Safe places for Russian and Ukrainian ebooks?

MarjaE · 04-13-2021, 05:45 PM

I don't speak either language, and can only read a little of either. But sources in both languages can be important for my research.

In the past, I've ordered some books in hard copy, and ordered others via Google Books. But a lot of potentially useful sources appear elsewhere but not on Google Books.

Anyone had good or bad experiences with direct orders from Litres? How about bookclub.ua?

Quoth · 04-14-2021, 08:25 AM

I've bought electronic components from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and other former USSR states or former USSR aligned Eastern Block countries regularly for over 15 years.

I've never had a problem. I HAVE had problems with UK sellers on Ebay and resellers on Amazon UK, DE and USA marketplaces, but not much. The biggest was from the UK on ebay and Paypal refunded most of the money from his account.

In all the other cases there was no loss. Mostly orders were cancelled / refunds made. Faulty item returned to Amazon at their expense even though they tried to claim it was a 3rd party sale (came in Amazon packing). A case of incorrect Amazon site description I was told to keep it and was refunded.

Paypal and credit card are both good. I have paid to German ebay sellers with good feedback by IBAN as it's secure and safe, but a refund depends on the seller / ebay, though it's possible to find out the identity and address via legal processes. No problem with that.
Avoid wire payments totally, like Western Union, as unlike IBAN no identity or address proof is required.

tomsem · 04-14-2021, 03:37 PM

The Kindle Store has 58,000+ Russian language books.

MarjaE · 04-14-2021, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

The Kindle Store has 58,000+ Russian language books.

The ones I'm looking for don't turn up when searching Amazon in their Kindle Store. Hard copies sometimes turn up, but they tend to be a lot more expensive, and take more space.

Some turn up when searching Google Books.

tomsem · 04-14-2021, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarjaE

The ones I'm looking for don't turn up when searching Amazon in their Kindle Store. Hard copies sometimes turn up, but they tend to be a lot more expensive, and take more space.

Some turn up when searching Google Books.

You have not said what you’re looking for. Another source for Russian might be http://lib.ru/

It is a bit of work but you can download the HTML and create ebooks from what is there. I never got around to writing scripts to make it easier; once I discovered I could get complete works of Tolstoy in Russian for $3, I lost interest.

I haven’t found equivalent sites for, say, Czech or Polish.

MarjaE · 04-14-2021, 11:30 PM

I was looking for Shirokorad's *Velikaya Rechnaya Voyna*. A version is available on lib.ru: http://militera.lib.ru/h/shirokorad_ab3/index.html

kandwo · 04-16-2021, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarjaE

I don't speak either language, and can only read a little of either. But sources in both languages can be important for my research.

In the past, I've ordered some books in hard copy, and ordered others via Google Books. But a lot of potentially useful sources appear elsewhere but not on Google Books.

Anyone had good or bad experiences with direct orders from Litres? How about bookclub.ua?

Many Russian books are available online, often for free. I'd recommend starting with a yandex search (on yandex.ru) using the search words "[name of book] chitat" ('read') or "[name of book] skachat" ('download'). In case the particular book is not available to read for free, most sites provide links to a bookstore where you can buy the e-book version of it.

Critteranne · 04-24-2021, 01:35 PM

If you like horror, look into the books from Poltergeist Press. They have Russian translations of English-language horror novels. However, their website has an announcement that they're moving, so you can't find much on the site. But they have some social media posts (I think) here -- I don't know what it says because I can't read Russian.

You can find their English books on Amazon, and some Russian ones are available as well. See this link.

Note: There was a recent controversy concerning this publisher (read more here), so that might have affected the health of the business.

04-13-2021, 05:45 PM	#1
MarjaE Guru Posts: 924 Karma: 53902736 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: multiple	Safe places for Russian and Ukrainian ebooks? I don't speak either language, and can only read a little of either. But sources in both languages can be important for my research. In the past, I've ordered some books in hard copy, and ordered others via Google Books. But a lot of potentially useful sources appear elsewhere but not on Google Books. Anyone had good or bad experiences with direct orders from Litres? How about bookclub.ua?

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04-14-2021, 08:25 AM	#2
Quoth the rook, bossing Never. Posts: 11,161 Karma: 85874891 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper11	I've bought electronic components from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and other former USSR states or former USSR aligned Eastern Block countries regularly for over 15 years. I've never had a problem. I HAVE had problems with UK sellers on Ebay and resellers on Amazon UK, DE and USA marketplaces, but not much. The biggest was from the UK on ebay and Paypal refunded most of the money from his account. In all the other cases there was no loss. Mostly orders were cancelled / refunds made. Faulty item returned to Amazon at their expense even though they tried to claim it was a 3rd party sale (came in Amazon packing). A case of incorrect Amazon site description I was told to keep it and was refunded. Paypal and credit card are both good. I have paid to German ebay sellers with good feedback by IBAN as it's secure and safe, but a refund depends on the seller / ebay, though it's possible to find out the identity and address via legal processes. No problem with that. Avoid wire payments totally, like Western Union, as unlike IBAN no identity or address proof is required.

04-14-2021, 03:37 PM	#3
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	The Kindle Store has 58,000+ Russian language books.

04-14-2021, 11:30 PM	#6
MarjaE Guru Posts: 924 Karma: 53902736 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: multiple	I was looking for Shirokorad's Velikaya Rechnaya Voyna. A version is available on lib.ru: http://militera.lib.ru/h/shirokorad_ab3/index.html

04-24-2021, 01:35 PM	#8
Critteranne Guru Posts: 781 Karma: 21097142 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: MD Device: Kindle, iPad	If you like horror, look into the books from Poltergeist Press. They have Russian translations of English-language horror novels. However, their website has an announcement that they're moving, so you can't find much on the site. But they have some social media posts (I think) here -- I don't know what it says because I can't read Russian. You can find their English books on Amazon, and some Russian ones are available as well. See this link. Note: There was a recent controversy concerning this publisher (read more here), so that might have affected the health of the business.