Humble Bundle Thread

Um, yeah, no.

Books are one of the easiest things to pack.

I only like digital for quick reference on the go. For any serious reading I demand physical.
Well, I have bookshelves all over my house, and as many times as we've moved, I have to disagree--while books may be quite easy to pack, they're a son-of-a-bitch to haul around, carry (in those U-Haul "small" boxes) and unpack. If I had it all to do over again, I'd probably have most of my collection as ebooks. However, a lot of the stuff I have in physical form is rather esoteric and not available as bits and bytes.

 
Inb4 physical book toting no TV owning I haven't listened to the radio since the 80s Asheskitty professes to not being a hipster.
 
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Easy to pack is one thing, moving 30 small boxes that weight 60-100 lbs each is not.

Yes, we moved recently. Yes, we had that many small boxes of books.

The missus is fine paying $15 for ebook bundles if the books interest her, but won't pay $3 for some game bundles. It'll also only take her a couple of weeks to read the entire bundle. Even at a used bookstore, they charge $1 to $5 a book. At an average of $3, it's only 5 books and you have that much more stuff to carry.

 
Well, I have bookshelves all over my house, and as many times as we've moved, I have to disagree--while books may be quite easy to pack, they're a son-of-a-bitch to haul around, carry (in those U-Haul "small" boxes) and unpack. If I had it all to do over again, I'd probably have most of my collection as ebooks. However, a lot of the stuff I have in physical form is rather esoteric and not available as bits and bytes.
Yep. That's the issue. They're durable rectangles and very easy to pack, but once they're in a box you wonder why you have hundreds of pounds and dozens of cubic feet of stuff that you'll only look at about 3% of again.

I do like certain reference and cooking books more as physical items. It is a shame when there's something you want that isn't available digitally though. Why can't I put on cool jacket and read Mirrorshades on my deck pocket computer? The criminals who allow that neglect to happen should be in jail.

 
I'm a retrogrouch, not a hipster.

knh3V3N.jpg
 
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So Mooby with a pink avatar then.
Nah, more like a pragmatic minimalist. I also know what I like and I know what I don't like. I question the status quo. Newer is not always better.

From the sound of it, my treasured book collection is much smaller than others... mainly technical books with a subset of esoteric books that are a pain to track down, e.g. mudbrick architecture for the poor, archeology reports, etc. All the fiction I've read has been from the library or loans from friends, so I don't have that cluttering my shelves.

 
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The only people who like owning physical books are either light readers or people who haven't moved homes.
I read a lot, and I have moved a lot. I still prefer physical books. We just bought a house last year, so I'm looking forward to not having to move again any time soon, but to me it was worth the pain. I get eBooks on the cheap when I can for traveling, but if I'm home I just can't do eBooks, there's something about the physical book in my hands.

Then again, I've got nothing on my brother-in-law or his dad. My BIL had to get a separate U-Haul for his books when they just moved last month, and his dad has converted all of his kid's old rooms into libraries. Then again, he is an actual published author, so that might have something to do with it.

Lowest averages I saw were around $6.10. I must not have refreshed at the right time to see $5.something.

I'm not sure where you're seeing decent used books at those prices. Used book stores that I've been to seem to act like used books are made of gold, except of course when you want to trade some in. Used books at thrift shops and garage sales can be decently priced, true, but there you're basically ending up with whatever you find.

That said, yes, ebook bundles have higher averages than game bundles. This is true for the Humble ebook bundles and for those from others like Storybundle. Ebook buyers are different from game buyers in their willingness to spend.
We have a chain of Half Price Books which sells at half the cover price, sometimes lower. Most books are 60-70% cheaper than cover. Then there are some smaller used bookstores that I absolutely love and know the owners at. Kzoo Books in Kalamazoo Michigan is probably my favorite store, but since I live in Chicago it's hard to get up there. Of course the bigger retailers of used books are more expensive.

I'm not really sure of the economics behind eBooks, as they're a completely different commodity than video games, but I would imagine at those prices, someone's being greedy.

How many marketplaces can you even buy eBooks from though? That might have something to do with it. :whistle2:k
I understand the claimed economics, I actually had dreams of being a published author once upon a time, but I never felt like my books were good enough for other people to read. The publisher gets the biggest cut by a large amount, authors can be lucky to get 10% of sales unless they are particularly famous or self-publish. Editor takes a pretty huge chunk, and then marketing. The distributor adds a small markup, typically 10% or so. I think the main problem is in amount sold. Editing is a one off expense, so the more copies you sell the "cheaper" the editing cost was. They also claim that having to format the eBooks to work on all the different devices adds to the development cost, but I call bull on that. Once you do it once, it works the same for all books in that format. Of course, if they didn't need DRM the books could just be PDFs which wouldn't require any special formatting for devices.

