Children of Dune terrible in ePub

JSWolf · 04-21-2009, 09:36 AM

I just checked out Children of Dune from the library in ePub. It's terrible. It has no proper cover and the cover it has is a duplicate of the front page in lower resolution. The paragraphs have spaces between them. There are no chapter heading differentiating the chapters so in the ToC we have
.
.
.
.
.
For the various chapters.

This is just terrible.

DixieGal · 04-21-2009, 09:47 AM

Yeesh. Is it right justified or something? It made my eyes goggle, and I couldn't even read the words. The shape of the thing is awkward somehow. I think maybe it is right justified with a ragged left margin.

Did you buy it somewhere? Can you get a refund?

**** never mind, I see it was a library book ******

Sweetpea · 04-21-2009, 09:52 AM

Hmm, I don't see what's wrong with it...

A lot of books have spaces between paragraphs (people seem to think that is a must if using electronic means to read something, I think...) And the Dune novels don't have chapter headings. At all. I know, I have them all in pbook (except the last two, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune).

JSWolf · 04-21-2009, 09:52 AM

Using ADE 1.7.x under Windows, it is full justified. But the paragraph spaces and lack of proper Chapter headers and a very poor ToC make it not all that nice.

I got it from the library. So I didn't have to pay for it. I did do a return item and it's bac at the library (I hope).

DixieGal · 04-21-2009, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Hmm, I don't see what's wrong with it...

A lot of books have spaces between paragraphs (people seem to think that is a must if using electronic means to read something, I think...) And the Dune novels don't have chapter headings. At all. I know, I have them all in pbook (except the last two, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune).

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Using ADE 1.7.x under Windows, it is full justified. But the paragraph spaces and lack of proper Chapter headers and a very poor ToC make it not all that nice.

I got it from the library. So I didn't have to pay for it. I did do a return item and it's bac at the library (I hope).

I think that maybe what makes it so weird looking in the screenshot is the added blank lines + the paragraph indent. To my eyes, it makes it seem sort of difficult wavy looking. Personally, my eyes don't see straight lines as straight, and the indent draws my vision off course onto the next line.

Sweetpea · 04-21-2009, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I think that maybe what makes it so weird looking in the screenshot is the added blank lines + the paragraph indent. To my eyes, it makes it seem sort of difficult wavy looking. Personally, my eyes don't see straight lines as straight, and the indent draws my vision off course onto the next line.

I agree, those things are hard to read on a computer screen. But the average ereader is smaller and the effect isn't that bad then. But I wish they'd leave those empty lines out...

JSWolf, did you also read the other Dune novels? How did they do the TOC there? I think you just need to ignore it. How can you make a TOC for a book that just doesn't have chapters?

HarryT · 04-21-2009, 10:14 AM

That page looks fine to me, but obviously issues with the TOC, etc, need to be addressed. I have no problem with spaces between paragraphs.

JSWolf · 04-21-2009, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I agree, those things are hard to read on a computer screen. But the average ereader is smaller and the effect isn't that bad then. But I wish they'd leave those empty lines out...

JSWolf, did you also read the other Dune novels? How did they do the TOC there? I think you just need to ignore it. How can you make a TOC for a book that just doesn't have chapters?

The effect of line spaces is to add pages and pages to the reading. And that means a lot more page turns. Plus, I really do not like the look with the spaces. Plus, why can't we have a real cover page? As for the ToC, even though the pBook doesn't have chapter headers, there is nothing to say the eBook cannot. Besides, the pBook doesn't have a ToC.

I have not seen any of the others yet. But I'm not expecting much if I ever get to see them.

Andybaby · 04-22-2009, 12:54 AM

I wouldn't mind that much, until recently, I put my lines between paragraphs, it made for easier reading for me, but now I use 130% line spacing, and I don't need them

the toc needs to be fixed up, but other than that, the text looks good, 5 mins in book designer to add chapter titles, and its fine

Stitchawl · 04-22-2009, 01:53 AM

One man's meat....

I don't think I have covers for 75% of my e-books. I could have put them on when working with Calibre but didn't feel the need. Add to that the fact that I usually remove all the spaces between the paragraphs. as a matter of course when converting them.

As long as I can make out the words, I'm a happy camper!

