Do you read e-books?

I want to start reading e-books, but not sure what type of e-reader device to use.  Any suggestions / opinions?

I've had a kindle for about 3-4 years now and a Kindle Fire for 2.  I love them both (the Kindle is better for reading; but they sync so I can read on both).

One thing that sold me on the Kindle back then was the amount of books available.  I primarily read Christian fiction; and they had more titles available than other online book sources.  I've also had good experiences with their customer service for the kindles.  The battery life on my kindle is great!  That was important to me too.  I also like to look through the free books they have.  I haven't tried borrowing from the Library.  I have Amazon Prime (as of this year) so now that means I get to borrow some for free too.  

I'm not familiar with the other options out there (though I did look at the Nook in store).  The things that were important (beyond price) were how easy on the eyes it is (I used to love to read all night), the battery life, the weight (I like to read while laying on the couch.) and how much I could read on it.  Things may have changed with other brands since then.  I know a few people here are Nook users.  We are a kindle house.  So it really might just take looking at what features you find most important and going from there. 

Good luck!  

I have a Nook HD+ that replaced my old Nook Tablet. I really like my Nook.

That being said, there are a lot of people who use and like their Kindles, too. (I think Mooch and I were posting at about the same time.  )

Natalie_CA uses a Kobe, I think.

I downloaded the Kindle App to my Nook, so I can use either one. And if there's something that's only on Amazon, I can download it anyway and read it. Both Nook and Amazon have "Free Fridays" where a book is chosen for us to download for free. Most of the time, it's the same book. They also do games and apps, too.

If you're interested in using it for reading purposes only, buy only a basic or an inexpensive reading device. Since you're not going to use it for the internet or for games, it doesn't make sense to buy one with a lot of bells and whistles. That's my opinion, FWIW. And I don't think the bells and whistles versions have batteries that last as long as what a simple e-reader has. You might want to check on that....there's nothing more annoying for me to settle down with my Nook and realize that the battery has a 15% charge left. I've gotten to the point where I charge mine up every night. But I also use mine for internet when we're away on vacation and I do play games on my Nook, too.

For reading, I really do like my Nook. I like being able to visit our library at midnight or when it's snowing. The bad thing about library e-books is that there's usually a really long waitlist for the really popular books and when the books first come out. It's been nothing for me to be on a Hold list and be the 83 person on the list; fortunately that doesn't happen often. Most of the time I may be fifth or even tenth. But there's always (always!) something I can find that is worth reading.

Overall, I like using an e-reader. I thought I'd have trouble with it, getting used to not turning pages and the like. But I don't. I put my Nook into a cover and, really, the heft of a book is there. I open the cover, just like you would a book. I had no trouble getting used to it.

Hey Mooch & Winchester!  Thanks for the quick replies.   My first instinct was to get a Kindle, but as my main source of books will be the public library, a Kindle won't work as apparently it is not compatible with e-books in Canada.

I think, for now, I just want something to read books on, so a simple e-reader will work.   All the Black Friday sales seem to have a Kobo Aura in their ads.  I don't see anything on the Nook at all.

Being # 83 on the wait list for a book is a bit scary.  Hopefully everyone doesn't read as slowly as I do, as I am worried I won't finish books I download in the 21 days before they expire!

Winchester said:

 
For reading, I really do like my Nook. I like being able to visit our library at midnight or when it's snowing. The bad thing about library e-books is that there's usually a really long waitlist for the really popular books and when the books first come out. It's been nothing for me to be on a Hold list and be the 83 person on the list; fortunately that doesn't happen often. Most of the time I may be fifth or even tenth. But there's always (always!) something I can find that is worth reading.

Overall, I like using an e-reader. I thought I'd have trouble with it, getting used to not turning pages and the like. But I don't. I put my Nook into a cover and, really, the heft of a book is there. I open the cover, just like you would a book. I had no trouble getting used to it.

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That is how I felt about it.  I wasn't sure I could enjoy it but then my DH and I were in a Barnes & Noble one day and I saw a girl holding one.  I did buy a good case for mine; it's worth protecting the investment.  Plus the case holds a book light.  Less backlighting on the page is better for your eyes.

With the free books through Amazon I always find things to read.     Some bloggers will put out lists to highlight good reads from the freebie list too.  

Hopefully some of our members in Canada will see your post to answer too!

https://www.bookbub.com/home/ Low-priced books and even some free ones. I signed up and I get a small list of books every day via email. You can download for Kindle or for Nook.

The first eReader I got was a simple Nook, which I still love. It's easily portable and I can carry it in my purse for when the mood strikes to read.  I also a couple years ago got a Kindle Fire, which I love.  I download free books and read them in bed at night.  It's heavier than I would like, but not too bad, and it's lighted.  They have the simple eReaders that are lighted now too, so they are probably better if all you do is read.  I do use the Kindle for other stuff than reading though.  I haven't tried the library since I first got it.  The wait list for the book I wanted to read was so long I just broke down and bought it.

