Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ebook

Kindle for cookbooks?

kindall — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:12:49 -0800

Anyone using an Amazon Kindle e-book reader primarily for cookbooks? Anyone using an Amazon Kindle e-book reader primarily for cookbooks? What are your experiences like? Would you recommend it? DX or regular? What annoyances have you encountered, if any? Users of other e-book readers are also invited to comment.

Which E-Book Reader is most natural at highlighting books and documents?

roundrock — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:37:04 -0800

I'm looking for the best E-Book Reader that will easily highlight the text. I'm in grad school and am an inveterate highlighter. I can't seem to find a review discussing which reader is best at this feature - Amazon Kindle, Sony Daily, or B&N nook?

ebook or ubook

esemay — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:26:19 -0800

Looking for the best e-book reader. (depends on how you define best) I preordered a noon from BN.com, but having second thoughts. Asking the hive, what is the best e-book reader in your opinion for reading all types of PDFs. I'm going to be reading pdfs printed from online pages, e-books from multiple sources, scanned pdfs. But I don't care about e-book stores (so I could live without wireless if it's easy to copy files via usb)

What are the great foundational essays about the web?

dbarefoot — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:02:52 -0800

What are the great foundational essays about the web? Big picture essays that can help Normal Humans understand the profound impact that the web is having on community, commerce, communications and so many other parts of our lives. My friend and I are constantly recommending the same foundational essays--"1000 True Fans", "The Next Economy of Ideas" and so forth--to clients, colleagues, students and so forth. We thought we'd compile these into a book--a toolkit for getting the web. Assuming we can secure author permissions, we'll publish an ebook and maybe a hardcopy version, donating any profits to the EFF. For now, we're looking for recommendations for your favorite essays about the web.

Which ebook reader?

Iax — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:31:51 -0800

Whats the best eBook reader I could get for Christmas? And dont say kindle Im in Canada so the kindle is useless.
I want some thing with an e-ink screen for reading during long trips.

The one I was interested in was the Sony Reader, I was hoping that their big announcement would be good, but its basically a Sony kindle (useless in canada).

I've tried the two sony ones out at the store and I liked the functionality and expandability of the touch screen one, but the screen on the smaller non-touchscreen one was much better looking.

So what's new in ebook readers? Whats coming in time for Xmas?

Where can I find web designers?

ZackTM — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:50:00 -0800

I wrote a book, now I want to release it for free as an attractive website. Whats the best marketplace these days for folks who rock at graphics/layout/navigation design and don't have to be as skilled at the copy? So I have decided to just release my book on the web for free, and I'd like to ditch my unawesome website for a totally awesome redesigned one. I'm even willing to pay several hundreds of dollars for this.

I already have all the content, website ideas and coverart. I just need someone to take that, make it into an attractive, easy to read web format and help me publish it. I'd like to put some google ads or something like that as well to cover the costs in the long run.

Is iFreelance.com the best place for me to post this project and take bids? What else is out there?

Any mefites want to speculate on whats a good price for this kind of thing?

How can I integrate video into my eBooks?

woodblock100 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:44:37 -0800

Where are we going with video integration into eBooks?

I have been selling instructional eBooks for a few years now, and it is a steadily growing part of my 'business'. I'm about to begin exploring production of video instructional material, but rather than produce a stand-alone DVD, I would really like to integrate the two formats - written explanatory material, and video demonstration. It seems to me that a how-to manual in eBook form, which incorporated embedded video clips at appropriate points in the text (to demonstrate the techniques being described) would be an excellent way to present the material.

At present, I could easily prepare links in my eBooks that 'jump out' to video content stored on the web, but that is only practical if the reader is viewing the eBook in a browser, and there would still be a 'disconnect' in the presentation. I can well imagine that a product like the upcoming Apple iPad (or whatever they're going to call it) will have the capability of displaying eBooks and of course playing video, but how do you think this will be integrated?

I really think that a 'book with inline video' would make a dynamite format for the kind of material I wish to present. Any ideas on 1) how this is going to be done in the 'next generation', or 2) how it can be done now?

