Do you enjoy spending some quality time reading books? Are you a big fan of Netflix? Well, there might just be some new sites for you! Websites are now offering unlimited access to thousands of e-books for costs ranging from $8 to $15 a month. If you're an avid book reader, these sites are something to seriously consider.
Based in New York, "Oyster" (oysterbooks.com) is a website that grants access to over 100,000 books with newly released books being added constantly. "Oyster" offers this great deal for $10.95 a month. The site not only offers countless e-books, but you can follow their daily blog that posts about which books are hot and which books are new to the market, never leaving you behind.
For $9 a month, "Scribd" (scribd.com) offers almost the same exact benefits as "Oyster." With over 100,000 e-books from over 900 different publishers, you also get a bonus of millions of user-uploaded written documents, ranging from court filings to papers, as well as "The New York Times" bestselling books.
Similar to "Oyster" and ," "Audible, Inc." is a company created by Amazon. However, this site is solely a provider for digital spoken audio information and entertainment. Not only does this site include audiobooks from publishers, but also broadcasts, entertainers, magazines, newspaper publishers and business information providers.
"I'm a huge fan of reading. These sites are definitely something to look into. Instead of constantly purchasing a new book every time you finish one, you can just search the site for the next book you want to read and download it to your phone. senior Teresa Elfstrom said "Very convenient for any kind of reader."
These sites truly have the potential to change the way our generation and generations to come read. With technological devices such as the Kindle, the Nook and the iPad, books are slowly becoming a dying breed. Bookselling company Borders recently went out of business, and the amount of customers at Barnes and Noble is slowly fading. These websites celebrate the beauty of books and scripts while also celebrating technology and what we can expect to see in our future. "Oyster," ," and "Audible" are not only convenient for being on-the-go, but definitely for de-cluttering spaces in your house that are stacked with books.
The downfall of these sites is that in reality, 100,000 books is not that much. While they offer numerous novels to read, most aren't the popular books you are hoping for. Upon searching, famous books such as "Fifty Shades of Grey" and "Gone Girl" were not found.
"I don't really have interest in these book sites. Although they sound great for a daily reader, someone like myself doesn't benefit from it." said freshman Tommy Cookson "I can say I'm not a huge reader at all. Maybe I read once every couple of months, if that. So even $8 a month doesn't sound appealing to me."
These site services can be accessed through mobile phones, tablets, laptops, Kindles–you name it! With our technologically advanced world today, "Oyster," " and "Audible" are definitely heading in the right path for our future, combining the love of reading and the love of technology.
Senior Joanne Gonzalez said, "If I had a Nook or something I would definitely be interested in a site like this. I've never even heard of these offers before, so they should definitely be advertised better."
dcookson@ramapo.edu
