In an effort to become even cooler, Google has set out to become the largest online library. With the advent of the Sony Reader, and other mp3 player format book readers, books are becoming popular again. They never went out of style with this girl, however, whose mirror has a sticker on it that states boldly "I'd rather be reading."
By utilizing Flash player to 'turn' the pages, Google books gives a more realistic reading experience, rather than scrolling on a screen. The scans are high-quality, and look great. The fee is nominal, about $8-15 per book, which is about the price of a bookstore. Besides books, Google has scanned in old Magazines, such as Life. The speculation is that over 10 million books have been scanned, yet Google is reluctant to release this information due to publishers feeling they are stealing the material by scanning it without permission. Look forward to hearing lots of legal issues in the coming months having to do with Google books.
This blogger's opinion is that Google books is really interesting, but nothing it going to replace tangible literature at my house. For one, my hard drive crashes about every eight months, and I like the smell of books.However, if online reading suits you, or you are lucky enough to own an electronic book reader, check out Google Books for yourself at: http://books.google.com