It is much easier to read on a Kindle Paperwhite white than on an iPad or other tablet screen, because there's no glare. You can read in bright sunlight. Its a substitute for books, not really a multipurpose device , but it does perform better better for reading than multipurpose devices. Plus it's lighter weight, and the battery lasts longer.

I bought one and haven't used it but once in probably 9 months. I don't buy books but borrow them from the library or off line. If I want a book to keep, then I want it in hard copy. The services from my library that have a good selection of books are only streaming and paperwhites don't stream. The books I can download are on a service that doesn't have as many titles, and the ones I want are often wait listed for months. My best success has been with downloading from project gutenberg but those books are old classics only.

I think if I were traveling...maybe again someday soon...it would be a great way to bring books along for vacation at very low weight.

But it is easy to use in daylight.

I love mine, I read at night when I can't sleep. The light is easy on the eyes and it doesn't wake DH. It's great for travel too.

I know some of the fancy versions can be used like an ipad but I strictly use mine as a book.

If you're happy using your ipad for reading I don't know if the differences would be worth a new purchase.

I "check out" books from the overdrive website which is connected to my library card. After I choose a book, I click a link and the website sends me to Amazon and Amazon downloads it to my paperwhite for free.

You will need wifi to download the books but don't need wifi to read. You can use your home account, it will not cost extra.

https://www.overdrive.com/

Amazon has sold many tens of millions of Kindles since release and even when considering repeat buyers, it suggests a lot of people have bought into the E-book phenomenon. Whether purchased, free, or borrowed from the library. The Paperwhite models do have an easy to use display and very long battery lives. A favorite of commuters who aren't driving themselves, parents who drive all over with errands, kids, and other trips, and in normal times, travelers. Whether for business or pleasure. A better format and more comfortable screen than a tablet, longer battery life. One is not a substitute for the other even though some tasks are common to both types of devices.

You can read in sunlight and I would like to know why all phones and computers cant be.

I received one for Christmas from my daughter. I really enjoy it.

Awesome, good for you satine

my son got me one for mother's day. today is the first chance i've had to really sit down and learn the ins and outs of it. looks like something i'm really gonna enjoy having!!

I’m a long time kindle owner/user/big fan. I haven’t purchased a hard copy book in years.

It’s easy to adjust the font size making it simple to read without reading glasses.

Charging is fast and a charge lasts for days as long as you turn the WiFi off after your book downloads. The paperwhite is water resistant, a splash of pool water won’t hurt it. I do suggest you get a cover for yours if you decide to get one. I have a pink leather cover that opens like a book and protects the device when dropped.

downloading books from the library isn’t much different then borrowing actual books. Often there is a wait for new releases and popular reads.

With the kindle app on my iphone and iPad, I can easily switch between devices to continue reading if I don’t have my actual Kindle with me.

You can read in sunlight and I would like to know why all phones and computers cant be.

Here's an explanation: https://www.reviewed.com/televisions/features/why-you-cant-see-your-phone-when-youre-at-the-beach

The single reason I won't give up the Kindle is I enjoy sitting on the patio and reading. I've tried reading outdoors with my Ipad and the glare is so bad, it's unreadable. If you don't read outside much, I'd stick with the ipad.

It is easier to hold in one hand and lighter than an iPad, or a Kindle Fire. I read ebooks from my library and from Amazon. The battery lasts a long time between charges.

One reason I would rather read on my kindle is that I don’t get distracted like I do if reading on my iPad. It’s too easy to go from book to checking email, news, Gardenweb or Facebook while on my iPad or iPhone. I turn my WiFi off when reading on my kindle. I know I could turn WiFi off on iPad but old habits take a long time to break.

I have an old Kindle DX. It has a very large screen which I like. It is so old it doesnt seem to connect anymore but I can still load it through my computer. I love that you can read it easily outside. I got it in early 2010. eleven years, thats old. I wish they made one of the newer ones with a large screen. I like having a reader because you can load all sorts of old obscure stuff that is no longer in print.

I love mine. I found I was taking tons of books to read when going to our condo so this is perfect and I can read on the beach - no glare.

