Thing 20 - Books 2.0

"confessing that he now found it difficult to read long books. " (because he is reading too much on line) Interesting... I feel that way sometimes, especially when I can't finish a book. Used to be I read from cover to cover. Now if the book doesn't grab me in the first two chapters, chances are it will not be read.
"One early study showed that giving home Internet access to low-income students appeared to improve standardized reading test scores and school grades. “These were kids who would typically not be reading in their free time,” said Linda A. Jackson, a psychology professor at Michigan State who led the research. “Once they’re on the Internet, they’re reading.” More power to them, I say!
I have looked at the Kindle, but I feel it's too much to pay for a book reader. My iPhone downloads books on demand (even Kindle formatted books) but I have yet to read any of them - screen too small, time not just there to squint. I checked ebay for the first Kindle - still at $250 or so, so no go there either. I will wait and see if it takes off. I'd love to be able to try it out and, perhaps, I'll purchase one for my library just to have accesses? I see Amazon allows libraries to lend these out to patrons. Perhaps a grant or a SAC request will provide access - of course, the issue of book purchases still remains since I lack the required institutional credit card for purchases like this. Hurray for red tape!
http://www.tx2ph.com offers books online that can be downloaded a bit at a time - really backwards technology if you ask me. I have downloaded a few books to my iPhone, like I said before, using some of the iPhone apps. This works a lot better.