I spent the last 30+ minutes chatting with customer support and the first one,i can't find a word to describe since i don't want to use the word 'useless'. The second one was pretty much the same.
I hate that if you score less than 80% on just one practice test, the test feature is disabled. knowing this, i've always taken a test first prior to taking a practice test. I'm not sure what got into me but i took a practice first this evening and i score 70. I scored a 80 and a 90% on the remaining but that doesn't change anything because all you need is one sub-80 score. The rep told me that only instructors can make any changes and for self-study mode, there's nothing that can be done.
I find that VERY annoying. If someone signs up for this, they're pretty much signing up because they'd like to practice to improve. I want all the practice i can get and considering the practice is just a means for one to practice skills learned in the model, i don't see why that should be a determinant in taking the test.
I think the default feature should be the other way around. Tests should be available by default and for people enrolled instructor led courses, instructors should set the cuttoff limit for mastery.
What's even more annoying is that customer service can't reset it. If an instructor can do that in a course, why can't customer service reset for people not taking a course? People who take kaplan tests call and have the test reset so they can take it again. I'm fine with the fact that myreading lab tests can be taken once. I'm not fine with the fact that tests are disable even if your average practice result is greater than 80. The problem with this is that encourages skipping practice and going directly to tests because once the test is disabled, you're stuck and each time you log in, it tells you that you haven't completed the module. I just went back to the intermediate reading course and realized that i took the 2 tests and skipped the just 1 out 5 or 6 practice tests.
I'm not happy with this and i hope it changes. I can't be too pissed at them because i know this program is mainly for people enrolled in instructor led courses and it looks like that's the group pearson caters to. I do think however that if they were to cater to independents, they'll expand their market greatly for tehre are thousands of LSAT, MCAT and GRE takers out there who'd like to improve their comprehension. if the GMAT has a RC section, then add it to it. i think there are about 55000+ takers of the MCAT alone each year. Not sure how many people take the GRE each year but i'll bet it it's more than the MCAT.
I'm just ranting cuz i'm a little upset but then again, i know pearson caters to students with instructors so i'm in a class on my own.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Finally, a lexile measure
I signed up for all sections of myreading lab and in hindsight, i regret that. In my defense, i didn't know what course was right for me in the beginning and i kept choosing books to see what i wanted to do.
Anwyay, after my last blog entry i went back to myreading lab and decided to pop into the advance reading course. I've looked through this course a few weeks ago when i failed the active reading section of the intermediate course and the diagnostic wasn't there. Thing is i saw it there and i took it and i scored 1385. I had 23/25 on the questions.
I have a lot of respect for Pearson for making this feature available because i made a post on facebook asking them why it wasn't available and i got a response saying they're working on it. Indeed! i'm glad they listen to their customers. i wish I'd signed up for the intro course instead of jumping to the intermediate. Anyway, i'll work the intro course, finish the intermediate and use the reading level measures in the advance course to measure my reading level. I'm just happy i'm reading above 12th grade level.
I wish i hadn't spent all that money on that verbal mastery book. oh well, had i known?
Anwyay, after my last blog entry i went back to myreading lab and decided to pop into the advance reading course. I've looked through this course a few weeks ago when i failed the active reading section of the intermediate course and the diagnostic wasn't there. Thing is i saw it there and i took it and i scored 1385. I had 23/25 on the questions.
I have a lot of respect for Pearson for making this feature available because i made a post on facebook asking them why it wasn't available and i got a response saying they're working on it. Indeed! i'm glad they listen to their customers. i wish I'd signed up for the intro course instead of jumping to the intermediate. Anyway, i'll work the intro course, finish the intermediate and use the reading level measures in the advance course to measure my reading level. I'm just happy i'm reading above 12th grade level.
I wish i hadn't spent all that money on that verbal mastery book. oh well, had i known?
