The Best E-Readers To Lose Yourself In Other Worlds, Anywhere And Anytime

The best e-readers let you have an entire library accessible at your fingertips. Whether you’re a voracious reader or a casual one, a dedicated e-reader provides a focused way to consume books. Take your digital book collection wherever you go, read when and where it’s convenient and borrow books from a library or friends—all with a few finger flicks. Plus, read books (or digital editions of newspapers or magazines) in the dark or bright light.

Portable and capable of storing hundreds of titles, e-readers are a great way to bring your favorite … [+] books anywhere.

Jason R. Rich For Forbes

The latest dedicated e-readers start at a relatively low prices, especially compared with the cost of a tablet. Most e-readers use a non-glare, low power display to reproduce text and graphics in a way that looks as if they’re printed on paper. Those qualities make e-readers a sought-after reading tool, compared to the bright, glary touchscreen LCDs used by tablets. Sure, you can read e-books on a tablet. In fact, they’re great for reading comics, graphic novels and books with color illustrations. But tablets are heavier, and their color displays are highly reflective. Tablets are also prone to disruptions from your apps’ alerts, alarms and notifications.

An e-reader’s display technology mitigates eye strain. According to Dr. Yuna Rapoport, M.D. MPH and the founder and director of Manhattan Eye, “Our normal blink rate is about 18 times per minute. Whenever we stare at a screen, our blink rate goes down to about four to six times per minute. This happens with all full-color LED backlit screens, but less so or not at all with an E-Ink or Paperwhite display. This allows for our blink rate to be the normal 18 times per minute, which reduces or diminishes dry eye and ocular surface disease.”

E-readers are extremely thin and lightweight, and in most cases, their rechargeable batteries last weeks, not mere hours—a huge convenience compared with tablets. Based on our hands-on experience and research, these are the best e-readers—including a few tablets—you can buy today.

Pre-Order Now: An E-Reader That’s Also A Digital Notebook

Amazon

Kindle Scribe

Screen type: Paperwhite | Screen size: 10.2 inches | Battery life: Up to 12 weeks

The forthcoming Kindle Scribe, now on pre-order at Amazon, is the first large-screen Kindle in years. It’s also the first to work as a digital notepad. It offers all of the features of a Kindle e-reader, with the added functionality of a pen-shaped stylus for writing or drawing directly on the 10.2-inch Paperwhite display. This is a great feature to annotate or markup PDF files, or to write notes from scratch. Like the other higher-end Kindles, the Scribe’s display carries 300 pixels-per-inch display, which makes text and graphics look crisp in any lighting situation.

Pre-order Kindle Scribe now. It begins shipping on November 30.

Best E-Reader Overall

Suitable For All Reading Conditions

Editor’s Pick

Amazon

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 6.8 inches | Battery life: Up to 10 weeks

Best for: Reading in bright light or the bathtub.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition builds on the features of the baseline Paperwhite model. It adds wireless charging, ups the storage to 32GB and removes lock screen ads. All versions of the Paperwhite have an adjustable warm light, so you can easily read in direct sunlight or in a dark room. The Signature Edition ups the ante by making its front lighting adaptive, so it automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness based on your ambient lighting.

The Signature Edition e-reader works seamlessly with Amazon’s Kindle Store or extra-cost Kindle Unlimited service. You can also pair this e-reader with an Audible subscription and Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to listen to audiobooks. Navigate menus with the touchscreen. It has a high-resolution display with 300 pixels-per-inch screen, and it is waterproof (IPX8 rated) so you can take it into the bath, too.

Pros:

• Adaptive front light
• Long battery life
• Very lightweight and portable

Cons:

• Interface gets slow

Best Budget E-Reader

Sharp Display, Adjustable Lighting

Good Value

Amazon

Kindle Paperwhite

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 6.8 inches | Battery life: Up to 10 weeks

Best for: Reading anywhere on a waterproof e-reader.

The Kindle Paperwhite has a few useful advantages over the Amazon Kindle (2022 release), and for now, it’s on sale for just $100—making it a better deal than the basic Kindle. The Kindle Paperwhite’s 300 pixels-per-inch display provides glare-free reading in bright sunlight, but when in a dark reading environment, its 17 LEDs brighten the display without causing eye strain even during extended reading sessions. Depending upon your ambient light, the adjustable warm light shifts the color from white to amber.

