I highly recommend this website (and these batteries):
http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ma..._batteries.php
we just ordered a set of batteries and a Maha charger from this company, and they work wonderfully. Got these to see if an old flash I have is salvageable. It used to take up to 20 seconds to charge the flash, and the batteries died after shooting the flash 15 times or so. With the new ones, it charges in less than three seconds, and they last for SO much longer.
Not sure what other people would recommend, but that's my vote.
as for a card reader, I picked up
this one from Amazon, and it works fine. I like it because it's very compact and just as fast as using the cable.
re: the camera not turning on... It could be that the batteries you're using aren't fast enough or that they don't have enough juice. I've learned the hard way that cheap batteries don't do squat for electronics, especially cameras.