# 20 classics of the 20th century now available for Kindle



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Amazon just announced an exclusive deal with the Odyssey Editions imprint of Wylie to sell Kindle editions of 20 books previously not released electronically.

From the press release:


> This is the first time any of the titles--which include Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead," Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint" and Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man"--have been available electronically, and all of the books are exclusive to the Kindle Store for two years.


The titles are (links available in my blog):
* _London Fields _by Martin Amis
* _The Adventures of Augie March _by Saul Bellow
* _Ficciones _(Spanish Edition) by Jorge Luis Borges
* _Junky _by William Burroughs
* _The Stories of John Cheever _by John Cheever
* _Invisible Man _by Ralph Ellison
* _Love Medicine _by Louise Erdrich
* _The Naked and the Dead _by Norman Mailer
* _Lolita _by Vladimir Nabokov
* _The Enigma of Arrival _by V.S. Naipaul
* _The White Castle _by Orhan Pamuk
* _Portnoy's Complaint _by Philip Roth
* _Midnight's Children _by Salman Rushdie
* _The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat _by Oliver Sacks
* _Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas_ by Hunter S. Thompson
* _Rabbit, Run_ by John Updike
* _Rabbit Redux_ by John Updike
* _Rabbit is Rich_ by John Updike
* _Rabbit at Rest_ by John Updike
* _Brideshead Revisited_ by Evelyn Waugh


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Wow! These are some top notch books. _Lolita_ is the finest novel of English prose from the 20th century. My only beef is that I own all but four as DTB edtions. Or three swapping the English for Spanish on Borges is OK.

Now bring Faulkner to Kindle! (Even if I own the DTB.)


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2010)

NogDog said:


> * _The Stories of John Cheever _by John Cheever


I loved this whole collection, reading it from beginning to end. He tells the best stories. "Reunion," is absolutely a fine piece of craftsmanship. There are so many other greats, "The Swimmer," Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor," and "The Enormous Radio."

Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

Hunter S. Thompson certainly deserves mention as well.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

And, once again, none of them are available to us in the UK - not even the ones by British authors. *sigh*


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Linjeakel said:


> And, once again, none of them are available to us in the UK - not even the ones by British authors. *sigh*


It is a shame that at least the various English-speaking countries don't have a unified area of copyright ownership, but then it's nationality-based, not language-based. I guess those of you in the UK now have to put pressure on whoever owns the digital copyrights there to get with the times.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Grrrr, exclusivity deals! I always worried they would happen (Harry Potter being the series I would have predicted). However nice it is for us, I think it is a bad precedent in the e-book world.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Question is, how much will they sell them for?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

jason10mm said:


> Grrrr, exclusivity deals! I always worried they would happen (Harry Potter being the series I would have predicted). However nice it is for us, I think it is a bad precedent in the e-book world.


Yeah, I'm not a big fan of that aspect of it. Seems sort of contrary to the spirit of fair-trade/anti-monopoly laws, though I have absolutely no idea where it falls within the letter of such laws.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Half-Orc said:


> Question is, how much will they sell them for?


$9.99 each.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Hah, I haven't even heard of a lot of those books. Obviously I have no couth.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Steph H said:


> Hah, I haven't even heard of a lot of those books. Obviously I have no couth.


I'd heard of most, but there were a few that were totally new to me, too. I'm sure "classic" is largely used as a marketing term, especially since you'll find dozens of definitions as to what it means, anyway.


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## DLs Niece (Apr 12, 2010)

I have to admit I have never heard of the 'Rabbit' series.


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## Raffeer (Nov 19, 2008)

long URL, short article. 
Thanks for posting

http://tinyurl.com/2fsx97l tiny url


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Or see this thread in the Book Corner sub-forum (which lnks to <shameless plug>my blog article</shameless plug>, too.  )


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Finally! _Midnight's Children_ on Kindle.

I take issue with the 9.99 price on these (I suspect they're all in cheaper paper editions) but it's a start.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Maybe I'll finally read *Brideshead Revisited*...


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## Groggy1 (Jun 21, 2010)

Sorry Odyssey you suck!  I'm not popping 9.99 for a kindle addition of Hunter Thompson!  I'd curse you but I don't feel like lowering myself to your standard!

Just Bite Me.

