What Kind of e-Reader is Best for You?

So you’ve decided to get an ereader, yay!  Unfortunately, the decisions don’t end there.  Tablet or dedicated e-reader? Color or black & white? Kindle, Nook, iPad, or something else entirely?

There are a LOT of ways to read ebooks these days, and figuring out which device is best for your reading style can be confusing. Let’s try and break it down a little .

The first thing to figure out is whether you want to read on a multi-purpose device like an iPad or other tablet, or do you want a device that’s dedicated for books? A lot of that depends on the way you read. Here are some question to ask yourself before you decide to buy anything.

HOW much do you read?  If you read a lot of ebooks, you may want to keep them on a device that’s just for reading. If you’re only an occasional ebook reader, having a couple of books stored on your computer or tablet may be more convenient.

WHERE do you do most of your reading? Do you need a lighted screen because you like to read in bed when the lights are off? A tablet is best for this. Do you like to read outdoors in the daytime, where an LCD screen can be difficult to see clearly? A black & white e-ink reader is what you need.

WHAT are you going to read on your device? Will it be for text-only books, or will you be using it for magazines or children’s books, as well? Magazines and children’s books with pictures will look much better on a color tablet than a black & white e-reader, and many interactive children’s books will only work with a touch-screen tablet.

What about EYE STRAIN?  If you spend a lot of time staring at an LCD screen for work,  reading on another LCD screen like a tablet may may bother your eyes. The softer display of an e-ink reader may be more comfortable. Similarly, if you read for long stretches of time, you may find it more comfortable to read on an e-ink reader.

Once you’ve determined what type of display is best, you can determine which device is best for you. The simplest to use are most often the Amazon Kindles (like Paperwhite and Fire),  there’s even a Kindle app for iPad and Android tablet users. For those who might balk at being tethered to Amazon, there are other e-ink options like Nook Glowlight and Kobo. A good side-by-side comparison of many devices can be found here. Check out PC Magazine’s reviews of the most popular devices for 2017 here.

No matter what device you decide on, you can use it to download ebooks from Cheshire Library. Check out the DOWNLOADS page on our website to see all the different downloadable items you can access with your Cheshire Library Card.

Vacation Reading

I don’t know about you, but I like to read on vacation. Considering I work in a library, it’s probably not surprising that I like to bring a book with me wherever I go, but vacation reading is special. Laying about, maybe on a beach or by a pool, with nothing on my schedule but relaxing with a book is my idea of a perfect vacation.

 

One wrinkle in this perfect plan, though,  is getting the books from here to there. How many to pack? (don’t want to run out…) How much book-space is in the suitcase? Are these books going to put me over the baggage weight limit?

 

This is where eBooks become the vacationing bibliophile’s best friend. You can bring 10 (or 20, or 30!) books with you in less space than 1 book would take in your luggage.  Rapture!

As I write this I am preparing to head out on a vacation myself, and believe me, I have loaded my ereader with plenty of reading material for my trip, downloaded for FREE from the library.  I use an e-ink reader (the kind with a monochrome screen, like Nook GlowLight and Kindle Paperwhite), so OverDrive is my go-to for downloading eBooks from the library.  I can borrow up to 10 titles at once, and keep them on my ereader for up to 21 days, after which they will return themselves. No worries about overdue books on my vacation.

If you prefer to read on a tablet (color screen, like an iPad), there are even more options for downloading eBooks. You can use the OverDrive App for iPad & Android to download & read eBooks. You can also use the hoopla app to download 5 books a month for up to 21 days, and they’ll return themselves at the end of the lending period. Super simple, and best of all free, with a Cheshire Library card.

I’ll be by the pool…

Like Romance Novels but Hate the Covers? Here’s one solution.

I’m going to come clean – I’m a romance reader. There, I’ve said it. There can be some  stigma about the genre, though. Smart women don’t read romance. Romance is poorly-written schlock. It’s paperback porn. And the covers – oh the covers! – don’t exactly help overcome these assumptions about the quality of romance books.

Well, I’m a smart woman. I’m not a fan of bad writing. And the porn argument is pretty sexist. One thing I can’t argue with, though, are the covers; so many of them are just awful.

Like every genre, they’re not ALL gems, but these cheesy covers dumb the books down considerably. So what’s a romance-loving, cover-cringing reader to do?

E-books! We can read the books we like without flashing the eyebrow-raising covers around. Until the publishers figure out that romance readers don’t need a disembodied torso on the cover to sell copies, I will do most of my reading with a digital book.

These are just a few books I’ve loved in which the cover (and sometimes even the title!) had little or nothing to do with the actual story. If I were going by the covers, I probably wouldn’t have picked up these books, and would have missed some great reads:

 

 

 

Lucky for me, the library has digital copies of these titles, plus a LOT more. Cheshire Library has a large collection of all types of ebooks (including romance) available to download with your CPL card to your device of choice.  Our OverDrive platform has over 1500 romance ebooks available to check out, while our hoopla platform has over 1000. Enough to keep the most voracious reader supplied with happy endings.    

