Resources and info from the ConTxt Ereader panel!
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the ereader panel! As promised, here is all the info we could find on how to make the ereading devices that weren’t really made with fans in mind work as well for us as possible!
Your mods for this panel were
uschickens/uschickens and
cinco/cincodemaygirl, and we both use Kindle and our phones.
uschickens: Hi; I'm Vix. My primary device is a Kindle Touch, though timewise I probably read just as much on an iphone and ipod touch, using the Kindle and Safari apps. I also use ibooks just enough to regularly reconfirm my opinion it should never be used if at all humanly possible. I use Calibre to manage, albeit haphazardly. I tend not to put fanfic into the amazon management system, even if it's free. I can quit any time I want. No, really.
cinco: I’m Cinco, and I can’t leave the house without my Kindle 3 (Keyboard), which is a refurb--after my first one broke I tried a Kindle Touch and hated it so much that I switched backwards in time (my ereader needs are freaking specific, yo) so that I could have text-to-speech and a non-touch screen. I also read on my Droid 2 phone when I’m desperate. I use Calibre to organize and manage my files and will sing its praises hither and yon.
We asked what devices people use to read fic, both their primary (most often used) device and any secondary (less often used) devices.
What is your primary device?
Android phone: 2
Kindle 1, 2, 3, or 4: 6
Kindle Touch: 2
Kindle Fire: 2
Kobo: 0
iPad: 0
iPhone: 0
iPod Touch: 0
Nook: 2
Nook Tablet: 1
Sony Ereader: 0
Other: 0
What are your secondary devices?
Android phone: 4
Kindle 1, 2, 3, or 4: 2
Kindle Touch: 1
Kindle Fire: 0
Kobo: 0
iPad: 2
iPhone: 3
iPod Touch: 1
Nook: 0
Sony Ereader: 0
Other: 0
(Note: Some people mentioned that they still have older devices that they read already-loaded fics on, but that the software is too out of date to continue loading new fics.)
Now, for the links and info we promised!
General archives
The Archive of Our Own
The Ebook Library
Brooding Detective (femslash)
Untold Story Project
Fandom-specific archives:
Genesis Awards (Final Fantasy VII and Harry Potter)
Merknet (Star Trek)
Vicciv (Torchwood)
The Castle Archive
PDAfiction (Xena)
LCfanfic (Lois & Clark)
Brooding Detective Birds of Prey (Birds of Prey)
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (single fic archive)
Limited availability:
Swell Ebooks
Fanfic4All
Riverside Ebooks
Please comment with urls and information for any other sites you know of!
General:
+ Subscribe to RSS feeds from AO3 in Google Reader, and then set your Pinboard account to automatically import starred items from GR as a way to find and manage new fic.
+ Upload files to the Amazon/Kindle cloud so you can switch between devices while keeping your place in each story.
Calibre-specific:
+ You can send files from Calibre after sorting; makes it easy to send "all Avengers fics I rated three stars and higher" to friends.
Steps: Sort using tags or other fields, select all files.
Create folder for the files to go into (such as on your desktop).
Right click, choose "save files to single directory" and specify the directory you just made.
Delete the .opf files (these are library records made by Calibre), zip up the folder, send to friends.
Kindle-specific
+ When accessing a Kindle-openable file (e.g. mobi, azw) in a browser on a device with a Kindle app (e.g. Safari on the Apple device of your choice, the experimental browser on the Kindle itself), you are given an "Open in Kindle" option. This will send the file to the Kindle app on that device/load it on that particular Kindle but not put it in the Amazon cloud (aka sideloading from inside the browser).
+ To get a file into the Amazon cloud (to allow syncing between devices, storage in the Amazon cloud, bookmarking, etc), you can: a) use the "Send to Kindle" app/function from your pc/mac or b) use the "Send to Kindle" email address for your specific device (both free/wifi and whispernet/3G options). See Amazon’s Personal Documents Service page for more detailed information.
+ TXVoodoo's massive post of Kindle resources
+ KindledFans on LiveJournal has this helpful post.
+ For Kindle Fire users seeking to add things to Books rather than Personal Documents, here is a post from Seperis.
Apple-device-specific:
+ When using Safari on an iPhone/iPod Touch, click the "Reader" in the URL bar to strip formatting and make text adjustable (particularly useful for lj/dw-posted fic).
Calibre!
+ Calibre has an active users' community. This is the best place to look for help using Calibre, even better than the User's Guide.
+ There is a Collections plugin for Kindles 2-4, Touch, and possibly other devices. It will help you transfer your Calibre tags to make Kindle Collections.
+ There is a Duplicates plugin to help you find duplicate files.
+ How to install plugins
+ Calibre has a wide variety of features, including gathering your daily newspaper and tons of plugin options. The developer is also very responsive to user feedback.
Dear Author has a lot of resources and tutorials:
Their Ebooks tag; Setting up a new library with Calibre, Setting up a new library, part two, and Getting ebooks from Calibre to your device posts are all very helpful. Romance readers have similar reading habits (large volume, high turnover), so these are particularly suited to fan styles of device use and file organization.
