According to Wikipedia: An electronic book (also e-book, ebook, digital book) is a text and image-based publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices.[1] Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book,"[2] but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. E-books are usually read on dedicated hardware devices known as e-Readers or e-book devices. Personal computers and some cell phones can also be used to read e-books.
Formats
Ebooks come in a variety of formats. The most popular are PDF (Portable Document Format); EPUB, an open format developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum; MOBI, developed for PDAs and mobile devices; and AZW, Amazon's format.
Reading
You can read an ebook while online or download it to your computer or portable device. You may need special software, such as Adobe Digital Editions, to read it on your computer or portable device. Most readers are compatible with Adobe Digital Editions.
eBook Readers
There are a number of eBook readers available. The most popular are the Kindle, Barnes and Noble's Nook, Borders' Kobo, and the Sony eReader. Wikipedia has a comparison of the different readers.
Kindle
Sony Reader
Nook
Kobo
Where to find books
You can download library books through Overdrive.
If you have a Nook and live in Muskegon, the local Barnes and Noble has Nook classes on Saturdays. Black and White Nook classes are at 1:00 pm and NookColor classes are at 5:00pm. The store is at 5275 Harvey; 231-798-4388.
Classic Reader Over 600 books and 900 short stories presented in unabridged versions that one can "can read, search, and annotate." (LII)
Digital Book Index A database of over 60,000 fiction and nonfiction e-books from over 1,800 publishers. (LII)
Domesday Book "This site has been set up to enable visitors to find out the history of the Domesday Book and to give an insight into life at the time of its compilation [the eleventh century]. This site does not contain all the information contained in the original text, however does include a list of every settlement existing in 1086." (LII)
Wright American Fiction (1851-1875) a "collection of American fiction that attempts to include every novel published in the United States from 1851 to 1875." From Indiana University (SR)
E-Book Archive "Find essays, manuscripts, and tons of e-books here"
Google Books "A searchable archive of the full texts of books scanned from publishers and libraries. The site includes a discussion of what portions of materials are available for books that may still be under copyright protection: "you'll only see snippets of text directly around your search term. This snippet view is designed to help users ... make a decision about whether to go find a physical copy of the book.""(LII)
Making of America Collection This site has a large collection of late-nineteenth-century American books and journals that can be read online.
Manybooks.net "The staff members at Manybooks.net have adapted the e-texts created by the Project Gutenberg DVD and placed them online in a host of formats, including pdf, eReader, and as Palm document files. Visitors can begin by browsing by author, title, category, or language." (SR)
MemoWare ebooks in a variety of formats, including PDAs.
Read Print.com "A warm welcome to Read Print, your free online library. Our website offers thousands of free books for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast. To find the book you desire to read, start by looking through the author index."
Wiki Books online books that anyone can edit. (RB)
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