Midweek Bookblogging: Read an Ebook Week Edition
We are Bookblogging midweek since A. we didn’t get around to it over the weekend and B. It’s Read an Ebook Week! We have had our Cybook Gen3 for a few weeks now and it rocks our socks. Naturally one of the first things we did was download all of Jane Austen’s novels, plus Lady Susan, Love and Freindship, the Memoir, Life and Letters, and a couple of other interesting oddments to our Cybook. And not only do we have all of Jane Austen’s work (and work about her), we have books by the Brontës, Mrs. Gaskell, Mrs. Radcliffe, Fanny Burney, L.M. Montgomery, Dickens, and a metric truckload of Trollope–and much more–and we are using maybe 5 percent of the capacity of our 1GB SD card. We carry this device around with us daily. The Cybook is the thinnest and lightest reader with an eInk screen, though the cover adds some heft to it, but it fits easily in our smallish handbag. We have played with a co-worker’s Kindle and were extremely impressed by the ease of use. We thought the interface seemed kludgy before we used it, but it’s amazingly intuitive. We also have heard many wonderful things about the Sony Reader, and if you don’t mind or even prefer a backlit display there is the eBookwise, or you can use your Treo or BlackBerry or mobile phone or PDA to read eReader or Mobipocket format books. (We still have many eReader format books on our Treo.)
Incidentally, all of the books we mentioned above were free. We also received $50 in downloads of paid books from BooksOnBoard when we purchased our Cybook (haven’t used it all yet). But most public domain books, for all devices, are free to download from somewhere. Manybooks.net probably has the best selection, both of books and of formats; Feedbooks has a smaller selection but its books are really nicely formatted. Community members at MobileRead have digitized dozens of public domain books in various formats, and MobileReader Harry T. has uploaded lovely ebooks of Jane Austen’s novels in Mobipocket and Sony Reader formats, including the C.E. Brock illustrations from Molland’s and Solitary Elegance! We just downloaded five of the Big Six in Mobipocket format to enjoy on our Cybook.
Admittedly, ebook readers, especially the eInk readers such as the Cybook, Kindle, Reader, and iRex iLiad, which are the top of the line technology (and correspondingly expensive), are still in early adopter territory. We can see that they may not work for some readers; though we are really impressed with how well Amazon has done in making the Kindle work out of the box even for the non-tech-savvy and in providing a variety of content. DRM is an issue, which is going away with music but still very much an issue with ebooks; the main problem with DRM is portability between devices, and the Kindle and Reader use proprietary ebook formats. But for those of us who mostly read classics anyway, it’s not as much of an issue; there really is a tremendous amount of totally free public domain content out there, and everyone is at least talking about DRM. Whether it will do any good remains to be seen.
We used to say “Can’t curl up in bed with a computer, so we’ll never read ebooks.” Well, you can certainly curl up with one of the latest generation of readers; and some intrepid types even take them into the tub and on to the beach, properly protected of course. We still read and collect and enjoy paper books, but we are really enjoying our adventures in ebooks. Incidentally, stay tuned–we’ll be adding some new etext titles at Molland’s very soon! We’re happy to answer any of our Gentle Readers’ questions about ebooks or the Cybook in comments.
Speaking of digital text, JASNA has digitized Persuasions No. 10, which includes essays from the 1988 AGM in Chicago (which is, of course, where the AGM will be this year as well). The theme of the conference was “Jane Austen’s England” and the list of papers, both related to the conference and not, look fascinating.
The News Observer (North Carolina) has an article about the Everyman’s Library, currently featured at an exhibition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library.
Early dust jackets were graced with Thomas Carlyle’s assertion that “The true university in these days is a collection of books.” The Everyman’s edition of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” was graced with Sir Philip Sidney’s lovely line, “A tale which holdeth children from play and old men from the chimney corner.”
We’ve updated the list of upcoming books and those currently on the shelf in the menu at right. Hopefully we’ll get it together to do a post highlighting all the latest publications!
That’s it for Friday Weekend Midweek Bookblogging, and always remember, Gentle Readers: Whether electronic or paper, Books Are Nice!
March 4th, 2008 at 7:18 am
I feel as if I’m somewhere in the middle of ebook technology and traditional book reading. Although gilded leather-bound tomes are fantastic for display, I wish all books were conveniently published in tiny, compact paperbacks (or even small hardcovers) that could easily slip into a purse or coat pocket.
Many books are published this way, of course, but it is harder to find them than one may think. Bigger books make more money, I suppose.
