How to Read
Sooooo I don't want to go into huge detail about this on the Internet (such a gossip) but I heard something today about that bank job I applied for ages ago. Basically when I least expected it. If I am good at one thing, it is jumping the gun; I am not really worried, more--bemused? Confused? (Wondering: what if they make an offer and I refuse? Would they make another offer in the future?)
I had sushi with Emily and her boyfriend tonight, and we watched some old plays (the original Peter Pan rehearsal reel, and chunks of ITW) and then after they left I was thinking about this job situation, so naturally I have done nothing today. (It's okay! I did 850 words yesterday instead of 500, to make up for it.)
I've had a lot of trouble with catching up lately; this week I feel so much mellower about it. I must do what I can, when I can. End of story. If I'm not home, or it's late, or I'm tired, well, that's okay.
So let's distract myself from confusing thoughts with talk of e-readers. I want one and I have been researching them since December. I do not know when/if I will get one, but I love the idea of carrying hundreds of books around with me on a reading device, and also I get jealous when I see people with their cute little e-reader covers reading books. But which one to get? Caroline says the nook is better; my dad uses a Kindle and seems very happy with it. SBTB RAVES about the Kindle. I installed the iPod apps for both readers; this is what I have learned so far:
Kindle
SBTB says that this is good for people who use Amazon for everything; however, you don't really buy your books; they sit in your Amazon Cloud and have been known to disappear. (PS: I HATE Amazon Cloud.) It seems to be the more popular choice, and when I installed it, I was intrigued by the possibility of uploading Word docs. (Edit (?) AEFB on the go! But then would Amazon Cloud eat the docs? Can I e-mail them back to myself?)
I have heard (SBTB) that the Kindle Fire is a nice, cheaper option for people interested in an iPad.
So far I have done most of my book reading on Kindle, mostly due to logistics--I already had an AMZ account, so it was easy for me to download a few free books (I started out with A Christmas Carol, The Scarlet Letter, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, then, as I received various notices, added Remalna's Children and a mythology book I haven't synced yet). B&N--I had to sign up for an account or something and I think I was in a hurry? More below.
I've read A Christmas Carol and Remalna's Childrenboth on the Kindle for iPod and haven't found it to be a huge strain on the eyes. I set the text at its smallest setting and changed the background to sepia and it's not bad. It seems to load fairly fast (though it's also sensitive and is constantly turning pages or bringing up the menu when I don't want it to, but I suppose that's an iPod Touch for you). There were a few really mild formatting issues I noticed that were probably due to reading on an iPod instead of a Kindle/nook/Sony Reader/iPad/whatever.
Nook
I like how it automatically gave me several books to choose from: some free, some not. I started reading Pride & Prejudice just to give it a whirl; the response time seemed a little slow at times and it took ages to flip through the introduction.
Upon downloading the app, what intrigued me most here was the offer of free ebooks.
I do seem to recall my dad saying he had two e-readers installed on the iPod that eventually became mine (Kindle and another) because there were some things he couldn’t read on Kindle. Caroline said that the Kindle is for Amazon ebooks only, whereas the nook allows books from anywhere. Amazon is huge, sure, but I don't want to be limited to only them.
Drawback to both: I can't seem to buy/find new books within either app; I think I even tried in the AMZ app and it was still weird? So I have to take extra steps by getting onto AMZ or B&N on my computer, downloading, then opening the iPod and letting it sync (doesn't seem to take long) before I can read. (I also feel that either/both website/s should have a "free ebooks" link, though I suppose they don't want to advertise the free version of, say, Sense & Sensibility when they could pimp the shiny $10 ebook version.) Anyway, I know this is just an iPod thing because I've seen people buy/download on their reading devices before; it's just a pain.
Project Gutenberg has a CRAPLOAD of free ebooks and directions on how to download.
Thing is, I don't buy a lot of books. I get them from the library. Sometimes I'll buy from Half-Price, or borrow from friends. If I read it and enjoy it, it goes on my AMZ wishlist.
I can't tell you how many times I've wished that we could combine the digital and the real world, that everything worked like the iTunes music arrangement, that I could download movies I already owned into iTunes and then be able to watch them on my iPod anywhere, or that I could enter some magic code for a book I bought years ago and have loved my whole life, and be able to read the ebook version on the Kindle/nook for iPhone.
