Have you discovered Google Books? It’s a partner program with publishers and authors that allows Google to make content available to readers, free of charge. You simply go to www.googlebooks.com, search for the name of the book you want to read, then turn the pages online. Every now and then pages are missing, but a significant percentage of the content, from 20 percent to 100 percent, may be available, according to the agreement made with the publisher.
My book Sisterhood of Faith: 365 Life-Changing Stories About Women Who Made a Difference has a significant number of pages available. Tonight I started reading Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. I’m already up to page 43. While some pairs of pages are missing, so far I’m feeling as though I’m reading the whole book.
From what I’ve heard, the jury is still out on whether this is good for authors and publishers or not. After all, someone might love what they read so much they’re willing to invest and pay for the full product. But, then again, you may gain the information you want from what is posted online. Why pay?
If you’ve checked out Google Books, post your opinion about what you’ve found.
No matter where you find your books, keep reading because “Reading plows the mind.”
