As I get ready to move, there will be more of these threads. Sorry in advance, Dopers. So I feel the need to move to e-readership, although I don’t like the idea. Pocket books are my bag, and I have thousands of them (I am a re-reader). But I can’t bring them. So I’m looking at e-readers. The consensus seems to be either Kindle or Kono. Kindle has the biggest up-to-date library but doesn’t support some free book formats, including the public library’s. Kono does, but no access to the Kindle library.
My conundrum is that I read fast, and I read a lot. The vast majority of my books, and I am always trawling for them, are the 3 for a buck, dollar a book kind. I read two or three a week and I am loathe to spend more. I read fiction, mostly crime novels but with some literary fiction thrown in. I am worried that the free stuff, public domain I’m guessing, won’t support my crime novel jones. Any suggestions, good Dopers?
Since there isn’t and can’t be a used-Kindlebook trade, you’re caught between PD/pirated ebooks, Kindle (or Nook, I suppose), or cheap paperbacks. I moved half a truck of books and don’t regret it, but I understand how many cases of pulperbacks might not be the best option.
Keep a case of the best “old friends” - you can pack a lot in a medium box - and just plan to haunt the used stores again at the other end.
With Kindle, there are public library loaning programs, and if you have Prime, there is the Kindle Owners Lending Library, as well. I use the Kindle but most of my books are still of the dead tree variety.
ETA I borrow Kindle books from my public library all the time, I am not sure what you mean about your note in your OP. My library uses the Overdrive system, maybe yours doesn’t?
Amazon offers a lot of free Kindle books—not just public domain stuff, but free-for-a-limited-time or free-to-get-you-hooked-on-the-rest-of-the-series. Here’s what came up when I asked Amazon for their “Mystery, Thriller & Suspense” titles sorted in order of price. I’m sure the quality varies, but at least the quantity’s there. There’s even more available free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited.
I can understand why you might want a dedicated e-reader, but if you have a tablet or smartphone, you can also read ebooks on that, and since you can install different e-reader apps (including but not limited to the Kindle app), you’re not limited to just one format or source.
I’ve had a Kindle for several years now (Kindle Fire, to be specific) and in addition to official Kindle books have had no problem with read several other book formats, public library e-books, text files, PDF’s, download from Project Gutenberg, author websites…
There are basically two sorts of Kindle - dedicated e-readers like the Paperwhite, and others that are more of a Kindle tablet that also support web surfing and video (like my Fire). The Fire will give you more options because you can download various apps to make other formats more accessible but has a much shorter battery life. Paperwhites can last weeks on a single charge and are more like reading ink on paper, but may not be as flexible regarding formats and are sometimes only black and white, no color.
Just to be clear: when you write “Kono”, you mean Kobo, right?
If you absolutely want an e-ink reader, then yes, you have a choice between Kindle, Kobo or Nook, and the limitations you outline in the OP are pretty much correct.
But if you’re willing to do your reading on an ordinary colour tablet (iPad or Android), then you can buy or borrow books via Amazon or Barnes&Noble or Kobo.com (or anywhere else) and read them on your tablet, using the Kindle, Nook and Kobo apps for the tablet, or some other app for the open formats (ePub, etc.).
I started with a Kobo but now do most of my reading on my phone, my tablet or my work and home PCs using Kindle apps and the Cloud Reader. It all stays synced for me and I am never without a pile of books available.
…but only if the original is DRM free. You can find DRM removal plug-ins for Calibre if you google Apprentice Alf.
I have a Kobo, and I have owned a number of Kindles since 2008. Which is better is really a matter of personal preference based on the user interface and where you expect to get the majority of your ebooks. Of my Kindles, I use my Voyage most often, I like the built-in front light and the haptic buttons. For larger format reading, I like using my 12.7" iPad, and on that I have reading applications for all ebook formats.
Decent, non-Kindle 8 inch or bigger Android tablets with super sharp screens and perfect for reading like theGalaxy Tab S2and similar go for $250 - $400 dollars. You can get decent $150 or so mid tier tablets but the screens are not ideal for close up, hours long reading. There are android apps that will allow the use of almost any ebook format.
If you get a big 5-6 inch smartphone you can get the same thing in a smaller package and not need a tablet if you are OK with the screen size.
