Books

[+ Lucky]

Although I enjoyed the thread on butt cleaners, I don't expect to be buying one. However, I do often take the recommendations of fellow posters and enjoy hearing what books they are reading.

 

I just finished two good ones. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane is fantastic. 700 pages about life after World War I, covering Babe Ruth, the flu epidemic, the Boston police Strike, race relations, and a plethora of other details of the time.

 

Michael Connelly has a real winner with his latest detective novel, The Brass Verdict. His Lincoln Lawyer meets Harry Bosch in what I think is his best book yet.

 

But the deary one that I just can't finish is Julian Barnes' Nothing To Be Frightened Of. It's his ruminations on death, and he has ruminated a lot. For someone my age, he sure seems preoccupied with it. The nothing to fear is a play on words. What he fears is the nothing of there being no afterlife. Cheery stuff.

[edjames]

Let's not forget Daniel Silva's "Moscow Rules" and Nelson DeMille's sequel to his hughly successful "Gold Coast", "Gate House." (Which entered the NY Times Bestseller List at #1 this week.)

 

ED

[Lankypeters]

Tonight I'm finishing Mary Ann Shaffer's "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society." I can't wait to see how it ends, yet I don't want it to end. The book is a rich and touching narrative about how a small village survived the Nazi occupation of Guernsey during World War II. The narrative emerges through letters exchanged among a writer, her editor and their friends, and the surviving members of the Literary and Potato Peel Society. Ultimately, the book is about the joys of correspondence, writing and literature.

 

Just wonderful. I highly recommend it, especially for anyone who has a touch of the Anglophile about him.

 

If you or anyone else herabouts reads it, please tell us what you think of it. I see it's been on the NYTimes bestseller list for three months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I'd say that's a bit of an extreme reaction, now wouldn't you?" -- N.F. Bates

 

 

Lankypeters

[+ Lucky]

I enjoyed Moscow Rules and am now starting the Gold Coast...it's going to be my cross-country reading.

[ariadne1880]

Julian Barnes is no Ian McEwan. I enjoyed "England, England" but that was many years ago.

 

I discovered Daniel Silva a few months ago and love his agent Gabriel Allon. These need to be made into movies!

[+ Gar1eth]

If anyone is in the mood for an extremely light-hearted fiction book about a bisexual 17 year old, his senior year in high school, and his group of friends--try this one--oh by the way--he's not bemoaning his bisexual status--he really enjoys it. Be on the lookout for a famous New Jersey-ite who makes a cameo appearance.

 

 

"How I Paid For College" by Marc Acito

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0767918541?tag=marcacito-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0767918541&adid=11VSV4B85MA39B8BNTWW&

 

 

 

It's an extremely fun and easy read filled with eccentric characters. If it were summer, I'd say it would be perfect pool/beachside reading. It's written by humorist Marc Acito. If it's not filled with enough angst for you--other than teenage angst--sorry, I'm not a deep person. But some of the screwball antics depicted were enough to make me laugh out loud.

 

Gman

[+ deej]

Is anyone else trying out the new Amazon Kindle "reading device"?

 

The device itself is about the size of a DVD case but it's like carrying around an entire library. You can buy your favorite books, newspapers, magazines, and even blogs, and have them delivered/updated to your Kindle wirelessly to read wherever you can carry the thing.

 

Just curious if anyone else is trying it.

[+ Lucky]

I doubt that I would want to use the Kindle...old fashioned books, in hardback, are what I like. Do you like it better than the real thing?

[Kevin Slater]

I haven't used the Kindle, but just the other day a friend was singing its virtues to me. He loves that when he travels, he can now take the equivalent of a stack of books in one little device. And he says you can change the font size too, which sounds cool.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ deej]

Even in paperback I don't think I'll ever lose my love of actual books. (In a former profession I was a bookbinder and paper conservator.)

 

But I went to the doctor last week and thumbed through a week's worth of the LA Times, NY Times, and Washington Post. No ink on my hands. No bulky paper to haul to the recycle bin. It was all on the Kindle.

