Ace of Spades HQ

July 22, 2012

Sunday Morning Book Thread 07-22-2012: eReader Edition [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

Good morning morons and moronettes. Welcome to the witty and urbane Sunday morning book thread

I will be out of town next week for a few days, so I will not be able to post a book thread next Sunday.

EReaders, and tablets, and eInk, Oh My!

I recommend this recent post by ace on eBook sales, and there's plenty of good discussion about the various eReaders in the comments.

For example, someone mentioned buying an el cheapo $99 Android tablet, downloading the free Kindle and Nook apps, and you're all set. This may be the best suggestion yet.

About 10-12 years ago, I just stopped reading. It's not one of those you realize you're doing, you do it unconsciously and then one day it just occured to me, "Hey, when was the last time I actually read a book?" and then I knew what I had done. And it didn't take much thought to discover what had happened. All the time I used to spend reading was now being used being on the internet, clicking on this link or that link. Oh, I read stuff, but it was all short articles and blog entries, nothing long or sustained.

So I made a conscious effort to step back, and buying a Nook helped with that.

I bought the Nook over the Kindle because it had expandable memory and because it reads ePub files. The Kindle does neither. But there's just so much stuff out there for the Kindle in its proprietary azw format that not reading ePub files isn't a problem. And I'm finding out that 2GB is plenty.

So, if I had to do it over again, I'd probably by a Kindle.

But I wanted to take advantage of the tons of ebooks in azw format. So I googled around for an azw-to-ePub converter and found out that azw files are usually loaded with Amazon DRM, so they can't be easily converted.

But it can be done.

This blog shows you how. You basically have to download and install Calibre, an open-source eReader for your PC along with an azw conversion plugin for it. The blog has all the links you need. So what I do is buy the Kindle book from Amazon, download it to my PC, and bring it up in Calibre. Calibre, because of the installed plugin, automatically strips off all the DRM and saves it as a mobi file, which I then can convert to ePub format in Calibre and download to my Nook via USB cable.

Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.

Books I've Discovered While Looking For Other Books

This week's grim events in Colorado sent me searching on Amazon for books on serial killers as a topic for this thread, but I couldn't find anything I thought was really suitable. The books I found were about serial killers who committed their crimes over months and years, rather than doing it all in a brief frenzy of violence. But while I was poking around, I found this book about someone rather rare, a female serial killer. This one plied her trade in New England at the turn of the 20th century. No, it wasn't Lizzie Borden.

From one of the reviews:

Amy Archer-GilliganÂ—Sister Amy, she was calledÂ—was a murderess well-enough known to be cited as an inspiration for Joseph KesselringÂ’s perennial grim farce, Arsenic and Old Lace. She took in elderly and frail roomers and dispatched them with loads of cyanide. Along with husband James, she opened the Archer Home for the Elderly and Infirm in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1907, having succeeded with a similar, smaller facility in nearby Newington. James dying in short order, Amy married wealthy widower Michael Gilligan, who expired suddenly not long after, willing his estate to his new bride. Because of her friendships with local bigwigs, including the coroner, nobody noticed the rather high death rate among her patients until local newspaper stringer and jack-of-all-trades Carlan Hollister Goslee started poking around. Discovering the large quantities of arsenic Sister Amy had been purchasing, ostensibly to control rodents, he pressed his findings on authorities who eventually responded by exhuming bodies. AmyÂ’s sensational trial attracted great interest, and Phelps wraps the whole dirty business in a delightfully cozy narrative. A genteel true-crime excursion.

So the play 'Arsenic and Old Lace' was based on true events. I did not know this. Does everyone know this except me?

Also, this sounds like it would make one hell of an interesting movie. In fact, I wonder why it hasn't. It's got a liberal hero (a reporter) and the villain, 'Sister Amy' was probably one of those damn tea-bagging Christians. If she wasn't, hell, make her one, anyway. Who's to know? Brian Ross would certainly approve.

Apropos of nothing, here is a cartoon about boobs:

So that's all I have for this week. See you all in a couple of weeks.

As always, book thread tips may be sent to aoshqbookthread@gmail.com

Hopefully, you all have been reading some good stuff this week. Let's hear about it!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:00 AM | Comments (148)
Post contains 852 words, total size 5 kb.

1 1st?

Posted by: Arms Merchant at July 22, 2012 07:08 AM (+XVQe)

2 Whoopee, on a booby thread yet!

Posted by: Arms Merchant at July 22, 2012 07:08 AM (+XVQe)

3 I really enjoyed the Sequoyah books by Sabrina Chase.

Posted by: eman at July 22, 2012 07:14 AM (bbW7j)

4 I was looking at putting EPUB files on a Kindle, and Calibre will do the conversion from EPUB to something that Kindle can read, presumably a non-DRM AZW file. I have a LOT of EPUB and MOBI files sitting on the desktop, plus I snarf a lot of ebooks from the Usenet. The fiancee wants me to get her a Kindle Fire, so I was doing my research on how I can minimize the ongoing expenses for "consumables" and still get all the enjoyment out of the device.

Posted by: Smokey Behr at July 22, 2012 07:14 AM (DDPES)

5 What you are describing is mass murder or spree killing (which are two separate but similar things), not serial killing.

Posted by: Michael at July 22, 2012 07:16 AM (Hl5ka)

6 I bet I could get a grant from the Obama administration to research serial killing as it relates to performance art...maybe even get student loans to turn it into a PhD thesis.

Why is it the women always seem to be the poisoners?

Posted by: @PurpAv at July 22, 2012 07:17 AM (ffbXx)

7 Frankly, I love the Kindle Fire since it's a serviceable entertainment option. If I don't want to read I can websurf or play games or watch Netflix.

Posted by: nickless at July 22, 2012 07:18 AM (MMC8r)

8 For example, someone mentioned buying an el cheapo $99 Android tablet, downloading the free Kindle and Nook apps, and you're all set. This may be the best suggestion yet.

