My name's John, and I'm a bookaholic ...

jbjb · 11-13-2008, 02:53 PM

Hi,

My name's John, and I'm a bookaholic ....

The p-books are using up a lot of space, so a few weeks ago I bought a Sony 505 (loving it!). I've not bought any commercial books yet, DRM or not - there are so many free "classics" of various kinds (currently I'm reading a mixture of the classic classics and pulp SF) that I've not felt the need yet.

I'm sure I'll buy some commercial books soon, though - I was working through the wonderful No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series in p-books, so I suspect I'll get the next one in ebook. It's not yet clear to me what the best way of doing this is, for a UK-based Sony 505 user - Waterstone's range is stil very limted. Books on Board seems to have a good epub range, so I'm hoping that this will work ok from the UK.

/JB

Patricia · 11-13-2008, 02:57 PM

Welcome to the forum, John.
Your Sony will also read LRF perfectly.
And many users prefer to buy in LIT format and convert the book themselves: I certainly do. This is because my next Reader might not be a Sony, and I like to keep my options open. So I always save a copy in an open format (usually html).

Do check out our book upload section. (Got to the blue bar near the top of this page and click on 'Ebooks'.)

jbjb · 11-13-2008, 03:04 PM

Many thanks for the advice, Patricia!

I've been wondering about the best format to buy for the Sony. Epub seems a better option than LRF as it is more likely to be supported on other devices, but I had been thinking about LIT and the converting - is much formatting lost?

LRF seems more widely available (than epub) at the moment, but the UK Sony software doesn't seem to work with the Sony store, unless I'm missing something.

/JB

Patricia · 11-13-2008, 03:12 PM

You're not missing anything, John. The Sony Store is based in the USA and will only sell to people who have a US credit card. Some European members get round this by mis-stating their location and getting a US member to buy Sony gift vouchers on their behalf.
EPub is likely to be a much more flexible format in the long run.

As for conversions from lit: it generally takes me very little time: just a few minutes if the source is well-formatted to start with. You shouldn't lose any formatting. If you are starting out, then I'd get familiar with Calibre, which is free and well-supported. Book Designer is also free, but its creator hasn't updated it for a year, and it is rather less versatile than Calibre.

jbjb · 11-13-2008, 03:16 PM

Thanks again, Patricia!

I've been trying Calibre for converting test files to epub & LRF - it works perfectly for me.

/JB

MickeyC · 11-13-2008, 03:22 PM

Hi jbjb and welcome to the Forum. If you're a bookaholic, you've come to the right place.

We're like Bookaholics Anonymous but the problem is that we start talking about our addictions and the steps we need to go through but then someone mentions how they read this or that book when they should have been doing something else. Then one of the other addicts will ask how they like that particular book. Then we all go off and read it and forget about the addiction. Hooray!

Patricia · 11-13-2008, 03:22 PM

Well, if you've got the hang of Calibre already, John, then you may well find that you can clear some of your shelves without too much trouble.

I bought my Sony Reader when we began to run out of space. We are academics and there were at least 12000 books in the house. I've now replaced almost all of my public domain books with electronic copies. We now have fairly full bookshelves, but they no longer fall down in periodic book avalanches. I may well get a reader for my partner, in hopes of clearing some more space. Better still, I may buy a new one for me, and give him the old one.

jbjb · 11-13-2008, 03:24 PM

Hi Cassidym,

That sounds so familiar! :-)

/YB

pilotbob · 11-13-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia

We now have fairly full bookshelves, but they no longer fall down in periodic book avalanches.

I have three plastic tubs of books that I took off my book shelves. I was going to donate them to the public library but my wife said they would just sell them. Well... they still get the donation right? I just want rid of them... but can't bring myself to toss them. So not rather than sitting on the shelves they are sitting in plastic tubs in the garage.

(At least I entered them all into LibraryThing first so I know which books I have read and don't buy duplicates.)

BOb

jbjb · 11-13-2008, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia

We are academics and there were at least 12000 books in the house.

Yow - that's a lot of books!

My line of work is electronics and computing, so my professional library has been electronic (or obsolete, apart from a few standard works) for a long time now.

