Some little questions from a beginner
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Hello all !
It's possible in next months i will buy a tablet to read the novels here.
My problem is : I never bought one ...
So i don't know which one is good enough to read the novel from J Novel Club ?
I saw the format was epub3 but ... it's martian language for me.
In same time, do the same novels are on the four sites ?
I saw Amazon, nook and two others ... but i think : buying a tablet from amazon will not give me the chance to read stuff on nook no ?
In same time, could i read the chapters on J Novel or not ? I saw a premium mode here. (the one at 10$).
Thanks and sorry for the bad english, i'm french .:( -
@shiroiryu I recommend getting a premium membership at $10.95 USD a month (or the yearly plan for a small price break)
That way you will get 1 premium credit each month and you can purchase additional credits at a rate of $6 each (which is the cheapest option by far of any licensed Light Novels).
If you buy a tablet (I assume android tablet) you will be able to download many different ereaders such as Moon Reader and my personal favorite google play books.
The reason I say get the premium edition rather then amaozon or Nook is because premium editions are DRM free and come with premium content.
Content such as translator’s notes, bonus short stories, bonus illustrations, etc. here is an up to date list of what series has what
As for reading chapters here Only the latest e-books are being translated, that means once a volume is finished after it is released as an e-book it is removed from the subscription. So the subscription does not allow you to read every book at all times. However there are catch-up months for instance this month all of mixed bathing in another world, and My big sister lives in a fantasy world are available for subscribers to read from the beginning. Then next month those will go back in the vault a new books will be available to read all of.
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I second pretty much everything in @Rahul-Balaggan response.
When I first signed up a couple months ago I decided to from some math and for the fact you can only get the premium versions through the subscription.
$120 per year
12 free books per year - which are $7 from the other retailers.: $84120 - 84 = 36
So essentially you are getting a yearly subscription for $36 or $3 dollars a month if you were to buy a minimum of 12 books a year from the other retailers. And any additional books you want to purchase through your subscription will be $6 - so a small discount there as well.
While at first as I was thinking of signing up I was under the misconception that it was a Netflix setup that I would have access to all the novels, but soon realized it wasn't after rereading all the faqs and whatnot - I still decided it was worth it.
You still get access to the volumes that are being translated in its entirety of what has been translated.
You also have the 'catch-up months', currently this month gives you access to a completed series of 7 novels (Big sister lives in a fantasy world) and another series still being released of 5 novels (Mixed bathing), so 12 in all.
Play Books is also my favorite reader. I've tried a few but it seems to be the smoothest and best looking. Also makes it easy to go from my phone to my tablet seamlessly.
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Play Books is nice as it allows you to listen to the Epubs text to speech, you can buy Yen Press stuff from their store too. It's unfortunate that Seven Seas isn't on Play Books though (they're on Amazon Kindle store and Nook store).
Another good one for that is EReader Prestigio, as it has a lot of viewing options (text + background color changes) to go with text to speech ability.
I heard Moon Reader was good too, I think for visual customization.
I'd avoid getting a tablet that has a low built in hard drive as those can make it difficult to download multiple apps (I have a Nook with 8 GB, and it runs slow as molasses, and can't even store more than 1-2 big apps besides the pre-installed; I constantly have to delete the cache, YouTube, and my library reader apps). I don't know what kind of tablet is good though.
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First of there are several containerformats for eBooks. A container is something where the data of some type is stashed in a format that allows programs to open this container and make the content like books, movies etc. available. This format is like a standard that allows a software to interact with the content of the container in a specific way.
Coming back to eBooks the most known containers are epubs, mobi, azw3, pdf and many more. Where epub3 is just a newer version of epub. To read an epub or other files you need a software that can open them. This is probably possible under any mobile operation systems. But and here it gets hard those devices have appstores where you need to download your reading software. If you chose to get an amazon fire tablet for example, you may get a problem if you want software from the google play store, because the fire tablets only have the amazon app store which does not offer all software that the google play store offers.
You can also convert your ebooks to another format if they have no drm. The easiest program for this is probably calibre. There you could add all your j-novel ebooks and convert them with about 2 clicks into another format and send them to your device (if you have a kindle you just have to right click the book and use send to device, then the book is converted and send to your device automatically if you have it connected via usb).
Most ebook seller have their own apps to read their ebooks, some even allow the import of ebooks from other sources making them readable in that specific app. The ebooks from bookwalker, barnes and nobels, kobo or amazon for example also have drm protection which means you can't read them in every software. You are save if you have each stores app to read your purchased ebooks. All these shops have apps for android and iOS devices.
So if you just get an android or iOS tablet your safe to go. Only problem maybe tablets like the amazon fire stuff like already stated above (don't know if you can get the apps in that store).
Before you buy a tablet you should ask yourself with which tablet format you are comfortable reading. I personally like eBook readers more than tablets because of the eye friendly screen (thou they don't have other features and you may need to convert your books or break the drm to get them on the device). I you chose to get a tablet you should test different screensizes. If you want it just for reading you may want to watch out for a smaller sized device with 7-8 inches those have lesser weight and are more handy then the bigger ones. Modern devices also have a blue light filter option, which lightens the burden on your eyes while reading.
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On tablets, since I've done a terrible amount of research -
NOTE: I own a Samsung Tab tablet, an iPad, and support several generations of both iPads and Android tablets on the job, mainly in a school and clinic setting.
As far as Nook and Amazon, both have free apps for Android and iOS. Both Barnes and Noble and Amazon want you to pay them for books, so expect you'll be able to read those on almost anything. jNovel's app, if you decide to subscribe and want to read pre-pubs, is available on both the Play and Apple stores. Both the Play and Apple store have a decent number of e-reader software available for e-pubs as well. Personally I like Lithium on the Android, and just the default iBooks on the iPad.
