Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion
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E-Readers
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Rachelle
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Aug 10, 2010 06:34PM
I'm thinking about buying a e-book reader but I can't really tell which one I should buy. Can you all give me suggestions and why you think yours is the best choice. I love goodreads because everyone is so helpful and friendly. Thanks
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I got a nook for my birthday. I love it. Its light weight and fits nicely in my purse. The touch screen is very convenient and easy to use! Love it!
I bought a Sony eReader last year. My main reason for choosing the Sony is because I didn't want to be tied to any particular company- neither Barnes and Noble or AmazonI love my Sony but... I bought it before the ipad came out. If I were doing it today, I'd consider the ipad. The ipad is a little pricey though. Kindle is selling for $140. Can't beat that price.
I can't say which one is best for you. It depends on what features are important to you.
Hi Rachelle, I have the nook and I love it. I got it right after the prices went down so the beginning of July. The device really is terrific, I can buy book from B&N and they have a free one every Friday, or I can use it for my library books which I just love! Like Jennifer said it is really light and the battery lasts a long time. The audio books sound good as well.I will also say that initially I planned to buy the ipad and I borrowed my brothers to read a book it did get heavy after a time and the light did begin to irritate me by the end of the book. I did love it with all of its features but I decided I really needed a dedicated ereader.
Like Irene said it really is about personal preference. I think best buy carries them all so you can play with each one, because they all have pros and cons. The only suggestion I would make is no matter which device you decide to buy use calibre to organize your books it is such a great program.
Good Luck!
I have a kindle and love it! Target was selling kindles (although I believe most of them are out of stock now, with the new ones due out soon) and the CS for Amazon is awesome! I broke the screen on my kindle while I was in Iraq and when I called them (home on leave) they replaced it for me free of charge and fedex'd it so I would have it before I left! My recommendation would be the check out the specific stores - B&N, Amazon, Sony and see who has the best offering of books that you read and price. There are other places where you can buy books for all systems - I use Ellora's Cave, Mybookstoreandmore, loose-id and a variety of others.
The one disadvantage to the kindle is that you can't read library books on it - but if your local/state library doesn't have a good selection then that might not be a consideration for you. I'm thinking that I might pick up a Sony Ereader as a secondary, becuase my state library system has a great selection.
I have an iPhone, and I use Stanza application to read my books.That's a lot of page flicking since the screen is so small, but it fits in my pocket. I take it everywhere. I can't live it without it.
I also have a nook, and it really is amazing. I use it for almost everything. You can read PDF files on it as well, which makes it really helpful for work.
I agree with the person that said to go try the ereaders out at the store. I pretty much post the same thing in every ereader thread...try it out. Watch the demo videos on all of the respective websites (Sony, Amazon, B&N, etc.). Frequent forums like mobilereads as well if you have a question that we can't answer for you here.For me, I like having the feature of purchasing books direct from my device and having them delivered instantly right to my reader. This is great for series reads, when you finish a book at midnight and want to keep going but can't get to the library or store.
I own a Nook and love it for the cover displays in color, but I will be getting a K3 as well later in the year. Both Nook and Kindle are excellent devices.
As for the phone/ipad thing. I get why people like the convenience and it works for a lot of people. If you need a device for multitasking, go with the ipad. If you want something that you use mainly for reading, then a dedicated ereader is the way to go.
If you ever get eyestrain from using a computer, I'd stick with a dedicated ereader that doesn't have a backlight. You can always purchase a clip on light for reading in bed. Regular books don't come with lights either and we've managed to read those just fine!
Nook has color?I didn't know that.
It's the one thing I miss with my Sony- no color
The "ink" is great though- you can read it outside.
I like the feature with buttons on both sides. The Sony doesn't have that.
When I get really into a book, my thumb starts to hurt after a while.
Only on the touchscreen part. Not on the reading screen. The touchscreen is what you use to view your book covers though.
I have the kindle, and I love it. Have the latest gen on preorder. I don't think there's a huge difference between the Nook and Kindle that has to do with actual reading.
Delicious Dee the book slut wrote: "I have a kindle and love it! Target was selling kindles (although I believe most of them are out of stock now, with the new ones due out soon) and the CS for Amazon is awesome! I broke the screen..."You can get library books on an eReader? Which ones?
