# How can you track page number on the book you are reading?



## Deacon (Jan 11, 2011)

How can I see the information of the number of pages and current location in the book I am reading? I only see a % read and location reference. What about what page I am on in the book and how many pages are in the book and or left to read??


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

There's no way to see page numbers.  It bothered me at first too but I finally got use to it.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

There's a similar discussion here http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,48447.0.html.

Generally page numbers are only of use in a book for either remembering your place (the Kindle does that), making a note of where something was mentioned in the book (notes are automatically positioned, otherwise use the location number instead) or to see how far through the book you are (the percentage read is more useful).

Page numbers won't work properly in an ebook because the pages change size depending upon the font you use. Hence the location number.

The only time I can think when a page number is needed is when, as the poster in the other thread notes, there are links in the book ("See page 110" for instance) which should really be replaced with hyperlinks in a proper ebook.

So you do quickly get used to them not being there. If it troubles you, though, use the location number which is the same - except that there tend to be several thousand locations in a book.


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## ElementR (Jan 11, 2011)

there should be page numbers on the kindle and it does work on a ebook. I owned a Nook for a week before I returned it and  bought a Kindle. On the Nook you see the page number that correspond to the numbers in the paper book. But on the Nook you can flip the page but the number wont always change because of the differences in font size. I wish they had an option to display the page numbers though, its hard to find something in a paper book as my friend loves paper books to much to get a e-reader.


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

The numbers on the Nook (or Sony, etc.) don't necessarily correspond to the book.  I've heard something about they just display x amount of text and call it a page.  Don't count on the page numbers being the same as any particular edition.

Just think of a location as a very small page.

You get used to percentages and the dots in the progress bar very quickly; at least most people do.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

ElementR said:


> I wish they had an option to display the page numbers though, its hard to find something in a paper book as my friend loves paper books to much to get a e-reader.


See, the problem is that there are different page numbers depending on whether you have the hardcover, mass market paperback, trade paperback, large print paperback/hardcover, book club edition, American printing, UK printing, and so on.

Which do you choose?

Mike


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't have a problem using locations and the progress bar. . . .the only real concern I can see is how do you cite something if you need to.  I expect there will be a standardization for that soon too.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I don't have a problem using locations and the progress bar. . . .the only real concern I can see is how do you cite something if you need to. I expect there will be a standardization for that soon too.


Once I got use to it, it stopped bothering me too.

I've thought about this a lot. I wonder if they provided...page # based on the first book printed (typically the hard back), along with paragraph # and line #. It might be a formatting nightmare but it would take care of the font size problem. Location number would look something like this...325-3-2.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

sebat said:


> I wonder if they provided...page # based on the first book printed (typically the hard back),


I would like this a great deal.

I don't think it would be necessary however to include paragraph and line (chapter and verse?) as we typically don't cite physical books this way.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Elk said:


> I would like this a great deal.
> 
> I don't think it would be necessary however to include paragraph and line (chapter and verse?) as we typically don't cite physical books this way.


No it's not necessary but if you are reading on one of the largest sized fonts, you might end up having 3 or 4 pages of page 25. By adding at least a paragraph count it would give you a better idea of where you are in the DTB and make it easier for someone reading at the smallest font to find your location. However it would be done, I think it makes a whole lot more sense than Amazon's location numbers. I can't see how that even correlates to anything!


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## Martel47 (Jun 14, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I don't have a problem using locations and the progress bar. . . .the only real concern I can see is how do you cite something if you need to. I expect there will be a standardization for that soon too.


Regarding citation, from my latest edition of Turabian (on my Kindle), section 17.1.10 "Online and Other Electronic Books," location 3575-92:

"...If page numberss are not available, you may identify the location of a cited passage in a note by adding a descriptive locator (such as a preceding subheading) following the word _under_ before the URL and access date...When you cite books published in other electronic formats, such as those available for download or other delivery from a bookseller or library, identify the format (CD-ROM, Microsoft Reader e-book)."

Turabian doesn't even require the location number in a note, just the reader type.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Martel47 said:


> Turabian doesn't even require the location number in a note, just the reader type.


Interesting, and very easy, but it sure doesn't provide the reader with much to go on if interested in cite checking.


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## Martel47 (Jun 14, 2010)

Elk said:


> Interesting, and very easy, but it sure doesn't provide the reader with much to go on if interested in cite checking.


I guess they figure if you have access to the e-reader file, you should be able to find it through a search. Maybe?

Because realistically, across different editions of books, page numbers have little correspondence, references can't always be checked easily.

I've included the location number when citing Kindle books, and sometimes give the heading or chapter number, if I know the professor wants it. I rarely cite from Kindle sources, because I can't get a library book on the kindle and I rarely buy a book for research purposes. Sometimes I'll have to cite a book purchased as a text for class, and I always try to get Kindle editions when I can.

So, in reality, it's a different way of reading and page numbers aren't necessary because there are no "pages". I've cited from online documents for a number of years, and they can be more difficult to search than my kindle books (if more readily available sometimes).


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## Stephanie Golden (Dec 24, 2010)

This is a very interesting thread. As a former copyeditor, I'm always alert to such issues. I recall when websites started being cited as references, the pros soon worked out a system, and you can find them everywhere now in academic works. The ebook is so new that that hasn't happened yet, but it will.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Martel47 said:


> I guess they figure if you have access to the e-reader file, you should be able to find it through a search. Maybe?
> 
> Because realistically, across different editions of books, page numbers have little correspondence, references can't always be checked easily.


Both excellent points.

In my work I am often explicitly checking citations and reading the original. Thus finding the precise reference is critical. At the moment citations to purely electronic sources is rare. Fortunately.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I don't have a problem using locations and the progress bar. . . .the only real concern I can see is how do you cite something if you need to. I expect there will be a standardization for that soon too.


Yep, I just stick to paper books and journals for all my research and teaching work--and probably always will, so I don't really care.

Leisure reading I couldn't care less what page number I'm on. The progress indicator lets me know how far I am into the book which is good enough.


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