapping app. This is very easy if you're working in split-screen view, like this:

In this example I have the Kindle book open on the left and my "note keeping" app on the right. Copying from the book and pasting into the kindle is very quick and seamless.

Of course, there is the possibility that I run into the copy/paste DRM. But there's an easy fix for that if you do: just screenshot the page and the new iOS has a great cropping feature that is almost as quick as the copy/paste method (not quite as quick. In the image above the bottom node was copy/paste and the larger node above that with the highlighting was created with the screenshot function.

Thus, if you're working with highlights and copy/pasting excerpts with notes I think iPad is definitely the way to go.

Nathan Parker

Thanks everyone for the continued discussion. It seems overall, the iPad still provides the most robust reading/studying experience, and that I should lean in the direction of remaining to do my reading and studying from my iPad.

For the fun of it (especially since I couldn't take advantage of the Prime Day sale, so I'm in no rush to buy anything), next time I'm at Best Buy, I could "showroom" (look at) one (since they keep a couple on display) and see what I think of them in person (my neighbor had one I could have demoed, but she moved out of state; I wouldn't purchase any Amazon devices at Best Buy since the experience is easier ordering from Amazon).

I may also re-watch the iBooks portion of the iPad announcement keynote from Steve Jobs. I know it's old, but watching these videos generally gets me wanting to dig into my Apple devices more.

One other tidbit I'll throw into here. I've noticed at times I've enjoyed using Amazon devices as a supplement to my Apple devices, even when it doesn't make a ton of sense up front. I purchased an Amazon Echo a while back, and since I have Siri on my iPhone and iPad, I didn't know if I'd really get any use out of my Amazon Echo and almost felt crazy for buying one (my family thought I was crazy). Now I own a couple Echo Dots in addition to the Echo and use Alexa often (I check the weather and get a Bible verse in the mornings, listen to the news in the evening when I wrap up supper, plus I have some of my smart home devices tied to Alexa (lights, fans, etc.). I use the intercom feature often to communicate with family members across the house, and it's replaced my need for an alarm clock. All of these features I could have done (and more) on my iPhone or iPad with Siri and a few apps, but the simplicity of using Alexa over grabbing my iPhone or iPad or dealing with Siri on them makes these tasks effortless. I'm not sure if I'd get that same experience reading on a Kindle, but just mentioning it.