Living Car Free - Winter reading list

Thanks to Artkansas for getting me hooked on Sinclair Lewis. :D Since reading It Can't Happen Here I've read quite a few of his better known novels and I've loved every one of them. I'm currently reading Ann Vickers and I think it may be one of my favorites. There are many other novels on my to-read list, but I keep putting them off every time I discover a new Sinclair Lewis novel at my favorite used book store. :o

"Generation of Swine" By Hunter S. Thompson if you like twisted humor and ramblings about politicians from the mid 80's. I have always attempted to describe HST as "A man so brilliant he drove himself bat**** crazy from spending the majority of his life writing about sleazy politicians." The book gives you a good look into the behind the scenes action of the political world with stories told by a man who has no problem telling you his opinion.

"Generation of Swine" By Hunter S. Thompson if you like twisted humor and ramblings about politicians from the mid 80's. I have always attempted to describe HST as "A man so brilliant he drove himself bat**** crazy from spending the majority of his life writing about sleazy politicians." The book gives you a good look into the behind the scenes action of the political world with stories told by a man who has no problem telling you his opinion.

"Better Than Sex" was another great book on the same by Thompson.

I always get more reading done in the winter, and having been lucky enough to get a Kindle for Christmas I've been doing my reading on it. I've been sticking to the free downloads* and catching up on some of the classics I haven't read before with mixed results ("The Beautiful and the Damned" by F. Scott Fitzgerald could have been a lot shorter for me to make the same point, H.G. Wells "The Time Machine" is pretty interesting). Re reading "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad was worth the time too. What are some good books available in the free Kindle downloads?

*Books with expired copyrights are available for free downloads, it's much like the music world was when the cd came out.

I always get more reading done in the winter, and having been lucky enough to get a Kindle for Christmas I've been doing my reading on it. I've been sticking to the free downloads* and catching up on some of the classics I haven't read before with mixed results ("The Beautiful and the Damned" by F. Scott Fitzgerald could have been a lot shorter for me to make the same point, H.G. Wells "The Time Machine" is pretty interesting). Re reading "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad was worth the time too. What are some good books available in the free Kindle downloads?

*Books with expired copyrights are available for free downloads, it's much like the music world was when the cd came out.

Since you liked Wells, try his "The Wheels of Chance." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheels_of_Chance) It's a comic novel about bicycle touring in the 1890s.

Since you liked Wells, try his "The Wheels of Chance." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheels_of_Chance) It's a comic novel about bicycle touring in the 1890s.

Looks good, thanks!

Looks good, thanks!

Or read the book: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1264/1264-h/1264-h.htm

"Better Than Sex" was another great book on the same by Thompson.

I will have to check that out.

Just about to finish Bad: The Autobiography of James Carr. Carr was a delinquent since he was a kid, and this accounts his life in and out of jails and prisons, and time spent in gangs in East Los Angeles in the '50s and '60s. The writing is simple, and there's quite a bit of hyperbole, but I'm a sucker for American autobiographies from the 19th and early 20th centuries. I enjoyed it. From the Nabat Books series published by the AK Press. (Same series and publisher that repressed You Can't Win by Jack Black.)

And I just started The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats by Jim Goad. Any Goad fans in the house? Hilarious.

I'm currently waiting on Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take it Back (http://www.amazon.com/Asphalt-Nation-Automobile-Took-America/dp/0520216202/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328242124&sr=1-1) by Jane Holtz Kay. I received some birthday money from my aunt and that (along with Salt: A World History and Bad Astronomy) was what I spent it on. They should start arriving on Saturday or Monday, I think.

More relatedly, recently I read Bicycle Diaries by David Bryne, who is apparently a musician -- though not one I've heard of. "Diaries" consists of essays inspired by his time cycling through world cities. While I checked it out to read about bikes, his musing on two wheels is really limited to the intro and epilogue. The essays vary widely in topic depending on the city: in Atlanta, he writes about the problems of sprawl and 'edge cities'; in Rio de Janiero, on music; in Berlin, on justification and the past.

