I am feeling extremely frustrated right now!!! I went to the Anchorage Public Library web page in search of their eBooks. I used the advanced search function and limited my results to "Web & eBooks." It didn't take me long to find a book that I'm very interested in reading.
Easier said than done! The link in the record took me to "NetLibrary" and I am not impressed with the service. The online reader only shows the first page of each chapter, and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to get more. I can't figure out how to download the book for offline reading either. And the "help" menu (I use the term loosely) isn't of any assistance. No screenshots, no step-by-step instructions... just a big list of links and half of them direct me to other web sites (like Adobe) for assistance. Here you guys have me expecting YouTube video tutorials, so I find this completely unacceptable! ;) GRRRR. I gave up!! Next time I am at APL I will ask the librarians more about the service.
I had much better luck with the recommended links in Unit 9 (go figure!). From the World eBook Fair I found the Classic Literature Collection. The books immediately downloaded as PDF documents and were much easier to read. But honestly... I can't see myself reading like this. I am much more of a "curl up in bed with a book" kind of gal. Maybe if I had a little reading device instead of a big clunky laptop I would try it, but it's harder for me to concentrate for too long when I read things online. I'll be curious to see if tools like Amazon's Kindle create a revolution in the eBook industry.
Now the audio eBooks are a great idea... especially for traveling, commuting, etc. I found a few of these... listened to a few of Shakespeare's Sonnets that I hadn't read in ages (and couldn't believe I still remembered the numbers of my favorites!). I like that these are available in a variety of formats. LibriVox looks to be a good source for audio eBooks (I like how they aim to bring "acoustical liberation" to book in the public domain!!) but the archives were down when I visited. I'll try again tomorrow.
As for me... I'm going to grab a wonderfully old-fashioned paperback book (currently it's And She Was by Cindy Dyson) and head to bed!
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3 comments:
Ah the joys of technology. I have to say that I don't like reading on my computer much because my eyes get strained and as you said, it is really hard to curl up with a good book on the laptop ....
I recently purchased a KINDLE from Amazon and I have to say that I LOVE my kindle. Because it isn't backlit the reading screen has a very paper feel to it and with 6 font sizes, it can fit almost any need. I can carry a library in my purse :-) And the books, for the most part, are less expensive than the paper copies - which with my reading "habit" is a good thing :-)
Ann
A question about your Kindle... is there an option for backlighting? I am wondering about reading in bed and if there is a way to avoid the night light that avoids my husband so much! :)
The KINDLE does not do backlighting at all, a design decision to avoid the eyestrain that comes from reading on the computer...... However, I found a small clip on booklight works just fine.
Ann
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