#1 Dead On Target

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Yeah, I thought as such. Too bad you can't read the Hardy Boys Books like you can watch stuff on Netflix. Found this stite, and I'm on the free trial right now.
https://www.scribd.com/collections/16425161/Hardy-Boys-The-Secret-Files

Might not keep it since they don't have the Casefiles on it.

[MacGyver]

Scribd does indeed have a number of Hardy Boys books on it, including the Casefiles. Funny that you mentioned Netflix, as Wired Magazine has called the site "the Netflix for books". However, be aware that there are numerous books uploaded to the site that breach copyright laws.

[tomswift2002]

Considering that S&S hasn't released any E books of the Casefiles, aside from "Darkness Falls", any e-book versions currently out are probably pirated editions.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

That's why I'm not keeping it....want to buy a real, official copy.

[THartmann9374]

 Tom Swift Megapack and Bobbsey Twins Megapack are on Amazon for Kindles. I wish that there is a megapack for Hardy Boys.

Like someone above said that Nancy Drew ebooks were released last year, so maybe it means that Hardy Boys ebooks will be release soon? I will not hesitate to buy the whole e-book series once they are released.

[tomswift2002]

The Bobbsey Twins and Tom Swift have been out since 1904 and 1910, respectively.  So for those series a large number of books were published prior to 1923, and as result they are in the Public Domain.  Plus it has been over 50 years since both Edward Stratemeyer (died 1930) and Howard R. Garis (died 1962) died, so even in the US and countries like Canada, any claims of copyright based on when the author died have since lapsed.  Those "Mega Packs" are just repackaged versions of the various Public Domain files that are online. 

[THartmann9374]

That is correct. I forgot that Tom Swift and Bobbsey Twins are in a public domain which was why they were "sold" at Amazon for very cheap. It has to be 70 years for books to be in a pubic domain, right? When would Hardy Boys be available for public domain? I know that originals were written back in 1920s, but Grosset Dunlap revised them later in 1960s/1970s. So, it means that original without revision should be in public domain, but ones with Grosset Dunlap won't be available until some time later.

[tomswift2002]

In the US for books like Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys they are copyrighted under what is known as "Works For Hire", and in the states, since 1998, have carried a 95 year coverage, while before 1998 it was 75.  This why you've heard the phrase "anything before 1923 is Public Domain" as the last year under the old law was 1922, which lapsed in 1997.  But starting next year, a number of books and films will enter the US's PD as 2018 is 95 years after 1923.

However, here in Canada there is no limit like the US, since while Canadian Copyright does allow for "Works For Hire", where you as the producer, while you may not have written the book, you still own the copyright.  But that's where the similarities end.  The major difference is that Canada has a "Life plus 50" policy.  So as long as the author or partner lives, then the book is under copyright, plus 50 years past their death.  And once the 50 years are up the books are in the Public Domain.  This how Sherlock Holmes and James Bond are PUBLIC DOMAIN in Canada.   

This also raises a few interesting scenarios, as with Nancy Drew, the "Old Clock" revised will  enter the Canada   PD in 2032, 50 years after Harriet Stratemeyer died in 1982, but the original text won't enter till  2052, 50 years after Mildred Benson died in 2002

[THartmann9374]

Thanks for correcting me about how many years before a book can be in public domain. For some reason, I though it was 70 years.

Books that ghost writers wrote will be based 95 years after their deaths? Not Edward Stratemeyer aka the original Franklin Dixon?

[tomswift2002]

No, not 95 after the ghost writer's death.  It is 95 years after publication. In the US.

[tomswift2002]

I was just thinking about this book.  Of course it's due to the fact that I originally bought "Dead On Target" on Easter Saturday 1995 (which from what I see online, was Saturday, April 15, 1995) and started to read it, even though over the previous year I had read "Cold Sweat" and the "Operation:Phoenix" trilogy.  So that was 22 years ago from tomorrow.  It's funny how Easter and the Hardy's go hand-in-hand with me, as it was just Easter 1994 when I was reading one of the best Hardy's ever, the 1944 version of "The Melted Coins" (plus in 1994 my birthday fell on Good Friday and I got the flashlight editions of #'s 2-5).

And I remember that for Easter 1998 I was reading for the first time the Hardy Boys/Tom Swift Ultra Thriller The Alien Factor that I had got in on inter-library loan.

[MacGyver]

For a lot of people, Good Friday and/or Easter Monday are holidays they get from school (the length may vary depending on when and where you went to school)- and that's a good time to have some leisure time to read more. But since today actually is Good Friday and the topic's been raised- Happy Easter to everyone! Jesus lives! (And because He lives, we can live also.)

[tomswift2002]

This kind of slipped under the radar, but on June 4, 2019 "Dead On Target" was released as an e-book from "Simon & Schuster!  It is available on Kobo, Kindle, Apple Bboks.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Dead-on-Target/Franklin-W-Dixon/Hardy-Boys-Casefiles/9781534456297

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Have you ever heard of this guy's reviews? I love his take on the series.

https://youtu.be/wmnqX4Op22o

[MacGyver]

I think I had noticed them on YouTube but never really listened to them until now. I don't care much about reviews of books I've already read and love- and I really don't care for the snarky ones too much. Thanks for the link though. I noticed he used the wallpaper from this site for the Dead on Target review video.