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Old 12-01-2012, 06:42 PM   #1
lorken
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Where to get the best quality ebooks? (fewest typos, best formatted, etc.)

Hi, I've searched several discussions complaining about the high number of typos and poor formatting in many e-books, but I haven't seen any threads where readers have discussed which sources provide better quality ebooks vs. which sources provide poorer ones.

Since getting my ereader, I've purchased/downloaded approximately 45 books but have only used three sources so far: Kobo, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. (I read mainly in Aldiko, but I have most of the other reader apps on my tablet, so I can purchase from pretty much any seller.)

As noted in other discussions, I've found older releases (classics like Dickens or Bronte) do tend to have more errors than new releases, but new releases still do have some errors.

Surprisingly, I've already noticed that the Kobo-sourced books seem to consistently be of poorer quality than books from Amazon and B&N. They seem to contain more typos, have more missed scene/dialogue break points, and have poorer white space formatting than books from the other two sites. This has already led me to start avoiding buying from Kobo. Given that newer releases are usually the same price no matter where they are bought, I would much rather buy from a source that has a reputation for having fewer typos and errors.

Do you have a preferred source that you feel consistently has *better* quality ebooks?
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Old 12-01-2012, 06:56 PM   #2
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Since I read mostly classics and public domain books, I get most of my books from Delphi Classics or from our own library here at Mobileread. Both of which are very good in typos and formatting. If you do find errors, getting them corrected is pretty fast as well.
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Old 12-01-2012, 07:17 PM   #3
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Thanks jersysman - I must admit I wasn't really aware of Mobileread's library. I knew there was one, but I hadn't ever really looked at it before. I just took some time now to browse through it, and WOW! I had no idea it was so extensive. I will definitely be trying some books from it!
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Old 12-01-2012, 07:29 PM   #4
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If you like SciFi check out Baen Books. Theirs are always well formatted and checked.
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Old 12-01-2012, 07:33 PM   #5
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And there's always Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org) for the classics also. The books here tend to be better formatted and proofread, but the gutenberg library is pretty extensive.
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Old 12-02-2012, 08:20 AM   #6
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I have a question for anyone who knows how the ebook business operates. Wouldn't the three retailers mentioned above all be getting their current releases from the same publishers so shouldn't things like typos be consistent in the same book from all three retailers?
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Old 12-02-2012, 11:21 AM   #7
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I can only speak for Delphi Classics as I have not gotten anything from Baen. Delphi takes great pride and they take a lot of time in putting out a quality product. They are known for this and the pride shows. That is why people, such as myself, would pay to get material from them that they could get for free elsewhere, i.e. Gutenberg. I am not saying that Gutenberg is not good, just that Delphi is better as far as typos and presentation.
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Old 12-03-2012, 04:13 PM   #8
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Thanks all! I will definitely check out all 3 sites (Baen, Gutenberg and Delphi). Apache, I must admit I had never heard of Baen before.
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Old 12-03-2012, 04:31 PM   #9
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ebooks are put out by the publishers. I choose a book based on a story that I want to read. I don't worry too much about typo and other small errors. Some of the self-published stuff through Amazon gets fixed and you can upgrade to the fixed copy.

I had one favorite book that truly annoyed me because of the number of typos. Since I knew I would read it again, I wanted it fixed. I went into Calibre and copy and pasted it into Open Office. I fixed all the errors, saved it as a .pdf file. Then converted it to epub in Calibre. You can do this with any book that opens in Calibre and it's not actually a lot of work, but sort of pointless if you are not going to read it again since most errors will not be found using spellcheck.
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Old 12-03-2012, 06:32 PM   #10
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I always correct my ebooks. I just liberate the file so it's plain old epub and then use Sigil. I mark errors as I read and go fix them when I am done a book. If the book is not good enough to be read again and there are a ton of errors, I usually give up before I finish it. If it's good enough that I might want to read it again, I want it fixed.
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Old 12-03-2012, 11:55 PM   #11
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I'm a newbie to this site but this question interested me. I believe that it is the responsibility of the author (self publisher) to edit correctly and avoid comments like those above. However, none of us are perfect so if you see an error that can be fixed send the author a message I am sure that it's possible to update and edit their manuscript at any time. I know that it is possible to do this at Smashwords. As an author I would want someone to tell me about my errors and would be very grateful for the help
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Old 12-04-2012, 01:17 PM   #12
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The best formatted ebooks I have ever seen are the ones here at Mobileread. If you want classics, don't even bother getting them anywhere else.
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Old 12-05-2012, 08:12 PM   #13
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I always correct my ebooks
I can see this if you get them from free sources, but not if you paid full price for them. I suspect if I start doing this - I would forever be scanning the next books for typos or problems and I would not enjoy reading them as much.

I have had 2 new release books from Amazon that had a few typos. A few weeks later I get an email telling me that the books have been fixed and I should remove and re-download them to get the 1.2 version.

I was very excited. My books got a free 'upgrade'.

I have noticed some epubs with file names like: TheGlassSlipper.V1.2.epub to handle version numbers.
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Old 12-05-2012, 10:47 PM   #14
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Fatdog, this is why I don't buy nearly as many books as I used to. I would rather just be able to read and enjoy, so unless I am super-motivated to read a new release, I just get from the library (so I can delete, guilt-free, if there are errors) or read books which I know are error-free. If the publishers were putting out a more reliable product, I would buy a lot more books.
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Old 12-08-2012, 08:27 PM   #15
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ficbot, you've just hit the nail on the head. That's what I find I am doing now, getting my ebooks from the local library. I find it irritating to pay $ for products that are substandard quality.

That said, I do miss diving into new releases as often as I used to.
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