Which Is Your Favorite E-Reader ?

[JimmyHAD]

Taking advantage of many free public domain books, I've downloaded them onto my phone and I've begun reading on it. There is so much available either free, or at a nominal fee, that I am going to get an e-reader, such as a Kindle, Nook or Kobo HD shortly. Between convenience, light weight, and space saving, I'm changing my long held preference for hard copy and moving into the 21st century. Still going to stay 18th century when it comes to shaving though .....

So if you are an e-reader, which gizmo do you favor ? I need some hands on experience tips before I take the plunge.

[Phrank]

Excellent thread!

I'm a huge reader, go through about three books on average a week.

The Kobo has been my favorite so far, can use my library card and download lots of e-books, they will stay on my reader for approx. 8 weeks and then expire.

The prices of some of the books are quite expensive, Cornelius Ryan two e-books, "The Longest Day" and, "A Bridge to Far" were almost $30.00 cdn each but classic reads.

I love the ability to read something on the net, or read an article of see a show, and be able to go online either with my laptop, tablet, phone or e-reader itself and search for that particular book and download it and start reading right away.

It also allows me not to forget about a book, since it's so convenient.

So many old classics I've read again, Gone with the Wind, Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, A Clockwork Orange, Dickens, Victor Hugo, Somerset Maugham, Mark Twain, it's something that is so convenient, just close it and it remembers your page, switch between books...so many aspects I like about them.

But if I had to reduce it to what I love about e-readers the most, it's that they're just so enjoyable to take with you to the bathroom, for some reading and peace and quiet.

edited to add: I should add that as far as I know, it's only the Kobo (cool name, Ko Bo -"Book") that allows you to download the Gutenberg free domain e-books from the library, at least that's the case in Ontario. Using your library card to get books on your e-reader is very cool by the way.

[JBHoren]

My "Other" vote is for Calibre -- a free e-book management system that runs on Linux, MacOS, Windows, and Windows-based mobile devices.

[JSmith1983]

I have a 1st gen Nook that I use and I like it. It isn't a tablet just a e-reader. I want to get a tablet so I can do something other than read on it, but I will probably only end up using it to read anyway. The new kindle looks nice for something that can do more than just read books. I suggest figuring out what all you are going to do with it and decide from there. If you are just going read than no need to buy an expensive tablet to just read books. The only problems with some of the e-readers is that some will only allow certain file types to be read, but you can convert most files to a different type if needed. As to the price of some of the e-books I agree that some are expensive for not even being printed. Almost makes me want to just buy a paperback and waste a tree. I know authors need to make their money though.

[mglindo]

My current e-reader is the Kindle Paperwhite. I like it so much, I'm on my third one! Okay, I have to explain that! My first one was the second or third version. It had some buttons, not as many as the first version. I guess I left that one on the trunk of the car, forgot I had put it there, drove off and lost it. The replacement was a paperwhite which I must have left in a motel. Now, I have another paperwhite, my third and hopefully my last for a while! By the way, none of my purchases was lost as it is kept permanently in your Amazon library. If you lose your kindle, you must deregister it so whoever finds it cannot buy books on your dime! You can also borrow books from your local library as Phrank has done with his e-reader. Free books can be had on the kindle also. You just have to get it in the right format. I get a lot of books by subscribing to DealNews daily newsletter. They frequently offer free novels, recipe books and self help books also. As you may surmise, I love my Kindle. My wife has a Kindle HD and my son also has a Kindle PaperWhite.


Mike

[Jimbo]

In fact I don't own an e-reading device, but I have a Galaxy note 3 "phablet" (phone with a 6"-ish screen). I use the Amazon Kindle app on that, and it works really well.

James.

[pixelfixed]

Have a first gen Nook,has served me well,But sorta looks like B&N is circling the drain as a company,would not buy another.

[mike1011]

If you just want to read books then stick with the standard kindle or the paper white.

When my original kindle died i bought the kindle fire HD thinking it would be good to be able to use it for things other than just readin . To be fair its OK as a tablet for looking at the internet and such and its OK as an e reader but exels at neither. I have since bought a paper white to read my books.

There are several reasons why I wouldn't recommend a tablet purely for reading but the main points are the screen on the kindle standard and paper white simply can not be matched by any tablet for reading (try reading a tablet in the sun), weight and battery life. The kindle standard and the paper white need charging once in your lifetime! (well maybe once every couple of weeks). A tablet needs charging every day !

Quite simply for reading only, a tablet PC comes a distant second to a dedicated e reader like the kindle paper white

[MajorEthanolic]

I just bought another Kindle Fire a few days ago. I bought my first at the PX in Kandahar for reading ebooks while deployed, but quickly learned that free movies via amazon prime and Netflix make it an awesome device. I now mainly use it to watch movies/tv shows while running on the treadmill, or to listen to music on Pandora while I shave.

[Haroldg48]

I use an iPad. Bigger and I can do lots of other things with it. My wife has a Kindle Fire.