HTML vs. .LIT converted . . . ?

[AceHarddrive]

Hello all:

Do you find it "better" to d/l the HTML version of a book and convert it to Plucker format with Sunrise or to d/l the Microsoft Reader (.lit) format and convert it to HTML, then convert that to Plucker format with Sunrise? By this I'm asking if one or the other makes text that is easier to read/has fewer problems? Either way is good with me.

~Tim

[RWood]

From a pure computer science point of view, take the HTML. Avoid extra conversions whenever possible. (It wastes time and it makes the electrons mad. )

[AceHarddrive]

Yeah. We want our electrons to be "Happy! Happy!, Joy! Joy!" (like the ones next to my name, heh.)

~Tim

Originally Posted by RWood

(It wastes time and it makes the electrons mad. )

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by AceHarddrive

Hello all:

Do you find it "better" to d/l the HTML version of a book and convert it to Plucker format with Sunrise or to d/l the Microsoft Reader (.lit) format and convert it to HTML, then convert that to Plucker format with Sunrise? By this I'm asking if one or the other makes text that is easier to read/has fewer problems? Either way is good with me.

~Tim

The only way to be sure what's best is to do the various conversions and see what the results are. But with going LIT to HTML to Plucker, you'd get a consistent output I would think unlike HTML which could be a mess depending on how the HTML is formatted. Most e-books in HTML are crap anyway. So I'd try the LIT to HTML to Plucker and see if that works well.

[RWood]

JSWolf, I disagree. I have seen a great deal of inconsistancy in LIT files and even using an excellent converter I get some files that produce wonderful paragraphs and chapters and other files leave everything in one big paragraph.

I do agree that you need to experiment; however, it will become and endless exercise as the experiments must be repeated for each new source of LIT files. Since most LIT files that I have seen started life in another form (many of them as HTML or DOC), the HTML versions of the files may be closer to the original edited source than the LIT files.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by RWood

JSWolf, I disagree. I have seen a great deal of inconsistancy in LIT files and even using an excellent converter I get some files that produce wonderful paragraphs and chapters and other files leave everything in one big paragraph.

I do agree that you need to experiment; however, it will become and endless exercise as the experiments must be repeated for each new source of LIT files. Since most LIT files that I have seen started life in another form (many of them as HTML or DOC), the HTML versions of the files may be closer to the original edited source than the LIT files.

I'm talking only about original LIT files where the results will be fine. Not the homemade LIT files made by scanning the book. Using a LIT fille that was from an authroized ebook seller (such as Simon and Schuster) and then removed the DRM and finally converting to HTML will look best. The homemade pirated books in LIT format look horrible mostly even in LIT format.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm talking only about original LIT files where the results will be fine. Not the homemade LIT files made by scanning the book. Using a LIT fille that was from an authroized ebook seller (such as Simon and Schuster) and then removed the DRM and finally converting to HTML will look best. The homemade pirated books in LIT format look horrible mostly even in LIT format.

In fact it was a LIT file from Simon & Schuster that converted to one very large paragraph. I agree though that homemade LIT files are all over the place in content quality and format.

The original question was a choice between LIT and HTML files for the same book. This indicates that it is the same source for both files (such as a publisher's web site or a place like manybooks that does not carry the exact format desired.) Since the same group created both the LIT and the HTML files and you are using an HTML file as input to your conversion program, the extra step of converting from LIT to HTML is useless as well as a waste of processing cycles and time. I stand by my original response.

[AceHarddrive]

There are two types that I use:
1) HTML>Sunrise>Plucker
2) MSReader file>ABCAmberLitConverter>Sunrise>Plucker

Most often, I read Xena fanfiction, which can be found on a myriad of sites, most usually in HTML format. However, a few authors have made their stories available on RocketBook format as well. Many authors have permitted their stories to be "edited"
using a variety of tools (depending on the format) and posted on PDAFiction.com. These stories are available in various formats: eReader/PalmReader, Plain Doc, iSilo, Mobi Reader and Microsoft Reader.
Previously, I have used the eReader to read either the eReader or Plain Doc files or Mobi Reader (if that's all that's available). Now I'm slowly getting away from them and focusing on Sunrise/Plucker.
My very favorite stories are of the uber variety and were written by Melissa Good. They are the Dar and Kerry series and consist of (in order):
Tropical Storm
Hurricane Watch
Eye Of The Storm
Tropical High
Terrors Of The High Seas
Moving Target

and seven short stories compiled into one file:
Unmasked Hearts
A Present Under The Tree
Ringing In The Year
Home From The Sea
V-Day
T'was The Night Before Christmas
A New Year In Miami

Her stories (in the various reader formats) can be found here. Her stories in HTML format can be found here.
When a story has not been "edited" and made available on PDAFiction.com, I edit the HTML page myself using OpenOffice.org Writer and MS Works Word Processor, then save as HTML, then use Sunrise to convert to Plucker format.

C'yas!
~Tim