JournalOwl eReader

Recent History of eBooks

eBooks are nothing new. In the 1990s, the mainstream availability of the Internet made for the rapid proliferation of e-books. It was in 1993, when Paul Baim released a freeware HyperCard stack, called EBook - that made it easy to import any text file to create a pageable version similar to an electronic paperback book. 

Fast forward to 1998. 

The first set of eBook readers was launched, eBooks attained ISBNs, U.S. Libraries started providing free eBooks to the public, and the search engine Google was launched. These four milestones accelerated eBook adoption.

Fast forward again to 2007. 

This is when the Amazon Kindle eBook reader was launched. Also in 2007, Apple's release of the iPhone fueled the success of the Kindle. As massive success was achieved, other companies like Barnes & Noble created the Nook and Sony partnered with libraries and Overdrive to allow libraries to lend eBooks. 

It's no secret that eBooks and e-readers are a booming industry worldwide. In fact, eBook sales in the USA surpassed regular hardback sales since the beginning of 2012. In addition to eBooks, the introduction of eTextbooks is now reshaping how university students learn. 

Fast forward to 2023. 

High school and University students across the world often have the choice of using bulky textbooks for their classes or choosing an EPUB (eBook) version to read on their device with tools like Adobe Digital eReader. Most of the current eReader user interfaces don't lend themselves to an immersive reading and critical thinking experience. The standard out-of-the-box features of Adobe Digital Editions include: 

• Downloading & transferring of eBooks between devices
• Support for EPUB3; allowing a richer reading reading experience, rendering of audio and video content, etc. 
• Support for other file formats including EPUB and PDF. 
• Full search capability 
• Broad range accessibility 
• Multi-lingual support
• Bookmarking, Highlights, & Notes
• Borrowing of eBooks from many Public Libraries
• Organization of all eBooks
• Printing

This standard feature list of Adobe Digital Editions and other popular eReader tools lacks the ability to dissect the content of books and critically analyze the content with your classroom, your book club, or any other knowledge-based organization seeking a more comprehensive understanding of subject matter. 

JournalOwl reimagined the online eBook reader experience, along with offering tens of thousands of free eBooks to the public. 

eBook Critical Thinking Re-Imagined with JournalOwl

Imagine a reading experience where you can choose to either sit back and relax with your favorite novel without distractions, or turn on the critical thinking engine that enables insightful audio, video, and written commentary from your classmates or organization. 

In today's social media-driven society, most people are accustomed to commenting and piling on other people's comments in their replies. Think about YouTube for a moment. If you are watching a live stream video, the ‘live comments’ section is on the right-hand side of the screen scrolling by your eyes in a vertical frenzy of often useless and distracting 1 or 2-liners from people around the world. 

Now think about reading a book. It is often a solitary pursuit while in the act of reading, but collaborative when discussing the contents of the book with others in a classroom, at church, or in a book club. JournalOwl changes the online reading experience to set the conditions for critical thinking, deep understanding, and 360-degree analysis of a topic with real educated people - not trolls, or bots.