eBooks Archives - Page 3 of 3

Kobo Books: Search Capabilities

September 3, 2012September 3, 2012 by David Mark Brown

Kobo free filtered search I’ve tracked www.Kobobooks.com for several weeks now, keeping my eye on the following things:

rankings
recommended reading lists
search and sort capabilities
customer service
the writing life platform
the app, the eReader, etc.

My intent has been to deduce whether Kobo seems to understand what it will take to become a serious player in the eBook retail universe currently dominated almost exclusively by Amazon and their Kindle store. My perspective is unabashedly that of an indie author. Today’s post will discuss Kobo’s search and sort capabilities. (Follow the linked bullet points for the other posts.)

Results: Searching and Sorting

Shelf space has been heralded as the game changing factor of the eBook age. No longer are books, readers or authors restricted to the physical space of brick and mortar stores. As a result smaller genres and niche and/or genre bending stories have more likelihood of gaining readership (theoretically).

But these eBooks still have to grab the attention of readers in order to be read. SEO has become the new shelf space. Search capabilities and clever algorithms (killbots as I like to call them) rule the day. So, for Kobo to be a real player in the emerging eBook retail sector it would stand to reason they must address this critical need. How have they done?

eBooks are for Cheapskates

February 4, 2012December 22, 2011 by David Mark Brown

GreenPorch Winter of eReading Admitting it is only half the solution. Okay, you’re a cheapskate. But where can you find free, quality reads? The Green Porch is here for you.

As our society crumbles around us and public libraries become Alpha Omega zombie apocalypse survival training centers rather than the bastions of cultural information they once were, readers will have to find alternative sources for free reading. Until the singularity seizes the internet from human hands that source can be eBooks.

There has never been a better time for penny-pinching readers to rollick in scads of free 0’s and 1’s worth of their favorite books. With no further ado, here are the Porch’s best sites for free eBooks (click on the names to visit the sites):

eBooks Are for Techies and Gear Whores, Right?

February 4, 2012December 19, 2011 by David Mark Brown

GreenPorch Winter of eReading I’m not what is known as an early adaptor–the person who lines up outside the tech store for the latest device and chronologizes the experience via twitter (or whatever social media the early adaptors are onto now). That being said, I’m no pen and paper purist either. I’m more of a sellout willing to pimp myself to whatever technology can help me obtain my goals.

Thus I’ve found myself writing and Indie-publishing eBooks rather than twiddling my thumbs while I wait for an agent to pander my doodlings to a traditional publisher.

I’m also fully aware that many of you are jabbing at your keyboard right now in an attempt to scroll down the screen to read the rest of this post, all the while mumbling about the “good ole days” of muscle cars and vinyl. Well, sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but eBooks are here to stay.