This feature is not supported by Kindle in Canada, which meant that if I wanted to conveniently borrow books from my library (which I did), Kobo was the only option between the two.

And this is without plugging anything in! No need to hook up your device to your computer. Kobo has Overdrive integration, which means that you can easily borrow books from your local library straight through the device. I knew that I wouldn’t be acquiring my e-books from either the Kobo or Kindle stores, so it was important to me that I could find books in common formats elsewhere on the internet and easily transfer them to my device. This could eventually become quite cumbersome because, as I mentioned, EPUB is the more common e-book format outside of Amazon. If you acquire EPUB files from elsewhere, or already have some existing in your library, you’d first have to convert these EPUB files to AZW or MOBI before transferring them to your Kindle. It also has MOBI support, BUT notably no EPUB support. In contrast, Kindle locks you into the closed Amazon ecosystem, which uses the proprietary AZW file format. Among several other formats, Kobo allows you to read EPUB files, which are the most common and widely supported e-book format. This was by far the most important factor for me, and it alone outweighed all of the cons I discuss later. The models are fairly similar, and I was debating between it and the Kobo Clara HD before taking the plunge.

In this review, I will be making some comparisons to the Kindle Paperwhite (4th gen), Amazon’s competitor product. I also explain which of these reasons were most significant for me. If you’re wondering why I bought an e-reader in the first place, check out this post in which I list the top 10 reasons why you should buy an e-reader.

I’ve had my Kobo Clara HD for just over a year now, so I thought it was about time to do an in-depth review. I use my e-reader on a daily basis without fail, and I’m reading more books now than ever before.īut that doesn’t mean that there aren’t certain flaws that I wish could be improved. Having an e-reader facilitates this process by allowing you to quickly highlight, annotate, and search text. However, it is infinitely useful to read with the intention of unpacking exactly how an author uses language. There is no substitute for actual writing, of course. I have found that reading critically makes me a better writer.

Kobo clara hd