Third Perpetual Book Thread

MonaLisaOverdrive · Dec 8, 2010

I did a search on "perpetual book thread" and was excited to find that there already was one until I realized that it started in 2004.

I'm broadening this thread, in hopes that it will stick around longer, to the following topics:

book formats: What's your favorite way to read books? Electronic? Not? Favorite book reader? Favorite book format (die-hard trade paperback fan? love mass market?)

book purchasing: Where do you like to buy books? Online? Brick and mortar? Both? What's your favorite bookstore or what's the best one you've been to?

and

book confessions: Love the smell of brand new books? Ever refuse to buy a book you wanted because it "didn't look right"? Own a book you hide when people come over? Need to add an addition to the house because of how many books you own?

And, since I started this, I'll contribute first:

I'm currently finishing up The Ware Tetraology by Rudy Rucker and I've recently read The End Of Mr Y (Scarlett Thomas), Zero History (William Gibson), The Gates (John Connolly), House Rules (Jodi Picoult), The Jennifer Morgue and The Fuller Memorandum (Charles Stross), The City and The City (China Mieville), Nocturnes(John Connolly), Homer's Odyssey (Gwen Cooper) and Altered Carbon (Richard K. Morgan...and a big thanks! to those who recommended it in an earlier thread).

Of those, the ones I can recommend are
Sci-Fi and Esoteric Science Buffs: The End of Mr Y, The Jennifer Morgue, The Fuller Memorandum, The City and The City and Altered Carbon
Mainstream: House Rules (Jodi Picoult seems to churn out the books, I don't always like or buy her stuff but this one revolved around an 18 year old with Aspergers and it was good.) and Homer's Odyssey (a bit treacle-y but its about a cat who has been blind since birth)
The Gates falls somewhere between the two, but it's funny, if a bit light.

I'll save the confessions for later...someone else jump in.

MonaLisaOverdrive · Dec 9, 2010

*crickets*

As a last-ditch attempt to generate interest, an embarrassing confession:

I love the smell of brand new books. Really love it. I have been known to repeatedly sniff the pages of a book while reading it.

I also love the sound a book page makes when repeatedly tapped; it also generates a white noise type field that nullifies ambient noise.

It is for this reason that I usually read whatever it is I'm currently reading when not in eyesight of people I don't know.

Jonathon · Dec 9, 2010

I <3 deckle edge hardback books (the kind with a rough edge on the paper). They just feel good.

OwenT · Dec 9, 2010

MonaLisaOverdrive":33zbbf4b said:
I also love the sound a book page makes when repeatedly tapped; it also generates a white noise type field that nullifies ambient noise.

I'm a big fan of the sort of soft thud that pages at the corner of a book make when they flick against each other in quick succession.

Most recently finished: World War Z, by Max Brooks. I was hesitant to read this at first because we've seen a lot of zombies around lately, and while I'm a fan of the genre I just don't want to read everything that's out there. It was recommended to me enough times, though, that I gave it a go and I think it was a good take.

Currently reading: The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk. I'm not sure what to say about this one, except that I'm enjoying it. If you're new to his books, though, I'd recommend checking out Snow first.

Next up: Kraken by China Miéville. One of my favourite authors, and I'm really looking forward to getting into it.

I've only read The City and The City from your list (another Miéville, so I was always going to enjoy it). I really liked the tone the book takes; it's basically a police procedural, and the sci-fi* elements came across as 'just part of life' to me. I've never seen the opposite as a bad thing in science fiction, but that stood out to me as something that not many writers have succeeded in doing.

I'd be interested to know what you thought of Zero History? I'm late to the William Gibson thing (I know, I know...) but I loved Spook Country even though I'm told it's not his best. I need to track down Pattern Recognition next, though, I think.

Finally, book format preferences: I bought an ebook reader secondhand over summer. It was a cheap model (a Cool-er), but in decent condition despite having had a few owners. I loved it until the screen died about four days after I bought it

Can't blame the seller for that one, he was upfront about everything and he couldn't have known the screen would break... but I'm back to reading on paper. If I had the money, I definitely would buy again, though.

