I occasionally wonder how (to coin a phrase) I manage to walk and chew gum at the same time.
I've just treated myself to my very first e-reader - not a Kindle, but a Nook, because above all I want to be able to borrow e-books from the library (via my laptop to the reader) and Kindles don't let you do that. I'd thought first of getting a tablet, but we're on a wired network here, not wi-fi, so that wouldn't have worked. However, what silly me didn't take into account is that I would need wi-fi to register my e-reader with the manufacturer (the book chain Barnes & Noble) to get it to work at all.
The result is that I have a spiffing little e-reader, fully charged, but not able to go anywhere until I head off to borrow my sister's wi-fi tomorrow. Doh!
At least I don’t have to grapple with a cat at the same time….
Image via Google
Never heard of a Nook - but what a good idea to be able to borrow e-books from the library. When you say you're on wired network - is that an ethernet cable ? Wifi confuses me a bit - not quite sure whether I'm registered or not knowing me - probably not.
ReplyDeleteIt's an e-book reader like the Amazon Kindle, but much less well known. However it's compatible with the e-books that Powys Library Service makes available, which is why I wanted one. I have to register it with the manufacturer for it to function and for this I require wi-fi, which at present we don't have at home. Hence the visit to my sister.... I will report back once it's up and running. :-)
DeletePS Sorry, I forgot to confirm that a wired network does in fact mean ethernet cables connecting our computers to the router. It works very well for us, but isn't popular with visitors with tablets and smartphones. :-)
DeleteI admire your good intentions, Perpetua. Despite being fond of technology, I can't shake off my preference for books - of the paper kind. Something to do with the smell and being able to take them into the bath with me...and all sorts of other nostalgic things. I have an e-reader (a tablet - we have wi-fi!) but don't use it at all....Good luck getting it sorted and hope you enjoy it. Axxx
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't think i'll ever stop reading (and buying) proper books, Annie. After all I was a librarian for 24 years. :- ) It's the convenience of one small gadget when I'm travelling which appeals to me, together with the ability to make the font bigger if I need it. Small print and I don't do well together nowadays and my days of reading in the bath are long gone. I'm a shower girl through and through. :-) Watch this space....
DeleteI love books but have a Kindle for travelling. One of my book club uses a Nook and she's very happy with it.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know, as I don't know anyone who has one. Now to get to grips with it once it's up and running. :-)
DeleteI sympathise...there seem to be so many stupid hurdles to just using this supposedly easy to use technology....
ReplyDeleteAs DH said, if I'd read the sales blurb more carefully I'd have known this before I bought it. :-) However 10 minutes with my sister's wi-fi was all I needed and it's up and running.
DeleteI don't have any technology apart from my desktop and an old style cell phone. One day I must get to grips with some of these new gadgets. As you say, an e-book reader for when one is away would be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI graduated from a desktop to a laptop last year, but am still using an ordinary mobile phone with nothing smart about it. This therefore is my first foray into the world of what the sales people call 'small devices'. i will report back.....
DeleteTechnology. Can't live with it. Could probably live without it, but it wouldn't be as much fun.
ReplyDeleteLiving with it isn't a problem as long as I don't want to use it. :-) Fortunately, registering the e-reader proved to be swift and simple and I will try it out at bedtime.
DeleteThat one reason I keep my husband around. Just kidding. He does figure out every technological problem for me. Otherwise, I'd never make it in the world of technology. We are able to borrow books from the library here on our Kindles. I've never done it, but my husband has.
ReplyDeleteWhen it come to the tricky bits, my husband is the techno-whiz in this household too, though I'm gradually getting more handy with the basics. Unfortunately the e-books available from British libraries are in the E-Pub format which is supported by the Kindle according to the library guidelines, hence the Nook. I'm about to transfer my first loan from the laptop to the reader.
DeleteMmm, that's the sort of thing that happens to me Perpetua. I am sure you'll love the reader when you get it sorted. Meanwhile, having conquered the iPhone (sorta), a reader is next on my list of challenges. One day. Love Simons' cat - our youngest grandchild acts in an almost identical way during our Skype sessions. Down to the food request at the end. Which tends to finish the skype session :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one who goofs, Patricia. :-) I don't have a smartphone, so this is my first modern device other than a computer and i'm about to load my first library e-book onto it, following the instructions very carefully.
