Just wondering ... what is everyone reading now?

[vitauta]

In Junior High School, I had the opportunity to work in the library during my free period. The librarian asked me what I was most interested in and I told her horses. She gave me a book, "Frog, The Horse Who Knew No Master" and I've been an avid reader ever since.

thanks to everyone for the slew of fine book ideas. zhizara, your s.p.meeks book is out of print, and very pricey if you want a copy in nice shape from what i'm seeing. so for now i've sent my "meh" reader a horse book by annie wedekind. but i will not give up on my search for this elusive arabian horse book that is said to read like a cross between hemingway and dorothy lyons. how could i?

 

[vitauta]

Well, I did it. I had a Kindle in my wish list along with a couple crocks (for the French onion soup I intend to make), but I needed a toner cartridge so visited Amazon... and we all know how that goes, lol.
I will be a Kindling fool before long, or would that be kindred spirit...

congrats! another literary love affair has been launched!

 

[roadfix]

I'm not much of a reader, but I do enjoy playing Word With Friends or Scrabble over the internet.

 

[Alix]

I'm not much of a reader, but I do enjoy playing Word With Friends or Scrabble over the internet.

I'm addicted to words with friends.

 

[vitauta]

I'm not much of a reader, but I do enjoy playing Word With Friends or Scrabble over the internet.

have you checked out wordsquaredcom? it's become my favorite way to indulge my scrabble cravings.

 

[JoAnn L.]

I bought Ruth Rendell's, End In Tears. I just love her books.

 

[vitauta]

That's good to find out. Think I'll tune in later this morning. Way back when, I was glued to the set watching the OJ trial spin out - recorded a good bit of it, but for some reason haven't really wished to revisit that unhappy bit of history. These cases are stranger than fiction, aren't they?

One of the Body Farm novels was Bones of Betrayal, which led to my doing Google time on the secret doings there in East TN when they were rushing to develop the atomic bomb. Ver-r-r-y interesting.

i chose to start with bones of betrayal because of the manhattan project connection. so i'm deep into this harrowing tale and less fixated on the casey trial. actually, i'm ready for it to end, already. i just hope casey never has the chance to give birth to another child....

 

[pacanis]

Which version did you get? And you won't be sorry, they have EXCELLENT customer service (did I tell you my tales of woe...I'm on my 3rd Kindle since Feb) and shipping is FAST.

I got the $139 version, Alix. I'll have to read your thread. I'm usually pretty lucky with electronics purchases, so I'm probably due to get a dud one of these times. Maybe not though. I'm reading the users guide (kind of) right now, inbetween watching a movie and posting here

 

[Selkie]

"The Simple Art of Celtic Calligraphy" - Fiona Graham Flynn

 

[Alix]

I got the $139 version, Alix. I'll have to read your thread. I'm usually pretty lucky with electronics purchases, so I'm probably due to get a dud one of these times. Maybe not though. I'm reading the users guide (kind of) right now, inbetween watching a movie and posting here

The $139 one is the one I have. Its really pretty idiot proof thank goodness. You can even set it up to post to Twitter or Facebook when you finish a book. There are also some games that are preloaded on it. Minesweeper is on there. I haven't found the others yet. Enjoy!!

 

[Stubbs]

Finally got my new books in yay!

 

[Dawgluver]

I just discovered this thread today. Was excited to see all the stuff about Kindle. I have the second gen, and love it. Most of my books are 99 cents or free. Kindle is perfect for travel, and you can also read your books on your smart phone, IPad, and PC. You don't even need a Kindle, just download the free app. I have never seen any ads on mine. J.A. Konrath has some great gory stuff, and writes especially for Kindle. I am currently reading Shaken, one of the books in the Jaqueline "Jack" Daniels series.

 

[Alix]

J.A. Konrath has some great gory stuff, and writes especially for Kindle. I am currently reading Shaken, one of the books in the Jaqueline "Jack" Daniels series.

I'm off to find some now. Thanks for the tip. Have you read any John Locke? The Donovan Creed stuff is pretty good. $.99 each.

 

[Selkie]

I will never own a Kindle (or similar device), even if it were given to me as a gift!

Why not? Because:

Kindle: Amazon.com has and continues to operate under its own rules of censorship, deleting books, without notice, that Kindle owners have already purchased. Ironically George Orwell’s "1984" and "Animal Farm" were among the first that Amazon deleted. Amazon makes no apology for arbitrarily exerting its censorship over its subscribers.

Books: Once in your hand, the bookseller cannot come and confiscate. It belongs to you!

********************
Kindle: There are many places in the world were you cannot access your kindle library.

Books: Can be carried anywhere.

*******************
Kindle: Like so many electronic devices we use, such as cell phones, Ipods, portable DVD players and laptops, Kindles will regularly malfunction requiring you to purchase a new one, typically every two years.

Books: Don't malfunction if reasonably taken care of. They typically last several hundred years.

*******************
Kindle: requires its battery to be regularly recharged.

Books: What battery?

*******************
Kindle: Point to your Kindle and tell a friend, "Look at my library."

Books: Point to a wall-to-wall bookcase filled to overflowing with books and say to a friend, "Look at my library."

********************
Kindle: Try lending a book to a friend.

Books: Lending a book to a friend, hand them the book.

********************
Kindle: Illustrations are limited to the size of the screen.

Books: Many books are large, affording huge, high quality color prints of photos, art and illustrations, not limited by computer pixel size.

********************
Kindle: Try crawling around under a dirty, greasy car with a kindle instead of a book repair manual.