Thanks!
I got my Sony Reader because I can read library books on it. I've heard that the Nook can do this too, but I bought my Sony before the Nook was released. It's holding up great. I've read hundreds of books on it. You can check at overdrive.com to see if there's a library near you that has ebooks.
I have a Sony Reader that I love, but I will be honest. I can find my books much cheaper than at the Sony Book store. I'm in a tug-of-war right now because my birthday is coming up and my hubby was going to get me an ipad. Though I like it I think personally he wants it for himself hehe. I read some reviews and it did state that since the ipad has an LCD screen that it causes eye strain. If you read more than a book a month they said some other reader might be better. So I think I will go with the new Kindle even though they are out of stock. If I get the ipad I'd rather have a 2nd generation anyway. I do get books for my sony reader from my library. They are in pdf or epub format so the sony reader has no problem. But I would like to be able to listen to audiobooks if I want from my reader. I've had my Sony Reader for 2 or 3 years now and it works great. I buy my books from all over the place. So it will be my secondary if I can't get what I want with the Kindle(at the cheapest price). Think I will go for the newest model but not the super large one. I don't know if I want a 9"screen will have to think on that one. I like the size of my Sony.
I finally got my eReader. It's a Sony Touch Screen. I am very pleased with it. The only thing what annoys me, and that is because I do not know how to do is, when I transfer my eBook from my library to Reader, he does not display the name of the book or author. I tried to fix it in the library, but I didn’t find the way. And I didn’t manage with Reader. It frustrates me that instead of title and writer's name is an empty place and date, and “Currently reading “ only stands exactly that, also without title and author. Does anyone know how to solve it?
I've had a Kindle since Amazon first offered them - upgraded to the K2 when it was released and have a K3 on order now. Obviously, I'm hooked! I'm a serious gadget geek, so I also have the iPad. I love it, but I don't read books on it unless I'm on my lunch hour or in the gym. Those are great spots where an iPad comes in handy because you can go online, listen to music, play games or just read your book.
But if you're a serious reader, like reading for hours at a stretch, you'll want an ereader. The eye strain from reading on my iPad is what keeps me a Kindle enthusiast.
Laura wrote: "...You can get library books on an eReader? Which ones?Thanks! "
Like Colleen said as far as I know it is just the nook and sony.
@Malena I use calibre to track my library it is a great system and does awesome conversions for when I download free kindle books on my computer.
I have an aluratek libre pro. I am able to download books from the San Francisco Public library.
I bought a Nook recently and have been enjoying it. Barnes and Nobles has been giving away free ebooks on a regular basis, so my Nook is full of books. I can check my email on it--or go to Facebook, too, if I am somewhere where there is wi-fi. You can load any pdf file into it to read--but if you want to make notations in the book, you must load in a epub file.
I still have my eBookwise reader which I am continuing to use because I can read in the dark with it.
The dh and I got Nooks for our anniversary and I like it a lot. We got the Nook because it had wi-fi and the older kindle didn't. But the new kindle is fully loaded so you should be good if you go that way.
I started with a sony ereader, but the screen broke (totally my fault. dropped it really hard). I now have an iPad, which I LOVE. but if you are only going, or mainly going, to use it as an ereader TOTALLY not worth the huge price tag. I use all the bells and whistles, so I can somewhat rationalize not returning it when I had the chance! the Sony ereader was great. and it accepts library eBooks (unlike the iPad). very easy to use, and good value. I would have most likely gotten another one had I not received my iPad as a gift.
kobobooks.com has it's own ereader that is the least expensive I've seen ANYWHERE but I've never used it and don't know it's limitations, but do know it's pretty basic.
hth!
I just got a kindle 2. It's great I love the audio function. However, the first month I had it I spent a lot on books because of the one-click purchase function. I didn't realize how much I was spending until the end of the month. Now I download pdf files from 4shared. The formatting is not as nice but its free and you can still view it on the kindle. Does anyone know how to convert a pdf format to a kindle format?
