first look at Chapters selection in Canada

[hermes]

Maybe Canada and USA are the same. Who knows?

In what will become a series of posts comparing various online sources of ebooks and audiobooks I begin with Chapters (Kobo). I dropped into my local Chapters bookstore and poked around on their in-store computer in order to determine what their selection is like. I typed in 32 subjects and found that the selection is mediocre. Now, there *is* enough perhaps to merit owning a Kobo if it takes other suppliers' ebooks without a complicated workaround but I wasn't impressed compared to their paper selection or to Kindle. If I was going to buy only from chapters they are not for me.

Now, maybe my reading habits don't mesh with yours. I like 17th century history; natural medicine and health, traditional religions, controversial subjects, business and investment, travel, hotsprings, offshore banking, essential oils and especially travel in ASIA.

Now, of course if anyone wants to track me down by my purchase habits it is easy - but for me this is an academic exercise more than anything.

The list wasn't 'wow, gotta' get a Kobo!' or 'wow, who needs Kindle I'm going the Chapters route!'

Here are some titles that interested me so you'll get an idea of price...

01. Religion and the Decline of Magic $21.39
02. Learning to Speak Alzheimers $9.79
03. Emperor of Scent $9.29
04. Opium for the Masses by jim Hogshire (of Loompanics fame) $13.97
05. Eating India $13.19
06. Living Abroad in India $13.59
07. Frommer's India $19.99
08. Fishers Investments in Emerging Markets $23.99
09. Demise of the Dollar II $11.99
10. Mission to China: Jesuits $13.69
11. Factory Girls $10.59
12. Infidel $16.59
13. Patients Beyond Borders - Malaysia $15.89
14. Buddhism in Thailand $4.59
15. Black Flag: Kropotkin on Anarchim
16. Through Central Africa $1.79
17. Short History of Bali $16.99
18. Travels in Ghana $2.88

Zero Lonely Planet travel guides, zero Hawaiian shirts, just 2 on the Orthodox church, only 1 on Borneo, and almost all of the Vietnam ones were on the war. Plenty on travel (519) but most looked like titles restricted to digital versions not real stable ones (except a few by Moon, which used to be a good company before it fired all its best mature authors in favour of younger ones who would work for less!!!).

I don't need millions of titles, just a few hundred in my niche/eccentric market interests - Chapters failed this test. So, I give Chapters a bog yawn. I am not speaking of the device, only the digital bookstore.

[taming]

Chapters does not have a digital bookstore. Chapters owns a majority interest in Kobo, which is a separate company. I assume you are saying that Kobo does not have an adequate selection in your particular subject areas. You may not be aware that many books are still not (and may never be) available in digital format. Digital book rights are negotiated book by book, author by author, and country by country. If you cannot buy a digital book at either Amazon, Kobo, or from the publisher's website, chances are the rights are not available. The exception to this would be indie books.

[digiSara]

Not sure I understand your post - if you went into a local Chapters, then isn't the instore computer, a database of what is actually physically in that particular store?

The Chapters website: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ will let you search their pbooks, which you can order online (for delivery, not ebooks) or search to see if it's in a store near you.

If you're looking for ebooks, it directs you to http://www.kobobooks.com.

[wes101]

Originally Posted by digiSara

Not sure I understand your post - if you went into a local Chapters, then isn't the instore computer, a database of what is actually physically in that particular store?

The Chapters website: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ will let you search their pbooks, which you can order online (for delivery, not ebooks) or search to see if it's in a store near you.

If you're looking for ebooks, it directs you to http://www.kobobooks.com.

You're right the instore pc only show books for that store,thats why it only shows 3-4 copies of a book instead of 100+

[hermes]

Taming wrote: "Chapters does not have a digital bookstore. Chapters owns a majority interest in Kobo, which is a separate company."

Thank you for enlightening me (no sarcasm intended)

More: "I assume you are saying that Kobo does not have an adequate selection in your particular subject areas."

Correct. Enough to keep me busy but not enough compared to other vendors and not enough to start (or end) there.

More: "You may not be aware that many books are still not (and may never be) available in digital format."

Thank you for enlightening me and others

More: "Digital book rights are negotiated book by book, author by author, and country by country."

It's the 'country by country' part that is sometimes problematic for me. I do not live in any one place. In my experience there are ways around this differing markets matter - and travel is one of them, at least for hard copy. For example, at Kolkata's excellent January bookfair a vendor was selling, in 2001, CD versions of National Geographic for a pittance compared to the same product in USA. At the same fair I picked up a superb atlas of the Indian Ocean for a fraction of what the same huge book would sell for in Canada (not that it would be available at all actually) Oops, I am starting to froth at the mouth when I think about second-hand 1950s trash subject books purchased at the book stall market in Dhaka! Yes, the reality is that there are many gems that just NEVER will be digitized. And thank Zeus and Santa Claus for that.

But these treasures cannot be searched as easily and they sure as heck can't go in my backpack which is why I sold them all In Chiang Mai (for a pittance of course). There is a downside to having no 'real' library. Boo hoo.

I understand the need to organize royalties or whatever according to markets. I just try to work around them to maximum advantage.

More: "If you cannot buy a digital book at either Amazon, Kobo, or from the publisher's website, chances are the rights are not available. The exception to this would be indie books."[/QUOTE]

Ah.

[hermes]

digiSara wrote: Not sure I understand your post - if you went into a local Chapters, then isn't the instore computer, a database of what is actually physically in that particular store?

It lists both hard copy and ebooks. One can narrow the list.

>The Chapters website: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ will let you search their pbooks, which you can order online (for delivery, not ebooks) or search to see if it's in a store near you.

Not interested. But others may be.

If you're looking for ebooks, it directs you to http://www.kobobooks.com.

I see

[taming]

hermes, you may want to search for the thread on MR about the National Library of Singapore. They have a huge selection of ebooks and audiobooks available and you can use their library from anyplace in the world, once you establish an account.

[corona]

Originally Posted by hermes

I do not live in any one place.

Cool!

[hermes]

Originally Posted by taming

hermes, you may want to search for the thread on MR about the National Library of Singapore. They have a huge selection of ebooks and audiobooks available and you can use their library from anyplace in the world, once you establish an account.

Singapore is one of my favorite places to take a break *in* civilization. Next time I am there I will definitely get a card. I recall the main public library ten years ago being a tiny place for such a great nation, but now that they have gone ebook - wonderful. I am fortunate to have a street address there and it should be no hassle getting a card.

[taming]

You can sign up for the library on-line, hermes--at no charge--and begin borrowing the same day, no matter where you are. See this thread https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=117876