Hi!
I want to get more into reading but books can be expensive and bulky.
I thought I’d buy a Kindle (or similar) since those screens are pleasant to read on, but I don’t know if there’s anything specific I should be looking for piracy wise.
Apparently amazon has added support for epubs so I’m hoping it’ll make it easier to load with my own downloaded books?
Also, the version names/models of kindles are crap.
Edit2: I’ve decided I’ll buy a paperwhite kindle (2020 version). I found a 2nd hand one, like new, for 80€ with a screen protector + magnetic cover. This way I’m still not supporting amazon :)
Edit: I seem to have posted this same/similar question yesterday but I have no recollection of doing so. If this is something you’re interested have a look at that post.
Basically there’s Kobo and Kindle where I’m at that are good. For me I like a bit more premium stuff in terms of having decent build quality etc and that means it’s either Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo Libre 2 that fits me. Both have proprietary shit software and their own bookstore but both can be side loaded. I generally prefer buying tried and tested hardware even if there probably exist some niche fully open source device out there but they tend to cost a lot more due to lacking scale of production. I wouldn’t however buy either of those new. I’ve setup reminders on second hand websites in my area and waiting till I find one in a good condition/price. Where I’m at that means for a almost unused device it should be about 10-20% below lowest historic price new. And older models around 50% below cost of a new model, naturally with a lot of variance depending on condition etc.
I’ve just found a paperwhite (2020version) great condition, with one magnetic cover for 80€. That’s about 40€ cheaper than amazon’s and I’m not even sure if they include the cover.
I think that’s what I’ll go for.
Oasis. It’s pricy but a good big screen and a grip down one side that makes it easy to hold for long periods. It also feels lighter than the other models. Mines from 2017 and still going strong.
Any of them I think.
One of my friends had the newer one and Calibre still worked fine.
I’ve had the 2 earlier models (original and paperwhite) and both worked fine.
Just make sure to download epub or mobi files as they’ll have decent formatting compared to PDF, txt, etc.
With the epub support on the new model you can even email epubs to it IIRC, but I never tried it, Calibre is the best.
Connect your ebook device to your PC running Calibre. Start Calibre, and when it recognises your device a new button will show for syncing with the device.
Ah, okay. Assumed the commenter above had some fancy networked way of syncing them, but that makes sense.
I’ve got a 2019 Kidle Oasis, I dont know if it has epub support but I use a piece of software called Calibre which can convert epubs to mobi which I think is Amazon’s proprietary format. Haven’t done it for a while now but I think there’s a problem with book covers now? Not too sure.
I’ve had a Kindle for years - to be fair to Amazon kindles seem to be built to last - and used to do the same.
But last time I did I got an email saying they’re abandoning the mobi format and from now on when emailing documents to your Amazon library send it in epub format. Which is excellent news
Definitely the Kobo Libra 2 or the Kobo Nia. I bought both a Kindle and a Kobo Libra 2 and ended up returning the Kindle because book piracy was a pain. The overall Kobo user experience is just a whole lot more pleasant.
Kobo consistently makes better products overall, but the ability to avoid Amazon (and the nonsense that comes from their proprietary format) is priceless.
I don’t know if this is what you meant, but Amazon dropped support for mobi and switched to epub in late 2022, iirc. Not that this means you suddenly should start using Amazon or anything.
Appreciate the correction! I haven’t dealt with Amazon for e-books since I got my first Kobo reader 5-6 years ago, so I’m out of the loop.
