An E-book
Primer for
English
Instructors
What are e-books?
E-books are books that exist in an electronic format
rather than on the printed page. E-book files may
be read on a computer, phone, or dedicated e-book
reader. Some e-book files may only be opened on
specific devices, while others can be opened almost
anywhere.
How do e-books differ from print books?
Because e-books consist of computer files, they
behave more similarly to software than to normal
books. Some e-books use DRM (digital rights man-
agement) to restrict use of the e-book to a single de-
vice. Other e-books can be freely copied and moved
from device to device. E-books can be downloaded,
deleted, and stored on a hard drive. Files can also be-
come corrupted, get lost when a device crashes, and
become unreadable when software vendors change
formats.
How can I read an e-book?
E-books are often designed to be read on a dedicated
e-book reader, but they can also be read on com-
puters and some phones. Dedicated e-book readers
usually use a technology called E Ink that resembles
natural ink. E Ink is designed to lessen eyes train and
work well bright light, as they don’t get washed out
by external light. Examples of readers that use E Ink
are the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader, and the
Barnes and Noble Nook. Computers and phones, on
the other hand, use a standard illuminated screen. Il-
luminated screens work in the dark and in poor light
conditions but can cause eye strain and are difficult
to read in bright light.
The Sony Reader Daily Edition uses E Ink technology
E-books can be downloaded from a number of places
online, including Project Gutenberg, Fictionwise,
eBooks.com, and various websites associated with
particular e-book readers (such as the Kindle Store
and the Sony Reader Store). After you buy an e-book,
you need to get it onto an e-book reader or other
device in order to read it. Computers, phones, and
some dedicated readers use internet connections to
download the e-book directly onto the device. Some
e-