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Snowpetrel · 06-09-2018, 03:29

My Father has made his Ebook availible free for one week on Kobo,

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/snow-petrel

I am a bit biased but I think it's worth a read if you are interested in sailing in Antarctica. A good opportunity to get it for free.

Quote:

When Ben Tucker and his kid brother Matt decided to sail south in search of icebergs on Ben's small home-built kiwi sloop, their father Jon was allowed to come along as their cabin-boy, on a promise of good behaviour.
The unfolding adventure took them through thick pack ice to become trapped at the windiest place on the planet, a remote location in East Antarctica.
'Snow Petrel' is proof of what ordinary people can achieve on a minimal budget. Recently released in New Zealand and Australia, it has been surprisingly popular amongst non-sailing readers as well as sailors.
"...an exceptional work by a gifted writer .... The story is so compelling that one wishes it not to end." (Janet Upcher - reviewer.)
"A textured, intriguing, exhilarating story." Rachel Edwards - Book show host).
"...up there with the best. Jon's writing style is perfect." (Don McIntyre - adventurer, columnist).
"Snow Petrel consists of two quite separate books. One is an extraordinary tale of sailing - well outside the genre of most sailing books. The second provides a wonderful insght into a very special family." (Dr Nick Gales - Chief Scientist, Australian Antarctic Division).

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**Wotname** · 06-09-2018, 04:07

**GordMay** · 06-09-2018, 04:48

Cool!

Snowpetrel · 06-09-2018, 05:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordMay

Cool!

Yep, it certainly was a bit cold!

I've just gone amd reread a few bits of the book, it's funny how time changes memories, and what you forget. My father is occasionally prone to slight flights of fancy, so i've had to forgive him on the odd details, for example where he says 'the freshly painted red hull' and I say no way, it was painted two years before the trip.

Another snippet is where he talks about the anchor being ready to drop with the slash of a knife. No way I say, you just uncleat the line and let out the chain. No need to slash a rope like on a pirate movie, but he says it sounds better like that. Parents can be so frustrating!

But people seem to enjoy the book. He did a pretty good job of making it readable, especially for non sailors.

GILow · 06-09-2018, 05:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

...for example where he says 'the freshly painted red hull' and I say no way, it was painted two years before the trip.

Ummm.... given my red hull was painted 40 years ago, I'm granting your dad poetic license.

Matt Johnson · 06-09-2018, 05:31

Man, they sure do make it difficult to get if you don't have a Kobo! I'll keep playing around and see if I can get it to work without downloading another app.

Thanks,

Matt

GILow · 06-09-2018, 05:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Man, they sure do make it difficult to get if you don't have a Kobo! I'll keep playing around and see if I can get it to work without downloading another app.

Thanks,

Matt

Errr... kinda missing the point. Kobo is the OPEN platform, as against the Kindle.

And... you are complaining when it is FREE?

Snowpetrel · 06-09-2018, 05:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by GILow

Ummm.... given my red hull was painted 40 years ago, I'm granting your dad poetic license.

'Poetic licence' Yep, he uses those words a lot when I start criticizing the tiny details of his writing.

GILow · 06-09-2018, 05:42

I suddenly feel great sympathy for the man. I too have a pedant for a son.

Island Time O25 · 06-09-2018, 05:50

Sorry, it's not "free" if it wants my info in return for what appears its marketing purposes, etc.

Matt Johnson · 06-09-2018, 06:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by GILow

Errr... kinda missing the point. Kobo is the OPEN platform, as against the Kindle.

And... you are complaining when it is FREE?

I love open sourced, but I do have a Kindle and would like to just download the file and add it to my ereader. Typically, you'd just click on a 'download' link and get an epub file. It seems with this KOBO site, you have to download an app (or Adobe Digital Editions) to view the file then transfer it from the app to another device.

And I wasn't complaining about the free book, which is a wonderful gesture, just with the website's choice of how you obtain the file.

Matt

Snowpetrel · 06-09-2018, 06:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by funjohnson

I love open sourced, but I do have a Kindle and would like to just download the file and add it to my ereader. Typically, you'd just click on a 'download' link and get an epub file. It seems with this KOBO site, you have to download an app (or Adobe Digital Editions) to view the file then transfer it from the app to another device.

And I wasn't complaining about the free book, which is a wonderful gesture, just with the website's choice of how you obtain the file.

Matt

I don't know a lot about how the copyright protections work with ebooks. I use Calibre a fair bit to convert, upload and download Ebook files onto my Kindle, but it doesn't work with protected Ebook's.

So I guess the Kobo platform is trying to protect the writers copyright and prevent the Ebook files being copied. My father said it was a one week offer. But he wants to keep it protected since a portion of his income is now from writing books and article's.

But it is a bit of a nuisance to have to download a new platform and create a new account. Apologies.

Matt Johnson · 06-09-2018, 07:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

My father said it was a one week offer. But he wants to keep it protected since a portion of his income is now from writing books and article's.

Since that is the case, and I see it is available on Amazon, I'm happy to just buy it there for the $5.75. I'm happy to support his efforts.

Matt

Snowpetrel · 06-09-2018, 07:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Since that is the case, and I see it is available on Amazon, I'm happy to just buy it there for the $5.75. I'm happy to support his efforts.

Matt

It might be worth waiting, though I am sure he would appreciate the purchase. But it may well be that Amazon will force it down to free as a price match, and I'd feel guilty if tomorrow it was free on kindle.

Amazon seems to insist that the books are sold at the cheapest price through their own platform. It's a complex cut throat world out there in the Ebook market. Not much profit in it for the writers. At one stage he was getting something like a doller per book sold, and print books aren't a lot better.

Matt Johnson · 06-09-2018, 07:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

It might be worth waiting, though I am sure he would appreciate the purchase. But it may well be that Amazon will force it down to free as a price match, and I'd feel guilty if tomorrow it was free on kindle.

Amazon seems to insist that the books are sold at the cheapest price through their own platform. It's a complex cut throat world out there in the Ebook market. Not much profit in it for the writers. At one stage he was getting something like a doller per book sold, and print books aren't a lot better.

Sounds like Google's Youtube Ads demonetization. Maybe he needs to sign-up for Patreon

Matt