That was me! I realized that after buying a Nook Color and realizing it was merely an android tablet.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at July 22, 2012 07:19 AM (rqlRk)

9 The Fire can read MOBIs. Place them in the 'documents' directory.

Posted by: nickless at July 22, 2012 07:20 AM (MMC8r)

10 Maybe there's no movie about the arsenic chick because it would be hard to hide all the Progrssive elements. She was eliminating undesirables while also keeping health care affordable (at least for those she didn't kill). Gotta protect the Progressive brand. Can't let them know the truth about the brand

Posted by: Ted K. at July 22, 2012 07:21 AM (xf3DG)

11 I noticed that when I tried to buy two copies of an ebook I got a message saying I already had a copy. I wanted one for my computer and one for my phone. Why the hassle? I can buy a whole trunk full of paper books if I want.

Posted by: eman at July 22, 2012 07:22 AM (bbW7j)

12 Install Aldiko reader on your Kindle fire. That gets you more different book formats. I think I had to go into settings-device and allow installation of apps from unknown sources, then download and install the apk. Not much different than installing other apps that are not in the Amazon app store.

Posted by: Mr Tea at July 22, 2012 07:27 AM (S5qYN)

13 i have the nook.....i just don't really use it....i don't know why.....

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 07:27 AM (Ho2rs)

14 The New Daniel Silva, Fallen Angel, is very good, starting in the Vatican, but ending with Iranian plotting, in Europe and elsewhere.

Posted by: archie goodwin at July 22, 2012 07:28 AM (ctjsq)

15 Woo-hoo. I just downloaded a free library copy of The Amateur onto my Kindle. I have two weeks to read it.

(*Note to self...less prOn for a while)

Posted by: Albie Damned at July 22, 2012 07:31 AM (Yhu4q)

16 Last book I bought was the Advance Reader Copy of Lois McMaster Bujold's Lord Vorpatril's Alliances from Baen. Bought and downloaded the web .zip file. Nice thing about Baen, can download other formats like mobi.

I lost an entire night reading and laughing over that book. Anything that uses phrases like 'budget ninjas' is sure to make me laugh. Plus Ivan's love life is such a delicious comedy.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 07:36 AM (ew/MK)

17 Whoops... the real title is Captain Vorpatril's Alliances. Still a great read.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 07:37 AM (ew/MK)

18 Marching with Caesar-Conquest of Gaul, by RW Peake.

Posted by: Nnfield4 at July 22, 2012 07:38 AM (zIq/H)

19 13 Install Aldiko reader on your Kindle fire.

Seconded, Aldiko is a great reader, use it on my android phone.

Posted by: booger at July 22, 2012 07:39 AM (HI6wa)

20 There WAS a movie called "Arsenic and Old Lace."

Posted by: Baldy at July 22, 2012 07:39 AM (opS9C)

21 I noticed that when I tried to buy two copies of an ebook I got a message saying I already had a copy.

So you don't accidentally buy it twice off the site.
Use Calibre to manage your copies.

Reading anything long on a phone sounds like eyepain to me.

Posted by: DaveA at July 22, 2012 07:40 AM (tqEDJ)

22 Bought a nook color recently when holding books started hurting my hands. Had a stroke last Oct. Love it. Never thought I would, being a book chauvinist, but it works well. Have to do dialysis 3days a week and it helps pass the time. Love Silva, slowing going through his stuff. Hey, you don't chug good scotch.

Posted by: bigred at July 22, 2012 07:40 AM (mIcI8)

23 baldy one of my all time favorite movies ever.......

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 07:41 AM (Ho2rs)

24 There's nothing like sitting on the crapper with the Fire and watching old Ren & Stimpy episodes.

You can read books on that thing?
Who knew.

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:41 AM (Qxdfp)

25 Poisoning is a horrible way to go. UK has a number of "baby farmers" murderers. These were women who took in kids for adoption or for temporary care. They were either poisoned or thrown in a river with a brick attached. There was also one in NZ or Australia who was hanged. A few years ago, the whackos "forgave" her and raised a monument to her. I shit you not...

Posted by: Redd at July 22, 2012 07:42 AM (ZuD3o)

26 The ampersand went away again?

But I can do a Ω or a ♥

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:42 AM (Qxdfp)

27 Just google baby farmer: http://goo.gl/fbnrw

Posted by: Redd at July 22, 2012 07:44 AM (ZuD3o)

28 Maybe while Ace is gone one of the cobs can put this friggin' antique of a site on wordpress or something?

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:44 AM (Qxdfp)

29 &&&&&&&&& you can borrow one of mine clutch

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 07:45 AM (Ho2rs)

30 Guess its a good thing I am 9,500 words into story. Biggest problem is I am spending too much time revising what has been written without writing new material. Have got to stop that.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 07:45 AM (ew/MK)

31 21 There WAS a movie called "Arsenic and Old Lace."

You don't think he was being facetious?
It's so hard to tell around here.

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:45 AM (Qxdfp)

32 Being impoverished, I went for the $99 kindle (shortly afterward found out that WallyMart was selling them for $79). I have used it more than I thought I would, but would say it is an adequate (not spectacular) reader. I tinkered with Calibri but didn't find it user friendly. The tools mentioned above for DRM removal might be very useful.

I might look into the Android tablet for convenience if nothing else.

As a sidenote, I found that I too am reading less because of all the time I fritter away on AoSHQ and the AoS chat room, plus all theother Internet trivia. At least when Obama and Napolitano turn off the Internet in October, I will have a backlog of ebooks and hard copies to catch up on.

Posted by: Hrothgar (CJSC Designated Serf) at July 22, 2012 07:46 AM (Cnqmv)

33 PG is holding hostage all the ampersands, again.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 07:46 AM (ew/MK)

34 30

So you have to tell it it's an ampersand?
This works: & ?
This doesn't: ?

