For this "thing," I downloaded the "Free Books" app for the ipad - after all, how can someone pass up access to free books? The first thing this app did when I opened it, was to present me with a summary of all the new features that have been added recently. Users are able to highlight text or add notes, as well as look up words in a dictionary post. There are also more options for "connectivity" - sharing with friends and using an "idea forum," where users can vote on ideas submitted by others. Also added is a "Modern Books" collection that includes works that are not in the public domain. The app is user-friendly and while it doesn't have a lot of features, those that it does have are pretty cool.
I perused the selection of books to see what the app had to offer. Since I like to read paper books instead of using an electronic device, I wanted to see if the selection would warrant using an electronic reader for the first time. I clicked the "Modern Books" tab first. There is an interesting selection, including works by Kurt Vonnegut and treatises published by the European Union. After examining the titles, one possible use for this app would be for high school or college social science and English courses - the titles are free and there are a plethora of scholarly works that include research on many topics. It would also be perfect for a course teaching "classic" literature, since many titles can be accessed for free with the app. The fact there are tools for highlighting, note-taking and organizing books and notes make this a very valuable app for students or teachers. Clearly the fact that many of the works included are from before 1923 is a drawback, but the user knows exactly what they are getting with the app. This is a valuable resource for primary sources and classic novels, especially if users are on a budget of some kind - unlikely if they own an ipad or iphone, but possible.
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