Are there any online ebook lending services?

[any ANONYMOUS forum user]

Are there any online ebook lending services?

Amazon allows to lend Kindle ebooks:

Eligible Kindle ebooks can be loaned once for a period of 14 days. The borrower does not need to own a Kindle - Kindle books can also be read using free Kindle reading applications for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. Not all books are lendable - it is up to the publisher or rights holder to determine which titles are eligible for lending. The lender will not be able to read the book during the loan period.


Finding Lendable eBooks in Kindle Store

Titles in the Kindle Store that are eligible for lending, as determined by the publisher or rights holder, will have a message on the product detail page. Scroll down to the "Product Details" section and look for "Lending: Enabled" as shown below:



For titles you already own, you can check the Your Orders section in Manage Your Kindle. Click the "+" symbol next to a title to reveal additional information about the title. If lending is enabled, you'll see a Loan this book button next to the product image.

See also:
Amazon.com: Lending Kindle Books

[geoburke]

Yup, you're just in luck to rent ebooks. A new ebook lending service - eBook Fling just launched in beta last week. It's from the founders of BookSwim, so it should be pretty good.

[jemmydoug]

A library representative then explained how the new free ebook lending service works. The system is run by Overdrive (which powers W H Smith ebooks). There's no downloading, instead you get your ebooks/audiofiles for 3 weeks and then they disappear. That could be annoying if you're half way through a novel and you miss the reminder email, but all stock is accessible 24/7 for ordering and re-ordering and there are no fines. The files are compatible with both Apple and Microsoft computers, iPads, iPods, mobile phones including iPhones and Blackberrys but sadly not UKebookblog's favourite ereader the Kindle. Authors' rights aren't forgotten in all of this. The library pays a lending right fee. The more digital subscribers the library gets the more goes to the authors.

[any ANONYMOUS forum user]

Which goes to show why DRM'd ebooks are a bad idea. This fancy overdrive system fails to work on the most popular ebook reader available. What an absurdity.

[cornis]

There is a lot of services available online through which you can lend eBooks. Amazon is one of them.