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[Salazar]

I've purchased the first 2 of Joe Abercrombie's books from Amazon, The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged. Both versions for Kindle.

My goodness the formatting is terrible.

A friend just started up an e-book publisher. I've told her she is in big trouble if her books aren't immaculate. No excuses.

 

[aidan]

I've purchased the first 2 of Joe Abercrombie's books from Amazon, The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged. Both versions for Kindle.

My goodness the formatting is terrible. There is a massive paragraph break in place of every carriage return which creates these islands of text. I can't believe nobody looked at this before it went to market. I emailed Amazon and they said they would look into it. Pretty strange for a popular series.

I've run into this before with a copy of Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. I contacted the publisher and told him about the problem. He had no idea that there was a problem, looked at the original file they send out to the eBook publisher (Kobo, in this case) and said it looked clean. From the sounds of it, the distributor (Kobo, Amazon, etc...) or the manufacturer of the eReader is responsible for these errors, rather than the publisher itself. Every eReader interprets an eBook differently. It might look beautiful on a Nook, but broken on a Kobo or a Kindle. Kinda crazy, if you ask me, but it'll remain this way until eBooks are standardized.

 

[ismaboof]

A required book for school. Everyone I've talked to says it's god damn amazing, so it has high hopes to live up to. I'm only on page 15 or so, and only get glimpses of amazing writing. This one has plenty of room to become incredible.

Finished it this morning. Holy shit did it get amazing after about page 70 or so. It just took a hold of me and didn't let go. One of my top books that I've ever read I think.

Now I'm on to more books for school.

A literary journalism book about Salvador. All my classmates think it's amazing, but I just don't get it. The first half read like a long news story, and the rare glimpses of any kind of author interaction are too short. We'll see how the second half turns out.

The foreword starts with "Hello, friends," and continues to do all it can to maintain some kind of conversational tone. I've just started it and I hope the style doesn't distract me.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

Reading Declare by Tim Powers. I wanted to read On Stranger Tides but the library didn't have any copies. As in they didn't even have a listing for it. So strange.

 

[Salazar]

Reading Declare by Tim Powers. I wanted to read On Stranger Tides but the library didn't have any copies. As in they didn't even have a listing for it. So strange.

The Stress of Her Regard is also pretty good.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

I got The Anubis Gates as well so I'll check that one out after I finish these two.

 

[Burger]

I've run into this before with a copy of Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. I contacted the publisher and told him about the problem. He had no idea that there was a problem, looked at the original file they send out to the eBook publisher (Kobo, in this case) and said it looked clean. From the sounds of it, the distributor (Kobo, Amazon, etc...) or the manufacturer of the eReader is responsible for these errors, rather than the publisher itself. Every eReader interprets an eBook differently. It might look beautiful on a Nook, but broken on a Kobo or a Kindle. Kinda crazy, if you ask me, but it'll remain this way until eBooks are standardized.

It's unacceptable, and it's not my Kindle's fault. The publisher produces the eBook and sells it, therefore it is their responsibility to ensure it's of a high standard. Amazon have already asked if they can refund my money (I declined), acknowledged there is an issue, and asked the publisher to sort it out.

The issue is there are x4 <P> (paragraph breaks) when there should be one. It's not the Kindle interpreting the file badly, it's just a bad file.

Example:

 

[hey_monkey]

He is truly amazing, Cyan. "Prodigal" in that collection really grabs me every time, and "Big Me, "and "Something to Remember Me By"... I could go on.

 

[aidan]

It's unacceptable, and it's not my Kindle's fault. The publisher produces the eBook and sells it, therefore it is their responsibility to ensure it's of a high standard. Amazon have already asked if they can refund my money (I declined), acknowledged there is an issue, and asked the publisher to sort it out.

The issue is there are x4 <P> (paragraph breaks) when there should be one. It's not the Kindle interpreting the file badly, it's just a bad file.

Example:

I'm not giving anyone a free pass. I wasn't happy with my eBook, either. All I'm saying is the publisher submits a file to the distributor (Kobo, B&N, Amazon) and they convert it into an appropriate file for their device. At that point the publisher's created a file that they've formatted and should be error free. As far as I'm aware, the publisher submits the exact same file to every eBook distributor. The broken encoding happens after the publisher submits the file and Amazon/Kobo/B&N/Sony/Whoever goes through the process of converting the generic file over to their proprietary format. It's up to Amazon (or whoever you bought the book from) to fix the problem, not the publisher.

