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fanfic_ebooksHello, oh wonderful people who can hopefully answer my burning questions! (Is the flattery working?)
I'm really interested in Barnes & Noble's new eBook called the nook. The nook just came out about a month ago so it's very new, but it's already back ordered to February 11! I've been keeping an eye on it because I like what I see.The Kindle and Sony eReader just look weird to me, and I don't like the way they operate. But then, I've only ever seen the much abused Sony eReader at my local Best Buy store and the info about the Kindle on Amazon so I could very well be mistaken. The nook is the only ebook/ereader that I've actually gotten to play with and explore much so I may very well be prejudiced. If I am, please set me straight. I'd love to learn more about other devices from people who actually know about them!
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to ask if anyone has tried out PDF files converted in NeoOffice on the nook. I have a Mac and use NeoOffice as my main word processor. My plan is to beg for a nook for Christmas and be able to read all my favorite fanfiction when ever and where ever I want. So, do you experts think my plan will work? I don't wanna get the nook only to be disappointed, not that I'd mind having access to B&N's new ebook library and all the other great features, but I really want to read my sl-ah fanfic on the go (and keep it safe - I tend to loose stuff).
Thanks!
Meg =)
P.S. I don't think LiveJournal likes me right now. This post may be a bit confusing because of some format errors - sorry!
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no subject
Date: 2009-12-19 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-19 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 12:06 am (UTC)Right now at Mobile Read forums people are posting their experiences with the Nook I highly recommend reading the posts and seeing how it actually works. Based on what I read it still has a ways to go before becoming a better device. However, I have a Sony PRS-505 and I love it so I'm a bit biased.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 12:13 am (UTC)Both the Kindle and nook can read their own proprietary locked formats (mobi/prc/azw versus epub), and they can each read the unlocked version of their own format (but not the other's). If you're looking for free public-domain books (like from Project Gutenberg), most places will generally provide both formats. And as far as I know, the pay bookstore sites have roughly comparable selection. You can also read (mobi) library ebooks on the Kindle with a little finagling; I don't know about the nook. I am also a fan of the kindle's web access -- I can google/wiki something as I read it.
Keep in mind that you can use Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) to convert pretty much any format to whatever the reader you pick will read. So if you're just gonna read slash, really, any reader you like will work.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 09:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 12:53 am (UTC)Real notes:
The Nook, Kindle, Sony series, Astak readers, and IRex readers are all using the same screen technology. The newer versions have more shades of grayscale, but that doesn't matter for text reading, only for images.
For the 6" readers, which is most of them, the basic reading experience is the same. The differences are in:
1) Where the page turn buttons are and how they work,
2) How the books are sorted on the device,
3) What extra features it offers (search, annotations, wireless, music player, etc.)
The majority of people who have ebook readers, love the one they have--because they're all *terrific* at reading books. And because the people who have ebook readers are mostly the kind who read LOTS AND LOTS OF BOOKS, so anything that can carry 150 books at a time is so wonderful that they ignore any pesky little drawbacks like "takes three minutes to boot up, dammit." (Hypothetical. Don't know any reader that takes 3min to boot up normally.)
Other features that matter are:
1) Where can you get books for it? (This is strongly dependent on "what filetypes does it read, and which of them can have DRM?")
2) How does it connect to the computer? What software does it need?
3) How long does the battery last? How long does it take to recharge?
4) Is it prone to breaking through normal use? If so, will the seller repair/replace it?
Commentary:
All the e-ink readers now being sold read PDFs. All of them are mediocre at it, because PDF generally *sucks* as an ebook format. What makes it suck less, is PDFs designed for exactly the screen size you'll be reading on. PDFs built for letter-sized pages either shrink to show in the e-ink screen (so: show up at about 1/4 normal size), or zoom in so you have to scroll around, or reflow the text and reformat the page.
The Sony PRS-505 (which I have) uses reflow. The Sony 700 zooms. I don't know which the Nook does. Reflow is generally more readable, but can have problems, depending on how the PDF was made.
I don't know enough about NeoOffice to say specifically, but--if it's got options for "tags" or "accessibility", use that option. It helps with reflow.
90x120mm pages is suggested for the 6" readers. That's not exactly right, but it's close enough to work. Almost no margin is necessary; many people make PDFs for the Readers with no margin at all; I use .1" margins 'cos I don't like the shadow of the reader-edge running onto the words.
See if you can make 90x120mm (or 3.46x4.6") pages with NeoOffice and convert them to PDF. Put the fanfic into those pages. I use 10pt type; I believe
If you're *mostly* going to read your own stuff, not purchased books from an ebook store, look for a reader that doesn't have (and charge extra for) wireless access. Wireless costs, and it eats battery.
I'm fond of the Astak readers; that's what I'd want if I were buying one today. They read an insane number of filetypes, and they're selling readers, not store access--so they're invested in providing good hardware, not locking customers to their company for a series of future purchases.
My thoughts on the Nook are that the first release was rushed and the software is still buggy, and the sales people don't actually know how it works & can't troubleshoot worth a damn. No way to tell if it's a good device beyond that.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 01:43 am (UTC)For me it's going to be hard in the future to move to another device maker because I'm noticing neither the Kindle nor the Nook seem to support RTF.
astak I think does for the 6 inch device but I"m not positive about that.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 02:46 pm (UTC)I use PDF because I can make them basically in my sleep, complete with pictures and bookmarks and fonts I like. For a lot of things, I just use RTFs (base font set to 17 pts), but if I want a bookcover, or a TOC, I make a PDF.
