Format

Hockeydaft · 07-12-2010, 07:46 PM

I've just bought the Pocket Reader and I'm looking at downloading some books so I can load them when it arrives. I just wanted to ask, can I only buy books that are in ePub or can I buy them in other formats too?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Worldwalker · 07-12-2010, 08:06 PM

I'm not 100% certain, as I have a 505, but I believe that the 300 supports pdf and lrf as well as epub.

The much bigger issue when you're buying ebooks is DRM. If you're going to be buying DRM-restricted ebooks, you need to make sure that the 300 supports whatever sort of DRM the books have. Your answers there are going to have to be from someone who would touch DRM-locked books with a barge pole, because I won't. Obviously the Sony store will sell you plenty. On the other hand, if you buy DRM-free ebooks from places like BookView Cafe, if they're not available in a format that your 300 likes you can always use Calibre to convert them.

The best way to get started, in my opinion, would be going to the ebook section right here on MobileRead, looking through the epub area, and picking out a few books that you think you'd like. They're the best public-domain ebooks on the Web, lovingly hand-built by MR members. Project Gutenberg has tens of thousands, as do the many sites that scrape it (my preference is for ManyBooks). Once you've gotten your feet wet with your 300 and some free ebooks -- free in the sense of both gratis and libre -- then you can decide how much freedom and convenience you want to give up.

Stitchawl · 07-12-2010, 08:28 PM

The books in my library are in many different formats. Other than epub or lrf, before I put them into my Sony I run them through the free software (you can download it here in MobileRead forums) called 'Calibre.' VERY easy to use, it converts many different formats into nicely laid out e-books for the Sony. You can even upload your books directly through this program too!

Stitchawl

Clancy_s · 07-12-2010, 08:38 PM

Calibre is great, but be aware it cannot change the format of drm books, so with those you're limited to compatible formats or liberating the book first.

Hockeydaft · 07-13-2010, 02:58 AM

Thanks for the replies, can I ask what DRM is just so I know for future reference? I've only looked at bookstores so far & they show ePub but it's helpful to know that I can buy other formats.

neilmarr · 07-13-2010, 03:24 AM

Good to have your company, HockeyDaft. DRM (Digital Rights Management) as far as ebooks are concerned are padlocks that remove the buyer's freedom to read his book on whatever platorm he wants or to fairly share it with family or friends.

Originally introduced to protect the copyright of manufacturers of pianola rolls, some publishers and retailers (notably the big ones) apply it to deter pirates. It doesn't, of course, because it is not difficult to strip and, anyway, most pirated books are simply scans of best-selling hardbacks, some of which (like the Harry Potter series), have never been 'officially' published in digital forms.

What DRM actually does is to make a fool of honest buyers and -- naturally -- to encourage superfluous and unnecessary multiple purchases of a single title by a single buyer.

DRM ain't cricket, HockeyDaft.

Best wishes. Neil

PS: There's a little more detail and a proper rant in my website's blog here: http://bewritebooks.blogspot.com/201...t-read-me.html

Hockeydaft · 07-13-2010, 03:31 AM

Thanks for the explanation, I guessed it was something like that. I'm trying to add some new novels, crime & thriller for my hols so I might just buy from stores until I find my way around.

This is an amazing site & is so helpful, well done & well run.

neilmarr · 07-13-2010, 03:42 AM

To help kick-start your library, Hockeydraft, pop into the bookstore section of my webstite (link below) and take a browse. Drop me an email if one or two titles catch your eye and let me know which of the offered formats is best for you. I'll be happy to send them along with our compliments ... and they're all guaranteed DRM-free. Cheers. Neil -- ntmarrATbewrite.net (but use the @ sign, of course)

Hockeydaft · 07-13-2010, 03:48 AM

Wow, thanks Neil. I'll have a look when I come home from work.

pendragginp · 07-13-2010, 09:10 AM

Quote:

What DRM actually does is to make a fool of honest buyers and -- naturally -- to encourage superfluous and unnecessary multiple purchases of a single title by a single buyer.

DRM ain't cricket, HockeyDaft.

Best wishes. Neil

Yep. DRM says 'Okay, we sold you this book, but you're only allowed to read it in our store.'

Heck with that.

Quote:

you can buy the pdf file, because almost ebook reader support the pdf format. also some tools can convert pdf to epub and other format if you want.

Have you had good luck shape-shifting pdfs?? I haven't. So much so that I will go to loooong lengths to avoid a pdf copy of a book.

mikij · 07-13-2010, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

To help kick-start your library, Hockeydraft, pop into the bookstore section of my webstite (link below) and take a browse. Drop me an email if one or two titles catch your eye and let me know which of the offered formats is best for you. I'll be happy to send them along with our compliments ... and they're all guaranteed DRM-free. Cheers. Neil -- ntmarrATbewrite.net (but use the @ sign, of course)

I just had a look on your selection and although I am mostly in classic titles, it was a great surprise when I saw that the e-books are almost three times less expensive than the paperbacks. That's how I imagine it should have been in every e-book store. If it is possible for your company, why not for Amazon or others?
Great site, I'll visit it later and probably find something interesting.

