Re: What's to read?
Max wrote- Some Pratchett fans that particularly hate *Night Watch* would be amazed that you find *Night Watch* lighter reading, but perhaps you lucked out by skipping *Thief of Time*, first. You might find *Night Watch* to be a subtly different beast if you re-read it after *Thief of Time*. (Personally I'm a fan of *Thief of Time* and *Night Watch*.) However, you probably want to read a lot more Discworld books before you work your way back to *Thief of Time*... OK Max, you are going to chuckle, guess what one of the other 2 Pratchetts I downloaded was? Already a good chunk of the way through Thief of Time, not as good as Night Watch to me, but it is good enough to pass some flight time. My comments on lighter are from a naive perspective since this was my introduction to Pratchett in a lay persons terms Quaint village opening with some time of police force with cross bows and suddenly there is an interaction with a zombie what kind of story is this . oh well, take it in stride, I don't know what discworld *is*, and a zombie never really hurt a story too bad most of the time. moving along.. interaction with troll and timeline stuff.. well, after a zombie, what is a troll to bother about, I am a non discrimatory head shaker, but still don't know where it is going, time line stuff seems cool enough, lets see where it goes. rinse, repeat. Whenever I read Bear and Gibson, I have to prepare myself for the possibility of a major culture immersion, something where I have to work at to get a cultural anchor (but also can create a connection/commitment to the story *belief* for a time afterwards if it is successful). I don't know anything about literary stuff like that, but examples are reading Queen of Angels/Slant, etc. In Pratchett the story seem to ease you into thinking you know the culture and then makes you do a double take that is kinda fun. You are right, the tongue in cheek is helpful strategy/stories are good and the time monks are a wild card (and from a literary perspective I could see that would allow some incongruencies in story lines). I guess it is like reading Heinlein, I found the older stuff first and got hooked as a young adult, saving things like the Puppet Masters for later. If I had started with the Cat who walked through walls, I am not sure I would have had the same perspectives on Heinlein. arm chair critic mode off Dee ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
kananda...@aol.com wrote: OK Max, you are going to chuckle, guess what one of the other 2 Pratchetts I downloaded was? Already a good chunk of the way through Thief of Time, not as good as Night Watch to me, but it is good enough to pass some flight time. Like I said, I got a huge kick out of both of those books, but I also went into them knowing many of the cameo characters and recurring jokes/themes. Plus, I had read enough canon haggling in Discworld to know at least a few of the quirks that those two books hang a lampshade on. I was just warning you that the rest of the series is a little less meta-/quantum and possibly funnier. Whenever I read Bear and Gibson, I have to prepare myself for the possibility of a major culture immersion, something where I have to work at to get a cultural anchor (but also can create a connection/commitment to the story *belief* for a time afterwards if it is successful). I don't know anything about literary stuff like that, but examples are reading Queen of Angels/Slant, etc. In Pratchett the story seem to ease you into thinking you know the culture and then makes you do a double take that is kinda fun. You are right, the tongue in cheek is helpful strategy/stories are good and the time monks are a wild card (and from a literary perspective I could see that would allow some incongruencies in story lines). Okay, I can see that: lighter with respect to the Anathem wrap your head in this culture fast, now let me deluge you sort. I can definitely see Pratchett in that space. He is good at disarming the reader. I'm a later books fan and that makes perfect sense to me. (The first few books actually attempted to build something of a Discworld-mythology, as a satire of traditional Fantasy novels. Unlike some of the earlier books fans, I love that Pratchett's Discworld books are best when Discworld is but a thin veneer to keep satire of the contemporary world labeled as fantasy.) I guess it is like reading Heinlein, I found the older stuff first and got hooked as a young adult, saving things like the Puppet Masters for later. If I had started with the Cat who walked through walls, I am not sure I would have had the same perspectives on Heinlein. That's a good comparison. Thief of Time/Night Watch do parallel Cat in terms of some crazy people like me love them and just as many hate them, particularly for being very meta. (I'm a weird person myself... I started into Heinlein with Stranger and Cat and then worked my way through nearly everything and then back to Cat. Possibly appropriate, given the ouroborian focus of those last four books. But it does give me an interesting view on Heinlein, I guess.) If you are curious, I basically followed the HarperCollins American re-release schedule for Pratchett, which means that I started late into the series as well with Masquerade and Interesting Times, and was reading many of the earlier books alongside of new releases. (Speaking of new releases, Unseen Academicals is in stores on the 6th...) -- --Max Battcher-- http://worldmaker.net ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