I use a Kindle Fire. I am the type who *needs* to be reading something in the bathroom, and I do a lot of reading. I decided on getting an e-reader after a particularly heavy book slipped off my hands and landed hard on my toe. I use the Kindle for bedtime reading/surfing and couch-netflixing too.

I have a Kobo Touch. Love it!  It is strictly an eReader. There is no back light for the screen.  So if you want to read in the dark you need to either use a book light or turn on a lamp. The screen is no-glare, so it's like actually looking at the paper in a real book.  It does have internet capability but it's not fast, and is really only good for connecting to Kobo to buy books, or to look up definitions of words etc.

I have about 8 gigs of books in .epub format.

Winchester said:

https://www.bookbub.com/home/ Low-priced books and even some free ones. I signed up and I get a small list of books every day via email. You can download for Kindle or for Nook.

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Thanks for the link! I get a daily newsletter from bookgorilla.com for free/discounted Kindle books and also download from sites like Project Gutenberg and ManyBooks, which offer various formats.

E-books are my preference! I'm on my second Kindle - a Paperwhite this time so that I can read in bed without a reading lamp. It has a leather cover that gives it a "book feel", but that's not something I really miss. Being able to carry an entire library on vacation, etc., turn a page with a quick tap or swipe, and instantly gratify your needs via online ordering spoils you. Another big plus is being able to change the font size in order to read without glasses.

Yesterday, Staples had an in-store deal; if you bought a laptop at $399 or higher, you got a free Kindle e-reader. Rick said he'd buy me a laptop for Christmas this year (I haven't decided yet) and we were going to take advantage of that offer and he would take the Kindle. But it was JUST an e-reader with no bells and whistles. Rick is not the book reader that I am; he was hoping for one that he could use for gaming and that wasn't it. 

I use ManyBooks, too, Tricia. And I always look at the Nook (and Kindle) Free Fridays stuff.

Thanks for all the replies.  Good to see so many readers.  Do you all buy more or less books since you got e-readers.

I love to read, but read slow and thoroughly, so never read the same book twice, therefore buying books is mostly impractical for me. That is why the library downloads seem perfect for me.

I read more than I was for awhile, because it was hard to read regular books in bed.  However, I don't actually buy many books, I download the free ones.  That way it's something to read and if I don't like it I can delete it and not feel bad. 

On the Nook, I read books that I do buy, better quality books, and I usually just read them at lunch.  Takes me a long time to read those, so library books wouldn't work because they would come due before I finished.

I can't imagine going without reading, and I never read just one book at a time.

I don't do e-books. I am reading Stephen King's book Revival.

Santa brought me a Kobo Aura e-reader for Christmas  I really like it. I've already found several free books to download on the Kobo website.  Definitely enough to keep me busy for a while.

Just wondering, though, if anyone knows if you can get the free Kindle books from Amazon to work on a Kobo?

I don't know, Rubysmama. @Natalie_ca  has a Kobo. Hopefully she'll see this and answer your question for you.

I have a Nook, which uses the e-pub format. I think Kindle has its own format, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for your reply, @Winchester   I've since done some Googling and it appears there is a way to read Kindle books on a Kobo, but it requires a couple of other programs.  So not sure if it is worth the effort or not. Especially since Bookbub has more that enough free books (for Kobo) to keep me reading for a long, long time. Thanks for mentioning it, btw.

rubysmama said:

 
Santa brought me a Kobo Aura e-reader for Christmas  I really like it. I've already found several free books to download on the Kobo website.  Definitely enough to keep me busy for a while.

Just wondering, though, if anyone knows if you can get the free Kindle books from Amazon to work on a Kobo?

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I just saw this thread, again

I have a Kobo Touch which I absolutely love!  I want to get the Kobo Aura H20 eventually.

The file formats that you can use with Kobo are:

• Books: EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, and MOBI
• Documents: PDF
• Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, and TIFF
• Text: TXT, HTML, and RTF
• Comic Books: CBZ and CBR


Unfortunately some readers such as Kindle are very proprietary and have their own formats; AZW format which is incompatible with Kobo.

It is possible to get a Kindle book to read on Kobo but it requires some effort to convert the AZW file to a format that Kobo can read.

http://www.epubsoft.com/how-to-read-kindle-books-on-kobo.html

I tried it once, but didn't have much success.   I can usually find the books I want to read in EPUB format, on the internet so I don't bother with Amazon for books.

I have a large number of books in EPUB, PDF and MOBI formats. If anyone has a reader that can read those formats, I would be willing to share some of them with you. I believe good books should be passed around for others to enjoy.  Send me a PM if you're interested in trading books.

Hope that helps

PS: I sent you a private message

Thanks @Natalie_ca that was the same conclusion I came to about the Kindle books as well - not worth the effort.  Thanks for the PM, as well.