[Byte1]

Originally Posted by jnieman

I think if you are used to the paperwhite you may have trouble switching to another device especially if it has a backlight. One of the nice parts about the paperwhite is that there is no backlight. I even find the kindle fire the light hurts my eyes.

Use the "night" setting. The black background with white letters is very easy on the eyes.

[larrytx219]

Public e libraries are great and free. Sumter County and Lake both have good e-collections and are excellent to work with

[Polar Bear]

I think Amazon Prime membership is well worth the money. Shopping, shipping, video, reading, etc. I’m a supporter. I don’t think they are any better or worse than any large company. I just look for value for my money. And convenience has a high value to me. Amazon delivers...both literally and figuratively imo.

And a Kindle Paperwhite is going to be hard to match, especially if you like to read late in the day...very easy on the eyes.

[NAB20]

I have a Samsung Tablet and download books from the Library using Libby. Unfortunately, I just googled and found that Libby is not compatible with Kindle. You could use Libby on a smart phone, but the size might not be as easy to read.

[jojo]

I love my Kindle and the extraordinary convenience of downloading books. Wouldn't switch for the world.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by Malsua

You already have the Kindle, so that ship has sailed.

Yes, I spend thousands of dollars a year on Amazon.com and have for years. I would prefer not to give them any more money.

k.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by Dana1963

There is an APP for your iPad in the App Store for Kobo Books iPad and create Kobo account.

Originally Posted by kathyspear View Post
I have a 2020 iPad Air which is a very nice tablet but there is no comparison to reading a book on an iPad vs a Kindle Paperwhite with the e-Ink display.

k.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by elevatorman

I try to buy American first. Rakuten, the seller of KOBO is referred to as the Amazon of Japan.

I would prefer to "buy Japanese" than to "buy Jeff Bezos" but thanks.

k.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by PugMom

this may sound like i'm stuck in the era of 8-track tapes, but i still prefer actual books i can hold. i never had a kindle-thing, or ipad for that matter, & i can find plenty to read (mostly non-fiction. yeah, i'm a nerd.

I used to go on a cruise with a stack of books/magazines. Now I carry my little Kindle which has hundreds of books on it. I can adjust the size of the font and the brightness, based on the environment and lighting. I can read in bed without keeping the hubs awake. I can look up a definition by tapping a word. I can make annotations. I could go on and on.

Kindle is one of those truly amazing devices that can only be fully appreciated when you have one in your hands. Are there situations in which a printed book is preferable? Of course. A Kindle will never take the place of a coffee table photography book, for instance. But for most books, Kindle is the way to go.

Try it. You might like it.

k.

[Jima64]

Originally Posted by kathyspear

One of my favorite possessions is my Kindle Paperwhite. I am, however, trying to wean myself away from Amazon and considering switching to something else. Kobo seems to be the next most popular system. Anyone use it and have any comments, pro or con?

Thanks.

kathy

I switched from a Kindle to the iPad with the kindle app to read my books.

[Nevermore]

Originally Posted by mydavid

I'm old school, I like going to the library and get a book to read.

How is that working out for you with COVID-19

[Malsua]

Originally Posted by kathyspear

Yes, I spend thousands of dollars a year on Amazon.com and have for years. I would prefer not to give them any more money.

k.

My point was you already have the Kindle, continuing to use it won't give Amazon any more money.

As I listed above, you can still get all the new books on there you'd like, it's just how you obtain them that changes.

My wife and I both have Kindle paperwhites and we constantly are adding books that were sourced other than Amazon.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by Malsua

My point was you already have the Kindle, continuing to use it won't give Amazon any more money.

As I listed above, you can still get all the new books on there you'd like, it's just how you obtain them that changes.

My wife and I both have Kindle paperwhites and we constantly are adding books that were sourced other than Amazon.

I assume you are buying books on sites other than Amazon and then stripping the DRM out of the files before sending them to your Kindle? As I said, I do that now in order to share books with my husband. I would prefer not to have to go through all that. It is a simple matter for these companies to edit some code and throw a monkey wrench into things, creating a situation where the conversion tools no longer work. I just don't want to deal with stress. Trying to simplify my life.

Thx for the suggestions.

k.

[Malsua]

Originally Posted by kathyspear

I assume you are buying books on sites other than Amazon and then stripping the DRM out of the files before sending them to your Kindle? As I said, I do that now in order to share books with my husband. I would prefer not to have to go through all that. It is a simple matter for these companies to edit some code and throw a monkey wrench into things, creating a situation where the conversion tools no longer work. I just don't want to deal with stress. Trying to simplify my life.

Thx for the suggestions.

k.

No, I haven't stripped out the DRM of anything. Baen books, for example are DRM free. All Books

I'm part of Storybundle and get books from there constantly. Often indie books. All DRM free.

I've gone to the great Imperial library of Trantor on the dark web and grabbed a bunch of ebooks that you can't find anywhere for any price. Been a while on that one though, not sure if it's still up. Those were usually epubs if I recall, had to Calibre those over to mobis.

My wife and I also own a LOT of books as we both worked for Publishers during our careers she being an Executive Editor for Bantam DoubleDay Dell and I worked for John Wiley and Sons for 5 years. I don't have any guilt getting the ebook for free of titles we own as physical books. Mostly older stuff there though.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by Malsua

No, I haven't stripped out the DRM of anything.
...
I've gone to the great Imperial library of Trantor on the dark web and grabbed a bunch of ebooks that you can't find anywhere for any price.
...
I don't have any guilt getting the ebook for free of titles we own as physical books. Mostly older stuff there though.

I have sometimes purchased digital versions of books that I own in hard cover just because it was convenient to have them in ebook form. I sort of think I shouldn't have to pay again but what can you do.

I certainly don't feel guilty about stripping DRM from books that I paid for. I feel like if I buy a physical book I can hand it to my husband or sister to read when I am finished. Why can I not do that with an ebook? I'm not selling the digital files on ebay or anything! And frequently I pay the same or more than I would for a physical book even though there is no cost-of-goods involved.

Never been on the dark web but I am intrigued.

And on the subject of Kobo devices (which was my question to begin with) there is an active Kobo group on reddit and they all LOVE their Kobos. I may buy one. We shall see.

Thx for the input.

k.