Ebook readers

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snotnose

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  • #1
    About a year ago I bought a Kindle based on a bunch of reviews. It was my first ebook reader and, to be honest, it sucks ass. Why? Because if you want to buy a book from Amazon this thing shines. If you want to find a book, or organize your books in any way, this thing rates a D- at best. It's like nobody at Amazon owns more than 2-3 books at a time, nor have they ever stepped foot in a bookstore or library. As I accumulate books this gets to be more and more of an issue. Collections is a half assed solution to this, it's biggest problem is the way Amazon implemented it.

    Caliber? Yeah, I've got it and yeah it helps. A little. Problem is, you can polish a turd all you want, try to use it and you realize it's still soft and stinky.

    I hate this thing so much I'm looking to replace it. All the reviews I read still rate the Kindle very high, and none of them mention organization abilities.

    My needs? About Kindle sized (7x5), I ensure all new pants have a pocket for my Kindle. I tend to read 2-3 books at the same time, be nice if I could put a book in a 'currently reading' area. Some books belong in multiple categories (horror-science fiction, math-music, etc), be nice if that was supported.

    Note that once I find a book and start reading I love my Kindle. It's just finding the book that's the issue.
     
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    fitten

    fitten

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  • #5
    snotnose said:
    Note that once I find a book and start reading I love my Kindle. It's just finding the book that's the issue.
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    That's my complaint, too. I control it a bit by managing my library on Amazon. I only have a few books downloaded at a time but it's sometimes hard to figure out which is the next book in a series if they aren't clearly marked. Other than that, I love my PaperWhite (I'm on my 2nd one). I tend to read about an hour each day so I can go on a week long business trip and not worry about bringing a charger (just put it into airplane mode before I leave home). It's also easy to read even out in the sun... something that none of the other readers/phones/tablets do well... and I've tried many phones and tablets in the past (but only a Nook for a reader other than the Kindle... didn't like the Nook, got a Kindle and never looked back).
     
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    snotnose

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  • #7
    fitten said:
    It's also easy to read even out in the sun... something that none of the other readers/phones/tablets do well.
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    That's another requirement for me, to be able to read it in full sunlight. I'd assumed they all could, made an ass out of myself. The Kindle is very easy to read in full sunlight.
     
    whoisit

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  • #8
    I've got a Nook. Through the local library I can download and read ebook, but that does take an Adobe Digital Editions sign in (free) to work.

    My Nook is a couple of generations old, but I remember I could make "shelves" and place books on them as I wanted, Sci-Fi, New, Biography, Fantasy, etc.

    Dunno if this helps the OP at all.
     
    Mhorydyn

    Mhorydyn

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  • #9
    fitten said:
    That's my complaint, too. I control it a bit by managing my library on Amazon.
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    Yea, it's a bit clunky but I'm unsure if other e-ink options are wildly better at this point. I have ~400 items in my Amazon content library and ~1,000 in my Calibre library and find it to be passable.

    Aside from Kobo or a few Android options, there aren't a ton of alternatives.

    A few general tips that may help avoid spending money on a new gadget with potentially marginal improvements:

    -for books outside of Amazon, send them to your Amazon account (either via the Send to Kindle application or the web). That way you can manage them on the web as easily as you can a book bought from Amazon -- bulk adding to collections, etc.

    -I make a bunch of collections based on author name and then use collections view along with the 'downloaded' filter on my Kindle. My library view ends up looking like a bunch of folders of authors with only my downloaded books showing up within those collections (and only the collections with downloaded books actually showing up). Since the books have been added to my account, I can also freely delete them from device if I want to remove some clutter.

    -it's usually quicker and easier to push books to my devices from my Amazon account than it is to pull them from the device(s).
     
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    Mhorydyn

    Mhorydyn

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  • #12
    snotnose said:
    I'm pretty sure Caliber will do a bulk conversion for you. I'd rather manage my books on my laptop than in that bloody cloud.
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    The problem is getting them from Amazon into Calibre. I haven't found a way to bulk download my books so far. So, for each book, you have to click 'more actions', then select which of your devices it's for, then 'download'. It's a slog to get through more than a handful of books.
     
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    Shavano

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  • #13
    Mhorydyn said:
    The problem is getting them from Amazon into Calibre. I haven't found a way to bulk download my books so far. So, for each book, you have to click 'more actions', then select which of your devices it's for, then 'download'. It's a slog to get through more than a handful of books.
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    I think they intentionally made it difficult. Is there a way to get Calibre to connect to your Amazon account and download purchased or borrowed ebooks?
     
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