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:47 AM (Qxdfp)

35 Just started The Forgotten Man. FDR was a POS

Posted by: dontheflyer at July 22, 2012 07:47 AM (Ibx+6)

36 UGh

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:47 AM (Qxdfp)

37 Open Blogger's comment about no longer reading books because of the internet really hits home: I used to sell antiquarian books, but our formerly-profitable niche in the book market has been crushed by all the different ebooks out there, as well as the by the amazing amount of stuff you can get for free on-line.

High-end and rare stuff still sells to collectors, but the lower end of the market is just hopeless. Google and others are busily digitizing out-of-copyright stuff, so now you can download Jane Eyre, for example, for free. Ditto with thousands of other titles. You can get them on the Kindle for 99 cents, or for nothing.

Case in point: I have a 1850's book meant for British travelers to India. It's a glossary of Hindi words and expressions, and their meaning. I've never been able to find the companion text volume, with chapters on various topics for new arrivals to the country. Twenty years of looking...

Lo and behold! One day, I found it on-line, as a digital copy, offered for ONE dollar.

"The old order passeth away and giveth place unto the new."

Posted by: Jim Sonweed at July 22, 2012 07:48 AM (FNV+6)

38 What the AoS chat room? Is that where some regulars have disappeared to?

Posted by: Tami at July 22, 2012 07:48 AM (X6akg)

39 anna as one of the most non tech saavy people walking the planet......for reasons unbeknownst to me.....i can still post &&&&'s....i think God looks after idiots such as myself.....

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 07:48 AM (Ho2rs)

40 &▀►♀☺♂♦♪Â™₵●
If I ever see Pixy in a dark ally...

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:49 AM (Qxdfp)

41 I noticed that when I tried to buy two copies of an ebook I got a message saying I already had a copy. So you don't accidentally buy it twice off the site. Use Calibre to manage your copies. Reading anything long on a phone sounds like eyepain to me. Posted by: DaveA at July 22, 2012 11:40 AM (tqEDJ) Logical, but the message was not consistent with that. It was a full stop, not a warning.

Posted by: eman at July 22, 2012 07:49 AM (bbW7j)

42 Benedict Arnold's Navy: The Ragtag Fleet that Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain but Won the American Revolution, by Nelson. Awesome read!

Four years before he turned traitor, Arnold led the building of a fleet and essentially stopped the British from coming down the Hudson.

It's really amazing the things our ancestors did, under the most difficult conditions. My kids wouldn't take out the trash without whining.

Posted by: Arms Merchant at July 22, 2012 07:50 AM (+XVQe)

43 Everybody went to the "Ewok Lounge".

The one with the sticky floors and ass-gaskets for the sofa.

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 07:50 AM (Qxdfp)

44 36 Just started The Forgotten Man. FDR was a POS.

Great book, but it can be a tough slog at times. Amazing how many parallels to the Obamanoid regime you will find in it.

I was astounded to read in it that, according to author Amity Shlaes, FDR used to personally set the price of gold. Not Mr. Market, not the SecTreas, but the POTUS -- on not much more than whim ---decided what the yellow metal was worth that day.

Posted by: Jim Sonweed at July 22, 2012 07:53 AM (FNV+6)

45 Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 11:45 AM (Ho2rs)

Show-off!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at July 22, 2012 07:53 AM (nEUpB)

46 &

Posted by: eman at July 22, 2012 07:54 AM (bbW7j)

47 I, too have have this power. You will bow to us.

Posted by: eman at July 22, 2012 07:55 AM (bbW7j)

48 Free on Kindle--"Scaramouche" by Rafael Sabatini which contains what may be the greatest first line in literature: "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."

Posted by: Libra at July 22, 2012 07:55 AM (kd8U8)

49 I have the original Nook and I love reading on E-Ink. E-ink type is so much crisper than paper type or even PC/tablet type. When your eyes get older it certainly helps.

I've been playing with the Nexus 7 also and I have to say that even with all the cool features in the book reader, I'll be using my Nook for e-books.

Currently reading Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent. Decent YA novels based in post apocalyptic Chicago.

Posted by: Lady Galt at July 22, 2012 07:55 AM (d7Xa2)

50 &&&

Posted by: dontheflyer at July 22, 2012 07:56 AM (Ibx+6)

51 charliebrown if you've got it...you flaunt it....& then some....

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 07:56 AM (Ho2rs)

52 eman knows.....

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 07:56 AM (Ho2rs)

53 Where's the little hammer and sickle icon? That one is hilarious. Should be used with anything donk or obamadonk related.

Posted by: Redd at July 22, 2012 07:56 AM (ZuD3o)

54 32. Posted by: Clutch Cargo at July 22, 2012 11:45 AM (Qxdfp)

I didn't know he was a he, and no, I did not know he was being facetious. I don't get why someone would, in this situation. I just assumed it is another case of a youngster not knowing anything that happened before 1995.

Posted by: Baldy at July 22, 2012 07:58 AM (opS9C)

55 Ok, so no one wants to tell me where/what the AoS chat room is for fear I'll try to get in? Well, I've been kept outta better places than that. HMPF!

Posted by: Tami at July 22, 2012 07:58 AM (X6akg)

56 "&" ampersand test

Posted by: Hrothgar (CJSC Designated Serf) at July 22, 2012 07:58 AM (Cnqmv)

57 && redux

Posted by: Hrothgar (CJSC Designated Serf) at July 22, 2012 07:59 AM (Cnqmv)

58 &

Posted by: & at July 22, 2012 08:00 AM (p18em)

59 Blast you pixy! I needs me my ampersands!

Posted by: Hrothgar (CJSC Designated Serf) at July 22, 2012 08:00 AM (Cnqmv)

60 ✡

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 08:00 AM (Ho2rs)

61 Tami, it can be found over on Yahoo! Think its called AoSHQ or something like that.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 08:00 AM (ew/MK)

62 Posted by: Tami at July 22, 2012 11:58 AM (X6akg)

Not personal, I don't have the link on this computer.

