5 On Your Side

You've gone digital with everything else, what about reading?

Spending so much time at home has many people looking for good books. Digital reading is a good option in an era of social distancing.

Posted Updated

By
Monica Laliberte
, WRAL executive producer/consumer reporter

Spending so much time at home has many people looking for good books.

Maybe you stumbled into e-books and are thinking you need a better device.

5 On Your Side’s Monica Laliberte shows us the best options, some come with freebies.

“The Amazon Kindle E-Readers are the best rated in our ratings — incredible battery life, the screen is really legible," said said Nicholas De Leon, Consumer Reports Tech Editor. "If you want more flexibility, a tablet is a more well-rounded device. The flipside there is that tablets can be more expensive.”

Local libraries encourage users to go digital with apps such as LIBBY or OVERDRIVE.

Use your library card to sign up.

Once you’re in, you can browse thousands of titles, borrow what you like and a digital download is sent to your device for two weeks.

The apps also work on laptops and smart phones, although they might be harder to see.

Phones are good for audio books, whether from the library or HOOPLA app.

Use your library card to access thousands of audiobooks, music and movies on HOOPLA.

Amazon Prime subscribers can access free e-books using Prime Reading and the Kindle App.

Audible is letting students stream thousands of audiobooks free.

And check out the Library of Congress online, as well as Project Gutenberg, the website makes digital copies of old, no longer copyrighted books available for free.

Some options to keep reading and keep entertained, while keeping your distance.

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