Best ereader for a heavy library user?

[MR. Pockets]

Originally Posted by domromer

So now that I held some actual E readers I'm more confused. I was at best buy and held both the nook and the kindle. So I loved how light the kindle was. It felt as small as a thin paperback. The nook felt very bulky compared to the kindle. The obvious problem is that kindle doesn't play well with libraries that use overdrive.

The jetBook is 7.5 oz, the jetBook Lite is 9 oz (I think with batteries in), and the Aluratek Libre is 8 oz. Kindle Wifi weighs 8.5 oz. The Kindle is a lot slimmer than the Libre/jetBooks though.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by MR. Pockets

The jetBook is 7.5 oz, the jetBook Lite is 9 oz (I think with batteries in), and the Aluratek Libre is 8 oz. Kindle Wifi weighs 8.5 oz. The Kindle is a lot slimmer than the Libre/jetBooks though.

To me, weight is a red herring argument. NO reader is exactly heavy! I think physical dimensions are the real test of portability. Can you put ANY of them in a pocket? No.

The only one that comes close is the Sony PRS-350, and even that is something of a portability compromise in terms of features and size.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

To me, weight is a red herring argument. NO reader is exactly heavy! I think physical dimensions are the real test of portability. Can you put ANY of them in a pocket? No.

The only one that comes close is the Sony PRS-350, and even that is something of a portability compromise in terms of features and size.

Umm... I routinely put my Jetbook in the front pocket of my jeans (Levi's 560s) and the Sony PRS-505 will fit in the back pocket (it will fit in the front too, but it is a much tighter fit).

--
Bill

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Umm... I routinely put my Jetbook in the front pocket of my jeans (Levi's 560s) and the Sony PRS-505 will fit in the back pocket (it will fit in the front too, but it is a much tighter fit).

Before I got the iPad (which I haven't yet found a pocket big enough for!), I would take my 505 with me when shopping for trousers and shorts to make sure it would fit in the cargo pocket.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

To me, weight is a red herring argument. NO reader is exactly heavy! I think physical dimensions are the real test of portability. Can you put ANY of them in a pocket? No.

The only one that comes close is the Sony PRS-350, and even that is something of a portability compromise in terms of features and size.

I know that I started hitting the softball 25-50 yards further when I dropped from a 28 ounce bat to a 26 ounce bat. Same bat, same company, some model, the only difference was the weight. I do some light weight lifting at the gym and swim on a regular basis. Those 2 ounces allowed me to get around on the ball faster, I had been hitting to right a fair amount and suddenly was hitting to left, and with more power.

For someone with wrist problems or hand problems the few ounces saved in an e-reader could very well mean more reading time without discomfort.

To answer the question asked by the OP: The Kindle could handle EPub books but it won't. Jeff Bezos has made that very clear. Amazon is not going to work to make EPub available for the Kindle.

Library books can be placed on the Kindle if you are willing to strip the DRM and convert the library book. There will be people who chime in and say this is illegal, that is currently being debated in the courts, or ethically wrong, I would say that if it is legal then it is not ethically wrong. There is even a way of doing it that keeps the library data on it so that the book comes off your Kindle at the right time. I have never done this so I can't tell you how. I know a google search will help you find that info.

Personally I think it is silly that Overdrive is focused on EPub books. With the number of Kindles available in the US, I would think that they would diversify and make both versions available. And now we have all the EPub lovers who will jump in and complain about Amazon not allowing EPub on its reader.

Given the current situation, the Nook is going to be your best bet for a lighter reader, that is inexpensivly priced, and can read library books without having to jump through hoops.

The Kindle is a great option if you are willing to jump through hoops. It has the same access to free books that are out of copywrite and Amazon has a large number of free books available at its book store. The library will be trickier and you need to decide how comfortable you are with stripping DRM's both ethically and technologically.

[JSWolf]

Has anybody actually been reading MR? You do know that putting a reader in your pocket is a good way to get the screen damaged.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Has anybody actually been reading MR? You do know that putting a reader in your pocket is a good way to get the screen damaged.

I slipped on ice and fell directly on the 505 in the Sony case, in a cargo pants pocket, onto a brick driveway. Slight dent in the case where some coins were forced into it, 505 was fine. Putting anything with a screen into a pocket without some form of covering is a bad idea, yes.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

ITo answer the question asked by the OP: The Kindle could handle EPub books but it won't. Jeff Bezos has made that very clear. Amazon is not going to work to make EPub available for the Kindle.

