Ebooks- how do you read them

[asqwasqw]

well, since the posting of the ebook Infected, i was wondering if any of you read ebooks, and if so, what do you use to read them?
personally i use FBreader, (or at least usually, since Infected was a pdf i was forced to use acrobat =(, if anyone and find a free converter, the please tell me)
so i got intrested in what others use

[stePH]

well, since the posting of the ebook Infected, i was wondering if any of you read ebooks, and if so, what do you use to read them?
personally i use FBreader, (or at least usually, since Infected was a pdf i was forced to use acrobat =(, if anyone and find a free converter, the please tell me)
so i got intrested in what others use

I had a Palm V a few months ago (before it was stolen) so I was getting ebooks in the format native to Palm devices.

I don't know what to do with a .pdf file; I don't like to read at a computer screen for extended periods.  I prefer something I can hold in my hand.

[sirana]

I have a eeePC which works quite well as a e-book device. It has FBReader installed and you can turn the picture by 90 degrees so you can hold it more or less like a real hardcover. It's not ideal (still a normal LCD-screen, no e-ink), so I still prefer dead-tree-books, but I've read one or two complete books on it.

[asqwasqw]

yeah, i like something in my hand too, so i use my N800, which is about the size of a Palm V i think, and FBReader works well on it
but i was forced to read it at my computer when i realized the pdf reader would take forever. (though if you're looking for a replacement for your Palm.... well i think if you dont mind some linux, it would be a good choice)
i found some converters, but none of them will turn it into a good html without me buying it, though some gave me some 300 pages, one for each page of the book , was sorta funny, caused a mess though...

[gelee]

I am an utter Ludite, so I generally won't bother with an ebook.  If it's no more than a few pages, I'll read a PDF on my desktop while I eat my breakfast, but that's about as far as I'm willing to go.

[wintermute]

I'm kind of new to the eBook scene, but I did want to read Infected when I was away from the computer, so I came up with something resembling a solution:

I pulled the raw text out of the PDF and saved it as a .txt file.
I went looking for an eBook reader that would run on my phone (Windows Mobile 6), and found uBook*.
I opened up its manual in a text editor to see what type of formatting it was using (a subset of HTML, it turns out).
I edited the text file to match this format, adding in chapter markers, named fonts for IM conversations and so forth, and generally tiding up the text.
I zipped up the resulting file, and saved it onto my phone, and I am now about halfway through reading it.

It works pretty well. Every four or five pages, it tells me that I ought to pay for it (and I probably will, soon enough), but other than that, it's more usable than I expected.

If anyone wants the file, PM me an eddress.


*Does anyone know if I can use HTML entities here? μ doesn't seem to work...

[Nt 2 B TKN INTRNLY]

I just read it on the screen. I have a friend though, in California, who tried to print it out...
That didn't turn out too well.   

[Liminal]

I have an old Toshiba e755 pda that I use for ebooks. In fact, that is it's primary use since I switched to Macs about 1 1/2 years ago. The battery lasts a very long time if I use the lowest screen setting - which works for most situations and a good long time with the next highest. The screen display is certainly not iPhone pretty, but it works quite well for reading.

For software, I use two different readers. Primarily I have used Microsoft Reader because it allows bookmarking, highlighting of text, has a nice smooth reading experience and, at least with Office 2003, there is a plugin that allows you to create a .lit file straight from Word - so I could get html or text files and easily convert them into ebooks.

Adobe's 2.0 version of their mobile reader is decent, although not every pdf will behave when it comes to reformatting the pages to the smaller screen. I like the ability to change the screen colors (white text on black screen is much better for reading at night that black on white), but I can't seem to find a way to bookmark or highlight text so that I can mark passages that I might want to remember or quote.

It doesn't replace all of my experience of reading books (I can't wait to get my copy of the special 25th Anniversary Edition of John Crowley's Little, Big in May), but I find I can still lose myself in a story and being able to carry a bunch of books with me on trips is a huge plus.

[Listener]

If I am going to read an ebook, it'll be on my phone (Windows Mobile 6).

If the book is not parsed into chapters, I can't bookmark my place.  That's frustrating.

I read "Someone Comes To Town, Someone Leaves Town" on my old Blackberry, so that was pretty cool.

[Windup]

I use a Palm TX with eReader, which was bundled with the Palm when I bought it.  However, the format does not seem to be attracting a lot of new content, so I suppose I'll have to spring for something a bit more robust soon.

Dataviz Documents to Go will read PDF files.  However, I don't think it would work out well on a large file like a novel.  It works great for Office documents, however. 

[Chey]

I have a Sony Reader Digital Book (or as my kids call it...the Magic Book).  It's a great product.  I still buy paper, especially if I want to share the book later.  But I still manage to buy a book or two a month on it, stuff I don't plan to share of don't consider good enough to clutter up my bookshelves with.  (Saves on evil looks any heavy sighs from my partner too.  Less books on flat surfaces.)
It was a birthday gift, one of the better ones I've gotten lately.  It fits in the inner pocket of my light coat so I can carry it anywhere I might be sitting bored.  I wander around with it and my pod and feel like quite the electronic addict.