DeleteThe Simon's Cat cartoon is wonderful - so perfectly observed. Our grandsons used to be just the same....
Hello dear Perpetua,
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what a Nook is!.. I recently bought myself an Asus notebook. I can download books for free or pay. It has so many apps. I am just learning all about the android system.
I am getting a new android phone today.
mine too can only be used with wi fi. but i have that in both cottages.. and also there are lots of hot spots around.
Its fun. I still have a lot to learn. I can send and receive e mails now.
would like to see if i could do my blogs also on it.
I have downloaded skype too. not used it yet.
Yes, no rats or cats around!! ):-
enjoy..
val x
Val, the Nook is an e-reader, like the Amazon Kindle. It can't do all the things your Asus notebook can, but it was very cheap and is light and comfortable to use for reading e-books, which I can borrow free from the library. Now it's all set up I don't need wi-fi to borrow and read the books. I don't have a smartphone and doubt I ever will, as I usually communicate by email from my laptop. My present mobile phone is very simple and only for emergencies.
DeleteEnjoy your new notebook. I'll be interested to see if you can post on your blog from it.
MacDonald's always has working wifi, FYI. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's useful to know, Sarah, though our nearest MacDonald's is a few miles away. The local library also has free wi-fi, but it doesn't come with a mug of tea and a hug as happens at my sister's. :-)
DeleteOh dear!!! And with DH a computer whizz as well! Oops. Fortunately we've got wi-fi here, so my Kindle is easy to use (although I still get real books for preference!) - and the BH and my step-daughters have joined forces to get me an i-Pad for my 75th! However, although it's in the house and I've got it, I haven't had time yet even to look at it, as I've been so busy this last week! Hope all is well with you both - love from us.
ReplyDeleteMy own fault for not reading the sales blurb properly. :-) We'll probably get a wi-fi modem for occasional use, but for now I don't need it as the Nook is up and running and I can transfer the library loan from my laptop via USB cable. I'm not planning on buying e-books, just borrowing them or downloading the freebies. If I have to pay, i want paper. :-) Good luck with your iPad. I will admit to having iPad envy every time I use DS's.
DeleteHmm just the kind of thing I would do Perpetua. Everywhere I go I see people with kindles and similar, but they still don't appeal to me. But then my husband keeps trying to convince me that an iPhone would be good...but I'm not having that either. I've gone as far as I am prepared to go with technology!
ReplyDeleteThen I'm in good company, Ayak. I wouldn't wnat to use a redaer for all my reading, as I don't want to spend money on books that don't furnish a room. However since the library gives me access to a lot of free e-book titles, it seemed a shame not to be able to take advantage of them, especially when travelling. As for iPhones and such, my simple (in every sense of the word) old mobile is good enough for me, so I'm with you all the way in resisting Mr A's attempts to persuade you.
DeleteThankfully we have wi-fi. Less happily we do not have an unlimited wi-fi package and younger son likes to watch movies online. Ah well, at least it keeps him out of trouble!
ReplyDeleteChuckling here at the thought of younger son eating up your monthly allocation. Kids, eh? I'm pleased to report that my Nook is now duly registered and I've successfully transferred my first library loan to it. Can't wait for bedtime. :-)
DeleteI'm way behind the times with technology. I'm quite pleased I can work out how to use a computer - self taught by trial and error. Hope you get the problem solved, Perpetua. (You've had a few lately what with the water situation etc.).
ReplyDeleteOh, I know that trial and error feeling, Linda, as I've had more than a bit of it today, getting to grips with the setting-up. Thanks to my sister's wi-fi, my e-reader is now up and running and my very first library loan is on it ready for bedtime reading. :-)
DeleteGood wishes as you get your final hook-up, Perpetua, and enjoy your Nook. I've been seriously thinking of getting an e-reader, with a bit of encouragement for both on and off-line friends. I like to read at night. Have, all my life. The one downside of my cataract surgeries has been night reading. I need good lighting, which we don't have in abundance, so, thinking a back lit e-reader may be the answer - so, I'll be interested in hearing how it goes for you and your Nook.
ReplyDeleteAll set up and raring to go, thanks, Penny. There were a few false starts, but that's how we learn and the Nook is certainly very easy and comfortable to read, even with my present poor sight. I'll be interested to see how my cataract surgery affects my night vision.
