e-readers and e-books
-
Re: Wolf Hall. MrsM had a real hard time getting into it, but loved it by the end. The one thing I am worried about is that the family trees and other lists of names, etc., which appear at the start of the book need to be referred to a fair amount? Flicking back and forth is a bit of a chore on the Kindle
-
I don't think I referred to the genealogies at all until I'd finished it. There are some complex relationships mentioned, but I was happy to let them wash over me a bit - I don't think it affects whether you enjoy it. After all, if you know even a little bit about Tudor history, you'll know the plot of the book, so the plot isn't really where the enjoyment comes from, and who is who's cousin isn't really crucial.
I enjoyed looking at them afterwards though, because by that point I felt I knew the people in them and they really meant something. -
You can bookmark the page in the kindle and flick between bookmarks, although the baffling lack of a dedicated bookmark button makes it a bit awkward.
My Sony has a bookmark button ;-p -
I found Wolf Hall to be tough going, but I think that's because I wasn't too interested in the Tudor history and I sort of knew where the story was going. That of course isn't the point.
There was a Culture Show special on BBC HD last night profiling Hillary Mantel, and I wish I'd seen it before reading Wolf Hall. It was an interesting programme, and made me think a lot more about the human side of the people in the story rather than the historical context.
Some fascinating insight into her writing style and research. A great quote that you need to live a boring life if what's inside your head is exciting. -
It kind of amuses me how the Amazon charts can always tell you what was on TV last night (or what's on at the cinema.) The Kindle Movers & Shakers this morning were all Hilary Mantel, and the top two regular books were Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and One Day.
Okay, I might also have bought Wolf Hall yesterday, but at least it was before the Culture Show. -
KidCasio said:
Some fascinating insight into her writing style and research. A great quote that you need to live a boring life if what's inside your head is exciting.
My edition of Wolf Hall had a great essay by her at the end about her approach to writing it. There was a very interesting explanation of how she interprets or creates character and motivation from very dry historical fact.
-
Was it along the lines of 'I make it up as I go along' ;-)
-
Yep. :) It was interesting though, because she said that although there's very little record of Cromwell's personal life or anything he said, that actually worked to her advantage, because it meant she could make it up with a free hand. She used an example of one of the few things Cromwell was reported to have said that survives, can't remember what now. It was quite dry and didn't convey much. But she worked out that it would have been autumn at the time, and the anniversary of the death of one of his daughters, and used that to imagine how he might have been feeling, and what meaning there might have been behind the words.
-
Have you tried anything by C.J. Sansom btw. Set in the time of Henry VIII. Not high literature by any means (the protagonist is a dwarf detective), but they are decent yarns that give you a glimpse into another world, which is the one thing I really like about historical fiction.
-
No, I've read the blurbs on a few of his and thought they sounded good though. I should try one, I love a historical yarn.
-
He's a dwarf? I managed to read the whole of the first one without twigging that.
-
There was a piece in the weekend Guardian where travel writers picked their favourite piece of travel writing. Travel writing isn't a genre I've ever really been attracted by, and I've read very little, but every single one of their reviews managed to make their recommendations sound great. So I merrily swanned off to Amazon to download a few to start on. Out of the 17 books recommended, I think 3 were on the Kindle. Bit frustrating.
It'll be interesting to see if Amazon's "tell the publisher" function works at all though - I'd imagine that lots of people who read the article were similarly frustrated, so hopefully a fair number of them have clicked to request e-editions. -
Yeah, it is annoying. Especially as the Kindle's more travel-friendly than a load of paperbacks!
I think most of the major publishers are now bringing their new releases out in ebook format. But some of them have been really poor about releasing their back catalogue. -
DrNefario said:
He's a dwarf? I managed to read the whole of the first one without twigging that.
I've read the second and third (picked up Dark Fire not realising it was the second in a series). Maybe he shrank in between ;-)
-
Emzar said:
No, I've read the blurbs on a few of his and thought they sounded good though. I should try one, I love a historical yarn.
Me too. I read The Return of Captain John Emmett a little while ago and have just downloaded Elizabeth Speller's new one to read. I really liked it- a good solid holiday read- but what I particularly liked was the way it captured the period of time after World War 1 but before the Depression. It's a time period so often neglected in fiction and non-fiction. She really captured the shifting expectations, creaking gender roles and the fragile men who returned to find their world changed and not sure where they fitted into it any more. Otherwise it's a pretty entertaining whodunnit. I'm quite looking forward to the second one. I've paid a proper kindle price for it and everything. -
I really hope the Kindle library loans makes it to the UK.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/21/amazon-lets-you-check-out-kindle-books-from-library-websites-as/ -
That would be ace, but I fear that my local library in deepest, darkest Rotherham wouldn't be one of the first chosen to take part in a limited pilot
-
Have they sorted out the loaning books to your friends thing for the uk yet? That's been in the US for ages.
