A Good Read

[Taffycat]

Just wondering if anyone has read any good books lately?

I am currently reading a book which has proved to be a thoroughly entertaining, laugh-out-loud, funny read. The title is: "Ocean Boulevarde - Adventures on the High Seas." by David Baboulene. It's the author's autobiographical account of his life as a young sailor in the Merchant Navy.

As a young man of only 16, (around 1976) he ran away to sea, after getting into a bit of trouble. He and his shipmates proceeded to get into all manner of situations and scrapes, (sometimes due purely to the innocence of youth,) not only aboard ship, but in various ports their ship visited.

Some of the incidents be describes are a tad explicit, but they're also very funny, so probably not a problem for anyone with a broad mind and a sense of humour.

The "Crossing the Line" shenanigans might (temporarily) gross a few out, as young sailors who are crossing the equator for the first time, are made to endure various rituals by the rest of the crew!

So now that the nights are drawing-in a bit, if you want to settle down and enjoy a good chuckle, I can highly recommend this, and its sequel "Jumping Ships: The Global Misadventures of a Cargo Ship Apprentice."

Both books are available in paperback for around £7.... (But, dare I mention that the Kindle exition is only £1.90. However, if you don't own one, the FREE Kindle app can be downloaded to PC/tablet/laptop, etc. Hope it's okay to mention this here - it's not intended to be an advert, merely a heads-up, if funds are a bit low.)

 

[floppybootstomp]

I've been reading Peter James, Clive Cussler and Lee Child novels lately, probably the literary equivalent of comics but I enjoy them, although Clive Cussler's exortation of how great right wing America is sometimes gets up my nose. Still, he does write a good yarn so I overlook that.

Amazon e-mailed/spammed me today advertising the new Kindle which is released in about ten days time, it's lighter, smaller, slimmer and cheaper than it's predecessor and will sell for £89.00.

I might just get me one. Link

 

[crazylegs]

How much

How many book can you buy with that, and they won't run out of charge at the most important bits!

 

[Quadophile]

Kindle in the US is being offered at even more tempting price ($79) in case anyone is thinking of getting one.

Link

I need to get back to reading TC your thread may just be the inspiration I needed.

 

[Urmas]

... although Clive Cussler's exortation of how great right wing America is sometimes gets up my nose.

A four syllable word --> I had to look it up --> there is an "h" missing --> I shall call you "floppybootstomph" for the next 72 hours.



But I agree. Cussler... and he's not the worst. I tried to read Tom Clancy once, but... nope. No can do.

 

[Taffycat]

How much

How many book can you buy with that, and they won't run out of charge at the most important bits!

The battery life is excellent on Kindles CL - ours last four to five weeks between charges and they're used daily (nightly, if we're being precise, lol.) It's easy to keep an eye on the amount of charge which is left, just by clicking the menu button. Plug it in if a top-up if necessary. (You can continue to read whilst the battery is charging - the charging lead is quite long.)

There are loads of books to download for free, plus an awful lot which are well-below the cost of paperbacks/hardbacks. (Such as the ones recommended in my thread-starter post.) To be fair, some titles are more expensive too, but it usually balances-out very well.... or so we've discovered.

Granted, for the price of any e-reader, one can purchase a shed-load of conventional books. But, that shed-load of books takes up a heck of a lot of space.... which is one of the reasons we bought our Kindles last November. We had such a large book collection - we were literally running out of space here.

Sorry if I'm banging-on a bit, but there are genuinely quite a lot of advantages to using an e-reader. I say that as a person whom for a lifetime, has adored the look, feel, smell and just about everything else about real books. Ditto hubby... but we are both complete converts now.

 

[crazylegs]

What if it breaks TC are all the books backed up or do you have to rebuy them again, I do actually read quite a few books on my ipod touch when I'm in bed!
Would it be worth me getting a Kindle!

Last books I read were James Rollins The Doomsday key and James Rollins Jake Ransom and the skull kings shadow..Before that I had read a few R A Salvatore books, one being The Pirate king the other being The Orc king, all very good and by now you can probably see I quite like to read fantasy and fiction!

 

[floppybootstomp]

Aye, wondered that myself, is it possible to back up ebooks to a hard disk or USB stick from the Kindle? USB connection? Wireless network connection?

 

[Taffycat]

CL - books that you download to Kindle (specifically from Amazon) are always available to you, to be re-downloaded if needed. (Some people like to delete books from their Kindle after they've been read. However, they remain on Amazon's servers, so you can access them again at any time.)

This of course, also means that your books are completely safe in the event of a breakage.

It's also worth noting that the customer service and support is excellent. If something should go wrong and you get in touch with Kindle's CS number, Amazon will usually send out a replacement, immediately - even before the other one is returned! They do their best not to leave a reader Kindle-less. (This hasn't happened to us, but it is well documented on Kindle forums, by folk who chanced to have a problem.)

Is it worth you getting a Kindle? Well, it will doubtlessly be pointed out (by Mr Bootstomp perhaps..) that I'm biased.... and yes, that would be true! So my answer would be a resounding yes!! It's enjoyable and comfortable to read; very easy on the eyes, because it's not backlit. The font is adjustable, as is the page orientation. I have genuinely found nothing to dislike about it, and I'm being totally honest.

I haven't got WiFi here, the computers are hard-wired, so I only have experience of the 3G model. But even here, where we are in a basin effectively, the Whispernet reception is pretty good. I always use it to download our books.