Posted by: Hrothgar (CJSC Designated Serf) at July 22, 2012 08:02 AM (Cnqmv)

63 I read history, bios, and art technical books. So, I need a gizmo that will show pictures/photos. Do they? Come to think of it, I think the emedia I've downloaded from the library I could see photos but it was on my computer.

Posted by: Redd at July 22, 2012 08:02 AM (ZuD3o)

64 There WAS a movie called "Arsenic and Old Lace."

I know, but I was thinking of a movie that attempted to show the real events, that is, the murders and the subsequent investigation by the reporter. In other words, an historical drama, not a goofy farce.
And yes, I am familiar with the movie, it's pretty funny.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 22, 2012 08:02 AM (U6RsS)

65 ☭

Posted by: eman at July 22, 2012 08:03 AM (bbW7j)

66 OT: "I Built This--The Video." http://goo.gl/BVtNV

Posted by: Scobface at July 22, 2012 08:05 AM (IoNBC)

67 the yahoo groups one got taken down

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 08:05 AM (Ho2rs)

68 62 Yahoo group was disbanded it is now on "c h a t b l a z e r" or something like that. Spaces used to defeat pixy rejections

Posted by: Hrothgar (CJSC Designated Serf) at July 22, 2012 08:06 AM (Cnqmv)

69 Belle Gunness was another female serial killer of the late 19th/early 20th century. You can read about her here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at July 22, 2012 08:06 AM (3yCFy)

70 I just assumed it is another case of a youngster not knowing anything that happened before 1995.

You assumed.... poorly.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 22, 2012 08:06 AM (YutOc)

71 The Yahoo group was disbanded? Was it something I said?

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at July 22, 2012 08:07 AM (3yCFy)

72 If you're interested in learning more about serial killers you might enjoy a book I just read titled "Hunting the American Terrorist." It's by two FBI agents who worked on capturing the Unabomber and Eric Rudolph, the Olympic bomber. The psychological type they describe is quite different from the Aurora killer. These are zealots who want to kill without being caught. In the case of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, he got away with it for 18 years while living in a tiny, no-frills cabin in Montana. Rudolph evaded searchers and lived in the wilds of a North Carolina forest for five years before being caught. Interesting insights into the use of profiling to solve crimes.

Posted by: Ruthless at July 22, 2012 08:08 AM (NKWFJ)

73 *blinks at Project Gutenberg* One of the icons on main page is a book titled, get this, "Sex Life of the Gods." By Michael Knerr and Uptown Books, 1962.

"Janet was more a beautiful woman. She was white heat and surging womanhood all dolled up in a body like that of a French movie star."

Wow what purple prose. The cover shows a red-headed woman in this gauzy nightgown. No shoes and on her knees. And she is clutching at Johnny the Rocketman hero type as a rocket ship launches in the background.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 08:08 AM (ew/MK)

74 Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at July 22, 2012 12:07 PM (3yCFy)

Don't think so. AFAIK, Yahoo just dropped chat group support.

Posted by: Hrothgar (CJSC Designated Serf) at July 22, 2012 08:11 AM (Cnqmv)

75 I guess I was behind the information power curve on the group. Oh well.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 08:11 AM (ew/MK)

76 the group is intact the chat is gone

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 08:12 AM (Ho2rs)

77 42 Logical, but the message was not consistent with that. It was a full stop, not a warning

-------

I'm betting the site will let you download it to your other maching without paying for it again. At least, that's the Amazon and Fictionwise work.

Posted by: Anachronda at July 22, 2012 08:12 AM (1c58W)

78 Ah, okay. I remember the chatroom was getting pretty popular around here recently, so that makes sense.

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at July 22, 2012 08:13 AM (3yCFy)

79 49 Free on Kindle--"Scaramouche" by Rafael Sabatini which contains what may be the greatest first line in literature: "He was born witha gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."

--------

Nonsense. Everyone knows that the best first line is from Steel Beach: "The penis as we know it is obsolete!"

Posted by: Anachronda at July 22, 2012 08:14 AM (1c58W)

80
Why is it the women always seem to be the poisoners?

It's less confrontational. Shooting someone means holding up a gun and pulling the trigger, direct actions. Poison, by sprinkling arsenic in his mashed potatoes for example, is less direct.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 08:15 AM (3+RPg)

81 #80

Coincidentally, I just finished reading Scaramouche last night on my Kindle (free of course). I remembered reading it in high school lo those many moons ago.

I had the original Kindle and last weekend I sat on it. Moral: Don't put fragile things on places you might want to sit. I ordered the newer touch-screen model with 3G and it's a lot better than the old klunky model with buttons to make selections and turn pages.

Posted by: Ruthless at July 22, 2012 08:16 AM (r4GuR)

82 @80 Anachronda. Only in the case of Code Pink, NOW, and Rachael Madow.

Posted by: Libra at July 22, 2012 08:18 AM (kd8U8)

83 Why is it the women always seem to be the poisoners?

It's less confrontational. Shooting someone means holding up a gun and pulling the trigger, direct actions. Poison, by sprinkling arsenic in his mashed potatoes for example, is less direct.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 12:15 PM (3+RPg)

Also levels the playing field. I start off at a disadvantage physically with any other kid of weapon, especially if I don't use it immediately and you see that I have it.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 08:19 AM (SsG4J)

84 Yankeefifth is the one who set it up, IIRC.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 08:20 AM (3+RPg)

85 Also levels the playing field. I start off at a disadvantage physically with any other kid of weapon, especially if I don't use it immediately and you see that I have it.

Holy crap you live! How are ya?

