View Full Version : Libris Ex Machina
Like many here apparently do, I like to read. I own an early model Kindle that I use all the time. As big box bookstores become fewer and farther between, and as small independent bookstores are transforming themselves into pretentious hipster habitats to survive, I find myself turning more and more to my Kindle. Apart from being convenient, it’s cheap too. I just spent $1.99 for fifty titles by GK Chesterton. I’ve also found a few really interesting writers who apparently self-publish that I don’t think I would have heard of otherwise. We may even see a revival of the glory days of pulp fiction in the new format.
But am I making a mistake limiting myself to Amazon? Does anybody have other sources out there they can recommend?
I think Amazon is by far the best source. Sometimes I find things on small niche sites and then I'll read them as pdfs on my computer, but they're often not formatted for Kindle.
Project Gutenberg comes to mind as a great site, and I think you can read them on your Kindle, but not positive.
BTW, the Chesterton collection sounds awesome! Did you get it on Amazon?
Check your library. I can get three week loans of Kindle eBooks from mine. Selection is more for popular, more recent books from my library.
Two years ago, I was gifted a flash drive containing approximately 5200 books in the ePub format which can be viewed on my iPad or my Galaxy Tablet. I promptly loaded them up on a home server and installed Calibre ebook management software which doubles as a web server allowing remote access to the personal library.
It doesn't seem right to offer access to those titles en lieu of supporting the authors and publishers, although if you'd like to see what a Calibre Library containing over 5000 titles looks like, PM me and I'll provide the url.
I have a Kindle that I use from time to time. I don't know if you are asking for other sources for books for the Kindle - isn't it proprietary to Amazon? I find, actually, that I am making use of bookstores more than I ever did, though I still make the most use of libraries. The bookstores here, at least, aren't really hipster hangouts. There's one great one next to the coffee shop I go to that has wonderful fiction, as well as great discount tables. There's Collected Works downtown that feature a lot of interesting readings, and Book Mountain, on our main commercial drag, is a paperback exchange place that has been in business forever. The thrift stores around town are also a great place to buy books. I saw an article in the newspaper recently that noted the pendulum is swinging back toward physical books.
You can download select library books to an e-reader (including Kindle). I've "checked out" several books that way.
I find the only problem I have with my Kindle is that I forget that I even have the book! When you don't see it, it's like out of sight out of mind. I think on occasion I've gone to buy a book on Amazon and they flag the purchase with "You purchased this book on March 13, 2015, you dimwit!" (They don't say "dimwit" but that's how I feel!)
BTW, speaking of good Kindle deals, if anyone is a Wayne Dyer fan, as a tribute to his life (he died last month) his family is providing many of his books on Kindle for 1.99. It was a month-long program, but it ends tomorrow.
Thanks everybody. I checked, and my library does in fact lend ebooks (although mostly in the best seller vein).
i'm not necessarily wed to the Kindle. I'm just a little puzzled why Amazon doesn't seem to have any serious competition. I wouldn't have thought that the barriers to entry were that high.
ToomuchStuff
9-29-15, 8:50pm
Thanks everybody. I checked, and my library does in fact lend ebooks (although mostly in the best seller vein).
i'm not necessarily wed to the Kindle. I'm just a little puzzled why Amazon doesn't seem to have any serious competition. I wouldn't have thought that the barriers to entry were that high.
B&N, is/was their primary competition for a number of reasons. Large book store chain, went with a competing format (epub which was vendor independent verses the Mobi format that Amazon bought and converted), using its own Linux based OS. There are other ebook makers, but they mostly went with the epub and pdf formats as well, rather then pay Amazon. Some of them, fought off Microsoft when it seeked to get patent licensing or force ebooks to use its OS.
I have a Nook and am quite happy with it and sites like Project Guttenberg. Still, I think at some point, I might get a Kindle as well, to have the best of both worlds (in case Amazon gets some exclusive that I want to read at some point). I think there are apps that read both formats for a tablet, though.
