Google Books, the online phenomenon that has become something of a godsend to book addicts the world over is quickly gaining popularity among Jamaican readers.

Google Books is the creation of popular Web search engine, Google. It allows access to thousands of books, some of which can be downloaded and read in their entirety. Extensive sections of other books are available for browsing. You can read several pages of these book and even see photos and graphics.

Lots of Jamaicans have been turning to the site recently and it has become a favourite among tech-savvy readers who get a thrill from having access to so many books without having to pay a cent. There are lots of books on Jamaica and the history of the island on the Website and you can browse and learn to your heart's content.

Here's a description of how Google Books works. The following was taken from the Website.

How does Google Books work?

Finding books with Google Books is as easy as finding Websites with Google Web Search; just enter the keyword or phrase you're looking for into the Google Books box. For example, when you search for "rock climbing" or for a phrase like "one small step for man" we'll find all the books whose contents match your search terms. Click on a book title and you'll see basic info about the book just like you'd see in a card catalogue. You might also see a few snippets - sentences of your search term in context. If a publisher or author has given us permission, you'll see a full page and be able to browse within the book to see more pages. If the book is out of copyright, you'll see a full page and you can page forward or back to see the full book. Clicking on 'Search within this book' allows you to perform more searches within the book you've selected. You can click on any of the 'Buy this Book' links to go straight to an online bookstore where you can buy the book. In many cases, you can also click 'Find this book in a library' to find a local library where you can borrow it.

browsable

Many of the books in Google Books come from authors and publishers who participate in our Partner Programme. For these books, our partners decide how much of the book is browsable - anywhere from a few sample pages to the whole book.

For books that enter Google Books through the Library Project, what you see depends on the book's copyright status. We respect copyright law and the tremendous creative effort authors put into their work. If the book is in the public domain and therefore out of copyright, you can page through the entire book and even download it and read it offline. But if the book is under copyright, and the publisher or author is not part of the Partner Program, we only show basic information about the book, similar to a card catalogue, and, in some cases, a few snippets - sentences of your search terms in context. The aim of Google Books is to help you discover books and assist you with buying them or finding a copy at a local library. It's like going to a bookstore and browsing - with a Google twist.