Um...Whatcha Readin?

Hi Kindley Group Members : )

*Waving*

I noticed our thread is extremely long so I thought I'd start us a new one. (It's all Garry's fault...what a readin' machine!)
lol

Anyway, here is where you can post about books your reading, questions, books you want to read and recommendations!

Have fun! and Happy Reading!

Star*



OH...BTW? Has anyone read ANY of Rick R. Reeds other thrillers? I just got two in to review and they both look amazing. I think he even has another coming out in a little while. He is also in a great book of scary stories with about four other authors called like a chinese tattoo which I just purchased and Amazon is now out of, but wll soon be getting more.

And what about the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer? I know it's YA, but there are always so many good things posted about it. I believe it's even being made into a movie! And SOON too. : )

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll try to be around.

Have been wanting to read another Rick Reed title. Will prob grab one after what I'm reading now, Lee Childs, Killing Floor. I'm mostly just a "lurker" but have missed your posts Star. Hope you are feeling much better.

I've just 'discovered' Edna Ferber. I had heard the name somewhere, but I thought she was an old timey actress or something. Turns out she is regarded by some as the greatest woman author of the early-mid 20th century, she was a member of the Algonquin Roundtable and a Pulitzer prize winner.

I stumbled across her stuff on Gutenberg.org where they have 8 of her works.

I didn't know what to expect, so I played it safe with Buttered Side Down, a collection of short stories. I loved them and immediately downloaded the other 7 works. Right now I'm starting on Roast Beef, Medium, which is the story of a woman drummer (traveling salesperson) circa 1911.

Her stories always feature strong, smart and confident female characters. Her background as a reporter gave her a sharp eye for observing people and it shows in her stories.

Awe Takasnooze...(I wish I knew your name..but, I'll address you any way you'd like.) : )

Thank you for your kind words. I wish I felt better too. I hope to be posting again really soon! Rick is SO great! I just love him! He's pretty sexy too...I know I know..he's SO not interested in ME. But he's cute AND he can write...a dream guy for sure!

Hugs
Star*

This weekend has been non-stop reading for me. I finished "Uglies," realized that the other books in that series are not out for the Kindle, so decided to read one of the first books I bought for the Kindle, but kept putting off for some reason: "Twilight." Finished that one and its sequel, now on to the third book of that series: "Eclipse." Very good books dealing with vampires and werewolves. Not sure what I am going to read after that. I have some Mary Higgins Clark and Fannie Flagg, or some of the classics that I have been putting off. But I have to finish "Eclipse" first.

rehalik

That's the Twilight Collection that I was talking about right in the very top post by Stephenie Meyer. I read so many good things about it and I know that they are YA books, but I can't wait to read those.

Hugs
Star*

Rehalik,
If you like those kind of books I would recommend the Harry Dresden series of books.
I will warn you though for some reason book 2 and 3 are not out for the Kindle but ALL the rest of them are.

So you can read 1 on the Kindle if you are interested. Harry Dresden is a private investigator who is also a wizard and lives in Chicago. I have really enjoyed these books and I am on the last one now (book 10). The first book is Storm Front and the author is Jim Butcher

Really awesome, I especially love the book with Harry riding to battle on a undead dinosaur. :)

Bill

PS Star I really hope you are feeling better soon!

I just finished A Tale of Two Cities (what a great book) and am now reading Murder on the Orient Express

Bill,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely have to download a sample. Would I be able to get away with skipping books 2 & 3 and going straight to 4 if I like them.

Ty,
I am in the middle of the Orient Express. I am a bigger fan of the Miss Marple series than I am Peroit, so you might want to check that out.

Thanks

Becky

Imagine a new technology that allows people to communicate instantly over vast distances. It revolutionizes business practices, gives rise to new forms of crime and inundates its users with a deluge of information. Online romances blossom, governments try and fail to regulate its use. The benefits of this new technology are relentlessly hyped by its advocates and dismissed by skeptics.

