Quality Books

ahi · 08-05-2009, 03:17 PM

Are there any eBook websites that specialize in established classical and contemporary writers and offer professional quality eBooks therefrom?

It seems to me that on any given website the bulk of the material is from virtual unknowns... not to mention that genre/theme preferences seem very heavily weighed in favour of what I would categorize as "pulp fiction" of mostly predictable varieties.

I'm not against new authors being given a chance and/or more exposure than in the paper book market/world... but now and then I am driven to despair by how little I can find from collections of thousands of books that actually interest me. In contrast, Project Gutenberg and the Hungarian Electronic Library and treasure troves... but with both of those, I have to do my own formatting and, while there is much of interest, both organization's selection is limited in its own way.

- Ahi

DixieGal · 08-05-2009, 03:38 PM

I think that maybe I'm ready to go back to the classics pretty soon also. Are we just burning out with an overabundance of light reading? I can't seem to find anything that interests me either. Except for the freebies from our MR authors, which are far and away some of the best things that I've read lately!

Right now, I'm reading (and LOVING) J(eff)Inlo's Alien Cradle. Having to fight myself to keep from clicking thru and spoiling it by reading the ending!

Sonist · 08-05-2009, 03:43 PM

There is a fair amount of decent "classical" stuff here. You just have to sift through the "pulp."

ahi · 08-05-2009, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I think that maybe I'm ready to go back to the classics pretty soon also. Are we just burning out with an overabundance of light reading? I can't seem to find anything that interests me either. Except for the freebies from our MR authors, which are far and away some of the best things that I've read lately!

Right now, I'm reading (and LOVING) J(eff)Inlo's Alien Cradle. Having to fight myself to keep from clicking thru and spoiling it by reading the ending!

I think you might have put it better than I did: it is indeed an overabundance of light reading... with nary enough meat.

- Ahi

ahi · 08-05-2009, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonist

There is a fair amount of decent "classical" stuff here. You just have to sift through the "pulp."

What do you understand under classical?

While I am not a person who would have qualms paying for stuff that is available freely on Project Gutenberg, I view any eBook that is available on PG as having a great danger of being an untouched, uncorrected, barely formatted PG eText... and that I am not willing to pay for.

- Ahi

Sparrow · 08-05-2009, 03:51 PM

Why not read both?

I'm currently reading a Victorian classic, and a modern 'pulp' thriller.
I read the classic when I have a decent amount of time, and have the pulp for dipping in to, or for last thing at night.

DixieGal · 08-05-2009, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonist

There is a fair amount of decent "classical" stuff here. You just have to sift through the "pulp."

Oh yes, of course, I was just talking about my personal feeling lately that I'm a bit jaded from so much reading lately and perhaps it is time to explore outside my genre. Of course, what I was thinking was Idylls of the King, which is sort of scifi anyway, so that isn't much of a stretch. Or The Faerie Queen or something Shakespearian, but not the usual "hot Picks" plays like Hamlet, Lear, or Romeo&Juliet, but maybe some of the less popular ones.

And she rambles on and on and on.

ahi · 08-05-2009, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Why not read both?

I'm currently reading a Victorian classic, and a modern 'pulp' thriller.
I read the classic when I have a decent amount of time, and have the pulp for dipping in to, or for last thing at night.

Because even the commercially wildly successful pulp thrillers give me little pleasure. Mayhaps I am a literary snob?

- Ahi

Sonist · 08-05-2009, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahi

What do you understand under classical?

While I am not a person who would have qualms paying for stuff that is available freely on Project Gutenberg, I view any eBook that is available on PG as having a great danger of being an untouched, uncorrected, barely formatted PG eText... and that I am not willing to pay for.

- Ahi

I was actually referring to "here" as MobileRead.com.

You can find stuff ranging from Homer, to Austen, to Fitzgerald, to Maugham, to Dumas....

From plausibly, to perfectly formatted.