The battery also lasts longer on the basic Kindle. However, the big difference is that this e-reader is waterproof (IPX8 rated). You can take it into the bath or to the beach without fear of water or sand damage. When paired with Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, use the Kindle Paperwhite to listen to audiobooks via Audible. This configuration of the Kindle Paperwhite includes 16GB of internal storage—enough to hold thousands of e-books or hundreds of audiobooks.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Extra-long battery life
• Waterproof

Cons:

• Ads on the lock screen
• Lacks wireless charging

Honorable Mention: Amazon’s Basic E-Reader

Amazon

Amazon Kindle (2022 Release)

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 6 inches | Battery life: Up to 6 weeks

Best for: Casual readers looking for the basics.

This baseline Amazon Kindle (2022 Release) offers access to the same content as the Kindle Paperwhite (on sale for the holidays at the same price), but its components and design are less impressive. For starters, the display is smaller, just 6 inches to the Paperwhite’s 6.8 inches. This upgraded Kindle’s resolution now matches the Paperwhite, at 300 pixels-per-inch resolution—three times more pixels than on the previous version. This means text looks even sharper, for more easy viewing during long reading sessions. The screen is glare-free, which makes reading viable in direct sunlight. The smaller display also means this e-reader has a smaller footprint. It weighs just 5.6 ounces, just shy of two ounces less than the Paperwhite, making it a good choice for one-handed reading. Unlike the Paperwhite Signature Edition, this e-reader is ad-supported, so any time you’re not actively reading, the device’s lock screen will display an advertisement for an e-book currently available from the Kindle Store (pay $20 more to get rid of the ads).

To keep this e-reader affordable, it includes 16GB of internal storage, which is more than adequate for the average reader. Unfortunately, it’s not waterproof. And while it has an adjustable front light that uses four LEDs, you can only control the intensity, not the warmth of the light.

Pros:

• Affordable
• Sharp display
• Lightest Kindle e-reader

Cons:

• Lacks wireless charging
• Ad-supported lock screen
• Not waterproof

Best Barnes & Noble E-Reader

The Book Seller’s Answer To the Kindle

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight 4e

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 6 inches | Battery life: Up to 4 weeks

Best for: Loyal Barnes & Noble patrons.

As America’s last remaining nationwide bookstore chain, Barnes & Noble continues to compete with Amazon Kindle with its own e-reader and e-book storefront. It has a long battery life, a modest 5GB of storage, and automatic brightness and lighting adjustments.

The GlowLight 4e has a 212-pixels-per-inch, glare-free display. The display sits recessed relative to the bezels, and dirt can collect in the edges. This e-reader supplements its touchscreen navigation with four physical buttons—two on each side—so you have a choice if you prefer the tactile feedback of a physical button. The buttons help make the Nook GlowLight 4e more comfortable and usable in one hand. Barnes & Noble also provides free in-store support, should you ever run into problems using your e-reader. Besides books purchased through the Barnes & Noble’s e-book store, this e-reader supports ePub, PDF, Adobe DRM ePub and PDF files.

Pros:

• Good battery life
• Buttons make it easy to use one-handed
• Weighs just 6 ounces

Cons:

• Not waterproof
• Recessed display collects
• Sluggish interface

Honorable Mention: A Tablet Focused On E-Reading

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Nook 10-Inch Tablet Designed with Lenovo

Screen type: LCD | Screen size: 10.1 inches | Battery life: Up to 11 hours

Best for: Reading Nook books on a tablet.

Barnes & Noble worked with Lenovo to create this low-cost Android tablet with the Nook app pre-installed. This tablet comes with 256GB of internal storage and has a built-in microSD memory card so you can add more as needed.

The Nook tablet has a 1,280 x 800-pixel touchscreen LCD that’s larger than most dedicated e-readers. The display won’t be as sharp as other tablets like an Apple iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab S8, but at just $130, the Nook 10-Inch Tablet Designed by Lenovo offers a good value. It’s comparable to the Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus tablet (which runs the Kindle and Audible apps).

