MobileRead October 2013 *Category* Poll

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

[RANT]In my opinion, of the nominations this month, the worst possible choice won. The Patricia Clark Memorial Library is a great resource, but a lousy choice for a category. I think the only reason it won is because the books are free, which is a pitiful reason to choose a book to read and discuss. In protest, I was considering for one of my November nominations Project Gutenberg and Kindle Store Freebies. The only thing that holds me back from doing so is the fear that it would win. Well, that's my opinion, and as they say, opinions are like ... well, you know. Everybody has one.[/RANT]

Tom, as I recall, it was my nomination. You are welcome to the view that "the only reason it won is because the books are free," but I have a different view of the situation.

I nominated it because it is not just a free library, it is OUR library, made up of editions which are the work product of several of our best members; work that is the product of several hours of effort to perfect the results.

I think that we should once every year celebrate our library.

And I am confident that in the nomination process I will be made aware of many books I didn't know we have there. That's a good thing, no?

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I nominated it because it is not just a free library, it is OUR library, made up of editions which are the work product of several of our best members; work that is the product of several hours of effort to perfect the results.

I think that we should once every year celebrate our library.

This occurred to me too. I didn't actually vote for it, but later I thought it would be nice to actually feature our library for one of the months of the year.

I do appreciate Jon's comments about copyright infringement though. Although people from life+70 countries may be able to source nominated books from elsewhere for life+50 nominations, it does take a bit of a shine off the category if not all participants can actually use the resource.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I think that we should once every year celebrate our library.

I did not vote for this category, but had you made this remark before I voted I might have! Good thing my vote wasn't needed! Of course we should celebrate our library!!!

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I do appreciate Jon's comments about copyright infringement though. Although people from life+70 countries may be able to source nominated books from elsewhere for life+50 nominations, it does take a bit of a shine off the category if not all participants can actually use the resource.

I don't know if we have any book club members from Mexico, but for them it's life+100.

[JSWolf]

I do agree that the MR library won because it's free. I don't think many who voted gave a toss/damn/care about the fact that not all of the library is free to all who participate. I know this will lead to copyright infringement.

I don't want to have to go looking at each book I might want to nominate to try to figure out if it's life+50 or life+70. But in order to nominate, that has to be done. We have to know. The only way we can be fully honest is any book in the library that are life+70 compatible should be eligible and the rest invalid because they will lead to copyright infringement and that's not what the Book Club is about.

So please, don't nominate any books not life+70 or creative commons.

[issybird]

I'm not a dog in the manger. If people want to nominate life+50 books either because they're free for them or simply because they want to read them, why not? Especially since they're likely to be from countries where ebooks in general are more expensive. Why shouldn't they get a break for once? My decisions will be based on my own preferences.

I think it's unbecoming to make oneself the public domain police and keep some from performing an entirely legal action because you suspect some might not be scrupulous.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm not a dog in the manger. If people want to nominate life+50 books either because they're free for them or simply because they want to read them, why not? Especially since they're likely to be from countries where ebooks in general are more expensive. Why shouldn't they get a break for once? My decisions will be based on my own preferences.

I think it's unbecoming to make oneself the public domain police and keep some from performing an entirely legal action because you suspect some might not be scrupulous.

And; when if a choosen book from the Patricia Clark's Memorial Library is not in the public domain of one of the MR-bookclub members.......one could buy it or loan it, instead of loading it for free from MR.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm not a dog in the manger. If people want to nominate life+50 books either because they're free for them or simply because they want to read them, why not? Especially since they're likely to be from countries where ebooks in general are more expensive. Why shouldn't they get a break for once? My decisions will be based on my own preferences.

I think it's unbecoming to make oneself the public domain police and keep some from performing an entirely legal action because you suspect some might not be scrupulous.

Do you honestly think most users from life+70 countries will go out and buy it instead of downloading it from MR for free? If you think think this, you are seriously deluding yourself.

It won't work like that. A life+50 eBook wins and it will get download by people in life+70 countries.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Do you honestly think most users from life+70 countries will go out and buy it instead of downloading it from MR for free? If you think think this,m you are seriously deluding yourself.

.........

Yes on both.....

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Do you honestly think most users from life+70 countries will go out and buy it instead of downloading it from MR for free? If you think think this,m you are seriously deluding yourself.

I must have a higher opinion of our fellow posters and countrymen.

I can easily see someone nominating a gem from the MR library that it would be worth it for me to buy. Or I might get it from the library. If someone else can read it for free, that doesn't hurt me. Good for her, I say.

[HomeInMyShoes]

As has been said, there's already plenty of books out there that others can get for $5 when I have to pay $14.

[Synamon]

Most of the books in the PCMLibrary are in the public domain in the US and life+70 countries anyway so all this moaning is silly. I would expect people will tend to nominate and vote for books that they can legally access over any they can't, just like they do already, so the whole thing will sort itself out.

After all, people could dip into the darknet for any book that is chosen and they don't seem to do this. [satire] I propose that we do not allow any book available in the darknet to be nominated. [/satire]

I voted for the category because it is another month of Classics, with the bonus that it celebrates the work people here have done.

[Bookpossum]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Do you honestly think most users from life+70 countries will go out and buy it instead of downloading it from MR for free? If you think think this, you are seriously deluding yourself.

It won't work like that. A life+50 eBook wins and it will get download by people in life+70 countries.

Well, not by me, and I'm glad to see that others have a higher opinion of us than you do.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by Billi

As I have nothing against reading some classics I'm thinking that one of the best possible choices has won. I am really looking forward which books will be proposed. My only caveat is that the nature of this book club excludes many of the interesting German books. Well, that's just an opinion too.

Thank you Billi, for reminding me of German literature. This made me think of the excellent Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt who wrote the classical philosophical 'krimi' Der Richter und sein Henker (The judge and his hangman). (I found this while living in Switzerland.)
That would be a book both the literary bookclub and MR-bookclub would enjoy, I'm almost sure of it. It is one of my favorite German-writing autors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Judge_and_His_Hangman

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Billi

As I have nothing against reading some classics I'm thinking that one of the best possible choices has won. I am really looking forward which books will be proposed. My only caveat is that the nature of this book club excludes many of the interesting German books. Well, that's just an opinion too.

Originally Posted by desertblues

Thank you Billi, for reminding me of German literature. This made me think of the excellent Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt who wrote the classical philosophical 'krimi' Der Richter und sein Henker (The judge and his hangman). (I found this while living in Switzerland.)
That would be a book both the literary bookclub and MR-bookclub would enjoy, I'm almost sure of it. It is one of my favorite German-writing autors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Judge_and_His_Hangman

This is just a thought, but if there's sufficient interest among those who would like to read and discuss books by German writers in the original language, perhaps someone might want to approach some of the Greenies in the Deutsches Forum about starting a Deutsch Book Club. In the meantime, the MobileRead Book Club, of course, welcomes English translations of German authors anytime.

And if Philosophy wins the November slot, there's a wealth of writings by German writers that would make excellent choices for that category.