All things Books and Reading thread - 2017

[Mamanyt1953]

Pouncing on Murder (Laurie Cass, Bookmobile Cat series) came in the mail today.  I had a couple of extra dollars this month, and immediately went to Thrift Books, of course!  I have it processed into the library, and waiting in queue to read.   

Ya'll would laugh at me with my books!  Every author I collect has a file with ALL of the books, or books in a particular series on a table with boxes for Hard Back, Trade Paperback and Paperback. AND I have a master list of books to buy.  As I get a book, I put a bookplate in it, check it off of the master list and check the author page with the format.  THEN, if it is part of a series, it gets a small label on the spine with the number it is in that series.  If I collect several series by one author, the label will reflect both what series it is, and the book's number.  When someone borrows a book, I write their name down, the name(s) of the book(s), the date they borrowed it, and a contact number.  I WILL track down books after a month!  Eventually, since I now have a few select out-of-print and hard to find books, I want to get some red dots for the spines of those books.  If there is a red dot, don't even ask.  It is not leaving the house.  But with just over 300 books, and the count only rising, I have to keep up with it all.  And these are JUST books that I enjoy enough to reread!  Single-read books are put in a box and sent to the local nursing home.

 

[rubysmama]

 
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

I started this book a couple weeks ago, then my e-book version of 1984 became available, so I put "Three Men..." aside, while I read 1984.  I'd, obviously, heard of 1984 before, but didn't know anything about it except that "big brother was always watching", so it was quite sad, and a little frightening considering everything going on in the world these days.  I'm glad I read it, though since I rarely ever read a book twice, I doubt I'll read it again.

Since my "Three Men..." is not a library book, I don't have to rush through it in 21 days, so it's still waiting for me to get back to it. I guess that means I wasn't love, loving it. But I wasn't disliking it either. It was funny, and it was definitely interesting reading a book written well over 100 years ago, but I guess it wasn't a "page turner" since I've now started another library e-book.  I will eventually finish "Three Men...", as I hate not finishing a book once I start it.

I'm currently reading "The Lion in the Living Room" by Abigail Tucker. It was a new e-book on the library website and the cute cat on the cover enticed me to borrow it. I was the first one to borrow it too, which has never happened before!  There's now 11 people waiting for it.   It's not so much about a specific "cat in the living room" but more of a history of how domesticated cats evolved, and how they're overrun some places and are wiping out small habitats of animals.  It's interesting, but a little sad too.

 

[Primula]

I like actual books, too. But I'm at the age where it's getting harder for me to see really fine print, especially at night if I'm sacked-out in bed with a light on. Some fonts are easier to read than others and some books have better line-spacing than others, and that has started to bother me, too. What's nice about tablets is that you can adjust the brightness, so that, if it's dark in the bedroom, you can decrease the brightness of the reader accordingly. If you can't read a certain font, it's not a problem because you can adjust the font, the line-spacing and even font size. It just makes it nicer for older folks (like me!), who are starting to have some problems reading regular print.

Tablets aren't really all that big and, in most cases, they're probably about as big as a regular hard-backed book. If you can fit a hard-cover book in your bag (even if you have it in a protective cover), you could likely fit a tablet in there, too, I'm thinking. The large Ipad Pro might be the largest at 12+ inches, but I'm not sure. I bring both my iPad Air 2 and my Nook with me to work in my bag, but my work bag is pretty big. But I can carry either the iPad or the Nook in my regular purses, so one or the other goes with me to doctor and dentist appointments, the hair salon, and the like.

I don't have any kind of Kindle, but the people who do have them really seem to like them. I started out with a Nook and have stuck with it. I like having the Kindle app on my Nook; it's the best of both worlds for me. I can download free Barnes and Noble books as well as Kindle books on the Nook. I use the Overdrive App to download library ebooks on my iPad. I'm sure that, if you have a Kindle, you could download a B & N App and do the same thing with B & N ebooks.

The not-so-great part of an ereader? It seems that whenever I'm down to the last chapter or so of the book I'm reading, I'm really engrossed in the book. And I get a "12% battery charge left. Plug in your Ipad!" Oh crap, crap, crap.   So I switch between different books on different devices sometimes. And they both get charged every night, along with my phone.

What I love about e-reading on my iPad Air is that the device is so lightweight. I am physically strong, but have always disliked holding big heavy books in bed. With my iPad Kindle app I can read War & Peace or whatever & am not burdened with a heavy tome.

Pam, I am so lazy with my charger. At the end of the night when I'm reading the bloody thing runs out of gas & I have to run to the next room before it completely conks out. Why I don't use it plugged in all the time is beyond me.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I have read all of the Kim Harrison "Hollows" series (Rachel Morgan) except for The Turn, which is a prequel.  Today I got my copy of  The Hollows Insider, along with the three Laurie Cass Bookmobile Cat books I was missing, and the first two of the Joe Gray series.  They are processed in and in queue...I may have to bump the Insider up to the front of the line!  

