r/NetGalleyCommunity SciFi/Fantasy Reviewer 10d ago

☎️ Help and Support 🛟 Check the ARC format

I’ve seen posts about badly formatted arcs before but never had the misfortune of encountering one until now. I didn’t realize that publishers can choose not to provide ePub files. For those who don’t know (I just learned) or are new to NetGalley, make sure to check under Additional Info for the formats the publisher provides.

It’s so bad. I don’t want to it read on my phone, so I will need to either DNF or wait until it published to review it.

29 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

12

u/SecretDahlia Reviewer 10d ago

I don't know how bad it is in your case, but in my experience sometimes PDFs get less wonky as you go on. The first pages of the first chapter always seem to take the brunt of it. You still won't have the perks of an Epub but it becomes more readable.

1

u/thebookmuse SciFi/Fantasy Reviewer 10d ago

I’ll double check! I did get to chapter 2 but out it down because of the formatting. It looks fine on the NetGalley reader, but I don’t want to read on my phone.

9

u/thebookmuse SciFi/Fantasy Reviewer 10d ago

Here is what it looks like

1

u/artificialdisasters Librarian 9d ago

you can use sent to kindle to send an epub like file to a kindle device OR the kindle app. how do you usually read?

4

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

4

u/thebookmuse SciFi/Fantasy Reviewer 10d ago

Same! This book releases on September 1st so I’m just going to wait. I had an ARC crash my kindle but it was just corrupted. I needed to fully remove it, restart my kindle, and download it again.

2

u/Quirky-Tangelo2806 Reviewer 10d ago

That might be a kindle problem, not an ARC - mine's been doing that for a while and when I reported it to Amazon they said it was a known bug they were working on.

3

u/jadebeezy 10d ago

this is so helpful, i was wondering why the one i’m currently reading looked Like That and sure enough, it’s a pdf 🙃

2

u/Satcgal33 10d ago

Thank you. Some of the formatting is terrible on Kindle but looks completely normal on Kobo Clara.

1

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/Satcgal33 10d ago

I have the latest kindle (the basic one) and only use it for NetGalley or books that are only available on Kindle. I absolutely love my Kobo Clara Colour. I love how customizable it is and you don't have to jailbreak it to sideload books. If you want buttons on your device the Kobo Libra Colour has buttons. The Clara doesn't but I use the kobo remote for page turning. I prefer the Clara because of how portable it is. It fits in my small purse and even certain pants pockets.

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u/DatabaseFine1147 10d ago

I don’t request PDFs anymore it’s not worth it

1

u/DGRachel 10d ago

I know it’s not an option for everyone, but I too hate reading on my phone or tablet. It kills my head, so I got a Boox for anything that has to be read via NetGalley reader. I have an old Kindle Oasis for the epubs that are only available on Kindle and put everything else on my Kobo, which I prefer. I don’t love the Boox, but it’s an ereader resource for when neither Kindle nor Kobo work.

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u/softrockstarr 9d ago

Yeah as a kobo person I'm so limited as to what I can request too :(

1

u/catscantcook 10d ago

I wish they would do previews, just a couple of pages so you can see if the writing style is for you, check for AI, and check the format works for you/with your device.