Time for a new book - any suggestions?

[The AD]

More popular than vinyl though. I work for a book publisher and our ebook sales plateaued at about 20 percent years ago. Still sell mostly paper books, and book sales have held up well overall.

That's weird to me. I think reading via an e-reader kicks the shit out of reading a physical book.

[yeahman]

That's weird to me. I think reading via an e-reader kicks the shit out of reading a physical book.

I prefer paper. I get enough screen time at work. Plus I've never found it as easy to flip around and re-read sections of a ebook, and I like to do that a lot.

My wife reads tons of books on her phone. I can't fathom that at all. Have to admit I've never tried a Kindle, just my tablet.

[abraham]

I prefer paper. I get enough screen time at work. Plus I've never found it as easy to flip around and re-read sections of a ebook, and I like to do that a lot.

My wife reads tons of books on her phone. I can't fathom that at all. Have to admit I've never tried a Kindle, just my tablet.

I have the same feeling about screens and flipping around. That and I associate sections I like to a physical space/feeling so I can find them again later. It's hard to describe and I get shit for rarely using bookmarks. I spent time with a rabbi who would find sections of the Torah by scrolling through it when we discussed them. It was an impressive skill.

I don't mind reading on an eink tablet but I struggle to read whole books on my phone.

[The AD]

My wife reads tons of books on her phone. I can't fathom that at all. Have to admit I've never tried a Kindle, just my tablet.

Egad. No, I wouldn't use a phone. Kindle all the way. I don't consider it "screen time" because it's essentially just like looking at a book--but with the ability to change the font size, look at a word in the dictionary instantaneously, store hundreds of books on a single device, and no losing words in the gutter like you often do with a paper book.

[ghosthop]

no losing words in the gutter like you often do with a paper book.

I've been reading a chapter a day from the second printing (1899) of 'Riverboat on the Styx' and the margins are easily 1/3 of the page area. It's a luxury I had not considered before.

[dookeyXXX]

I dunno, I love books, especially the act of going to a bookstore and just browsing. And that musty smell of old paper at those really cramped, Old School used bookstores is sublime, plus the thrill of grabbing a book and buying it just based on the cover art; it's like an album vs a CD.
I have not used a Kindle or other like-minded devices, but I have a really hard time reading a book or short story on my tablet or computer.

As for current reads, I finished Wolf In White Van earlier this month and dug it (although reading the f+×cling Wikipedia entry spoiled the ending for me). It was like a cross between Bridge To Terebethia, Catcher in the Rye, and a luddite/analog version of Ready Player One. Really looking forward to John Darnielle's other works.

Earlier this week I finished Cherry. I definitely wasn't as smitten with it as all the critics, whose pull-quotes adorning the first several pages were pretty hyperbolic, imho.
I thought the heroin chic sections were great, but the Iraq portions were meh. Plus the narrator never got into how he got hooked on heroin in the first place, so it felt like a chapter or two were missing. Also, quite a bit of the writing was clunky. While it had shades of The Basketball Diaries and Less Than Zero, it was nowhere near as literate.

Started Lovecraft Country this week...

[The AD]

I dunno, I love books, especially the act of going to a bookstore and just browsing. And that musty smell of old paper at those really cramped, Old School used bookstores is sublime, plus the thrill of grabbing a book and buying it just based on the cover art; it's like an album vs a CD.

That I can relate to. I used to spend lots of time at both book stores and record stores.

[evasive_MT]

When I was a kid, I loved going to the library. I’m no less enthusiastic about them in concept, but now that I can afford to, I buy books I want to read. Usually in hardback.

My only use for an e-reader is the Comixology app on my iPad to hide my secret shame.

[The AD]

I buy very few ebooks for my Kindle. For the most part I check them all out from the library. It does mean I'll have to wait a while for popular titles, but no big deal. The way it's set up is pretty cool. You check it out from the library's OverDrive page which then redirects you to Amazon where you download the book.

That's another advantage of ebooks: you don't have to worry where it's been before. I've seen some pretty gross library books in my life.

[yeahman]

The way publishing contracts are structured, writers make the most profit when somebody buys a physical copy of their book. So if there are writers you really like who maybe aren't bestsellers, buying a hardback or paperback copy is the best way to support their efforts. And yes, it is more consumptive, but when I finish a book I either give it to a friend or put it on the FREE rack at the library, keep it in circulation. I never let books languish on my shelves. Okay, a select few, but there really needs to be some higher level connection for me to save a book.

Purchasing an ebook also supports the writer.

Checking a book out of the library is not a bad thing, sales to libraries can be significant. But it probably channels the least amount of $$ to the writer.

[dookeyXXX]

My only use for an e-reader is the Comixology app on my iPad to hide my secret shame.