I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed the Joe Gray book that I have read.  But when I was researching the series, I realized that Ms. Murphy had also written The Catswold Portal, a book that I read and thoroughly enjoyed many years ago.  It is a bit of a prequel to the Joe Gray books, as it sets up why Joe Grey and his girlfriend Dulcie can speak and understand the human tongues (well...English, at least), as well as read.  The books require a fair suspension of disbelief, but I don't mind that, especially since The Catswold Portal was totally in the SciFi-Fantasy genre.  

 

[catspaw66]

@Primula, I agree with you on weight. I have a Science Fiction eBook that has almost 14,000 pages. Hate to carry that one in print.

 

[Winchester]

What I love about e-reading on my iPad Air is that the device is so lightweight. I am physically strong, but have always disliked holding big heavy books in bed. With my iPad Kindle app I can read War & Peace or whatever & am not burdened with a heavy tome.

Pam, I am so lazy with my charger. At the end of the night when I'm reading the bloody thing runs out of gas & I have to run to the next room before it completely conks out. Why I don't use it plugged in all the time is beyond me.

I rarely use my devices when they're plugged in and charging. Sometimes I might at work, but that's it. I don't like having to deal with the cords, I guess.  And I don't think the cords are long enough to be able to use them properly. The cords don't reach from the socket next to the couch to the couch when I'm lying there. There's a socket right behind our bed, but till the cord is threaded through the headboard and then into the socket, it doesn't make for pleasant reading anyway. So I read until they die, then plug them in.

I don't know how I ended up with so much stuff to charge! On Sunday nights, I plug in the Nook, the iPad, my phone, my Blaze, and my iPod. The Blaze and the iPod must plug into the computer for charging; the rest of the stuff simply plugs into sockets in the kitchen. The Blaze must get charged twice a week and the iPod once a week. Everything else gets plugged in every night.

 
I have read all of the Kim Harrison "Hollows" series (Rachel Morgan) except for The Turn, which is a prequel.  Today I got my copy of  The Hollows Insider, along with the three Laurie Cass Bookmobile Cat books I was missing, and the first two of the Joe Gray series.  They are processed in and in queue...I may have to bump the Insider up to the front of the line!  

I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed the Joe Gray book that I have read.  But when I was researching the series, I realized that Ms. Murphy had also written The Catswold Portal, a book that I read and thoroughly enjoyed many years ago.  It is a bit of a prequel to the Joe Gray books, as it sets up why Joe Grey and his girlfriend Dulcie can speak and understand the human tongues (well...English, at least), as well as read.  The books require a fair suspension of disbelief, but I don't mind that, especially since The Catswold Portal was totally in the SciFi-Fantasy genre.  

I really enjoyed the Hollows series. She doesn't have a new one out yet, does she? I think I've read them all. One of my favorite characters is Jenks, but I also like Bis, the gargoyle (which is probably why there's a large gargoyle in our front garden!).

Somebody mentioned the Leighann Dobbs series. I looked for them in our library in ebook form and couldn't find them, darn it. I think they'd be interesting and I may walk over to our library to see if I can find them in print.

@Primula, I agree with you on weight. I have a Science Fiction eBook that has almost 14,000 pages. Hate to carry that one in print.

That's another nice thing about an e-reader. You can fit a ton of books into them and they don't take up any more weight!

Yesterday, I downloaded five cozy mysteries/romance-type stuff from my library. After everything I've been reading lately (most of it has been rather dark and foreboding), I needed something fluffy. 

 And I don't mean that in a negative way.....honest! There is nothing wrong with fluffy!! The problem is that they're so easy to read and I read one last night while lounging in bed watching Night Court.  I usually have the tv on very softly for background, but I hardly ever really watch it.

 

[Winchester]

Here is a new-to-me site for free books:  https://www.freebooksy.com/ 

It appeared on my FB page one morning and so I thought I'd check it out. Most of the ebooks are free; some are for a nominal charge.

Just in case somebody might be interested.

 

[foxxycat]

Thanks for posting! Yep I got some free ebooks off that site! I use the kindle app on my phone and tablet. I love my Amazon fire tablet. It's not bad for internet either. I just use wifi on it.

Last night I finished Sheila Roberts Home on Apple Blossom Road. I really like her. She had a few books in trade size. A Christmas story and some other light romance. This Apple book was about a scavenger hunt for two people who inherit something together-they grew up together and a silly argument split them up in their younger years. I really like her writing.