Another useful service for e-books is BookBub. Publishers regularly put books on sale, but often for a limited time so it's easy to miss out. It's a free service: sign up, indicate which genres you're interested in, and get a daily or weekly summary of sale e-books. Some are free but most are a modest cost of $.99 to $3.99.

I've discovered some good authors this way, that I wouldn't have found otherwise. As much as we use Amazon, their book recommendations seldom work for us.

Here's a hint that users of Overdrive for Kindle Books may find useful:

One of my kids reads in fits and starts - like 5-10 books sequentially (though only one at a time), and then nothing for awhile. The Kindle system monitors checkout expiration dates and nukes access after the appropriate time, be it 2 weeks or 3 weeks. Most people can't read so many books in such a short period of time.

To enforce checkout periods, the Kindle system reaches out over the internet to the Kindle device to check what's on it. So here's the hint: download a batch of books at one time. Then, turn off Wifi on the Kindle. The books will remain on your device indefinitely, until you again connect it to Wifi. It's an especially useful technique if going on a long trip with a lot of titles that you may wind up reading after you return from your trip in the ensuing weeks or months.

I am usually not a tech lover, but I adore the paperwhite. I find it easier to read, never concerned about yellowed pages or small font in a book. I am an avid library user and very rarely am unable to get a kindle version book from the library. ( I do reserve quite a bit and don't always get them right away, but I know that and find it works well for me). They do have an option to suspend or delay the hold so if it comes to me today and I am not ready for it, I can suspend for a week, 2 weeks, month, etc. I have used Gutenberg as well, and I think I may have actually purchased 2 kindle verion books from amazon over the 5 or so years that I have had my kindle. It is absolutely WONDERFUL for traveling-

Thanks to Elmer's tip, I am able to read more of what I borrow. My library lends for 2 weeks so his tip has been very handy.

I find that my library doesn't always get the Kindle version of some newly published fiction, only the ePub format, so I like having the option of reading through the Libby app on my iPad in addition to the Kindle app.

I dont think that Elmer's hints are exactly moral. Libraries will only allow you to have a certain length of time because someone else is waiting to check out the book which they cant until you give it back. What he suggests is not fair to others waiting for the book if I understand what he is suggesting.

"I dont think that Elmer's hints are exactly moral. .............What he suggests is not fair to others waiting for the book if I understand what he is suggesting."

I don't think you understand how digital content like that provided by Overdrive works.

Here's a hypothetical. On May 1, you trigger a 7 day check out from your library of the Kindle version of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. For those 7 days, the "book" is checked out to you. On May 8, your check out period ends and the book can be checked out by someone else. From the 1st to the 8th you can download it to a Kindle app or device, and after that period ends you can't. It also apparently happens that when a separate device connects to the internet, it "calls home" and if "home" notes the presence of an expired title, it gets inactivated on the device. Whether or not that happens doesn't affect the availability of the book to someone else at the expiration of your checkout period.

Similarly, I "read" in audiobook format. When I check out an audiobook provided to a library by Overdrive, I use Overdrive's software to download it to my PC. I listen to books using small, portable (and very handy) MP3 players and to do so, I need to transfer the downloaded sound files to my MP3 players. I do so using Overdrive's software (a permitted step and permitted use) and the book stays on my MP3 player until I delete it. This mode works differently than Kindle books because while the Overdrive sound file app will disable listening or further transfers to portable devices at the PC level after the checkout expires, it doesn't delete the files from the MP3 player. So when my checkout period expires, another user can checkout the book without regard to whether I have or haven't finished listening to the version still on my player because in fact, neither the library nor Overdrive has a way to know if I have or haven't deleted it yet.

Hopefully you'll reconsider describing my suggestion as being immoral and selfish. It's neither.

Truth be told, when I finish a book before the checkout period expires (which I can see if and when I start the Overdrive software to download other books), there's a 'return" button I always push that notifies the library my use has ended and they can make the book available for others to use sooner than the expiration of my checkout period. Overdrive users know that popular books can have wait lists and I return books I've finished early to be fair. I don't do that until I'm done within the period because sometimes the players hiccup, or I find a corrupted file or files, and may need to transfer or download it again. If I've "returned" the book, I can't do either step.

What an Overdrive "copy" really is is a license for a certain number of simultaneous users for each library's patrons. Libraries can choose how many "copies" they want to offer. "Use" expires so that another user can get it with the end of the checkout time or a return, whichever happens first.