Reading
So i thought the fundamentals of reading course was the 2nd basic course in myreading lab and that the introductory reading came before that. Turns out it's the other way around and that the fundamentals is the most basic. Come to think of it, it's pretty pathetic that i scored 20% in the main idea section of that. Anyway, while wondering why i wasn't doing well in the intermediate reading course, i decided to try that and see what it offers and that's when i realized it's a lot more advanced than the fundamental course and considering i've completed the main idea sections of the intermediate reading course, i scored 100% on the these and the supporting details in the introductory course. In fact i scored 100% on 16 of the topics and 80% on critical thinking and the rest was either a 33%, 50% or a 66% and those were a total of 6 or 7 topics. the 33% was on the active reading topic and 2 patterns of organization, time order and cause and effect. Those 2 i can learn easily, the active reading is something i need to work hard in.
I think i sorta know what to do for the active reading and i think i learned that from powerscores book. I need to anticipate when i read and pay attention to signal words- italized words, bolded word and words that define stuff and other things. I think i'll apply that to myreading lab and see how much i improved. I scored a 66% in the outlining and mapping and i think that's a hit or miss. i did that question at work and i was in a hurry to get done and do the joints.
Anyway, it's a start but i think i'll do the introductory before coming to the intermediate. I think the fundamental course was necessary because it really helped me master supporting details and how to detect the main idea. All i need to do now is learn the patterns of organization and improve on my active reading skills. Good luck to me.
I think i sorta know what to do for the active reading and i think i learned that from powerscores book. I need to anticipate when i read and pay attention to signal words- italized words, bolded word and words that define stuff and other things. I think i'll apply that to myreading lab and see how much i improved. I scored a 66% in the outlining and mapping and i think that's a hit or miss. i did that question at work and i was in a hurry to get done and do the joints.
Anyway, it's a start but i think i'll do the introductory before coming to the intermediate. I think the fundamental course was necessary because it really helped me master supporting details and how to detect the main idea. All i need to do now is learn the patterns of organization and improve on my active reading skills. Good luck to me.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Reading lab post test
Scored a 80% on the pretest and 86% on the post -test. Some difference but not that great. Scored 80% in the main idea section compared to 20% on the pretest. Scored above 80% on all sections with a 100% on most except active reading (40%) and graphics and visual aids. For the active reading section, i think some of the questions were more critical thinking type of questions. The graphic and visual aids was awful. i question one of the answers and for the remaining 2, the graph was so bad it was hard to tell what was what. Anyway, I'm happy that graphs i'll be dealing with wouldn't be zigzag intertwining lines where you can't tell the difference between the two variables.
I'm happy i improved in the main idea section. The correct answer for my wrong question was the other answer i'd debated on so it's the case where i went with the wrong choice. I scored 100% on the supporting details which i find great. Besides the dictionary section which i also scored an 80% (stupid oversight), i got a 100% on all other sections.
I feel like the post test points out my strong areas and my weak area shows. I'll say the active reading is a weak area because it involves reasoning and critical thinking which i need to work on. Not sure how i'm going to work on that but i'm moving on to the intermediate reading course so we'll see how that works. I signed up for myreading lab on the 10th of november though i started the studying on the 14th.
While going from an 80 to an 86 doesn't look like much, i feel like myreading lab is worth it. I understood every passage i read in the post test, took a lot less time and skimmed a lot of the passages which may have accounted for my poor performance in the active reading section. I do see and feel and improvement in my comprehension skills, i'll say besides the active reading mistakes, i'll say i could've done better had it not been for that oversight in the dictionary section and that awful graph.
I'm hoping i improve a lot more with the intermemdiate course.
I'm happy i improved in the main idea section. The correct answer for my wrong question was the other answer i'd debated on so it's the case where i went with the wrong choice. I scored 100% on the supporting details which i find great. Besides the dictionary section which i also scored an 80% (stupid oversight), i got a 100% on all other sections.
I feel like the post test points out my strong areas and my weak area shows. I'll say the active reading is a weak area because it involves reasoning and critical thinking which i need to work on. Not sure how i'm going to work on that but i'm moving on to the intermediate reading course so we'll see how that works. I signed up for myreading lab on the 10th of november though i started the studying on the 14th.