In the panel there were no other library/file management program suggestions other than Calibre, but if other programs exist, we’d like to hear about them! Please comment to this post if you use or know of any!
Discussion questions:
+ How do you deal with fic versus regular books?
+ How do you sort by fandom? Do you sort by fandom?
+ What other ways do you sort?
+ How do you leave feedback when you read on a reader? (Do you use Kindle’s "Notes" function? Do you have tags or collections for feedback versus kudos?)
+ Do you rate as you read?
+ How do you deal with fic you've already read?
Your mods are still VERY interested to any answers to these questions and welcome comments!
The Slapdash Method:
The low-tech, low-effort way:
1. Copy and paste the fic into a word document and save it as an .rtf.
2. Add the file to Calibre.
3. Send file to your device and convert it to .mobi at the same time.
Minor technical notes:
You may want to delete the LJ-user head images, as Kindle blows them up so that they take up a whole page.
Note for making files that can be easily converted to other formats: the most flexible formats are .html and .rtf, followed by .epub. Calibre and Kindle both deal poorly with .pdf! You will get weird characters and As with hats!
Tools:
+ Fanfiction Downloader
+ SqueeBook
+ Julian Smart's Ecub
+ Gigantic list of Ebook conversion tools from Mobileread
+ Sigil
+ Flagfic
+ Fanfiction Loader
+ Grab My Books
More complicated tutorials for building ebooks, from:
Amalthia
KatieBooks
If you know of more resources, by all means link to them and tell us about them in the comments!
Communities for help and discussion:
* Fanfic Ebooks on LJ
* Ebooks on DW
Security tricks to protect you from the awkward questions your mom may ask after seeing your gay werewolf pwp
Just, you know, as an example of a thing that might possibly have happened to one of your mods. *cough*
+ Most devices have a lock/passwording feature that you can turn on and off, so you can use it just when you’re going somewhere that people might pick up your reader.
+ Keep an innocuous book or file available and easy to reach--e.g. outside your Collections on Kindle, etc.--so you can show that to curious parties (and not your gay werewolf porn).
+ Make your organization system (such as Collections category names) Safe For Work/Prying Eyes, so you have plausible deniability when people look at them over your shoulder.
We would love to hear what you like best about your device! Please comment with your favorite features, especially what about your ereader works well for you as a fandom user.
Please leave links and info for any additional device-specific resources or posts that you know of!
This entry was originally posted at http://cinco.dreamwidth.org/636289.html where it has received
comments.
ETA: In the comments on DW, I've added an account of how I manage content in Calibre and a tip on using AO3 feeds through Google Reader, Pinboard, and Dreamwidth!
Your mods for this panel were
uschickens/uschickens and
cinco/cincodemaygirl, and we both use Kindle and our phones.
uschickens: Hi; I'm Vix. My primary device is a Kindle Touch, though timewise I probably read just as much on an iphone and ipod touch, using the Kindle and Safari apps. I also use ibooks just enough to regularly reconfirm my opinion it should never be used if at all humanly possible. I use Calibre to manage, albeit haphazardly. I tend not to put fanfic into the amazon management system, even if it's free. I can quit any time I want. No, really.
cinco: I’m Cinco, and I can’t leave the house without my Kindle 3 (Keyboard), which is a refurb--after my first one broke I tried a Kindle Touch and hated it so much that I switched backwards in time (my ereader needs are freaking specific, yo) so that I could have text-to-speech and a non-touch screen. I also read on my Droid 2 phone when I’m desperate. I use Calibre to organize and manage my files and will sing its praises hither and yon.
We asked what devices people use to read fic, both their primary (most often used) device and any secondary (less often used) devices.
What is your primary device?
Android phone: 2
Kindle 1, 2, 3, or 4: 6
Kindle Touch: 2
Kindle Fire: 2
Kobo: 0
iPad: 0
iPhone: 0
iPod Touch: 0
Nook: 2
Nook Tablet: 1
Sony Ereader: 0
Other: 0
What are your secondary devices?
Android phone: 4
Kindle 1, 2, 3, or 4: 2
Kindle Touch: 1
Kindle Fire: 0
Kobo: 0
iPad: 2
iPhone: 3
iPod Touch: 1
Nook: 0
Sony Ereader: 0
Other: 0
(Note: Some people mentioned that they still have older devices that they read already-loaded fics on, but that the software is too out of date to continue loading new fics.)
Now, for the links and info we promised!
General archives
The Archive of Our Own
The Ebook Library
Brooding Detective (femslash)
Untold Story Project
Fandom-specific archives:
Genesis Awards (Final Fantasy VII and Harry Potter)
Merknet (Star Trek)
Vicciv (Torchwood)
The Castle Archive
PDAfiction (Xena)
LCfanfic (Lois & Clark)
Brooding Detective Birds of Prey (Birds of Prey)
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (single fic archive)
Limited availability:
Swell Ebooks
Fanfic4All
Riverside Ebooks
Please comment with urls and information for any other sites you know of!
General:
+ Subscribe to RSS feeds from AO3 in Google Reader, and then set your Pinboard account to automatically import starred items from GR as a way to find and manage new fic.
