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Friday, July 9, 2010

Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader--and Now There's a Kobo!



A few months back, my husband begged me to get a Kindle. He was tired of my multiple To Be Read (TBR) piles encroaching on our living space. Truth be told, I even had a mobile TBR pile on the front seat of my car.

I did some research about Kindle versus Sony Reader versus Nook , i.e. queried other writers. I also waited for the iPad to come out just in case I might want to go that route--and then remembered I am not a Mac person. (Gasp!) So, I settled on a Kindle.

I've got to say, I like this gizmo. Why? One word: convenience.

Now there's a new e-reader on the block: Borders is offering the Kobo e-reader.

I'm not having buyer's remorse. I'm just wondering how many more e-readers are going to pop up--and if one of them will tempt me away from my Kindle any time soon.

The Kobo costs all of $149 and it weighs all of 8 ounces. I'm pretty sure I've eaten a steak that weighed more than that. (I shared it with Rob!) My Kindle weighs only a couple ounces more, so I'm not overly-concerned. Borders touts the Kobo's quilted back--but that's not getting me too excited either.

It looks like navigating through to books and through books may be a bit easier on the Kobo than it is on the Kindle. But, I'm not a techie. This is just my initial observation.

So, here's the question: Do you own an e-reader? If so, which one? And why did you select that one?

And, yes, I realize that's three questions.

7 comments:

Patricia said...

I don't own an e-reader, and determined that I never would, but like you, I have multiple piles of books (mostly in baskets) here and there, and I seldom leave home without an armload - just in case. It's beginning to bother me more than my husband, so I have been ordering more audiobooks than usual. But what I don't like about audiobooks is what I fear will also irritate me about an e-reader and that is the inability to annotate. Can you shed some light on that, Beth? Maybe I should ask for an e-reader for Christmas.

Beth K. Vogt said...

One thought before I get to your question: I thought I would miss the feel of a book in my hands, but I don't. I actually savor the realization that I have hundreds--even thousands!--of books in my hands at one time! And Kindle has lots of classics that you can download for free because they are in public domain now. I'm also circumventing my 9-year-old's TBR pile and downloading some books for her to read when we are driving around town.
I can highlight sections of books with my Kindle--and those sections are stored in a section of the Kindle called "My Clippings," so I can retrieve them any time. So nice and orderly too. It notes the title, author and the date that I added the quote. Wow!
I can also type my own notes and save those. And I can bookmark my spot too.
Oh--one more thing--each week, there are certain books offered free by Kindle. It's always fun to browse that selection.

Lisa Jordan said...

I'm planning to buy a Kindle when my book sells or ask for it as a Christmas gift--whichever comes first.

Right now I read books on my iPod, which I'm fine with, except it drains the battery too quickly.

Amazon offers free books for the Kindle. In the past couple of months, I've downloaded over 40 free books written by Christian fiction authors. Some of the books are brand new like Jim Rubart's, Rooms.

I'd love to know more about what you think of it, Beth, once you play with it a little more.

Lisa Jordan said...

Oops, I read comments after I posted mine and saw you already mentioned the free books. Sorry about that. :)

Beth K. Vogt said...

Lisa, my techie friend, I didn't even know you could read books on your iPod. Do you mean "listen"?
And yes, I love the free books for the Kindle!
And I can't wait to get your book in my hands!

Lisa Jordan said...

No, I meant read. I downloaded a Kindle app for iPods. I downloaded an app for my Mac, too, so I can read books on my computer.

Beth K. Vogt said...

That's pretty cool, LJ! Obviously I am not keeping up on apps!