Of course we must be talking about the internet, right? Nope, it's the telegraph. Known to the Victorians as the 'Highway of Thought', it shrank their world to a degree that was both bewildering and revolutionary. In the book The Victorian Internet, author Tom Standage argues convincingly that the rate of change experienced by the Victorians was far more intense and dramatic than are the technological advances we are experiencing today.

This book traces the development of the telegraph from early experiments in the mid-1700's, through its growing pains in the early 1800's, to its explosive growth in the Victorian era.

The story is both fascinating and humbling.

Unfortunately this is not an ebook, but I just had to have it after reading Wired Love by Ella Cheever Thayer, a novel about two telegraph operators who fall in love.

Both books are great fun, and each enhances the enjoyment of reading the other.

ty1997,

I, myself, just finished TOTC not too long ago and I really enjoyed it. It was the first Charles Dickens book I've ever read, and it kept me on my toes til the end. I like books that aren't too predictable.

:-)

So glad to hear of Dickens' being read! My high school English teacher turned me into a Dickens fan so she'd be proud to know he can still move people.
I'm just beginning Water for Elephants after solving all the mysteries in The Quincunx.

ty, is there anywhere I can get Murder on the Orient Express for free?

Rehalik,
I suppose you could skip book 2 & 3 in the Dresden series but I think they are good books, especially 3. They are fast reads and everything after 2 &3 is on the kindle including the latest book that is in hardback.

Bill

Stillme,

If you want to continue on with Dickens, you might want to try my favorite: The Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

Stillme,

I was not able to find Murder on the Orient Express free anywhere, but it the Kindle Edition was relatively inexpensive at $4.79

Thanks Ty!

Started A Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon on the advice of a friend. I have only read the first chapter, but so far I am enjoying it very much. It seems to have something to do with the love of books. My friend said it is a really good mystery, sort of like the DaVinci Code, but with beautiful writing and depth of character. It was first recommended to her by her sister, who is a professor of literature.

--k4k

TomeAddict,

I might just do that! I'm almost done with Madame Bovary at the moment. :-)

I'm working on How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, it's available as an Amazon ebook for the Kindle as well as the dead tree edition. It goes into the thought processes doctors use when making decisions. The decision making logic can be applied to pretty much any job, but it's fascinating to read about it in a medical context. It also talks about how you can be a better patient, i.e. how to ask better questions and communicate effectively with your doctor. It's an excellent book.

I am working on The Omnivore's Dilemma : a natural history of four meals by Michael Pollan interesting book about food and how it is produced, very eye opening and a little sickening.

Microtrends by Mark Penn and E. Kinney Zalesne Just started this but looks like it will be interesting. Talks about how small trends are changing the world and that you cannot just look at Megatrends anymore.

and the novel Diamond Mask by Julian May unfortunately this one is not available in electronic format but I do like her stories.

I decided, after Madame Bovary, to read Moll Flanders...since I was on the subject of female sinners of two-three hundred years ago. ;-)

It heartens me to see how many here are delving into the classics! Good on all of you!!!

Oh yes, Bookworm. I've put it off long enough. ;-) No, really though...I am enjoying the classics very much! I just think I needed to be a grown-up to appreciate them.

Stillme, I agree completely about appreciating classics now that I am an adult. That stuff went way over my head in high school, I just didn't have the emotional maturity or life experience to understand, much less appreciate it.

Now that I can appreciate classics, I'm getting the biggest kick out of the fact that so much of it is free! My Kindle has more than paid for itself.

I'm with you on all that, Garry. :-)

It is nice being able to find the complete works of different authors for free - i am excited to try reading sherlock holmes. I have never read any of those stories, so it will be an adventure. I am also excited to try out peroit by agatha christie and finding all of chaucer's stories.

I've started the new Inspector Lynley novel by Elizabeth George, "Careless in Red." I'm happy to say that it is a lot better than her last 2 or 3 novels, more on a par with her earlier works.

I just finished The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf. I read this as a Gutenberg ebook.

