E-books are Evil

[Alistar]

Now let me completely explain my love-hate situation with e-books on my NX.

I hadn't bothered with e-books till about 3 days ago when I saw Yellowrose's thread back up. So I tried the different readers, am using Palmreader at the moment. Got a couple of free e-books from the sites listed in Yellowrose's threads and I started down the long sleepless journey of e-book reading.
I usually go to sleep about 11:00 turn on autoscroll and the initial plan is to read for a couple of minutes but the next thing I know its 6:00 in the morning. On the weekend it isn't too bad, but now I have to work this morning, and if I try to sleep for an hour I would just be worse off. So here I am having 2 nights with no sleep and I have to go work.
I have finished 2 books over the 2 nights so far. I just can't seem to put it down (turn it off) once I start. So I figure I need to find more boring e-books that will put me to sleep or just give up on the whole thing.

[Joel]

This situation is exactly what Microsoft wants to instill in potential Microsoft Reader users by offering free ebooks (http://www.microsoft.com/reader/promotions/free_shop.asp)! :D

Be careful driving, Alistar.

[Alistar]

Well thankfully I don't drive to work. I either walk or bike because its so close. Saves gas and the environment.

[Unregistered]

Just Curious as to what the two books you were reading.

Doug

[OcellNuri]

I have done the same thing, but not quite as drastic. I believe part of the reason it's easy to lose track of time is because there are no pages to turn. You can't look at the book and see how much you've read. You can look at the scroll bar, but I use full screen without a scroll bar so I don't get to see it too often. I hope you get some sleep tonight.

[Alistar]

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
and
1984 - George Orwell (I had started awhile ago on paper and figured I would actually finish it)

[vincenttay79]

My suggestion, to dump ur clie or have a bottle of sleeping pills:D

[Wolfsmoke]

*having coffee delivered to Alistar's office* Poor guy... I've done the same thing. Worse, the last time, I was on a business trip and read until 4am... had to be at a client site at 8 and train 4 people all day.

[Flash-57]

> So here I am having 2 nights with no sleep and
> I have to go work.

I hope you aren't an air-traffic controller or heavy-equipment operator.

In any case, you DO have the solution to your problem right in your hands. Set an alarm for midnight and then put your Clie down when the alarm goes off.

[Alistar]

Originally posted by Flash-57
> So here I am having 2 nights with no sleep and
> I have to go work.

I hope you aren't an air-traffic controller or heavy-equipment operator.

In any case, you DO have the solution to your problem right in your hands. Set an alarm for midnight and then put your Clie down when the alarm goes off.

I don't have any important jobs like that.
I never thought of setting an alarm, I will have to do that.

[Caleb_pearson]

I've had that problem before. The problem with me is that I'm a grad student, so if I am reading an ebook, it means I am not doing my homework... and it is doubly wrong. anyways, the last book I read for "pleasure" was overcoming destructive beliefs, feelings, and behaviors, new directions for rational emotive behavior therapy... come to think of it... nope that was for school... *grumble*

[ebook junky]

I can remember doing that with print books. I have been doing that for years.

[volcanopele]

Only a few books have ever had me so fixated that I stayed up to the crack of dawn reading them. Prey by Michael Crichton (purchased as an ebook) and John Dalton's Neanderthal (purchased as a print book) come to mind.

I did have a similar experience with Civilization III just last week though.

[*YellowRose*]

Originally posted by Alistar
I hadn't bothered with e-books till about 3 days ago when I saw Yellowrose's thread back up. So I tried the different readers, am using Palmreader at the moment. Got a couple of free e-books from the sites listed in Yellowrose's threads and I started down the long sleepless journey of e-book reading.:( I'm sorry! (I get addicted too! :D)

[anniebluesky]

The most recent ebook that I just could not put down was "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Great read...

[archangel]

Originally posted by anniebluesky
The most recent ebook that I just could not put down was "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Great read...

I agree. I quickly read Angels & Demons and Deception Point right after. Dan Brown is a great author.

[JS]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by anniebluesky
The most recent ebook that I just could not put down was "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Great read...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Currently reading "The Da Vinci Code" and losing sleep as well it is an excellant read!

