Online paid library with Safari Books Online
25/10/06 Filed in: Books
So it has now been two months since I have been a paying client of the Safari Books Online library and overall I have been a happy client.
They have a wide selection of technical books for online reading. Although they have various subscriptions I use the $20 a month to read up to 10 books per month. For $30 you can read up to 20 books and for $40 those with too much time on their hands can read as much as they like.
Personally I was only able to get through one 650 page book in a month though I did browse 3-4 others for some quick information. The 10 books max is enough for me.
Reading the books is not difficult but you must be online because each time you turn the page you need to go back to their website. With some books there is the possibility to download PDF versions of a chapter in exchange for a token (they give you 5 of these free per month with the option to buy more). I have only tried this once but it was such low quality I could barely make out the screenshot graphics and the text formatting was horrendous.
Aside from the PDF problems, there are many good features... searching for content in and through multiple books, ability to leave bookmarks to remember where you were, hide the navigation bar for full screen reading, and the possibility to zoom a page to whatever is comfortable.
So, at the end of the day its cheaper than buying the book but if I do like the book I can usually buy it from them at a good discount.
They have a wide selection of technical books for online reading. Although they have various subscriptions I use the $20 a month to read up to 10 books per month. For $30 you can read up to 20 books and for $40 those with too much time on their hands can read as much as they like.
Personally I was only able to get through one 650 page book in a month though I did browse 3-4 others for some quick information. The 10 books max is enough for me.
Reading the books is not difficult but you must be online because each time you turn the page you need to go back to their website. With some books there is the possibility to download PDF versions of a chapter in exchange for a token (they give you 5 of these free per month with the option to buy more). I have only tried this once but it was such low quality I could barely make out the screenshot graphics and the text formatting was horrendous.
Aside from the PDF problems, there are many good features... searching for content in and through multiple books, ability to leave bookmarks to remember where you were, hide the navigation bar for full screen reading, and the possibility to zoom a page to whatever is comfortable.
So, at the end of the day its cheaper than buying the book but if I do like the book I can usually buy it from them at a good discount.
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