I have a list of old books I want to read that are only available as ebooks now. I'm hoping to get some kind of an e-reader by x-mas but I'm not sure what to get yet. Everyone keeps talking about the kindle but I haven't done much research yet.
It all depends on YOU. The Kindle is very expensive, and it's not a small item. It's every bit as big as a normal hardcover book.
Now, there are tons of PDA options out there. I have a Tungsten E. One of the things I love is that it uses the same charger as my cell phone, so it's pretty much perfect for trips. The batteries don't wear down very quickly (I've heard of issues with other PDA batteries only lasting 3 or so hours between chargings, so check it out before you by).
It can be charged either with the USB cable or with the charger that plugs into the wall, and you can either use the included stylus (looks like a pen) or a four-way button, to go down to the next screen. It also remembers what page you were on the last time you read a specific book.
This is a really good thing, if you're one like me that reads more than one book at a time ... one for a bookclub, one for fun, one for research, one for etc. and skip through them randomly. When you open that title, it goes to the screen it was on the last time you saw it, no matter how long it's been.
It also has a slot for a memory card (the later ones don't have this!), so I can have a full gig of ebooks ... you can also have picture and excel/word documents and more stuff, so that's awesome.
As for the ebooks ... I blame
TerriO for getting me into them. It's at the point now where it's awkward to try to read a paper book. The only ones I buy now are the ones I plan on getting signed .. or for certain authors who I collect in hardcover. But the overwhelming majority are ebooks.
They're also cheaper to buy. Cheap is good, when every cent helps.
Try ebay and look for "Tungsten E" ... you should find several available, and they're all under a hundred bucks. (100 is the high end for these, I've seen new ones go for 20 bucks).