I’ve mentioned my love of weird fiction before. Books such as House of Leaves and Ship of Theseus only really work in print. The former uses increasingly weird formatting to emphasize the narrator’s mental state. The plot of Ship of Theseus unfolds in notes scribbled in the margins and on napkins or notepaper stuffed between pages.
Obviously most fiction isn’t like that. All but a handful of the five million or so English language novels unfold in a straightforward linear fashion. You simply flip from one page to the next. (There’s a reason we call really engaging novels “page turners”.)
I personally think e-book readers are a fantastic way to read normal fiction.
They are lighter than a paperback, easy to operate with one hand—a bonus for anyone who likes to read while they eat lunch—and have adjustable print sizes, something my aging eyes increasingly appreciate.
Best of all, when I travel, I no longer need to lug around a bunch of books. Throw my Kindle in the bag and I have access to basically anything ever written.
Now there are e-book cynics out there who complain that e-book readers like my Kindle exist only to sell e-books. Amazon—maker of the Kindle—follows what business types call a razors-and-blades business model. The idea is pretty simple—sell the razor cheaply, then sell expensive replacement blades forever. And they have a point—Amazon loses money selling Kindles, while making hundreds of millions of dollars selling e-books.
Luckily you don’t have to spend money to enjoy a good e-book.
Libby is a free service offered through Pocahontas County Libraries. It’s a mobile app that lets you check out e-books, read magazines, and download music and movies. And it’s entirely free! You’ll need a library card and a PIN. Then just download the app, add your information and get instant access to everything.
You can read or play movies and music through the Libby app on your smartphone or tablet. You can also send e-books to your favorite e-book reader.
It’s access to 43,715 e-books (and counting), as well as 5,191 different magazines.
A lot of you out there are already familiar with Libby. In fact, a couple of years ago Pocahontas County residents checked out more magazines on Libby than all but one other county in the state.
If you’re not already a Libby user, you can start right now. If you’re feeling tech savvy, just download the app and jump right in.
You can also stop by and ask one of the library’s resident tech whizzes—Chris (McClintic) and Emily (Hillsboro)—to help you get everything set up and configured exactly how you want. Let your local branch librarian know if you can’t make it to Marlinton or Hillsboro and we’ll get you some help closer to you.
And don’t forget that you’ll need a library card. You can get one of those at any of our five branches—where we have lots of paper-based books, too.
