#Kobo

[hellodarjeeling]

Trekkie + Kobo Clara Color = an iconic screensaver

[tegabiart]

Kobo sketch

[a-titty-ninja]

[books-and-strawberry-tea]

I don’t normally comment about booktube here. But I’ve just seen a video and I have to get some comments off my chest.

This video was about e-readers. And while the person has a huge collection of books behind them, goes on to explain that e-readers are so unnecessary, cause they are expensive. And if you are going to buy an e-reader, just buy an iPad cause they are similar in price….

I’m sorry but in what world is an iPad and an e-reader the same price?? (Or yk other tablets of a similar nature).

This person goes on to talk about how e-readers can’t install apps like Libby etc…are we just going to ignore the e-readers that run on android?? That function like a regular phone just with an e-ink screen??

I honestly gave up watching this video cause this person just sounded like they were pretty single minded on the topic. So here’s my two cents.

Pro’s for an ereader: (at least in my case)

1. E-reader’s are amazing for portability. Physical books can get very heavy, and although I love them, I hate taking physical books out with me cause I’m terrified of damaging them.

2. Books in my country, are incredibly expensive. You can go to the bookstore, and end up spending $50 AUD and get 1-2 books depending on what you get. Hard covers are usually $40+! Paperbacks can range between $17-$40 also. And if it doesn’t get printed in Australia?? Good luck. The only way I could get Hunting Adeline was to pay $65. Because whenever I ordered it from Amazon at $35, from America, it would come absolutely obliterated because they don’t package it in anything but a basic plastic mailer bag. No protection at all.

3. E-readers are much better for your eyes and don’t have constant distracting notifications and people trying to ring you. I have weak eye muscles. Always have. I wear glasses for this. And I used to read on my phone cause it’s what I have with me while I was out. But once I got an e-reader, I realised just how bad my eye strain was from my phone. E-readers have seriously improved my reading stamina especially since mine has the orange light feature. It’s not like we all don’t have an internet or phone addiction anyway. At least according to statistics I’ve seen in the past. Majority of us are trying to spend less time on our phones and more time doing what we love. And e-readers absolutely help with that. (Much better for my ADHD too honestly.)

4. I live with roommates, I have very limited space. So big book collections is just not something that’s possible for me. I’d love to, but again, space and money.

5. E-readers have given me the opportunity to read books that I’d never be able to get. Because of space reasons, money reasons, and the fact that Australia just does not get the wide selection of books that other countries do. We miss out so much. Some books, we have to wait YEARS for, while everyone else gets them on release dates. My e-reader has been such a huge investment for me, as well as an opportunity maker to give me the option to read books I’d never be able to get other wise.

I will clarify this by saying yes, I do have an iPad. But that was a gift. I didn’t buy it for myself. My mother very graciously bought it for me with her inheritance money. She went out of her way to make sure I had a good working device for university. That iPad was over $2,000 aud. My e-reader?? $250!!! HUGE price difference. And it has helped me save so much money in the process. Cause if I read the ebook, and don’t like it, that’s okay, refund. If I do??? Then I can absolutely go out and hopefully track down a physical copy. If that’s not possible?? I still have the digital version. That I can enjoy over and over.

No, I’m not ignoring the cons to do with DRM, and companies censoring ebooks, not at all. But I feel like either way there is still more pros then what this person was giving e-readers credit for. She sounded privileged honestly, she may not have a use for e-readers. But to be saying that you don’t need one, and that they are completely unnecessary….its just incorrect.

I haven’t even touched on how e-readers help others with disabilities to be able to access books. I have a friend for example that has been very unwell for many years now. And because of this, she has fatigue and strength issues. She at one stage could barely hold a book. But once she got her kindle, she was so over joyed cause she could finally enjoy books again. Kindles are so light, they have stands etc. It honestly reminds me of the people that say audiobooks arnt counted as reading and you shouldn’t do it. Sure, let’s just alienate all the people that can’t read or have vision impairment right? (For clarity, I’m being sarcastic.) Or how about all the cultures that past on the culture, history, legends etc all by word of mouth?? For centuries, way before anyone invented written script. But that’s a whole other tangent I can go off about later.

If e-readers arnt for you, that’s totally fine. But to say no one has a need for them, because physical books exist, is just closed minded. Just because you have the privilege of a huge book library and may not have use of an e-reader, doesn’t not mean that other people don’t have a great use for them.

Anyway, that’s my rant. I don’t like ranting online. But this just frustrated me so much. No hate to this person personally, I just think they weren’t open to the possibilities of how these devices are used and fulfil needs for other people that live differently.

If you read this, cool! I hope you have a good day. And enjoy reading what you are currently 💝

[autumngracy]

Explore the worlds and stories of Portland, Oregon author Ursula K. Le Guin with another great Humble Book Bundle! This 25+ book collection features A Wizard of Earthsea, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and more from one of speculative fiction’s most renowned authors. Your purchase helps support Literary Arts, a nonprofit located within Guin’s community. Lose yourself in this expansive library today.

The titles in this bundle are available on Kobo.com. To access them, create or log in to your Kobo.com account. Please note that the content redemption deadline is December 15, 2027 at 11:00 AM PDT.

Pay at least $18 to receive all 30 items (a $363 value).

