Thing #22: Online Books

Luckily this was a resource I had already experimented with a few years ago when I first started dealing with the online sources for downloadable books. Going back and looking at the sites again made me reaffirm my initial conception that this was a very neat idea that would inevitably catch on. I'm just not sure that its time has yet come. While it's very convenient to have the availability to easily download an audio book from home, the selection still isn't terrific. This is a frustrating situation though, as the service isn't popular due to the lack of titles, and they can't afford to get more titles unless the service is popular. I'm sure in time this dilemma will be resolved. However the problem also exists that some of the files are very large, and would take a significant amount of time to download, even with a fast connection. Then of course only part of the book will fit onto most portable devices, requiring the patron to listen to the book in chunks rather than being able to put the whole item onto their device. Of course they could always sit at their computer to listen to the complete work, but that just sounds dreadful. I really do think this is a service that will be quite popular in the future, once all of the technological quirks are moved past. As things stand, it's only now starting to be convenient for those who can afford the fast internet connection and portable device necessary to make it practical.