PS, the "libby" app is another word for Overdrive's software.

I have 2 Kindles and I love them. Convenient, light weight and easy to care for. Yes..definitely get a case for them. Great thing is you can "remove" a book from it but you never lose it as its stored on your Amazon account. They aren't cheap but to me worth the investment.

Yes again to Elmer's explanation. It took me a while to understand it, but it's true. When you disconnect and select "airplane mode", the data stays on your kindle until you reconnect. The library will be lending that book once your permitted loan period ends regardless of your airplane mode or regular status. The only difference is that if you are connected to internet, the book is also removed from your kindle.

I normally don't do it as I am usually able to finish the book in the allotted time period but it;s a handy tool if somehow you can't finish it in time.

It's honestly a win- win.

Library continues to lend, and you can finish..

I love my Paperwhite for all the reasons stated here, and I’ve always done exactly what Elmer has suggested. I usually use my iPad to select and download the books using Libby, and just as soon as I download those books to my Kindle and turn off wi-fi, I go back to my iPad or phone to return those books, so they only been officially checked out to me for a few minutes. For anyone concerned about the morality of this, it was actually one of our librarians who suggested it to me a few years ago.

The only time this is a problem for me is when a book I had on hold at the library becomes available - if I turn on my wi-fi to download that book, my Kindle will remove anything that is no longer checked out to me. I haven’t figured out a work around for that yet.

Joann, as far as ads, if you choose an ad version, the Paperwhite is less expensive. The ad sits on your Kindle so you see it when it’s off. As soon as I turn my Kindle on the ad goes away, and I don’t recall ever seeing an ad while I’m reading - but I always read with WiFi off. Mine is about 3 years old so one you buy today may be a bit different.

I bought mine at Best Buy on Black Friday and got a good deal. I see on Amazon they also have refurbished units.

I have been using SCRIBD for my audiobooks, they also have e-books, magazines. Podcasts & free Pandora included. Less then $10 a month. Loving it so far. Although has anyone encountered the problem of it cutting off then taking a long time to come back on?

I bought one, the water proof, 10 generation one, It arrived today but it seems so touchy. I'm still working my way around it, I hope it gets easier.

Deegw...I purchase books for my kindle. Wow, I had no idea about overdrive and local libraries. Thanks for the tip!

Just to clarify, the Libby app was created by Overdrive, but it is a separate app and works a bit differently.

"Just to clarify, the Libby app was created by Overdrive, but it is a separate app and works a bit differently.:

I see that my earlier reference to Libby was incomplete. Can we replace the word "app" with the word "software" (which of course "apps" are) and say it a bit differently?

If so:

The word "App" is typically used for software running on mobile devices - phones and tablets. They're programs like other programs.

Overdrive has two families of programs - its older stuff, which it refers to as "Overdrive Apps" are available in 6 flavors - for Apple mobile devices, for Android devices, for Kindles, for Macs, one described as being for "Windows 8&10" and another simply described as being for "Windows Desktop". These can be used for Ebooks and Audiobooks.

The newest program family is called "Libby" and is for Apple Moblie (iOS) and Android devices only.

All work just fine and continue to be supported. Their user interfaces vary. Because I download audiobooks to a PC and then transfer files to a small portable player, I use the PC version and find the Windows Desktop version to be more user friendly. For the rare occasions when I read ebooks, I check out the Kindle version when available and read it using a Kindle app on another device (as I don't have a Kindle). No Overdrive software is needed to do that because at checkout on the library site, you get redirected to your Amazon account which will then direct the download to the Kindle devices and Kindle apps you've registered for your account. .

I use Libby on my iPhone and Overdrive on my Kindle Fire. I wish Libby was available for Kindle, it's so much easier to use.

^^^I use Libby for kindle with no problems??

Kindle is for me an absolute necessity. Easy to read, easy to take along and if you run out of a book easy to get something new. During the last year of impromptu emergency visits with my husband and long waiting times in hospitals and doctor offices I did not have to worry about running out of reading material. did not have to schlepp several books for just in case. If I get stuck in a long waiting line at the grocery store I can read. For many years I carried paperbacks in my shoulderbags, now a Kindle does.