This wasn’t what I was planning to do a discussion post about, rather something that just came up recently. I initially started typing out my thoughts to briefly share in an update post, but I realized I had so much more to say about this topic. A lot of my thoughts are from a disability perspective, but it’s still something everyone should care about, and I think this is something affecting all readers and consumers.

I haven’t really requested ARCs on NetGalley for a while (if you don’t use NetGalley, don’t leave yet, there’s more to this post), just because I haven’t been reading as much and didn’t want the stress, and nowadays I often prefer to wait for audiobooks for books that will get them. But I requested a book the other day, even checked that epubs were available before doing so. But the epubs are available through lcpl format now, a new format they’re using, and guess what? I cannot open with my screen reader app. Which is the only way I can read ebooks without getting bad headaches, among other symptoms, because of a disability. When I was looking up how to convert it, I found a bunch of people looking to do the same, complaining they can’t load these lcpl books onto their ereaders. Which is an equally valid complaint. People use ereaders for any number of reasons: they’re convenient, portable, easier to hold than print books, easier on the eyes than a computer, have features or settings that help them, etc. But the files won’t open in their ereaders or phones, and the program that NetGalley suggests is not even available as an app for Android.

Amazon has also, over the years, made changes to their ebooks. Not quite in the way people think, the hubbub recently had a lot of misinformation being spread. But I’ve already decided I won’t be buying ebooks from there anymore because they’ve been too difficult for me, in terms of screen reader accessibility, for a while. Maybe their newer Kindles have better options, but I haven’t bought a Kindle in… ten years? And I shouldn’t have to just to listen to books I’ve paid for. Not to mention, for the most part, their books can only be read with their company’s devices or app, so what happens if they go under? Or start charging money for the app?

Hoopla ebooks have always been inaccessible to me, since I developed this head problem. It has no in-app feature for TTS, and last I checked, it wouldn’t even really work with general phone/computer screen readers.

PDF books in general are terrible with a screen reader. After every page is twenty seconds reading out the page number and the publisher and some random numbers and the book title and “for media review only, not for sale” or whatever. Even when I didn’t use a screen reader, they were still terrible for me because the bright white pages hurt my head, and having to constantly zoom in and out to read the text hurt my arms/wrists. So it’s not great when they’re the only format offered.

It’s frustrating and concerning that the world and technology are being developed in a way that allows for so much more accessibility, but somehow companies keep making things less and less accessible. And who else is going to start using new formats or making ebooks less accessible next? Libraries? Kobo? Publishers selling directly from their sites?

Sure, ereaders and phones and tablets usually come with text-to-speech accessibility features. But that doesn’t mean they’re good, or that they work with every app, or that they work with your specific needs. And disabled people shouldn’t have to spend more money on new devices, or pay more for another format, or have a worse experience, or miss out on a good book entirely, when the technology already exists but is just being essentially blocked by a company.

So far this has been largely about me and my experience, but I’m not the only person affected by this. Disabled people are not even the only people affected by this. When someone pays for or legally accesses an ebook, they should be able to read it on whatever device they have in whatever way is comfortable. If someone has purchased a book, they should be able to download the file and own it, not risk being unable to access it one day. And I’m not even sure how people in other countries might be affected by these things.

And all this for what? I don’t want authors’ books to get pirated and posted online. I don’t want them to lose money. But people who want to illegally post books online are going to find a way around this. This isn’t going to stop them. It never does. It just hurts normal people and consumers, which probably then hurts authors too.

Alternately, the solution could be better technology. If every ereader app and program had an option to read aloud that worked well, with all the usual voice options, good customization for speed and pitch, a way to adjust pronunciation of specific words, and it all worked with the general screen reader programs some people need (like TalkBack), then format would be less important. Though it would still be annoying to download so many ereader apps (that may not be available on every device or in every country) and still not own our books.

I will say that, after struggling for an hour, I managed to find an app for Android that can open the lcpl book I got from NetGalley (Cantook), and I’m able to use the same voice my phone uses (though my voice selection never sticks, for some reason). But it remains to be seen how well it works, since I haven’t tried listening to more than a few lines yet.

And no one should have to go through that much work to access a book they legally obtained in a way that is usable for them. I just want to download a book, send it to my phone, and open it in the app I use. I’m sure other people would like that too. Wouldn’t that be nice?

(I’ve had a headache all day, I hope this post made sense.)