Electronic books are just one of the great technological advancements today.  Not only do they make it convenient to read everywhere and anywhere, it also falls into the green category.  Think of all the paper saved by having electronic formats instead of the book.  Now I like having the touch and the feel of the book in front of me, turning the pages, reading the last page first, oops, did I say that?  Yeah, sometimes I do that.  Reading the last page might be a little more difficult in electronic format, but all and all, it makes reading very convenient for the road warrior.  I know my blackberry is like melded to my hand and I don't go anywhere without it.  It makes it very easy to pick up where I left off whenever the moment arises.  Not having a paper book also makes one less thing I have to remember to grab/pack as I rush out the door.

 

Electonic books come in many formats.  The most popular are in adobe, microsoft reader, and my favorite, mobipocket.  Mobipocket reader can be used on a pda, blackberry, windows mobile devices, pc's and even some smartphones.  Visit www.mobipocket.com for more information.  This can be easily downloaded to your blackberry directly from the device. 

 

Click here for blackberry download instructions.

 

I tried the version 5.3.  The install was easy and the operation of it was very user friendly.  I liked the ability to change the font size to accomodate my poor vision.  You had to have books already downloaded to the device to really do anything or you just get a message no books found.  I upgraded to the 6.0 beta version that has an integrated bookstore. 

 

It has the ability to discover/search ebooks, download free samples, get customer reviews, buy from everywhere, instantly download and online account access.   This version also worked nicely, I liked being able to browse and even download samples of the books to read.  There is a nice variety of books available.  I could have spent a few hours just looking at them.   This version also says you can buy from everywhere, but when I tried to use the change bookstore function I received an uncaught exception.  Whatever that means, I am not sure.  This is a beta version, so it may just be a bug they are working on.

Another electronic book site I found, , had many reading choices and the pricing seemed a little more reasonable.  Their site is not mobile ready for searching and purchasing, however, if you purchase online, you can access your account through your mobile device and download the book directly to your device from there.  They also have nice excerts from books to read so you can have a better idea if its really the book you want.  They sell the books in formats for adobe, microsoft reader and mobipocket reader.

 

Reading is a great way to escape, relieve stress, and connect with your children by reading with them.  There are many health benefits to reading.  See my notes under the Stress Relief Tips for more information.

 

Try one out today. eBooks.com Bestsellers