What are you reading?

[innlady1]

 

As much as I've enjoyed this thread, I've really enjoyed this post, Pipedreams...you are the best!

[flag fan]

I'll second Archie's Mom's recommendation of Netherland.

 

I like to read books related to cruising or the destination I'm going to. For my October Caribbean cruise I'll be reading a book about the Duke of Windsor's time as governor of the Bahamas in World War II (The Royal Governor and the Duchess -- for HMC in the Bahamas), The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (a science fiction novel with a connection to Puerto Rico (for the San Juan port), and a history of either the Turks and Caicos Islands or the Virgin Islands (I like histories), plus Hurricanes & Hangovers, an anthology of funny stories set in the Caribbean.

[jerseygirl3]

As avid readers we never go anywhere without our Kindle. The easiest way to read while traveling--no need to pack huge books.

 

The wife can crank out a Sandra Brown or Higgins-Clark novel once a week.

I enjoy the epic size stuff (George RR Martin & Terry Goodkind) but really found "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy facinating. Read it before you see the movie

 

You took the words out of my mouth. I recently got a Kindle and go nowhere without it. I love-love-love my Kindle!!!

[nckvilledudes]

May not be for you, but Naomi Novik has a series out about Dragons and the British Navy during the Napoleonic era. I am enjoying the first book. I recently learned an interesting fact about this series. Peter Jackson has bought the rights to this series. I can see him doing a movie from these.

Dan

[nckvilledudes]

You took the words out of my mouth. I recently got a Kindle and go nowhere without it. I love-love-love my Kindle!!!

 

May I ask how user friendly you consider the Kindle????

Dan

[geshaw30]

May I ask how user friendly you consider the Kindle????

 

Dan

 

It's more than simple. To purchase book (usually no more than $9.99 for new releases) type in the name of the title or author in the search function. If you enter the latter it will give you a list of everything that individual has written. So pick the title and enter "buy". It will download onto your Kindle in seconds and you just begin the book. No need to grab a credit card as your account is set up from day one via Amazon. You can download a book/magazine anywhere as the unit is "stand alone" and does not require any outside wi-fi link. Additional advantage is the font is ajustable if you, like myself, enjoy a slightly larger print. When you're done with the book just erase it. There are thousands of titles available and most all new releases are available immed. The Kindle will hold hundreds of books.

 

We've gone through several dozen titles and have yet to have a problem. If you happen to own an IPhone there is a nice added feature in that the phone links to the Kindle (free) and and will place the book on your IPhone.

 

A piece of advice--should you get one make sure you purchase the cover at the same time. Additionally I would steer away from the larger unit. Half of the advantage is the size and lugging around the bigger one seems to do away ith one of Kindle's major features; its smaller size and ease of carrying around. It was a blessing during our Alaska trip

[nckvilledudes]

It's more than simple. To purchase book (usually no more than $9.99 for new releases) type in the name of the title or author in the search function. If you enter the latter it will give you a list of everything that individual has written. So pick the title and enter "buy". It will download onto your Kindle in seconds and you just begin the book. No need to grab a credit card as your account is set up from day one via Amazon. You can download a book/magazine anywhere as the unit is "stand alone" and does not require any outside wi-fi link. Additional advantage is the font is ajustable if you, like myself, enjoy a slightly larger print. When you're done with the book just erase it. There are thousands of titles available and most all new releases are available immed. The Kindle will hold hundreds of books.

 

We've gone through several dozen titles and have yet to have a problem. If you happen to own an IPhone there is a nice added feature in that the phone links to the Kindle (free) and and will place the book on your IPhone.

 

A piece of advice--should you get one make sure you purchase the cover at the same time. Additionally I would steer away from the larger unit. Half of the advantage is the size and lugging around the bigger one seems to do away ith one of Kindle's major features; its smaller size and ease of carrying around. It was a blessing during our Alaska trip

 

Thank you very much for the the info...Will put this on our shopping list for sure....Where did you buy yours from?????