Angel Lane, What she Wants, On Strike for Christmas, Bikini Season, Better Than Chocolate are the prior titles I read. Bikini Season is really good. On strike for Christmas. All are good! If you like Robyn Carr, Susan Mallery type books you will like her.

I am now reading
Emily March Dreamweaver Trail-part of the Eternal Springs collection. I read all her priors too. Just good light reading.  

 

[Mia6]

I just finished The Good Sister by Druscilla Campbell. The first I read of hers was entitled Blood Orange. I think she is a wonderful writer but

I have not seen any of her books in Ebook format. I bought these from Amazon.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I really enjoyed the Hollows series. She doesn't have a new one out yet, does she? I think I've read them all. One of my favorite characters is Jenks, but I also like Bis, the gargoyle (which is probably why there's a large gargoyle in our front garden!).

I think that The Witch With No Name is the actual last one in the series, athough she has another coming out, or that just came out, The Turn, which is the prequel to the whole series.  It deals with...wait for it...The Turn.  OH...and the original Chapter 7 of that books was left out, but is available on  her website.

 

[Winchester]

Thanks. I walked over to the library yesterday with a list of authors I wanted to check out. Leighann Dobbs was on the list. My library had nothing. Nothing! Checked out their 7-day section (all new books that you can only take out for seven days). It used to be that I could fill my bag with just 7-day books. There wasn't one book that I simply "had" to read.

I walked out with nothing! Went home and told Rick that Hell had just frozen over. I never thought that would ever happen. Even he was amazed. I can usually find something, for crying out loud.

 

[Primula]

I rarely use my devices when they're plugged in and charging. Sometimes I might at work, but that's it. I don't like having to deal with the cords, I guess.  And I don't think the cords are long enough to be able to use them properly. The cords don't reach from the socket next to the couch to the couch when I'm lying there. There's a socket right behind our bed, but till the cord is threaded through the headboard and then into the socket, it doesn't make for pleasant reading anyway. So I read until they die, then plug them in.

That's exactly what I do. Why the iPad cord is so flippin' short is beyond me. The cord doesn't stretch from my half of the king-size bed to the nearest socket. Always have to use an extension cord, which I don't feel like messing about with in bed.

What is a Blaze? Yes, I could google it, but I like Pam to explain things. [emoji]128526[/emoji]

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH HELP!  Yet another series that I want to have!  It is kinda out of my usual tastes, but not by much.  It is the "Babes on Brooms" series by Vickie Lewis Thompson.  A bit of romance, just enough sex (but not so much that I think, "oh, drat, here we go again!"), some adventure, and some magic.  I've read two of them now, and I'm plotting to acquire the other 3 or 4 in the series.  The characters are imminently likable, the dialogue is vastly amusing, and I just had FUN with these books!

 

[catspaw66]

That's exactly what I do. Why the iPad cord is so flippin' short is beyond me. The cord doesn't stretch from my half of the king-size bed to the nearest socket. Always have to use an extension cord, which I don't feel like messing about with in bed.

What is a Blaze? Yes, I could google it, but I like Pam to explain things. [emoji]128526[/emoji]

I run an extension cord up between the headboard and mattress. I can charge two things at once. I also have a high-capacity battery/charger that has two charge slots.

 

[Winchester]

That's exactly what I do. Why the iPad cord is so flippin' short is beyond me. The cord doesn't stretch from my half of the king-size bed to the nearest socket. Always have to use an extension cord, which I don't feel like messing about with in bed.

What is a Blaze? Yes, I could google it, but I like Pam to explain things. [emoji]128526[/emoji]

Explaining things is not really my forte, but I do try my best (if you haven't already noticed, I can be pretty wordy sometimes

 ). The Blaze is my Fitbit. It monitors my steps, mileage, heart rate, number of floors, calories used, etc. I wear it on my left/non-dominant wrist. It monitors the hours that I set and reminds me every hour to get in at least 250 steps for that hour. I have it set for nine hours (between 9 am and 6 pm), but you can set it as high as 13 hours, if you want and I'm thinking of changing my hours to go from 5 am to 6 pm; I'm up and on the treadmill at 5 am anyway. I had a Fitbit Flex and I liked that, too, but it didn't track heart rate or active hours. The Blaze is considerably larger than the Flex, but I like it. 

If I take my phone with me on my walks, it will track my entire walk with the GPS, then I can view mileage, steps, and the track of my walk. I can set it up for the treadmill, for a walk, for the elliptical, for a run, for weight lifting, etc. There are seven activities. I had it set up for the treadmill and for walking, but I don't think it's very accurate, so I deleted the activities.

It will play music, but I've got the iPod for that. It needs charging about every 4-5 days or so.