*I refuse to make a distinction between "sci-fi" and "science fiction", mostly because I can never remember which way round people put them.

MonaLisaOverdrive · Dec 9, 2010

I'd be interested to know what you thought of Zero History? I'm late to the William Gibson thing (I know, I know...) but I loved Spook Country even though I'm told it's not his best. I need to track down Pattern Recognition next, though, I think.

I strongly suggest that you read Pattern Recognition BEFORE you read Zero History. Spook Country is somewhat a standalone, but Zero History contains references to both books; your experience of it will be enhanced if you read Pattern Recognition first. William Gibson is the only author whose books I'll buy in hardcover editions, Zero History was no exception and I'm very glad I did (although my hands are looking forward to the paperback edition). Ties the triad together nicely.

My opinion of Zero History? Loved it. I may not have liked it as much had I not read Pattern History and Spook Country first, but I still would've liked it.

Is Spook Country the only William Gibson book you've read?

I'm a big fan of the sort of soft thud that pages at the corner of a book make when they flick against each other in quick succession.

I like the smell that emanates from that action.

Next up: Kraken by China Miéville. One of my favourite authors, and I'm really looking forward to getting into it.

I've only read The City and The City from your list (another Miéville, so I was always going to enjoy it). I really liked the tone the book takes; it's basically a police procedural, and the sci-fi* elements came across as 'just part of life' to me. I've never seen the opposite as a bad thing in science fiction, but that stood out to me as something that not many writers have succeeded in doing.

I may have to try "Kraken". I did like The City and The City...though I wasn't aware of the major plot element until well into the novel, which made it tough going at first. I'll definitely re-read it as I'm positive there are things that I missed out of confusion the first time around.

CannotResolveSymbol":3r7hmw6s said:
I <3 deckle edge hardback books (the kind with a rough edge on the paper). They just feel good.

You may like "Vellum" and "Ink", both by Hal Duncan. You also may want to try "In The Night Garden" and "The Cities Of Coin And Spice", by Catherynne Valente...although I think "Palimpsest" is better than both

Also, I could blow an entire paycheck in a Borders or Barnes and Noble if I wasn't aware of how anxious, and broke, it would make me. My fantasy day would be spent at Borders...with no pressing appointments, and no household tasks waiting...with an unlimited amount of money to spend. I'd spend all day looking for options and I'd buy as many trade paperbacks as I could carry unaided.

BitPoet · Dec 9, 2010

Dammit, I want the furniture I ordered for the library I'm building to arrive. There's currently no really good reading spots in the house. Yes there will be pics.

Also, re-reading Endemyion by Dan Simmons, partly because I enjoy it, partly because it was on top of the box of books I opened.

fitten · Dec 9, 2010

If you open up a book to a random page (somewhere in the middle) and look at the 'point' made by all the corners of the pages (like at the top or bottom of the free, non-spine attached, pages... like on the top right or bottom right), I like that point and I like it to be sharp (not worn soft). I like to press my thumb/fingers on it while reading.

heySkippy · Dec 9, 2010

I've surprised myself by really liking reading books on my iPad. Since I got it in April, I've read about 30 novels, mostly old out of copyright stuff that is available for free.

Currently, I'm reading (don't laugh) the 4th book of the Oz series by L. Frank Baum. They may have been children's books, but I've been quite entertained. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to read all 40 of them, but I'm not burned out on it yet.

I've also read (or re-read since I first read a lot of these in school 40 years ago) a slew of Jules Verne, H G Wells, Mark Twain and E R Burroughs plus all the Grimm Bros Fairy Tales. Not bad for 6 months!

I also found a couple Andre Norton, some Asimov, and Vonnegut in the "no copyright" list. The only old book I've started that I couldn't finish was Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, which I found almost impenetrable. I may try it again someday though

OwenT · Dec 9, 2010

MonaLisaOverdrive":2asu7nhh said:
Is Spook Country the only William Gibson book you've read?

'Fraid so. I'm told Neuromancer is the place to start, but I'd like to finish this trilogy first.