Books: They deal with dirt and grease a lot better than do electronics.

********************
Kindle: is primarily manufactured in Asia (China), and contributes to their economy.

Books: English language books are typically printed in America, Britain or Canada. Each Kindle book sold contributes to putting hundreds of Americans, British and Canadians out of work.
********************
Kindle: You can't use a Kindle as booster seat or a door stop.

Books: Stacks of books come in handy for many uses.

 

[Alix]

Selkie, its not about giving up books to use a Kindle. My library visits have not diminished nor have I changed my purchasing habits of books.

You are mistaken about not being able to access your books anywhere you like. Once your book is on your Kindle its there until you remove it yourself. Your books are backed up on the Amazon site, true, but they are also on your Kindle. And once you purchase it, its yours, same as with any paperback or hardcover. My Kindle currently resides in my purse and goes with me everywhere. Its roughly 1/4 the width of a paperback but the dimensions are otherwise the same. I have over 100 books on it and none of them is inaccessible.

As for lending a book, Amazon is working on that at the moment, and expects to have it up and running by the fall.

I read just as many DTBs as I do eBooks and enjoy them all thoroughly. I love the smell of a fresh book, and the feel of it in my hands. I love being able to see how much of my book is left and to whack a fly with it if I choose. That doesn't mean I don't see the benefits of owning a Kindle as well. I travel and I work in so many different locations that a Kindle is really my best portable option. Saying "no" to a Kindle is like the Luddites saying "no" to all new technology. Use it to benefit you, choose what you will do and not do, but the technology itself is not bad.

I also have the Kindle app on my Android and on my Mac. I see no reason not to use all the options available to me.

Back to the thread topic...

I'm currently reading "Face Changers" by Thomas Perry (DTB) and I'm also reading "A Girl Like You" by John Locke on my Kindle.

 

[pacanis]

There's a couple things there (Selkie) that could be turned the other way.
Kindle requires a battery to be charged in order to read it.
A book requires lighting from an outside source to read it.

Or... with a Kindle, every room is your library! lol

Anyway, I gotta say your censorship statement caught my eye. They really dropped a couple books like Animal Farm and 1984? What the heck. I don't like that at all. You're definitely right with that one. What right does Amazon have to censor its e-books?

 

[Selkie]

Alix, while I appreciate the accessiblity your Kindle affords you, Amazon can and has reached out to delete books from people's Kindles even though they were uploaded. They are being sued over that very issue. For those interested, Google, "Kindle Censorship."

It rankles me that ANYONE can express that kind of power over my purchased and personal reading material! That reason alone is enough to keep me from ever owning one.

Believe me, it's not the technology... I've been a computer person since 1970 (6 years before the first personal computer ever appeared...), but the misuse of technology and its affects on our lives.

,,,and you still can't use it as a booster seat!

 

[Alix]

Selkie, those articles are 2 years old. I'm not going to argue that it didn't happen, but rather that it won't happen again. Kindles haven't been out that long and mistakes happen. That was clearly a big one. Manufacturers issue recalls all the time, I don't see this as any different.

That one incident is certainly not enough to minimize the Kindle's convenience to me.

If we are comparing to computers, well I've had to overwrite operating systems, and buy external hard drives, virus scanners, etc etc blah blah blah. Lots of irritations, but it doesn't prevent me from using them. I just adjust and move on. If Amazon oopsed and a book I'd purchased was deleted from my Kindle, I'd b!tch pretty loudly and go buy a hard copy. No biggie. There are always alternatives.

And on a side note, does anyone find it amusing that 1984 was one of the books removed? HAHAHAHAHAHA! Big Brother indeed!

Oh and I wouldn't use it for a booster seat cuz there better not be a NEED for a booster seat in my house for a LONG TIME! I'm out of production and my daughters better STAY out of production for at least 8-10 years!

 

[Dawgluver]

I'm off to find some now. Thanks for the tip. Have you read any John Locke? The Donovan Creed stuff is pretty good. $.99 each.

Will check him out. Thanks! Konrath also goes by the name of Jack Kilborn, with equally gory stuff and a lot of humor. He frequently pairs with other authors and the resulting books are a blast!

A great resource for Kindle news and free books is Steve Windwalker's free newsletter, Kindle Nation.

We take our Kindles on planes and to Mexico. We don't have the international version, just download whatever books we might read. I have around 200 books on mine, including some very fine cookbooks. Nowadays, I find myself using my IPad for just about everything, but for a dedicated e-reader that works everywhere and is so lightweight, Kindle can't be beat. I also have a waterproof case for it, so I can float around the pool without fear of splashes.

Oh, just read the other most recent posts. I think you can find 1984 on Kindle currently. For free. The most recent issue was taking off the book about how to be a pedophile, which made the national news, and IMHO, probably shouldn't be available to anyone anyway. They still sell porn for Kindle, if you want it. I don't find censorship to be an issue, and have never had anything deleted by Amazon.

I think they do currently have a sharing program for Kindle books. I haven't used it yet, but apparently it's there.

 

[vitauta]

i think we have the beginnings for a new thread here, but the controversy between paper books and e readers strikes a very familiar chord: electric vs. acoustic, vinyl vs. tapes/cds, plugged vs. unplugged, etc. life's changes occur with or without our invitation or consent, and we are left to make a choice, take a stand, often amid spirited, and even divisive discussions and exchanges. eventually, the fast and the slow, the loud and the soft, the new and the old end up peacefully? coexisting among us, with our individual freedoms preserved and intact. and we live to dispute another day....