 
I was hoping the book bundle average would go down, because the $12 books aren't appealing. Then an asshat paid $125 and it went up $0.30.

Pennied, just in case it doesn't fall.
Mathias? Man, your name is Matt, way to hipster it up and ruin the BTA for everyone else.

 
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Screw eBooks and physical books, audio books are the best of them all. =p

Kidding aside, I do tend to listen to audio books more then actually read anymore. Tend to be pretty casual reader I guess though, think the last book I read was 300 some pages and only took me over a year.
 
Screw eBooks and physical books, audio books are the best of them all. =p

Kidding aside, I do tend to listen to audio books more then actually read anymore. Tend to be pretty casual reader I guess though, think the last book I read was 300 some pages and only took me over a year.
Reading all the way. Screw "story time" at the library.

 
I like physical books for certain things but the convenience of being able to have hundreds or thousands of books in your pocket is pretty great.

Eh, I can occasionally snag something I really want to read from the library but most of what they have is popular fiction (i.e., crap) or romance novels. The last thing I checked out from my local library was a Randy Wayne White book. It does have a nice Zinio selection, though.

You can get used paperbacks at most used bookstores for at least 50% off cover, but for anything published in the last 5-10 years, that's usually at least $3.
At least $3. $4-$5 a book seems more typical for a paperback if I'm looking for something specific. You can jump online and get used books for $1 (or even sometimes $0.01) each, though. Plus $4 shipping. With no combined shipping.

Getting a specific book just isn't that cheap in any format. Which is just one reason why I am quite the fan of libraries.

 
No, sorry. It still looks like crap. Generic badass scarred female narrator? Could you get more tropey? It's basically a Gears of War game!

... and yeah, the textures on consoles suck. They're a bit better on PC.
You do realize that the narrator from the teaser is actually in the final game, right? Scarred face and all.

She was the quest giver and Mayor/whatever of New Haven, one of the hub towns in BL1.

 
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Can probably expect something fairly crappy for the weekly to be paired alongside the 2K main bundle.
Sergey Titov Humble Bundle incoming!

EDIT:

For those who don't know who he is, he was involved with...

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing

The War Z / Infestation: Survivor Stories.

 
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We have a chain of Half Price Books which sells at half the cover price, sometimes lower. Most books are 60-70% cheaper than cover. Then there are some smaller used bookstores that I absolutely love and know the owners at. Kzoo Books in Kalamazoo Michigan is probably my favorite store, but since I live in Chicago it's hard to get up there. Of course the bigger retailers of used books are more expensive.
You dick, waving your Half-Price Books locations in our faces!

My brother-in-law lives in Houston with about 6-7 HPBs within 20 miles of his house. If I lived somewhere like that, I'd probably blow my paycheck on cheap crap from HPB and end up fighting over it with the other hobos I shared the underpass with.

At least $3. $4-$5 a book seems more typical for a paperback if I'm looking for something specific. You can jump online and get used books for $1 (or even sometimes $0.01) each, though. Plus $4 shipping. With no combined shipping.

Getting a specific book just isn't that cheap in any format. Which is just one reason why I am quite the fan of libraries.
One does not need a reason to be a fan of libraries. (insert Boromir meme here)

 
Um, yeah, no.

Books are one of the easiest things to pack.

I only like digital for quick reference on the go. For any serious reading I demand physical.
As someone who has packed books many, many, many times while helping people move as part of my job, I can agree that packing books is easy, but it requires a shit ton more boxes than you expect, and they're heavy as fuck.

Whenever I have to help someone move and I'm estimating how long it'll take, the first thing I look for (aside from furniture) is how many bookcases they have.

 
If there's ever a MysterD simulator I think one of the things it will entail is going onto message boards and repeating whatever topic people are talking about then pasting " Humble Bundle incoming!" after it.

 
If there's ever a MysterD simulator I think one of the things it will entail is going onto message boards and repeating whatever topic people are talking about then pasting " Humble Bundle incoming!" after it.
{drinks}

{shrugs}

{buys physical copies of PC games}

 
If there's ever a MysterD simulator I think one of the things it will entail is going onto message boards and repeating whatever topic people are talking about then pasting " Humble Bundle incoming!" after it.
I Don't know if anyone would buy or play that game, though.

Though - it must be 75% off or better, at least!