It is possible to browse the Kindle store to search for books, using the Kindle - however, I much prefer to browse through books using the PC. Then, when I have found the ones we want, I just have to click on the "buy" button, and they will be waiting for me to download, directly to the Kindle, whenever it's convenient. The download normally takes just a few minutes.

 

[crazylegs]

You make it sound very good TC and I'm wondering would I still be able to download all me freebie books onto the kindle, or any books I have on my hard disks already that were not purchased via Amazon!

Thanks for the info its much appreciated!

 

[Taffycat]

You're very welcome CL.

You are supplied with a USB connector, so you can connect a Kindle to the PC if you need to. (I did this when there was a software update several months ago. It was just a matter of downloading the update to the PC, then dragging and dropping it across to the Kindle.)

Regarding books purchased from other sources. Some of them can indeed be transferred to Kindle - but, they will not be stored on Amazon's servers, so your own backups are important.

I've not tried this myself, but a lot of folk like to use Calibre which,

is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books. It has a cornucopia of features

One of those features being that it will convert e-book formats for you.

HERE is a useful FAQ which you might also find helpful.

 

[captain zed]

Hi TC.....have a nosy here http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/catalogs/bysubject-lit-sciencefiction.html

You never know your luck.

 

[nivrip]

I recently finished Birdsong, reckoned to be one of the ten books that everyone should read. It was a real book and not on Kindle.

I really enjoyed it. Some of the battle scenes are very graphic but, of course, that's how it was on the Somme. Also the main character in the story doesn't live happily everafter but has a terrible time after the war and dies aged only 48. I prefer stories that are somewhere near true life.

I am now reading Young Stalin, which, unsurprisingly, is about the early life of Uncle Joe. He was actually a very bright boy at school but eventually became a revolutionary, gangster, protection racketeer and murderer. Later, he ran half of the world. Well, that's polititions for you.

 

[crazylegs]

You're very welcome CL.

You are supplied with a USB connector, so you can connect a Kindle to the PC if you need to. (I did this when there was a software update several months ago. It was just a matter of downloading the update to the PC, then dragging and dropping it across to the Kindle.)

Regarding books purchased from other sources. Some of them can indeed be transferred to Kindle - but, they will not be stored on Amazon's servers, so your own backups are important.

I've not tried this myself, but a lot of folk like to use Calibre which, One of those features being that it will convert e-book formats for you.

HERE is a useful FAQ which you might also find helpful.

Thankyou TC for finding the time to post!

I shall notably read that FAQ

 

[Taffycat]

Hi TC.....have a nosy here http://www.worldwideschool.org/libra...cefiction.html

You never know your luck.

Hi Cap'n Z, good to see you and thanks for the link... quite a lot of interesting stuff to browse. On the same site I found that the home page linked to even more topics and titles, covering both non-fiction and fiction. So I'll just add it to yours
http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/catalogs/bysubject-top.html

 

[Becky]

I have a Kindle too, and they really are excellent It took me a while to come around to the idea of getting one (much to Ian's annoyance) but when I decided to give it a go I was so pleased with it.

Best books I've read recently are:

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Some books defy categorisation: Life of Pi, the second novel from Canadian writer Yann Martel, is a case in point: just about the only thing you can say for certain about it is that it is fiercely and admirably unique. The plot, if that’s the right word, concerns the oceanic wanderings of a lost boy, the young and eager Piscine Patel of the title (Pi). After a colourful and loving upbringing in gorgeously-hued India, the Muslim-Christian-animistic Pi sets off for a fresh start in Canada. His blissful voyage is rudely interrupted when his boat is scuppered halfway across the Pacific, and he is forced to rough it in a lifeboat with a hyena, a monkey, a whingeing zebra and a tiger called Richard. That would be bad enough, but from here on things get weirder: the animals start slaughtering each other in a veritable frenzy of allegorical bloodlust, until Richard the tiger and Pi are left alone to wander the wastes of ocean, with plenty of time to ponder their fate, the cruelty of the gods, the best way to handle storms and the various different recipes for oothappam, scrapple and coconut yam kootu. The denouement is pleasantly neat. According to the blurb, thirtysomething Yann Martel spent long years in Alaska, India, Mexico, France, Costa Rica, Turkey and Iran, before settling in Canada. All those cultures and more have been poured into this spicy, vivacious, kinetic and very entertaining fiction. --Sean Thomas

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver. Some lines will never be crossed.Aibileen is a black maid: smart, regal, and raising her seventeenth white child. Yet something shifted inside Aibileen the day her own son died while his bosses looked the other way. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is by some way the sassiest woman in Mississippi. But even her extraordinary cooking won't protect Minny from the consequences of her tongue.Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter returns home with a degree and a head full of hope, but her mother will not be happy until there's a ring on her finger. Seeking solace with Constantine, the beloved maid who raised her, Skeeter finds she has gone. But why will no one tell her where?Seemingly as different as can be, Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny's lives converge over a clandestine project that will not only put them all at risk but also change the town of Jackson for ever. But why? And for what? The Help is a deeply moving, timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we won't. Itis about how women, whether mothers or daughters, the help or the boss, relate to each other - and that terrible feeling that those who look after your children may understand them, even love them, better than you . . .

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Eve never really wanted to be a mother; certainly not of the boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher who tried to befriend him. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband. Uneasy with the sacrifices of motherhood, Eva fears that her dislike for her son may be responsible for driving him off the rails. Winner of the 2005 Orange Prize, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a brilliant, controversial, unsettling book.

The last two are coming out as films soon, so now's a good time to read them!

 

[Abarbarian]

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/calibre-e-book-users-t4044782.html

See this thread for Calibre info.