Running With Quills: eBook Readers: Choosing the best one!

Friday, March 27, 2009

eBook Readers: Choosing the best one!

Hello Quillers!

I have Devyn Quinn guest-blogging with us today for a special "Go Green" campaign. I hope you'll all give her a giant Quill welcome!

Before we get to today's blog topic, I'd like to thank the authors of Running with Quills for allowing me the chance to join them today. As some of you might know, All Romance eBooks is sponsoring a Go Green/Read an eBook campaign. As one of their ambassadors, I am here to sprad the word about eBooks and how fabulous they are.

As an author who has been in on the eBook revolution since it began in the early 90's, I found myself fascinated by the idea of books in a portable, paperless format. I'm all for eBooks, and anything that gets people back to reading for entertainment.

There's only one problem I've found and, for me, it's been a big one. What is the best way to read an eBook? I have to admit that the idea of using my work computer is unattractive. After all, I sit behind the computer all day working on my own projects. When it comes time for pleasure reading, the last thing I want to do is look at the monitor some more! I could print the book—except that some eBooks disable the print function. Printing the book also defeats the purpose of eBooks. It wastes expensive ink and paper, something I'm not inclined to do in the first place. I purchased the book because of its portable format. It's supposed to be easy and convenient to read. But it's not! My problem is that I have yet to find the perfect eBook reader.

Therefore I am asking readers this question: What eBook reader do you use, and why?

Give us the specs and tell us how the device you've chosen is the perfect one for reading eBooks. In other words, convince me this is the reader for me!

And since this is an eBook campaign, I'll be giving away free PDF copies of my gothic novel, The Keeper of Eternity, to any reader who emails me, saying they saw this article at Running With Quills!
Send your request to: admin@devynquinn.com.
__________

Devyn Quinn is a romance author and avid eBook reader, blogging this month for All Romance eBooks' Go Green/Read e Campaign.

Find out more about the Go Green/Read e Campaign at http://www.gogreenreade.com/

To learn more about Devyn, visit her website at http://www.devyquinn.com/

You can find Devyn's eBooks and thousands of other eBooks on-line at http://www.allromanceebooks.com/

29 Comments:

Becky said...: I am still looking into a ebook reader. Right now I use my pc to read my ebooks since I am not sure what type of ebook reader I want to get. I do know I want to get one that read PDF format, since all of the ebooks that I own right now are in that format.; 6:13 AM
Zita said...: I own a Sony Reader PRS-505 and I love it. It has a lager screen than the Kindle. I can load several different kinds of files (.doc, .pdf, and the Sony .lrf) and the software library system is very easy to use. It only works on a PC, but with the newer Macs you can run software that mimics PCs, so it works just fine. I am firmly in the Sony camp!; 6:58 AM
Zita said...: I meant to say larger screen. I'm all thumbs this morning :-); 6:59 AM
Arkansas Cyndi said...: I THINK I want the Sony 700. I like the fact it has a light with. I wish it was wireless. I'm hoping that the next version that comes out.

Thanks so much for the book, Devyn!; 9:13 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm easy. I have Kindle on my Iphone. That way I always have a book with me and I can alter the font size for comfort. I am a very fast reader, too, so it lets me flip through a book as quickly as I want. The Iphone also weighs very little and doesn't fatigue my very small, 59 year old hands like a hardback or trade size book does. I thought I would never give up "real" books, but now I am planning to ONLY buy books electronically. As for the larger screen, right now the screen on the Iphone is plenty large for me.

Lynne Thomas; 9:17 AM
Katherine said...: I had a 1st generation Kindle but it didn't survive the reading in the tub incident....
K; 9:21 AM
Ruth said...: I love my Kindle 1 and have not tried it in the bathtub (LOL). It still works great.; 9:26 AM
Terry S said...: I don't have a dedicated ereader but my preferred format for reading ebooks is the eReader platform. Until a dedicated reader supports that format so I can read the 1200+ ebooks I already own, I won't even be shopping for one. (Plastic Logic won't be out until next year, but it looks VERY promising.) In the meantime, I read on my Sony Clie for portability and my MSI Wind mini netbook when at home (love the screen rotation feature...feels just like holding a hardcover!). I never read on my desktop or laptop.; 10:00 AM
JaneL said...: I have a Kindle 1, and I love it. It is so convenient to have so much of my work and pleasure reading material in one handy package that fits in my purse. And if 24 pages of novels, memos, white papers, PDF files and manuals isn't enough to tide me over, Amazon has a wireless mainline into my credit card. The recent release of Kindle for the iPhone may be the nudge I needed to push me into a smartphone.

