There is a Second Annual World eBook Fair happening as I write this (it is running through August 4). Sponsored by Project Gutenberg, The World Public Library, and a handful of forward-looking publishers, the World eBook Fair's Website offers a vast panorama of downloadable titles free to the public.
All in the name of getting people reading more, which is unquestionably a noble goal.
eBooks - which are simply electronic copies of books - have been around for some time but are beginning to gain momentum as a force on the Web.
For consumers, eBooks have a number of benefits. The principal benefit is that you can keep an entire library on a laptop or other portable device. So, you go on a vacation and you don't need to drag all your hardcovers or softcovers along with you - they're all on your laptop (or Palm, or whatever).
If you really want to live on the edge, you can also read them in the dark, since you're reading them on some form of device with its own, bright screen. Therefore, presumably, you don't disturb your partner who's snoozing away innocently next to you.
There are a variety of formats available, each format requiring its own reader for the device at hand (whether Mac, PC, Palm, Smartphone, Blackberry, etc.). A common one is the PDF-type eBook. These can obviously be opened from Adobe Acrobat Reader, but there are other, simpler readers available, as well.
Digital Editions has appealing "bookshelves" for your books
I am experimenting with Adobe's Digital Editions reader, which is available for a number of operating systems. It is advertised as being simpler and more streamlined than Acrobat for reading eBooks. This is a fact - it has only a few features relating to building your eBook library or viewing your electronic books. Otherwise, the experience is very similar to Acrobat.
Reading an eBook isn't so bad - on a PC, at least
Other readers include: Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket Reader (a multi-device mobile reader) and eReader from Palm. Additionally, some sites offer online reading of their eBooks - basically Web pages. This latter experience does defeat one of the "mobile" purposes of packing up eBooks on your laptop or device, though, it seems to me.
Sony also has a specialized hardware reader for about $300 (sounds like a lot, although they are currently offering to package about $150 worth of eBooks with the reader). The Sony reader looks much more like paper-and-ink than other devices. Note that I have never seen anyone actually using a Sony reader - most travelers who are interested in eBooks seem to be using either their laptops or multi-purpose mobile devices to fulfill this task.
The downside to eBooks is that they take the tactile pleasure out of reading. After acquiring a few eBooks, I found I didn't really do much with them. They sat, unexplored in the deepest reaches of my computer's directory system.
Another problem I found was on my Palm Treo's eReader software. It drives me crazy that the Palm continually turns off after a few minutes (unless you keep touching the screen), so reading an eBook is a non-intuitive, not-very-fun thing to do on a train or hotel room or wherever. I still bring books with me, in other words.
Finally, some eBooks feel terribly overpriced for what you get. I can understand paying close to $20 for a book because of printing and distribution costs, but electronic books cost very little to distribute in comparison. I think they should cut consumers a break.
Luckily, there are many sources for free eBooks which you can find in the collections of the World Public Library. They have so many interesting titles available, in fact, I may find my paper-and-ink book collection will get a run for its money after all.
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