Dan

[traveling mama]

HAWAII = MICHENERS HAWAII FOR SURE.....read it there...its even better. But then I think all Michener should be read in the corresponding country!!!

 

Also: Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport....and A Song of Pilgrimage and Exile by Sister Mary Laurence Hanley & O.A. Bushnell - all about Mother Marianne and her work on Molokai. Both of these are easy and fabulous reads....one fiction and one a bio.

 

As for me ...Im re-reading all the Anne of Green Gable stuff in preparation for my cruise to PEI etc...this oct. I also have the new L.M.Montgomery bio ....so I should be very "smart" when I arrive!!! :)

[matondo]

I am not sure how long your flight is to your port, but I was able to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini flying from Ohio to California. Excellent, quick read.

[magandab]

The Kite Runner is on my top 10 list of all time, as is A Thousand Splendid Suns.

 

As to the Kindle, I had talked myself out of it, until yesterday when my BFF visited with hers. It's super thin, super lightweight, and very easy to read. I played with it a bit and loved the interface. The only downside to the Kindle for me is that I like to share books, and this effectively eliminates that possibility, unless you hand over your Kindle, NOT going to happen.

 

I have loved everything I've read by Joshilyn Jackson, very quirky characters, great writing. Between Georgia is my favorite, and also adored Gods in Alabama.

 

Another great easy reading author is Lorna Landvik. Her titles are funny, and her writing is excellent. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons was the first of hers I read, and the story was fabulous.

[suse]

I love my free public library with a capital F!:) I just picked up Let theGreat World Spin by Colum Mccann and it was free! Captial F! I may just get "East of Eden" next, love Charley right now.

No, really, why pay $9.99 for a book and you don't know how many pages are left because you are reading Kindle. I would do the free thing.

luv,

suse:)

[geshaw30]

Thank you very much for the the info...Will put this on our shopping list for sure....Where did you buy yours from?????

 

Dan

 

 

Can only be purchased (new) from Amazon.com.

[rsquare]

Amazon just reduced the price of the Kindle 2 to $299; used Kindles occasionally show up on EBay in the $250-ish range. The "official" cover is another $30; nice, but not critical.

 

Incidentally, there is no contradiction between "Kindle" and "free" if you don't need new releases to read. Manybooks.net has several thousand out-of-copyright books downloadable in Kindle format for free - in the US, anything printed before 1923 qualifies, eg classics of literature from Cicero to Sherlock Holmes, and even some 1950s science fiction and recent scholarly works released under Creative Commons license.

 

I really enjoy British mysteries set in the period around WWI, so I have filled my Kindle with R. Austin Freeman, Louis Joseph Vance, J.S. Fletcher, Sax Rohmer, etc., as well as fantasy from the same period by Lord Dunsany and John Buchan, and some classical works, like Xenophon's Memoirs of Socrates. Total payments to Amazon for books - $1.98 so far.

 

Incidentally, the OP mentioned the latest Daniel Silva. I just finished The Defector - good, but kind of a rehash of Moscow Rules, and definitely a sequel to that book. I've read most of Silva's books, and I think he's running out of steam, but it was a nice ride while it lasted.

[Milaandra]

Speaking of John Irving' date=' I still think [i']Son of the Circus[/i] is his best novel. It is a good, long read about life in an Indian circus. I must have read it 10 years ago and it still haunts me. It is dedicated to Abraham Verghese, by the way.

 

I'm a HUGE John Irving fan, but I think his best was _A Prayer for Owen Meany_ Genius!

 

DH and I have a thing for detective novels. I discovered Loren D. Estlemen a few years back and now own the entire Amos Walker series. It may be genre fiction (hard-boiled, hard-drinking, slightly-shabby detective) but the man can write! He creates these exquisite word pictures and wry commentaries...they are fairly slim novels and a voracious read. If you decide to try the series, don't start with the first book...he didn't properly find his voice until the second novel. One of my favourites is _Lady Yesterday_ because of the poignancy of the snowman image...you'll see what I mean if you read it. We're also big fans of Dick Francis' spare, concise style.

