E-Books

ZOMG. I'm dying. So, I really liked Brandon Sanderson's book Elantris so I checked out his website, and he has posted an e-book called Warbreaker on his website. And it's UNBELIEVABLE. I really REALLY like it, but he's posted all but the last three or four chapters. It's killing me. He posts a chapter a week.

Can anyone else comment on E-Books that they've seen and enjoyed?

...Doesn't John Scalzi have one?

Yes, he does: Agent to the Stars. It is HILARIOUS.

I do recommend Scalzi (even if he's my evil nemesis.) Another one with free ebooks, dressagegrrrl, is Cory Doctorow, who posts all of his novels on-line for free. (He was part of my inspiration for posting Warbreaker.) Note that Cory's work is good, but a little...strange sometimes.

http://www.craphound.com/down/download.php

And, if you really want some ebooks to read, go to the Baen Free Library. Plenty of great stuff there.

http://www.baen.com/library/

...I swear this isn't creepy.

It's a bit embarrassing to have an author drop down in the midst of a fangirl squee though.

Well Dressage, I'm sure Brandon's just here for the Brew and Cheese parties!

*serves up some Guinness and a cheese platter to all takers*

it's party time again... so soon?

*starts up the now infamous table-dancing - though it seems somewhat slower, and more laboured at this time on a Sunday evening*

:-)

#3 - Welcome to The Green Dragon, BrandonSanderson!

#4 - It's all okay, dressagegrrrl. It was his mind you were squeeing over. :o)

I'll pass the Guinness, but an Innis & Gunn could be nice :-)
Tane - please, could you dance on that other table over there? I'm READING at this table!

Hey! Don't send him over here! I'm trying to eat my cheese and quaff a bit without it sloshing everywhere.

Wait!! Whew...I thought I missed a celebration! Is there any cheese left?

Did anyone invite Rosie? :)

LOL, I should open an account for Rosie, and put what few dog books I have in it.

:o)

You should, clam! Wait a minute...I seem to remember dogs running through the Green Dragon and leaving hair all over the place. Rosie is a very well groomed canine; I'm SURE she was not one of those messy dogs!

Groo/Tane/JPB - do NOT start the Roombas. This is very respectable thread about ebooks! (Well, it WAS about ebooks.)

Thanks for the recommendations, Brandon. And I'm not really squeeing, it's just quite a surreal occurence. I told a lady at the stable where I board my horses (who also has read some of your work. She LOVED Elantris) and she was jealous. I pointed her in the direction of your site so she could read Warbreaker.

#12 Me? Start the Roombas? 0:)

* pushes the remote control on the way out the door *

Hmmm, would the chaos of a Green Dragon Party gone out of control DIScourage or ENcourage Brandon to hang out here?

*resists the temptation to balance a Guinness atop one of JPB's passing Roombas...*

BACK ON TOPIC, for once, my problem with ebooks is that just seem to QUICKLY add to my already huge TBR (To Be Read) Pile. Still, methinks Warbreaker has to move to the top just on general principle.

Actually, I LOVE serialized novels, but maybe I'l wait until the whole thing is online before giving it a go. Hmmmm, decisions, decisions!

#15 - We have to be who we are, groo. ;)

True...

*Balances a Guinness atop each of JPB's passing Roombas...**

#3 BrandonSanderson - ooh, the Baen Free Library looks great! There's definitely some stuff there that I'll be downloading.

This whole thread is a great idea. I read e-books when it's slow at work, and I was getting a little tired of the classics everyone seems to have available. (Not that there's anything wrong with Charles Dickens and Jane Austen et al, but I wanted a wider variety of stuff to choose from). There are some excellent suggestions in this thread.

Guys, I'm trying to be cooooool here. Put your shirts back on and get off the tables!

lol dressagegrrrl! I'm not sure you can stop them!

I did look at the website and I will be reading Warbreaker. Thanks for your suggestions! I'll try the other sites as well.

#12 - Rosie may be well groomed, but she loves to track mud anywhere and everywhere.