Pros:

• Full-featured tablet
• 256GB internal storage
• Low price

Cons:

• Display resolution is low
• Difficult to view screen in direct sunlight

Best E-Reader For Borrowing Library Books

Easy Library Access

MOST POPULAR

Rakuten

Rakuten Kobo Libra 2

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 7 inches | Battery life: Several weeks

Best for: Borrowing library books with a waterproof Amazon alternative.

The Rakuten Kobo Libra 2 uses a 300 pixel-per-inch display with an adjustable front light. You can customize the brightness and temperature of the light, while blue light is reduced automatically. This model supports Dark mode, so if you prefer reading light text on a dark screen, you can do so.

This 7.6-ounce e-reader has a whopping 32GB of internal storage, enough to hold up to 24,000 e-books or 150 Kobo audiobooks. It works with Kobo’s own digital store and with 15 file formats. The Libra 2 supports the OverDrive service for borrowing digital library books. It’s integrated into the device, so you can borrow and read e-books directly, without taking extra steps as on other devices. Since the device is waterproof, you can comfortably read in a bathtub or at a beach.

Pros:

• Easy e-book borrowing with OverDrive
• Supports a variety of file formats

Cons:

• Audiobooks need to be purchased from Kobo’s own online store
• Expensive

Best Premium E-Reader

Lightweight, With Buttons

Amazon

Amazon Kindle Oasis

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 7 inches | Battery life: Up to 6 weeks

Best for: Avid bibliophiles looking for a roomy display.

The Amazon Kindle Oasis has a slightly larger display than its siblings, and it adds two physical buttons for page turning to supplement the usual touchscreen gestures. The display retains sharpness, matching the Paperwhite’s 300 pixels-per-inch. And like the Paperwhite, it has an adaptive warm front light which automatically transitions from white to amber based on the ambient light (you can make manual adjustments as well). The display auto-rotates, so you can flip the device around and use the buttons left-handed as well.

Instead of a plastic casing, the Oasis features a slick aluminum body and weighs just 6.6-ounces; together with its ergonomic design, this model is easy to hold one-handed. The Oasis comes in 8GB and 32GB ($30 more) versions and is fully waterproof.

Pros:

• Roomy display
• Long battery life
• Lightweight aluminum casing

Cons:

• Expensive

Best E-Reader for Kids

Offers Special Features Just For Young People

Amazon

Kindle Kids

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 6 inches | Battery life: Up to 6 weeks

Best for: Young people between the ages of 6 and 15.

Kindle Kids is Amazon’s newest e-reader designed exclusively for young readers. It has a six-inch, glare-free display with a 300 pixel-per-inch, and it comes with 16GB of internal storage. In addition to the e-reader itself, you also get a free cover, an ad-free reading experience and a two-year “worry-free guarantee.” If the device gets damaged, Amazon will fix or replace it for free. Kindle Kids also comes bundled with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ (normally priced at $3 per month), which provides unlimited access to thousands of age-appropriate e-books and audiobooks. And with adjustable parental controls built into the operating system, mom and dad can set limits on usage, too.

Giving a child a dedicated e-reader, as opposed to a full-featured tablet, has some benefits. An e-reader is purpose-made and distraction-free—kids can only read e-books or listen to audiobooks. It lacks apps, videos and games. Another advantage: The glare-free screen reduces eyestrain as compared with a tablet.

Pros:

• Comes with one year access to Amazon Kids+
• Has a “worry-free guarantee” 
• Long battery life

Cons:

• Not waterproof or even water resistant

Best E-Reader That Supports Notetaking

Digital Notebook Meets An E-Reader

Rakuten

Rakuten Kobo Elipsa Pack

Screen type: E Ink | Screen size: 10.3 inches | Battery life: Several weeks

Best for: Annotating documents and reading large print.

The Rakuten Kobo Elipsa Pack is more than a just an e-reader. It is a digital notebook with a generously sized 10.3-inch touchscreen. You can create as many virtual, custom-named “notebooks” as you wish, with an unlimited number of pages to freely create content using the included stylus or the virtual (on-screen) keyboard. You can sync files with Dropbox.