DeleteAs I said in my post, I went for the Nook because it allows me to borrow e-books from the library which the Kindle doesn't. The bonus was that Barnes & Noble recently dropped the price dramatically, making it a very affordable experiment. It won't replace real books for me, but I think it will be very useful to have it in addition.
Hope you enjoy your Nook - I was very uncertain about e-readers when i got my Kindle nearly two years ago, but I love it! I still like real books too - the smell and feel and ability to flick pages is impossible to reproduce electroncially!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catriona, I think I will, now that it's all set up and ready to go. I've resisted getting an e-reader for a long time, but the current price of the Nook was too much of a temptation. It will never be a complete substitute for real books (after all I was a librarian for 24 years) but it will be so convenient when travelling.
DeleteI was a long time scoffer as far as e-readers go. Then I caved a few years ago and bought a Kindle. Now I'm a devoted convert. Enjoy your Nook! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristie. I've heard the same so many times, but it's still taken me until now to take the plunge. Even my sceptical DH is looking somewhat impressed, so I've downloaded some Sherlock Holmes just for him. :-) Watch this space.....
DeleteI'm like Annie - nothing better than knowing that you can drop you book in the bathwater by accident and not have to fork out a fortune to finish reading it.... I'm a paperback girl, through and through. Good luck with your wifi adventure, keep us up to date on you technological progress :-)
ReplyDeleteI remember it well, MM, back in my lying-in-the-bath days. Sadly my back no longer allows me to wallow and read, so I'm a shower and read in bed girl now. :-) No e-reader will ever replace real books for me and I doubt I will ever regularly pay good money for a digital book. But as a way of borrowing e-books and downloading freebie classics it has its uses. I'm now looking forward to my first e-bedtime reading. :-)
DeleteDear Perpetua, thank you for the laugh-out-loud minute that followed my watching "Simon's Cat"! Oh, all the cat did and all Simon did are so true to what happens here as I sit before my monitor writing, writing, writing and the cats come and want to be fed, fed, fed. Simon captured the whole enterprise. I'm still smiling as I write this.
ReplyDeleteI have an iPad and while I need to have wifi to get on the internet, I don't need it to read the e-books that I mostly order from Amazon. And I can get e-books from the library also. I hope you enjoy your Nook. A friend of mine--Yvette--has one and has only good things to say about it.
I never really thought I'd enjoy reading e-books, but I've discovered that I do. And when I go on vacation, it's so wonderful not to be carrying 8 paper books. Instead I just have this slim iPad. I find myself grateful for so many things and that one of them!
I hope all gets figured out and accomplished for you so you can start reading! Peace.
Dee, I defy anyone with a cat not to find Simon's Cat totally true to life. Certainly when we had cats they used to get between me and the computer just like this, as did the grandsons when they were small.
DeleteI'm sure you find your iPad extremely useful for reading books as well as so many other things. Certainly everyone I know who has one loves it. Until we have wi-fi at home a tablet would be useless to me, but now that I've got my Nook set up, thanks to my sister's wi-fi, I can read e-books as much as I like. Like you, I look forward to going on holiday just with this tiny and light e-reader, instead of a bagful of books. So convenient. :-)
I meant to say in my earlier comment that one of my former cats used to do exactly that when I was trying to play the piano, and also used to lie on my front when I was reading in bed - right where I couldn't see anything but her face, purring at me like an engine!
ReplyDeleteStop it! You're making me nostalgic for the time we had cats. They used to do all these things and more. :-)
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDelete.....ggrrrr don't talk to me about wifi.... ahem - sorry. (cough) You have my full sympathies. As you are aware I have now got THE worst wifi connection possible in all the world right here in techno-savvy Australia. I have given in and come up to the local council library to avail myself of their free and fast service; yes it IS wifi, but it works.
I am way behind on everyone's blogs and will not really have time to go through the backlog, but I do want everyone to know that I am missing them and popping in whenever I can face going up the hill for reception purposes....sigh...
I am using Kindle for PC software to handle e-books at the moment but I suppose I will cave and obtain further technology eventually. I have taken note of your trouble and will attempt to remember the lesson. &*> I do hope you get it all going well very soon.
