"Knowing I lov'd my books, he furnish'd me From mine own library with volumes that I prize above my dukedom."
August 22, 2009 1:53 PM Subscribe
"Of course, we're talking about ebooks... my ebooks. My personal backups.
But since you've dropped by, I'm happy to lend them to you.
Naturally you'll delete these books when you've finished - your way of returning them.
Download and enjoy five truly free e-books on loan from my library!"
"Project Gutenberg covers the classics to c. 1929. But we lacked a truly free online source of late-20th century literature: those masterpieces by the great writers from the 1930s on. People like Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Chandler, Greene, Fowles, Burgess, King, Coetzee, Ballard, and Le Carré.
So, this venue was established in early 2007 to encompass works published between 1930 and the present; to provide them freely, like Gutenberg, in universal textual form. The collection is a highly personal one: my own attempt to reconstitute a lost library; but any coincidence of your tastes with mine will be ample reward and justification for continuing the work."
"Project Gutenberg covers the classics to c. 1929. But we lacked a truly free online source of late-20th century literature: those masterpieces by the great writers from the 1930s on. People like Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Chandler, Greene, Fowles, Burgess, King, Coetzee, Ballard, and Le Carré.
So, this venue was established in early 2007 to encompass works published between 1930 and the present; to provide them freely, like Gutenberg, in universal textual form. The collection is a highly personal one: my own attempt to reconstitute a lost library; but any coincidence of your tastes with mine will be ample reward and justification for continuing the work."
This post was deleted for the following reason: As sort of a quasi-pirating outlet, this is maybe not such a great idea for a post. -- cortex
Thanks for the link, some good stuff alongside his selection of Holocaust revisionism and David Icke!?! Maybe save those for some other time, after the intellect-ectomy.
posted by Abiezer at 2:04 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by Abiezer at 2:04 PM on August 22, 2009
Why would you use a site like this that limits your pirat... borrowing when there are torrent packs with even more variety?
posted by Memo at 2:05 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by Memo at 2:05 PM on August 22, 2009
oy vey this will not end well for this well meaning person...there is a reason Project Gutenburg stopped with circa 1929.
posted by Librarygeek at 2:12 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by Librarygeek at 2:12 PM on August 22, 2009
Why would you use a site like this that limits your pirat... borrowing when there are torrent packs with even more variety?
posted by Memo at 2:05 PM on August 22 [+] [!]
A) He's doing lip-service to copyright rules which, although surely not enough to keep him online if they want him down, is still likely safer than NEENER NEENER INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREEEEEE
B) He really does respect authors and their livelihoods, and assumes that by adopting a library-like model he won't be hurting their incomes any more than a physical library would.
posted by luftmensch at 2:12 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by Memo at 2:05 PM on August 22 [+] [!]
A) He's doing lip-service to copyright rules which, although surely not enough to keep him online if they want him down, is still likely safer than NEENER NEENER INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREEEEEE
B) He really does respect authors and their livelihoods, and assumes that by adopting a library-like model he won't be hurting their incomes any more than a physical library would.
posted by luftmensch at 2:12 PM on August 22, 2009
Quota exceeded
Enjoy the books you have. Welcome back soon.
Or become a sponsor today and enhance your access...
LAME! LAME! LAME!
posted by geoff. at 2:13 PM on August 22, 2009
Enjoy the books you have. Welcome back soon.
Or become a sponsor today and enhance your access...
LAME! LAME! LAME!
posted by geoff. at 2:13 PM on August 22, 2009
€90+ sponsors - be sure to ask for your free Burgomeister DVD!
Okay seriously not cool.
posted by geoff. at 2:14 PM on August 22, 2009
Okay seriously not cool.
posted by geoff. at 2:14 PM on August 22, 2009
This is so weird.
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 2:17 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 2:17 PM on August 22, 2009
The site doesn't indicate that when a book is on loan to one person, it's unavailable to anyone else. Is that the case? Because if you can "borrow" it at the same time as me, then it's not comparable to a lending library and isn't compatible even in abstract principle with normal terms of copyright.
posted by George_Spiggott at 2:18 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by George_Spiggott at 2:18 PM on August 22, 2009
Luftmensch:
He's doing lip-service to copyright rules
Not really. Both countries that he claims his site is hosted in are signatories to the Berne Convention on copyright, so at best he doesn't understand the copyright law in question.
Whether he respects the authors or not is open to question. Mark Helprin, I'm sure, would not appreciate having his works available in such a way.
posted by jscalzi at 2:28 PM on August 22, 2009
He's doing lip-service to copyright rules
Not really. Both countries that he claims his site is hosted in are signatories to the Berne Convention on copyright, so at best he doesn't understand the copyright law in question.
Whether he respects the authors or not is open to question. Mark Helprin, I'm sure, would not appreciate having his works available in such a way.
posted by jscalzi at 2:28 PM on August 22, 2009
geoff.: "Please link to these torrent packs you talk of!"
From what I remember Demonoid has a lot of packs although downloading them may be somewhat slow because of the lack of seeds. But try any tracker that has an ebook section, chances are that someone is seeding some kind of pack.
