I find this unfair because most people cannot afford a new ereader. I admit, some devices are too old to use but aren't we creating more waste by not using what is still working? If amazon wants people to upgrade then they should allow people to trade their old devices for new ones and not just give them 10 dollars gift card for them.
02 - The problem with Overdrive (which I use to borrow public library ebooks) is that, it does not tell you whether a book can be read on certain ereaders unless you borrow books directly from the ereader. (I use a kobo ereader.) Basically when I search for a book at my library's Overdrive website, I had to take a chance whether it can be read on my kobo. Most of the time, if there is a kindle format, it can be read on a kobo which is like 80 to 90% of the time. The only certainty is whether it can be read on a kindle because that's one of the formats that is offered in most library books - why is that anyway? Amazon doesn't even own Overdrive.
The ebook formats usually offered from a library (my public library anyway, I'm in the U.S.) are: Kindle, OverDrive Read (read in a browser), EPUB, Open EPUB, PDF, MediaDo (design for graphic novels but read in a browser) and audio books which I don't use. (Read all about the different formats here).
Supposedly if the ISBN number of an ebook at the kobo store matches the ebook your library had purchased, you can read it on a kobo otherwise you have to sideload the epub version (by using Adobe Digital Edition with authorization of your ereader) or the open epub version (which didn't need authorization).
I got the kobo so I don't have to sideload books or use Adobe Digital Edition because Overdrive is built right on the device and yet I cannot read a book that is an OverDrive format. So maybe sideloading books isn't too hard but it really defeats the purpose of having Overdrive on your device. (Note: OverDrive is the correct term with the capital D but I find it confusing that there is an OverDrive format so I used Overdrive when not referring to the format.)
03 - Last month, when I closed a borrowed library ebook and sync my ereader (a kobo), that book became a preview which is basically a sample which means I cannot continue reading the book. I tried many methods to get the ebook back but nothing works. The only reason a borrowed library becomes a preview if it expired which it didn't. The other reason is if the book's license (which the library had purchased) expired which wouldn't make sense because if it had expired, I wouldn't be able to borrow the book at all. I had return it and borrowed it again but it won't load onto my kobo so I was forced to finish the book on my kindle ereader which I loathed. I know it's a bit of a luxury to have two ereaders but I've been meaning to get rid of my kindle ereader (by selling, trade it in to amazon or giving it away) but I was too lazy. Maybe I should do a giveaway here on this blog? Is it even worth it since it will probably get discontinued in a few years by amazon?
04 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #1 - Using the four-letter f word in a cozy mystery or a cozy book. I had this strange idea that if a book is cozy, it should not be bombarded with four-letter f word, to sort of give it a tame and friendly feeling but this seems not to be true.
I recently tried to read a book that is a contemporary/fantasy-ish kind of cozy book but I couldn't stand that the main female character who is forty-something keeps using the four-letter f word and even use it as a verb. A character can curse when they are frustrated and angry but doing it like a natural habit is not something I like. Sometimes I think of this using the four-letter f word is a sign of immaturity that I cannot accept in older characters. Or am I weird to think that? And why was it necessary for a forty-something woman to curse? Is this a dumb reason not to read/continue a book?
05 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #2 - Having a main character who sleeps in a tent on the beach and having casual sex with the lifeguard. I didn't read this book (which is also a first book in a series) but I read this synopsis and this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. As a grown woman, she can do the latter but to sleep in a tent on a beach on a daily basis is baffling especially since she can afford real housing. Why isn't she worrying about the weather or the sand or the sun or someone coming up on her and attacking her or murdering her in her sleep? And also, because she's a cop, there might be criminals who she put away and maybe want to kill her or harm her. How many dumb reasons do you need to not do this? Plus she has a dog - I would think to be a responsible pet owner, you should have a real place, if not for yourself, for your dog.
06 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #3 - Having one of the main character's wife killed so he can be a broody mentor to some new youngster - why should this make sense? Can not a mentor have a wife, a happy family life, while still teaching his new student? Why did he need to have something tragic to provoke him to take on a student? Or rather, why did he have to be a gloomy fellow? Does having a dead wife made him a better mentor? Or perhaps the question to ask is, why do we need this? Or perhaps the real question is since this is a sequel series re-starter, why ruin the happiness of a character to continue a series? I can't accept this so this is another petty reason for not reading.
