Thursday 30 December 2010

A Trick for Reading Old Books on the Computer

http://www.gutenberg.org
Perhaps there's a better way of doing this (in which case please enlighten me), but I've discovered recently about Amazon's Kindle for computer. Technically, Kindle is a handheld device for storing books on which it is apparently quite pleasant to read, but there is also a version for computer. If you go to Amazon, you'll notice many books offered for Kindle for free. The only catch is that you have to have a Kindle to read them. But if you look under "1-click purchase (for $0.00)", you'll find a link to download "Kindle for Mac" or "Kindle for PC", which is actually a neat piece of software. Then for all the books no longer under copyright, even though Amazon may charge for them, you can pick them up for free at the following sites:

http://www.gutenberg.org
http://www.archive.org

And what's great is that for any book on these sites, there will be an option for Kindle, which will allow you to read it using that piece of Amazon software. Opening the Kindle option will automatically add that book to your library on your Amazon Kindle (and you may delete it later if you wish, though if you get it not from these sites but from Amazon, Amazon will always remember and have it archived for you to put back in your library even if you don't want them to). Technical note: the actual source files will be in the Documents folder if you have a Mac and end in .azw.

But who wants to read long books on a computer? I'd rather borrow or buy them. Still, there are aspects of the Kindle software which actually make it quite useable though I'd normally hate to read long things on a computer. Most notably, by pressing Apple and + on a Mac (and no doubt something similar on a PC), you can enlarge the font and narrow the window and the text adjusts to the screen, so you can read from a greater distance than normally at a computer or from a smaller part of the screen than normal. Also, you can highlight passages and add notes, and the software saves the parts you've highlighted or annotated (and in the case of Amazon books even backs them up for you, again it seems though you might not want it to). And finally, of course, the books are searchable.

15 comments:

  1. Wow, thanks for all this, Okei. James just sent me something related to this - from his Mac... a book I couldn't access before and Kindle download for my Powerbook, so with your info I should be able to do this!

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  2. Cool coincidence, Nancy! I hope it works out smoothly. I got the Kindle reader provided free by Amazon, but the software James sent you might even be better for all I know.

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  3. I'm no computer expert, but I'd be happy to help if you post if you have any problems.

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  4. I think the main purpose of my posting this is to take away the fear-factor of strange new technology. I had no idea about Kindle stuff a week ago, lol.

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  5. Fear of technology is my middle name! Thanks so much, Okei!

    I'll let you know how it goes!!

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  6. This is precious information.

    Thank you very much dear Jamintoo.

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  7. Hmmm...this is interestng...but I have used gutenberg for years before kindle and as far as I know it, is it just free?

    I find long reading on a computer uncomfortable, even adjusting my font. Is it also adjustable on kindle? I have often wondered.

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  8. Yes, everything's free. The Kindle software is just a fancy text-reader which allows you to keep track of the free content, remember which books you've looked at, where you've got up to, highlight, annotate, adjust size of font and page width and search text. The purpose is to use with the Kindle device, but it's actually quite handy just as a piece of software for the computer. It's nice to be able to fill the computer screen, set the font to maximum by pressing Apple-+ or the equivalent and sit back. I still prefer reading from paper though.

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  9. Have a wonderful New Year's EVE!

    Someone told me tomorrow is 1/1/11. How about that!

    I hope the coming year is a good 1. :^)

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  10. Blessings one and all.

    All the best for 2011.

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  11. Oh yes, I dig now. That has been a drawback with guttenberg and would correct it. So you have a kindle now? Is it kinder on the eyes than a computer?

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  12. No, I don't have a kindle. Maybe one day. But yes, it is supposed to be kinder on the eyes than a computer. It's better than squinting at a mobile, but it's still quite small (6 inches diagonal). I think it'd be good if they made them in the future twice as big and with touchscreen functionality (not sure if they have that now). Then I would be sorely tempted.

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