I am addicted to reading, but unfortunately I don’t have enough money to buy more than 1 or 2 books a month. I’ve been taking advantage of such websites as Project Gutenberg (where public domain works are provided in plain text form) for quite some time, but, quite honestly, classic literature has never really been my thing. I’ve read the Lewis Carroll, the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, some of the Mark Twain, etc. I’ve heard from several sources (most recently slashdot) about free or cheap ebooks, and I want some advice from any Dopers that read these. Are there any fairly inexpensive (<$100) PDAs that would be better for reading ebooks than a computer screen? What was your general impression of the whole ebook experience? Was it worth it? Or are paperbacks still the way to go?
Forget about E-books. I’d just get yourself down to a local library.
Or, don’t know about in the US, but there are many book clubs in the UK (this one for example) that offer 6 books for a few pounds, and no obligation to buy again. I abuse these guys a lot.
Maybe there are similar clubs in the US? Can save a lot of money on books this way.
My experience with e-books was great. But then, I get paid when people download my stories. 
There’s a nice selection at Fictionwise. You can download the files in Acrobat, or in other PDA-compatible formats. Prices are cheap, and you can put it on your credit card (they have what they call “Micropay” accounts that let you charge stories and books that sell for less than a dollar). There are a lot of top authors there, especially in the science fiction and fantasy fields (e.g., Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, Mike Resnick, Ann McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold, Robert Heinlein, etc.)
You might also look at [url=“http://www.embiid.net”)Embiid.
As far as a reader is concerned, if you get a PDA, it’s not just to read the electronic books. It can help you in a lot of ways, so the investment is worth it (for me, the calendar and notes functions alone make my Visor absolutely essential).
I have to second Aro on this one. Try your local library. Many of them are purchasing ebooks for their patron’s convenience–you may be able to check out a current title in ebook format. And if you want to buy books, there’s nothing like a library book sale to make that affordable–and it’s not junk they’re selling, lots of time it’s donations that they already have in the collection, or multiple copies of bestsellers.
I have to second Aro on this one. Try your local library. Many of them are purchasing ebooks for their patron’s convenience–you may be able to check out a current title in ebook format. And if you want to buy books, there’s nothing like a library book sale to make that affordable–and it’s not junk they’re selling, lots of time it’s donations that they already have in the collection, or multiple copies of bestsellers.
I’ll second a visit to Fictionwise, as a satisfied user of their e-books system… http://www.memoware.com/ is another source of free/cheap e-books. I usually have a couple of stories on my Visor, which goes with me practically everywhere. I’ve been pretty happy with the e-book experience on my PDA.
Handspring has reconditioned Visors or you can check out The Palm Store’s Factory Outlet section. And of course there’s always e-Bay and the like.
If you still want analog - visit your library and/or used bookstores, either local stores or a chain like Half-Price Books.
I read books on my Palm V all the time, and I love it. Mainly because it means I always have something to read on me.