Amazon Kindle rating system: In the land of the Blind...

Donnageddon · 08-15-2008, 04:10 AM

... the pretty picture bites the hand that feeds it.

A recent topic in the Deals, Freebies, and Resources forum regarding the Fictionwise offering of The Chambers Dictionary (secured mobipocket... useless for my Kindle or Sony) got me searching for Kindle dictionaries on Amazon.

I got sidetracked by the Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.

There are 9 Kindle versions.

They all have the exactly same 45 reviews.

Having been bitten before by Amazon's "Anyone with a computer and balls made of brass can publish books" policy (I am sure there is a formal name for this policy... but I like my description better) I do not want to be burned by another poorly formatted, slapped together crap fest. even if it only costs me 95 cents.

How can one know if the kindle version they are purchasing is a labor of love, or a stinking pile of panda poo if all the reviews are for the same theoretical version?

I ask you!

I do not expect an answer.

Donn

- HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools. - Ambrose Bierce

acidzebra · 08-15-2008, 04:28 AM

Seriously, what do people have against panda poo? How do you know it stinks? Where are people getting all these pandas, not to mention their poo?

Anyway, why not save the money, grab the HTML version from Project Gutenberg, run it through FangornUK's Gutenlrf script, and enjoy your own beautifully-formatted labor of love?

Quote:

I do not expect an answer.

Then it is probably a good thing I completely ignored the kindle-related part, huh?

HarryT · 08-15-2008, 09:48 AM

The book is in the public domain; I suggest that you create a Mobi version of it yourself for the Kindle - that way you'll be able to determine its appearance rather than having to rely on somebody else.

zelda_pinwheel · 08-15-2008, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acidzebra

Seriously, what do people have against panda poo? How do you know it stinks? Where are people getting all these pandas, not to mention their poo?

what *do* people have against panda poo ??? what has panda poo ever done to you ???

(heeheehee !

)

MoSo · 08-15-2008, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

... the pretty picture bites the hand that feeds it.

A recent topic in the Deals, Freebies, and Resources forum regarding the Fictionwise offering of The Chambers Dictionary (secured mobipocket... useless for my Kindle or Sony) got me searching for Kindle dictionaries on Amazon.

I got sidetracked by the Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.

There are 9 Kindle versions.

They all have the exactly same 45 reviews.

Having been bitten before by Amazon's "Anyone with a computer and balls made of brass can publish books" policy (I am sure there is a formal name for this policy... but I like my description better) I do not want to be burned by another poorly formatted, slapped together crap fest. even if it only costs me 95 cents.

How can one know if the kindle version they are purchasing is a labor of love, or a stinking pile of panda poo if all the reviews are for the same theoretical version?

I ask you!

I do not expect an answer.

Whenever I download a "classic" from Amazon, I make sure there is a sample available to see the formatting. Twice I've downloaded something the was crap, and I've gotten my money back from Amazon both times (and left a negative review specifically in reference to Kindle formatting - the last was a Raymond Chandler book).

Donnageddon · 08-15-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

what *do* people have against panda poo ??? what has panda poo ever done to you ???

(heeheehee !

)

I am still searching for that "Panda being fed into a woodchipper" gif.

I may have to make my own.

Donnageddon · 08-15-2008, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

The book is in the public domain; I suggest that you create a Mobi version of it yourself for the Kindle - that way you'll be able to determine its appearance rather than having to rely on somebody else.

True, but for a dictionary that sounds like an awful lot of work. I am not sure I love it enough to labor that long. (note to self: send more karma to the MR book uploaders)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoSo

Whenever I download a "classic" from Amazon, I make sure there is a sample available to see the formatting. Twice I've downloaded something the was crap, and I've gotten my money back from Amazon both times (and left a negative review specifically in reference to Kindle formatting - the last was a Raymond Chandler book).

Yes, I almost forgot about the "download a sample" option. Glad to hear you have had good experiences with getting refunds from Amazon. I will keep that option available as well.

Elsi · 08-15-2008, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

I got sidetracked by the Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.

There are 9 Kindle versions.

They all have the exactly same 45 reviews.

One problem with the Amazon reviews is that when you post a review, it's not restricted to a given *edition* of a book -- just the title. That's why when I review a Kindle edition of a book, I try to be very clear if my comments are about the formatting rather than just the content.

HarryT · 08-16-2008, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

True, but for a dictionary that sounds like an awful lot of work. I am not sure I love it enough to labor that long. (note to self: send more karma to the MR book uploaders)

But you wouldn't really need it to be a dictionary, would you? It's not as if you'd genuinely want to "look up" a word it in. It's a book one tends to sit down and read like any other book - in my experience at least.

I'd be extremely surprised if any of the Kindle versions actually were "genuine" dictionaries. Are you able to tell whether or not they are?

08-15-2008, 04:10 AM	#1
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	Amazon Kindle rating system: In the land of the Blind... ... the pretty picture bites the hand that feeds it. A recent topic in the Deals, Freebies, and Resources forum regarding the Fictionwise offering of The Chambers Dictionary (secured mobipocket... useless for my Kindle or Sony) got me searching for Kindle dictionaries on Amazon. I got sidetracked by the Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. There are 9 Kindle versions. They all have the exactly same 45 reviews. Having been bitten before by Amazon's "Anyone with a computer and balls made of brass can publish books" policy (I am sure there is a formal name for this policy... but I like my description better) I do not want to be burned by another poorly formatted, slapped together crap fest. even if it only costs me 95 cents. How can one know if the kindle version they are purchasing is a labor of love, or a stinking pile of panda poo if all the reviews are for the same theoretical version? I ask you! I do not expect an answer. Donn - HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools. - Ambrose Bierce

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08-15-2008, 09:48 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The book is in the public domain; I suggest that you create a Mobi version of it yourself for the Kindle - that way you'll be able to determine its appearance rather than having to rely on somebody else.