What is the best e-reader?

[Dee]

from what i've heard, there is only a very limited number of children picture books that are available in ebook format - there was someone on the amazon kindle boards, who bought their daughter a nook color for christmas for that reason, but when it came to actually finding books, they were disappointed in the availablity - just something to consider.

i have a kindle and love it - for me the library isn't a big issue - I took a look at a few of the popular books that I considered getting - the girl with the dragon tattoo has 50 people on the list waiting to read the ebook format - at 2 weeks a checkout that is a long time to wait...lol

[Lisa]

For me, the biggest issue is the library. I need to borrow, not buy, most of my books. Kindles aren't that expensive anymore, but even with some free and inexpensive books available, cost is a huge factor because of the books. It might change, but when I've checked the library, the wait times for e-books don't seem to be much better than for traditional text books, but they're not much worse either. It's a moot issue right now. I shouldn't spend the money on any e-reader. I might take some trips, starting this autumn, and then I might consider one, but while Kindles are appealing (I am used to purchasing from Amazon) I'd probably go with a Nook because of being able to get at least some library books on it.

[Chrissie]

For readability, the Kindle is fabulous. I am very happy with my purchase. I do want the prices and availabilty of books to improve.

[Manybooks]

Chrissie wrote: "For readability, the Kindle is fabulous. I am very happy with my purchase. I do want the prices and availabilty of books to improve."

I am glad you are happy with your Kindle, Chrissie. I don't think you can do much about the prices, but I would let Amazon know that you want the availability of books to improve, especially if you have issues with the kinds of books that are available for the Kindle.

[Chrissie]

Gundula, I shouldn't complain. I found eigtht that I can definitely order....... and now I am going to try and borrow one! Exciting! I am alittle bit nervous, petrified I will do something wrong. I LOVE reading with it. I have planned to alternate between a paper book and a Kindle! I MUST read the books I have, but it is a pain using a magnifying glass when you know other alternatives exist. Jeeze, what if I had gone on buying books. THAT was ridiculous.

[Manybooks]

Chrissie wrote: "Gundula, I shouldn't complain. I found eigtht that I can definitely order....... and now I am going to try and borrow one! Exciting! I am alittle bit nervous, petrified I will do something wrong. I..."

Chrissie, I was not thinking of actually complaining, but maybe sending them a list of books that are not currently available for the Kindle and suggesting that they maybe be made available. You never know, you might get lucky and inspire Amazon to release more books (or the books on your list) for the Kindle.

Reading with a magnifying glass must be such a pain, I am glad that the Kindle is working for you.

[Chrissie]

Gundula, I do not think it is really Amazon's fault. There are signed agreements with the publishers that determine where a book can be sold. As publishers see that customers want their books in this format, the agreements will change. Ereaders ARE much less common in Europe. Progress is being made!

[Sherry]

Lisa wrote: "My library has e-books for just about all formats, including the Nook and the Sony e-readers, but not for the Kindle, and I assume Amazon will never allow for Kindle e-books to be loaned as library..."

My son wants a nook; when I asked him why, he said "Because it's for reading, and that's all. You can't read email, text, surf the net, or anything else that might distract you. You're just reading."

[Lisa]

Sherry wrote: "My son wants a nook; when I asked him why, he said "Because it's for reading, and that's all. You can't read email, text, surf the net, or anything else that might distract you. You're just reading."

That's great! And that's what I'd want an e-reader for too. I have a smart phone that can access the internet and a computer already.

[Manybooks]

Sherry wrote: "Lisa wrote: "My library has e-books for just about all formats, including the Nook and the Sony e-readers, but not for the Kindle, and I assume Amazon will never allow for Kindle e-books to be loan..."

That is so cool. Your son just wants an e-reader for reading, without all the other bells and whistles. I'll keep that in mind if and when I ever decide to get an e-reader; I would not want all that extra "junk" as well (each to his/her own, I guess, but for me, I would only want an e-reader for reading).

