All things Books and Reading thread - 2017

[misty8723]

Currently I'm reading the last book GRRM wrote so far in the Game of Thrones series. It is a re-read. I'm also re-reading Ball Four by Jim Bouton. I read that one years ago, but saw that it was on the list of books I could borrow with my Prime membership and none of the others appealed to me. 

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

i'm just coming up on halfway through The Templar Agenda, by John Paul Davis. it's historical fiction, and a very good read.

 

[foxxycat]

I found a free copy here: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt

It is a good book, was a required reading when I was in High school. I read it in 2 days and everyone else took the allotted time to read it. I have to reread as it's been many years.

 

[Primula]

I started re-reading 1984 by George Orwell. 

I re-read it last year on my Kindle. Brilliant very sad book.

 

[Margret]

 
I started re-reading 1984 by George Orwell. 

I heard a report the other day that 1984 is currently at the top of the best seller lists. 

Margret

 

[Winchester]

I've had the book forever. Both of my co-workers asked to borrow it and when the last one finished it and we all started talking about it, I knew I needed to reread it myself. Many of the quotes taken from the book are more relevant today than ever. 

 

[rubysmama]

 
I found a free copy here: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt

Thanks for the link. I may see if I can get it to download onto my e-reader. Otherwise, I'll wait for the library. Just checked and I'm now # 2 on 2 copies, so maybe it won't be as long a wait as I thought.

I re-read it last year on my Kindle. Brilliant very sad book.

Sad as in heart-breaking?  Or sad, that it could really happen?

As I just finished "The Underground Railroad" which was about slaves running away from their owners and the people who helped them, I think I need to read something lighter next.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Just started "The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern."  Oddly, I've only read a couple of her books, but I'm now determined to not only read but to have the entire series.  I can tell already that these are books I will want to read and re-read several times!
 

 

[Willowy]

Just started "The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern."  Oddly, I've only read a couple of her books, but I'm now determined to not only read but to have the entire series.  I can tell already that these are books I will want to read and re-read several times!

 

The older ones are great and you'll want all of them. The newer ones. . .meh. I think they started being written by ghostwriters or something, because Qwill became much less Qwill-ish and the books became very formulaic. Like a template they filled out with different details but all the basics are the same. If you read the whole series you'll recognize when they change over .

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Thanks for the alert!  I'll be aware now, and if they change too much, I'll quit.

A lovely wonderful friend just sent me an ENTIRE BOX of books!  There are cat mysteries and dog mysteries and cooking mysteries and wine mysteries and supernatural mysteries and a buncha "miscelaneous" mysteries, and I am in SO MUCH HEAVEN!   That's where the Braun books came from.  NEXT is SneakyPie!

 

[Primula]

Sad as in heart-breaking?  Or sad, that it could really happen?

Both. Sad for Winston mostly.

 

[rubysmama]

Both. Sad for Winston mostly.

I didn't realize it was a sad book, but I guess with the premise of Big Brother watching everyone, I should have expected it. I'll try to remember to post my comments/review once I read it.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I am now hip-deep in Rita Mae and Sneakypie books.  I had read one, YEARS AGO, and although it amused me, it wasn't on my "collect and keep" list.  Now, I find that I have changed.  I am enjoying the social commentary.  SIGH...another author on the "collect" list.  I shall have well over 5,000 volumes at this rate for my sons to have to find homes for,  

 

[Winchester]

I like the Sneaky Pie series, too, but the social commentary kind of tired me out after a while. I used to like The Cat Who books, but LJB passed away. I think her son tried to continue the series, but I don't think it well well.

If you've not done so, check out Carolyn Hart; she's good with whodunits and her Death on Demand series is pretty good. It's an older series.

Have you heard of Midnight Louie? Written by Carole Nelson Douglas, the series isn't bad. I've read them all. Midnight Louie is a black cat whose daughter Midnight Louise joined him in the detective business. Another old series.

Mary Daheim wrote The Alpine series, what would probably be considered a cozy mystery series. I liked the books.

Tamar Myers writes about the Pennsylvania Dutch with a bed-and-breakfast run by Magdalena Yoder. I kind of like the books, but I don't think I could read a bunch of them at one time....I think she would wear on me after a couple books. But overall, they're not bad and nice for a diversion. A little silly.

You've probably heard of all of those authors, but I thought I'd mention them, just in case.

It's so hard for me not to buy books! But in our small house, we finally ran out of room. I have well over 1,000 cookbooks and a lot of them are packed away in boxes. Thankfully, I pretty much know which cookbooks are in which boxes and which boxes are stored where (under the bed, in closets), so I can grab them when I need to. And my most-often used recipes are now on the computer. I had to pack all my Stephen King books away, too; there's just no room anymore.  It's a shame because I dearly love to read and now, I'm pretty much stuck with ebooks and books from the library.

