Techy Tuesday: A Few of my Favourite E-book websites

I do have a bunch of tech reviews started - I just haven't had much of a chance to flesh them out for y'all so something a little different this week.

I don't know what I would do without the Internet.   Ever since I moved all of my music to digital and the majority of my books, I would be lost without it!  When it comes to e-reading,  I have a few go-to places where I get my books and my news.  I thought this rainy Tuesday (in Calgary, anyway) might be a good time to share them :)

Kobo
http://www.kobobooks.com/
I love the Kobo site.   They have somewhere around 2 million ebooks for really reasonable prices (nine times out of ten, they are cheaper than the Sony Reader store).   I really love that they sell in Canadian dollars, too.  No more trying to convert exchange in my head to see how the Visa will be hit.

In the past couple of weeks, I've discovered a couple more reasons to really love Kobo. 

1) e-Gift Cards - Hubby sent me an e gift card for Mother's Day and it was the coolest thing.  I recieved the email and all I had to do was click the link to claim it for my account and BLAMMO! suddenly I had all kinds of free shopping I could do whenever.  It was so much fun to be able to buy all of the fun reads that have been on my wishlist.  I tend to be a pick and choose shopper - buying the new releases and holding off on the fun stuff that I hear through the grapevine.  It was probably the most fun I've had with a gift card in a long time!

2) They accept INDIGO/CHAPTERS gift cards!  When hubby was cleaning out his work bag in preparation for starting his new job next week, he stumbled upon a gift card in one of the pockets.  It was the perfect chance to see if it would work and, sure enough, it did.  The only downside that I can see is that you can't transfer the card balance to your account like you can on the Indigo site...so you need to enter the card number and pin each time you make a purchase.  Honestly, though, it's a small price to pay to be able to use them at Kobo!  I am one of those people who tends to recieve a ton of Chapters cards so this way I will be able to use them to feed my digital library instead of my bookcases!

Mobile Read
http://www.mobileread.com/
THE BEST online community for ebook enthusiasts. Bar none.  There are forums for each type of device available which are great for helping you to troubleshoot your own device.   The discussions are also excellent if you are trying to decide on a reader to buy.  Just reading through the debates there helped me to realize the Sony was definitely the better option for me.   There is also a huge downloadable library of books that are no longer under copyright (and, therefore, free).  A great way to get some nicely formatted ebooks of the classics.  Another plus, on the deals and freebies section of the forums, I have scored many a great discount code for the Sony Reader Store and it is always the first place to look and see what publishers are offering in free ebooks around the web.

Good EReader
http://www.goodereader.com/
Fantastic site I discovered not long ago. Pretty much anything you can hope to know about ebook readers can be found on this site.  They have a blog (which is fantastic) and a radio show.   They do have an online store, as well, for Readers..not ebooks and forums for enthusiasts to discuss all things ereader.   I think I lost several hours this past weekend just browsing the site.  Of course, that's because I'm obsessed.  A  mere mortal will probably be able to hold themselves back enough and use it for the blog and research ;)

Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Fantastic site for free ebooks that are out of copyright (50+ years after the authours death).  You don't need to sign up for anything and the books are usually available to download in multiple formats, depending on preference/device.   If I'm looking for a classic and cannot find it on Mobile Read - I'll pop over here.   The ones on MR are usually nicer formatting, but in the last 3 years Gutenberg has gotten much better.   I credit ePUB for that.  I remember downloading the Wizard of Oz books in text format a few years back and hating the need to scroll through about 15 pages of Gutenberg mumbo jumbo before I hit the actual book.   Free felt like free.   The books I downloaded last week in ePUB were much nicer.

So there you have it...whether you have a device or are in the market for one - each of these sites can help you make the best decision for you and help you get to the best part - the reading :)  Enjoy!