eReader: InkMesh Search Engine

One of the things that is most frustrating about being an eBook reader at this point in time is the sometimes-exhausting search for eBooks, or rather the search for specific ones. Even if you're committed for whatever reason to a certain seller (Amazon, B&N, Sony, Kobo, etc.), there's no guarantee that just because a book exists in eBook form that it is necessarily stocked at that particular store. And there's lots of smaller sellers that are as reliable as the big wigs but it's tricky to remember all of the little stores in your search.

Comparison pricing is even more tedious - who wants to search for the same book over and over again at a dozen different eBook sellers?

Well, now thanks to Inkmesh, you don't have to. Inkmesh is an incredibly cool eBook search engine that you can use to locate, compare, and link to just about any published eBook (at least in the U.S. and U.K. - I'm not certain about other venues). The search details show the stores (listed by price) where the eBook can be purchased, which devices the eBook will work on, and what format and DRM the eBook comes in for each site.

Check out this listing for The Demon Girl, which the lovely and vivacious C. Merced has recommended as being notable for having not one but two shallow love interests, as well as for being (if I understand C. Merced's sentiments correctly) quite execrable in execution. Sure, you could buy it for 99 cents at the Sony store, bout wouldn't you rather get it for free at the Kobo store?

I love Inkmesh and want to take it home and feed it my super-special mashed potatoes recipe in gratitude for its existence. There's only three more things to watch out for. First, Inkmesh also does other electronic formats (including audiobooks) so remember to filter your results when necessary:

 

Second, Inkmesh doesn't seem to take into account geographical restrictions. A good example would be Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace which is "available" at the Sony eBookstore, but not for people in the U.S. Presumably non-U.S. citizens will face some of the same hurdles when using Inkmesh, so be aware of that potential shopping snag. 

Third, Inkmesh doesn't seem to have a link to the GoodReads free eBooks listings, which is definitely worth checking out for fun, free, exciting titles, including S. Meyer's "Midnight Sun" which will be the final piece in our Twilight deconstruction series, some point in the near future when we experience the heat death of the universe. Please remember to bring blankets, people.