Best reader mostly for fanfic?

chasethecat · 12-07-2011, 09:46 PM

I'm hoping to get myself an e-reader soon, and having a hard time figuring out which would be the best. Hopefully you'll have some advice for me!

I am likely going to be using it mostly to read fanfic (currently, I have many .doc files which I read on my 8(?) year old palmpilot, so a reader being able to read those would be handy, but not required - I have no problem converting files, etc). I'll also probably get out library books occasionally, but I doubt I'll buy books very often. So, which store it's connected to doesn't matter to me.

I want to be able to organize the files - I prefer tags to folders, but I'd want to be able to look for more than one tag at once (for example, searching for something tagged "Fantasy" and "ToBeRead", instead of searching just one tag or the other); is that possible on the Kindle? Do any other readers have something like Kindle's Collections rather than folders?

I definitely want a touch screen, but I don't think I care if it has 3G or not. From what I've seen all the newer models have wireless, so that's not a deciding factor.

I'm also in Canada, so some options aren't available to me. (Although I have no problem buying something from the US, as long as it would work here and I wouldn't have any hassles if it had problems and I needed to get it repaired/replaced.)

Is there any reader jumping out that you think would be perfect for me? Or one you would definitely not recommend? Any advice to help me narrow down my choices would be appreciated! Thanks!

mcrmama · 12-07-2011, 09:53 PM

You might want to look at the Sony T1 as well in Canada. The price just dropped to $139 at the Sony website. It uses collections. The Sony is due for a firmware update soon so fingers crossed it will fix the issues that people have had with their T1's. Sony readers work well with calibre software so you can tag your books into collections there and when you send to your reader, the collections will be set up as well. You can also use Calibre's content server to load books.

My son has the Kobo touch and it works well, but does not support collections at this point so of those two, the Sony is probably the better fit.

ilovejedd · 12-08-2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chasethecat

I'd want to be able to look for more than one tag at once (for example, searching for something tagged "Fantasy" and "ToBeRead", instead of searching just one tag or the other);

I don't think there's any dedicated reader that can do that. My Sony PRS-350 handles collections acceptably. Unfortunately, even among ereader applications, I think Calibre is probably the only one that can do that.

ApK · 12-08-2011, 01:27 PM

I agree that PRS-350 sounds like it would a pretty good fit. Who knows, maybe you can convince the developers of PRS+ to add the specific search feature you want.

Plus, it's form factor is closest to the Palm....comfortably pocket-sized.

ApK

JaneD · 12-13-2011, 10:38 PM

A kindle definitely doesn't allow you to search by tags. You can't even see the tags that you create via calibre on the kindle device itself.

chasethecat · 12-15-2011, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaneD

A kindle definitely doesn't allow you to search by tags. You can't even see the tags that you create via calibre on the kindle device itself.

Seriously? That's not very useful.

If the Sony's weren't more expensive than other readers I think I might've bought one already...it sounds like I"ll have to keep my eye open for a Boxing Day sale.

How does tagging work with Calibre, exactly? Can you edit tags in Calibre itself and on the e-reader and sync them, or just one or the other? For example, after I've finished reading something, could I delete the "ToBeRead" tag and add tags based on how much I liked the story on the reader, and have the new tags be added to Calibre the next time I connected the reader? Or would I have to re-tag manually in Calibre?

Thanks so much to everyone for your help! I really appreciate your advice.

JaneD · 12-16-2011, 01:57 AM

On calibre, you can tag a story anything you want. It helps for searching within calibre, but it does nothing once it's on the kindle device. No sorting, can't see the tags at all. So you can edit the tags in calibre as often as you want (including marking them read, a star system for your quality ratings, etc), but there's no syncing to kindle because they don't show up on kindle at all.

I still tag my stories because once you've got a bunch in calibre, it's useful for searching for something.

For keeping track of unread stories, I put everything new on my device in an "Unread" folder, then when I'm finished, I either move it to a permanent folder like "Science Fiction" or "Non Fiction" or I delete it, if I don't forsee re-reading it anytime.

chasethecat · 12-16-2011, 09:06 PM

I don't have to wait for a Boxing Day sale, after all! Best Buy is selling refurbished Sony 350s for $80, so I snapped one of those up.

