The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[theducks]

I remove Sample chapters. Because in the pbook days, I would remember that text when browsing and set it back on the shelf because 'I have read that book'
I don't strip as heavily as others, and Leave the short 'reminder' Soon to be.. and just remove the 'read on'
I also strip the Synopsys as Calibre inserts the current 'metadata' when I send to my device.

I am guessing that all this fluff is really to bump the 'page count' scan.
With pbooks, the pages were needed to make a minimum 'signature', so why not put print on them

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Would you mind if all the chapters were in a random order instead of where they belong? It's the same with the copyright page. It should be after the title page just like chapters should be in order.

Having the copyright before the title page or at the end of the book is the same as having the chapters in random order. Uh huh. Sure.

Just because "that's were it's always been in pBooks and so when you look at a preview, you get to see the copyright and if there is a version number, you get to see that" is not a compelling reason. You like to check versions so having it there is convenient. Many people don't care. Why should those of us who don't care have to go past another page of useless (to us) information? It's a preference, nothing more.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Having the copyright before the title page or at the end of the book is the same as having the chapters in random order. Uh huh. Sure.

Just because "that's were it's always been in pBooks and so when you look at a preview, you get to see the copyright and if there is a version number, you get to see that" is not a compelling reason. You like to check versions so having it there is convenient. Many people don't care. Why should those of us who don't care have to go past another page of useless (to us) information? It's a preference, nothing more.

The copyright goes after the title page. It doesn't help for the copyright to be at the end of the eBook. There's no way to see it (when it's at the end) other then borrow (library, Kobo Plus, or KU) or purchase.

Given that some do prefer to see the copyright, it's better to put it after the title page. Put the HTML ToC in the back. That (to me) is useless as I never use it. If I use/view the ToC, I use the ToC link n the reading software. It's a lot easier to get to the ToC. I do remove the HTML ToC when I edit the eBook.

[maddz]

I prefer the copyright at the front, as well as the ToC. The reason is that it's helpful for checking ISBNs - I loathe the fact I need to check the ISBN on my ebooks because of the modern habit of including multiple ISBNs for different formats on the copyright page.

I prefer any ToC to be at the start especially when it's an anthology and I'm checking the preview to see what stories are included. Ditto non-fiction; it's useful to compare editions. It's less useful for fiction unless you are aware of significant editorial changes and want to compare editions again.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by maddz

I prefer the copyright at the front, as well as the ToC. The reason is that it's helpful for checking ISBNs - I loathe the fact I need to check the ISBN on my ebooks because of the modern habit of including multiple ISBNs for different formats on the copyright page.

I prefer any ToC to be at the start especially when it's an anthology and I'm checking the preview to see what stories are included. Ditto non-fiction; it's useful to compare editions. It's less useful for fiction unless you are aware of significant editorial changes and want to compare editions again.

Sometimes the changes can be something like updated graphics with hi-res graphics where they were lo-res before. I've seen the CSS updated, errors corrected, new cover (for better or worse), and other things. So it can be a good thing there's an update.

About the HTML ToC, why do it need to be in the eBook at all when there is an easier way to get to and use a ToC?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by maddz

I prefer the copyright at the front, as well as the ToC. The reason is that it's helpful for checking ISBNs - I loathe the fact I need to check the ISBN on my ebooks because of the modern habit of including multiple ISBNs for different formats on the copyright page.

Just curious, why do you need to check the ISBN? To compare editions?

[Quoth]

Not all ebooks have an ISBN. They don't need them.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Just curious, why do you need to check the ISBN? To compare editions?

To make sure if there's more than one recorded in the book, I'm picking up the e-ISBN not a paper one. When I log books in LibraryThing, I'm searching the ISBN, which then sets the media type automatically.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by maddz

To make sure if there's more than one recorded in the book, I'm picking up the e-ISBN not a paper one. When I log books in LibraryThing, I'm searching the ISBN, which then sets the media type automatically.

Thanks for the explanation. For me, calibre is all I need (I only read purchased books, not library books).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Thanks for the explanation. For me, calibre is all I need (I only read purchased books, not library books).

@maddz is using LibraryThing to log his books. It's not where you borrow eBooks.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The copyright page are in the correct place sometimes and not others.

Sadly, Jon, there is no "correct" place for the copyright page. You may have your opinion as to the correct place but that is nothing but your opinion which, as usual, you are treating as though it was given to you on stone tablets on a mountain top.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Having the copyright before the title page or at the end of the book is the same as having the chapters in random order. Uh huh. Sure.

And as I mentioned even in pbooks, only 50% of them had the copyright page after the title page.

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Just because "that's were it's always been in pBooks and so when you look at a preview, you get to see the copyright and if there is a version number, you get to see that" is not a compelling reason. You like to check versions so having it there is convenient. Many people don't care. Why should those of us who don't care have to go past another page of useless (to us) information? It's a preference, nothing more.

And sadly, even in ebooks that are updated, Amazon has very seldom changed the ASIN and Kobo rarely changes their KWL ISBNs (the ones starting with 123).

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

@maddz is using LibraryThing to log his books. It's not where you borrow eBooks.

Yes, I know. I meant that if you read library books and don't import them to calibre (even as empty books), then you'll have to find somewhere else to log them. As all the books I read are in my calibre library, I don't need any other place to log them.

[ownedbycats]

I wonder why fanfiction authors delete their stories less than a day after they post them.

[DNSB]

Fear of lawyers with thin briefcases and even thinner watches?