Nook reads like a knockoff

This free book reading app from Barnes & Noble is generally good and easy to operate but you do need to spend some time with the user’s guide.

Some classic books are available for free while other e-books cost the same as the list price for a proper book. A selection of e-books is offered for $5.

But there is a glitch in this app that can delete books from staying on your device. The glitch occurred to me when my iPod Touch was low on memory. I had to download the book again from my B&N online library, so it isn’t a permanent deletion. All the books you purchase are stored at www.barnesandnoble.com, where you can also download another free application to read the books on a PC or Mac.

You can search the online library quickly with the built-in search option; however, several searches can lead you astray. For instance, searching for a Harry Potter book directed me to a site to purchase miscellaneous Potter merchandise. A coincidence? I think not.

Nook allows you to test drive a chapter of the book before buying. An invert function allows you to change text color from black on a white background to white text on a black background for easy reading during the day or at night. That’s a nice feature if you want to read in bed and not disturb a sleeping partner.

Other nice features: Nook lets you “dog ear” pages and highlight words to look up in Google, Wikipedia or a dictionary.

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