With free time on our hands these days, arises the grand question, what do we do with it? You could spend most of it mindlessly flipping through channels, or maybe you could indulge in books. There is a lot to learn from them, a lot to spend your imagination on. There is no shortage of books online and with the number of devices you could read them on, there could be no better time to pick up this hobby. What are eBooks, how do you get them, where should you read them and using what. These are some of the questions we hope to answer by the end of this feature.
The eBook formats
Books are available in several formats. Text (.txt) is the most basic one and these can be read on practically any platform and app. There are downsides though, not being to set bookmarks, select chapters and navigating them can be troublesome. In comparison, LIT and EPUB formats trump the list. They’re free and supported by a number of book reading formats. They can be read on the phone, a laptop or PC. There are even browser extensions for reading some of these formats. The other popular formats used by readers are MOBI, primarily used by the Amazon Kindle range of products.
Where can you find books?
Books can be downloaded from the web. A lot of publishers have published them for free, and you can find a whole bunch of them from a Google Search. You can also buy eBooks online on the Amazon store. These are meant for the Kindle devices. If you don’t own one, don’t fret. Your purchased Amazon Kindle eBooks can also be read on a laptop using the web interface (read.amazon.in) or on a phone or tablet, using the Kindle app. There are benefits to this. For one, you have all the books you own, available at your fingertips, and as you progress through the book, the service syncs it to your devices. This way, you can switch between devices, and continue reading from where you left off. The Kindle app can be downloaded for Android devices and for your iPhone or iPad.
You should consider getting a Kindle
The Kindle really is a great product to consider. It’s light-weight, you can carry it whoever you go, and your entire book collection goes along. It has WiFi, it won’t strain your eyes and it feels and looks like the real deal. There a variety of options to choose from, with some difference in quality. The Paperwhite is placed right above the basic model, but it includes a much nicer, brighter display that works well even at night. You can literally doze off moments after you keep your Kindle aside. It also helps that you don’t keep others up, with the lights on. Long flights, your daily journey to work and back are more enjoyable with a Kindle around.
There are a range of eBook readers for Android and iOS too. Some of the popular ones for Android are Moon+ Reader and Lithium. You can choose desktop software such as Calibre. It’s supported on several platforms, it supports a range of file formats and the software even lets you convert books, organize them and sync them to your devices. There is even a utility to remotely access your books. If you’re curious to know more, you should give it a shot. There are also browser extensions as simpler alternatives such as EPUBReader, available for both Chrome and Firefox.
What about comic books?
Comic books are a whole other world but there are many who take interest in it. Most of the comics can be found on official comic publisher apps. You might need to install a few of these depending on the comics you prefer. There are also comic book reading software you can run on your laptop or PC. The larger screens can make comic reading a lot more fun. Even the iPad makes for a great comic book reader, and Android tablets. Really consider one if you’re big into comic books.
Some of the popular formats of comic books are CBR and CBZ. If you’re looking for a comic book reader for Android, Perfect Reader and Bubble should the ones you’re checking out. Amazon also sells comics online and you can view them using your Kindle or the mobile app or even the web browser.
Besides the popular comic and book stores, there are several online publishers who have apps to read and purchase books. You can find some great deals on those services. Even Google and Apple host their own mobile stores for books. You could easily login there and get the book of your choice on your device. Being able to read them on a PC or laptop is a bonus.
Finding books to read
Owning a book, a device can be the easier task. Figuring out what to read can make or break your interest in reading. A few obvious tips are choosing not to read something, for the sake of it. Choose a topic that is truly interesting to you. Don’t force yourself to go through a book. If you find it boring an hour or two into it, stop and switch books. This can take a while getting used to and using services like Goodreads can help you. Goodreads can help you with the recommendations. There are a ton of reviews and you’ll rarely find a larger database. Goodreads also lets you track your progress and as a bonus, you can easily connect your Kindle to it. It makes sharing progress and quotes much simpler. Other places you may find discussions on books maybe on Reddit. There are a few popular subreddits such as r/books and r/52book where you can start. A quick Google search for Books Discussion can lead you to a few popular ones.
