Is Nook & ebook reading worth it?

[newS4owner]

for those that use nook on their s4, does it drain the battery alot when reading? never did any e reading before on previous devices but curious to try it out. just wanna know peoples opinions on it. reading around i assume nook is the best reader on the s4?

 

[trucky]

I use Amazon Kindle and like it. I have not noticed any significant battery drain while using it. Most readers are free or at least free to try. Load a few up and take em out for a spin.

 

[monsieurms]

I love ebooks. So compact, easy to search, I can get on a plane with hundreds on my SD card. Ebook reading may be my most essential app. With the nice, big screen of the S4, it works great. You can adjust bold or font size for convenience depending on where you hold the phone. It is also backlit, of course, for easy reading in low light conditions.

There are also TONS of free ebooks (try manybooks.net), so make sure that you try some free ereaders out, which will read non-protected books in various popular formats like pdb mobi, epub, and pdf (all in non-protected format, no DRM). I use Cool Reader. Because it has so many options, it is a bit more of a learning curve than Kindle, but not by much and you have far more control.

The Android app Kindle is also excellent, but won't read in as many formats. It will read mobi, prc, pdb and pdf. Having two eReaders is beneficial--for switching back and forth, etc, as well as maximum format flexibility. Kindle handles really huge books better. For most things, there is no issue anyway, though. Also for current versions of Kindle on Jelly Bean, make sure any ebooks you manually add are in the KINDLE directory on the device. It doesn't (unlike Cool Reader) do a particularly good job of picking things up off the SD card (which is why I tend not to bother reading my non-protected books on Kindle any more, but instead put them on the SD card and use Cool Reader).

 

[trucky]

Good points on Cool Reader!

 

[MagicMike Kelley]

The Android app Kindle is also excellent, but won't read in as many formats. It will read mobi, prc, pdb and pdf. Having two eReaders is beneficial--for switching back and forth, etc, as well as maximum format flexibility. Kindle handles really huge books better. For most things, there is no issue anyway, though. Also for current versions of Kindle on Jelly Bean, make sure any ebooks you manually add are in the KINDLE directory on the device. It doesn't (unlike Cool Reader) do a particularly good job of picking things up off the SD card (which is why I tend not to bother reading my non-protected books on Kindle any more, but instead put them on the SD card and use Cool Reader).

I agree - Cool Reader is quick and easy to use and does a good job. eBooks are awesome as noted by monsiuerms. If you'd like a fantastic series check out The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

Additionally, if you'd like to try out audio books which are also fantastic, get "Mortplayer Audiobooks" from the app store. Great app.

 

[ryguy5]

I've been a big fan of ebooks for a while now. I have at least 15 books on the Kindle app available to me at any time, anywhere. I love having the flexibility for the apps to sync between my tablet, phone and computer so I can read anywhere I find time.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using AC Forms App.

 

[monsieurms]

Ps.

Forgot to address the battery drain issue. The most important battery drain issue is the obvious---screen time is the biggest issue in battery drain. When you're reading an ebook, the screen is on, obviously, so it certainly affects battery life. If you use these phones, use affects batteries. C'est la vie.

Baen books also btw offers a lot of free ebooks in various formats, as does Gutenberg.org (although much of that open source collection gets to manybooks.net, which I find easier to navigate).

Haven't used Nook, can't comment. You need two--Kindle for Android and Cool Reader are good starts.

 

[JudH]

+1 for Cool Reader. And yes definitely worth it. I've been reading ebooks on these gadgets since the Palm Pilot PDA days. Since you can change the font, text size, line spacing and justification style--and the app reflows to fill the screen it doesn't really matter how small the screen is--I read just as fast on the "tiny" pdas as on the new phones. The only time screen size matters is if you're using a pdf reader that doesn't reflow so you have to scroll to view the entire doc--some readers do a better job of that.

If you prefer just one app there is software for the PC that converts between formats and even strips DRM (legal if you OWN the book). I convert everything to EPUB format.

 

[altruisticbees]

Use night mode when reading ebooks, it's great with the AMOLED screen.

 

[monsieurms]

+1 for Cool Reader. And yes definitely worth it. I've been reading ebooks on these gadgets since the Palm Pilot PDA days. Since you can change the font, text size, line spacing and justification style--and the app reflows to fill the screen it doesn't really matter how small the screen is--I read just as fast on the "tiny" pdas as on the new phones. The only time screen size matters is if you're using a pdf reader that doesn't reflow so you have to scroll to view the entire doc--some readers do a better job of that.

