How many of you guys use google books?

[Keira]

Before that, I never realize how important it was to get a glimpse of what you would expect from a book before you actually buy it. Well, with the google book preview around, you can actually get to read a few lines from the book and then judge for yourself whether it might be worth to purchase it. Taking into consideration that most bookstores nowadays go along with the policy of "No reading before buying" and thus checking online this way does help a lot.

Recently what I read is that there has been some issues whereby publishers claim that their proprietary rights are being abused with google books preview around. So what do you guys think? Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

[Peder]

I frequently look through a few pages online at amazon -- google books is new to me -- especially when the book might be unusual and out of my familiar terrain. In the bookstore, I always look at a few pages of any unfamiliar book -- meaning unfamiliar author, style or content.
Re copyright and proprietary rights, I am completely in the fog, but it seems to me that there is, or was, a concept of "fair use" that might apply to browsing as it does to copying a limited number of pages.

 

[sparkchaser]

I use Google books but mainly it is to find sentence or two from a book I don't have handy.

 

[pettersmith]

Well currently i am reading the "My Next Shoes" written by James Shalter. I have not heard the name of the Google books before that. The Google book is sounds quite good i think i must check it on the web site.

 

[DavidRM]

I read the samples of ebooks I'm interested in. That's about it. Never used Google Books.

-David

 

[Anamnesis]

From time to time. Normally I use Amazon to check out excerpts since I'm on that site more often.

 

[alliterati]

I use it a lot. That and B&N previews (more detailed than Amazon usually).