Stitchawl

Sweetpea · 04-22-2009, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The effect of line spaces is to add pages and pages to the reading. And that means a lot more page turns. Plus, I really do not like the look with the spaces. Plus, why can't we have a real cover page? As for the ToC, even though the pBook doesn't have chapter headers, there is nothing to say the eBook cannot. Besides, the pBook doesn't have a ToC.

I have not seen any of the others yet. But I'm not expecting much if I ever get to see them.

Oh, I agree with you on the line spaces, I don't care for them either, but they are in about 90% of the ebooks I have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andybaby

I wouldn't mind that much, until recently, I put my lines between paragraphs, it made for easier reading for me, but now I use 130% line spacing, and I don't need them

the toc needs to be fixed up, but other than that, the text looks good, 5 mins in book designer to add chapter titles, and its fine

How can you add chapter titles to a book that doesn't have chapter titles? If the author didn't add them, I don't think any publisher will add them. Not in p-books, not in e-books.

HarryT · 04-22-2009, 03:43 AM

Very few paperback novels have a TOC, but there's no reason not to add one to an eBook, even if it is just "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", etc. Especially useful for the "classics", where one might want to look up a particular chapter reference.

sirbruce · 04-22-2009, 06:03 AM

Wasn't Children of Dune terrible to start with?

Blue Tyson · 04-22-2009, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirbruce

Wasn't Children of Dune terrible to start with?

No.

---

wallcraft · 04-22-2009, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It has no proper cover and the cover it has is a duplicate of the front page in lower resolution. The paragraphs have spaces between them. There are no chapter heading differentiating the chapters so in the ToC ...

Same thing in the MOBI version, except the chapters are missing entirely from the TOC. The ebook also forces full justification (usually it is a user choice in MOBI) and has the extra line between paragraphs.

Since the Kindle 2 has chapter navigation waypoints now, I wonder if this will make publishers more aware of the TOC issue.

04-21-2009, 09:36 AM	#1
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,614 Karma: 130140792 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Children of Dune terrible in ePub I just checked out Children of Dune from the library in ePub. It's terrible. It has no proper cover and the cover it has is a duplicate of the front page in lower resolution. The paragraphs have spaces between them. There are no chapter heading differentiating the chapters so in the ToC we have . . . . . For the various chapters. This is just terrible. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by JSWolf; 04-21-2009 at 09:39 AM.

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04-21-2009, 09:47 AM	#2
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Yeesh. Is it right justified or something? It made my eyes goggle, and I couldn't even read the words. The shape of the thing is awkward somehow. I think maybe it is right justified with a ragged left margin. Did you buy it somewhere? Can you get a refund? ** never mind, I see it was a library book ****

04-21-2009, 09:52 AM	#3
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	Hmm, I don't see what's wrong with it... A lot of books have spaces between paragraphs (people seem to think that is a must if using electronic means to read something, I think...) And the Dune novels don't have chapter headings. At all. I know, I have them all in pbook (except the last two, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune).

04-21-2009, 10:14 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	That page looks fine to me, but obviously issues with the TOC, etc, need to be addressed. I have no problem with spaces between paragraphs.

04-22-2009, 12:54 AM	#9
Andybaby Wizard Posts: 1,279 Karma: 1002683 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York Device: PRS-700	I wouldn't mind that much, until recently, I put my lines between paragraphs, it made for easier reading for me, but now I use 130% line spacing, and I don't need them the toc needs to be fixed up, but other than that, the text looks good, 5 mins in book designer to add chapter titles, and its fine

04-22-2009, 01:53 AM	#10
Stitchawl Opsimath Posts: 12,344 Karma: 187123287 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Device: Sony PRS-650, iPhone 5, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-350, iPad, Samsung Galaxy	One man's meat.... I don't think I have covers for 75% of my e-books. I could have put them on when working with Calibre but didn't feel the need. Add to that the fact that I usually remove all the spaces between the paragraphs. as a matter of course when converting them. As long as I can make out the words, I'm a happy camper! Stitchawl

04-22-2009, 03:43 AM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Very few paperback novels have a TOC, but there's no reason not to add one to an eBook, even if it is just "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", etc. Especially useful for the "classics", where one might want to look up a particular chapter reference.

04-22-2009, 06:03 AM	#13
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	Wasn't Children of Dune terrible to start with?

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