Who uses e-readers?

I just snagged a free Nook.  I understand it is not the more common format, but I hear my friends constantly talking about free e-books and I'm not finding them.

I found Audible.com and they do a free trial with a couple free books, but then they charge a monthly.  I don't mind buying e-books from Barnes and Noble, but my library is pretty extensive.  It will get pricey fast.

Is there a free way to convert Kindle to Nook?  Or do I have to buy software?

Where are some good resources for cheap/free e-books?

Kindle. On my 5th or 6th one. Love free books. 

Check with your local library. Mine uses an app called OverDrive to lend out e-books.  Also, I think Google has a bunch of public domain books in a format that your Nook might be able to read.

Project Gutenberg, perhaps?

I run the Kindle app on my phone for most of my reading. It's also on my tablet. The nice thing is they stay synced so where every you are in the book, both devices will be on the same page. 

My wife used to have a Nook, but abandoned it for the Kindle format. 

You can pick up a Kindle for about $30 new. I bought one for each of the 4 grandkids for Christmas this year. I'm pretty sure it will read any format. 

As far as Ebooks for free, check out Baen Books. They used to offer a lot of books for free in a multitude of formats. 

Still do. Baen Books Free Library.

I have a first-gen Nook I’ve been using for 8 years. Just got a notification that B&N is discontinuing support (and ability to provide book downloads) for 1st gen Nooks on 6/24.

So if that’s what you’ve got, hit the download store now. Not a lot free, but a crap ton of $.99 and $1.99 books. I just downloaded 10... because after this I’m buying a Kindle. berkeley you, B&N for dropping my beloved little dinosaur.

Margie

You can still load books on to the first gen Nook. Just use the free software Calibre, it'll load up the hard drive and your Nook will never know the difference. My Nook hasn't talked to B&N since I registered it. There's also a plug-in for Calibre that will let you convert a Kindle book to a more open format that can be used by any reader.  That's the only way I can put my own books on my own reader.

For free books, the library is a great place to start. I'm pretty sure Amazon has a subscription service of some sort, but you'd have to do the Kindle conversion.

If anyone's actually shopping for a reader, I'd strongly recommend you get one of the uncool e-ink ones and not a color display. The latter are tablets with tablet style battery life and tablet OS problems. The e-ink units have stupendous battery life - weeks and weeks - so they're always ready to go. They're easy on the eyes as well.

I went through a couple of Sony readers and now have a Nook glowlight that's a generation or two old. It follows me everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

I steal Chuck's Kindle form time to time. Battery life on that thing is amazing. I need to go find where he's stashed it this time...

I've used and still use both.  I prefer a book for convenience, but I read things faster on the reader.  I can set type size bigger. I have a setting for black background and white type that I use at night so I don't have to run a light and then have to get up and turn the light off when I'm through.

But I still prefer books.  Less damage when you are in the tub, less money lost if you leave it at a restaurant or on an airplane and people aren't as likely to steal a book.

Plus since there's a limit to how many copies of an electronic book can be out, I am much more likely to be able to check out a real book than an electronic book

Calibre! That was the thing I was trying to remember to poke around and find in my system... Like Keith said, very handy for conversion.

I love my Kindle. I've had the same one since... 2011? I occasionally get curious about the updated versions, but I have so few complaints... And it's looking like this one's likely to make it a decade before the battery becomes an issue.

I also use overdrive through my library for kindle books.

Good tip on the Calibre.  I'll give it a shot.

The short explanation is that I have a ton of growth to do about some E36 M3 going on in my life (don't worry, nothing dire just some revelations) and I needed a bunch of books to get me going down that path.  I'm not much of a book person to be truthful.  A friend had recently bought a Kindle and she donated her Nook to the cause.  I figured it would be a good way to see if an e-reader was a good choice for me.  I also downloaded the Nook app on my phone, but androids eat battery when the screen is on, they're a small screen, and I don't necessarily want to eat up all my storage with 19 books.

I'm hoping it works.

I'll check out the cheap/free stuff you all suggested, but my interests right now are very specific.  Its not like "let's look through the cheap books to find a fiction I want to read,"  Its more like "I need this exact title for reference."

I did discover a nice feature though.  Some of the books I needed I was able to find in free pdf format which works on the Nook.

Bought the other books and only spent about $40 with some careful shopping.

I downloaded Calibre and my virus shield doesn't like it.  Is it safe to make an exception?

If you got it from their website it should be. I've been using Calibre and Aldiko for years with no problems. 

The kindle works with pdfs too.  My old kindle keyboard gets used every day,  and days like today for 10+ hours straight using the text to speech function to turn whatever I am reading into an audio book while I drive. 

Curtis, books take almost no memory to store. Far less than pictures. 

I've got an old Kindle I sort if took over after SWMBO got a new fancy backlit one. I also have the Kindle unlimited. It's not free but I read enough that it's worth the money. 

Curtis said:

I downloaded Calibre and my virus shield doesn't like it.  Is it safe to make an exception?

Yes, the DRM-cracking code is likely triggering a heuristic scanner.

I like to buy DRM-free ebooks...or pirate them if I can't get them DRM-free. Clarkesworld Magazine is a good source for short sci-fi stories. I read them on my phone or laptop. I have a tablet but I hardly use it for anything other than offroad navigation.

Oops, Keith, sorry--I accidentally deleted your comment when I was trying to reply to it. (Ironic, that, since you were reminding me of when Amazon deleted books from people's Kindles. I really need to travel with a keyboard; hate using the one on my MacBook.)

Anyway, Amazon deleting people's books is one of the reasons I've stuck with my old Nook. The other is that I'm cheap and lazy, and it has dozens and dozens of books on it. Will try Calibre, thanks.

Margie

Ha! The contents of the post will just have to remain our little secret, then...

I had/have a Kindle. I let my girlfriend take it with her to Florida to see her parents last year, so it's basically hers now.