What price do y'all think a newish literary fiction book (let's just say) should be? I can't see paying more than $10 for a download and would prefer less than that. Is it presumptious to expect them to be cheaper? I have some books on my wishlist that are $15 and up, a couple over $20...there's no way I'm paying that much for a file.
― age is not a number of years but a great experience in life (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 17:39 (twelve years ago) link
Look at this for example. Surely WHOEVER sets the price can go lower than a 21 cent difference between paper and digital for a book that has only been out six months.
http://www.amazon.com/Crimes-Southern-Indiana-Frank-Bill/dp/0374532885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327081256&sr=8-1
― age is not a number of years but a great experience in life (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 17:42 (twelve years ago) link
I think publishers are in a weird place - digital isn't leading their business yet, but they can't offer huge bargains to entice people or those bargains will become the new pricing norm as the digital % of the business expands. But if there isn't enough of a savings then they buyer feels screwed because the publisher is saving on production, distribution, returns, etc.
I don't know what the answer is.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 20 January 2012 17:50 (twelve years ago) link
ok then
― age is not a number of years but a great experience in life (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 17:52 (twelve years ago) link
though I do know your 21 cent difference example is bullshit.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 20 January 2012 17:57 (twelve years ago) link
I guess I'm comfortable at $10-$15 for a new book that has a hardcover edition. However, once a paperback comes out I think anything above $5 -$7 is getting silly.
I'm new to the ebook thing (just a couple of months, still reading library books and public domain stuff) - do prices shift when paperbacks come out?
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 20 January 2012 17:59 (twelve years ago) link
so far my rule is that I won't pay for anything over $10. I've only had my kindle for about 3 months though.
― silverfish, Friday, 20 January 2012 18:06 (twelve years ago) link
Last time I checked (some NYT article maybe 8 months ago) I thought it was the vendors who wanted a general 10$ price cap and the publishers who were all 'are you insane we'll go out of business at such prices'.
― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Friday, 20 January 2012 18:17 (twelve years ago) link
yes. amazon had the prices capped at $10 originally, then the publishers threatened to pull their books unless they controlled the pricing and amazon had to give in.
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 20 January 2012 18:19 (twelve years ago) link
i totally get that a great deal of publishing costs (just like music) aren't related to physical production, but i still don't feel great about paying more than $10 for a digital edition. $10 is cool though.
― the third kind of dubstep (Jordan), Friday, 20 January 2012 18:21 (twelve years ago) link
totally cool
― age is not a number of years but a great experience in life (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 18:22 (twelve years ago) link
ebooks of old SFF and lit classics are running pretty cheap (largely around $6), which is nice as that's at least half my reading.
― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Friday, 20 January 2012 18:54 (twelve years ago) link
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/03/why-some-e-books-cost-more-than.html
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Friday, 20 January 2012 19:20 (twelve years ago) link
Basically, the publishers were getting concerned about Amazon's dominance in the ebook market, so they adopted a different pricing model for ebooks compared to print copies. This results in the price of printed copies and ebooks being basically unrelated to one another, but also keeps Amazon from owning the digital market.
The comments on that blog post are almost more interesting than the post itself.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Friday, 20 January 2012 19:35 (twelve years ago) link
(FWIW I have a Nook so for me Amazon owns none of the ebook market...)
― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Friday, 20 January 2012 20:10 (twelve years ago) link
lots of free wodehouse on amazon
― calstars, Friday, 20 January 2012 20:50 (twelve years ago) link
link?
― Mordy, Friday, 20 January 2012 21:19 (twelve years ago) link
Think there were some Psmith books,Mike maybe, and one early Jeeves novel.
― The Koozebane Kronikles (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 January 2012 21:30 (twelve years ago) link
The Code of the Woosters and Joy and the Morning you will have to pay for.
― The Koozebane Kronikles (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 January 2012 21:34 (twelve years ago) link
My Man Jeeves, Right Ho, Jeeves, Piccadilly Jim, A Damsel in Distress are free.
Maybe we should start free PGW book club thread.
― The Koozebane Kronikles (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 January 2012 21:38 (twelve years ago) link
all those also on gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/w#a783
― koogs, Friday, 20 January 2012 21:51 (twelve years ago) link
But I don't want to read free books! I want to read the books I WANT to read!
― age is not a number of years but a great experience in life (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 21:52 (twelve years ago) link
Like, I didn't go around buying cheap Jeeves paperbacks when Kindles didn't exist.
― age is not a number of years but a great experience in life (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 21:53 (twelve years ago) link
The regional price differences are inexcusable too, e.g. a hardback that costs US$25 is usually AU$45–60 here (and our $ is worth more ffs). ebooks are exploding here and that's got loads to do with it.