The only thing that I regret about buying it is that I let sticker shock keep me from grabbing it for an entire year. It wasn't until the Oprah discount showed up that I caved.

Jane; 10:23 AM
Jayne Ann Krentz said...: Welcome to the blog, Devyn! This is a hot topic, indeed. It will be interesting to see all the comments. I must admit I have not made the move to an ebook reader yet but my husband just ordered a Kindle. We shall see...

--Jayne; 12:49 PM
Devyn Quinn said...: Thank you, Jane, for the welcome! And thanks to everyone who has commented so far, sharing their own stories. One of my biggest problems has been finding an e-reader that is easy on my pocketbook, as well as the eyes. It's very interesting to have the people who actually own one speak up and share their experiences--which makes it easier to make an informed decision when it comes time to purchase!; 1:11 PM
kris b said...: welcome devyn,
alas I do not own one but I do download several books and read them on my pc which is ok sometimes but my butt gets numb! and depends on how long the book is I do have to come back occasionally as I cant sit comfy here.
I do want an ebook reader and would love to have one however buying a paper book one a week is much cheaper than buying an ereader all at once! LOL so I keep my paper so far and when I win the lottery i will get an ereader and try it out!
thanks for joining us today!; 5:28 PM
Kate Douglas said...: Hey Devyn! Welcome to RWQ, and thanks for a very timely post. I started out writing for epublishers back in 1998 when very few people even knew what an ebook was. Like you, I dislike reading them on my computer since I spend so much time on one for work. My favorite reader was one of the early Rocket ebook Readers. It fit perfectly into my hand and the font was adjustable--plus, there was a backlight for night reading. However, it was bulkier than the Kindle and I got tired of hauling it around. I may eventually go to a Kindle, or possibly the Sony, which is also easy to use. For now, though, I'm sticking with my paperbacks until the perfect reader comes along, priced right and easy to use. Reading is my comfort thing--anything that interferes with the process takes the comfort out of it!; 5:32 PM
JaneL said...: The weirdest thing is how quickly the Kindle spoiled me. Like right now. I read the first book in a trilogy on the Kindle. Books 2 and 3 aren't in that format yet, so I picked up the paperback versions. What a pain to have to hold the book open!! I have to hold it with both hands. I lay it down and lose my place. I know - I'm such a whiner. But I'm used to the ease of the Kindle now.

Jane; 5:54 PM
wstridgerunner said...: A big welcome Devyn! The few ebooks that I have I read from my puter, right now, (and until I get my 2 daughters through college), any kind of ebook reader is not in my operating budget. Until I use one I cannot offer up a valid opinion; but I have trouble seeing myself holding something other than regular book format. I do enjoy audio books frequently and on long trips.; 6:04 PM
still karibear said...: I was leaning toward a kindle 2 until I found out about the text-to-audio being disabled for some titles. I'm also on the list to get a digital reader from the state's talking book library when they become available. I could buy one now, but the prices are prohibitive for someone whose sole income is social security. I do read some on my computer, I can enlarge the font enough to see it easily. If someone came up with an e-readerthat accepted all formats and that still had the text-to-audio for a reasonable price, I'd go for it. I want what I want WHEN I want it, not when someone else gets around to recording it.; 6:45 PM
Laura said...: I started reading ebooks on my computer, but since I work on a computer all day long my eyes get tired. Last fall I splurged and bought an Ipod Touch. It's my all-in-one entertainment device. I can listen to music or an audiobook or read an ebook or play games or watch Youtube thru my wireless internet. I thought the screen would be too small to read comfortably but eReader software has multiple sized fonts. And you can change the background color to reduce glare in low light conditions. I have read in the tub and have been ***very*** careful not to drop it in the water. That's the only drawback to these devices. A book will dry out. An electronic device not so much.; 10:16 PM
Devyn Quinn said...: Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! These are definitely some good e-readers to check out. And thanks to everyone who commented. It really helped make my visit to RWQ an enjoyable one!; 10:39 PM
GatorPerson said...: This topic is timely for me. I'm considering a Kindle2. Does anyone have trouble downloading and reading formats other than the Kindle format?

