Something we all like to do as a family is read.  From when the kids were young, we always read to them aloud before bed, for fun, and always led by example reading our own books, newspapers, magazines, and such.  Of all of our kids, my oldest daughter, now 12 has become the bookworm of the family.  She carries a book with her at all times.  Like my husband, there’s always one in the car when waiting for dance lessons to be over, baseball and soccer practice to end, and to have on long car trips.  What we can’t do is head to the bookstores every week to purchase books since she goes through them so quickly!  Our public library is lacking, so that isn’t much of an option either.

We’ve had some experience with e-Readers in the past and this was something on my daughter’s Christmas list this year.  When we had the opportunity to review The Sharper Image’s version of the e-Reader, The Literati, I knew exactly who’d benefit most from this smart gadget!

Some of the unique features include:

7″ Color Display
Unlock new reading possibilities in color, including cookbooks, children’s books, magazines and newspapers.(periodicals coming soon!)

Slim Profile
At just a ½” thick, the Literati is ultra-portable and ideal for everyday use


Built-In Wireless Bookstore
Turn it on, buy a book, and enjoy. With one-touch purchase, you’re reading in seconds.The Kobo bookstore offers access to over 2 million titles, including new releases and New York Times bestsellers. Browse the store and buy with confidence knowing that Kobo’s bookstore includes partners such as Borders. Purchasing a book is done in approximately a minute. Users connect to the bookstore via WiFi. Once connected, users can browse, purchase and download books.


150 Free Books
The Literati comes preloaded with 25 treasured classics and provides easy access to another 125 of our favorite free classics. Re-live these famous works of literature again for free!

Bookmark 
The Literati always bookmarks the page you last read. When users open the book again, they will return to the same place where they left off reading. This is just one more way the Literati makes reading easier.

Stylish Case Included
The included case keeps your Literati protected , a $30 value!

Options
An SD card slot allows users to add storage-up to 8GB (SD card sold separately)

Users also can change the typeface and font size to their liking (the simplest way to do this is through the Display button).

The screen can be dimmed or brightened to the user’s preference though the display menu while reading a book. Also, the screen can be inverted (to night mode) or softened (to sepia mode) through the display menu.
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Our Take: Set up was incredibly easy once we downloaded the user’s manual online.  There’s a quickstart guide included in the packaging.  While charging, my daughter could manuever around the Literati with ease learning all the components.  We found that the free books contain many of the classics that my husband also enjoys and the store contains a large collection of books for my tween to enjoy.  She immediately went searching for a series she wanted to read called “The Clique” by Lisi Harrison and was excited that all the books in the series were available!  PDF and EPub versions of e-books can be uploaded to the Literati as my husband discovered which can be found around the internet besides the KOBO store.

The right and left arrows on either side of the Literati are page turners and are very sensitive.  My daughter learned that if you hold your hands on them, the pages skip quickly so it’s something to watch out for.  Also we have a wireless network at home.  Having registered in the KOBO store online, I can purchase a book securely on the site and within 1-2 minutes the Literati shows the book on her bookshelf wirelessly!  This is the easiest way so far we’ve found to use both the wi-fi connection and purchasing.

Night mode is very cool where the text becomes white with a black background (accessible through the display in the menu when ON a page in the book)!  This worked great for us last night in the car, we don’t have a bright screen emanating from the back seat and it’s easier on the reader’s eyes as well! So far we’ve had a great experience with the Literati and are happy with it’s features!

Macy’s and Bed Bath & Beyond offer great deals on the Literati Reader, making it easy to pick them up while you are checking off the other items on your holiday shopping list.

We received product for review.  Opinions are our 100% honest tried-and-true experience.