Still, despite giving away loads of books, my bookshelves are creaking, so ebooks have to be the way forward (at least that's my excuse so that my wife will let me buy more!)

/JB

mtravellerh · 11-13-2008, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I have three plastic tubs of books that I took off my book shelves. I was going to donate them to the public library but my wife said they would just sell them. Well... they still get the donation right? I just want rid of them... but can't bring myself to toss them. So not rather than sitting on the shelves they are sitting in plastic tubs in the garage.

(At least I entered them all into LibraryThing first so I know which books I have read and don't buy duplicates.)

BOb

Isn't there a public library that accepts book gifts in your neighborhood? I always keep my books in good shape, sell some of in the flea markets and give the rest to a hospital library. People are already beaming when I come with a tub of books every 3 months or so.

Trouble is: I have so many GOOD books that I love to death and I just can't get rid of them. Feels almost like getting rid of a limb. So my collection (and my wife's) keeps growing and growing

Georges

11-13-2008, 02:53 PM	#1
jbjb Somewhat clueless Posts: 739 Karma: 7747724 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, iPhone 6 Plus	My name's John, and I'm a bookaholic ... Hi, My name's John, and I'm a bookaholic .... The p-books are using up a lot of space, so a few weeks ago I bought a Sony 505 (loving it!). I've not bought any commercial books yet, DRM or not - there are so many free "classics" of various kinds (currently I'm reading a mixture of the classic classics and pulp SF) that I've not felt the need yet. I'm sure I'll buy some commercial books soon, though - I was working through the wonderful No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series in p-books, so I suspect I'll get the next one in ebook. It's not yet clear to me what the best way of doing this is, for a UK-based Sony 505 user - Waterstone's range is stil very limted. Books on Board seems to have a good epub range, so I'm hoping that this will work ok from the UK. /JB

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11-13-2008, 02:57 PM	#2
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	Welcome to the forum, John. Your Sony will also read LRF perfectly. And many users prefer to buy in LIT format and convert the book themselves: I certainly do. This is because my next Reader might not be a Sony, and I like to keep my options open. So I always save a copy in an open format (usually html). Do check out our book upload section. (Got to the blue bar near the top of this page and click on 'Ebooks'.)

11-13-2008, 03:04 PM	#3
jbjb Somewhat clueless Posts: 739 Karma: 7747724 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, iPhone 6 Plus	Many thanks for the advice, Patricia! I've been wondering about the best format to buy for the Sony. Epub seems a better option than LRF as it is more likely to be supported on other devices, but I had been thinking about LIT and the converting - is much formatting lost? LRF seems more widely available (than epub) at the moment, but the UK Sony software doesn't seem to work with the Sony store, unless I'm missing something. /JB

11-13-2008, 03:12 PM	#4
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	You're not missing anything, John. The Sony Store is based in the USA and will only sell to people who have a US credit card. Some European members get round this by mis-stating their location and getting a US member to buy Sony gift vouchers on their behalf. EPub is likely to be a much more flexible format in the long run. As for conversions from lit: it generally takes me very little time: just a few minutes if the source is well-formatted to start with. You shouldn't lose any formatting. If you are starting out, then I'd get familiar with Calibre, which is free and well-supported. Book Designer is also free, but its creator hasn't updated it for a year, and it is rather less versatile than Calibre.

11-13-2008, 03:16 PM	#5
jbjb Somewhat clueless Posts: 739 Karma: 7747724 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, iPhone 6 Plus	Thanks again, Patricia! I've been trying Calibre for converting test files to epub & LRF - it works perfectly for me. /JB

11-13-2008, 03:22 PM	#6
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi jbjb and welcome to the Forum. If you're a bookaholic, you've come to the right place. We're like Bookaholics Anonymous but the problem is that we start talking about our addictions and the steps we need to go through but then someone mentions how they read this or that book when they should have been doing something else. Then one of the other addicts will ask how they like that particular book. Then we all go off and read it and forget about the addiction. Hooray!

11-13-2008, 03:24 PM	#8
jbjb Somewhat clueless Posts: 739 Karma: 7747724 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, iPhone 6 Plus	Hi Cassidym, That sounds so familiar! :-) /YB

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