Hi and Overwhelmed!

azzywazzy · 02-07-2010, 12:22 PM

Hi everyone

My name is Arianne from the UK! I don't own a device yet - in fact I'm finding the whole experience slightly overwhelming - weird as I normally consider myself quite tech-savvy. I'm thinking about getting a Bebook Neo, but I'll wait to see what the initial feedback is from people once they start shipping.

Anyway - can anyone advise me where to start? There's so much information here but there's almost too much. I'm a bit snowed under when it comes to looking at software to use, and hearing people talking about formatting and re-formatting books and scanning their own stuff.

I'd like to be able to:

Scan in some of my own books
Be able to read pdfs on my ereader (I knit a lot, and it would be brilliant to be able to tote knitting patterns around so I can read and knit at the same time )
Be able to annotate (I read a lot of German language books and it's handy to be able to make notes on unusual translations etc
Understand all the different ebook formats and what's good/bad about each one...

Where on earth do I start? At the moment I'm just feeling really

which is annoying me as I want to get back into reading (haven't done much in years due to lack of space and time) but the hubster and I are trying to change our lifestyles to give us more time and money for the things we like to do and I figure reading more is a good place to start

Sorry for the ramble - any help would be massively appreciated.

Bilbo1967 · 02-07-2010, 12:49 PM

Hi Arianne and welcome to MR from a fellow Brit.

In terms of which one to get, have you seen this page on the Wiki? It will at least show you which can handle PDFs, which can allow you to annotate etc at a glance.

Following that, my suggestion would be to physically try out as many of your short list as you can. The preference for look and feel of these devices does seem to be a very personal thing, so nothing beats a hands-on look.

MickeyC · 02-07-2010, 02:43 PM

Hi Arianne and welcome to MobileRead. You should also check out our Which One Should I Buy? section.

ShortNCuddlyAm · 02-07-2010, 05:24 PM

Welcome to MR!

dreams · 02-07-2010, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzywazzy

I'd like to be able to:

Scan in some of my own books

I found a thread with some information..
Have you EVER wanted to scan that old book?
Be able to read pdfs on my ereader (I knit a lot, and it would be brilliant to be able to tote knitting patterns around so I can read and knit at the same time )
Be able to annotate (I read a lot of German language books and it's handy to be able to make notes on unusual translations etc

MR Wiki for both of the above in the E-book Reader Matrix
Understand all the different ebook formats and what's good/bad about each one...

Also in the MR Wiki in E-book formats

For formatting you can explore using Calibre and Kovid, the creator, frequents the forums here. We even have a dedicated Calibre forum.

I think one of the first things to figure out is what you will be using it for the most.
Older books, Public Domain books, best sellers, library books....

It's all very much a personal decision when getting a device. No device is perfect, but there are those that come very close to doing what we need / use the most. I was lucky in my gift of a Sony 505. It fits me perfectly.

I hope this helps to get you started on your decision making process.

rlparker · 02-08-2010, 08:42 AM

Hi Arianne, welcome to MR!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

...my suggestion would be to physically try out as many of your short list as you can. The preference for look and feel of these devices does seem to be a very personal thing, so nothing beats a hands-on look.

+1 for Bilbo's suggestion--if you can, try it before you buy it. And buy from a place with a liberal return policy so that you can return it without penalty if it doesn't doesn't end up being satisfactory.

DixieGal · 02-08-2010, 09:08 AM

The elephant in the room that we are all dancing around is PDF. Find a reader that is comfortable for you to read books on, and carry around a xeroxed page or two with your knitting pattern.

None of the ebook readers will be satisfying for reading patterns from a PDF. All it takes is one chart or picture, and the ebook readers go bananas.

On the other hand, you are going to love reading books electronically.

azzywazzy · 02-08-2010, 09:20 AM

Hey everyone

Thank you so much for all of the help and advice. I really appreciate the pointers on the best place to start.

DixieGal - I had a feeling pdf would be the problem

What can I say, I want the moon on a stick. I totally agree with what you've said and it might well be best to carry a print-out with me. It is the least important feature to me. I'd much rather be able to annotate so I can pick back up on languages again.

My plan so far is to wait for the Neo and the Pocketbook 302 to both come out and see what the hands-on reviews are like. I downloaded Calibre last night and have started to download lots of bits and pieces. Getting some good recommendations from the board here, discovering Smashwords and a few other places in the process. In the meantime might try downloading Stanza for my iPhone and reading from that.