Dealing with Anxiety

face-sad-sweatingAngst, anxiety, stress,–whichever way you describe it, it’s a feeling everyone has experienced and the last few months have raised anxiety and stress levels higher than ever.

While everyone feels the occasional need to crawl into a blanket fort, most of us don’t have that luxury. Yet some days soldiering on can be painful, if not impossible.

If you are looking for a little ease or a way to calm your inner alarms, check out some of the materials we have on the subject of anxiety.

Books

jacket-aspxThe 10 best anxiety busters : simple strategies to take control of your worry / Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg
Learn ten simple techniques from breathing exercises and relaxation practices to thought-stopping techniques and strategies that put an end to catastrophizing once and for all.

My age of anxiety : fear, hope, dread, and the search for peace of mind / Scott Stossel
The author recounts his lifelong battle with anxiety, showing the many manifestations of the disorder as well as the treatments that have been developed to counteract it.

The anxiety toolkit : strategies for fine-tuning your mind and moving past your stuck points / Alice Boyes
While reducing your anxiety level to zero isn’t possible or useful (anxiety can actually be helpful!), you can learn to successfully manage symptoms  with tips and tricks you can employ in everyday life. You’ll discover how anxiety works and learn strategies to help you cope with common anxiety ‘stuck’ points.

Seeking serenity : the 10 new rules for health and happiness in the age of anxiety / Amanda Enayati
Seeking Serenity presents ten revolutionary principles developed from the emerging science of stress and reinforced by literature, philosophy and age-old spiritual wisdom that help us to differentiate between destructive and constructive stress, and to master stress in everyday life.

eBooks

jacket-aspxThe stress solution: using empathy and cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce anxiety and develop resilience / Arthur P. Ciaramicoli, EdD, PhD
“We work too much, sleep too little, love with half a heart, and wonder why we are unhappy and unhealthy,” writes clinical psychologist Arthur Ciaramicoli. Learn simple, realistic, powerful techniques for using empathy and cognitive behavioral therapy to perceive situations accurately and correct distorted thinking.

Anxiety Attacks : Conquering Your Insecurities, Anxieties and Fears / Atcheson, Lucy.
Discover how and why your doubts make you feel trapped and insecure and how you can acknowledge them in a healthy way and break free of their negative influence.

10 steps to take charge of your emotional life overcoming anxiety, distress, and depression through whole-person healing / Eve A. Wood
Dr. Wood makes healing a simple process that anyone can understand. She walks you through ten steps that encompass examples, stories, exercises, and guidance. You’ll take stock of where you are and discover what you can do to transform your life.

Downloadable Audiobooks

jacket-aspxFreeing yourself from anxiety : 4 simple steps to overcome worry and create the life you want / Tamar E. Chansky
This book explains that the solution is not positive thinking but possible thinking. Armed with these strategies, listeners can achieve accurate perceptions of their lives that can liberate them from fear and perfectionism.

The mindful way through anxiety / Susan M. Orsillo, PhD
A powerful new alternative that can help you break free of anxiety by fundamentally changing how you relate to it.

Stopping the noise in your head: the new way to overcome anxiety and worry / Reid Wilson, PhD
Learn how to confront anxiety head-on. Drawing on a range of sources, from firefighters and fitness instructors to Sir Isaac Newton and Muhammad Ali, this book demonstrates the importance of shifting your perspective and stepping toward your challenges in order to regain control of your life.

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The Holiday Downloadable Song

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Busy, busy busy! It’s that time of year again. If you are hankering for some good Christmas stories and music but don’t feel you have any spare time, try the downloadable Christmas collection from hoopla. You can listen to music and stories in the car, in the kitchen–anywhere!

And there’s more than that! Feel free to sing along (to the tune of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer*)…

You’re dashing and prancing, eyes on your mission
You love tales of Christmas but have no time to listen,
But do you recall
A great source of stories for all…

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeersanta-and-reindeer
is a downloadable audiobook
And if you never heard it
You might want to take a look (listen doesn’t rhyme!)
There are plenty of ebook stories
to brighten your holiday
Cheshire Library has you covered
Login, download, and play!

Time is racing toward Christmas Eve,
I can hear you say,
Holiday music makes your day bright,
or stream a Christmas movie tonight!

Try downloadables, you’ll love ‘em!
Automatic returns means no fees.
24/7 access
Don’t forget, it’s all for free!

girlwithheadphone3Downloads are available to any Cheshire resident with a current library card. You can access all downloadable platforms from our website cheshirelibrary.org.  Just click the bright green Download It! button on the homepage.

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*“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is a song written by Johnny Marks based on the 1939 story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer published by the Montgomery Ward Company.