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dreaminghopeWhen I was a little girl – well, still a little bit little, as I lived in a town without a bookstore when I was really little-little – I used to spend all my allowance money on books. It would take me about six weeks to save up for one Baby-Sitters Club or Fabulous Five book. I was always envious of people carrying bright yellow Coles Books bags. I couldn't imagine anything better than being able to buy as many books as I wanted.
I now have a lot of bookcases layered two or even three books deep. All of the shelves on the Ikea bookcases are bowing under the weight. It has come to the point where I don't want to buy more books (except for ones by certain authors whose work I collect), due to lack of places to put them. At the same time, I still want to support writers and publishers and everyone else who helps makes books happen.
It was a year or two ago that I started exploring the possibility of eReaders. The tipping point was when I decided that I wanted to own all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but knew that there was nowhere for me to keep 38 books without giving up some of the books I already own, and that's simply not going to happen.
After much research and internal debate, I bought an eReader back in November. It currently contains five novels I purchased (including one Discworld novel – I'm hoping to find a Canadian source for bundles of his books so I don't have to buy each one separately), all 14 of the original Wizard of Oz books (they are in the public domain), and three library books.
I carry my eReader with me in my purse. It weighs about 8 ounces and I always have a book with me. I don't get quite as much reading done in coffee shops and restaurants as I planned, however, because waitresses and people at neighbouring tables are always asking about my device. I really don't mind answering questions, but sometimes I worry that I am babbling too much information at someone who had just a casual interest, so I clam up quickly unless there are follow-up questions.
I did a lot of research before choosing a eReader brand. There are a surprising number of them available.
The Kindle was never an option for me. I don't like that it has a proprietary format and that it doesn't work with Vancouver's public library system.* With my eReader, I can get eBooks from Kobo Books, the Sony Reader Store, Project Gutenberg, Books on Board, and others.
I liked the look of the Nook, but it sounds a bit tricky to use in Canada still. I haven't seen it in person.
I didn't care about the ability to get books without hooking up to my computer, since I'm on my computer a lot anyway.
I went with the Pandigital Novel black and white eReader because I wanted an eInk or ePaper option for the longer battery life and ability to read in daylight, and I wanted the ability to play Sudoku (which comes pre-installed). It also comes with WiFi capability and an MP3 player, though I haven't used either very much yet. I wanted Sudoku and WiFi enough to sacrifice the refresh rate a little; my Novel's page turns are considerably slower than the Kobo or the Sony Reader. I've become used to clicking on the page turn button about a line and a half from the end of the page.
So, if you are trying to choose an eReader, here are some things to consider:
Size and weight: One of Sony readers has only a 5-inch screen, which seems a bit small to read on to me (but some people read on their smart phones, so...). Most have a 6-inch screen. The Nook is one of the heavier readers at 12 oz, despite being about the same size.
Refresh rate: Some turn pages faster than others. Of the ones I've seen, Sony was fastest, Kobo next, and Pandigital is the slowest. Russ' Sony refreshes almost 2.5 times as fast as my Pandigital. There's also the type of page turn. The Pandigital goes blank for a moment. The Sony goes black for a split second.
WiFi: Do you want to be able to get books remotely? Do you want to be able to access the Internet besides buying books? Pandigitals have full Internet access with WiFi. Some Kindles have web browsers. Kobo can only access an online version of their store to buy books. I don't think the Sony has any online access. If you want to able to buy books by WiFi, make sure you like the store your device defaults to and that it works in your country.
Book formats: Personally, I haven't seen a book I can't get in either PDF or ePub, so I think any reader that does both is pretty much ideal. Kindle doesn't do ePub.
Storage: This was not a big issue for me, as you can fit about 1000 books in 1 GB, and most of the major eReaders have at least 2 GB on them (some Sony ones are smaller). Many of them also expansion slots for more memory. Also, I can store books on my computer, and some eBook stores will store your books for you so you can re-download them if your computer dies.
Contrast: My Pandigital Novel has less contrast between the screen colour and the text than Russ' Sony Reader. I haven't found it a strain, but it might be something to look at if your eyes tire easily.
Other features: Touch screen (Pandigital, some Sony models)? Library compatible (Sony, Kobo, Nook, Pandigital)? Built-in dictionary (Pandigital, Kindle, Nook, some Sony)? Sudoku (Pandigital)? Colour and backlight (this isn't available in eInk/ePaper, so it isn't as easy to read in daylight and the battery life is shorter) (some Nook, some Pandigital)?