If only I could join the other side and buy a reader…
March 4th, 2008 at 8:30 am
The DRM issues are what’s keeping me from getting serious about an ebook reader. I’m giving it another year or two.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I would say if you’re on a budget or not quite ready to invest in one of the eInk readers, I would suggest picking up a used PDA, if you don’t already have a PDA or smartphone, and using eReader, Mobipocket, Plucker, or uBook, which a lot of people recommend but I’ve never tried. I like the first two formats best. Just download the free stuff and see if you like it. The main reason I bought an eInk reader is that reading on a backlit screen bothered my eyes–I was perfectly happy reading on the smaller window on my Treo. Once you’re into the story, you don’t really notice how the content is delivered, believe me. (And many PDAs also can be used as video and/or music players.)
As an early adopter of eInk devices, I am prepared to have spent $400 for a device that might be obsolete and unsupported in a couple of years. I figure if that happens, I’ll be ready to upgrade by then, and perhaps the format wars will have settled down, like HD-DVD/Blu-Ray.
The DRM issue might even be settled. But if you’re buying eInk, you must be prepared for that–don’t depend on this being your device for the next 10 years. It might be, but don’t count on it.
March 4th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I recently re-read Emma on my PDA. I have also read e-books of books my library doesn’t have, like Mrs. Gaskell’s Mr. Harrison’s Confessions.
March 4th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I have been looking for a “complete letters of Jane Austen” type of book without any success. Would anyone be able to recommend one? Many thanks!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I would like to direct attention to Project Gutenburg at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page.
I don’t know whether they are in a form readable by these eBook readers, but they have digital copies of a healthy selection of Jane Austen in both text and audio format, and many of the other authors mentioned above.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Hi Celia,
Jane Austen’s Letters, ed. by Deirdre Le Faye, is about as complete as you will get.
I don’t know if you’re in the U.S., but you should be able to get it in Europe, the UK, and Australia.
Steve, thanks–I meant to mention Project Gutenberg. We all take it for granted, don’t we? I have a feeling that most of the free ebooks around came from their texts in the first place!
March 4th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I feel like I’m missing out on something really obvious, or that the answer is right under my nose, but what’s ‘DRM’?
March 5th, 2008 at 4:26 am
Digital Rights Management - it’s the term markeeteers use for the technology that locks content to particular players. This is supposed to reduce piracy but has the side effect that it makes life really difficult to try and move content from one device to another (i.e. say, a bought song from an iPod to a Creative Muvo). It also causes problems if you ever get a new computer/mp3 player/etc, or if you need to reformat your computer/etc.
In this particular case, I guess the DRM issues are related to not being able to port books from some device to your computer or some future device you might replace it with.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:38 am
In this particular case, I guess the DRM issues are related to not being able to port books from some device to your computer or some future device you might replace it with.
Yes, pretty much. The Sony Reader and Kindle both use proprietary formats, so if you buy an ebook for a Kindle, if next year you decide you want a Reader, you have to buy all your books all over again. The Cybook uses Mobipocket, which can be DRMed, but the format has been ported to many devices, so it’s a little more open but not completely so (and Kindle format books can only be purchased from Amazon, and Sony Reader format books from Sony, so there is no competition to keep prices in line for consumers–many online retailers sell Mobipocket format). The free public domain stuff is not DRMed, and if you get a new reader you can just re-download in your new format. But until a really workable solution is presented, DRM and the resultant non-portability will keep the public from adopting ebooks in a big way (also the price of the readers has to come down). The real answer is for all the manufacturers to adopt one format that every player can read, and not tie DRM to credit cards or computers or anything ephemeral that can go away.
Amazon is addressing this in a way because they are keeping your download history on file, and you can re-download any book you’ve purchased from your virtual bookshelf if, for instance, you lose your Kindle or your hard drive dies or whatever. But of course it will only work on another Kindle.
(And they seem to be using the Apple marketing method, selling the content at a reduced price as a loss-leader to get people to buy the device–sort of the opposite of Gilette marketing.) Many of the ebook retailers allow this re-downloading of purchased books, though for DRMed stuff it’s only in the format in which you originally bought the book. If you bought a protected Mobi version of a book, you can’t re-download it in eReader format, for instance. There are some scripts around to convert formats, but for the average consumer that’s too much fuss and perhaps a bit overly-technical to be a workable solution (also many of them break the DRM, which is often a violation of the law).
