eReader Recommendations Please?

CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 20:33
Last edited 05/01/2021 - 18:59

EDIT
I have been given a very old, working Kindle for free, and I'm very grateful, so I'm going with that. Will be following everyone's advice about how to convert files to suit Kindle. Thank you so much for all your help, I have no idea how to navigate the world of ereader, so all this info is much appreciated!!

ORIGINAL
Looking for a brand of Ereader that allows for borrowing of eBooks from local libraries. I know Kobo does, but are there others? I don't want to spend much, as I won't be using it much (would be used on multi-day hikes as an evening activity - I hike solo).

I prefer second hand, so hoping for a brand suggestion that will be well under $70, or else a bargain on sale. I don't care how old it is, but good battery life is a must, as I won't have a chance to charge it while out in the wild for a week at a time. Does this exist? Thank you in advance 😊

P.S. Taking a physical book is not an option - I'm a speed reader, so a book will be deadweight after a couple of days!

Electrical & Electronics eBook Reader

Comments

  • trex on 04/01/2021 - 21:02

    Not all Kobo models support Overdrive (app used to access books from local libraries). Overdrive app is also available in both Google Play and Apple App Store, so perhaps reading on your phone/tablet?

    • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:26

      Thank you trex, I would probably prefer a separate device that has battery life designed to last a long time

  • Quantumcat on 04/01/2021 - 21:07

    Is there any reason you have ruled out a Kindle?

    • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:25

      I heard they don't allow borrowing from local library catalogues, but I could be mistaken about that knowledge

      • AustriaBargain on 04/01/2021 - 21:27

        Which library do you use?

      • Quantumcat on 04/01/2021 - 21:38
        -1

        You can download books and add them to the kindle like it was a usb stick

        • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:40

          Yes I know, I want the ability to temporarily borrow from a library though

    • donm on 04/01/2021 - 21:31

      Kindle doesn't have library access, but they do have Daily Deals, which are good. I have a good sized backlog of books to get through on my Kindle.
      On Kobo/Overdrive it can sometimes be difficult to get your hands on the library eBooks. You have to place a hold on them and then quickly read them during the borrowing period. I tend to take my time with books, so this doesn't always suit me.

      • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:44

        I am noticing my local library seems to have every copy of every book I'm interested in reading out/reserved until March…I'm a speed reader, so having them for a short time is not a problem, but by the time they come up for borrowing, I'll probably forget about them all together haha

  • AustriaBargain on 04/01/2021 - 21:27
    -3

    Kindle is the best by far. And if you have any epubs laying around you can convert them to mobi files and with the Send To Kindle addon for your computer you just right click the file and choose "send to kindle", then it magically appears on your kindle. Which is way more convenient than connecting your kobo or whatever to a computer and dragging it in by a file manager.

    • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:47

      Is that available for Mac?

    • mttr on 05/01/2021 - 21:23

      Yes, also Bezos needs some more dollars.

      Actually, I love my Kobo H2O. I occasionally plug in my Kobo to the PC to charge it. While its charging I drag epubs onto it, no conversion, no helper programs.

      • AustriaBargain on 05/01/2021 - 22:19
        +1

        Years ago my parents bought a bunch of Kobos because they were cheap. They just didn't work, like literally stopped working. Things have improved since then sure, but I'll never forget that Kobo has been pushing instant garbage on people just for market share. The Kindle was the superior product by far, even with the bother of having to convert your epubs yourself. The Kindle is like the iPad, and early kobos (maybe some current kobos for all i know) were the instant garbage Android tablets that are pushed onto unsuspecting customers who think they are getting a deal. Kindle has been good from the start and I guess I'm just a sucker for quality and good-will. I won't burn my hand on the same stovetop twice.

  • jackinyourbox on 04/01/2021 - 21:40

    I have a kobo and upgraded to a kindle because of amazon books

    • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:49

      I used to have the Kindle app on an old tablet years ago, amazon books goes alright, but I wanted to borrow eBooks from my local library (I'm not really in the market for buying a lot of eBooks, I still prefer physical books - just not while camping)

  • Caped Baldy on 04/01/2021 - 21:44
    +4

    Kindle + cough calibre

    • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:45

      Oh, what is the thing?

      • AustriaBargain on 04/01/2021 - 21:50
        +2

        Calibre is an ebook manager for your computer, also lets you convert your various ebook types into mobi files to send to your kindle. Mostly you'll be dealing with epub but you can find a lot of native mobi files out there that are ready to send straight to your kindle without any conversion.

        • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 21:51

          Thank you 😊

          • Caped Baldy on 04/01/2021 - 22:04

            @CryssieJade: Unscrupulous websites have the book files which you can download to your computer then upload to the ereader of your choice.

            A couple of disadvantages of the kindle is that you can't customise the lock screen wallpaper (I think kobo's make it the book cover) and there isn't any auto brightness feature.

      • jackinyourbox on 04/01/2021 - 21:52

        It’s an app to get all ebooks working on kindle

        • CryssieJade on 04/01/2021 - 22:09

          Even ones that are borrowed?

          • jackinyourbox on 04/01/2021 - 22:18

            @CryssieJade: I’m not sure if it has overdrive integration. Generally that app is used to convert ebooks found on the internet into your kindle

  • Raj09 on 04/01/2021 - 22:50
    +1

    Kobo. I had the Clara hd and got the libra now. They work well with local libraries and kindles don't. At this price bracket, you do not have any more options

    • wjojff on 31/01/2021 - 22:03

      How do you find the page turn buttons? Does it worth the extra $$?

