I have a goal to read more in 2025. To help, I'd like to get an eReader. I travel a lot for work and having a digital book would be much simpler. I am also an Amazon Prime member already which would make that fairly straightforward. To complicate the matter a bit, I've also thought about getting an ipad. I would like to be able to take notes digitally for work, watch a movie/tv show while traveling, etc. Can an ipad also be a good eReader?
My wife has been using Kindle for years. She has tried using tablets and other devices but has come back to the kindle. After trying various things because her original lineal was getting old she settled on a new kindle. I got it for her for Christmas last year.
I love my kindles. Current one is backlit. It keeps my place when I fall asleep reading, stores hundreds of books, and I can increase the font size to where I don't need my glasses. The Kindle phone app also talks to it so o can keep my place and book across devices.
I joined kindle unlimited, but I tend to rip through 2-3 books a week, as i don't watch TV.
E-ink is the right tool for the job of reading e-books books. The heavy readers I know tend to use Kindle, with the Paperwhite seeming to be favored.
If you want a tablet for doing tablet things, get a tablet too. Sure you 'can' read e-books on a tablet, but they're much harder on your eyes for extended reading use.
There are not really any good alternatives, really. All ebooks use proprietary locks on them, so you can't change brands easily.
The top ones are Kindle, Kobo, and Nook, and I would not recommend a nook- I've used B&N's system for a really long time, have had a nice little nook of a pretty old generation. Well, they locked it out of being able to download books anymore (because it is "old"), so since I have a massive B&N Library, I tried to get another. And it didn't work out of the box. Multiple times. Thankfully, I got it at a store, so I was able to take it back and let them try to get another new one up and running. None of them worked.
I was able to get some of my library downloaded to load onto the old nook if I ever wanted to read them. But never again.
I now have a kindle, and am pretty happy with it. It will be interesting in 5 or so years if I still am.
So you are reminded, even though you pay for the books, you don't own them- you have a license to read them on a proprietary device- which can be turned off at the pleasure of the maker.
I don't know about everywhere else, but we can access most of the e-books we want to read for free through our public library system.
I switched from a decade-plus of Nooks to a Kobo in 2022. I love it and, in fact, bought a second just for traveling.
I do not use a Kindle because occasionally I want to sideload an epub file and Kindles make this difficult, and because their mobi format doesn't play well with others
It's easy to side load a Kindle. Just plug it into your computer, it shows up as a drive. Just copy files on to it. Same with a Nook. Use the free Calibre software if you want more handholding, it can manage a library of disparate file types and even auto-convert to the correct file type if necessary when you tell it to upload to your device. It can convert from EPUB to MOBI, for example, or even to the AZW3 amazon format.
You can own your ebooks. You just don't buy them from Amazon. You can buy them directly from authors, for example, or there are some legitimate free sources such as Project Gutenberg. There are also DRM-free options - for example, Martha Wells' Murderbot series is available from Kobo without DRM. And, of course, there's the public library if you want to borrow one. That's almost seamless on a Kindle*.
There are also ways to break the DRM on books you have purchased so you actually do own them or so you can read them on different devices. Kinda like taping your CD on to a cassette or ripping to your hard drive so you can load them on to an iPod. For example, if I want to read a purchased copy of William Gibson's Burning Chrome from ebooks.com (EPUB with DRM) on my Kindle, I'd have to do this.
I've had a nook, an early Sony device and now I use a Kindle Paperwhite that's over 5 years old.
E-readers have a few advantages over an iPad/tablet. The most obvious is incredible battery life. When I get a 10% warning, it means I have to plug in within a couple of days (I keep mine in airplane mode all the time). The screens are easier on the eyes and legible in bright sunlight. The backlighting makes them easy to use in the dark as well. They also tend to be a bit smaller, my Kindle will slip into a jacket or back pocket. When I travel, I carry both the Kindle and the iPad. I'm far more likely to pull out the book. It accompanies me everywhere.
