All Things Books And Reading Thread - 2018

[Margret]

Margret , thank you for the tip on LibriVox. Somehow, I had overlooked that site. I just got Huckleberry Finn to listen to.

Most people have. Project Gutenberg (which I also love) gets all the press. I heard about LibriVox from my brother, when he found out that I like audio books.

Incidentally, there's a free LibriVox app you can get for your smartphone; it will let you listen to the books online or download them to your phone. It will also link to some books that are still in copyright and give you the option to buy, as well as some free books that aren't available on the LibriVox website. I listened to a dramatization (not a reading/dramatization, just a dramatization) of Isaac Asimov's third (I think) Foundation novel that had been done by the BBC and made available for free.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH OH OH! A dear friend just sent me a copy of "A Street Cat Named Bob" in the mail! Guess what I'll be reading as soon as I finish "How to Catch a Cat"? Already took "Street Cat" off of my wishlist at Thriftbooks. What a lovely surprise!

 

[rubysmama]

Mamanyt1953 I can't remember, have you read the "Warriors" series by Erin Hunter? I started the 1st one, but another book became available, so I didn't get far, and haven't gone back to it yet.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH HOCKEY PUCKS! I just googled it, and now I have to add ANOTHER series to the "Must Have" list! I'll get the first one, and see how it goes!

 

[rubysmama]

It's a children's book series, but apparently has some realistic (i.e. violent) cat fighting scenes, so I've been a bit hesitant to read them. So tread cautiously, if that sort of thing would bother you.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Having, over the past 60 odd years, stepped into the middle of more than one real-life cat fight, I'm pretty bomb-proof. I'll give the first on a try, at any rate.

 

[rubysmama]

Let us know what you think. And I think it's further in the series that it gets "descriptive". Here's another thread that discussed the books: Do You Read Books Featuring Cats?

 

[Margret]

If anyone isn't already getting the Early Bird Books email, you can sign up here: Early Bird Books – eBook Deals Newsletter for Kindle or Other eReaders

Full disclosure: I, personally, get a free ebook for every three people who sign up from this particular link.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Went there, did that.

 

[misty8723]

I wouldn't be able to read on a bus, either. When I was taking a bus regularly the vibration was bad enough to make me motion sick. I could control it, but not easily, and not at all without watching the road.

The only way I know of to read comfortably while traveling is with an audio book; you may want to check into those.

Margret

I haven't taken a bus in ages, but I used to all the time when I was younger and had no problem reading. One memorable event was riding about 6 blocks past my stop because I was engrossed in The Andromeda Strain. And I read all the while I was walking back to my street!

 

[Margret]

I haven't taken a bus in ages, but I used to all the time when I was younger and had no problem reading. One memorable event was riding about 6 blocks past my stop because I was engrossed in The Andromeda Strain. And I read all the while I was walking back to my street!

Then you're one of those fortunate people who don't get motion sickness.

Do be careful if you're reading while walking. Distracted walking can be as dangerous as distracted driving. You need to be aware of your surroundings, including traffic.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

My "Whiskey, Tango and Foxtrot" books arrived today, the first four of the five in the series. Also my new copy of "Fear Nothing," by Dean Koontz, who is the only "horror" writer I really enjoy. I think I love the fact that all of his "monsters" are based in fact. He was actually visisted by government agents when a new book described a black op program almost exactly. LOL, it came from his imagination, but at a very inopportune time! I'll be starting on the cozies when I finish this rather charming adventure/romance that I'm reading now. Good book, but the sex scenes are a bit graphic (says the woman who has no real issue with Anita Blake, vampire hunter)

 

[Margret]

He was actually visisted by government agents when a new book described a black op program almost exactly. LOL, it came from his imagination, but at a very inopportune time!

Didn't that happen to Heinlein, as well? Though I believe that in his case he was extrapolating from unclassified science articles he'd read (about the energy contained in atoms), during WWII. You can see why the feds might have been just a tiny bit upset.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I believe it did, but Koontz was just imagining what the government might be up to, and hit too close to home. But that's why he appeals to me...the "nasties" could possibly happen.

 

[Margret]

Hi, all.

I just picked up this free ebook that I think some people here may enjoy: Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens Book one: The Doctor Who isn't a Time Lord ebook by Mark Speed - Rakuten Kobo

I checked Amazon for it, and it isn't free there; I'm afraid it's Kobo or nothing. I've no idea how long it will continue to be free.

Kobo delivers books in ePub format; there are Kobo readers available for both Windows and MacIntosh, as well as Android and (I think) tablets like Nook and Kindle. If I'm wrong about that the combination of the Kobo app on your computer plus Calibre (available for free) should enable you to convert it to .mobi format so that you can sideload it to your Kindle (although Calibre is less comfortable with .mobi format than with .epub). You'll also need the obok plugin and deDRM tools for Calibre (both are plugins and are also available for free).

Margret

 

[jcat]

I've finished the first two "Cats & Curios" books, which were okay, but not as enjoyable as the "Cats in Trouble" series.

I'm currently rereading Marley and Me.

 

[Norachan]

I'm making steady progress with Heart of Darkness. They're travelling up a river in Africa in a leaky old steamer and they've just been attacked by natives. Africa must have been a pretty formidable place at that time.

 

[foxxycat]

As usual I am late to the game- I started reading Outlander- on page 300. Claire just got married to Jamie...interesting!

 

[misty8723]

Then you're one of those fortunate people who don't get motion sickness.

Do be careful if you're reading while walking. Distracted walking can be as dangerous as distracted driving. You need to be aware of your surroundings, including traffic.

Margret

I wouldn't do it now, I was a whole lot younger, and I'm well aware of the need to be aware of your surrounding. I don't read, look at phone, talk, text, or listen to music when I'm walking.

 

[Margret]

I wouldn't do it now, I was a whole lot younger, and I'm well aware of the need to be aware of your surrounding. I don't read, look at phone, talk, text, or listen to music when I'm walking.

Oh, good. I understand the temptation to do that, and am relieved to hear that you resist it.

My brother used to walk around the house reading (he may still do that; it's been a while since I've seen him). He'd have one hand holding the book and the other trailing along the wall so he never had to look up just to navigate corners. Someone from his church told me that they'd invited my brother and his wife over for dinner several times, and after the first time they began confiscating any reading materials that my brother had brought along at the door and only giving them back when he left. They were rather surprised to find out that as long as he wasn't distracted by a book he was actually a good conversationalist. I wasn't, of course. The man is both brilliant and well-read, duh.

Margret