Ebook vendor for pulp scifi?

rr — Sat, 23 May 2009 21:57:17 -0800

Does anyone sell Ace Doubles and other similar pulp scifi in ebook format? I have a pile of 50s through 70s science fiction (varieties of ace doubles and similarly pulpy awful-but-good standalone novels) that I would really like to stop moving from apartment to apartment. The new Kindle DX is finally an ebook reader that looks good enough to buy and I'd like to find a source for novels of this sort, Amazing magazine, ...

I want to put a web site on my Kindle.

grumblebee — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:20:06 -0800

Is there a simple way to convert a multi-page website to a mobi-format book for reading on a Kindle? The site contains html-text plus graphics, but no interactivity. It's an online computer manual. It has a home page, which is a table of contents. Each item in the contents links to a different web page.

The individual pages are composed of text and screenshots of the application.

I want to be able to read this manual on my Kindle, rather than on my laptop. I don't want to read it on the crappy Kindle web-browser, because I won't always be able to be online. (My apartment is in a Sprint dead zone.)

I assume that I'd have to make one big web page out of all the site pages and then convert from html to mobi.

Is there a way to turn a site into a single page?

Is there a way to then turn that page into a mobi document (or something else the Kindle reads) that still contains images?

How can I transfer text and pdf files to my iPhone?

zardoz — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:30:38 -0800

Transferring files (namely txt and pdf files) to the iPhone 3G, how is it done? I broke it out of jail already, so what's my next step? I have an Intel iMac running Leopard and a 3G iPhone. I "jailbroke" the thing the other day with the Pwnage Tool and have a few Cydia apps running.

What I am really interested in is reading txt and pdf files on this iPhone, really the main reason I jailbroke it in the first place. There are some good ebook readers like Stanza, eReader, and Kindle on the iTunes app store, but I need help in transferring the pdf or txt file from my iMac to the iPhone and able to be read by one of those book readers.

I've seen a few methods in which you use WiFi, but alas, I don't have a WiFi connection, so that's out. I've tried out PhoneView, but it doesn't seem to be the right program for the job.

So to reiterate, how can I transfer the txt and pdf files on my computer to my iPhone and read them with an ebook reader?

Print Downloader's Name on PDF Ebook

junger — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:09:55 -0800

Is there an automated way to print a person's name on a PDF when they fill out a Web form to get it? Like, "this printed for your name here" I want to distribute an ebook as a PDF. Rather than use some DRM scheme, I want to publish the downloader's name on the footer of the PDF.

So on the footer of every page it will say, "This printed for _____ (your name here)"

The downloader will insert their name into a Web form, their "custom" PDF will be created in the background, and then they'll get a link to download.

I know this can be done; the guys at 37signals do it with their Getting Real ebook (https://gettingreal.37signals.com/).

How can this be done? FWIW, I will be using Wordpress to manage the site and PayPal for payments. Server supports PHP and Ruby.

Skindle

dbgrady — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:12:03 -0800

I bought a Kindle 2. Amazon lists a paltry selection of covers and skins. I want a good one. I drop things, a lot. Sometimes I spill things. I've got an Otterbox for my iPhone and love it, but don't necessarily need something quite so rugged. Mostly, I want to use my Kindle all the time, but don't want it to get grimy, worn or ragged.

Based on your Kindle 1 experiences, what is the best brand of skin or case to get for my device?

How do I run dynamic ads inside an ebook?

darth_tedious — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:04:13 -0800

Dynamic Advertising: How do I put it in an ebook? I'd like to 1) put advertising that is a) dynamic (and changeable from a script on my site) and b) CPM (paid per exposure, rather than per action) into 2) an ebook, either pdf or exe. Any suggestions on the best way to do this? Thanks!

How to create my own books for Classics.app?

tksh — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:45:41 -0800

How would I automate converting Project Gutenberg books into ebooks for Classics.app on the iPhone? Or more specifically, I have recently finished reading some classics on the wonderful Classics program for the iPhone/iTouch and I want to start adding my own favourites for on-the-go reading.