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 08:22 AM (3+RPg)

86 I finished The Long Way Home by Sabrina Chase (one of our Moronettes). Very entertaining book and I plan on following up with later books in the series. The genre is Â“space operaÂ” SF. My only complaint is that the plot seems to jump around a great deal and it is difficult to maintain continuity. Also, some of the plot devices are somewhat Â“not plausibleÂ”. One can make really outlandish things up in a SF caper, but one must make the world up so that those things are supported. Minor gripes though as overall very good reading experience, especially for the price which was free at the time. Thank you Sabrina.

I also finished the new Sword of Truth prequel, The First Confessor (The Legend of Magda Searus) by Terry Goodkind. Excellent books, as almost all of his are. Morons, the books in this series are NOTHING like the abomination of a TV show, which had little in common with the books except the character names. I always though the TV show was just another Xena Princess Warrior with big titty babes hack and slash. DonÂ’t get me wrong, I like big titty babes, but please, lets keep that genre where it belongs.

http://is.gd/C08NNV

And finally, The Princess Bride is today's Kindle Daily Deal for $1.99. I am thinking about that one.

Posted by: Vic at July 22, 2012 08:22 AM (YdQQY)

87 Should not have started exploring Gutenberg. From Devil Stories: An Anthology by Maximilian J. Rudwin. 1922.

From the Introduction -

Satan is the eternal Malcontent. To Hamlet, Denmark seemed gloomy; to Satan, the whole world appears dark. The admiration of the Romanticists for Satan was mixed with pity and sympathyÂ—so much his melancholy endeared him to their sympathies, so kindred it seemed to their human weakness. The Romanticists felt a deep admiration for solitary grandeur. This Â“knight of the doleful countenance,Â” laden with a curse and drawing misfortune in his train, was the ideal Romantic hero. Was he not indeed the original beau tÃ©nÃ©breux? Thus Satan became the typical figure of that period and its poetry. It has been well remarked that if Satan had not existed, the Romanticists would have invented him.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 08:24 AM (ew/MK)

88 For example, someone mentioned buying an el cheapo $99 Android tablet, downloading the free Kindle and Nook apps, and you're all set. This may be the best suggestion yet.

Except Kindle is now $79 with E-ink which is the best legible there is.

Posted by: Vic at July 22, 2012 08:26 AM (YdQQY)

89 One can make really outlandish things up in a SF caper, but one must make the world up so that those things are supported.

This is my biggest gripe about writing in general, especially television and movies: you can suspend disbelief for peoples' behavior or you can suspend disbelief for and outlandish scenario but you cannot suspend disbelief for both at the same time. Alien invasion? Humanity's response better make sense. Romantic comedy? You have a little more wiggle room in what the characters do.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 08:26 AM (3+RPg)

90 And finally, The Princess Bride is today's Kindle Daily Deal for $1.99. I am thinking about that one.

The movie is better. That's one of only a few movies I can say that about.

Jaws is another. The book was horrid.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 22, 2012 08:27 AM (YutOc)

91 Alien invasion? Humanity's response better make sense. Romantic comedy? You have a little more wiggle room in what the characters do.

But what if the aliens fall in love with the humans?

Posted by: chemjeff at July 22, 2012 08:28 AM (d/5qf)

92
But what if the aliens fall in love with the humans?

Then you dub it from Japanese to English and play it after hours at anime conventions.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 08:29 AM (3+RPg)

93 Holy crap you live! How are ya?

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 12:22 PM (3+RPg)

Hey! I be okay! Settling back in to CA living. Thrilled to be back with my husband, but everything else sucks.

I can suspend disbelief in books MUCH easier than movies/TV, for some reason.

I've had a Touchpad since the fire sale and have a Kindle app on that....love love love. Still considering getting the cheap Kindle, though I was surprised to see how little it actually holds. My tablet is 32G, and I think the cheaper Kindle is only 2G. But it'd fit in my purse.....and there's that Cloud thing.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 08:32 AM (SsG4J)

94 I think ChemJeff was remembering the original V series when a Visitor loved a human and the human girl gave birth to a lizard/human hybrid.

Alex, been watching Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Horror?

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 22, 2012 08:33 AM (ew/MK)

95 Help a moron out, please. I'm not seeing Scaramouche free for Kindle. There are some for not much money but since I've blown the book budget until October 2015 I'm interested in free.

Posted by: Retread at July 22, 2012 08:35 AM (I2fq9)

96 I tried one more time to get through O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln, and I just can't do it. Not sure why. Never could get through Levin's Liberty and Tyranny, either.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 08:37 AM (SsG4J)

97 Retread, they may have gotten it free last week or something.

Have you checked out that ereaderiq site someone posted last week? Thousands of free books, most of dubious quality, but free is free!

I have the link if you need it.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 08:41 AM (SsG4J)

98 I forgot to say I'm reading "the Communist" on Uncle Frank. He said the same things in the Chicago Star years ago that 0 is saying today.

Posted by: Mr Tea at July 22, 2012 08:44 AM (S5qYN)

99 Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 12:32 PM (SsG4J)

I'm sorry to hear that everything else sucks. At least you have Thor around to make it better.

I'm excited that by this time next week I'll be in Colorado and apartment hunting.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 08:45 AM (3+RPg)

100 100!

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 22, 2012 08:45 AM (YutOc)

101 Dang.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 22, 2012 08:45 AM (YutOc)

102 Alex, I love Colorado! I'd move to Georgetown in a heartbeat.

I've got a small collection of books about the silver mining era Colorado in the 1800s. Need to reread 'em.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 08:48 AM (SsG4J)

103 Thanks, Tammy. I did save that link and am off to check it and Gutenberg.

Posted by: Retread at July 22, 2012 08:52 AM (I2fq9)

104

I love my Kindle Touch. Have the PC and Iphone app as well and they all stay synced to the last page read.

Being cheap I browse the book type I want with free as a qualifier. I have found quite a bit of free Kindle downloads.

"No Hero" is a free sci-fi type book about superheros, after reading it I had no problem paying for the following book in the series. Also reading TR's book on the US Navy in the war of 1812. Pretty dry but hey, free...

