Reading? Still Sexy: Books Part IV

[corianderstem]

Continue, book worms.

 

[kramwest1]

Hell, I've been meaning to jump on this thread at some point. Why not now?

I'm on book 9 of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander/Aubrey-Maturin series.
Oh, help me I'm so in love with sailing now.

I'm also in the middle of The Girl That Played With Fire.

 

[Dalton]

Careful. The last person that was in the middle of that girl got sodomized.

 

[beegee]

I'm debating what I should take with me on my flight tomorrow. I thought about Dragon Tattoo but I would hate to not like it and be stuck with nothing to read for five hours.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

One of my cousins has a 1 year old boy. I visited their family over Thanksgiving and was looking at some of the books they have around the house for their child. I saw Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree."

I read it. Holy shit, that book is fucked up. What a weird, and sort-of tragic and depressing children's book.

 

[u2popmofo]

Reading aficionados, what say you to Kindles and/or reading on iPads? I have friends that swear by them, but I notice most all of them are a bit younger than myself. Are you all old fuddy duddy traditionalists who like actual books like me, or are you ok with the digital dealios? I can't decide if I'd like one or not, I need to actually spend a little time with one first before I could make a decision.

I thought the digital book prices would be considerably less than they are too, which is disappointing. Good price for things that are still hardback only, terrible for things in paperback.

 

[martha]

Pretty much none of the books I want to read are available digitally, and I prefer old used copies anway, so no e-reader for this Luddite.

 

[Saracene]

I love the actual books, and for some reason I find it really hard to read the onscreen text in big chunks - I struggle to finish long articles/posts on the internet. So no iPads for me.

 

[beegee]

The Giving Tree is a great book.

mofo, I will resist digital readers forever.

If you do decide to get one, check with your local library to see if they have ebooks available for download, that way you won't always have to purchase them.

Also, make sure your library's ebooks are compatible with whichever reader you choose. I've had quite a few pissed off patrons come in with brand new Kindles this year wanting to know why they can't download our titles.

 

[corianderstem]

I'm very resistant to an e-reader. For one thing, I love the feel of a book. For another thing, I spend way too much time staring at a computer screen as it is.

I understand that the Kindle's backscreen is not lit like a computer, so it's easier on the eyes, but still.

No interest whatsoever in getting one.

 

[anitram]

I stare at a computer screen enough as it is - have zero interest in e-readers.

And there is something so satisfying about physically turning page after page.

 

[Pearl]

I don't think I could ever get an E-book. I also prefer holding an actual book in my hand, and turning its pages. I also like decorating my bookshelves with books. I mean, that's what they're called right? Bookshelves! What would become of them once books become obsolete?

 

[kramwest1]

I'm also in the middle of The Girl That Played With Fire.

Careful. The last person that was in the middle of that girl got sodomized.

I like to think of myself as one of her part-time, lesbian friends.

 

[kramwest1]

One of my cousins has a 1 year old boy. I visited their family over Thanksgiving and was looking at some of the books they have around the house for their child. I saw Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree."

I read it. Holy shit, that book is fucked up. What a weird, and sort-of tragic and depressing children's book.

I haven't read it yet, but I have seen "An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein" as a play twice. Awesome! Seriously fucked up and awesome.

The "Bag Lady" play is hilarious for guys who question the contents of women's purses.

An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein: Short Dirty Plays by Paul Constant - Theater - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper

 

[Fernando-]

I have not used a Kindle or any e-readers yet, but I do see some vantage points to them. For one, space, you can have thousands of books in this little device. That also means, no dust over tons and tons of books.

But.. I do have to agree that I love the feeling of holding a book and turning its pages.

 

[IWasBored]

Reading aficionados, what say you to Kindles and/or reading on iPads? I have friends that swear by them, but I notice most all of them are a bit younger than myself. Are you all old fuddy duddy traditionalists who like actual books like me, or are you ok with the digital dealios? I can't decide if I'd like one or not, I need to actually spend a little time with one first before I could make a decision.

I thought the digital book prices would be considerably less than they are too, which is disappointing. Good price for things that are still hardback only, terrible for things in paperback.

i still can't get past the fact that i think it would probably hurt my eyes. i don't care if the screen is different or whatever or the fact that they're used to reading and staring at computer screens for hours by now. i am still wary of them for that reason. scrolling, or clicking to the next page, whatever the mechanic is, there's something i really hate about that. i still am convinced my eyes would bleed. and besides, i can drop a book without worrying it will break (nothing i can't really fix with some well-placed scotch tape unless something really, really shreds it, but that's usually beyond more than a simple accident). if i spill my coffee, the pages will dry.

i still hate the idea of buying digital music. music gets to mp3 format after, and only after, i rip it from its cd form to my computer and then put it on the ipod. fuck itunes. have i mentioned i also don't understand twitter? i finally joined the last 10 years and got a phone with a keyboard. it still only calls, texts, and sort of takes crappy pictures.

