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Post by jean on Dec 15, 2010 19:04:50 GMT
No more browsing in your local bookshop - it'll have been driven out of business (if it hasn't been already).
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Post by Weyland on Dec 15, 2010 19:38:51 GMT
No more browsing in your local bookshop - it'll have been driven out of business (if it hasn't been already). Long gone, I'm afraid, except for one I know in Oswestry. Driven out initially by supermarkets and charity shops I suppose, followed more recently by Amazon and similar. There is one on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, but every time I've been there I was the only customer, and the prices are over the top in any case. ~ ~ ~ This is a great chain in Holland (and Belgium) -- new, remainders, and second-hand -- any language you care to think of, but especially Dutch and English.
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Post by jean on Dec 15, 2010 20:15:32 GMT
We have an excellent one - News from Nowhere - but I still can't stop OH buying things from Amazon.
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Post by Weyland on Dec 17, 2010 12:02:38 GMT
Dagnabbit! I just had a glance at a Wiki item about Salander, and immediately encountered a bloody great SPOILER. Don't go there, Trubs! I'm distraught, and the sun isn't over the yardarm yet. Apart from that, I'm past halfway through Fire. Great stuff.
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Post by Weyland on Dec 25, 2010 11:31:14 GMT
Anyone here got or has used an Amazon Kindle electronic book-reader? Santa brought me one! It's brilliant. I've already downloaded about a dozen free books. Plays music as well, displays b&w photos, and has its own WiFi and free mobile phone link (for slow downloading in the absence of WiFi -- it's not a phone). Great.
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Post by jean on Dec 26, 2010 10:37:51 GMT
I got a hard(back) copy of Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question. I'm not asking where it came from.
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Post by Weyland on Jan 3, 2011 12:12:07 GMT
Finished Hornet's Nest. Superb. Couldn't quite work out how Scarlett ended up on the Witch Moon of Endor with the counterfeit IKEA catalogues, but no doubt it'll come to me eventually. See Trubs's birthday thread. ~ ~ ~ Free Bonus Image (with thanks to Jean) . . .
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Post by everso on Jan 3, 2011 15:17:36 GMT
Finished Hornet's Nest. Superb. Couldn't quite work out how Scarlett ended up on the Witch Moon of Endor with the counterfeit IKEA catalogues, but no doubt it'll come to me eventually. See Trubs's birthday thread. ~ ~ ~ Free Bonus Image (with thanks to Jean) . . . In desperation, because I've yet to get to our local library to change my books, I'm reading Gone With The Wind for the twentieth time. The book has several pages that are loose so I have to be careful how I read it or else the fall of Atlanta will be coming before Ashley's barbeque.
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Post by Weyland on Jan 3, 2011 15:59:36 GMT
In desperation, because I've yet to get to our local library to change my books, I'm reading Gone With The Wind for the twentieth time. The book has several pages that are loose so I have to be careful how I read it or else the fall of Atlanta will be coming before Ashley's barbeque. Say goodbye to reading misery! I got this for Xmas -- best present I've had for years . . . And I've finished the paper book I was reading, so I can get stuck into the Kindle for bedtime reading tonight. And it can do MP3 as well, so you can have Caro Emerald singing as you read. AND I've got some R4 plays on there as well. AND it goes to sleep after a while automatically. Bliss. Does b&w pics as well -- this is one of the very refined built-in screensavers . . . Disclaimer: I have no financial connection with Amazon beyond giving them money occasionally.
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Post by Weyland on Jan 3, 2011 16:35:27 GMT
In desperation, because I've yet to get to our local library to change my books, I'm reading Gone With The Wind for the twentieth time. The book has several pages that are loose so I have to be careful how I read it or else the fall of Atlanta will be coming before Ashley's barbeque. Kindle edition of GwtW is currently £4.99 on Amazon UK. Here's the first five-star review there . . . "All too often, when the book 'Gone With The Wind' is mentioned, people let out a groan of derision. Mostly these are people who have only seen the film. The film, although a wonderful classic, is a product of its times. Like many epics of that era, it is none too subtle. It also feels overly dramatic, no doubt the effect of cramming such a long story into a single film. The novel, however, is flawless. It may get written off as a romance in the same vein as Mills & Boon, but anyone who has read it will agree that is a most unfair comparison. It is a brilliantly researched historical drama, containing many finer points that are only discovered upon a second, or even third reading. The characters are so vividly drawn, and as the novel takes place over many years, there is real scope for development. Scarlett O'Hara is utterly believable as the flawed heroine, as is Rhett Butler, the cynical anti-hero. Ashley is symbolic of the civilisation 'gone with the wind'. But the most quietly fascinating character of all must be Melanie. The love story between Scarlett and Rhett is not so central a theme to the novel as survival and the struggle for independence. For a novel that contains such a broad scope of events and rich abundance of characters, Margaret Mitchell manages to keep a tight rein on both plot and pace. There are those books that make such a profound impression on our own lives that we never forget them - 'Gone With The Wind' is such a book."I guess s/he liked it a bit.
