Do you always use the provided book cover? - Page 2

Karellen · 12-10-2022, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Are you referring to the ones that take on this style? (I've actually not read the LOTR trilogy yet! It's a planned Christmas purchase though

)

It seems to be a black and white version of the original cover...
https://github.com/KarellenX/book-co...3d534cbba300d1

gmw · 12-10-2022, 06:01 PM

Most of the time I stay with the cover given (if any*), but if it offends me enough I'll change it. Or sometimes I'll update so a series retains a consistent set (not something I was able to do with my paper books.)

* Not so much now perhaps, but for a long time a lot of tradpub ebooks came without a cover (just the standard plain-paper thing), and I'd normally add a proper cover on those.

John F · 12-10-2022, 06:13 PM

I usually don't change the cover. I do sometimes if it is a generic text cover.

John F · 12-10-2022, 06:16 PM

Does anyone have a moral problem with replacing covers?

I believe the consensus is stripping DRM for books that you purchase is fine. Is downloading copyrighted covers OK? Is it OK because it is for personal use and not distribution?

ownedbycats · 12-10-2022, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

Does anyone have a moral problem with replacing covers?

I believe the consensus is stripping DRM for books that you purchase is fine. Is downloading copyrighted covers OK? Is it OK because it is for personal use and not distribution?

Why wouldn't it be?

Thasaidon · 12-10-2022, 07:37 PM

Most of my books are SF and I usually like the old Ace and Ace Double covers so I replace the modern covers with an old Ace cover if one exists.

The current publisher Armchair fiction also does similar covers including those for Ace Double type books. I have also used these.

theducks · 12-10-2022, 07:57 PM

If I have the Pbook, I use that cover.
If I really hate the cover (happens with some republished by Author after rights revert), I make a more generic one using Generate Cover PI in Calibre

hobnail · 12-10-2022, 10:40 PM

I would if there was free software that I could use to convert a color cover into one that is 16 levels of gray and the software understood the colors so that it could increase the contrast where it looks decent in color but not in grayscale.

So many books have nice color covers when I look at them in calibre on my pc and then on my Kobo I can barely make out the details.

DNSB · 12-11-2022, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

I would if there was free software that I could use to convert a color cover into one that is 16 levels of gray and the software understood the colors so that it could increase the contrast where it looks decent in color but not in grayscale.

So many books have nice color covers when I look at them in calibre on my pc and then on my Kobo I can barely make out the details.

Have you looked at ImageWorsener? Basic setting would be -grayscale and -depthgray 4 (or -depthcc 16). I did a batch file that basically runs the input file through various dithering algorithms and then eyeball them since oddly enough, I find that some images look better with different dithering algorithms.

As to why the name ImageWorsener? To quote the documentation:

Quote:

All nontrivial automated image processing causes a loss of information.
While ImageWorsener will degrade your images, its goal is to degrade them as
little as possible.

Thertzler · 12-11-2022, 06:57 AM

I mostly view my book collection as a collection of covers so having good looking covers is very important to me.
I replace the cover around 90% of the time since the provided cover tends to be either ugly or fine but not high resolution enough. There are plenty of books that I only read, or at least read much sooner, because I changed the cover to something more engaging than they had before. Typing it out like this admittedly sounds a little silly, but this is legitimately the reason why I put so much effort into finding the best possible cover, even if that means using a cover from another edition.

Sometimes the best looking cover is only available (in high enough resolution) as a photo of the book itself and I have to crop and perspective-transform to get it nice and flat again.
Other times a cover is great but has those obnoxious stickers/labels on it about being the "Winner of the It's a Book Prize" or "17th Anniversary Edition" or stuff like that, so if I can't find the cover without it and the underlying design isn't too intricate I just photoshop those out entirely.
If I'm feeling particularly picky I also sometimes edit out mentions "With a foreword by [...]" If my particular ebook edition does not include said foreword, but most of the time it doesn't bother me.

John F · 12-11-2022, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Why wouldn't it be?

Because you are most likely downloading (and using) copyrighted material, something you do not have permission to use?

If I own a paper book, does that mean I can download copies of the ebook.

haertig · 12-11-2022, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thertzler

I mostly view my book collection as a collection of covers so having good looking covers is very important to me.
I replace the cover around 90% of the time...

I'm with @Thertzler on this. The vast majority of my covers are replaced (and resized). Calibre downloads covers and sometimes comes up with good results, sometimes not. When Calibre fails me in this department I go to Google and search for "image book cover artwork Name Of The Book Or Author" and pick one from those results. For old books you sometimes find the best cover is something somebody manually scanned. Those I often run through GIMP and crop, adjust perspective, improve exposure and color, etc.

Of most importance to me are the covers when I have a series. I want to be able to visually recognize a series as a series. So I search out covers of the same style so the series matches. And those hideous Gutenberg covers? Those are replaced every single time. No way would I allow one of those horrid things into my collection. Even Calibres auto-generated covers beat that Gutenberg stuff by a mile. I can't imagine what was going through the minds of those Gutenberg folks when they chose those covers.

