I am shocked
no one mentioned this:
You can download the software programs to test out what it is like to download & read off an e-reader, on your computer. (You can also just keep it on your computer to keep reading from your computer.) It mimics what it will look like on an e-reader. This is the same software program, now known as apps, which you can install onto a tablet like the iPad. There are also mobile apps for smartphones. They are all free from each company to download.
If you get a dedicated e-reader like the Nook or the Kindle, you generally have to keep buying only that format eBook, unless you get a converter app to convert the eBook. Kindle format is mobi or azw. The Nook's format is EPUB or PDF.
On a tablet, you download the separate apps for
each format from each company. You also download the third format, the PDF app from Adobe. (Not the same app as for opening PDF files. Although some PDF eBooks can be read on a regular PDF file reader.) Then you have all THREE formats on the one tablet (or your PC) to choose from. This way, you are not bound to only one format. You also get to do regular computer work on your tablet, like surf the web, check emails, create a Power Point presentation, take pictures, watch videos, etc. Stuff that e-readers don't do. Tablets, of course are more expensive. But, you also get to do more.
Here are the three formats of apps for eBooks:
Kindle apps: if you get Kindle books from
Amazon, your local library or books in the mobi pr azw format.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sa_menu_karl3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771
Nook for PC: Books from B&N or the local library in the EPUB format. Link at the top of that page for the mobile apps.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook-for-pc/379003591/
Adobe Digital Editions which will read library eBook loans in PDF file format as well as EPUB:
http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/
Do a search for your local library's online website. If they have one, they may have an eBook section to download their eBooks for a limited time. Input your library card number, and you are good to go!
If their selection is very limited, do a search for your
state's libraries. You may find that some will allow you to borrow from a larger library's eBook collection either free or for a small yearly fee.
Last, you can buy a membership for a yearly fee from a few libraries around the U.S. Depending on how many eBooks you read a year, it may be worth the membership to then access thousands of eBooks to download.
My library, the NY Public Library, has over 31,000 eBooks to loan. Many are the latest best sellers. The ability to download eBooks has definitely changed the way I read. I'm able to read so many more books, many in genres I wouldn't have tried before, as I can download and delete at will, if I don't like the book. No waiting to go to the library or choosing how many books I want to lug home.
I'm also able to skim through more eBooks just for research. Never reading the full book, just plucking out pertinent parts I want to read and again deleting right away. a librarian said she noticed many students download this way for research.