You can download a free program called Mobipocket Creator (make sure you get the full version) to convert PDF files into .prc files. Then you can drag those files to the Documents file of your Kindle. Or you can email them to your Kindle and Amazon will convert them for a small fee.
what's 4shared? wondering if they'd work on my iPad. because I have same problem. I've been buying at least a book a day, and I'm going broke!
putting in another vote for Nook. I am a librarian and our system purchases a lot of ebooks and transferring them to my nook is super simple with adobe digital editions.
gert wrote: "what's 4shared? wondering if they'd work on my iPad. because I have same problem. I've been buying at least a book a day, and I'm going broke!"Sandy wrote: "You can download a free program called Mobipocket Creator (make sure you get the full version) to convert PDF files into .prc files. Then you can drag those files to the Documents file of your Kind..."
Thank you! Reading books with ?random? question marks all? over was giving me? a headache.
Gert, I think we all have that problem.
4shared.com is a free download site. You just create a free account and they type in the name of the book and they usually have it. You have to wait 20 seconds for the free one to download. Also, make sure the one you pick is in English, they have a lot of Spanish books on there too.
Sandy wrote: "You can download a free program called Mobipocket Creator (make sure you get the full version) to convert PDF files into .prc files. Then you can drag those files to the Documents file of your Kind..."Where would I download that? I tried 4shared but my computer won't open a .rar file. What format should it be in?
I have a Sony Pocket Edition and I also use my ITouch to read Kindle books (though I don't like to use it for more than short stories or novellas). I don't know how a Sony compares to other ereaders as it is the only one I have used. One complaint I have is that the reaction time is a little slow. I would like to see that speed up a bit. I chose the Sony because I thought it was more flexible in the file formats it reads and you can get ebooks from the library (and hopefully my library will do that one day, lol!)
Not to be a downer or anything, but downloading books from 4shared that you didn't purchase is a little like piracy. Just because you CAN find and download books from 4shared doesn't mean it's OK (at least in the publisher's and author's minds). Everyone can make their own decisions about what they want to do. I just wanted to point out that it's not exactly legal.And BTW, a .rar file is another type of archived/compressed file like .zip. WinRAR is one app that will extract them, and it has a 30-day trial before you have to pay for it. 7-zip is an open source (free) program that will also extract RAR files (as well as many other archive formats).
Sorry... let me add one exception: If the publisher/author has given permission for the work to be distributed freely, there's no issue with getting it from wherever you can. Most books, however, have that little "this book is not distributable/transferable/yadda yadda" page at the very front.
I love the Free Fridays promotions at Barnes & Nobles. This week they're offering Elisabeth Naughton's MARKED as a free download.
Heather in FL wrote: "Not to be a downer or anything, but downloading books from 4shared that you didn't purchase is a little like piracy. Just because you CAN find and download books from 4shared doesn't mean it's OK (..."Not to be even more of a downer, but there's no ambiguity about it. It actually is piracy and illegal. That is in the eyes of the law, not the publisher/author. Just wanted to clarify in case some don't want to be actually breaking the law and denying someone they're royalties :)
Jeanine wrote: "Not to be even more of a downer, but there's no ambiguity about it..."You're absolutely right. "A little like piracy" is similar to "a little pregnant". I think I was trying to ease into it, but you're right -- it's a clear black and white issue.
Heather, I kind of figured that's what you were doing, but just wanted to really nail it just in case some thought it was unethical, but not illegal.
As an author, I always upload my manuscript into one of my ereaders to check for mistakes. So it is important for me to be able to convert my .doc files into either .rb (for the eBookwise) or epub (for the Nook). With the eBookwise, I simply upload my file to the eBookwise website which converts it (for free) for me so I can load it into the reader.
For my Nook, I downloaded Calibre. That converts my files into epub files for the Nook.
I do check through my manuscripts on the computer, but I double check everything in the ereader. Plus reading is easier using one of the ereaders.
Penelope wrote: "I love the Free Fridays promotions at Barnes & Nobles. This week they're offering Elisabeth Naughton's MARKED as a free download."Penelope, thanks for the heads up. I found another one that looks interesting too.
Is there a link to the Friday Freebie? I had to do a search on the Naughton book to find it. It wasn't in the Free ebooks link from the left sidebar.
Do you have to have Nook for the Friday Freebie? I have a Sony.
If you go to BN.com it has an option to download the free ebook. You may have to sign in/sign up with BN on their website.I forgot what today's book is but I looked up the last one posted and found it here.
http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.c...
