e-readers

[JJen]

Hi,

I'm looking to purchase an e-reader but not too sure which one to buy and would appreciate some guidance please.

The UK library service within our county offers e-books to download, which I would like to take advantage of as well as downloading from other sites. However it would appear that not all e-readers are compatible with the library service (Overdrive).

I've spoken to the library for advice but have received conflicting information from two people regarding which e-readers are compatible.

If anyone has used the UK library e-books service or has experience of e-readers then I'd be grateful of any assistance.

Many thanks

JJ

[Nic.]

Hi.

Most books are in a format, they will end with .epub, .lit .azw etc once you know which format the library uses this should help.

But I googled overdrive and maybe this link will help https://help.overdrive.com/customer/portal/articles/1482564-what-are-the-differences-between-ebook-formats-


Good luck

[JJen]

Many thanks for your reply Nic, I'll have a look at the link you supplied.

JJ

[Rattus]

I helped a friend to install Overdrive on their Kindle Fire. I also tried it on my iPhone and Windows tablet, just as a test.

This is what Overdrive's website has to say about compatible readers:

"Available for iPhone®, iPad®, Android, Chromebook, Windows 8 & 10, Kindle Fire HD"

https://app.overdrive.com/

If that doesn't help, let us know which specific makes/models you are considering.

[Nic.]

Given it's a downloadable App then it won’t work on the following Kindles, standard Kindle, Paperwhite, Voyage or Oasis.

I will charge my Sony and see if that works, if I can find the charger.

Although it sounds more towards tablets.

[JJen]

The makes I was looking for are Kindle or Kobo, I've no preference at the moment as to which model.

Having looked at the e-books through my library it would appear that the format is epub.

Nic - the library said that Paperwhite was one of the models that could be used with their ebooks. Having searched for this model I did note that it's not compatible and your post confirms this.

I've noticed that it's possible to convert epubs to Kindle format using Calibre, does anyone have experience of this?

Thanks to everyone for their post, they are most useful.  Grateful for any further help.

JJ

[Nic.]

A Kindle Paperwhite is a nice e reader.

You can do basic internet functions on it but it’s not great. 

But if you are downloading EPub format books from other sources it is possible to load them via a Computer running a piece of software called Caliber (the Kindle is linked to pc via USB cable) I’ve used this many times to load free books on.  Gutenberg.org is a great source.

[kentishkiwi]

JJ
I read library e-books through Overdrive on my Kindle HD. It is a few years old but I believe you can still buy these.
KK

[kentishkiwi]

I forgot to add the format is epub. I like the HD fire as I can access the internet as well as other features. More like a tablet.
KK