Nook and fanfic

[verabell]

I am looking at finally upgrading from my ancient ebookwise 1150 to something newer. I am thinking a Nook will be the best choice for me, but I am wondering how easy it is to get fanfic loaded onto it.

Right now to load fic on my ebookwise I simply have to:

1. save a journal or archive post as html file
2. run it through the ebookwise librarian
3. load it on the reader

It is really *really* easy and I love it. Is the nook that easy to put non-purchased from B&N files on? Any info would be most appreciated!

Comments

[lanark]

Since the Nook supports a few different file formats (including epub and pdf) I doubt you'd have any trouble adding files from sources other than B&N, but you might want to search mobileread's Nook forum to see if anyone's had any issues.

I use Calibre to manage my ebook files, which are from multiple sources, and if I want to convert a page directly and load it onto my reader I do the following:

1. Reformat the page with Readability (if necessary)
2. Use the Bookit plugin for Firefox to convert the page and send it directly to Calibre
3. Send the file/ebook to my reader

I hope that helps!

[lanark]

... forgot to mention that I don't have a Nook, I have a Sony Reader, but Calibre will work with Nook so the same process should be supported.

[verabell]

Thank you so much for the links! All of the different readers and formats were getting overwhelming so a simple 1, 2, 3 do this is awesome to see :)

[lanark]

Glad I could help! It can be overwhelming because there are multiple ways to do what you want to do. I will say that I love Bookit but formatting and output aren't consistent, and that's why I sometimes add the extra step with Readability. But if you're willing to experiment a little with Calibre -- and their forums are really helpful, too -- I bet you could just modify your original process by adding the html file to Calibre's library where you would have run it through ebookwise librarian.

Good luck!

[cyprinella]

thank you for both of those links! I'm loving Readability already.

[lanark]

Np :) Readability is fantastic, and it makes using Bookit a lot easier.

One thing to note: if you're using Bookit to convert a web page that's part of a site that requires authentication, like Dreamwidth or Livejournal, you'll want to use "Selection to ebook" instead of just "create ebook" or you might get the login/authentication text or the site's adult content warning instead of the post or story text.

[amalthia]

Has Bookit been updated recently??? The version I have won't work for "Selection to ebook"

[lanark]

I'm using 0.6.2, listed as the current version here and it's working for me. I have noticed that if I have a lot of text selected it can take some time and there is no indication that it's actually *doing anything,* but after a lag it shows complete.

[amalthia]

I was also using that version. I should try it again. I did change operating systems and etc...maybe it'll work now. :)

[lanark]

I haven't tested it on Linux or Windows, but it's working on my Mac using Firefox 3.6.3, if that helps. Good luck!

[tameiki]

Would you mind expanding on your explanation of how to reformat for an ebook reader, please? I'm an idiot who's technically challenged and need step by step instructions :P

Thank you for the links and yes, I do have Calibre installed already.

[amalthia]

I made a ebook formatting tutorial. It does use screencaps but I'm not sure if it's actually user friendly.

[tameiki]

Thank you very much! :)

[lanark]

This looks great -- and it's calibre-specific, yay! -- thanks for linking to it :)

[amalthia]

You're welcome!

[lanark]

Sorry -- my use of "reformat" above was kind of misleading -- I was talking about using Readability to apply css to a page to make it "friendlier" prior to importing it to Calibre -- but amalthia's tutorial looks like it addresses actual reformatting and is specific to Calibre.

[amalthia]

Yeah, I have to pretty much format everything to get a consistent look. Though if I just want to read a fic quick and dirty I just open the HTML in Word cut out all the crap, add the author and title to the Properties field increase font to 18-20pt and then transfer to my Sony. I don't think Nook supports RTF and that's the main reason I would not get one. It's always good to have a device you can read documents on without having to use a third party tool to convert.

[verabell]

Yeah I've been back on forth on the no RTF for the Nook. I think it does everything else I want *except* that. I'm still waffling :)

I can't really move up in price. I am in a super rural setting, so going to the local B&N to play around in their ebookstore on their network is a big plus. On the other hand, the Sony ereaders look so cool!