While going from an 80 to an 86 doesn't look like much, i feel like myreading lab is worth it. I understood every passage i read in the post test, took a lot less time and skimmed a lot of the passages which may have accounted for my poor performance in the active reading section. I do see and feel and improvement in my comprehension skills, i'll say besides the active reading mistakes, i'll say i could've done better had it not been for that oversight in the dictionary section and that awful graph.
I'm hoping i improve a lot more with the intermemdiate course.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year
Another year, thank God for his protection and grace and blessings this past year.
Hopefully, i don't get lazy in studying for this exam
Hopefully, i lose my "maryland belly."
Hopefully, i succeed during the app season
By God, i'm going to excel on this exam
I was thinking about buying verbal virtuoso but i read what's his name's email again and he said it teaches you to find the "authors opinion." I think that's what Powerscores reading comprehension bible has taught me, and more. I find that after going through it, when i get a question wrong, it's because i didn't read all the choices or i didn't understand what the question was asking for. This has been very few instances. Also, i totally understand the passages are saying now no matter how complex and convoluted they seem. It's made me an active reader. I find that i barely turn back to reference the passage, i did that once to make certain the lists were consistent with the lists in the choices and i knew exactly where to search. I'm not scared of doing passages anymore.
From this point onwards, it's a matter or practicing daily to eliminate errors and master the strategies i've learned from their book so it becomes second nature.
I know lots of people make laudatory remarks concerning PS LRB but not so much for their RCB. I have looked at their LRB and reading the first chapter made me regret buying the logic book i purchased (which btw, amazon reduced the price for the book aned i haven't had the time to read it plus the library has it). I should've returned that book but i think i'll keep it, for now.
Anyway, if i had to do it over again, i wouldn't buy the Ivyhall books. It's not that they aren't good, they helped me get from a 7 to a 9 with minimal use last year. It's because While it talks about the main point, structure, purpose and what nots, in addition to listing sample question types just as PS does, lacks the practice that PS offers and I like the way PS attacks the stuff better. I'd say I'd have invested the money i paid for the ivy hall RC book in buying PS RCB. Then the money i used to buy their passages book to buy PS passage type training book which i have but i'd have saved money. Then i'd buy access to myreading lab. The rest will be practicing with the cambridge book, EK 101, TPRH verbal passages book and whatever i can find. I don't think EK resembles the real deal as most people say. I felt the passages on my exam where much easier to comprehend even with my poor comprehension skills and the most of the answer choices were obvious.
Anyway, i returned the readers edge. It's a complete waste. I did not improve one bit.
Here's to getting rid of that which isn't helpful and making use of the helpful. May the good God guide me according to His WORD.
Hopefully, i don't get lazy in studying for this exam
Hopefully, i lose my "maryland belly."
Hopefully, i succeed during the app season
By God, i'm going to excel on this exam
I was thinking about buying verbal virtuoso but i read what's his name's email again and he said it teaches you to find the "authors opinion." I think that's what Powerscores reading comprehension bible has taught me, and more. I find that after going through it, when i get a question wrong, it's because i didn't read all the choices or i didn't understand what the question was asking for. This has been very few instances. Also, i totally understand the passages are saying now no matter how complex and convoluted they seem. It's made me an active reader. I find that i barely turn back to reference the passage, i did that once to make certain the lists were consistent with the lists in the choices and i knew exactly where to search. I'm not scared of doing passages anymore.
From this point onwards, it's a matter or practicing daily to eliminate errors and master the strategies i've learned from their book so it becomes second nature.
I know lots of people make laudatory remarks concerning PS LRB but not so much for their RCB. I have looked at their LRB and reading the first chapter made me regret buying the logic book i purchased (which btw, amazon reduced the price for the book aned i haven't had the time to read it plus the library has it). I should've returned that book but i think i'll keep it, for now.
