January 2016: What Are You Reading?

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I started re-reading the last two books of Game of Thrones... but mostly as a procrastination... need to get writing
 
As well as making my way thru the Attenborough book I'm also reading The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens on my Kobo touch. Also enjoying the BBC series Dickensian.
 
Just finished Laura by Vera Caspery. This is a 1940s suspense novel packaged with three other novels in Women Crime Writers of the 1940s from Library of America. There was a 1940s movie of the novel that I loved as a kid catching it on afternoon TV and I've wondered how the novel stacked up. It compares well and does have a bit more substance in how it portrays a career woman from a time when there were fewer career women. Caspery wrote well and if her title character leans a bit toward '40s romance/soap opera, another character, Waldo Lydecker, has a distinctive and fascinating voice.

I've read quite a few mystery/crime/suspense novels from the time period and this is one of the better ones I've come across. Good that it's back in print.

Randy M.
 
Other Days, Other Eyes, by Bob Shaw. His concept of slow glass is a very clever device for SF. I think I'm a big fan of Shaw, and like Stableford, should read more (I tend to think of these authors in the same breath as they're contemporaneous, from the same side of the pond and fairly literary).
 
Reading The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. Steampunk alternate history goodness.
 
biodroid said:
@AE35Unit - How are the Kobo's compared to the Kindle? My kindle is slowly failing on me and it's too expensive to get a new one. The Kobo is more affordable.
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Not sure as I have never had a kindle. I am thinking of saving for one for I fear the Kobo to be less reliable. It has performed excellently since it was bought but yesterday it applied an OTA update and later it would not let me access the book I am reading. I had to perform a Soft Reset. Luckily it came back and I was able to continue. It is very Internet dependant tho, as I believe the Kindles are? It has a built in browser which I use to access the gutenberg site for free ebook, but is very slow in that capacity. It also has silly Achievements that you unlock, and share to Facebook. Unnecessary and so not really an issue. Overall it's good and a lot faster than my old Sony, having a touch screen with dictionary.
 
I've had my Kindle some years now (e-reader, not tablet). I've had to do a long reset twice when it became disobedient, though it's worked fine other than that.

My version (I don't think it's sold anymore) has both free 3G and wifi, but I mostly use it offline, only going on to download books. Unsure of newer models.
 
thaddeus6th said:
I've had my Kindle some years now (e-reader, not tablet). I've had to do a long reset twice when it became disobedient, though it's worked fine other than that.

My version (I don't think it's sold anymore) has both free 3G and wifi, but I mostly use it offline, only going on to download books. Unsure of newer models.
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The only thing that puts me off a Kindle is file format. You're tied to buying from Amazon or iTunes. But surely if you use calibre you can convert any format to .amz? (I use .epub mostly)
 
I believe it's possible to convert files, though I have the technical aptitude of a potato and cannot offer much help there. It's definitely possible to get apps etc so you can read .epub documents on just about any device. That would not resolve the issue of having to buy from Amazon, but does mean your current e-books could still be read (assuming the Satanic incantation of DRM does not afflict them).
 
I have a Kobo. DRM protected files can't be switched from Amazon's file format without a heck of a lot of hassle. Calibre will convert most things that you've purchased from Amazon so long as it's not DRM'd. Of course there's less of a selection of books over in Kobo's own store. Also less special offers. If I had a Kindle Fire I'd never read anything on it I'd be browsing, film watching... stuff.

Currently reading Between Two Thorns. (Split Worlds, Book 1) Emma Newman.
 
Reading a fantasy story, Season's Beginnings by Sandra Ulbrich Almazan. Met her through the blogging world and wanted to give her series a try.
 
I'd like to start some Fritz Leiber (given discussion on another thread over in Classic SF), but as I don't have any on camp, I've now moved on to Heinlein's The Door into Summer, which is fantastic of course.
 
Bick said:
I'd like to start some Fritz Leiber (given discussion on another thread over in Classic SF), but as I don't have any on camp, I've now moved on to Heinlein's The Door into Summer, which is fantastic of course.
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One of my favourites of his; love the origin of the title too. I've had cats behaving like that!
 
millymollymo said:
I have a Kobo. DRM protected files can't be switched from Amazon's file format without a heck of a lot of hassle. Calibre will convert most things that you've purchased from Amazon so long as it's not DRM'd. Of course there's less of a selection of books over in Kobo's own store. Also less special offers. If I had a Kindle Fire I'd never read anything on it I'd be browsing, film watching... stuff.

Currently reading Between Two Thorns. (Split Worlds, Book 1) Emma Newman.
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I get my books from gutenberg. Old out of print ebooks for free. I have never paid for an ebook! Only thing is having transferred them from my old Sony reader to the new Kobo some DRM issues have crept up, tho god knows how!
 
Finished High Moor 3 by Graeme Reynolds last night. Definitely recommend the trilogy for a fast paced rip roaring read.

Not sure what to pick up next, will make a call on it tonight
 
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