I've figured out that each book in Classics is just a collection of PDF files, one for each chapter, and a simple XML file that acts as a chapters index. The PDF page have a specific size and I have a Pages template and some defined styles that have the right margin, page size, font size, styling and all.

I've done a simple book with a few chapters as a test and they showed up great but it was incredibly tedious. Basically, for each chapter:

Create a new blank document in Pages and apply the saved page size settings

Copy and paste the chapter text into the document

Apply a title style to the chapter heading and a paragraph style to everything else

Run a quick find-and-replace to convert straight quotes into smart quotes

Save file with relevant meta info (in case I need to manually touch-up)

Finally, print as PDF with relevant meta info

Is there any way to automate all this? I'm OK with scripting and am willing to learn Latex if that is the way but I'd rather use Applescript and use the Pages engine to format, hyphenate and style everything.

Wikibook -> ebook?

Jonathan Harford — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:06:50 -0800

How can I convert HTML+Javascript+CSS to RTF (or plain HTML)? I'm trying to put a Wikibook on my phone to read on the subway. The "Printable Version" (Example) of each article appears to be simple HTML, but looking at the source reveals that there's a whole lot of element-hiding javascript in there. It just plain crashes µBook.

I tried copying the page into MS Word, but then all the hidden links and elements appear.

Is there a way to save post-javascript HTML? (Or, better yet, RTF -- so the pictures get embedded?)

Creating an ebook out of images of individual pages

symbollocks — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:22:49 -0800

I scanned a book. I want to take the images of individual pages and turn them into a pdf ebook. How? What program makes this easy? I tried using pdf printers like primopdf and pdfcreator but they leave a lot of whitespace around the image (like it is printing to paper, but I just want each page of the pdf to be cropped to the size of the image itself), pages get turned upside down, and these programs have problems with large images (automatically downsizing images, etc.), etc. etc.

FYI, I've got access to windows and linux. I don't want to have to buy anything either.

Portable pdf reading - what's the way to go?

sien — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:38:20 -0800

What would you recommend for a compact device that reads pdfs? I've recently started train commuting and have 30 minutes on a regular basis to read. There are quite a few large pdfs that I read. I've been using a PSP but it doesn't work well. I'm currently looking at an ipod touch, eee PC, Aspire One, Nokia n800 and would consider anything else that people recommend. ( more inside ) I've been using a PSP with bookr but have found that it crashes on sizable pdfs and often won't display the pdf at a readable resolution without needing to constantly scroll across the page.

The ipod touch is almost a good solution. It just that it appears that you have to email pdfs to yourself to view them and that you can't view them in landscape mode. Perhaps these problems can be overcome by jail breaking the device but I'm not sure.

My Nokia 6110's adobe reader will view everything and work right, but with constant scrolling due to the device's small size it doesn't work well either.

Does anyone have experience with the Nokia internet tablets? There are some cheaply available on ebay Australia so they are also potentially a viable option.

In the end, if you want to read large pdfs do you really have to have a PC? A cheap eee PC or Aspire one might be what's required.

Are any of the epaper devices capable of handling large, graphics containing pdfs? I'm in Australia so the Kindle is probably not viable.

At any rate, it'd be great to have the experiences and opinions from the Blue as to what to do.

(and just as an aside, I regularly read normal books on the train and enjoy that too, it's just that some stuff is more readily available as pdfs)

updated adwords ebook

mamessner — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:14:22 -0800

Is there a continually-updated ebook about AdWords/Paid Search marketing that's worth buying? With the rapid changes Google has made lately to AdSense/AdWords, I'm finding that my AdWords (paper) books are continually becoming obsolete. I found an SEO ebook (can't remember the name) that is continually updated with changes as they come up: buying the ebook is like buying a subscription to all future releases of the eBook.

Is there something like this for AdWords? I know blogs somewhat handle this, but I'm looking for more of a reference that I can come back to and know that it's updated with the most recent changes.

