I'm reading The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories by Ian Rankin. One of my favorite sleuths.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Huntn
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Agreed.
I think it's just a slightly different experience, with different nuances. Kind of like true Italian pizza and Chicago Style pizza. They're both pizza, they're both good, but in a way, they're different animals.
I had an iPad for a few years and during that time I used it to read eBooks. I could definitely see the positives, but it just wasn't for me. I kept coming back to paper books. I like holding one in my hand and having a physical sense of how much I've read and how much more I have to read. And I like to read by natural light most of the time anyway. Plus I just love books. I don't care if they pile up around me--sounds perfect. Just add some cats and it's my idea of heaven. 
I embrace new technologies but when it comes to books I'm remarkably old-fashioned even though I'm younger than most of you.
I embrace new technologies but when it comes to books I'm remarkably old-fashioned even though I'm younger than most of you.
Last edited:
Re Kindles... For me it depends on the type of book. SciFi, thrillers etc that you can blast through work really well on a Kindle. Anything non-fiction, historical fiction or books where I need to concentrate* (yes, you, Mantel) then I really still need a physical book.
* i.e. lots of flicking back a few pages to remember what the devil had been going on previously... As I get older there tends to be a lot more flicking back too.
* i.e. lots of flicking back a few pages to remember what the devil had been going on previously... As I get older there tends to be a lot more flicking back too.
Even when I read online, these days, there tends to be a lot of flicking back (Where was that place? Who was this person and how are they related to that person? What is this position/office and where does it lie in the hierarchy of that country's bureaucracy?)
But, yes, - even for this historian, (someone who taught journeyman Renaissance and Reformation history for years), agreed, Mantel requires your total concentration.
When home I like real books, but when traveling and working in other countries my iPad Mini 5 saves me a lot of space and weight by eliminating real books.
Last few years iPad Pro 11' - now an Air 4. When I've had to travel for work I've just read on my iPhone. Using a matte screen protector on phone/ipad and super low brightness - allows reading for hours with very little eye strain.
However, since last year this time - no work travel so all reading is on iPad.
I don't think I've read a paper book for at least 3 years now? Picking one up feels so weird - so used to my iPad resting in my hands vs holding pages open. My wife and I have donated a lot of our paper books to the local library. We still go to Library sales, buy, then give back to libraries to sell again.
Was fortunate to use slow Amazon shipping and used that free $ to buy ebooks. Then transferred those to my Apple Books library (calibre <cough>). So I've got an almost 300 book Apple Books library (50+ of those read so far). Love ebooks though unhappy with how much they costs. I usually only buy if they're on sale for $2.99/$3.99 or so if I can help it (happens quite often on Apple Bookstore amazingly) - I always got a list of 8-10 "I'd like to read" - then keep an eye on their price.
However, since last year this time - no work travel so all reading is on iPad.
I don't think I've read a paper book for at least 3 years now? Picking one up feels so weird - so used to my iPad resting in my hands vs holding pages open. My wife and I have donated a lot of our paper books to the local library. We still go to Library sales, buy, then give back to libraries to sell again
.Was fortunate to use slow Amazon shipping and used that free $ to buy ebooks. Then transferred those to my Apple Books library (calibre <cough>). So I've got an almost 300 book Apple Books library (50+ of those read so far). Love ebooks though unhappy with how much they costs. I usually only buy if they're on sale for $2.99/$3.99 or so if I can help it (happens quite often on Apple Bookstore amazingly) - I always got a list of 8-10 "I'd like to read" - then keep an eye on their price.
There was a time when I thought I'd be switching to a Kindle (or iPad).....but I found it's cheaper to buy used paperbacks. When I'm traveling on longer trips I'll read on my iPad, but at home it continues to be used paperback books
Earlier this week, I re-visited the excellent Rai-Kirah trilogy (Transformation, Revelation, Restoration), by Carol Berg.
I would like to recommend a book to all of you, Women at Point Zero, by Nawal El Saadawi, she passed away recently at the age of 89. She was an Egyptian author who was courageous in her writing, such as Women and Sex.
Uff, that was a great read a few years back.
It was really good fantasy and palatial intrigue.
Terrific book, excellent world building, seriously good political, palatial, (and other) intrigue, and an absolutely wonderful protagonist, whom I really liked as a character.
