SF for the Sony?

[Lemurion]

Also if you like short SF all the major print magazines - Analog, Asimovs, F&SF and Interzone are available at Fictionwise in multi-format (which includes LRF for the Sony). An advanced search on Fictionwise shows 2960 titles available in the SF category in LRF format.

Books on Board has 3108 DRM'd SF ebooks in Adobe format (either PDF or ePub) which can be read natively on the Sony, and another 786 non-DRM ebooks in those two formats.

Neither of the above listings include fantasy, that's just SF.

Baen and its partners have over 1000 books available through Webscriptions, though this is a mixture of SF and Fantasy. Baen also has a very active reprint program where they are trying to bring as much classic still in copyright SF out in eBook form as they can.

Please note that none of these books require DRM stripping to use on a Sony 505 with the latest firmware.

There's lots of SF for the Sony.

[Djehuty]

Thanks, folks -- you've won me over. I'll be buying a Sony. Now I just have to find the best price....

[Lemurion]

That can take some searching - I think you said you are in the US right now. If so you can get a pretty good deal at Books-A-Million (if that chain has stores in your area). They have it for $269.99 if you have their discount card - and have tons of web coupons for $10.00 off any purchase over $50. So I figure to spend about 260 plus local tax on mine (hopefully tonight).

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Djehuty

Thanks, folks -- you've won me over. I'll be buying a Sony. Now I just have to find the best price....

Check Books On Board. They had a pretty good price, plus credit towards books last time I checked.

[Renaldo]

Originally Posted by ahintz

(though I almost wish I was into romances given how much Harlequin has gotten into the ebook game)

LOL I know exactly what you mean. I sometimes wish I was I was into Vampire Romance novels, because there always seems to be like 1000 of them out there.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ahintz

....(though I almost wish I was into romances given how much Harlequin has gotten into the ebook game)...

The folks at Harlequin Digital could certainly give other publishers lessons on how to do things, even if they do use DRM.

[Djehuty]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Check Books On Board. They had a pretty good price, plus credit towards books last time I checked.

Thanks, I did, and they do. Unfortunately, they have a return policy which amounts to "No." So I'll spend the extra $30, buy direct from Sony, and at least have a hope of exchanging it if something's wrong.

[ficbot]

So, no comments on the HTML files from Abintra press? Someone rec'd them upthread and I had a question about how readable the HTML is on the Sony. I tried converting a sample one from his site once for the eBookwise and it required a lot of manual formatting. Before I shell out for his whole package, I would want to make sure it is good as is and I won't need to do extra work for it.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by ficbot

So, no comments on the HTML files from Abintra press?

I downloaded the free novel "Encounter in Atlanta" from the site (or at least the Yahoo Group) in LIT format, converted it via Calibre's "lit2lrf" script and it came out as being perfectly readable with no 'manual' work being required.

I'd suggest you grab a copy of Calibre & give it a try as it should be straightforward. You can view the LRF either with it's viewer or with Sony's software, which also include a viewer.

[slayda]

Originally Posted by ficbot

Slayda, how does the HTML converted files from Abintra look on the Sony? I tried a sample one in my eBookwise days, and it required a lot of manual labour to be readable. Is it better on the Sony? Can I just buy, download, open in Open Office, save as RTF and go? Or will there be a lot of extra line breaks/manual breaks I'll have to remove manually?

Actually you'll probably come out better to get the Mobipocket and use Calibre to convert. I've done that with a great deal of success.

Edit: I wasn't thinking well when I made the first post. I tend to just use the Mobipocket. I gave up on Sony & their "proprietary format when they gave up on the PRS-500.

[ficbot]

I ave Calibre but cannot find the 'littolrf' script anywhere.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I ave Calibre but cannot find the 'littolrf' script anywhere.

It's in C:\Program Files\calibre, or you can just drag the LIT into the Calibre GUI and convert to LRF from there if you don't like command line programs.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I ave Calibre but cannot find the 'littolrf' script anywhere.

It's 'lit2lrf'!

$ dir/b "c:\Program Files\calibre\*2lrf.exe"
any2lrf.exe
comic2lrf.exe
epub2lrf.exe
fb22lrf.exe
feeds2lrf.exe
html2lrf.exe
lit2lrf.exe
lrs2lrf.exe
mobi2lrf.exe
pdf2lrf.exe
rtf2lrf.exe
txt2lrf.exe
web2lrf.exe

Or, as the other post says, just drag & drop the .LIT into Calibre, select it & click on "Convert".

[Angst]

Originally Posted by Djehuty

At the moment, there's only one thing holding me back from buying a PRS-505, and that's what appears to be a distinct lack of science fiction books which can be read on it.

Don't forget, you can also read Adobe books on the Sony. This increases the number of available SF books.

The down side is that I've purchased books from 5-6 different sellers while searching for the best format AND price. There is an upside: competition can only help to lower prices.

[slayda]

QUOTE=Angst;407070]Don't forget, you can also read Adobe books on the Sony. This increases the number of available SF books.

The down side is that I've purchased books from 5-6 different sellers while searching for the best format AND price. There is an upside: competition can only help to lower prices.[/QUOTE]

Only on the 505 or later Sonys! [