Where to Buy Books for Kobo?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The eBook that @DaveLessnau is talking about, I downloaded from Overdrive and it does have the ToC. Why would the ePub from Kobo not have the ToC? Could it be that Kobo only has an older version?

I thought I answered that in the first part of my post. But, all I can really say is that there are at least two versions of the book involved. Why, and which is the newer, I have no idea.

I did say in a post in @DaveLessnau's other thread that it should be reported to the publisher or author to fix. But, it might be a good idea to report it to Kobo. It could be that it didn't flow through their processes properly.

[enuddleyarbl]

I can't find a publisher on Kobo's page for that book and in Calibre, it just shows as Undefined. That seems odd, but maybe I've just gone blind. Also, I can't seem to find any way to contact Kobo about technical issues with the book. Their Help pages aren't helpful (in this case) and the Contact form I finally found had no category for this. It's not the end of the world, but I think I'll probably look at other sources of ebooks than Kobo.

[PeterT]

Looking at the book on OverDrive it shows as being self published.

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Looking at the book on OverDrive it shows as being self published.

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk

The copyright says that it was previously a TOR book.

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The copyright says that it was previously a TOR book.

It looks like the hardback version was published by Tor (as are most of her other ebooks). But, for this one, it looks like she decided to go self-published even though Tor had the publishing rights for the dead-tree version. Maybe this was her first shot at dipping her toe in and decided to let a publisher do the work after the experience.

I don't have too much of an issue with Kobo over the lack of a TOC (though it's odd that the synced-to-Forma version, the Overdrive version, and the Amazon Kindle version (which is the version I first read via my library) all have TOCs). My biggest complaint with Kobo is the, apparent, lack of any way to contact anyone over there. I think for my next foray into epub purchasing I'll try ebooks.com. Their name seems to come up often.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DaveLessnau

It looks like the hardback version was published by Tor (as are most of her other ebooks). But, for this one, it looks like she decided to go self-published even though Tor had the publishing rights for the dead-tree version. Maybe this was her first shot at dipping her toe in and decided to let a publisher do the work after the experience.

I don't have too much of an issue with Kobo over the lack of a TOC (though it's odd that the synced-to-Forma version, the Overdrive version, and the Amazon Kindle version (which is the version I first read via my library) all have TOCs). My biggest complaint with Kobo is the, apparent, lack of any way to contact anyone over there. I think for my next foray into epub purchasing I'll try ebooks.com. Their name seems to come up often.

I think the issue might be that Kobo didn't update the ePub version to a newer version. Can you check the OPF metadata and see what version your ePub copy shows. The one I downloaded from Overdrive is 1.1.

I have bought eBooks from eBooks.com and have had no problems.

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I think the issue might be that Kobo didn't update the ePub version to a newer version. Can you check the OPF metadata and see what version your ePub copy shows. The one I downloaded from Overdrive is 1.1....

Assuming that's in the content.opf file, the closest thing I see doesn't look anything like what you got. Since it looks like just structural things, I guess it's OK to post the whole thing here:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<package unique-identifier="uuid_id" version="2.0" xmlns="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf">
  <metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:calibre="http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/2009/metadata" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:opf="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
    <dc:publisher>Martha Wells</dc:publisher>
    <dc:language>en</dc:language>
    <dc:creator opf:role="aut" opf:file-as="Unknown">Martha Wells</dc:creator>
    <meta content="2012-07-21T13:55:51.560208+00:00" name="calibre:timestamp"></meta>
    <dc:title>City of Bones</dc:title>
    <meta content="cover" name="cover"></meta>
    <dc:contributor opf:role="bkp">calibre (0.8.54) [http://calibre-ebook.com]</dc:contributor>
    <dc:identifier opf:scheme="uuid" id="uuid_id">b13f07b0-413c-4088-bf17-a32cc4289eca</dc:identifier>
  </metadata>
  <manifest>
    <item media-type="image/jpeg" id="cover" href="cover.jpg"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id223" href="index_split_000.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id222" href="index_split_001.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id221" href="index_split_002.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id220" href="index_split_003.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id219" href="index_split_004.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id218" href="index_split_005.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id217" href="index_split_006.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id216" href="index_split_007.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id215" href="index_split_008.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id214" href="index_split_009.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id213" href="index_split_010.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id212" href="index_split_011.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id211" href="index_split_012.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id210" href="index_split_013.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id29" href="index_split_014.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id28" href="index_split_015.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id27" href="index_split_016.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id26" href="index_split_017.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id25" href="index_split_018.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id24" href="index_split_019.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id23" href="index_split_020.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id22" href="index_split_021.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="id21" href="index_split_022.xhtml"></item>
    <item media-type="text/css" id="page_css" href="page_styles.css"></item>
    <item media-type="text/css" id="css" href="stylesheet.css"></item>
    <item media-type="application/xhtml+xml" id="titlepage" href="titlepage.xhtml"></item>
    <item id="ncx" media-type="application/x-dtbncx+xml" href="toc.ncx"></item>
  </manifest>
  <spine toc="ncx">
    <itemref idref="titlepage"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id223"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id222"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id221"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id220"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id219"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id218"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id217"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id216"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id215"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id214"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id213"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id212"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id211"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id210"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id29"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id28"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id27"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id26"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id25"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id24"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id23"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id22"></itemref>
    <itemref idref="id21"></itemref>
  </spine>
  <guide>
    <reference title="Cover" type="cover" href="titlepage.xhtml"></reference>
  </guide>
</package>

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DaveLessnau

Assuming that's in the content.opf file, the closest thing I see doesn't look anything like what you got. Since it looks like just structural things, I guess it's OK to post the whole thing here:

Yes, it is OK to post the OPF file. You have a completely different copy then I do. The One I have is not a Calibre conversion. It looks like it may have been created with Draft2Digital.

