ajzepp Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 I love to read. For some odd reason, however, I don't often make the time to do it. When I do, and when I have some material I'm really interested in, I really enjoy it. I've been close to buying one of those Kindle things for quite some time, and it just got me to thinking that I need to get back to reading more often. I used to always read an hour before I would go to sleep at night, and I think I'm going to adopt that routine once again. In terms of fiction, I love courtroom drama/legal thrillers. I've read everything Grisham has to offer, I've dabbled in some of John LesCroartes works, and have recently discovered an author I really like named Scott Pratt. My preference is often non-fiction, though. I loved the book about the Harvard students that the film "21" was based on (I can never remember the name of the book or the author...), and I have read several books by some of my favorite athletes and pro wrestlers (I know, pro wrestling...but honestly, some of them are great reads about the business and lifestyle!). My favorite author is C.S. Lewis...have read just about everything he has out, with "A Grief Observed" being my favorite book of all time. I was curious who the biggest social readers are here at TBD and if any of you guys and gals have suggestions to share. If any of you have a Kindle, I'd really be interested to hear whether you're happy with the purchase, too.
Peace Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 There's a kindle thread in the consumer forum. I love it.
Beerball Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 There's a kindle thread in the consumer forum. I love it. Same here. Author...James McPherson...if you haven't read Battle Cry Freedom you owe it to yourself to pick it up. Start there and then move to another.
Metal Man Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 I read a lot but I hesitated for a while to jump on the Kindle bandwagon thinking I would miss the feel of a book. I broke down and bought one earlier this year and I love it. I still have a lot of real books in my collection to read so I have been switching back and forth but it seems like I read a lot faster on my Kindle. It is hard for me to pick a favorite author because I have enjoyed so many and like music it depends on my mood. Favorite book though has to be The Stand by Stephen King.
Jim in Anchorage Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 I think I have read every book King wrote. On the kindle thing,try the public library first. A modern miracle, every book ever written for free
Cugalabanza Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 (edited) Always fun to go back and read (or re-read) some Vonnegut. As far as the thriller stuff, I like George Pelecanos, John Sanford, Robert McCammon (love Swan Song and also his current Mathew Corbett seriesgreat detective action stuff set in colonial America). A couple recent books by David Benioff (25th Hour and City of Thieves) are really fun exciting reads. I love me some Raymond Carver short stories. Jesus Son by Denis Johnson is one of my all time favorites. Heres a recommendation from out of nowhere: The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino (a little Italian kid protests his parents making him eat snails for dinner by climbing up a tree and NEVER coming down). A fun music series is 33 1/3. Each book looks at one classic album. Its worth checking out. I just finished the one on David Bowies Low. Kind of a tangent to the Kindle discussion: I was thinking about a best of among the free (old public domain) books you can get for e-readers. Heres a short list of some stuff that you can get for free that I think stands up really well... Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Theres more to this story than you may think. The richest & best monster tale) Edgar Allen Poe short stories (Hes just so damn good at that creepy atmospheric stuff) Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky Great Expectations by Dickens (Old, yes. But not dry at all. A really fun read.) All the Sherlock Holmes stuff by Arthur Conan Doyle Excerpts from the Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells Edited September 12, 2011 by gringo starr
Wooderson Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 Anything Hunter S. Thompson, he's awesome.
Metal Man Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (There’s more to this story than you may think. The richest & best monster tale) Edgar Allen Poe short stories (He’s just so damn good at that creepy atmospheric stuff) Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky Great Expectations by Dickens (Old, yes. But not dry at all. A really fun read.) All the Sherlock Holmes stuff by Arthur Conan Doyle Excerpts from the Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells I'd add The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Forget all the crappy Hollywood translations, this is a perfectly crafted but very intricate revenge novel that movies could never do justice.