I am also intrigued by the idea of comics on a reader, but I haven't researched it yet, and I think that is better saved for larger devices like the iPad or Kindle.
Anyway. I questioned my father and brother, both technonerds and Mac users, about their preferred reading devices. My dad received a Kindle as a gift from the Board of Regents several years ago and used it all the time...until he got an iPad. Now he only uses the iPad and seems happy with it. (Rachael's unasked question: "Listen...if you've just got an ereader LYING AROUND that you're not even using, maybe think about lending it to me long-term? Just saying.") (Actually, he is going to let me borrow it because I discovered that a book I really need to read for my transportation fantasy project is on the Kindle's free lending library which you have to have an actual Kindle for.) He was very happy with the Kindle before the iPad, but now the iPad, so useful in so many ways, trumps all.
My brother switched to ebooks ages ago. I spoke with him about ebooks and ereaders when I was out there and he said that he almost never just sits down and reads. (He is a single parent. Single parent of a preteen. He doesn't have a lot of time.) He reads on his iPhone when he is out and about--at stoplights, in lines, when waiting for things.
I didn't ask which app he uses (I assume that they both switch back and forth as needed--actually at Christmas I was looking at/judging my dad's iPod and he has a LOT of e-reader/ebook apps that he rarely uses, like Bookshelf and iBook), but it was his talk, as usual, that made me a little more okay with reading on the iPod. Because I am jealous of beautiful Jonathan Adler nook covers (I am sure I could find a Jonathan Adler iPod Touch cover if I looked), and I like the idea of the instant book gratification, but maybe I'm not ready for one yet. I like being able to carry a book around on my iPod; it's small and fits into whatever purse I'm using.
(Of course, when I decide I want to bring The Return of the King to work and cram it into my purse, that kind of defeats the purpose...)
I WAS intrigued by Stanza--I read somewhere that it kind of centered around free books. However, reading the link I just made, that is not the implication I'm getting here. (Looks like just another reader app.)
I'm still very interested. I'm kind of working on The Scarlet Letter right now (looooong introduction); next I'm going to set up an account with B&N and download some books from them, and then try that out and see how it works. After that...maybe checking out Project Gutenberg?
I had sushi with Emily and her boyfriend tonight, and we watched some old plays (the original Peter Pan rehearsal reel, and chunks of ITW) and then after they left I was thinking about this job situation, so naturally I have done nothing today. (It's okay! I did 850 words yesterday instead of 500, to make up for it.)
I've had a lot of trouble with catching up lately; this week I feel so much mellower about it. I must do what I can, when I can. End of story. If I'm not home, or it's late, or I'm tired, well, that's okay.
So let's distract myself from confusing thoughts with talk of e-readers. I want one and I have been researching them since December. I do not know when/if I will get one, but I love the idea of carrying hundreds of books around with me on a reading device, and also I get jealous when I see people with their cute little e-reader covers reading books. But which one to get? Caroline says the nook is better; my dad uses a Kindle and seems very happy with it. SBTB RAVES about the Kindle. I installed the iPod apps for both readers; this is what I have learned so far:
Kindle
SBTB says that this is good for people who use Amazon for everything; however, you don't really buy your books; they sit in your Amazon Cloud and have been known to disappear. (PS: I HATE Amazon Cloud.) It seems to be the more popular choice, and when I installed it, I was intrigued by the possibility of uploading Word docs. (Edit (?) AEFB on the go! But then would Amazon Cloud eat the docs? Can I e-mail them back to myself?)
I have heard (SBTB) that the Kindle Fire is a nice, cheaper option for people interested in an iPad.
So far I have done most of my book reading on Kindle, mostly due to logistics--I already had an AMZ account, so it was easy for me to download a few free books (I started out with A Christmas Carol, The Scarlet Letter, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, then, as I received various notices, added Remalna's Children and a mythology book I haven't synced yet). B&N--I had to sign up for an account or something and I think I was in a hurry? More below.