  • uncompressed on 04/01/2021 - 23:15
    +3

    Another vote for Kobo. They work with Overdrive and also the Pocket service so you can save long form articles online to read.

  • [Deactivated] on 04/01/2021 - 23:38

    How did you learn to speed read?

    • CryssieJade on 05/01/2021 - 00:17

      Have done since I was a kid, so I don't know?

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 04/01/2021 - 23:54
    +2

    Love my Kindle eReaders, but have just added a Kobo Nia to use Overdrive, to borrow library books. Battery life is just what you need for multi-day hikes, as is the overall weight.

    • CryssieJade on 05/01/2021 - 00:19

      Thank you 😊 I just want whatever model is cheapest on the second hand market. Outside of hiking, I'll never use it

  • silverrat23 on 05/01/2021 - 00:39
    • Downsides with older, second-hand models are the lower resolution in the screen and the weak battery life…
    • …which is typically the most common issue to arise, prompting an upgrade.
    • Base model Kindle and Kobo readers are 6" in screen size, which is a smidge smaller than an iPhone 12's (6.1"). Just have a good think about it - it's smaller than you think.
    • As for pricing, $70 can only be had from Facebook, Gumtree or the like - whereas the cheapest new model go for about $140 (Kindle 10th gen).
    • Caped Baldy on 05/01/2021 - 08:12
      +1

      Base model Kindle and Kobo readers are 6" in screen size, which is a smidge smaller than an iPhone 12's (6.1"). Just have a good think about it - it's smaller than you think.

      It's not actually smaller, that is simply the diagonal length not the area.

  • WizMuncher on 05/01/2021 - 05:54
    +1

    The problem with buying a second hand one is that you're rolling the dice on whether the battery will hold charge or not. Also no warranty and other potential problems you might not notice until you really start using it - like dodgy buttons, problems with the screen etc. Also you'll need to ensure that you'll be able to register as your own, which is fairly easy to do with a new one.

    My Kindle Paperwhite which I've had for years stopped holding a charge for more than a few days and it ate through the battery in a matter of hours. I ordered a new battery for $30 and replaced it and it's back like new again. But the thing is, if you're buying one second hand AND having to buy a new battery, you might find that you're not saving a hell of lot and with a lot more hassle.

    The other thing you might find is that if this is your first ereader you'll probably end up using it more than you think you will. That was my experience - I take it everywhere where I'm likely to have to wait, and it's surprising how much reading you do in those multiple snippets of time.

    • CryssieJade on 05/01/2021 - 09:52

      I will literally never use it outside of hiking, I much prefer physical books. So I'm just looking for cheap and cheerful. That's a fair call about battery life, I'll have to find one that hasn't been used much. I saw a couple last night on Facebook that were only a few years old and not used much for $50. Seems decent. It only has to go about 10-12 hours for me

  • tulip99 on 05/01/2021 - 09:38

    There are tons of legit free books on Amazon you can download on your Kindle. If it's hard to find the free lists on Amazon just google top 100 free mysteries amazon or top 100 free fantasy books amazon and it should come up.

    Authors make their books free on Amazon for a short or long time so people can try them out for free and then hopefully buy the rest of their books that aren't free.

    • CryssieJade on 05/01/2021 - 09:50
      +1

      Yes, I have lots of those free classics and such when I had the kindle app. I do like those. It's more for being able to duplicate my favourite books, that are not on free lists.

      I won't ever use an ereader outside of hiking, as I prefer physical books. And I don't really want to pay twice for the same book I already have in a different format. Hence why I want to borrow them from a library.

      • tulip99 on 05/01/2021 - 10:01
        +2

        I understand :-)

        I had a Kobo years ago just to get the library books but I had to download a program to make it work for the library and it was beyond me, and beyond the librarians and young techy volunteer guys at the time as well! No one at my local library knew how to borrow an ebook and put it on my Kobo! So I gave up. Hopefully things have improved now and you'll be able to get the ereader that will work best for library books and be able to borrow them :-)

  • tulip99 on 05/01/2021 - 10:01

    I wouldn't recommend the Libgen site though. It's a pirate site. Here's an article about it:

    https://mybookcave.com/is-libgen-safe/

  • barghunt1 on 05/01/2021 - 12:39
    +1

    I considered purchasing an ereader a while back to read library books but I felt for the cost to buy in Australia for what you get it wasn’t worth it. I really only looked at the latest kobos because i wanted to read library books and my research was specific to kobos. The latest Kobos have overdrive (Libby) built into the operating system which allows you to input your library card details directly onto the device then borrow and download. From my understanding if you wanted to borrow from say borrow box or buy from another ebook shop you needed to use Adobe digital additions on a pc which gets infinitely more complicated. I did read at the time that cloud library allows you to download their pc app, can generate a cloudlibrary ID and then you can transfer the book to your ereader plugged into your pc which sounded simpler then Adobe digital additions but then your device would be restricted to only transferring ebooks from a pc from cloudlibrary which was limiting. I found ereaders quite complicated for library use (particularly Adobe digital editions) unless you want to buy the latest kobo and only use overdrive on the device.

    • CryssieJade on 05/01/2021 - 14:17
      +2

      Thank you so much for your comment! I'm thinking maybe this borrowing thing isn't all that necessary, and sounds more complicated than it's worth for a week long hike. Might just stick to a cheap Kindle and free classics/cheap eBooks. And I'll continue to buy my physical books for all other times for $1 from Op Shops, which is what I do now!

      • barghunt1 on 05/01/2021 - 15:54

        No worries :)

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