Very new to the Sprint Mogul (and smartphones in general), so I could use some guidance here.

I think I'll do a fair amount of e-book reading on this thing. What reader works best (Microsoft, Adobe, others, etc.)? And where is a good place to purchase e-books from?

The phone already has Adobe LE on it, and that's nice, but this seems to be a straight PDF reader and sometimes reading PDFs in their original form is a bit difficult on such a smalls screen. I would like a reader that can also just "convert" book text into regular text on the phone screen to make it easier on the eyes.

All suggestions are welcome. I don't mind purchasing software, I just want to buy the right thing from the beginning. Thanks.

You can get the Microsoft Reader for PocketPC at this link.

http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/ppc.mspx

Fictionwise has a ton of eBooks.  Some are free and can be read on Adobe and Microsoft Reader.

http://www.fictionwise.com/

I suggest eReader.com.  I have been using them for years.  I believe they have one of the largest collections of ebooks available today.  Their reader software is easy to use, and just receintly they have made their Pro version of the Windows Mobile software completely free.  (Was kinda pissed about that as I had bought it about a month before for $9.99 but hey...)  They also offer a free program, called Drop Book for Windows that allows you to convert text files into ebook formatted files.  That is my suggestion for you.  Check it out.  Can't go wrong with free!

http://www.ereader.com/

Any good places to search for free e-books (besides fictionwise.com)? I know that there are many now in the public domain...looking for something preferably in the Microsoft Reader format.

The best reader that I have found is the Mobipocket reader. It works for the pocket pc, desktop and various other mobile devices. One of the coolest features is that it scrolls like movie credits. You can even hot key some of the features in mobipocket reader. Plus the books you get can be read on the desktop as well as on your mobile device. It automatically syncronizes your books between your device and your desktop including your annotations (bookmarks, highlights, notes, etc) when you connect your device. You can also search through the books. It also works in landscape mode perfectly.

It comes in cab and desktop installer forms. Here is the link. Check it out.

http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/default.asp?Language=EN

Thanks. I agree. I found Mobipocket recently and so far find it to be working out.

Adobe reader for PPC does not support protected (DRM) books.

Those are only supported on palm, and desktop versions.

I also highly recommend Mobipocket. I have some ebooks not in a regular format and I can read them quite nicely with this program.