All things Books and Reading thread - 2017

[Winchester]

Margret you got further than I did with Cursed Child. I think I read two chapters and gave it up. I agree with everything you said about plays versus actual books.

Since Rick was going to be gone this week, I hit the library yesterday during lunch:

Alton Brown's cookbook This Time It's Personal
Nighthawk - CLive Cussler and Graham Brown (I'm a big Cussler fan)
Sticks and Bones - Carolyn Haines
Ominous - Lisa Jackson, Nancy Bush, Rosaline Noonan (I think I might have read this)
Better Late than Never - Jenn McKinlay
Mangrove Lightning - Randy White (I like his books)
Murder on the Prowl - Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown (I can't believe I missed reading this!)

I thought I had eight books, but now can only find seven.

 

[Alejandra Rico]

I have been feeling nostalgic about Terry Pratchett, so I re-read all his books about Tiffany Aching in a row, skipping in between books. I was glorious and I cried like a baby just like the first time I read them when I reached the last one and read all the kind words other authors devoted to him and his wonderful mind and work.

 

[Margret]

Margret thanks for posting the J K Rowling tweet.

You're welcome. I found it in the footnotes of the Wikipedia article on "Cursed Child."

Margret

 

[Margret]

I have been feeling nostalgic about Terry Pratchett, so I re-read all his books about Tiffany Aching in a row, skipping in between books. I was glorious and I cried like a baby just like the first time I read them when I reached the last one and read all the kind words other authors devoted to him and his wonderful mind and work.

Yes, his death was a great loss to us all. I still haven't read the last Tiffany Aching book, just the preview of it I downloaded from one of the ebook sellers. In general, I've avoided the books he wrote during his final illness because I'd heard they weren't up to his usual standard (how could they be?) and I don't want to remember him, or Discworld, that way, but I think I need to read this one at least.

Terry Pratchett’s name lives on in ‘the clacks’ with hidden web code
Send Him Home

Margret

 

[Margret]

Thanks, Winchester ! I'd never heard of Free Booksy before; I just signed up for their daily email.

I've said it here before, but it bears repeating: If you like free ebooks, check out Project Gutenberg. It is their quixotic mission to make all public domain books available in an online database for free download. I say "quixotic" because books are entering the public domain faster than anyone could possibly keep up. If it sounds like you're getting second-best with public domain books, allow me to list a few:

• Kim, by Rudyard Kipling
• All of the Bertie Wooster and Jeeves books, by P. G. Wodehouse
• Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
• The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
• Once on a Time, by A. A. Milne
• Anything by the Brontë sisters
• Anything by Jane Austen
• Cabbages and Kings, by O. Henry

And if you like audio books, LibriVox.org is a sister project to Project Gutenberg. At LibriVox they're trying to put all the Project Gutenberg books into audio format. There's a LibriVox app you can get for your Android smartphone (I don't know about iPhones, but there should be one), and you can either listen online or download.

Margret

 

[Alejandra Rico]

Yes, his death was a great loss to us all. I still haven't read the last Tiffany Aching book, just the preview of it I downloaded from one of the ebook sellers. In general, I've avoided the books he wrote during his final illness because I'd heard they weren't up to his usual standard (how could they be?) and I don't want to remember him, or Discworld, that way, but I think I need to read this one at least.

Terry Pratchett’s name lives on in ‘the clacks’ with hidden web code
Send Him Home

Margret

The clack thing is one of the best things I think any author has recieved as a tribute.
Well, some say that those last books were not so good, but, after all, we are talking about am author who would be editing his work until the very day of final printing, which is beyond what most writers do.
I personaly enjoyed each and every of the books of the discworld saga and consider that, if he made the effort to write those last books, to share with us what he saw as the best "closing" to the whole story of his universe... well, that work deserves being read and loved by itself and even more so because we can just but wonder how difficult It was for him to do so.
He was there for me when I was feeling so misserable, so I would even read his shopping lists
I will sure check those Wodehouse books available, I hace always wanted to read them in English!

 

[Margret]

Regarding the Free Booksy website; it's worthwhile to go through earlier posts and give them a try. A lot of the free books are loss leaders, to try to get you involved with an author or series. As such, they may be free permanently, or close to it.

This is most often true when there are multiple sites selling a book; when it's just Amazon they have a tendency to be more zealous about protecting their profits, because they know someone else isn't undercutting them. And this is important:
Always check the price!!! Just because you got there from a link that said it was for a free book doesn't mean that the book really is free. It can be incredibly easy to get into the habit of automatically clicking Instant Purchase, and when you do that you're likely to end up paying good money for a book that you would only "buy" if it's free.

Margret

 

[Margret]

The clack thing is one of the best things I think any author has recieved as a tribute.
Well, some say that those last books were not so good, but, after all, we are talking about am author who would be editing his work until the very day of final printing, which is beyond what most writers do.
I personaly enjoyed each and every of the books of the discworld saga and consider that, if he made the effort to write those last books, to share with us what he saw as the best "closing" to the whole story of his universe... well, that work deserves being read and loved by itself and even more so because we can just but wonder how difficult It was for him to do so.
He was there for me when I was feeling so misserable, so I would even read his shopping lists

Basically, I agree with you. When I was in the hospital recovering from brain surgery my husband and brother brought me a whole stack of Discworld books to re-read. He helped me to recover from a serious brain injury, I just wish I could have returned the favor. It's that whole "Darn! I'm not God!" thing that we keep running into with our cats.

