reading books at night in bed, anyone?

[garyg]

Well, I walk with audio books, but can't abide reading them in bed. Son gave me a Kindle which proved good during the pandemic when our library was closed .. and they are lightweight

But I prefer a paper book, Akin to using a Gillette from the 60's to shave probably.

I only do screens when I'm here

 

[luv2shave]

Kindle outdated. Cannot handle night mode unless you have the tablet. iPad too big for one hand, as are other tabs.

I kind of disagree. I have a 5 year old Kindle paperwhite and it's ultimately just a book reader and works likea champ. This generation is also actively updated and gets latest features via regular software updates. Dark mode is really not an ask as the e-ink display doesn't have a glare which will hurt the eyes. It's very similar to reading a paper book with a small led light. Phones and tablets will cause eye fatigue after a while even in dark mode due to nature of the display.

The latest generation kindles have a reverse color option which makes it white fonts on dark background which is nice. My older generation maybe hardware limited to have this true dark mode feature. It is also water proof.

The e-paper screen protects the eyes and allows one to focus on the reading without any notifications from other applications to distract.

I've also got a kobo reader which are very good for sideloading any epub books u may have. For the Kindle you have to convert them to the .mobi or azw3 format which I find lacking and buggy many a times.

 

[Halfblade]

The latest generation kindles have a reverse color option which makes it white fonts on dark background which is nice. My older generation maybe hardware limited to have this true dark mode feature. It is also water proof.

Android apps have customizable dark mode. White on black still has some glare when you use a phone or tab.
I use dark yellow font on a completely black background. There is no glare whatsoever & light intensity can be controlled by the software itself. Theres usually no light on in my bedroom too.

It's also possible to layer on a blue light limiter such as Dimly on top of the night mode.

I often read in bed while lying on one side. I don't need to sit. And yellow light does not affect my sleep pattern. Kindle Paperwhite backlight color used to be blueish, which isn't great for sleep.



Kindle has caught up to android software this year, & the latest 2021 model Kindles now have adjustable backlight colors - five years after that was possible in ebook apps for Android & iPhone. Now that they have finally caught up, there will probably be newer, more practical changes in the app. The apps update every couple of months with newer features all the time.

I often read several books, so I keep about half a dozen apps. Depending on which book I want to continue, I open the appropriate app.

 

[Legion]

I'm constantly on the fence about a Kindle. I agree with others, I can't stand reading on a standard phone/tablet because of the backlight. I suppose I could try turning on dark mode (I use it on my work computer already), but something about it just doesn't SEEM right. In a way, I wish there was an easy way to trial a Kindle/dedicated e-reader. The storage issue alone is a HUGE advantage.

But then, I enjoy having some of the copies of books I own. It can be a nice conversation starter to see someone reading a book and discuss it. It's also more obvious (I think...) that you're reading and not scrolling social media or whatever. I probably just need to take the plunge at some point and try it.

I still have paper copies of my favourite books, but all those paperbacks I knew I was probably not going to read again got given away, and it freed up so much space.

And you dont even need to store the books on the kindle once you have read them. Just keep the file on your computer hard drive, they take up no room at all compared to most things these days. I downloaded a file with about 1000 books, and it is about the same size as a hi res movie.

Tbf the e ink technology on the kindle is good, doesn't really hurt your eyes, mind you mine was the keyboard version I brought years ago, doesn't work now though but the books I'm after don't really come in kindle format

The most common book format you find on the internet is epub, which is not compatible with Kindle. Luckily there are dozens of free websites out there which will convert them to mobi for you.

I was reluctant to move to ebooks as well, but my library was pretty big, and after moving houses a couple of times I gave in. Apart from a small collection of ones I keep for sentimental reasons, or because they are valuable, all the novels are gone, and the only paper books I keep are the illustrated reference ones. Ebooks are not a replacement for picture books.

 

[luv2shave]

I still have paper copies of my favourite books, but all those paperbacks I knew I was probably not going to read again got given away, and it freed up so much space.

And you dont even need to store the books on the kindle once you have read them. Just keep the file on your computer hard drive, they take up no room at all compared to most things these days. I downloaded a file with about 1000 books, and it is about the same size as a hi res movie.




The most common book format you find on the internet is epub, which is not compatible with Kindle. Luckily there are dozens of free websites out there which will convert them to mobi for you.

I was reluctant to move to ebooks as well, but my library was pretty big, and after moving houses a couple of times I gave in. Apart from a small collection of ones I keep for sentimental reasons, or because they are valuable, all the novels are gone, and the only paper books I keep are the illustrated reference ones. Ebooks are not a replacement for picture books.