[peaches from georgia]

 

......Speaking of John Irving' date=' I still think [i']Son of the Circus[/i] is his best novel.

.....

And speaking of the circus, don't miss Water for Elephants.

[Harry1954]

As we take several cruises each year being in semi-retirement, DW and I need a lot of books. The library has a goodly supply which I visit on day one and grab about three books. That having been said, we tend to go thru authors. Recently we discovered two writers that none of our friends had heard of and, after reading their first book published, ordered all their books (paperbacks used of course), and took on trips. Each has aroudn fourteen or so and they all have the same players, which makes them quite enjoyable. The two authors are Peter Robinson and Donna Leon.

harry

 

ps: we are looking for similar suggestions for the future from anyone out there in CC-land.

[LSEA]

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (a science fiction novel with a connection to Puerto Rico (for the San Juan port),

 

I enjoyed this and the follow up, Children of God. I read a lot and often things get lost in my memory but these stick with me.

 

I have also enjoyed her other books, Thread of Grace about Jewish refugees in Italy during WWII, heartbreaking but couldn't put it down, and also Dreamers of the Day, a fun read about a single woman who travels to Cairo in the early 1920's.

[Rainbow Bridge]

Four of Anne Perry's "World War I Novels" are going with me on the next cruise - I've read the first one, No Graves as Yet, and the rest are going with me on my next cruise. Harry, I have also found "Peter Robinson" - and am looking forward to reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns."

 

I consider the books I bring with me "backup" - the library on the ship is one of the first stops after we board. The library on the Prinsendam is great, the one on the Zuiderdam a disappointment.

 

Gena

[ANSalberg]

As we take several cruises each year being in semi-retirement, DW and I need a lot of books. The library has a goodly supply which I visit on day one and grab about three books. That having been said, we tend to go thru authors. Recently we discovered two writers that none of our friends had heard of and, after reading their first book published, ordered all their books (paperbacks used of course), and took on trips. Each has aroudn fourteen or so and they all have the same players, which makes them quite enjoyable. The two authors are Peter Robinson and Donna Leon.

harry

 

ps: we are looking for similar suggestions for the future from anyone out there in CC-land.

 

This from my newly-reader [retired] husband -who LOVES British detective etc - Ian Rankin.He says "Just like Robinson" ;)

[Rainbow Bridge]

This from my newly-reader [retired] husband -who LOVES British detective etc - Ian Rankin.He says "Just like Robinson" ;)

 

Your husband is right - I forgot Ian Rankin and I've read all his books in the last six months!!! Now I'm working on Peter Robinson.......have a look at Val McDermid - I like hers, too.:o:o

 

Gena

[Willsot]

Just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson (2008). Now can't wait to read the Girl Who Played with Fire by the same author (2009).

[Seavoyage]

"Cell" by Stephen King it's pretty gross but a real page turner!:eek:

[Hopmont]

Everyone visiting Hawaii should read books by O.A. Bushnell who was a professor of microbiology at the University of Hawaii. His historical novels about Hawaii capture the whole essence of the Islands.....superb! Bushnell also wrote one called "Molokai". You may have to buy the books at a bookstore in Hawaii, but they are still easy to find in the Hawaiian section. Also, read anything by Joel Rosenberg on the way over.

[mescat4]

Two years ago DW and I attended an Elderhostel on "Medieval Mystery Stories

which featured the novels of Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael), Sharan Newman (Catherine LeVendeur) and Margret Fraser (Sister Frevriese) Sleuths are in parentheses. Some of you may remember the PBS series of Brother Cadfael which starred Derek Jacobi. These authors spawned a whole genre which not only provide 'who dunnit' thrills but excellent historical material of a fascinating (at least to me) era. Google 'Medieval Mysteries' -you'll be suprised by the number of hits and new authors you'll find.

[ANSalberg]

Your husband is right - I forgot Ian Rankin and I've read all his books in the last six months!!! Now I'm working on Peter Robinson.......have a look at Val McDermid - I like hers, too.:o:o

 

Gena

 

Thanks - I'm adding this to my list of "lets check it out"......Anne