Last summer I wrestled mightily with the biggest question of the year: Kindle or Nook? Ultimately, I went with a Kindle because I do a lot of book reviewing, and I knew I’d be able to read review copies of new books on Kindle via Netgalley. This was a tremendous relief to my children, who were beginning to have trouble finding each other amid the precarious towers of bound galleys all over the house. But the Nook has one feature I coveted in the worst way: you can check out library books on it.
Well, I need covet no longer. Er, not much longer, at least. Overdrive, the service that partners with libraries all over the United States to make ebooks available to library patrons, has just made a welcome announcement: Kindle compatibility is here!
“This update, which is included at no additional cost to OverDrive partner libraries, allows most existing eBooks in your library’s collection to be read on all Kindle devices or by using free Kindle apps for iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ and other mobile devices. OverDrive is quickly updating all U.S. public and school library partner websites to support Kindle compatibility and will complete this update as soon as possible.”
I may have squealed a little tiny bit when I heard this news. I dashed straight to my library website to see if the update has been rolled out to our system yet. Alas, San Diego County isn’t sporting that magical “Get for Kindle” button yet, but now I know I won’t have to wait much longer. I’ve already jumped into the digital queue for the new Flavia de Luce mystery. Here’s hoping that sweet, sweet Kindle accessibility arrives at my branch before I hit the head of that line…
How about you? Are you reading library books on any of your devices?
Read them ALL the time. Noticed the “get it on a Kindle” button yesterday. I got a nook instead of a kindle primarily because of the ability to download library books. In a house already full of books and children who like to move library books, it let’s me read a book without having to worry about losing it!
Thanks for letting us know about this. My library now has the Kindle option for Overdrive. 🙂 I have a 5-week old baby and I’ve discovered that reading large hardcover books while nursing is quite difficult. I made it through the first few weeks because I happened to be reading some paperbacks. I’m going to put some library books on my Kindle to read while nursing the baby.
This is great news. I was just discussing this the other day with my husband, wondering if it would happen. The other bright side of this is for people (like my mom) who have a hard time getting out, but love going to the library, can now, or soon get their books right at home. How fantastic!
How fun! Mike just recently won me a Kindle. I can’t wait to try it all out.
Overdrive has an app for iOS devices already, so if you’ve already got an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you can borrow e-books from quite a few libraries~ I’ve been borrowing e-books from the San Diego Public library for about a year now, and I love it! The San Diego County Library system (which is different from SDPL, strangely enough) also has quite a few e-books available.
We’re about to break down and get Kindles, I use the plural b/c one would never do in this house. But a few months ago I started listening to audiobooks on my phone, and it has changed my life. I’ve always dreamed of being able to read a book while I knit, do the dishes, etc., and now I can! While my husband is reading to the kids at night before bed, I listen to my audiobook, and it’s like being read a bed time story. I love it. And when I listen in the car, the kids overhear, and get sucked into books they otherwise wouldn’t have bothered with. My seven year old son got so into Jane Eyre I couldn’t listen to it when he wasn’t around, and he makes references to it from time to time now, amazing.