Ebook readers
A United Methodist Insight Exclusive
Revised Feb. 2, 2024
Most people are familiar with Kindle. That is the app one uses to read Amazon’s ebooks on one’s computer, laptop, or smart phone. If you want more flexibility in reading at more cost, you can buy a Kindle device. But having that device is a convenience, not a necessity. To read your Kindle books on an Apple computer, laptop, or iPhone, go to the Apple App Store and get the “Kindle for Mac.”
But there are other sources that sell ebooks- digital books. If you want to avoid making one of the world’s richest men even richer, you may want to check these out. Besides, Amazon is not necessarily the best price, which I will demonstrate later.
Barnes and Noble also sells ebooks under the title of Nook books. Same way, you can read their books on your browser or buy a Nook device.
Here is an article that tells us there are 10 different sources for getting books in a digital format:
And just as there is a Kindle for Mac to read the ebooks on your computer, etc., you can get an app for PCs and for Nook books and others.
Using Nook
For the Feb. 2 issue, we've published a review of Scott and Maia’s Methodism and American Empire. A search of the 10 sites showed me that there were four offering it as ebooks. Their prices varied from Amazon’s list price – Amazon $28.49, Barnes and Noble $22.49, Cokesbury $19.99, Google $19.17. So don’t automatically assume that Amazon is your cheapest source.
When you buy a print copy of a book, especially if you are in a bookstore, you can flip through it, look at the table of contents, read the introduction, and see if the book actually contains what you think you are looking for.
Before you pay money for an unseen digital book there is an option. For free you can download what they call a "sample" which contains the first 7 to 10 percent of the book including the table of contents and introduction. That's probably enough to help you determine whether you want to buy the book.
Rev. H. A. "Bud" Tillinghast
The Rev. H. A. "Bud" Tillinghast is a retired clergy member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. He serves as curator of the special project, Preparing a Digital Resource Library for the UMC's Future, sponsored by United Methodist Insight. Email Insight for permission to reproduce this content elsewhere.