Helene

Scott Adams published in 2005 a book named God’s debris that can be downloaded. Some of you may recognize the authors name - Scott Adams is the creator of Dilbert and he also have a blog that I subscribe to. The blog is regularly updated and he has interesting takes, though he is very interested in how economists would think (he has a very rational take on things) and his visions about the future is… well, enough to make me question his sanity sometimes.
Synopsis

Imagine that you meet a very old man who—you eventually realize—knows literally everything. Imagine that he explains for you the great mysteries of life—quantum physics, evolution, God, gravity, light, psychic phenomenon, and probability—in a way so simple, so novel, and so compelling that it all fits together and makes perfect sense. What does it feel like to suddenly understand everything? God’s Debris isn’t the final answer to the Big Questions. But it might be the most compelling vision of reality you will ever read. The thought experiment is this: Try to figure out what’s wrong with the old man’s explanation of reality.

Brandon Sanderson (and Robin Hobb) is one of my favorite authors. He writes science fiction and fantasy books. Recently tor.com published the first story he wrote, Firstborn, and it’s freely available as download or online reading (you might have to log in to be allowed to download). Tor.com releases drm-free ebooks regularly, so I would recommend getting an account there and start discovering new authors.

He has also made his book, Warbreaker, available for free on his website. It’s a good book. It’s the first book I read by him and afterwards I have swallowed everything he writes.

Tor.com’s statement:

Brandon Sanderson is well-known as the author of Elantris (2005), the novel Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (2007), and the three-part Mistborn series consisting of Mistborn (2006), The Well of Ascension (2007), and The Hero of Ages (2008). And he’s an object of enormous public curiosity as the writer who was recruited by Robert Jordan’s wife-and-editor Harriet McDougal to finish the epic Wheel of Time series after Jordan’s untimely death in 2007. (A Memory of Light, by Jordan and Sanderson, will appear in 2009.)

Now Tor.com is pleased to present the original novelette “Firstborn,” a tale of war and sibling rivalry that happens to also be Brandon Sanderson’s first published work of out-and-out science fiction. Illustrated by Hugo-winning artist Donato Giancola, “Firstborn” is SF like it used to be. Enjoy

I sometimes have to convert between ebook formats, and that is a common scenario for ebook readers who often experience that ebooks are available as free pdf downloads. The trouble is that the pdf’s usually aren’t displayed nicely on ebook devices, but displays nicely on computer screens. Another issue is that a specific ebook might be available in formats that are not supported by the ebook device that one currently use. So what to do?

I have several options I use (that only works for DRM free ebooks):

• Calibre can convert most formats to epub, mobipocket, lit or lrf. It’s freeware and available for windows, macosx and linux. The user interface for converting an ebook to another format is easy, though have only epub or lrf options. Calibre has terminal/console commands to do the same work (which gives more options): any2epub, any2lit and any2lrf

  

• Windows only: For converting from pdf/html etc. to mobipocket (prc/mobi) I use Mobipocket creator (freeware). It does a good job in converting to mobi books, the downside is that it’s only available for windows. I’m a Mac and Linux user, so this is a hassle for me. Fortunatly I have an old laptop with XP on, so I somehow make it work (anybody wants to donate a windows vista license to me?)

• For converting from prc/mobi/html/text/epub to prc/mobi/html/text/epub one can use Stanza (also freeware), and it’s available for windows, mac and iphone.Personally this haven’t worked out so well for me. When reading converted ebooks to prc using stanza, then my iRex iLiad displays the ebook, but there is no paragrahs and chapters. It’s a continues flow of text that is tiresome to read.When converting an ebook to epub, my iRex iLiad isn’t able to read them at all, it only crashes even though I have FBReader installed on it.

A great resource to get started is MobileReads EBook Conversion Software and Freeware page.

If you have any suggestions and experiences, I would love to hear about it.

An ebook can be published in multiple formats. An ebook (file) format is a predefined data representation of how a digital book is to be stored and displayed on a computer/device. Ebooks today are published using multiple formats like Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader and Adobe Reader to name a few.

What these formats have in common is that they are proprietary (owned by a company). This means that to publish ebooks in a proprietary format one has to buy a (software) license to be able to publish books in that format. A publisher doesn’t have access to the format itself (the grimy details of how a table of contents is represented in data for example), and are locked to the limitations set by the format owner. The software provider has exclusive control over the format/technology.

So, the publisher owns the book (content), but have to use a specific software to retrieve it. To share the book requires the receivers to have software that can read it, and again may be locked to one software provider (can’t use competing software). Or a competing software producer have to purchase a license to obtain compability with the format in question.

Example of locked formats are mobi/prc and lit.

So what effect does all of this have on us book lovers?

• Ebook readers are locked to formats supported by their ebook device/reader. Ebooks aren’t always made available in all formats at once, so one have to wait until it do. There have been many incidents where Amazon ebooks aren’t made available to non-kindle people, or where a book is published in a different formats at later times.
• Operating system hassles. Ebook software which simplifies ebook transfers/management like Mobipocket Reader/Creator supports only Windows, and there’s a big Mac and Linux world out there.
• One becomes locked to software provided by the format owner.
• If an ebook device reads a format poorly, converting between formats can be a hassle.
• When ebook reader software becomes updated, previously purchased ebooks may become outdated/not supported/unreadable.
• When purchasing a new ebook reader, it may not support previously purchased ebooks.

Now, there is an open industry standard (format) for ebooks called EPUB, but at the time of writing it’s not supported by all ebook readers.  I also haven’t written about DRM. I will probably write about that at a later time.

Every book addict have come across periods where one doesn’t know what to read next. I have gone several years where I didn’t read books. I was tired of reading only mediocre books, and had lost the drive. When a ex-colleague told me about Robin Hobb (an author) and lent me some books, I was hooked again. That eventually lead me to buying irex iliad. Since I discovered ebook readers, I rediscovered books. I found a fountain of new authors and books. Still, it’s good to know where to look when a new dry period comes.

There are some websites that takes care of that need. They creates list based upon books you’ve read and suggests similar books that other people have found entertaining.

Beware that I have not tested these sites, so I would love to hear what your experience is.

http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com: Enter a book you like and the site will analyse our database of real readers’ favourite books (over 47,000 and growing) to suggest what you could read next. Doesn’t require a registration, though it probably would make it easier to come up with suggestions.

My impression: Very simplistic.

http://www.librarything.com/: Enter what you’re reading or your whole library—it’s an easy, library-quality catalog. LibraryThing also connects you with people who read the same things.

My impression: A site containing a lot for what book lovers search for.

goodreads.com: Have you ever wanted a better way to see what your friends are reading? keep track of what you’ve read and what you’d like to read? get great book recommendations from people you know?

shelfari.com: Shelfari is the premier social network for people who love books. Create a virtual shelf to show off your books, see what your friends are reading and discover new books

fantasticfiction.co.uk:  Find all the books (and in the correct order) by various authors.Contains information on forthcoming books. Look up an author and find book recommendations made by that author.

stopyourekillingme.com: Stop, You’re Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books.

literature-map.com shows authors who produce work similiar to the author you input.

If none of these sites manage to arouse the book worm in you, then you have to be illiterate.

The norwegian library central is ready to lend ebooks, the only problem is that there is no books to lend. The Norwegian publishers have no ebooks to deliver, even though all books are delivered as digital books when they go out for printing.

According to an article in aftenposten, the Norwegian publishers did try to publish ebooks in the 90’s and it failed miserably. I lived in the nineties and I can’t remember any such thing, though I’m very curious if anybody else remembers something about it. Most likely they were a bit too early out, chickened out without accepting the economical implications the long term investment it would be.

The library central is using a system named DiViLib (Digital virtual library) to lend ebooks,audio books, films and music over the web. This system is already in use at Stockholms Stadsbibliotek (state library) and last year 23 400 ebooks were lend out. Not a big number, but still acceptable when every ebook has a lending time of 2 - 4 weeks.

Now things are about to change. The national library and the publishers union has signed an agreement to store norwegian books digitally. During the first three years it will be voluntary for the publishers to deliver digital editions of books, and the digital books will only be available for search on the library premises to begin with. This initiative is primarily for researchers, and not for everyday people.

It’s a start at least.

There’s a multitude of stores where one can buy ebooks. The list below contains the most common ones.

DRM free ebook stores:

PanMacmillan offers ebooks of any sjangre.
Webscription contains a multitude of science fiction & fantasy books. One can purchase single ebooks or a webscription which is s monthly release of multiple books and costs only 15$. A bargain.
No Starch Press and O’Reilly offers computer textbooks.

Ebook stores that will offer ebooks in the epub format:

Penguin Books will offer epub releases of their catalogue by the end of 2008.
HarperCollins will offer epub releases of their epub release this month according to an article in thebookseller.com

Common bookstores:

Books On Board - Have the best selection of ebooks and offers ebooks for the same price or lower than Fictionwise.
Fictionwise - Have very good offers on ebooks where one can practically get books for free via Micropay rewards.