My love of the written word has always been unashamedly documented in this blog. I am a book-aholic. I can't go a day without reading a book or magazine or newspaper. At some point of a day, I have to read something.
Out of all the things I spend my money on, books has to be at the top of the list. Up to this month, I have spent a little more than $800 on books alone. And for someone, who's also addicted to buying tech stuff, clothes, shoes and the like, as well as paying off my monthly medical insurance, study loan and putting in a lil something for my savings account, I have to seriously cut back on the books.
After my B&N haul, I had to have an imaginary sitdown with myself and talk about a "no-more-books" policy for the rest of the year. I want to be frivolous with money on my European trip and hence, have to cut back on the biggest bleed on my wallet. And since books seem to be it, books is what I shall have to forgo.
After making this mid-year resolution to stop with the books, I tortured myself by going over to b&n.com to see more of their bargain selections. I was seriously tested when I was browsing and already spotted 10 books I wanted but despite clicking them into my cart, I didn't check them out. Then, last monday, I received an email from Barnes & Noble inviting me to join the eBook revolution. They were offering a total of 6 free eBooks with a download of their eBook reader. The books were Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Last of The Mohicans, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and a Merriam-Webster dictionary. My thoughts were; don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Getting that email unleashed a new obsession. Instead of buying physical books, I would scour the net for their electronic versions! I know eBooks have been around ages and, honestly, this isn't my first foray into eBooks territory because I have done so before but with less than stellar results. I tried reading Homer's "Illiad" in txt format and it was pure torture, completely uninspiring. So, I abandoned the eBook quest, preferring the comfort and satisfaction of holding physical books. But now I've had a change of heart. The eBook train has come a long way since my first encounters with them and I have become a convert.
I scoured the torrent sites, the public listings, everywhere and anywhere I could find free eBooks, I went for it. I've managed to download a whole collection of Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Sophie Kinsella, J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown, James Patterson and the like. These are actually books I already owned but I figured I wouldn't mind a digital copy for re-reads. I mean, I have contributed to their coffers, allow me this one transgression to own the electronic version so I can haul it around on holidays or to work without adding more weight. I actually found an eBook of Tucker Max's "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell" which I did download. That was exciting for me.
Of course, I've also gotten my hands on a few books (I am severely understating here) that I don't own. In this case, I will read the e-version and then decide if I want to own a copy. This inevitably will weed out the good books from the lacklustre ones and ensure I only spend on the books I enjoy and would likely read again. I have managed to find books that I've searched for in bookstores but couldn't find like the book that inspired the short-lived televison series "Priveleged" and some books by Megan McCafferty which were cited to be plagiarized by Harvard scholar, Kaavya Viswanathan in her book "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life". I was obsessed with this scandal back when it broke in 2006 and actually, ashamedly, went out to get Kaavya's book to see what was the deal. I also tried to find Megan McCafferty's books that were said to have "inspired" Kaavya's book but the local bookstores did not carry them. So to find the e-versions 3 years later, I can finally satisfy my weird burning curiosity on the whole plagiarism issue.
I have also found the joy of eMagazines. I have procured the latest Elle, Marie Claire, PC World, Digital Photography, Cosmopolitan (which I actually have a subsciption to) and have found them to be just as engaging and satisfactory as their paper siblings. I just wish I could find some Glamour, InStyle and Teen Vogue (yes, I like to read the baby version of Vogue). It's allowed me to evaluate what type of things I enjoy in a magazine and I have to admit I am enthralled by Marie Claire and Elle more than I imagined I would be. I think both magazines are smart as well as fashion forward. The articles completely draw me in as the features are intelleigent and less frivolous as compared to, say, Cosmopolitan. The fashion side leaves a little more to be desired as they feature more of the avant garde and pricier (especially Elle) end of the fashion spectrum.
This sudden resurgence of interest in electronic books is mainly driven by my need to cut down spending on paper books. It is allowing me to continue feeding my brain at practically no cost at all. I assuage the slight guilt I feel for getting free downloads of some of the more contemporary releases by thinking of all the money I have already contributed to the print publications industry. Don't get me wrong, this interest in eBooks does not usurp my love of the printed word. Printed matter totally still trumps the electronic version but until my finances are more in order, the eBooks will tide me till then. Some of the eBooks actually come looking like their physical counterparts with illustrations to boot!
Plus, who can fault the genius concept of an 800 or so page book being only less than 10 MB in size. In the world where digital storage is at an abundance with 32 GB thumb drives and 1 TB portable hard disks, I can practically carry a whole bookstore in my bag without the worry of breaking my back. And my bank ;P
The only downside to it is the pain of having multiple eBook formats that need individual readers to view them. I've got three eBook readers and a multitude of converters installed to cope with all the differing formats. PDF, RGO, LIT, PRC, PDB, TXT, RTF, DOC. In a perfect world, they'd all be in PDF but we're not so I have to contend with the hassle of different formats till the industry comes up with a standard. So far, I've managed to convert most TXT, RTF and DOC files to PDF but the LIT, PDB and RGO files I have trouble with. The whole book's messed up after conversion so I just stick with the original format and download the readers required. I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to manage once I have my N97 cos of the multiple formats. I know I can download MobiPocket eReader but I dunno if it reads all the formats. Will cross that bridge when I come to it.
I guess, my weigh-in on the whole "are eBooks spelling the end of printed matter" debate is this; as much as eBooks are fantastic and portable, I don't believe it will result in the death of their printed counterparts. I strongly believe printed matter will continue to be published well into 2050.
Oh well, am off to indulge in some "rocker chic, biker-inspired" fashion in this month's Elle with Miley Cyrus and perhaps, later, read me some Zoey Dean's "How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls". Ciao!