This novel is about a group of upper-crust Brits who go on vacation to South America. Maybe it's my middle class American values, but I just can't stand a bunch of rich people whining about how bored they are. Geez people, DO something! That's pretty much what I was thinking throughout the book.

It was a long slog because the book delves into the point of view of each character. I really had to force myself to finish it. I kept telling myself it would be good for me, as penance for giving up on Madame Bovary. I suppose I'm a better person for having dragged myself through this book, but it was not a fun process.

This is Virginia Woolf's first novel so maybe I'll give her another chance. If you've never read Woolf and want to give her a try, don't start here.

Good advice, Garry.
I've often read books because "I think I should" and been disappointed. I usually give a book an hour or a couple of chapters and drop it if it doesn't entertain, enlighten, or have anything meaningful to me. *Another reason I love Kindle...free previews!*
I'm reading The Other Boleyn Girl and it's far better than I expected. Might want to find time for more Philippa Gregory.
Last night I began One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garbriel Garcia Marquez and ordered the Cliff Notes from amazon today! It's a slogger but, since it won the Nobel Prize for Literature at one time, I think it will be worth the effort.

I've bailed out on a number of books lately. It seemed to be the fashion among some early 19th century authors, upon entering a room, to describe the pattern of the carpet and the pattern of the wallpaper and the crochet of every antimacassar on every chair and the lace of every doily and every gewgaw on every shelf. Seriously, after five pages of that my eyes glaze over.

I'm interested in what goes on inside of people. The wallpaper, not so much.

Garry,

I liked Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, but you do have to be in a patient mood to enjoy it. It took me several months to get there. I read it because I wanted to read The Hours by Michael Cunningham, which I did like very much. I think I appreciated it more by reading Mrs. Dalloway first. k4k

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

If any of you are watching Cranford on PBS, the book is available for free on Gutenberg.org. I haven't read it yet, but I think it will be next on my list.

I am loving the TV version of Cranford, so I got the book. How to put this? While keeping the characters, a lot of the occurences, and some of the dialogue, the show deviates quite a bit from the book. Frankly, the television production is far superior to the book, and I don't say that very often!

In the book the women are dry-as-dust, catty and judgmental. And cross them at your peril! The men do their best to make themselves scarce. And alas, the book is also a bit boring.

Oh well....

I frequently have to remind my husband, when watching wonderful adaptations like CRANFORD, that all these books and their movie/tv adaptations were written before car chases! ;o)

? I must have missed something, as I don't remember any car chases while watching "Cranford."

In any case, my undergrad degree is in Literature and I am now a librarian; safe to say I have read quite a lot of "pre-car chase" books. I certainly don't expect constant thrills and excitement in books of any era.

Old doesn't automatically equate to "classic" or even good.

"I'm interested in what goes on inside of people. The wallpaper, not so much."--garrybuck

That's why I just sort-of skim over that stuff. I can pretty much picture the room in my head after the first few sentences, so I don't read those paragraphs word-for-word and the reading goes much better.

I definitely agree with both stillme and garrybuck. I am a person that likes more dialogue than description. I think that is why it was hard for me to get through Lord of the Rings.

I am currently reading The alchymst and finished a couple of mysteries by Mary Higgins Clark. I have found that i am reading a lot faster with the kindle now than I did with paperbacks.

To Garry and Krazy4Kratz - Mrs. Dalloway was a good book and the hours I thought was captivating, but I am a huge virginia woolfe fan, so I could be biased.

I just finished The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This book is available as a free Gutenberg.org ebook.

The Yellow Wallpaper was published in 1892, it is a semi-autobiographical account of her postpartum depression. It is also reputed to be a criticism of the popular 'rest cure' that was used to treat 'tired nerves' during that time period.

The book reminds me a lot of My Happy Life by Lydia Millet, although this is more of a fantasy than an autobiography.

