1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

But... You're a Horse! And other Kindle classics

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by hkmb, Mar 16, 2015.

  1. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2010
    279
    1,855
    0
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    [​IMG]

    Honestly, it gets worse.

    This is an excellent article from The Guardian about people who self-publish on Kindle and decide that, not only are they brilliant writers, but covers look pretty easy too.

    Kindle Cover Disasters: the world’s worst ebook artwork | Books | The Guardian

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Some of these books, I think deserve a read. "But... You're a Horse!" is at least a parody. Most of them, astonishingly, are not.
     
    #1 hkmb, Mar 16, 2015
  2. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
    8,996
    3,507
    0
    Location:
    Kunming Yunnan China
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Not intending to interfere with Kindle's revenue stream. But I want PC readers to be aware of

    Free ebooks - Project Gutenberg

    which provides out-of copyright books, and some self-published works as well.
     
    #2 tochatihu, Mar 16, 2015
    hkmb likes this.
  3. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2010
    279
    1,855
    0
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I wish I could click "like" additional times.

    Thanks for this. I've got a lot of travelling over the next few weeks, and some free ebooks will be a fine thing.
     
    #3 hkmb, Mar 16, 2015
  4. drysider

    drysider Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2008
    823
    332
    1
    Location:
    Liberty Lake WA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Amazon has an huge number of free Kindle books. I got tired of scrolling through just the Science Fiction portion.
     
    #4 drysider, Mar 16, 2015
  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
    8,996
    3,507
    0
    Location:
    Kunming Yunnan China
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Those who really, really like Gutenberg could toss some cash, or maybe even do some transcription work. Liking my post is 'aw shucks' but not really the point.
     
    #5 tochatihu, Mar 17, 2015
  6. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2010
    279
    1,855
    0
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I will.
     
    #6 hkmb, Mar 17, 2015
  7. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,678
    6,496
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    For those who are print impaired or (like me) just can't seem to find the time to swipe a Kindle, there's also Librivox which has some pretty interesting finds.
    The volunteer readers are interesting, and some are rather talented!

    LibriVox | free public domain audiobooks
     
    #7 ETC(SS), Mar 17, 2015
    hkmb likes this.
  8. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
    8,996
    3,507
    0
    Location:
    Kunming Yunnan China
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Time available, I can sit in a real US or Euro bookstore and read...anything. It is not so for perhaps half the world's humans. But, internet and laptops are trickling into the less developed world. A lot of folks there are looking for more exposure to the English language. Particularly, when it is well crafted.

    That more or less rules out their reading of PriusChat :) but Gutenberg (maybe Librivox?) is the real deal. So that is why it may make sense to lend a hand to such low-key web sites.

    So, after you get yourself all booked up, consider if there is any potential upside to making your language more accessible 'downmarket'. Because you can do that.

    (cue inspiring music)
     
    #8 tochatihu, Mar 17, 2015
    hkmb likes this.
  9. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2010
    279
    1,855
    0
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Excellent point about PC.

    But yes, you're right on the rest of it too. Confucius Institutes and Alliances Francaises and British Councils are all very well, but free, easy access not just to language but to culture is an important thing.

    Which is why we now have If You Are The One (非诚勿扰) on TV here, I suppose.
     
    #9 hkmb, Mar 18, 2015
  10. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2010
    279
    1,855
    0
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes, I'm a big fan of LibriVox. It's an excellent service.

    I use audiobooks a lot when I'm driving: like you, I rarely have time to read, unless I'm on a plane or or a train, and when I do, I love it. But the one time I consistently get time to myself is on long drives to meetings, and audiobooks are brilliant for that.
     
    #10 hkmb, Mar 18, 2015
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)