Constant reading is part of my work. Not everyone will need to read more than a book per week (depending on your area, it can even be counter-productive to read too much… and do too little). But if you happen to do some extensive reading on a daily basis, I recommend Kindle. (OBS: for book reading, I prefer the classic Kindle. However, for magazines, the web, RSS feeds, and newspapers, an iPad or an iPhone are my choices).
Reasons? Well, the Kindle e-ink screen is the one that comes closest to paper. It doesn’t have that reflex or brightness that damages your vision. The navigation is good to enhance the state of flux, you can immerse yourself in the book, forgetting all the rest. It is also lighter and its battery has a longer lifespan than the iPad’s (on the date of this post, I’m comparing Kindle to the iPad 3).
For me, Kindle works well because I’ve got a laptop (MacBook Pro) and an iPhone. Therefore, for me an iPad would only represent a larger version of my iPhone. I don’t think having an iPad would add much value to my work style, so Kindle came in at the perfect moment.
However, if you don’t have a laptop and/or a smartphone, an iPad can suppress the need for a portable gadget.
So, take this into account: 1) the number of books that you wish to read, and 2) other gadgets you already have. They will give you the real need for a multifunctional portable one. Kindle is for books only. I don’t even use it for annotations, to italicize or to share book excerpts because they don’t seem convenient.
Obs. 1) For advanced users: consider synchronizing your classic Kindle with your smartphone’s Kindle apps. That way you can proceed your read on different gadgets, as long as you’re always connected to the internet.
Obs. 2) For reading faster: check the lesson 01 of the course “How To Learn Faster” to gain more knowledge about how to improve your reading speed.