 

[kramwest1]

i still can't get past the fact that i think it would probably hurt my eyes. i don't care if the screen is different or whatever or the fact that they're used to reading and staring at computer screens for hours by now. i am still wary of them for that reason. scrolling, or clicking to the next page, whatever the mechanic is, there's something i really hate about that. i still am convinced my eyes would bleed. and besides, i can drop a book without worrying it will break (nothing i can't really fix with some well-placed scotch tape unless something really, really shreds it, but that's usually beyond more than a simple accident). if i spill my coffee, the pages will dry.

i still hate the idea of buying digital music. music gets to mp3 format after, and only after, i rip it from its cd form to my computer and then put it on the ipod. fuck itunes. have i mentioned i also don't understand twitter? i finally joined the last 10 years and got a phone with a keyboard. it still only calls, texts, and sort of takes crappy pictures.

The one good point that rarely gets mentioned about e-readers:

You can't use them during takeoff or landing on an airplane.

I find many reasons why I wouldn't want one, but the beauty of a book is the anytime, anywhere, any conditions aspect of them.
I already stress about whether my phone, laptop, and iPod are charged-up, add an e-reader to that, no.
(although an iPad would solve some of that stress )

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

I'm not a Kindle person, either. I can see why some would like them, and I understand the whole "it's easier" aspect, but I'm just so used to actual books. And the screens seem too small for me, anyway (that's why I've never understood people putting videos on their iPods. Don't you want to be able to properly see what you're looking at? Why have it on that small a screen?). I'm the same way with music-I do download, but only because I live in towns that don't always carry the stuff I want. Otherwise, I'm still into actual CDs and will buy them when able to.

IWB, I've never used Twitter, either. I'm tempted to, simply because some people I like are on there and it'd be fun to read the stuff they say, but then again, that's why we have message boards and newsletters and stuff, too. Definitely more "old-school" in terms of technology, yeah.

Anywho, books...

I'm also in the middle of The Girl That Played With Fire.

That stuff has been flying off our shelves at work. Very popular. I'm not overly familiar with what it's about, though, may have to investigate for myself sometime.

I too have been meaning to join in on this thread-right now I'm reading a book called "More Stories from the Twilight Zone"-Rod Serling's wife is editor and compiled a collection of short stories from other authors (and an unreleased one from her husband) that are very "Twilight Zone"-ish in nature. Stories are pretty good-not overly creepy, and those were always the types of "Twilight Zone" stories that were my favorites, but still, some interesting ideas. They're all very current, too, a couple dealt with 9/11 a bit, which was fascinating-makes one wonder how the original show would've dealt with that subject were it around today. There was another book in this little "series" of sorts that came out before this that I'll have to seek out, too.

I also found a really neat book at work called "Beyond Bizarre: Frightening Facts and Blood-Curdling True Tales". The title says it all, it covers all sorts of topics-ghosts, superstitions, medical anomalies, ocean lore, unusual travel spots, etc. A couple examples (the second one in particular I love, you'll get a kick out of it):

One-Foot Brain

In a remarkable 2008 story from Colorado Springs, Colorado, a fully-developed infant foot was discovered in the brain of a newborn baby who was being operated on for a life-threatening tumor. Doctors explained that it is not uncommon for the type of tumor presented to be tissue-most often muscle, hair, or teeth-from an undeveloped fetal twin. It is extremely rare for the tissue to develop this far. The foot was removed, and the infant was expected to make a full recovery.

and

Croatian Transportation

Frane Selak of Croatia has the travel bug-whether fate wills it or not. In 1962, he survived a train crash that killed 17 passengers when it plunged into a freezing river. In 1963, he was traveling by plane when the door blew away from the cockpit. Nineteen passengers were killed, but Selak landed in a haystack, safe and sound. Between 1966 and 1996, he survived a bus crash, two car crashes in which his car exploded in flames, getting hit by a city bus, and driving off a cliff to escape an oncoming truck (he landed in a tree).

But Selak doesn't mind: in 2003 he won $1,000,000 dollars in the Croatian lottery.

(Seriously, holy sh...)

I've also been slogging my way through the "Twilight" series-a friend loaned me the books. I'm still on "New Moon". Normally I'm a pretty fast reader, but this...erm...

Angela

 

[corianderstem]

For one, space, you can have thousands of books in this little device. That also means, no dust over tons and tons of books.

Books are part of my decor, so that's another reason I'm anti e-readers.