If you read as much as you say $250-$400 is not an outlandish expense to have a good reading experience. Add a 200 gig micro SD card for $70 and you have the world at your fingertips.
I also love several sites that send me daily emails with lists of cheap/free books. I simply tell them my genres that I like, and they do all the work. I read a little bit more than you do, so that works out to about 200 books a year. I’ve probably paid for about 10% of those, and that was simply because the first free book interested me enough to drop a couple of bucks on the followups.
I am not a fan of Amazon using a proprietary format for books to lock readers into their service and device. I use a Kobo.
On Kobo you can read books from anywhere except Amazon. Most books are not exclusive to Amazon; they are available from other sources in open formats like Epub and Mobi.
There are thousands of free and very inexpensive books on the Kobo website, and many thousands more on other websites that can be read on the Kobo.
There are ebook converters that can covert books in the Amazon format to other formats but I haven’t used any of them, so can’t recommend one.
I have already downloaded far more books for my Kobo than I will ever be be able to read … and I read three to five books a week.
I have a Kindle, the cheapest kind. The e-ink screen is the biggest draw for me, I hate reading off a backlit screen. I have a cheap tablet too, but it is too heavy and bulky to comfortably hold up in bed.
I have used my local library’s Overdrive service, which has been easy and free, but the selection is somewhat limited. Like the OP, I re-read old favourites a LOT, and it’s so great to see a big long list of them available at my whim.
OP, does the library in the town you’re moving to have an e-book lending service? You should find out. If not, maybe you could find a friend or relative willing to give you their library card details. Another nice thing about e-books is they don’t care about geography. My kindle account actually has three devices linked, one here with me, one with my sister, and one with my SIL, so all three of us can read the same books while only paying for them once.
OP, have you had a chance to try out these devices? Five minutes of playing with my Kindle was enough to convince most of my book-club to jump to e-readers.
I’m afraid this might give someone the impression that a Kindle can only read books from Amazon. This is not true. Amazon’s “proprietary format” is a variation on Mobi, and Kindles should have no trouble receiving and reading Mobi files from other sources.
**Turble’**s post confused me as that was the impression I got from it. But, most everything on my Kindle is from sources other than Amazon (most from Project Gutenberg, and I do have some of the Amazon “free download” books). I have had to google for a translator to convert books so they could be read by the Kindle, but that isn’t really difficult. If their intent is to lock me into their service, they have failed.
I did not say Kindles can only read Kindle edition books.
Kindle edition books are in a proprietary format (AZW) which cannot be read on other brands of ebook readers … unless you do some fiddling and use some third party software to remove the DRM and convert them to another format … and doing so may pose legal questions.
Kindle ebook readers cannot read ePub books (the most common format) except for the latest model Kindle3, which still requires the owner to install a third-party OS.
Kindles can now read Mobi format books but in the beginning they could not. The change was made when users complained about being too limited in their choices of books.
Sure, there are ways around it, but the AZW format was intended to lock users into the Kindle device. Amazon is a big business using dirty tricks in their ebook business to force other ebook readers off the market – and they have been very successful in doing so ; no surprise there are many people who don’t understand that.
Other ebook readers like Kobo and Nook can read any format except AZW.
This is incorrect according to your own link. The second chart shows that Amazon Kindles have been able to read the Mobi format since first generation.
Your link also shows that Mobi, AZW, and Epub all support DRM. You seem to be confusing format with DRM. It’s the DRM that keeps you from reading Kindle books on other ereaders, not the format. IIUC, it’s the publisher’s decision whether or not to sell their books with DRM; and the main motivation for doing so is to protect the copyright, not to keep it device-specific.
If Amazon is so insistent on locking readers into the Kindle device, why do they freely distribute the Kindle app for (non-Amazon) tablets and smartphones?
Guess I was thinking of Kindle not supporting PDF rather than Mobi. They did create a work-around for that.
Of course some other formats can use DRM; that has nothing to do with it. It is not the DRM that prevents reading AZW books on ereaders other than Kindle – other brands of reader cannot read AZW. Other brands can read DRM protected ePub and Mobi.
The OP did not ask about tablets or phones. My reply did not address tablets or phones. The OP did ask about Kindle or Kobo and I say Kobo is a better choice because it is more versatile.