December 2013 ereaders and tablets

It's December, and time for a new post.

Before I list the books of the month, I'll talk about my favorite subject, ereaders and tablets.

I currently have 3 e-ink readers: (Update, see below)

1. Kobo Mini - great for on the go
2. Kobo Glo - great for on the go, especially at night!
3. Kindle Paperwhite 2 - it was acceptable, until they ruined it with the cloud collections update. At least I've got it JB+custom sleep screen. Now waiting for margin and font hacks to be user friendly. Not sure if the hackers will be able to disable the cloud collection bullshit. So as of now, I have no collections on the PW2.

Favorite e-ink reader: if I could only have one, it would be the Kobo Glo. It is small, light, has an SD card slot to hold thousands of documents, and has the auto-sleep/wake feature.

And I now have three tablets:

1. Kindle Fire HD (2012) 16gb, rooted with n2a. Got it back from DD when she appropriated the Nook HD+. I mainly use for news and web. My kids are allowed to use it, too.
2. Nook HD (8gb) got for reading, with the 32gb card it's a 40gb reader! Love it!
3. Nexus 7.2 (2013) 16gb. Just got this for my birthday (a little early, but it was a deal). Wow! Best Tablet Ever! I absolutely love it. It is slimmer, thinner, and lighter than my Nook HD and has higher resolution. The case I ordered should be here today.

It's hard to compare the Nook HD and the Nexus 7.2 for reading, because I have an anti-glare screen protector on the Nook that I don't want to remove. So I can't really state with certainty if the text is sharper on the higher res Nexus. But the Nexus is absolutely superb for reading. So great, in fact, that I think I am DONE with e-ink readers. I'll keep the ones I have, but don't plan to buy any more...unless one of the good companies (preferably Kobo) makes a lighted 5" e-ink reader.

Favorite tablet: Nexus 7.2. I love how slim, thin and light it is. I love how all the apps I use on my Nook HD automatically downloaded when I clicked a button. (Don't ask me how the Right ones got loaded, and not the hundreds of "hidden object" apps that my DD has on the Nook HD+). It was like magic! Set up in moments.

I did have to buy the Pro version of Moon+ reader, as the ad behavior on the Nexus was far more annoying and intrusive than on the Nook. But that app is well worth $5. I put it on the Nook, too.

Combined with the Calibre Companion app, I have now realized that a high quality tablet simply can't be beat as an ebook reader. For the best, it's the Nexus 7.2. For the budget conscious, it's the Nook HD. The features and performance of these tablets beat the e-ink readers into the ground.

The only advantage to the e-ink reader is longer battery life, smaller size and weight. I can read the Nook HD just fine outside in the sun. (Haven't tried the Nexus yet).

UPDATE-Returned the PW2 for a full refund. No more e-ink Kindles.

Books read in December

1. Take Me Tonight (Bullet Catchers #3) by Roxanne St. Claire. RS. 4 stars. Excellent
2. Byron and Kit (Hunters #3) by Shiloh Walker. Erotic PNR. 3 stars. It was fine.
3. Revealed (Brides of the Kindred #5) by Evangeline Anderson. Erotic SFR. 4 stars. Really good!
4. Prey by Linda Howard. AUDIO book. RS. 5 stars, in part b/c I loved the narrator.
5. A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine. Steampunk. 4 stars. Excellent
6. Dichotomy by Aubrey Ross. Erotica short story. 4 stars. Very good.
7. Mr. Smith's Whip by Brynn Paulin. Erotica. 3 stars. good.
8. Ill Wind (Weather Warden #1) by Rachel Caine. UF. 5 stars. Wow!
9. The Dragon Healer by Bianca D'arc. EPNR. 3 stars. Better than I expected.
10. Freedom's Landing by Anne McCaffrey. SF. AUDIO. 3 stars. It was all right.
11. Bayon/Jean-Baptiste by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright (Bayou Heat #3/4) PNR. 4 stars.
12. Hidden Agendas (Tempting Seals #4) by Lora Leigh. E-RS. 4 stars. Better than the last one.
13. Talon/Xavier by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright (Bayou Heat #5/6) PNR. 4 stars.
14. Plague Town by Dana Fredsti. Zombies. 5 stars. Really good!
15. Demon's Fire by Emma Holly (Demon World #6) PNR. Loved it!!! 5 stars.
16. The Burning (Companion #3) by Susan Squires. HPNR. Pretty good, except for the torture. 4 stars.
17. Force of Nature (Troubleshooters #11) by Suzanne Brockmann. AUDIO. RS. I love how she writes. But this was not a "troubleshooters" story. I enjoyed it. I will be skipping #12 as it sounds like there is no suspense.
18. Killer Secrets (Tempting Seals #5) by Lora Leigh. E-RS.
19. The Prince of Frogs by Annaliese Evans. HPNR. DNF. Deadly dull!