MonaLisaOverdrive":2asu7nhh said:
Also, I could blow an entire paycheck in a Borders or Barnes and Noble if I wasn't aware of how anxious, and broke, it would make me. My fantasy day would be spent at Borders...with no pressing appointments, and no household tasks waiting...with an unlimited amount of money to spend. I'd spend all day looking for options and I'd buy as many trade paperbacks as I could carry unaided.

Oh heck, this. If there's a book I'm excited about and definitely going to buy, I may get it online where it'll likely be cheaper. Otherwise, I will go to the bookshop and just wander round in a daze for an absolute minimum of forty minutes.

The three books I mentioned above were bought in a 3 for 2 sale, and I did what I always do when faced with such an offer: pick two books almost immediately that I will hold on to no matter what (Museum of Innocence and Kraken), and then spend the rest of my time completely unable settle on a third from the remaining options. This was made worse by the fact that one of the bookshop's employees came around in front of me and added more 3 for 2 stickers to just about everything

MonaLisaOverdrive · Dec 9, 2010

Owen Tuz":1kxotfo8 said:
Fraid so. I'm told Neuromancer is the place to start, but I'd like to finish this trilogy first.

You don't have to start with Neuromancer at all. You could start with Virtual Light, or Burning Chrome. Burning Chrome is the exception...it's a standalone book of short stories...the rest are loose trilogies. Neuromancer is the first book of the first trilogy, Virtual Light is the first book of the second trilogy. The first two trilogies are science fiction, its only the third that is set in the "present day".

FYI, PopCo (Scarlett Johnson) just came in the mail this afternoon. I already know this is one of those books I need to be careful with or I'll stay up all night reading it. They mention Vigenere squares (plus a full page example) , Jefferson wheels, enigma machines and Alberti ciphers in the first 100 pages, plus the Masquerade book I had as a kid and the albatross lateral-thinking puzzle I heard as a kid.

WhiteKnight · Dec 9, 2010

I really dislike reading books in electronic formats. I prefer hardbacks if I think I'll be keeping the book, but a paperback is fine too.

Confession wise; yes I own many, many books. I have quite large collections of animation and animation history books, art books, graphic novels and comics, sci-fi and fantasy novels and a growing collection of military history books.

Edit: actually, that's not an embarrassing confession is it. How about this one; One of my art books is basically a huge book of people in their underpants. I'm more likely to leave it out deliberately than hide it from visitors though.

ShadowRuleZ · Dec 10, 2010

I usually buy my books from Borders with a 40% coupon from their rewards program (I get them about once a month) or box sets/trade paperbacks from Amazon. I've considered an e-reader, but I don't see the appeal yet. I've got a somewhat large set of paperbacks, enough to fill one bookcase. My wife has about a second bookcase full. One of Borders by us is currently going out of business and everything was at least 40% off. Yesterday most of it was pretty picked over but I still walked out with about 20 books. There's a new independent store that opened over here that I hope sticks around. They are supposed to be a steampunk bookstore and they have a decent selection.

I'd like to know what the deal is with these new 'tall' paperbacks that are $2 more. I think I'm going to start the Dresden Files after I finish the Codex Alera, but they've re-released all of Jim Butcher's books in that format. Which sucks because I still have to get the last two of Codex Alera and they won't match.

quarlie · Dec 10, 2010

MonaLisaOverdrive":19hvwzv5 said:
I'd be interested to know what you thought of Zero History? I'm late to the William Gibson thing (I know, I know...) but I loved Spook Country even though I'm told it's not his best. I need to track down Pattern Recognition next, though, I think.

Click to expand...

I strongly suggest that you read Pattern Recognition BEFORE you read Zero History.

Yes, definitely do this.

Hound of Cullen · Dec 10, 2010

I have... too many books. Mostly trade pbs, several hardbacks. I've been limiting myself to buying no more than one book a month (and will probably put a halt to that aft. xmas).

I love buying used books. Trippy paperbacks from the 60s and 70s are more fun than the photoshop-heavy modern book covers. Besides, I like the faintly musty, astringent smell that a 40-year-old cheap paperback has.

