Quote:
Originally Posted by Moejoe
I expect different because I won't live in a world where I just shrug at every abuse of power or flagrant money-grubbing attempt to sell the dead. These are public domain works meant to be freely shared to enrich our culture, all culture, not to be locked up and gated by some company so they can make a quick buck (or as part of some feeble promotional deal). These books are available from several places in several different formats all without DRM and keeping to the promise of the public domain. These companies are testing the waters, seeing how gullible their 'market' can be and how much they can get away with.
You may gladly accept the bad behaviour of rampant capitalism. You may defend the right to stripmine our culture and turn the words of the dead into another money-making scheme that is encumbered by ridiculous anti-knowledge DRM.
I do not and I will not.
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Something like (educated guessing here) 55% of the books listed in the Kindle store are different publications of Constance Garnett's translations of Dostoevsky's works, all sold for prices ranging from 99c to 6-9$..
Most without even mentioning her name (admittedly, Wordsworth Classics is just as bad).
Now, while I can't really say I like her translations, I do think that the practice - of not mentioning translators of PD works, instead claiming the copyright to belong to "Digireads.com" (2006) (Especially when they've "added" no more 'new' content than a ToC consisting of
- The Double 7
- The Gambler 77
) - is a bad one. ;-)
Still, those kinds of PD entries in the store are a dime a dozen, so I wouldn't call B&N's behavior extraordinary.