HarryT · 07-13-2010, 12:04 PM

Needless to say, you should also take a look at the "Book Uploads" forum here at MR. You'll find nicely hand-formatted version of pretty much all the out-of-copyright classics, which are often much better than the commercial versions in bookstores.

neilmarr · 07-13-2010, 02:09 PM

***If it is possible for your company, why not for Amazon or others?***

I guess the simple answer, Miki, is that it is possible.

Right now, with treebook sales paying the bulk of fixed publishing overheads, the ebook versions are largely a byproduct, involving careful and skilled technical time, some admin, promo and specialised retail effort, but not the huge editorial, design and admin input that goes into paper and that would (I hope) be involved in serious and selective ebook-only publishing.

Until ebook sales dangerously eat into treebook sales, these lower publication costs and the almost zero cost of storage and distribution should be reflected in the cover price. But perhaps some publishers are running scared already and trying to establish a high cover price principle that will hold when the ebook becomes really mainstream.

Things will change, I think, Miki. First the major houses will discover that a fair deal to ebook readers isn't a concession but an inducement. Ereading types are savvi folks and won't be taken for fools. As things turn, as they will, to a customer base that's largely dominated by ebook reading, there will be an understanding on both sides that value is based on content plus costs.

The price of digital presentation will then become so competitive that we may even see the end of the treebook apart from as a beautiful curiosity and highly priced special ornamental birthday gift for a friend to decorate the house with. Let's face it; when it comes to reading, most of us here know the treebook isn't any more practical than the lovely brass and copper bed-warmers they hang on pub walls in England.

But ... I've never been accused of not being a dreamer. So let's just say that, so far, my own wee house can afford good prices and that we can also -- even though we're a traiditonal, all-service publisher -- pay authors a 40% royalty on their ebooks. So far, everyone seems pretty happy.

Cheers. Neil

PS: And Harry's dead right about the 'Book Downloads' section here at MR. Expertly and painstakingly compared public domain words, free and in several formats. N

mikij · 07-14-2010, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

***If it is possible for your company, why not for Amazon or others?***

I guess the simple answer, Miki, is that it is possible.

I knew it was possible, just wanted to know how they think.

You explained how it works and how it could work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Let's face it; when it comes to reading, most of us here know the treebook isn't any more practical than the lovely brass and copper bed-warmers they hang on pub walls in England.

Of course, but a reader with several books loaded could be a nice present

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

But ... I've never been accused of not being a dreamer. So let's just say that, so far, my own wee house can afford good prices and that we can also -- even though we're a traiditonal, all-service publisher -- pay authors a 40% royalty on their ebooks. So far, everyone seems pretty happy.

Don't give up, Neil. Without dreamers, the world cannot be better.

Miki

P.S.

Sorry for the typo (I fixed it in a meantime).

Unfortunately, I couldn't give you more then 2 karma pts (still have to earn enough to give away more than 2 - I thought I could give all I had), but you deserves hundreds and thousands of them.

Worldwalker · 07-14-2010, 03:05 PM

I gave him some for you.

07-12-2010, 07:46 PM	#1
Hockeydaft Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: sony pocket	Format I've just bought the Pocket Reader and I'm looking at downloading some books so I can load them when it arrives. I just wanted to ask, can I only buy books that are in ePub or can I buy them in other formats too? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

07-13-2010, 03:24 AM	#6
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Good to have your company, HockeyDaft. DRM (Digital Rights Management) as far as ebooks are concerned are padlocks that remove the buyer's freedom to read his book on whatever platorm he wants or to fairly share it with family or friends. Originally introduced to protect the copyright of manufacturers of pianola rolls, some publishers and retailers (notably the big ones) apply it to deter pirates. It doesn't, of course, because it is not difficult to strip and, anyway, most pirated books are simply scans of best-selling hardbacks, some of which (like the Harry Potter series), have never been 'officially' published in digital forms. What DRM actually does is to make a fool of honest buyers and -- naturally -- to encourage superfluous and unnecessary multiple purchases of a single title by a single buyer. DRM ain't cricket, HockeyDaft. Best wishes. Neil PS: There's a little more detail and a proper rant in my website's blog here: http://bewritebooks.blogspot.com/201...t-read-me.html Attached Images Last edited by neilmarr; 07-13-2010 at 03:30 AM. Reason: to add ps and url