Handwritten content can automatically get converted into editable typed text. You’re also able to read and annotate PDF files with ease, plus read e-books or listen to audiobooks. The Elipsa Pack has all the core e-reader features common to Kobo’s lineup, including access to the Kobo e-book store and the ability to borrow from a library directly from the device.

Pros:

• Large, glare-free screen
• Comes with a stylus and cover
• Manage and sync files via Dropbox

Cons:

• Expensive

Best Apple Tablet For Use As An E-Reader

The Do-It-All, Feature-Packed Multitasker

Amazon

Apple iPad Mini

Screen type: LCD | Screen size: 8.3 inches | Battery life: Up to 10 hours

Best for: Long reading sessions on an iPad.

The Apple iPad mini is the smallest iPad on the market, and its compact size and lighter weight make it the iPad best suited for extended reading. Unlike a dedicated e-reader, the iPad mini is a general-purpose tablet, with a full-color touchscreen LCD versus a glare-free E Ink display. Apple has its own Books app used for buying and reading e-books and playing audiobooks. Or you can download other e-reading apps onto the tablet—including ones for Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook. With these apps, the iPad mini replicates much of the functionality of these popular e-readers while giving you access to the specific stores (for example, Kindle Store or Nook e-bookstore).

While the iPad mini color display is great for reading digital books with images, including graphic novels and comics, it struggles with glare in direct sunlight. Plus, if you don’t turn on Airplane mode, it is easy to get distracted by incoming notifications from other apps—or to stray from reading, entirely.

Pros:

• Full-featured tablet
• Color display is ideal for graphic novels

Cons:

• Expensive compared with dedicated e-readers
• Shorter battery life relative to standalone e-readers

Best Amazon Fire Tablet For Use As An E-Reader

A Low-Cost Tablet And E-Reader All In One

Amazon

Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus

Screen type: LCD | Screen size: 8 inches | Battery life: Up to 13 hours

Best for: Reading graphic novels and more on a budget.

Unsurprisingly, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus comes with both the Kindle and Audible apps pre-installed. When you launch the Kindle app, it transforms the tablet into a Kindle e-book reader and audiobook player with a full-color, 1,280 x 800-pixel display. As with any color tablet, the LCD screen’s glare—especially in direct sunlight—can detract from reading, and it can be harder on your eyes. However, since this is a tablet, you can also use the Fire HD 8 Plus for any other common tablet function—including checking emails, playing games or streaming movies. It also has wireless charging, a convenient feature not found in most e-readers. As you’d expect from a tablet, it is thicker and heavier than a dedicated Kindle e-reader, and has battery life measured in hours, not weeks.

The Fire HD 8 Plus comes with 32GB or 64GB (an extra $30) of internal storage, expandable up to 1TB with an optional microSD memory card. And for this price, it includes ads on its lock screen (ditch the ads for $15). For an avid reader, a dedicated Kindle e-reader is a better option, but this Fire HD 8 Plus tablet is a decent and versatile mobile device that does a lot more than just display e-books. It’s also 30% faster, as well as lighter (12.1 ounces) and thinner (0.4 inches) than last year’s model.

Pros:

• Has full tablet functionality
• Color screen is useful for reading graphic novels
• Comes with plenty of internal storage

Cons:

• Displays ads when not in use
• Not waterproof

Best Android Tablet For E-Books

This Full-Featured Android Tablet Also Displays E-Books

Best Buy

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8

Screen type: LCD | Screen size: 11 inches | Battery life: Up to 13 hours

Best for: Running Android apps and reading books on a sharp screen.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 includes an 11-inch display, comes with 128GB of internal storage (expandable to 1TB with an optional microSD card) and runs the latest version of Android. It has Google Play Books pre-installed, and with full access to the Google Play Store, you can download apps for competing e-book sellers—including Amazon, B&N and Kobo.

The benefit to using a tablet as an e-book reader is it displays color illustrations, photos and other graphics in their full glory. The downsides here are the same as with other tablets—the LCD display can be glary to read in bright light, the tablet is larger and heavier than a dedicated e-reader, and battery life lasts hours, not weeks. But if you already use an Android cell phone, this tablet could be a great companion for e-reading.

