The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Now Available: The Fresh Loaf Pocket Book of Bread Baking

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Now Available: The Fresh Loaf Pocket Book of Bread Baking

The Fresh Loaf Pocket Book of Bread Baking e-book is now available for Kindle on Amazon.com for $4.99.

A Nook edition is available on Barnes & Noble's website for the same price.

 

 

I'm having a hard time writing much more about it because I really don't enjoy tooting my own horn. I'll just say I'm proud of what we've put together and hope it will a worthy expression of our shared passion for bread baking.

Originally I thought this e-book was just going to be an aggregation of the content and lessons I've already posted here, but in the end Dorota and I put a great deal of work into this.  The community feedback on the first draft was tremendously helpful and many adjustments and additions were made in response.  We also found that once we read through the entire text there were a number of inconsistencies and omissions that are no big deal on a website where you can instantly search, ask a question, and interact with other bakers, but that are a larger problem in a work that is meant to stand on its own.   These past few weeks we've tried hard to remedy those shortcomings and, with the help of friends and family members in publishing, to achieve the level of editorial polish that you would expect from professionally-produced content. In the end, this became a fairly substantial work, one that I hope readers will find an economical yet still high-quality introduction to bread baking.

I would love TFL community members' help kicking this off. A few positive reviews on Amazon and enough sales that non-TFL members notice it when browsing the e-book charts will make a tremendous difference in the ultimate success of this project.

Again, thank you all again for your feedback, words of encouragement, and on-going support.

Humbly,

Floyd

Nim's picture
Nim

congrats, Floyd! I will order this for my ipad.

msbreadbaker's picture
msbreadbaker

What's an e-book, does that mean no paper? Jean P. (VA)

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

Due to family situation I haven't been here for a long time. But I saw your book on Amazon.  Got to come here to give you a little cheers.  Congratulations, Floyd!  Keep up the good work!

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

can help with what was most likely a very huge undertaking ......    Congratulations !

Kindle and Nook-less in Maryland  :)

Anna

 

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thanks, Anna.

Kindle and Nook e-reader apps are free and available for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, and Window Phone.  So you can buy and download books from those storefronts without actually needing a Nook or Kindle device.

      Download the Kindle app for your platform here >

      Download the Nook app for your platform here >

I've been testing it on my Android Phone today and it looks surprisingly good.

-Floyd

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

$ 5.00/mos VirginmobileUsa subscriber rate from 7 years ago.  (They grand"mothered" me in, grin).

Also, I am the proud owner of one of the absolute first e-book readers which sadly was way ahead of its time, closed its doors due to non-interest, and its inventory was purchased and adapted by e-bookwise.  It has its own readable text format as well as reading in txt, html and pdf. 

Anna

 

dstroy's picture
dstroy

But I am assuming you view TFL on a computer, correct? You can get the reader for your computer also (though one thing that the ebook does is walk you through baking and assuming you're reading with doughy hands) but it works well. The formatting is done for the readers, but the Mac and Windows e-readers are designed to use that formatting.

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

Kindle versions can be read as html/txt/pdf  on a PC ?  

thanks,

Anna

 

MangoChutney's picture
MangoChutney

Kindle books can be read on PCs with Amazon's Kindle for PC program.  It is free and I have it on my PC.  I prefer PDFs, but this program does work.

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

I wasn't aware of that.

Anna

RonRay's picture
RonRay

I hope it will be as successful as it justly deserves to be !

All the best of wishes.

Question:

Why do I have 2 (TWO) "Table of Contents" ?

 - One after the cover, and the second one after the "Copyright  image"...

Ron

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thank you.

Heh... yes, you found the one "bug" that we've discovered in the e-book.  There is the built-in TOC and then there is another one that gets generated from the e-book build files.  I noticed that last night and thought about trying to pull it out, but I figured two TOC is better than none!

-Floyd

RonRay's picture
RonRay

LOL  I will say no more (^_^)

Ron

PaddyL's picture
PaddyL

Will it ever come out as a real book with paper pages?