Same here. Out of 10 books I buy very few are now physical copies the rest are either bought from Amazon for the Kindle or sideloaded to my Kobo of they are epub.

The online converters have broken quite a few epubs for me when converting and it didn't look right.

 

[Legion]

Same here. Out of 10 books I buy very few are now physical copies the rest are either bought from Amazon for the Kindle or sideloaded to my Kobo of they are epub.

The online converters have broken quite a few epubs for me when converting and it didn't look right.

I’ve had pretty good luck. And if one can’t do it, I’ll try another, until it is ok.

 

[garyg]

So the non-kindle books require the purchase of a different device? I've just the Kindle mentioned, sometimes there are other formats shown in my library that aren't compatible.

 

[njpaddy]

Check out Calibre for converting formats. I had a bunch of old amazon ebooks, that wouldn't work on a new amazon ebook. Calibre converted and organized them. I haven't used it in over a year. I'm assuming it still works.

 

[Halfblade]

Check out Calibre for converting formats. I had a bunch of old amazon ebooks, that wouldn't work on a new amazon ebook. Calibre converted and organized them. I haven't used it in over a year. I'm assuming it still works.

Calibre is what I use too. I've never had an issue & I can freely convert between Kindle .mobi format, .epub , various text formats, Word/RTF formats, PDF & several others.

The eBook readers on my phone can easily open 90% of formats including comic book formats.

 

[shaveitoff]

I use a Kobo ereader. It is light, has a great battery life, has a backlight and night modes. It's great for reading novels. If a book has a lot of illustrations or graphics a paper copy is better. I only ever put epub format books on the Kobo.

As for sources of books, the Kobo works with my local library (YMMV). I can browse it, borrow books and place holds on books through the Kobo. I never need to connect it to a computer to get a book onto it. Borrow a book and just download it through your wifi.

There is also BookBub which sends you a daily email. It sells ebooks for a couple of bucks. I've bought quite a few this way. When you click on one of the books to buy it, it takes you to the Kobo store, where you buy the book for $2.

The Kobo store also has a subscription service for $9.99 a month. All you can read! These are Canadian prices.

 

[Legion]

So the non-kindle books require the purchase of a different device? I've just the Kindle mentioned, sometimes there are other formats shown in my library that aren't compatible.

The mobi format that Amazon uses with the Kindle seems to be proprietary, to make you buy your books off them.

But as I said, it is usually pretty straight forward to convert other formats so they work. It's probably just a file extension or something that needs changing, and there are many free resources that will do it when needed.

 

[garyg]

The mobi format that Amazon uses with the Kindle seems to be proprietary, to make you buy your books off them.

But as I said, it is usually pretty straight forward to convert other formats so they work. It's probably just a file extension or something that needs changing, and there are many free resources that will do it when needed.

Ok when I next encounter the non-compatible I will look for a fix. I've not succumb to their scheme, as I get my kindle material from the library (actually it is called Download Destination)

 

[timetofly]

Yep...I read in bed. Read all of the posts from the infamous B&B forums. I read til I can't keep my eyes open any longer...then it's bedtime for Bonzo.

 

[saj]

Finally got these, really handy tbf,
was supposed to get 5 but he sent 4 by mistake lol

Blue 5 Pcs Thumb Thing Book Page Holder Various Function Bookma PM | eBay

Book Thumb Holder Marker X 5 pcs. Also can be used as a book marker. Quantity: 5 pcs. Color: Blue. Light weight, easy to carry and use. Material: plastic.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Lee93]

The Kindle Oasis solved all my problems. Lightweight, backlit, I can use large fonts because it has a very spacious screen. If you have no vision problems, even a Paperwithe is perfect and costs half price.

 

[bberg100]

Kindle Paperwhite. Read for 30 mins or so when I go to bed. Works equally well outside, unlike the other tablets and such. Wish its hardware/software was faster, takes forever to scroll through the library looking for something, but then would probably drastically shorten battery life. I only have to charge it about once a month.

Reference books need to be paper. Hard to dog ear, bookmark, write in the margins, etc on a Kindle. And I find it faster and easier to flip back and forth in them.

 

[saj]

so guys i got this thing called gimble,
its really good, got to be a bit careful with paperback books as it can crease the book cover otherwise its good, not the best solution but not bad for reading in bed and generally reading too

IF The Gimble Telescopic Arm - True Blue : Amazon.co.uk

IF The Gimble Telescopic Arm - True Blue : Amazon.co.uk

smile.amazon.co.uk