+ Upload files to the Amazon/Kindle cloud so you can switch between devices while keeping your place in each story.
Calibre-specific:
+ You can send files from Calibre after sorting; makes it easy to send "all Avengers fics I rated three stars and higher" to friends.
Steps: Sort using tags or other fields, select all files.
Create folder for the files to go into (such as on your desktop).
Right click, choose "save files to single directory" and specify the directory you just made.
Delete the .opf files (these are library records made by Calibre), zip up the folder, send to friends.
Kindle-specific
+ When accessing a Kindle-openable file (e.g. mobi, azw) in a browser on a device with a Kindle app (e.g. Safari on the Apple device of your choice, the experimental browser on the Kindle itself), you are given an "Open in Kindle" option. This will send the file to the Kindle app on that device/load it on that particular Kindle but not put it in the Amazon cloud (aka sideloading from inside the browser).
+ To get a file into the Amazon cloud (to allow syncing between devices, storage in the Amazon cloud, bookmarking, etc), you can: a) use the "Send to Kindle" app/function from your pc/mac or b) use the "Send to Kindle" email address for your specific device (both free/wifi and whispernet/3G options). See Amazon’s Personal Documents Service page for more detailed information.
+ TXVoodoo's massive post of Kindle resources
+ KindledFans on LiveJournal has this helpful post.
+ For Kindle Fire users seeking to add things to Books rather than Personal Documents, here is a post from Seperis.
Apple-device-specific:
+ When using Safari on an iPhone/iPod Touch, click the "Reader" in the URL bar to strip formatting and make text adjustable (particularly useful for lj/dw-posted fic).
Calibre!
+ Calibre has an active users' community. This is the best place to look for help using Calibre, even better than the User's Guide.
+ There is a Collections plugin for Kindles 2-4, Touch, and possibly other devices. It will help you transfer your Calibre tags to make Kindle Collections.
+ There is a Duplicates plugin to help you find duplicate files.
+ How to install plugins
+ Calibre has a wide variety of features, including gathering your daily newspaper and tons of plugin options. The developer is also very responsive to user feedback.
Dear Author has a lot of resources and tutorials:
Their Ebooks tag; Setting up a new library with Calibre, Setting up a new library, part two, and Getting ebooks from Calibre to your device posts are all very helpful. Romance readers have similar reading habits (large volume, high turnover), so these are particularly suited to fan styles of device use and file organization.
In the panel there were no other library/file management program suggestions other than Calibre, but if other programs exist, we’d like to hear about them! Please comment to this post if you use or know of any!
Discussion questions:
+ How do you deal with fic versus regular books?
+ How do you sort by fandom? Do you sort by fandom?
+ What other ways do you sort?
+ How do you leave feedback when you read on a reader? (Do you use Kindle’s "Notes" function? Do you have tags or collections for feedback versus kudos?)
+ Do you rate as you read?
+ How do you deal with fic you've already read?
Your mods are still VERY interested to any answers to these questions and welcome comments!
The Slapdash Method:
The low-tech, low-effort way:
1. Copy and paste the fic into a word document and save it as an .rtf.
2. Add the file to Calibre.
3. Send file to your device and convert it to .mobi at the same time.
Minor technical notes:
You may want to delete the LJ-user head images, as Kindle blows them up so that they take up a whole page.
Note for making files that can be easily converted to other formats: the most flexible formats are .html and .rtf, followed by .epub. Calibre and Kindle both deal poorly with .pdf! You will get weird characters and As with hats!
Tools:
+ Fanfiction Downloader
+ SqueeBook
+ Julian Smart's Ecub
+ Gigantic list of Ebook conversion tools from Mobileread
+ Sigil
+ Flagfic
+ Fanfiction Loader
+ Grab My Books
More complicated tutorials for building ebooks, from:
Amalthia
KatieBooks
If you know of more resources, by all means link to them and tell us about them in the comments!
Communities for help and discussion:
* Fanfic Ebooks on LJ
* Ebooks on DW
Security tricks to protect you from the awkward questions your mom may ask after seeing your gay werewolf pwp
Just, you know, as an example of a thing that might possibly have happened to one of your mods. *cough*
+ Most devices have a lock/passwording feature that you can turn on and off, so you can use it just when you’re going somewhere that people might pick up your reader.
+ Keep an innocuous book or file available and easy to reach--e.g. outside your Collections on Kindle, etc.--so you can show that to curious parties (and not your gay werewolf porn).
+ Make your organization system (such as Collections category names) Safe For Work/Prying Eyes, so you have plausible deniability when people look at them over your shoulder.
We would love to hear what you like best about your device! Please comment with your favorite features, especially what about your ereader works well for you as a fandom user.
Please leave links and info for any additional device-specific resources or posts that you know of!
This entry was originally posted at http://cinco.dreamwidth.org/636289.html where it has received
comments.
ETA: In the comments on DW, I've added an account of how I manage content in Calibre and a tip on using AO3 feeds through Google Reader, Pinboard, and Dreamwidth!