As far as Amazon tablets go, everything I found indicated they were difficult to deal with if you wanted anything outside of Amazon's custom eco-system. The "version" of Android they run is very heavily modified, and others indicated getting apps from the Play store to run on them was a challenge. In addition, their hardware specs were mediocre. If you only ever want to read stuff purchased from Amazon, they work. If you're expecting a fully featured tablet, expect to do some work.
As far as Android tablets in general, they are good if you are prepared to do a bit of leg work. Expect to root it in order to run all the apps you need, and particularly in order to keep the OS up to a reasonable level. Most don't seem get major OS upgrades beyond the version they came with, even though Android updates frequently. Avoid Samsung, unless they've changed their policies regarding storage adoption on newer versions of Android. There is a lot of garbage knockoffs, so be vary careful that you are getting decent specs for the money. Lots of Android tablets don't cost a lot of money, but they're... cheap, not just inexpensive. Plan on doing a lot of research, unless someone else here can mention a current model that isn't trash.
iPads have their own issues, mainly Apple's draconian software regime (aka "walled garden") and, most notably, price. On the plus side, they are eligible for and get software upgrades far longer. Plus the hardware is standardized. They involve a lot less work on the user's end, but if Apple says no to an app, that's the end of it. Plus... expect to pay some premium coin.
Lastly there is the actual e-readers like the Amazon Paperwhite or Oasis. These are great for reading, and you can (fairly easily) get epubs onto them. However, their ability to render images is... bad. And they don't support jNovel's app at all if you want to read pre-pubs. Or much of anything else. I still use my Paperwhite for reading ordinary (Western) books, but that's it.
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Ok ok !
Thanks for all your answers. So, to be sure about all of this :- The best choice is taking a premium account on J Novel Club for the prices.
The only question is : If i want to began a old series like Infinite Stratos or Grimgar, with the first volume, can i buy it with a premium credit and ready it ? - Each month you can read from the start a "old series" who is complete or not, despite the e-book are already out.
Seven Seas Entertainment have some Light Novels too ? O_O
Actually, my portable phone is a Galaxy S7. To read, it's not really the best.
About the tablet/ebook readers, i'm really a beginner on all this stuff.
I want a "tablet" who is ONLY used to read books, not to play games, with a light so i can read in bed.
That would be my "portable book" when i want to read. :)
Oh, and if could try to avoid the "Amazon eco-system" i want a ebook reader tablet who could be used for a lot of websites. :)
(I don't know if a ereader tablet could leave me the possibility to read some LN on websites or not)Anyways, thanks already for all your answers !
- The best choice is taking a premium account on J Novel Club for the prices.
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@shiroiryu Yes, if you want to begin an older series, you could buy volume 1 with a premium credit and read it. If it is one of the 2 monthly catchup series, then during that month, you could read it from the beginning on the J-novel website or app.
Regarding tablets: For the most options, you'll want either an ipad or an android tablet with the google play store. Either would let you read epub files with iBooks or Play books respectively. You would also have the flexibility to use whatever ebook store you want and install their app (Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Bookwalker, etc).
I personally use a regular iPad (330USD). I'm not sure what your budget is, but in the 300USD price range there isn't much better. It is kinda big though, for just reading you might want something smaller.
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You can get an Amazon Kindle with an e-ink display that's great for reading eBooks for as little as $80 ($120 for the Kindle Paperwhite with a built-in front-light). You can then use it outside the Amazon ecosystem via Calibre, which allows you to drag in ebooks in any DRM-free format (like epub) and send them to your Kindle (via converting to MOBI and then using e-mail).
Any ebook you send to your kindle will also automatically show up on all your other devices that have the Kindle app on them, like your smartphone or tablet. That's the solution that I use. Drag the epub file into Calibre then two clicks and it's automatically on all my kindle devices and apps.
I'm not too up to date on general Android tablets (I'm an iOS user), but you can get them really cheaply if you just want something for reading. A 7" Kindle Fire tablet (which runs a customized version of Android with a colour 1024x600 IPS LCD Panel) sells new for $50, and you can sideload any app you want, like Kobo/Nook/Google Play/Bookwaler/J-Novel Club/etc.
The four devices that I personally do my eBook reading on are:
- Kindle Oasis 2
- iPhone 6
- iPad Mini 2
- Windows PC
Of those four, I'm ashamed to admit that the iPhone 6 is the most frequently used. I can use the Kindle software on three of those four: the Kindle cloud reader (for reading on a PC) does not support "personal documents" (converted books), only stuff bought through Amazon, unlike the Kindle apps/devices which support personal documents.
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The cheap android tablets often have awful screens and shitty chipsets. You have to go to at least 8" now to get a decent 300ppi+ screen & they are often iPad mini money with less security updates, and even as an Android fan/iOS hater I couldn't justify it personally.
RIP the old Nexus 7 2013, that thing was great in its day, nothing like that any more.
I personally read on a Nexus 6 with a black background - once you go amoled it is really, really hard to go back. Easy on the eyes, not as much as e-ink but colour and way better at night than an LCD.
I don't do multiple devices any more, phablets FTW.
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That's not really true anymore, even cheap $50 tablets have IPS panels these days.
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Have fun reading!
Yesterday, my dad gave me a LG tablet he got for free and I'm going to use it to read my ebooks for now on ^^
Sayonara old 7-year-old iPad! -
@guspaz I'm talking about the resolution - the screens on my daughter's cheapo lenovos are crap for reading cause I can see all the pixels & all the cheap Samsungs & no-names are the same not even 720p resolution in the 7" formfactor
