Get back to reading again with NOOK e-Reader by Barnes and Noble

If you already have a laptop or a netbook, you already have a great eBook reader device, why buy another one? Take full advantage of it! Today we are going to take a  look at the NOOK e-Reader from Barnes and Noble.

NOOK has some interesting features, and one in particular that stands out, that is the support of PDF eBook files. It’s great to have this support, because PDF is one of the most popular file format, among others, for eBooks. Also it is good to know that you are not locked down into one or two file formats, and that you don’t have to convert your eBooks into another format in order to view them with this software. With NOOK e-Reader software you will be able to read your books, plus newspapers, magazines, and more.

In this article we are going to be focusing in NOOK for PC and NOOKstudy for students, but there are also other versions such as NOOK for iPad, NOOK for iPhone, or NOOK for Android. You also can find a version for Blackberry and Mac.

How do I get the NOOK e-Reader software?

It is pretty easy, go to Barnes and Noble NOOK for PC page,and click Download NOOK for PC and save the program file in your desktop.

Nook for PC

 

 

Double click the NOOK program file to launch the installation and follow wizard.

Nook Windows Installation Wizard

 

Once the program is installed, run it and you will be prompted to enter your Barnes and Noble account information, or if you don’t have an account, click CREATE NEW ACCOUNT.

Nook Windows User Interface

 

When you are done entering your info or creating an account and signed in, you will see in the sidebar a list of all the sections that are available, and in the my library section you will find any eBook that are already in your B&N account.
If you need to search for content in your eBook, you have a handy search box in the up-right corner.

Nook my library section

 

You can also read reviews of the day in the daily section.
To buy a new eBook, click the shop link to access B&N book store page, or just go to Barnes and Noble website and add a new eBook to your account. You can always sample the book before buying.

Nook the daily

 

How do I add new items (files) to my library?

What is nice about NOOK software is that you can also add eBooks that you already own.

To add a new eBook just go to my library, click my stuff and click the ADD NEW ITEM button that appears in the toolbar. Now, locate the file and click Open to import the book to your library. Remember that all the files that you added manually will appear in my stuff section.

Nook add new item

These are the file formats supported by NOOK: PDF (including PDFs secured adobe Digital Editions DRM ), PDB, and EPUB. Note that you cannot import eBooks that you may own from other e-Readers programs like Kindle for PC. Kindle eBooks are secured to only be read by Kindle.

If you want to continue reading later, don’t worry, when you come back, NOOK automatically remembers the page where you left off.

 

NOOK e-Reader features

  • Over a million books titles to choose from.
  • Thousands of FREE eBooks and samples.
  • Automatically sync your last page and bookmarks to other devices.
  • Add notes, highlights, bookmarks and look up.
  • LendMe technology lets you share with friends.
  • Sync your info across iPod, iPhone, Android, NOOK, PC & more devices.
  • Text style chooser.
  • PDF (including PDFs secured adobe Digital Editions DRM ), PDB, & EPUB file format support.

 

 

NOOKstudy by B&N for students

Barnes and Noble has a special version of NOOK software for students called NOOKstudy, this will make it easier in you wallet and on your back, because not only you can get eTextbooks cheaper — up to %50 on saves, according to Barnes and Nobles –, but it also won’t hurt your back carrying heavy books in your back-pack. Plus NOOKstudy has more productive tools enhanced for students to help you get ready for a test or create a great term paper.

 

How do I get NOOKstudy software?

In order to get the free software, go to NOOKstudy page, and click the Download Free button, choose, in this case, the Windows version and click Download Now.

Nookstudy

 

Double click the file to launch the installation wizard and follow the steps.

Nook study Installation Wizard

After the installation is completed, run it. Like in NOOK e-Reader you will be prompted to sign in or create an account. You also may be asked to select your state and school to continue. NOOKstudy will also integrate an Adobe ID to enable you to read DRM protected PDF files.

Nook study Signin

Once you are all done signing in, all your books will be synced. NOOKstudy it a great application that comes with a lot more features than NOOK e-Reader, this is because the software was designed with students in mind.
In the image below you can see how NOOKstudy user interface looks like, also you can see how easy is to navigate. In the sidebar you can organize your books by course and you can create new ones with the Create Course button. With the top toolbar you have quick access to go to your library (Pile of book icon), go back to now reading (Open book icon), shop for books (Book Bag icon), and import documents (Document icon).

Nook study my library

 

To buy books, just click in the book bag icon in the toolbar, you will be able to search with an ISBN number or by a keyword. When you click SEARCH NOW, your default Web browser will open with Barnes and Noble store page and the search results. Note that some books are only available for rent and you can always read the book for free 7 days trail before purchasing it.

Shop eTextbooks

 

With the toolbar at the bottom, you can open and compare pages from different books, you can choose between single and two page view, zoom in and out, rotate pages, navigate, and print selected text.

Nookstudy two pages view

 

NOOKstudy helps you to get more out of your eBooks. You can select any text to copy it or look it up in Dictionary.com, Google, Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha, and YouTube.

Nookstuy Lookup

 

NOOKstudy features

  • PC and Mac software support.
  • Highlighting, Annotations
  • Tagging & searching
  • Side-by-Side Reading
  • Two Non-Consecutive Page View.
  • Organization by Course
  • Note-Taking directly in your book.
  • Import local documents such as syllabus, lecture notes, etc.
  • Drag and Drop importing.
  • Export Notes.
  • Web Links on Notes.
  • The ability to look up terms in Wikipedia and Google.
  • Print eBooks.
  • The ability to rent your eTextbooks with the option to buy them at the end of the rental period.
  • Over a million titles, and over 500,000 FREE eBooks.
  • and more.

Tip: After everything is setup, read the NOOKstudy user guide, it has a lot of useful information and to learn more about the features, FAQ & support, follow this link!

In the down side PDB file format is not supported. NOOKstudy can be installed in up to 6 devices. However, eTextbooks that you purchase can be downloaded in up to two devices, so it would be a good idea to install the software in a computer that you usually use for school. One more thing to keep in mind is that eTextbooks will only work with NOOKstudy and not with NOOK e-Reader or mobile devices.

 

Conclusion

The download and installation of the software is fast and easy. In the test installation, both NOOK for PC and NOOKstudy do not use a lot of system resources, which is great, and better for devices not too powerful such as netbooks. The user interface are pretty simple to use & easy to understand, and not a lot settings to configure. In both applications you will be able to read your eBooks in full-color.

To wrap up, even if you don’t own a NOOK device, you still have the ability to read books — thousands of them for FREE –, eNewspapers, textbooks, magazines, and much more. And with NOOKstudy you will be more productive at school.

So, what do you think about NOOK and NOOKstudy? Leave a your answer in the section below. Thanks!

 

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About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.