Electrifying Reading: E-Books & E-Readers
14/5/2016
This is just some material I found myself writing as part of a book review, then realised it was better presented on its own
I have already blogged about numerous books read as an e-book borrowed from the library.
This is why I bought a Kobo;
I can read e-books borrowed for free via my local City Council's public libraries, Auckland Libraries. This includes very recent publications, the only limitation being there is a time-out function on the files, but you can always borrow it again straight away, or re-join the queue if it has been reserved. The actual file management has been outsourced, as you can see at this Auckland Libraries E-Book page. If you click through on the links you can see for example, the site Overdrive, where you can access an extensive range of contemporary books, even (shudder) Romance, Thrillers and Bodice Rippers.
In addition, there is the fact that it is not tied to a book supplier. I was also not interested in getting too expensively bound up in the extensive capabilities of a fancy reader as a thing in itself. The Kobo Touch I have was inexpensive, has few frills and a B&W screen, yet does all a book does while being able to contain, with memory expansion, more books than I could possibly read in a lifetime.
(I calculate that at a maximum of say, three books a week , I have probably read at max. maybe 7500 books in my life. The Kobo reader has space for about 2000, and "Up to 30,000 eBooks with a 32 GB Micro SD card".) It doesn't glow in the dark either, but neither do paper books, and that hasn't prevented me from reading as many books as I have. The screen uses clever technology that only consumes power in the instants that the page is being changed, and none to keep the page visible while it is read. Consequently, battery life is excellent, to the point where it is easy to forget when it was last charged, and if unused, can stay ready to go for months.
I have spoken to many e-reader owners who did not even know they could borrow e-books from the library, let alone whether their e-reader might be cabable of it.
Retailers of the competing Kindle e-reader and its variants, don't tell people they cannot access library books with it. The well-known Kindle, from book retailer Amazon, will not accept the .epub format used by public libraries. But the Kindle does make it "real easy" to be led off to buy Amazon's e-books on line!
There is one other popular e-reader, the Barnes & Noble Nook. This will read .epub files, but neither it nor the Kobo will read the copyrighted AZW format used by Amazon's Kindle readers and tablets. The Nook, as you might expect for a product from another book retailer, also makes it easy to buy from its supplier.
Many smartphones, tablets and laptops have capabilities and limitations regarding e-book reading which are best investigated at the time of purchase if you don't want to end up with a screen not suitable, or locked into particular files or suppliers.
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The above is an over-simplification, and there doesn't seem to be a book file format as ubiquitous as the .mp3 file is for music.
There are many file formats you can read with many models of e-reader, and many ins and outs to the issue of text & e-book file format compatibilities, digital rights, and file conversions.
I suggest these are easily resolved if you avoid webpages full of words like "if", "but", and "however", or anything like my few paragraphs above, and stick to pages with sensible tables and tick-lists of e-reader specs and the file types they handle.
I certainly don't want to start making recommendations, because there are too many personal factors involved. It might come down to something as basic as finding one that will fit in a particular pocket or purse.
You can stick to simply buying a reader you like and buy books in a way "recommended by the manufacturer", or you can get as technical as you like in a world of news feed downloads, fancy e-book management software, like Calibre, top rated e-readers, fast screens, hi-res screens, fast processors, and file type conversions; or even slip into the shady world of copyrighted file cracking, and illegal file-sharing and downloading.
This is why I bought a Kobo;
I can read e-books borrowed for free via my local City Council's public libraries, Auckland Libraries. This includes very recent publications, the only limitation being there is a time-out function on the files, but you can always borrow it again straight away, or re-join the queue if it has been reserved. The actual file management has been outsourced, as you can see at this Auckland Libraries E-Book page. If you click through on the links you can see for example, the site Overdrive, where you can access an extensive range of contemporary books, even (shudder) Romance, Thrillers and Bodice Rippers.
In addition, there is the fact that it is not tied to a book supplier. I was also not interested in getting too expensively bound up in the extensive capabilities of a fancy reader as a thing in itself. The Kobo Touch I have was inexpensive, has few frills and a B&W screen, yet does all a book does while being able to contain, with memory expansion, more books than I could possibly read in a lifetime.
(I calculate that at a maximum of say, three books a week , I have probably read at max. maybe 7500 books in my life. The Kobo reader has space for about 2000, and "Up to 30,000 eBooks with a 32 GB Micro SD card".) It doesn't glow in the dark either, but neither do paper books, and that hasn't prevented me from reading as many books as I have. The screen uses clever technology that only consumes power in the instants that the page is being changed, and none to keep the page visible while it is read. Consequently, battery life is excellent, to the point where it is easy to forget when it was last charged, and if unused, can stay ready to go for months.
