Author Topic: Translated Light Novels in PDF or EPUB (Read 48098 times)

kureshii · « **on:** August 08, 2009, 07:39:48 PM »

Introduction

What this is: Digital versions of select light novel translations, from Baka-Tsuki or elsewhere, typeset in ebook format for reading.
Why?: Because I like my light novel translations nicely typeset for reading.
But EPUB/PDF is fail!: Don’t download this then. Hop on over to Baka-Tsuki or other sites for your light novel fix.

Note on EPUBs: I typeset the EPUBs for optimal viewing at 768X1024 (the ~~resolution of my target ebook reader~~ lowest resolution I would consider for my ebook reader), although I try to make them readable at other resolutions too. Text reflowing is not an issue, but inserting sidenotes and images requires much consideration of the viewing pixel resolution, especially on lower-res devices.
Not having any of said lower-resolution devices myself yet, I can only rely on readers’ feedback to inform me of how they look at lower resolutions. This project is a personal exploration of typesetting in ebooks and elsewhere, and I would love to see what settings work best for various readers.

Note on PDFs: The nature and intention of PDF files as software- and hardware-independent display formats makes them unsuitable for optimal viewing on all devices of all sizes simultaneously, except in certain special cases. You can only typeset them for a particular size; they’ll look pretty terrible at other sizes. I will only typeset PDFs for larger, high-res display devices (specifically printing on paper at >600DPI), and do not care for opinions on their effectiveness on small, low-res displays.

* Compatibility Note: Some of the PDFs may not open in newer versions of Acrobat Reader (even though older versions handle them just fine), because of stricter requirements on PDFs in newer versions. If you must use an Adobe product I’d suggest using Adobe Digital Editions instead.

Projects
[ All PDFs | All EPUBs ]

Suzumiya Haruhi, Tanigawa Nagaru (EPUB only)
Translation: Baka-Tsuki, Editing: Baka-Tsuki
last update: 10/12/10 [Project locked; no more updates]

Volume 1 | EPUB
Volume 2 | EPUB
Volume 3 | EPUB
Volume 4 | EPUB
Volume 5 | EPUB
Volume 6 | EPUB
Volume 7 | EPUB
Volume 8 | EPUB
Volume 9 | EPUB

Toradora!, Takemiya Yuyuko (EPUB only)
Translation: Baka-Tsuki, Editing: Baka-Tsuki
last update: 13/04/11 [Project closed; critical bugfixes only]

Volume 1 | EPUB
Volume 2 | EPUB
Volume 3 | EPUB
Volume 4 | EPUB
Volume 5 | EPUB
Volume 6 | EPUB
Volume 7 | EPUB
Volume 8 | EPUB
Volume 9 | EPUB
Volume 10 | EPUB

Fate/Zero, Nasu Kinoko, Urobuchi Gen (EPUB + PDF)
Translation: Baka-Tsuki, Editing: kureshii
last update: 22/10/11

Volume 1 | EPUB | PDF (single-page) | PDF (facing-page) | PDF (A5-page bookprint)
Volume 2 | EPUB | PDF (single-page) | PDF (facing-page) | PDF (A5-page bookprint)
Volume 3 | EPUB | PDF (single-page) | PDF (facing-page) | PDF (A5-page bookprint)
Volume 4 | EPUB | PDF (single-page) | PDF (facing-page) | PDF (A5-page bookprint)

What’s with the different PDF versions?
What’s different about the EPUB?

EPUB FAQ

What is EPUB?
See http://ereads.com/2009/08/what-is-epub-and-why-its-important-to.html for more info.

In short, it is an ebook format that uses XHTML for content, CSS for formatting, and XML for metadata. While PDF aims to create the same visual output on any device, EPUB allows the device to reflow content and display it in a manner optimal for the device. Think of them as ebooks in limited webpage format.

Which devices support EPUB?
A list of devices and software are given in http://www.epubbooks.com/ebook-readers.

