16 free ebooks on Jan 29 - Page 3

Sydney's Mom · 01-28-2009, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakodai

No problem! I misunderstood Sydney's Mom, when she said 'My Favourites' I assumed that she knew the book titles. NOW, I realise that she meant that the Genre (or something like that) were her favourites, and not the books themselves! hehe, the worse part of online communications, I guess...

Sorry for the confusion. Anything light and romantic is my favorite! After reading the Internal Revenue Code all day, I will take any escape I can!

Sydney's Mom · 01-28-2009, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

I'm sorry, but I actually do find this insulting. Please, if you don't have anything nice to say in this thread, don't say anything at all.

I don't know why it is alright to make fun of romance books, when any genre can be formulaic. Such as pornos, westerns . . .

I have read a lot of all kinds of books that were poorly written, and lots that were well written, but not my taste. I guess Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network, which seem to make a lot of these books into movies, just have a failed business strategy. Oh well, maybe they will figure it out sooner or later.

That said, I am excited about 16 free books, because I consider these books like popcorn. I love them, but it is just for fun. Debra

pdurrant · 01-29-2009, 04:41 AM

They seem to have mixed the formats up a bit - if you want Mobipocket, click the eReader link. If you want eReader, click the Mobipocket link.

However, the Mobipocket files appear to be encrypted (with the wierd Mobipocket-no-PID-required encryption, so that only genuine Mobipocket Reader programmes can read it). The ePub, on the other hand is unencrypted, and has higher quality images anyway.

Oh - there's also .lit format. Presumably unencypted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tech_au

If you are a romance reader you will love the free ebooks that Harlequin will be providing as part of their 60th Anniversary.
Details at http://www.harlequincelebrates.com/

tech_au · 01-29-2009, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I don't know why it is alright to make fun of romance books, when any genre can be formulaic. Such as pornos, westerns . . .

I guess romance books are an easy target because they are cranked out at a ferocious pace and are very similar but as you say any genre can be formulaic. Take my favorite genre of Thriller/Adventure. They are all set in either the African Desert, The Amazon Jungle, Under the Ocean or in The Arctic/Antartica and a big discovery has been made that the "baddies" want and the "goodies" have to overcome all sorts of conflict to win in the end. It doesn't stop me enjoying the action and adventure

DaleDe · 01-29-2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

They seem to have mixed the formats up a bit - if you want Mobipocket, click the eReader link. If you want eReader, click the Mobipocket link.

However, the Mobipocket files appear to be encrypted (with the wierd Mobipocket-no-PID-required encryption, so that only genuine Mobipocket Reader programmes can read it). The ePub, on the other hand is unencrypted, and has higher quality images anyway.

Oh - there's also .lit format. Presumably unencypted.

Are you sure the MOBI file is encrypted? It is likely it is just using the high compression mode (called HUFF-DIC I believe). Some third party readers cannot read this format. Calibre can be used to determine if that is the problem.

Dale

lilac_jive · 01-29-2009, 09:58 AM

FYI Sony and Kindle will have these up in a few days (if not today).

pdurrant · 01-29-2009, 10:01 AM

Calibre says they're encrypted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Are you sure the MOBI file is encrypted? It is likely it is just using the high compression mode (called HUFF-DIC I believe). Some third party readers cannot read this format. Calibre can be used to determine if that is the problem.

Dale

DaleDe · 01-29-2009, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Calibre says they're encrypted.

Hmm, then this is a new undocumented feature that has never existed before. I am surprised. Perhaps there is something wrong with the files or they are exploiting an anomaly. It might be worth contacting Kovid (author of Calibre) about these files.

Dale

koland · 01-29-2009, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

FYI Sony and Kindle will have these up in a few days (if not today).

You'll need to know the names to find them - they've put up hundreds (perhaps thousands) of classics for free today:

Free Classics at Amazon

lilac_jive · 01-29-2009, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koland

You'll need to know the names to find them - they've put up hundreds (perhaps thousands) of classics for free today:

Free Classics at Amazon

Oh I'm so used to Sony who just puts a link on the main page for this stuff. Or I just sort by section then lowest price.

JSWolf · 01-29-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koland

You'll need to know the names to find them - they've put up hundreds (perhaps thousands) of classics for free today:

Free Classics at Amazon

I did a search in the Kindle Store and found 3,575 free eBooks available.

koland · 01-29-2009, 12:21 PM

Apparently it's now up to over 7,300 books.