Heck, I still buy physical comic books every now and then (hit up the 2 shops in Reno just last week, though sadly they don't carry a lot of the titles I lean towards; picked up some Hellboy and Usagi Yojimbo, and my buddy Jim Mahfood's Grrl Scouts, but struck out on the Walter Mosely written Thing (Fantastic Four's Ben Grimm) mini-series...)

[kootenayskier]

I’ll go for long periods without finding anything inspiring, but the past three books have all been exceptional.

MInistry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson: A near future science fiction exploration of how humanity might actually address the calamity of climate change. Both terrifying and hopeful.
Apeirogon, by Colum McCann. The Israeli Palestinian conflict, told and retold from a multitude of perspectives. Beautifully written, wise and humane. Amongst the best novels ever written.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, by Gabor Mate. Both a personal and authoritative treatise on all aspects of addiction. Everyone needs to read this book, to understand our own failings, so that we are more compassionate to the addicts amongst us, and so that we can support the public policy measures that will actually be effective.

[The AD]

I'm about halfway through Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. It's good, but hasn't gripped me like All The Light We Cannot See did. The new book is similar, though. Several interwoven storylines although this time those stories are set in the past, present, and future.

[toast2266]

I'm about halfway through Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. It's good, but hasn't gripped me like All The Light We Cannot See did. The new book is similar, though. Several interwoven storylines although this time those stories are set in the past, present, and future.

Just finished that one - thought it was great. But yeah, the first 1/3 didn't really grab me. But I found the second half of the book to be a lot more engaging - the different threads start weaving together more coherently.

[The AD]

Just finished that one - thought it was great. But yeah, the first 1/3 didn't really grab me. But I found the second half of the book to be a lot more engaging - the different threads start weaving together more coherently.

I can see that. It takes a while to set the stage for all the various stories. I just got to the point last night where the girl is put into isolation with the computer.

[evasive_MT]

Time to re-read this one.

[dookeyXXX]

I just finished LOVECRAFT COUNTRY.
It's a fun genre mash borrowing heavily from the gothic and pulp eras, mixing up the likes of Lovecraft, Stevenson, as well as morn modern horror authors such as Richard Matheson, amongst others.
The narrative wasn't exactly what I was expecting and took a while to get used to, but in the end it was really cool.
It's set up for sequels and while I generally do not like series, I would be down for some further adventures of these characters.

RIYL
The Somnambulist; American Gods; The Chronicles of Narnia; Paradox Bound

[abraham]

Time to re-read this one.

You should post more of the books you like, they catch my eye.

The sea book I'm still reading has me looking at other history through technology books. I picked up this textiles one as a gift for my mom, but I started reading it and got sucked in.

[dunfree]

“The mushroom at the end of the world” Anna Tsing
global trade in matsutake mushrooms, and more

A history book on the intelligence unit of the republic of Venice

“a perfect red” might interest - its the history of cochineal.

[The AD]

Just finished that one - thought it was great. But yeah, the first 1/3 didn't really grab me. But I found the second half of the book to be a lot more engaging - the different threads start weaving together more coherently.

I finished it a few days ago. I liked it, but didn't love it. I'd give it a 7.5/10.

[toast2266]

I finished it a few days ago. I liked it, but didn't love it. I'd give it a 7.5/10.

Yeah, that seems about right. I would've maybe given it a 7.75. Possibly an 8. A muddled beginning dragged it down a bit, and I think maybe the ending didn't quite live up to the build up. But all in all I thought it was a great use of my time.

[ötzi]

gah. There's too much to read. Black Sea vs. cochineal vs. textiles, argh. It would help if the internet hadn't reduced my attention span to firefly time.

Currently reading The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin. Bogged down where he turns to his notebooks, is this book over? I can't tell. I even paged ahead to try to figure out if he gets back to the outback narrative (which I was really enjoying) but it didn't seem like he does. The first part was really good, and more of what I expected after reading Patagonia last year.

[Flyoverland Captive]

Songlines is good, but it was marketed as a travelogue/non-fiction. Bruce had it remarketed as fiction at some point, apparently after getting called out on some of the fantastic claims.

[abraham]

“The mushroom at the end of the world” Anna Tsing
global trade in matsutake mushrooms, and more

A history book on the intelligence unit of the republic of Venice

“a perfect red” might interest - its the history of cochineal.

Thanks, I'll check those out. Is the Venice book "Venice's Secret Service: Organising Intelligence in the Renaissance"?

[evasive_MT]

You should post more of the books you like, they catch my eye.

The sea book I'm still reading has me looking at other history through technology books. I picked up this textiles one as a gift for my mom, but I started reading it and got sucked in.

That textiles book looks interesting.

I just finished this:


Which lead me to this. It’s next in the queue