Also taking suggestions for great AdWords ebooks in general - especially ones that would be current enough to include the most recent (last week's) changes to how AdWords handles Quality Scores.

I want to read, but I can't!

InsanePenguin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:11:41 -0800

Is there any way to convert .lrf's to anything readable on OS X? I sold my Sony Reader because I much prefer a real book and I never really used it. This did leave me with a problem, and I'm an idiot.

I really should have finished my small library of books that I had for it, but I didn't and now I regret selling the Reader. I don't really want to buy another just to read 14 books. Can I convert the .lrf's that I have to .pdf, or is there any way to read them on my computer?

OS X 10.4, but I do have access to Windows (Vista, blech)

Cheap device for song lyric display?

rhys — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:58:18 -0800

I'm looking to use some kind of tablet device, pocket pc, or possibly even e-book reader to display lyrics and chords for me while playing guitar. Criteria: cheap, readable, hackable, in that order. Budget - cheaper is better, $100 is ok, for $200 it should be stellar.

It needs to be able to display text files, and that's about it. It would be great if the screen was big enough to display a whole page, but I usually condense lyrics and chords, so it's not essential.

It would also be great if I could hook up some kind of device to scroll up and down and change songs. Could be a keyboard input, whatever.

I figure that you hardware hacker types must know something about discontinued devices that can be had on eBay. Thanks!

E-book reader that will handle fuzzy PDFs

grobstein — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:28:30 -0800

Is there an e-book reader that comfortably displays PDFs made by scanning type (i.e., PDFs that are images and don't have plain text data)? I could see myself getting a ton of use out of one of the modern e-book readers, and may be willing to buy an expensive one. But I haven't been able to figure out whether there's one that will do what I want.

In particular, I want to be able to read PDF scans of print journal articles, gleaned from various online sources. These PDFs often do not have any text data in them. In addition, they can be somewhat fuzzy. Here are a couple examples (first pages): [1][2].

I'm worried this sort of thing won't be comfortably readable on an e-book reader screen, either because of display issues or conversion issues.

Can someone with experience clear this up?

Any Mefites with experience selling products via digital delivery?

Gerard Sorme — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:39:37 -0800

I am looking at different methods of digital delivery/download/payment. (I have an ebook I will soon be offering.) PayPal offers this directly, I am somewhat familiar with e-junkie and I know there are others. Do we have any Mefites who have used any of these services, or knows of someone who has, and can share their experience? Suggestions? In advance, as always -- thank you!

How to get Kindle books into Amazon Kindle while outside United States?

omaralarifi — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:28:27 -0800

Can I get Amazon Kindle books into my Kindle even while I am not in the United States? My friend gave a wonderful gift which is Amazon Kindle. If I want to order kindle-version book from amazon, can I still get it even when I am outside the united states?
I heard they send the order in wireless manner, but is it possible I can just download the book through USB from Amazon website even when I don't have Amazon Wireless connection? If not, what is the best way to buy and get Kindle books in my Kindle while I am outside of United States?
Thanks

Which eBook Format Should I Toss All My Eggs In?

CheeseburgerBrown — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:12:48 -0800

I don't have an ebook reader. If you do, can you tell me your preferred format for receiving cool stuff? I want to make my publications available to those on the go, downloadable via my website. I am not interested in employing any kind of copy-protection technology. I just want to choose a format that will work for the most common ebook readers, with the least amount of hassle for me or for the end-user. Plain text is too plain because I enjoy italics, so I need to move up one step. The content currently exists in UTF-8 XHTML, and has no image or multimedia requirements. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Best ebook library management tool?

thedaniel — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:37:24 -0800

What is the best ebook library management software you mefites can recommend? I've googled about a bit and found some things that didn't look too promising or were not available on either of my platforms of choice. What I'd like is a total library management solution, similar to what iTunes or Amarok does for music. I have a Linux workstation as well as a Mac, so I would like suggestions for non-Windows tools only, unless the tool is so superior that it's worth the hassle getting it working with Wine or somesuch.