kananda...@aol.com wrote: One recent read question (blending threads)- finally tried my first Pratchett book- Night Watch. I found it to be lighter and a good brain break, but I am not sure if there is any particular order to things. Is there another book related to Vetinari? Pratchett's main characters can be grouped into various mini-series of books. For example, the Night Watch books are _Guards! Guards!_, _Men At Arms_, _Feet of Clay_, etc. I've read all of Pratchett's Discworld books, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. I can tell you there aren't many Vetinari-centric books. _Jingo_ is probably the one outside of _The Night Watch_ that gives him the most screen time, followed probably by _Men At Arms_. And while Pratchett might be lighter reading, he's got a lot to say about the human condition. He just wraps it in humor. Jim Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! Weight Loss Program http://tagline.excite.com/fc/FgElN1gv0RQFaJFnbmjnRp6fsM1Y7s4V6HgxopDMpPUD33Nk0chEPddFEAo/___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
Pat wrote: I have a Sony 505. The books on my reader are on my reader and on my desktop, not on my account on someone else's server. If anyone wants to delete them [think 1984] or whatever, they have to physically steal my reader and then delete the book. I own them outright. Nobody else has any rights in the copies I own except, in this state, if I had a legally married spouse. (Community property state). No one gonna take my 505 away Doug wrote- That's nice, but if I was a best selling author I think I'd be pretty reluctant to sell my book that way for fear that someone would make copies and give them away a la mp3 file sharing. And unlike musicians, authors aren't likely to make a lot of money on tour so once their book is being distributed for free, they're SOL. Other than the ownership factor, how do you like your reader so far? * Hi all, Since this thread has been around the block twice, I figured I would finally get around to chiming in. My Sony 500 is 3+ years old and going strong. I still feel a bit like Chekov on the bridge reading it :-) Since I have been rather behind on scifi reading compared to many of you, I have had fun with some of the bundles (finally read Red/Blue/Green Mars) and have been pleased with the addition over the past year of having an option of selecting from a list of award winner options that have been broadening my author pool a bit. My pleasure reading time still isn't the best, but I do refuse to put my professional journals on it (.pdf) just on principle. It has held up well to a wide variety of stressors including quite a few long hot days at the beach, etc. I had concerns about the battery, but it is also holding up well and holding for days/thousand plus page sessions. Seeing the newer version with the light on the side was cool, and it looks like now there is an easy right hand page turning function which this one doesn't offer. I know some of you pointed me to free download sites, but it has proven a bit more challenging with the older model. Just saw the new large size Kindle in the airport security line today and it looks like the black on white print technology is getting crisper (or it could be that I am needing to start wearing glasses- true sign of approaching crone-ism) and am starting to use the medium size print option :-) I did find Bank's Matter on my recent set of downloads (saving it for a particularly blah time, since it is always a good read). Some of the older things like the day the earth stood still and flowers of Aulit Prison were good to find as they are re releasing some of those stories. One recent read question (blending threads)- finally tried my first Pratchett book- Night Watch. I found it to be lighter and a good brain break, but I am not sure if there is any particular order to things. Is there another book related to Vetinari? Jeez, I guess I missed you guys with all the blathering on. I am always around lurking, but guess it has been too long. Dee ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
kananda...@aol.com wrote: One recent read question (blending threads)- finally tried my first Pratchett book- Night Watch. I found it to be lighter and a good brain break, but I am not sure if there is any particular order to things. Is there another book related to Vetinari? Many. Pratchett's Discworld series at this point has many threads that wind their way through the books. Vetinari is a something of a critical nexus of several of these threads, but most particularly the Watch books (one of the first being *Guards! Guards!* if you want to attempt a somewhat more chronological study). *Night Watch* in particular is sometimes frowned upon for the book being a bizarre nexus in and of itself within the Discworld time stream. (Mostly time progresses appropriately forward across the books, albeit rarely does it matter, but *Night Watch* manages to be both contemporary and a possible prequel, all the while teasing the reader with uncertainty principles.) Some Pratchett fans that particularly hate *Night Watch* would be amazed that you find *Night Watch* lighter reading, but perhaps you lucked out by skipping *Thief of Time*, first. You might find *Night Watch* to be a subtly different beast if you re-read it after *Thief of Time*. (Personally I'm a fan of *Thief of Time* and *Night Watch*.) However, you probably want to read a lot more Discworld books before you work your way back to *Thief of Time*... If you want particular recommendations from the vasty canon of Discworld, I heartily recommend the Moist von Lipwig books: *Going Postal* and *Making Money* (in chronological order). It's a good thread unto itself with some of his (in my opinion) sharpest satire and deepest insights. Also, another great sequence that stands alone well is the Discworld Young Adult novels: *The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents*, *The Wee Free Men*, *A Hat Full of Sky*, and *Wintersmith*. (That is if Young Adult doesn't scare you, which it shouldn't, because these books are equally awesome.) Then there is every other awesome book in Discworld. :) Ask enough Pratchett fans and you'll find a glowing recommendation for any and every book, for one reason or another. Apologies for the rant, hopefully it helps, -- --Max Battcher-- http://worldmaker.net ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
RE: What's to read?