Recent things I've read:
Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey (the first is very good, the second is *mostly* good), The Scar by China Mieville, Nelson's Trafalger. And I'm re-reading the Patrick O'Brien "Aubrey/Maturin" novels. 'Cause I love them.

Oh, there's one format that you didn't mention that I use a lot: Audio books. Long car drive + unabridged audio book = happiness. On the Thanksgiving trip, we listened to "Seabiscuit" (pretty good). In the stack of audio books, I've got: To Kill a Mockingbird read by Sissy Spacek (great), The Odyssey read by Sir Ian Mackellan (awesome!!!), The Iliad, read by Derek Jacobi (mostly awesome), The Great Gatsby read by Tom Robbins (great) and the first four Harry Potter books, read by Jim Dale (very good).

Jehos · Dec 10, 2010

I've become a total Kindle convert. I don't actually own the device, but I've got the reader on my iPhone. It's my preferred way to read, since I've always got the phone with me anyway. I find myself reading a lot more now that I can just whip out my phone and get in a few pages while I've got a few minutes of downtime.

Currently reading the Temeraire series. Good stuff--it's the story of Napoleon's conquest of Europe, told from the point of view of a British officer, and there are dragons.

Dragondazd · Dec 10, 2010

CannotResolveSymbol":3jfl4zxa said:
I <3 deckle edge hardback books (the kind with a rough edge on the paper). They just feel good.

HISS! Not going to your house.

Bravehamster · Dec 10, 2010

Was moving an old desk out of a storage closet here at the school, and found a copy of "Protector" by Larry Niven in one of the drawers. I only ever read the short story, but liked it. So I guess I'll give the full novel a try.

chris · Dec 10, 2010

I am also on the kindle bandwagon. I bought a DX and I really like it, but I'll probably hand it off to the wife soon and get a regular sized kindle. The extra screen space doesn't add anything. My house is officially over run with books from before I was a kindle user. I need to have a culling and soon. I know a nice librarian that will take all of these dead trees from me.

Currently I'm reading Evolutionary Void by Peter F Hamilton.

Frennzy · Dec 10, 2010

I've recently kindled as well.

I'm on my 14th(?) book.

I keep buying more because I keep reading the ones I planned on taking with me on vacation.

Reading my first Gaiman novel now (for shame, I guess), American Gods.

I must admit, somewhat to my shame, that I had all but stopped reading for pleasure for many years. I don't know why or when, but I used to be a voracious reader, and then sometime in the last decade, it just stopped.

The kindle has, well, re-kindled my love of books. I do sort of miss the feel and smell of books (the whumpf noted earlier, as well as the crisp corners of some prints) but the kindle makes things SO convenient, it's like night and day.

I was recently showing off to a friend of mine who is an absolute book junkie. I was telling him about my kindle and the free 3G and whatnot. I then remember that I had downloaded the kindle app for my droid. I fired it up, and showed him my archive. He then asked if I had checked for a book he had previously recommended (Monster of Florence) and I had not. On my droid I searched, found, clicked, bought, downloaded, and read him the first page of it; all in under one minute. He was mightily impressed.

zero cool · Dec 10, 2010

Jehos":38ipa855 said:
Currently reading the Temeraire series. Good stuff--it's the story of Napoleon's conquest of Europe, told from the point of view of a British officer, and there are dragons.

I thought that sounded like the stupidest thing in the world, but I got hooked very fast

People seem to really dislike the latest book, so I haven't bothered with it. All the ones up to there were pretty good indeed.

I am also a Kindle Konvert. Got one for my birthday last year and I don't even want to count how many books I've gone through so far. I love that I can read my Kindle before I go to bed, then the next day pull out my phone and read a few pages here and there, and it's all synched.

HPJ · Dec 10, 2010

MonaLisaOverdrive":1mvnzazq said:
*crickets*

I love the smell of brand new books. Really love it. I have been known to repeatedly sniff the pages of a book while reading it.