One book I'd reccommend and which I've not seen in this thread is Carl Honoré's In Praise of Slow (http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Slowness-Challenging-Cult-Speed/dp/0060750510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328241748&sr=1-1), which introduced me to the slow movement. Given my interests in a simple, philosophical life, it stuck a chord with me. I dislike the section on medicine, but otherwise...he urges people to take stock of their lives and think about what matters: quality or quantity? It's a bit like Walden, but it covers a lot of ground. Separate chapters cover living arrangements, sex, work, leisure, food, spirituality, medicine, and childrearing.

I'm currently waiting on Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take it Back (http://www.amazon.com/Asphalt-Nation-Automobile-Took-America/dp/0520216202/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328242124&sr=1-1) by Jane Holtz Kay. I received some birthday money from my aunt and that (along with Salt: A World History and Bad Astronomy) was what I spent it on. They should start arriving on Saturday or Monday, I think.

More relatedly, recently I read Bicycle Diaries by David Bryne, who is apparently a musician -- though not one I've heard of. "Diaries" consists of essays inspired by his time cycling through world cities. While I checked it out to read about bikes, his musing on two wheels is really limited to the intro and epilogue. The essays vary widely in topic depending on the city: in Atlanta, he writes about the problems of sprawl and 'edge cities'; in Rio de Janiero, on music; in Berlin, on justification and the past.

One book I'd reccommend and which I've not seen in this thread is Carl Honoré's In Praise of Slow (http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Slowness-Challenging-Cult-Speed/dp/0060750510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328241748&sr=1-1), which introduced me to the slow movement. Given my interests in a simple, philosophical life, it stuck a chord with me. I dislike the section on medicine, but otherwise...he urges people to take stock of their lives and think about what matters: quality or quantity? It's a bit like Walden, but it covers a lot of ground. Separate chapters cover living arrangements, sex, work, leisure, food, spirituality, medicine, and childrearing.

Thanks for the suggestion. I found In Praise of Slow at my library. Sounds like it is about my speed actually. :)

Just don't read it too fast.

Just don't read it too fast.

That reminds me of a Woody Allen movie I saw once. Woody says, "Hey, I just took a speed reading course. I highly recommend it. You know, recently I read War and Peace in one evening. It's a fabulous book. It's about Russia."

Just read Practicing the Way of Jesus (http://amzn.com/0830836349) by Mark Scandrette, excellent practical ways to simplify life from one of the great masters of simplicity, Jesus Christ.

I just finished Asphalt Nation, which is an excellent book. The author first examines the consequences of the United States' car-driven, or "car-ridden", culture. She uses car-ridden to point out that we are no longer in control; the needs of automobiles now determine the shape of US cities, not those of people. The ills are many -- decentralization is particularly nefarious, as it destroys the ability of government to work efficiently, separates people from their work, and has turned our cities from bustling centers of commerce into decaying places marked by poverty and despair. The infrastructure needed to allow everyone and their cars to get everyone is hideously expensive and not recouped in taxes; automobiles have essentially gotten a free ride for the last century, which is part of the reason they destroyed public transit. The trolley lines had to support themselves. The health consequences are legion -- automobiles hurt not only directly, through wrecks and pollution, but indirectly by creating a society where everyone is so dependent on cars for transportation that they are otherwise sedentary. Not only do they think to take the car instead of walking or biking, but in many cases -- because of auto-driven decentralization -- it is impossible to walk somewhere, and not particularly advisable to attempt biking. After relating the problem, the author gives a history of America's infatuation with the automobile, and shows that while Americans did freely embrace car culture, the automobiles' dominance had help from government policies which (as mentioned) subsidized the expansion of highways and encouraged sprawl. The history section is a tad depressing given that the United States is essentially decaying over the course of a century, but the lessons are worth learning. Finally, she proposes ways to begin reining in the car and making our urban areas fit to live in once again. We have to attack on multiple fronts -- stopping road expansion, changing zoning laws, investing in transit, reinvigorating the central city, forcing cars to pay their share, and removing unnecessary infrastructure, like elevated highways which scissor up communities and create only more congestion.

