e-Book Requests and Begging (Public Domain Books Only!)

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by BookCat

Maybe I can't see for looking but I can't find a Kindle version of Come Out of the Kitchen by Alice Duer Miller in the library. I looked under D and M. By my reckoning it's in the public domain as she died in 1942. However, she was American, so maybe this has an effect?

It's available from Project Gutenberg. The MR library is Life +70, so there should be no reason not to upload it here. The illustrations used in the PG version do not seem to be in the public domain, though.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

It's available from Project Gutenberg. The MR library is Life +70, so there should be no reason not to upload it here. The illustrations used in the PG version do not seem to be in the public domain, though.

Please don't upload it here without checking it out and fixing formatting and other errors. Gutenberg is pretty lax on making a high quality book.

Dale

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Please don't upload it here without checking it out and fixing formatting and other errors. Gutenberg is pretty lax on making a high quality book.

Dale

Thanks for the warning. Who'da thunk?

Anyway, I wasn't planning to upload it here, just commenting on BookCat's question about the copyright situation. (Sorry BookCat - I've got too many half-finished book projects already...)

[BookCat]

I downloaded it from Manybooks, but just wanted to point out that it isn't available in a hand-formatted MR version, which would be so much better: manybooks just copy the whole thing from PG it seems.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Please don't upload it here without checking it out and fixing formatting and other errors. Gutenberg is pretty lax on making a high quality book.

Dale

The Internet Archive is even worse. They go for quantity over quality it seems.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Please don't upload it here without checking it out and fixing formatting and other errors. Gutenberg is pretty lax on making a high quality book.

Dale

Does it count if we run the spellcheck in Sigil? I did that for the book in question and it seemed not to be too bad. Most supposed errors seemed to be in proper names and such.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by crich70

Does it count if we run the spellcheck in Sigil? I did that for the book in question and it seemed not to be too bad. Most supposed errors seemed to be in proper names and such.

Anything and everything helps. Often ePub formatting is poorly done, font changes are poorly done, italics, etc. Archive is terrible, with automatic book generation (however I am glad they collect this stuff as a starting point). Gutenberg is getting better in that there often is some proof reading but formatting is often overlooked. TOC is another concern.

Dale

[GrannyGrump]

I am uploading this title now (Come Out of the Kitchen).

Bookcat, thank you for bringing this author to my attention! She is very witty and fun to read, and I plan to do more of her books as soon as I finish my slated Jean Webster batch (the author of "Daddy Long-Legs")

[BobC]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Anything and everything helps. Often ePub formatting is poorly done, font changes are poorly done, italics, etc. Archive is terrible, with automatic book generation (however I am glad they collect this stuff as a starting point). Gutenberg is getting better in that there often is some proof reading but formatting is often overlooked. TOC is another concern.

Dale

At least with Archive.org they have the page images as well as the text (which I think is mainly there to provide the searchable text layer) so it's a good staring point for editing the text version. I've done this on a couple of books using two computers, one with the image open (I tend to use the DJVU variant) and the other with the text that needs editing.

BobC

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by BobC

At least with Archive.org they have the page images as well as the text (which I think is mainly there to provide the searchable text layer) so it's a good staring point for editing the text version.

That's what a lot of book uploaders to MR do all the time. I sometimes think most downloaders believe it's all just Gutenberg texts with a bit of make-up, but many books here have been done from Google scans found at the Internet Archive Google Books or Hathi Trust.

Originally Posted by BobC

I've done this on a couple of books using two computers, one with the image open (I tend to use the DJVU variant) and the other with the text that needs editing.

Two computers? Nice idea. I manage that on one: Right half of the monitor is Sigil, left half the pdf.

[BookCat]

GrannyGrump has provided Come Out of the Kitchen to the MR library. Thanks GG.

[BookCat]

Me again! According to my reckoning, South Riding by Winifred Holtby should be in the public domain as she died in 1935, but I can't find it in the library at all.
I would very much appreciate it if someone uploaded a kindle version please.

[BookCat]

And again it's me! I was looking for something by H G Wells who died in August 1946 and should be in the death+70 public domain by my calculations, but he's nowhere to be found in the library. Could this be rectified please?
I would have a go at this myself, but don't know the first thing about formatting a book apart from running it through Calibre.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by BookCat

And again it's me! I was looking for something by H G Wells who died in August 1946 and should be in the death+70 public domain by my calculations, but he's nowhere to be found in the library. Could this be rectified please?

What exactly are you looking for? Most of Wells' work seems to be up on Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/30
______
Dennis

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by BookCat

And again it's me! I was looking for something by H G Wells who died in August 1946 and should be in the death+70 public domain by my calculations, but he's nowhere to be found in the library. Could this be rectified please?
I would have a go at this myself, but don't know the first thing about formatting a book apart from running it through Calibre.

The Life +70 term ends at the end of the 70th year after an author died, so Wells' writings will enter the Public Domain on 1 January 2017. Before that, it won't be possible to upload them here.