Hi.
I have an old Amazon Kindle Paperwhite that is showing signs of its age. So I have to start thinking about replacing it.
So I have been really happy with both the Paperwhite and the Kindle store. But I have realised that I should be moving away from Amazon as it’s not really a company I would like to keep supporting.
So what are the current best options out there. Mostly reading non fiction books, so no need for colour. But a bookstore with a good selection is critical.
Photo unrelated. But a great read/listen about the dust-bowls in the 1920’s.
I second the suggestion of a Kobo. I have the Libra 2, bought after the charging port of my paperwhite gave up the ghost, and it’s perfect for my needs:
- usb-c charging port
- native support for epub
- hardware page turning buttons
- water proof (not tested, but nice to know it’s there)
Support from Rakuten has been stellar as well.
I also have a libra 2 and I read it in the shower and have dropped it in a bath once
Another Libra 2 owner, have it since 2022 and very happy with it.
Another happy Libra 2 owner. I came from an older Kindle Paperwhite. There was a week or so of adjustment to some minor gripes, but not sending more money to Amazon was worth it to me.
- it’s slightly larger and heavier
- it’s slightly less responsive
- the dark mode button isn’t on the main reading screen, it’s buried in a menu screen
You can install custom interfaces but I haven’t dug too deeply into that. I tried Koreader briefly but it looked like a Linux window manager from 1995 and I didn’t have time to tinker with it so I rolled back to stock.
Coming in as another Libra 2 owner and I’m happy with it
I really like my Libra 2. My only complaint is the weight—it can be a little heavy for longer reading sessions.
Hot tip, it’s a pleasure to use in landscape mode.
Also the left-edge brightness slider is a killer feature at night.
I’ve been pretty happy with my kobo ereader. It can connect to the kobo store and work more or less like a kindle. You can also edit a config file on the reader and have it use a calibre-web instance as its primary store, which is what I do. That way you can seamlessly pull stuff from calibre and sync read status automatically. If you search for a book that’s not in calibre, your request gets passed through to the regular kobo store, no muss no fuss.
The kindle readers are pretty good though. One option is getting another kindle but NOT using the kindle store. There are a lot of compatible sources, and I mostly borrow e-books from my library.
If I had the money to spare, I’d get a BOOX Palma because its size and features would really suit my needs, though I know it’s not for everyone. It also has the ability run any bookstore or ereader app on it, or really just any app in general.
I gave up on my Kobo Clara 2 when it would become completely unresponsive. Not saying all Kobos are bad!
I ended up getting a second-hand Tolino e-Reader in Germany for about €50 with a backlight. I have been able to import all of my Kobo ebooks there and have no issues so far!
Bottom line - unless you’re really looking for the “best” have a look at older gen second hand
Also check out Pocketbook, especially if you are from EU. Don’t know if they operate in US or others.
I’ve also moved from an 8 year old Paperwhite to a Kobo Sage. I love it… A lot. It made me get back to reading actually.
Agreed, great book.
Why dont you just get like Speech Central on your phone and get all your books for free on LibGen. It couldn’t be easiwr
Then you can manually read it, have it visually read it to you by highlighting the text, or have it read aloud to you
The e-Ink screen and the specific form factor are legitimate differentiators for an ebook reader. I also kind of like the psychological intentionality of “I am reading now” that you get with a dedicated device, even if it could sort of awkwardly be coaxed into doing more.