DC Tom Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 I love to read. For some odd reason, however, I don't often make the time to do it. When I do, and when I have some material I'm really interested in, I really enjoy it. I've been close to buying one of those Kindle things for quite some time, and it just got me to thinking that I need to get back to reading more often. I used to always read an hour before I would go to sleep at night, and I think I'm going to adopt that routine once again. In terms of fiction, I love courtroom drama/legal thrillers. I've read everything Grisham has to offer, I've dabbled in some of John LesCroartes works, and have recently discovered an author I really like named Scott Pratt. My preference is often non-fiction, though. I loved the book about the Harvard students that the film "21" was based on (I can never remember the name of the book or the author...), and I have read several books by some of my favorite athletes and pro wrestlers (I know, pro wrestling...but honestly, some of them are great reads about the business and lifestyle!). My favorite author is C.S. Lewis...have read just about everything he has out, with "A Grief Observed" being my favorite book of all time. I was curious who the biggest social readers are here at TBD and if any of you guys and gals have suggestions to share. If any of you have a Kindle, I'd really be interested to hear whether you're happy with the purchase, too. Hold off on the Kindle...Amazon's supposed to be releasing an Android tablet in a few months, which will undoubtedly include the Kindle reader software plus a bunch of other stuff. I don't know how good their tablet will be...but to me it makes little sense to buy a Kindle now when you might buy a tablet at the end of October. Worst-case, the tablet sucks, and you've waited two extra months to get the Kindle. Having said that...I love the Kindle. I've got a second gen, and Kindle for the iPad, Android phone, PC, and the cloud reader (which is very cool; may completely obviate the need for buying the Kindle). And there's a lot of decent free or very cheap books available for it - some self-published stuff, lots of the classics are free, quite a few free downloads from Google Books... As for what I read...you wouldn't be interested.
Dr. Fong Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 Hold off on the Kindle...Amazon's supposed to be releasing an Android tablet in a few months, which will undoubtedly include the Kindle reader software plus a bunch of other stuff. I don't know how good their tablet will be...but to me it makes little sense to buy a Kindle now when you might buy a tablet at the end of October. Worst-case, the tablet sucks, and you've waited two extra months to get the Kindle. I have both a Kindle and an Ipad. I would not suggest getting a tablet to use as a Kindle if you are a big reader. The Kindle allows you to do one thing better than any other device, read books. It is the closest thing you can get to looking at print on a page. The battery life is fantastic as well. I've had mine since Christmas and only charged it about 10 times.
DC Tom Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 I have both a Kindle and an Ipad. I would not suggest getting a tablet to use as a Kindle if you are a big reader. The Kindle allows you to do one thing better than any other device, read books. It is the closest thing you can get to looking at print on a page. The battery life is fantastic as well. I've had mine since Christmas and only charged it about 10 times. I would agree - the e-ink display is a fabulous piece of technology, and on that basis alone the Kindle is a good buy - but in my personal experience, as a voracious reader (I read two books this weekend alone), I find myself going to the iPad far more than the Kindle itself, for the simple reason that it gives me access to a much greater variety of content than the Kindle alone (i.e. Google Books, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Kobo - Barnes & Noble's third-party provider, any internet page - for technical references I find myself cross-referencing books against web sites frequently). I'd expected, when I got an iPad, I'd use it to supplement the Kindle for reading. As it turned out, things worked the other way around - the Kindle can't be beat in bright sunlight, or on battery life, but in most other cases I find myself using the iPad (it helps, too, that the graphics rendering is so much better on the iPad, which is of some importance to me). But that's just me and my uses...I'm not recommending that aj get an Amazon tablet over a Kindle, merely that he wait until both are available so he has the choice.
Dr. Fong Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 BTW my favorite author is George R.R. Martin. I know it's kind of cliche at this point with the HBO series being such a success, but if you haven't read the A Song of Ice and Fire series you're really missing out on a modern classic.
