It will be perfect once I have a DON'T PANIC cover

[pbray]

I've been reluctant to buy an e-reader because I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of it, and the technology kept improving. But when it came time to put four new tires on my car this spring, the final decision on which brand to buy might have been influenced by which brand was giving away a Nook as a rebate.

The Nook Simple Touch arrived yesterday. After charging it, and doing what every other user does, which is completely fail to read all 174 pages of the user agreement, I started thinking about which book to download first. And there I stalled. I have over 100 books in my to-be-read stack, including many 2012 releases. The books that I'm dying to read I already own in paper so it seems foolish to rebuy them electronically. At last, after much deliberation, I decided I would get Patricia McKillip's Riddle-Master of Hed series. I've been wanting to reread this for a while, and my original copies are fragile, while the omnibus reprint is awkward to hold. I log on the Nook website...

and discover that there's no e-version of the Riddle-Master books*. Welcome to 2012, I now feel fully indoctrinated into the e-reader user experience.


*To complete the e-reader experience, I should point out that there's no legal e-book version. Five seconds on Google will lead those less rigorously respectful of authors' rights to numerous pirate copies. Sigh.

Comments

[elven-wolf.livejournal.com]

I have various DON'T PANIC screensavers on my Kindle.

And I'm not surprised you didn't find that book. With ebooks right now you're finding mostly new releases and old out of print/copyright titles. I do get a lot of use out of my Kindle, because not only can I buy books and download the classics, I can also send articles from websites to it (like if I want to read something from sciam.com but it's too long for me to read on a backlit screen I can email it to my Kindle and read it there).

I don't know how BN works for this, but on Amazon if you see a book that's not on Kindle and you want it to be, there's a link you can click to request it. It guarantees nothing, but at least lets them know there's interest.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Still plenty of titles to choose from, luckily.

[shana.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're a Bujold fan, the e-ARC of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is available at Baen ebooks.
If you like mysteries, the first books in Kerry Greenwood's series are 99 cents each at the moment. And Emma Jameson's Ice Blue was the first ebook original to make me wish it was in print so I could add it to the library collection. ( A paper version has come out; it is awaiting cataloging.)
And there is always Project Gutenberg and the Baen Free Library.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten about the Baen Free Library, that's a great suggestion. Especially since I already own many of those titles in print.

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

there are a number of books I am waiting to read , but legal eversions are not available in the states. Since I refuse to do illegal book downloads, this is making me both furious and antsy.

I use my e-reader, if possible, for books I don't think we will be likely to want to re-read. It hasn't been perfect, but it has cut down on the amount of physical books coming in, which does make things easier

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I think eventually that's how I'll use the e-reader, for books that I think will be a one-time read. And for the convenience of taking multiple books on vacations when I'm trying to pack light.

[karen-w-newton.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the wonderful world of digital reading! A friend of mine helps run a site called Nook Lovers (http://www.nooklovers.com/) that lists free and cheap books on the Nook, in assorted genres. Also, the Books on the Knob (http://blog.booksontheknob.org/) blog lists deals for all ereader formats.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Great resources, thanks for sharing!

[gauroth.livejournal.com]

That's the trouble with e-readers. So many of the books one wants to read just aren't available. And, yes, my copies of 'The Riddle-Master of Hed' are incrdebly fragile, too. I wish these books were published on better paper and with better binding!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I have first editions of the Riddle-Master trilogy, and the Sci-Fi bookclub omnibus from the 80s, which are all quite fragile. The reprint from the 90s is in better shape, but it would be nice to have an ebook version. Ah, well, someday.