06-24-2022, 07:36 AM | #1 |
Diligent dilettante
Posts: 3,417
Karma: 48736498
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: in my mind
Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra H2O
|
Kobo Store no longer displaying page length or time to read?
I've noticed this in the last few days, and have confirmed that some books which WERE showing page counts and time to read a few days ago are now not showing either. It's a bit disconcerting to have no framework of comparison at all about how long a book is, does anyone know what the rationale for this change is?
|
06-24-2022, 10:17 AM | #2 |
Diligent dilettante
Posts: 3,417
Karma: 48736498
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: in my mind
Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra H2O
|
The Kobo CSR I spoke to was unaware of the change before my call, after a longish wait on hold, he came back and said "not enough people used the information, so it was removed" - given that the information was static and not linked/clickable, how they divined usage is beyond me, but c'est la vie
|
06-24-2022, 10:48 AM | #3 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,841
Karma: 22003124
Join Date: Aug 2014
Device: Kobo Forma, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2
|
My guess would be through polls. They do send out some questionnaires on occasion.
|
06-24-2022, 10:56 AM | #4 |
Diligent dilettante
Posts: 3,417
Karma: 48736498
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: in my mind
Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra H2O
|
I am a member of their Kobo Insiders program, which does run polls but when I login, I see no updates of any sort since August 2021. Then again, Kobo doesn't like me much - inviting me to apply for the beta program, then not replying to my application and TWICE emailing me to ask me to apply for a discussion group of readers with disabilities and then not replying to my following though on their request.
|
06-24-2022, 12:24 PM | #5 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,841
Karma: 22003124
Join Date: Aug 2014
Device: Kobo Forma, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2
|
Quote:
|
|
06-24-2022, 04:23 PM | #6 |
Bibliophagist
Posts: 35,402
Karma: 145435140
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Vancouver
Device: Kobo Sage, Forma, Clara HD, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos
|
I did answer a poll one time when I visited the Kobo store in a web browser. My response was the page count was near useless and the time to read was totally useless. I mean who takes 6 hours to read short novel of 83,718 words? Yes, I know that is fairly accurate for the average reader and dividing by 4 gives me a decent estimate for myself. Still going by my Kobo Reading Life emails, they should have a decent estimate of my reading speed to use when I'm signed in.
|
06-24-2022, 09:14 PM | #7 |
Diligent dilettante
Posts: 3,417
Karma: 48736498
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: in my mind
Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra H2O
|
I used the figures not as a guide for how long they would take me to read but in comparing books - it's reasonable to assume that a 400 'page' book is twice as long as a 200 'page' book. Book length is a factor for me because there are a lot of books that would be worthwhile if short, but tedious and bloated if long. There are also books that would be better long than short. Now Kobo offers me no way to make those comparisons.
|
06-24-2022, 09:51 PM | #8 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 24,907
Karma: 47303748
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia
Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos
|
Quote:
|
|
06-24-2022, 10:39 PM | #9 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,841
Karma: 22003124
Join Date: Aug 2014
Device: Kobo Forma, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2
|
Personally I'd see page count as maybe useful, but any time to read is going to be made useless by virtue of the fact that we don't all read at the same speed, and that people doing reading speed tests are specifically focused on *just* reading. I like to ponder on what I've read at times, at times I only pay enough attention to get what's happening without doing a lot of consideration on what it could mean and how it connects to the rest of the book. In either mode I'm unlikely to hit the standard reading speed.
|
06-25-2022, 04:15 AM | #10 | |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Quote:
|
|
06-25-2022, 05:02 AM | #11 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 10,129
Karma: 224760044
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Estonia
Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2
|
My reading speed is very uneven, with frequent interruptions. The main reason for this are my three cats, who constantly maneuver for places and positions, want to be petted and cuddled and so on. So any reading speed estimates are totally useless to me.
|
06-25-2022, 02:46 PM | #12 |
Guru
Posts: 730
Karma: 3871570
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite
|
What a disappointing move on Kobo's part! I used that information a lot.
Especially when considering a pricy ebook, I used that information to make sure I'd be getting my money's worth; I'll make fewer such purchases now. Also, with things like Erle Stanley Garnder's PERRY MASON series, some of the ebooks are full novels and others are just short stories, and the wordcount stats were the way to tell which was which before purchase. Last edited by RobertJSawyer; 06-25-2022 at 02:50 PM. |
06-25-2022, 05:29 PM | #13 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,841
Karma: 22003124
Join Date: Aug 2014
Device: Kobo Forma, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2
|
Quote:
Just for clarification I’d need to figure out my average speed using multiple books and days of not weeks or months of reading then do the math to convert Kobos estimate to my own all for something which at best will only ever be moderately accurate and has no impact on if I’ll enjoy a book or not. Page numbers are, at least as far as the Kobo stores former reporting of them, static figures. Yes once it’s on my Sage it may have more or likely less pages, but the benchmark is easy to establish and variation would be minor. |
|
06-25-2022, 05:33 PM | #14 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,841
Karma: 22003124
Join Date: Aug 2014
Device: Kobo Forma, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2
|
This actually surprises me coming from an author, good books aren’t always long books, nor are short books always bad. I’ve also found that generally the short bad books are cheaply priced, I imagine those authors goal is mass production of product.
|
06-25-2022, 09:45 PM | #15 | |
Guru
Posts: 730
Karma: 3871570
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Toronto
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite
|
Quote:
THE BONE FEUD (about paleontologists Cope and Marsh, self-published it seems) is 35,000 words long; HADROSAURS from Indiana University Press is 325,000 words. You bet that order-of-magnitude difference has an impact on how much one might be willing to pay for the books. On the other hand, the 24 novels I've written -- ranging from 57,000 words to 125,000 words long -- are all a bargain, regardless of price. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Kobo store no longer working in Eastern Europe | Rhooo | General Discussions | 2 | 05-10-2021 06:43 PM |
kobo not displaying series information any longer | shoelesshunter | Devices | 2 | 10-07-2020 04:06 AM |
Time read in Kobo Life | Dreamke | Kobo Reader | 2 | 11-13-2018 06:21 AM |
Bought ebook from Kobo Store and can't read it | lmslugo | Kobo Reader | 4 | 02-21-2014 01:09 AM |
Changing length of time before Kindle goes to sleep | Krakindale | Amazon Kindle | 5 | 07-05-2011 02:29 PM |