E-readers have become the preferred method for people who want to carry hundreds of books without needing to also carry a forklift. They now come with features like note-taking, highlight-passage-remembering, sunlight-defeating screens, and backlights for reading in bed when you should be sleeping.
We asked actual published authors what they actually use to read books. Because if anyone should know, it's people who write them.
Amazon's Kindle remains the most popular e-reader, thanks to its easy interface and the largest book library this side of a burning Alexandria. Sandra Beckwith - author of six books and teacher of book-marketing - uses a Kindle because she buys e-books on Amazon, which delivers them automatically. "The process is quick and easy - I love a good easy button," she said, presumably pressing an imaginary button while saying it.
The Kindle Paperwhite remains our pick for best Kindle, featuring a 7-inch display (up from 6.8 inches), a thinner body for marathon reading sessions, 300 ppi e-ink screen, long battery life, adjustable warm light, and a waterproof design for reading by the pool - because nothing says relaxation like worrying about splashing your $140 device.
Newer to the lineup is the Kindle Colorsoft, a color e-reader with a 150 ppi display for color images and up to 120 nits of brightness. Jason Rich - author of over 70 books (including Optimize Your Daily Routine as a Busy Entrepreneur, presumably so he can write more books) - said he's a fan of the Colorsoft's color and glare-free display. "Unlike a traditional phone or tablet screen, the Kindle causes no eyestrain," he noted, adding, "As an author, I appreciate being able to see content from books the way the author and publisher intended, so a color screen is preferable to me." The Colorsoft also lets you highlight passages in different colors and organize them into categories - quotes in yellow, facts in blue, characters to remember in purple, and plot holes in invisible ink.
The ReMarkable Paper Pro is part e-reader, part note-taker, for people who can't decide whether they're reading or working. Rich uses it for work-related reading, note-taking, and editing, saying, "I like the note-taking and annotation tools better than what the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft offers." He added that the larger display "nicely replicates a full-size notepad or the full page of a printed publication." The writing experience features zero lag between hand motion and on-screen line, resulting in a realistic, enjoyable writing experience - unless you're trying to write a check, in which case the bank might not accept it.
While iPads aren't technically e-readers - they lack that traditional E-Ink screen - many people still use them for reading because you can download any book-buying or -lending app. Dr. Gillian Goddard, a board-certified endocrinologist and author of The Hormone Loop, uses an iPad Mini for daily reading. "I like that I can use it to reach several different platforms, including the Kindle App, iBooks, and Libby," she said. The iPad Mini boasts an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display with 326 ppi - higher than a Kindle's resolution - and Apple's True Tone technology adjusts color and intensity to match ambient light, ensuring a natural reading experience whether you're reading a book or an article about how you should be reading a book.