I love my tablets.
I bought an iPad (original) for showing off photos and playing videos. My husband surprised me with an iPad 3 (with retina) that I use for watching videos, playing games and photo editing. I don't read much on either of them. I use a stylus with the new one so that there are fewer fingerprint streaks on the screen.
I also have a Nook HD+ that I bought new for cheap to use as an Android tablet. In the past year I have only added the Kobo Reader app to it -- I use it exclusively for reading. The screen size is wonderful, although the battery life is significantly less than on my e-ink readers. Even though it is heavier, I tend to pick it up more often when I read just because I like the screen size. I have a portable battery charger and a lapdesk that I use so that I don't have to hold it when I read for a long time.
I'm personally not a fan of Kindle anything, so I would suggest trying a different brand of tablet before giving up on them completely. However, I have very limited experience with Kindle Fires (my kids each have one but I haven't used them much beyond setting up wi-fi and troubleshooting the occasionally cranky app) and it may not be as different from other Android-based tablets as I think it is. Also, the way I use them (as portable viewers, mainly) may make me more biased regarding their overall usefulness.