No, no, no. Its the dusty, musty old tomes that smell best. I'm fortunate enough to have this place nearby. While they do have some new stuff, its mostly shelf after shelf of old hard covers. [homer voice] Mmmmm... books [/homer voice]

Book confession: first "real book" was Steven Kings 'Salem's Lot, read when I was 10 or 11, mostly at night, mostly under the covers, in bed with a flashlight.

Tom Foolery · Dec 10, 2010

I love real books. Mostly sci-fi, with some mystery and crime novels thrown in. I love spy novels, as well.

My confession: I love humorous science fiction. Keith Laumer's Retief novels? Yes, please. Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat? Read them all. Bill the Galactic Hero? Thank you, I'll take two. I loved Brian Daley's Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh novels so much that I wrote the author asking for more.

Frennzy · Dec 10, 2010

My confession: I love humorous science fiction. Keith Laumer's Retief novels? Yes, please. Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat? Read them all. Bill the Galactic Hero? Thank you, I'll take two. I loved Brian Daley's Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh novels so much that I wrote the author asking for more.

Loved SSR, haven't heard of the others...will look them up.

Can I assume you have room in your repertoire for humorous fantasy as well? If so, Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth Adventure series was really funny back in high school AND HOLY CRAP THERE'S A BUNCH PUBLISHED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT!

Tom Foolery · Dec 10, 2010

Frennzy":m434nz2q said:
My confession: I love humorous science fiction. Keith Laumer's Retief novels? Yes, please. Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat? Read them all. Bill the Galactic Hero? Thank you, I'll take two. I loved Brian Daley's Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh novels so much that I wrote the author asking for more.

Click to expand...

Loved SSR, haven't heard of the others...will look them up.

Can I assume you have room in your repertoire for humorous fantasy as well? If so, Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth Adventure series was really funny back in high school AND HOLY CRAP THERE'S A BUNCH PUBLISHED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT!

I remember the Myth Adventures book, and you're right, there have been quite a few written recently. Bill the Galactic Hero was written by Harry Harrison, too, and is pretty funny, although I do not think that it is as good as the adventures of one "Slippery Jim" diGriz. I think, judging from your posts, you will really like the Floyt and Fitzhugh books, just make sure you read them in order. First, Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds, second, Jinx on a Terran Inheritance, and finally Fall of the White Ship Avatar. Although the second in the series is the best, the third is worth the price of admission.

OwenT · Dec 12, 2010

Tom Foolery":icz7bwgk said:
Slippery Jim" diGriz.

Oh heck, I love you. I had entirely forgotten about those books - I read one or two that were in the local library, but this was before I had Amazon at hand to track the rest down. Brilliant.

Punk Walrus · Dec 12, 2010

Embarrassing Confession? Last year, my friend Rogue was on her first panel about vampire fiction. The panel consisted of 5 people, including two erotic vampire authors and two "old school" writers. As expected, one of the first things to come out of their mouths was how awful the Twilight series was. My friend Rogue was silent until about 20 minutes in, when she said, "I have a confession to make. I liked the Twilight Saga. I didn't think it was a great piece of fiction, but I enjoyed it anyway." Then two more panelist admitted that they, too, enjoyed the saga and wouldn't admit it to anyone. Half the audience let go of their breath and made a collective, "Thank God!" because they, too, liked the fiction. The rest of the panel became, "what was wrong with the saga from a fan's POV," and was one of the best panels on vampires I had ever attended.

Our friend Stella (another panelist) stole an easel from somewhere, and she generated this awesome if not nonsensical list of bullet points through the panel: Warning - NSFW Langauge (and here are the panelists).

More OT:
Recent book I was gripped to was Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim. Even if you didn't like her TV series, or didn't grow up to it, this book rides all gamut of emotions, and was written really well. She survives childhood rape from her own brother, depression, Hollywood, and being a post-child actress. She then becomes a stand-up comedian, which shows in a lot of the writing.

Soph · Dec 12, 2010

I read mostly murder mysteries. Currently reading William Berhardt "Naked Justice".

I mostly get books from the public library. Sometimes I buy them used through Amazon's market place.