I'd say it's a must read, along with books like Technopoly by Neil Postman, The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler, and Bowling Alone: the Decline and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam.

I just finished Asphalt Nation, which is an excellent book. The author first examines the consequences of the United States' car-driven, or "car-ridden", culture.

She's featured on the rear cover of Pedaling Revolution by Jeff Mapes. She says he takes up where she left off.

I just finished Asphalt Nation, which is an excellent book. The author first examines the consequences of the United States' car-driven, or "car-ridden", culture. She uses car-ridden to point out that we are no longer in control; the needs of automobiles now determine the shape of US cities, not those of people. The ills are many -- decentralization is particularly nefarious, as it destroys the ability of government to work efficiently, separates people from their work, and has turned our cities from bustling centers of commerce into decaying places marked by poverty and despair. The infrastructure needed to allow everyone and their cars to get everyone is hideously expensive and not recouped in taxes; automobiles have essentially gotten a free ride for the last century, which is part of the reason they destroyed public transit. The trolley lines had to support themselves. The health consequences are legion -- automobiles hurt not only directly, through wrecks and pollution, but indirectly by creating a society where everyone is so dependent on cars for transportation that they are otherwise sedentary. Not only do they think to take the car instead of walking or biking, but in many cases -- because of auto-driven decentralization -- it is impossible to walk somewhere, and not particularly advisable to attempt biking. After relating the problem, the author gives a history of America's infatuation with the automobile, and shows that while Americans did freely embrace car culture, the automobiles' dominance had help from government policies which (as mentioned) subsidized the expansion of highways and encouraged sprawl. The history section is a tad depressing given that the United States is essentially decaying over the course of a century, but the lessons are worth learning. Finally, she proposes ways to begin reining in the car and making our urban areas fit to live in once again. We have to attack on multiple fronts -- stopping road expansion, changing zoning laws, investing in transit, reinvigorating the central city, forcing cars to pay their share, and removing unnecessary infrastructure, like elevated highways which scissor up communities and create only more congestion.

I'd say it's a must read, along with books like Technopoly by Neil Postman, The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler, and Bowling Alone: the Decline and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam.

Thanks for the helpful review! I agree that anybody who's interested in the important nodes between transportation and society should read Asphalt Nation

:thumb:.

One book I'd reccommend and which I've not seen in this thread is Carl Honoré's In Praise of Slow (http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Slowness-Challenging-Cult-Speed/dp/0060750510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328241748&sr=1-1), which introduced me to the slow movement. Given my interests in a simple, philosophical life, it stuck a chord with me. I dislike the section on medicine, but otherwise...he urges people to take stock of their lives and think about what matters: quality or quantity? It's a bit like Walden, but it covers a lot of ground. Separate chapters cover living arrangements, sex, work, leisure, food, spirituality, medicine, and childrearing.

I LOVED "In Praise of Slow." I also enjoyed Michael Pollan's books on food, which Honore mentions several times, I think. My sister liked the child-rearing aspects of "in Praise of Slow" because it really resonated with her own instinct to let her kids develop at their own pace, with lots of opportunities to explore the world (seems to be working beautifully; my nephew is a totally delightful little person).

I just finished "Carjacked: the culture of the automobile and its effects on our lives (http://us.macmillan.com/carjacked/CatherineLutz)." Very interesting - and I'll have to look for "Asphalt Nation."

One question. Do you folks pick up the books at the library? E-books? Paperbacks?

I like to find titles at the library, but I have read a few on a borrowed Kindle. I haven't bought an actual book in a while though.

One question. Do you folks pick up the books at the library? E-books? Paperbacks?