Which ereader is your favorite? *is curious*

[amalthia]

I'm to be completely honest a bit biased towards the Sony PRS-505, the screen clarity is sharp, I'm able to make my own collections, it reads many formats (mostly I read RTF on my device because that is the quickest) and I think the price has dropped since the PRS-300 and PRS-600 have come out.

I've also seen the Nook and the Kindle and I found the bottom portions uncomfortable to hold.

I haven't really had the chance to compare screen clarity with the 600 vs my 505 but I hear the 600 is faster and it does have a touch screen.

The Kindle is what I recommend to people who actually plan on buying ebooks but if you mostly plan on reading fan fiction and not buy ebooks I think the Sony PRS is rather good. I've also been hearing some good news about the Pocketbook Pro. whizzy has one and she's posted screencaps and etc...she loves her device. I'm not sure if she got the 5 inch or 6 inch version though.

but for low prices you can't really go wrong with the 505 or the if you're willing to do without SD card slot and a smaller screen the 300 is pretty much the 505. Not sure about prices though?

At this point no other device has come out and made me seriously think about trading in my 505 and I've had it about 2 years now.

Honestly, I think you'd be happy with any of these devices but the main problem I keep coming back to with the Nook is the lack of RTF support 99% of what I read on my device is in RTF. I'm not sure what it'll be like for you or how much conversion stuff you plan on learning? But I do hear the Nook displays epubs more nicely than the Sony PRS...

I'm also willing to help convert stories and stuff if you do end up with a Nook. Calibre does a decent job of converting RTF to epub as well. It's hit or miss on some formatting like it centers things sometimes or doesn't center...but it'll do the job. :)

One other thing to consider is look at your purse and look at hte device. My Sony is the size of a small mass market paperback and fits into my purse with room to spare. The Nook is longer and so the Kindle.

[verabell]

Thanks for the info on the Sony options! Hearing what people like about what they have is so much more helpful than just looking at the sites that sell the readers.

I downloaded Calibre last week to start messing around with it. I have a friend with a Nook and plan to borrow it and see what's what before I buy.

It's funny about the purse idea. I have never carried one because everything fits in my pockets. Getting an ebook reader is going to tip the balance and make me have to buy a purse!

[amalthia]

well I hear some people do put their ebook devices in their pockets...but it's not something I'd want to risk for a device that's over 200 dollars! :) I have a purse that has a shoulder strap so I put the strap over my head and it's not too bad. It does leave my hands free which is nice. :) It's great that you have a friend who'll let you test it out.

It's hard to recommend devices because each one has it's own quirks and what I love about a device may not be something that's relevant to another person.

One thing I will say is don't be suckered in by their statement that the devices can hold thousands of ebooks. Technically they can but accessing them is a big issue if you get over 1000 ebooks on your device.

If and when I upgrade it's going to have to be on a device that actually has the capability to care a large library. The size of the ebooks isn't important it's the amount and since I read so much fan fiction, some of it short I hit the 1500 ebook limit rather early. So I now have to be more selective as to what I'll carry on my device though I still have 1 gig of free space left.

[tameiki]

After playing with Readability for a bit I figured out that it wasn't reformatting the document. Thank you for confirming it for me, though. I do appreciate any information I can get to learn something new :)

[mscongeniality]

I have a Nook and anything I want to read on it, that isn't already in ebook format, I usually just .pdf and transfer over. I have Calibre but have been way too busy lately to spend any time playing with it. I've also been known to just read A03 directly from the web browser, but movement within the page is less than ideal and it's easy to lose my place.

But in general, yes, transferring non-B&N files to my Nook is stupid easy. In fact, 95% of my content didn't come from B&N.

[verabell]

Thank you so much for the info! Stupid easy is just what I am after ;)

[mscongeniality]

It doesn't read the drive wirelessly, even though you can connect to your home wifi, but when you connect a Nook to your computer via USB cable you can load files on and off the way you would with any other portable drive.

For Chrome Users:)

[(Anonymous)]

If you are using google chrome, than I find using the "dotEPUB" extension much simpler. It's an app for the chrome browser that converts any webpage into an ePub file (which is readable on the Nook) and it is CRAZY simple:)