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Amazon KIndle, Christina DesMarais, Confucius, Freebooksy, Goodreads, Inc.com, Nook, Reading, Scribd
“You cannot open a book without learning something.” – Confucius
Image by Eli Digital Creative from Pixabay
Do you have a reading habit? I read voraciously every day. I read to learn new things, explore different historical periods, and analyze why an author did this or that to get his or her point across. I can’t imagine a day without reading. I truly enjoy it.
According to Inc.com contributor, Christina DesMarais, “reading fiction can help you be more open-minded and creative” and help you live longer. How much should you read? Well, it is really about what you prioritize during your day. It is possible to read 12 books a year, without too much work (that’s one book a month). I like to make a game out of it. If you haven’t seen this yet, Goodreads.com has a free reading challenge you can participate in every year. Just create a free account and click on reading challenge. You can select the number of books you want to read this year and it will keep track of that for you as long as you keep your list updated. Luckily, the Amazon Kindle helps you by linking directly to your Goodreads account. Click Goodreads if you’d like to check this out.
I read predominantly online because it is easier on my eyes. I also use a few services to get access to books. I have a library card for anything I want to get my hands on that is not available on the Amazon Kindle. I also use Scribd (which costs about $8/month). To get access to a lot of free books by Indie authors, I use a service called Freebooksy. Click Scribd to check out their services. Click Freebooksy to check out this amazing service. Scribd has saved me a lot of money by offering books I would normally have to pay for individually, because many of the books that were offered a year or so ago make their way to Scribd as a means of building a following beyond the initial hype associated with a book’s initial launch. Freebooksy will deliver a list of titles you can download for free. Scribd has a huge repository of books, magazines, audible books, and comic books for your use as part of your membership. There is a limit to how many books you can download, but I have not breached my limit yet. I’m not too big into audible books yet, but in the future when my eyes degrade enough, audible books may be another option I used to satisfy me.
If you are one of those people that have not fully embraced digital content, because you like the feel of a book in your hands or enjoy the smell of a new book you pick up at a bookstore, no problem. I would utilize your local library for those needs. I would challenge you to adapt to the digital world. You have so much more access to many books you will not find at your local library or that are available in print without a lot of cost. Many Indie authors will offer a Kindle-version of their book for free and charge a pretty penny for a hardcover or paperback version of their book. This is because Amazon will print on demand the books people order from them. One word of caution: Please read a few books by an Indie author in digital form first. I’ve run across some really great talent in the Indie space, but have also run across some really bad ones too. It’s better to find out that a book is bad in digital form that was bad vs. spending your hard-earned money on an untested author.
There are some other great resources for books that are out of print, rare, or really old. Check out these services if you’d like to find some real gems. The links are:
All of these sites offer e-books that are compatible with the Kindle, Nook (Barnes & Noble), and most e-reader apps you may be using from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The link I’m most familiar with is The Gutenberg Project. I’ve read quite a few books from this site and they were terrific.
Well, I hope this helps some of you who may have been looking for some resources to help you get started on your reading quest. I truly enjoy reading and learn something new every day. Sometimes, just getting that one new idea from a book can provide untold benefits that will help you with your business, your writing career, your blogging, or even learning a new skill. I can’t recommend starting a new reading habit enough.
Until next time…
Dave