Posted by: TheGarbone at July 22, 2012 08:55 AM (69rA9)

105 Retread

Go to Amazon and keyword "Scaramouche free Kindle" and you should see the free download.

Posted by: Ruthless at July 22, 2012 09:01 AM (WqqJb)

106

Completed yesterday: Richard Rhodes, __A Hole in the World__, an autobiography that covers tragedy ar age 1 (his mother ate a shotgun), an impoverished Depression-era childhood, a malicious stepmother, and release, at age 12, to a humane home for orphan boys. The Drumm Institute made an exception for the non-orphan Rhodes boys, Richand and Stan.

Rhodes writes simply, carefully, courageously, taking chances with self-revelation that few of us would dare. I have not read the work for which he won the Pulitzer, __The Making of the Atom Bomb__, or the sequel, __Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb__. I recommend the work I have read, __...Hole...__, __Making Love__ (about sex and love), and __Why They Kill__, a biography of criminologist Lonnie Athens. The __Time__ review quoted on the back of __...Hole...__ describes Rhodes approach perfectly: "Rhodes is drawn to balancing acts at the edge of despair...The accomplishment is inspiring".

__A Hole in the World__ ends with graduation from high school and his welcome to the normal world by the taxi driver who took him from the Hartford train station to Yale:

"I told the cabbie I wanted the Old Campus. Take me to your leader.

'Shuah', the cabbie said.

'You know where that is? 'I asked him, incredulous.

He looked me over. Another wiseass kid. Where'd they stamp them out? He shrugged. 'Only about a tousand times today.' "

Posted by: Malcolm Kirkpatrick at July 22, 2012 09:04 AM (YzTHa)

107 Amazon also has free Kindle versions of other books by Sabatini (author of Scaramouche). I've got The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood, and there is a collection of 15 of his books for just 99 cents.

Posted by: Ruthless at July 22, 2012 09:05 AM (WqqJb)

108 Ruthless, yep, that worked. A bit sneaky as the freebie doesn't come up if I search just "Scarmouche".

Posted by: Retread at July 22, 2012 09:06 AM (I2fq9)

109 You're using Calibre wrong. I use it to get books(epub) free or library editions and then just mail them to my kindle. I have the $79 one my kindle with the keyboard shattered. Not sure how. I prefer the new $79 one for the smaller footprint and don't miss the keyboard. I wish Kindle didn't need calibre but calibre by itself's search engine for free books is awesome. Calibre converts everything to work on my kindle. Amazon prime's free shipping and 1 free book(loan) a month pays for itself.(ok I'm a fanboi now

) We also own a Kindle Fire but for reading the e-ink is far superior for beach, deck etc. Baen Books, scifi has a whole BUNCH of free stuff. http://www.baen.com/library/books.asp spinward fringe Great sci fi book free Free then each book $2.99 http://tinyurl.com/bvavwmo

Posted by: joe dag at July 22, 2012 09:06 AM (hlZx/)

110 No hero? Who is the author?? Trying to find the book.

Posted by: joe dag at July 22, 2012 09:10 AM (hlZx/)

111 Joe dag

I read the free Spinward Fringe and had no desire to buy the sequels.

Posted by: Ruthless at July 22, 2012 09:10 AM (WqqJb)

112 Probably too late Ruthless, but I broke my Kindle the same way, Amazon replaced it for free no questions asked.

www.baen.com takes PayPal (which Amazon doesn'tbut should) which is not necessarily a good thing. Reading John Ringo Live Free or Die and Citadel.

Both are good yarns, I like stories that really do make me 'laugh out loud'. My main quibble is that good characters are introduced, then kind of forgotten. Ringo also seems to write scenes that you think are going to develop the story in a new direction that kind of fizzle out (Citadel mainly).

Posted by: whatmeworry? at July 22, 2012 09:34 AM (Q3WfW)

113

Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy??

Are you kidding? This is effing complicated!

Posted by: Jay Guevara at July 22, 2012 09:38 AM (ZZoNO)

114 Tammy,

I'm very excited. I'm moving to Colorado Springs, not Denver unfortunately, but it's still good.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 09:45 AM (3+RPg)

115 Oh CO Springs is awesome, too. The whole state is incredible. Some fine day, take yourself on the drive from Telluride down to Durango. One of my favorites, it's so pretty. Telluride, though it's gotten terribly uppity, is also a nice town.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 09:48 AM (SsG4J)

116 Jay, I thought that link was a little dicey....try this one:

http://calibre-ebook.com/

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 09:48 AM (SsG4J)

117 Currently reading They Tell Me I'm the Bad Guy, recommended here and, enthusiastically, on Empire of Jeff's blog. I'm maybe a quarter of the way through it and it's a really fun read so far. And, it was only a $2.99 download. Reaching into the digital bargain bin for a first novel had me expecting something much less worthy than this.

I've always liked the immediacy and sense of involvement I get from first-person novels. An interesting thing about this one is the character who's talking to you -- not quite what I've seen before, an interesting mixture of screwup, some evil, and a good dose of trying to reach for something a bit better than those around him can manage (which is not as hard as it would be if those around him were less pschyopathic)

Plus, the book is funny, interesting, and easy to read. It has some giddily exuberant, wild scenes; experiencing those is like watching a movie where "stuff blows up."

So far, definitely a fan.

Posted by: Splunge at July 22, 2012 09:53 AM (2IW5Q)

118 Apparently "Atlas Shrugged", "1984", and "Animal Farm" are not in public domain (which I would have realized if I'd thought about it harder. No free or $1.00 downloads to be had so I guess I'll have to check used on Amazon and see what I can come up with. I can check the library as well, but it's got a very limited selection of older books and is probably the last library in the country to not participate in inter-library loan.

Posted by: Polliwogette, teahada Hobbit at July 22, 2012 09:58 AM (AMLP7)

119 Finished Quicksilver by Neal Stepheson, and began Cryptonomicon by the same author. I plan to go back and finish his Baroque Cycle after Crypto.