For anyone who doesn't *like* doc formatting and conversion, PDFs are not a good format. They take too much tweaking to work well. There are some nice free programs (*cough* Calibre) that convert just as well, and have customizable options for people who care about them.
Thing is, I speak .doc formatting *really really well*, and know how to fine-tune PDFs. I don't speak CSS at all, and am very lost with Calibre's custom settings. I can't get chapters to work, most of the time.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 09:21 pm (UTC)But yeah, most word programs do have a convert to PDF option, it's just most people have no clue how to create bookmarks and have them turn into a table of contents when converted. So 99% of the pdfs I'm seeing authors share look great on screen but there is no way to navigate by chapter or anything else. I think your PDFs would be good because you know what you're doing and care about the details.
Also, I don't think all authors know how to change the page size, they don't even know where to change the metadata for the file and I'm still seeing author's real names listed next to the title of their story because they converted to PDF and didn't edit the metadata/File Property fields.
Creating nice ebooks from fan fiction appears to have a learning curve.
Oh! I finally started using macros, I was planning on making a brief tutorial post at
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 12:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 02:40 pm (UTC)Mobileread's Which One Should I Buy? forum, which does comparisons and pros and cons, and while a lot of people have strong opinions, the overall board attitude is "you should buy the one that works best for you, 'cos none of them are perfect, and the tech is changing too fast for anything to stand out as the eventual leader."
Basic intro to ebook filetypes at the ebooks comm at Dreamwidth. Predates both the Nook (which makes eReader PDB a much stronger format) and Kindle's PC program.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-21 07:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 03:26 am (UTC)About the Nook: I like the look, and I think the hardware's got very good potential. The firmware that the display models are running is pretty crap. I have to believe BN will be getting a firmware update for the things out soon, since IMO the display model was nearly unusable due to weird user-interface problems. Once they've got the software worked out, it's worth considering.
I agree with Amothea on the PDF issue: PDF's designed for straight-to-print work and doesn't handle different screen sizes gracefully. If your preferred method of dealing with fanfiction is NeoOffice-to-PDF, though, it'll work best if you go with a smaller-than-8.5x11" page size. But that comes after picking a device anyway. :)
I've had a Sony 505 for a bit over a year and am very happy with it, but much of what makes me happy about it can be found on the other e-ink readers. They all have essentially the same screen anyway, so most of the differences are in the smaller things like button placement and material the case is made out of. I think the metal the Sonys are made out of looks cool and holds up well (I've never bothered protecting mine with anything at the beach, and it hasn't been bothered when I've dropped it a few times.) The metal sucks heat out of your hands, though. The plastic ones like the Nook and Kindle are probably a little less cold-feeling in winter, but then they show smudges more (especially what with being white.)
Anyway. All the readers should work fine for us fanfic readers, and I think we can all agree that the single most obnoxious thing about fanfic reading on the go is people who only post their novel-length stories to about thirty separate LiveJournal entries. ;)
!
Date: 2009-12-20 09:24 am (UTC)http://community.livejournal.com/j2_spn_ebooks/
as all the stories on here are in one document, also Garvaldmains has all her stories read in one doc once they are completed, you can find hers here
http://community.livejournal.com/slip_it_in_j2/92124.html
Their are few more ready to download stories dotted about LJ, if you wnat any more links just pm me
Re: !
Date: 2009-12-21 05:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 09:25 pm (UTC)For anyone that wants to have more than 500 stories on their device the ability to create your own collections is rather important. :)
And YES a thousand times YES to the annoyance of LJ and 30 chapter postings! That will never not be annoying. Though for authors that at least post the links in a single master post I found a way to use the Firefox Add-on DownloadThemAll to download all the chapters without having to open 30 tabs.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-21 05:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-21 05:48 am (UTC)I think my main focus has been to try and let more people know why PDF isn't the best ebook format. That and trying to convince more authors to also post a single file version somewhere.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 04:34 am (UTC)I'm pretty convinced that I'll stick with the nook - mainly because it is very tangible to me and not just some idea that's floating around the internet. It may not be wise to buy it on it's first incarnation, but I don't think it really matters. In today's world of technology you almost need to upgrade all your tech every two years or so to keep up with changes and replace worn out stuff. Plus B&N is already working to fix some problems; I was in the store ogling/fondling the nook earlier today and a sales person told that the first update is due out sometime next week. She didn't know all the details exactly, but she was pretty sure they were addressing the slow loading time and stuff like that. (Which is the biggest disappointment about the nook, in my book.)
Anyway, thanks again for all your help. I hope you have a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year! Happy reading! =D
no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-21 06:51 am (UTC)*imitates your facepalm* I am soooo lost on all the different formats and tech stuff! Luckily someone has posted a link to a list or description of all the different formats. Maybe we should bookmark it or put it in our favorites?
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Date: 2009-12-20 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 09:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-21 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-22 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 10:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-20 10:34 pm (UTC)