Can you download a Kindle format onto the Sony? And then is it readable?; 5:17 AM
Zita said...: GatorPerson said "Can you download a Kindle format onto the Sony? And then is it readable?"

No, you have to convert it to another format. Fortunately, there are a lot of conversion software programs available, and most are freeware.

The biggest issue I have about Kindle is that it's exclusive to the US. You can't even buy one from amazon.ca, and forget about Europe or anywhere else in the world. This also means that unless you have a Kindle or, now, an iPod Touch, you can't buy the Kindle books, either, because you need to have a device that's registered to the amazon.com site in order to download Kindle-formatted books. With the Sony I can download to my computer from anywhere, drop it into my Sony Library, and transfer it to my Reader. Yes, I have to be hooked up to my computer to do that, but I can load up to 160 books at a time. Sometime before I'm finished reading the 160th book, I'm quite sure I'll get back to my computer to transfer more. :-); 7:25 AM
EliG said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10:19 AM
EliG said...: I've been on the fence until recently about going to an ebook reader. I'm a bit wary of the Kindle/Kindle 2 because I'm a re-reader and want to know that 20 years from now I'll have access to a book I've bought if I want to re-read.In some respects ebooks seem to me more of a lease of a book versus a purchase with little to no difference in the price you pay. But the space savings of an ebook reader is very attractive to me, and cutting back on the overflowing bookcases, stacks, and giant plastic tubs full of books that spend the vast portion of the year just sitting or participating in kitty revenge fests is a definite motivator. Of course, I love the smell and feel of actual books. I just know if reality that I'll end up buying most books twice, once for the ebook reader and a second for the collection.; 10:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Several of my friends have a Kindle 1 and they love love love it. I plan to order my Kindle 2 sometime soon. It has so many great features.; 11:54 AM
Stella said...: Welcome Devyn:

My husband and I are devoted Kindle 1 readers. The second edition looks fine apart from the smaller page forward button to the left of the screen. I'd soon get used to that but don't have a reason to change now.

I'm crazy about my Kindle:) Given that I can load up hundreds and hundreds of books (if I want to) before the longest trip I can imagine, not being able to buy them overseas doesn't bother me.

Taking along my one "book" rather than a good part of a suitcase filled with books is a winner, especially for airline travel.

Stella; 10:58 PM
Anonymous said...: I just ordered a kindle and cannot wait until it gets here.; 7:08 PM
elizabeth said...: Love my Kindle 1!

If you have an iPhone or Blackberry, you can sync it with the Kindle for reading on the fly.; 11:54 AM
JaneL said...: When did a Blackberry client for the Kindle come out?

Thanks - Jane; 12:00 PM
Genevieve said...: I started reading eBooks years ago on my Palm computer, and recently got an iPod Touch which is wonderful. It's very comfortable for reading books, and it has all my music and games on it too! What more could you want? I buy books from eReader.com which was recently acquired by Barnes & Noble. I now buy more eBooks than paper books.

And now, there is a Kindle reader application for the iPhone/iPod Touch so we'll have access to all that content.; 6:33 PM
Arizona Ann said...: I have a Kindle2 and I love it. I travel a lot and can carry a whole library with me without overweight charges. Now I have only one "book"to keep track of. I suppose there are all sorts of fancy things you can do with it but I bought it to read books. I love it because I can adjust the type size,it feels like a book when you read it, it does what they say it will do. What more can you ask from a piece of technology except that it makes your life better!; 12:35 PM

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Friday, March 27, 2009

eBook Readers: Choosing the best one!

29 Comments: