Freeware Pick of the Week

Nook for PC
Operating systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
File size: 16 MB
Download times: About an hour and twenty minutes on dialup - a few seconds on broadband connections.

As much as I love books, as much as I love holding books in my hand, as much as I love the feel and the smell of books, I have to admit, these new eReaders are pretty cool. And whether stand-alone eReaders like Nook and Kindle will survive against new tablet computers like iPad and other similar devices that are on the way to stores right now, remains to be seen. The new tablet computers have eReader software built-in. But Nook and Kindle keep evolving and they both have a lot to offer.

Recently I downloaded Barnes and Noble's "Nook for PC". I was totally impressed. If you have a laptop or a netbook, it's a must download. It's great for desktops too, except I like to lie down while I read which I can't do at my desktop. So I just put the laptop on an old TV tray, make the font a bit bigger and lie down and read until I fall asleep. NO! I'm not kidding, I really do.

There are so many things I like about reading books on my Nook for PC, I don't know where to begin. It remembers the last page I read, which is great for me because I often fall asleep while reading. When I would fall asleep reading a paperback or hardback, the book often fell on the floor and I lost my place. Now when I fall asleep, Nook for PC remembers what page I last read, so when I open it back up again, I am right back to the page I was reading when I nodded off.

I can increase or decrease the size of the text, from ridiculously huge to very tiny. I can buy newly released books online for half the cost of a hardback (and only slightly more than a paperback) and don't have to wait months for the paperback to come out. I can buy books that are already out in paperback for about half the cost of a paperback. And with Nook for PC as soon as I purchase a book it's automatically downloaded and placed in my Nook for PC library.

Another nice feature is that you can download samples of books and read the first chapter or two. If you find it interesting you can buy the book, if not you can delete the sample. Being able to read a chapter or two of a book you're not sure about is great. Many times I've purchased books that I thought I'd like but once I started reading them, didn't like them at all. The "try before you buy" feature is one of my favorite things about Nook for PC.

But the advantages of eReaders don't end there. You can download hundreds of thousands of books for your Nook for PC eReader - free. Just about all the classics are free for eReader. Verne, Dickens, Shakespeare....hundreds of thousands of great books - a treasure of books - free. I just finished reading Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" on Nook for PC, and I enjoyed reading it on Nook for PC as much as I did reading he hardback that my Grandfather had given me when I was eleven.

Nook for PC works exactly like The Nook eReader, except it doesn't cost $200 or $150, it is free. Naturally it is free. It's our freeware pick of the week, right? Even if you're from the old school and think you'd hate reading books on an eReader, I promise you, once you try it, you'll be hooked. I'm not saying that eReaders will replace books, but it sure is a great way to read - and with all the classics you can download and read free - it books hundreds of thousands of books within easy reach.

Nook for PC is our freeware pick of the week. If you love to read, you'll love Nook for PC. Try it. You'll like it. For more information or to download Nook for PC, please visit this page.

Oh, by-the-way, Nook software is available for iPhones and Droids too.

Do you have a suggestion for a future Freeware Pick? Let us know!