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Post by everso on Jan 4, 2011 0:14:09 GMT
I can completely agree with what he or she has written (although I wouldn't mind betting it was a woman). I first read the book when I was 18 and was utterly under its spell. I've lent it and recommended it to various friends over the years and they've always enjoyed it. Margaret Mitchell was an expert at depicting characters and you feel you know them inside out. The film is, as the critic says, a product of its time, but if ever an actor was perfectly matched with a book's central character, it's Vivien Leigh. The book is so much richer than the film, and to my disgust when I first saw the film, so many liberties were taken when making it. It's definitely not a Mills & Boon, I wouldn't even call it a romance. It's an historical book about war and reconstruction and how the people of the south survived it - with a bit of love interest thrown in.
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Post by Weyland on Jan 4, 2011 10:00:34 GMT
I can completely agree with what he or she has written (although I wouldn't mind betting it was a woman). It's someone identified only as M. Mitchell.No . . . wait . . . it's A Customer, who certainly produces a LOT of reviews on Amazon. No clue as to sex.
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Post by Alpha Hooligan on Jan 10, 2011 17:41:21 GMT
Anyone here got or has used an Amazon Kindle electronic book-reader? I've just read the description on Amazon AND some independent reviews, and it sounds great. Has built-in WiFi and (on posh model) FREE 3G downloading capability. Lots of cheap book downloads on Amazon, plus a helluva lot of free downloads. Seems to be better than the competition, and is cheaper. Even has sound and a USB interface, and can read PDF files. So what's the catch? Time to start saving, or -- better -- persuade my family to club together and buy me one for Xmas. Never thought I'd want such a thing until I read about it. I nearly folded and bought one for crimbo, then I looked at my bookshelf and realised that the sort of joy owning all my books brings can never be replicated via e-readers. That said, Kindle does seem to be the best of it's kind, so if I was to buy one in the future, it would be the Amazon one. Oh, as for good reads... Fantastic collection of short stories "The Colder War" is worth the price of the book alone. If you've ever wondered what the world would look like with cold war super powers and Islamist fanatics having discovered Lovecraftian entities and trying to weaponise them, then this is the one for you! AH
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Post by Weyland on Jan 10, 2011 18:10:57 GMT
I nearly folded and bought one for crimbo, then I looked at my bookshelf and realised that the sort of joy owning all my books brings can never be replicated via e-readers. True, Alph, but I'm running out of space. I have billions and billions. Plus eBooks are cheaper. It's a wonderful device, and if your WiFi happens to be down you can surf on the 3G model at Amazon's expense. Don't know quite how much of that they would wear, but I'll be testing it soon. In fact I'll attempt a post here from the Kindle later on today. I read Stross's Singularity Sky recently (paper), and enjoyed it. Not as good as I expected, but still good. And I have Saturn's Children waiting (paper).
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Post by housesparrow on Jan 10, 2011 18:20:14 GMT
I've never even seen an e-reader, but isn't it like looking at a PC screen?
I wouldn't want to read a book on my laptop; it would do my eyes no good at all.
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Post by Alpha Hooligan on Jan 10, 2011 18:21:35 GMT
"Saturns Children" was my first Stross novel, I really enjoyed it. "Singularity Sky" and it's sequel "Iron Sunrise" were also pretty good IMO. I understand about book-mountains BTW, that is the main thing that interests me about the Kindle (and the fact that it looks like a right tasty piece of kit)...maybe later on in the year with a pile of Iain M Banks downloads... (Sounds like you are really enjoying owning yours anyway).
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Post by Alpha Hooligan on Jan 10, 2011 18:30:27 GMT
I've never even seen an e-reader, but isn't it like looking at a PC screen? I wouldn't want to read a book on my laptop; it would do my eyes no good at all. Kindles aren't backlit like computer screens, so you don't get that horrible eye strain/burn associated with PC screens etc AH
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Post by Weyland on Jan 10, 2011 19:24:46 GMT
I've never even seen an e-reader, but isn't it like looking at a PC screen? No, Sparra. It's really more like paper. I'm absolutely loving it. At first I thought the screen was a bit small, but it's fine. Perfect for reading in bed. I'm probably reading even more than I used to now. Can't be bad. (Plus I'm pretty good at writing programs to format text, which means I can reformat and download all sorts of free stuff which isn't already in Kindle format whenever I feel like it. If anyone else here ever has a need for this, just ask me.)
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Post by Weyland on Jan 10, 2011 21:29:31 GMT
Great news, Alph! There are all sorts of custom cases and covers available for the Kindle-3 . . . I was wanting a My Little Xenomorph design, but haven't been able to track one down in captivity yet. . . . though you might prefer this snazzy motif . . .
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Post by Weyland on Jan 10, 2011 23:12:21 GMT
From Kindle! First attempt.
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