Adventures in irony

I came into possession of a Nook HD+ recently.  It was free, with ThankYou points.

I always buy a physical book — if I can get it. That said, I read an enormous amount of very old, out of print, and out of copyright books. These books, from the 1600s to the 1930s, are often only available electronically, from Google Books,  Internet Archive, Jstor, or other such sites.

So, for reading ancient tomes, I actually needed a modern e-reader / tablet. Ironic, no?

I chose the Nook HD+ with Google Play because the 9-inch screen makes PDF reading easy — and it was free.  I then upgraded the memory to a 64 GB chip.

The Nook works great right out of the box for a lot of people. But rooting it (so it’s an open Android tablet) is also an option. Rooting it makes the battery last longer, speeds it up, and keeps the processor from overheating. So I rooted mine, and then I loaded the Nook App back on to it –because I only really use it to read.

I know. Irony abounds.

Anyway, Christmas is coming and if  you’re looking for an good tablet to do most everything on (except take pictures — there’s no camera on a Nook) the Nook HD+ is a bargain. Buy it and run it as is or buy it and root it. Either way, you’ll have a great device and cash to spare.

Rooting is pretty easy. All you need is a blank chip, some free downloads, and the free CyanogenMod instructions. CyanogenMod‘s 10.1.3 (Jelly Bean 4.2.2) is what your putting on in place of the firmware.  I paid about $15 for step-by-step instructions (from the guy in this video below) because it saved time.

Non-geeks have options too. Android for Nook  sells pre-programmed 32GB Dual-Boot Micro SD Card– for $20.  Just slip in the chip and I can boot it up either as a Nook or as an Android tablet. RootMyNookHD and N2A Cards  are two other companies which also sell pre-programmed micro SD cards.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to read a scathing review of the 1883 Paris Salon and then discover the nautical adventures of Anton and Cecil, cats at sea.