Tell us the reason why you bought an ereader

[bert501]

I have a few reasons for making the jump to an ereader. One is also the lugging around books. I like to read a whole series at one time once I get started. So I would just hate to be hauling around my big old back breaker purse full of (for example) yard sale paperbacks volume 3 and 4, borrowed friend's hardback volume 2 and library hardback volume 5 and trying desperately to find vol 1!

Then eye problems made most paperbacks a pain to focus on and hand problems make it yet another pain to hold heavy hardbacks...

Ereaders are SO SO much easier to buy the whole set in one fell swoop and be reading in 5 minutes, adjust the font size, prop it up between the cat & the cookie box and just read read read. So nice to have my reading habit back.

Originally Posted by Lirael

I read a lot. I'm fond of bringing books with me to pass the time when there's time that needs passing - for example, on an airplane, waiting for a bus, on a train, etc, and of course also for leisure at home. I read quite quickly, which means that if I bring a book with me to kill time it's likely that I will finish the book and still have time left over. With paper books, this meant that I would find myself lugging several books with me at all times, which is rather inconvenient (especially if it's a book I could only get in hardcover!)

So, I got a reader so that I could take multiple books with me anywhere without taking up all the space in my bag, and without being murder on my back. And I must say, I absolutely love it!

It's also nice because I can be a bit fickle with what I read, so if I start reading something new and don't like it, I can stop reading it right then and still have hundreds of books to choose from. XD

[Ripplinger]

I absolutely love new gadgets, but I like to wait awhile so others get the kinks out of the devices while they go through the initial growing pains new gadgets always do. I love to read, so the idea of sticking a small 1/4" thick device in my pocket for reading everywhere made carrying around even a paperback seem tedious . And lately I've been taking public transportation more often, so it became more like a necessity-and-had-to-decide-soon thing for me. Plus no more old paperbacks laying around that are really falling apart but I still hate to throw out regardless! It's a win-win-win to me, can't go wrong with an ereader at this point as long as you get one comfortable for how you read.

[grega_g]

Originally Posted by ApK

Have you tried this series:
http://www.amazon.com/Midshipmans-Tr.../dp/0446600962

or this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Refugee-Space-.../dp/0380841940
(Not officially in a Kindle edition yet, unfortunately.)

I have one Honor Harrington paperback on my shelf, that was recommended because I liked the stuff above, but haven't read it yet.

ApK

I know of Seafort Saga, but never started it because I heard it has no ending and last book was published 2000, I think.

The other one is new to me. I will check it out. Thank you.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by grega_g

I know of Seafort Saga, but never started it because I heard it has no ending and last book was published 2000, I think.

The other one is new to me. I will check it out. Thank you.

I never read the last few books of Seafort, but the first few stand well on their own and are worth the read. Real Horatio Hornblower in space stuff, and some quaint nautical and technological stuff.
(Perhaps it had no ending because once Seafort grew up, no one cared anymore....)

ApK

[Pap]

I bought the Kindle for my wife who has a torn retina in her right eye and can not see well. The local library( which is great ) only has a limited selection of large print books. She can make type what ever size that makes it easier for her to see with, which made it worth the money. We have just started looking for downloads you know the free ones.

[Mel Comley]

I move house a lot and the thought of packing up all those books again was giving me nightmares!

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by Pap

I bought the Kindle for my wife who has a torn retina in her right eye and can not see well. The local library( which is great ) only has a limited selection of large print books. She can make type what ever size that makes it easier for her to see with, which made it worth the money. We have just started looking for downloads you know the free ones.

Have a look at the Singapore Library. It is for free and has a LOT of ebooks.

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by Mel Comley

I move house a lot

This made me laugh! I always thought only snails and turtles do so

Is this the correct expression or a kind of slang/short form? (I am German, you know)

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by Pap

I bought the Kindle for my wife who has a torn retina in her right eye and can not see well. The local library( which is great ) only has a limited selection of large print books. She can make type what ever size that makes it easier for her to see with, which made it worth the money. We have just started looking for downloads you know the free ones.

Welcome to Mobileread, Pap. I hope that your wife is enjoying her Kindle!

Here is one way to search for free Kindle books at Amazon: Top 100 Bestsellers. There are two Top-100 lists on that page. The list on the right is the free books. Be sure to visit all the pages, as that first page only shows the first 20. I hope she finds some books that are of interest to her there.

[Namekuseijin]

I do read a lot or so I'm discovering after having bought a smartphone. Both the web and ebooks, though I'm now favoring the latter for much less power consumption.

I wouldn't buy an e-reader device alone, like the kindle. Besides being excessively large and clumsy, I wanted all the convenience of an all-in-one mobile: 3G, wifi, telephony, camera (720p videos), applications, games, music playing etc. I wish batteries would last as long as the kindle, but that's too much wishful thinking...

[goth1k]

I have hundreds of pbooks and not much space to keep many more, so my wife bought me a reader for christmas so I could still continue my favourite hobby without needing to find more space for the hundreds/thousands more books I would without a doubt aquire over the years to come

[VAharleygirl]

I have an eBookwise, as I do a lot of commuting, and while I love my iPhone, the screen is too tiny for the speed at which I read.

The eBookwise is ok, but the limited supported formats that usually have to be converted from the purchase plus having to upload it - with a file limit of 2Mb, has made it less than useful. I've gone back to using my iPhone.

I read using both hands, as I'm ambidextrous. So I'm looking for a reader that's usable with both hands (the Ebookwise allows you to manually switch the orientation of the text 180, and flips the page-buttons as well).

Any suggestions? I don't seem to get eye-fatigue from backlit screens, and I do a fair bit of commuting in dim subways & backs of cars.

With a $1k + reading habit (if I kept all library & paper books), I need something that will be comfortable & can be used anywhere short of in the rain/snow, with minimal things to be dropped/bent/lost.

Suggestions?
My preferred format is PDF, but my usual e-romances come in ePub as well.

[ApK]

VAharleygirl,
A tablet, like the Nook color, iPad, or just about any android tablet, sounds like what you want.

Lot's of storage space, the formats you want, ambidextrous page turning, back-lighting for the dark, and arguably better for most PDF uses.

Of those choices, if the other functions of a general purpose tablet don't mean much to you, the Nook Color is probably the way to go.

ApK

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by ApK

ambidextrous page turning

wtf does that even mean?

I can turn pages either with a finger to the right or to the left of the screen or even simply pushing a button or another.

this is not a real book, forget such lame emulations of limitations of physical books...

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

wtf does that even mean?

If you had a real reader, you could look it up.