At 1309 yesterday afternoon, 13 Sep 2021, I concluded a sixth read of Raymond Feist's Magician: Apprentice, first of his Riftwar/Midkemia books. I have tentatively begun a re-read of Magician: Master, but might jettison it in favor of something in my initial-read TBR pile. I certainly do not intend to re-read the entirety of Feist's Midkemia writings at this time.

I haven't done much with the Kindle, beyond reading a bit of Bram Stoker's Dracula. A sad discovery, I find the Kindle hard to hold while lying abed (acouch) once I get sleepy, a problem I don't have with tradition printed paper books. Printed paperbacks, I should stress. These past some years, I've found hardbacks harder and harder to hold lying abed (asofa). They've become too heavy and bulky for me. In fact, that's one factor that enticed me to buy a Kindle. Whatever else can be said for or against them, they are not heavy and bulky.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Sep 14 2021, 03:04 PM

At 2051 last night, not long before falling asleep, I finished a sixth read of Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga, Magician: Master. I decided to call it quits on further Feist re-reads, for now, and move on to my initial-read TBR pile. The book I tentatively settled on is a fairly new publication, Michael McClellan's The Sand Sea. I'm not one to buy into a book's initial hype, but what I read about this title made me curious enough to give it a try. A problem, Amazon sold it only in Hardback or Kindle format. I bought hardback, that being the only option available to me at the time. Being a chunkster, I now find it too heavy and cumbersome to comfortably read lying on the sofa. This is the book that convinced me to take the plunge and buy a Kindle Paperwhite. It's of course monetarily irresponsible for me to shell out more money for a redundant Kindle copy. I'll continue to struggle with the hardback and hope for the best.

Speaking of Paperwhite, I grabbed two more free books, one a nice illustrated edition of one of the Oz titles, the other what I hope proves to be a decent translation of Homer's Iliad.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Sep 18 2021, 05:01 PM

Amazon might be willing to let you return it for the kindle version. Unless it was sold through a third party bookseller, in which case probably not. TBH, I think every hardcopy book should come with a free ebook version of the same book.

I too have been thinking that a hardback ought to include a free e-book equivalent. I have a vague memory of one book I ordered some time back offering to let me DL an e-book of it to read while waiting for the hard copy.

Speaking of e-books, it might well be that, with paper shortages becoming a thing, hard copies will come out in more limited editions, and/or become more expensive. Maybe the Paperwhite is a better long-term investment than I thought?

It is also important to note that you do not have to read ebooks on a kindle or Barnes and Noble's equivalent device (I forget what they call it). There is a kindle for PC app. And there are plenty of freeware ebook reader programs out there as well. I use Sumatra PDF, which can read most any ebook format. This way you can read from your desktop, laptop, touchpad, or phone. I find I prefer reading from a laptop best.

Speaking of formats, you can reformat ebooks from one type of file to another. Calibre is probably the top program for that, and it is also free. Besides simply converting, it can also add covers, edit metadata, and the like. It also has its own built in reader. I have come to prefer the .epub format.

Finally, companies like Amazon love to put in drm to prevent you from converting their files, or reading them with another program. But if you look online you can find plenty of resources to remove the drm. Nothing you pay for should have software in it preventing you from using it.

Thanks for the pointers! Some I was aware of. Others not. DL'd and installed Calibre earlier this morning. Will check out Sumatra later today. Just finished expanding my ebook library by three free Kindle DL's. Two are timeless classics, so a safe bet. The third will complement my already DL'd non-Amazon (but in Kindle format) free copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula:

1) History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 1, by Gibbon
2) The History of Rome Books 01 to 08, by Livy
3) Vlad the Impaler (A 'very' short read of info I likely know, but for the non-price. . . )

I'm at around page 120 of The Sand Sea. An interesting read. I haven't yet decided what to make of it.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Sep 22 2021, 12:42 AM

Some solid picks. I read Dracula a couple of summers ago. Project Gutenberg is a great site for finding free books, whose copyrights have expired. I read a lot of stuff like the Phantom of the Opera, and Werewolf of Paris through it. I started Moby Dick, but could not get through it. And I used it to get the original and revised editions of Frankenstein, though I have not gotten around to reading that one lately. I last read it about 20 years ago.

I’ve been thinking about reading Frankenstein again myself. I think I’ll make an effort to do that.

<nods> Project Gutenberg is where I got my ebook of Dracula from.


Frankenstein is on my hit list of ebook acquisitions. I now learn that there is a choice of 1818 and 1831 edition, with champions of both sides. I'm leaning toward 1818, just because. As I see it, so long as the books are free, I can read the original edition (1818) first, then move on to 1831 should I so choose.

