Michael Kozlowski
Michael Kozlowski, editor in chief of GoodeReader.com, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest independent Web site devoted to eReaders and eBooks.
The Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Sony Reader and other eReaders allow their owners to carry a library of digital books, magazines and other printed content with them wherever they go.
Most have special screens featuring “e Ink” (or comparable technology) that’s much easier to read than tablet and computer screens, even in direct sunlight. Such screens require far less power than tablet screens, too, so eReaders often can go a month or two between battery charges. And because eBooks usually are cheaper than printed books, eReaders can be money savers for people who buy lots of books, quickly paying back their price tags of typically $70 to $200.
But eReaders also have a big limitation—while tablets, smartphones and laptops are very versatile, most eReaders are designed chiefly to purchase books and magazines from the online store of the company that makes the eReader. Still, there are other things eReaders can do…
Helpful: Sony’s eReader is adept at downloading library eBooks—it comes with the necessary software installed.
Sites including Project Gutenberg (Gutenberg.org) and Open Culture (OpenCulture.com) also offer free downloads of certain titles, mostly classic works that are in the public domain.
Example: On a Kindle, the browser is buried in the “Experimental” menu. To find it, press the Home button, select “Experimental,” then choose “Basic Web,” followed by “Enter URL.”
Example: In the Amazon Kindle online store (Amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks), search for “Puzzles & Games” near the top of the screen.
Start by setting up an Instapaper (Instapaper.com) or Readability (Readability.com) account. These free online services let you click a “Read Later” bookmark to choose online content that you wish to transfer to your eReader (or simply read later on your computer). If your eReader is a Kindle, these services can automatically transfer this content to your eReader via Wi-Fi. With other eReaders, you will have to download the content to your computer, then transfer it to your eReader manually via a USB cable. A free online service called Calibre can help convert online content to eReader-friendly formats (Calibre-ebook.com).