E-reader: Buying Advice?

Adamc

I am interested in purchasing an e-reader and wondered if people with experience thought they were worth it?

Do you know if any that have features geared towards reading faster and challenging yourself to read longer and more often? 

Do they offer improvements over reading on a tablet other than the screen backlighting and antiglare (which I expect are significant improvements)?

The other main issue is compatibility. I know Kobo support Overdrive but I am unsure if my library offers this. I am a Prime member but I have no idea if the books you can loan for free on a Kindle would be the kind I am interested in - is there an easy way of finding out?

I'm edging towards a Kobo  ... but if there are any other factors to consider, I'd love to hear about them.

Thank you. 

knightstyle

I have a Kobo and a Kindle, the Kobo is lighter and easier to put books from independent sources on. The Kindle is useful as I can quickly look at emails etc whilst reading but most books I now read on there are not bought outright.
I subscribed to Kindle unlimited which allows me to 'rent' up to 10 books at a time from their library.
It is sometimes on at a reduced price if you buy 6 months subscription.
Plus get in touch with your local library to see if you can borrow ebooks from them and can you use the Kobo and/or kindle to access them.

Adamc

knightstyle said:

I have a Kobo and a Kindle, the Kobo is lighter and easier to put books from independent sources on. The Kindle is useful as I can quickly look at emails etc whilst reading but most books I now read on there are not bought outright.
I subscribed to Kindle unlimited which allows me to 'rent' up to 10 books at a time from their library.
It is sometimes on at a reduced price if you buy 6 months subscription.
Plus get in touch with your local library to see if you can borrow ebooks from them and can you use the Kobo and/or kindle to access them.

Is Kindle Unlimited expensive? It's not a feature included with Prime is it? 

Adamc

Sorry - have looked into cost since posting so please disregard that question. Do you have a preference for the Kindle or Kobo?
I'm currently looking at the Clara HD. 

debitcardmayhem

I have a kindle paperwhite, I chose that over kobo a few years ago but which you choose it it worth looking into Calibre https://calibre-ebook.com/ which allows you to convert and manage free books you get to whatever reader you choose. One other thing to note with kindles you can share books from amazon with another BUT that is not available with Kindle Unlimited Borrowed books, I checked last week with Amazon via web chat. . 

elsien

My local library said the only kindle that supports borrowing their books is the kindle fire which is the tablet not the e-reader.
As my nook is giving up the ghost I will go the kobo route with Calibre for Amazon books. I don’t buy many but so keep an eye on their daily 99p offers. There have been some better offerings on there than on the free prime books. 

Polarpenguin

debitcardmayhem said:

I have a kindle paperwhite, I chose that over kobo a few years ago but which you choose it it worth looking into Calibre https://calibre-ebook.com/ which allows you to convert and manage free books you get to whatever reader you choose. One other thing to note with kindles you can share books from amazon with another BUT that is not available with Kindle Unlimited Borrowed books, I checked last week with Amazon via web chat. . 

I second the use of Calibre for managing your ebooks and allowing you to buy from anywhere regardless of whether you choose Kobo or Kindle.
https://www.mobileread.com/ is an excellent resource from all things ebook.

I have a Kobo Libra H2O, which I love lightweight, easy to use, is customisable (see mobileread.com). Reading on a dedicated Ereader is IMHO a much nicer experience than on a tablet/phone. My Kobo goes everywhere with me

Adamc

Polarpenguin said:

debitcardmayhem said:

I have a kindle paperwhite, I chose that over kobo a few years ago but which you choose it it worth looking into Calibre https://calibre-ebook.com/ which allows you to convert and manage free books you get to whatever reader you choose. One other thing to note with kindles you can share books from amazon with another BUT that is not available with Kindle Unlimited Borrowed books, I checked last week with Amazon via web chat. . 

I second the use of Calibre for managing your ebooks and allowing you to buy from anywhere regardless of whether you choose Kobo or Kindle.
https://www.mobileread.com/ is an excellent resource from all things ebook.

I have a Kobo Libra H2O, which I love lightweight, easy to use, is customisable (see mobileread.com). Reading on a dedicated Ereader is IMHO a much nicer experience than on a tablet/phone. My Kobo goes everywhere with me

Thanks - I have since read up on the Libra and users of both this and the Clara tend to prefer the Libra from what I can gather. It's slightly larger, is waterproof, has a curved edge which aids single hand holding, and the buttons can be helpful apparently. 

Do you prefer the experience to text on a page?

elsien

I still prefer a paper book - easier to flip through to find bits I want to go back to.
And you can take it in the bath. 
But my library doesn’t always have what I want in paper format without having to pay a reservation fee so I get those as ebooks instead. And an e-reader is good when you’re away (if that ever happens again!) to save taking a suitcase full of books. 

My preference is still for “proper” books but I would miss the e-reader now if I didn’t have it. Particularly in lockdown when the library was closed. I read a lot, so don’t don’t want to be paying for books unless it’s something I think I will want to reread so the kindle isn’t a lot of use. 

SteveJW

elsien said:

I still prefer a paper book - easier to flip through to find bits I want to go back to.
And you can take it in the bath.

Exactly

But my library doesn’t always have what I want in paper format without having to pay a reservation fee so I get those as ebooks instead. And an e-reader is good when you’re away (if that ever happens again!) to save taking a suitcase full of books. 

The amount of books I used to take away filled half the suitcase, we usually went to the same place and I found it sad that when I went to a bar or hotel most of the books on the shelves I had taken

A Nook works for me, plenty of free books around, only downside libraries don't appear to support them

moneysaver1978

Since getting a Kindle Paperwhite for Xmas, I know I am reading a lot more nowadays (almost finished with a 4th ebook!). It's also waterproof so no problem reading in bath.
Whether to go for Kobo or Kindle depends on whether your local library offers ebooks and what format (my local one in London offers only via BorrowBox app requiring a tablet) and whether you have Amazon Prime.
I settled for Kindle because I have Prime which allows me to "borrow" 10 selected books from Prime Reading catalogue at no cost. Also linking my account to Goodreads lets me see what books are recommended by my friends and followers.