EDIT:

{drinks}

{shrugs}

{buys physical copies of PC games}
Yeah, that's the spirit! :D

 
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Manuscripts copied and then chopped up into tiny bound rectangles?

Pssh. Give me a good scroll to lay across my table any day.   :oldman:

 
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You dick, waving your Half-Price Books locations in our faces!

My brother-in-law lives in Houston with about 6-7 HPBs within 20 miles of his house. If I lived somewhere like that, I'd probably blow my paycheck on cheap crap from HPB and end up fighting over it with the other hobos I shared the underpass with.

One does not need a reason to be a fan of libraries. (insert Boromir meme here)
I totally agree with you on libraries being wonderful things. In fact, last year Neil Gaiman wrote a very good article for The Guardian talking about why they are so important:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

"I was once in New York, and I listened to a talk about the building of private prisons – a huge growth industry in America. The prison industry needs to plan its future growth – how many cells are they going to need? How many prisoners are there going to be, 15 years from now? And they found they could predict it very easily, using a pretty simple algorithm, based on asking what percentage of 10 and 11-year-olds couldn't read. And certainly couldn't read for pleasure.

It's not one to one: you can't say that a literate society has no criminality. But there are very real correlations.

And I think some of those correlations, the simplest, come from something very simple. Literate people read fiction."

- Neil Gaiman

I can understand that people have predispositions when it comes to the kinds of books they enjoy reading and are unlikely to chip in on Humble Bundles that are mostly comprised of books they are uninterested in, but I definitely believe that "reading for pleasure" is incredibly important for both individuals and society as a whole. I mean, hell, I'm glad that the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter managed to be as successful as it was because it gives me hope that more people will have access to a resource that entertains and improves literacy.

 
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I totally agree with you on libraries being wonderful things. In fact, last year Neil Gaiman wrote a very good article for The Guardian talking about why they are so important:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming
Nice article. I'm as big a fan of Gaiman's essays and opinion pieces as I am of his fiction. Though I have to admit I'm really looking forward to him writing the final novel or two of A Song of Ice and Fire after Martin dies. I mean, really, the only logical choices would be him or Neal Stephenson, right?

 
Nice article. I'm as big a fan of Gaiman's essays and opinion pieces as I am of his fiction. Though I have to admit I'm really looking forward to him writing the final novel or two of A Song of Ice and Fire after Martin dies. I mean, really, the only logical choices would be him or Neal Stephenson, right?
Maybe Patrick Rothfuss. But it's a moot point since Martin is like a Highlander. The more he kills, the longer he lives.

Hell, if Neil Gaiman was picked he'd probably just say that Martin's not our bitch, and refuse to write the novels.

 
New Humble Weekly Bundle - Gamepedia:

  • Windforge
  • Stacking
  • ReignMaker
  • Paranautical Activity
  • Strife Closed Beta Key
Pay $6 or more for:

  • Darkout
  • Signs of Life
  • Curse Premium (30 Day Access)
Pay $10 or more for:

  • Lifeless Planet
  • Edge of Space
Pay $36 or more for:

  • Indie Appreciation Pack (T-shirt plus stickers and wristband)

New Humble Store Daily Deal:

DRM-Freedom Deals - Day 8:

Other Humble Store sales:

 
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Weird, I wonder if/what the limitations on on the One free game from GOG.com from the Curse sub.

Edit:

Info from December...

free game -- select from the following:

 

Sacred Gold

Gothic 2 Gold Edition

Empire Earth: Gold Edition

Divine Divinity

Dungeon Keeper Gold™

Darwinia

Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers

Puddle

Defender's Quest

Megabyte Punch

 
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All fixed tiers, so no need to sit around refreshing for a low BTA this time. :)

EDIT: Probably a pass for me, even at the $1 level.

 
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Weird, I wonder if/what the limitations on on the One free game from GOG.com from the Curse sub.
The list, at least as of December:

  • Sacred Gold
  • Gothic 2 Gold Edition
  • Empire Earth: Gold Edition
  • Divine Divinity
  • Dungeon Keeper Gold™
  • Darwinia
  • Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers
  • Puddle
  • Defender's Quest
  • Megabyte Punch
 
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Weird, I wonder if/what the limitations on on the One free game from GOG.com from the Curse sub.
Info from December...

free game -- select from the following:



Sacred Gold

Gothic 2 Gold Edition

Empire Earth: Gold Edition

Divine Divinity

Dungeon Keeper Gold™

Darwinia

Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers

Puddle

Defender's Quest

Megabyte Punch

 
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