Thanks Archangel now I know I have others to look forward

JS

[NJL!2016]

Ebooks are evil? reading is evil

[DaveTN]

Alistar, read my tag line below about coffee. Know how I got to the point of having to chew coffee? Staying up late reading ebooks on my palm...started with a pocketPC, but later fell in love with my Clie 615C (as far as digital goes.) Moving on to chocolate covered coffee beans next. Happy reading.


:D David:D

[jjd1021]

Chocolate covered coffee beans... I can't stop eating those things once I start.

On the ebook note - I too lose a lot of sleep due to ebooks. I think I read close to 30 books last year in ebook format and am currently on track to exceed that mark this year.

[Griff]

I've not lost any sleep to ebooks, but sometimes catch myself staying up late reading iSilo clips.

In the past I've been known to lose alot of sleeping tinkering with Datebk5 or ShadowPlan trying to get the system perfect.

[pixelpainter]

If you liked The Da Vinci Code, you will also like The Daughter of God by Lewis Perdue

http://www.daughter-of-god.com/

Check it out

[kp*]

Lately I've been reading the autobiography of Gypsy Rose Lee, the 1920's stripper that the musical Gypsy is based on. I've had some trouble with the "just one more chapter" syndrome, but I've been getting some decent sleep.

This morning I woke up all stressed and un-rested for the second day in a row, because I had been dreaming about things going wrong in theatres. I do this normally, but I realized that after two days in a row it must be the book because it's about her travels in vaudeville and the hardships of life on the road, etc. and I always read it before bed. Sleep is supposed to be a time to let go of the day's stress, and reading is what I like to do to unwind before sleep, so I think I'm going to have to find something else to fill my head with before I fall asleep. I'm finding the book fascinating, but I'm going to read it at other times of the day from now on.

BTW, I'm reading it in paperback. I prefer real books to e-books, but I do occasionally get into an e-book phase because there are so many classics that I haven't read that are available for free. I just wish the Clie's screen could be turned down a little bit more -- I haven't attempted one on the NX80 yet, but I'm sure it will be blinding.

[JS]

Originally posted by pixelpainter
If you liked The Da Vinci Code, you will also like The Daughter of God by Lewis Perdue

http://www.daughter-of-god.com/

Check it out

Pixilpainter,
WOW- Weird similarities. I have to finish "The Da Vinci Code" and then start on "The Daughter of God" to see for myself. Have you read both? What are your thoughts?

[yorrick]

Hey! I just finished The DaVinci Code and loved it. Went out to purchase the other books from Fictionwise! :)

BTW - if anyone is thinking of joining fictionwise, can they privately message me. If you refer someone, you get a rebate and the person referred gets a discount too! :)

[alsa]

I'd like to recommend some mystery/police investigation/suspense authors I like:

Ed McBain:

http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/search?keywords=ed+mcbain&x=0&y=0

Sara Paretsky:

http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/search?keywords=Paretsky&x=0&y=0

Robert Tanenbaum:

http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/search?keywords=tanenbaum&x=0&y=0

Jonathan Kellerman:

http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/search?keywords=Kellerman&x=0&y=0

[pixelpainter]

JS,

I just started The Da Vinci Code. I'll let you know.

Clark

[*YellowRose*]

I just started East of Eden, and although it's an oldie and a classic, I've never read it. It's a VERY good book . . . Steinbeck 'paints a picture' so realistically...sheesh...I went to be laaaaaaaaaaate last night . .. ;)

[okonkwo]

Ebooks are indeed Evil. Two months ago I purchased the First Ebook from Terry Pratchett "Discworld" I am now reading the 12th book out of 29 in the series....I just can't help myself.. I read at work, home, on the subway etc. I can't recall the last time I had so much fun reading.

To advise to everyone. Stay away from EBOOKS!


Pierre :D

[Twinkle]

All books are Evil wether they are is ebook format or on papers..

I just love reading books before my exams :p

I am in deep trouble .............

[narnia_77]

Originally posted by kp*
I just wish the Clie's screen could be turned down a little bit more -- I haven't attempted one on the NX80 yet, but I'm sure it will be blinding. I used to have that problem until I bought Palm Reader PRO. I can choose my own colors to keep from having that "flashlight" shining in my face. For daytime reading, I use black text with a light gray background - less blinding than white. At night, I prefer medium blue text with a black background. I also change the color of the toolbar to make it less noticeable, but still usable.
http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/readerguide.cgi/choosethemes
http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/readerguide.cgi/createthemes

Check to see if you can change the colors with the reader you are using....