Like I said, it's a huge issue and it's something that can only be solved properly by standardizing the eBook format and doing away with so many proprietary formats. That way a publisher can handcraft every eBook and ensure that it displays correctly on every eReader.

 

[Vyer]

I'm not surprised.

I read The Imperfectionists recently as it sounded interesting. It wasn't. I can't really tell you how I felt about it, because I felt nothing. It was like drinking a glass of water and being asked to write a paragraph on how it tasted. It's fairly light and easy to read though, but ultimately bland.

Just finished this one, and I can see where you are coming from. I wouldn't go as far as saying 'bland', but it felt more like a short story collection with a few tenuous strands weaved throughout. Some of the characters' stories held my interest and were entertaining, but ultimately I really didn't get the impact I think Rachman was going for regarding the industry and print. I think he has a skill with dialogue and character interaction, but ultimately I felt just kind of middle of the road about it.


Anyhow, since getting my Kindle I've burned through a few books this month, along with Imperfectionists.

Finally got around to reading this. Was actually impressed as it was better than I was expecting. The 'oral history' format of it worked well, and it was definitely unique in how it handled a lot of the old zombie conventions. I felt like the end came on rather suddenly in comparison to the rest of the book, but overall it was very entertaining.

Holy hell was this book rather draining, though I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Markedly different than And Then We Came To The End, Ferris' first book, this is about a guy with a strange affliction that causes him basically to lose control of his body basically and start walking - without the ability to stop. Eventually he will, where he collapses from exhaustion. The guy is pretty well off - hotshot lawyer, wife, kid - and all of those things become completely shaped by his illness. Ferris is a gifted writer, though I think the contrast and shit in tone between the first and second half of the book is pretty jarring

Spoiler

particularly as you start to realize what he is leading to

and some have complained that the details of the protagonist's 'walks' gets a little meandering, but I didn't get a whole lot of that really. I found them pretty interesting in how the narrative behind them changes as the character changes. Anyway, don't expect a sappy happy book here, though I understand the themes of love and sacrifice are the driving force behind it, it certainly buries that underlying tone under some depressing layers.


I also picked up Sh*t My Dad Says on a whim (and because it was cheap) and I'm not gonna lie - it was much much better than I was expecting. I don't know anything about the sitcom or Twitter account or Halpern's background, but the book was honestly pretty humorous and genuine. I have a hard time believing that one man can actually say all this shit and it could be all fake for all I know, but it was entertaining at least.

 

[nakedsushi]

Called it quits halfway through


Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I had two main problems with the book. 1) the framing devices (frame within a frame that's sometimes also in another frame) was clumsy and IMO took away any intimacy with the characters actions. 2.) the characters were all despicable. Maybe its a caused by #1 since the whole story is told from the perspective of a lady's servant and of course she could be biased, but everyone was so calculating, vengeful, and the romance was just so unhealthy!

Ah, the Bronte sisters.

 

[Aurelius]

Finally picked up the Dark Tower series again.

 

[thomaser]

Finished Bram Stoker's "Dracula" for the fourth or fifth time. Something about the whole Dracula-myth just rubs me the right way. This time, I read the Norton Critical Edition, which has lots of extra texts. Six or seven critical essays with various interpretations of the book. Nearly all of them came to the same conclusion, though: it's really about sex and the Victorian fear of women. The last essay was different, and claimed, somewhat successfully, that Dracula is really none other than Oscar Wilde.

After that, read "The Dead", the last part of James Joyce's "Dubliners", for school. About to start Austen's "Sense and Sensibility", also for school. Read it last year and didn't particularly enjoy it.

Also about to start Ibsen's play "John Gabriel Borkman". I've read his plays chronologically over the last couple of years, and this is the penultimate one.

After that, I don't know. Perhaps I should man up and read Thomas Pynchon's "Against the Day". I don't know how wise it is to read something as demanding and large as that alongside all the school-reading, but it has been in my bookshelf since it came out, and I really want to see what it's about. Has anyone here read it?

