XanderJan 2, 2023
Paolo Melchiorre

I highly recommend supporting the Standard Ebooks project. 📚

«Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven project that produces new editions of public domain ebooks that are lovingly formatted, open source, free of copyright restrictions, and free of cost.»

👇
https://standardebooks.org/donate

#standardebook #ebook #publicdomain #book #reading

Dec 31, 2022 at 4:46pmWeb
Show threadAllen but one of the good onesDec 31, 2022
@paulox How do they compare to project gutenberg? More attention to OCR errors?
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreDec 31, 2022

@uastronomer From their website:
"While there are plenty of places where you can download free and accurately-transcribed public domain ebooks, we feel the quality of those ebooks can often be greatly improved." ✨

You can read the complete answer directly from this article 👇
https://standardebooks.org/about/what-makes-standard-ebooks-different#the-short-blurb

Show threadBadriJan 1, 2023

@uastronomer @paulox seems like take ebooks from places like Project Gutenberg, and then manually typeset and proofread. So no, I don't think you'll be finding any OCR errors there 🙂

This might not be for everyone since they're taking ebooks that are already freely available, but as someone who never pushes an ebook to my device without setting a proper cover for it first, this post-processing and prettifying is definitely something I'm into 👀

(On my "support when I get enough money" list 💸)

Show threadJason Pettus May 21, 2023
@uastronomer @paulox The main difference is that Gutenberg concentrates mostly on the text itself; although they nominally offer different editions for different devices, their main focus is on getting the ASCII text as accurate and "evergreen" as possible. The Standard Ebooks project takes a select amount of these Gutenberg texts and formats them in a really well-done and contemporary way, using a sophisticated CSS stylesheet designed specifically for books.
Show threadAllen but one of the good onesMay 21, 2023
@jasonpettus @paulox ah, that explains it nicely, thank you
Show threadDavidPetraitisDec 31, 2022
@paulox
Wow thanks, great resource. Will donate when I can.
Show threadDavid GriggJan 1, 2023
@paulox I can heartily endorse. I’m a volunteer producer with them (The Return of Sherlock Holmes is one of mine). We really do work hard to create ebooks which are pleasant to read and follow all the relevant standards. And you can download them for free, no strings attached.
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 1, 2023
@drgrigg Thanks for your great work, it's really appreciated. 🙏
And Happy Public Domain Day 2023. 🎉
Show threadDavid GriggJan 1, 2023
@paulox Thanks! As I see you are a Python developer, you might also be interested to know that our comprehensive toolset is all written in Python. In fact, I learned Python specifically so that I could help contribute to that part of our work.
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 2, 2023
@drgrigg I've already gave a look at the toolset and find out it's Python based. Unfortunately I haven't found the time to study it more. But it's something I want to try to do in 2023
Show threadilja Jan 1, 2023
@drgrigg Thank you for your work! 
Show threadLew PerinJan 1, 2023

@paulox Yes, it’s a great project.

But public domain books, by virtue of their age, tend to contain allusions that are opaque to modern readers. That’s why it would be helpful to allow the community to annotate classics on the Internet.

This thread has some thoughts on annotation: https://social.tchncs.de/@babelcarp/109592403529564429

Lew Perin (@[email protected])

I just tumbled to a beautiful example of someone realizing there was a need for information and then doing the work to amass and publish it on the Web: http://www.powermobydick.com/ I was rereading Moby Dick and doing Web searches for obscure references when, more than halfway through, I found Margaret Guroff’s annotated version of the book online. I’ve ditched the dead-trees version.

Mastodon
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 1, 2023
@babelcarp very interesting. Thanks for sharing. 😊
Show threadBen_KingJan 1, 2023
@paulox Love this project!!!
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 1, 2023
@Ben_King22 I'm glad to read that 🙂
Show threadBarry Schwartz 🫖Jan 1, 2023
@paulox That used to be my hobby! Though I sometimes used proprietary fonts.
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 1, 2023
@chemoelectric interesting hobby, hopefully we had bow very good open fonts 🙂
Show threadBarry Schwartz 🫖Jan 1, 2023

@paulox There are many very usable ones available now.

Also readers can insert fonts of the user’s choice. I think Google may be using one of my own in its e-book reader!

Show threadBarry Schwartz 🫖Jan 1, 2023
@paulox I was making PDFs with things like illuminated initials and stuff, sometimes carefully colored in. It got boring after a while. :)
Show threadTwoowls Elt 🦉 🦉Jan 1, 2023
@paulox thanks for sharing this, I’m going to get involved!
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 1, 2023
@twoowls73 I'm very glad to read that, you made my day 😊
Show threadWendy M. GrossmanJan 1, 2023
@paulox Why them and not the venerable Gutenberg Project?
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 1, 2023
@wendyg Gutenberg project is great and actually is the source of Standard ebooks. I've already answered your question here
https://fosstodon.org/@paulox/109609521438705590
Paolo Melchiorre (@[email protected])

@[email protected] From their website: "While there are plenty of places where you can download free and accurately-transcribed public domain ebooks, we feel the quality of those ebooks can often be greatly improved." ✨ You can read the complete answer directly from this article 👇 https://standardebooks.org/about/what-makes-standard-ebooks-different#the-short-blurb

Fosstodon
Show threadMTRNord (they/them)Jan 1, 2023
@paulox oh this is great! Thanks for sharing the project. I wish there was this but for gean books :) and I wish I had time to contribute a book. 😅
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 1, 2023
@MTRNord Thanks. I'm glad you appreciate the project.
Show threadRalf AhlbrinkJan 1, 2023
@paulox
#ProjectGutenberg with #Github repositories
@RAprism
Show threadMichael LabowiczJan 1, 2023
@paulox looks pretty neat! Will try to load up my kindle with one of these books to see how it looks
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 2, 2023
@mlabowicz I've already read some standard ebooks with my Kindle and they look like pretty good 👍
Show threadThomas Svensson 🖖Jan 5, 2023
@paulox I didn't know about Standard Ebooks, so thanks for the tip.
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 6, 2023
@tsvenson you're welcome 😊
Show threadKevin Bowrin ☕Jan 6, 2023
@paulox Done 👍
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 6, 2023
@kevinbowrin good job 👌
Show threadAdam Johnson  Jan 9, 2023
@paulox any recommended titles? I'm reading Robinson Crusoe at the moment. At first I got it from Gutenberg but the Standard version is indeed nicer.
Show threadPaolo MelchiorreJan 9, 2023

@adamchainz As of January 1, 2023, all Sherlock Holmes stories are in the public domain. ✨

What better time to re-read this series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ? 🔍

https://standardebooks.org/collections/sherlock-holmes

Show threadAdam Johnson  Jan 9, 2023
@paulox yeah that is cool
Show threadAaron May 9, 2023
@paulox These books are wonderfully produced.