MonaLisaOverdrive · Dec 12, 2010

d like to know what the deal is with these new 'tall' paperbacks that are $2 more. I think I'm going to start the Dresden Files after I finish the Codex Alera, but they've re-released all of Jim Butcher's books in that format. Which sucks because I still have to get the last two of Codex Alera and they won't match

Glad to know I'm not the only one who hates this new format...I ordered Duma Key recently and was pissed that it arrived in what is basically a mutant mass market format.

Finished PopCo on Saturday and while I thought the plot turn was a bit hasty and close to the end, I thought it was great. It did what four years of high school never did: actually got me interested in mathematics. Also led me to Piet Hein and the Voynich manuscript.

Bought Never Let Me Go and The Memory Keeper's Daughter at Target today. Read the first chapter of both, but I'll probably finish Lost In A Good Book before I tackle those two. I'm glad I gave the Thursday Next series a second chance, I'm liking Lost In A Good Book. Not sure why I didn't like The Eyre Affair...maybe it was because I was reading The Atrocity Archives (or was it Zero History?) at the same time.

Oh, and I really need another bookcase now...

Polyester · Dec 12, 2010

Frennzy":1ax9cz0c said:
Can I assume you have room in your repertoire for humorous fantasy as well? If so, Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth Adventure series was really funny back in high school AND HOLY CRAP THERE'S A BUNCH PUBLISHED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT!

Totally utterly random, but I happen to have just gone through my too-many-books and made a pile of stuff to give away... and the first eight or nine books from this series are sitting on top, waiting to go away. They're good books, but I read through them a few times and it's time to move on.

If anyone wants 'em, send me a PM. First one gets 'em shipped to you, no charge.

sliver7 · Dec 12, 2010

Polyester":1psg2je6 said:
Frennzy":1psg2je6 said:

Can I assume you have room in your repertoire for humorous fantasy as well? If so, Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth Adventure series was really funny back in high school AND HOLY CRAP THERE'S A BUNCH PUBLISHED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT!

Click to expand...

Totally utterly random, but I happen to have just gone through my too-many-books and made a pile of stuff to give away... and the first eight or nine books from this series are sitting on top, waiting to go away. They're good books, but I read through them a few times and it's time to move on.

If anyone wants 'em, send me a PM. First one gets 'em shipped to you, no charge.

You've got a (vaguely grovelly) PM. :bigdumbgrin:

WhiteKnight · Dec 12, 2010

sliver7":16qy1zk3 said:
You've got a (vaguely grovelly) PM. :bigdumbgrin:

So have we. :rimshot:

Hazelnut · Dec 13, 2010

Ever since I started using the Kindle app on my iPhone last year, I've loved the ereader format. I actually don't like a "real" book anymore. It's too easy to get in a comfy position and stay there when reading on an ereader since you don't have to flip pages or reposition the book to see the other side of the page better. I do still read actual books though. I'm reading Towers of Midnight in the WOT series since it's not available in any ereader format at the moment.

After much debate, this year I got a Nook Color from Barnes and Noble. Reading on an LCD screen hasn't bothered me on the iPhone, so that didn't worry me. Plus, I like that there are interactive kids books available for it. That will come in handy in a few years. It is heavier than the Kindle, but I do most of my reading in bed at night and it's nice that with the Nook I don't have to have a separate light to see the pages. The other option was an iPad, but I just couldn't justify the expense at this point. If I ever come across a book I want to read that isn't available on the Nook, I still have the iPhone app I can use.

chris · Dec 13, 2010

chris":255w1ewj said:
Currently I'm reading Evolutionary Void by Peter F Hamilton.

I'm 80% through and I'm at the point where I'm just going to be happy this series is over. Not enough spotlight time for character's that I like (Paula) and way WAY too much spotlight time for character I don't like (Burn in hell Edeard, burn in hell)

Kestrel · Dec 13, 2010

My "confession", if you can call it that, is that I only read books I can get at the library. The only books I've ever bought have been cookbooks for my wife. I've received a few as gifts, but that's it. I've never really thought about why that is, but I expect it's because I'm a cheap SOB.