If you're really into first person accounts of the experience of mental illness, a classic is Perceval's Narrative: A Patient's Account of His Psychosis, 1830 - 1832. It's not available as an ebook and it's also out of print, but it is available on Amazon and Biblio.com.

I read The Yellow Wallpaper just last week. Interesting how her symptoms changed and grew as the book went on.
Very short book for those who might be interested.
How brave she must have been to reveal so much about depression and mental illness during that period of time.

She was a feminist back in the day when it was actually dangerous to be one of those. She took a strong stand on a number of social issues.

I think I've actually heard of that book a long long time ago. (The yellow Wallpaper) Thanks for reminding me-I'll definitely get that one and read it!

rehalik-I totally agree with your thoughts on LOTR. I enjoyed the books, but it was such a chore to get through those long descriptions of the mountains and hills, etc...so much so, I don't think I'll ever read them again. But I'm glad I at least read them once.

Well, I read The Yellow Wallpaper last night. Very short book! I remember the story, though, so I must have read it a long time ago. I agree...it is interesting how her symptoms change the further on into the book...like she's sinking further and further...

I'm about half way through Molto Agitato which is about the history of the Met. It dishes the dirt on the politics and general craziness of the place.

I never knew that it's very existence was a kind of accident. During the late 1800's, the opera venue in New York was the Academy of Music. The Vanderbilts wanted to buy a box and were turned down. Nobody wanted to be seen with those nouveau riche riffraff. So the nouveau riche riffraff did what they often do in situations like that, they built their own place, which turned out to be the Met.

If you like classical music I think you'll like this book. It's full of amazing anecdotes. For example, Nellie Melba is in the middle of a dramatic death scene. Enrico Caruso, while holding her, pulls out a toy mouse and squeaks it in her ear! Who know those serious opera stars were such zany funsters?

What fascinating info on the Met! I am an opera fan but, stuck in the middle-of-nowhere in Texas, I either rent or pray for PBS to showcase opera.
LOL on Caruso...no stuffed shirt there!
Thanks Garry...loved the anecdotes.

An outstanding DVD is Sing Faster, the Stagehand's Ring Cycle. It shows an opera production from the stagehand's point of view. Their take on Wagner is a hoot. Even if you're not an opera fan, it's fascinating to see what goes on behind the scenes of a major stage production.

Hello there! Just joined this group and library thing. I recieved my Kindle from "Santa" this Christmas and I simply love it.

I just finished The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I was a little ticked that the Kindle version came out at 4 o' clock the day it was released. I wanted instant gratification! Either way, it was interesting to read The Host on my Kindle because I found out afterwards that its 1,000 pages long (the longest book I have read on my Kindle to date)... it seemed so short on my Kindle!

I'm in the middle of Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr but its a bit depressing so I'm struggling with it.

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd read this (much less admit it in public), but I'm reading Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I'm only part way through, but so far I'm really enjoying it. I'd never heard of Kate Douglas Wiggin, but I had previously read and enjoyed A Cathedral Courtship, and when I looked at what else she had written, I found RoSF.

Not high literature, but easy, fun, escapist stuff.

I'll admit that I've read RoSF...but I will NOT admit how many years...decades...ago it was! ;o)
Good on you, Garry!

Garrybuck: "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" is one of my favorites and I re-read it occasionally :c) It tends to get overlooked these days, but is a very good read.

I happily discovered a couple of Robert Van Gulik Judge Dee mysteries are available, though not from Amazon yet :c( They are on a couple of sites: Fictionwise and eBookMall, but eBookMall only offers them in Microsoft Reader, which would mean I would have to do some converting. So I bought and downloaded one as a test from Fictionwise in MOBI format (I feared drm issues, but it was less than $5 so...)

It worked beautifully on my Kindle, though, and today I am happily reading "The Haunted Monastery." Now, if only they would start offering more than just these two books in this marvelous series!

I was surprised that Steven King's The Green Mile isn't available as an eBook on Amazon. I was watching the movie with my son this weekend and he loved it and wanted to read the book, so I tried to find it and it isn't there. (sigh) I hope this pattern changes of a lot of the author's older books not being available.

