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Over the past couple of years, I've read more books than my flat can hold. I judged the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2012 and the Man Booker Prize in 2013 and the latter alone had a submissions list of 151 books. Throw in the rereading of the longlists, the re-rereading of the shortlists and the reviewing I've done on the side and the whole thing adds up to a number which makes my eyes ache, just thinking about it.

I'm often asked whether I read on e-readers or prefer paper books. The short answer is: both. If I'm at home, I almost always choose paper. If I'm reviewing, or judging, I like to tag pages to remember phrases or moments. I have yet to find an e-reader that makes that an easy process: I don't just want to tag a page, but a sentence or even a clause.

Also, I like flipping through pages to remind myself of the feel of a book and e-readers don't have that licked either. But not every physical book is a pleasure to read.

One book on this year's Man Booker longlist is 1,004 pages and holding something that size to read it is a genuine physical effort. And if I'm travelling, I much prefer an e-reader, as it's lighter and doesn't get dog-eared.

£120, 4GB storage (expandable with a MicroSD card), 174g, 6in screen, two months' battery life (e-reader battery life is normally calculated on the basis of 30 mins use per day). Download more than 3.5 million titles from kobobooks.com. Has an edge-to-edge surface display, meaning there is no ridge where the screen meets the frame. £109, 2GB, 206g, 6in screen, two months' battery life. Download titles from the Kindle Store

I have made it this far through the Kobo's existence without realising it is an anagram of the word book. It weighs very little and it's tiny: pocket-sized, like paperbacks once were. It's easy to hold one-handed, so good for commuting/reading 50 Shades of Grey (I imagine). The store has plenty of books, including the Richard and Judy booklist.

£89, 2GB, 200g, 6in screen, two months' battery life. Download titles from Sony's ReaderStore. £269, 16GB, 308g, 7.9in display, 10 hours' battery life (difficult to compare with e-reader battery life since you are likely to be using it for other more power intensive applications also). Apple would prefer you download titles from iBooks but Kobo and Kindle are also accessible via their apps. Not strictly an e-reader, more of mini-computer.

Perfect For: People with pockets or tiny handbags.

Just released, it is an upgraded version of Amazon's widely lauded e-reader, with a faster processor and whiter light. This weighs a similarly tiny amount and looks particularly good and easy to read when the screen light is on. There's a decent browser, but I'm in this for the books. The font is clean and crisp and the pages are well-margined: it's perfect for reading a thriller. The only problem is that it still shows your progress in terms of percentages rather than page numbers, which makes me feel like I'm downloading a book to my brain rather than reading it.

Perfect for: Anyone who wants a huge range of books to buy.

Unlike the Paperwhite, this e-reader relies on ambient light and comes in three different colours: red, white or black. This comes with a cover attached: it looks smart but weighs a paltry 200g. The battery life is good, but that's because it is the only e-reader here which doesn't have a light (though you can buy a different cover with a light attached). It has cute silver buttons at the bottom, which slightly makes up for the fact that the screen isn't super-responsive. It's rather blinky when it loads a page, which makes me blink in sympathy. I really should book that eye-test.

Perfect for: Anyone who keeps their e-reader in the same pocket as their keys.

This is my e-reader of choice, though I can't deny the internet is a temptation for a person reading against the clock. It's the heaviest of the lot, at 310g, but that isn't heavy, considering I can also write this column on it and then flit back to reading.

It's the priciest, and if you only want to read, then it's poor value. But for me, it's probably the most useful piece of tech I have ever owned. Plus, it gives you page-numbers, and allows you to convert that to a percentage in your own mind, which I much prefer. Also, it allows you to download Kindle and Kobo apps and buy books from there as well as from iBooks

Perfect for: Anyone who wants a shiny, pretty thing.

£49, 2GB, 197g, 6in screen, battery life one month. Download titles from the Nook Store. Barnes & Noble's bargain basement device includes a backlight. This has rubberised edges and a squishy back, which makes it feel bouncy, though I suspect it isn't.

The touch screen is pretty responsive and the Nook shop is rammed (2.5 million books, newspapers and magazines). The categories are a bit arbitrary: Crime is divided into Crime Thrillers, Underworld and Crime Stories and Criminal Mind - Mystery and Crime. What if it's an underworld thriller, like The Long Firm? I feel warmly to the Nook, because they sell them in Barnes and Noble in the US, which are lovely bookshops - the missing link between Waterstones and the late, lamented Borders. And this is an interactive fellow: keen to have you sharing your reading habits with friends (it even allows you to make a temporary loan of a book).

Perfect for: sociable readers and book club members.