My love and regards, YAM xx
Poor Yam. :-( Despite my regrettable lack of comments recently I've been following the saga of your wi-fi connection and you have my deepest sympathy. Don't worry about missing posts. Sometimes accidents of time and place intervene and there's nothing one can do about it.
DeleteI'm glad you've managed to get online more effectively at the library, which is what we'd have done if my sister hadn't been art home. As it was, within 10 minutes my Nook was registered and ready to go. I went for a dedicated e-reader as they are easier on the old eyes to read for prolonged periods and even more importantly I can read in bed. :-) At the current price for the Nook in the UK I really had nothing to lose, especially with the rapidly growing e-book service available from the library. I do love the idea of borrowing a book without a 12 mile round trip each time I collect or return. :-)
I know, I know, nobody is safe from the dreaded absent mind. It’s going to excuse itself more and more often, you know?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I know it only too well, Friko. I already get a good part of my daily exercise from retracing my steps up or down the stairs or into different rooms, trying to jog my memory into telling me why I wanted to go there in the first place!
DeleteI understand the frustration in getting your Nook up and running, but you'll get there, and I think you'll be very happy with your purchase! I have tons of books, go to the library regularly and still love my Kindle. For readers, there's just something wonderful with the portability. I never expected to enjoy an e-reader as much as I do! I hope you'll share from time to time how you're using it an if you're finding it a good purchase! :-) Debra
ReplyDeleteI felt so silly, Debra, but thankfully 10 minutes with my sister's wi-fi yesterday saw my Nook duly registered and ready to go. My first library e-loan is now on it, waiting for me to finish the real book which has to go back to the library tomorrow. I'm very encouraged by how many people have said how much they love and use their e-reader. I've resisted getting on for so long and don't want to feel I've wasted my money. I'll definitely come back to tell you how it's going. :-)
DeleteVery glad to know that you've now solved the technological problems associated with your new Nook, Perpetua. I've yet to get an e-reader, still preferring a real book in my hand. But friends who do have them, all speak highly of them. One friend who does have a Nook, rather than a Kindle, is Rev'd Karen Moritz who you've met. She particularly appreciates being able to increase the font size as she only has 10% of sight.
ReplyDeleteThe Simon's Cat video is wonderful & so true to life. We now have a new kitten who will feature in a blog post shortly. He has done everything that's in the video to both our computers in the short time we've had him! The trouble is, he is so cute, it's difficult to tell him off :-(
Now it's up and running, I'm really enjoying getting to know how to use my Nook, Ricky. There are good instructions in the two guides (one hard copy, one PDF) and I've been exploring the wealth of free e-books (especially classics) available on the Web. I've already downloaded all the Jane Austen novels, as my hard copies are now very battered from much use.
DeleteOoo, a new kitten! I demand pictures and very soon.:-) Simon's Cat is always so wonderfully observed and I can so easily inmagine the two of you in the study, trying to fend off your little newcomer.
Congratulations, Perpetua! It really is fun to read e-books from the library and ones you buy as well. I think getting used to it is the challenge. My cousin just got an iPad with Kindle and Nook apps and she called me yesterday saying she was close to a meltdown and sure she'd never learn to use it. But today she's feeling better. Hope it's second nature in no time!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathy. I think I'm getting there with learning how to use my Nook. I've spent some time just messing around with the settings and controls and it's actually very easy to use once you know how. At least I'm not grappling with iPad and Kindle variants like your cousin. DH was a bit dubious about my need for it when I bought it, but having now spent half an hour reading Sherlock Holmes on it while I was at the dentist, he's coming round. :-)
DeleteHi, hope you get your Nook registered. Having worked part-time at the B&N near us after retiring, I too have a Nook... an old color nook. Don't use it much anymore since I tend to still 'buy books' (old habits die hard) and do use my iPhone when reading away from home. But my grandson uses it quite a bit to play games... and the new ones are so much better than the old ones. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI did indeed get my Nook registered, Rian, and have been having fun downloading some of the free classics available on the web and learning just how to use it. I've even discovered how to delete things from it, which the user guide didn't mention. :-) Mine is the plain e-reader (Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight), just black and white and meant only for reading books. I'll still be buying books, but this is great for borrowing from the library and i find the print very easy to read.
DeleteIncidentally did B & N give you a discount when you worked for them? That would be a lovely employee perk.