"It's made me look at books in a different way, and buy them in a different way, so I'm buying more," said Kate Lombardi.
Consumer Reports testers just looked at e-book readers, in case you're looking to buy one for yourself or as a gift.
And, of course, there's the iPad, a tablet computer with a color screen that you can also use to read e-books. And the iPad is also backlit, so even in the dark you can easily keep on reading. But it weighs twice as much as most e-book readers. And in bright sunlight it can be hard to read.
"This iPad's very versatile and it does most things pretty well. But it's not the best choice just for reading e-books," said Paul Reynolds, Consumer Reports.
So for simple book reading, should you go for the Kindle or a different e-book reader?
The Nook is heavily advertised by Barnes and Noble, but testers had some issues with it.
"One of the problems with the Nook is its interface. This little screen is all you get for navigating around, picking books, moving though pages, and typing in titles for searches and such," said Rich Fisco.
In the end, Consumer Reports says opt for Kate's choice, the six-inch Kindle. It's easy to use, loads quickly, and costs about 260 dollars at Amazon.com.
For the time being, the wireless Kindle also has the added bonus of an extensive library of e-books, available at amazon.com. Bestsellers typically range from 10 to 15 dollars, and the download is free.
All Consumer Reports Material Copyright 2010. Consumers Union of U.S. Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consumer Reports is a not for profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site.
