Favorite E-book reader?

[mlts22]

One reason I'm looking at a type "B" is that I can go to a fairly secluded area, unfurl the awning, plop down a camp chair, and start reading a book with few distractions. Or, in the 100+ degree Texas heat, fire up the roof A/C and generator and read inside at a table.

What do people have for their favorite E-book reader? A dedicated E-ink reader like a Kindle Keyboard, a smaller reader like the Nook HD or Nexus 7, or a larger one like the HD+, Nexus 10, or iPad?

This isn't really for a general purpose tablet, but for just sitting and reading books with as little bother as possible.

[Davydd]

I use an Apple iPad. Reasons.

1. I only need and desire to carry and account for one tablet and it is the best, IMO.

2. It syncs with my iPhone, MacBook Pro laptop and I can read on all those devices. I also read my hometown newspaper's, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, print replica edition that is exactly like the published paper. With the retina screens I can easily read on both my iPad and MacBook Pro laptop without even magnifying. I also read a lot of magazines.

3. When I buy books they also sync with my wife's iPad and iPhone because we use the same account so she can read them at the same time.

4. I can buy and download books from Apple, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Google and any other source. Apple has 20% of the book market shut out to anyone else.

5. No one source has all the books, not even Amazon. I primarily read from Apple iBooks first, but very often go to Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and Overdrive to download from my local library.

6. I can shop for the best price from all those sources. There are several different reader apps, iBooks, Nook, Kindle, Overdrive, etc. They are almost all equal for reading what I read most such as mystery novels. I have other readers but don't use them much. There are a lot of book apps that are a single book and their own reader like the Bible, The United States Manual, Shakespeare complete compendium, etc.

7. Apple has an easy to use free iBooks author primarily for creating illustrated textbooks. There are a lot of textbooks being created with it. Many are free and I have downloaded a few mostly out of curiosity or for a subject that piqued my interest. They have a lead in schools. This is an area that exists but not primary with me.

8. There use to be an old argument about reading outdoors with the e-ink readers. Amazon just about killed that advantage with their new Kindle Fire readers. I read in the B riding down the road, indoors in bed with white lettering on black to keep the light down and in shade outdoors OK.

9. I have the 3rd gen 10" screen ipad and read double page landscape mostly that kind of looks like a book. An iPad weighs quite a bit less than a popular hardcover book and is easier to hold. You do have the option to buy the 8" mini iPad if you like that size and weight better.

10. Bottom line. If there is a digital book out there, I should be able to read it.

[gordonhks]

I use a kindle touch. I have one reason for that. I like the form factor. Very lightweight.

[markopolo]

I read on an iPod Touch. It is probably too small for most people but it is exactly what I like and wanted. I use it to check email, get news & weather, check the forum etc. when out in the B van.

[teachergal]

I have an old-er school Kindle - it's was the one right before the Kindle fire came out - I really didn't want an eReader but the fact that I always take a ton of books with me and only read a few made me realize that the kindle was the way to go. I actually really like reading on the eInk better than I expected I would and better than my other devices - I also have a iPhone and an iPad...although the iPad is pretty nice to read on. The thing I don't like as much about the iPad is that it's bigger than the kindle and awkward to hold while laying in bed. The iPad is superior for reading newspapers, magazines, PDFs, etc... I also like that my kindle books sync across devices when I'm connected to my home network - it doesn't connect when I'm camping though.

The one thing I don't like about the eBooks is that I can't share them. I don't generally like to buy books because I read them and then I'm done, I prefer to use the library and you can't do that with kindle books. My library does offer eBooks for loan but it's hard to get the books, you often have to reserve it and wait awhile.

[Davydd]

I believe you can now use a Kindle for libraries if they subscribe to the Overdrive system which seems to dominate. That is a recent development. You might want to check again.

People wonder why eBooks are so few at libraries. Ebooks are just like real books at a library. If they buy one they can only distribute one at a time electronically even though they are only electrical bits and in theory could be sent out numerous times. When a library buys a popular book they generally have to stock every library branch in a system. So if you reserve, they will just pull one from another branch. With eBooks they don't buy that many, so there are fewer across the system. Budgets haven't caught up to eBooks and they still have to stock the paper books.

