I created a simple cost calculator for webnovel.com

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by Cycho, May 10, 2019.

  1. Cycho

    Cycho Member

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    TL; DR: I created a simple cost calculator for webnovel.com, here is the link

    So... today I was thinking of catching up with the latest chapters Library of Heaven's Path and went to the only website I know who have them... webnovel.com, to my surprise anything after chapter 655 needed spirit stones. Now, I don't mind paying as long as it is priced reasonably... and since webnovel.com is selling a unique currency to buy the chapters (something a lot of companies are doing to hide the actual price of a product) I wanted to know how much am I actually paying. So I made a spreadsheet that would do just that... and oh boy glad I did it before buying anything. See, I stopped reading LHP around chapter 900 and it currently has around 1490 chapters. While I was calculating the cost of 120 chapters of LHP, I was shocked to see that I would be spending almost $50 just for 120 chapters or so, of a slapstick type novel with repetitive punch lines... let that sink in folks... and just for comparison, three volumes of Lord of The Rings (a good read if you have not already) in a hardcover and clothbound, only go for around $90 at the moment of typing this... here is the link to the said book on Amazon...

    I am not bashing webnovel.com, I just want to share my experiences today and to help others to make a more informed decision when it comes to reading novels. Additionally, I made the spreadsheet available to anyone who wishes to use it when making their purchase. Use it as is or download a personal copy.

    Thank you, for reading...
     
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  2. DontLookDown

    DontLookDown One with the bed

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    I'm sure everyone appeciates the sentiment, but at this point I'm sure most people(me included) are pretty burned out with drama/hatred with QI. Also not a huge surprise how much it costs. .-.
     
  3. Liyus

    Liyus Laksha's Desu~ Cat

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    i started reading WN because was free.....i will never pay for reading them.....
     
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  4. Cycho

    Cycho Member

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    I stepped away from reading webnovels quite some time ago due to life... now that I have time I wanted to start reading again... and back then QI was not this bad, they only lock 5 chapters or so... and those can be unlocked by watching some ads (the situation I was expecting to come back to really..)
     
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  5. Fallion

    Fallion [Indolence Personified]

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    Agreed, occasionally when I have the money I donate to something.
     
  6. Cycho

    Cycho Member

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    I agreed also, after all, there is no such thing a free entertainment.
     
  7. UnGrave

    UnGrave ななひ~^^

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    As far as I can tell, it seems their current business plan is to make it impossible to read most novels with spirit stones, so that everyone switches to their subscription service.
     
  8. Deleted member 41274

    Deleted member 41274 Guest

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    It was sad when they took tka, but recently I found a website where I can read tkea too. Dunno if it's legal or not but it's free
     
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  9. Cycho

    Cycho Member

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    I did not know they have subscriptions... and if they did they are doing a very bad way of advertising it, as when i was checking out my payment option I did not see any kind of subscription payment... just SS packages...
     
  10. thisworldofmine1

    thisworldofmine1 Grandmaster of Danmei Cultivation

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    You're welcome, hope it's good enough!
     
  11. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    Oof, I never understand how people consider LotR a good read... I was dying of boredom while reading that... Never touching any Tolkien work ever again.

    Took me 2 months to read something I'd usually finish in 1 week due to how bored I was...
     
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  12. OnceandFutureLurker

    OnceandFutureLurker Well-Known Member

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    In his introduction to the second edition of The Lord of the Rings:
    Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible, and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer. A statement by J. R. R. Tolkien
     
  13. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    *shrugs* Well, that's a pretty fair statement from the author himself I guess?

    Dunno, book was still dead boring to me, always strikes me weird when I see people praising it because the characters are underwhelming, the story is bland and there is an absurd amount of mostly useless description throughout the book.

    I can't see much reason to read it over most modern books... >.>
     
  14. OnceandFutureLurker

    OnceandFutureLurker Well-Known Member

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    Each to their own , there is room for both,:blobbunny::blobbunny: :blobbunny::blobbunny::blobbunny::blobbunny::blobbunny:
     
  15. Cycho

    Cycho Member

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    First of all, yes, I can also agree with you that LotR can be a chore to read, but quite honestly when I was making the comparison I did not make much of an effort... after all, considering what I was comparing it to... any novel that was published by an actual publisher would often time come out the superior one. I'm not saying LHP is bad, rather based on the concept, the author's intended direction, and the novel's intended audience LHP would be a good read.

    The same thing applies to LotR, LotR was first published in the1950s... so it is not surprising that a modern reader would find it boring after all, it was not meant to be read with today's mindset and culture. Then again, reading any novel old or new without adjusting one's mindset and expectation would simply result in half of the reading experience.
     
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  16. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    Oh, this much makes sense!

    And yeah, LotR is a product of its time, I haven't read many novels that are that old and... Well, it's hard to get really into it.

    It just surprises me a bit how people overhype LotR when it's kinda... Not that great by modern standards IMHO, but it was good for its time~
     
  17. asriu

    asriu fu~ fu~ fu~

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    ty it uite helpful
    it good for literature archive I guess