e-books, hardbacks or paperbacks our thoughts.

[Lacivetta]

According to Bookseller (I am sad) the paper bit of the book only makes up 10% of the costs. So don't expect the e variety to be cheaper. With a two bed flat there is limited space for shelves and all I can say about my kindle (and the sony, until it was thieved) is don't knock it til yave tried it (tish boom).

[thaddeus6th]

But the paper bit also has the costs of storage and transport and can suffer shrinkage. ebooks can't.

[Also, is it meant to be ebooks or eBooks, and if the former, should sentences starts 'Ebooks...'?]

[biodroid]

I think it's "eBook" thaddeus6th, like eMail but I could be wrong. My friend bought a Kindle and reckons it's the best thing he has done as he now can have space as he reads fast and buys a lot of books that take up space. He read the LOTR trilogy in 2 days just to give you an idea but he said it was hard going because of the old fashioned style or else he would have done it in a day.

[Lacivetta]

Originally Posted by thaddeus6th

But the paper bit also has the costs of storage and transport and can suffer shrinkage. ebooks can't.

Not so. Can't find it on Bookseller (which I think is where I saw it) however this two links cover it - in the UK eBooks attract VAT too, paper doesn't:

http://behlerblog.wordpress.com/2010...k-cost-anyway/

BookFinder.com Journal: Breakdown of book costs

[AE35Unit]

Originally Posted by Lacivetta

According to Bookseller (I am sad) the paper bit of the book only makes up 10% of the costs. So don't expect the e variety to be cheaper. With a two bed flat there is limited space for shelves and all I can say about my kindle (and the sony, until it was thieved) is don't knock it til yave tried it (tish boom).

Exactly. All the books on my groaning shelves upstairs I could fit on my eReader! Space is at a premium here and if I read books and they don't move me they go on bookmooch.com

[thaddeus6th]

Ah, very interesting links, Lacivetta. Didn't know about VAT either.

Slightly staggered at the cost per page of changing a document into an eBook format.

[Stephen Palmer]

Originally Posted by thaddeus6th

I still use my cassette walkman, albeit for radio. When analogue gets turned off it'll become obsolete

I have a feeling it's not going to be as simple as that. I could see an analogue underground beginning in Britain, especially if there is a big opposition to the demise of analogue. There might be from older listeners/viewers, for instance.

[Lacivetta]

Originally Posted by thaddeus6th

Ah, very interesting links, Lacivetta. Didn't know about VAT either.

Slightly staggered at the cost per page of changing a document into an eBook format.

Thanks - the changing pages to eBook format staggered me slightly. I understand editing (I do some as part of my day job), I understand that it's skilled work and think it should cost money. I don't know what goes into changing a file format, but I suspect it's money for old rope once some software has been written. EDIT: 'im indoors, a computer programmer of many years (and well paid) experience thinks the file conversion charges sound like money for old rope too.

[thaddeus6th]

Ah, good to hear what you and your gentleman friend think. Hehe, if it is money for old rope, perhaps the two of you could collaborate and charge a decent (but lower) price for such a service?

It baffles me, as a technically clueless fellow, just how/why something like that should be difficult and expensive.

[Moggle]

Originally Posted by AE35Unit

Calibre can convert pdf's to any format for any reader. I wouldnt recommend pdfs on a reader!

Are you able to alter the fonts of the pdf to whatever you want in calibre?

[Vertigo]

Originally Posted by Moggle

Are you able to alter the fonts of the pdf to whatever you want in calibre?

The answer is "yes, but" it does get a little complicated (I've only done it a few times) and the results are sometimes a little unpredictable I have found. I generally don't touch that part of it and find the conversion almost alwyas produces perfectly good readable text.

[Moggle]

The reason I ask is because the majority of pdfs I download appear to only use the Times New Roman or courier font which I find to be terrible for reading. I have no idea how it came to be that so many pdfs use this. Are you able to change the fonts on an ereader?

[Vertigo]

Originally Posted by Moggle

The reason I ask is because the majority of pdfs I download appear to only use the Times New Roman or courier font which I find to be terrible for reading. I have no idea how it came to be that so many pdfs use this. Are you able to change the fonts on an ereader?

I don't have a definitive answer to that but on my Sony I haven't seen anywhere you can do that. I can only change the font size. However as I say I'm pretty sure you can on Calibre though I haven't tried myself; I'm pretty ambivalent about the font I'm reading, after all the paper books I read are certainly not all the same font and I have no choice with them.

[Lord Soth]

Well, i've had my Kindle for 2 days now and my (in)expert opinion is that its great!

Took about 5 minutes to get used to it but unless something staggering happens I am a complete convert!

[AE35Unit]

Originally Posted by Vertigo

I don't have a definitive answer to that but on my Sony I haven't seen anywhere you can do that. I can only change the font size. However as I say I'm pretty sure you can on Calibre though I haven't tried myself; I'm pretty ambivalent about the font I'm reading, after all the paper books I read are certainly not all the same font and I have no choice with them.

Well usually you can't change the font on the reader but you can choose which font to use prior to converting with Calibre. I wouldn't recommend using a pdf file on a reader-the formatting tends to be all wrong-better to convert to your reader's native format.