[Misc] What Book are you Currently Reading?

[Gully]

The wind up bird chronicle - Haruki Murukami - Very good read, main character is a bit of a strange one though.

 

[Laridae]

Definitely not a gimmick!

Anyone using a Kindle?

If so, what do you think of them?

Any good? Gimmick?

Hi. Got one for Christmas and from basically never reading any fiction whatsoever I'm well and truly hooked! Definitely not a gimmick and IMO the form-factor/e-ink is here to stay (albeit they'll get thinner, lighter, colour as standard etc). PDF support is currently a bit lame but if you just want to read then it's bloomin' brilliant!

Great for reading simple articles on the web too. Whilst browsing the internet on a PC/laptop etc, like many others I use Instapaper for 'saving' those articles which I want to read later at my leisure on the Kindle. Worth checking out for sure.

Just finished reading this book: Hard Landing: The First Spider Shepherd Thriller [Kindle Edition] which was a fantastic... and a bargain at 49p!

 

[Spun Cuppa]

'Art Politics Cinema - The Cineaste interviews'

Top read on socialist cinema in the seventies and eighties

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

read both on holiday! very poor ending.

'read both' It's a triology n'est ce pas?

Auster is an amazing writer, his talent at storytelling is so natural and his prose just flows, but of the two books of his that I've read so far it seems clear that he just cannot do endings.

 

[Gwylan]

Got one for my birthday at the weekend and loving it. Downloading books is very simple and nice and compact for commuting.

I'm intrigued by this comment. I started commuting again after a couple of years off and gave myself the task of counting the number of e-readers I see on my daily commute. After three months, I've seen the grand total of six - hardly anyone appears to be using them. I'd have thought the Brighton to London commuters would be exactly the sort of people using them but it seems not. In fact, I remember one train out of London where everyone seemed to be reading a book - more than 20 paperbacks in one carriage and not a Kindle in sight. I've been trying to work out why this is but am stumped as to the reason.

Oh, in answer to the thread question The Rest is Noise, Alex Ross's brilliant book on 20th century music. Absolutely fascinating.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

I'm intrigued by this comment. I started commuting again after a couple of years off and gave myself the task of counting the number of e-readers I see on my daily commute. After three months, I've seen the grand total of six - hardly anyone appears to be using them. I'd have thought the Brighton to London commuters would be exactly the sort of people using them but it seems not. In fact, I remember one train out of London where everyone seemed to be reading a book - more than 20 paperbacks in one carriage and not a Kindle in sight. I've been trying to work out why this is but am stumped as to the reason.

The reason is probably because you cannot beat the physical experience of having a book in your hands. Christ we spend enough of our lives staring at screens, why would you want to read a book on a screen as well and be denied that page turning pleasure, looking at the progress your bookmark has made when you put it down or pick it up, the musty smell of an older book etc. etc.

 

[Gangsta]

Just finished The Ascent of Money (Niall Ferguson , Non-Fiction ). Highly recommend it. Some of our politicians could do with reading it ( Ed Balls, US Republicans, The French etc etc).

 

[Basil Fawlty]

I've just finished reading Away days, now I'm going to read Karen Rose, Die for Me.

 

[tonymgc]

Citizen Soldiers By Stephen E. Ambrose, The same guy who wrote Band Of Brothers.

 

[brakespear]

'The Compulsive Spike Milligan'

 

[Gwylan]

The reason is probably because you cannot beat the physical experience of having a book in your hands. Christ we spend enough of our lives staring at screens, why would you want to read a book on a screen as well and be denied that page turning pleasure, looking at the progress your bookmark has made when you put it down or pick it up, the musty smell of an older book etc. etc.

Well, that's what I think too. I spend 10 to 12 hours a day in front of a screen why spend more? But as this thread shows, lots of people have e-readers but they don't seem to use them - just intrigued why.

 

[Laridae]

.. I spend 10 to 12 hours a day in front of a screen why spend more?

Although it's a "screen", it's not backlit in any way so there's no extra strain on your eyes - it really is just like reading a book... you seriously don't know you're reading e-ink - and it performs even better in bright sun-light (I've been surprised just how good it's been on the beach these past few weeks!)

Although £111 for the cheapest Kindle is pretty good VFM, that's still a decent number of paperbacks you could buy instead. Maybe the the introduction of the 'Amazon Lending Library' (currently soon to be rolled out in the USA) may make the device a bit more attractive to the casual user.

Me? Personally I love it - especially the one-handed page turns in bed or on a busy commute (yes, until I drop it/it gets trampled on I hear you say!)

This 'debate' will run and run but as always it comes down to your own personal preference - you pays your money.....

 

[Windels]

Mein Kampf - Adolf Hitler

 

[Frutos]

Anyone using a Kindle?

If so, what do you think of them?

Any good? Gimmick?

I got one just after Christmas and absolutely love it. For commuting to work it's perfect, gives me a nice choice of books to read from without having to lug them all around. Downloading to it is nice and simple, and you don't get any glare from the screen at all. Highly recommended.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

The story of the making and history of the film's release.

 

[skipper734]

I have just finished The Last King of Brighton by Peter Guttridge. He appears to be writing a series based in Brighton, this is the second one.
Stories not bad, he tries to use real places, although the Bath Arms is in the Laines and not the Lanes, And the first mention of the King Alfred calls it the Lord Alfred for some reason. I think it must have been proof read by a dyslexic as it's full of mistakes such as during a conversation a question will be answered by a character who is not in the conversation or even in the same part of Brighton where the conversation is taking place.
I think he is a JCL as the book spans the late 50's through the 60's to present day. A lot of the places he mentions are not correct and the Regent, Florida rooms and the Starlight rooms gets not a mention but should take centre stage in the scene he is trying to set.

Maybe if I wasn't there at the time and just read it as an outsider I wouldn't notice all this and it would be a very good read.

 

[Barry Izbak]

I'm not one of those people who normally gets through a book quickly, but I have just read the latest Grisham novel The Confession and Lee Childs' Killing Floor in less than three weeks.

And I'm not even on holiday!

 

[ryeseagull]

Treason's Harbour, Patrick O'Brian.

 

[xenophon]

Through the post today, should be an interesting read

 

[Stat Brother]

Not reading just yet, as I'm waiting for delivery of these 2, hopefully before the weekend.
They should get me nicely warmed up for Le Tour.