If you prefer just one app there is software for the PC that converts between formats and even strips DRM (legal if you OWN the book). I convert everything to EPUB format.

---I often said to people, when I was reading on a Treo 680, that the small screen size wasn't such a big deal. It just mattered where you held the phone. That said, the 5" S4 screen is certainly an improvement and makes it easier. That also said, there is a point of diminishing returns. I don't bother to get my tablet out (10") to read ebooks. The 5" screen is a good sweetspot. I trade-off with the tablet to something less portable and hard to hold with 1 hand while the increase in size doesn't really matter much or do much for me.

--Best conversion software IMHO is Calibre (free). But you know, if you have an eReader that already reads PRC, PDB, PDF, MOBI, EPUB and other formats (non-DRM), it saves time.

 

[newS4owner]

thanks guys trying out coolreader and moonreader for now. btw anyone know a forum or site that has ebooks for free, pm me.

 

[MagicMike Kelley]

You should definitely check out The Dresden Files. it's an AWESOME series...I have read A LOT and it's probably my fav series of all.

 

[monsieurms]

thanks guys trying out coolreader and moonreader for now. btw anyone know a forum or site that has ebooks for free, pm me.

Well, if you're talking legal sites, I listed several like...

Manybooks.net
gutenberg.org
Those are out-of-copyright works. There are some surprisingly recognizable, relatively modern names if you follow genres, not just classics like Mark Twain works, Pride and Prejudice, Les Miserables, etc. You can choose download formats at manybooks.net, I don't remember gutenberg. A lot of the Manybooks books were from Gutenberg in the first place as Gutenberg is open source and trying to digitize every non-copyrighted work in the world as a digital library.

Baen.com ---they offer a lot of excellent, top of the line SF, if that's your thing, and while most of the site is dedicated to selling, a lot of authors have agreed to give away free some excellent and representative works as loss leaders. They have an impressively large free library as a result. You can get things like David Weber's On Basilisk Station, the hit that introduced the Honor Harrington series, free. Make sure to click on free library, not just search. You can choose download formats, too, AND Baen has no DRM, which means you can change your mind on Ereaders, convert it if need be later, and not have to stress. That's a good selling point.

Amazon.com---well, yes, oddly. There are a lot of authors going the self-publishing route these days or close to it. Many will give away certain works. In the Kindle library, you can arrange filters from lowest price to high. Quality is variable, but some are quite good. You'll also see some very familiar, well published names. For example, they are now offering some shorter works by Sarah Hoyt, and novels by David Drake--I suspect that has some relationship to Baen. After "free" there is a lot of stuff available for a pittance, like $0.99 etc. Some very competent authors participate, like Anthony DeCosmos, Jeff Carlson as well as those prior named and others. Amazon Prime membership also gives you lending rights. Some books become essentially free, like a library. It's enough to keep you going for a long time right there. BTW, the KINDLE APP for Android is free. It basically turns the phone into a Kindle and will read its own stuff and non-drm stuff in a variety of popular formats, particularly MOBI.

thanks guys trying out coolreader

Make sure to play with it a bit. It has many options. I tried out many things before settling on what fonts, size, boldness, etc I wanted. CR will pretty much let you do it as you want to.

 

[slim6596]

No bites on The Dresden Files eh? it's an AWESOME series...I have read A LOT and it's probably my fav series of all.

I have the first 12 and number 14. Love it and have read them multiple times. I didn't care for 13 though.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MagicMike Kelley]

I have the first 12 and number 14. Love it and have read them multiple times. I didn't care for 13 though.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

Hah- that seems to be the consensus. But there's a reason for it. It's not that it wasn't good, it's more that it's not AS good as the others. I could say why, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I think my two favorite are Changes (12) and Cold Days (14).

Seriously though, what are the odds that in a [currently] 14 book series, there's ONE that you say you 'don't care for'.

lol

 

[MagicMike Kelley]

Well, if you're talking legal sites, I listed several like...

Remember, there's nothing illegal about downloading an ebook if you've bought the physical version.

 

[monsieurms]

It's an excellent series. Keep buying the books and the author may produce more. :-$

 

[MagicMike Kelley]

I've bought them physically as well as audio. If you've read them and enjoyed them then you need to give the audio a shot. James Marsters makes listening to them a whole new experience!

 

[Kedar]

Black background and white text -- that's the best way to read! It'll save your battery life too!

 

[monsieurms]

Here's a site that provides a good example of some interesting free Amazon books...and they work just like other Kindle books on the Kindle app.
Kindle Buffet