Combining audio editions with print editions

[Shelley]

I fully agree with Five. I know I've reviewed book and audio versions of the same works, and the reviews/stars are very different. I think they should stand alone.

[Elizabeth, Chief Wordsmith]

I have to respectfully disagree on this one. I like to listen to audio books and I've found that when I'm reviewing an audio book, I want to know what people thought about the print verison.

For example I listened to On The Road on tape, and I think that Kerouac's style of prose makes great audio. However, I'm not interested in knowing about different audio versions just because I listened the book on tape. I want to know what people thought of the plot, writing style, character development.

I may be in the minority on this, so I'd like to hear a few other people weigh in on this.

Have people found the inclusion of audio books distracting in the reviews listing?

[Paige]

I don't mind the print and audio versions being grouped together for social purposes, but I can see how it might create problems in ratings.

Perhaps a solution would be to separate the versions, but create an obvious link between them for easy navigation.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

Aren't there separate ratings for each edition, in addition to an overall rating, even when they're grouped?

My preference is to include audio with print, just as I would include an e-book. However, I almost never listen to audio books, so I'm not an "inside" opinion.

[Cheri]

I'm a new librarian (though not a new one in real life) and would like some clarification. Does combining books make any difference in what a user sees when searching for a title? In selecting books for my profile, I like to choose hardcover or paperback to reflect the book I actually read (and may still own in that particular format). If combining the titles isn't reflected there, then we may as well combine all versions of the titles. Otherwise, I'd prefer to keep audio, paperback and hardcover formats separate.

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

When the multiple editions have been combined (as per the established guidelines, paperback, hardcover, and audio all grouped together) then a search will bring up the title once, but indicate how many editions it has. If the user clicks on the title, they then have the option to choose which edition they wish to review. There are then ratings for the book as a whole and for each edition.

[Otis, Chief Architect]

Hi all,

Yes each edition does have its own average rating listed, right beneath the combined average rating for the set of combined works. This is one reason why we recommend librarians combine all formats (paperback, hardcover, audio, etc) of a book, because while most people just care if someone has read the book in any format, those who wish to distinguish can do so in their review/rating. Also note that it *is* possible to review more than one edition of a given work.

As for search, right now the search function searches books and not combined works. This is slightly less than ideal as it leads many people to think we don't have a combining feature. It is nice however because it makes it easy to pick the cover/format you read. We intend to change this in the next few weeks to list each combined work, and let the person pick the cover if they like on the next page, much has Rivka suggested.

hope that helps!

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

My mistake. I was thinking of the search results when you search by author, as that is my usual M.O. I look forward to having the choice of cover for each book.

Right now, as far as I have been able to determine, the only way to change the cover of a book already on my list is to delete it from my list, and then add the one with the correct cover.

[Femmy]

I was just about to ask the same question. It would be neat if we could transfer our ratings and reviews from one edition to another. I rated/reviewed the wrong edition of many books when I started out. I really would like my reviews reflect which edition I actually read.

[Otis, Chief Architect]

Luckily changing from one edition to another is easy. Just click 'see all editions' from the right side of the book page. This page lists all the editions, and has a 'change to this cover' link beneath each. That will move your rating, shelves, and review over to that edition.

Let me know if this needs to be more clear somehow!

[Femmy]

Ah, I see. I thought that was just a way to navigate between editions, not to transfer ratings. Thanks, Otis!

[rivka, Librarian Moderator]

I could swear that didn't work when I tried it last week. Either way, it does now.

Thanks! :)