A francophile friend is eagerly trying to buy French books and periodicals for her new Kindle DX. She splits her time between Seattle and France, and would love to consolidate her reading materials electronically for practical reasons. Fueled by optimism, she bought a third generation Kindle last Friday.
She loves Kindle’s promise, but disenchantment is already setting in… For reasons that aren’t clear, the usage scenario she has in mind is not well supported by the current market environment. She has spent hours searching www.amazon.fr, to no avail. No French books to speak of, and hardly any periodicals.
Her trial subscription to Le Monde has revealed a number of usability issues. There’s no teaser format that enables her to skip to the articles that most interest her. No images, text only.
En Français, S’il Vous Plait
Her dream: read French novels, newspapers and magazines on a conveniently portable device like the Kindle. Current releases, not just 19th century public domain books. Because she’s passionate about perfecting her French comprehension and pronunciation skills, she’d love to read while listening to a simultaneous playback via MP3 (or equivalent).
French is not her native language, so she wants to be able to select unfamiliar words on the Kindle, thereby launching a built-in dictionary whose entries explain their meaning. She’d also welcome the option of viewing French-to-English translations of unknown words and slang (a must-have for people whose French is less fluent than hers.)
She’s very interested in Kindle’s text-to-speech option, especially if it doesn’t sound like a robot. Needless to say, she expects the text-to-speech option for French content to produce words pronounced correctly in French, rather than listen to a techno-voice trying to pronounce French words as if they had been written in English.
Before ordering the Kindle, my friend did some research which revealed that Amazon had released a digital publishing platform for French language authors in January. That sparked her purchase of a Kindle. Surely, she thought, there’d be French ebooks in the marketplace by now, 6+ months since Amazon released its multi-language publishing platform.
Hélas! She’s learned there are few contemporary books in French for Kindle. And no linked dictionary for French content as there is for English language content.
Too Early, Or Too Unusual?
Her big question: is she just suffering early adopter pains, and if she waits patiently, will someday have the opportunity to read French books and magazines on a Kindle? Or is she an outlier, a member of a niche market of French readers who would welcome electronic books, but who are too few in number to motivate the French publishing industry to embrace the new digital formats?
And what about the French government’s continuing quest to promulgate the French language around the world? Will France succeed in ensuring a steady demand for French language publications beyond French borders? And if so, surely digital formats would make French publications more easily accessible to a broader global audience if booksellers could avoid the brick-and-mortar challenges of inventory forecasting, shipping costs and other import-related challenges.
Update
The Wall Street Journal describes the role of the French government in protecting the rights of small independent booksellers, and speculates on what’s in store for electronic books (September 24, 2010 article). Will the same law that protects small booksellers against heavy discounting also apply to electronic books?
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Scott Fivelson // Mar 1, 2011 at 9:16 am
Dear Christine,
I am an American author, playwright, and screenwriter living in Los Angeles.
My comedy novel, “Tuxes,” a satire of the classic multi-generational rich-family saga, was published in 2007 in the U.S. by BeachSide Press. It’s garnered excellent reviews, including comparisons to such writers as Jonathan Swift, William Dean Howells, and Kurt Vonnegut.
In January of this year, Polymancer Press, a division of Polymancer Studios, Inc., of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, published “Tuxes (French Edition),” that being my novel “Tuxes” in a French translation.
“Tuxes (French Edition)” is available from the Kindle Store at Amazon and at Amazon.co.uk.
It’s also available from iTunes in the U.S., Britain, Australia, Germany, and of course, France.
I’m sending this information, as I recently read the series of postings by you and others desiring to read contemporary French literature in eBook form.
I hope my American novel, now available in its French eBook form, will appeal to you and the others who’ve discussed this topic recently.
And that you’ll feel inspired to share news of “Tuxes (French Edition)” with your readers and friends.
Very best regards,
Scott Fivelson
Author
“Tuxes” and “Tuxes (French Edition)”
Los Angeles, California
bill // Jan 9, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I came across your blog while mulling over the question of getting an e-reader for use on a trip to France. The section on your friend’s desire for an e-reader that can display novels and other material in French, with a hyperlinked dictionary of words and phrases in that language, spoke to me. It’s exactly what I want. I’m not a Kindle fan (or any other ereader), but I’d buy one just for that functionality. I’ll keep looking, and perhaps some day she, I, and the others will find a better solution than the cobbled-together one which currently exists.
Emue // Nov 14, 2010 at 3:22 am
Hello,
Several French independant publishers are now on Kindle. If you type ‘Editions Mue’, ‘Dedicace’, or ‘NumerikLivres’, you will find their books on Kindle.
I myself have just released my first book on Kindle, it is a compilation of contemporary short stories, ‘Femmes contre nature’. You can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Femmes-contre-nature-French-Edition/dp/B0048ELNIC
Benoit // Nov 11, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I have the solution but it may be illegal in the country of residence.