And I agree with others here - reading can be "evil", no matter the format. Heh.

[techdude]

It's been awhile since I read ebooks on my PDA, Microsoft free ebook does the trick with Bill Bryson's A short History of Nearly everything. Never thought a non-fiction science-oriented book could be this interesting a read. Too bad, Microsoft don't have a Palm OS version of their reader...

[strider_mt2k]

I love e-books! Just love 'em.
I spend alot of time waiting and travelling, so they are a godsend.

[Talula]

Recently I started downloading books for Audible. I drive quite the distance to grad school a few times a week and I thought some audiobooks would be nice to listen to in the car. Well, now I've got them on Palm. So now I'm looking for any excuse to listen to my audiobook. This has actually is working out to be a good thing. Today while listening to my latest book I have washed and folded seval loads of laundry, picked up the house, did some dusting, cleaned the kitchen etc.... So, not only am I experiencing a great novel, but I'm also getting quite a bit accomplished as well.

Talula

[Sacharissa]

Originally posted by Talula
Recently I started downloading books for Audible....Well, now I've got them on Palm...

How do you get Audible books onto your Palm???

[jjd1021]

YellowRose - where did you get the Steinbeck books in e-book format? I would love to read Travels With Charley again, but have not been able to find it in electronic format.

[*YellowRose*]

I own the paperback . . . so I grabbed the e-book version off IRC.

[yorrick]

Ebooks bad. Need to read more ebooks! :)

Initially, I thought that a friend of mine reading ebooks and studying for MCSE exam on his palm device was incredibly geeky.
A few years later, I am now that geek which I loved and hated! :) :)

As for purchasing ebooks, I think I have purchased over 300 ebooks from Fictionwise, about 80 of them unread. Too many great books to read and too little time travelling on public transport (Sydney has half decent trains and busses to read your ebooks...)

As a request, I am looking for a couple of books out of print and would love to get it in ebook format. They are:
1) Sheri S Tepper - "The True Game" and the series.
This series comprises of "King's blood four","Necromancer Nine" and "Wizard's Eleven".

2) James P. Hogans Giant Series.
"Inherit the stars", "Gentle Giants of Ganymede" and "Giants star".

I have been trying to find electronic versions as I travel often and love to read these books (and Pratchett ebooks) again and again.

[yorrick]

Not good to reply to your own postings.
But I'd like to say something on the issue of copyright.

The books I mentioned have never come out on ebook and are out of print. I cannot even find a second hand copy within the Australiasia region. Getting a copy from the US or UK is expensive ... IF I could find a second hand copy!

So the next best option is to look for electronic versions of these books.

[*YellowRose*]

Originally posted by yorrick
As a request, I am looking for a couple of books out of print and would love to get it in ebook format. They are:
1) Sheri S Tepper - "The True Game" and the series.
This series comprises of "King's blood four","Necromancer Nine" and "Wizard's Eleven".

2) James P. Hogans Giant Series.
"Inherit the stars", "Gentle Giants of Ganymede" and "Giants star".Just looked (I've never heard of them...) they're on IRC. Look here (http://www.mirc.com/) to learn how to get them . . . ;) And don't stay up too late reading! :D

[DaveTN]

One more good thing about ebooks...since there is no paper involved, we are all saving trees! :D

David

[archangel]

Originally posted by techdude
It's been awhile since I read ebooks on my PDA, Microsoft free ebook does the trick with Bill Bryson's A short History of Nearly everything. Never thought a non-fiction science-oriented book could be this interesting a read. Too bad, Microsoft don't have a Palm OS version of their reader...

MS Reader has been hacked and you can convert books registered to you into another format readable on a Palm.

No need for Microsoft to support Palm now.

[Cliefanatic]

As a middle school teacher, I am intrigued by this discussion. We are always looking for ways to spur the desire to read in our students. It sounds like I need to get Palm OS devices (preferrably Clies) in the hands of our students.