Out of all the things I spend my money on, books has to be at the top of the list. Up to this month, I have spent a little more than $800 on books alone. And for someone, who's also addicted to buying tech stuff, clothes, shoes and the like, as well as paying off my monthly medical insurance, study loan and putting in a lil something for my savings account, I have to seriously cut back on the books.
After my B&N haul, I had to have an imaginary sitdown with myself and talk about a "no-more-books" policy for the rest of the year. I want to be frivolous with money on my European trip and hence, have to cut back on the biggest bleed on my wallet. And since books seem to be it, books is what I shall have to forgo.
After making this mid-year resolution to stop with the books, I tortured myself by going over to b&n.com to see more of their bargain selections. I was seriously tested when I was browsing and already spotted 10 books I wanted but despite clicking them into my cart, I didn't check them out. Then, last monday, I received an email from Barnes & Noble inviting me to join the eBook revolution. They were offering a total of 6 free eBooks with a download of their eBook reader. The books were Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Last of The Mohicans, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and a Merriam-Webster dictionary. My thoughts were; don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Getting that email unleashed a new obsession. Instead of buying physical books, I would scour the net for their electronic versions! I know eBooks have been around ages and, honestly, this isn't my first foray into eBooks territory because I have done so before but with less than stellar results. I tried reading Homer's "Illiad" in txt format and it was pure torture, completely uninspiring. So, I abandoned the eBook quest, preferring the comfort and satisfaction of holding physical books. But now I've had a change of heart. The eBook train has come a long way since my first encounters with them and I have become a convert.
I scoured the torrent sites, the public listings, everywhere and anywhere I could find free eBooks, I went for it. I've managed to download a whole collection of Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Sophie Kinsella, J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown, James Patterson and the like. These are actually books I already owned but I figured I wouldn't mind a digital copy for re-reads. I mean, I have contributed to their coffers, allow me this one transgression to own the electronic version so I can haul it around on holidays or to work without adding more weight. I actually found an eBook of Tucker Max's "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell" which I did download. That was exciting for me.
Of course, I've also gotten my hands on a few books (I am severely understating here) that I don't own. In this case, I will read the e-version and then decide if I want to own a copy. This inevitably will weed out the good books from the lacklustre ones and ensure I only spend on the books I enjoy and would likely read again. I have managed to find books that I've searched for in bookstores but couldn't find like the book that inspired the short-lived televison series "Priveleged" and some books by Megan McCafferty which were cited to be plagiarized by Harvard scholar, Kaavya Viswanathan in her book "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life". I was obsessed with this scandal back when it broke in 2006 and actually, ashamedly, went out to get Kaavya's book to see what was the deal. I also tried to find Megan McCafferty's books that were said to have "inspired" Kaavya's book but the local bookstores did not carry them. So to find the e-versions 3 years later, I can finally satisfy my weird burning curiosity on the whole plagiarism issue.
I have also found the joy of eMagazines. I have procured the latest Elle, Marie Claire, PC World, Digital Photography, Cosmopolitan (which I actually have a subsciption to) and have found them to be just as engaging and satisfactory as their paper siblings. I just wish I could find some Glamour, InStyle and Teen Vogue (yes, I like to read the baby version of Vogue). It's allowed me to evaluate what type of things I enjoy in a magazine and I have to admit I am enthralled by Marie Claire and Elle more than I imagined I would be. I think both magazines are smart as well as fashion forward. The articles completely draw me in as the features are intelleigent and less frivolous as compared to, say, Cosmopolitan. The fashion side leaves a little more to be desired as they feature more of the avant garde and pricier (especially Elle) end of the fashion spectrum.
This sudden resurgence of interest in electronic books is mainly driven by my need to cut down spending on paper books. It is allowing me to continue feeding my brain at practically no cost at all. I assuage the slight guilt I feel for getting free downloads of some of the more contemporary releases by thinking of all the money I have already contributed to the print publications industry. Don't get me wrong, this interest in eBooks does not usurp my love of the printed word. Printed matter totally still trumps the electronic version but until my finances are more in order, the eBooks will tide me till then. Some of the eBooks actually come looking like their physical counterparts with illustrations to boot!
Plus, who can fault the genius concept of an 800 or so page book being only less than 10 MB in size. In the world where digital storage is at an abundance with 32 GB thumb drives and 1 TB portable hard disks, I can practically carry a whole bookstore in my bag without the worry of breaking my back. And my bank ;P
The only downside to it is the pain of having multiple eBook formats that need individual readers to view them. I've got three eBook readers and a multitude of converters installed to cope with all the differing formats. PDF, RGO, LIT, PRC, PDB, TXT, RTF, DOC. In a perfect world, they'd all be in PDF but we're not so I have to contend with the hassle of different formats till the industry comes up with a standard. So far, I've managed to convert most TXT, RTF and DOC files to PDF but the LIT, PDB and RGO files I have trouble with. The whole book's messed up after conversion so I just stick with the original format and download the readers required. I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to manage once I have my N97 cos of the multiple formats. I know I can download MobiPocket eReader but I dunno if it reads all the formats. Will cross that bridge when I come to it.
I guess, my weigh-in on the whole "are eBooks spelling the end of printed matter" debate is this; as much as eBooks are fantastic and portable, I don't believe it will result in the death of their printed counterparts. I strongly believe printed matter will continue to be published well into 2050.
Oh well, am off to indulge in some "rocker chic, biker-inspired" fashion in this month's Elle with Miley Cyrus and perhaps, later, read me some Zoey Dean's "How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls". Ciao!