Anyway, if i had to do it over again, i wouldn't buy the Ivyhall books. It's not that they aren't good, they helped me get from a 7 to a 9 with minimal use last year. It's because While it talks about the main point, structure, purpose and what nots, in addition to listing sample question types just as PS does, lacks the practice that PS offers and I like the way PS attacks the stuff better. I'd say I'd have invested the money i paid for the ivy hall RC book in buying PS RCB. Then the money i used to buy their passages book to buy PS passage type training book which i have but i'd have saved money. Then i'd buy access to myreading lab. The rest will be practicing with the cambridge book, EK 101, TPRH verbal passages book and whatever i can find. I don't think EK resembles the real deal as most people say. I felt the passages on my exam where much easier to comprehend even with my poor comprehension skills and the most of the answer choices were obvious.
Anyway, i returned the readers edge. It's a complete waste. I did not improve one bit.
Here's to getting rid of that which isn't helpful and making use of the helpful. May the good God guide me according to His WORD.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Five orange pips
Amazon's kindle has me reading all these free old books and among them, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Reading that got me interested in watching PBS 'Sherlock', which btw i like. Anyway, the actor mentioned the five orange pips and i can't help remember how i felt after reading that.
I felt sad, sad at the fact that the young innocent man was killed. His uncle, i don't care so much about. I mean i don't know what he did with the KKK and if they chased him to england, well... life is what you make it. His nephew on the other hand was innocent, had no idea what was going on and the fools didn't give him a chance.
The only thing i'm left to wonder is did the ship sink because of the equinoctial or whatever gales they were having or was there something 'fishy' involved. The question is did the ship sink? Oh well...i wish i knew.
I felt sad, sad at the fact that the young innocent man was killed. His uncle, i don't care so much about. I mean i don't know what he did with the KKK and if they chased him to england, well... life is what you make it. His nephew on the other hand was innocent, had no idea what was going on and the fools didn't give him a chance.
The only thing i'm left to wonder is did the ship sink because of the equinoctial or whatever gales they were having or was there something 'fishy' involved. The question is did the ship sink? Oh well...i wish i knew.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
evaluating my readin
The first time i took a speed reading test from reader's edge, it was online and my wpm was over 300. That was after practicing with acereader pro, mostly playing their games. Prior to that, my effective reading rate was about 201.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
evaluating my readin
The first time i took a speed reading test from reader's edge, it was online and my wpm was over 300. That was after practicing with acereader pro, mostly playing their games. Prior to that, my effective reading rate was about 201.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
Monday, November 29, 2010
speedreading
I signed up for my reading lab earlier this month and i like it. i was led to believe that everyone gets a lexile diagnostic in the beginning. That part is a lie. It looks like it's only those enrolled in instructor-led courses and i say this based on the fact that i'm enrolled to work on my own and i don't have the option of taking a lexile diagnostic. This defeats most of the purpose of buying it because i'd like to know how i'm improving as i work through the program and if i can't measure that, how do i know if i've improved?
I think if they had it available for independent workers, they'll probably have peopl3 in schools where myreadinglab isn't used sign up to work independently.
By not having the lexile measure available to measure progress, i don't think myreadinglab is worth the amount paid. Why? because you can improve your comprehension with tons of exercise at towsendpress.com for free. If you want to know how to find the main idea? well,the book can tell you and then you can take the exercises.
For me, i purchased myreading lab to help my comprehension and have a way to measure improvement and since that isn't there, i personally wouldn't advise purchase considering you can find free resources out there.
So, in researching how to take a lexile diagnostic, i came across a teacher's syllabus from some school in missouri that uses the ultimate speed reader. Googled it but came up with other stuff. Acereader pro and reader's edge are the 2 that topped all the rest. Top 10 review rated my readers edge as #1 with Acereader pro as #2 but to me, they all received the same stars for virtually everything so they rank the same to me.
