Barnes & Noble Free Classic eBooks Program Starts

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

This is still a FAIL on the part of B&N. They don't make it clear that the ebooks have extras.

The extra features are listed in the editorial review and features tab.

Also each book lists at least 2 authors suggesting something more than a public domain edition. We know Huck Finn wasnt written by Robert G. O'Meally.

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There are 199 books in BN's classic set so they are offering about half free through this promotion if they continue to provide 12 each week.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Fbone

The extra features are listed in the editorial review and features tab.

Also each book lists at least 2 authors suggesting something more than a public domain edition. We know Huck Finn wasnt written by Robert G. O'Meally.

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There are 199 books in BN's classic set so they are offering about half free through this promotion if they continue to provide 12 each week.

But are these details in the press release?

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

But are these details in the press release?

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/pre..._classics.html

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bar...k=MW_news_stmp

Yes.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Fbone

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/pre..._classics.html

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bar...k=MW_news_stmp

Yes.

Oh. So they are there, only in the 5th paragraph. I never read that far. There's only so much marketing BS that I can tolerate, and that part of a press release usually has either boringly obvious detail or vomit-inducing superlatives.

BTW, that detail in the 5th paragraph escaped most people:http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknews...7920.asp?c=rss

This still qualifies as a FAIL. No one reads that part of the press release.

[ATDrake]

I agree that B&N could do a better job of emphasizing that these are basically nicer editions with special extras, both in their press releases and the actual website page.

That said, I'm pleased and grateful that they're offering selected B&N Classics free all summer.

I was impressed enough with the ones I tried out of the "All-American" promo batch that I was going to buy a few more that I wouldn't mind having when I had both the spare cash and time to read them, because $1.99 a pop is pretty cheap for good books with decent commentary and useful annotations.

As it is, I'm going to wait until they've cycled through the freebies and then pick up any leftover that were on my list. Or if there aren't, then I'll just pick a couple that look reasonably interesting and try them out.

Least I can do, given that they're not really making money off me otherwise.

Originally Posted by Jonimeesermann

On a related note, does someone know how to avoid entering credit card number to get free ebook from B&N? I fooled Amazon just fine with hotspot shield

Perhaps you could get one of those disposable pre-paid credit cards and only use it with the B&N books? You do need the number for their DRM scheme, but they don't actually check to make sure it goes with a valid US billing address or anything.

[bgalbrecht]

Be careful for spoilers when you read the introductory material. I was reading Babbitt, which was available over the 4th of July weekend, and the introductory materiel summarized the story, chapter by chapter.

[wandalynn]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

II was impressed enough with the ones I tried out of the "All-American" promo batch that I was going to buy a few more that I wouldn't mind having when I had both the spare cash and time to read them, because $1.99 a pop is pretty cheap for good books with decent commentary and useful annotations.

I've bought both ebooks and dtb's in BN's Classic Series. I really liked the additional material in 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'. This is great to get a free e-version. The paperback dtb was around $6 and well worth it.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Oh. So they are there, only in the 5th paragraph. I never read that far. There's only so much marketing BS that I can tolerate, and that part of a press release usually has either boringly obvious detail or vomit-inducing superlatives.

BTW, that detail in the 5th paragraph escaped most people:http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknews...7920.asp?c=rss

This still qualifies as a FAIL. No one reads that part of the press release.

Someone doesn't like to admit when they are wrong

[Sylver]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

I was impressed enough with the ones I tried out of the "All-American" promo batch that I was going to buy a few more that I wouldn't mind having when I had both the spare cash and time to read them, because $1.99 a pop is pretty cheap for good books with decent commentary and useful annotations.

Same here, I was impressed by some of these freebies and plan to build my own collection for $1.99 a piece through the summer, this could not come at a better time for me. I was a little disappointed after reading some contemporary novels and decided to go back to classics not only because it's generally much cheaper (or almost free) but also because it represents the pinnacle of achievement of the English language - sadly, I found the language in most modern novels is too bland and boring, especially for people like me whose native language is not English.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Oh. So they are there, only in the 5th paragraph. I never read that far. There's only so much marketing BS that I can tolerate, and that part of a press release usually has either boringly obvious detail or vomit-inducing superlatives.

BTW, that detail in the 5th paragraph escaped most people:http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknews...7920.asp?c=rss

This still qualifies as a FAIL. No one reads that part of the press release.

Jeez Nate, why not have the grace to say "I was wrong"? You seem determined to blame B&N for their "crime" of giving these books away, no matter what. Why?

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

Gutenberg files are usually proofread by Distributed Proofreaders. However, they are not edited. There are tiny editorial changes made to public domain books to make them more readable by, shall we say, a less sophisticated audience. For example, in Jane Austen's books, the more standard modern spelling "choose" is substituted for "chuse," "show" for "shew" and that sort of thing. I personally like the archaic spellings and usages, but your average high school student might get hung up on them.

Are the 'changes' you mention in the DP books, or those from other public domain sources ?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Are the 'changes' you mention in the DP books, or those from other public domain sources ?

The PG versions of Jane Austen all appear to use modern spellings and punctuation.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The PG versions of Jane Austen all appear to use modern spellings and punctuation.

In that case the originals used for these versions must also have used the modern spellings etc. Certainly DP proofers work to the premise

"Don't change what the author wrote!"

[though we can change what the printer made a mistake with - but 'archaic' spelling (if in the original) will remain after the 3 proofing rounds]

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

In that case the originals used for these versions must also have used the modern spellings etc. Certainly DP proofers work to the premise

"Don't change what the author wrote!"

[though we can change what the printer made a mistake with - but 'archaic' spelling (if in the original) will remain after the 3 proofing rounds]

The spelling and punctuation (modern usage of punctuation has changed considerably since that used in the late 18th century) have been changed by the publishers over the centuries to conform to modern conventions. The versions that PG source from are typically American early 20th century editions.

As you say, my personal preference is to read what the author originally wrote, rather than what publishers have decided to change, which is why I've taken the trouble to edit "P&P" back to its original 1st edition text, which is what I've uploaded here to MR.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The spelling and punctuation (modern usage of punctuation has changed considerably since that used in the late 18th century) have been changed by the publishers over the centuries to conform to modern conventions. The versions that PG source from are typically American early 20th century editions.

As you say, my personal preference is to read what the author originally wrote, rather than what publishers have decided to change, which is why I've taken the trouble to edit "P&P" back to its original 1st edition text, which is what I've uploaded here to MR.

Of course these particular versions may not be those issued from DP.