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kristacecilia
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| Posted: July 22 2011 at 9:47am | IP Logged
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How are you using free PDF books in your home? Do you print them off and bind them in some fashion? Do you have your children read them off the computer?
I am finding so many treasures available for free online, many of them through the Homeschool Freebie of the Day blog. There have been several I would love to use, but I have no binding options other than a three-ringed binder. I dunno... there is something rather... disappointing... about reading a lovely book from a three-ringed binder. Maybe that is something I need to learn to let go.
I have looked into purchasing some of the books, even used, but I still feel wasteful purchasing something that I could print for (almost) free.
I would love to hear how you make use of the many wonderful free online books.
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Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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Mackfam
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I preview on my Kindle first, and then I print and bind if a child is going to be reading it for lessons. If it is for free-reading/enjoyment-reading, the children simply read the book on the Kindle.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: July 22 2011 at 9:57am | IP Logged
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I honestly didn't even realize you could use PDF books on a Kindle. Or is that the type of file Kindle supports? This sort of makes me feel like a Kindle might not be a waste of money.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 22 2011 at 9:58am | IP Logged
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kristacecilia wrote:
| I have no binding options other than a three-ringed binder. I dunno... there is something rather... disappointing... about reading a lovely book from a three-ringed binder. Maybe that is something I need to learn to let go. |
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Nothing wrong with a 3 ring binder, my friend! I use them for many things, and for a while, I used them to contain printed ebooks! Add a pretty scrapbook paper cover and you're in business!
Another option is to use a few metal book rings or plastic book rings to hold your printed books together. I did this for some ebooks before I got my Proclick, and though it doesn't provide nearly as much stability and rigidity as the Procklick or the 3 ring notebook, it can be a good option for some books.
Hope this helps you with all those delicious ebooks you've been printing!!! 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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jawgee
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| Posted: July 22 2011 at 10:01am | IP Logged
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I'm still trying to figure that out, too.
For now I load them onto my Kindle and read them in landscape format. Usually in the portait format the type is too small for the book to be readable.
Right now I am reading The Little Apostle on Crutches on my Kindle. I got the PDF from Google Books.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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SallyT
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| Posted: July 22 2011 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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Hm, can I do this if I have the Kindle app on my Macbook? I just downloaded it last night and am still figuring it out. Normally I just print things out and either put them in a binder or, occasionally, have them spiral-bound, but if they were easier to read (or at least pre-read) via the app (not the actual separate Kindle thing itself), then I'd go for that. Reading the lessons for MEP math would become a whole lot easier, too . . . Now I just zoom and squint.
Sally
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Mackfam
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Oh, Sally....I think if I were reading a pdf on the computer, I'd prefer to read with Adobe. Do you have that? It's a free download, and it's nice for reading/viewing pdfs. I also like the print options in Adobe when printing pdfs.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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SallyT
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| Posted: July 22 2011 at 4:12pm | IP Logged
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I have Adobe, which is what I normally read them with -- I was just thinking that it's cool to be able to catalog them in my Kindle library, so that I don't lose things (as I tend to do when my regular old books get too scattered).
Actually, they work okay in the Kindle format -- I can set them to actual size and single-page presentation, and they read as well as they do in Adobe, at least. And this way I can sort them into collections, as I've already begun doing with the roughly five gazillion freebies I downloaded from Amazon last night, and have them all together so as to include them in my planning and not forget about them. I'll still keep the .pdf files in my documents folder to print out as needed.
I hadn't known about Homeschool Freebie of the Day, by the way -- wow! I think I'm in love.
Sally
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 22 2011 at 4:21pm | IP Logged
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Ah. That makes sense for cataloging, especially if the Kindle format reads ok on the computer. I don't have the Kindle app for my laptop, so it's good to hear your thoughts on it.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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sewcrazy
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May I suggest you download CALIBRE. It is free software that will convert ebooks into the format best for your device. So if you have a Kindle, you would import the PDF and export the file in Mobi. It is very simple software to use and has a great library function. We have multiple devices, and it is nice to have format options for the same ebook.