i read reviews on their actual websites and they both had great reviews. I also looked at amazon.com and Acereader has 5-star reviews. i was put in a dilemma saturday, all day sunday and couldn't decide. i downloaded the free version of acereader and i feel like just using it for that short maybe 30minutes tops put me in the 300wpm range. i've never read that fast before. Their comprehension exercises are 4 question only.It's cheaper than than the basic version of reader's edge.Personally, the impression i got was that it can increase your rate dramatically. I found their games challenging and fun. Reader's edge on the other hand was more expensive, had great reviews as well. They also had a sale for their pro version, it was selling for 74.97 (50%) off compared to $79.95 for their basic editon. Their comprehension tests offer more questions,i believe 6, compared to acereader. I also saw in their reviews, MCATers who'd used it and found it helpful. So, considering their prices are similar, which one do i buy?
i went out, came home, decided i'll get up before 1am to buy reader's edge but woke up this morning. i turned on this computer and boy am i glad i hibernated it. i still had my window open with the purchase page of readers edge on there showing the $74.97 price. Without thinking any further, i just clicked on purchase and paid for it. The only thing had me hesitate for a second was whether i should choose download or pay $7 to have the cd mailed to me ($7 is a ripoff). i ended up choosing the cd anyway because i'm hoping i can sell it to someone since the pro version can be downloaded unto 2 different computers. So $81.92 was the total. I'd looked at their facebook page and the best deal i'd seen there was them offering 20% off both versions so i thought the 50% off for their thanksgiving sale was a real deal. it wasn't posted on their facebook page though.
Is it worth it? I hope it is. i feel like unlike my reading lab where i can't measure my progress, this gives a graphical detail showing your progress. Plus i get to practice speed and comprehension at the same time. I paid abut $12 more than i'd pay for ace reader (of course if i buy ace reader with cd shipping then that'll be $4 more. If it turn's out it's not worth it though, i'll pretend i had a pay a red-light ticket. They have a money back guarantee. I'll use if dilligently for the next 30days and see how much progress i make,if not much, i'll email them and get acereader. Like i said, i liked how acereader's interface was. i think the most cogent testimonial that got me to purchase reader's edge was the one from the MCATers. I'll post an update later.
I think if they had it available for independent workers, they'll probably have peopl3 in schools where myreadinglab isn't used sign up to work independently.
By not having the lexile measure available to measure progress, i don't think myreadinglab is worth the amount paid. Why? because you can improve your comprehension with tons of exercise at towsendpress.com for free. If you want to know how to find the main idea? well,the book can tell you and then you can take the exercises.
For me, i purchased myreading lab to help my comprehension and have a way to measure improvement and since that isn't there, i personally wouldn't advise purchase considering you can find free resources out there.
So, in researching how to take a lexile diagnostic, i came across a teacher's syllabus from some school in missouri that uses the ultimate speed reader. Googled it but came up with other stuff. Acereader pro and reader's edge are the 2 that topped all the rest. Top 10 review rated my readers edge as #1 with Acereader pro as #2 but to me, they all received the same stars for virtually everything so they rank the same to me.
i read reviews on their actual websites and they both had great reviews. I also looked at amazon.com and Acereader has 5-star reviews. i was put in a dilemma saturday, all day sunday and couldn't decide. i downloaded the free version of acereader and i feel like just using it for that short maybe 30minutes tops put me in the 300wpm range. i've never read that fast before. Their comprehension exercises are 4 question only.It's cheaper than than the basic version of reader's edge.Personally, the impression i got was that it can increase your rate dramatically. I found their games challenging and fun. Reader's edge on the other hand was more expensive, had great reviews as well. They also had a sale for their pro version, it was selling for 74.97 (50%) off compared to $79.95 for their basic editon. Their comprehension tests offer more questions,i believe 6, compared to acereader. I also saw in their reviews, MCATers who'd used it and found it helpful. So, considering their prices are similar, which one do i buy?
i went out, came home, decided i'll get up before 1am to buy reader's edge but woke up this morning. i turned on this computer and boy am i glad i hibernated it. i still had my window open with the purchase page of readers edge on there showing the $74.97 price. Without thinking any further, i just clicked on purchase and paid for it. The only thing had me hesitate for a second was whether i should choose download or pay $7 to have the cd mailed to me ($7 is a ripoff). i ended up choosing the cd anyway because i'm hoping i can sell it to someone since the pro version can be downloaded unto 2 different computers. So $81.92 was the total. I'd looked at their facebook page and the best deal i'd seen there was them offering 20% off both versions so i thought the 50% off for their thanksgiving sale was a real deal. it wasn't posted on their facebook page though.