 

[HarryHengst]

If only i was smart enough to understand it. Still owns though, and still relevant even though it's been 150 years since it was written.

 

[Granger Danger]

Called it quits halfway through


Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I had two main problems with the book. 1) the framing devices (frame within a frame that's sometimes also in another frame) was clumsy and IMO took away any intimacy with the characters actions. 2.) the characters were all despicable. Maybe its a caused by #1 since the whole story is told from the perspective of a lady's servant and of course she could be biased, but everyone was so calculating, vengeful, and the romance was just so unhealthy!

Ah, the Bronte sisters.

 

[crowphoenix]

I finished up the two books I was reading.

Gods Behaving Badly: This one is going to be a bit difficult to review. It's a light and breezy read with good dialogue and fun characters. It's the kind of book that doesn't take itself too seriously and feels like it's constantly poking fun at my expectations (Which is something I love).

However, it just too breezy. Everything in the book just moves far too fast. It's over before it feels like it has even finished setting everything up. As a result, there is little power or weight to anything that happens because there's no time for tension to build before the situation is resolved, and yet, I can't imagine how the story could be slowed down without adding fluff.

In the end, it's a fun read, but the ending is awful and the book's set-up only works if you allow everyone to have a moment of pure stupidity.

The Sherlockian: I still stand by my initial impressions of this book. Harold and Sarah are both boring characters. There is nothing original about them, and until the very end, their chapters are a slog to get through. That said, by the end, the mystery itself they are unraveling begins to overshadow them and drives the reader forward. The answers are are satisfying, and the twists are, to me at least, surprising.

However, I still think the book would have been better served if it had been cut in half and focused entirely on the Conan Doyle sections. Seeing Doyle and Bram Stoker investigating the mystery of a letter bomb that sent to Doyle and dealing with Doyle's hatred of Holmes is fascinating, fun, and in a way heartwarmingly bittersweet. There was never a moment when I didn't want to see what those two would get into next.

And now, I'm on to Agatha Christie's - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

 

[nakedsushi]

I couldn't stop thinking about that comic while I was reading the book.

 

[Zalasta]

I was going to hold out until The Towers of Midnight is released in a week on Kindle, but I started reading a sample for Gardens of the Moon, liked it and bought it since it was only $2.99.

 

[Guileless]

I also got Gardens of the Moon for $2.99. It seems like something good to wade into this time of year.

Still working my way through the official GAF canon, I finished The Name of the Wind. I enjoyed it, although some parts are overwritten and repetitive. But some of that is inevitable with a book that long. Overall it was a good page turner, and I'm lookind forward to the sequel.

Re: The Sherlockian. The premise is intriguing, but the Kindle sample didn't grab me. I may read it once it's in paperback.

I tried finding Flashman but there's no Kindle version, my library doesn't have it, and my new year's resolution is not not buy any more books that require shelf space. I'm trying to at least last until March.

I did borrow Masters of Doom and will read it while listening to the Alice in Chains album Dirt and enjoying a Patio burrito for full nostalgic effect.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I, too, picked up Gardens of the Moon for $2.99 on Kindle. I own the paperback, and have been highly critical of it, but one day I plan to give it another earnest try so I figured I should have the digital version, too. This Kindle thing is turning into my Steam for books. Damn sales!

 

[LocoMrPollock]

It's unacceptable, and it's not my Kindle's fault. The publisher produces the eBook and sells it, therefore it is their responsibility to ensure it's of a high standard. Amazon have already asked if they can refund my money (I declined), acknowledged there is an issue, and asked the publisher to sort it out.

The issue is there are x4 <P> (paragraph breaks) when there should be one. It's not the Kindle interpreting the file badly, it's just a bad file.

Example:

http://i51.tinypic.com/11jugyh.jpg[IMG][IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/280npk9.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]


You shouldn't have to, of course, but if you want to fix it, I recommend using [URL="http://calibre-ebook.com/"]Calibre.[/URL]It truly is a wonder program and can convert and re-format any and all e-book formats you can think of. I really can't say enough good things about it.

It's freeware, but I recommend donating since it's such a great program.

