tech inquiry: e-reader

[tielan]

I'm going to need one for travelling through Europe. There is no way I'm going to drag actual, full-size books along. And I don't even mind paying for the content.

So: what do you have? How do you like it? What would you recommend?

I'd like to be able to read:

• html docs


• AO3 formats


• news and journals


• word documents would be nice

Basically, I want it all! Which is silly, because, well, it's technology, you don't get it all.

But I'd like to try all the same.

Comments

[beatrice_otter]

I can't give you any advice about e-readers, but would you like some links to free books?

Project Gutenberg has free classic works

All fics on AO3 are available for download in the major eBook forms. Also, (and this is really cool), there's a freeware program that will download fics from fanfiction.net and other archives and convert them to eBook form. To be able to tell it what output format you want the fic to be converted to, you need Calibre.

The Calibre Library can manage any different type of ebook you get, unlock the DRM on virtually any ebook you buy, and convert books from one file format to another. You'll need the plugins found here to use it to unlock DRM. Obviously, this should only be done for personal purposes and not for pirating.

Baen Books (a SF/F publisher) has lots of ebooks available for free, either in their Free Library or from the CDs that are included with many of their books, available for download here. (Each CD has the book it came with, any other books in that series, and a sampling of other books by the same author.) Lois McMaster Bujold, my absolute favorite published author, has all but one of her Vorkosigan books here. I also tend to enjoy David Weber and Eric Flint, and some David Drake. Avoid John Ringo, he's a bit of a chauvinist pig and it shows in his writings. And if you want a book of Baen's that isn't available legally for free anywhere, all of their books are available as ebooks with no DRM, so there's a lot less hassle than with most ebooks purchased elsewhere.

I realize this isn't what you were looking for, but maybe it'll help when you get your ereader and are trying to fill it ;)

[tielan]

No, it's excellent! Definitely a useful set of links and you're wonderful for putting it together for me!

People have been recommending Calibre right, left and centre, so that's definitely something to look into.

DRM. Is that much of a problem with eBooks? I understand Amazon is doing hinky things with it? Deleting copies off people's Kindles?

[beatrice_otter]

Yes, Amazon can delete stuff of the Kindle at will, but that doesn't have anything to do with DRM; it's built into the Kindle itself. Legally, they're only supposed to do it when something happens with the sale (like a bad credit card, or something), but they already did it once when they decided they didn't like some of the erotica they were selling, and instead of just not selling it anymore, they stopped selling it and deleted it off the Kindles of anyone who had bought it. So if you end up getting a Kindle, make sure you have everything backed up on a separate harddrive. (Good advice whatever kind of reader you get, actually.)

The main thing about e-book DRM is it limits the number of devices you can have a copy of the book on. And it may also limit what reader you can read your book on. And sometimes something goes wrong with the encryption and then it can't be unencrypted and read. Basically, it adds a lot of hassle, limits your options on how you can read the books you buy, and greatly increases the chances of that ebook no longer being readable somewhere down the line either because something went wonky with the file or you've gone through too many readers and computers since you bought it. I don't advocate piracy, but books without DRM are so superior to books with DRM. If you need a book, and can't find it unencrypted, definitely crack the DRM for your own personal use once you've bought it.

[havocthecat]

I love my Kindle. Lots. (And also have found a way to crack the DRM so I'm no longer required to keep buying a Kindle should I want to switch later.) The book cover with the light, which I had initially thought would be useless, is really helpful. And I have way too much fun with putting AO3 fic on there.

ETA: Well, beatrice_otter has much more helpful information than me. :) Awesome.

[tielan]

There's a way to crack the Kindle (Amazon?) DRM? That would be very awesome.

My only concern is the functionality difference between the US and Australia. Connection, Australian publishers and books, and so forth.

I think I might have to make a trip to Borders to try out a few of their eReaders again. I had a look around Christmas, but didn't get because I didn't want. Hey, maybe it could be my parental present to me for last Christmas! (I got money from them.)

[havocthecat]

I also find ebooks to be an invaluable source of information.

[ladyjax]

I have a Sony Touch and love it. I'm still tied to my books but since it's multiformat (PDF, MS Word, BBeB Book and other text file formats, as well as EPUB/ACS, and Adobe Digital Editions) plus I can take notes on it. The one I have is a little sluggish in that arena but the newer edition may be faster.

I chose the Sony primarily because it was basic (no wifi) but did what I needed it to do. I also use Calibre. It's freeware (there's a donation button) and it's regularly updated. I started using it when I was reading books on my iPod Touch and needed to convert my PDF and HTML files for better readability. I tend to buy most of my ebooks now in ePub format if available. Also, when the Sony Reader software acts up (which it does), Calibre enables me to drag and drop things on to my device. Oooh, and you can also use SD cards and Memory Sticks to add storage capacity.

If you don't want to make a heavy financial investment, I recommend checking on Ebay to see what's available. People are always selling off their e-readers there.