Tolkien e-books finally legal

[davem]

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/83096-page.html

The Hobbit is priced £6.99, and the three individual Lord of the Rings titles as well as The Children of Húrin are priced £7.99. The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy can be bought for £19.99. On the decision to price the e-books on parity with their physical counterparts, Roth-Ey added: "We wanted to preserve the value of the works but also sell them at a consumer-friendly price."

HarperCollins will follow the digital publication of these titles with The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (£18.99), The Silmarillion (£7.99) and Unfinished Tales (£7.99) on 5th May. These e-book releases are timed to coincide with the hardback of the previously unpublished The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún.

Further titles in Tolkien's back catalogue will follow later this year with the publisher aiming to release The History of Middle Earth, Tales from the Perilous Realm and Letters from Father Christmas first.

[Lush]

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.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Lush

[/qAnyone on here buying?

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]

[Mithalwen]

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...

[davem]

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...

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

I'll have to take out a membership in the party to the Luddite extreme. Absolutely not, in my case...

Could it be someone out there shares my disdain for the ways in which modern technology subverts personal relationships, destroys any last vestiges of privacy and solitude, and will eventually bring about the end of humanity? Well, maybe not the last bit.
I have no interest in the e-book medium, myself.

[Beregond]

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.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Beregond

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.

.

Er, no - if you check out the small print on the Harper Collins e-book site http://uk.perfectbound.ret.overdrive.com/38A9AEE9-10F3-4756-AD02-7244B7138B3D/10/134/en/EBookDetails.htm?ID={4875ED44-FCF6-4414-B518-F3323152E3DF} you find (bottom of the page)

E-book Usage Information
Adobe EPUB eBook
Adobe EPUB eBook
Copy: allowed, but limited to 34 selections
Print: allowed, but limited to 34 pages

May be ok for searching, but be careful what you copy & paste - cos you ain't got many chances of doing it.