Speccy Nation (book)

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scotland
Posts: 2561
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 7:33 pm

Speccy Nation (book)

Postby scotland » April 13th, 2016, 1:34 pm

Speccy Nation
By Dan Whitehead (a veteran video games journalist)
Cost: 99 cents for ebook
Duration: 125 pages

A 2012 book about the British Sinclair Spectrum, the rainbow clad computer that seemed to excite British youth in the 80s far more successfully than the Apples, Commodores, Texas Instruments and Tandys did here in the former colonies.

The book is full of enthusiasm and many colorful British sayings, but its fatally flawed for newbies. There are no graphics at all. The book is a list of game reviews, nothing else, that quickly just blur together.

Maybe the best way to discuss a video game is with a video. If not video, then at least a photo. Even here at VGC.com, I don't read The Critics reviews one after the other, page after page. Reviews are best if played through. Play the game, read the review, discuss.

Not having a Speccy, not knowing these games, the book - even as cute as the language is - is not engaging. Thats unfortunate as I wanted to learn more.

Sut
Posts: 845
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 4:23 pm

Re: Speccy Nation (book)

Postby Sut » April 13th, 2016, 4:26 pm

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Spectrum-Bo ... B00E0MR70A

This book is much more accessible and covers the C64 from a British angle as well.

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scotland
Posts: 2561
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 7:33 pm

Re: Speccy Nation (book)

Postby scotland » April 13th, 2016, 8:59 pm

Thanks Sut.

I think I may try this. I am glad it had the 'Look Inside' option, as this type of magizine like book will not do well on a kindle. However, on a tablet it might be better, although I have had issues with magazines as being basically unreadable on tablets.

Apparently, in the EU a digital e-book is subject to the Value Added Tax, VAT, while a paper book is not? According to an answer on Quora, physical books get a 0% VAT in the UK as exempt items, but ebooks are just considered a license to use software, which is not exempt. If Amazon just absorbs a 20% VAT on kindle books for the UK, and those kindle books are still cheaper than US kindle books, that just shows how totally arbitrary ebook prices are.

Is this VAT mismatch true for video games in the UK too? Are physical video games exempt, but digital downloads standard VAT? If so, digital downloads would just not be competitive to physical media in the UK.

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BlasteroidAli
Posts: 1594
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 7:50 pm

Re: Speccy Nation (book)

Postby BlasteroidAli » August 16th, 2016, 8:15 am

Scotland.. I read that book in England.

It has images in it. So I guess you got the e book which has no images.

I probably played 90 percent of these games, so for me it was a good book. Think the author needed to revamp it with more pictures and a colour format. It is an early kindle book and they had formatting issues.

I think it is an excellent book.


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