Portable Ebook Readers

What's an electronic ebook reader?

An digital ebook reader (also called a portable ebook reader) takes buying books online allows you to a new level. Ebook software is not the same thing as an electronic ebook reader. Though they essentially do the same thing (allows you to read ebooks) they are completely different. Ebook software runs on the computer with Adobe's Acrobat Reader being the most well known.

Sometimes a company had both electronic book readers as well as ebook software. For example, the Amazon Kindal, a popular ebook reader, has a software version for the pc and Iphone. There's a Mac and Black Berry version coming as well.

What to look for in your Electronic Ebook Reader

How do you get the best ebook reader?

Generalities aside, not all digital ebook readers are the same. There's a few important things when shopping for your portable ebook reader. Storage capacity is but a small part of it. Here's some questions I think about when I'm going to buy an ebook reader.

Backups - Can I back up the contents onto my computer and how easy is it to reinstall the backup back to the ebookreader? This is especially important when looking at upgrades. PDF files aren't the issue, it's the way your ebook reader stores them that's the problem.

Accessability - How easy is it to download ebooks to the reader itself? Can your ebook download straight to the ebook reader? If you have to download the ebook to your computer first, how difficult is it to transfer it to your reader? Does your portable ebook reader include a cable and software (if needed)?

Readability - I don't know about you, but I can put up with a lot of shortcomings if the screen is really easy to read. How well does the screen handle sunlight? Is it going to get washed out? What about reading in low light levels? A really bright screen is painful to your eyes after a while, but if you have to have bright lights in the room, it doesn't help you much on overcast days. How does the screen handle large drawings, maps, charts, or pictures? The Amazon Kindle allows you to rotate the screen manually from portrait to landscape, and the Amazon Kindle DX auto-rotates the screen as you turn the Kindle on its side. For me, this is the biggiest issue I consider when I go to buy an ebook reader.

Portable Ebook Reader Features - What Do They Got?

Why would you buy an ebook reader? What does this ebook device do for you? Why not just use your laptop?
•For one thing...they're small. The Amazon Kindle for example is about as thin as most magazines and smaller than a sheet of paper, but still has a 6 inch diagonal screen. Even it's bigger brother Kindle DX with a 9.7" screen is still slightly smaller than a sheet of paper.
•They're lightweight. Most are under a pound.
•Some electronic ebook readers have anti-glare technology that makes it as easy to read as actual paper.
•Variety. Amazon alone has over 390,000 Kindel ebooks alone.
•Storage. Different models of electronic ebook readers have different storage capacities, but the Kindle can store 1,500 ebooks while the Kindle DX can store over 3,500. That's a lot of reading.

Classic Christmas Stories

Christmas stories are a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. The best stories are the ones that conjure up treasured memories for us. Don't just read to your children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, make great memories by reading to residents in a nursing home, children's hospitals or hospice patients.

Put on your thinking cap and I'm sure you can come up with other people you can read to. Here's a few timeless classics to get your reading list started.

• ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore – A must read on Christmas Eve it's also known as “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, it tells of a man’s surprise on Christmas Eve when he has a close encounter with Santa Claus himself.
• The Nutcracker – It's not just a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky. The story of a nutcracker turned into a prince that must save a little girl from the three-headed rat king.
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – A Christmas ghost story that ended up teaching a lesson on the meaning of Christmas. Ebenezer Scrooge has become a bitter, cold-hearted man whose only thoughts are of himself and his money. A visit from his deceased business partner Jacob Marley on Christmas Eve is just the precursor to the visits from three more ghosts.
• The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry – Love, irony, and self-sacrifice. Two poor lovers sacrifice what's dear to themselves making what some would call foolish choices and others would call the wisest choices of them all.
• Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus – Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the New York Sun. The story came from the response of the editor to her letter espousing the timeless quality of the Santa Claus Tradition which was later turned into a cartoon.
• The Nativity – The countless subject of every medium from print to the internet and everything in-between. It's the story of Jesus' birth continues to be a Christmas favorite. Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem where she gives birth to the Christ in the stable of an inn.

Add some of your other favorites to the list and head on out to spread some good old-fashioned Christmas cheer.

P.S. Many of these have been turned into television shows and movies. If you are going to watch these instead of read them then there's no better way than with a Samsung 52" LCD HDTV

The Stories Behind Popular Christmas Carols

Nothing gives a greater meaning to a song than to know the background behind it. As you enjoy the good food, great friends, and family this Christmas here's a tidbit on five popular Christmas songs.

1. The Christmas Song – Roasting chestnuts, Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Immortalized by Nat King Cole, it was originally written by Mel Torme in the 1940s. Mel wrote the song one hot summer in an effort to “cool off.”
2. Jingle Bells – Revving your horses, body tense, waiting for the flag to drop, hoping your sled was as fast as it's new racing stripes suggested. What? Jingle Bells was actually written about sled races, not Christmas. In the olden days of drag racing…er…I mean sled racing, they tricked out the sleighs just like we trick out cars today. Written by James Pierpont a rogue who lived fast and raced hard.
3. Silent Night – Arguably one of the world's best known Christmas carols, there's a few variations to the origins of this song composed by the organist Franz Gruber in 1818. A troupe of performers was traveling to towns in the Austrian Alps. In one of the towns they performed in a house instead of the church because the church's organ had a mouse problem. One of the ministers was so moved by their performance that he wrote a carol for the church's Christmas Eve service. He approached Franz Gruber and asked if he would write guitar music for the words. However the church's organ was repaired in time for the service and Gruber sat down and played an unforgettable melody for the words.
4. The Twelve Days of Christmas – Spoofed many times over, this fun song is great to sing and play games with. The only thing known for certain about its true origin is that it's English. The fourth day was originally Colley bird, another name for blackbirds, and not calling birds as it is now.
5. The First Noel – Noel means Christmas in French. This song speaks of the events that are chronicled in the Bible surrounding the birth of Jesus.

The power of song is amazing, with the ability to conjure up memories of special events. Is there a story behind your favorite Christmas song?

P.S. Enjoy the Christmas music, movies and more with the Onkyo TX-SR876 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver