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04-20-2009, 03:43 AM | #1 | |
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
Posts: 4,240
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Tolkien e-books finally legal
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/83096-page.html
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04-21-2009, 10:27 AM | #2 |
Fair and Cold
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I saw! (via Twitter, of all places, which just proves to you that modern social life has drastically changed - or else that I just have none)
Anyone on here buying? All my hand-held technology is not up to par, unfortunately. Would be nice to be able to whip out a particularly fancy mobile device while bored in an airport, and read a chapter or two, but I need to be richer for that. You still can't beat curling up with the murdered trees, though. Technology can be such an irritant, and I fee like with Tolkien, especially with re-reading Tolkien, you want it to be more of a soothing, jazzy experience. Particularly the longer works.
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~The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories. This is one of mine~ |
04-21-2009, 10:45 AM | #3 |
Dead Serious
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I'll have to take out a membership in the party to the Luddite extreme. Absolutely not, in my case...
Of course, the "absolutely" part has more to do with poverty than principle. The simple fact is that I have plenty of paper copies, and I really can't afford buying more. That said, though, I'm inclined to object to electronic books on principle too. Not as something inherently evil, I suppose, but as something that I really don't like. Not just the whole curling up with dead trees--though there is that--so much as, being a good Luddite, I really don't like the idea of technology invasively taking over every part of life. In fact, the more analog, mechanical parts things exist, the happier I'll be (for the most part--yes, I'm a hypocritic). I think I'm with Tolkien, though, for disliking progress for the sake of progress--and electronic books do not strike me as anything other than progress for the sake of progress. Saruman would certainly read his books digitally. Sauron well might. The Númenoreans at the height of their arrogance might. The Hobbits would not. The Elves (post-Fëanor, anyway) would not. I'd rather stick with the Hobbits and Elves here. [/end rant]
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04-21-2009, 11:05 AM | #4 |
Pilgrim Soul
Join Date: May 2004
Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle...
Posts: 9,455
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I don't know the idea of having everything on tap is attractive but I don't find reading a screen as relaxing as a murdered tree ...maybe when my eyes grow dim I will be very grateful to read it on large font. In the mean time what I really would like is an edition like parents' Collins classics - thin paper and soft leather bindings that mean even a substantial novel may slip in to a small pocket...
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“But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.”
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04-21-2009, 01:11 PM | #5 |
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
Posts: 4,240
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And good old Harper Collins is charging exactly the same price for these e-books as for the real thing.....now, real books involve costs for materials, manufacture, shipping, storage, cut for the bookseller, whereas e-book costs involve, er, sending a string of code down the phone line....
And you have nothing physical to show - nothing to put on your shelf, nothing to sell on (if you want), & its hardly a suitable gift for someone. Can't see this move doing away with the illegal e-books out there & I can't see them interesting collectors. Maybe of Harper Collins put them out for a couple of quid each I'd be tempted... |
04-21-2009, 08:30 PM | #6 | |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,036
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I have no interest in the e-book medium, myself.
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04-21-2009, 11:24 PM | #7 |
Playful Ghoul
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,251
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I think it's about time! I've looked for a LotR e-book in the past and have been disgruntled to find they're illegal. Well, finally they're above-board. They will never ever, not for me, replace paper. It isn't the same and that isn't the point. What the e-book is good for is the ability to search within the book, copy and paste quotes, and take with on adventures with a small pack.
Of course, it will promote cheating at quiz games and general laziness, but that's beside the point. E-books are helpful for projects; I've used them in the past few days. For instance having the Bible on the computer is the ultimate time-saver as it allows instant searching for passages. Still, it costs too much so I probably won't buy it, no.
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"Hope and memory shall live still in some hidden valley where the grass is green." |
04-22-2009, 12:44 AM | #8 | ||
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
Posts: 4,240
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04-22-2009, 10:28 AM | #9 |
Playful Ghoul
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,251
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Oh. Should have known they'd limit practicality.
