My favourite all-around Kindle is 19% off in Amazon’s Spring Sale

I know what it’s like to start the year with plans to read many more books than you did the year before – it feels like it’s something that’s on everyone’s list of resolutions.

To be honest, it wasn’t until I started using an ebook reader that I began to make serious progress with getting through the massive reading list, though, and I’d recommend the market-leading Kindle range for ease of use, simplicity and affordability.

There are plenty of benefits: digital books won’t cost you as much and won’t need storing, you can carry an enormous library of them on a device that weighs less than a bag of ground coffee, ereaders have high-resolution backlit screens to keep you reading once your partner has gone to sleep, and the best ones have enough battery life for weeks of reading and waterproofing so you can read at the beach with peace of mind in the summer.

While Amazon’s most affordable compact Kindle goes for £85 (and is also currently on a great Prime Day offer for £64.99), you’d usually have to pay around £150 for the next-level Kindle Paperwhite, which adds waterproofing, an adjustable warm light, more battery life, more storage and a bigger and brighter display.

The upgrades are worth it and I recommend this as the best all-around Kindle for most readers, especially now it’s at least 19% off at £114.99 – as long as you buy the “black” or “denim blue” colour (which is slightly cheaper still) – during Amazon’s Prime Day deals extravaganza (16 July to 17 July 2024).

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Cons

• Hard to use one-handed
• Still not the cheapest Kindle

I love the large 6.8-inch display on the Paperwhite, which feels like just the right balance between the dinky 6-inch screen of the basic Kindle and the larger 10-inch one on the frankly enormous Kindle Scribe. It also has a high-resolution 300dpi (dots per inch) screen, so text looks crisp and paperlike while reading. This size is slightly better if you’d prefer to hold the Kindle with both hands, though, I find the smaller entry-level Kindle much more comfortable to hold one-handed.

However, I like that this one gets much brighter, that it’s waterproof so you can read in the bath without running the risk of breaking it, and that it has just a bit more juice to last for ten weeks of reading rather than six on the cheapest model.

At this price, trust me, there aren’t many downsides. We’re not just saying that – we keep track of price changes all year round – and this is just as good as the deal we saw during the Black Friday sales period in November. It’s also worth knowing that I’ve spotted some fantastic deals on the Kids Kindle models too.

There are also more expensive options if you feel like you might need an even bigger and brighter display or the stylus support for notetaking that’s available on the £300+ Kindle Scribe.

While I tend to use the entry-level Kindle as my primary ereader for travel, I prefer using the Paperwhite while reading at home. It has far more storage than any reader will ever use up (you can fit thousands of books on this) and that adjustable warm light is kind on the eyes once you’ve switched off the lights at night.

Now is the ideal time to grab the Paperwhite at a low price, but act quickly because this popular deal won’t last after the end of Amazon’s Prime Day tech deals, which come to their end at 23:59pm on Wednesday 17 July. Just note that you’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member to get the deal, but that you can sign up for a Prime free trial and still get the deals.

Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.   

Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.  

A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.  

He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.  

He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  

When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.  

You can follow Simon on Instagram at @simonrcocks, on Threads at @simonrcocks, and on Twitter/X at @simoncocks.