Why I like electronic book stores often times more than Project Gutenberg

[jbcohen]

I like the anticipation of the next book that an author will publish, not something that can be done with Project Gutenberg (PG) books, since these authors are no longer living. I also like book series where the reader gets to know a set of characters that are developed as the series progresses. My parents have illustrated a challenge that we all face, finding a set of authors that we all like that are younger then us, so that we can follow their writing for the rest of our lives. My parents have a set of authors that they like, but the problem is that most of them are dead thus there will be no more books from them unless modern science has figured out a way to get dead authors to publish. I am trying to turn them on to a new set of authors that are many years younger then them so that my parents can enjoy their writing for the rest of their days. For me that is a lot harder since younger (20s and 30s) are a bit harder to find in the type of books I like to read - thrillers. I have found one, Andy Mc Dermott, I have a few years on him but would like someone younger than Mc Dermott.

For my son, might as well forget that idea, there are no child authors especially ones younger than him.

[mldavis2]

Interesting post, and something I haven't thought about. There are, of course, advantages to PG, one being the cost, the other being the fact that the books are in recent years, very accurately proofread and formatted -- speaking as a volunteer proofreader myself. Few of the commercial books I've purchased for my Kindle are as well prepared for eBook format.

I mix my reading. PG provides a literary benchmark for many genres for me. I find it difficult to critically evaluate an author's originality without having read those works that no doubt inspired modern authors. (Is it an original idea or did the author simply take a previous theme and morph it?)

But the challenge is before me. I'll begin seeking that perfect younger author, although I tend to mix my genres which adds to the challenge.

[ebusinesstutor]

Project Gutenberg does a wonderful job of making the literature of the ages available to people around the world.

But it isn't the best spot for discovering new writers.

I find web sites like Smashwords and Baen Books are great for this. Many free ebooks from new authors to try and they have more books I can buy if I like them.

Kindle also offers some free ebooks if you check out the Deals thread here.

[Worldwalker]

If I haven't read a book before, it's new. It doesn't matter if it was written a century ago, a decade ago, or an hour ago -- it's still new to me. I can't imagine not wanting to read books by authors who are not going to outlive me. Think of how many writers that takes off the table ... William Shakespeare, John Milton, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, H.G. Wells, "Doc" Smith, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, S.S. van Dine, H. Beam Piper, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Dashiell Hammett, Baroness Orczy, and literally thousands more. What a dull world it must be where one cannot read Homer because he's been dead for thousands of years, and there's no sequels in the works.

I'm glad I don't restrict myself to works by living authors, and I don't require that all books I intend to read have been recently written. I'd hate to have missed out on so many great stories.

[jbcohen]

Found a good new author, Graham Brown, and his first book is called Black Rain, I am reading Amazon's free preview of the novel, doesn't mean that I will buy from them simply like the free preview. The summary tells me that the star of the book archiologist, Danielle Laidlaw, and her team looking through the Amazon for Myan crystals and being hunted by a ruthless billionare and a local tribe of natives.

Just completed book 6 in the Edward Chase and Nina Wilde series from Any Mc Dermott.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I am trying to turn them on to a new set of authors that are many years younger then them so that my parents can enjoy their writing for the rest of their days.

What an odd requirement for liking an author . It's never even occurred to me that I shouldn't read an author merely because he or she is dead. One reads authors for the books that they HAVE written, not for the books that they may write in the future.

[jbcohen]

As stated before Harry I enjoy the anticipation of the next volume in a series of books, something that simply is not possible with Gutenberg books. Ocasionally I will read what I referr to as Dead Author books, just don't expect anything new from the author.

[HarryT]

To me that rather implies that the series will never finish, and that's one of the worst mistakes an author can make - letting a series drag on way too long. A good author knows when it's time to wrap it up, and give it a proper ending. Personally, I prefer not to start a series unless I know that the whole of it is available: I don't want to "anticipate" the next book; I just want to read it.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by HarryT

To me that rather implies that the series will never finish, and that's one of the worst mistakes an author can make - letting a series drag on way too long. A good author knows when it's time to wrap it up, and give it a proper ending. Personally, I prefer not to start a series unless I know that the whole of it is available: I don't want to "anticipate" the next book; I just want to read it.

Oh, I completely agree. Yes, I know of Neil Gaiman's famous blog about someone's frustration with G.R.R. Martin but an author should have a certain amount of respect for their readers and not leave things hanging too long and, in Martin's case, just not advancing the plot at all. I do get the point that authors are artists and you can't rush or control the creative process but still...

I came to Sandman (yes, I know those are graphic novels) long after it was finished and am now working on Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

Anyway, some of my favorite books/stories are by dead people: Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, The Hobbit, LOTR, The Light Princess, The Day Boy and the Night Girl, Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, the Sherlock Holmes stories, etc.

[Worldwalker]

Robert Jordan, anyone? Even death can't stop the Wheel of Time, and something should have, quite a few books ago.

Maybe I'm weird because I don't enjoy waiting for yet another book to find out more about what's going on, but that's how I roll. I want to read, not wait to read. Waiting isn't enjoyable to me; it's frustrating. Long ago, I gave up my Analog subscription because the multi-part stories frustrated me so much: I wanted to just read the thing, not read part 2 of 4 and keep "anticipating" (read: wailing and gnashing my teeth for) the next part.