Library books can be placed on the Kindle if you are willing to strip the DRM and convert the library book. There will be people who chime in and say this is illegal, that is currently being debated in the courts, or ethically wrong, I would say that if it is legal then it is not ethically wrong. There is even a way of doing it that keeps the library data on it so that the book comes off your Kindle at the right time. I have never done this so I can't tell you how. I know a google search will help you find that info.

Personally I think it is silly that Overdrive is focused on EPub books. With the number of Kindles available in the US, I would think that they would diversify and make both versions available. And now we have all the EPub lovers who will jump in and complain about Amazon not allowing EPub on its reader.

The problem is that a lot of libraries have a limited budget for eBooks. Having to buy them in yet another format is going to weaken that already strained budget. Would you rather have say 10 different new eBooks bought this week or 5 different eBooks because now that also have to get them in another format?

The way I see it is that if library eBooks are important enough to you, don't buy a Kindle. Simple as that. Vote with your wallet. And when you buy a different reader, send a message to Amazon telling them why you went with a different reader. Tell them you want ePub with library support and since the Kindle doesn't have that, you went elsewhere. The only way to get things changed is to let Amazon know with your wallet.

I routinely see requests for library access and page numbers. People saying they really want or need them. My question is, if they are so important, why buy a Kindle that doesn't have either? Buy a reader that has what you want. Do not buy a Kindle in hopes it will have page numbers or ePub support added later on. Don't buy a nook thinking it may someday be compatible with Amazon's DRM. That's just silly. You buy a reader for what it can do out of the box. Anything else is just a nice extra later on down the road.

[hiaig]

Jetbook/Jetbook Lite has no clock so your library books never expire once you put it on your SD card (no need to strip DRM). This is helpful because a number of ebooks that you have on hold may become available at the same time. This gives you an opportunity to read at your own leisure.

read this: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=97944&page=2

Cheers

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

I slipped on ice and fell directly on the 505 in the Sony case, in a cargo pants pocket, onto a brick driveway. Slight dent in the case where some coins were forced into it, 505 was fine. Putting anything with a screen into a pocket without some form of covering is a bad idea, yes.

But can you imagine what would have happened to the screen if you had one of the plastic based readers instead of the aluminum based 505 in your pocket when you slipped?

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

To me, weight is a red herring argument. NO reader is exactly heavy! I think physical dimensions are the real test of portability. Can you put ANY of them in a pocket? No.

The only one that comes close is the Sony PRS-350, and even that is something of a portability compromise in terms of features and size.

I wouldn't consider putting a reader in a trouser pocket. My 505 and 650 fit just fine in coat/jacket pockets.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Has anybody actually been reading MR? You do know that putting a reader in your pocket is a good way to get the screen damaged.

I only rarely put the PRS-505 in my pocket; usually when I have to carry other things. It feels weird enough in my back pocket that I am always aware it is there.

As for the Jetbook, I carried it for two years in my pocket, and the screen worked as good two years later as it did when I got it. Now the case of the reader was starting to fall apart... but whether that was because of me carrying it in my pocket or the several times I dropped the reader on hard floors, I am not sure...

--
Bill

[graycyn]

Something else to consider about a NOOK if you are primarily a library reader and not a book buyer... Nook has the LendMe feature. True, not every book is a LendMe book, but many are. And there are various places where you can request and borrow LendMe books from complete strangers. All they need to lend you a book is your BN.com account email address. It's a NICE addition to being able to borrow from the library! Nor are you necessarily expected to lend books in return, though of course if you do acquire some LendMe capable books, it's nice to pass them forward, as it were.

My library has a fair few ebooks available as part of the Oregon Digital Library Consortium, but not every library has as many. Being able to borrow through LendMe has proven a nice option to getting books I'm interested in that aren't available from the library. Just sayin'...

[Andrew H.]

Before you get an ereader for library use, make sure that your library has a decent supply of the books you'd like to read. My library has one of the most extensive e-book libraries that I know of (4,000+ items), but these are dwarfed by the 2.1 million regular items the library contains. Most of the e-books are genre, with, IIRC, mysteries being the best represented category. The selection is sort of hit or miss, too, with some books from a series being represented, but not all.

As I tend to use the library for older books anyway, I've been more than happy with the number of free or very low cost public domain books on Amazon.

But your library has a decent selection of books you like, you can certainly save a lot of money by going that route.

[tennoel]

I have a sony 300, I have both epub and pdf's on it, and it works just fine. I use overdrive for my local library - with decent content options. I have bought books from the sony store, kobo and directly from a publisher. My book clubs sometimes send me on wild book hunts! I got the same reader for my mom who is NOT tech savy, and won't be doing any stripping or calibre or anything, and she's happy as a clam.

My only complaint is that I don't like to read it when I'm tired b/c I don't want to fall asleep with it in the bed.