[zipslack]

How many of you get "fussed at" by your significant other for having your nose in your Clie all the time reading? I've read Pratchett's Discworld books 1 through 26 so far this year and am on the third book of Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series.....constant fussing by my wife (especially when I forget to do something like feed the cat). BTW, trying to read a novel in 5-10 minute increments is really aggravating.

[archangel]

Originally posted by zipslack
How many of you get "fussed at" by your significant other for having your nose in your Clie all the time reading?

I got passed that by getting my wife a Clie and now we both read on them. The greatest feature is reading in bed without disturbing someone if they are asleep already.

[Sacharissa]

Originally posted by zipslack
How many of you get "fussed at" by your significant other for having your nose in your Clie all the time reading? I've read Pratchett's Discworld books 1 through 26 so far this year and am on the third book of Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series.....constant fussing by my wife (especially when I forget to do something like feed the cat). BTW, trying to read a novel in 5-10 minute increments is really aggravating.

Yes, few things are more annoying than getting fussed at by the technologically challenged, who do not understand our facination with our PDAs. So here's a thought...

What if the next time you're spending an evening reading one of your E-books, you cover it with a paperback, so it LOOKS like you're reading that? Just don't forget to turn the pages once in a while!!! ;)

(For some reason, spending an evening reading a paperback seems more acceptable than spending an evening reading an e-book...Why? I don't know!)

[DaveTN]

Originally posted by archangel


I got passed that by getting my wife a Clie and now we both read on them. The greatest feature is reading in bed without disturbing someone if they are asleep already.

I get fussed at too. Tried the "get the wife a Clie too" idea but was shot down pretty quick with: "Oh, so you would rather spend your money on another one of those than go on our romantic trip to Charleston next month." Hmmm, I'm treading in dangerous waters. Better be more careful. :)

David

[DaveTN]

Originally posted by Sacharissa


Yes, few things are more annoying than getting fussed at by the technologically challenged, who do not understand our facination with our PDAs. So here's a thought...

What if the next time you're spending an evening reading one of your E-books, you cover it with a paperback, so it LOOKS like you're reading that? Just don't forget to turn the pages once in a while!!! ;)

(For some reason, spending an evening reading a paperback seems more acceptable than spending an evening reading an e-book...Why? I don't know!)

Ahhh, instead of reading by the romantic glow of the fireplace, we can read by the blinding glow of my clie. love IS blind, well at least after you stare at your screen at full brightness in a pitch black room. :)

David

[Griff]

Originally posted by DaveTN
I get fussed at too. Tried the "get the wife a Clie too" idea but was shot down pretty quick with: "Oh, so you would rather spend your money on another one of those than go on our romantic trip to Charleston next month." Hmmm, I'm treading in dangerous waters. Better be more careful. :)


Ummm, may I suggest leaving your Clie at home during the trip, or at least avoiding the urge to read while in Charleston.

[DaveTN]

Originally posted by Griff


Ummm, may I suggest leaving your Clie at home during the trip, or at least avoiding the urge to read while in Charleston.

Thanks, I'll take your advice to heart. You may have saved my marriage. I knew I could count on my friends at Cliesource for good advice. :D

David

[kp*]

Originally posted by narnia_77
I used to have that problem until I bought Palm Reader PRO. I can choose my own colors to keep from having that "flashlight" shining in my face. For daytime reading, I use black text with a light gray background - less blinding than white. At night, I prefer medium blue text with a black background. I also change the color of the toolbar to make it less noticeable, but still usable.
Thanks for your recommendation. I decided to go ahead and get Palm Reader Pro. I have't really read anything on it yet, but I did set up a nice royal blue on black theme, which should be easy to read at night. I also got the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, which is nice -- I've tried many Palm dictionaries, but none of them have made me totally happy. The result is that I never have a dictionary when I need one. So I figured this was a good time. So far so good. I've only needed to look up one word, and it was in there, so I'm having a 100% success rate so far!:D

[yorrick]

Originally posted by Cliefanatic
As a middle school teacher, I am intrigued by this discussion. We are always looking for ways to spur the desire to read in our students. It sounds like I need to get Palm OS devices (preferrably Clies) in the hands of our students.