Of course, if you just want one or two specific books, searching their title in google plus the name of a file sharing website (rapidshare, megaupload, etc) tends to be easier and faster.
posted by Memo at 2:29 PM on August 22, 2009
From what I remember Demonoid has a lot of packs although downloading them may be somewhat slow because of the lack of seeds. But try any tracker that has an ebook section, chances are that someone is seeding some kind of pack.
Of course, if you just want one or two specific books, searching their title in google plus the name of a file sharing website (rapidshare, megaupload, etc) tends to be easier and faster.
posted by Memo at 2:29 PM on August 22, 2009
Completely so. I believe this is the same jackass who got into a lengthy debate via email with some members of Backspace (a writer's organization) who pointed out to him that if he likes contemporary fiction, he should probably want novelists to get paid for their work, or they might not keep writing. Said jackass bragged that he was located in a country where he wouldn't get prosecuted, thought literature belonged to everyone, and had no interest in the opinions of the authors themselves.
Generally speaking, I've noticed an odd complex of ideas popping up in defense of pirate sites that distribute books. It generally comprises the following confused notions:
1) That free access to copyrighted literature is some sort of humanitarian right.
2) That novelists who object to piracy are greedy and selfish, because they all make boatloads of cash (a claim that in itself betrays the ignorance of the person making it).
3) That novelists who do care about getting paid for their work are expressing a concern for profit that inherently calls into question the artistic value of that work, suggesting as it does that the motive for it was purely profit-driven. (This argument also may sound eerily familiar to public school teachers, another group often told to stop complaining about their pay because teaching is a job rightly done by people with a calling for it, and nobody wants a teacher who is -gasp- motivated to do it for the money.)
4) That pirated books increase legitimate sales. This is a more complex question, and I think that for authors who are established and in no danger of having their contracts cut, it might even be true. But in this economic environment, for debut and mid-list authors, pretty much every sale counts. You're going to have a much, much harder time convincing a publisher to touch your next book, no matter how good it is, if the sales on the last one weren't good to great.
Naturally, Stephen King and Nora Roberts can afford to lose a few thousand sales (although I very much doubt they like it) without running the risk that their next book will be unsellable due to low Bookscan numbers on the last one. But for just about everyone else with print runs in the tens (rather than hundreds) of thousands, piracy has the potential to kill their careers. Period. (This is why comparing piracy to used bookstores is incredibly dumb. Used bookstores sell material copies that can only be enjoyed by a limited number of people -- not geometrically proliferate.)
So, I have a hard time believing this guy when he says he loves fiction. If he said he only loved fiction written by established authors whose sales are so huge that nothing can touch them, okay, I'd buy it. But he sure doesn't love novelists who don't sell a megaton.
In closing -- some people say, "Well, even if writing becomes an impossible way to make a living, the people who really love to write will still write, and thanks to the internet, they'll be able to distribute their work." (And then they generally speculate about alternative profit models, a return to the patronage system, donations, etc.)
I find this argument extremely unconvincing for several reasons, but for me it all goes back to the teaching analogy. Would we expect people who love to teach to teach for free? Some of them already do, of course. But if we really value having teachers, we can't depend on a system based on volunteering -- not in the society we live in right now. But fiction is not as important or foundational to our society as teaching is, you might say. Okay then, if you feel that way, admit it. But don't use this argument to support your piracy, and then tell me you're a pirate because you love fiction and believe access to literature is a fundamental human right. The contradiction, it does not fly with me.
posted by artemisia at 2:29 PM on August 22, 2009 [4 favorites]
Generally speaking, I've noticed an odd complex of ideas popping up in defense of pirate sites that distribute books. It generally comprises the following confused notions:
1) That free access to copyrighted literature is some sort of humanitarian right.
2) That novelists who object to piracy are greedy and selfish, because they all make boatloads of cash (a claim that in itself betrays the ignorance of the person making it).
3) That novelists who do care about getting paid for their work are expressing a concern for profit that inherently calls into question the artistic value of that work, suggesting as it does that the motive for it was purely profit-driven. (This argument also may sound eerily familiar to public school teachers, another group often told to stop complaining about their pay because teaching is a job rightly done by people with a calling for it, and nobody wants a teacher who is -gasp- motivated to do it for the money.)
4) That pirated books increase legitimate sales. This is a more complex question, and I think that for authors who are established and in no danger of having their contracts cut, it might even be true. But in this economic environment, for debut and mid-list authors, pretty much every sale counts. You're going to have a much, much harder time convincing a publisher to touch your next book, no matter how good it is, if the sales on the last one weren't good to great.
Naturally, Stephen King and Nora Roberts can afford to lose a few thousand sales (although I very much doubt they like it) without running the risk that their next book will be unsellable due to low Bookscan numbers on the last one. But for just about everyone else with print runs in the tens (rather than hundreds) of thousands, piracy has the potential to kill their careers. Period. (This is why comparing piracy to used bookstores is incredibly dumb. Used bookstores sell material copies that can only be enjoyed by a limited number of people -- not geometrically proliferate.)