Also, building on Steve’s comment above about Project Gutenberg–I don’t know of any reader that can’t handle plain text, in which all of PG’s books are available, and most can handle HTML as far as I know, and many PG books are also available in HTML. Mobipocket has a free Creator that can take HTML and convert it into a Mobipocket version–but manybooks.net has just about every book on PG available in every format you could possibly use, so that might save you some work.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I would love to have so many classics available for reading when travelling etc. How is the contrast between the page and the text on the Cybook Gen3? How quickly does it go from one page to the next? Is it easy to use for the technology challenged such as myself? Thanks for the information!
March 5th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Kathleen, that’s one of the reasons I was excited to buy an ebook reader: traveling! I’m trying to pack lighter and get down to being a “one bag” traveler but haven’t made it quite yet. But every bit helps.
To answer your questions about the Cybook: the contrast is pretty good, but it’s not as sharp as a paper book–it’s not absolute black on absolute white. The background has a distinctly grayish cast. But it’s better than, say, a cheap LCD calculator or watch.
It’s quite readable (a co-worker commented, in a tone of surprise, “Wow, it looks like a real book!”). You do need a light source to read on it. However, if the light is a little dim, for instance when I’m reading in bed with just a small lamp, I find that increasing the font size (very easy to do) helps. But then you change pages more often, which runs down the battery faster–the device only really uses power when you change pages, not when the page is static as you are reading it. There is a “flash” when you change pages: the page goes completely dark and then the next page of text appears. It’s fairly quick (I think I read two seconds) and I find I don’t notice the flash or the time to change pages once I get into the story. You get in a rhythm of knowing when you’re at the bottom of the page, when you need to hit the button to change pages to continue reading smoothly. Just like knowing when you have to prepare to turn a page in a book.
The Cybook comes with three fonts: Courier, Georgia (serif), and Arial (sans serif) so whatever your preference, you’re set–I particularly like Georgia. You can also install other True Type fonts on the device.
Some users have complained that the D-pad button on the Cybook is not sufficiently responsive to being pressed. I haven’t had major problems, but sometimes I do need to hit it more than once to get the page to change, or the menu to come up, or whatever I need to do with it.
As to being techy: it helps, no doubt about it! Loading the books onto the machine is quite easy. If you have Mobipocket on your PC, you just link the machine to your PC via a mini-USB cable (comes with the device). I had some issues with using the USB port on the front of my computer box, but when I switched to a different port it worked fine. Open Mobipocket on your PC, make sure the books you want on the Cybook are in the library, plug in your Cybook and turn it on. Mobipocket will recognize the Cybook and automatically sync your library to the device. Mobipocket will also sync and update RSS feeds if you want to follow blogs, newspapers, etc. Of course you have to sync it every day if you want daily updates.
If you have any tech issues, there’s a pretty good and helpful community at MobileRead.com.
This page on the Bookeen site has some videos that show the device in action. The flash looks much worse on the video than it is in real life. Honestly, I don’t really notice it anymore.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Mags, thank you for the very helpful explanation! I feel like I have a very good idea of what to expect with Cybook. I am excited about the possibility of purchasing one and being able to use it before my next trip. I also haven’t quite made it to being a one bag traveler, but the propensity for airlines to misplace my luggage is a real motivator.
Thank you also for the detailed description of linking the machine to the PC. I just did some reading on Mobipockets and installing that will be my next project.
March 8th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I have a Sony Reader and I LOVE it.
Like Amazon, the Sony bookstore keeps a record of all my purchases so I can download them again, if I need to. I manage my library on my computer, also, so I can read the books I’ve bought on my PC in addition to the Reader if I choose. (I can have up to 6 devices attached to one account.) Also, the Reader supports PDFs. In theory, I could buy all my books in PDF format, though I don’t do that.
March 8th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I found this on amazon and I’m not really sure what it is. Does anyone have experience using DVDBookshelf?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010AN83K/ref=wl_itt_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1ARCMTZVVS8UT&colid=3ATD0T17PERJO
March 10th, 2008 at 5:33 am
The technology sounds fascinating, but I still prefer paper. It’s easier on my eyes.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Jane Austen, All 8 Novels, Free download.
Emma
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/j-austen/Emma6×9.pdf
Mansfield Park
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/j-austen/mansfield6×9.pdf
Persuation
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/j-austen/persuasion6×9.pdf
Pride & Prejudice
http://www.asiaing.com/pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen.html
Sense & Sensibility
http://www.asiaing.com/sense-and-sensibility-by-jane-austen.html
Lady Susan
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/j-austen/lady-susan.pdf
Love & Friendship
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/j-austen/Love&Friendship6×9.pdf
Northanger Abbey
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/j-austen/northanger6×9.pdf
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I’m not a big fan of PDF ebooks, myself.