Do any of you have an E-book reader?

[. . .]

Do any of you have an E-book reader?

I've been thinking of getting an E-book reader for a few reasons:

1. Books can be costly while E-books can be obtained for free (yes, I know - it's usually done illegally. But there are lots of great books out there that can be obtained for free. Anything published a really long time ago where the copyright has been expired can be obtained for free. Some newer books can be legally obtained for free as well).
2. Books can be unwieldy while E-book readers are light and easy to hold (I have some hardcover books that are 1000+ pages in length which suck to hold).
3. Books can be tough to track down while E-books can be found easily (99.99% of the time I can find any E-book I want on torrent sites, in book-related IRC channels and on Emule. If the E-book formats wouldn't be supported by my E-book reader I could simply convert them with document conversion software).
4. Books take a long time to be shipped out through the mail while E-books can be obtained within minutes (I don't buy from local bookstores since a. Most of the books I'm into can't be found at them b. The closest bookstore is about 30 minutes away from me . . . and I don't drive anymore).
5. Books require shelf-space while virtually thousands of E-books can be stored on an E-book reader without taking up any physical space whatsoever.

If you have an E-book reader, how do you think it compares to traditional physical books? Does it compare favorably with them? Which do you prefer - your E-book reader or physical books?

Physical books have the main advantage of not requiring power to function. Also, it's nice to have dust-jackets with your books (IMO). But I feel that E-book readers have much more advantages to them than physical books, but I still need to use an E-book reader to see if the reading "experience" is as good as it is when reading from a "real" book.

If I'm to get an E-book reader anytime soon, it most likely will be a Kindle since that's the best E-book reader on the market at the moment.

 

[jaws]

I've been thinking about getting a kindle also. However, I like the Nook because of it having color, but I don't think it has as crisp a look for text and probably fades out in sunlight. I've also thought about getting an Ipad or Iphone app to make into an e-reader...I know some of you have IPhones/Itouch and IPads so speak up and let us know if those are good e-readers or are they difficult to see in sunlight?

 

[LgndKllr24]

No, I don't really want one. I much prefer physical books. I know they can be a hassle sometimes to carry a lot of them around or move them, but I don't think anything will replace the feeling of having a new book.

 

[gonzerd]

I'd like to have one. I now use the my ipod touch which works fine, but a bigger screen would be nice. I usually read in the dark, but I never found bright sunlight to be that much of a problem. Brightness needs to be way up though, so it does put some strain on battery life.
I like physical books too, but it's usually easier and faster to find the book I want online. When there's a book I really like I'd buy it in physical form. It becomes more a part of my life in that way. One more plus for the physical book is that it all it needs to work is some light. There's no battery life to be concerned about for example, or technical issues.

 

[. . .]

I just got an E-reader for Christmas. It doesn't have that great of a screen (It's LCD and I'm sure that E-ink screens, which is what Kindles and many other popular E-readers have, look better) and its storage capacity isn't high (though it can be expanded on with a memory card), but I'm loving it. I'm just glad that it has a very long battery life and that it has support for many different E-book formats.

My E-reader is the one in front of the Kindle (the Kindle is the one with the keypad):

While I quite like this E-reader, I want to replace it with a more advanced E-reader eventually. But I'll wait until I've gotten a bit of use out of this E-reader.

Right now I've narrowed down my choices to the Nook Touch and the Kindle 3.

Here's a spec comparison between the two devices:

The Nook's extremely long-lasting battery life and expandable memory really appeals to me. It doesn't support many formats, but I don't mind converting E-books using Calibre. It also doesn't have a built-in MP3 player (which also doesn't matter to me as I'd rather use a device made primarily for listening to music for that instead). The only things that would maybe prevent me from getting the Nook would be its lack of 3G and how it, as far as I know, doesn't have a good lighted case for it -- things I'd really like to have.

Has anyone here used both the Kindle 3 and Nook Touch? If so, which did you prefer?

 

[NeverEnder]

I have the Kindle and it's beautiful

 

[BruceCM]

Mine's just the free Kindle program on my laptop! I don't seem to read much now, although I used to but I found some free books & there's certainly lots of advantages over physical ones. Most of the latter I have are like reference works, so I'll have to keep them around but that's basically one shelf full.