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"Hope and memory shall live still in some hidden valley where the grass is green." |
04-22-2009, 10:39 AM | #10 |
Wight
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 240
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My Macroeconomics book was only available on-line and I absolutely hated it. Mainly not because of principle, or what have you, but currently all I have for my computer desk is a stool - and trying to read for hours a computer screen on a stool is not the most comfortable thing I can think of. I'd much rather have a book, to lay on my very comfy couch or a beanbag chair - whether I'm trying to read Macro (and stay awake) or a good book.
And besides staring at a computer screen for hours is not good foor your eyes.
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04-24-2009, 03:53 AM | #11 |
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
Posts: 4,240
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Well, if you go to the HC site now you'll see they're offering them at 20% off (shame for those who've already bought them) - still not tempted meself tho....
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04-25-2009, 12:48 AM | #12 |
Haunting Spirit
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I bought them from ereader.com for my BlackBerry. Mainly because I visit this site from my 'Berry because I don't have an actual computer and figured it would be handy to have a version with me to read when I'm bored and forget my book.
I paid $22 total for the entire trilogy, The Hobbit, and the Children of Hurin. Ereader.com has them on sale, half off, with an extra 15% with a coupon code, then another 10% for registering with their site. And you earn back a percentage of the books you buy to put towards other book purchases. I didn't think $22 was terribly bad for all that. |
05-05-2009, 04:22 AM | #13 | |
Fair and Cold
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~The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories. This is one of mine~ |
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05-09-2009, 11:32 AM | #14 |
Shade of Carn Dûm
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 435
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In defense of the concept of e-books
On this thread there has been a great deal of talk out against the concept of e-books in thier very principle, and I feel that there is some need for arguments in favor of them. Yes the feel of dead tree (or even better dead linen-cotton) has a certain confort to it and there is an inherent tactile pleasure in a physical book that an electronic one cannot match. But electronic does have its advantages too, one of the main ones of which is that, since it can be made cheaper than a physical book (I know it currently isn't but that's more of a factor of coroprate greed than anything inherent in an e-book), it increses the number of people who can have acess to the work. Some people have complained the don't want the e-books to exist becuse they've already invested so much money in the physical ones. What about a new person to tolkein who would like to read and posess the works but doens have the hundreds of dollars needed to get a complete set? Pubic libraries are nice but they can only get you so far. Ultimately I feel that a knee jerk condemmantion of e-books will lead, not to a resurgance of printed books but a situation in which Tolkein's stories are simply not acessible to most people. The life of the paper book, however lamented the fact is, is likey in it's waning decades, if the cost of priting doesn't destroy it, questions about the environmental inpact will (after environmetal concerns cause everyone to swith over to electroinc sources for their newspapers, magazines bill payments and correspondence, what do you think the next paper thing people are going to start decrying is?). I can sort of sypathize with the anti-tech Luddite desire for things to stay as they are (or go back to a simpler time) but the sad fact is that when a new idea comes along, it's supression doesn't usally result in a re-discovery of the old way (at least not by the general public) but a null state where neither form is available. The fact is that with every new tecnological advancement somthing good and fine is irretrevalbe lost, but that if you shun the change, that fairly quicky you get into a state where the old way become impracticable to preform and eveything is lost.
For example imagine someone decided they were going to produce an ultimate Tolkein volume of the most incredible quality, hand limned in iron-gall ink on finest vellum, fully illuminated with mineral pigments and gilt, bound in finest Morroco leather etc. I'n not saying that such an item would not be intensely beautiful and desirable but it would also be beyond most people budget. Now imagine if that was the only way Tolkien came, or better yet if there were only a few copies made and if you wanted one, you had to hand copy it (as I understand was common practice before cheap mass market printing). For the vast majority this would basically end up workiong out to more effort than they could bear for the story, and they would never read it. utimately If tolkein survived at all it would remain in the hands of a small elite cadre to which few, if any would be admitted over time. I could say more but my wrist tire. |
05-13-2009, 08:34 PM | #15 |
Wight
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 204
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How do they enforce a 34 cut and paste limit? For me, this would be the reason to own a digital version--sure make participating in this Board easier, since when you wanted a quote, you could copy and paste it directly, instead of typing it mistakes and all...
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