I'm still plowing away to The Sand Sea, but admit I've read little these past two days. The idea of returning it to Amazon in exchange for a Kindle edition has merits, except that by the time you guys mentioned it I had already abused my hardback copy beyond the point it could be returned for exchange. (Thanks to frequent drops to the floor due to sleepiness, and my unfortunate, perverse habit of cleaning my fingernails on page corners.)

My sole new Kindle purchase is a case/cover that has a hand-strap in the back that will make holding at bedtime less risky, and a foldout appendage that allows it to prop itself in reading position on a table, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Fintie-Paperwhite-Al...2109&sr=8-3

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Sep 24 2021, 08:40 PM

I was given a paperback copy when we read it for what amounted to our 10th grade literature class back in 2000. After moving from 3 different residences, I have long since lost it. I’m really thinking about getting a nice hard back edition from my local bookstore.

Bought another book for the Kindle: Immortal, by Jessica Duchen, a fictional novel of Beethoven's 'Immortal Beloved', Josephine (Pepi) von Brunsvik/Brunswick, as told by her sister Therese in her closing years. I'm a sucker from almost anything to do with Beethoven, though I usually confine myself to non-fiction titles. Immortal reads more like a dramatized, fleshed out version of events that actually happened than pure fiction, provided you buy into the premise that Josephine was indeed Beethoven's Immortal Beloved. Many don't. I do, and have done so for decades. So this is right up my ally, and my second book on Josephine as the Immortal Beloved. (The other is non-fiction.)

It didn't start well, printing anomalies in the introduction material, a less than stellar translation of the actual Immortal Beloved letters. Thankfully, once the book-proper began, all that vanished. I was hooked from the start and remain hooked. I'm not terribly far in yet, maybe 11%.

Immortal is my first extended reading experience on the Kindle. It's taking some getting use to, but I'm starting to become comfortable with it. I'm happy to discover that I don't need to create bookmarks to save my place between sessions...it automatically remembers where I stop reading and returns there when I 'open' the book again.

It's still a risk to hold lying on the sofa at bedtime, when I'm sleepy and risk dropping it to the floor. But that's not an issue when reading lying down earlier in the day. It's certainly easier to read than a bulky hardback when lying down.

The Sand Sea is on hold until I finish Immortal.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Sep 27 2021, 11:21 PM

I finally go through my hefty backlog of books and into the real good stuff. Polished off a bunch of non-fiction books I had amassed so that I could start The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey. I've loved the show for a long time and I'm gleeful about finally reading the books.

Bought two more books for the Kindle. First, a $1.07 (tax included) fantasy, first of what looks to be a long series. I never heard of either author or series before. There might well be a reason for that. For the price, I reckon it's worth the gamble. Second, a history, The King of the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria. This one set me back a whopping $2.16, tax included.

Despite what was said last post, I spent the bulk of my reading time since then with The Sand Sea, and am now approaching its halfway point. (It's a chunkster.) I've not neglected Immortal. Kindle shows me at 24% completed.

(I was interrupted during the typing of this by a UPS, delivering an Amazon shipment that includes a case/cover for the Kindle.)

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Sep 29 2021, 11:22 PM

At 2115 last night, I finished an initial read of Jessica Dunchen's Immortal. I initially described it here as a novelistic telling of Beethoven's immortal beloved as told by her sister. It is that, but it's just as much about the sister, as well as their various relatives, friends and acquaintances. It mostly adheres to what historical facts are known about these people, but liberties are taken. I'm well enough versed in this topic to have noticed most of the 'liberties' the author mentions in the book's afterword.

I suppose I should again stress that the identity of Beethoven's immortal beloved is not set in stone. Josephine von Brunswick is merely one of a number of possible candidates. She has been my favored choice for decades. When the dust clears, I believe she will emerge victorious, barring discovery of irrefutable new evidence to the contrary.

Do I like the book? You bet! It's now a strong contender for 'best initial read of the year', possibly 'best read of the year'. That said, it's not a title I recommend for those not familiar with the subject. It's better to have read at least one solid Beethoven biography - Jan Swafford's Beethoven: Anguish & Triumph is my pick for that. Also, a non-fiction account of Josephine as immortal beloved. There my recommendation is one of several John Klapproth titles on the subject. (Dunchen mention's Klapproth in the book's acknowledgement section. There I sadly learned of his recent passing.)

This is/was my first extended Kindle/e-book reading experience. I've mixed feelings, mostly positive. My biggest negative is that I continue to have trouble using touch-screens. Sometimes it'll take three or four attempts to advance the screen. Other times, one press advances the screen multiple times. Hopefully this will work itself out with more practice? It's certainly easier to hold, lying on my side on the sofa, than a bulky hardback! My new cover/case helps in this regard though, like an Amazon.com reviewer mentions, having a hand strap on both sides would be preferable to it being only on the left. Still, I've not dropped the Kindle to the floor once since using the strap.