I recently finished both Murder on the Orient Express (very good) and Mysterious Affair At Styles (good, but the narrator was annoying). Now reading Three Men In a Boat (to say nothing of the dog)

I've just started The Job by Sinclair Lewis. It's a free Gutenberg.org ebook.

It's one of his earlier novels, set in the '20s, about a small town girl who moves to New York to go to secretarial school in hopes of making her way in the world. It's an interesting view into the world of working women in the '20s. So far I'm enjoying it.

I just began The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox. Another Victorian murder mystery.
I find that I am getting more out of my reading simply by taking the time to look up words, footnotes, etc. whereas before I would be too lazy to go grab the dictionary.
I'm also finding it difficult to choose which book to read next...so many books; so little time.

Bookworm39:

I hear ya. With all those free books out there, I'm acquiring them faster than I can read them. Making up for lost time I guess, I never used to be a literature person 'til I got my Kindle.

I know exactly what you mean, bookworm! I have the same problem when it comes to what to read next. That dictionary, and all the other little extras on the Kindle, are a blessing! I've learned so much since I got it in such a quick amount of time. It's all at my fingertips!

I am reading about mountain climbing...it started with Dark Summit, about the "most controversial season on Mt. Everest..." and next was Into Thin Air, about the 1996 tragedy on Mt. Everest, and it absolutely amazes me what these people put themselves through to get to the summit! Did you know the statistics are that one in four people who try to summit Mount Everest dies? These guys are nuts!

Anyway, from that I've gone to Forever on the Mountain, about a climbing expedition on the tallest mountain in America, Mt. Mickinley, in Alaska. It's just been a fascinating trip so far, and this mountain climbing, what with all the lack of oxygen and everything, is like drugs to these guys. That's why a lot of them eventually end up dying on the mountain where they remain because nobody can get them back down at those altitudes. I highly recommend these books.

I've definitely got plenty to read.

Just don't take up mountain climbing yourself!!!
I've been reading about Shackleton's Antarctic exploration...fascinating...what a leader and a hero that man was.
Also about Franklin's tragic expedition to the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage. No one survived and there is still quite a controversy about whether it was the lead in the canned food that caused there deaths or poor leadership...imho, it was a bit of both.
The only group of people I can compare these explorers to today would be our astronauts.
Keep those feet on the ground, girl! ;o)

Heck, I have ZERO desire to go mountain climbing...I can tell you that! Especially after reading what I've read. LOL

I have read Deadly Visions by Rick R Reed and really liked it. I have bought two or three other books of his as well :)

I am also reading the Twilight series and I do find it fun.

I just finished The Job by Sinclair Lewis. This book describes the soul-sucking drudgery of office work better than anything I've ever read. I looks like things haven't changed much in the past hundred years. It is a fascinating view into the world of working women in the early 1900's.

This is the first book I've read by Sinclair Lewis and I plan to read more of his works. He does an amazing job of writing women characters, it feels like the writing of women authors of that era.

My next effort is going to be The Lightning Conductor by C.N and A.M Williamson. It was published in 1905, it's the story of a wealthy young American woman who tours England by motor car, quite the daring thing in those days.

I read David Denby's American Sucker a couple of days ago. I don't know if it's available on Kindle. The ending was a little unfocused, but the rest of the book was very good.

It's sure been quiet lately, I guess people have been busy reading.

I just finished To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston. It's a free Manybooks.net ebook.

This is a novel, set in the Jamestown settlement in the early 1600s. It is the story of a young noblewoman who flees England to avoid a forced marriage to a dastardly English Lord. She boards a ship heading for the Jamestown, a ship full of women who are to be sold as brides to the settlers. She marries one of the settlers, and high adventure ensues when the English Lord to whom she was promised follows her from England. The story is a combination romance and swashbuckling adventure. It's a ripping yarn, and good fun.

