What's on your ereader??

[Mattsmom277]

I remember several people have ereaders and posted about them in a old thread. I am loving my sony touch ereader. I never am without it. I find I tend to read a lot quicker as well, which is saying something since I'm already a natural speed reader (I joke it's my only real talent lol ... serves me no good in real life but makes reading a fantastic love of mine!!!).

Anyhow, I was just loading my reader with newly downloaded books, and I now have 110 new books to read. (I think my collection on my computer is well over 1000 since I got the reader around mothers day this year). I was wondering what's on your ereaders???????

I tend to download entire series/collections, I do searches for popular downloads for new or obscure authors as well to expose myself to things I might not have discovered. I try to make sure I have many genres on the reader at one time so that no matter what my mood is, I have something ready to go that suits me at that moment.

Sooo .... please share whats on YOUR reader!!!!

PS. I totally love that I live in Canada where ebooks are legal for downloading. So long as I'm not selling them for profit I see no problem with it, no different than borrowing from a library or getting it from a friend. I have shared with a few select people by copying to memory cards for them, but only if they agree to never sell them or profit from them given that I have the utmost respect for authors, their craft and their livlihood. Because I can't stand not having paper books, my favorites I do collect over time in hard cover just to "have" them.

 

[Jena]

wow that's cool and you seem to love it?? i just cant' get ok with-that gadget. i love books, how they smell, the way they look. the whole book thing. i walk thru book stores sometimes just to be around them. yes me psycho.

i'm glad you love it though. enjoy it!! husband wants one also. why i dont' know the man never reads.

 

[KTMom91]

About 85 books of the paranormal genre that I either have reviewed or need to review. Most of them are really good...but there are a couple of duds...

 

[DammitJanet]

I am getting either an eReader or a netbook ( is that the smallest laptop computer) for xmas so I can read books on it. I simply cant afford to buy books anymore and this is much cheaper. I am also getting Keyana the new Vreader by Vtech for Xmas because it is for 3 to 7 or 8 year olds and is so cool because it is in color and does all kinds of amazing things to teach them to read. You can even download free books on the Vtech site.

 

[Mattsmom277]

I am another who loves real books. I love the smells, the feel of the pages, the fonts, the covers and the bindings, and on and on. I really am a book-a-holic. It's my only real hobby and been my first love since I was little. I do still find myself getting real books, I doubt I could ever give it up. I was surprised at how easily I was able to adjust to the ereader. I absolutely love the convenience, and frankly it is a lot about money too as I have far too little of it (don't we all lol). I enjoy reading all kinds of books but the majority are not important enough for me to want to keep in my library at home. The ones that are, I happily purchase in hard copy and I love revisiting them. For one time reads, my reader is working out great. I hear that many US libraries are loaning ebooks too which I think is fantastic!!

Janet, I have a regular laptop but both kids and s/o have netbooks. They are so inexpensive yet run so well and the compact size, once you adapt to a smaller keyboard and monitor, can be a gift. I find my large laptop clunky at times, although I do require the larger screen due to eyesight etc. I do not however enjoy reading books on the computer. I find it difficult to concentrate personally and there is just something about it that is hard for me. I've heard it from others too. Although I'm sure plenty of people are happily reading on their computers. Have you tried reading on your current computer? It could help you decide if a single purpose device (ereader) would work better for you or if a netbook would suffice for also reading on top of computer. I love the fact that I can use the ereader anywhere, that I can lay down in bed or on the sofa comfortably to read, that it fits neatly into my purse and I can use it while waiting at appointments, etc. I couldn't live without mine now.
The prices for both the readers and netbooks are so low nowadays. I paid $299 for my sony (touch) but the pocket editions in canada now sell for $139, the same as with kindles etc. I paid about $230 (before taxes) for each netbook. The prices are so good nowadays that I would say you might enjoy owning both even if you buy them separately over time.

 

[DammitJanet]

The reason I am thinking about getting a netbook instead of the ereader is that I know I can only get one. I have the big easy child desktop for most things and I could load whatever I need on the netbook from a usb drive. Just now are we going to be able to get cable down my area. A netbook would let me also be able to get on the computer from my bed instead of only when I am able to sit at the desktop. Of course, that may not be a good thing...lol.

 

[AnnieO]

I just can't get in to the old e-reader thing. Books are so convenient! Plus... I spend a lot of time staring at a screen... And I am also a speed-reader. Almost makes it not worthwhile...