I like to find titles at the library, but I have read a few on a borrowed Kindle. I haven't bought an actual book in a while though.

Usually the library, but my town has quite a few very nice used bookstores. If I ever buy a new book, it's almost always a gift for somebody else.

One question. Do you folks pick up the books at the library? E-books? Paperbacks?

I like to find titles at the library, but I have read a few on a borrowed Kindle. I haven't bought an actual book in a while though.

I usually check out books from the library. I've got a few kindle books from the free classics shelf, but I just don't enjoy reading a kindle as much as a book. The only books I purchase are technical reference books, and there I definitely want paper, so I can spread things out.

The more I'm being forced to stare at small flat screens the less I'm liking it.

One question. Do you folks pick up the books at the library? E-books? Paperbacks?

I like to find titles at the library, but I have read a few on a borrowed Kindle. I haven't bought an actual book in a while though.

I got a Kindle for Christmas and have been reading with it since then, but used the library or my own books before that. People manage to give me more books than I can read, and I've got a stack of half read books I've lost interest in over the years.

I really like the library in my town, but it's not easy to get to. I'd use it more if it was.

One question. Do you folks pick up the books at the library? E-books? Paperbacks?

I like to find titles at the library, but I have read a few on a borrowed Kindle. I haven't bought an actual book in a while though.

Yes?

I buy some books that I plan to keep, I may pick up used books from thrift stores if they catch my interest. I download books and read them with mobi pocket reader (http://www.mobipocket.com/en/downloadsoft/productdetailsreader.asp), on my netbook, droid or crackberry. I also use the library, but not as much as I used to, they closed the 3 closest branches to me (two different counties) and killed the bookmobile a few years back (both counties).

I have been looking at the Kindle/Nook etc, but haven't really come to a decision. I would buy one that carried all the periodicals I read, but most of them are far enough outside of the mainstream that they aren't available in e-format.

Aaron :)

Has anybody checked out library books on the Kindle or Nook yet? How did that go for you?

I usually check out books from the library. I've got a few kindle books from the free classics shelf, but I just don't enjoy reading a kindle as much as a book. The only books I purchase are technical reference books, and there I definitely want paper, so I can spread things out.

The more I'm being forced to stare at small flat screens the less I'm liking it.

I read a couple on my wife's Kindle last year. I thought it was much better than reading from a computer screen. Easier on the eyes.

However, it took a while for me to get used to turning pages.

My next problem was that all the books I wanted to read at that time weren't available on Kindle. I think that's improved since last year, but I'm still reading paper books.

Like Roody, I'd like to know how it goes with borrowing Kindle editions from the library.

Has anybody checked out library books on the Kindle or Nook yet? How did that go for you?

I know my son does. He live in Boston and has a Kindle, I will have to ask him how it works. He used to use a Sony reader for quite a while, and I know he was checking out books on that too.

Aaron :)

Holy cow! I just looked at the local library's instructions for get books via Kindle. 4 pages!

http://www.pldminfo.org/search/digitaldownloads/Kindle.pdf

I might just try downloading a Kindle book and reading it on my computer.... just to try it out.

I keep wondering about the future of books. Recently, I've been down-sizing my library. I had books from the 1960s that I read as a kid, like the Signet edition of Soldier's Pay. Unfortunately those old paperbacks are now unreadable. The type is too small for my eyes and the paper is very yellowed and brittle.

Not even the library seems to want them. :(

Holy cow! I just looked at the local library's instructions for get books via Kindle. 4 pages!

http://www.pldminfo.org/search/digitaldownloads/Kindle.pdf

I might just try downloading a Kindle book and reading it on my computer.... just to try it out.

I keep wondering about the future of books. Recently, I've been down-sizing my library. I had books from the 1960s that I read as a kid, like the Signet edition of Soldier's Pay. Unfortunately those old paperbacks are now unreadable. The type is too small for my eyes and the paper is very yellowed and brittle.