What if I don't want to buy or install anything?
Some online services, such as Bookworm, allow you to read EPUB files online; all you have to do is upload an EPUB.

What would you recommend?
On desktop/laptop, calibre has the most complete CSS and EPUB feature support I’ve seen among all the apps so far, beating out Adobe Digital Editions (which is missing Unicode substitution and CSS selectors among other things). The rest are not really worth mentioning. If you find anything that has more complete support than either of these two, drop me an email/PM.

For online ebook-reading services, Bookworm has the most accurate rendering IMO, followed closely by ibisreader (which seems to have trouble handling float divs). None of the online readers seem to be anywhere near as accurate as Adobe DE and Calibre though.

If you are okay with using browser plugins, Readium is a reference EPUB3 renderer under active development by IDPF (the same group that wrote up the EPUB specs), to make EPUB adoption easier. It is available as a Chrome extension. Firefox users might want to try EPUBReader instead.

On a mobile device, in my experience Aldiko is probably the best EPUB reader on Android, while iBooks and Readmill are both great EPUB readers on iOS. All three reading apps also support PDF.

I’ve put up a comparison of EPUB rendering in various software/services on my blog. iPad users might be interested in the EPUB comparison on iPad.

Pzc · « **Reply #1 on:** August 08, 2009, 08:49:10 PM »

Looks really interesting, might check it out =)
Thanks for sharing !

i_am_otep · « **Reply #2 on:** August 08, 2009, 09:04:25 PM »

Thank you so much for these!

Sosseres · « **Reply #3 on:** August 08, 2009, 09:36:29 PM »

Quote from: kureshii on August 08, 2009, 07:39:48 PM

But PDF is fail!: Don't download this then. Hop on over to Baka-Tsuki for your light novel fix.

I am of that opinion, but compiling it into any format at all is nice since you can just convert it afterwards to a more easily usable format like HTML.

They are also series I am not interested in reading.

kurandoinu · « **Reply #4 on:** August 11, 2009, 06:13:37 PM »

Awesome. I shall look into them for the next thing I want to read

Thank you

Southrop · « **Reply #5 on:** August 12, 2009, 11:47:03 AM »

Want to list the other novels that you'll be doing when B-T actually progresses?

Nikran · « **Reply #6 on:** August 12, 2009, 12:28:03 PM »

They got the Kara no Kyoukai novals too. Im not sure how complete they are though.

kureshii · « **Reply #7 on:** August 12, 2009, 01:56:57 PM »

Quote from: Southrop on August 12, 2009, 11:47:03 AM

Want to list the other novels that you'll be doing when B-T actually progresses?

Eh no, I'm commitment-averse :x But anyone who knows the anime I like will already know which ones I plan to PDF, haha

psyren · « **Reply #8 on:** August 12, 2009, 02:54:13 PM »

Would like to make a note that you should use Foxit Reader instead of Adobe. You will shit your pants when you see how fast it is compared to Adobe Analbat.

kureshii · « **Reply #9 on:** July 07, 2010, 05:06:00 PM »

Some updates:

1) I started taking a bigger interest in typography. This means I now think those PDFs are eyecancer. I will leave them up for a short while, since they are more print-friendly than the new EPUB versions I am putting up. As I have no intention of printing out the Haruhi novels for keeping, I will not be working on new PDF versions. Haruhi Volume 1 is available in EPUB (see first post).

2) No more RTF versions. Since EPUB is essentially formatted XHTML, it should be easy enough to extract the text if you want text-only versions.

3) I stopped liking Haruhi. This means no more edits; I'll simply finish up what I have at the moment, and put up EPUB links. I'll be taking error reports (typos, incorrect numbering, etc) via PM (IRC and forums) until the end of 2010. After that, the files will be locked; PDF versions will be removed as well. If you want to help edit the script, drop me a PM.

4) I will likely do the same for the Toradora novels; typesetting only, no editing. As above, editors are welcome to volunteer.