This bundle supports Literary Arts.

[blueiscoool]

Blue Whale Skeleton at New Bedford Museum Still Oozing Oil

Those who have stopped by the New Bedford Whaling Museum have more than likely marveled over the 66-foot whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling.

Robert Rocha, the museum’s associate curator of science and research, said he has a silly, yet strange warning he gives visitors caught staring in awe at the whale, whose name is KOBO.

“I like to joke with visitors that are standing underneath the skeleton that this is a good reminder to not look up with your mouth open,” he said.

That’s because Rocha said the rare blue whale skeleton is actually leaking oil.

KOBO, short for “King of the Blue Ocean,” has been on display at the museum for 24 years now. Rocha explained that KOBO’s bone marrow is actually “full of oil,” even though the whale has been dead for more than two decades.

“It’s seeping out through the pores of the bones,” Rocha said. “The outer edges of the bone are a little more porous than human bones and [gravity is] just pulling the oil out.”

Rocha said the museum installed an oil catcher back in 2010 to begin measuring how often KOBO leaks.

“We wanted to know how much this thing drips on a weekly and daily basis,” he said.

The oil catcher consists of a series of tubes that start at the tip of KOBO’s rostrum and funnel down into a beaker.

“[The beaker] took several years to fill,” Rocha said. “We filled that flask once and it took eight years to do.”

“Had we done this early on, when this thing first went on display in the summer of 2000, we would have probably filled up another flask or two easily,” he continued.

KOBO is one of four blue whale skeletons on display across the globe, according to Rocha.

The whale was discovered wrapped around the bow of a tanker that had accidentally killed him back in 1998. KOBO’s carcass was eventually towed to shore and dissected for research and educational purposes.

Rocha said KOBO continues to make his presence known.

“[KOBO] still drips every day, but not nearly as much as he did 20 years ago,” Rocha said. “[The dripping oil is] also adding a little bit of a smell to the gallery, which gives visitors a sense of what it was like to be stuck on a whaling ship for three or four years.”

Rocha said he’s always been careful to not get dripped on while walking underneath the skeleton.

“How many times have I been dripped on? So far, zero,” he said. “I have gotten oil on my clothes while cleaning it, but in terms of oil dripping on me? None.”

That’s not the case for FUN107’s Chris Arsenault, who met KOBO while visiting the museum 10 years ago.

“I felt something wet on the back of my neck, and there was a brownish tint that ended up staining the back of my white-collared shirt,” Arsenault recalled. “I had to get rid of it.”

Arsenault has no hard feelings toward KOBO, though.

“If you ask me, that’s pretty lucky,” he said.

Rocha said back in the day, whalers would strip the blubber from the whales and turn it into liquid oil to use for lighting and heating. He believes KOBO’s leaking remains should serve as a reminder that whales are magnificent creatures and should be respected.

“Be careful and appreciate the animals,” he said. “Despite centuries of us hunting them, [whales] still treat us pretty well, and I’m not quite sure why to be honest.”

KOBO is expected to stop leaking within the next 30 to 40 years. Until then, Rocha said the occasional drippage will continue to serve as an educational opportunity.

By Sarah Bawden and Mike Montecalvo.

[6th-for-truth]

I feel like the Venn diagram of Murderbot and The Locked Tomb is baaaaaaasically a circle. And it should be even more circular; so take this as a sign if you’ve been holding out on one or the other!

Stickers available here on my Etsy!

[sansan9]

[lunar-years]

&If you want, please put in the tags if you recommend yours, because I’m trying to figure out which one I should buy lol

[moghedien]

In case anyone is curious, about switching from kindle to kobo, I have had basically no real issues so far and have found the switch to be very worth it and I find the kobo to be a much friendlier (better UI and not constantly making me look at the store) and overall just a better device to use.

converting my kindle ebooks has not difficult at all (if you want a step by step explanation of how to do that this is the video I used) and the only books I've issues with her comics and that was just because I forgot they were a different format than text books and converted them to the wrong thing.

I like some of the short cuts on the kobo a lot and the only thing I really miss is having some sort of page number (which is very not even accurate on kindle, but I did like seeing "oh I'm on page 243 of a 500 page book") but there are other features that the kobo has that the kindle doesn't that I think make up for it. Like giving you a physical progress bar and being able to tell you how many "pages" (by which the kobo means how many time you will turn to the next screen) you have in the chapter you're on or in the book total, which will adjust for font size and whatnot

overall, glad I'm switched and I'm excited to keep using it and the writing feature more.

[dgiterart]

Calliope Mori!

Calli's new song with kobo is beautiful!

[the960writers]

Who Really Owns Your E-Books? Switching from Kindle to Kobo

The Nonsense-Free Editor

Aug 19, 2024 I had an eye-opening experience transitioning from an Amazon Kindle to a Kobo e-reader. It became obvious that people like Louis Rossman aren't far off when they warn companies like Amazon are removing the concept of ownership all together.

[tegabiart]

Zora and Kobo redraw

[a-titty-ninja]

[beesgav]

The more I draw her the less obvious what it is she's supposed to be oops

plus Kobo

[richardarmitagefanpage]

According to Bloomsbury Publishing, Richard will narrate Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

The release date on Audible and Kobo is October 22, 2024.