The Story of Stupid -- A Cautionary Tale

mogui · 08-01-2007, 02:40 AM

Stupid has two bad habits. He is trusting. And he keeps track of what he has read by the year of first publication. Let's discuss the second one first because the first one, first of all, is painfully transparent and only secondary to our story.

Stupid reads a lot. He has favorite authors. He reads everything of theirs he can find. So when he sees a book by a favorite author with a publication date close to the current year, he tends to buy it.

Stupid likes Lawrence Block. That is actually clever because Lawrence Block is a very good writer. He has written many books, so following him is especially rewarding.

Stupid had some free money on the Connect Books site owned by Sony Corporation. He saw a book there. It was, "The Canceled Czech". The publication date was 6/30/2007. Stupid thought, "Wow! A new Lawrence Block novel! He added it to his cart.

Stupid still had free money left on the Connect Books site owned by Sony Corporation. He saw another book there. It was, "The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep". The publication date was 6/30/2007. Stupid thought, "Wow! A another new Lawrence Block novel! He added it to his cart.

Stupid wasn't surprised that Lawrence Block could have two books published on the same day. He knew Lawrence could write a book in an afternoon, so why not? Stupid pushed the check-out button and downloaded the books and put them on his Sony Reader.

The first one, "The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep", seemed very familiar. Stupid went to the Lawrence Block official website and checked the Evan Tanner books. Much to Stupid's surprise he found the following: THE THIEF WHO COULDN'T SLEEP. Fawcett Gold Medal, 1966. 1966! That was over 40 years ago!

Then Stupid wondered about the second title, "The Canceled Czech". He was not surprised when he found: THE CANCELED CZECH. Fawcett Gold Medal, 1966.

Stupid was sad and happy. He was sad because the Sony Connect Ebook Store, whom he had trusted, gave him misinformation. If Stupid couldn't trust Sony, maybe he coundn't even trust his own mother!

But Stupid was happy too. Stupid was getting smarter!

RWood · 08-01-2007, 04:14 AM

One site (I think Amazon) listed the Beatles' Revolver with a release date of 2005. Since I had no free credit I stuck with my version from the 1960s.

mogui, we've all been there, we've all done the same thing. I remember buying a bunch of new scifi titles only to find that some of them I already had, they just changed the name. I learned to read inside the books very quickly after that.

HarryT · 08-01-2007, 06:17 AM

It's especially annoying when books are re-released with a different title. Baen have done that a few times

. Eg, they recently released Poul Anderson's classic "Tau Zero" with a new name "To Outlive Eternity"; I only discovered that it was "Tau Zero" when I actually read it

.

nekokami · 08-01-2007, 08:30 AM

I did it once with a paperback, when I had bought and read the hardcover already. (C.J. Cherryh, Chanur's Venture.) Oh well, it was a good book, anyway.

HarryT · 08-01-2007, 09:23 AM

You have excellent taste in books! I wasn't too bothered, because I buy every Baen "Webscription" release anyway

.

yvanleterrible · 08-03-2007, 09:32 AM

B3T

Stupid here buys books in two languages.
Stupid likes beautiful drawings on covers.
Stupid buys and goes home.
Stupid after two chapters thinks author stole story.
Stupid sees that translation has been done before by other person in other country with different title.
Stupid does that 6 times.

Now no more stupid, now printed Wiki lists.

UncleDuke · 08-03-2007, 10:32 AM

they do this with music albums all the time, they ad a song or remove a song and call it an all new collection

now where's my radio

wayspooled · 08-04-2007, 04:29 AM

hehehehehe...

Yeah... been there, done that, bought the t-shirt...

Everything everybody listed except the other language *grin*

At least my short term memory is getting shorter and I can just keep on reading 'em for the first time.

The one that bugs me is when they get some writer to write something for someone popular. I remember when those first books came out marked "Alistair MacLean's <whatever>" and I hadn't read any of his since I was a kid and thought, cool, he's got a new novel and I'd read it and think hmmm.. he sure isn't as good a writer as I remember... Yeah, and then one time I pick it up and notice down at the bottom in tiny print it says "by Alastair MacNeill" .. He's probably an okay writer in his own right but he's not Alistair MacLean.

Now I'm wary of anything that says xxxxx's <bookname>.

HarryT · 08-04-2007, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wayspooled

The one that bugs me is when they get some writer to write something for someone popular. I remember when those first books came out marked "Alistair MacLean's <whatever>" and I hadn't read any of his since I was a kid and thought, cool, he's got a new novel and I'd read it and think hmmm.. he sure isn't as good a writer as I remember... Yeah, and then one time I pick it up and notice down at the bottom in tiny print it says "by Alastair MacNeill" .. He's probably an okay writer in his own right but he's not Alistair MacLean.