07-13-2010, 02:09 PM	#13
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	*If it is possible for your company, why not for Amazon or others?* I guess the simple answer, Miki, is that it is possible. Right now, with treebook sales paying the bulk of fixed publishing overheads, the ebook versions are largely a byproduct, involving careful and skilled technical time, some admin, promo and specialised retail effort, but not the huge editorial, design and admin input that goes into paper and that would (I hope) be involved in serious and selective ebook-only publishing. Until ebook sales dangerously eat into treebook sales, these lower publication costs and the almost zero cost of storage and distribution should be reflected in the cover price. But perhaps some publishers are running scared already and trying to establish a high cover price principle that will hold when the ebook becomes really mainstream. Things will change, I think, Miki. First the major houses will discover that a fair deal to ebook readers isn't a concession but an inducement. Ereading types are savvi folks and won't be taken for fools. As things turn, as they will, to a customer base that's largely dominated by ebook reading, there will be an understanding on both sides that value is based on content plus costs. The price of digital presentation will then become so competitive that we may even see the end of the treebook apart from as a beautiful curiosity and highly priced special ornamental birthday gift for a friend to decorate the house with. Let's face it; when it comes to reading, most of us here know the treebook isn't any more practical than the lovely brass and copper bed-warmers they hang on pub walls in England. But ... I've never been accused of not being a dreamer. So let's just say that, so far, my own wee house can afford good prices and that we can also -- even though we're a traiditonal, all-service publisher -- pay authors a 40% royalty on their ebooks. So far, everyone seems pretty happy. Cheers. Neil PS: And Harry's dead right about the 'Book Downloads' section here at MR. Expertly and painstakingly compared public domain words, free and in several formats. N Last edited by neilmarr; 07-13-2010 at 02:11 PM.

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07-12-2010, 08:06 PM	#2
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I'm not 100% certain, as I have a 505, but I believe that the 300 supports pdf and lrf as well as epub. The much bigger issue when you're buying ebooks is DRM. If you're going to be buying DRM-restricted ebooks, you need to make sure that the 300 supports whatever sort of DRM the books have. Your answers there are going to have to be from someone who would touch DRM-locked books with a barge pole, because I won't. Obviously the Sony store will sell you plenty. On the other hand, if you buy DRM-free ebooks from places like BookView Cafe, if they're not available in a format that your 300 likes you can always use Calibre to convert them. The best way to get started, in my opinion, would be going to the ebook section right here on MobileRead, looking through the epub area, and picking out a few books that you think you'd like. They're the best public-domain ebooks on the Web, lovingly hand-built by MR members. Project Gutenberg has tens of thousands, as do the many sites that scrape it (my preference is for ManyBooks). Once you've gotten your feet wet with your 300 and some free ebooks -- free in the sense of both gratis and libre -- then you can decide how much freedom and convenience you want to give up.

07-12-2010, 08:28 PM	#3
Stitchawl Opsimath Posts: 12,344 Karma: 187123287 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Device: Sony PRS-650, iPhone 5, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-350, iPad, Samsung Galaxy	The books in my library are in many different formats. Other than epub or lrf, before I put them into my Sony I run them through the free software (you can download it here in MobileRead forums) called 'Calibre.' VERY easy to use, it converts many different formats into nicely laid out e-books for the Sony. You can even upload your books directly through this program too! Stitchawl

07-12-2010, 08:38 PM	#4
Clancy_s Zealot Posts: 133 Karma: 1010308 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Newcastle, NSW Device: Kobo Glo HD	Calibre is great, but be aware it cannot change the format of drm books, so with those you're limited to compatible formats or liberating the book first.

07-13-2010, 02:58 AM	#5
Hockeydaft Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: sony pocket	Thanks for the replies, can I ask what DRM is just so I know for future reference? I've only looked at bookstores so far & they show ePub but it's helpful to know that I can buy other formats.

07-13-2010, 03:31 AM	#7
Hockeydaft Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: sony pocket	Thanks for the explanation, I guessed it was something like that. I'm trying to add some new novels, crime & thriller for my hols so I might just buy from stores until I find my way around. This is an amazing site & is so helpful, well done & well run.

07-13-2010, 03:42 AM	#8
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	To help kick-start your library, Hockeydraft, pop into the bookstore section of my webstite (link below) and take a browse. Drop me an email if one or two titles catch your eye and let me know which of the offered formats is best for you. I'll be happy to send them along with our compliments ... and they're all guaranteed DRM-free. Cheers. Neil -- ntmarrATbewrite.net (but use the @ sign, of course)

07-13-2010, 03:48 AM	#9
Hockeydaft Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: sony pocket	Wow, thanks Neil. I'll have a look when I come home from work.

07-13-2010, 12:04 PM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Needless to say, you should also take a look at the "Book Uploads" forum here at MR. You'll find nicely hand-formatted version of pretty much all the out-of-copyright classics, which are often much better than the commercial versions in bookstores.

07-14-2010, 03:05 PM	#15
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I gave him some for you.

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