I searched for "book" and "Blurb" and didn't find anything so here goes:

Can anyone with experience working with both the LR4 new Book Module and the Blurb for Mac downloaded application comment on one versus the other?

I have made quite a few books over the past few years with the Blurb application on my Mac. I've also read Scott Kelby's book on LR4 where it talks about using the new Book Module which is integrated with Blurb for publishing.

I'm inclined to work within LR4's Book Module to make my next book but before I do, I want to make sure there are no hidden gotchas or limitations I'm not seeing that I am used to from using the Blurb application.

It seems to me the advantage of using LR4's Book Module is that I don't have to separately manage my files to make the book with the Blurb application. I also suspect that LR4 might do a better job re-sizing images (?) than Blurb's application.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

Deena

Deena, I don't have experience with the Mac version of Blurb. But my experience with
the Book module has not been satisfactory. If I were to guess, I'd say that LR4 offers
limited templates and book selections.
In addition, when I moved to another module (like, back to Develop to edit a photo)
some of the images I had selected were not there when I switched back to Book,
and some were not scaled the same way I left them.
Perhaps the trick is to click on the Create Saved Book button.
I didn't try the Book module again. Blurb is pricey.

~LarryC (eLCee)

I got my Martin Evening LR4 book from Amazon yesterday. I won’t have the time to study it properly for another week or so, but I noted that ME discussed the book module of LR4 together with Blurb. You’ll find ME’s LR4 book on Amazon and you may be able to preview the book just enough to see what he says about Blurb support.

I remember from some other context that the book module was a huge disappointment for others, most notably because you need external software (eg Illustrator) to create new templates. Limitations of the much-anticipated book module may be the most important reason for cutting the price of LR by half compared with previous versions.

Regards, Antero