Device: Windows desktop
Browser: Google Chrome
Best Option: Internet Archive, Google Books, and PDFs were equally accessible and easy to use
Worst Option: Hathi Trust
Reading Online: Most, if any, of the reading I do on a computer or tablet is purely academic. The reason for this is because textbooks are normally much cheaper to buy and faster to access via the Kindle app rather than buying the physical book. Also, when it comes to searching for something specific, having an electronic version is really helpful. You can search the entire text for whatever you're looking for! That being said, I really don't prefer to read online. When I read for pleasure, I always buy or borrow the actual book. I mean, there's no better feeling that turning that last page!
Taking Notes Online/PDF: Taking notes while reading has always been a pain to me, even when I have the physical book. I don't like having to put the book down, write my thoughts, double check page numbers, etc. Highlighting is usually my go-to method. And with PDF or Kindle versions of texts, doing that is really easy! It's one of the things I do actually like more about electronic books. Whether I am using a PDF or Kindle app, I usually just highlight and then use the sticky note insert.
Hard Copies: If I had an unlimited amount of storage and money to print out readings for class, I totally would! 8.5 x 11 printer paper packets are really easy to use to highlight and take notes in the margins. However, doing that would just be insanely expensive and probably not very environmentally friendly, so I don't do it often.
Hathi Trust: What I don't like about this source is that, even when viewing full screen, when you zoom in to make the text bigger you have to scroll on the screen. I'd rather I could zoom in and fit the page to the screen. Also, these are obviously scanned images of a hard copy. The problem I have with that is the font used in a lot of the older texts can be really hard on the eyes and doesn't really translate on the digital screen.
Internet Archive: This source basically solved the issue I had above about being zoomed in and fitted to the screen. Yay! And the black background here, as opposed to Hathi Trust's white background, doesn't make my eye hurt as much.
Google Books: I think changing the text colors from that yellow/gray combo to the black/white combo made it easier to read. It's the little things!
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