# Stupid Random House



## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

It may be me, but to quote Rachel Maddow, I really need someone to talk me down on this one:

Random House Publishing Group Makes Free Titles Available on Lexcycle's Stanza Reader:http://www.lexcycle.com/press/random_house_free

Now, I am an avid Reader (note the capital 'r')--I would _never_ read a book on either my iPhone or other small device. I tried when I had a Blackberry and it just didn't cut it. A book is not like music or a podcast (no looking)--its an activity that you have to engage yourself in, you shut out the world and step into an author's imagination. Its similar to a watching a movie in the theater. Not for peering into a tiny screen flipping a page every paragraph.

What dum-dum thought to offer the books for the iPhone rather than the many, many ebook readers that are made for just that purpose? HOW MANY _REAL READERS_ GO TO ITUNES TO DOWNLOAD A BOOK?! <insert 3-letter initialism expletive here>. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod and my iPhone, but the only book that I would ever want for them is an audio book.

I have clicked so many times for books not available in ebook format, I go to non-Amazon ebook sites begging for books in other formats (I am the conversion Queen) and I regularly write to publishing houses about the availability of titles, I write to authors, etc., etc. And still we have thousands of book/series that are only partially available and/or are poorly published! Now we have a group of bone-heads that want me to read books the size of my palm so that I can render my (already) bad eyes into blindness.

I am so irritated I'm gonna kick my husband in the shin when he gets home!  Or being that its iTunes, maybe I ought to give up and realize teenagers rule the world!


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Stanza is available for both Mac and Windows, and you can convert to Kindle with either of them.

Nothing in the article suggests that the books will be downloaded via iTunes. The only thing that needs to be downloaded from iTunes is the application for the iPhone, should you choose to use it.

Here's a link to some of the free books:

http://stanza.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=freebooks&si=62

There must be another link somewhere else.... I will look for it.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> Stanza is available for both Mac and Windows, and you can convert to Kindle with either of them.
> 
> Nothing in the article suggests that the books will be downloaded via iTunes. The only thing that needs to be downloaded from iTunes is the application for the iPhone, should you choose to use it.
> 
> ...


Okay, now I feel stupid! I downloaded from iTunes and couldn't see how to get on my pc, but its a totally different app. I still have a bone to pick that they just couldn't go thru the services that are already available from actual book sites, but will calm down and try to work with this.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Jesslyn, I hear you. So here's what we need to do:

Write to Random House and explain, in the nicest possible manner, that Real Readers don't read on iPods and request proper e-reader format. O.K. Maybe that's a little harsh. . .maybe leave out the "Real Reader" comment. 

In the mean time, as Pidg suggests, we can download the Stanza software and use it to make the books readable on Kindle.

And, FWIW, at the site Pidg cites (http://stanza.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=freebooks&si=62), the free books are mostly classics available at other free sites anyway.

Ann


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Jesslyn said:


> Okay, now I feel stupid! I downloaded from iTunes and couldn't see how to get on my pc, but its a totally different app. I still have a bone to pick that they just couldn't go thru the services that are already available from actual book sites, but will calm down and try to work with this.


Thanks, pidgeon, I downloaded Stanza, but don't get it. It seems to be a pc book reader that can only do ebook DRMs so for now is mainly only good for free books. I'm not knocking the free content, just that most books aren't free. Am I missing something?

Interesting that they partner w/ Fictionwise, who already has a Kindle compatible format. Whoever owns Fictionwise seems to want to get ahead of the curve.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I looked for one of the books that is supposed to be free based on the article, and it was not. I didn't see a date on the press release that had anything to do with the free books, my suspicion is that they have not got those set up yet. Alternately, I wonder if the free books are only viewable through Stanza. I will have to do further research.


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## hazeldazel (Oct 30, 2008)

Dear Random House,

three words: Oprah.  Amazon.  Revenue.

Yours sincerely,
eReader who wants to buy eBooks!

P.S. Get with the 21st century already!


Jesslyn - i *love* that you quoted Rachel Maddow!  I lurve her!


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

hazeldazel said:


> Dear Random House,
> 
> three words: Oprah. Amazon. Revenue.
> 
> ...


ROFL! Don't tempt me.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Ann Von Hagel said:


> And, FWIW, at the site Pidg cites (http://stanza.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=freebooks&si=62), the free books are mostly classics available at other free sites


True. This is much ado about nothing, unless there are a lot books only available on Stanza. Even then, users of the iPod and Sony have had to live with Kindle only formats and Kindle only freebies, so I'm not all that concerned. The Kindle is still the 600 pound gorilla of ebook readers.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

OK, I'm still researching. I do have Stanza on my iPhone, and I can get to the new free books via the online catalog in the iPhone application. I am going to see if I can download these from the iPhone, and see if there is a link somewhere on the net for these.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I've looked everywhere, I can't find a link to the free books. Through the desktop client, you can upload to the iPhone - but not vice-versa - so they cannot be downloaded and converted. I have posed the question on the Lexcycle forums, I'll post an answer here if I get one.

On the other hand, the Stanza iPhone client is _nice_. Really nice. And it has _folders_. Amazon could learn something from the Stanza programmers.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

*Update: All of the books are now available - for free - for the Kindle on Amazon.*


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Also free, and a Random House book:


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

This is free and from Ballantine. Is that a Random House imprint?


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

Leslie said:


> This is free and from Ballantine. Is that a Random House imprint?


Yes it is.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Mikuto said:


> Yes it is.


Thought so. Thanks for the confirmation.

L


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Given that all of these books are posted in the Free Book Thread, and Random House maybe didn't do so badly, do we still need this thread?  Or should I retitle it?  I do love it when Verena (Pidgeon92) talks tech.  

Betsy


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