Then I have to explain to them they don't have to have a Kindle or other dedicated e-reading device to be able to read e-books. There are many ways to read e-books without owning an e-reader.The easiest way to read e-books is with your PC. That's right, the very item you are using to read this can also be used to read e-books. And in most cases it's free (though you still have to pay for any books your want, but some of those are free as well).
How do you read e-books on a PC?
Simple. Amazon has free software called Kindle for PC. It only takes seconds to download, doesn't take up a lot of memory, and best of all, you get the software for free. It's just like having a Kindle on your desktop. You can read anything available in Amazon's Kindle store.
Also, Google is planning to release Google Editions on the Web very soon. Perhaps even by the time you've read this. Google Editions is supposed to be an e-reader for Web browsers, meaning you could read e-books right through your Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, Google Chrome, etc. Though technically you can already read some e-books through a Web browser. How? Keep reading.
Maybe you want to read e-books directly on your computer, ones possibly not available at Amazon.
That's easy, too, and free. Go to the website Smashwords, then register for a free membership. Smashwords makes e-books available in many formats, including HTML, RTF, PDF, Plain Text, even in formats for the Kindle and other e-readers, and even more.
If you have a Blackberry, cell phone or other handheld device, you can also read e-books on those devices as well. You'll need to get an e-reader APP, several of which are available throughout the Web; check the site of your device's manufacturer to see if they have such an APP available or can tell you how to get one.
Often, those APPs are also free. Once you have an APP, there are numerous places online to find e-books to read on your cell phone or other device. Kobo is one of the more popular sites. Also, Amazon does have several Kindle APPs for various devices, so you can check those out if you are interested.
So, get to reading!
3 comments:
Wow, I never even knew that was an issue. I figured people knew that E-books could be used on a PC by various programs like Acrobat Reader, Preview, and others... assuming it is in a pdf. This editorial will help those that do not know for sure. I wonder if that's the reason why only a percentage of the visitors of Deadman's Tome download the online magazine. It's freaking free, can't get any more convenient than that. Unless it served margaritas and beer, now that would be freaking sweet.
E-books are great, it's how I read the books for review since it's practically free. No shipping costs, and it's really just a matter of exchanging a file.
Yeah, I would have thought this was a no-brainer, but a lot of people apparently aren't familiar yet with all the possibilities of digital publishing.
I've got both Kindle and Nook for PC on my computer. I still would rather use my actual kindle of course but I do read stuff on these as well. There's kindle for phones as well.
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