Let’s face it: reading the news isn’t the most interesting of activities. The newspaper, or whatever you read, isn’t the best put-together, or the best laid-out thing you’ve ever seen, nor is it the most pleasing way to get information. However, it’s the only way we have to get news, right?

Wrong. There are a number of ways to “read” the news online in ways that are much more efficient, much more fun, and much easier on your brain than a newspaper. Here are a few of them:

Newsmap (here)

Newsmap is the news for people who want to know what matters and what doesn’t. You choose a country, and then one or more news categories. Newsmap brings up a screen of the ones you choose, with more important headlines in bigger font, and newer ones in brighter colors. It draws your attention to the important headlines, and a click on any of the headlines brings a pop-up window with the full article. It’s a great way to get, all at once, what’s going on in the world as well as what people are reading about. It works with Google News, figuring out how many articles are written about a particular topic, and then reports to you. You’ll see what people are talking about, and get a great look at the world news of the moment, right from the site.

This has become my first stop for news, and it’s incredibly useful for those with five minutes to figure out the most important stuff, or endless time to read everything

Spectra (here)

With Spectra, you get to choose the news you see in a fun, pleasing way. You choose the “channels” you want to see headlines for- US, politics, entertainment, politics, and so on. Spectra puts up the headlines in a rotating list, and click on the ones that interest you as they spin. Click on one that piques your interest, and it brings up the summary, as well as an image from the article. A link is provided to the story, as well as a way to add it to a collector to view later. I don’t see the need for that, but as a way of getting the news at a glance, and customizing it to what you care about, Spectra’s a pleasing, interesting way to read the news.

Breaking News Map (here)

The cool thing about Breaking News Map is it shows you where in the world things are happening. As new headlines roll in, the world map moves around to show headlines and locations. If you want to know which countries and people are making news, this is the place for you. With every headline, you get a headline and a summary, with a link to the full article. The only downside of this site is that it can often move quickly from place to place as news rolls in, but you can change the speed as you so desire, to get a look at the happenings around the world.

All these sites make reading the news easier, more fun, and more efficient. See where things are happening, how important they are, and only read what you care about. The news is increasingly moving online, and many seem to think the format will stay the same when it does. Does it have to?

How do you read your news? A newspaper, or something else? Let us know in the comments.