B&N, is/was their primary competition for a number of reasons. Large book store chain, went with a competing format (epub which was vendor independent verses the Mobi format that Amazon bought and converted), using its own Linux based OS. There are other ebook makers, but they mostly went with the epub and pdf formats as well, rather then pay Amazon. Some of them, fought off Microsoft when it seeked to get patent licensing or force ebooks to use its OS.
I have a Nook and am quite happy with it and sites like Project Guttenberg. Still, I think at some point, I might get a Kindle as well, to have the best of both worlds (in case Amazon gets some exclusive that I want to read at some point). I think there are apps that read both formats for a tablet, though.
I looked into the Nook at one point. But doing my due diligence like a proper CPA, I noticed that the Nook business has been a money loser for B&N. I was afraid I might be stuck with a Betamax equivalent.
+1 on the library downloads. I also like downloading classics from Librivox.org, too, to listen to while walking, gardening, etc.
If you use Calibre, you can convert a .mobi document to an .epub document and vice versa. You can also convert some other formats too. There are ways of removing the DRM in order to convert with books you have bought from Amazon, B&N, etc. so you would be able to purchase in any format and yet use on your preferred device.
I have a 2nd generation kindle with keyboard as well as a 1st generation kindle fire and have gotten a lot of use out of both. However, I bought an ipod touch a few months ago in order to use the Couch 2 5K app as well as play music and I also downloaded the kindle app, and now I use the ipod touch as my "kindle" almost exclusively. It's much smaller and lighter than the kindle and I have a lot less trouble taking it with me everywhere. It also has a wrist strap to avoid accidental falls. I'm sure there's an app available for .epub too but I haven't had a need to look for one yet. I had been thinking of getting one of the newer kindles that had both e-ink and a backlight, but since I started using the ipod, I have no need for it despite no e-ink capability. I was reading The Three Musketeers on my ipod while waiting in line for groceries today. It's wonderful!
And yes, Project Gutenberg has books in .mobi and .epub formats as well as .html, so practically any device or computer would be compatible. My local library offers e-books in both .epub and .mobi formats, so definitely check the local libraries.
I don't think you could go wrong with either a Kindle or a Nook though, depending on where you most prefer to shop for e-books. I use Amazon most of the time, so it made sense for me to go with the Kindle over the Nook. A number of people seem to like the Kobo too, which I think also uses .epub format.
Amazon recently expanded their Kindle line. You can get a 7" model with front and rear-facing camera for about $50.
freshstart
9-30-15, 9:42pm
I have a Nook and am quite happy with it and sites like Project Guttenberg. Still, I think at some point, I might get a Kindle as well, to have the best of both worlds (in case Amazon gets some exclusive that I want to read at some point). I think there are apps that read both formats for a tablet, though.
I have a Nook, too. I got it instead of the kindle because Kindle wasn't allowing down-loaded books in the beginning. My library does so many things great but they are lacking in e-book selection. You may find a literary fiction book here and there but the wait is 50 people, so I just read it in print.
Can you put Project Guttenberg books on your Nook?
I can get my Nook contents on my phone and iPad. I think Kindle is like that as well. I like my Nook because it can be read in sunlight. I really want to embrace e-books, I just don't want to pay for them, lol. I feel guilty knowing I can get the book at the library. So I usually only load it up if going on vacation
There's also the open library, over a million books for anyone to access and if you're a member of one of the 1000 libraries in the network, access to 100,000 new books. I think you'd have to do the calibre / .mobi conversion on these to read them on a kindle, but you can read them direct from a pc, tablet or (I think) nook.
https://openlibrary.org/subjects/accessible_book
There's also the open library, over a million books for anyone to access and if you're a member of one of the 1000 libraries in the network, access to 100,000 new books. I think you'd have to do the calibre / .mobi conversion on these to read them on a kindle, but you can read them direct from a pc, tablet or (I think) nook.
https://openlibrary.org/subjects/accessible_book
You can also download Amazon's Kindle app for PC (free) and read Kindle books on your computer.
