Book Chat Fiction - What Are You Reading Now?

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

I finished re-reading Persian Fire by Tom Holland today. Addictive stuff I must say. It'll be useful for a politics essay I have to do for January since it deals with some very interesting and very different modes of socio-political organisation.

A fantastic read for anyone interested in history and Holland already has another book out called Millennium. Given his previous form, it's also quite good. I'm also definitely going to get Conspiracy over the Christmas. I've been too busy to get it before now but I must have it read over Christmas.

Has anyone got a Sony E reader or Amazon Kindle? I was looking at the E reader in Waterstones Dawson St the other day and their interesting things alright. I'm particularly fascinated by the fact that the screen isn't backlit and therefore behaves very differently to other electronic displays. It's much like looking at a calculator's display in fact.

If you get one let us know what you think. I used to download books quite a lot onto my old Nokia phone and still do to my laptop. I have about 150 books on the laptop at this stage.

I didn't realise Amazon had their own one. The Sony E reader is very expensive.

So is the Kindle - $359. It's also not available outside the US yet.

imokyrok wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

I finished re-reading Persian Fire by Tom Holland today. Addictive stuff I must say. It'll be useful for a politics essay I have to do for January since it deals with some very interesting and very different modes of socio-political organisation.

A fantastic read for anyone interested in history and Holland already has another book out called Millennium. Given his previous form, it's also quite good. I'm also definitely going to get Conspiracy over the Christmas. I've been too busy to get it before now but I must have it read over Christmas.

Has anyone got a Sony E reader or Amazon Kindle? I was looking at the E reader in Waterstones Dawson St the other day and their interesting things alright. I'm particularly fascinated by the fact that the screen isn't backlit and therefore behaves very differently to other electronic displays. It's much like looking at a calculator's display in fact.

If you get one let us know what you think. I used to download books quite a lot onto my old Nokia phone and still do to my laptop. I have about 150 books on the laptop at this stage.

Where do you get your online books imokyrok? Our book club is taking a little rest, partly because it is difficult and expensive for people to get hold of the same book. Online books would be great, especially if free to use

Atticus wrote:

Are you sure Conspiracy is out yet, Ard-Taoiseach? I've been looking for it recently, now that you've got me hooked on Harris. Have a feeling it's only out next Autumn

As far as I know, the paperback is out now, but the hardback will be available in 2009.

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Will get round to Holland at some point. Am reading the Greek bit of Lane Fox'The Classical World at the moment.

Greek bit? Janey, are you talking about Greece BC? Pre-Roman Greece? That's sort of early on.

cactus flower wrote:

Where do you get your online books imokyrok? Our book club is taking a little rest, partly because it is difficult and expensive for people to get hold of the same book. Online books would be great, especially if free to use

For free books gutenberg.org is a good place to go. You'll find all the old classics because they are out of copyright. More public domain books at authorama.com.  Librovox.com for audiobooks is worth a look, as is LearnOutLoud.com. 

Purchasing online books is pretty easy and often cheap especially for books that aren't just new out. There's loads of sites but a few I've used are mobipocket.com, ereader.com and ebooks.whsmith.co.uk.

There's one other site I'd reccommend with lots of free books, many are contemporary. It's a sort of a lending library but I'm not sure about it's legality - in fact I'm constantly amazed it hasn't been shut down. Let me know if you want the address - I wouldn't want to compremise the site in anyway and me a newbie! Has a bit too much fantasy and scifi for my tastes but theres plenty of others like Dashell Hammett, Elmore Leonard, Chandler, etc. He also has a substantial nonfiction section.

Basically there is no end to the free reading material available on the net - I'm never stuck if I've run out of standard books.

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Then it will be two Orhan Pamuk novels - The new Life and My Name is Red. Snow by Pamuk is a fiction must-read for everyone.

Someone loaned me Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South this week as Recession-era Winter reading.

My Name is Red is on my Christmas readinglist.

Back in college, in an orgy of 19 century novelling I read North and South. I quite enjoyed it in a bleak little way.

Has anyone read Alan Bennett's Uncommon Reader - super little subversive tract. Love it.