 

[muttmeister]

I want an ereader for Christmas. What kind should I ask for?

I do love books and my house if full of them and I get about 5 from the library every week but I can see definite advantages to the ereader. When I am traveling, I usually take a whole stack of books and it would be much more convenient to just take the ereader. Ditto for when I'm waiting for my mother in doctors' offices, waiting for my granddaughter's bus, etc. I don't expect the ereader to REPLACE books but I can see some real advantages to having one. I just haven't decided which kind would be the best to get.

 

[Mattsmom277]

I think it all depends what you want to do with the ereader, how much you want to spend etc. The kindle is a high selling reader, with the low end one requiring connection to your computer to load books and the higher end has access wirelessly through a 3G network. I didn't bother with it because in Canada we don't get the 3G functionality anyhow, but it is available in the US and many other countries. It does allow several different file types to be used on the reader, but isn't as open to as many file types of some other readers. It is great if you are going to purchase your books, you can simply keep a credit going in the kindle store and no matter where you are you can order a new book and have it instantly, likewise you can subscribe to newspapers and they will auto ship to your reader each day. I didn't see myself using those features but did find a few features lacking that other readers have, so opted out of the kindle. It all depends on what you are personally going to use more in my opinion.
There are several other good readers out there, but I think Sony is the one that competes most with the Kindles. I went with Sony for my own reasons. I preferred the size and shape and location of buttons. I bought the higher end model which is a touch edition and has slots to use memory cards (although the reader stores a load of books and I haven't yet needed to use memory cards). It has a built in mp3 player which isn't a huge need of mine but nice for audio books (I think many readers have ability for audio but not all). I tend to prefer to load a small collection of relaxing classical music that I can use to play quietly when I want to block out room noises when reading, I don't use it often though. The main reason I went with the Sony was the fact that it supports many (most) file extensions. I have however discovered a cool free software program called Calibre. It works with all readers (well most of them) and replaces the software that comes packaged with readers. Its super easy to use and the neat thing is, it will convert files to a type supported by your particular reader. The sony readers tend to more readily accept converted files.
Because I tend to use downloaded free books or if available, library loaned ebooks etc, the sony worked better for me because Kindle tends to have all kinds of things that are meant to ensure most people find it easier to just buy all of their books. Which is fine if you can afford it. But for me, the sony was the one that felt more natural and book like in my hand and had the features I wanted.
I paid $299 for the sony touch, but it has gone down in price since then. The sony pocket addition now sells for about $139 CD, so probably close to or a bit cheaper in US dollars. I just split a purchase of one for my cousins son for his birthday and he is loving the pocket addition one.
You may want to google some readers, there are great sites that compare the pros and cons of each to help figure out what meets your style reading needs. The screens use eInk technology, they do not hurt your eyes and cause strain as computer monitors do. There seems to be no more strain using the readers as using a regular hard copy book.
I have become such a huge fan, and for book lovers who do read a lot, I highly recommend at least checking them out. They can't replace regular books for me either, but I do rely on it more and more and saves me money to buy the books I really love and want copies of.
I am more than happy to share ebooks with those who would want to, either by email (a bit time consuming but not a big deal) or if someone wants to send me a memory card I can send it back loaded up, providing of course that the books I have are of interest. I am going to try in the next few days to compile a list of the books in my library and then just add new additions when I download them. I'm a PM away if anyone is interested.

 

[witzend]

husband has been downloading books from the Gutenberg Press. He particularly enjoyed Dracula and the Sherlock Holmes books.

 

[KTMom91]

I like my Sony PRS-505. No converting required, it takes straight pdf's and I have my books on a memory card. No Internet access, but then I don't need it on the reader.

 

[Mattsmom277]

I am enjoying the converter since some of my ebook downloads are in file types that sony doesn't support, although most file formats are supported. The converter is automatic in the software I downloaded, which means all books I come across are accessible regardless of file type. Out of the past 200 books downloaded, about 30 required converting, not bad at all. Sony does like most file types for sure. Was glad those 30 were converted though, otherwise I'd have missed out on them.
I know Sony is coming out with a wifi version I think this month even. I personally wouldn't care since I tend to gather 100 or more books and then do a one time transfer to my reader via the usb cord. But for some, the wifi would be a loved feature I'm guessing.