When I'd visit a friend in Connecticut, she and I would go to the Book Barn in Niantic and spend hours there. We'd come back with bags and bags and bags of books, both hard cover and soft cover. Books of all genres, you name it, I'd grab it. They ended up donated to our library because there's no room at the inn anymore.

If I had a day to myself, I would often walk over to my "library" in the living room, choose a book, flop down and spend the day reading. I even like to re-read some books; I can't tell you how many times I've re-read Stephen King, the Lord of the Rings, the Anita Blake series, etc. Since everything is packed away, I can't do that any longer, so I use ebooks instead.

We have a long hallway from the living room back to the bedrooms and the wall on the left is unbroken from the hall closet to our bedroom door. I told Rick one time that I'd love to hollow the entire length of the wall out and put shelves in and then fill it with books. He was....well, appalled would be a good word. But that's how I think. 

What I wouldn't give for an addition to the house that would have nothing but wall-to-wall bookshelves, a nice chaise, and a small fridge. I swear I'd go in there, shut the door, and flop down with a good book....or three. And there would be a sign on the door: If this door is closed, don't even bother knocking!

 

[catspaw66]

I can relate to that, @Winchester. I only have several hundred paper volumes, but have almost 7,000 e-books. Fortunately, I can carry all the ebooks on a 64GB SD card. A whole library that weighs 1 gram.

And yet,there is nothing like the feel and smell of paper and ink in your hands, particularly if it is an older book from a used book store.
My favorite is Snooper's Barn in Fort Smith. 4 blocks away from Judge Roy Bean's courthouse.

 

[Primula]

They ended up donated to our library because there's no room at the inn anymore.

We have a long hallway from the living room back to the bedrooms and the wall on the left is unbroken from the hall closet to our bedroom door. I told Rick one time that I'd love to hollow the entire length of the wall out and put shelves in and then fill it with books. He was....well, appalled would be a good word. But that's how I think. 

What I wouldn't give for an addition to the house that would have nothing but wall-to-wall bookshelves, a nice chaise, and a small fridge. I swear I'd go in there, shut the door, and flop down with a good book....or three. And there would be a sign on the door: If this door is closed, don't even bother knocking!

Good luck donating books to a Connecticut library. They throw out books here.

That's a great idea for a hallway that has no other use. I love in movies (thinking Woody Allen) where they have hallways full of bookshelves.

I actually have a dedicated bookroom. I don't read in there, but my books are all there. I don't buy books now since I got my iPad. I love how a huge unwieldy book like War and Peace is shrunk to the size of my Kindle app.

 

[Winchester]

Our local library (central PA) loves to receive books in good condition. Twice the year, they do a book sale. The July one is the biggie, held in the recreation room of a local church. They give you bag (or three) and you can fill the bag to bursting for $20. Newer books and many of the nicer cookbooks are in a room of their own; they're $3 to $5, depending on what they are. I usually go in the first day or two, just to see what cookbooks I might be able to find. If there's a book, I'm really interested in, I might buy it, but I no longer buy bags of them. There's a smaller sale, usually in November; that one isn't as well attended.

There was a small group of us at work, who used to take the morning off work. We'd go out to breakfast, then hit the book sale. We'd be there for a good 3-4 hours, get our bounty, then go into work at lunch time.

I've seen book dealers walk out of the July sale with wagons and wagons of books. The library usually does a great business; people come from all over to catch that sale.

I have no qualms about donating books to our library. As long as they're in really good condition, they'll take them. What they don't want goes into the sale. I've actually bought one of my own books at the book sale! 

 I saw the book and I thought, "That's my book! I didn't want to get rid of that one. I'm gonna buy it back." And I did.

 

[foxxycat]

My library takes all my unwanted books. I used to go to booksales all over. Mass. Connecticut. Maine. www.booksalefinder.com is a good site to find out library sales in your area..I like waiting for the bargain day and see what's left...it's mid winter and I have to go to thrift stores for my books.

Last night I found this site that shows the books that are free for ereaders. http://ereadernewstoday.com/ I found a few free books that I downloaded onto my kindle fire. I found one book that I had already read for free.

the dog who saved me is what I am reading now. It's a book from a man's perspective about life. I think I will like it. I am only 2 chapters into the book. And still reading 1984.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Finished my new stash of kitty mysteries, and am going to begin the doggy ones later this evening!  Then the paranormal ones, then the food ones, then the wine ones and then the miscellaneous ones!  OH JOY OH BLISS!  The thing I LOVE is all these new books.  The thing I HATE is the fear that I'll end up with six more series that I want to collect!  

 

[Margret]

 
Sad as in heart-breaking?  Or sad, that it could really happen?

As I just finished "The Underground Railroad" which was about slaves running away from their owners and the people who helped them, I think I need to read something lighter next.

Try this, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), by Jerome K. Jerome.  Originally published in 1889 and hasn't been out of print since, though it's now out of copyright and therefore available on Project Gutenberg.  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/308.  A very funny book.

Margret