Saturday, February 19, 2011

Dying For an E-Reader

I'm not sure I can wait for another month before I get my e-reader. As much as I love the feel of paper in my hand, and the shiny cover of awesome writers, I have two very practical reasons to get one of these baby (I mean, besides the whole "I'm dying for the shiny gadget").

1. I travel a lot by night. I'm not the one driving. Often it's late, and rather than write, I'd love to be reading. I can't do that with paper books, though, not unless I buy a light.

2. My access to english books is limited. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of great libraries around Quebec, and there's even one which sells solely english books. Often, I still have trouble finding what I'm looking for.

An exemple? I checked three different places so far for Leviathan. No luck. I've had to order every book on writing I have, too.

I know some of you have tried e-readers or own one. It's a big chunk of my tiny student budget, so any tips you have would be welcomed!

8 comments:

  1. Love my e-reader! It's given me a great excuse to get back into the classics - because anything before a certain date is free. 1913 maybe?

    Also, it's great for work (I sometimes have down time, but never when I expect it) and it saves me carting books around. Having said that, if I find a really great book I have to have a physical copy as well. For me, an e-reader is about convenience and portability.

    I've got a Kindle. I don't know about the other e-readers, but the best thing is the ability to browse on the go, and read the first chapter for free. That's more than you can usually get away with in a book shop!

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  2. I love my Kindle as well. I spent time with Sony and Kobo readers and they just don't come close to the look, feel, and operation of a Kindle. In fact, the Kobo is downright hard to use relative to the Kindle.

    Be advised, however, that all of these readers use eInk screens which require light as they aren't backlit. I have a lighted cover for mine that I use when I want to read in the dark.

    Cheers --- Larry

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  3. I'm DYING for an e-reader but can't afford one. Hopefully when my birthday comes at the end of March... I'll probably get a Nook since my husband works at a library and is adamant about being able to use an e-reader that can borrow from libraries.

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  4. I absolutely love my Kindle and kind of don't like reading paper books anymore. The Kindle is so comfortable to read. My only beef with it had been that it doesn't have page numbers so I'm never quite sure where I'm at in the book. It has percent finished but that just doesn't give me the same feeling of knowing where I'm at. And I just heard that they are adding page numbers soon, so I'll be very happy!

    The screens, however, are not backlit so you won't be able to read them in the dark without some help. When I bought my Kindle, I bought one of their covers with the attached light. I'm telling you it was the best purchase I could have made. The light is powered off the kindle because the kindle hooks into the cover. It is so convenient. I love it.

    I bought the 3G instead of the WiFi but I kind of wish I'd just bought the WiFi. I spend most of my time with the 3G off because it drains the battery a little faster. I only turn it on when I buy something and I have WiFi in my house and at my work. It ended up being an unnecessary expense for me. Oh well.

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  5. I love the iPad. I can read books, surf the internet in full color, and play games like Angry Birds and scrabble.

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  6. I have the Nook, my daughter sent it to me because she's a sweetie. One thing, the Nook and Kindle are not compatible, I'm not sure any e-reader is, so the books I downloaded with the pc kindle will not go on my Nook. Also the search pad, QWERTY, can be a pain, but other than that I love it. It's just now I am a member at Barnes and Noble and I use to buy most of my books from Borders.

    AND, not all new releases are available for e-readers, so I wouldn't worry to much about it for now. I find I like my craft books much better in person than on my e-reader.

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  7. Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm still deliberating on what to get if anything, but I have to say, it's likely that I get one before March is over.

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  8. I have a Nook and I love it. It fits in my purse (even inside it's protective case that also holds stickies, and I don't have a big purse) and it's so quick to find something and download it (much faster than going through the checkout line!). Plus, you can get a free sample of everything before you spend the money on it (that way if you don't like it, you aren't out the money).

    The books are also cheaper (no packaging/shipping/ect costs) so the Nook pays for itself after about 30 books. Totally worth it if you read as much as I do!

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