FWIW, technical books in Kindle's native format (DRMd mobi) are quite readable because Amazon's custom conversion process takes care of the fonts. For example,

FWIW, technical books in Kindle's native format (DRMd mobi) are quite readable because Amazon's custom conversion process takes care of the fonts. For example, Dive Into Python is available on the Kindle, and all the code fragments are just as they would appear on screen. But they seem to be images, because a search for a keyword does not show the relevant code fragment in the results. The good part is that you can download a sample of any book from the Kindle store before you buy it, so you know in advance if it works for you. Disclaimer: I haven't bought a single book from the Kindle store since I've bought the device (around 6 months). The primary reason I got it was to reduce eye-strain. Most of what I read on the Kindle is technical PDFs converted using Mobipocket's free software. But it doesn't produce the same results. The Sony Reader can display native PDFs, but because most PDFs aren't built for a small screen, it's almost as inconvenient.