Now I'm wary of anything that says xxxxx's <bookname>.

Yep, I was caught out in exactly that way when the first of "Tom Clancy's Op-Center" series came out. I bought in, mistakenly assuming it was written by Tom Clancy. I was sadly mistaken in that belief

.

mogui · 08-11-2007, 10:12 AM

On 08/08/07 Stupid emailed the following to Sony Support:
If you examine my account history, you will find two ebook purchases on 7/27/2007 totaling $12.78. Both books were displayed with an alleged publication date of 2007. I bought them because I thought they were new releases! When I started reading them, I remembered having read them before. When I checked the author's website, I saw they had been published in 1966 -- more than 40 years ago!

Please correct your publication dates where they are incorrect so your customers can make informed buying decisions, and credit my account with $12.78
Thank you

JSWolf · 08-11-2007, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mogui

On 08/08/07 Stupid emailed the following to Sony Support:
If you examine my account history, you will find two ebook purchases on 7/27/2007 totaling $12.78. Both books were displayed with an alleged publication date of 2007. I bought them because I thought they were new releases! When I started reading them, I remembered having read them before. When I checked the author's website, I saw they had been published in 1966 -- more than 40 years ago!

Please correct your publication dates where they are incorrect so your customers can make informed buying decisions, and credit my account with $12.78
Thank you

I hope Sony will refund your money since it is their mistake.

LaughingVulcan · 08-11-2007, 02:51 PM

I've done that with music a few times. And for whomever mentioned Baen above, that's also been done with Drake's Slammers and the Falkenberg's Legion stories. (Though each had minor edits/additions to the stories themselves, it was still essentially the same story.)

In those cases there isn't a lot to be done, but it would be nice is Connect would list a "first published" date in addition to the date that their e-version was published. I don't suppose Sony did anything 'wrong' by listing their publication date as the publication date, but it does seem a little misleading.

HarryT · 08-12-2007, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I hope Sony will refund your money since it is their mistake.

They could argue that if they published it in 2007, then 2007 is the publication date for their version of it. caveat emptor and all that.

wayspooled · 08-12-2007, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

They could argue that if they published it in 2007, then 2007 is the publication date for their version of it. caveat emptor and all that.

Aye, but if they expect readers to choose the moral high ground and not to steal their ebooks, a lot of those same readers will feel they have some right to expect fair play from them. That's hardly the main point though...

They need to remember that for most of us, it's not hard to take a few months break from buying that caveat'illicious product by just reaching behind us and pulling vol 1 of 20 of something off the shelf. It's a convenience they're selling, not a need. This has not happened collectively before because... well, we're readers.. by nature solitary. Many of us have had better things to do historically than yatter at each other. What was once though a community of "a minority of readers with an active social gene" is expanding with the aid of this ereader and ebook temptation. It's been my pleasurable experience to find that most readers are intelligent kind hearted folks that are resistant to the herd mentality. Nonetheless, for the first time we are drawn together by something.

It will be interesting to see if what I just said is true and if it is, if they'll recognize it.

mogui · 08-12-2007, 09:33 PM

Yes! If Sony is truly attempting to create an eBook market, and not just playing, they might care that we have a shopping experience with them that is satisfying and pleasurable. Sony, was it good for you?

08-01-2007, 02:40 AM	#1
mogui eNigma Posts: 503 Karma: 1335 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Philippines Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader	The Story of Stupid -- A Cautionary Tale Stupid has two bad habits. He is trusting. And he keeps track of what he has read by the year of first publication. Let's discuss the second one first because the first one, first of all, is painfully transparent and only secondary to our story. Stupid reads a lot. He has favorite authors. He reads everything of theirs he can find. So when he sees a book by a favorite author with a publication date close to the current year, he tends to buy it. Stupid likes Lawrence Block. That is actually clever because Lawrence Block is a very good writer. He has written many books, so following him is especially rewarding. Stupid had some free money on the Connect Books site owned by Sony Corporation. He saw a book there. It was, "The Canceled Czech". The publication date was 6/30/2007. Stupid thought, "Wow! A new Lawrence Block novel! He added it to his cart. Stupid still had free money left on the Connect Books site owned by Sony Corporation. He saw another book there. It was, "The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep". The publication date was 6/30/2007. Stupid thought, "Wow! A another new Lawrence Block novel! He added it to his cart. Stupid wasn't surprised that Lawrence Block could have two books published on the same day. He knew Lawrence could write a book in an afternoon, so why not? Stupid pushed the check-out button and downloaded the books and put them on his Sony Reader. The first one, "The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep", seemed very familiar. Stupid went to the Lawrence Block official website and checked the Evan Tanner books. Much to Stupid's surprise he found the following: THE THIEF WHO COULDN'T SLEEP. Fawcett Gold Medal, 1966. 1966! That was over 40 years ago! Then Stupid wondered about the second title, "The Canceled Czech". He was not surprised when he found: THE CANCELED CZECH. Fawcett Gold Medal, 1966. Stupid was sad and happy. He was sad because the Sony Connect Ebook Store, whom he had trusted, gave him misinformation. If Stupid couldn't trust Sony, maybe he coundn't even trust his own mother! But Stupid was happy too. Stupid was getting smarter! Last edited by mogui; 08-01-2007 at 02:45 AM.

