Microsoft Reader

I find I spend a lot of money on books. I buy one or two every week. Not paperbacks but hardcover books. Starting at $18 they are expensive. The poker books I buy are typically $30+. I need to save more money especially with the gas prices.

I have always been a healthy user of the library. But even in a city like Tucson, there are quite a few books I want to read that they just don't have. And the popular new releases have waiting lists that can be several months long. I started using their eBook solution for some of my needs. But the selection is somewhat limited.

I also don't like to pay for my music. I have been using a torrent device to fill my MP3 player for years. The other day I decided to see what I could find in the way of written material with it. I found that there were quite a few authors I enjoy available for download. I grabbed a few and quickly discovered they all had an LIT extension.

Fortunately this file is run on a Microsoft program (or unfortunately, depending on your computing prejudices). I went ahead and downloaded the Microsoft Reader and installed it on my laptop. I didn't register it because the description indicated this would allow me to purchase and access licenced ebooks. I do know that the books I just downloaded are probably not going to pass the licencing check. Even ebooks are expensive, and I am looking to save money by not spending money.

I opened up one of the ebooks and started reading. Maybe I could still access it even if I registered the reader but, I am not taking any chances. The reader is pretty cool at first glance. It opens up in the "Library." Displaying book covers and the title and author. It also lets me know when I read the book last. Another nice feature, are the settings. There is only one setting you are allowed to adjust but, it is the key one. Font size. With a scroll bar, you can set the size of the font displaying the text.

The interface is very intuitive. It displays one page at a time and doesn't take up the whole screen. If you do expand it, it still only displays one page but, now it is on a black background. this makes it a little finger intensive to turn the pages. Especially if you are using a larger font size.

Right clicking anywhere in the text gives you options to highlight text, set a bookmark or add a notation. The coolest option though is "Play." When you choose play, each word on the page is highlighted and voice synthesizer renders the text audible. It is very much like having Stephen Hawking read you a bedtime story.

Overall I am happy with this product. It will certainly help me keep a little more money in my pocket. At least until I need to fill the car again.