Well poot! Decided to retire to the sofa and read until lunch. Fired up the Kindle, to be greeted with a message saying my battery was low and needed recharging. Exited the book. Sure enough, the battery was at 8%. It's now charging via one of my PC's USB ports. At some point I'll likely invest in a wall-socket charging adapter. I know of no day-to-day situations during which I'd need the adapter. Then again, should I find myself in hospital for an extended stay, a charging adapter might prove right handy. I of course hope I don't face that situation any time soon, but ya never know.

As for what I'm reading, it's obviously another of my Kindle edition purchases, the $0.99 fantasy. I find it mediocre but entertaining. It's not a title I'd go out of my way to recommend, but for the price provides good value for the investment. I really ought to be reading The Sand Sea, which I've half finished. But it's so darn hard to hold lying on my side(s) on the sofa. I do read it during those meals I consume at the kitchen table, but these days that's normally once per day. Slow as I read, I'm hardly advancing at all.

Currently reading "The Infernal City" - Greg Keyes. I've ordered the sequel to it as well.

I remember reading that book and thinking, “why am I reading a book about the Elder Scrolls when I could be playing an Elder Scrolls game?”

Seriously though, I finished it but never really got into it. I don’t even remember what all happened in it.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Oct 4 2021, 03:02 PM

At 0001 this morning, 04 Oct 2021, I finished an initial read of Paul J Bennett's Heir to the Crown: Book one, Servant of the Crown. This is my $0.99 Kindle fantasy. I racked my brain trying to come up with a simple one or two or three word explanation of my overall opinion of it. It finally came to me early this morning, prior to falling asleep for the night. Alas, I didn't write it down. It is now forgotten. In its favor, it is an easy read. Its characters grew on me until I came to care about their development arcs. That said, there's not a lot of meat on the bone. It was a decent read, especially considering its price. I might even read further in the (long) series, if/as later volumes become dirt cheap. I don't recommend going out of your way to read it, unless like me the price appeals, and you don't expect more than a light, easy read.

Having finished it when I did, I've not yet settled on what to take up next.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Oct 4 2021, 05:20 PM

At 1511 yesterday afternoon, 09 Oct 2021, I concluded an initial read of Christian Cameron's Killer of Men, book one of his The Long War series. I find it a decided step up from my previous read, which I enjoyed, but not enough to recommend. It's historical/military fiction, well written and researched, set in early Classical Greece during the Persian Wars. Book one coincides with the Ionian Revolt. It reminds me very much of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales/Sagas series. In fact there are a good many similarities between both series main protagonist. If you like one, you'll likely like the other.

It's a Kindle purchase, bought on a whim thanks to its low cost, and well worth the modest outlay. Happily, I find that book two is even cheaper, or was when I bought it day-before-yesterday, $1.99US plus tax. I began reading it late last night.

Which brings me to a dislike of the Kindle Paperwhite. When I open a Kindle book for the first time, it often assumes I want to begin at the start of chapter one. I like to read all forwards, acknowledgements, and so on, or at least skim them. I find myself repeatedly pressing the screen's left side (page back). In the case of book two, Marathon, Freedom or Death, this took some time, as chapter one doesn't begin until 3% in.

Likewise, Kindle thinks I don't want to read appendixes, afterwards and so on. Wrong again! I wonder if there's a setting to correct these disagreeable default choices?

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Oct 10 2021, 03:25 PM

I retired to the sofa at around 2015 last night, to read until falling asleep. That was the idea, at any rate. After only a few minutes, the Kindle's Low Battery warning popped up. I read several minutes more, then backed out of the book and checked battery life - 9%. Here's where I made my mistake. Instead of simply switching to a conventional paper book for the night, I decided to charge the Kindle.

I don't yet have a wall adapter, so returned to the computer room and fired up the PC. Thinking a recharge won't take more than 45min, an hour tops, I watched YT vids and local copies of some of my TS2021 episodes for the duration. Turns out it took almost 2hrs for a full charge! The irony is that, once charged, by the time I shut down the PC, prepped for and donned CPAP gear, I read only maybe 15min before falling asleep for the duration, and slept until 0430. So, next to no reading time at night, and none this morning. (I generally read each morning before crawling off the sofa, but have a hard rule to exit it NLT 0430. That gives me ample time to fire up the PC, read/delete email, and do mandatory TMJ jaw exercises prior to 0500 breakfast.)