Williamsmith
10-1-15, 2:35pm
I don't know what it is about holding an actual book but I prefer one to any ereader.
I have mine in a handsome little case that opens like a book, so I get a bit of that experience. For the most part, I prefer the aesthetics of books (you can flip back and forth among the pages easily), but the Kindle has a couple of advantages: it holds a lot of books at one time--so you can carry your library with you--and the largest, heaviest, most awkward book can be contained in manageable size. I generally use mine for books without many illustrations, and books I plan to read once, then delete.
ToomuchStuff
10-1-15, 5:19pm
I looked into the Nook at one point. But doing my due diligence like a proper CPA, I noticed that the Nook business has been a money loser for B&N. I was afraid I might be stuck with a Betamax equivalent.
Since the Nook uses a more public format, there were more competitors for it. Not sure how many people licensed the Kindle format for their systems.
I have a Nook, too. I got it instead of the kindle because Kindle wasn't allowing down-loaded books in the beginning. My library does so many things great but they are lacking in e-book selection. You may find a literary fiction book here and there but the wait is 50 people, so I just read it in print.
Can you put Project Guttenberg books on your Nook?
I can get my Nook contents on my phone and iPad. I think Kindle is like that as well. I like my Nook because it can be read in sunlight. I really want to embrace e-books, I just don't want to pay for them, lol. I feel guilty knowing I can get the book at the library. So I usually only load it up if going on vacation
I would guess somewhere between 30 and 50% of the books on my Nook, came from there. Another percentage are older books, that were released under a creative commons publishing license (older Linux learning type of books). I think I only have one or two purchased books and one free from when they were doing something along those lines (not sure B&N does that now).
You can also download Amazon's Kindle app for PC (free) and read Kindle books on your computer.
If they support your OS. (not in my case)
Wish they did.
I don't know what it is about holding an actual book but I prefer one to any ereader.
Pretty much ANY of my non reference books (free, older editions), I still buy in book form, used, for cheaper then I could get the electron version. I also like the fact I can read them in bed and not worry about cracking a screen, draining the battery, etc.
I was gifted the Nook for Xmas one year. I wanted one, but the bargain wasn't there for me yet, in either hardware, or data (cost per book). Still not there on the book cost.
I've been thinking (and it definitely isn't a very minimalistic thought) that I may start collecting a few physical books again. I got rid of most of my books once I started reading e-books because I wanted my space to become more simple and decluttered, but I find myself missing having a "library" of books. Nevertheless, as I will still be reading most of my books electronically, I am thinking of a somewhat different form of library this time around. I may just go for books that are very pleasing to my eye, such as leather bound editions or with pretty bindings, or special editions, etc. I'm still mulling it over in my mind, and also as I currently have no income as I'm student teaching, the idea would need to wait until I was employed once again, but I'm thinking I might at least like a small library of some sort (other than my obligatory math textbooks and study guides.)
Plus, my idea of simple living isn't to get rid of as much stuff as possible no matter what, but to create an environment where one is surrounded only by things one loves rather than stuff that does nothing but clutter. My environment the past few years has been rather Spartan and I'm getting a bit tired of it.
For me, I think it would be a good balance between e-books and physical books, and I also wouldn't be obligated to display "ugly" books because I can easily keep those on my kindle and save my physical environment for the more aesthetical ones.
I have no guilt about my colorful collection of books on arts and crafts--the kind of publications that don't translate well into digital format, IMO. (Actually, I don't have much guilt about anything in the simple living department. :devil: )
I have no guilt about my colorful collection of books on arts and crafts--the kind of publications that don't translate well into digital format, IMO. (Actually, I don't have much guilt about anything in the simple living department. :devil: )
That is a point in paper's favor. I was recently reading a book about the Battle of Austerlitz, and the various maps supplied were pretty much unreadable.
(Actually, I don't have much guilt about anything in the simple living department. :devil: ):cool:
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