Books

Non-neopets general discussion.
Madge
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Re: Books

Post by Madge »

I tried Calibre but didn't get what all the fuss was about. Now I just copy them onto my kindle using drag and drop like I would use for putting something on a USB stick.

I also use something called instapaper - it's an extension on my web browser, and when I click the button it puts it in a queue to send to my kindle. Then when I get a certain number of articles saved it sends them to my kindle as one document where they're all joined together. it's great for reading longer blog posts, or when I see an interesting web page at work that I don't want to waste 20 minutes reading.

I also use a similar extension for sending recipes to my kindle! It's great for the kitchen.
AngharadTy
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Re: Books

Post by AngharadTy »

When you're managing hundreds of books, Calibre makes it much easier (because you can sort by whatever you want). And you can fix tags; many books are tagged wrong (author/title swapped, for example, or alphabetized by author's first name rather than surname, no author listed at all, etc.). You can group things by series (I use that a lot). I especially use it for converting file types, so it doesn't matter what kind of file I get (reading pdfs on a kindle is awful). And when you're pirating books, quality can be... questionable; I use Calibre to help format before checking it on my Kindle.
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Fjorab_Teke
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Re: Books

Post by Fjorab_Teke »

I've started reading some of the "free" classics on my 'Droid phone Kindle app, and i bought a few e-books that interest me on there too. The main one i'm reading on there right now is the Iliad - i love Greek, Roman, and Trojan mythology/history, and so i'm reading that fascinating but tedious tale.

I'm also reading The Complete Gospels by Robert J. Miller (editor) and Robert Funk (a cool religiously-curious guy i met when i was young)...and other collaborators. It's pretty interesting to see their takes on the Biblical books and some of the "missing" elements.
Usul_Princess
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Re: Books

Post by Usul_Princess »

Right now I'm in 40% through Life of Pi. (I want to finish it before Sunday so I can see it at the movies this weekend.) I have to say, I'm impressed given the simple plot. I can't put it down.
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Bif
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Re: Books

Post by Bif »

I finally finished "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi. Earlier this year I was churning through books very quickly whilst I was working at a book store. Just before I left to start my PhD I borrowed it off of one of the other girls. It's taken me months and months to read it and I haven't read anything else in the mean time either (because I'd feel too guilty about still having it to read another book).

I finally put my mind to reading it (because I'll be back at the bookstore soon to help over Christmas) and finished it.

It's a good book if you like books which are heavy on the descriptive side. I however, do not, which is why I struggled so much with it. I also didn't like how it painted GM food companies as the devil either, but oh well, you have to have a villain.

I'm now reading "Days of Blood and Starlight" by Laini Taylor, the sequel to "Daughter of Smoke and Bone". I loved the first book and although this one is a bit slow, it has to be for the story and I just can't wait to find out how everything fits together. I have a feeling that if you like Cassandra Clare's books then you should pick this up. I haven't actually read Cassandra Clare's books, but I understand the jist (they are on my 'to read' list, along with....everything else.)

I loved animorphs as a kid and would really like to know how it all ends etc. But that is a lot of books to track down... I’ll have to put it on the list.
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Madge
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Re: Books

Post by Madge »

There's a torrent of the animorphs books available. They're short enough to read in an hour or two so aren't too bad for the computer, and if you have a kindle it's pretty good.

I've been reading "The Long Earth", which Josh leant to me. It's very, very good and I've been flying through it.

I've also re-read one of my favourite books, "Dragon's Egg" by Robert L Forward. It's about a race of aliens that live on a Neutron star and first contact with humanity. They also live a million times faster than we do (a life span of about 40 minutes). It's ultra hard science fiction, and it's available on the kindle. It starts out a bit slow but once you get to the middle it's pretty awesome. The sequel really fucked it up though as far as I'm concerned, though. It changed the aliens from being alien to being super anthropomorphic.
Fury
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Re: Books

Post by Fury »

I love reading but I'm sort of struggling my way through a book at the moment. Don't you hate that? I want to finish it because I've started it but it requires a fair bit of concentration and I never seem to be in the mood. It's The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.