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Only if a real publisher approaches me with an offer.  ;^)

-Floyd

Crider's picture
Crider

I think they would be ideal for publishing the book. 

mimifix's picture
mimifix

Hi Floyd,

Congratulations on all your work! If you are interested in turning your book into a hard copy, you may want to consider self-publishing. It's a different process now than it was years ago. With your technical skill it would be very easy and cheap. The self-publish royalty is huge compared to what the real publishers give authors. If you want more info, send me a note.

Again, congratulations! Mimi

dvuong's picture
dvuong

This is great Floyd!  Congrats on such a wonderful accomplishment!

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thank you, dvoung, and Nim, Daisy A, althetrainer, and everyone else who has said nice things about this or downloaded a copy.

asfolks's picture
asfolks

Thank you for all that you do for our community! I'm happy to support your book.

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

but does the Kindle version have the same contents as the PDF file that we were able to download earlier before it was made available as an e-book?

- Judy

Floydm's picture
Floydm

The Kindle version has the same 10 recipes, but we spent the last three weeks flushing it out, adding new content like a "Troubleshooting" section, editing the copy, standardizing many of the instructions, fixing typos, and generally sprucing it up.  So... yes, it is mostly the same content, but there are significant differences between the first draft and the final version.

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

for the clarification.  Much appreciated. 

Judy

thomaschacon75's picture
thomaschacon75

I posted a link to it on the Reddit bread forum. 

The forum is nowhere near as active as TFL, but the Reddit audience is gigantic, so maybe it'll help get the word out.

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thank you!

thomaschacon75's picture
thomaschacon75

Not sure why it's not appearing on the "New" page or elsewhere or why the link to the book isn't working. I might delete it later if things don't change (and repost and/or ping the moderator). 

dstroy's picture
dstroy

The link works right for me!

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Barnes & Noble took a bit longer to publish a new e-books, but now the Nook edition of The Fresh Loaf Pocket Book of Bread Baking is now available on their site.

The double Table of Contents bug that RonRay reported is more pronounced in this edition because of some slight technical differences in the two platforms.  My apologies for this.  I do intend to try to fix this and upload a new version, but I hope folks will only find it a minor inconvenience. It just means skipping one or two extra screens the first time you load the document.

Rosalie's picture
Rosalie

I'm planning to buy a Nook in the next couple of weeks - just because I'm dying to have an e-reader, not because I've seen a lot of e-books I need to read.  Your book will be one of the first, if not The First e-book I buy for it.  Looking forward to reading it.

Rosalie

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thanks!

alldogz's picture
alldogz

Rosalie,

Did you buy the Nook? I don't have an e-reader, i do have a Smartphone, but i don't want to read on it (too small a print, use up the batteries and then i can't use the phone when i need to)...and i have been waffling on buying an e-reader....didn't like the early nooks and was leaning toward a kindle, didn't like the fact i couldn't go to the library with the kindle and leaning back to the newer (wifi only) nook...i want Floyd's book, and was wondering if you did the Nook and how it works on that (may be my first ebook ever purchased)....Becky

PS....I know i can put it on the netbook..but like the idea of NOT having the computer where i am baking...better the e-reader.

Rosalie's picture
Rosalie

Yes, I bought the Nook, and Floyd's book was indeed the first book I downloaded to it.  I had a couple of reasons for selecting Nook over Kindle.  I don't want to deal with Amazon, and I do want to download library books (though they say that within the year you'll be able to download library books to Kindle, too).  But also consider that, in the lastest Consumer Reports issue (September 2011, page 43), there is a review of the e-readers and the new Nook Simple Touch came out on top.  I imagine that Nook and Kindle will be playing leapfrog.  Maybe one format will eventually emerge.  But I LOVE my Nook Simple Touch.  (It's not really WiFi only.  You need WiFi for registering, but you can do that in the store.  There is a cord for hooking up to your computer and "sideloading".)

Rosalie

hanseata's picture
hanseata

you can also purchase an e-book as a gift!