[Manybooks]

Chrissie wrote: "Gundula, I do not think it is really Amazon's fault. There are signed agreements with the publishers that determine where a book can be sold. As publishers see that customers want their books in th..."

I hope you get a lot of reading fun out of your Kindle. I'm so glad that the device is working for you :-)

[Chrissie]

Thanks Gundula! I just borrowed a book for two weeks - free!! It worked.

[[deleted user]]

I am very happy that it has worked out so well for you Chrissie! I'll keep it on the back burner now, myself.

[Lisa]

Chrissie wrote: "Thanks Gundula! I just borrowed a book for two weeks - free!! It worked."

Hooray! I hope you have the opportunity to borrow many more, Chrissie.

[Chrissie]

So today I get to switch to my Kindle again :0) You can borrow ebooks for 2 weeks. The book has to be available for purchase both in the US, Americans are the only ones that can lend, but also in Europe. The book I will be rading was free for a while in the US, but in Europe it costs almost 14€. Most ebooks cost this in Europe. Amazon is pulling in the money! Their organization is excellent!

[[deleted user]]

That's a nice chunk of change for an e-book! I'm glad you can borrow the one you are currently reading. :)

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, it is wonderful that this is allowed. I hope soon Europeans will be allowed to lend books. I read it at the dentist, on the metro, it is fabulous!

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Chrissie, I'm so glad you are enjoying your kindle! Is it living up to your expectations?

[Chrissie]

Lee, I love it.

[Andrea]

I love my Nookcolor!It was the best Christmas present I bought myself.I love to download all my favorite books.

[Lisa]

Andrea wrote: "I love my Nookcolor!It was the best Christmas present I bought myself.I love to download all my favorite books."

Chrissie wrote: "Lee, I love it."

Right now I'm happy with my paper books, and lucky to be able to easily read them. But I might go away this autumn and next year, and I'm tempted to buy an e-reader.

You guys are making it hard! They each have their plusses and minuses.

For me, the library is a consideration, but I've been reading that perhaps libraries might not continue to have e-books for free loan, so... ???

[Dee]

i don't know about the free loan issue, but I know there were some publishers discussing limiting the amount of downloads that each book have it the library had it - maybe 26 was a number that I heard being bandied around

[Lisa]

Delicious Dee Challenge Addict wrote: "maybe 26 was a number that I heard being bandied around "

Well, I live in a large city with a huge number or library patrons, and a library with really heavy use, so any limit could be a significant problem.

[Dee]

i've only heard it mentioned in passing - I think maybe HarperCollins was the publisher mentioned...a limit of 26 borrows would be equivalent to about a years use - because they are two week periods you download for (I don't know if you can return ebooks early or not, I know you can't return audiobooks early through the same system).

[Lisa]

Dee, I'll keep up with any news about this that comes out. I guess I can ask my public library too; they might know something.

[Maude]

Delicisious Dee, I have never heard of not being able to return anything from the library early. Why do they not let you do that?

[Roxy]

I have a first generation Nook and I adore it. I recently looked at the second generation Nook and I like that one much better. I plan on getting it for Christmas.

[Venessa]

Hi I apologise upfront if this question has been answered.. Im looking for an e reader that i can transfer my own collection of already downloaded ebooks from my p/c to the e reader..

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Hi Venessa, I wish I could answer that for you but I don't have an e-reader yet. I'm sure one of our members will know the answer to your question.

[Venessa]

Thanx Lee, i have googled it and im not getting an answer that makes any sense..

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Hopefully someone here will see the action on this thread and respond. :-)

[[deleted user]]

What format are you e-books in, Venessa? Did you get them from audible.com or somewhere else?

[Venessa]

Some where else.. there actually in many many diff forms, but i can change the format if need be.. :)

[Kim]

I can't answer this in great detail, but I have a kindle and I can download ebooks on to it from sites such as Project Gutenberg. The kindle will also handle PDF documents.