I finished North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Enjoyed it very much, although the ending was VERY abrupt! I am now sampling The Best and the Brightest by Halberstam. Probably will go ahead, but am considering 1776 by McCullough. I feel the need for nonfiction after a few weeks of novels! On the other hand, I just downloaded a sample of Salman Rushdie's most recent work, The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel because I have never read anything by him. Of course, I could go back to Vonnegut! I just never know how I am going to feel until that moment when I turn on the whispernet and push those buttons.

--k4k

Hello, everyone! I'm new to the group and thought I'd just jump into the conversation.

I'm currently reading The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura and Persuasion by Jane Austen. I'm ashamed to admit that this is the only Austen novel I've never read.

Since I don't imagine either of these are going to be long reads, I have Great Expectations and Wuthering Heights lined up. I recently discovered Feedbooks.com and am loving it!

I just started Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and I'm loving it. I've never read Austen before, but I've seen all the movies. I think Darcy is a much bigger jerk in the book than in the movie.

The got it from http://www.mobileread.com/ a source I've never used before. I'm very pleased with it, there's no weird formatting, the author's name shows up on the homepage, the TOC works, it has illustrations, and there's no conversion necessary. Very high quality for a free book. I think I'm going to use that as my primary source from now on.

FWIW, MobileRead just recently added a downloadable catalog. Once you have it on your Kindle, you can use it to wirelessly download books directly to the Kindle, no need for the computer any more.

Thanks for the info on MobileRead, Garry. I spend way too much on books right now (well, there really is no such thing as "spending too much on books", but I spend more than I can afford), so finding reliable free sites is always a great thing.

Oh, and I think you'll find that Mr. Darcy improves a bit as the book goes on. I like the book!Darcy much better than the movie ones. :)

Yes, thanks Garry. I think this MobileRead catalog is going to be very helpful. I noticed even downloading classics from Amazon and paying the $2 or whatever doesn't protect you from typos and other errors.

--k4k

Garry, where do you find the catalog for mobileread? Ican't seem to find it. thanks

Click this link and the download should start:

http://www.mobileread.com/mobiguide

Thanks Garry - it worked! It is great to see this guide along with feedbooks
guide. does guttenberg have something like this?

Not exactly. They have an offline catalog, but it doesn't hotlink back to the site. I.E. you can't use it on the Kindle to wirelessly order books. You can get it here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Offline_Catalogs

I'm not sure if I did it wrong or not, but when I downloaded books from the mobileread guide, they came up rather wonky in my listing. I have the MobiCreator but couldn't see how to access the book to change the metadata so that it shows up neatly with an author. Anyone else had this happen? or am I just clueless?

Some of the ones I downloaded from mobileread came properly formatted with a title and author and some didn't, so it must be the individual formatter. I was thinking we need to email them and mention this.

--k4k

Okay, then. I must have just grabbed a couple that weren't formatted correctly. Thanks, k4k.

Unfortunately, it's an all too frequent problem. It's very convenient to get free books already in .mobi, .prc or .azw format, it eliminates the hassle of conversion. But if the metadata isn't right or it has weird formatting, you're kind of stuck. If you get Gutenberg books and learn to use MobiPocket Creator and an html editor, you can fix most problems yourself. I hate full justification, and I've fixed a number of books that are hard coded that way.

Garry, it is great that you can fix the justification -- I don't like full justification either. I have a Mac, so I don't think MobiPocket will work for me. Even the books from Amazon sometimes have the justification problem. I think there is a mac program out there, but I am not sure I have the patience. I once emailed the manybooks person about the metadata, but he said he didn't know how to correct it. I thought that was strange.

--k4k

Even if you don't have MobiPocket Creator, you can fix the formatting of an html file (typically from Gutenberg.org) then let Amazon do the conversion for you.

A lot of the free books out there on various sites seem to originate with Gutenberg. I go round and round trying to decide which site I like best, but in the end, it's nice to have a format I can tweak if I need to. Gutenberg files can be edited, and I'll always get html if that's a choice.