Ebook Library User Poll

[amalthia]

This is a poll for anyone that's used or has an interest in using the Ebook Library Archive. I'm trying to get an idea of what I can do to improve the site and know which formats to focus on more.

Poll #2703 Ebook Library User Poll

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 68

View Respondents

What type of device do you read fan fiction on?

View Answers

Cybook
0 (0.0%)

Nook
1 (1.5%)

Amazon Kindle
14 (20.9%)

Ipad
3 (4.5%)

Sony PRS
18 (26.9%)

Ipod/touch
18 (26.9%)

Other will explain in comments
23 (34.3%)

What is your preferred reading format?

View Answers

RTF
21 (32.3%)

PDF
15 (23.1%)

LRF
4 (6.2%)

Mobi/PRC
14 (21.5%)

Epub
34 (52.3%)

Other I'll explain in the comments
11 (16.9%)

What fandoms do you read in the most?

View Answers

Comments

[thedivinegoat]

I read ebooks on my iPhone. (I wasn't sure whether you meant iPhone to be included under iPod/touch but I thought better too much info than too little. ;-) )

I use the Stanza app.

(I found this poll through the Latest Things page)

[amalthia]

I forgot to add Iphone...but yes that was supposed to go in there. :)

[humantales]

I read books on my Palm T/X.

[elf]

Favorite format is hard for me--absolute favorite is "PDF custom-made to my preferences." Most of the time, I prefer ePubs; for fanfic, I often use RTFs (again, set to my preferences, but that's easier than tweaking for PDF creation). I don't like line-between-paragraph setups; I prefer indented first lines. And for RTF, I use a standard font size of 15 or 16 pts, which shows up pretty small on the PRS-505.

[amalthia]

I'm also not much of a fan of the space between paragraphs but with RTF when I tried to indent and change the size it always looked funny to me. I normally use LRF for no space between paragraphs. The good thing about RTF is that it's easy to modify. :)

[laureen]

I read on my iPhone, used to be on my iPod touch. And since I use Stanza I prefer ePub files (although anything that can be nicely converted by Calibre works as well). As for fandom, mostly SGA, though some HP, NCIS, etc.

[rilestar]

I use the HanLin v3.

[amalthia]

I hear good things about the Hanlin. :) What format do you read on it?

[whizzy]

I have a Pocketbook 360, which totally rocks. Format's not important because it'll read just about anything, but mostly I've been using HTML/RTF/EPUB.

[amalthia]

yeah the non-popular major brands have so many nice features!

But what's your personal favorite? :) Does the pocketbook display page numbers on the right margin for epub ebooks?

[perfica]

I don't have an iPad yet but will be getting one so, whatever format works best with that.

Fandoms: SGA, SG-1, SPN, ST: Reboot, HP, Merlin

[garryowen]

I still am device-less. I was thinking of getting an iPad, but am annoyed by the fact that it won't play flash. That's fucking retarded. IDK. Might wait until that all gets sorted out. I'm excited to read epub format!

[amalthia]

it's good your excited about epub. :) if you get the ipad I think that's the only format it supports. :) I'm looking forward to seeing what other tablets come out in the future! the Ipad shows what is possible. :)

[naraht]

I read on my laptop but I'm still interested in downloadable ebooks.

Here via Metafandom

[ayiana]

This is the first I've heard of an ebook fanfiction libary. I'm looking forward to browsing through it.

I have a Kindle that I received as a gift for Christmas. I'd no idea until then just what a wondrous invention e-book readers were. I use it with Calibre (which automatically converts just about any file type), a Firefox addon called read-it-later (to pull any webpage I'm interested in to a single file that I can then download with Calibre and load onto my Kindle), and a freeware downloading program for those fics I want to pull from ff.net (it pulls all of the chapters and saves them to a single file).

Isn't technology wonderful? :-)

Oh, and since I forgot to mention fandoms in the poll itself: SG1, Bones, JAG, Farscape, and Beauty and the Beast (TV).

Re: Here via Metafandom

[amalthia]

I use Calibre for all my conversions too. :) and fanfiction downloader is the savior for everyone that reads on portable devices. :)

[anarchicq]

I read on my laptop. I haven't an ereader nor do I want one. I just thought that was possibly useful feedback.

[amalthia]

Does this mean you use the archive to find single file downloaded RTF's to read on your computer then? Because I know some people who don't read on portable devices but like the single file versions of longer fics.

[amaresu]

Found this via metafandom.

I have an Astak EZReader. I prefer epub because I often have to change the font sizing and it has the least amount of formating problems with that. At least from what I've seen so far. I'm new at this ereader thing.

This is also the first I've ever heard of your library. I think it would probably be very popular if it was better known.

[amalthia]

I do try to promote but fandom is so fractured it's hard to reach everywhere. Even in SPN my main fandom I'm not sure if all SPN fic readers know about the archive.

epub seems to be winning out as popular format. :) but I'm not too surprised more devices support epub than mobi.

