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I like e-readers now

devinlogan.org

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Re: I like e-readers now

#2
>I’m still not into the prospect of purchasing books on the e-reader – it’s something I’ll probably avoid

Agree with most of what the author (including a preference for physical books) says but this. I must have spent close to USD 2k on various e-books (I use Amazon because of legacy reasons .. availability of e-readers in India around 2013 etc ) and the joy these purchases have given me can't compare with what I might have gotten with Overdrive etc. YMMV but I like to be able to go back and refer a passage I read 5 years ago.

Re: I like e-readers now

#3
If you’re looking for a good source of ebooks at sensible prices and without DRM, check out Baen’s web store. Their prices went up quite a bit a few years ago because of some marketing deal, but they’re still pretty good, they’re still DRM free, and they often have a “webscription” of the month with a collection of books at a fantastic price.

Re: I like e-readers now

#4
post #2

>I’m still not into the prospect of purchasing books on the e-reader – it’s something I’ll probably avoid Agree with most of what the author (including a preference for physical books) says but this. I must have spent close to USD 2k on various e-books (I use Amazon because of legacy reasons .. availability of e-readers in India around 2013 etc ) and the joy these purchases have given me can't compare with what I mig…

Also, I've come to realize that physical books are heavy and take up more space than they're worth, for me. I have probably about 50 books that I value most (mostly novels), but the rest I own as e-books or audio books. I used to have more. It's one thing if you have a permanent home with space for a large library, but when I've had to move my books, and try to fit them into small living quarters, I decided to pare them back a little and keep only what I value most. I haven't regretted it.

Re: I like e-readers now

#5
I fell into a phase of reading free e-books (I love amateur authors and fan-fiction generally) on my phone and that lasted about a year but the constant charging and eye strain was a pain.

So I finally got an e-reader (the cheapest simplest Kobo) and I've had it nine months now. Oh what a difference the screen makes! Completely transformed how much I read and for how long I read.

The software on the Kobo sucks, and even with a builtin web-browser there is no good way to get free e-books onto the device without a cable to a laptop with Calibre. But once you have your books on the reader, it's super easy and nice.

I still love browsing old second hand book shops (they are dying) but I'm thinking there really isn't much future for commercial fiction generally. The chances of authors 'making it' is so slender and when its accepted it isn't a job, it can be unleashed as a hobby and they'll reach bigger audiences and get more interaction with readers by giving their work away. And that's what you see when there are over 800k Harry Potter books on fanfiction.org, and perhaps 50k are fantastic and fun to find. The 50k I like might not be the same 50k you'd choose, but its there.

Any leads on where to find similar other sources of amateur fiction appreciated.

Re: I like e-readers now

#6
eReaders are awesome. I used to read so many physical books but the physical space that they were taking + needing to carry the books around was a barrier.

I tried reading books on my phone but it just destroyed my eyes. I got a super old Kindle Paperwhite and it has been super enjoyable. There are times I just throw it in my pocket now I will end up reading on the go.

It took me a while to discover Calibre but once I did the management of ebooks became really so easy. I am 41 books in this year on my goal of 52.

Re: I like e-readers now

#7
post #2

>I’m still not into the prospect of purchasing books on the e-reader – it’s something I’ll probably avoid Agree with most of what the author (including a preference for physical books) says but this. I must have spent close to USD 2k on various e-books (I use Amazon because of legacy reasons .. availability of e-readers in India around 2013 etc ) and the joy these purchases have given me can't compare with what I mig…

i am a pirate and i extensively use a borrowed overdrive. i still buy kindle from olx because i can get them on the cheap, much more than amazon itself.

Re: I like e-readers now

#8
i listen to audiobooks. come to think of it, i have been doing that for the last decade and i recently found out that i do not sleep well if i do not have some book speak to me while i fall asleep.

Re: I like e-readers now

#9
Personally would love to use an e-reader to read lengthy blog posts, but last time I tried it was very tedious. I converted the post to PDF using firefox's reader mode and uploaded these to the device. Are there any e-readers with something like firefox's reader mode integrated?

Re: I like e-readers now

#10
I have ended up with Onyx Boox about a year ago and it is awesome. Being an Android tablet opens up space for a bit of customization. For example, I am running syncthing on it keep book collection in order without any 3rd party...
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