* note that once you've downloaded a library book on to a Kindle, it won't expire until you connect to the network again after the book is returned. So if you need some extra time to finish, you can just keep your Kindle in airplane mode and the book will remain accessible. Obviously you won't be able to download any new library or other books during this period.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
FWIW, I tried really hard to break the DRM on my nook books- nothing worked. Even trying to use a virtual tablet with some special software. B&N recently changed how it all worked. Let alone, they removed the nook reader for windows, so the easy way to download your books to your computer is gone. Basically, more reason to not even bother with a nook.
In reply to alfadriver :
I agree that B&N has done Nook owners a serious disservice and I would not recommend that particular device. I do keep a copy of all my books that I have purchased off my device so that I have options in case of a corporate meltdown as has happened so often with DRM-encumbered media. I don't buy many books from Amazon either. I also buy music on CDs :)
My wife has a Kindle as well. Due to some entanglement of our Amazon accounts, when one of us borrows a library book it shows up on both Kindles. Makes for some fun discovery reading as our tastes do overlap in some areas but we don't talk about what we're thinking of borrowing.
For dyintorace, if you're an Amazon Prime member, a Kindle Paperwhite is an easy choice. You get access to some free books every month and the integration with the library system tends to be very smooth. Most of my first post was pointing out other options for where to get books or how to manage your library.
You can read the same e-books on a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a phone, or a dedicated e-reader. If you use Kindle it will (usually) sync your progress between devices so you can switch back and forth without losing your place. They all have different trade-offs and I've used them all.
Dedicated E-readers (Kindles, at least) are lightweight, ergnomic, and usually use e-ink display technology so they have amazing battery life. They use reflected light rather than backlight, so they're easier on your eyes. Cons are that they are usually a fairly small screen (part of being lightweight), and they basically don't do anything else so it's one more thing to keep track of.
Tablets are the opposite of e-readers. The bigger screen is nice and since they're general purpose devices you can do things like look something up online when you ran across it in a book. They're heavier, have worse battery life, and the backlit LCD/LED display is harder on your eyes.
Phones are like a tablet but don't even have the big screen going for them. The big plus is that you always have your phone with you so it's the ultimate fallback.
Desktop/laptop reader apps exist, but I rarely find much reason to use them.
alfadriver said:which can be turned off at the pleasure of the maker.
Sort of. While this is a theoretical concern, odds are low it will ever turn out to actually be real problem. AFAIK it's only happened once and they issued refunds without need to be asked.
Back in 2009, there was a licensing problem with a couple of books where Amazon had to pull the copies they had sold to people. They issued refunds and sent emails explaining it, but some people didn't get the email and there was a pretty big outcry and lots of confusion. The best/funny part of it was the books in question -- George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984. :)
brandonsmash said:I do not use a Kindle because occasionally I want to sideload an epub file and Kindles make this difficult, and because their mobi format doesn't play well with others
I believe they've fixed that now and you can email epubs to the "load onto kindle" address. I don't know if they added epub support to the device or just do the conversion in the email-to-upload software.
Keith Tanner said:In reply to alfadriver :
For dyintorace, if you're an Amazon Prime member, a Kindle Paperwhite is an easy choice. You get access to some free books every month and the integration with the library system tends to be very smooth. Most of my first post was pointing out other options for where to get books or how to manage your library.
That sounds great. I see Paperwhite and non-Paperwhite models available. Is the PW version a definite upgrade?
EDIT to add that borrowing from the library is high on the desirable list too!
dyintorace said:Keith Tanner said:In reply to alfadriver :
For dyintorace, if you're an Amazon Prime member, a Kindle Paperwhite is an easy choice. You get access to some free books every month and the integration with the library system tends to be very smooth. Most of my first post was pointing out other options for where to get books or how to manage your library.
That sounds great. I see Paperwhite and non-Paperwhite models available. Is the PW version a definite upgrade?
EDIT to add that borrowing from the library is high on the desirable list too!
The big differences are that the paperwhite has a larger/higher resolution screen and is waterproof. Do you like to read in the bath or the pool?
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
Ah, neat! I didn't realize it was easy/possible to sideload to Kindles now; for the longest time, they were locked down and lacked the ability to display .epub. That turned me off years and years ago so I've never even considered a Kindle.
At this point, though, I'm so comfortable with my Kobos and Calibre that I don't see a reason to switch anyway.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:alfadriver said:which can be turned off at the pleasure of the maker.