Metal Man Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 BTW my favorite author is George R.R. Martin. I know it's kind of cliche at this point with the HBO series being such a success, but if you haven't read the A Song of Ice and Fire series you're really missing out on a modern classic. This has been on my list for a long time. I have to wait on it though now because of a self-imposed rule. I got into Robert Jordan's series The Wheel of Time in around 94 and now almost 20 years later the series has still not been completed and won't even be by the original author seeing he passed away before he could finish it. However even before Robert Jordan died I promised myself I wouldn't start any long fantasy series until it was completed just because of the insanely long amount of time some of these authors take between books. Martin seems to be in this group seeing it was 5 years between book 4 and 5. On a side note if you like epic fantasy I have been hearing a lot of positive buzz about The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
TheMadCap Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 This has been on my list for a long time. I have to wait on it though now because of a self-imposed rule. I got into Robert Jordan's series The Wheel of Time in around 94 and now almost 20 years later the series has still not been completed and won't even be by the original author seeing he passed away before he could finish it. However even before Robert Jordan died I promised myself I wouldn't start any long fantasy series until it was completed just because of the insanely long amount of time some of these authors take between books. Martin seems to be in this group seeing it was 5 years between book 4 and 5. On a side note if you like epic fantasy I have been hearing a lot of positive buzz about The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Martin is getting HAMMERED in the reviews for his last two books, and perhaps justifiably so. The first three books of the series were just fantastic. Then it seems he just ran out of ideas, or at least, fired his editor. I read the first three books (~1600 pages) in about four weeks, and it's taken me just as long to slug through the fourth book. Some think that he just isn't interested in this world anymore and may NEVER finish the series. But for what it is worth, the first three books are gold... LOVE my Kindle too. However, if there is a book with lots of diagrams or photographs, I would still prefer an actual physical book...
gomper Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 Looking for a classic? Try Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Hilarious. He couldn't get published, killed himself, and his mother found the manuscript under his bed. Then it got published and now it's considered a classic. You'll love it.
ajzepp Posted September 12, 2011 Author Posted September 12, 2011 Wow, I can't believe how many of you guys have a Kindle!! That really makes the decision easy, though Tom's suggestion to wait until the Android tablet is out is something I'll definitely do since I prob wouldn't pull the trigger on the Kindle for another month or so anyway. You guys already answered my question about the eInk thing...I have yet to see it in person, but from the images I've seen online I love the way it looks. Thanks also for the book/author suggestions...I can always rely on my TBD brethren for great suggestions, and I will use this thread as a reference when I begin to create my own reading queue. And Tom, even if I wouldn't be interested in reading what you read, I'd definitely be interested in finding OUT what you typically read lol. And Jim, your point about going to the public library is duly noted BTW, this really isn't a huge deal, but still kinda cool. I mentioned above that my new favorite author is Scott Pratt. Well, I picked up a used copy of one of his books from Amazon, and as I was examing the quality/condition to determine if this is a route I'd want to go in the future, I noticed that this is actually a signed copy that they sent me. Not that his sig is worth anything, but still kinda neat.
Peace Posted September 12, 2011 Posted September 12, 2011 (edited) I would agree - the e-ink display is a fabulous piece of technology, and on that basis alone the Kindle is a good buy - but in my personal experience, as a voracious reader (I read two books this weekend alone), I find myself going to the iPad far more than the Kindle itself, for the simple reason that it gives me access to a much greater variety of content than the Kindle alone (i.e. Google Books, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Kobo - Barnes & Noble's third-party provider, any internet page - for technical references I find myself cross-referencing books against web sites frequently). I'd expected, when I got an iPad, I'd use it to supplement the Kindle for reading. As it turned out, things worked the other way around - the Kindle can't be beat in bright sunlight, or on battery life, but in most other cases I find myself using the iPad (it helps, too, that the graphics rendering is so much better on the iPad, which is of some importance to me). But that's just me and my uses...I'm not recommending that aj get an Amazon tablet over a Kindle, merely that he wait until both are available so he has the choice. I use the Kindle to get away from the Interwebs. I like that its connectivity is limited. I find that when I use my iPad for reading, I read a few pages, then surf over here. Then read a few more, check my email. I lose book immersion. Think of it this way: Only get a pad if you're not distracted by shiny objects. Tablets work much better for anything with graphics like scientific journals and maps. The Kindle blows if you need to read a map. Edited September 12, 2011 by Peace
ajzepp Posted September 12, 2011 Author Posted September 12, 2011 Think of it this way: Only get a pad if you're not distracted by shiny objects. I'm sorry, what were you saying?
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