[Eclectic]

Sherry wrote: My son wants a nook; when I asked him why, he said "Because it's for reading, and that's all. You can't read email, text, surf the net, or anything else that might distract you. You're just reading."

Sherry that is cool that your son wants an e-reader to just read books. That is exactly why I purchased my Sony e-reader several years ago. I also do a lot of book reviews and the Sony can read several formats such as PDF, DOC, TXT, ePUB, RTF which is not the case with Kindles.

The Sony e-reader is not fancy, but it gets the job done.

[Josh]

I have a Kindle being delivered tomorrow in the mail. Hoping I enjoy it! :)

[Chrissie]

Josh, I have a Kindle and I absolutely love it. It is still the ereader with the most ebooks availlable. The reading visibility is superb and Amazon may b e expensive but they do offer an excellent service supporting the management of the product. I think you will be pleased. My one complaint is tiat even the menus should be able to be viewed in different font sizes. I do not think this is of importance to most people.

[Kim]

I'm with you, Chrissie. Love my kindle!

[Chrissie]

Kim, :0)

[Chrissie]

Kim, :0)

[Mike]

My wife bought me a Kindle several months ago, and it was love at first sight. It is so easy to use. I take it everywhere.

[[deleted user]]

I am really enjoying my Kobo Touch signing out library ebooks most of the time. One thing I did find out afterwards, is that the dictionary only works when using books purchased from the Kobo site.

[Roz]

My daughter-in-law has had a Kindle for a few years now and the idea always appealed to me so I bought a Kindle last January because I was going to Aruba for 2 weeks. Loved Aruba but that's another story. I downloaded 5 books to take with me. One light, easy package. I even downloaded another book while I was there with no problem. I don't buy books that are more than $9.50 because that would usually make it more expensive than a paperback. I did make a mistake once and bought a $12 book and called Amazon and they took care of it right away. My only issue is that sometimes there are typos, sometimes quite a few. Not often but right now I'm reading a Terry Goodkind book that has a lot.
I still read books that I hold and borrow from my local library, too.

[Aoibhínn]

I had a Sony PRST1 and I have a Kindle4 now. I prefer the Kindle.

[Chrissie]

I just wanted to add here that the Kindles have been improved. The menu, where your list of books are, does remain in a small font, however with a quick tap on a button you can have all in the menu list spoken. This is great for those visually impaired. Also the book descriptions at the store can be spoken rather than read. :0)

[[deleted user]]

I LOVE my kindle. It's light weight, easy to read off the screen, I can adjust font sizes, email PDF's to it, the list goes on. Plus books are instant! My husband bought me one for my birthday this year. He may be regretting it! I'm like a kid in a sweet shop. And series! No more waiting for the next book, simply click and it's on your kindle. I still love paperbacks, and if I love a book I definitely want the paperback too, but kindles are wonderful!

Oh and as a writer I use the text to speech function, it really points out the typos.

[Andrew✌️]

I bought my Kinlde4 one year ago. It's the model without touch screen, but for me is perfect. I read a lot of ebook and this is my prefered way of reading. You can syncronize your library with Amazon account and modify orientation and character size.
Linking it to PC, you can also copy your ebooks. For against, Kindle4 doesnt't read epub format. I have to say however, that this is the first ebook reader that I buy. I have heard a collegue that own a Kobo, but it didn't me a good impression.

[Laima]

I do like my Kobo glo which lights up and has the touch screen feature. It is nicer to use than a kindle but there are lots of bugs with this product. Syncing with your library is a huge problem. I have also had my kobo replaced twice already. Customer service is awful.

If I were to get a new e-reader I would get the light up Kindle, paperwhite version with touch screen.

[Renee]

Had the Nook was a pain. Have a Kindle now and it's great!If you do have a Kindle check out the ebook cafe on facebook. Great place to pick up free or dicounted ebooks no matter what you read. comes up about 4 times a day with different books.

[Nita]

Has anyone used Kindle Paperwhite? I've read reviews and many customers think that this device is even better than the Kindle with Keyboard. What do you think?