Introduction Post

[amalthia]

Hi, I'm amalthia aka amothea

I first really started reading ebooks two years ago when I found about about the Sony PRS-500. I did some research and basically went and got myself one the next day (self control is not my middle name) I LOVED It. Though it was a first generation e-ink device I didn't really notice the screen clarity difference until the PRS-505 came out. So my husband got the PRS-500 and he reads books on it quite often and likes it. I've had my PRS-505 for a year now, I didn't really debate long on the Kindle vs Sony issue because I didn't like the keyboard at all. I like that my PRS-505 feels like a book when I'm reading on it.

I've never had an ipod touch, or any of the earlier ebook devices so I'm still unsure how those work.

I'm currently the main administrator for the Ebook Library It's a fan fiction archive and all the stories are formatted to add directly to an ebook device. Though, to not confuse anyone, I made the site with only the PRS-500 as my template for what a user would need.

So the default format is RTF size 20 Arial because it works. It's also the one format anyone can download and convert to the format of their choice if they want to. Once I got more familar with file types and pros and cons I started to add the LRF format in order to provide stories that could show a Table of Contents and artwork. Then the Kindle came out and a few volunteers offered to provide mobi formatted fan fiction ebooks and I naturally said "yes please!" Because I really did want the site to help people find fan fiction formatted in a single file they could use on their portable reading devices. I've become somewhat of an expert with Calibre because I've converted over 2000 fan fics and novels after two years. The archive now has over 810 fan fiction stories hosted from mulitiple fandoms and not limited to one pairing type, Slash, General, and Het stories are hosted there.

I started the site because two years ago there was no one place to go for advice on converting fan fiction to read on my PRS-500, there were no archives to download stories to read without me having to first merge the story into a single file, add the metadata, and change the font size so I could read the text. I was hoping if there was an archive that could provide easy to read stories for mobile reading devices then maybe more people would give the Sony PRS a chance.

I'm participating in this community because I do love to help people and it seems a shame not to share what I learned if it could save a person hours of their time trying to figure it out on their own.

My best advice if you have a Kindle or a Sony PRS is get Calibre. It can convert files to epub, lrf, and mobi from just about any filetype. So now when I create LRF files it doesn't take much to create a mobi version too. I also can't recommend the MobileRead Forums enough. It's a great place for news, discussion, and more in depth information on all the various portable reading devices. If we can't answer a question here there's a good chance someone there will know the answer.

EDIT: P.S. I may be a bit biased towards the Sony PRS-505 but I do try to keep on top of what's going on with the Kindle and other devices. In the other community I moderate
fanfic_ebooks I do try my best to stay impartial when giving advice and answering questions.