 

[nakedsushi]

For those of you guys who have the Goodreads app, the newest update in the app store now includes BARCODE SCANNER! I *really* like it for adding new books when I'm at the bookstore or someone's house to my list. It's pretty much point and shoot =D

 

[aidan]

For those of you guys who have the Goodreads app, the newest update in the app store now includes BARCODE SCANNER! I *really* like it for adding new books when I'm at the bookstore or someone's house to my list. It's pretty much point and shoot =D

Just last week, I was walking to the mailbox and thinking to myself that a barcode scanner for Goodreads would be awesome. I thought of PMing you and seeing if one was in the works. Good work!

 

[Burger]

You shouldn't have to, of course, but if you want to fix it, I recommend using Calibre.It truly is a wonder program and can convert and re-format any and all e-book formats you can think of. I really can't say enough good things about it.

It's freeware, but I recommend donating since it's such a great program.

I do use Calibre occasionally, but I'm not going to go and manually fix a book for a publisher by hand after stripping the DRM. It's easier just to go and find a proper copy online somewhere.

 

[Granger Danger]

I do use Calibre occasionally, but I'm not going to go and manually fix a book for a publisher by hand after stripping the DRM. It's easier just to go and find a proper copy online somewhere.

How passive aggressive

 

[ismaboof]

A literary journalism book about Salvador. All my classmates think it's amazing, but I just don't get it. The first half read like a long news story, and the rare glimpses of any kind of author interaction are too short. We'll see how the second half turns out.

Just finished this. Meh. It's a book. It exists. Never managed to connect with me.

 

[hey_monkey]

Holy hell, where is this from? I about fell out of my chair.

 

[Alucard]

It's an odd mix of science fiction, post-apocalyptic underwater adventure, ecological commentary, and romance. I'm at the halfway mark (the book is just under 300 pages) and it's starting to pick up. I initially bought it because of cover art and because it was dirt cheap in a used book store, and I feel like I'm getting a good bit out of it. Check it out if you're into adventure, romance, and sci-fi. It's a bit stereotypical in parts, but it's still been a satisfying ride up to this point.

 

[hey_monkey]

I will let myself read the whole thing after I finish at least part of this thing I am writing. Because, wow.

 

[Echoes]

How come Amazon lists Child 44 (Kindle edition) at 12$ while this thread says it's 3$?

 

[ChubbyHuggs]

Finally going to finish the Asian Saga, so I am finishing up King Rat, by James Clavell.

 

[Maklershed]

How come Amazon lists Child 44 (Kindle edition) at 12$ while this thread says it's 3$?

Because thats the price it was and your the first person to alert me to the fact that they jacked the hell out of the price. Maybe because so many of us were buying it and Amazon wanted to cash in while it was on fire?

 

[Sofo]

Once I get done with my finals I can't wait to finish up 'Last Night in Twisted River', by John Irving. Love the author but love his novels a bunch more.

The more you read from this author, the more interesting are his recurrent themes.

 

[Echoes]

Because thats the price it was and your the first person to alert me to the fact that they jacked the hell out of the price. Maybe because so many of us were buying it and Amazon wanted to cash in while it was on fire?

Oh. Well, that sucks.

I'm currently halfway through The Solitude of Prime Numbers. Really enjoying it.

 

[Ceebs]

Saw this mentioned here a few times so I decided to give it a shot.

The very definition of a page turner. About halfway through and I just cannot put this book down.

Will be starting this once I finish The Shadow of the Wind.

 

[.GqueB.]

Holy hell was this book rather draining, though I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Markedly different than And Then We Came To The End, Ferris' first book, this is about a guy with a strange affliction that causes him basically to lose control of his body basically and start walking - without the ability to stop. Eventually he will, where he collapses from exhaustion. The guy is pretty well off - hotshot lawyer, wife, kid - and all of those things become completely shaped by his illness. Ferris is a gifted writer, though I think the contrast and shit in tone between the first and second half of the book is pretty jarring

Spoiler

particularly as you start to realize what he is leading to

and some have complained that the details of the protagonist's 'walks' gets a little meandering, but I didn't get a whole lot of that really. I found them pretty interesting in how the narrative behind them changes as the character changes. Anyway, don't expect a sappy happy book here, though I understand the themes of love and sacrifice are the driving force behind it, it certainly buries that underlying tone under some depressing layers.