It captivated me from the beginning and I think the language is beautiful however about 3/4 of the way through I sort of lost interest. It's been sitting on my bedside table untouched for about a month. I hate not finishing a book (unless it's complete shit) but I've got a few other books lined up that I really want to dive into. Namely The God Delusion and The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins.
Madge
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Re: Books

Post by Madge »

I didn't really care for The God Delusion so much, though it was interesting; my favourite Dawkins book is probably The Blind Watchmaker, if you haven't had a chance to read it.

I know what you mean about not being able to get through books. I was like that with Rendezvous with Rama; ultimately I'm still not sure if it was worth the read but it was interesting.
AngharadTy
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Re: Books

Post by AngharadTy »

Goodness, Rendezvous with Rama is one of my favorites. I've read the sequels too, and they're interesting, but I kinda pretend they happened elsewhere and the first book is really the only book.
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Bif
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Re: Books

Post by Bif »

Once you finish the Selfish Gene (which I thought was very interesting) I'd love to have a chat about it. It's the only Dawkins I've read thus far.
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Fury
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Re: Books

Post by Fury »

Bif wrote:Once you finish the Selfish Gene (which I thought was very interesting) I'd love to have a chat about it. It's the only Dawkins I've read thus far.
Cool, I'll let you know once I've finished! I'm into chapter 3 currently.

Speaking of books: is anybody here a member of Goodreads? It's a nice site in which you can keep track of what books you have read, are currently reading and want to read. You can rate your books and write reviews too.

Be my friend!

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4743878
Fury
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Re: Books

Post by Fury »

Bif wrote:Once you finish the Selfish Gene (which I thought was very interesting) I'd love to have a chat about it. It's the only Dawkins I've read thus far.
I've just remembered you made this comment! I finished The Selfish Gene in January and I really enjoyed it.

It required a great deal of my concentration, it being the first heavily scientific book I've ever really read, but I found it fascinating. I love how Richard Dawkins creates metaphors in order to explain certain theories and ideas; it broke up the use of technical biological terms and phrases that at times were confusing to me as a layman. However I completely understood the premise and I thought Dawkins did a great job in explaining himself coherently, eloquently and most importantly - it was interesting!

I've set myself a goal to read 24 books this year so I'm trying to steam ahead. Since The Selfish Gene I've read "Hitler: Military Commander" (which is rather self explanatory) and "The Hippopotamus" by Stephen Fry. I found the latter rather strange in so much that the plot was bizarre but Fry's use of language is what keeps you reading. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up some more of his novels.

And currently I'm reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. I'm heavily into it, having covered over half of it within just a few days.
Cranberry
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Re: Books

Post by Cranberry »

I just finished the nonfiction Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky, and it was not only entertaining (I have friends who work in hotels, and I always enjoy hearing about the craziness that goes on there), but also full of good tips for getting nice extras when you stay in a hotel.

Right now I'm about halfway through Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which is fiction. It's told from the point of view of two characters: Nick, who narrates traditionally, and Amy, his seemingly-deceased wife, whose story is told through old diary entries. Amy disappears early on in the novel and is presumed dead, and Nick quickly becomes the main suspect. He's an unreliable narrator and fond of "lies of omission," so the reader doesn't know if he killed her or not. It's fun picking out the inconsistencies in his story and between his and Amy's versions of events. I might end up hating it (depends on the resolution), but right now, I am enjoying it.

I also recently read and enjoyed The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson (nonfiction). I always find that kind of stuff fascinating, and Ronson is a good writer, informing without getting too technical or boring.
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Madge
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Re: Books

Post by Madge »

I read the Psychopath Test recently but found it a bit dry! It kind of stalled in parts and spent way longer talking about mental illness in general than about psychopathy, which is what I was really interested in. I think it wasn't until a third of the way through that he actually started talking about psycopaths in earnest?
Fury
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Re: Books

Post by Fury »

I've just finished reading Das Boot - a novel written by a German U-Boat officer serving during WWII. It's absolutely brilliant and I'd recommend it to anybody with an interest in this period of history. The way in which the author describes the claustrophobia and sheer horror of being trapped in a steel coffin during attacks, chases and storms makes for compelling reading.

I'm about to start Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris. I got it for my birthday and it's a lot shorter than I imagined! But in a way this is good as I got given some other books that I'm eager to dive into such as The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris and Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester.
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