[bolddeceiver]

I don't do it often, but I kill trees.  I have good enough eyesight that I can shrink it down to four-pages-to-a-sheet, which for most novels gets me just inside of the 75 page a week print quota at the public library (if not, I'll either do it over two weeks, or count on being into it enough at the end to bother reading on-screen).  If I did it more often I'd probably feel bad about it, but between Accellerando and Infected, the two I've done that for, it's less paper than we waste at my work in a week

[stePH]

... but between Accellerando and Infected, the two I've done that for, it's less paper than we waste at my work in a week

Accelerando was the very first ebook that I read on my Palm V.

[SteveCooperOrg]

Try mobipocket reader (http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/ProductDetailsReader.asp). The desktop edition lets you drop PDFs can convert them to mobi files, which you can sync with various pdas and phones and eBook readers.

I'm lusting over an e-ink reader in Borders at the minute (the iLiad reader) and oh, boy, it looks nice.

[stePH]

I'm lusting over an e-ink reader in Borders at the minute (the iLiad reader) and oh, boy, it looks nice.

The Shejidan forum has a discussion on this topic, and has got me interested in the Amazon "Kindle".  But $300 is a bit too rich for my blood right now.

[edit]
That iLiad is compelling, too.  Apparently I could even use it to read scanned comic books, though it only displays black and white/greyscale.   Not a problem for most manga, but I do have things like The Books of Magic and Spawn as well as a ton of back issues of Heavy Metal and Epic Illustrated.

[SteveCooperOrg]

yeah, I've seen manga on it, and it's perfectly readable. Can't comment on greyscale, though.

[stePH]

yeah, I've seen manga on it, and it's perfectly readable. Can't comment on greyscale, though.

Well, if a comic book was published in color, I can't settle for reading it in black and white.

the iLiad also appears to cost twice what the Kindle or Cybook do.

[SteveCooperOrg]

the iLiad also appears to cost twice what the Kindle or Cybook do.

Yeah, and it's more than an eee, which gives me pause. The kindle's not available here in the UK, though, and I think the illiad is bigger -- nearer A4 than trade paperback size.

[Russell Nash]

the iLiad also appears to cost twice what the Kindle or Cybook do.

Yeah, and it's more than an eee, which gives me pause. The kindle's not available here in the UK, though, and I think the illiad is bigger -- nearer A4 than trade paperback size.

That would be great for a lawyer taking work along, but isn't it too big for folks who just want to read novels on the plane?

[Liminal]

I recently got an iPhone and am loving eReader and Stanza as ways to read. The screen is bright and the only fault I have with the readers for the phone is that there is no way to bookmark a particular phrase. Even better would be a way to write and export a quick note that would automatically identify the page number that you are marking.

Aside from a few quibbles on being able to do things with ebooks, the process of simply reading them is quiet good on the iPhone.

[godzilla8nj]

I was happily using http://www.textonphone.com/mblsnack/weblogin.htm on my ipod Touch, but it doesn't work on my new G1. I read a number of the free Tor ebooks (for reference: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/10/213221) using it and was comfortable with the interface.

Before that I used Books on my jailbroken Touch in conjunction with ebook repositories (like http://blog.jason.pollock.ca/2008/03/announcing-iphone-ebook-repository.html).

I swap between my work laptop, my gaming PC, my Eee PC, my G1 and sometimes still my Touch. The perfect solution would allow me to access my library from any of them, or at least quickly transfer the ebook from one to the other. My paper library allows me to have a book on my desk at work, one by my bedside, another at the beach, etc. Why should electronically be harder?

Tangent:

Another good source of ebooks (I know this post is about readers but it deserves a plug) is your local library. I live in NJ where the state contracts with OverDrive who provides an interface to download DRM ebooks from your library. While DRM is the suck in general I think it makes sense in the check-in/check-out world of libraries.

One of the biggest hurdles I've had with transitioning to ebooks has been cost. Most times I can buy the paperback on Amazon for a significant discount. Not only is the ebook not less expensive but it is typically MORE expensive (full price, no discount). I want to ease publishers' transition to digital not subsidize their brick & mortar printing operations.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

[wintermute]

Another good source of ebooks (I know this post is about readers but it deserves a plug) is your local library. I live in NJ where the state contracts with OverDrive who provides an interface to download DRM ebooks from your library. While DRM is the suck in general I think it makes sense in the check-in/check-out world of libraries.

I'm not a fan of DRM, but I have absolutely no issues with it being used to control rentals. If you've agreed that you're only going to have access to media for a week, or only during daylight hours, or only on the CD player in your car, then DRM is an excellent way to deal with that. It's when content providers pretend that you actually own the files that it becomes annoying.

[FNH]

I do a lot of reading on my laptop.  I've also messed with colours a lot trying to find the best colour/intensity setting.  After a lot of this I've found I can read quickly and easily when the background is light blue and the text a darker blue.

Also you might find it easier on the eyes if you turn down the brighness and contrast on the screen.