e-books, hardbacks or paperbacks our thoughts.

[ktabic]

Correction to my post: make that one book I haven't been able to buy- just found the other one has been released since I last looked for it.

 

[Metryq]

Unfortunately it appears to be an American Dictionary

Dave wrote: whenever my Browser upgrades to a new version it resets to the American English by default.

The "American English default" might be because the companies are American. Desktops offer other dictionaries/spell-checkers, but mobile devices are necessarily streamlined. Perhaps localizations will be offered in the future.

I remember when it was a big deal to get Japanese on an American computer—double-byte font support and all that. Over the years OSes have included complete, system-wide support for dozens of languages—except the speaking parts. I know Windows offers speech, but I'm not as familiar as with the Mac OS speech support. The penultimate Mac OS ("Snow Leopard" 10.6) featured several voices, but all localized for the market region.

The latest Mac OS version ("Lion" 10.7) is currently available only as a download. To save file size, only a default voice is included. However, other voices can be added later—including dozens of foreign voices never before available outside the market region. I was amused to see seven different English voice localizations: Australian, Indian, Irish, Scottish, South African, UK, and US. It reminds me of a display I saw in a museum: "Separated by the same language." At the touch of a button, one could listen to recordings of many different English speakers. Some of the accents were so extreme that I literally could not understand anything, except the opening "Hello."

But dialects don't bother me. The Romans unified a large region of the ancient world. As their grip relaxed, Latin dialects became distinct languages. (Cicero is inconsolable, and the Normans are peeved that they can't get a good dictionary on their Kindles, either.)

"1337" speak was actually a kind of code, and texting shorthand (such as "AFAIK" and other throwaway phrases) are only mildly annoying in a full-text forum, such as this. What does bother me, however, are distortions like "should of" from someone who is a native English speaker. (Ever listened to someone belt out the wrong lyrics to a song?) "Did you grow up in a barn?" comes to mind.

 

[Vertigo]

So far this year, there have only been two books I have wanted and haven't been able to buy in epub format (not counting the BSFA finialist books). Somewhat annoying as both can be brought in the US as ebooks.

That really gets me annoyed ktabic, I have a number of books that are available as eBooks in the US but not in the UK. Tor Publishing are particularly guilty, when I emailed them they just gave a vague "we are going to do it" but no dates. I used to get a friend to buy them for me in the US and then email them to me but he's left the US now and I can't be bothered to try and get around their location detection methods.

 

[ktabic]

I can already do the whole bypass regional restrictions thing - already have a VPN to the US, a US mailing address and a US Credit Card. I just don't bypass it (yet).

I want to support UK publishers and retailers. I will ask them to get the ebook released in the UK, and they can have my money if they do so. Its just really annoying that it hasn't happen (yet, hopefully).

 

[Vertigo]

Agreed - and it is really annoying! I'm impressed that you have sorted out the by pass stuff; I looked into it once and decided it was too much bother (wanted to buy a Nook but couldn't buy in the UK). Mind you that might change if the UK publishers don't get their collective finger out and, for exactly the reason you specify, that would be a shame.

I'm a little surprised that the whole regional publishing thing hasn't collapsed yet with so much shopping being done on the internet.

 

[Daisy-Boo]

My Kindle arrives on Monday!!! I got so giddy with excitement that I went a little nuts buying ebooks on Amazon. These books are now waiting for me on my Kindle.

A Song of Ice and Fire (George RR Martin) - All five books, including A Dance With Dragons, which I also ordered in hardcover. I have the first four in paperback and intend re-reading the series on the Kindle.

Pale Demon (Kim Harrison) - Will also buy the paperback

Outrage (Arnuldur Indridason)

Flash and Bones (Kathy Reichs)

Ghost Story (Jim Butcher) - Will also buy the paperback

The Complete Works of HP Lovecraft

Downpour - Kat Richardson

 

[Diggler]

I can already do the whole bypass regional restrictions thing - already have a VPN to the US, a US mailing address and a US Credit Card. I just don't bypass it (yet).

I want to support UK publishers and retailers. I will ask them to get the ebook released in the UK, and they can have my money if they do so. Its just really annoying that it hasn't happen (yet, hopefully).

At least the UK has a wonderful selection of novels, and e-books available. Australia, for specialised novels, consists of UK imports at 3 times the UK retail price. I even went to source out a digital copy of Red Dog for the wife. $20AU for the e-book version in Australia! And they wonder why all the local book stores are going broke (along with most of the other retail business in this country).

 

[Diggler]

That really gets me annoyed ktabic, I have a number of books that are available as eBooks in the US but not in the UK. Tor Publishing are particularly guilty, when I emailed them they just gave a vague "we are going to do it" but no dates. I used to get a friend to buy them for me in the US and then email them to me but he's left the US now and I can't be bothered to try and get around their location detection methods.

Region locking does nothing more than increase people's urge to just steal it. +1 for Piracy!

 

[Vertigo]

Ouch Diggler, that's GBP 13.46 for an eBook, that's horrendous. And yes you are absolutely right; that sort of thing is almost guaranteed to drive people to piracy. I really don't know how they can justify cranking up the ebook price like that, other than to protect the paper sales but since they are imports only, surely they shouldn't care about that and just import less. Unlike production issues discussed elsewhere in this case there are no real additional production costs for "imported" ebooks. I think that is just plain criminal!

