These e-readers are the last word

While many people are still attached to their dead-tree books, e-readers offer a wealth of advantages. You can change the font size, you can search and highlight passages with a touch screen, and you're never out of luck if you don't have a reading light because all of the best e-readers on the market have self-illuminated screens.

Here are three of our top e-reader selections, including a couple of Amazon Kindles, which we think is the best digital "ecosystem" for reading, and one highly regarded alternative from Kobo if you prefer to direct your dollars elsewhere.

WHAT Kindle Paperwhite

THE COST $130

AVAILABLE FROM amazon.com

If you're shopping for someone who's looking for the latest Kindle e-reader, this is the Goldilocks in Amazon's line and our current CNET Editors' Choice Award winner in the category.

It's 10% thinner and lighter than the previous version, it has a "flush-front" design with a back made of a softer, grippy material instead of hard plastic, it's fully waterproof Kindle, it has a shatter- and scratch-resistant screen and built-in Bluetooth.

WHAT Kindle Oasis

THE COST $250

AVAILABLE FROM amazon.com

The Oasis has a new color-adjustable integrated light that allows you to customize the color tone from cool to warm, depending on whether you're reading during the day or at night. You can also schedule the screen warmth to update automatically with sunrise and sunset — not unlike Night Shift mode on Apple devices.

Most people will be happy with the more affordable Paperwhite for their Kindle ebook reading and basic Kindle needs, but if you want the best of the best with an antiglare screen for your reading experience -- and don't mind paying a premium for it -- the Oasis is arguably the one to get.

WHAT Kobo Libra H20

THE COST $170

AVAILABLE FROM Rakuten makes a line of Kobo e-readers that are not only powered by the Kobo store but also support 14 file and ebook formats natively. In other words, if you get your e-books — or any other digital documents — from any place besides Amazon, this device will probably support them.

The Kobo has its own ebook store with thousands of books, and it has built-in support for checking out e-books from local libraries via the OverDrive service. (You can get library books onto Kindles via OverDrive's Libby app, but it's not as smooth a process.)

As its name implies, the Kobo Libra H20 is fully waterproof. It has a 7-inch HD (1,680x1,264-pixel resolution) E Ink display, a built-in light and no ads (you have to pay $20 to remove them from Kindle devices).