Tolkien on the Kindle

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by LadyBrooke

I think part of people's reactions to the Kindle might be a generational thing. I'm seventeen so to me the idea of reading something that isn't a physical object isn't odd.

I'm younger than you, but I still think it's odd to read a book that isn't a physical book.

[LadyBrooke]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I'm younger than you, but I still think it's odd to read a book that isn't a physical book.

It's definitely a bit odd. I didn't mean to sound like it wasn't but -and this is more a vibe I'm getting on other websites - some people think that because it's different, it's automatically bad.

I'm never going to completely give up my physical books for my Kindle. I love the smell of books and anybody who knows me can tell that I frequently buy editions just based off the fact that the it has better illustrations then another edition like my copy of TH which is something you can't get on the Kindle. My desktop is currently housing my entire collection of Tolkien books so I can reference them while I'm writing my paper for European History. At the same time it's nice to be able to bookmark multiple sections in a book and make notes without having to physically write in my book or have a dozen bookmarks sticking out all over.

Some books just don't adapt well either. I mentioned above that the sample from Letters from Father Christmas just doesn't look right.

[Dilettante]

No one has yet mentioned that JRRT himself would likely be horrified by the idea of an e-reader. He didn't even like internal combustion engines, and barely read any "modern" literature, like anything written after 1066.

That being said, I too got a Kindle for Christmas. (The smaller 6" one) I was skeptical at first. I LOVE books. I love the smell, feeling the weight of one as I hold or carry it, the rustle of the pages. I get emotionally attached to my books, and have relationships with them.

However I LOVE my Kindle. I have a bad habit of reading several books at once, so being able to put numerous volumes on a small grey device rather than lug around a big bag of books has been a relief. Also, I can have audio books on it as well. So one can keep them and the reading books all in one place. And, the electronic ink really does look like the page of a book, so there is no glare. The battery life is also amazing. I use mine every day, haven't plugged it in for about a week, and it still has about 70% power.

Now, I have not put any Tolkien on my Kindle. Namely, because I already have all three LOTR in one beautiful red leather-bound volume. (Which has drawn some odd looks from coworkers when reading it in the break room.) I wanted to get Tales from the Perilous Realm on my Kindle, but it is not available in Kindle. (Also, if any of the illustrations are color, that will be a moot point with a black and white screen). I own on paper LOTR, The Hobbit, the Book of Lost Tales (1st or second edition, I can't remembe)r, Unfinished Tales (2nd edition) and The Tale of the Children of Hurin. I probably will in the future put something by Tolkien that I do not already own on my Kindle (I'm just going to dreadfully miss the Elvish and Runic title pages) provided there are no color illustrations.

Are the Elvish scripts and Runes included in the e-reader versions?

[davem]

Ok - admission - I recently bought LotR for my Kindle - can't see me buying anything else, but I couldn't help myself - I just felt it ought to be on there - plus, as a bit of a collector, & having over a dozen editions of LotR, from my original Allen & Unwin 3 vol slipcased paperback set from the mid 70's, through a first ed hardback set from 1966, the Alan Lee deluxe, 3 different 50th anniversary editions & a load of different p/b sets, I wanted to have the latest edition.

So, its nice to have it. That said, there are typos (Barad Dur becoming Barad Duen at one point - and as its a locked file you can't just overtype it. The maps are TERRIBLE - miniscule & completely unreadable (there is a 'zoom' function - which seems to magnify the map 1.1x & is therefore pointless as they're still unreadable). The Cirth & Tengwar are reproduced very well - which makes the typos especially annoying. A further annoyance if you're reading on your PC is that you can't rotate the maps so they appear side on. I'm not sure about the hyperlinks to the footnotes/apppendices - handy, but look 'wrong' in a novel.

I can't see me reading the book on the Kindle for the reasons given above, but its there as another edition.

(Oh, & on the Kindle only side of the subject, for those who don't know about it, download Project Gutenberg's 'Magic Catalogue' - appears as a 'book' on your kindle but is actually a collection of links to P.G.'s whole catalogue & one click loads them directly onto your Kindle - like the Kindle Store - so you don't have the hassle of DL-ing them to your computer & then transferring them over)

[davem]

Well, poping back to this thread

I actually gave up on the Kindle LotR & as I was within a week of purchase I got it wiped by Amazon & a full refund. The typos proved too much in the end.

Actually glad I did, because Harper Collins, the publishers have now surpassed themselves - even for a company owned by Rupert Murdoch:

HarperCollins sets 26-checkout cap on its library e-books http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/harpe...brary-e-books/

The publisher also issued a short statement: "HarperCollins is committed to the library channel. We believe this change balances the value libraries get from our titles with the need to protect our authors and ensure a presence in public libraries and the communities they serve for years to come."

What presence? The presence that budget-crunched libraries can’t afford to purchase again once they’re loaned out 26 times? Great move, HC!

Of course, the idea is that printed books wear out after a certain number of lendings (30-35, says this librarian). And since the publishing industry never tires of thinking up ways to make e-books act more like print, this sort of thing probably should have been expected sooner or later. Needless to say, librarians and their partisans are upset, and a Twitter protest is going on under the hashtag #hcod.

It’s unclear whether, like agency pricing, this practice is going to spread to the other publishers. I wonder if any of them will realize just how bad this is making HarperCollins look. I mean, come on, libraries are having enough budget trouble already, and it’s not like you’re going to make a huge amount of money off of them in any case. And they expose people to your books who might decide they like them enough to buy them in another form. Do you really want to go this way, HarperCollins? Seriously?

So there we are, at a time when libraries in the UK are being shut down in their hundreds due to government spending cuts, Tolkien's publisher decides to cause a little more mischief, in a mean way. I no longer buy new physical editions of Tolkien books on principle, & I'll now make sure I avoid HC's ebooks - even if that means not getting e-copies at all.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by davem

I no longer buy new physical editions of Tolkien books on principle, & I'll now make sure I avoid HC's ebooks - even if that means not getting e-copies at all.

If you shun buying the actual books as well as the e-versions, what options are you left with? Used copies from second-hand shops? That's actually where my "working" copies come from.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

If you shun buying the actual books as well as the e-versions, what options are you left with? Used copies from second-hand shops? That's actually where my "working" copies come from.

The older (Allen & Unwin) editions are much higher quality than the cheap junk put out by HC. I've got some A&U editions from the '60's & 70's which will outlast the current stuff HC are churning out now - & they can be bought for the same price via Abe Books.