Sort of. While this is a theoretical concern, odds are low it will ever turn out to actually be real problem. AFAIK it's only happened once and they issued refunds without need to be asked.
Back in 2009, there was a licensing problem with a couple of books where Amazon had to pull the copies they had sold to people. They issued refunds and sent emails explaining it, but some people didn't get the email and there was a pretty big outcry and lots of confusion. The best/funny part of it was the books in question -- George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984. :)
Not theoretical to me. They bricked my first nook, but at least gave me a huge discount for a new one. And when they bricked the 2nd, I was stupid and gave them another chance. Thankfully, the new one came bricked from the factory.
I was able to download the books to a tablet and then move them to my computer, so now I can move them to my old nook. Not sure if I'll be able to read anything or not, though. Guess I should try.
But B&N bricked the old readers because they are too old. Even if they worked perfectly with the original battery.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
From Amazon, it's really easy to download books to a computer- when you buy one, you can download it from your library. Then the kindle will sync to get it's own.
But can I ask, other than libraries, where do you get your books if they don't have a DRM?
alfadriver said:Not theoretical to me. They bricked my first nook, but at least gave me a huge discount for a new one. And when they bricked the 2nd, I was stupid and gave them another chance. Thankfully, the new one came bricked from the factory.
Can you not re-download them from their web site? Or is it just that there's no way to read them other than on a Nook device? Is there a Nook app for a desktop or tablet that you can read the books on?
alfadriver said:But can I ask, other than libraries, where do you get your books if they don't have a DRM?
Not all Kindle store books have DRM. Also, there is (at least currently) a mechanism to remove the DRM from a Kindle book. It's a fairly tedious, manual process if you want to do it to a lot of books. Supposedly it's legal to do, although redistributing the books after having done so obviously is not. I haven't tried this myself, so I can't comment on how well it works.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:alfadriver said:Not theoretical to me. They bricked my first nook, but at least gave me a huge discount for a new one. And when they bricked the 2nd, I was stupid and gave them another chance. Thankfully, the new one came bricked from the factory.
Can you not re-download them from their web site? Or is it just that there's no way to read them other than on a Nook device? Is there a Nook app for a desktop or tablet that you can read the books on?
Not anymore. Once they deleted the nook for windows, you can't really download books. I was able to get some of my library via a tablet, but many books didn't download. I have not tried to moved them back to the nook- should be able to, but I don't expect to. When they eliminate access to download books on the nook, I only had a few there, as they also did a software update that almost bricked it.
If I hadn't had almost 200 books, I would have bailed on them a long time ago.
It sucks that amazon gets to really dominate the ereader market, but they do. I don't see Rakutan really competing with them.
alfadriver said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
From Amazon, it's really easy to download books to a computer- when you buy one, you can download it from your library. Then the kindle will sync to get it's own.
But can I ask, other than libraries, where do you get your books if they don't have a DRM?
Some Kobo books are DRM free. There's also Project Gutenberg. Some authors will provide free, no-DRM ebooks - Cory Doctorow used to do this but I think his current publisher prevents it. You do have to look around but they're out there. It all depends on the author and the publisher. Mostly I use the library these days.
About waterproofing - I don't read in the tub, but I do like not having to worry about getting moisture on my Paperwhite. I do wipe off the screen occasionally and I'd take it to the beach without a concern...if I was at the beach. Sigh. The other difference is screen (and thus device) size. My 10th generation Kindle Paperwhite will slip into the back pocket of my Levis.
Note that you really don't need much memory. I see there's a 32 GB version, that's nuts unless you're also using it for audiobooks. I have used a whole 1.5 GB on mine for hundreds of books.
I do recommend one of the "smart" covers that will turn the device on and off when you open it. It's just a magnet in the front flap but it makes the experience more book-like and very convenient.
Keith Tanner said:My 10th generation Kindle Paperwhite will slip into the back pocket of my Levis.
Yeah, the Paperwhite is the perfect size for that. I had an older one that I replaced with an Oasis after I cracked the screen on the PW, and it was much less convenient to carry around because it didn't fit in normal pockets.
I quite like audiobooks, but I usually only listen to them while driving so I load them onto my phone instead of my Kindle.
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