5) I am working on another ebook project; it won't be revealed unless I pass the 50% mark on it. This one will be EPUB and PDF. Yes, PDF as well, because I intend to print this one and try my hand at bookbinding. Volunteer proofreaders get a sneak peek (PM me).

Mycanid · « **Reply #10 on:** July 07, 2010, 07:09:52 PM »

Was just looking at this site the other day and was happy to see their efforts in making light novels available in English.

kurandoinu · « **Reply #11 on:** July 07, 2010, 09:24:36 PM »

Ooooh! What sort of book binding?

kureshii · « **Reply #12 on:** July 08, 2010, 02:11:38 AM »

Quote from: kurandoinu on July 07, 2010, 09:24:36 PM

Ooooh! What sort of book binding?

For now, most likely cloth-hardbound, with stitched gatherings of 16 pages (4 sheets) each. I'd love to go all the way with leather binding and stuff, but I am on a budget, and this is my first book-binding project after all. I won't be attempting anything too ambitious. Besides, to be honest, I don't think the novel is really worth such high-class binding anyway; something like Spice and Wolf might be better suited for that

kurandoinu · « **Reply #13 on:** July 08, 2010, 09:09:48 AM »

You'll have to let us know how it goes. I love hand bound books

kureshii · « **Reply #14 on:** July 08, 2010, 12:48:35 PM »

I will. It may take awhile though, since I have to buy a new laser printer before getting to it

(Would be lovely to have a personal linotype press or similar, but I just don't have the space for that @_@ if I like the outcome enough, I will pony up the cost of getting the book printed at a local printing business, once I've gotten the hang of it.)

kureshii · « **Reply #15 on:** July 08, 2010, 05:45:15 PM »

Double post because unrelated: By some stroke of luck I manged to finish the remaining Haruhi volumes today. They're somewhat inconsistent because I kept adding to the stylesheet in later volumes; they will be synchronised when I lock them at the end of this year (so send in those error reports before then!).

I'll see how much of Toradora I can do over the weekend.

[edit] I will recompile the EPUBs once every month, to update reported errors, up until the end of this year.

Mycanid · « **Reply #16 on:** July 08, 2010, 07:03:42 PM »

I have been looking for an English translation of the light novel volumes of Mayoi Neko Overrun myself.

Still - I have enjoyed the work here, and am currently reading Volume 4 of Toradora.

kureshii · « **Reply #17 on:** July 09, 2010, 09:27:50 AM »

Some experimental changes:

1) Reduced the max width of the sidenotes and images to 33% (meant for lower-res ebook readers; on devices with >768X1024 resolution it should show at 250px).

2) Reduced the sizes of embedded fonts by removing a number of glyphs. This is risky as I am not completely familiar with the Unicode table yet, and some of the removed glyphs include spacing control characters (not the main ones of course) and other entries that may or may not be critical. But it does reduce the font filesizes significantly.

Give the newly generated EPUBs a look and let me know via PM if anything screws up for you. I am aware that some devices and software may render certain things incorrectly; Aldiko seems to have problems with float divs, while many EPUB-reading software do not handle the CSS correctly. Thus far, this includes calibre and FBReader.

[edit] According to the OPS spec, the CSS float property should be supported by ebook reading devices and apps (that are spec-conformant). I'm not sure why it doesn't appear in certain ebook readers; if anyone has a clue about this, I would be glad to hear it. Otherwise, alternative methods (that do not involve tables) would be good as well.

In the meantime, I'll look further into this once I have an ebook reader of my own (Asus, when are you releasing that damn DR-900...)

Southrop · « **Reply #18 on:** July 11, 2010, 03:20:33 AM »

WordPlayer v3 on Android doesn't even display your notes (using an older version of the epubs). It leaves a blank space where it's supposed to be though.

doomsday · « **Reply #19 on:** July 21, 2010, 08:28:44 AM »

do u have spice and wolf light novels? i really want to read them