 

[kramwest1]

I also found a really neat book at work called "Beyond Bizarre: Frightening Facts and Blood-Curdling True Tales". The title says it all, it covers all sorts of topics-ghosts, superstitions, medical anomalies, ocean lore, unusual travel spots, etc. A couple examples (the second one in particular I love, you'll get a kick out of it):

Angela

I love that stuff. My Fifth Grade teacher used to read use stuff like that; we ate it up. The one book I remember she read to us was "Against Incredible Odds." I finally found it on EBay a couple of years ago. Great stuff--true stories of survival with lots of gross stuff. I would bring it camping to read to my nephews around the campfire.

 

[Fernando-]

i still hate the idea of buying digital music. music gets to mp3 format after, and only after, i rip it from its cd form to my computer and then put it on the ipod. fuck itunes. have i mentioned i also don't understand twitter? i finally joined the last 10 years and got a phone with a keyboard. it still only calls, texts, and sort of takes crappy pictures

Good thinking. MP3's quality sucks compared to the CD.

 

[Fernando-]

Books are part of my decor, so that's another reason I'm anti e-readers.

Fair enough... But I'm a guy. So there you go.

 

[lazarus]

And to think I always looked at books as gender-neutral.

 

[Carek1230]

I just started reading The Great Santa Search as told to Jeff Guinn by Santa himself. 'Tis the season.....

 

[powerhour24]

E-books are great for travel, but so far I've only used public domain books on my iPad and would only buy some if they were on sale or I had a coupon or something, otherwise the price is too similar to a real book to justify for me, but when OverDrive get their app in gear to do ebook loans from libraries on iPad I think I'll be putting it to the test a lot more.

 

[corianderstem]

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

It took me almost 100 pages to decide to keep reading it; I just couldn't get into it, and then it finally started clicking a bit, so onward I read.

I alternated between finding it clever and rather brilliant, and finding it to be a total slog. The bit near the end with Yossarian wandering around Rome and observing the horrors was devastating.

Glad to finally have read it.

 

[Saracene]

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

More vampires.

This was a very disturbing and macabre horror story Some of the scenes made me glad that I rarely visualise things in my head when I'm reading; if the film versions are anywhere as graphic I'm not sure I want to watch them, I can't bear to look at horrible injuries and disfigurement. All in all a pretty remarkable book, my only real criticism was that sometimes it spent too much time on the peripheral characters when I wanted it to get back to the main characters who were the real emotional heart of the story.

 

[onebloodonelife]

I have a Kindle and love it to pieces.

For school, there's nothing better. My courses tend to use PDF readings frequently, and I can just throw those on the Kindle. I can annotate and highlight (though, these features aren't as nuanced as I'd like for note-taking). Reading on the e-ink screen is infinitely easier on the eyes than an LCD screen too, for folks who expressed concerns about that. It's also reduced the amount of articles I have to print out, which is always a good thing. Plus, they're always in the same place—no more losing 5 copies of an article before finally keeping one around.

 

[powerhour24]

Reading on e-ink is way easier than LCD, but iPad is a huge game-changer for textbooks, if only it hadn't come out a month before I graduated, the note-taking, interaction and sharing capabilities for some of the available apps are astounding, and the thing is still only 8 months old.

I wish Apple could get over salivating over screens and use that hybrid LCD that can switch between high resolution-color and more eye-friendly similar to e-ink settings which yes is spindly duller than the current iPad screen, but would be much better to read on.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

More vampires.

This was a very disturbing and macabre horror story Some of the scenes made me glad that I rarely visualise things in my head when I'm reading; if the film versions are anywhere as graphic I'm not sure I want to watch them, I can't bear to look at horrible injuries and disfigurement. All in all a pretty remarkable book, my only real criticism was that sometimes it spent too much time on the peripheral characters when I wanted it to get back to the main characters who were the real emotional heart of the story.

Didn't even know there was a book version of this. I've heard so much about the movies in recent times-now you've got me interested to check out both versions.

Disturbing as it can be, I think that's the best sort of horror, the kind that makes you imagine the terrifying scene instead of have it shown to you. Your imagination can be so much scarier.

I love that stuff. My Fifth Grade teacher used to read use stuff like that; we ate it up. The one book I remember she read to us was "Against Incredible Odds." I finally found it on EBay a couple of years ago. Great stuff--true stories of survival with lots of gross stuff. I would bring it camping to read to my nephews around the campfire.

Fun ! I may have to see if I can hunt that down. Course, if it's full of gross stuff, I may have to overcome my squeamishness that I get sometimes upon hearing those kinds of stories. I saw the guy who inspired that new movie about a man stranded amongst some rocks and who chopped off his arm to survive on TV the other night and...ergh...fascinating story, but dear god, the description of what he did to his arm...*Shudders*. But should I find the book, I'll give it a glance anyway.

I've always liked weird stuff like that, too. For as long as I can remember the mysterious, unexplained, paranormal, bizarre-all of that has fascinated me. How true it is or not, I don't care. It's still fun to read about .

Angela