 

[Arashi222]

I have a NookColor. I love it. I love Physical books a lot as I collect them (one of my obessions) so I often have doubles of books one in physical book form and one on the NookColor. I love it because its got the ability to raise the font size pretty big and change the lighting and things so I can see the print better. Also it can get on the internet when near wi-fi. So that is nice too.:cute:

 

[Kelly]

I have a kindle and I love it. My favourite things about it are;

Takes up less space then the hundreds of physical books I would have had
It's easier to hold, I can lay in bed holding it with just one hand just using my thumb to turn the page.
Free books / cheap books (books are usually cheaper on the kindle as well)
The recommendations, I've downloaded many books due to recommendations based on what I've already read and also books advertised at the end of the book I'm reading.

 

[King_Oni]

Not really an e-reader but a cheap-ish android tablet which does support most e-book formats. So I use that to read. The tablet actually was cheaper than any e-reader available in any store around here, which I thought was strange cause in a way, I'm getting way more flexibility and options with a tablet opposed to an e-reader.

Since I've got my tablet I do read a lot more. I never really cared about physical books (thus that's a reason why I rarely read)... especially seeing how I can go through books pretty fast and I don't really have the room, nor the money to store all physical books.

 

[Bay]

My partner got a Kindle last year and I downloaded a couple of books. I liked it, overall, but since then I have gotten a tablet and have the Kindle app. I like the app on my tablet better than I liked the original Kindle. For one thing, I prefer the backlighting. Either way, I love the fact that I can have dozens of books with me at the same time (someday it will probably be hundreds).

 

[. . .]

For one thing, I prefer the backlighting.

You can get lighted cases for the Kindle. Did you know this?

 

[kg4fxg]

Most of the Philosophy books I read are not available on E-Books. But there are plenty of books I read that are available.

I have an old (The First) iPad. It works fine for e-books, but it is not as small. People at work have a variety of Kindles and they swear by them. I have read on my iTouch as well. I enjoy watching movies on the iPad & iTouch. But the screens on the e-book readers are so amazing, now they are made for reading inside and out.

 

[Bay]

I didn't know that there was a backlit Kindle. Still, since I have the tablet and it can do so many other things too, I will probably stick with it.

 

[Simply a Bibliophile]

I have a nook, and I hate it compared to actual books. The hatred is worth being able to carry around dozens of books at a time, however, so I make good use of it.

 

[. . .]

I have a nook, and I hate it compared to actual books. The hatred is worth being able to carry around dozens of books at a time, however, so I make good use of it.

What's your reason for hating it?

 

[Soup]

I use a Kindle 3 but I'll be replacing it with the Kindle Fire because it has options I want. The convenience of being able to buy & download books within a minute from virtually anywhere outweighs any inconveniences when compared to physical books. All that paper, all those trees, the dust, the cost, weight & storage space books take make them, for the most part, impractical. I can carry 3500 books in my Kindle. Most of the classics can be obtained for free (completely legally) whereas others must be paid for. The e books you buy cost much less than even the paperback versions of physical books. I like the way it can travel with me anywhere & I can adjust the text size to suit my vision. Another convenience is the privacy feature: you can password protect your Kindle & remove ebooks for storage so that you can keep what you're reading to yourself. When I open my kindle, it automatically goes to the last page read which means no more book marks or dog eared books!

When we moved out of our old house, I had the 'enjoyable' task of packing all our books for the move. It was a tedious, heavy job that took forever. Then when we arrived here, unpacking them all & shelving them all took forever. NEVER AGAIN!!!

 

[Simply a Bibliophile]

What's your reason for hating it?

I don't hate the Nook itself as an E-reader. In fact, it's the best on on the market in my opinion. I have a black-and-white, newish model.

However, I'm just a little bit weird about the smell and feel of books. I love holding them, I love being able to pencil my notes in the pages and flip back and forth. The Nook just feels a bit sterile compared to that experience. I absolutely cannot read nonfiction on it, either, because nothing gets through.

 

[balder]

I use CoolReader to read books on my smartphone, because I like reading at night when I'm laying on my bed, in the dark. In this situation, I set it to a black background and clear letters. This way, I read for hours till finally fall asleep.

 

[buckyboy14]

I have a Kindle; it's all right, but I much prefer physical books. Books are all so unique; covers, text size, text style, and the great feeling I get from holding a book in my hands. I don't want e-Readers to replace books, but we're etching ever closer to that. A little part of me died when Borders went out of business; it was such an integral part of my childhood.