Not even the library seems to want them. :(

We have a couple of used book sellers here in town and they seem to do a very brisk business. Most of the analog copy books I have are long out of print and probably will never be issued in e-format. I also have a few that were signed by the authors. I know what you mean by culling and downsizing the library, My family has always had a lot of books, enough that every time we moved they would under estimate the weight of the move by close to 1,000 pounds. :D

The way it works in our family is someone decides they need to purge books, so we post a list on the family website, if something pops up someone else wants they ask for it, then they get sent either to a thrift store or used book store, occasionally recycling. As an example I have a hard back copy of Theirs was the Kingdom by R. F. Delderfield, I had a copy that I picked up years ago in a thrift store in Ohio. I didn't know that mom was missing that from her set, so off it went to mom. Win/Win. We also have friends that can get into the mix too.

Aaron :)

Not even the library seems to want them. :(

Book values are a mystery. I sold one on eBay for $50.00. A few years later, I saw it on the internet being offered for $8,000. Not a similar book, but the exact same copy.

Just finished reading "Twenty Miles Per Cookie" it is about a family who did a 9000ish mile tour around the US and Mexico. It was very entertaining and was not afraid to hide the bad moments as well, like when she seriously thought about taking out her husband but decided it would be too much work digging a whole to bury him.

http://familyonbikes.org/store/twenty_learn.htm

The New York Review of Books (http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/feb/15/ebooks-cant-burn/) ran a short essay on e-readers vs. physical books. It's called "E-books Can’t Burn" by Tim Parks.

Excerpt:



"The e-book, by eliminating all variations in the appearance and weight of the material object we hold in our hand and by discouraging anything but our focus on where we are in the sequence of words ... would seem to bring us closer than the paper book to the essence of the literary experience. ...It is as if one had been freed from everything extraneous and distracting surrounding the text to focus on the pleasure of the words themselves. In this sense the passage from paper to e-book is not unlike the moment when we passed from illustrated children’s books to the adult version of the page that is only text. This is a medium for grown-ups. "

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/feb/15/ebooks-cant-burn/

The New York Review of Books (http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/feb/15/ebooks-cant-burn/) ran a short essay on e-readers vs. physical books. It's called "E-books Can’t Burn" by Tim Parks.

Excerpt:



"The e-book, by eliminating all variations in the appearance and weight of the material object we hold in our hand and by discouraging anything but our focus on where we are in the sequence of words ... would seem to bring us closer than the paper book to the essence of the literary experience. ...It is as if one had been freed from everything extraneous and distracting surrounding the text to focus on the pleasure of the words themselves. In this sense the passage from paper to e-book is not unlike the moment when we passed from illustrated children’s books to the adult version of the page that is only text. This is a medium for grown-ups. "

What a pile of c**p! While a fictional story may work, I think the man is clueless. The paper chosen, the size of the page, the size of the fonts, the illustrations can all add powerfully to the experience. And there is the question of flipping back and forth, to recall a detail you may have missed. In a book, you just hold the page with your finger and go back check the detail on another page and zip back when you are done. In ebooks this process seems a bit more jarring. ebooks do not multi-task.

An ebook is limited by its screen. The screen is small to save on production costs. It does not immerse you. Many of my favorite books have larger pages. They fill my field of vision, they sometimes have extra large pages with maps, charts or other outsized illustrations. Chunking this up for a reader-sized screen can be aggrevating, it is a tyranny of tunnel-vision.

Mr. Parks elitism is akin to those who feel that a bike not made of carbon fiber is somehow less of a bicycle. He's missing a lot of the experience.

eBooks do not burn, but they do require precious metals, energy, batteries and slave-like labor to keep the prices down. They require more maintenance and as ebooks progress, the crude standards of today may prevent their use tomorrow. Think of all that DOS software that is now completely unusable.

I'm not a luddite imagining that they will go away. I've worked on two books for publication in this past year and both will end up as eBooks in one form. But to declare game over for the printed book, is ignorant and foolish to say the least.

