Books on the Nightstand discussion

Help...Ann, Michael or anyone who knows the answer, pls. jump in!

I want to know why I see books sometimes (in this case an audio-book) listed on Amazon with one ISBN# and on Barnes and Noble with another. The difference is in the last 3 numbers.
Also the price is 3 times higher on B&N than on Amazon for the same book on 6 Cds.

Any enlightenment much appreciated...

not sure why... can you give me the specific title so I can research further?

One answer I thought was Abridged vs. Unabridged - but you said 6CDs for both, so I just don't know!

There are 2 different ISBN #s for each book/book on cd. One has 13 digits and the other has only 10, but the difference is usually the first 3 numbers plus some others (like the last one). If the longer number you're seeing is 13 digits long and starts with 978 and the shorter one is 10 digits and starts with 0 or 1, that's probably where the difference comes in. (If not, then I have no idea what's going on!) I'm not sure why they have 2 ISBN #s per book, or why they change most of the number instead of just adding the 978, but I know it can cause lots of confusion at the book store where I work!

I've noticed Amazon also has its own thing, an ASIN or something like that? It's only used on Amazon's site and usually includes letters, I think.

My thought was abridged vs unabridged too, but I guess it's not that. I'm stumped too!

Michael and Erin,

Pls. check it out....THE SOLOIST by STEVE LOPEZ

$14.96 at Amazon
$60.00 at Barnes & Noble

Both ISBN numbers..the 10 and the 13 are different on each site, yet both are the unabridged versions.

That's a huge difference...

Susanne

Hi Susanne,
I figured it out!!

There are 2 more expensive versions listed at B&N -- they are actually what we call "prepacks" -- one has 5 copies of the audio and one has 6 copies. Publishers usually issue separate ISBNs for prepacks so that they can easily be ordered, and publishers also provide data feeds to the stores, so for whatever reason it seems that the data feed contained the prepack ISBNs.

Here's the link to the "cheaper" one at B&N:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-...
it's $19.95, or $17.95 w/membership.

Hooray for Ann! I didn't realize B&N sold packs like that to the general public!

As a side note, my mother read The Soloist and absolutely loved it.

Erin, I don't think they actually sell the prepacks, I think that everything is so automated that it just lives on their site because it has an ISBN.

there is something to be said for human involvement, I think ... :)

Aaahhhh, now I understand! But somebody made a pretty significant flub-up there!

Thanks for your sleuth work Ann...I was really stumped.

I wonder if anyone's placed an order with that ISBN?

Last night, my F2F book club selected THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein for an upcoming discussion.

Has anyone here read it? The reviews I've seen have been super!

I have had the Art of Racing in the Rain on my bookshelf since February, but have yet to get to it. My bookseller friends loved it, though. Enjoy!

I read The Art of Racing in the Rain, as did many others at my store--so many, in fact, that they convinced me to read it! I read it immediately after finishing The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which I think skewed my reaction.

Does that ever happen to anyone, where one book gets caught in the shadow of the one you read right before or right after? Even though the two books are completely different types of writing, they affect one another. That definitely happened with this pairing for me.

I did really enjoy Art of Racing in the Rain, though. There's a lot for a group to discuss, plus the perspective from which it's written is really fun. I hope you enjoy reading it!

That's very interesting Erin, as I am currently reading EDGAR SAWTELLE and RACING IN THE RAIN will be up next!

Did reading the former make the latter a less satisfying read? Is that what you meant?

I'm interested in the effect that you refer to...was it a more positive or more negative one?

Susanne

Susanne,

I don't want to say Edgar Sawtelle affected Art of Racing in the Rain positively or negatively. They're just really different books. Edgar Sawtelle seemed almost epic to me, very literary and sweeping, almost like reading a "classic." After reading a book like that, Art of Racing in the Rain seemed much lighter and less substantial than I may have thought it otherwise, though not at all in a negative way.

I'm struggling to verbalize what I'm thinking...thanks for the challenge!!

As I'm thinking about it, the aspect that probably had the biggest impact for me was the portrayal of the dogs in the story. To me, Almondine's chapters (in Edgar Sawtelle) are beautiful and complex and so intuitive. Enzo (in Art of Racing in the Rain) is really very clever and cute, but he's no Almondine.

I picked up Art of Racing in the Rain because after finishing Edgar Sawtelle, I felt like I had to read something else with dogs in it before I could go on with my literary life (couldn't say why). In that respect, reading them in the order I did worked well for me. Edgar Sawtelle affected me deeply, and Art of Racing in the Rain helped ease the transition back to other books.

I don't know...I think for me Edgar Sawtelle is a book that would have skewed my reaction to almost any book I put after it!

Does that answer your question, in a round-about way? Sorry that I'm not able to be clearer!