― Autumn Almanac, Friday, 20 January 2012 22:09 (twelve years ago) link
Search "5000 ebooks" on the Pirate Bay then.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Friday, 20 January 2012 22:10 (twelve years ago) link
still a bit grumpy that a non-touch, non-keyboard, non-3G Kindle costs more in the UK than the US price for the Kindle Touch, which isn't coming out in Europe because fuck Europe, or something
but those Australian prices are ridiculous
― Schleimpilz im Labyrinth (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 20 January 2012 22:26 (twelve years ago) link
tbf the kindle touch is inferior to the latest gen non-keyboard kindle from what I've heard from friends. No real need for touch controls imo.
― mh, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:09 (twelve years ago) link
but but angry birds
― junior dada (thomp), Friday, 20 January 2012 23:09 (twelve years ago) link
Um that's only on Kindle Fire and not Kindle Touch isn't it?
― mh, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:12 (twelve years ago) link
Kindle touch has e-ink display which is why I got it over the Fire. Also it doesn't have a keyboard (which is fine).
― kinder, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:13 (twelve years ago) link
I guess highlighting text is better with the touch, but absent that, I'd rather have the hardware page-turning buttons and a screen I don't smudge up
I'm talking about preferring this one: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eReader-eBook-Reader-e-Reader-Special-Offers/dp/B0051QVESA/ref=amb_link_359613542_5?ie=UTF8&nav_sdd=aps&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=15K4F97XYKMRZTNGZQ9Y&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1343338782&pf_rd_i=507846
― mh, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:15 (twelve years ago) link
I think that the Instapaper developer actually recommends it over the Touch one?
oic. Yeah looks good. I like the 3G on mine but I don't have a smartphone or any other portable thing I can access internet with so it's a novelty!
― kinder, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:20 (twelve years ago) link
touch doesn't smudge, but then i have nice hands
― Popup Croesius (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 23:29 (twelve years ago) link
Does it have hardware buttons for page flippy? That is the one thing I'd want in a kindle (other than e-ink) to make me supplement my iPad
― mh, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:34 (twelve years ago) link
The nook touch does the kindle & kobo do not
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:39 (twelve years ago) link
That kindle I linked does!
― mh, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:40 (twelve years ago) link
xxxp: Publishers should have done the smart thing and put together their own DRM'ed e-book store, with prices 30% lower than they offered the product for on Amazon (reflecting Amz's cut). Possibly a bit late in the game, now that that Kindle's proprietary format seems to be dominating the market.
― Plato’s The Cave In Claymation (Sanpaku), Friday, 20 January 2012 23:40 (twelve years ago) link
no hardware, it's pure simple screen, as far as the eye can see
― My father and mother have closed the factory (admrl), Friday, 20 January 2012 23:41 (twelve years ago) link
xp no content industry has ever done that. You'd think they'd learn by the mistakes of others but no.
― Autumn Almanac, Friday, 20 January 2012 23:43 (twelve years ago) link
You real book lovers may find this interesting. http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/24/students-demonstrate-innovative-ipad-book-page-flip/
― Jeff, Tuesday, 24 January 2012 13:56 (twelve years ago) link
Kindle not really suiting tired late journeys home on the train. You don't mind nodding your head and letting a paperback slip through you fingers but it's more of a worry when it's a slightly expensive electronic gizmo.
― ERIC CANONTA FOR PRESIDETN! (onimo), Tuesday, 24 January 2012 13:59 (twelve years ago) link
The page flipping interface is an example of skeuomorphism that I can get behind. Flipping is the big advantage of paper books for me.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph)
― Je55e, Wednesday, 25 January 2012 05:31 (twelve years ago) link
So I finally upgraded from the cheap but hearty Skytex Primer (backlit screen, not E-ink) to the Nook Simple Touch about a week ago.
I have to say that E-ink is taking some getting used to. There are often slight differences in text darkness from the upper region of the page to the bottom region, with the top few lines a bit light and the bottom few lines quite dark. Is this kind of slight variation normal with E-ink or should be complaining to the vendor? I find that it makes me hyper-aware of the letters' existence in a distracting way...
― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:16 (twelve years ago) link
my nook simple touch does not do that. I would get a replacement.
― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:20 (twelve years ago) link
Flipping is the big advantage of paper books for me.
Except when adjacent pages stick together and you have to painstakingly locate an edge by which you may seperate them, which is a pita.
― Aimless, Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:30 (twelve years ago) link
That trouble is what makes books a sublime and ideal form for reading.
― Je55e, Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:43 (twelve years ago) link
should be complaining to the vendor?
immediately
― Autumn Almanac, Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:43 (twelve years ago) link
Alrighty then. The difference is very slight, but they're frickin' letters-- their physicality must not call attention to itself.
― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:57 (twelve years ago) link
What ereader is it?
― Autumn Almanac, Wednesday, 25 January 2012 20:04 (twelve years ago) link