-
Anyone read Freedom by Franzen? It's currently £3 on the kindle. MrsM has the enormous hardback edition, but she wasn't all that impressed with it.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0044DE906/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_g351_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0K4T724MFCJYM73TKJJG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294 -
I'm getting very grudging about reading paper books, now. I'm just starting my second one in three or four months, and even then it's only because of my Hugo winners thing (this one is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin; the other one was This Immortal, which I mentioned above. In fact, I think the one before that was rubbish 1955 winner The Forever Machine (aka They'd Rather Be Right) by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley. None of them are available electronically. Two of them aren't in print at all.)
I thought it'd be about 50-50 when I first got the Kindle. -
Yeah, I haven't read a dead tree book since I got my reader a couple of years ago. Find them quite awkward now after the convenience of reading one-handed.
-
Mills & Boon collection?
-
RexxFiend said:
Find them quite awkward now after the convenience of reading one-handed.
I didn't realise your e-reader did photo magazines ;)
Edit: beaten to it by GogsPost edited by glenmorangie at 2011-09-27 09:32:01 -
Yeah, yeah. I knew the one handed reading would illicit such sniggering ;-p
I find a beer fits better in the free hand tho ;-) -
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is £2.39. Good read, that.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks-ebook/dp/B003P2WJ6S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317720548&sr=1-1 -
mogwins said:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is £2.39. Good read, that.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks-ebook/dp/B003P2WJ6S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317720548&sr=1-1
That's a brilliant book. Loved it. Incredible amount of perseverance and research that went into it as well.
-
I have the Retro Gamer DVD PDFs on the iPad and it is perfect bedtime spoddism.
-
RexxFiend said:
Yeah, yeah. I knew the one handed reading would illicit such sniggering ;-p
I find a beer fits better in the free hand tho ;-)
Because a beer glass is a lot larger?
-
Speak for yourself.
-
-
I downloaded to app for the iPhone, but never got round to reading anything on it. I seem to remember the interface being a bit clunky, but they may have improved on that now
-
There seem to be a lot of great books around the £3.50 mark in the Kindle store at the moment. I picked up Any Human Heart and The Housekeeper And The Professor. There's also The Book Thief and Julian Barnes' Booker winner (The Sense Of An Ending).
-
Yep, I got Snowdrops for that the other week, cracking read
-
My sis is on holiday in the US at the moment and picked me up a kindle ($79-£50). I'll probably not get it for another 3 weeks or so. Well chuffed.
In the meantime I've got 2 hardbacks on the go. I think I'll miss the feel but I'll definitely not miss the weight. -
The Kindle is bloody awesome Dave, you'll love it.
-
@dave_m - $79 - wow. Excuse my ignorance, but do they work just the same as in the UK, or do you have to use Amazon.com to buy from?
I really, really don't need a Kindle. (I do though). -
The US and UK kindles are identical (save for the bundled power adaptor, obviously). We bought MrsM one from amazon.com and collected it last time we were over. It synced up fine with my existing .co.uk account.
-
Oooh. I'm going to the States in a couple of weeks. And I recently bought a multi-way travel adaptor so I will be able to charge it.
Hmmm. -
Well it's just a standard USB cable, so you could just plug it into a computer or an iPhone-like USB plug.
-
It's the same mini-usb cable as HTC use as well - the missus can use her phone charger to change the kindle, and vice-versa.
-
Yeah, I use my iPhone plug adaptor sometimes to charge my Kindle - just the USB cable needed.
-
You mean every modern phone company bar apple? ;)RexxFiend said:It's the same mini-usb cable as HTC use as well - the missus can use her phone charger to change the kindle, and vice-versa.
-
-
matt said:
Has anybody tried the Kobo reader, or one of their apps?
http://www.kobo.com
Is that the one Smiths are selling including a load of books?
-
It is. Saw an ad for it on the tube at the weekend. Interesting. Don't know anyone with one, is it very new?
-
Bad Science is currently £2.50. Cracking book, that.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Science-ebook/dp/B002RI9ORI?SubscriptionId=1GVBN9WWNVXC5DBPE502&tag=kiq-pw-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B002RI9ORI&kc=A7B2F8DUJ88VZ -
There's a bit of a sale-y thing going on on the Kindle store since yesterday. Don't know if Bad Science is part of that, but I bought a handful of crime books yesterday, including follow-ups to books I have bought in previous sales (and not read yet, so I hope I like them.)
-
I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but I saw Kindles for sale in Tesco Direct yesterday.
-
I stood on my Kindle the other day. I can now only read the bottom half of each page. Sob. :(
-
You wanted one of the new ones that badly?Post edited by Gorilla_Biscuit at 2011-11-04 02:56:55
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!