Anybody try this subscription ebook service yet? >>>> http://www.scribd.com/

How's it working for you?

Just signed up for free trial a few days ago...will let you know once I've actually tried it.

Dislike, the format is too hard to read and searching for an item is absurd. 

I haven't used the subscription service, but I've been using the library feature with free books, and it works well.  Just remember to store books on your device and they are easy to read.  I'm thinking about investing in the subscription service.  I'd be interested to see what others think.  They have a lot of my college readings on there, surprisingly.  I like that I can download as .pdf and then use my tablet and write on them.  I'm not sure if this works with the subscription service, but it would be nice.

I haven't tried it, but the main complaints I've seen that has put me off is... (no particular order)

1) Books shown may not be available in your area. You don't find this out until you try to download it and find out you can't have it.

2) Some books are only previews, and after getting part-way through it it will ask you if you want to buy it. People don't know it's a book for purchase until they've already read into it.

3) No bookmark capabilities.

4) Some books have bad formatting.

5) No response from customer service on particular problems other than canned responses. 

6) You can 'download' to read later, but if something happens those books can disappear without warning. 

7) The Ipad app can burn a lot of battery.

8) Limited selection and few from the main publishers.

They are offering a 3 month free trial, and so I got it. I like it, although I prefer full justification, and would like a fatter font. I've downloaded about 50 books to a couple of tablets, and they sync very quickly (unlike the kindle app!). The app is smooth, though it does suck battery down, even when just reading, while off line. I have found the selection to be very good, all things considered. I do my browsing on the computer, and "add to library."

Don't know if I'll keep it but have until July to decide! Can't beat that!

So who else is using Scribd? They have a lot of books I'd like to read. But they need to update the app or I won't keep it past the trial. I need full justification and more font choices. Or the ability to bold the fonts they have. But there's only like 2 fonts.....most apps offer more than that. I need more than that. Georgia would be a good one.

I'd love to support the model, but without those changes, it's a no-go for me. I'd rather buy them, strip them, format them to my liking, and read them on the device of my choice, than suffer through with someone else's idea of formatting and font.

Not me.

With access to ebooks via my libraries' Overdrive subscription and the great discounts at Kobo, I just decided not to bother.

Brooklyn Public Library has them all beat and my "subscription fee" is $4 a month, or my $50 annual out of state library card. BPL has 90% of the books I want to read. My local library has almost all the rest and I have a very small list that I use ILL to get.

Nancy, have you compared BPL with FLP (free library of philadelphia) to compare?

I've also heard that BPL has a better ebook catalog that FLP, however as a veteran I got a FLP card for free.  I wish BPL offered the same free service to veterans.

I get FLP free as I live in the state. But I will begin looking at BPL if my library doesn't have what I want. Oh I also use Virginia Beach library, sometimes they have the audio book I am looking for. I've gotten my son (13) listening to books, and one of my girls (11) has started one, but not gotten very far. 

Nancy, have you compared BPL with FLP (free library of philadelphia) to compare?

i switched from FLP to BPL last year, and just renewed BPL a couple of months ago.  at the time, i made a long list of books that i could get from BPL and not FLP.  i haven't paid any attention to FLP since, but i'm generally pretty happy with the BPL selection, especially the Penguin books that they get through the 3M selection (but not Overdrive).  except for that stretch earlier this year where they went a couple of months not getting any new books.  good thing i have several library cards in CA, all free to residents if they just come get them in person.  [of course, when they all have to be renewed it'll be a pain, but hey.]

of course, it annoys me half to death that my sister lives just blocks from an FLP branch and as far as i know still hasn't gotten a card 2 years later.

Question about BPL ebooks. I assume the Overdrive books work the same as overdrive books from other libraries.

How about 3M cloud books? Do they have, for example, the ability to check out kindle format, which takes you to the Amazon site for download? Do they use Adobe for DRM epub?

I see they don't. Is the app required for all reading of 3M cloud books?? No way to run those books through Calibre to format it?

Play store app looks hideous, from the reviews.

Check your PM on 3M/Calibre

Thanks, Nancy. I am going to try it for a year and see how I like it. Cheaper than Scribd! And I can read on my eink Kobo instead of a tablet. I prefer my Aura HD to all others.

Wow, they actually have a huge number of Marion Zimmer Bradley and Johanna Lindsey ebooks. I'm psyched!

I'm telling ya, take your WL over there and get excited!

Yes, they have some Keri Arthur books I want, too. I've submitted my app, so just have to wait.

I've got the card number and paid the fee, so just have to wait for the confirmation email. Woo hoo!

Do they use Adobe for DRM epub?

just to clarify this for anyone else who may care - because *i* sure wish i'd figured this out six months or so earlier - if you install the PC app, it does use Adobe DRM from there, and even downloads them to the same directory.  you can't return books from inside Adobe like you can for Overdrive, but in all other ways you can treat them the same as the Adobe DRM books you got from Overdrive.

the only other thing is that if you have more than one library that uses 3M, you do have to sign out of one library in the app to switch to another, and it will remove any books you have checked out from the account you're signing out of.  if you switch back it'll download any checked out books again.

I just realized I needed to send them my ID. So I took a picture on my new phone and emailed it to them. Hopefully that will satisfy the requirements. I still can't check out any books!

because we were talking about it here (though it's unrelated to the original topic), i thought i'd mention i just discovered that some of the books in the 3M from Brooklyn have gone away.

i made a list of stuff when i first figured out i could use it, but it was a long list and there was always something newer.  i went back to get one i'd noted earlier (Meljean Brook - Riveted), and couldn't find it.  going through my list, several of the older ones i had down are now gone.  so if you've got something older on your list from there, grab it while you can!

In case you haven't heard, Scribd now has audio books. So far I see quite a lot to like. I bought a prepaid cell phone (which is not being used as a cell phone) just for the Scribd audio books app. I have been listening to the Immortals multi author series, which has an excellent narrator.

Good to know Anne.  Something to keep in mind if my library Overdrive program doesn't have what I'm looking for.

BTW, that Immortals multi author series is pretty good.  I read it a couple of years ago.  It was an interesting concept about the different authors and I was already familiar with all of them.