this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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I suddenly got to thinking about getting a Kindle.
Any feedback from people that have / had one? How did you like it? What's the pricing generally like for e-books? Did it actually get you to read more? (I find a big barrier for me is actually finding the time to go to a book store and looking around and buying one physically). Was it not as good as reading a physical book?
Keen to hear some thoughts from people in the know :)
I've got a Kobo Clara. I started reading more when I got an e-reader. Backlit + being light and being able to read pretty much anywhere is perfect for me. You can adjust font size, lighting etc.
I prefer it to reading physical books. Can read in bed without lights on. Also if you drop it on your face, it's pretty light. Can't say the same for a 600 page paperback. No fatigue trying to hold pages open without ruining books. Can literally carry 1000 books with you on a trip, not needing to lug around actual books that take up space.
I can't speak to pricing, as it's pretty trivial to find ebooks online :)
Another user just recommended a Kobo, and so was looking at the Clara 2e. Good to see some positive feedback on it. Generally, hows the Battery Life and User Experience (Laggy/responsive etc)? - Have literally no idea what to expect haha.
Mine is the older Clara HD so not as new as the 2E. It's about normal responsiveness for E-ink screen I found. The only type I had used before hand is an 2nd Gen Kindle.
I use KOReader instead of the default Nickel. Battery life is good, seems to go a bit faster than when I got it a few years ago now. But still more than enough for me. I usually keep wifi off and backlight is on low when I need it.
Oh can you use different (for a lack of knowledge) "Apps" as your reader within the device?
I don't actually know if there are any others. KOreader offered more customisability at the time over the default and the ability to use OPDS catalog over wifi so I could connect to Calibre which I use to manage my ebooks.
I'm not sure if it's changed but there was no default way to get my own downloaded books over wifi when I got it. I didn't want to connect to the PC everytime
Nice. Will keep that in mind if I end up pulling the trigger
I have a Kobo and a Boox. Kobo is light and great; the boox for note taking and lager PDF etc...
Physical books are great; but cumbersome.
Huh, Boox seems like an interesting proposition as well. Do you find yourself using the notetaking functionality alot in your personal life?
I was using it for journaling for a while; but I got out of the habit.
I make notes regularly and use it for my D&D notes during the campaign. The great thing about it is that it runs Android, so I run Syncthing on it to keep it in sync with my computers and servers.
Thats actually a really interesting proposition with the Android syncing etc. Will need to do some research / keep that in mind for when I really find a need for it.
I have a kindle! I love them. In some ways it's not as nice as a physical book but they are not as heavy, you can read them in the dark, and they have searchable text.
Plus instant gratification when I tell someone who has a kindle about a book they can often get it right away.
Mine got given to me second hand (it's from 2012) and I only ever side load free books on it (I use Calibre software which is fantastic and does everything). From what I can see the newer ones are more annoying in terms of ads and integration with Amazon so if I were in a position to get a new one I'd probably choose a kobo.
Hmm just did some reading into Kobo, they look pretty good!
Yeah I've seen them, they look really nice. Some of them have a warm colour light option that's very appealing.
Yeah leaning towards a Kobo if we end up getting one. Though my partner wants to read some Korean Titles, and it seems like there's no real solution at the moment to remove the DRM for the ebooks you get from the korean ebook stores.
Calibre?
I have a Kobo and love it, although I've just cancelled my subscription for a few months. It's nice to be able to read what you want without people seeing what the front cover is ;-)
Calibre is the best software I have found for managing an ebook collection where you want multiple types of files. i.e. ePub for kobos etc and mobi for kindle, pdf.
Calibre allows you to convert between the formats pretty easily.
We've got four Kindles and get all books from Myanonymouse and zlib. No drm issues. All managed easily via Calibre.
Nobody mentioned it I think, if you get a Kobo you can rent ebooks from the library. Still annoying as you have to return them and sometimes books aren't available.
Yeah, I was earlier sold on the Kobo ones as they seemed to be recommended a few times here, but it seems the battery life may be better on the Kindle paperwhite, and the Kindle also seems more responsive...
Now thinking about the Kindle again haha
Yeah - saw that Auckland Libraries Ebooks don't work with the Kindle - I wonder how often I would use that feature (haven't been to the library in decades!, but I guess borrowing a book online is a lot easier :) )
We still get physical books via the library, which works fine. I found online renting very annoying as ebooks can be rented out. Sailing the sea is much more convenient...
Even if you do choose only read them within the borrow period it is way easier to convert them for your device first.