Wow! Talking about adventurous! :)
You don't need a Clie to read an ebook, any PDA (PPC or Palm) will do. Having said that, it is a wonderful way to introduce reading to people who don't read often.

May I suggest to drop into Fictionwise once in a while and see if they have a lot of short stories (about 5-10kB) and they sometimes have them free (though you still need to register).

Hope this helps!

[*YellowRose*]

Originally posted by Cliefanatic
As a middle school teacher, I am intrigued by this discussion. We are always looking for ways to spur the desire to read in our students. It sounds like I need to get Palm OS devices (preferrably Clies) in the hands of our students. We've had that discussion before. :)

Check out this link (http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13372&highlight=parents) to an old thread about PDAs in the classroom!

[Cliefanatic]

Wow! Thanks for the info. I am on here everyday but I missed that thread. Thanks for the help everybody.

[*YellowRose*]

Originally posted by Cliefanatic
Wow! Thanks for the info. I am on here everyday but I missed that thread. Thanks for the help everybody. 'salright .... the main reason i remembered it was because I started it. LOL! :D

There are SO MANY excellent threads that happened in the 'past'...I don't remember half of them . . . ;)

I just thought that 5th grade class was SO lucky . . . heh.

[ebook junky]

How often lately as I am reading in bed do I remember the times as a kid I hid under the covers with a book and a flashlight. Gosh I wish I had a pda 35 years ago! Gosh don't we all wish there were such wonderful gadgets back then.

[javabird]

Originally posted by *YellowRose*
Just looked (I've never heard of them...) they're on IRC. Look here (http://www.mirc.com/) to learn how to get them . . . ;) And don't stay up too late reading! :D

Ok, so I'm learning how to use IRC. But, what channel and group do you use to find ebooks? It's still a bit confusing...

[Talula]

Originally posted by Sacharissa


How do you get Audible books onto your Palm???

I'm using a Palm Tungsten T2 now and Audible provides support to the Os5 Palm handhelds. I don't know if it would work on a Clie although I'd like to figure it out because I would like to be able to listen to them on my old Clie.

I know they provide support of Ipods and PPCs as well.

Peppy

[zipslack]

Forget IRC...

cough...cough....edonkey....cough...cough

[slippy4twenty]

*sigh*
I hear you on the Ebooks are evil idea. Completely. A friend gave me a complete set (of at the the time 4) Harry Potter books. Never read them, hell I didn't even open them. One day I'm browsing Usenet and I saw them there. Threw them on my CF card. WAY TOO ADDICTING!

I'm now well into the 3rd book in a week, countless hours of sleep lost. Thankfully my girlfriend is away on vacation for the weekend so I didn't get yelled at regarding staring at the clie for hours at a time.

I suggest picking up the US Army Survival Manual. The bloody thing is long as hell but skipping around (built in bookmarks!) you can learn some really interesting stuff. I was never a boy scout but I know three ways to start a fire now (none involving the clie!).

Excellent place for free and pay ebooks:
http://www.memoware.com/

Sorry guys, it isn't even going to get better.

Lol actually as a final funny, my friend eric asked me if my glasses were specially made for looking at screens all the time, so I said "no, but this isn't a screen! It's just words on a white background that magically scroll!" My eyes never hurt from the hi-res NX-60 (they did on my Palm M515)

Enjoy the addiction guys. But enjoy sleep too.

[jconaway99]

Perhaps we need an e-book exorcism! I just started reading ebooks on my NX70V and I can't stop. :D

[ebook junky]

Oh but please, I don't want to be exorcised. I love to read on my CLIE.

[jconaway99]

Maybe just an E-books Anonymous group then.;)

[ebook junky]

That sounds better. And maybe an ebook lovers group as well.

[jconaway99]

I think they may be the same group!!:D

[Unregistered]

Possibly. Why struggle holding a print book and loosing your place when reading on a pda is so much nicer.

[Unregistered]

Originally posted by pixelpainter
If you liked The Da Vinci Code, you will also like The Daughter of God by Lewis Perdue

http://www.daughter-of-god.com/

Check it out

Just got back from vacation yesterday, and am catching up on the forum. I will put The Daughter of God on my 'to read' list. Thanks!

[anniebluesky]

Well, I guess I should log in first...that last post was me:)