07 - I recently encountered a male author who wrote under the pseudonym of a fake female author who had a fake bio (on goodreads). This author wrote books with main female characters which annoys me more. This is surprising but at the same time I find this disturbing. When female authors used male pseudonyms, they don't pretend to be male (as far as I can tell). I may be bias about this. I think male authors had no need or reason to pretend to be females.
Since fictional authors (tv characters and such) can author books, why not fake authors? But we know those fictional character authors are fake unlike this male author pretending to be this female author who is fake but not every reader would know unless they go about researching it. But still, what is the point of writing as a fake female author?
Do you have a complaint about your reading or books in general?
My old kindle wasn't working well after I had dropped it several times, so I bought a new one which is much smaller and lighter in weight, and when I activated it I found my entire kindle library of just over 400 books transferred itself. So I am reading through those before buying new ones, I usually choose the free or the cheapest books, but some aren't as good as I thought they would be, so I don't finish them, I don't like books with too much of the F word and I don't like books that are so filled with "heavy hot passion" there is not much room for the actual story. I also have real books stacked on my bedside waiting to be read, but the same rules apply, not too much of the F word etc.
ReplyDeleteRiver: It really is pretty easy to get free books but most I find aren't as good so I too have a bunch or half-finished books on my kindle. I think even heavy hot passion books need not to use the f word or others.
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I didn't realize that Amazon will no longer work with older Kindles. I have an old one, so I will have to check into that. I don't like to hear excessive use of F#$% whether in speech or in a book.
ReplyDeleteLive and Learn: The change only reflects on older kindles but there are tons of such users. I guess I'm too use not cursing that I don't like seeing the f word in books.
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Overdrive usually lists the format. If you click the book to get to the detail, the formats available are on the upper right side. I learned my lesson when I didn't check and could not read the book on my kindle. It was frustrating.
ReplyDeleteSamantha: Overdrive does usually lists the format but it does not tell you which ereaders can read those formats other than the kindle. But yes, there are books that don't have kindle formats but you can sideload them/directly load them into the kindle to read them. But it really is easier to just sync your kindle/ereader instead of sideloading.
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Crazy things ... ;) This only strengthens my resolve to read only paper books. The F-word does not bother me half as much as sex in a book, casual or not. I find it boring to read about.
ReplyDeleteI can actually understand a male writer using a female pen name. A lot of people cut female authors more slack.
In days of old females did the same by staying anonyomous and using a male name (or initials only), so that anybody assumed that they were male. They did not write false bios, as SoMe and Goodread had yet to be invented, but a bio like: A.M. Petersen lives in Dorset, with partjner and two cats, working as a part time taxi driver when not writing. No lies, only not the whole truth, and no pronouns used ;)
Charlotte: Ereaders can be a bit problematic. But there is a downside to everything. I guess it depends on what you are willing to put up with.
DeleteDo people cut women more slack than men? Considering the publishing industry and most industries are dominated by men, it seem men have the advantage so why he pretend to be a female to take away the away opportunities that could have been given to a real female? Shouldn't women be angry at this? Perhaps authors should remind anonymous so they can be judge equally without gender bias.
I did read a couple of bios written that way but they don't pretend to be someone else, do they?
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If a book is romance fiction, I've heard that male authors will often present themselves as female authors because it's such a heavily female-dominated field, both in terms of authors and readers.
ReplyDeleteDebra: I don't read much romance so I don't know. Maybe it's better not to know the gender of the author.
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Your ereader/ebooks complaints are all valid, but alas...we're supposed to keep the economy afloat by buying new things even if the old ones still do their job...(sighs).
ReplyDeleteWriting a fake bio is really something else. For goodness' sake.
Roberta: I guess we should buy new things to keep the economy afloat but what of people buying used things? Everything's just going down the drain lately so I can't be sure of anything. I'm just saying if amazon wants people to buy new things, they should gave out more than 10 dollar gift cards.
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The fake bio one unfortunately reminds me of a conversation I had once, a male writer in my writing group thought he couldn't get published because he was male and wanted to write under a woman's name. (And I assume do what this author did). Which was weird, since he wasn't writing a genre that was female dominated, I tried to talk him out of it...but I am not sure that worked.
ReplyDelete#5 does not sound like a fun book to read.
-Quinley
Quinley: That didn't sound like a good reason to write under a woman's name. But I do think writers are to be judged by their writing and not their gender.
DeleteSome readers like the #5 book series. To some people it might sound adventurous to sleep at a beach, out in the open. I guess it depends on your preference but I think pet owners should do better for their pets, if not for themselves.
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