For non-fiction, I'm reading My Bondage and My Freedom by Fredrick Douglas (available free for the Kindle). All are very good reads.

Posted by: Zoltan at July 22, 2012 10:00 AM (sX1gH)

120

Posted by: Tami at July 22, 2012 11:58 AM (X6akg)

Posted by: phoenixgirl, team dagny at July 22, 2012 12:05 PM (Ho2rs)

Yankee5th created a new one and can give you the info. I know Phoenixgirl is on Twitter and so is he, so you should be able to send him a message there.

Posted by: Polliwogette, teahada Hobbit at July 22, 2012 10:01 AM (AMLP7)

121

First, I wish to curse whoever recommended "God's Demon" last week as I'm finding myself unable to stop reading if my Kindle is within arm's reach. I've deserted Hitler and WWII for a world war of a different sort. And I will never again look at flies without shuddering.

In the bathroom, I am reading "The Obamas" by Jodi Kantor, a slobbering love affair if there ever was one. This Kantor person works for the New York Times so it's not like I expected anything else, but this book is truly grotesque and I've only read two chapters. It's nothing short of amazing how she just glosses over things like Michelle's most famous utterance, "For the first time in my life, I'm proud..." or however it went. She simply called it something like "oft-repeated" and simply moved on.

Posted by: Tonestaple at July 22, 2012 10:02 AM (AvlD0)

122 It's "Bob Moore: No Hero" by Tom Andry. Spinward Fringe Is ok. I am waiting for the next one to come out. The series ebbs and flows a bit between interesting and suck and back to interesting.

Posted by: Thegarbone at July 22, 2012 10:05 AM (NersQ)

123 119 Apparently "Atlas Shrugged", "1984", and "Animal Farm" are not in public domain...

-----------

"1984" and "Animal Farm" can be had from the Australian Project Gutenburg. The laws are different over there.

http://gutenberg.net.au/

There's a giant industry surrounding "Atlas Shrugged", so Dagny Taggart is essentially Mickey Mouse; will probably never go into the public domain.

Posted by: Anachronda at July 22, 2012 10:06 AM (1c58W)

124 Oh CO Springs is awesome, too. The whole state is incredible. Some fine day, take yourself on the drive from Telluride down to Durango. One of my favorites, it's so pretty. Telluride, though it's gotten terribly uppity, is also a nice town.

Not a huge fan of Durango, mostly because I don't like the drive. Telluride is nice, but I'm from the Western Slope originally, so I'm used to being up in the mountains.

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 10:09 AM (3+RPg)

125

Posted by: Anachronda at July 22, 2012 02:06 PM (1c58W)

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that. I want them for my 14 year old to read. I haven't read "Atlas Shrugged" myself, and remember hating the other two, but they all do a good job of explaining what's going on in the world at the moment.

Posted by: Polliwogette, teahada Hobbit at July 22, 2012 10:13 AM (AMLP7)

126

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 01:48 PM (SsG4J)

Doesn't that require driving on the "Million Dollar Highway"? I grew up in CO, although in the Front range, and It would require a life-and-death emergency to get me to drive that.

Posted by: Polliwogette, teahada Hobbit at July 22, 2012 10:15 AM (AMLP7)

127 Alex, I am from the mountains, too, but a very different sort. (Appalachians) I never grow tired of the Rockies, or the Sierra Nevada for that matter. So..... majestic or something. Thor says he needs to take me up to Lake Louise/Banff/Jasper in Canada.

Anyway, I'm glad you'll be back in CO......I k now Central LA was not your cuppa!

Polli, I got Atlas Shrugged free from somewhere, maybe it was that Oz Gutenburg site....

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 10:18 AM (SsG4J)

128 Doesn't that require driving on the "Million Dollar Highway"? I grew up in CO, although in the Front range, and It would require a life-and-death emergency to get me to drive that.

I drove from El Paso, TX to Glenwood Springs by way of Durango once. I was going over passes with 300 foot cliffs to one side and a biker gang coming up the opposite direction on the other...

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 10:23 AM (3+RPg)

129 Eh, driving up PCH from LA to Big Sur cures you of any sort of fear of falling off cliffs.

Well, I mean, it didn't CURE me, but nothing else has phased me. At least with the mountain cliffs you don't feel like you're falling off the actual edge of the world, which is how I felt the first time I road up that stretch of highway, though it was surely the most awe inspiring site I had seen.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 10:34 AM (SsG4J)

130

Posted by: Alex at July 22, 2012 02:23 PM (3+RPg)

That sounds about right. When we were little my sister was almost hit by a tour bus on that road (would have been her fault, not that the driver would have felt better) and I blame any fear of heights I have from looking down the waterfall. So, pretty area, not my favorite road.

Posted by: Polliwogette, teahada Hobbit at July 22, 2012 10:35 AM (AMLP7)

131 Oh, I forgot to mention I read Moron Celia Hayes' (Sgt Mom) To Truckee's Trail. Really enjoyed it. Go on and buy it! She has more, though I haven't gotten to them just yet.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 22, 2012 10:57 AM (SsG4J)

132 a big thank you to butch who frequents this comment page for his recommendation last week of "The Winter of Frankie Machine" by Dan Winslow (the guy who wrote "Savages")-- excellent read... give it a try and you won't be disappointed--

Posted by: tomc at July 22, 2012 11:22 AM (avEuh)

133 That reminds me, tomc, I also started "Dawn Patrol" by Dan Winslow, and I was enjoying it but "God's Demon" interfered so it will have to sit quietly and wait for me to finish the latter. Fortunately, "Dawn Patrol" was on the shelf at the library so odds are against another reserve popping up on it any time soon.