Is it worth it? I hope it is. i feel like unlike my reading lab where i can't measure my progress, this gives a graphical detail showing your progress. Plus i get to practice speed and comprehension at the same time. I paid abut $12 more than i'd pay for ace reader (of course if i buy ace reader with cd shipping then that'll be $4 more. If it turn's out it's not worth it though, i'll pretend i had a pay a red-light ticket. They have a money back guarantee. I'll use if dilligently for the next 30days and see how much progress i make,if not much, i'll email them and get acereader. Like i said, i liked how acereader's interface was. i think the most cogent testimonial that got me to purchase reader's edge was the one from the MCATers. I'll post an update later.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Kindle
Well, earlier this year i wanted the $259 kindle. It was just too expensive for me to buy. I know they'd been about 300 bucks earlier when they first came around. I actually wanted it for my birthday and then amazon brought out the latest generation with a lower price - $139. I knew i had to get one. I pre-ordered after going back and forth trying to decided between the kindle and the nook. I cancelled my pre-order after i hearing from the grapevine that amazon will likely drop the prices around Christmas. I thought why not wait. Well, I need to read. Part of what killed me during the summer was that i was too lazy to read. I borrowed books from the library and i barely read them. I figured the kindle might help me read more.
Guess what? it did. I got it last week, and thought what more to kindle my love for reading than burglar novel by Lawrence block. I believe the last book i read completely back in kansas was a Block novel about Bernie and i loved it back then. The library only had 2 of his burglar books so it ended there. I purchased "The burlgar on the prowl" and finished yesterday. Now i can't put my kindle down. I own the barron's hardcopy book but studying word listse from it has been a pain. So i ordered the kindle version last night and i've read the analogy section twice and completed 2 of the tests. I actually like reading on the the kindle better.
Even if amazon isn't making profit on the kindle, they'll surely make profit on book sales. I mean the probability that i'll order a block novel from amazon is zero because the library has them. But with the kindle, i've purchased 2 so far. Kinda suckx a little knowing that amazon sells the used copy for $2.39 and ships free with prime, too. I had the used ones in my cart but i love being able to look up a work immediately while reading instead of looking it up in a hard copy dictionary. I've learned soo many words just by reading. In fact the same applies to studying with the barron ebook. You can move your cursor to a word to look it up. Normally when i read the hardcopy book, i don't stop to look up words in the answer stem i don't know because it's tedious flipping back and forth through the dictionary. Plus the dictionary that came with my kindle is more comprehensive than the pocketsized one i own and offers things like "the right word" concerning words of the same semantic.
The kindle has 2 dictionaries by the way. I've purchased free books but i plan on buying the non-free ones as well. I know most of the books i wouldn't purchase, like Steig Larson or the doctor nover, knife music, i believe is the title. But i've seen them on the kindle store front, and for knife music, i read something by the author from the kindle daily and it made me wanna order the book right away.
I just wish the books were a little cheaper. i mean Blocks first Bernie novel is 8bucks. The book was written in the 70's. Why can't it be $5. I know i'll be ordering them in packs instead of buying them one at a time. Besides, i plan on reading the rest hardcopy. Buying a kindle book gives you the right to own read the book on your device. it's not like you own it like a hardcopy where you can sell it used.
i got a free biology textbook via kindle and i loved how it felt real, easy to navigate through the chapters, diagrams were just like the books. Great i thought. But considering publishers are selling e-books for about the same price as paperbacks or even more in some cases, i'm definately not going to dish out $150 for a bio textbook or o-chem textbook. Normally, i keep my textbooks clean and sell them either at profit or break even. Rarely do i sell at a small loss. I refused to buy the ichapters book for the bio II textbook because at $25 less than the physical copy, i considered it a waste of money, besides you couldn't sell it and only had access for a year.
