Last couple of months I’ve been using this online bookshelf from Safari.
With this service you can search across, read, browse through 3500+ technical books. I should note that they have all the recent titles, be it on Java, OO, WebServices, .NOT etc. I’m using this service on a personal account (about € 10,- per month) and I am very pleased with it. (Though I wouldn’t mind if my boss would pay for it, as it is of both personal and professional value)
On a yearly basis this amounts to +/- € 120,- which is the price of 3 books. For this I have a virtual bookshelf with 5 slots. Some books take 2 slots, most take 1. Once you place a book on this shelf, you have to keep it there for at least a month. After that you can swap it for another one. This seems like a long time, but I usually don’t read more than 5 technical books a month 
Most books I read, are read and put aside. There are ofcource some books I like to keep as a reference guide. For those this is a perfect place to make a decision before buying. They also offer a nice discount when you buy books online through their site.
I think it can also be very valuable at a corporate level. Think of study material, training, research, etc.
I know I would like to have an unlimited version of this service at my immediate disposal
for some other reviews have a look at this or this page (or google for safari review).
Actually, I can’t believe that some of you aren’t also using this…
I would like to know if some of you are using this and if so, what you think of it.
If not, why not give it a try.
December 21st, 2005 at 7:56 am
I had a Safari account for about 2 years and had a similar experience with it. I actually read a few books completely online, though most I ran through a relevant chapter or two when researching a problem. I’d probably still have the account active today, but my current employer includes a decent book budget so I always have a backlog of physical books to read. After a few months I found I just wasn’t using Safari enough to justify it anymore.
December 23rd, 2005 at 9:25 am
Ruben, I think your Manager wouldn’t mind paying for the subscription. However, he might have some questions regarding the fit with existing book “budgets” and alternatives for Safari. Some corporate policy or even suggestions would be very appreciated.