What Do You Do When A Book Isn't Available For eReaders?

[sakura-panda]

I'm reading one right now. I have bought a couple that I didn't even look for in e-form because I like the way the series looks on my shelf.

I'll buy a book in whatever legitimate form I can find, if I want to read it badly enough.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by queentess

Camp Arrrr: If it's not available as an ebook, I will simply pirate it. Author is refusing me something I want.

That would only work if it's actually available in a pirated version. I definitely prefer e-books, but if a book is only available as p-book then I'll have to read it in that version. It's primarily non-fiction p-books I read though - I guess it's because that I generally don't feel a need to read one exact book when it comes to fiction (I can just find something else to read that is available), and I don't have the same choice with non-fiction.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Keryl Raist

So, what do you do when the book you want to read only comes in the Dead Tree Version?

I've never had that problem.

[tponzo]

I still buy DTBs as well as e-books. There are some authors who I have all of their books and do not want to break up the set - Jayne Krentz, Nora Roberts to name a few so I buy both formats (any publishers listening - bundle, bundle, bundle). For others, if the book is not available in digital format and I really want to read it I will buy the paper version or try to get it from the library. Most of the fiction I read is available as ebooks. It's non-fiction where I run into problems. I am currently reading a book to review for church. No digital version available from the library and not something I want to own so I'm lugging around the (borrowed) hardcover.

[Caltsar]

Originally Posted by Anke Wehner

For things like that, you can add a record for a book to Calibre without actually adding a file. Click the down arrow next the the "Add books" icon, and in the dropdown click "add empty book".

I do that with new books I want these days, but during my brief experiment with eBook piracy, I'd add the book files... and I simply haven't bothered to delete the files themselves... I add a "Replace" tag to the metadata to mark that I need a new copy

I really have stopped buying fiction DTBs, but for non-fiction (such as reference books) or illustration heavy books, paper is still superior to me... though maybe using my iPad for those sorts of things could work too. However, a lot of those books, I leaf around randomly and eBook readers aren't always good with that.

[fruiter]

I go to the library and see if I can find it there! Or I ask around and see if my friends can lend me their paper copy.

[Duiker]

Originally Posted by fruiter

I go to the library and see if I can find it there! Or I ask around and see if my friends can lend me their paper copy.

But that's stealing! The author never INTENDED for you to read that book without paying for it.
Sorry, couldn't resist. Currently engaged in a darknet debate in another thread.

[pholy]

Originally Posted by Duiker

But that's stealing! The author never INTENDED for you to read that book without paying for it.

Then he should have added that restriction to his list of geo-restrictions..
I think there is one publisher who doesn't want their books in libraries - stupid, I'd say.

[frquixote]

Originally Posted by januaryman

Maybe Library of America will start e-publishing. They have a fantastic selection of quality compilations of literature "stars."

I asked them this question a few weeks ago and the answer was "Yes." They are starting to produce some of their more popular works first.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by queentess

Agreed. I have a very small child at home, and she LOVES her books. We read to her nearly every day from (gasp!) paper books.

My youngest (17) loves her books also and has no interest as yet to read an ebook. She always tell me she loves to "smell the age of the pages" and you cannot do that with an ebook. Last Christmas alone she got 30 books from various people.

I donated them about 6 months after getting my first ereader when I finally realized I would never read those books in paper format again. Ever.

I have only purchase one paperback during the last two years. In fact a good number are still sitting on the shelf unread, those are mainly military history though.

[januaryman]

Originally Posted by frquixote

I asked them this question a few weeks ago and the answer was "Yes." They are starting to produce some of their more popular works first.

That is great news. If I hadn't just bought another Cheever short story collection, I would have bought theirs.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Keryl Raist

So, what do you do when the book you want to read only comes in the Dead Tree Version?

...

If I really, really, really want it, I'll read the paper book.

But there are so many great books out there, it hasn't happened since I've owned my ebook reader (~2 years).

[Keryl Raist]

Originally Posted by astra

Legitimate or illegitimate?

Legitimate no ebook. We're both very pro respecting the copyright, so it never occured to either of us to look for a non-copyright version.

[JSWolf]

DTB is actually a pBook.

Now, that said, just because there is no legal eBook available does not mean there is an eBook out there and if there is, it doesn't mean it's in good enough shape to actually read. Sure if there is an eBook and it's in terrible condition, you could A/B compare it to the pBook and fix it up. But in a lot of cases, it is easier to just read the pBook you've already bought or taken from the library.

Scanning a pBook you get from the library is going to cause damage and that's not good. So don't do it.

When you buy a pBook that does not have a legal eBook copy, buy the pBook thinking that's what you will be reading or don't buy it at all. Don't buy the pBook thinking you cab just hop on the net and get an eBook copy. It's not always that easy and a lot of time, if it is, there is a chance the copy is crud. So just buy (or borrow from the library) pBooks with the intent to read them and just do so.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Keryl Raist

I have a friend who makes a point similar to this. She loves the look of books. She loves having them in the house. She loves the idea that her children will grown up with actual books around them, learning the whole 'books have a tangible presence and are your friends' sort of thing. She talks about how the pictures on a cover can ignite your curiosity and draw you in. And she's concerned that kids even ten years from now won't have that experience.

She's nuts. A good book is a good book be it in paper or electronic formats. She is right about the cover though. A lot of eBooks come with a crappy generic cover. The Agency 5 think it's OK to charge us the pBook price for the eBook when we don't even get the cover. This is part of the problem. If we are expected to pay full price, we should be demanding to get the full product. 10 years from now, I am expecting reasonable prices with proper covers, well formatted, and no more errors then in the pBook.