*Grog makes his statement and walks with his wallet closed.*


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

> The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks


I was told this was a good book, now at least it's available if I want to read it. Maybe..... if the price drops.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

DLs Niece said:


> I have to admit I have never heard of the 'Rabbit' series.


Sigh. I bought paperback versions of several of those books when in College for my lit classes...for 6.99 to 7.99. Stupid publishers.

Rabbit Run is one of those lit books considered masterfully written, and honestly, it is. But it is also a tough read, and I think without some sort of group discussion, you won't get as much out of it as you could.

David Dalglish


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Wylie signed an exclusive deal with Amazon for two years.

Random House is already taking action to stop the deal.

http://kindlehomepage.blogspot.com/2010/07/a-list-new-agency-model-deal-will.html


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## scottnicholson (Jan 31, 2010)

Well, this is just the next step on the evolutionary rung. While noteworthy (and Richard Curtis has actually been doing this since the late 1990s), it won't take authors long to figure out if, "Hey he can skip the publisher, why can't i skip the agent?"

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Though Wylie has a smaller 'corporation" to feed, every nickel he takes unnecessarily comes out of the pocket of readers.

Scott Nicholson
http://hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Oh, this is awesome! I wish they'd included Pale Fire as well as Lolita, but you can't have everything. I've never read The Naked and the Dead, and have always meant to.

I didn't find the Rabbit books to be difficult reads at all -- although Rabbit Angstrom isn't a terribly likable character, so that might be a stumbling block for some.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

What's even more interesting to me is that the deal is with Wylie literary agency, part of growing trend of agencies that are moving into the publishing publishing. In this case, the titles are out-of-print, but in other cases, agencies are forming imprints and publishing (mostly as e-books) clients' manuscripts that they couldn't sell to the NY houses. I think we'll see more and more of this as agents try to find ways to stay relevant. 
L.J.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Thalia the Muse said:


> I didn't find the Rabbit books to be difficult reads at all -- although Rabbit Angstrom isn't a terribly likable character, so that might be a stumbling block for some.


That's more of what I meant. Not difficult in a readability sense, but characters and plot. I really, really did not like Rabbit. But the bathtub scene at the end was just horrific and shockingly well done.

David Dalglish


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Yeah, Rabbit is a big whiny self-involved misogynistic jerk. Janice is no prize either. And yet, I found the books fascinating!


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## TheSeagull (Oct 25, 2009)

Linjeakel said:


> And, once again, none of them are available to us in the UK - not even the ones by British authors. *sigh*


I'm in the UK and I bought Lolita and Midnight's Children no problem. $7.80 and $7.56 respectively 

I'm so pleased as I really wanted them.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Given I have doubts about how long these books are going to be available (Random House is already talking lawsuit believing they own the rights), I went ahead and got the only book on the list I wanted, and I'll be squirreling away a copy. No 1984 on my Kindle, thank you very much...

Get your popcorn out for this one, folks. There's been a lot of question on who owns the rights to books published before ebooks were really thought of, and this single act may resolve the situation. And the publishers are freaking out about it.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

I really hope this does solve it.

One thing I don't understand -- plenty of pre-digital non-public-domain books ARE available already, by authors living and dead. On the Road, 1984, Deliverance, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Dune, Cold Sassy Tree, Watership Down -- all Kindleized. Why are some off-limits, while others are fine?


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## Groggy1 (Jun 21, 2010)

I contacted a individual in the industry (e-publishing/publishing) who deals with this sort of issue.  His response was as follows:

"I'm not familiar with the details of any arrangement between W and RH, but I'm guessing that RH bought the W catalog in terms of book copyright.

With the new dist medium, I'm guessing that W is trying to exploit a potential legal loophole in a contract that was written before E-books ever existed.

If W transferred copyright to RH it is an open and shut case. If OTOH the contract read something like RH to serve as the official publishing of W "books", then W might be able to make some hay legally.

Long story short, most newspaper and magazine publishers will soon be bankrupt. Book and journal publishers have a little more time, but we too must quickly adapt or die. "


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Groggy1 said:


> I contacted a individual in the industry (e-publishing/publishing) who deals with this sort of issue. His response was as follows:
> 
> "I'm not familiar with the details of any arrangement between W and RH, but I'm guessing that RH bought the W catalog in terms of book copyright.
> 
> ...


