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The touch screen is slick, it's super-convenient, and it works easily with the library's ebook collection.
More here: Jeff Buys a Gadget!!!
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Books
I Bought a Nook.
[32 posts] [10 contributors]
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I have a friend who has one and loves it. I guess it is really easy to run versions of android on it from a removable micro SD card which adds a boatload of features without effecting the Nook itself (ie warranty etc). Basically it can be used as a full fledged tablet also.
Posted 9 months ago # -
jeff_r
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Earlier this year Amazon announced they were working on a deal with OverDrive (the main library ebook vendor) to make Kindles more library friendly.
Library e-books coming to the Kindle
To my knowledge that's stil supposed to happen, though I haven't heard a firm timeframe about when.
Posted 9 months ago # -
th0m
Beechwold
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I bought the Nook Touch over the weekend, to use the modified SDCard to unlock the underlying Android OS. It is sort of wonky because the developer community hasn't played with it much yet, but the eInk screen and such are pretty nifty, and the battery life is the best out of all the devices I have. In the end, I guess it is just another computer, heh.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Corrin Radd
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I was gifted a nook and took it overseas this summer--I read 8 novels on it, and instead of having to carry them all (or search Indochina for English language books that I was interested in reading)I just had to carry the small, light machine. Pretty cool.
Another nice thing is that two of us in my household have nooks, so we share an account. So when one of us buys a book, it's available to read on both nooks.
I've found the library selection of ebooks to be generally disappointing, but I appreciate that they have some.
Also, I usually buy my books from halfprice books or abebooks.com or used on amazon, so I'm not loving the expense of ebooks with no used option, obviously.
Posted 9 months ago # -
jeff_r
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Corrin Radd said:
I've found the library selection of ebooks to be generally disappointing, but I appreciate that they have some.Thanks. That collection is really in its infancy right now. I promise you though, it's growing! All the participating libraries (Bexley, Columbus, Grandview, UAPL, Worthington, etc.) are constantly adding new titles.
Regarding what's available, I'm not sure what your reading habits are, but I'm pretty eclectic. I can generally find something to either download on the spot or get on the waiting list for. Rather than search for specific titles, my strategy has been to browse until I find something interesting. That seems to work better while the selection is still modest.
That said, if you've got questions about the service or ideas about the collection, let me know.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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DavidF
Elysium Fields
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Andrew Hall said:
Wait ... what?A waiting list for ebooks? For real? Doesn't that wreck one of the advantages of ebookery?
A.
I believe they buy a certain # of licenses to use. So there are a limited number that can be checked out at any given time just like physical books. The advantage is in the ability to read the book for free, not unlimited access to it. For that you need to buy the ebook.
Posted 9 months ago # -
jeff_r
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DavidF said:
I believe they buy a certain # of licenses to use. So there are a limited number that can be checked out at any given time just like physical books. The advantage is in the ability to read the book for free, not unlimited access to it. For that you need to buy the ebook.I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but that's pretty much it. Publishers typically aren't keen on allowing unlimited copies of their books to be downloaded. For that reason libraries have to buy ebooks in much the same way they buy physical books, by licensing a certain number of copies of them.
That said, there are a lot of books in the library's ebook program that are offered as "Always Available". In those instances, you do have unlimited access. That's good news for fans of Elmore Leonard, Ha Jin, Anita Shreve, Charles Dickens, Kurt Vonnegut, and plenty of others. Many of those author's books are on the "Always Available" list.
Interestingly, as I was just now browsing the collection I noticed that many of the popular travel books are on the "Always Available" list too! How cool would it be to download the New York edition of Frommers, Fodors, Eyewitness, and Time Out and take those with you; all on one device?
Posted 9 months ago # -
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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Thanks. That makes sense ... sort of.
Until some type of sensible transaction system like micro-payments / lending incident (which would make more sense to work from the publisher's side) occurs, I can't imagine how much of a hassle this must be for library budget people to figure out allocation of ebooks, their pricing schemes and dead-tree purchases.
A.
Posted 9 months ago # -
cbus11
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I want to chime in that I love the downloadable ebooks and audio books available from the library. It really does make the library more accessible as I can now browse and check out books whenever I want. I have started reading a lot more since I got my nook and mostly have just been reading the overdrive books.