Pros:

• Full-featured tablet functionality
• Wide choice of e-books and audiobook apps
• Highly customizable

Cons:

• Heavier than a dedicated e-reader
• Not waterproof

Features To Look For When Choosing An E-Reader

E-readers come in a wide range of screen sizes, and each includes a different selection of features designed to make your reading or audiobook listening experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. These are the key features to consider when choosing which e-reader is best for you.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is one of the most versatile e-readers available.

Jason R. Rich For Forbes

Screen Size, Type And Resolution

The size of an e-reader’s touchscreen helps to determine the overall size and weight of the unit itself, which directly affects how comfortable it is to hold in your hands and how much content fits on screen. While a larger screen allows you to see more, it makes the overall device heavier to hold.

Multiple device types can act as an e-book reader with the right software apps. However, the term “e-reader” more specifically can mean a device using an electronic paper display, such as those made by E Ink. Such displays are usually monochromatic and are much easier on your eyes than a traditional LCD tablet or computer monitor screen.

By design, these displays reduce or totally prevent eye strain. However, they don’t do a great job reproducing photographs or graphics, since the screens lack color. (While color electronic paper displays exist, they are not found in e-readers because of their higher price.) Electronic paper displays are great for reading books, but not as good for reading a full-color graphic novel or books with color illustrations and photos.

A full-color tablet is better suited for reading graphic novels and illustrated books. But such screens produce glare when used in bright light, and tablets are typically larger and heavier than a dedicated e-reader.

Storage Capacity

An e-reader with 8GB of internal storage can hold thousands of e-book files or hundreds of audiobook files at once and give you quick access to any of that content.

Plus, any e-book or audiobook you purchase gets stored automatically in the cloud. As long as your reader has internet access, you can re-download something at will. While you may benefit from 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, 8GB provides plenty of storage space for the average person. Some e-readers have a microSD card slot for expanding storage as you need it.

Battery Life

A tablet with a full-color screen (that also serves as an e-reader) will have a battery life measured in hours—typically 8 to 12 hours per charge. However, the batteries inside dedicated e-readers can last for weeks at a time.

While using the device’s adjustable front light or Wi-Fi connectivity could drain a battery a bit faster, even the most avid reader or audiobook listener won’t have to recharge their e-reader’s battery more than once or twice per month at the most.

E-Book Store Compatibility

This is perhaps the only aspect of using an e-reader that can get confusing. The type of e-reader you have directly impacts where and how you can acquire e-books and audiobooks.

For example, all Amazon Kindle e-readers are compatible with e-books and audiobooks acquired from the Amazon Kindle Store and audiobooks acquired from Audible. These services can be accessed directly from the device when it’s connected to the internet via Wi-Fi.

Likewise, all Barnes & Noble Nook e-readers are compatible with content acquired from the B&N Nook Store. And all Rakuten Kobo e-readers use the Kobo store. None of these e-readers are compatible with the other, which means you can only get your content from the store associated with your e-reader.

If you’re using a tablet, the game changes. With either an Apple or Android tablet, you can use apps from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Rakuten to access their respective e-books and audiobooks. Apple tablets also have the Apple Books app, and the Android tablets have the Google Play Books store.

In addition to tablets, all smartphones, tablets, computers and some smartwatches, are also compatible with the Audible service for acquiring and listening to audiobooks.

Other independent online stores sell or distribute e-books using an industry-standard ePUB file format or PDF format. The drawback to reading an e-book in a PDF file format is that you can’t change the display font and if you alter the font size, it does not always properly reformat on the reader’s display.

How Much Do E-Books And Audiobooks Cost?

When purchasing individual e-book or audiobook titles from the Kindle Store, Nook Store, Kobo Store, Apple Books or any other e-book store, you can sometimes pay less than a printed paperback or hardcover book. Prices can vary across the stores.

Subscription-based plans, like Amazon Kindle Unlimited, give you unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of e-books and audiobooks for a flat monthly fee. Alternatively, you can borrow e-books at no cost from a local library using Overdrive or Hoopla Digital. Most e-readers are compatible with OverDrive, but only the recent Kobo e-readers have OverDrive baked into the hardware, so you can acquire a book directly from the device (instead of going through a multiple-step process).

Are E-Readers Worth It?