Which means finding non-classic freebies is much more difficult and that sorting low-to-high pricewise is now useless.

koland · 01-29-2009, 12:23 PM

BTW,

Has anyone actually gotten the Harlequin books to work in Mobipocket? They are DRM encrypted and the PID isn't one you have on account there. It apparently isn't the type that looks it up as you open the book, as mobipocket reader just complains of an unrecognized web site and refuses to open them.

Anyone know of a decent epub-to-mobi converter (that doesn't require rebuilding the book, like the ereader conversion does; I can do this one, but want to avoid doing so)?

da_jane · 01-29-2009, 12:52 PM

These free ebooks are NOT DRM encrypted. If you have a link to a file that says that they are, let me know because the no DRM is specifically mentioned in the press release by Malle Vallik.

And yes, romance is an easy target but I wonder how many of those who deride it have actually read one?

koland · 01-29-2009, 01:31 PM

[QUOTE=da_jane;338553]These free ebooks are NOT DRM encrypted. If you have a link to a file that says that they are, let me know because the no DRM is specifically mentioned in the press release by Malle Vallik./QUOTE]

Yes, they were; they are now no longer even available, so perhaps they are trying to fix the problem. They have an encrypted PID (like most DRM'd mobi books) and it appears to be the type that goes to mobipocket.com for authentication; however, you get an error msg that the web site used to download them was unrecognized, so your personal PID doesn't get inserted. Thus, they are useless. I'd be happy to email you one of the two I have on my hard drive.

In the meantime - get one of the other formats or wait and hope they correct the problem.

I'd be happy to send you a link, but they use a tedious FLASH program for the download, requiring you scroll thru the list of those you've downloaded to get the next one, then pop up a download box in your face, then require you to tell them you want another one. Repeat until exhausted.

I'm just glad I stopped at two and decided to test them; it'll take at least a half hour or so to download, due to the annoying procedure (including telling IE it's ok to download the file).

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01-29-2009, 09:58 AM	#36
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	FYI Sony and Kindle will have these up in a few days (if not today).

01-29-2009, 12:21 PM	#42
koland Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,560 Karma: 8033155 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: TN, USA Device: kindle(all), nook, nookcolor, Sony, Kobo, epic, iphone, iPad, pc	Apparently it's now up to over 7,300 books. Which means finding non-classic freebies is much more difficult and that sorting low-to-high pricewise is now useless.

01-29-2009, 12:23 PM	#43
koland Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,560 Karma: 8033155 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: TN, USA Device: kindle(all), nook, nookcolor, Sony, Kobo, epic, iphone, iPad, pc	BTW, Has anyone actually gotten the Harlequin books to work in Mobipocket? They are DRM encrypted and the PID isn't one you have on account there. It apparently isn't the type that looks it up as you open the book, as mobipocket reader just complains of an unrecognized web site and refuses to open them. Anyone know of a decent epub-to-mobi converter (that doesn't require rebuilding the book, like the ereader conversion does; I can do this one, but want to avoid doing so)?

01-29-2009, 12:52 PM	#44
da_jane Evangelist Posts: 405 Karma: 692 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 \| Kindle Paperwhite \| iPad Mini	These free ebooks are NOT DRM encrypted. If you have a link to a file that says that they are, let me know because the no DRM is specifically mentioned in the press release by Malle Vallik. And yes, romance is an easy target but I wonder how many of those who deride it have actually read one?

01-29-2009, 01:31 PM	#45
koland Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,560 Karma: 8033155 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: TN, USA Device: kindle(all), nook, nookcolor, Sony, Kobo, epic, iphone, iPad, pc	[QUOTE=da_jane;338553]These free ebooks are NOT DRM encrypted. If you have a link to a file that says that they are, let me know because the no DRM is specifically mentioned in the press release by Malle Vallik./QUOTE] Yes, they were; they are now no longer even available, so perhaps they are trying to fix the problem. They have an encrypted PID (like most DRM'd mobi books) and it appears to be the type that goes to mobipocket.com for authentication; however, you get an error msg that the web site used to download them was unrecognized, so your personal PID doesn't get inserted. Thus, they are useless. I'd be happy to email you one of the two I have on my hard drive. In the meantime - get one of the other formats or wait and hope they correct the problem. I'd be happy to send you a link, but they use a tedious FLASH program for the download, requiring you scroll thru the list of those you've downloaded to get the next one, then pop up a download box in your face, then require you to tell them you want another one. Repeat until exhausted. I'm just glad I stopped at two and decided to test them; it'll take at least a half hour or so to download, due to the annoying procedure (including telling IE it's ok to download the file).