The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Simple and really ugly. Just put some text on the cover like a subtitle that says box set 1-5.

People miss that. If they put on a cover already used, people don't realize that it's not that other book. If they put a new cover on it, people think it's a new book in the series.

I don't think it's a big deal, and that they box set pictures does what it needs to do. While it may not be the prettiest way to advertise the books, it does catch the eye.

Since I don't use the series/title columns in Calibre like probably everyone else out there, I don't really mind the covers. I put all that info in the title, and then can just put a cover from the series I like in there. For me, the covers are really a non-issue, once I get them down and sorted.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Simple and really ugly. Just put some text on the cover like a subtitle that says box set 1-5.

Once again you fail to separate personal taste from the technical flaws (or advantages). I know you have been down in the writers corner where we have commented upon proposed covers by self publishing Authors.

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder (and the person writing the check).

In the old days, the dust jacket/paperback cover tried to convey something about the content to make you pick up the book. Remember when SF always had a Rocket or a BEM on the cover (and a scantily dressed girl)

HOW do you convey the topic in one picture, when there are 5+ books, each with a tale?
The Boxed view conveys 1)there are N volumes. 2)the spines have the individual Titles. 3)the BOX end cap has a general picture about the series or collection (I hated book stores that simply shelved books Spine Out. Not only did you get a crick in the neck walking down the aisle, reading titles, you had to juggle what you had in hand, just to pull out the book for a further peek.

BTW There are some really ugly (mostly generic looking) covers being used by some well known authors on books they got the rights back from the publishing house.
Great covers do take a different talent that the of the written word. Very few have both

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

People miss that. If they put on a cover already used, people don't realize that it's not that other book. If they put a new cover on it, people think it's a new book in the series.

But if they read the cover, they'll see it's a box set.

[JSWolf]

Here is a cover that shows it's a box set without being a really ugly angled box.

[ownedbycats]

Hell, I wouldn't mind if they used the isometric angle for the Amazon page-- but at least make the non-angled cover available somewhere so I don't need to look at it in my Calibre library's grid view!

[Sirtel]

I have no beef with angled covers. As has been said, they're an easily noticeable way to display box sets. I never split my box sets or omnibuses either and actually prefer them to separate volumes. I don't use the cover view in Calibre and have custom screensavers (not book covers) on my Kobos, so I don't really care whether covers are angled or straight.

[JSWolf]

I have a beef with the angled covers. That is they look awful. They are awful. They are not normal. They need to go away.

[DiapDealer]

Man, I'm glad I'm not cover-sensitive. Seems like a lot of extra grief to carry around for such a little thing.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Man, I'm glad I'm not cover-sensitive. Seems like a lot of extra grief to carry around for such a little thing.

I tend to see covers for a few seconds when reading and seldom pay attention to them in calibre so covers lack importance to me.

The only complaint I have with the isometric covers for box sets is the aspect ratio being close to 1:1 for all too many of them.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Here is a cover that shows it's a box set without being a really ugly angled box.

And, in the example, the text isn't big enough to do people much good. Hardly anyone is seeing the cover at that size.

I've accidentally picked up a few in the past that had the font listed in small print that it was a boxed set, when the boxed set was actually listed in the SERIES list on amazon, as a separate book in the series.

Not only should boxed sets not be included in the series list, the single cover with small font doesn't catch the eye nor notify future buyers that it's a boxed set.

I think it's better to just make it plain, to cut down on accidental purchases and returns, than to worry about the cover. Fix it in Calibre and all's well.

[arjaybe]

Were they originally called boxed sets, or have they always been called both?

[PeterT]

I remember as a child buying the Narnia books one at a time, as I could afford them even though there was a box set available of the paperbacks.

When I bought the final book, "The Children's Bookstore" in Banbury gave me the box!

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

And, in the example, the text isn't big enough to do people much good. Hardly anyone is seeing the cover at that size.

I've accidentally picked up a few in the past that had the font listed in small print that it was a boxed set, when the boxed set was actually listed in the SERIES list on amazon, as a separate book in the series.

Not only should boxed sets not be included in the series list, the single cover with small font doesn't catch the eye nor notify future buyers that it's a boxed set.

I think it's better to just make it plain, to cut down on accidental purchases and returns, than to worry about the cover. Fix it in Calibre and all's well.

The problem is Amazon and the Kindle. You don't see the cover when you open the eBook. So even if it is a box set, you may not know it is.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

Were they originally called boxed sets, or have they always been called both?

A boxed set or box set is multiple books sold in a box and I have seen both terms used. Theoretically, boxed set would be more correct since box set would be literally a set of boxes.

IRL, I purchased the complete Harry Potter series in paperback as a box set for one of my nieces while the hardcover children's edition I purchased for a nephew was in a fancy box (reminded me of my father's cigar boxes) and was called a boxed set.

By contrast, an omnibus is multiple books combined into a single volume. An example might be when I purchased David Edding's 6 book Belgariad as two hard cover volumes. The old Ace doubles could be considered as a minimal example of an omnibus.

These days, box set/boxed set and omnibus seem have become interchangeable. This is most noticeable with ebooks where omnibus would be the more correct term but box set seems to preferred.

[JSWolf]

That brings up a good point that we cannot have eBook box sets as there's no actual box and no actual books to go into this box.