[mizubyte]

I connect to the Internet on my iPhone to read fic online, however I also have a DS reader program on my Nintendo DS, which is where I store .txt files of fics I have read/want to read

I used to have a pdf reader for my DS, but it screwed up all the time, and if the fics were too large, it wouldn't open. So. .txt files FTW :-)

[amalthia]

ah, I've heard of people reading on those devices but I wasn't sure how the experience was like.

[malkingrey]

I read e-books on a Palm TungstenE2.

[maryaminx.livejournal.com]

I use a Samsung Propel and read fics via its browser. It's pretty shit, but I can't afford anything better right now. In the future I think I'll buy a Nook. On my desktop, I download in a variety of formats, although I hate PDFs because they make my computer lock up for a few minutes.

[nafs]

I'm a dinosaur *g* I read fic on my Palm Tungsten E2, usually using Plucker

/here via metafandom@lj

[ghostgum]

I use the Stanza app on my iTouch. Aaaaaand, even though this is kind of totally off-topic here, can I just say that I only discovered the Library a few days ago, and am loving it to pieces? :D

Re: /here via metafandom@lj

[amalthia]

I LOVE off topic posts like this. :) hehe

I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)

When I first started the library it never crossed my mind just how many people with Iphones, ipods, itouch would be using the website. So that's pretty neat.

[eleanorjane]

I currently read fic on my iPhone, Kindle and computer; in the former two cases I read in eBook form (as I'm in Australia and our Kindles here don't have web access).

I ticked a few answers for preferred format, because I'm kind of conflicted. Given the screen room I prefer PDFs, but reading them on the iPhone is unsatisfactory and my Kindle's never handled them well. Equally, I adore the way the Kindle handles seamless text flow and sizing, but I dislike the fact that it won't show art or formatting.

I ticked iPad, although I don't have it yet (again, not available in Aus yet) -- I'm planning on buying one as soon as they launch here (in 2-3 weeks hopefully) and I am really, really looking forward to being able to read fic on it. I'm planning on reading mostly in PDF format.

[amalthia]

I think I should have been more clear in stating I'd like to know preferred format for reading on portable devices.

I think you should be able to read mobi/prc on the Kindle, at last with those you get images and table of contents. PDF is great for larger screens...not so great for reflowing down to a smaller size. Though if the PDF is created with a 6 inch screen in mind it can look good. :)

[finch]

I wasn't sure if you wanted to know what fandoms I download from your library for my reader, or what fandoms I save on my own for my reader, so I gave you both. :)

[amalthia]

Hey! I love Fullmetal Alchemist! I just can't find the stories in single files and have no clue what's good in this fandom! :)

I think it's great the fandoms you listed. I like knowing what you currently use but I'm also looking to see what other fandoms people enjoy so I can try and get stories from those fandoms on the archive as well. :)

[ariunderscore]

I use a Palm Tungsten II. It does exactly what I want it to do, it's very small and easily prop-up-able against any cats that want to share my pillow, and it's backlit so I can read at night in bed.

I prefer .html and .txt files that I convert into files that I can read with iSilo (I can look up what format that is once I get home). I'm not sure I'd have a need for an ebook library, but thought I'd wheigh in on the "what are you using" question.

[lilacsigil]

I use Stanza and Calibre on an iPhone. This is supposed to work with PDFs but often doesn't!

[koulagirl666.livejournal.com]

Here from metafandom

I read on my notebook but when I'm not connected to the Internet, and I have access to a Sony PRS. I like PDFs because they're versatile and it's less likely to matter which device I use, especially in future with upgrades on the horizon.

[calime]

I've so far read fanfic and ebooks on my PC/laptop, but purchased the Foxit eSlick a few months ago. I must say I've read a lot more ebooks since then (I like pdf and txt formats, and the device enables to reflow the document after enlarging the font, very comfortable for pdf-s) and am also planning to try to read more fanfic from the device, too (I do have the habit of reading online, but it's not possible to go online during the workday if on has spare 5 minutes, while it's possible to open the ebook reader :), plus, well, carpal tunnel, ahoy - and the ereader puts less strain on eyes).

[babaca]

I also read on my TMobile G1 phone using Aldiko (although I guess I don't really read fanfic on the phone, but I could if I wanted to).

[velocitygrass]

I love reading long fics on my Sony PRS and I love your archive :)

For new fics that I find on the net, I'm using .epubs now rather than .rtf because the file size is smaller (it's not yet an issue for me but it could be at some point) and because I had a few problems with special characters in .rtf (like ellipses and em-dashes).

I've actually written a ruby script that allows me to easily create epubs if I have the .xhtml(s) and I'm very happy with that (even though I still have to strip the unnecessary html from fics I download). The only bad thing about epubs is that the Sony reader has a bug and won't read single xhtml files over 260 kB or so, so if a fic is longer, it has to be split. (Calibre does this automatically if you set that option but my script doesn't, because I'd rather manually split into real chapters if the fic has them than randomly splitting at the end of a paragraph.)

[amalthia]

One of the reasons I've started adding epubs to the archive is because more devices started to support it but no lie RTFs easily outnumber actual converted fics and I've had to stop and backtrack more than once as I learn more about converting fan fiction into actual ebook formats.