I just didn't only order one for my Kindle but for my daughter's as well.

Thanks for your great effort, Floyd,

Karin

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thank you, Karin.

kolobezka's picture
kolobezka

that is e great idea - a TFL e-pocketbook.

only the price is 8,04 dollars outside US :-(

 

zdenka

Floydm's picture
Floydm

It is available on Amazon.de for 4,05 Euro, which is more like $5.81 USD.

http://www.amazon.de/Fresh-Pocket-Bread-Baking-ebook/dp/B0058B9CJG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309369934&sr=8-1

And Amazon.co.uk for 3.60 GBP, which is very close to the same price.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fresh-Pocket-Bread-Baking-ebook/dp/B0058B9CJG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309370037&sr=8-1

That's a little more expensive, but not ridiculously so.

I'm not sure what it takes to get into Amazon.ca's storefront Ah, I see.  Amazon.ca Kindle users get redirected to the US storefront. I'm going to be spending the next couple of months in Vancouver though, so I will try to look into that and porting more of the recipes to metric (which this edition does not consistently include) while I'm up there so it'll be more valuable to non-US bakers.

kolobezka's picture
kolobezka

I did not have the idea to look in other amazon stores. But it seems like I would have to register my Kindle on German / British Amazon. And I do not know whether it is possible as my Kindle is already registred on Amazon.com.

When I put my current email and password on German Amazon, they recognize it and redirect me to Amazon.com.

Yes, metric measures are a great idea - I think I will wait for that. Thank you a lot!!!

zdenka

hanseata's picture
hanseata

Hi, Zdenka, I asked amazon about that problem - I'm from Germany and like the idea of getting German Kindle editions, too. It appears that you have to temporarily re-register your Kindle account at amazon.de to be able to do that. But obviously you can switch back to amazon.com later.

I haven't tried it myself, yet, but intend to. Maybe you should check into that.

Karin

kolobezka's picture
kolobezka

Thank you the information. We may try that!

zdenka

Floydm's picture
Floydm

I know it won't last, but at the moment The Fresh Loaf Pocket Book of Bread Baking is number one on the Amazon sales charts!  

 

In the bread baking e-book category, not overall, of course.  And yes, I did "take a picture so it'll last longer," as Pee Wee Herman would have said, because I'm certain it will not last for long.  Still, it makes me happy to see this.

Thank you, everyone, for your support!

-Floyd

breadsong's picture
breadsong

Hi Floyd,
#1 - how exciting!
Thanks for the good read and for all of your, and your wife's, hard work in putting it together.
Will keep Karin's gift-giving idea in mind too.
:^) from breadsong

RFMonaco's picture
RFMonaco

Nice little write up Floyd and works well using free 'Kindle for PC'

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=kcp_pc_menu?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200388510

naschol's picture
naschol

Most ebook readers can read .epub, except the Kindle. 

hanseata's picture
hanseata

Congratulations, Floyd.

Now it needs only a few people who "like" it on facebook to get a bit of a hype going (I mean that in a positive way).

Karin

spinypineapple's picture
spinypineapple

Hello! This looks good and helpful for an amatuer baker. Will be getting my copy once I download the platform app :) I was very glad to find out that kindle and nook can be downloaded as apps for Macs as I don't owe an e-book reader. 

ehanner's picture
ehanner

I DL'd the viewer and bought the book today Floyd. Very nicely done. You are helping the new baker take the leap of faith and dive into the flour, so to speak. The finished product is clear and easy to read. All the best wishes for you on this.

Eric

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thank you, Eric, and thanks for your feedback on the early draft that helped me shape the final version. 

Sylviambt's picture
Sylviambt

Congratulations, Floyd. Outstanding. I look forward to getting it for my iPad. Way to go!

rhomp2002's picture
rhomp2002

Is this also available using Linux? I don't use Windows at all and do not have a Mac.