Thanks to everyone for your advice!

ApK · 12-16-2011, 09:09 PM

Try the PRS+ add on for the PRS-350 (See the Sony forum section here).
It's so easy to install, it's worth it just for the chess game....

12-07-2011, 09:46 PM	#1
chasethecat Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: none	Best reader mostly for fanfic? I'm hoping to get myself an e-reader soon, and having a hard time figuring out which would be the best. Hopefully you'll have some advice for me! I am likely going to be using it mostly to read fanfic (currently, I have many .doc files which I read on my 8(?) year old palmpilot, so a reader being able to read those would be handy, but not required - I have no problem converting files, etc). I'll also probably get out library books occasionally, but I doubt I'll buy books very often. So, which store it's connected to doesn't matter to me. I want to be able to organize the files - I prefer tags to folders, but I'd want to be able to look for more than one tag at once (for example, searching for something tagged "Fantasy" and "ToBeRead", instead of searching just one tag or the other); is that possible on the Kindle? Do any other readers have something like Kindle's Collections rather than folders? I definitely want a touch screen, but I don't think I care if it has 3G or not. From what I've seen all the newer models have wireless, so that's not a deciding factor. I'm also in Canada, so some options aren't available to me. (Although I have no problem buying something from the US, as long as it would work here and I wouldn't have any hassles if it had problems and I needed to get it repaired/replaced.) Is there any reader jumping out that you think would be perfect for me? Or one you would definitely not recommend? Any advice to help me narrow down my choices would be appreciated! Thanks!

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12-07-2011, 09:53 PM	#2
mcrmama Addict Posts: 239 Karma: 16806 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo Aura One	You might want to look at the Sony T1 as well in Canada. The price just dropped to $139 at the Sony website. It uses collections. The Sony is due for a firmware update soon so fingers crossed it will fix the issues that people have had with their T1's. Sony readers work well with calibre software so you can tag your books into collections there and when you send to your reader, the collections will be set up as well. You can also use Calibre's content server to load books. My son has the Kobo touch and it works well, but does not support collections at this point so of those two, the Sony is probably the better fit.

12-08-2011, 01:27 PM	#4
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,316 Karma: 67862884 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	I agree that PRS-350 sounds like it would a pretty good fit. Who knows, maybe you can convince the developers of PRS+ to add the specific search feature you want. Plus, it's form factor is closest to the Palm....comfortably pocket-sized. ApK

12-13-2011, 10:38 PM	#5
JaneD Addict Posts: 322 Karma: 1057749 Join Date: May 2010 Location: LA, CA Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2013	A kindle definitely doesn't allow you to search by tags. You can't even see the tags that you create via calibre on the kindle device itself.

12-16-2011, 01:57 AM	#7
JaneD Addict Posts: 322 Karma: 1057749 Join Date: May 2010 Location: LA, CA Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2013	On calibre, you can tag a story anything you want. It helps for searching within calibre, but it does nothing once it's on the kindle device. No sorting, can't see the tags at all. So you can edit the tags in calibre as often as you want (including marking them read, a star system for your quality ratings, etc), but there's no syncing to kindle because they don't show up on kindle at all. I still tag my stories because once you've got a bunch in calibre, it's useful for searching for something. For keeping track of unread stories, I put everything new on my device in an "Unread" folder, then when I'm finished, I either move it to a permanent folder like "Science Fiction" or "Non Fiction" or I delete it, if I don't forsee re-reading it anytime.

12-16-2011, 09:06 PM	#8
chasethecat Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: none	I don't have to wait for a Boxing Day sale, after all! Best Buy is selling refurbished Sony 350s for $80, so I snapped one of those up. Thanks to everyone for your advice!

12-16-2011, 09:09 PM	#9
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,316 Karma: 67862884 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	Try the PRS+ add on for the PRS-350 (See the Sony forum section here). It's so easy to install, it's worth it just for the chess game....