Posted 9 months ago # -
jeff_r
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cbus11 said:
I want to chime in that I love the downloadable ebooks and audio books available from the library. It really does make the library more accessible as I can now browse and check out books whenever I want. I have started reading a lot more since I got my nook and mostly have just been reading the overdrive books.Thanks! That's nice to hear!
Most people in the library field recognize that this is new and uncharted territory. Digital content has forced everyone - authors, publishers, libraries, and booksellers - to reexamine and reconfigure delivery methods. I think everyone is trying to figure out what system might work best.
Amazon's reversal regarding library content (see above) is a perfect example of how quickly things can change. Up until that announcement, they'd been very proprietary about the Kindle; you could only load your Kindle with things you bought from Amazon. The fact that they're now willing to work with libraries is evidence of how fluid things really are.
Posted 9 months ago # -
jarsloth
west side
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I give the library a lot of credit for wading into these waters; I've already checked out a few books using Overdrive. While I would say OverDrive isn't the most intuitive application out there, the library has clearly outlined the process on its website and (once I actually followed the directions) was browsing and placing books in my virtual cart in no time. We really do have a pretty great library system in this town :)
Posted 9 months ago # -
Corrin Radd
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Aw shoot, Jeff, I wasn't trying to insult your or the library's efforts (I didn't realize you worked for them).
You're right, though, that my issue is that I'm not a browser. I keep a list of books I'm interested in and then start looking for specific titles (which the library almost always has, just not in ebook format).
Without doubt, for readers browsing the ebook selection, they will find plenty of interesting, good reads.
Thanks for your efforts.
Posted 9 months ago # -
jeff_r
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Corrin Radd said:
Aw shoot, Jeff, I wasn't trying to insult your or the library's efforts (I didn't realize you worked for them).You're right, though, that my issue is that I'm not a browser. I keep a list of books I'm interested in and then start looking for specific titles (which the library almost always has, just not in ebook format).
Without doubt, for readers browsing the ebook selection, they will find plenty of interesting, good reads.
Thanks for your efforts.
Thanks Corrin. I didn't take it as insult. From your perspective (and probably that of many borrowers) it's a fair and reasonable observation.
I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses, but the truth is it takes time to develop a really deep collection. We see it every time we add a new format. Ebooks have been even more problematic because we've had to navigate digital rights management, something that was never an issue in physical formats.
I'm honestly excited about the future of libraries and ebooks. I think the collections will continue to grow. I think the interface will become more user friendly, and I think borrowing will increase in a big way!
Posted 9 months ago # -
gramarye
In Exile
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Heh. I'm still waiting for the opportunity to wade into the world of Overdrive, since I'm on the Kindle. Even without that, however, and even without being much of a traveler, the Kindle has been pretty useful. I can't wait for them to get with the Overdrive program, though.
Posted 9 months ago # -
th0m
Beechwold
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It sucks that DRM has been more or less proven to be self-defeating unless your actually delivering unique digital goods (like say your exact bank statement, securely). When you're trying to deliver the same goods to the public (lend a book), but the attacker (person who is late with the book, or just wants to keep it) is digitally non-unique from the good participant, at least as far as the content is concerned, then you ultimately give up the goods to everyone (the key file for reading the book). You have to look at the last 30+ years of HBO to see that, or the last 6 years of gaming to see that (notice WOW is a unique digital product, your WOW character).... so I hate to see libraries wrapped up in all of this. I would think the safest bet would be to promote DRM-free and otherwise open or public domain works as the only real artifacts that will have any chance of surviving digitally.
Also, a good fight for libraries to be in would be to solve the out-of-print fiasco. Sorry to be political, for the day-to-day stuff of all of this, it is a great opportunity, it's just the end-game is bleak and we've already been there too many times for me not to at least bring this up.
Posted 9 months ago # -
cbus11
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The way DRM works with OverDrive and the Nook reminds me a lot of how lending a book to an individual works now. As for out of print, I think digital books will overcome this since there are very low costs when it is not actually priinted. I have mp3's of songs that would never be shipping in a physical format.
Posted 9 months ago #
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