So in other words they could just do this, but the market isn't really into PDF readers, etc. It's a format/product issue. That's what I thought.
Khamûl wrote:
So in other words they could just do this, but the market isn't really into PDF readers, etc. It's a format/product issue. That's what I thought.
Well, not really, my Oasis reads and handles PDF fantastically well but my older Paperwhite is dreadful with the same files, too many customers would have very different experiences with scanned books. There are retail PDF products of course but they are a very different beast to scanned books. Retail PDF's are born in the digital realm so are much more friendly to modern tools. Scanned books are often unwieldy in the digital environment and results vary wildly.
I also suspect file size is a large consideration here.
Scanning a 1000+ page book like LOTR, with a high enough resolution that would allow people to zoom in to read the text (unlike simply increasing text size in a typical ebook format), would probably result in a really large file. In which case not just storage but also delivery might be unwieldy? ?
Scanning a 1000+ page book like LOTR, with a high enough resolution that would allow people to zoom in to read the text (unlike simply increasing text size in a typical ebook format), would probably result in a really large file. In which case not just storage but also delivery might be unwieldy? ?
Khamûl wrote:
So in other words they could just do this, but the market isn't really into PDF readers, etc. It's a format/product issue. That's what I thought.
It makes one wonder why they even started and don't seem too keen on continuing. Completeness!
...actually it looks like that they are: the latest ebook of The History of Middle-earth is book 7, which came out January of this year.
eorl wrote:
I also suspect file size is a large consideration here.
Scanning a 1000+ page book like LOTR, with a high enough resolution that would allow people to zoom in to read the text (unlike simply increasing text size in a typical ebook format), would probably result in a really large file. In which case not just storage but also delivery might be unwieldy? ?
Absolutely. I neglected to mention size but some of the things I scanned back in the early 2000s are enormous and the retail ebooks I bought in place of them are tiny. In some cases I was replacing 250mb files with ePubs under 1mb. 250mb by today's standards doesn't sound too large but accumulate hundreds and they soon become problematic.
onthetrail wrote:
Library loans like OneDrive, local library system etc (which by the way during COVID has been such an incredible tool) are fantastic.
Sorry if this isn't directly contributing to the topic, but I just wanted to say thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had no idea libraries could rent titles out to your Kindle device. It's probably not at all arcane knowledge, not for anyone who actually regularly visits their local library anyway...
insurrbution wrote:
Khamûl wrote:
So in other words they could just do this, but the market isn't really into PDF readers, etc. It's a format/product issue. That's what I thought.
It makes one wonder why they even started and don't seem too keen on continuing. Completeness!
...actually it looks like that they are: the latest ebook of The History of Middle-earth is book 7, which came out January of this year.
Which aligns pretty well with the slowdown/shutdown and furloughs that HarperCollins had to do in response to the virus. I am sure they will restart the releases when they can.
Caudimordax wrote:
Sorry if this isn't directly contributing to the topic, but I just wanted to say thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had no idea libraries could rent titles out to your Kindle device. It's probably not at all arcane knowledge, not for anyone who actually regularly visits their local library anyway...
I have the "Libby" app installed on my iPhone. I log into it with my local library credentials, and I can then see what ebooks are available for me to check out. One of the options for checking out is as a Kindle book, which Amazon then fully supports - the book shows up in my Kindle apps/devices and I can read it, and it disappears automatically when the book is "returned" to the library.
There are other methods to check out and read, you are not locked into Amazon/Kindle to use it. It is great! Also I am sure there are other apps (or your library website directly) that can do this, I'm just sharing how I have it set up personally.
Kindle book (J. R. R. Tolkien by Michael Coren) free of charge on Amazon UK (may be free on other Amazon sites also). Never read it so no idea if it's any good or not.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B018Y132A6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B018Y132A6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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