When I lay in bed and read an iPad I just rest it on my chest and use one hand to steady it. Sitting in a chair it rests on my lap. I rarely hold it up. Interestingly, an iPad weighs less than 1-1/2 pounds and a popular hardcover novel generally weighs over 3 lbs. Of course, the Kindle E-inks and similar Nooks are about paperback size and weight. The iPad Mini is about that too. The smaller form factor is obviously easier to handle.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by markopolo

I read on an iPod Touch. It is probably too small for most people but it is exactly what I like and wanted. I use it to check email, get news & weather, check the forum etc. when out in the B van.

I use to read on a Palm PDA some dozen or more years ago. I have read some on my iPhone but prefer the iPad now. The iPod and iPhone basically are like reading newspaper column print and I believe studies have shown that is the fastest reading format with less side to side eye movement.

[markopolo]

I'm used to the size too. I read a lot of books on Pocket PC sized devices over a period of 10 years or so and got used to one handed use of the devices. Had I not had that history I probably would have picked something larger than an iPod Touch for reading books.

[Davydd]

My wife downloaded an ebook tonight from our library, The Hennepin County Library which is a major library system in the Twin Cities that also encompasses Minneapolis. They use Overdrive. They gave us the download options of EPub or Kindle with the latest Overdrive app. I assume if we had a Kindle we could have downloaded that book. When you download you have an expiration date. Unlike a paper book that you can just hold as long as you like if you don't mind paying the fine, the EPub goes "poof!" on the expiration date.

[WrongWayRandall]

I don't care for reading on the iPad - we keep that just for a movie at night or if it rains hard enough to keep us indoors. I have a Kindle Paperwhite (for the backlight) and it works very well - lightweight, easy to read, holds a lot of material, and the battery lasts, and lasts, and lasts...

- Randy

[mlts22]

I have a Nook, a Kindle Keyboard, my smartphone and an iPad. I've found that the iPad gets the most use when on the road just because it does everything, be it the Kindle app to iBooks to Scribd renting, to Overdrive.

The iPad isn't the best for everything, but it does everything about 95% OK, so it goes along for the ride.

[accrete]

I read eBooks on both my galaxy 10" tablet and a Kindle PaperWhite. If i'm inside i can read on either...though...my preferred reader is absolutely the KPW. Even at high noon in full sunlight down at the river the Kindle's screen is an amazing white with black text. The technology is fantastic.

On eBooks i can find nearly every title i'm looking for, and i have a very eclectic library. It's great to have hundreds of books on a device and access to tens of thousands through WiFi. And the Amazon Prime Members lending library is used every month for a free book loan.

Thom

[SaraCarboni]

Originally Posted by GemmaCope

These are cool apps, I use them too. I read a lot, especially when I go to the subway, I read from the phone very conveniently, recently in college I was asked to write an essay at edusson.com on a read book and it was very easy for me. In general, I think the best gadget is a book in the original.

I completely agree with you, I also read in the subway. Every day when I go to work, I open my favorite book and read.

[MsNomer]

I have iPad, iPhone and Kindle Paperwhite. iPad is the go-to for everything except reading books—too big. iPhone is most convenient, but soon hurts my eyes, so it’s Kindle for extended reading.

[avanti]

In ca. 1997, I read Moby Dick on a Palm Pilot. People though I was insane.

[Phoebe3]

I use the Kindle PaperWhite. eInk is easiest on my eyes and the charge lasts much longer than a back-lit device like a notepad. I dislike Kindle's proprietary format because the library mostly has epub books, but we have Amazon Prime and that provides more free books than I have time to read.

[tmshih]

Regardless of what you use to read electronic books, BookBub is a nice website to browse discounted books. They screen through all the promotions and make daily lists of the best ones being offered for $2.99 or less.

[JebTN]

Kindle PaperWhite Oasis, I used a 1st generation PaperWhite for years and saw a good deal on a reconditioned Oasis and mentioned to my wife it looked like a good deal but my old one still worked fine and she said buy it, she wanted my old one. Within a year she decided she wanted an Oasis too so the next time I saw a refurb I bought her one. The original is still working and she Whispersync between them so she can leave them in different places around the house. We both also Whispersync to our iPhones for waiting rooms and lines.

Battery lasts a long time and since it is true ePaper you can read it anywhere including full sun.