The link below is to an article about the Thumb Thing Book Holder, which I think has been around for a while now. It sort of holds a traditional book open while you read it (article includes photos).
For more visit:
http://www.abcstuff.com/items/BH007.html
The link below is to a website where you can download free audio books in formats for the iPod and mp3s.
There are many classics available for download including Treasure Island (R. L. Stevenson) and Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain). The King James Bible is also there, as is Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan).
So if you love reading, but are unable to read for some reason, perhaps an audio book is the way to go for a while.
For more visit:
http://freeclassicaudiobooks.com/
The link below is to an article about how to read Google Books offline.
For more, visit:
http://booksearch.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/read-google-ebooks-offline.html
The link below is to an article reporting on the current state of book publishing and is a very interesting read.
For more, visit:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bj-gallagher/book-publishing_b_1394159.html
The link below is to a review of the Kindle 4, which incidently I have just purchased myself. I thought it was a fair review of the Kindle 4 and it seems to lean towards my own opinion of the Kindle 4. If you’re interested in buying an ebook reader and in particular a Kindle, the review linked to below is worth a read.
For more visit:
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/30-days-with-the-amazon-kindle-4.html
Social networks and web applications are rapidly multiplying all over the web and it should come as no surprise that a large number of such sites are dedicated to books in one way or another – as well as being useful to those that read books, offering ways to save and share quotes, words, etc. At the BookShelf will be bringing these types of sites to the notice of its readers, as I think they can be of tremendous use and benefit. Some will be useful to most and maybe others to very few, but they are all useful to someone, with the possible odd exception of course.
Booki.sh is a site that allows you to store your ebook library in the cloud, meaning that you can access it wherever you are, provided you have Internet access and the necessary device to do so. Your device only needs a modern web browser in order to use Booki.sh. Booki.sh provides it own software, so it will work in your device in a similar way to an ebook reader (the website explains how to use the software when reading a book).
Do you really need Booki.sh? Well that is another question – if you have a Kindle for example, you probably do not as you already have your library handy (or a very large selection of it on your device) and an ebook reader. However, if you do not have an ebook reader as such on your device (lap top, etc), Booki.sh could be very handy and useful. Either way, it won’t hurt to have a look and decide for yourself.
For more, visit:
https://booki.sh/
What Has Been Read & What Will Be Read
The article below is to yet another idea for a bookshelf. Again, this isn’t one that I would use, but perhaps a reader may. It certainly has interest.
For more visit:
http://freshome.com/2011/12/19/typographic-organizing-target-books-shelf-by-mebrure-oral/
I have been reading ‘Print is Dead – Books in our Digital Age,’ by Jeff Gomez and have now reached ‘Readers in a Digital Future.’ In this chapter Gomez begins to expound the possible future of the digital world for book readers. It is a world that abounds with possibility and an experience of reading that bibliophiles of the past could only dream of (if they could look passed the traditional book format). The book reading future will allow the reader to carry an entire library on a personalised device that can be accessed anywhere and at anytime, with the ability to interact with other digital sources of information and other readers from around the globe, to share insights and to communicate via chat and discussion functionality on book-based social networks, web applications and sites. The reader will also be able to store notes within the book that will be able to be edited and shared, to highlight text, search within a document or an entire library and even expand his/her own library seemingly endlessly. The possibilities and richness of the digital future for bibliophiles is incredible to think about and should be within our grasp.
As the digital future approaches I know it is a future I look forward to being able to grasp with both hands as a bibliophile. My traditional book library can expand no further – I have no more space for it to do so. However my digital library has already grown beyond the capability of a home twice my current size to hold and it continues to do so. Will I be able to read them all – probably not. But they will be entertainment, as well as tools, that I can use as I please and they will provide me with experiences as yet untold. The future of reading looks amazing as it continues to appear and unfold on the horizon and as the first rays of the digital era break forth upon us.
Of course, if ebooks are handled poorly by authors and publishers, the rich future of reading that could be, may not be. Many of the possibilities of a digital future could be squandered and Gomez warns us of this possibility. What a wasted opportunity should greed and jealousy stand in the way of a richer reading experience. The reading public also need to understand what it actually costs to produce an ebook and the ebook then needs to be priced fairly and be fairly accessible to the reader across all of their devices.
See also:
http://www.dontcallhome.com/books.html (Website of Jeff Gomez)
Podcast (Excerpts from the Book)
Google Books
Amazon
I have been reading ‘Print is Dead – Books in our Digital Age,’ by Jeff Gomez and have now reached ‘Writers in a Digital Future.’ Here Gomez explores the possibilities for authors, possibilities that weren’t available in the past. Some attempts at interactive narrative have appeared prior to the digital world, but the opportunities for experimentation are now seemingly endless. As I have mentioned before, the possibilities now exist for the inclusion of various media, such as pictures, music, video, etc. Hyperlinks to other features can now be included in ebooks, allowing in-depth studies of characters for novel writers/readers, treatments of historical events at length and so on. There is just so much room for experimentation in the digital world for authors of all genres, even in ways perhaps not yet imagined.
There is however more opportunity for the digital author, for he/she is now able to interact with the reader via means other than the actual ebook being read. The opportunity exists for collaborative websites, forum and chat room interaction, live video interviews and so many other avenues to interact with fans and readers of his/her material. Of course social networks like Facebook and MySpace provide the means for setting up fan pages and the like also.
So the digital world offers many opportunites and the possibilities for a brave new world of literature are there waiting to be seized. Sooner, rather than later, the digital future will arrive in a big way and authors/publishers need to be ready to meet the online demand that will surely come.
See also:
http://www.dontcallhome.com/books.html (Website of Jeff Gomez)
Podcast (Excerpts from the Book)
Google Books
Amazon
Search for Books Based on a Description
The link below is to a site where you are able to search for pdf books based on a description of the type of book you would like to read.
To visit:
http://www.pdfgeni.com/
At the BookShelf 
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