I've read A Christmas Carol and Remalna's Childrenboth on the Kindle for iPod and haven't found it to be a huge strain on the eyes. I set the text at its smallest setting and changed the background to sepia and it's not bad. It seems to load fairly fast (though it's also sensitive and is constantly turning pages or bringing up the menu when I don't want it to, but I suppose that's an iPod Touch for you). There were a few really mild formatting issues I noticed that were probably due to reading on an iPod instead of a Kindle/nook/Sony Reader/iPad/whatever.
Nook
I like how it automatically gave me several books to choose from: some free, some not. I started reading Pride & Prejudice just to give it a whirl; the response time seemed a little slow at times and it took ages to flip through the introduction.
Upon downloading the app, what intrigued me most here was the offer of free ebooks.
I do seem to recall my dad saying he had two e-readers installed on the iPod that eventually became mine (Kindle and another) because there were some things he couldn’t read on Kindle. Caroline said that the Kindle is for Amazon ebooks only, whereas the nook allows books from anywhere. Amazon is huge, sure, but I don't want to be limited to only them.
Drawback to both: I can't seem to buy/find new books within either app; I think I even tried in the AMZ app and it was still weird? So I have to take extra steps by getting onto AMZ or B&N on my computer, downloading, then opening the iPod and letting it sync (doesn't seem to take long) before I can read. (I also feel that either/both website/s should have a "free ebooks" link, though I suppose they don't want to advertise the free version of, say, Sense & Sensibility when they could pimp the shiny $10 ebook version.) Anyway, I know this is just an iPod thing because I've seen people buy/download on their reading devices before; it's just a pain.
Project Gutenberg has a CRAPLOAD of free ebooks and directions on how to download.
Thing is, I don't buy a lot of books. I get them from the library. Sometimes I'll buy from Half-Price, or borrow from friends. If I read it and enjoy it, it goes on my AMZ wishlist.
I can't tell you how many times I've wished that we could combine the digital and the real world, that everything worked like the iTunes music arrangement, that I could download movies I already owned into iTunes and then be able to watch them on my iPod anywhere, or that I could enter some magic code for a book I bought years ago and have loved my whole life, and be able to read the ebook version on the Kindle/nook for iPhone.
I am also intrigued by the idea of comics on a reader, but I haven't researched it yet, and I think that is better saved for larger devices like the iPad or Kindle.
Anyway. I questioned my father and brother, both technonerds and Mac users, about their preferred reading devices. My dad received a Kindle as a gift from the Board of Regents several years ago and used it all the time...until he got an iPad. Now he only uses the iPad and seems happy with it. (Rachael's unasked question: "Listen...if you've just got an ereader LYING AROUND that you're not even using, maybe think about lending it to me long-term? Just saying.") (Actually, he is going to let me borrow it because I discovered that a book I really need to read for my transportation fantasy project is on the Kindle's free lending library which you have to have an actual Kindle for.) He was very happy with the Kindle before the iPad, but now the iPad, so useful in so many ways, trumps all.
My brother switched to ebooks ages ago. I spoke with him about ebooks and ereaders when I was out there and he said that he almost never just sits down and reads. (He is a single parent. Single parent of a preteen. He doesn't have a lot of time.) He reads on his iPhone when he is out and about--at stoplights, in lines, when waiting for things.
I didn't ask which app he uses (I assume that they both switch back and forth as needed--actually at Christmas I was looking at/judging my dad's iPod and he has a LOT of e-reader/ebook apps that he rarely uses, like Bookshelf and iBook), but it was his talk, as usual, that made me a little more okay with reading on the iPod. Because I am jealous of beautiful Jonathan Adler nook covers (I am sure I could find a Jonathan Adler iPod Touch cover if I looked), and I like the idea of the instant book gratification, but maybe I'm not ready for one yet. I like being able to carry a book around on my iPod; it's small and fits into whatever purse I'm using.
(Of course, when I decide I want to bring The Return of the King to work and cram it into my purse, that kind of defeats the purpose...)
I WAS intrigued by Stanza--I read somewhere that it kind of centered around free books. However, reading the link I just made, that is not the implication I'm getting here. (Looks like just another reader app.)
I'm still very interested. I'm kind of working on The Scarlet Letter right now (looooong introduction); next I'm going to set up an account with B&N and download some books from them, and then try that out and see how it works. After that...maybe checking out Project Gutenberg?