I've never used an ereader. I guess it's primarily because of my rough understanding that you have to buy the books, though I heard the Nook is somehow tied in with libraries so you can checkout ebooks? I am confusion. I just lack sufficient motivation to look into it as my current state is still meeting my needs.

Polyester · Dec 13, 2010

marmot_1":19gud52v said:
My "confession", if you can call it that, is that I only read books I can get at the library. The only books I've ever bought have been cookbooks for my wife. I've received a few as gifts, but that's it. I've never really thought about why that is, but I expect it's because I'm a cheap SOB.

I've never used an ereader. I guess it's primarily because of my rough understanding that you have to buy the books, though I heard the Nook is somehow tied in with libraries so you can checkout ebooks? I am confusion. I just lack sufficient motivation to look into it as my current state is still meeting my needs.

If you're OK with reading really old books, you can find tons of classics for totally free. I've been burning through lots of out-of-copyright books just because they're there... currently reading Treasure Island because I never did as a kid and hey, it's free.

Frennzy · Dec 13, 2010

Polyester":2t6m08fk said:
marmot_1":2t6m08fk said:

My "confession", if you can call it that, is that I only read books I can get at the library. The only books I've ever bought have been cookbooks for my wife. I've received a few as gifts, but that's it. I've never really thought about why that is, but I expect it's because I'm a cheap SOB.

I've never used an ereader. I guess it's primarily because of my rough understanding that you have to buy the books, though I heard the Nook is somehow tied in with libraries so you can checkout ebooks? I am confusion. I just lack sufficient motivation to look into it as my current state is still meeting my needs.

Click to expand...

If you're OK with reading really old books, you can find tons of classics for totally free. I've been burning through lots of out-of-copyright books just because they're there... currently reading Treasure Island because I never did as a kid and hey, it's free.

Yep. There is a huge library of free books available for the kindle. I've got Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, and several others, all for the cost of a click. (well, and the up front cost of the kindle)

potato44819 · Dec 13, 2010

The Name of the Wind is IMO the closest to a modern Tolkien we will see for quite some time.

/random musing

naql · Dec 13, 2010

I buy my books through Amazon for the Kindle and read on either my Kindle 3 or using the Kindle app on the Galaxy Tab.

Right now I'm reading Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz.

Kestrel · Dec 13, 2010

Frennzy":28gwttob said:
Polyester":28gwttob said:

marmot_1":28gwttob said:

My "confession", if you can call it that, is that I only read books I can get at the library. The only books I've ever bought have been cookbooks for my wife. I've received a few as gifts, but that's it. I've never really thought about why that is, but I expect it's because I'm a cheap SOB.

I've never used an ereader. I guess it's primarily because of my rough understanding that you have to buy the books, though I heard the Nook is somehow tied in with libraries so you can checkout ebooks? I am confusion. I just lack sufficient motivation to look into it as my current state is still meeting my needs.

Click to expand...

If you're OK with reading really old books, you can find tons of classics for totally free. I've been burning through lots of out-of-copyright books just because they're there... currently reading Treasure Island because I never did as a kid and hey, it's free.

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Yep. There is a huge library of free books available for the kindle. I've got Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, and several others, all for the cost of a click. (well, and the up front cost of the kindle)

Perhaps it's time to see if my wife is still looking for one more Christmas present idea...

Kestrel · Dec 13, 2010

Commander Thanatos":mocdenrq said:
The Name of the Wind is IMO the closest to a modern Tolkien we will see for quite some time.

/random musing

I just read that after first hearing of it here in the Lounge. I loved it. In what sense would you compare to Tolkien? Though not raunchy, I feel it's a bit too "low fantasy" to compare directly. The world he's created is really interesting, but we're too early in the story to say much more than that - we know a ton about Kvothe, but relatively little (almost nothing?) about the rest of the world. In contrast, The Hobbit goes into some detail about the incredibly deep history of Middle Earth, which is further revealed in the later books.

Third Perpetual Book Thread

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