e readers

[Babs]

You lovely people on here are so knowledgeable about pretty much everything that I thought I would ask for your advice......
I'm finally tempted to get an e reader as like most people I don't travel light when it comes to books and to be honest my secret store takes up so much space on the shelf in my wardrobe that could be occupied by.....handbags, shoes etc!!
So my problem is do I get a kindle, sony, kobo......not sure what the difference is and what would be most useful! I would probably only use it for reading books as have a smartphone and small laptop which I take on holiday if I need the internet etc

Any thought please?

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10009.0

[sally]

I wasn't convinced about e readers at all - thought I'd want to stick to the real thing for ever.  However, I bought a kindle - the basic, cheapest version, last May & have taken it on two hols & am totally & utterly convinced by them.  I can read 10+ books in a fortnight so the weight saving alone is great.

I plumped for kindle as I liked its set up and you can register up to 6 kindles on one account. Therefore OH  (who also has a kindle) can read books I've bought for free. Not sure if you can do that on Kobo. 

The range of free books is great - all the classics and cheap deals are amazing.

If a book you want for free is not available in Kindle format you can change it to the right format with the help of a free programme called 'Calibre'.

I am not a tecchy person, don't have an i phone, tablet or blackberry & was astounded how easy kindle was to set up & use. It's almost intuitive.

[Blue Lizard]

Theres something comforting about turning the pages of a book..and you can't zap a bug with a kindle

[Roxie]

Hi,
Why not download the kindle app to your phone and/or laptop? Only downside is they're not easily read in direct sunlight. I would go for the KIndle if you want a seperate e reader.
Rx

[Chris_S]

Agreed - go for the Kindle.

Probably the best aspect is the linking of multiple Kindles to the same account, then you can both read the same book at the same time, and only pay for one copy.  You can't do that with a real book (unless you rip the pages out!)

The basic Kindle uses WiFi to download, which is fine for the most part, but when in Australia (and probably other places) I couldn't always get a free WiFi signal, so I was glad one of us had the 3G version.  This uses the Mobile Phone Network to download when it has no WiFi.  It costs more to buy, but is free forever to use the 3G for downloading.

I also found it useful (in Oz) to have a newspaper subscription on the Kindle (Daily Mail in this case), and was able to keep up with 'real' news while abroad.  I'll probably set this up while in Kalkan next month - it will be substantially cheaper than the printed version each day, though there's few pictures.

Finally,
1.  get a leather case for the e-reader - this will help protect it if you drop it when you doze off on the sun lounger.....
and,
2.  if you like reading in the pool, get a pouch which will seal it off, you can read it through the clear plastic (not ideal, but safer), press the buttons, and it's waterproof to 5m if you drop it in the pool.

As for turning the pages, I just buy 'real' books when I want to keep them.  Once I've read a novel, it gets left behind for someone else - there's no attachment to the bound article.

For travelling, there's no substitute for an e-reader, and I know my preference...

[Firecat]

I looked at buying a Kindle but I was majorly put off by the tethered format. I don't want to have to buy all my books from Amazon or have the hassle of reformatting books via Calibre so I bought a Sony Reader. I have to say that compared to my mum's Kindle it is more complicated so perhaps I wouldn't recommend it as a first ereader but the Kobo Touch looks to be excellent. With Kobo you can download any book in ePub or PDF without having to reformat so you can shop in the Kobo bookstore, Google books, Waterstones, ebooks.com - anywhere but Amazon actually! Amazon use a unique format for the Kindle which forces you to buy everything via the Kindle store, which a bit mean of them IMO. Apparently in the US you can download to Kindle from sites other than Amazon but in the UK they're still allowed to continue their restrictive practices.

[Chris_S]

Kindle does indeed use it's own format, but this is a variation of the standard .mobi format, which to my experience it reads easily.  Converting to this is what Calibre (and others) does if necessary.

There's no great price difference that I've noticed in various stores, principally because of the the controversial deals done by Apple with book publishers, so I see no difference there in where to purchase.

Kindle also reads PDF natively and also Plain Text, so books from Gutenberg (free) are also usable.

Personally, I've found no problems with formats on the Kindle.  Any problems I've heard of are with older Kindles and books with restrictive formats designed specifiaclly for one type of e-reader.

And, if you get the more expensive one, you can listen to audiobooks as well!

[Babs]

What a helpful bunch you are...never doubted that for a moment!
Well....from what I can understand from your highly technical answers.....I think I will go for a kindle....my husband already has one and therefore has an account...although we rarely read the same books just occasionally I may run out of stuff to read on holiday so that may pay off!
Thanks everyone!

[Firecat]

Whichever ereader you opt for I don't think you'll regret it. I do mourn the demise of actual physical books because I just love having them but I cannot deny that since I got my Sony Reader I have actually done more reading and that's what counts. Reference books for me will always have to be in paper form, but fiction - nah.

[Livingproof]

I looked long & hard at e-readers before plumping for the Sony. I too was put off by only being able to purchase books through Amazon (Kindle) and I like to be able to have a hard copy on my pc (backed up externally as well). The Sony allows 6 readers to be connected to the one account so no problem unless you have a large family. Books can be purchased through a wide range of stores as it uses the common epub format.

I've never read more books than I do now! And now my wife has one as well so she is also a convert. No more book spines melting in the sun, pages falling out etc. It's really easy to use although I'm not that keen on the Sony software (can't turn off the auto-sync) so I've downloaded the Calibre software which makes loading the books a doddle. You can also add additional memory via the memory card slot for playing your music collection while you read. We're very happy with the Sony.

[Chris_S]

As Livingproof has raised the subject on backing up the books, I'll add this.

With a Kindle you can connect to your PC and back the books up to whatever you like.  If the books have no DRM (Digital Rights Management - copy protection) then you can copy them to other e-readers, or add Gutenberg books/PDFs if you wish.

Amazon ALWAYS keeps a copy of EVERY book you purchase or download from them.  It's always available on your online account.  So, if you delete it from your device, or replace the device, you can re-download them back.  This obviously doesn't apply to books from other sources.

Just a tip on Project Gutenberg: If the (free) book you're looking for doesn't appear, try another country's Project Gutenberg site.  For example, Gone With The Wind is still in copyright in the UK and USA, but not in Australia.  Don't ask me whether it's legal or not to download it from Australia - I just don't know, but it seems to unenforcable anyway!

[Enişte]

If you are still unable to decide, can I recommend the now extensive library at Parc Kalkan?  Hundreds of books for all tastes (NO 50 Shades as yet) and they are free to take and return and any donations of books you are done with would be most welcome

[Babs]

Sdaly not back in Kalkan till next year so as tempting as it is to browse your library it would be a little far!