 

I think it has its place, as long as you pick the right place. ;-)

[+ deej]

Yeah, carrying a stack of books is attractive.

 

I don't travel much these days but I still find myself stuck in a hotel room from time to time. I think I'll enjoy having a choice of whatever is interesting me, and be able to go shopping (on amazon.com, of course) for a newly interesting title should the need present itself.

 

I'm still in the 30 day trial period, but I suspect the Kindle will survive it.

[Rick Munroe and Derek Ross]

>Although I enjoyed the thread on butt cleaners, I don't

>expect to be buying one.

 

You could always do a little reading while you clean out.

[Guest zipperzone]

>I'm still in the 30 day trial period, but I suspect the Kindle

>will survive it.

 

What kind of costs are involved here?

[Guest Jocoluver]

A fun, mystery book for me is "Black and White and Dead All Over" by John Darnton. His other books got lousy reviews but this one is a page turner!

 

Kindle is too expensive for the device. I've got iPods and now have to get Kindle too = grrr

[+ deej]

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-com-kindle/dp/B000FI73MA

 

$350 for the kindle. Get a $50 discount by putting OPRAHWINFREY in the coupon code box during checkout.

 

Content varies, and includes the cost for using the 3G wireless network. LA Times is $9.99/month (about what it costs in print, but a lot less bulky). NYT best sellers are typically $9.95.

[Guest verymarried]

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Couldn't put it down. This is the horror story about Frank Lloyd Wright running away to Germany with his client's wife and leaving their 8 or so children and spouses behind. The girl friend turns out to be more fascinating than the maestro himself. Interesting read, especially if you are a FLW buff, until you get to the Psycho ending.

[Lankypeters]

"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand"

 

I just finished "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand." It's a charming, touching story about a Major who falls in love with a Pakistani woman. The British village that forms the setting is undergoing major cultural and economic changes. Author Helen Simonson's writing is exquisite, to be savored.

 

If you liked "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society," you'll like this as well.

[body2body]

I recently finished "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel, elegant writing, interesting historical fiction set during the reign of Henry VIII.

My current read is "Conspirata" by Robert Harris. This is the second of his novels (of a projected three) set in the late Roman Republic and following the life of Cicero as reported by his secretary (and slave) Tiro. Harris is a terrific story teller, whether writing of alternative history (Fatherland), or contemporary conspiracy (Ghost Writer).

[Guest Spanky]

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-com-kindle/dp/B000FI73MA

 

$350 for the kindle. Get a $50 discount by putting OPRAHWINFREY in the coupon code box during checkout.

 

Content varies, and includes the cost for using the 3G wireless network. LA Times is $9.99/month (about what it costs in print, but a lot less bulky). NYT best sellers are typically $9.95.

 

I think you have a typo deej - the regular 6" Kindle is $259 and the larger Kindle DX is close to $500. The DX has a 9" screen and more storage capacity. B&N is also now selling the Nook, and some I seem to recall zdnet favoring it over the Kindle. I don't remember all the reasons why, but I recall the nook lets you share books with other nook users, and it also provides more ability to browse books when you're connected to a BN WIFI network (in the store). I think it's supposed to be more like actually browsing a real book, but if you're actually IN the BN store, why wouldn't you just browse the real books?

 

I received a Kindle as a gift and tried it for a couple of weeks. I thought I'd like it because I sometimes read online stories on my iTouch. Perhaps I'm just an old fuddyduddy but I just couldn't get used to the feel of it. I did get the Post for a couple of weeks as well, and that was useful since it was more portable than a real paper, didn't leave you covered in ink (as someone else said), and saves a lot of paper. But the monthly subscription is about double what I pay for the hard copy and you have the hassle of having to download it every day. So I ended up regifting it.

 

My $.02.

[+ Lucky]

There's a quote in today's NYT book review of "Repeat Until Rich" that I liked and didn't want it to go unnoticed:

 

"If you'd expected of life some vital engagements that shook your soul, broke your mind, drew blood from your eyeballs, breath from your throat, shattered front teeth, minced your fingers and your toes, and left your heart squeezed dry as a juiced lime, you might have been at risk of disappointment..."