The name was Maia, right? It’s been a couple of years already. A really like able character
Decent, likeable, kind, intelligent; a very unusual and attractive protagonist.
Yes, his name was Maia.
I’ve just finished Dodger by James Benmore. It tells the story of Jack Dawkins otherwise known as The Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist. It follows his adventures as an adult. A trilogy which I’ll continue. A really good read.
The book I’ve just started is Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz. It’s the latest book in a series about an elite operative known as Orphan X. Excellent books, intriguing, action packed and very engrossing. If you’re interested the first in the series is Orphan X.
The book I’ve just started is Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz. It’s the latest book in a series about an elite operative known as Orphan X. Excellent books, intriguing, action packed and very engrossing. If you’re interested the first in the series is Orphan X.
Dammit.. and I was just reading Beezus and Ramona and Henry Huggins to the kids a couple of nights ago..
www.npr.org
😢
BL.
Children's Author Beverly Cleary, Creator Of Ramona Quimby, Dies At 104
"I think children want to read about normal, everyday kids," Cleary told NPR in 1999. "... I think children like to find themselves in books."
www.npr.org
😢
BL.
LET THEM EAT TWEETS: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality
The title of this book by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson alludes to the "let them eat cake" quote that was attributed to Marie Antoinette in the era of Louis XVI. But the book carries an unfortunate subtitle, one that may turn away potential readers who could benefit from its dispassionate recounting of the shift in focus and fate of the Republican Party over the past thirty, forty years. More comment than that would probably belong in a PRSI thread.
Anyway it's a good read if one can get past that subtitle, and a good explanation overall of what is meant by references to "the conservative dilemma".
The title of this book by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson alludes to the "let them eat cake" quote that was attributed to Marie Antoinette in the era of Louis XVI. But the book carries an unfortunate subtitle, one that may turn away potential readers who could benefit from its dispassionate recounting of the shift in focus and fate of the Republican Party over the past thirty, forty years. More comment than that would probably belong in a PRSI thread.
Anyway it's a good read if one can get past that subtitle, and a good explanation overall of what is meant by references to "the conservative dilemma".
ADHD - A Hunter in a Farmer’s World (1997) by Thom Hartmann.
I enjoyed this book as it provides an interesting way to look at the often misunderstood ADHD. I particularly liked how the author finds a way to make it a sort of power rather than a “disorder” but without ignoring the real problem that it might pose to many individuals (suicidal tendencies included). Definitely worth a read.
I already talked about how much I despise some editing in reference to the generic third person (she/he) which often feels forced and more to prevent controversy than presenting a real need. This book brings the problem to a whole different level. I never wished so hard for an editor to be fired. A couple of examples:
Page 8: “Tell a child he’s bad often enough, and he’ll most likely become bad. Tell her she’s brilliant, and she’ll strive to achieve brilliance.” (I mean, really? Change the gender form right in the middle of the paragraph and the concept???)
Page 18: “An ADHD person may be working on a project when something else distracts him (...) The normal person will create a mental picture of each of those things as she hears them described.” (Although there is some space between the swap, it still doesn’t flow. Just choose!!)
The book is filled of similar instances which in my personal opinion will ironically pose an extra challenge to ADHD individuals.
I enjoyed this book as it provides an interesting way to look at the often misunderstood ADHD. I particularly liked how the author finds a way to make it a sort of power rather than a “disorder” but without ignoring the real problem that it might pose to many individuals (suicidal tendencies included). Definitely worth a read.
I already talked about how much I despise some editing in reference to the generic third person (she/he) which often feels forced and more to prevent controversy than presenting a real need. This book brings the problem to a whole different level. I never wished so hard for an editor to be fired. A couple of examples:
Page 8: “Tell a child he’s bad often enough, and he’ll most likely become bad. Tell her she’s brilliant, and she’ll strive to achieve brilliance.” (I mean, really? Change the gender form right in the middle of the paragraph and the concept???)
Page 18: “An ADHD person may be working on a project when something else distracts him (...) The normal person will create a mental picture of each of those things as she hears them described.” (Although there is some space between the swap, it still doesn’t flow. Just choose!!)
The book is filled of similar instances which in my personal opinion will ironically pose an extra challenge to ADHD individuals.
Last edited: