Sources & Apps

  • The WRG book club encourages reading in whatever format works best for each individual. At Club meetings, attendees may have read the book as a paper copy, a digital copy on a phone or e-reader, or listened to an audiobook version. Some people switch back and forth between an audio version and a digital or paper version.

    • Your local library

    • Local used and new bookstores

    • Local chain bookstores

      • Half Priced Books

      • Barnes & Noble

    • Online sellers

      • Amazon (of course)

      • AbeBooks

      • Barnes & Noble

  • Digital e-ink e-readers are a very popular way to read books. They allow one device to carry many books at a time; e-ink technology simulates a paper book experience; and there are multiple sources of free or reduced price ebooks.

    Amazon Kindle

    The most popular e-reader on the market, the Kindle line of devices offers multiple formfactors at various price points.

    Pros:

    • Largest catalog and marketplace

    • WhisperSync technology syncs progress between Kindle and Audible versions

    • Sharing book collections with family members is supported

    Cons:

    • Older Kindles are going out of support, no longer being usable

    • Marketplace includes tons of OCR’ed slop

    • Ads included in most models unless you pay to turn it off

    Rakuten Kobo

    Martin’s personal favorite e-reader! Rakuten is a Japanese company selling e-readers in a variety of formats at competitive prices under the Kobo brand.

    Pros:

    • High quality devices in many different formfactors

    • Quick UI

    • No ads, except in the Store (featured books)

    • Hackable (NickelMenu, etc)

    Cons:

    • Smaller marketplace than Kindle

    • Tiny audiobook selection

    Barnes & Noble Nook

    Barnes & Noble still sells the Nook, a basic e-reader with a large marketplace.

    Pros:

    • Large marketplace backed by Barnes & Noble

    • Support and accessories at brick-and-mortar stores

    Cons:

    • Older hardware with fewer formfactors

    Others

    Smaller or niche e-readers can be had from BOOX, ReMarkable, PocketBook.

  • Whether using a dedicated e-ink device or an app for your smartphone or tablet, there are some good sources for free, legal ebooks.

    Standard Ebooks

    Standard Ebooks is a crowd-sourced collection of high quality public domain ebooks. They focus on providing well-formatted, accurate copies of public domain books.

    Project Gutenberg

    Project Gutenberg is the ur-ebook source for public domain works. Most books are available in multiple formats, including EPUB, PDF, and TXT.

  • Most e-reader manufacturers also provide a phone app, so whether you want to buy ebooks from Kindle or Kobo, you can read your purchases on the go. Google and Apple also provide first-party book apps (Google Play Books and Apple Books) to buy ebooks and audiobooks.

    If you are looking for apps that let you read your own ebooks (that you will sideload), here are a few to consider.

    ReadEra (Android & iOS)

  • When you start seriously reading ebooks, you want some way to organizate and transfer ebooks from multiple sources to your e-ink device.

    There is really only one desktop computer application we recommend: Calibre. This open source, donation funded application is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux platforms. With its powerful plugin system, you can read, organize, and sync your ebook collection with digital e-readers such as Kindle and Kobo.

  • Audiobooks are a great way to “read” a book while out and about, doing chores, or driving. Most of these providers have an app for Android and iOS.

    Audible

    Audible is the biggest provider of audiobooks, with a subscription plan that offers unlimited audiobooks. Select audiobooks can sync with Kindle books via WhisperSync.

    Kobo Audiobooks

    Moderately large audiobook collection from Rakuten.

    Libro.fm

    Libro.fm sells audiobooks, and a portion of the proceeds goes to your designated local bookstore.

    Barnes and Noble Audiobooks

    B&N has a large library of audiobooks.

    Librivox

    Librivox is a free, crowd-sourced audiobook collection of public domain books. While the quality can be a little spotty, you can’t beat the price.