Anyway, you can go and buy ebooks on the website fnac.fr
its ebooks are in the format epub with adobe DRM. Google how to remove DRM from adobe epub.
Download Caliber, a wonderful open source software. Caliber will convert from epub to Kindle format.
Job done,
Bonne lecture.
Dan // Nov 11, 2010 at 12:46 pm
I’m on the same boat.
I’m french (from Québec) and been wanting a Kindle ever since the first USA-only came out years ago. Been researching other e-readers too, but it’s been the same problem ever since then : english-only books.
In Québec one store is now selling ebooks in french (Archambault) to go with the Sony eReader they are selling… but the offer is still limited (it’s slow to get the publisher’s moving) and I don’t find it worth it, as for most publishers the price is ridiculously high.
It IS the publisher’s fault.
Altough I understand their relunctancy, they don’t seem to understand that it’s their loss in the end.
I won’t buy the eReader or Kindle to buy ebooks at the same price I pay for a hard copy (seriously, 25$!), but more often than not, I won’t buy the hard copy either, I’ll just go to the library.
If Kindle had french ebooks, I would buy the Kindle and I would buy the ebooks. They may not get as much money per ebook as they get per hard copy, but they would sell much more in the end.
With the new iBook store with Apple, I started using my iPhone to buy ebooks and I kinda gave up and started buying original english books instead of french translations. I just hope Apple is more convincing and we get original french ebooks soon.
Christine // Nov 11, 2010 at 3:58 pm
There was a good article in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times a couple of months ago that did a “deep dive” into the economics of publishing, including royalties paid to authors. Because author royalties are calculated as a percentage of the book’s price, it seems that little money (in absolute dollars or loonies) goes to the author for sales of books on Kindle, Sony’s Reader, etc.
It’s clear that there are multiple issues conspiring to slow down the availability of books for non-mass-market audiences… Which is a real shame for French speakers and readers…
VanZant // Oct 18, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Good to know there are numerous others wanting to read French on Kindle. I have been waiting for several years to no avail. In the meantime, I will not buy a Kindle until able to read current French fictional books on one. All the eReaders seem to be English-centric.
mitch // Oct 3, 2010 at 2:58 am
I guess I’m not alone trying to get french ebooks. has anybody tried buying ebooks from fnnac.com? What about the Sony ereader? I want to be able to get both english et des bouquins en francais. Please help
Lynjon // Sep 28, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I think Benoit is correct. My understanding is that Amazon do intend to roll out Kindle in France in due course but it is held up by the problem of getting contemporary books out of the publishers. In the meantime if you are content to stick with the French classics these are available in the Kindle store. And you can get a French-English dictionary that can be used as the default dictionary whe reading French books.
Benoit // Sep 14, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Hi all,
The problem is not Amazon but the French publishers.
I’m afraid that they aren’t on the same (kindle) page as the English ones.
And also, Amazon bought a French company named mobipocket several years ago. I don’t think they want to sink their company after getting their technology. The mobipocket that are not encrypted can be read directly on the Kindle. It may be a way to work around.
I’m sure, one day, it will be on but for now, it’s still not released.
Keep checking amazon.fr and amazon.ca (The Québec)
For the time being, I think only classical are available on the Kindle. (www.gutenberg.org, manybooks.net)
rogers walker // Sep 10, 2010 at 1:46 pm
I agree completely. This can’t be a niche market. With all the world French speakers/learners there must be reasonable demand. The technology is there and it is greatly frustrating to me that they can’t figure this one out. Another example of the the big guys (Amazon, Mac,etc…) setting the agenda to the detriment of World culture.
Christine // Sep 10, 2010 at 1:53 pm
I hope that Amazon is listening, and plans to muster the talent and business relationships that will enable them to bring French language books, periodicals, dictionaries, etc., to current and future Kindles!
barry proctor // Sep 5, 2010 at 7:31 pm
yes I agree with the above, I bought kindle on the understanding that I would be able to buy e.books in the french language, but it hasn’t been possible so far, I hope this is going to change.
Where Are the Books in French for Kindle? // Aug 9, 2010 at 7:34 pm
[...] See the rest here: Where Are the Books in French for Kindle? [...]
Paul // Aug 26, 2010 at 6:22 pm
I have been wondering and researching the same thing to absolutely no avail. I just want to read French books and look up words in the built in dictionary. French people must want to do the same.
Why is this impossible?
Christine // Aug 27, 2010 at 6:20 am
I have a friend who’s also very interested in this question.
So we explored the information that Amazon provides to publishers interested in Kindle. Based on what I read there, I’d venture to guess that their current monetization and payment/taxation practices discourage European publishers from participating in this platform. Payments are in dollars to a US bank, and US income taxes are withheld…