That depends. Are you a dedicated reader? An e-reader displays specially formatted digital files that faithfully reproduce the words, images and layout of a printed book, magazine or newspaper. The monochrome display replicates the look and feel of paper, so you can stare at an e-reader screen for many hours at a time and experience far less fatigue and eye strain than you would with a full-color tablet screen or computer monitor.

Because these devices have front lights for use at night, you can use them in any lighting situation—from direct sunlight to a dark room—and what you see on the screen will appear crystal clear. You can also customize the appearance of text by adjusting the font and font size easily.

That said, the purpose of an e-book reader is to give you full access to your entire digital library of e-books and then allow you to read them anywhere and anytime—on a device that’s extremely convenient to carry around and hold in your hand. Plus, many of these devices also allow you to listen to audiobooks.

Where To Get Free E-Books

Most local public libraries now lend e-books for free to anyone with a library card and who sets up a free account with an online service, like Overdrive or Hoopla Digital (whichever service your local library has a partnership with). Once you’ve purchased an e-book reader, contact your local library to determine how to borrow e-books and audiobooks, and visit those services to verify e-reader compatibility.

Thousands of free e-books abound elsewhere, through services like Project Gutenberg and Open Culture. Many of these titles, however, are older and in the public domain, so you don’t expect to read the latest bestsellers on these services.

When seeking free e-books from any service, make sure you select a file format compatible with your reader. In many cases, you can acquire the free e-books or audiobooks using your computer first, and then transfer the files to your reader.

What Is The Best E-Reader Right Now?

This all depends on the features you’re looking for and what types of other equipment you already use. For a dedicated e-reader, we chose the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition as the best overall e-reader. It’s lightweight, and it has a long battery life, a sharp display with adaptive lighting and plenty of internal storage. Plus, the Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof.

However, if you also want more functionality than just reading e-books or listening to audiobooks, go with a full-featured Apple or Android tablet. Which you choose will depend on whether you already use an iPhone or Android smartphone, because you want all of your apps, data, documents, files and photos to sync seamlessly between these devices and your computer. Either platform is suitable for reading books or listening to audiobook content. Instead of focusing on the brand name of the e-reader or tablet, focus on the features and functions it offers.

What’s The Difference Between A Kindle And A Tablet?

A Kindle is a dedicated e-reader that also plays audiobooks. A full-featured tablet, however, can also handle a wide range of other tasks and allows you to stay connected to the internet to manage your emails, surf the web, engage in social media and share photos or video clips.

While a Kindle’s display is viewable in any lighting and lacks glare, content is monochromatic. A tablet displays all content in color, so any illustrations, photos or graphics look exactly as intended.

Can E-Readers Display PDF Files?

Yes, most e-book readers can display and store PDF files. However, when viewing these files, you can’t do much to customize how they look on-screen. Plus, in most cases, you need to transfer PDF files manually from your computer to your e-reader.

Is Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited Service Worth It?

All Kindle e-readers work with the Kindle Unlimited service. For $10 per month (after an initial free trial period), you get unlimited access to a vast and ever-growing library of e-books and audiobooks, plus free digital subscriptions to your choice of three magazines.

Keep in mind, not all the latest bestsellers or books from popular authors are offered through the Kindle Unlimited subscription service. Depending on the type of books you enjoy reading and how many books you anticipate reading or listening to per month, this service may or may not be worth it to you.

Is It Easy To Listen To Audiobooks On An E-Reader?

Yes. Some of the latest e-readers automatically give you the ability to purchase, download and play audiobooks. To use this feature, however, you need to pair wireless headphones or earbuds to the e-reader. Then, once you download an audiobook you can use on-screen buttons for playing, pausing, fast forwarding, rewinding and accessing others listening features.

Most of the newer e-book readers can also play audiobooks when you pair them with wireless … [+] headphones or earbuds.

Jason R. Rich For Forbes

To get the most out of your listening experience on an e-reader, you’ll need to use either Bluetooth (wireless) headphones or earbuds. Headphones offer a longer battery life, fit over your head and cover your ears. Earbuds fit within your ears and are much more convenient to carry around when they’re not being worn. Read more about the best headphones and best wireless earbuds.