NOOK Nuisance Resolved!

Borrowing e-books using OverDrive couldn’t be easier, except for when my e-book reader of choice, the NOOK, suddenly stopped opening the books. The joy of getting an email that the e-book I’ve been waiting for had finally been checked out to me was followed by disappointment that I couldn’t read it on my NOOK.

If you are not familiar, OverDrive is the service used by many public libraries for readers to borrow e-books. It’s a wonderful service if you’re bored or finished a book and the library isn’t open (like nights and weekends) or if you’re a procrastinator and need to read a book for class immediately. My sister recently used the service to download a book she needed to read for a college paper due in three days.

For some reason, the e-books were not opening properly on the NOOK. I was using the NOOK GlowLight Plus, but it appears that wasn’t the only model having the difficulty in retrieving the books. To read on the GlowLight Plus, the e-book needs to be downloaded from OverDrive and opened using Adobe Digital Editions on a computer. The file can then be transferred to the NOOK for reading purposes.

Here was the problem: the e-book could only be checked out on one device. By trying and failing to open the e-book on my NOOK, the e-book could no longer be downloaded or read using the OverDrive app. The only option I had left was reading in a browser on my computer or on a tablet.

For me, that was a tediously slow Verizon tablet. For months I tried unsuccessfully to read library books on my NOOK. Its e-ink and lightweight body make it a great reading companion. The tablet on the other hand is not. There is the glare off the screen and the awkward background lighting. I decided enough is enough and upgraded to a new tablet, but reading on a heavy tablet is much different than reading on a light, e-ink e-reader.

When I have to, the OverDrive app works well for me. The OverDrive app and its browser counterpart have two very different interfaces, so it can be a bit confusing when switching back and forth. The app has its own lighting adjustment, but reading in the browser has its challenges getting the tablet backlight setting low enough to read comfortably.

Reading on the NOOK takes a few extra steps to move the download from the computer to my device, but it’s worth it. Lucky for me, Barnes & Noble launched a software update earlier this year that has since fixed the problem.

Cost: Many frustrated hours.

Drink of Choice: My favorite, a Bee’s Knees Latte with Soy milk

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