We read on our devices for the most part. Craft or activity books get printed out and 3-hole punched.
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LeeAnn
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jawgee
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sewcrazy wrote:
May I suggest you download CALIBRE. It is free software that will convert ebooks into the format best for your device. So if you have a Kindle, you would import the PDF and export the file in Mobi. It is very simple software to use and has a great library function. We have multiple devices, and it is nice to have format options for the same ebook.
We read on our devices for the most part. Craft or activity books get printed out and 3-hole punched. |
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We use Calibre, but due to formatting issues I generally prefer to read PDFs as PDFs on my Kindle. If I convert them to a Kindle file, then all of a sudden the headnotes and footnotes on the pages are interspersed throughout the text and it affects the readability of the text.
Anyway, that's just my experience. I don't know if there is a way to get around that.
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Monica
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sewcrazy
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Did you update to the new version of Calibre? We haven't had that problem since we updated
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LeeAnn
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allegiance_mom
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I am a Scrooge when it comes to using printer ink and paper. We read ebooks on the iPad, usually in iBooks, but I do have Kindle and Nook apps for the iPad as well.
Another option, if it is something you really want on paper, is to use a business store like Office Max to do your printing and binding. They are cheaper (for me) than using my own ink and paper for a large job, plus they can spiral bind.
Another option is an online publisher. I have used Lulu.com to print large pdf files for me before.
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SallyT
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OK, I just downloaded Calibre and am playing around with it. This is all becoming a bit of an obsession, but I too am a paper miser and would love not to print and bind everything we're reading. Eventually I'll probably have to break down and buy at least one actual Kindle, but for now . . . I'm loving how low our school costs are this year, with more new books than we can really possibly read (esp. if you also count Baldwin Project books, which we're leaning on very heavily).
Thanks for all these good suggestions.
Sally
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jawgee
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sewcrazy wrote:
| Did you update to the new version of Calibre? We haven't had that problem since we updated |
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I don't know if I do have the new version! I'll have to play around with it. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Monica
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Erica Sanchez
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Are you ladies downloading, reading, printing, and binding books that you are not able to get at the library and would just like to own/have?
Am I missing out on some really great books?
:)
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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allegiance_mom
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Erica Sanchez wrote:
Are you ladies downloading, reading, printing, and binding books that you are not able to get at the library and would just like to own/have?
Am I missing out on some really great books?
:) |
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For me, it's usually classics in the public domain. You can get them for free for most e-readers. My iPad right now has the complete Sherlock Holmes, the complete P. G. Wodehouse (not free, but under $5 and I just love Bertie Wooster), the complete Divine Comedy, the Douay-Rhimes Bible, the complete Baltimore Catechism (pre-Vatican II), Bleak House, some Washington Irving, Chesterton and Jane Austen as well. I can get some of this at the library, but I like having it available all of the time. I never print, though. We read on the iPad.
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Allegiance Mom in NY
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Erica Sanchez
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Thank you, Allegiance Mom. I am beginning to understand.
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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amy_payson
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Allegiance Mom wrote: I am a Scrooge when it comes to using printer ink and paper. We read ebooks on the iPad, usually in iBooks, but I do have Kindle and Nook apps for the iPad as well.
Are the Kindle and Nook apps just like having a Kindle or Nook? Would it be a wiser investment to have ipad w/kindle and nook apps to be able to cast net farthest in organizing pdf e-reader files?
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Angie Mc
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amy_payson wrote:
Are the Kindle and Nook apps just like having a Kindle or Nook? Would it be a wiser investment to have ipad w/kindle and nook apps to be able to cast net farthest in organizing pdf e-reader files? |
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I'm curious about this too, Amy. Anyone?
Love,
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Angie Mc
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: Using free PDF books