In addition, Project Gutenberg is improving their formatting, as well as their format availability.

All for free....

Plus, if you have a favorite, which is not available with nice formatting, it's considered "good works" to format it, and make it available for the rest of us

ahi · 08-05-2009, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonist

You can find stuff ranging from Homer, to Austen, to Fitzgerald, to Maugham, to Dumas....

From plausibly, to perfectly formatted.

In addition, Project Gutenberg is improving their formatting, as well as their format availability.

All for free....

Plus, if you have a favorite, which is not available with nice formatting, it's considered "good works" to format it, and make it available for the rest of us

Who here is going to agree to my heretical PDF-izing of plausibly to perfectly formatted LRFs and ePubs?

- Ahi

JSWolf · 08-05-2009, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahi

Who here is going to agree to my heretical PDF-izing of plausibly to perfectly formatted LRFs and ePubs?

- Ahi

Nobody in his/her right mind.

ahi · 08-05-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Nobody in his/her right mind.

Nothing is as blissful as typographic ignorance, I understand.

- Ahi

Sonist · 08-05-2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Nobody in his/her right mind.

Well, that would be me

If there was a large format reader, with full PDF support, including hyperlinks, search and dictionary, I'd be all over it, and will buy only PDF books.

And so will most of the sane, non design-challenged, world.

Argel · 08-05-2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahi

Are there any eBook websites that specialize in established classical and contemporary writers and offer professional quality eBooks therefrom?

I quite often trawl through the Modern Library pages at Randon House. A fair proportion are now in ebook format and usually very well formatted - though I did once have to manually connect up all the end-notes in an edition of Tacitus. It's a great list but it's only a catalogue, you have then to go and find them in a store.

wayspooled · 08-06-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahi

In contrast, Project Gutenberg and the Hungarian Electronic Library and treasure troves... but with both of those, I have to do my own formatting and, while there is much of interest, both organization's selection is limited in its own way.

- Ahi

Did you try out the Internet Archive? It doesn't exactly meet your needs but seeing what you're getting online before you bother downloading it might relieve some of the frustration. - That link is just intended as an example, not a suggestion.

08-05-2009, 03:17 PM	#1
ahi Wizard Posts: 1,790 Karma: 507333 Join Date: May 2009 Device: none	Quality Books Are there any eBook websites that specialize in established classical and contemporary writers and offer professional quality eBooks therefrom? It seems to me that on any given website the bulk of the material is from virtual unknowns... not to mention that genre/theme preferences seem very heavily weighed in favour of what I would categorize as "pulp fiction" of mostly predictable varieties. I'm not against new authors being given a chance and/or more exposure than in the paper book market/world... but now and then I am driven to despair by how little I can find from collections of thousands of books that actually interest me. In contrast, Project Gutenberg and the Hungarian Electronic Library and treasure troves... but with both of those, I have to do my own formatting and, while there is much of interest, both organization's selection is limited in its own way. - Ahi

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08-05-2009, 03:38 PM	#2
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I think that maybe I'm ready to go back to the classics pretty soon also. Are we just burning out with an overabundance of light reading? I can't seem to find anything that interests me either. Except for the freebies from our MR authors, which are far and away some of the best things that I've read lately! Right now, I'm reading (and LOVING) J(eff)Inlo's Alien Cradle. Having to fight myself to keep from clicking thru and spoiling it by reading the ending!

08-05-2009, 03:43 PM	#3
Sonist Apeist Posts: 2,126 Karma: 381090 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The sunny part of California Device: Generic virtual reality story-experiential device	There is a fair amount of decent "classical" stuff here. You just have to sift through the "pulp."

08-05-2009, 03:51 PM	#6
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	Why not read both? I'm currently reading a Victorian classic, and a modern 'pulp' thriller. I read the classic when I have a decent amount of time, and have the pulp for dipping in to, or for last thing at night.

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