:o(

The whole ebook thing makes even those of us who give them out a little bit nervous. Giving out our livelihood? For free? However, Cory makes some very good arguments. The thing holding an author like me back right now is the fact that, well, nobody knows who I am! So, if I can gain some exposure through an ebook, it's a great help to my career. After all, the people who enjoy my books will probably buy a copy anyway when it comes out from Tor. So, if someone reads Warbreaker who wouldn't otherwise have given me a chance, then I haven't lost a sale--I've gained a reader!

The thing is, we are supported mostly out of the kindness of the community (that mixed with their desire to collect books and their impatience to wait for a library copy.) So, I'd rather offer something for free and get some goodwill, as well as give people a chance to sample my work. I think this is the point of the Baen Free Library too.

So many readers read by author that an ebook makes perfect sense. I haven't read your books, Brandon, but if I enjoy Warbreaker, I will feel COMPELLED to seek out your other books. (Not because you are HERE, but because I am obsessive, heee heeee. That's what I do with all of MY authors. LOL!!!)

I can honestly say that I've never read a book that I enjoyed that I DIDN'T then seek out more books by the same author.

Most "genre" readers are this way, so I think you can safely put your fears about "writing for free" aside. If we like it, we'll be back!!!

#9 - Sorry MrsLee, I didn't see you behind that jug!

Have to second MrGroo on the "find one author, reads all" and genre readers. I think that is a main characteristic of readers of any genre? I know the people I know who only reads crime and mystery novels are the same as (the) fantasy & SF fans (that I know) in this regard.

#25 Of course, the “read one book, then read all” passion of a positive experience works both ways, but the impact in the negative direction is stronger. If you read one book by an author new to you, and do not like it, you'll probably have a very hard time reading anything by that author again. Many here will not pick up another thing by Neil Gaiman after their disappointment with American Gods. I was disappointed as well (in fact, I didn't finish), but I started with The Sandman and Coraline, so I have experience with good results from him.

#25 - Yes, it's definitely a two-way thing. I thought The Dark is Rising sequence was kind of OK but will not seek out any of the other works by Susan Cooper.
I had read other stuff by Neil Gaiman including American Gods prior to our group read but then I tried Anansi boys which felt wooden and I won't buy another book by him.

But that doesn't make the "liked one read the rest" tendency less valid :-)

Awww I missed the party! someone call me next time!

*Passes pollysmith a beer and points to MrGroo's cheese plate still magically# refillling*

The parties in GD can last all week sometimes!

Alistair Reynolds has some online short stories of his, follow the link from his author page. They are kind of set in the revelation Space world so it might help to have read that first.

*Drinks beer and wanders off to checkout free ebooks*

#it is the Green Dragon after all.

I'll contribute with some waffles! Yesterday was the official Waffle day in Sweden (always March 25th) -



They are delicious!

I think a good many readers (although I can really only speak about fantasy readers cuz that's what most of my friends are) are collectors in addition to readers. When Warbreaker is released as a hardback, I will definitely purchase it and it will live happily on the shelf next to its friends Elantris and Mistborn (also hardback - I read your essay).

However, I disagree with this parcelling it out week by week. I'm an impatient reader and I read the 95% posted of Warbreaker in one sitting. I don't like waiting several weeks to read the climax.

**Edited to correct grammatical error.

#30: Email me through my site and I'll send you the whole thing, ending included.

The rest: Yes, one very nice thing about the fantasy genre is that we tend to buy a lot of books, and tend to keep reading into our old age. Last I heard, fantasy/sf readers only made up 6% of the market, but that 6% buy a lot of books. It's part of what I like about the community. We just read a whole ton, and so a rather large section in bookstores can exist for us, even though we're few in numbers.

Done, and done.

#29 - MMMMmmmmMMMMmmmm, WAFFLES!!!

I think I'll have an Irish Coffee with my waffles!

#30- Good points!

I have been known to buy books that I've borrowed AFTER reading it, and I can see myself doing that with E-Books as well.

I LOVED the serialized version of THE GREEN MILE and quite enjoyed the serialized novels MONSTER ISLAND, MONSTER NATION AND (I think) MONSTER PLANET.

Reading them as they came out was an excrutiating joy, heee heeee.

If I had found WARBREAKER early I'd probably give it a go online right now, but I'm juggling so much reading material right now, that I'm going to wait until it's done and then check it out.