Which E-Reader Should I Buy? (I need your help!)

A few weeks ago something terrible happened – my kindle keyboard of nearly three years was no more.

In the years since I first got him, he was a constant companion. We fell asleep together, went to work together, he entertained me on long commutes and I took him with me to see the sights on holidays. But when faced with an over excited two-year old – it was too much for my faithful e-reader to take.

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My kindle keyboard who is now sleeping – unable to turn on.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the kindle when my father first gave me one as a gift. E-readers? Psh… give me real books! But I quickly grew to see the benefits. The ability to carry a library around with me. Being able to instantly order and receive books wirelessly when a cliff-hanger from a previous book in the series is keeping me up at night. The price of e-books is often quite affordable when compared to their printed cousins.

And whilst I have plenty of printed books I intend to read – I find myself missing the convenience of an e-reader. Trying to read books using the kindle app on my phone just isn’t the same – the backlit screen gives me a headache and reading books on a phone tends to chew up the battery.

I know I need to replace my old (now kaput) kindle with a newer one but with so many on the market – which to choose? 

Kindles, Nooks, Kobos and tablets… there’s a lot to decide from each with their pros and cons. Many models and brands and I have to admit – I don’t quite know where to start.

So I’m asking you for your help.

Do you use an e-reader? Which one/s?

Would you recommend the one you use? 

Which e-reader features do you like best? 

Thank you in advance for your help! I’ve been doing some research online but sometimes it’s best to hear from people actually using a product rather than just sites which compare them against each other.

 

15 Comments

  1. I have 2 ereaders. I have the Kobo Glo and just recently bought a Kindle Fire HD sencond edition. Because I buy most of my books from kobo and amazon I love that I can just sync them right after I buy.
    Good luck on your choice.

  2. I’m on my second kindle at the moment. I upgraded late last year to a kindle paperwhite, both for the convenience of the touch screen for typing in book names and for the frontlight. Because, admittedly, my old light-less kindle did prove a bit hard to read in certain levels of shade or brightness. The paperwhite’s been great in that regard, and I’m the loving the whole ‘time left to read’ feature. It’s a great way to plan out your day around a book. Hope I’ve been helpful.

  3. I have three ereaders/tablets. I mostly use my Google Nexus for reading. I use the kindle app and it’s fantastic. I love the convenience but the battery life in comparison to an actual ereader is rubbish. I also have an old sony reader- it’s a work horse. The battery lasts approx a week but it has no wifi capability so I mostly use it when I travel. I also have a nook color but I don’t use this one. It’s slow and at the moment, turns two pages of the ebook instead of one. Drives me mad and I don’t recommend.

  4. I recently helped some patrons at my library with a Nook HD – the newest version of Nook, and I loved it. It is touch screen, has an Android OS, and is very user friendly. It also seemed to be cheaper than the newest Kindles. New Nook HD is my recommendation!!

  5. If you want just a basic ereader the Kindle Paperwhite might be a good choice for you. I purchased a new Kindle Fire and I love it! I wanted not only an ereader but a functioning tablet so I could play games and get online. The Kindle Fire is really fast too. I don’t know anything about the other ereader brands.

  6. I previously had a Kindle 4 and had no idea what I was missing until I upgraded to a Fire HD. It’s a brilliant eReader, but it’s basically a tablet. I use it to surf the net, check email, play The Sims, buy on eBay and leave comments and read other blogs too. As a blogger, it’s brilliant and they’ve reduced the price at most places to $150.00, you can even layby it at Big W. For a little extra, I’d go the Fire HD and get a tablet, not just an eReader.

  7. I recommend the Nexus 7 since it’s super cheap ($200 I think) but it’s a full fledged tablet as well. It has specs that really challenges other tablets from the likes of Samsung. I personally have the first edition of the Nexus 7 but I know that the second one is even better. Plus that way, you have access to Kindle books, Nook books and whatever else there is in world. But of course, the good old Kindles and Nooks are worth checking out. 😀

  8. I’m sorry your Kindle broke 🙁 I recently cracked the screen of my tablet and that alone made me sad.

    So, I have a few: original iPad, original Nexus 7, and my bf just got the new Nexus 7. I hardly use the iPad as it’s quite big compared to tablets these days, but I did use the Kindle function on it and found it fine. I use my Nexus 7 a lot, but since the crack I too am considering something new, possibly the newer version. My bf’s is lighter and slimmer but I think most of the functions are the same. I used the Kindle app and I have Aldiko for reading non-Kindle books. You can use it for browsing the internet which I like, too – basically it’s like a bigger Android phone.

    Good luck, I hope you find a new ereader that suits you perfectly!

    Mands @ The Bookish Manicurist

  9. I have a Kobo Touch and Kindle Paperwhite 2, and I love them both for different reasons.
    I like Kobo because you can make shelves. I have a nifty ‘NetGalley’ shelf, a ‘From Author’ shelf, and a ‘Bought’ shelf, so I can easily keep track of which books I need to read. The Kindle doesn’t have this, and it’s really annoying.
    But the Kindle is connected to Goodreads and it’s so easy to just click that one-click buy on Amazon and have the book on your Kindle when you turn it on next.
    To be honest, I’d suggest either. There aren’t a whole lot of differences between the two, except for the things that I’ve mentioned (there could be more, but these are the ones that have stood out to me).
    I hope you make the best choice for you ;D

  10. Pingback: A Peculiar Kind of Week: Stacking the Shelves #02 | Fictional Thoughts

  11. Hey, I recently gave my sister my old kindle touch and I’m looking to upgrade but I’m stuck between the kindle paperwhite and the kobo glo. I’m in the middle because the amazon kindle paperwhite ( and my sister doesn’t want me to pick the kindle) the light doesn’t turn off but the prices are amazing however the kobo is more user friendly and looks more me..

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