Posted by: Tonestaple at July 22, 2012 11:26 AM (6K9wZ)

134 I have a Nook Color with a nook2android card making it a Nook android tablet. I rarely use the stock side, I am usually on the android side. I LOVE it. I websurf, email, watch videos, and actually read books. It's my computer when I'm not near my computer. We live in Ohio and when our power was out for 9 days, it was our link to the outside. I also use Calibre and love it. I have about 2000 books on it, and keep maybe 20 on my Nook. I have Kindle books, too. I keep a Kindle app for books I get from Amazon. Kind of a holding place before I transfer them to Calibre and epub. It took a while to get my head wrapped around the ereader idea, but I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Posted by: megthered at July 22, 2012 11:47 AM (iR4Dg)

135 Currently halfway through "The 500," by Matthew Quirk. Young guy with a hardscrabble upbringing joins an elite D.C. "consulting group," which caters to the whims of the 500 true power brokers who control the country (and globe) -- if the price is right. When you learn about the typical tactics and corruption of everyday D.C. you'll be wishing for SMOD to come sooner than November.

Posted by: RushBabe at July 22, 2012 11:59 AM (tQHzJ)

136

So, I don't know anything about Calibre or how amazon ebooks work, but "Calibre, because of the installed plugin, automatically strips off all the DRM" you shouldn't say this.

If it's true, it's a violation of the DMCA, and means Calibre will get shut down.

If it's false, you're accusing Calibre of violating the DMCA, and could get them shut down.

So, unless you know for certain that's what it's doing, I wouldn't say that.

Posted by: BoB at July 22, 2012 12:01 PM (bw34S)

137 Another advantage of the Kindle is the Amazon Cloud. If you have multiple devices, a book is automatically downloaded to the device you designate but is also available to any Amazon Cloud enabled device. For instance, I have an old-school Kindle, an iPad with Kindle Reader, a notebook with Kindle reader, and an iPhone with Kindle Reader.. My wife has a Fire, and also the Kindle Reader on her iPad, Android Phone and laptop. When either of us buys a book, we select the device it goes directly to. When we pull up the cloud on one of the other devices, it is shown as available for download. One advantage is that, if you are connected to wi-fi or 3G, the reader will automatically sync the last page read to the Amazon Cloud. When you open the same book on another device connected to the internet, it opens the book to the same place.

There are a couple of sites (maybe more) that will e-mail or post to Facebook links to free books several times day. It usually amounts to more than 20 freebies. They are eReader News Today and Pixel of Ink.

Posted by: Zombie John Gotti at July 22, 2012 12:49 PM (xUI0P)

138 Best eBook found while looking for something else: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, which is (to my knowledge anyway) the first detective story. Collins was a friend of Edgar Allan Poe, who of course furthered the genre with his supersleuth C. Auguste Dupin, the forerunner of Doyle's now archetypal Sherlock Holmes. Collins' villain Count Fosco is as good as it gets.

Posted by: Blacksheep at July 22, 2012 12:51 PM (ra/Ec)

139

RETARD. I came back to the thread late but I see Ruthless steered you right. Read on, amigo.

Posted by: Libra at July 22, 2012 01:12 PM (kd8U8)

140 I just started Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, it's very good so far.

Posted by: Five Daarstens at July 22, 2012 01:42 PM (FN6gB)

141 Thank you for the DRM removal how-to. Now I can access all the Kindle library for my Nook as well. :-)

Posted by: Hawkins1701 at July 22, 2012 02:55 PM (MRcfR)

142 I was just going to post. Read Snow Crash. Excellent and FUN book. Diamond Age is more interesting but Snow Crash is great fun to read.

Posted by: joe dag at July 22, 2012 02:56 PM (hlZx/)

143 Ruthless, Spinward I found addicting. The later books aren't about the main character in the way that you'd think. I guess you have to like space opera, battles. I also like Cambell's lost fleet. Cambell takes a new approach vs. star trek / SW. I've read almost everything else so something new is refreshing. Ringo's Troy Rising Series or Into the looking Glass. The looking glass deals with Boson particles and does what Clarke did for physics back in the 70's. Attempts to merge RL with fiction.

Posted by: joe dag at July 22, 2012 03:07 PM (hlZx/)

144 Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

Posted by: steevy at July 22, 2012 03:12 PM (6o4Fb)

145 A Big Lots opened here the other day. Wandering around, I noticed they have this cute little e-reader for $39. Picked one up to play with.

Color LCD. Box says it supports ePub, PDF, and TXT; so far I've only tried the ePub. Deals with Cyrillic just fine. Haven't tried Cyrillic in a filename (Kindle doesn't mind Cyrillic in a filename).

No wireless, so you have to download over USB. It has 2GB of built-in memory and a micro SD slot. Rumor is it will support up to a 32GB card. I've currently got a 16GB card in mine.

Runs on four AA batteries. Don't know how long they'll last.

Can play video and audio. I've put an .MP4 I made for my iPod on the thing and it played it just fine.

Being a backlit LCD, you can do things like adjust the color of the text. However, this seems to be a per-book setting; it remembers the colors I set for an individual book, but goes back to black text on a white background when I open a new book.

Comes with "Mark Twain", "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", "Dracula", "Grimms' Fairy Tales", and "Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", all from Project Gutenberg.

I was hoping it might be an Android tablet in disguise, but that seems to not be the case. However, it is a cute little eReader and I figured for only $39 I couldn't go far wrong.

Posted by: Anachronda at July 22, 2012 04:53 PM (1c58W)

146 ☭[&]alibre is awesome

Posted by: BarryS at July 23, 2012 04:24 AM (eW9gS)

147 Root your nook tablet. Just google xda developers.

Posted by: Wodun at July 23, 2012 12:02 PM (PEpU8)

148 I love my Kindle and the whole Kindle ecosystem, but I've been looking for a way to break their crummy DRM for about 2 years. I tried out the steps mentioned on the blog you linked to and it worked like a charm. Thanks!

Posted by: I married a Kindle at July 25, 2012 08:27 AM (Xfofp)

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