Waiting to purchase my first e-reader is going to be a killer!

Lady Blue · 02-08-2010, 11:12 AM

Hi Arianne, and

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(clicky)

happy_terd · 02-08-2010, 11:55 AM

hello and welcome to MR!!! Make sure to check out the lounge whenever you get a chance.

Javed · 02-10-2010, 05:03 AM

Hello azzywazzy and welcome to MobileRead!

02-07-2010, 12:22 PM	#1
azzywazzy Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Peterborough, UK Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Hi and Overwhelmed! Hi everyone My name is Arianne from the UK! I don't own a device yet - in fact I'm finding the whole experience slightly overwhelming - weird as I normally consider myself quite tech-savvy. I'm thinking about getting a Bebook Neo, but I'll wait to see what the initial feedback is from people once they start shipping. Anyway - can anyone advise me where to start? There's so much information here but there's almost too much. I'm a bit snowed under when it comes to looking at software to use, and hearing people talking about formatting and re-formatting books and scanning their own stuff. I'd like to be able to: Scan in some of my own books Be able to read pdfs on my ereader (I knit a lot, and it would be brilliant to be able to tote knitting patterns around so I can read and knit at the same time ) Be able to annotate (I read a lot of German language books and it's handy to be able to make notes on unusual translations etc Understand all the different ebook formats and what's good/bad about each one... Where on earth do I start? At the moment I'm just feeling really which is annoying me as I want to get back into reading (haven't done much in years due to lack of space and time) but the hubster and I are trying to change our lifestyles to give us more time and money for the things we like to do and I figure reading more is a good place to start Sorry for the ramble - any help would be massively appreciated.

02-08-2010, 11:12 AM	#9
Lady Blue the snarky blue one Posts: 6,001 Karma: 3877825 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: deep in the heart Device: PRS500, 505 & 600, PRST1 & T2, Kindle PW, Moto Razr, Galaxy Tab 2-10"	Hi Arianne, and (clicky)

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02-07-2010, 12:49 PM	#2
Bilbo1967 Not scared! Posts: 13,424 Karma: 81011643 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midlands, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10, Huawei M5 10	Hi Arianne and welcome to MR from a fellow Brit. In terms of which one to get, have you seen this page on the Wiki? It will at least show you which can handle PDFs, which can allow you to annotate etc at a glance. Following that, my suggestion would be to physically try out as many of your short list as you can. The preference for look and feel of these devices does seem to be a very personal thing, so nothing beats a hands-on look.

02-07-2010, 02:43 PM	#3
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi Arianne and welcome to MobileRead. You should also check out our Which One Should I Buy? section.

02-07-2010, 05:24 PM	#4
ShortNCuddlyAm WWHALD Posts: 7,879 Karma: 337114 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mitcham, Surrey, UK Device: iPad. Selling my silver 505 here	Welcome to MR!

02-08-2010, 09:08 AM	#7
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	The elephant in the room that we are all dancing around is PDF. Find a reader that is comfortable for you to read books on, and carry around a xeroxed page or two with your knitting pattern. None of the ebook readers will be satisfying for reading patterns from a PDF. All it takes is one chart or picture, and the ebook readers go bananas. On the other hand, you are going to love reading books electronically.

02-08-2010, 09:20 AM	#8
azzywazzy Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Peterborough, UK Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Hey everyone Thank you so much for all of the help and advice. I really appreciate the pointers on the best place to start. DixieGal - I had a feeling pdf would be the problem What can I say, I want the moon on a stick. I totally agree with what you've said and it might well be best to carry a print-out with me. It is the least important feature to me. I'd much rather be able to annotate so I can pick back up on languages again. My plan so far is to wait for the Neo and the Pocketbook 302 to both come out and see what the hands-on reviews are like. I downloaded Calibre last night and have started to download lots of bits and pieces. Getting some good recommendations from the board here, discovering Smashwords and a few other places in the process. In the meantime might try downloading Stanza for my iPhone and reading from that. Waiting to purchase my first e-reader is going to be a killer!

02-08-2010, 11:55 AM	#10
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	hello and welcome to MR!!! Make sure to check out the lounge whenever you get a chance.

02-10-2010, 05:03 AM	#11
Javed Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,270 Karma: 1126878541 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Astak Pocket PRO, iPod Touch, PRS-650	Hello azzywazzy and welcome to MobileRead!

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