Floydm's picture
Floydm

If you count Android as a Linux distro, then yes.  The Kindle device runs Linux too (the Nook too, since it runs Android). But if you mean a consumer desktop distro like Ubuntu then I fear you are out of luck.

rhomp2002's picture
rhomp2002

That is a shame, especially with all the Linux installs there are out there.

Floydm's picture
Floydm

There aren't, really.  As many people browse this site on BlackBerries and iPods as Linux desktop machines. And I say this as tremendous Linux fan who spends more time at work in bash and emacs than in any other applications.  Linux is winning because of WebKit-based browser and devices based on Linux (not to mention servers), not Linux desktop systems.

gary.turner's picture
gary.turner

Quote:
There aren't, really.  As many people browse this site on BlackBerries and iPods as Linux desktop machines.
A shame, really.  Amazon managed to port Kindle to Mac, a *nix type OS. From that point, porting to a POSIX compliant Linux should be relatively trivial. :shrug:

I've used Linux since 2000, and still use Windows quite a bit. Win7 is the best yet (not saying a whole lot; when you have to reboot the system to install an app, you have a stupid underlying design), but for really productive time it doesn't hold a candle to Linux. (And no,  I'm not denigrating the Win version of BASH, Win just doesn't have enough easily  available tools.)  Me, too, re Emacs and BASH.

cheers,

gary

rhomp2002's picture
rhomp2002

I installed Linux the first time when my "restore" disk of Windows that was supposed to be able to re-install wouldn't. I had been given a Ubuntu CD so I thought I would just load it to see what Linux was like. I have not used Windows since. Everything I want to do normally I can do with Linux and for free and without all the special security anti-virus programs - and the Libre Office (Linux equivalent of M$ Office actually does a better job of the new M$ Office on the older documents. Shame that this book is not available then on Linux.

tananaBrian's picture
tananaBrian

As far as I know, the biggest drawback to e-books is that the readers themselves don't let you print ...I've got boat plans that I'd like to publish via the e-book format, but they are useless unless someone can print them (at least pages with drawings).  I took a quick look at both the Kindle and Nook readers for PC and didn't see any way to print ...even if just a page at a time.  Does anybody have a solution for this?

 

Brian

 

Marty's picture
Marty

Floyd, I am enjoying my Kindle and your book is a nice addition to my library. Thanks.

For folks with tech questions maybe this will help.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=140

or

http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=tag_cdt_hd_icdf

Post your questions. Lots of non baking help.

 

 

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thanks, Marty.  Glad to hear it.

pattycakes's picture
pattycakes

I bought the book, and after I take a look, I'll review it. Honestly, I have learned more from TFL than from any single bread baking book, and the process of learning was made so much easier by being able to communicate with fellow bakers...

I am grateful for this site and for all the work you have done, Floyd.

Thank you!

Patricia

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Thanks, Patricia.

salma's picture
salma

What a great achievement Floyd and everyone who helped. Conratulations! Will make a great Christmas gift if it gets published as a printed book.
Salma

EvaB's picture
EvaB

having Kobo, that is a Chapters, Indigo, Coles reader, but I also got a Dumbies book for both my Samsung Tablet, and my Samsung Galaxy 5 phone (the tablet is glaxy too) and in the book it says I can download the kindle app onto my Samsung, so when I get the chance I am going to try that, and then buy the book! LOL

I suspect that the Kobo is loaded on the stuff sold in Canada over the Kindle stuff for the US to make us users buy from Canadian stores! Not that Amazon isn't I have a Amazon.ca account. I went looking for a book offered on Amazon for kindle at Kobo and it wasn't there, so will have to have both apps so I can feed my book habit. I do like the Samsung for reading a book, the book is bigger than a paperback but smaller than a hardback and easy to use in bed. So a good thing to have when you are limited by weight to fly with, and still have your bedtime read, and I can probably use it ok in the kitchen! LOL

highwaymanco's picture
highwaymanco

TFLPBOBB...

on my iphone !!!

first book i downloaded to it...looks great !!!!

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Ha... Glad to hear it looks good on your phone.  

Now I'm trying to figure out how one would pronounce that... "Tifle-pbob"?