I have always just downloaded them right to my Nook, but I'm assuming that since it gives the option on the website to download, you can send it to your computer and go from there. The software is epub which is pretty standard (unless you have a kindle), so it might work or you might be able to Calibre convert it.
Worst case scenario you can probably read it from the computer, but I know that getting it onto an ereader is preferable.
If you don't mind reading on your computer then you can download the B&N app for free. I have it on my ITouch.
Friday free days are the best for B&N. In addition to the two mentioned above you can also get pride prejudice and zombies plus if you like the maximum ride series they have a free one for that one as well. Not to mention a few free romance novels.I also downloaded the kindle app so I can get free books from them as well.
By the way did you all know you can get free ebooks from here on goodreads?
I love free books!
I have the Nook and love it. I bought it when it first came out and had to replace it 3 times before I suppose the kinks got worked out of it. The new ones are cheaper and sooooo much better and I can not live without it. Barnes & Noble has been wonderful with help in everything.
Oh and Darkfever is free until the end of the month (at B&N).
*edit* scratch the post I just made. It appears that Amazon and Sony are now charging for this book again. Too bad it's not free anymore. :(
Stacia (new) (new) wrote: "The software is epub which is pretty standard (unless you have a kindle), so it might work or you might be able to Calibre convert it. "It's secure ePub (i.e. DRM enabled), so you can't use Calibre to convert it. :-( I tried downloading it on my phone earlier and the B&N app was NOT cooperating. Sucks because it looked like a good book. I may try again tomorrow -- I mean I "bought" the free book, I just couldn't download it for some reason.
I have a Kindle and an iPad. I absolutely love both but the Kindle is more comfortable to read with. My mother in law has a Nook. I played with hers and put them side by side to make comparisons bc I am buying an ereader for my daughter for Christmas. I honestly thought I would like her Nook better but I didn't. The touch screen is somewhat slower to respond in comparison to the Kindle or didn't respond at all sometimes. She's had to take it back to B&N twice because of problems. Plus Amazon's book are almost always cheaper. Will be buying one(Kindle) for my daughter soon. Good Luck.............
Heather in FL wrote: "Stacia (new) (new) wrote: "The software is epub which is pretty standard (unless you have a kindle), so it might work or you might be able to Calibre convert it. "It's secure ePub (i.e. DRM enabl..."
Ack. That stinks.
I know its no excuse but I justify it by saying that I still spend about 50 dollars a month on books and I've actually increased my spending since owning a kindle and downloading off 4shared. It's like the downloading of illegal music, the biggest perps still buy the most records. Also, if I like the author enough I usually buy a hardcover version of the book to read it a second time.
I'm a downloader. I did spend 300 buck on my ereader though so some segment of the population is still making money off of me.
I have an iPad, and I totally love it. eyestrain is no issue for me, but that's a very individual thing - my bff feels a screaming headache coming on after surfing the net for an hour, while I can do a 6hr run of intense document revisions on that crappy old monitor at work with no issues at all. Basically, if you're ok with staring at the computer for a few hours at a time at work, the smoother pixels on an iPad are no problem.I'm a book hoarder from way back, and I thought I'd never say this, but I actually far prefer reading on my iPad than a dead-tree book. I can prop it up on whatever surface is handy, pages don't get bent or crushed from being tossed in my handbag, and my carpal tunnel wrists don't have to grip it in such a way to keep pages open. All of which is true no matter what reader you have. Download the free readers from b&n and amazon, snag some of their free books, and try it out on your computer to see how you feel about ebooks in general.
One of the reasons I'm such a fan of my iPad is that the price wars are flaming along right now, and there's no clear winner yet. I'm not locked into any one retailer's store, so I can comparison shop. I have a handful of different reader programs on here to choose from: kindle because their store is biggest and usually cheapest and for their awesome selection of free books (go to amazon's kindle books page, and look for the top free books list halfway down on the right), b&n for their free books (new set of free classics every week!), iBooks for sideloading epub format books from indie sources, and goodreader for pdfs and plain-text books.
Kindles are getting cheaper, and the kobo is quite affordable, so there's plenty of choice. I just also play mahjong and check goodreads on this thing as well.
BTW, you can always get free books at www.gutenberg.orgThe old classics are there. I just finished The Red Rover, by James Fenimore Cooper, which I downloaded from Gutenberg. They have audio books, too.