I'll be very interested to see what you think of the pairing!

Erin

Erin, Edgar Sawtelle skewed my reaction to books that came after it, too! I followed it up with a memoir about a hearing boy of deaf parents, so I continued with the signing theme, like you continued with dogs... interesting!

So that means that Susanne will have to follow up Edgar Sawtelle with Hamlet!

I almost did that, Ann! I finished Edgar Sawtelle, which I'd read without knowing the premise, found out what the premise was, and had an uncharacteristic urge to pick up some Shakespeare :-)

Okay...now I'm skewed too!

I need to re-read the ending again, as I was 'chasing the sandman' in the final stretch.

The ending wasn't as clear as I'd hoped or had expected given the magnitude and prose of the story.
The Hamlet tie-in was a nice touch and purposeful(I read in an interview) on the author's part.

Now, I'm looking at my little Maltese with a fresh perspective and even though I knew she was a bit spoiled...I now think she's been calling the shots!

Oh where is Ceasar Romero (Dog Whisperer) when you need him??? :-)

Well -- um -- actually Cesar Romero is dead. But Cesar what's his name -- The Dog Whisperer is of course waiting for your call but hey a Maltese who calls the shots is really nothing far out of line as far as I know -- my stepfather had one he "inherited" from his daughter who definitely called the shots for many years. I am told my dachshund is doing this -- would it help to read the book or should I just contact Cesar? Just kidding.

Dottie
LOL...what was I thinking??? Yes,of course I meant Cesar Millan. (but height aside, there is a strong resemblance):-)

I also "inherited" my Maltese from my daughter as she was too 'high maintenance' for a young career woman. She came from an abusive environment originally and had (has) some real issues. Fortunately, I've had time to help her settle down and gain much trust, but she's still a little trigger ready at times.
I love Dachsies!.....I had my little "Punky' for 18 wonderful years. She was the best!...mellow, loving, patient and very easy to 'parent'.

I started RUNNING IN THE RAIN last night and can see how the shift in narrative is a real departure from EDGAR SAWTELLE. I think I will enjoy it though...very different, but engaging nonetheless.

I love my dachshund -- he's just a bit over two and a long-haired, chocolate and white piebald so he's quite an attention grabber as people look and then say they've never seen one nor even heard of them. Mine is a chicken-hearted little cupcake! I'm adding these books to the never-ending list. Sigh.

And -- hmmm -- I'd never thought of the resemblance of one Cesar to the other but you are right. I always had a serious "swoon" penchant for Romero.

Ann or Michael...a question?

Are audio books (CD's that are not MP3s) released in England formatted to be played on U.S. players?
Also, is the 'reader' of the book the same for both releases (U.S. and U.K.)?

Thanks in advance,
Susanne

I'm not Ann or Michael, but I can answer your questions:

This thread just popped up on my goodreads update and I wanted to answer an old question first: The Soloist (By Steve Lopez; narrated by William Hughes) ISBN# 1-4332-1522-3 ($14.95) is a retail version, meaning that it is meant to be sold in stores. It comes in a standard cardboard box. If there is a problem with the audiobook, the consumer returns it to the place of purchase for a refund or exchange. The same audiobook with the ISBN# 1-4332-1520-9 ($60.00) is a library version. It is meant to be sold to library collections. It comes in a sturdy plastic case. If there is a problem with the audiobook, the CD(s) are replaced for free by the audiobook publisher.

As to the more recent question that has come up, audiobook CDs are the same in the UK as they are in the US, so you don't need a special player to play a UK audiobook and vice versa.

And as for the narrator being the same for both UK and US versions, it depends on whether the audiobook publisher has the UK, North American, Worldwide, Unabridged and/or Abridged rights. That's the long way of saying, sometimes it's the same narrator, sometimes it's not. For instance, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson (unabridged) has a different narrator for the UK edition (Saul Reichlin) than the US version (Simon Vance;) but the only abridged version sold worldwide is narrated by Martin Wenner.

Thank You Tanya!
I'm actually looking at THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST on e-bay! To bid or not to bid....that is the ?

Waiting until almost June for the U.S. release is becoming harder and harder! :-)
Susanne

Susanne wrote: "I'm actually looking at THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST on e-bay! To bid or not to bid....that is the ?

Waiting until almost June for the U.S. release is becoming harder and harder! :-) "

Don't I know it! I actually have the UK print edition of THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST on hand. I bought it at a NYC indie bookstore for my DH for Christmas. He tore through the book in less than two days (and it's as thick as the other two books combined!) I'm tempted, but with everything else I've got going on in both print and audio, I think I'll managed to hold off until May 25th! I'm going for the audio as narrated by Simon Vance.