Ebooks here at MLB

eBook gettogethers: Everything you ever wanted to know about eBooks

We've scheduled three more dates for you to come to the store and ask any questions about eBooks. We'll discuss our eBooks website, various choices in eReaders, how to purchase and more.

Here are the dates:

• Wednesday, March 14 at 6 pm
• Saturday, March 17 at 2 pm

eBooks now available at ebooks.mysterylovers.com

We invite you to explore our site at ebooks.mysterylovers.com to see what's available in eBooks. You'll also find more detailed information about how Google Books works and what devices it supports and how to use them.

One aspect of ebooks that is beneficial to stores such as ours is that pricing is pretty uniform for books from all the major publishers. Because of the arrangement that Amazon and, subsequently, Google and others have made with major publishers, the overwhelming majority of popular ebooks are sold at the same price by everyone.

About ereaders

Google Books can be downloaded and read on virtually any device except a Kindle (although you can use a Kindle Fire tablet with our eBooks). One of the most interesting aspects of the ebook survey was that few customers were aware that in buying a Kindle they were essentially locking their ebook purchases with Amazon.

Among the most popular devices, other than the Kindle, Google Books can be read on the Nook from Barnes and Noble, any of the Sony readers, the iPad, iPhone or iTouch as well as a variety of other, less popular devices such as the Kobo.

Google Books are stored and retrieved from the cloud, as they say. They are accessed through your account with Google and can be retrieved and read on multiple devices at various times.

Google Books are in a format known as epub, a format developed by Adobe and used by an Adobe application called Adobe Editions. The simplicty of your buying and reading an ebook from Google varies with the device you are using.

About that Google Account

In order to buy eBooks from us you must have a Google Account. This doesn't mean you have to have a gmail address. Any email can be used as a Google Account simply by registering your email with Google. Complete instructions are found on the website.

How Google Books works with different devices

iPads, iPhones, iTouches or any device using the Android operating system

For any of these devices, whether smart phone or tablet, you can install a Google Books app which will allow you to access any Google ebook which you have purchased. Regardless of where you made the purchase, such as on your desktop computer, when you open the Google app on your tablet or phone, the book will be in your library.

B&N Nook (but not Nook Tablet) or other devices such as the Sony Reader

For these devices the process of getting your purchased ebook into your reader is a bit more complicated. You will need to install Adobe Editions on your desktop or laptop. You'll use this free software to download your Google Book into your desktop or laptop and then connect your reader to your computer via USB cable to synchronize and transfer the book to the reader. This synchronization is very similar to the process between iTunes and your iPod to transfer music you have purchased.

Kindle Fire tablet or Nook Tablet

You can install an IndieBooks Reader app on your Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet which will enable you to purchase, download and read our eBooks right on your device--no computer needed.

Other Kindles

As we mentioned earlier, we can't sell you ebooks for your Kindle.

So what should you do?

If you haven't yet bought an ereader and you have any concern with the future of independent bookstores you should give serious thought to something other than a Kindle.

We ourselves have an iPad which we think is marvelous and use all the time. iPads are useful for much more than reading ebooks, are in color and are bakclit making them easier to read in low light. The Nook color is also backlit.

Although I'm no fan of Amazon, the Kindle Fire isn't a half-bad device. It's too small to do much of what an iPad does so well but it costs less than half as much. For buying and reading our eBooks it works rather nicely and you can shop and buy right on the tablet.

Devices such as the originial Nook or Sony Reader are not backlit and thus better for reading in bright light. They are not as versatile as an iPad or other tablet devices.

Another advantage of devices other than the Kindle is that many libraries are now getting into lending ebooks and you generally cannot use a Kindle for this purpose either.