Where to get The Time Travelers wife?

[columbus]

Originally Posted by Abecedary

Well, all I can say is that I was originally against Gutenberg and his infernal printing press. After all, look at what it did to the scribe business! All those illuminated manuscripts put by the wayside, simply so the "masses" could have copies, too. A few hundred years later and I eventually gave in, though....

My thoughts exactly

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Abecedary

Well, all I can say is that I was originally against Gutenberg and his infernal printing press. After all, look at what it did to the scribe business! All those illuminated manuscripts put by the wayside, simply so the "masses" could have copies, too. A few hundred years later and I eventually gave in, though....

Yeah

I've had this same discussion with a fanfic writer, who only publish in paper zines because she just doesn't want her work digitalised. I felt as baffled as some people in this thread, because how can you not embrace the possibilities in the new?

But some people see it as a threat or disadvantage or they are simply just not interested because they don't feel it offers them anything. While I personally think it's a shame, those people do have as much right to their opinion as we do.

[jenieliser]

Originally Posted by BookCat

I'm sorry, but I've devoted my life to physical books (I helped found the Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts) and e-books = dematerialised books. E-books imperil book design, typography, and other art forms that I care about. E-books are also not helpful to bookstores, and I love bookstores. So even though I understand that many people prefer e-books, I am not planning to issue my books in that form if I can avoid it. If that means I sell fewer books, so be it.

________________________________________

I really love physical books and book stores as well, but this is (in my opinion) the direction the business is going-it'd be wise to jump on the band wagon. But, she is entitled to choose otherwise. However, I find it very interesting that, despite her love of physical books and the art of making them, she has allowed her books (at least The Time Traveler's Wife) to be available as an audiobook. Doesn't that just totally skip the book part? Another point I find interesting is that book stores are making ebooks available, thus ebooks will help the sales at bookstores, not hinder.

About physical books...okay, I totally get being attached to a physical book. I have several paper and hardback copies of Pride and Prejudice. A leather bound copy I covet. That is a book I absolutely love. I have all Jane Austen books on my reader, but I would under no circumstances EVER part with my Jane Austen pbooks. I'm not nearly as attached to any other pbook. So, sure if your book becomes a classic, distributed worldwide, known by a huge percentage of people, then yes-I can see how a pbook of yours would be valued. But until then, ebooks are way more practical.

I can understand that numerous people still like to feel the paper in their hands. But technology is making that number smaller and smaller. Just look at bn-books on your phones, people! So if you're marketing to people that only like pbooks, your target audience is getting smaller and smaller.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I copied the response here and sent Audrey another email. I tried to gently correct her misconceptions. Let's see what happens.

This scenario reminds me of the experiences I had contacting small publishers about their plans for ebooks ( https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...e+Morgue+Press ) - esp. the responses from Crippen & Landrau and Rue Morgue Press - the deification of printed books (the smell, typography, etc.) and the opinion that ebooks were "nonexistant" books.

And most tellingly - their apparent ignorance/indifference to the availability of digital copies on the darknet. The ability (or willingness) of authors and publishers - in these supposedly cash-strapped times when profits are plummeting into the toilet - to ignore the readers with cash in hand who actually WANT to buy a legal digital copy and to support authors and publishers legally - is truly mind-numbing!
What a maroon! (to quote my favorite rabbit - or was it the duck?)

[DixieGal]

teehee... if they saw the way I mangled pbooks, they would probably faint!

My hands hurt to hold pbooks, so I would split them into 3 or 4 less weighty pieces down the spine. Then put 'em all back together with a rubber band and pass it on to the next person.

Anyway, Niffenegger and Rowling and the others who refuse to consider ebook formats are perfectly within their rights. It just seems sort of odd, like when certain celebrities, like Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, etc., refuse to do US commercials, but are happy to do them in other countries. Some sort of perception of cheapening their talent or something.

[pdurrant]

They do, of course, have a point about the crudeness of most current eBooks and eBook readers.

Even with current formats, the ebook reader software could do so much more to make the text of the books look better.

Of course, what we really want is full-colour 300dpi epaper. Or even Monochrome epaper. The 167dpi (or even 200dpi) is just a little bit low for really good text reproduction.

But to actually refuse to have your book available as an ebook? It makes no sense.

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

This scenario reminds me of the experiences I had contacting small publishers about their plans for ebooks ( https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...e+Morgue+Press ) - esp. the responses from Crippen & Landrau and Rue Morgue Press - the deification of printed books (the smell, typography, etc.) and the opinion that ebooks were "nonexistant" books.

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

They do, of course, have a point about the crudeness of most current eBooks and eBook readers.

Even with current formats, the ebook reader software could do so much more to make the text of the books look better.

Of course, what we really want is full-colour 1200dpi epaper. Or even Monochrome epaper. The 167dpi (or even 200dpi) is just a little bit low for really good text reproduction.

But to actually refuse to have your book available as an ebook? It makes no sense.

Fixed your small error for you.

Xenophon

[koland]

Guess her book wasn't much of a book while she was writing it and it was all digitized and everything. Hard to see why her agent thought it was worth converting to a book, it being all dematerialized and everything.

[DixieGal]

Originally Posted by koland

Guess her book wasn't much of a book while she was writing it and it was all digitized and everything. Hard to see why her agent thought it was worth converting to a book, it being all dematerialized and everything.

It's Magic!

[Hellmark]

Her argument that typography is imperiled is just strange. I've seen more work of typography done in digital form done than in physical. Part of this being since the physical form starting almost purely digital now. Is she to tell me that she did not type, lay out, etc her book on a computer? I find that hard to believe.

[sakura-panda]

I loved this book and it was one of the ones I was hoping to buy again so that I could replace my paper copy with the ebook version.

[daisy76]

I wonder what her take on audiobooks is?

[Hellmark]

Obviously not against it, as Time Traveler's Wife is available as an audiobook. Kinda hypocritical, as her arguments against ebooks are something that audiobooks go even farther against the art of print. Destroy typography? Try not having any at all.

[BookCat]

She obviously writes by hand or uses a typewriter, imagine the horror of using a computer: all those de-materialised words!

[Moejoe]

The illegal pdf floating around on the net is really well put together. Fully working TOC, well laid out. Whoever made the version put a lot of time and effort into the end product. Shame Miss Niffenegger wont be seeing a red cent from all those people who'll source her book from the internet instead.