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08-01-2007, 04:14 AM	#2
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	One site (I think Amazon) listed the Beatles' Revolver with a release date of 2005. Since I had no free credit I stuck with my version from the 1960s. mogui, we've all been there, we've all done the same thing. I remember buying a bunch of new scifi titles only to find that some of them I already had, they just changed the name. I learned to read inside the books very quickly after that.

08-01-2007, 06:17 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It's especially annoying when books are re-released with a different title. Baen have done that a few times . Eg, they recently released Poul Anderson's classic "Tau Zero" with a new name "To Outlive Eternity"; I only discovered that it was "Tau Zero" when I actually read it .

08-01-2007, 08:30 AM	#4
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I did it once with a paperback, when I had bought and read the hardcover already. (C.J. Cherryh, Chanur's Venture.) Oh well, it was a good book, anyway.

08-01-2007, 09:23 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	You have excellent taste in books! I wasn't too bothered, because I buy every Baen "Webscription" release anyway .

08-03-2007, 09:32 AM	#6
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	B3T Stupid here buys books in two languages. Stupid likes beautiful drawings on covers. Stupid buys and goes home. Stupid after two chapters thinks author stole story. Stupid sees that translation has been done before by other person in other country with different title. Stupid does that 6 times. Now no more stupid, now printed Wiki lists.

08-03-2007, 10:32 AM	#7
UncleDuke books & doughnuts Posts: 882 Karma: 37857 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: usa Device: sony reader, kindle2	they do this with music albums all the time, they ad a song or remove a song and call it an all new collection now where's my radio

08-04-2007, 04:29 AM	#8
wayspooled Crab In The Dark Posts: 486 Karma: 2328180 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Tablet PC until a 10" comes out that I like	hehehehehe... Yeah... been there, done that, bought the t-shirt... Everything everybody listed except the other language grin At least my short term memory is getting shorter and I can just keep on reading 'em for the first time. The one that bugs me is when they get some writer to write something for someone popular. I remember when those first books came out marked "Alistair MacLean's <whatever>" and I hadn't read any of his since I was a kid and thought, cool, he's got a new novel and I'd read it and think hmmm.. he sure isn't as good a writer as I remember... Yeah, and then one time I pick it up and notice down at the bottom in tiny print it says "by Alastair MacNeill" .. He's probably an okay writer in his own right but he's not Alistair MacLean. Now I'm wary of anything that says xxxxx's <bookname>.

08-11-2007, 10:12 AM	#10
mogui eNigma Posts: 503 Karma: 1335 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Philippines Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader	On 08/08/07 Stupid emailed the following to Sony Support: If you examine my account history, you will find two ebook purchases on 7/27/2007 totaling $12.78. Both books were displayed with an alleged publication date of 2007. I bought them because I thought they were new releases! When I started reading them, I remembered having read them before. When I checked the author's website, I saw they had been published in 1966 -- more than 40 years ago! Please correct your publication dates where they are incorrect so your customers can make informed buying decisions, and credit my account with $12.78 Thank you

08-11-2007, 02:51 PM	#12
LaughingVulcan Technophile Posts: 204 Karma: 617 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Land of Lincoln Device: PRS-650 Sony, Nook Simpletouch, more legacy gear than I can remember	I've done that with music a few times. And for whomever mentioned Baen above, that's also been done with Drake's Slammers and the Falkenberg's Legion stories. (Though each had minor edits/additions to the stories themselves, it was still essentially the same story.) In those cases there isn't a lot to be done, but it would be nice is Connect would list a "first published" date in addition to the date that their e-version was published. I don't suppose Sony did anything 'wrong' by listing their publication date as the publication date, but it does seem a little misleading.

08-12-2007, 09:33 PM	#15
mogui eNigma Posts: 503 Karma: 1335 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Philippines Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader	Yes! If Sony is truly attempting to create an eBook market, and not just playing, they might care that we have a shopping experience with them that is satisfying and pleasurable. Sony, was it good for you?