Quoth · 12-11-2022, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

I would if there was free software that I could use to convert a color cover into one that is 16 levels of gray and the software understood the colors so that it could increase the contrast where it looks decent in color but not in grayscale.

So many books have nice color covers when I look at them in calibre on my pc and then on my Kobo I can barely make out the details.

Free and/or Open Source
IrfranView on Windows is simple.
More powerful is the GIMP, so takes longer to use (many platforms)
ImageMagick: Command line and can do stuff with motion pngs, PDFs and conversion, not just contrast, brightness, colour to mono and bit depth.

Quoth · 12-11-2022, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

Does anyone have a moral problem with replacing covers?

I believe the consensus is stripping DRM for books that you purchase is fine. Is downloading copyrighted covers OK? Is it OK because it is for personal use and not distribution?

It's a no-no to print and replace covers on paper books as removal of cover may mean the price was refunded and the book marked as destroyed.

Covers are adverts or part of adverts. Adverts are not covered by copyright in the same way (you can't re-use for some other product). So downloading cover from advert of book (and any site like Goodreads, owned now by Amazon, is advertising, even Storygraph) for that book in your library is not the same as downloading contents in copyright without rightful purchase. Titles themselves are not copyright either.

Renate · 12-11-2022, 09:51 AM

I don't browse (or even see) books by cover, so they hardly affect me.
Some horrendous cover (like Gutenberg) I only have to see for the fraction of a second it takes me to hit "next page".

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12-10-2022, 06:01 PM	#17
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,809 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Most of the time I stay with the cover given (if any), but if it offends me enough I'll change it. Or sometimes I'll update so a series retains a consistent set (not something I was able to do with my paper books.) Not so much now perhaps, but for a long time a lot of tradpub ebooks came without a cover (just the standard plain-paper thing), and I'd normally add a proper cover on those.

12-10-2022, 06:13 PM	#18
John F Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,166 Karma: 63764653 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Glo HD	I usually don't change the cover. I do sometimes if it is a generic text cover.

12-10-2022, 06:16 PM	#19
John F Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,166 Karma: 63764653 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Glo HD	Does anyone have a moral problem with replacing covers? I believe the consensus is stripping DRM for books that you purchase is fine. Is downloading copyrighted covers OK? Is it OK because it is for personal use and not distribution?

12-10-2022, 07:37 PM	#21
Thasaidon Hedge Wizard Posts: 800 Karma: 19999999 Join Date: May 2011 Location: UK/Philippines Device: Kobo Touch, Nook Simple	Most of my books are SF and I usually like the old Ace and Ace Double covers so I replace the modern covers with an old Ace cover if one exists. The current publisher Armchair fiction also does similar covers including those for Ace Double type books. I have also used these.

12-10-2022, 07:57 PM	#22
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,799 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	If I have the Pbook, I use that cover. If I really hate the cover (happens with some republished by Author after rights revert), I make a more generic one using Generate Cover PI in Calibre

12-10-2022, 10:40 PM	#23
hobnail Running with scissors Posts: 1,552 Karma: 14325282 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	I would if there was free software that I could use to convert a color cover into one that is 16 levels of gray and the software understood the colors so that it could increase the contrast where it looks decent in color but not in grayscale. So many books have nice color covers when I look at them in calibre on my pc and then on my Kobo I can barely make out the details.

12-11-2022, 06:57 AM	#25
Thertzler Member Posts: 13 Karma: 1138306 Join Date: Mar 2018 Device: none	I mostly view my book collection as a collection of covers so having good looking covers is very important to me. I replace the cover around 90% of the time since the provided cover tends to be either ugly or fine but not high resolution enough. There are plenty of books that I only read, or at least read much sooner, because I changed the cover to something more engaging than they had before. Typing it out like this admittedly sounds a little silly, but this is legitimately the reason why I put so much effort into finding the best possible cover, even if that means using a cover from another edition. Sometimes the best looking cover is only available (in high enough resolution) as a photo of the book itself and I have to crop and perspective-transform to get it nice and flat again. Other times a cover is great but has those obnoxious stickers/labels on it about being the "Winner of the It's a Book Prize" or "17th Anniversary Edition" or stuff like that, so if I can't find the cover without it and the underlying design isn't too intricate I just photoshop those out entirely. If I'm feeling particularly picky I also sometimes edit out mentions "With a foreword by [...]" If my particular ebook edition does not include said foreword, but most of the time it doesn't bother me.

12-11-2022, 09:51 AM	#30
Renate Wizard Posts: 2,296 Karma: 9599999 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5	I don't browse (or even see) books by cover, so they hardly affect me. Some horrendous cover (like Gutenberg) I only have to see for the fraction of a second it takes me to hit "next page".

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