Many people around the world are getting interested in ebooks. One of the most challenging tasks is to quickly learn ebook basics without getting stuck in technical issues. Unfortunately, most of articles on the web are still not ebook tips but device reviews.
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Ebooks are not only about devices. It’s like claiming that paper books are about paper. Ebook Friendly was launched at the beginning of 2010 with a simple motto – to make users enjoy electronic books, by spreading advice on how to get, read, and manage them.
During two years we shared well over 600 posts in our Tips & more section.
The articles I’ve selected from this pretty large variety of tips and tricks, are in most cases simple lists. In each one you can quickly go through headings to find a topic, tool, or little piece of advice that you’ll find useful.
12 articles with ebook tips for newbies
Glossary of ebook terms
If epub or frontlit sound unfamiliar to you, don’t hesitate to check a very concise glossary of the most popular terms related to ebooks, e-reading, and digital publishing. You can quickly go through entries to realize that there are not too many new things to learn. ⇢ Read
7 wonderful videos that will introduce you to the world of ebooks
Good post for anyone who prefers to both learn and be entertained. These wonderful videos are great also in case when you are still not fully convinced to ebooks. To tease you, one of the videos is shown below. Done be Google, it very well explains one of the biggest benefits ebooks give: access to a personal book library in the cloud. ⇢ Read
10 sites where you can read books online
You don’t have to buy Kindle, or Nook, or Kobo to start reading ebooks. A computer, the one you’re using to read this post, is enough to start reading ebooks – in no time. A lot of ebooks are available for reading in a web browser. In this post we list 10 most popular destinations, with Project Gutenberg, 24Symbols, CodexCloud, and Smashwords. ⇢ Read
Buying a device to read ebooks: 6 questions to ask yourself
Again, you don’t have to buy a dedicated e-reading device to start reading ebooks. Before you make a final decision – that you absolutely need it – ask yourself a couple of questions that will help define your own preferences and expectations towards ebooks. Don’t buy a device that is recommended by a tech guru. Buy the device that will fit your needs. ⇢ Read
Buying an ereader [checklist]
If the decision about e-reader is “yes”, it’s worth to quickly go through this checklist. What you have to know is that a device is only a part of the landscape. What also matters is the ebookstore itself, applications you can use to access your books from a computer or tablet, the way books are bought and delivered for reading, or ability to add personal documents. ⇢ Read
10 useful IFTTT ebook recipes
IFTTT is a genuinely simple service that lets automate a lot of daily online tasks. In this post we list most popular and useful ways to get all what you would expect from ebooks delivered to you by email. A great thing about IFTTT is that you can set up own actions, that will be customized to your very own needs. ⇢ Read
What is Adobe DRM and how to deal with it
DRM is something you’ll have to deal with. DRM stands for Digital Right Management and, to put it short, it blocks reading ebooks on devices that are not authorized. Many ebookstores around the world are using the DRM system delivered by Adobe, and in this post you’ll learn in detail how to use it. ⇢ Read
Kindle availability for international users [chart]
A lot of readers of Ebook Friendly live outside US, and we want to discuss international issues as often as we can. Kindle devices are available in almost 180 worldwide destinations, but it doesn’t mean you can buy any model in your country. Usually, new models are US-only – we have to live with that. This chart lists which Kindles are available worldwide from Kindle Store US; and which models sell in Kindle Stores UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan. ⇢ Read
How to find foreign language books in Kindle Store
If English is not your mother tongue, first of all you have to check how many books in your own language are available. Amazon supports only a couple of foreign languages, like German, Spanish, or French. However, it’s relatively easy to find a Kindle book in any other language. You’ll find the answers in this post. ⇢ Read
6 sources of foreign language books for Kindle
This post lists most popular and useful sites, where you can download ebooks for free, or buy them, in a format that is compatible with the Kindle. We list six sites: Smashwords, Feedbooks, Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Open Library, and Scribd – together with tips how to find non-English books there. ⇢ Read
15 tricks & tips to get the most of Kindle Store
Kindle Store is and endless source of great titles at affordable prices but it’s easy to get lost here – and easy to miss a great deal. In this post we’ve collected tips and tricks to better use Amazon’s ebookstore, including RSS feeds, changing book recommendations, or accessing the store from a mobile phone. ⇢ Read
5 tips to use smartphones to read ebooks
Mobile phones… Most people don’t read ebooks on them. On the other hand most – or all – people have their smartphones always with them. This all-in-one device is not good for long reading, but it’s perfect to reach for a book, while you’re waiting for a bus. It’s also a very good way to test ebookstores or ebook applications. If you want to get the most of the ebooks in your life – start with using your smartphone for that purpose more often! ⇢ Read
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Keep exploring. Here are other tips, lists, and news for thoughtful readers:
- Looking to move away from your current ebook store? This practical guide explains how to build, store, and manage an independent, DRM-free personal ebook library […]
- Are you tired of renting digital books from tech giants who change the rules whenever they like? Building a personal library takes some effort, but […]
- Reading on a screen used to mean staring at flat black text. Now, AI models and interactive media are changing digital books completely. Are we […]
- While e-reader screens keep getting bigger, the upcoming Boox Picco goes the opposite direction. At under 4 inches, it offers a clever, distraction-free way to […]
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More to explore
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How to set up your own, private ebook library (guide)
Looking to move away from your current ebook store? This practical guide explains how to build, store, and manage an independent, DRM-free personal ebook library on your own computer.
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Buy DRM-free ebooks online – 20 websites to actually own your library
Are you tired of renting digital books from tech giants who change the rules whenever they like? Building a personal library takes some effort, but owning your files feels right. Here are the best websites where you can buy modern DRM-free ebooks and keep them on your drive.
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Multi-modal ebooks are taking over digital publishing (report)
Reading on a screen used to mean staring at flat black text. Now, AI models and interactive media are changing digital books completely. Are we ready for multi-modal reading, or was the old digital page actually enough?
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Boox Picco teased: the 3.97-inch micro-reader to battle phone addiction
While e-reader screens keep getting bigger, the upcoming Boox Picco goes the opposite direction. At under 4 inches, it offers a clever, distraction-free way to read on the go.
Xteink X3: the ultimate magnetic snap-on pocket e-reader
Looking to attach a lightweight e-reader directly to your smartphone? The Xteink X3 magnetically snaps onto phone cases without blocking camera lenses. This 58g device replaces scrolling with reading. ✨ More
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Start reading
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
by CAL NEWPORT
I remember when I first encountered Facebook: It was the spring of 2004; I was a senior in college and began to notice an increasing number of my friends talk about a website called thefacebook.com. The first person to show me an actual Facebook profile was Julie, who was then my girlfriend, and now my wife.
“My memory of it was that it was a novelty,” she told me recently. “It had been sold to us as a virtual version of our printed freshman directory, something we could use to look up the boyfriends or girlfriends of people we knew.”
The key word in this memory is novelty. Facebook didn’t arrive in our world with a promise to radically transform the rhythms of our social and civic lives; it was just one diversion among many. In the spring of 2004, the people I knew who signed up for thefacebook.com were almost certainly spending significantly more time playing Snood (a Tetris-style puzzle game that was inexplicably popular) than they were tweaking their profiles or poking their virtual friends.
178 words read…
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Geek Updated is our sister sister blog, where we share distraction-free tips, lists, and news for thoughtful geeks.
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