So, I have a hard time believing this guy when he says he loves fiction. If he said he only loved fiction written by established authors whose sales are so huge that nothing can touch them, okay, I'd buy it. But he sure doesn't love novelists who don't sell a megaton.
In closing -- some people say, "Well, even if writing becomes an impossible way to make a living, the people who really love to write will still write, and thanks to the internet, they'll be able to distribute their work." (And then they generally speculate about alternative profit models, a return to the patronage system, donations, etc.)
I find this argument extremely unconvincing for several reasons, but for me it all goes back to the teaching analogy. Would we expect people who love to teach to teach for free? Some of them already do, of course. But if we really value having teachers, we can't depend on a system based on volunteering -- not in the society we live in right now. But fiction is not as important or foundational to our society as teaching is, you might say. Okay then, if you feel that way, admit it. But don't use this argument to support your piracy, and then tell me you're a pirate because you love fiction and believe access to literature is a fundamental human right. The contradiction, it does not fly with me.
posted by artemisia at 2:29 PM on August 22, 2009 [4 favorites]
/server undernet
/join #bookz
same principle, better selection, faster downloads
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 2:30 PM on August 22, 2009
/join #bookz
same principle, better selection, faster downloads
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 2:30 PM on August 22, 2009
Oh snap, they've got the new Sue Grafton! Now I don't need to dig through any nickel paperback carts!
posted by EatTheWeek at 2:31 PM on August 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by EatTheWeek at 2:31 PM on August 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
You know who else had quotas?
Not off the top of my head, but I bet this bloke has a book twisting history to make excuses for them.
posted by Abiezer at 2:40 PM on August 22, 2009
Not off the top of my head, but I bet this bloke has a book twisting history to make excuses for them.
posted by Abiezer at 2:40 PM on August 22, 2009
artemisia, how much do authors make, in general, per book? I realize it is probably a complex formula dependent on the type of book and the number sold, but let us say a general hardcover fiction book? $1.50? $2?
That's nothing compared to the actual price of the book. Even if we consider things like editors, which we'll need even if books were completely digital, at most you're talking about $4-5 plus digital distribution fee (basically nothing, Whispernet charges something like 25 cents a megabyte?). I think you'd find plenty of people who'd pay that. In fact I think if the publishing industry was smart they'd take a cue from Safari Books Online, charge $80/mo. unlimited and divide it up on some internal formula.
I still love books and when I order one for my Kindle I will almost certainly order the hardcover. Why? I don't know decoration, the idea of having it beyond the lifecycle of my Kindle. Most people aren't like that, but I'd be you'd find plenty of people willing to pay recurring monthly fee for unlimited ebooks. Sure some people will download a ton and cancel, but the majority will pay for the convenience of being able to browse and search within an application's UI and such.
The fundamental problem, as with the movie and music industry, are the middle men who will no longer have any role at all in the future of the industry. There are enough of these middle men that the attitude is we can't and any change will hurt us, when really the authors and editors are the ones really coming out of this well, being able to reach anyone across the country at any time.
Copyright is really about encouraging artists to produce and not meant as a subsidy for a guild that won't change their ways.
posted by geoff. at 2:53 PM on August 22, 2009
That's nothing compared to the actual price of the book. Even if we consider things like editors, which we'll need even if books were completely digital, at most you're talking about $4-5 plus digital distribution fee (basically nothing, Whispernet charges something like 25 cents a megabyte?). I think you'd find plenty of people who'd pay that. In fact I think if the publishing industry was smart they'd take a cue from Safari Books Online, charge $80/mo. unlimited and divide it up on some internal formula.
I still love books and when I order one for my Kindle I will almost certainly order the hardcover. Why? I don't know decoration, the idea of having it beyond the lifecycle of my Kindle. Most people aren't like that, but I'd be you'd find plenty of people willing to pay recurring monthly fee for unlimited ebooks. Sure some people will download a ton and cancel, but the majority will pay for the convenience of being able to browse and search within an application's UI and such.
The fundamental problem, as with the movie and music industry, are the middle men who will no longer have any role at all in the future of the industry. There are enough of these middle men that the attitude is we can't and any change will hurt us, when really the authors and editors are the ones really coming out of this well, being able to reach anyone across the country at any time.
Copyright is really about encouraging artists to produce and not meant as a subsidy for a guild that won't change their ways.
posted by geoff. at 2:53 PM on August 22, 2009
agree or disagree with copyright laws... I feel bad stealing from an author I like...
This shouldn't be here...we shouldn't be supporting this.
posted by HuronBob at 2:54 PM on August 22, 2009
This shouldn't be here...we shouldn't be supporting this.
posted by HuronBob at 2:54 PM on August 22, 2009
finite: You know who else had quotas?
No, but I'll bet they had panels too.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 2:57 PM on August 22, 2009
No, but I'll bet they had panels too.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 2:57 PM on August 22, 2009
Fuck this shit, this has to go.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:04 PM on August 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:04 PM on August 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
You do realize, don't you, that all of these zip files contain the annotated discography of Rick Astley?
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:04 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:04 PM on August 22, 2009
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