Among the more valuable web assistants I’ve found is Instapaper: A simple tool to save web pages for reading later.
With a free account, you can identify items while browsing, click a bookmarklet on your browser, and save the item — often even those with multiple pages — for reading later, in a better, less cluttered format. Instapaper works on your computers and your mobile devices (with the appropriate app), including the Kindle. You can save one place and read on another, like magic.
Instapaper works inside many applications and websites; for example, Google Reader, Pulse, Twitter, Slate.
With Instapaper, I find I read better and more interesting pieces — by saving for later, I avoid the “well, what’s on this link” pace of the web. And, I always have a trove of good magazine-size articles to read.
And it’s free.
(The basic iPhone app is also free. I decided yesterday the app was so useful I purchased the $4.99 version, which has more functionality, lets you create folders, store more articles, etc.)
Related to this is the Reader function in the computer version of Safari. With click of a button you get an uncluttered, exceptionally readable version of the main content of the page you are viewing (if it is a single item of more than a couple paragraphs).
Instapaper (and Safari’s Reader function) are fantastic for reading Joe Posnanski’s wonderful but oh-so-long posts.
I use Read It Later as an alternative to normal bookmarks. It integrates nicely with Firefox and Google Reader.
I just tried it, since you often suggest articles I don’t have time to read in the moment, then forget about. It was amazingly quick and easy to apply–probably under a minute.
I loved that bookstore article you sent me. And, yes, Joe does go on but I enjoyed every bit of it. Kinda like a Now and Later.
🙂