If i'm a taking a litterature class or philosophy class where i can get kindle books cheap on amazon, i'll definately buy it but for a science major, i don't see the benefit.
I could go on and on and i know this post is somewhat desultory but i love my kindle, i'm glad i chose it because the $10 difference between this and the nook wasn't a big deal but i'll have to pay 6% on the price of the nook, 6% on books i buy and amazon has cheaper book prices than barnes and noble. Heck, barnes and noble has my philly address so they'll prolly be charging 8% tax instead of 6%. Plus i earn rewards on amazon. i heard the kindle was faster with page turns and to me, it's very fast, almost evanescent. i mean the old page vanishes and new one reappears in milliseconds. I'll end it here
Guess what? it did. I got it last week, and thought what more to kindle my love for reading than burglar novel by Lawrence block. I believe the last book i read completely back in kansas was a Block novel about Bernie and i loved it back then. The library only had 2 of his burglar books so it ended there. I purchased "The burlgar on the prowl" and finished yesterday. Now i can't put my kindle down. I own the barron's hardcopy book but studying word listse from it has been a pain. So i ordered the kindle version last night and i've read the analogy section twice and completed 2 of the tests. I actually like reading on the the kindle better.
Even if amazon isn't making profit on the kindle, they'll surely make profit on book sales. I mean the probability that i'll order a block novel from amazon is zero because the library has them. But with the kindle, i've purchased 2 so far. Kinda suckx a little knowing that amazon sells the used copy for $2.39 and ships free with prime, too. I had the used ones in my cart but i love being able to look up a work immediately while reading instead of looking it up in a hard copy dictionary. I've learned soo many words just by reading. In fact the same applies to studying with the barron ebook. You can move your cursor to a word to look it up. Normally when i read the hardcopy book, i don't stop to look up words in the answer stem i don't know because it's tedious flipping back and forth through the dictionary. Plus the dictionary that came with my kindle is more comprehensive than the pocketsized one i own and offers things like "the right word" concerning words of the same semantic.
The kindle has 2 dictionaries by the way. I've purchased free books but i plan on buying the non-free ones as well. I know most of the books i wouldn't purchase, like Steig Larson or the doctor nover, knife music, i believe is the title. But i've seen them on the kindle store front, and for knife music, i read something by the author from the kindle daily and it made me wanna order the book right away.
I just wish the books were a little cheaper. i mean Blocks first Bernie novel is 8bucks. The book was written in the 70's. Why can't it be $5. I know i'll be ordering them in packs instead of buying them one at a time. Besides, i plan on reading the rest hardcopy. Buying a kindle book gives you the right to own read the book on your device. it's not like you own it like a hardcopy where you can sell it used.
i got a free biology textbook via kindle and i loved how it felt real, easy to navigate through the chapters, diagrams were just like the books. Great i thought. But considering publishers are selling e-books for about the same price as paperbacks or even more in some cases, i'm definately not going to dish out $150 for a bio textbook or o-chem textbook. Normally, i keep my textbooks clean and sell them either at profit or break even. Rarely do i sell at a small loss. I refused to buy the ichapters book for the bio II textbook because at $25 less than the physical copy, i considered it a waste of money, besides you couldn't sell it and only had access for a year.
If i'm a taking a litterature class or philosophy class where i can get kindle books cheap on amazon, i'll definately buy it but for a science major, i don't see the benefit.
I could go on and on and i know this post is somewhat desultory but i love my kindle, i'm glad i chose it because the $10 difference between this and the nook wasn't a big deal but i'll have to pay 6% on the price of the nook, 6% on books i buy and amazon has cheaper book prices than barnes and noble. Heck, barnes and noble has my philly address so they'll prolly be charging 8% tax instead of 6%. Plus i earn rewards on amazon. i heard the kindle was faster with page turns and to me, it's very fast, almost evanescent. i mean the old page vanishes and new one reappears in milliseconds. I'll end it here
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