I started reading books on my iPod Touch a couple of months ago. One of the first things I downloaded (for Stanza) was a free version of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, which I’d never read before. That started me on a Wells kick, so I downloaded Tales of Space and Time. I also enjoyed that a lot. But the book cover used (from Project Gutenberg) was so ugly (below, left) it kind of bummed me out every time I caught a glimpse of it! But I figured that was just what you get with free books.
I discovered recently, however, that Feedbooks (one of the 13 collections offered on Stanza) generally chooses more attractive covers for their public-domain books. Below on the right is the cover that Feedbooks uses for the same work. Much easier on the eyes, in my opinion. I think it’s the cover for the first American edition, but I’m not positive.
A little more browsing and comparing confirmed my suspicion: someone there is paying attention! Here are a few typical book covers that other ebook publishers use for public-domain works:
You’ve got your generic templates, random stock photography, and the cover to any old edition that’s available. It gets the job done.
But Feedbooks is clearly having more FUN picking the covers, and as a reader who’s eager to use this technology, I appreciate that. The authors may be dead, but that doesn’t mean their books have to look dead! Check out some examples:
And notice, too, how the Feedbooks versions all provide publication years and summaries, which is really useful when you’re browsing for something to download.
