Tara ,'Get It Done'
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
eBooks need to be cheaper than print books for the simple reason that they require a $250+ hardware investment on top of the price of the book.
We discount eBook textbooks for the simple reason that there are no printing or delivery costs. But we don't have the multiple format (hardback, etc.) issue.
I haven't bought any books for my kindle yet, but I wasn't a big book buyer to start with. I pretty much only shell out for friend's books, and buy whatever is at the good will. I am working my was through all of the Louisa May Alcott on Project Guttenberg right now.
Some libraries do offer free ebooks (that expire after 3 weeks or so), but I don't know how compatible the formats are with the various DRM-ed e-readers on the market. (My MiL is in charge of buying books for her library system and it's a constant struggle to find a format that works for library rentals AND will work on customers' devices. Her librarians generally advise people to buy netbooks instead of dedicated ereaders for library books. Audiobooks have the same issue.)
Sophia, if you're looking for another Victorian novelist after Alcott, may I suggest Margaret Oliphant?
I found one of Mrs. Oliphant's (as she was also known) novels, Hester, at a book fair for $3. She's definitely in the realist category. Think Anthony Trollope, but from a woman's point of view. Not that Oliphant is Trollope's equal, but she's a perceptive author and an interesting read. And Emma Ashton may be one of the most underrated comic characters in Victorian literature.
Thank you Fred-- I will have to remember that!
I've been checking out ebooks from the library. Seattle has lots. They have three formats, a PDF one, another similar but fancier pdfesque thing and mobi.
I think the hope is that people will move towards ePub for library rentals, and that readers will move toward that as well. At the moment the Kindle doesn't support it, but I really hope that changes: a universal, open format is everybody's friend.
At the moment, the Kindle can read library mobipocket books, apparently, though it helps to run them through calibre. I haven't tested it, though I'm about to see if I can try it.
but I really hope that changes: a universal, open format is everybody's friend.
You're assuming that Amazon wants to be ANYONE'S friend.
Regardless of how they're trying to spin this, this has bubkes to do with concern for the consumer and everything to do with keeping control of the marketplace.
My Library lists Adobe ePub eBook, Adobe PDF eBook, and MobiPocket eBooks. It looks like a bit of a mess, the books appear to be at most supported by 1 or 2 of the formats but never all three.
Audiobooks are more consistent. Almost all are available in WMA with some also in MP3. If you jump through the proper hoops you can get them to work on iPods and Zunes. I have a Samsung Mp3 player so I can play everything the library has in that department.
My library finally has iPod compatible audiobooks. But they list that as a separate category from their main list, which is kind of annoying.