I was really interested in tracking my heart rate; when I had that stress test, the women there said that the Blaze is fairly accurate with heart rate tracking. Oh, and since I have it synced into my cell phone, if I get a text and I'm not in my office, the entire text will also show up on the Blaze.If somebody calls me, the Blaze will tell me who is calling. The other day, I was texting with Rick, my SIL, and one of my GFs and the Blaze was just vibrating away on my wrist because of all the texts coming in. 

It took me a while to get it working properly, but now that I have it set up, I love the thing. I'm looking at the slim band with the gold frame and may buy that, for a bit of a change. Right now, I'm wearing the plum standard band. 

https://www.fitbit.com/blaze

 
OH HELP!  Yet another series that I want to have!  It is kinda out of my usual tastes, but not by much.  It is the "Babes on Brooms" series by Vickie Lewis Thompson.  A bit of romance, just enough sex (but not so much that I think, "oh, drat, here we go again!"), some adventure, and some magic.  I've read two of them now, and I'm plotting to acquire the other 3 or 4 in the series.  The characters are imminently likable, the dialogue is vastly amusing, and I just had FUN with these books!

OK, I have a confession to make: I'm not really into all the sex stuff that's in many of the romance books these days.

Is it just me? After a while, it all starts to sound alike. "He spread her apart and slipped inside and they crashed over the edge together." Well, not exactly like that, but you get my drift. Seriously? It all sounds the same. Although, when it comes down to it, I guess there are only so many ways to describe sex. 

I run an extension cord up between the headboard and mattress. I can charge two things at once. I also have a high-capacity battery/charger that has two charge slots.

We have a power strip plugged into the receptacle behind the bed. For some reason, the Nook won't charge on the power strip, but the iPad will. But still, trying to thread the iPad's cord through the headboard and to the power strip, well, it's still not long enough and I end up laying on my belly with the iPad propped up against the headboard. And when I fall asleep reading, Rick comes in, sees the iPad propped up against the headboard, then Mollipop is lying in front of the iPad, my arms are wrapped around Molli, and I'm face-down in my pillow. (And I wonder why I can't move in the morning.)

Had I to do it over again, I would have gotten a Kindle, I think, instead of a Nook Tablet. The only reason I got the Nook was because, at the time, it took the sim card which gave me a total of 64 GB for the Nook. The Kindle didn't have that option; maybe the newer ones do? I can get online with the Nook and play games, do email, all that good stuff. But, I don't know; I use it for reading and that's pretty much it and I'm constantly downloading books with the Kindle app. I use the iPad for everything else. If this Nook dies, I may get a Kindle at that point. 

So....I read all of my cozy mysteries and am going to look around the ebook library and see what I can find.

 

[Mia6]

OK, I have a confession to make: I'm not really into all the sex stuff that's in many of the romance books these days.

Is it just me? After a while, it all starts to sound alike. "He spread her apart and slipped inside and they crashed over the edge together." Well, not exactly like that, but you get my drift. Seriously? It all sounds the same. Although, when it comes down to it, I guess there are only so many ways to describe sex.

No, it's not just you. If I am in the mood for erotica I'll read from Kindle's Library. I like psychological suspense thrillers, spy thrillers, mysteries, bios, and history. etc

When I was in my late teens I was really into romance,sex stuff and I laugh now thinking of the cheesy lines.

Mia

 

[DreamerRose]

I agree with you both about the descriptions of sex. It really isn't needed. To my relief, I just read a book that didn't include all of that, but was terrific anyway. It was James Patterson's new book, Cross the Line.  It's a well-plotted, well-written mystery/thriller. I avoid all the James Patterson books that are written by "with so-and-so." Patterson didn't really write any of those; he just lent his name to them. But when he writes alone, he writes well. And no sweaty sex scenes.

 

[Mia6]

I love the Alex Cross mysteries.

Mia

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

last night i finished The Templar Agenda, by John Paul Davis. really a very good book! today i'll pick a new book to read, which i'm thinking will be A Man Called Intrepid, by William Stevenson.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OK, I have a confession to make: I'm not really into all the sex stuff that's in many of the romance books these days.

Is it just me? After a while, it all starts to sound alike. "He spread her apart and slipped inside and they crashed over the edge together." Well, not exactly like that, but you get my drift. Seriously? It all sounds the same. Although, when it comes down to it, I guess there are only so many ways to describe sex. 

 Oh, you are so right!  I skip over most of it, to tell the truth.  A little goes a LONG way!  I've never really considered sex to be a "third party" sort of activity.  As soon as things get a bit too explicit, I skim till the heaving and panting is done.  But a little, well-written, is ok.  The second book in the series that I read was a bit more than I wanted, but the first was fine.  And the REST of the book made me fine with skipping those bits.