Handboek Europese vogels (1 Viewer)

[zoltannemeth]

As the Dutch publication date is getting closer and closer, I thought I'd open a separate thread for this upcoming book. Sample pages are already available from the publisher's website.

Handboek Europese vogels | het nieuwe standaardwerk | vogelboek, vogelgids KNNV Uitgeverij

Handboek Europese vogels - 1000 pagina’s ultieme vogelkennis - spectaculaire foto's - alle verenkleden en kenmerken in beeld - het beste boek over vogeldeterminatie dat er is!

knnvuitgeverij.nl

 

[jurek]

I would love to buy this book as a pdf to carry on my phone during birding.

 

[Butty]

I would love to buy this book as a pdf to carry on my phone during birding.

Why is it taking publishers so long to latch on to the obvious utility of this.

 

[jurek]

I think people are too used to the image of glossy bird books bought by bibliophiles.

Today many people avidly buy books, but read all books on a mobile phone or a computer screen. Just like people don't use tape recorders for playback or wear wool sweaters for warmth.

 

[Mysticete]

I doubt the majority of book reading takes place on phones. Kindles and equivalent devices maybe, but a tiny cell phone screen?

A study from 2019 based in the US found that 65% of people read physical books: of the reminder 14% use audiobooks, and the remainder prefer ebooks. It didn't go into more depth on where they were reading ebooks, but I would imagine cell phones were only a small portion of that 20%

 

[John Cantelo]

For browsing and refining my knowledge/understanding like many I find printed books far more pleasant to read than pdfs and so am comfortable with reading them for much longer. For checking odd details or confirming ID in the field then a pdf on a mobile Phone is much better.

 

[jurek]

A study from 2019 based in the US found that 65% of people read physical books: of the reminder 14% use audiobooks, and the remainder prefer ebooks.

If this is true, this means that 65% of people read paper books and 21% of people read only ebooks. So a publisher selling an ebook increases his customers base by about one third.

Bird ID books are special, because they are meant to be carried in the wild, but grew to be far too heavy for that (1000 pages!). This makes pdfs an obvious solution. Many people treat them as coffee-table books or take pictures in the field and compare at home. But the original concept is still important.

 

[njlarsen]

Bird ID books are special, because they are meant to be carried in the wild, but grew to be far too heavy for that (1000 pages!). This makes pdfs an obvious solution.

Either that or make an actual app based on the book. Takes more additional work but also makes the result better by including sounds.
Niels

 

[Butty]

this means that . . . 21% of people read only ebooks

It doesn't mean that at all. Hasty incorrect interpretation of data leads to all sorts or erroneous statements - as we see in the media, social and otherwise, constantly and increasingly.

 

[Mysticete]

Either that or make an actual app based on the book. Takes more additional work but also makes the result better by including sounds.
Niels

This. I do use the Sibley App if I am birding a familiar location and probably don't need much ID help. But the Sibley App is designed to be an app. I've seen some lazy book to pdf/equivalent conversions which are much worst products than the physical book

 

[jurek]

It doesn't mean that at all. Hasty incorrect interpretation of data leads to all sorts or erroneous statements - as we see in the media, social and otherwise, constantly and increasingly.

Perhaps yes. But for a publisher, costs of making and producing pdfs are nill. So pdfs are an additional profit whether the the sale of pdfs is 5%, 30% or 40% of the sale of the paper book.

BTW, for me, looking at a Collins bird app or a Sibley app on a mobile phone is worse, but the disadvantage is surprisingly small. The text is the same. Looking at an illustration, I can quickly figure how it is supposed to look like. Even in case of birds with very small details, e.g. gulls or warblers. I can zoom a screen picture, but not paper.

And, of course, I cannot carry 5 nature books in my backpack, but I carry more in my mobile: bird guides, a mammal guide, wildlife tracks book, butterfly book etc. And I can search an electronic text, but for the book I must look at the index or move pages manually.

 

[Butty]

for a publisher, costs of making and producing pdfs are nill. So pdfs are an additional profit

Absolutely, and I've made just that point elsewhere in this forum. But this makes it additionally bizarre that PDFs are not routinely available. All a publisher has to do is to make both book and PDF available, together, for one price - the buyer gets both, additional cost for the publisher is zero, and the buyer can choose which they use and when - book at home and PDF in the field, or whatever. An app involves additional cost, and may (or may not!) be better - but a PDF is a one-mouse-click option to boost sales without costing reader or publisher a penny extra.

 

[Essex Tern]

With the most useful books I usually buy both hard copy and digital copy, so where a publisher doesn’t make a digital version available that is a definite opportunity missed by them with regards to myself.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Perhaps yes. But for a publisher, costs of making and producing pdfs are nill. So pdfs are an additional profit whether the the sale of pdfs is 5%, 30% or 40% of the sale of the paper book.

BTW, for me, looking at a Collins bird app or a Sibley app on a mobile phone is worse, but the disadvantage is surprisingly small. The text is the same. Looking at an illustration, I can quickly figure how it is supposed to look like. Even in case of birds with very small details, e.g. gulls or warblers. I can zoom a screen picture, but not paper.

And, of course, I cannot carry 5 nature books in my backpack, but I carry more in my mobile: bird guides, a mammal guide, wildlife tracks book, butterfly book etc. And I can search an electronic text, but for the book I must look at the index or move pages manually.

I'm constantly surprised by the fact that e-books are often at least as expensive or sometimes even more so than hard copy?

 

[Andy Adcock]

And, of course, I cannot carry 5 nature books in my backpack, but I carry more in my mobile: bird guides, a mammal guide, wildlife tracks book, butterfly book etc. And I can search an electronic text, but for the book I must look at the index or move pages manually.

Really?

On my way back from a short search for butteflies the other day, I found myself with binoculars around my neck, 7kgs of shopping on my back, 12kgs of bottled water in my right hand and 18kgs of daughter on my shouders, not ideal admittedly but I think too much is made of the unportability of a few books, unless you're talking about HBW!

 

[Essex Tern]

Really?

On my way back from a short search for butteflies the other day, I found myself with binoculars around my neck, 7kgs of shopping on my back, 12kgs of bottled water in my right hand and 18kgs of daughter on my shouders, not ideal admittedly but I think too much is made of the unportability of a few books, unless you're talking about HBW!

What was in your left hand?

 

[foresttwitcher]

What was in your left hand?

Don't ask...

 

[Mysticete]

Absolutely, and I've made just that point elsewhere in this forum. But this makes it additionally bizarre that PDFs are not routinely available. All a publisher has to do is to make both book and PDF available, together, for one price - the buyer gets both, additional cost for the publisher is zero, and the buyer can choose which they use and when - book at home and PDF in the field, or whatever. An app involves additional cost, and may (or may not!) be better - but a PDF is a one-mouse-click option to boost sales without costing reader or publisher a penny extra.

Part of the issue is that PDFs are easily pirated. While that is probably less an issue for niche markets like ours, it is a factor that

I'm constantly surprised by the fact that e-books are often at least as expensive or sometimes even more so than hard copy?

Even if it's a pdf, you still are paying the author who wrote it, the illustrators, the editior(s), the layout designer, etc. The actual physical printing of books is usually of a trivial cost, especially if you can get them printed in bulk in China. It's everything else that costs money

 

[Andy Adcock]

What was in your left hand?

After about a mile, my nuts.

 

[zoltannemeth]

According to Marc Guyt's Twitter, "English translation will start straight after finishing the Dutch edition"