Sir I do believe you just sold a book. Loved "And then we came to the end."

 

[nakedsushi]

Finished this last night. Pretty page-turney. I love locked-room mysteries.


Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn

 

[Fanboydestroyer]

A Wizard of EarthSea. really enjoying it so far. Actually got all of the EarthSea books for around $7 at a used book store.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

Reading Declare by Tim Powers. I wanted to read On Stranger Tides but the library didn't have any copies. As in they didn't even have a listing for it. So strange.

I just got to the part of the book where

Spoiler

shits gets strange

and it was jarring to go from a well-written spy book to...to that. It's a very good book, it was just strange how quickly that change was made. There were little hints and pieces thrown in at the end of chapters - you know, the "and yet did he realize that 5 years from now all would be lost" kind of thing that just leaves you hanging - but it didn't prepare me.

 

[Laekon]

Finally going to finish the Asian Saga, so I am finishing up King Rat, by James Clavell.

I just finished Shogun and will have to look into this. While I thought the ending was a little weak the book as a whole was really good.

 

[SmoothCB]

Can't wait to start this when I have time to really absorb it.

 

[Quote]

The Way of the Shadows. - I'm posting a picture of the french cover because the US cover is TERRIBLE and puts me off whenever I even think about it.

I've never been much of a reader. I've read maybe a handful of books but I'm trying to change that. This is definitely filling my craving after playing Assassin's Creed II. So, yeah, I'm really enjoying it.

 

[thetechkid]

Pretty hilarious, and it doubles as a calendar!

 

[ymmv]

I just got to the part of the book where

Spoiler

shits gets strange

and it was jarring to go from a well-written spy book to...to that. It's a very good book, it was just strange how quickly that change was made. There were little hints and pieces thrown in at the end of chapters - you know, the "and yet did he realize that 5 years from now all would be lost" kind of thing that just leaves you hanging - but it didn't prepare me.

You didn't know that this was a supernatural spy thriller?

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Typically brilliant characterization woven between several fictional days worth of well-constructed military action. Abercrombie explores the purpose of war, the illusion of most concepts surrounding heroism, and the tenuous nature of what, exactly, the right thing is. It's all very cynical and dry and filled with gorgeous anticlimax. Which only helps the moments of sentimentality resonate stronger, however tainted they may be by the pungent odor of reality. You have to be realistic about these things, after all.

Spoiler

The return to Styria next year is going to be something.

 

[sparky2112]

The Way of the Shadows. - I'm posting a picture of the french cover because the US cover is TERRIBLE and puts me off whenever I even think about it.

I've never been much of a reader. I've read maybe a handful of books but I'm trying to change that. This is definitely filling my craving after playing Assassin's Creed II. So, yeah, I'm really enjoying it.

Wow. THAT is sexy.

 

[Vyer]

Sir I do believe you just sold a book. Loved "And then we came to the end."

haha, well like I said, fair warning: I like Ferris' writing but this book is nothing like his last. Just so you know going in.

 

[ymmv]

Currently reading:

It's been years since I read a Robert E. Howard story and it's just so much fun to read these classic fantasy adventure stories again. I was already familiar with Conan of course but I never read a single Solomon Kane story. This collection has every SK story plus unfinished fragments and a number of poems. I just love Howard's purple prose of steely eyed adventurers, sensuous maidens, primitive tribes and eons old civilizations.

The illustrations by Gary Gianni are fabulous too. The cover didn't lie wit the claim that this was a fully illustrated volume. There are dozens of 'em and they all ooze with atmosphere. Gianni's style harkens back to late 19th century, early 20th century illustrators and is just perfect for this collection.

I'm now ordering all the other Robert E Howard collections that have been published by Del Rey so far. You can read most of these stories online now but if the fully illustrated Del Rey versions are as good as this volume I'd like to get the whole collection from a bookstore instead of the Gutenberg archive.

 

[sparky2112]

Sir I do believe you just sold a book. Loved "And then we came to the end."

I cannot even begin to express how much I love '...End'. It's pretty damn close to perfect.

 

[Captain Howdy]

Reading it for a class, but it's actually pretty captivating.