Delphi Classics - Complete Works publication

[poohbear_nc]

I just discovered a series of "Complete Works of" titles by classic (Public Domain) authors being issued by Delphi Classics in the Kindle store. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=...ks-Submit.y=14)

These are huge compilations that are (in the ebooks I have purchased) very cleanly formatted and proofed. And retail for $2.99 each. Yes, all these are available for free as PD titles, and there have been prior compilations, but these are the cleanest and most complete compilations I've seen to date (if an author wrote novels & poetry & short stories - the volume will contain all of them). Plus many titles have added material - contemporary reviews of included works, etc. [as on the Fantastic Fiction page for that author - in the "Works About ....." section.] For example, in the Henry James volume, there was a review by Virginia Woolf included, along with many others.

Their main website is worth a look, if you are interested in this kind of ebook: http://delphiclassics.com/index.php

Warning: these are huge ebooks (> 20 MB) - they download well via wifi, but 3G download speed will depend on your individual connection strength.
Also, their indexing will chew up your battery life. Best to download and leave your Kindle plugged in to the charger overnight.

Also: if you regularly upload your books into calibre, they will hang the GUI interface. I've had to use calibre in command line mode [all plug-ins will work] and add them 1 by 1.

[dlcooper]

I'll definitely agree with poohbear_nc about the Delphi Classics. Over the past month and a half, I've bought most of the series. I've found that they're very complete and a good deal for $2.99 (a few of the smaller ones are cheaper). There's a couple that are very impressive. Mark Twain and Thackery both have a lot of literary works as well as about 3000 photographs in each one. I've read a number of books and am currently reading the Pickwick Papers in the Dickens compilation and haven't found any errors yet. Very good deal for the money.

[NightBird]

Also impressive:

Please note: due to copyright restrictions, 20 of Wells' later novels are not included. However, when they enter the Public Domain, they will be added as a free upgrade for customers that have purchased the eBook.

Have an old version? Then you're eligible for a FREE update. Please visit http://delphiclassics.com/updates.php for more information!

[poohbear_nc]

They also note when geo restrictions currently prevent some titles from being included - and will supply them in a Free update when they do become available.

I don't know where this company came from, but they are offering a quality product at extremely reasonable pricing - with excellent customer service.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

... very cleanly formatted and proofed ....

Just to be clear about this ....

Are you saying that these books don't contain the huge number of typographical errors that plague so many public-domain books?

[Dr. Drib]

Thanks to the head's up by Pooh, I purchased the Henry James collection.

I will say this: If you love Henry James (as do I), then this is the best collection that's out there. It is simply huge and represents an incredible bargain.

Another series - but not as complete - that also represents a great bargain, but at almost twice the price, is put out by Mobile Reference. (No relation to MobileRead.)

However, this current series is absolutely wonderful. Please note that not all the series released by this company are as complete as the Henry James volume, but in the header description they tell you whether it is an updated version or not.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!




Don

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by Mike L

Just to be clear about this ....

Are you saying that these books don't contain the huge number of typographical errors that plague so many public-domain books?

From what I've personally read so far in the titles I've purchased (Henry James, Charles Dickens, HG Wells), I've not seen any of the blatant scanning errors that plagued the Mobile Reference editions (In many of the Mobile Reference editions, apostrophes or quotes at the end of sentences were rendered as question marks. I've also seen this in some Penguin ebooks. Must be a common OCR error - and rather easy to spot if anyone bothered to even proof read one page of their ebook.)

I'll post more as I read more of these titles.

If you're an HG Wells fan, the Delphi volume has all of the short stories in the PD - something I'd not found before from other publishers.

I'm no expert, but these editions don't look like scanned ebooks - they appear cleanly typeset - and are a pleasure to read.

[FlorenceArt]

Thanks for the info Pooh, I'll check them out.

Regarding OCR errors in commercial editions, I am a bit worried about your comment on Penguin ebooks. Their edition of Ulysses was simply unreadable, and your comment shows that this is not a unique occurrence. Even more annoying is the fact that they never even bothered to reply to my e-mail about these errors. And the price of the book was way more than $3!!!

So it's really good news to hear about a publisher that does worry about quality.

[ficbot]

I have many from this series and enjoy them, but have not had time to do extensive reading yet. I have been playing with the Bronte Sisters collection and found the novels okay, but the Juvenilia section does have some obvious typographical errors. I have not emailed them yet, but plan to.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

From what I've personally read so far in the titles I've purchased (Henry James, Charles Dickens, HG Wells), I've not seen any of the blatant scanning errors that plagued the Mobile Reference editions ...
I'm no expert, but these editions don't look like scanned ebooks - they appear cleanly typeset - and are a pleasure to read.

Thanks for that, Pooh Bear. Like you, I've had bad experiences with the Mobile Reference collections. I'll try one of the Delphi collections and see how it goes.

Other things I hate in many PD works are having a full blank line between paragraphs, and having one book in a collection running right on after the previous one, with no proper title, and not even a page break between them. I'm hoping that these Delphi editions won't have such atrocities.

Thanks also recommending them, and also for drawing our attention to the large file sizes.

[SteveK]

After seeing this thread the other day, I purchased a few of the collections for my Kindle, including the Mark Twain volume. That thing is HUGE (over 100Mb)!! It includes over 3,000 illustrations! I understand the Thackeray volume also has over 3,000 illustrations, but I haven't purchased it yet.

I had sent them an email the other day to suggest some authors I'd like to see them do, including Haggard, Chesterton and Trollope, all of which they had apparently already planned to include in their second series to be released around September. I also suggested G.A. Henty, and they said they would give him some thought as nobody had previously suggested him. I'm very much looking forward to their second series in a few months.

I don't really need another collection of some of the authors, but for $3 or so I'm more than willing to purchase them.

I just sent them a nice email and included a link to this thread, so hopefully they'll be able to read some of the nice things being said here about them.

SteveK

[jtdolphins]

Thanks for posting a review of these poohbear. I was looking at those collections last week. Especially the HG Wells collection. I have some of these books, but those collections looked really nice.

Thanks for letting me know about the updating. I think I will be getting the HG Wells for sure.

[Dr. Drib]

I've found two errors so far in one volume. This is nothing major at all for me.

However, there is some interesting reader comments over at the Mark Twain collection, which also led me to this:

http://www.ibechris.com/bad-business...iclassics-com/

I still plan to buy some more of these collections.

The Henry James collection is the one I'd take to a lost island, along with my solar powered Kindle 8.



Don

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I've found two errors so far in one volume. This is nothing major at all for me.

However, there is some interesting reader comments over at the Mark Twain collection, which also led me to this:

http://www.ibechris.com/bad-business...iclassics-com/

I still plan to buy some more of these collections.

The Henry James collection is the one I'd take to a lost island, along with my solar powered Kindle 8.



Don

Interesting review - how many works are in a ton?

I haven't gone to the trouble of trying to verify "completeness" in these collections, but I did note on the Delphi website - if you click on an individual collection - it clearly states which works are NOT included - whether due to copyright or geo restrictions.
AND - updates are promised for free if & when additional titles are added to the collections.
The level of outrage in that review is odd .... I sense personal issues there.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

The level of outrage in that review is odd .... I sense personal issues there.

Ya think? He also reviewed the posthumous collection of Michael Jackson songs (the "last" album) and, while loving it, complained it was too short at 41 minutes and 42 seconds.

Earth to reviewer: "He's dead, Jim".