I have spoken to many e-reader owners who did not even know they could borrow e-books from the library, let alone whether their e-reader might be cabable of it.
Retailers of the competing Kindle e-reader and its variants, don't tell people they cannot access library books with it. The well-known Kindle, from book retailer Amazon, will not accept the .epub format used by public libraries. But the Kindle does make it "real easy" to be led off to buy Amazon's e-books on line!
There is one other popular e-reader, the Barnes & Noble Nook. This will read .epub files, but neither it nor the Kobo will read the copyrighted AZW format used by Amazon's Kindle readers and tablets. The Nook, as you might expect for a product from another book retailer, also makes it easy to buy from its supplier.
Many smartphones, tablets and laptops have capabilities and limitations regarding e-book reading which are best investigated at the time of purchase if you don't want to end up with a screen not suitable, or locked into particular files or suppliers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above is an over-simplification, and there doesn't seem to be a book file format as ubiquitous as the .mp3 file is for music.
There are many file formats you can read with many models of e-reader, and many ins and outs to the issue of text & e-book file format compatibilities, digital rights, and file conversions.
I suggest these are easily resolved if you avoid webpages full of words like "if", "but", and "however", or anything like my few paragraphs above, and stick to pages with sensible tables and tick-lists of e-reader specs and the file types they handle.
I certainly don't want to start making recommendations, because there are too many personal factors involved. It might come down to something as basic as finding one that will fit in a particular pocket or purse.
You can stick to simply buying a reader you like and buy books in a way "recommended by the manufacturer", or you can get as technical as you like in a world of news feed downloads, fancy e-book management software, like Calibre, top rated e-readers, fast screens, hi-res screens, fast processors, and file type conversions; or even slip into the shady world of copyrighted file cracking, and illegal file-sharing and downloading.
Alternatives to e-book retailers
In addition to public libraries mentioned above, there are plenty of legitimate free on-line sources of e-books quite easy to find with a search engine, but I have found one of particular interest; Project Gutenberg, whose e-books many other sources seem to be re-packaging with their own front ends.
In the words of the Project's site: -
In the words of the Project's site: -
Project Gutenberg "was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today."
Project Gutenberg Mission Statement
To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks.
Project Gutenberg Mission Statement
To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks.
The site holds e-books created by volunteers, mostly from out of copyright printed books. It is not therefore meant to be a source of trending fiction work and latest research, but rather a fascinating source of all kinds of material, some of which you could otherwise spend years looking for in secondhand bookshops.
There is provision for current authors to supply recent work if they wish.
You don't even need to have an e-reader; you can read in your browser or download and view the book with your computer.
Much of the body of historic writing has been done, e.g. -
Classical Roman authors, in the original Latin
Popular authors such as Dickens, the Brontës, Walter Scott, H. Rider Haggard, F. Scott Fitzgerald & Robert Louis Stevenson
History writing, Science writing, Travel writing etc. etc.
Check out the Book Categories page and see if you start wondering what might be in them of interest to you.
One I found of interest I have blogged here:
THE ADVENTURES OF KIMBLE BENT A STORY OF WILD LIFE IN THE NEW ZEALAND BUSH By JAMES COWAN
I will concede there is a facsimile paperback edition of this available, from Amazon, for only US$13.57.
There is provision for current authors to supply recent work if they wish.
You don't even need to have an e-reader; you can read in your browser or download and view the book with your computer.
Much of the body of historic writing has been done, e.g. -
Classical Roman authors, in the original Latin
Popular authors such as Dickens, the Brontës, Walter Scott, H. Rider Haggard, F. Scott Fitzgerald & Robert Louis Stevenson
History writing, Science writing, Travel writing etc. etc.
Check out the Book Categories page and see if you start wondering what might be in them of interest to you.
One I found of interest I have blogged here:
THE ADVENTURES OF KIMBLE BENT A STORY OF WILD LIFE IN THE NEW ZEALAND BUSH By JAMES COWAN
I will concede there is a facsimile paperback edition of this available, from Amazon, for only US$13.57.
For a start at seeing what else is available free, try this page: 18 Best Sites to Download Free Books in 2023. You may be pleasantly surprised at the range and depth available.
Don't despair if the link has broken since I wrote this; as I stated above, a simple web search for "free ebooks" will make you wonder why you would ever need to buy them.
(Update Nov. 2023 - Sure enough, link to "20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooks" was broken. Substitute added.)
Don't despair if the link has broken since I wrote this; as I stated above, a simple web search for "free ebooks" will make you wonder why you would ever need to buy them.
(Update Nov. 2023 - Sure enough, link to "20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooks" was broken. Substitute added.)