 

[elvet]

I've read more of my E-book now, so here's some more impressions.
The font that is comfortable for me to read means that there is less text on the 'page' than a normal PB, so I'm constantly 'turning' the page. I'm also having a harder time getting immersed in the story.
For now, I'm still not converted. I can see myself using it for trips, but not for regular reading time.

 

[Vertigo]

Elvet, that's something I was concerned about first but I don't really notice now. I tend to vary the font based on my level of tiredness. Late at night in bed with lower ambient light levels I frequently up the font and then reduce it again when I'm reading during the day and that's a flexibility that I now miss terribly when I read a paper book and have no choice in the matter.

 

[Diggler]

Ouch Diggler, that's GBP 13.46 for an eBook, that's horrendous. And yes you are absolutely right; that sort of thing is almost guaranteed to drive people to piracy. I really don't know how they can justify cranking up the ebook price like that, other than to protect the paper sales but since they are imports only, surely they shouldn't care about that and just import less. Unlike production issues discussed elsewhere in this case there are no real additional production costs for "imported" ebooks. I think that is just plain criminal!

The wholesalers must be making a packet here. They buy a book for X amount, increase by 100%, then sell to retailers who sell for an added 30% profit margin. My copy of SF Masterworks Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin, has a sticker price of $25.50AU. I can buy the exact same copy from Book Depository for $12.95.

Along with Borders we've also seen Australia's largest book store chain, Angus & Robertson vanish too. The company that owned Borders also owned A&R. A&R had very questionable business practices. Avoiding small publishing houses by charging thousands of dollars just to stock their books being one of them.

Unlike the past, we really do live in such a small world now. Business of all descriptions keep bucking the future and must realise that profit margins will never be the same. But they still insist, and Australians are showing them otherwise by spending $4.5 Billion dollars on overseas products this year alone.

I got my Kindle too! I love my kindle!

 

[Perpetual Man]

Here's another funny thing I've just noticed with e-books.

I was trying to buy a novel that is not available in the UK - (US book), and I thought it'd be great to have it on the Kindle.

When I tried to buy it from the US it was blocked. Apparently the publishers have decided that the book is only available to the US market and I'm unable to buy it.

As an ebook.

If I wanted to buy the paperback, it would be sent immediately...

Strange.

 

[Overread]

Perp - yep its an annoying licence thing that really drives me mad considering that its only legal red tape that hinders its sale (since there is 0 production cost for the company). Worst though is when companies decided to remove a previously sold title - had this with a few books where I've gone back to buy book two or three only to find that its been removed (along with book one). Worst is sometimes they remove book two but still sell books three and one..........

Hopefully the publishers will get their act together and provide more books for sale - there seriously shouldn't be any reason for one regional market to have a bigger or smaller range of books compared to another - esp when the paper and hardbacks are already sold in those regions. The worst is if/when authors and publishers have contract shifts or changes - whereas paperbacks still remain on the market (even if only second hand) this can easily lead to the books vanishing quite literally.

Annoyingly I did contact Amazon, but they said its totally in the publishers hands and not theirs so they couldn't even say if the books would come back on sale.

 

[Diggler]

Hopefully the publishers will get their act together and provide more books for sale - there seriously shouldn't be any reason for one regional market to have a bigger or smaller range of books compared to another - esp when the paper and hardbacks are already sold in those regions. The worst is if/when authors and publishers have contract shifts or changes - whereas paperbacks still remain on the market (even if only second hand) this can easily lead to the books vanishing quite literally.

I agree with you on this. As we know, different regions charge different prices for their products. The publishers are not seeing profits generated, rather profits lost due to people buying that e-book from there for $10, rather than here for $15. What they don't realise is that corporate greed is a double sided sword. This sort of attitude instils the urge for people to do things like steal the product or just not buy it at all.

The cost of producing an e-book is a one off price, after that it's a minimal cost of transfer to the buyer. There are so many book in my collection that are either unavailable as e-books or just not being produced at all. Funnily enough, I found slews of these currently unavailable novels as fan made e-books for free through various places on the internet.

But I say give it time. Remember the DVD boom of the Noughties? 10's of thousands of movies were deemed as lost or forgotten, but the DVD market resurrected them through low cost production and a growing demand for older films. Give it time and I believe this may even be the case with e-books.

 

[Overread]

Very true, plus as time goes on the production of ebooks will improve as well - at the moment most I buy from amazon have little to almost no coverart at all whilst auto made links (ie for chapters and contents) are hit and miss as to how they are implemented (if they even are at all).

 

[Wybren]

I have tried to read ebooks, but I find I still prefer reading the paper version better. Then only advantage I see with them is that they take up less space on the shelves.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Very true, plus as time goes on the production of ebooks will improve as well - at the moment most I buy from amazon have little to almost no coverart at all whilst auto made links (ie for chapters and contents) are hit and miss as to how they are implemented (if they even are at all).

It's still early days for ebooks. The ebook of my own Hallucinating will have an afterword and a "remix", adding to the original novel of 2004. I like the idea of adding extras to ebooks - art too, if there is any.

 

[Overread]

Sadly I get the feeling that the micro transactions model that the PC game industry is following and the music industry uses is going to slip into Ebooks. Want upgrades to your original purchase - you pay for them in extras.

As for cover art I suspect that will be on the back burner until e-ink can do colour.

 

[AE35Unit]

As for cover art I suspect that will be on the back burner until e-ink can do colour.

Well there is a reader out there with colour! The Nook Color.