Artkansas, the aspect of the electronic reader being made by slave labor in SE Asia does concern me.

But your other points... need some perspective. The book has been undergoing an evolution since before I was born. Printing processes changed enough to allow cheap editions ("perfect bound", newsprint) to be more widely circulated. These things certainly made books available to me that I could not have otherwise afforded. During that period, everyone could afford a collection of Penguin Classics.

The problem is though, as I mention earlier, the paper degrades earlier than cloth paper and the bindings fall apart after a while.

The e-readers allow me to carry a huge number of books in a small format. The elegance of old-style fonts (like you used to get with lead type) is gone, but for the most part the format is very readable. Actually quite a bit more than my paper collection.

I'd say paper books won't go away, but I'd imagine the lower end of the market will change drastically. I'm guessing the market will shift to nice book editions that cost a bunch more, suitable for libraries, personal or otherwise. But people who want to read a lot will have their noses in eReaders... that'd be my guess.

Has anybody checked out library books on the Kindle or Nook yet? How did that go for you?

I haven't done that yet, but would like to know. My library is hosting a class on how to do this soon, and I'd like go and find out how. It can't be too hard, can it?

I don't think printed books are going to become obsolete, they just have the right feel for some things. I can't imagine getting as excited about reading On The Road for the first time on my Kindle as I did the battered paperback that I carried in the back pocket of my jeans.

I don't care too much about the format, but paper still has one advantage over electronic text. It's easier on the eyes. Eventually, the e-readers will come close or match the eye comfort of paper, but we're not quite there right now.

The e-readers allow me to carry a huge number of books in a small format. The elegance of old-style fonts (like you used to get with lead type) is gone, but for the most part the format is very readable. Actually quite a bit more than my paper collection.

I honestly don't know why eReaders still exist as a separate kind of machine. It's a terrible limitation compared to an iPad or the like. From my experience, it's really a throwback to the '90s in what kind of control an author has. The only reason I see for it is companies trying to control the market with proprietary software. In creating the books I have, it really seemed crude compared to what can be done in other formats.

I don't tend to read much fiction, and often when doing a project often have 5-10 books open at once. Having them all on an eReader would seem confusing.

I honestly don't know why eReaders still exist as a separate kind of machine. It's a terrible limitation compared to an iPad or the like.
Don't you find the e-Readers much better on the eyes? Also the weight is a bit of a concern. Reading a book on an iPad is .. well... weighty. :)

Also you can read PDFs on a Kindle. I haven't read PDF books any yet... so can't comment. I don't have a Kindle... I just borrow them.

I honestly don't know why eReaders still exist as a separate kind of machine. It's a terrible limitation compared to an iPad or the like. From my experience, it's really a throwback to the '90s in what kind of control an author has. The only reason I see for it is companies trying to control the market with proprietary software. In creating the books I have, it really seemed crude compared to what can be done in other formats.

I don't tend to read much fiction, and often when doing a project often have 5-10 books open at once. Having them all on an eReader would seem confusing.

I suppose that eventually one form of media will win out. It's really stupid to have books in more than one (incompatible) format. I think that we should end up with a device that is a notepad, e-reader and telephone, all in one. Probably it will fold or roll up for portability.

I suppose that eventually one form of media will win out. It's really stupid to have books in more than one (incompatible) format. I think that we should end up with a device that is a notepad, e-reader and telephone, all in one. Probably it will fold or roll up for portability.

I also think that books will become more interactive, they won't be books really, but include animations, videos, audio, virtual reality and augmented reality. That's where current eReaders seem so crude. They don't connect this way.

I also think that books will become more interactive, they won't be books really, but include animations, videos, audio, virtual reality and augmented reality. That's where current eReaders seem so crude. They don't connect this way.
There are some interactive storytelling forms, but those are in the realm of video games and role playing games. The story framework is in place but the player sets out some of the details of how the story line will play out.