So many of the books I grew up with -- the books that gave me my love for reading -- were by long-dead authors. I can't imagine not wanting to read Swiss Family Robinoson or Gulliver's Travels because the authors aren't around to write endless sequels to them. I wouldn't be the person I am if I'd never read them, or the works of hundreds of other writers who died before I was born.

And what happens when an author dies? Do you have to stop reading their books? Just because they're younger than you doesn't mean they won't be run over by a bus tomorrow, either. Or what if they stop writing the series you like, or it starts to really suck? (one of my favorite mystery writers drifted off into left field ... I could even deal with the ghost who showed up, but magic in a formerly solidly realistic series was a bit much)

Some authors have something they want to say, and write a book to say it in, then move on and write something else. Others take a concept and wring every last bit of financial gain out of it, long after anything they wanted to say (or anything worth saying, or anything that could be said) is gone. Personally, I'll take the former. If I really obsess over what happens next ... I'll write fanfic.

Hmmm ... I wonder if there's Gilgamesh fanfic?

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Robert Jordan, anyone? Even death can't stop the Wheel of Time, and something should have, quite a few books ago.

Maybe I'm weird because I don't enjoy waiting for yet another book to find out more about what's going on, but that's how I roll. I want to read, not wait to read. Waiting isn't enjoyable to me; it's frustrating. Long ago, I gave up my Analog subscription because the multi-part stories frustrated me so much: I wanted to just read the thing, not read part 2 of 4 and keep "anticipating" (read: wailing and gnashing my teeth for) the next part.

So many of the books I grew up with -- the books that gave me my love for reading -- were by long-dead authors. I can't imagine not wanting to read Swiss Family Robinoson or Gulliver's Travels because the authors aren't around to write endless sequels to them. I wouldn't be the person I am if I'd never read them, or the works of hundreds of other writers who died before I was born.

And what happens when an author dies? Do you have to stop reading their books? Just because they're younger than you doesn't mean they won't be run over by a bus tomorrow, either. Or what if they stop writing the series you like, or it starts to really suck? (one of my favorite mystery writers drifted off into left field ... I could even deal with the ghost who showed up, but magic in a formerly solidly realistic series was a bit much)

Some authors have something they want to say, and write a book to say it in, then move on and write something else. Others take a concept and wring every last bit of financial gain out of it, long after anything they wanted to say (or anything worth saying, or anything that could be said) is gone. Personally, I'll take the former. If I really obsess over what happens next ... I'll write fanfic.

Hmmm ... I wonder if there's Gilgamesh fanfic?

I agree. I don't know if there is Gilgamesh fanfic but I know I would love to see a Gilgamesh movie.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Robert Jordan, anyone? Even death can't stop the Wheel of Time, and something should have, quite a few books ago.

As a fan of WOT, I sincerely agree Though the Sanderson books are quite good.

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Maybe I'm weird because I don't enjoy waiting for yet another book to find out more about what's going on, but that's how I roll. I want to read, not wait to read. Waiting isn't enjoyable to me; it's frustrating. Long ago, I gave up my Analog subscription because the multi-part stories frustrated me so much: I wanted to just read the thing, not read part 2 of 4 and keep "anticipating" (read: wailing and gnashing my teeth for) the next part.

You could really say the same thing about music. Should I avoid contemporary music because I'll be constantly waiting for the next album to drop? Only listen to the classics? What happens if the artist starts to suck? What happens if they die?

I agree with you on serialized things... but that's (usually) different from series. Series tend to be stand-alone books, but you can choose to continue the series. Serials have deliberate cliff-hangers to keep you reading. It irks me.

I read for enjoyment, and when it stops being fun, I stop reading. Oh, I'll usually try to make it to the end of the book, but even that doesn't always happen. If the author dies mid series... well, that sucks. But I'm not going to let that stop me from enjoying a really good book. (Note: the only reason I made it through book 10 of WOT is because my brother kept pushing me and telling me everything got better with book 11. It still took me 3 tries. I still resent him a little for it. )

[Fbone]

I would like to examine the author's medical records before I start to read an unfinished 6-part series. It would be a tremendous inconvenience if the author dies before completion. How inconsiderate of them.

At the same time I'd suggest to them quit smoking and start a low-fat diet with exercise as insurance.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Or what if they stop writing the series you like, or it starts to really suck?

My personal frustration has actually been both of these combined.

The writing starts to suck (admittedly, sometimes it wasn't all that great to begin with, but the overall entertainment value was enough to compensate).

But I'm morbidly curious about what happens to characters I've gotten attached to, and then the writer promises and describes upcoming new books in the series for several years, which end up being started but back-burnered over and over again, and then writes vaguely related books in which said characters I've gotten attached to have brief teasing cameo roles, and I want to find out what their story has been in the meanwhile, not the continuing stories of these other characters I don't care about and really just sit through to catch tantalising glimpses of what happens to my favourites, and aargh…

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Hmmm ... I wonder if there's Gilgamesh fanfic?

Well, there's certainly Gilgamesh pro-fic, by Robert Silverberg, no less.

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I agree. I don't know if there is Gilgamesh fanfic but I know I would love to see a Gilgamesh movie.

There's a Gilgamesh anime which is probably the closest that you'll be able to get, besides the cartoon version which appears to take equal, but different, liberties with the original story.