Part two is here: About digital reading: eBooks & eReader pros & cons.
*It is my understanding that there are ways around the proprietary format, but I didn't want to mess with things like that.
I now have a lot of bookcases layered two or even three books deep. All of the shelves on the Ikea bookcases are bowing under the weight. It has come to the point where I don't want to buy more books (except for ones by certain authors whose work I collect), due to lack of places to put them. At the same time, I still want to support writers and publishers and everyone else who helps makes books happen.
It was a year or two ago that I started exploring the possibility of eReaders. The tipping point was when I decided that I wanted to own all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but knew that there was nowhere for me to keep 38 books without giving up some of the books I already own, and that's simply not going to happen.
After much research and internal debate, I bought an eReader back in November. It currently contains five novels I purchased (including one Discworld novel – I'm hoping to find a Canadian source for bundles of his books so I don't have to buy each one separately), all 14 of the original Wizard of Oz books (they are in the public domain), and three library books.
I carry my eReader with me in my purse. It weighs about 8 ounces and I always have a book with me. I don't get quite as much reading done in coffee shops and restaurants as I planned, however, because waitresses and people at neighbouring tables are always asking about my device. I really don't mind answering questions, but sometimes I worry that I am babbling too much information at someone who had just a casual interest, so I clam up quickly unless there are follow-up questions.
I did a lot of research before choosing a eReader brand. There are a surprising number of them available.
The Kindle was never an option for me. I don't like that it has a proprietary format and that it doesn't work with Vancouver's public library system.* With my eReader, I can get eBooks from Kobo Books, the Sony Reader Store, Project Gutenberg, Books on Board, and others.
I liked the look of the Nook, but it sounds a bit tricky to use in Canada still. I haven't seen it in person.
I didn't care about the ability to get books without hooking up to my computer, since I'm on my computer a lot anyway.
I went with the Pandigital Novel black and white eReader because I wanted an eInk or ePaper option for the longer battery life and ability to read in daylight, and I wanted the ability to play Sudoku (which comes pre-installed). It also comes with WiFi capability and an MP3 player, though I haven't used either very much yet. I wanted Sudoku and WiFi enough to sacrifice the refresh rate a little; my Novel's page turns are considerably slower than the Kobo or the Sony Reader. I've become used to clicking on the page turn button about a line and a half from the end of the page.
So, if you are trying to choose an eReader, here are some things to consider:
Size and weight: One of Sony readers has only a 5-inch screen, which seems a bit small to read on to me (but some people read on their smart phones, so...). Most have a 6-inch screen. The Nook is one of the heavier readers at 12 oz, despite being about the same size.
Refresh rate: Some turn pages faster than others. Of the ones I've seen, Sony was fastest, Kobo next, and Pandigital is the slowest. Russ' Sony refreshes almost 2.5 times as fast as my Pandigital. There's also the type of page turn. The Pandigital goes blank for a moment. The Sony goes black for a split second.
WiFi: Do you want to be able to get books remotely? Do you want to be able to access the Internet besides buying books? Pandigitals have full Internet access with WiFi. Some Kindles have web browsers. Kobo can only access an online version of their store to buy books. I don't think the Sony has any online access. If you want to able to buy books by WiFi, make sure you like the store your device defaults to and that it works in your country.
Book formats: Personally, I haven't seen a book I can't get in either PDF or ePub, so I think any reader that does both is pretty much ideal. Kindle doesn't do ePub.
Storage: This was not a big issue for me, as you can fit about 1000 books in 1 GB, and most of the major eReaders have at least 2 GB on them (some Sony ones are smaller). Many of them also expansion slots for more memory. Also, I can store books on my computer, and some eBook stores will store your books for you so you can re-download them if your computer dies.
Contrast: My Pandigital Novel has less contrast between the screen colour and the text than Russ' Sony Reader. I haven't found it a strain, but it might be something to look at if your eyes tire easily.
Other features: Touch screen (Pandigital, some Sony models)? Library compatible (Sony, Kobo, Nook, Pandigital)? Built-in dictionary (Pandigital, Kindle, Nook, some Sony)? Sudoku (Pandigital)? Colour and backlight (this isn't available in eInk/ePaper, so it isn't as easy to read in daylight and the battery life is shorter) (some Nook, some Pandigital)?
Part two is here: About digital reading: eBooks & eReader pros & cons.
*It is my understanding that there are ways around the proprietary format, but I didn't want to mess with things like that.