Adding video, audio or animation to a conventional story would be possible, but it completely changes the storytelling structure. While some of this may develop in the future, I don't see such forms replacing the written word.

Adding video, audio or animation to a conventional story would be possible, but it completely changes the storytelling structure. While some of this may develop in the future, I don't see such forms replacing the written word.

Augment, not replace. I already bristle at video tutorials where you have to sit through 2-3 minutes of material to get to that one bit you wanted, when if it was text, you could scan it in seconds.

I also think that books will become more interactive, they won't be books really, but include animations, videos, audio, virtual reality and augmented reality. That's where current eReaders seem so crude. They don't connect this way.

I think the argument is that they are too "linear" :)

I still think an eReader doesn't need to be be all these things. It's sort of how "cool media" radio was supplanted by the "hot media" television. But sometimes a radio is a nice thing. And sometimes a book with no pictures is OK too.

I like to read digital format at home. But I still don't like ebooks outside the house. It sucks if a book gets soaked in the rain, but I'll go out and buy it again if I can't salvage it. But if a kindle gets hit in a downpour, I'm not as quick to replace it due to cost. I'm not good at being careful with belonging once they leave my house. Paper outside the house. Digital at home. Until they make indestructable kids kindles and ipads for people like me, I'd be a fool to buy one of these. I do read books from kobo on my computer. If I don't see a book at the library or on kobo, then I download it free.

Well this thread and some other stuff got me digging into the possibility of a Kindle...got a Kindle Touch on order. :o

The library in the county just south of me does e-book loans, and there is plenty of free stuff out there. I have a tendency to read and re-read the classics so I am good on that front.:lol:

Aaron:)

Well this thread and some other stuff got me digging into the possibility of a Kindle...got a Kindle Touch on order. :o

The library in the county just south of me does e-book loans, and there is plenty of free stuff out there. I have a tendency to read and re-read the classics so I am good on that front.:lol:

Aaron:)
Cool... let us know how it goes with the library too.... unless you're too busy reading :)

Well this thread and some other stuff got me digging into the possibility of a Kindle...got a Kindle Touch on order. :o

The library in the county just south of me does e-book loans, and there is plenty of free stuff out there. I have a tendency to read and re-read the classics so I am good on that front.:lol:

Aaron:)

I've been reading a lot of the classics I never read in the first place on my Kindle, and using the included dictionary for some of the archaic words. I've read a couple of HG Wells, books, some F. Scott Fitzgerald that was a test of endurance, Ben Franklin's autobiography with enough downloaded to keep my busy for a while. I bet you'll like it.

I've been reading a lot of the classics I never read in the first place on my Kindle, and using the included dictionary for some of the archaic words. I've read a couple of HG Wells, books, some F. Scott Fitzgerald that was a test of endurance, Ben Franklin's autobiography with enough downloaded to keep my busy for a while. I bet you'll like it.

Good for you! I hope you read Walden by Thoreau while you're at it.

:)

One question. Do you folks pick up the books at the library? E-books? Paperbacks?


My library has ebook downloads - after 3 weeks they just expire, no fines for returning the books late! I love it and I've been using that service heavily since I bought my e-reader in May 2010 :)

I also buy secondhand books, borrow physical library books, *very* occasionally buy new books... any end every way to feed the words-in-a-row addiction... (If I bought every book I read - well, I'm pretty sure a crack addiction would be cheaper).

THANK YOU SO MUCH to the people who mentioned H.G. Wells' Wheels of Chance. I enjoyed it very much! :D

Just finished reading "Twenty Miles Per Cookie" it is about a family who did a 9000ish mile tour around the US and Mexico. It was very entertaining and was not afraid to hide the bad moments as well, like when she seriously thought about taking out her husband but decided it would be too much work digging a whole to bury him.

http://familyonbikes.org/store/twenty_learn.htm

The author and her husband are members here, did you know? :)