This is essentially where the question lies. Books that have not had a new contract written since ebooks came into existence likely have ambiguous language around "books." It's one of the reasons why many pre-1995 books haven't been distributed electronically. (That, and most have to be scanned/OCR'd/formatted, and that's a fair amount of work if you don't believe you'll get many sales.)

I'd be stunned if Wylie would have started off with books that had their copyright transferred. I can't imagine he's that stupid. I'll make an early bet that this either settles quickly, or goes all the way to the supreme court.


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## J.R.Tate (Jul 20, 2010)

That's a top notch list of books there.... thanks for sharing it.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I wouldn't celebrate too soon. Yes, these are fine books, and it's good that they're on Kindle. But it *isn't * good that they are exclusive to Kindle.

Now Barnes & Noble has no choice, in order to remain competitive, but to line up their own exclusive releases, and then you'll be complaining about how they aren't available for your Kindle and how B&N is forcing you to buy a nook, which you'll be damned if you'll do, as nook owners will soon be complaining about Amazon (if they aren't already).

Meanwhile, a whole bunch of other people, with neither Kindles nor nooks, will be looking at the situation and shaking their heads and saying, "Call me when you've got it sorted out...I'm sticking with paper."

Went through this with Beta vs. VHS. Went through this with Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD. Now we're going to go through it again with ebooks.

When will they ever learn?


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## TheSeagull (Oct 25, 2009)

Wylie will win any case. Random House tried to sue Rosetta in basically the same situation as this as they had the copyright to the print editions and claimed it covered electronic versions as well. The judge ruled in Rosetta's favour.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Good point. I don't like the exclusivity at all.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Random House says they will no longer accept submissions from Wylie as an agent citing conflict of interest.

According to RH, booksellers of all sizes are complaining that they put a lot of effort into promoting sales of the books on that list and now they aren't motivated to do that. Gee, when was the last time you saw a big poster touting Norman Mailer?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> Random House says they will no longer accept submissions from Wylie as an agent citing conflict of interest.
> 
> According to RH, booksellers of all sizes are complaining that they put a lot of effort into promoting sales of the books on that list and now they aren't motivated to do that. Gee, when was the last time you saw a big poster touting Norman Mailer?


I'm not a big fan of the exclusivity issue, but I am a fan that all this hopefully is raising red flags throughout the big, traditional publishing houses to get their acts together and get their existing libraries out there as e-books at competitive prices, instead of sitting on their duffs and complaining about how it will affect their paper-based products.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

NogDog said:


> I'm not a big fan of the exclusivity issue, but I am a fan that all this hopefully is raising red flags throughout the big, traditional publishing houses to get their acts together and get their existing libraries out there as e-books at competitive prices, instead of sitting on their duffs and complaining about how it will affect their paper-based products.


I can't really fault RH. They've been working on epubbing their list pretty quickly. Remember in April/09 they released 8,000 books to Kindle? They are releasing all the Nero Wolfe books one right after the other. And don't forget, they were the only major publisher that didn't go along with the agency model.

It's possible that the original contracts gave RH and/or its subsidiaries the right to publish in any format of its choosing. There may be something like that written in to cover hardbacks, mass market, trade and audio. As long as the clause doesn't specifically restrict formats or specifically spell out which formats, they might have a case.


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## pdallen (Aug 3, 2010)

I am pleased to see more and more classics available on kindle for low prices. The day is approaching when I can purchase a kindle and downsize my print library. My back will be eternally grateful.


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## BobbyDeVito (Aug 5, 2010)

Basilius said:


> Given I have doubts about how long these books are going to be available (Random House is already talking lawsuit believing they own the rights), I went ahead and got the only book on the list I wanted, and I'll be squirreling away a copy. No 1984 on my Kindle, thank you very much...
> 
> Get your popcorn out for this one, folks. There's been a lot of question on who owns the rights to books published before ebooks were really thought of, and this single act may resolve the situation. And the publishers are freaking out about it.


indeed .....Andrew Wylie has fired the first shot.

i already SAW this movie 15 years ago when i worked in the music biz for the major labels.

this is HARDWARE DRIVEN.

eBooks are gonna take over, it's only a matter of time.

there's gonna be PLENTY to keep the I.P. attorneys busy for years to come!


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