Given that the eBook does not have DRM, can you have a look at the OPF in the KePub copy? Thanks.

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Given that the eBook does not have DRM, can you have a look at the OPF in the KePub copy? Thanks.

I put the version Kobo syncs directly to my Forma back on the device, found the proper file (bf6d5ca1-9ed8-4eb4-80f0-f0377e129e78), copied it to my computer's drive, tacked a .zip extension on, and unzipped it. Looking at the content.opf for the downloaded version and the synced version, they're identical (I had Notepad++ do a comparison). The one thing that strikes me right off is that the toc.ncx file in the synced version contains actual information instead of the "Start" stub in the downloaded version. Glancing at the .xhtml files, all of them appear to have been edited for styles in the synced version for kobo devices (I'm guessing).

My guess is Martha Wells sent her raw epub over to Kobo who then tweaked it slightly to meet their standards. Perhaps they don't have us download that version because of the kobo specific style changes.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by DaveLessnau

It looks like the hardback version was published by Tor (as are most of her other ebooks). But, for this one, it looks like she decided to go self-published even though Tor had the publishing rights for the dead-tree version. Maybe this was her first shot at dipping her toe in and decided to let a publisher do the work after the experience.

Almost definitely. The original contract for it probably didn't include the ebook rights, so she tried it herself.

I don't have too much of an issue with Kobo over the lack of a TOC (though it's odd that the synced-to-Forma version, the Overdrive version, and the Amazon Kindle version (which is the version I first read via my library) all have TOCs).

Why? It's been explained more than once what is happening. Different versions of the book are in different places. I'm not sure why you are surprised that is the case. Odds are, it was published without the ToC, people complained and the author updated the book but missed a location.

My biggest complaint with Kobo is the, apparent, lack of any way to contact anyone over there.

You mean, apart from the floating blue "Feedback" button on the right-hand side of all pages? Or the "Help" link that is in two places (top-right corner and in the first column in the grey section at the bottom). The latter takes you to help and FAQ pages, but there is a "Contact us" at the bottom of each of the help pages. Both will lead you to a chat option or a way to submit an issue.

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by davidfor

You mean, apart from the floating blue "Feedback" button on the right-hand side of all pages? Or the "Help" link that is in two places (top-right corner and in the first column in the grey section at the bottom). The latter takes you to help and FAQ pages, but there is a "Contact us" at the bottom of each of the help pages. Both will lead you to a chat option or a way to submit an issue.

I've seen no Feedback button (blue or otherwise) on any page on the Kobo site. The Help links go to a FAQ that's of no use. The Contact Us button at the bottom of the FAQ supposedly lets me Chat with them, points me to their Facebook or Twitter pages, or lets me email them. But, Chat doesn't work, I'm not on Facebook or Twitter, and the email options don't have anything for technical issues with books.

It's easier to try another ebook store than it is trying to get in touch with them.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by DaveLessnau

I've seen no Feedback button (blue or otherwise) on any page on the Kobo site.

Do you have a Javascript blocker running? The button is definitely there. I have used it several times over the years. But, I have noticed that people seem to be blind to it. I have pointed it out to others in this forum far to many times.

The Help links go to a FAQ that's of no use. The Contact Us button at the bottom of the FAQ supposedly lets me Chat with them, points me to their Facebook or Twitter pages, or lets me email them. But, Chat doesn't work, I'm not on Facebook or Twitter, and the email options don't have anything for technical issues with books.

Yes, the help option show FAQ pages that are probably not useful in this case. And unfortunately, there are a couple of steps from there. But, the Contact Us button leads to a drop-down with some categories. Selecting one will show more FAQ and another "Contact Us" button. Clicking that shows me choices of "Chat with us Recommend", "Call Us" and a social media. The "Chat with us" option does work.

[JSWolf]

If you run a fresh browser, you will see the feedback button on the right side of the browser window. I don't see it because my Firefox is heavily customized.

But you can get to leaving feedback if you go to the bottom of the screen at Kobo and select Get Help. Then on the next screen, go to the bottom and again select Get Help. You will then be on the Contact Us page.

[enuddleyarbl]

I'm using the Brave browser. I'll take a look and see what I can do with it. Thanks.

[4691mls]

I've had several Overdrive books where I obtained the copy on my Kobo by syncing (so I assume it's a kepub) and the Kobo copy had the TOC, but the epub copies I downloaded directly from Overdrive onto my phone and Tolino ereader were missing the TOC.