Why is an ebook ever riddled with typos?

[morriss003]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Some people spot every typo going... some read the book, get into the flow and don't... different strokes for different folks. I tend to spot more typos in non-fiction rather than fiction as I'm reading fiction for relaxation/entertainment far more than non-fiction and get absorbed in the world of the fiction but there are exceptions with something really "in your face" or in an unenjoyable, bad book...

I wish I could spot every typo, so I wouldn't have to update my books yet again.

[b0ned0me]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

What large number of different formats?

Well, all of these for a start.
http://www.baenebooks.com/t-DRM.aspx
And even then I am sure they have obsesssives writing them abusive emails for not offering .wp5 or .odf or .ps or some other random abandonware format.

[vxf]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

Have you checked Project Gutenberg's edition (always the first place you should go for PD stuff, really, unless your ereader is tied to a specific store so tightly that sideloading's impossible)?

Thanks for the tip.
But yes, one of the copies was from Project Gutenberg. It wasn't better than the other versions - but it wasn't worse either, and it was free. So... perhaps the trick is in not obsessing about finding a flawless version...

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by DarkScribe

I would have as much chance of not seeing a typo or grammatical error when reading a book as I would of not noticing a wrong note in a piano piece. Particularly when they are common errors - since instead of as, your for you're, its with a possessive. Such things are not "typos" they are errors based on the ineptitude and poor erudition of the writer.

Me too! So far I've been reading mostly library books, and fortunately I've come across only a few errors.