All About Books/Periodicals

[Skye1013]

The Nook isn't bad either. Be aware, if you shop at Target, the Kindle will soon be leaving their shelves (though the other ereaders will remain.)

[tinalt]

I'd recommend the Nook, I've been getting a ton of use out of mine since I can't really take a book collection with me everywhere.

[Brekkie]

If you already own an iPad, it works as an e-reader too. Many people don't realize this and feel they have to buy a whole separate device.

[Skye1013]

For that matter, a laptop/iPhone can be used as one if you download the app/program (usually free.)

[Klaudandus]

If you already own an iPad, it works as an e-reader too. Many people don't realize this and feel they have to buy a whole separate device.

I get more tired reading from the ipad that reading from a kindle or straight from the book though...

But yeah, if you have an e-reader, check out project gutenberg, manybooks.net and other similar sites -- you can find bunch of public domain books there.

[Flex]

If you already own an iPad, it works as an e-reader too. Many people don't realize this and feel they have to buy a whole separate device.

I get more tired reading from the ipad that reading from a kindle or straight from the book though...

2 or 3? I find the 3 works pretty darn well for an LCD based eReader, much better than the 2 I used for a while.

[Klaudandus]

If you already own an iPad, it works as an e-reader too. Many people don't realize this and feel they have to buy a whole separate device.

I get more tired reading from the ipad that reading from a kindle or straight from the book though...

2 or 3? I find the 3 works pretty darn well for an LCD based eReader, much better than the 2 I used for a while.

I got iPad 2, and no, I aint gonna change it because it was actually issued by our workplace.

[Brekkie]

I am a backwards cave man and only have an iPad 1.

If you get tired reading on the iPad, try turning the brightness way down.

[aureon]

Pad reading is "meh" at best, especially in sunlight.
I've got an eBook and won't turn back. Reading on a backlit screen is problematic.

For to-read:
Asimov's Foundation series. (That is, First Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second foundation) - it is for sci-fi what LotR is for fantasy.
It's an epic tale of hardly before seen proportions, the founding ideal of Star Wars (Coruscant was named Trantor in honor of the book in the first draft)
A chronicle not of man, but of planets, telling how a whole planet, and galaxy, can step up their culture and technology.
It draws heavily from "The fall of the Roman empire", and then goes forward onto estabilishing a new empire.
It created a new pseudoscience, Psychohistory: More than one nobel for economy has declared he has gone into economics for that it was the most similar science to psychohistory.
First foundation clocks at a little more than 200 pages, and more often than not goes in one or two reading chunks.
Atleast for me, being one for technological-advance-based stories, and for historical books, was the read of the lifetime.
Probably, the best i can say about it is that i managed to make my mother read it, who distincly loathes any sci-fi.

For other stuff:
WH40k books are surpringly good, especially if you like the WH40k universe.
LotR is basically a required read nowdays, so i guess (and hope) everyone here had read it ;p
Fountains of Paradise by Clarke is an interesting read for those interested in the midterm future of space tech, explorating the concept and praticability of a Space Elevator.
Terry Brooks fantasy has a killer plot, even though the writing isn't top-notch once anaylzed page-for-page (i partly blame the translation i read on this, though.)

[Klaudandus]

if you have an ebook reader (or ipad) do yourself a favor and visit tuebl.com

[Klaudandus]

I picked the lincoln rhymes series, it is pretty darn good.

[Koatanga]

I have the Kindle Fire. I love it. It's smaller than the iPad, so it's easier to have around and to hold while reading. The thing I like about it best is reversing the text - white on black - so I can read it in full dark. If my wife wants to get to bed but I want to read, it's not an issue. In fact, I usually read while I giver her the nightly backrub.

It's also an android device, and while you have to deal with the BS Amazon store, you can also side-load most android apps that you download from your smartphone.

The other annoying thing is DRM. We have 5 e-readers in my family, which includes my Fire and my smartphone - sometimes I like to read while I am out and don't have my kindle with me. DRM makes it a pain to share books, and you can't have the same book on two different devices, so you can't have it on your Kindle and phone at the same time.

I buy music from iTunes because I can do what I want with it. I can have it on my PC and in my car and on my phone all at the same time. Until I can do that with books, I see no reason to support DRM-enabled content. I will continue to buy non-DRM books, such as titles from TOR, but I won't buy DRM. Sucks for the authors, but it's the only way to financially influence the publishers into being less draconian.

Oh, one thing about the Kindle Fire - little of the extra content is available outside the US, and you must have a US credit card on the account to download even free apps off the Amazon store. However, they do not verify the card. I am using a card from when I used to live in the US, that expired in 2006. I just fill in the expiry date using a future date.

[Paxen]

Kindle vs iPad - it's all about if you want an eink screen or if lcd is good enough for you. A Kindle (not Kindle Fire) is nearly useless for anything but reading, but for me the eink screen is a joy. I spend enough time staring at an lcd screen while playing games or surfing the net, my eyes thank me for not spending even more time staring at a backlit screen. One area where eink is definetly better is if you want to read outside during the day - the screen behaves just like a book so it's perfectly readable outside on sunny days (unlike an LCD screen).

If you like space opera/milSF and other stuff that's more focused on action than on deep thinking, I'd recommend Baen books. http://www.baenebooks.com to buy (all books DRM free for $6, even new releases) and http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com for free, legal downloads of their back catalog. Got authors like Eric Flint (1632), David Weber (Honor Harrington), Lois Bujold (Vorkosigan books) and also quite a few titles from Glen Cook via a partnership with Night Shade books.

[halabar]

I love my iPad, but for reading, I prefer paper..

[Skye1013]

Wish there was a way to (legally) transfer all of my current paper copies onto my nook without having to repurchase them all. Would allow me to save a TON of shelf space and probably knock out at least 100 lbs of shipping weight...