Every time I mention eBooks, I often hear comments about what a bad experience it is. I hear it usually from someone who has never given it a try. On the other hand, I also hear people express interest, but then they comment that they just can't afford it. What I want to do is give you a quick guide on how you can start experiencing electronic books with no cost involved Well no cost assuming that you have a computer available. ( I assume that because you are reading this!) I should caution you however, that this is very addictive and you will probably find yourself budgeting for the next great electronic reader. Beware!
Getting Started
The easiest way to start is to load one of the free electronic readers for the computer. Which one you choose will largely dictate where you obtain your eBooks and how much (if any amount) they cost:
Kindle for PC Formats: AZW, MOBI, TXT
Currently, other than the actual Kindle Reader, there is software available, at no cost, for Windows PC and for the iPhone/Touch. A version for the Mac is on the way. You can always find a few free books available on Amazon.com, who produces the Kindle Reader and the software, but largely all books must be purchased and are protected with DRM (Digital Rights Management). Therefore you are limited with what you do with them. On the bright side, whatever you purchase could be shared between your Kindle Reader, your PC, your iPhone, up to 5 copies. Most new releases are around $10, but you can find a LOT of book less than that. There are quite a few as low as $0.99. One of the advantages with digital readers is the fact that you have total control over the size of the text. I have used this software on a 24" monitor, showing 2 complete pages and text boosted for my tired old eyes, all the way down to a Netbook screen, with enlarged text. This smaller setup only shows a quarter of a page at a time. The downside is that it is not that easy to get books not purchased on Amazon.com into the PC software, unless you use a program like calibre (hint, hint). You can read up on this from my previous posts.
Just a word about the EPUB format: What exactly is EPUB?
EPUB is similar to PDF format in that it is an "open standard" eBook format, just like PDF is an open standard document format. Because EPUB is open standard, it is not associated with specific brands of eBook readers.
For example, Amazon's Kindle eBook reader cannot read EPUB texts unless it uses some intermediary software to convert EPUB books into Kindle language, so the Kindle reader can't read just any eBook available. EPUB is a free standardized eBook format which almost every ebook reader or desktop computer understands, no matter what brand it is. Because of its universality, EPUB has become the standard for eBooks. Many manufacturers have now adopted it as a standard (Sony). In the most recent stage of its eBooks library project, Google Books has added EPUB to its eBook format. This means Google is currently able to offer downloaded versions of over a million eBooks in both PDF and EPUB format.
Another Viable Option
Stanza for Windows PC, iPhone/Touch Formats: EPUB
I like Stanza for two reasons. First, it is an elegant piece of software and second, it connects to a bunch of places to purchase electronic books. OF course there are other reasons, but those are the most important to me. The Stanza software is constantly adding new places where you can purchase eBooks. More importantly they update access to all the most popular free libraries of classics, such as BooksOnBoard, Fictionwise, O'Reilly Ebooks, SmashWords, Random House Free Library, and Project Gutenberg, to name a few. You can sync books between either version, so you can use it on your PC and your phone.
Sony Reader Library For Windows and Mac Software Formats: EPUB, LRF
Yes, this is the software that you can use to purchase eBooks from Sony and copy them onto your Sony Reader. And, no, you do not have to have a Sony Reader to use this software. If for example I was already using Kindle for PC, why would I want to use this software? Well, mostly because Sony also gives away free copies of books, which change on a regular basis, and they are hardly ever the same as those that Amazon gives away. The books you purchase from Sony are also DRM protected, but you can read any unprotected EPUB book with this software.
Microsoft Reader For Windows, Tablet and UMPC, and Windows Mobile Software Format: LIT
This reader has been around for a long time, especially compared to the newer software highlighted above. Perhaps 10 years now. While this software is very nice to read from, it is not as full featured in how it manages and displays books, etc. However, because it has been around for so long, there are a LOT of eBooks out there in LIT format. I personally have over 13,000 eBooks in this format! I personally no longer use this software, as I have found another piece of software that will display the LIT format and offers a vastly improved screen management. If you are interested, it is called Ebook Reader Pro. It's still under development, but I love the look and feel for LIT files.
eReader Software For Windows, Mac, Android, Symbian, iPhone/Touch, Blackberry, Palm, Windows Mobile Software Formats: PDB, PRC
This company is now owned by Barnes & Noble, who also owns Fictionwise.com. Don't be confused! eReader Pro can come from eReader.com, Fictionwise.com, or Barnes and Noble. The only difference is which of these portals will be your primary destination. Other than that, the books you purchase should be interchangeable between them all. The Barnes & Noble version of this software supports PC/Mac, iPhone, and Blackberry. Android is only supported so far with the eReader software, but is available from the Market. Barnes & Noble, like Sony, have reduced their prices to a level to compete directly with Amazon.com. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a specific book, especially a new release, shop the big three. Chances are good that you can get a break on price from one of them.
Honorable Mention
Bookshelf for iPhone/Touch Software Format: EPUB, PRC, PDB, TXT, CHM, MHT
This is a great multi-purpose reader for the iPhone/Touch. For me it holds a special place, because it connects to my favorite publisher of eBooks, Baen Publishing WebScriptions.Baen published all their eBooks without DRM of any type, and they publish eBooks in all the popular formats (MOBI, PRC, EPUB, LIT, LRF, RB). If you didn't realize that you needed some format or another, you can go back forever and re-download your books, even from the Bookshelf software. They also have a lot of free books available to get you started. By the way, if you happen to be disabled (check their site for details), I believe all books are free for you. This is a quality outfit and you can't beat purchasing newly released books for $4-$6 or so.
Some Helpful Resources
Project Gutenberg: A huge repository of expired copywrite books. They list some 30,000 books available for download.
Google Books: They advertise having over 1 Million books available for download. Most are available in EPUB format.
ManyBooks.net: Like browsing an old bookstore, you never know what treasures you will stumble across. And the price is unbeatable-free!
MobileRead.com: This is the help desk for the electronic book world. If you have a question, want to find out how to do something, what to see what free books are out there, it is all found in the forums at MobileRead.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this hasn't been too confusing for you. In fact, I haven't even touched on major platforms like MOBIReader and iSilo and a host of others. But this will get you started. Try it out. Download some free books and see how you like it. My hope is that you will find that burning hunger to get to the end of a book that you may have lost since you were a child. Enjoy!