At the moment, I'm sufficiently short of money that I just can't buy all the books on my wish list, so I bookmark them in BookBub and wait for a sale. I may buy them from Thrift Books, or check them out of the library, but I really want to own my own copies, and I've lost too many paper books to various disasters (flooding, for starters) that I'm currently more comfortable with electronic. Harder to lose.

Margret

 

[Alejandra Rico]

Basically, I agree with you. When I was in the hospital recovering from brain surgery my husband and brother brought me a whole stack of Discworld books to re-read. He helped me to recover from a serious brain injury, I just wish I could have returned the favor. It's that whole "Darn! I'm not God!" thing that we keep running into with our cats.

At the moment, I'm sufficiently short of money that I just can't buy all the books on my wish list, so I bookmark them in BookBub and wait for a sale. I may buy them from Thrift Books, or check them out of the library, but I really want to own my own copies, and I've lost too many paper books to various disasters (flooding, for starters) that I'm currently more comfortable with electronic. Harder to lose.

Margret

Well, Terry is not making money from selling books any more, and even so, I think that he would understand It if you download them. Writers just want to be read, after all.

 

[Margret]

Well, Terry is not making money from selling books any more, and even so, I think that he would understand It if you download them. Writers just want to be read, after all.

No, I don't think so. I think one of the reasons he was working as hard as he did, for as long as he could, was to provide for his family after he died.

Also, I happen to have a few copyrights of my own. I don't feel right about violating anyone else's. I'll get more of his books when I can afford them, either because they're on sale or because I have more money available. (Or, of course, both! )

Margret

 

[Alejandra Rico]

No, I don't think so. I think one of the reasons he was working as hard as he did, for as long as he could, was to provide for his family after he died.

Also, I happen to have a few copyrights of my own. I don't feel right about violating anyone else's. I'll get more of his books when I can afford them, either because they're on sale or because I have more money available. (Or, of course, both! )

Margret

I also have a couple of copyrights, but I think I prefer being read, I get a missery anyway from sales
I always buy the books when I can afford them (I have two of The Name of the Wind) but download when I can't... If I were close to a library I would just go there, but I am not. Then, when I can, I buy a physical copy to worship it with all the other books I love.

 

[Margret]

I also have a couple of copyrights, but I think I prefer being read, I get a missery anyway from sales
I always buy the books when I can afford them (I have two of The Name of the Wind) but download when I can't... If I were close to a library I would just go there, but I am not. Then, when I can, I buy a physical copy to worship it with all the other books I love.

1. I don't know where to just "download" them without buying, and what with the American crackdown on copyright violations I don't like taking the risk, frequenting the dark or gray web. Despite using DuckDuckGo for searches and having free VPN, I assume the government is keeping track of me online, one way or another. (No, I don't think I'm singled out; I just assume that they're keeping track of everyone. It seems safest.)
2. A friend gave me an .epub copy of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I don't feel bad about that, because I've already bought those books numerous times, and worn them all out with re-reading. Tolkien's family has received all the royalties that are due to them from me!
3. In fact, now that I've (once again) finished The Hero and the Crown, I think it's about time for me to re-read Tolkien. I used to read those books through once a year. (No wonder my paperbacks wore out.)

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I have just started "The Book of Night with Moon" by Diane Duane, and I am enchanted! If you loved Tad Williams' "Tailchaser's Song" and Gabriel King's "The Wild Road" and "The Golden Cat," then this book and it's sequel, "To Visit the Queen" should go on your "must read" list.

 

[foxxycat]

I am reading Mary Alice monroe The summer girls. About South Carolina and 3 girls get together like the old days=been an interesting read. I love stories about family and friends. I read one of her books many years ago and loved her writing. There's 3 more after this title. So far Impressed.

 

[Margret]

I have just started "The Book of Night with Moon" by Diane Duane, and I am enchanted! If you loved Tad Williams' "Tailchaser's Song" and Gabriel King's "The Wild Road" and "The Golden Cat," then this book and it's sequel, "To Visit the Queen" should go on your "must read" list.

I'm not sure, but there may be more than two in this series, which is a sequel series to her Young Wizards series. I've thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Two was all I could find, but if you run across others, LET ME KNOW! I do NOT want Hekitty reading these. She will get ideas. If she doesn't already have them, that is.

 

[catspaw66]

Yes, his death was a great loss to us all. I still haven't read the last Tiffany Aching book

Neither have I, but plan to soon. Thank you for the links

GNU Sir Terry


Terry Pratchett’s name lives on in ‘the clacks’ with hidden web code
Send Him Home

Margret

 

[Margret]

You're welcome. I felt his death very strongly, as did a lot of people on this site.

I always hate it when we lose a good author, but Sir Terry was something special, even among good authors.

Margret

 

[Mia6]

For about the past year I have been reading a lot of psychological thrillers. I read most of them
on my Kindle Fire. I pay 10 bucks a month and am able to read many for free and some are as
low as .99 cents. Many of them are like The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, all of Gyllian Flynn's
books. Paula Hawkins's newest book is waiting for me at the library.

 

[catspaw66]

You're welcome. I felt his death very strongly, as did a lot of people on this site.

I always hate it when we lose a good author, but Sir Terry was something special, even among good authors.

Margret

I bought it on Amazon last night, and am reading it now. Have you read the Science of Discworld books? And not to forget "Good Omens" with Neil Gaiman.