There are lots of Terry Pratchett books with Vetenari in them, including Going Postal - utterly delightful, that one! I tried downloading some PDF files on the university's eReserve list and they came out dreadfully tiny - and the print-size changer did not work, Not on PDF. So I read the fool thing on my desktop. Sigh. Hardly worth the effort. (Someone being sententious abotu the function of Art.) http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/ From: kananda...@aol.com Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:34:56 -0400 Subject: Re: What's to read? To: brin-l@mccmedia.com Pat wrote: I have a Sony 505. The books on my reader are on my reader and on my desktop, not on my account on someone else's server. If anyone wants to delete them [think 1984] or whatever, they have to physically steal my reader and then delete the book. I own them outright. Nobody else has any rights in the copies I own except, in this state, if I had a legally married spouse. (Community property state). No one gonna take my 505 away Doug wrote- That's nice, but if I was a best selling author I think I'd be pretty reluctant to sell my book that way for fear that someone would make copies and give them away a la mp3 file sharing. And unlike musicians, authors aren't likely to make a lot of money on tour so once their book is being distributed for free, they're SOL. Other than the ownership factor, how do you like your reader so far? * Hi all, Since this thread has been around the block twice, I figured I would finally get around to chiming in. My Sony 500 is 3+ years old and going strong. I still feel a bit like Chekov on the bridge reading it :-) Since I have been rather behind on scifi reading compared to many of you, I have had fun with some of the bundles (finally read Red/Blue/Green Mars) and have been pleased with the addition over the past year of having an option of selecting from a list of award winner options that have been broadening my author pool a bit. My pleasure reading time still isn't the best, but I do refuse to put my professional journals on it (.pdf) just on principle. It has held up well to a wide variety of stressors including quite a few long hot days at the beach, etc. I had concerns about the battery, but it is also holding up well and holding for days/thousand plus page sessions. Seeing the newer version with the light on the side was cool, and it looks like now there is an easy right hand page turning function which this one doesn't offer. I know some of you pointed me to free download sites, but it has proven a bit more challenging with the older model. Just saw the new large size Kindle in the airport security line today and it looks like the black on white print technology is getting crisper (or it could be that I am needing to start wearing glasses- true sign of approaching crone-ism) and am starting to use the medium size print option :-) I did find Bank's Matter on my recent set of downloads (saving it for a particularly blah time, since it is always a good read). Some of the older things like the day the earth stood still and flowers of Aulit Prison were good to find as they are re releasing some of those stories. One recent read question (blending threads)- finally tried my first Pratchett book- Night Watch. I found it to be lighter and a good brain break, but I am not sure if there is any particular order to things. Is there another book related to Vetinari? Jeez, I guess I missed you guys with all the blathering on. I am always around lurking, but guess it has been too long. Dee ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
Pat wrote: I have a Sony 505. The books on my reader are on my reader and on my desktop, not on my account on someone else's server. If anyone wants to delete them [think 1984] or whatever, they have to physically steal my reader and then delete the book. I own them outright. Nobody else has any rights in the copies I own except, in this state, if I had a legally married spouse. (Community property state). No one gonna take my 505 away That's nice, but if I was a best selling author I think I'd be pretty reluctant to sell my book that way for fear that someone would make copies and give them away a la mp3 file sharing. And unlike musicians, authors aren't likely to make a lot of money on tour so once their book is being distributed for free, they're SOL. Other than the ownership factor, how do you like your reader so far? Doug ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
John wrote: But hopefully none of that is necessary in the future. I just want to see the book selection increase. It still boggles my mind why so few books released before the Kindle, but in the last 30 years or so, have come out in Kindle or other e-book formats. Someone must have a digital copy of the book text somewhere, and it is trivial to convert it to the Kindle or ebook formats. It seems like free money for someone. By the way, have you investigated how the book selection compares for Kindle vs. your Sony 505? Particularly with science fiction titles? I'm still waiting for Brin to release the various Startide books on Kindle. I think the reason you're still waiting for Brin's books is also the answer to you're question about the number of titles available. They're probably negotiating with a lot of authors for the rights or dealing with copyright issues. After the 1984 debacle I'm sure they're being very careful about what they make available. In the meanwhile there's a lot of stuff already available that I want to read, so I'm not to worried about it yet. Also, you've probably noticed that you can prompt publishers to release their titles from the Amazon page. On the left hand side of the page theres a little dialog box entitled Tell the Publisher etc. Here's one you all can help me out on 8^) http://www.amazon.com/Consider-Phlebas-Iain-M-Banks/dp/031600538X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1253600088sr=8-1 Doug ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 11:19 PM, Doug Pensinger brig...@zo.com wrote: I think the reason you're still waiting for Brin's books is also the answer to you're question about the number of titles available. They're probably negotiating with a lot of authors for the rights or dealing with copyright issues. Brin said he already signed the contract for Kindle versions. But author reluctance may be an issue, as you say. I read that J. K. Rowling refuses to have any of her books be released electronically. Still, I'd think that science fiction authors would tend to be willing to have their books released electronically. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
What's to read?
I just finished reading a bio of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. I was inspired to read it after having read The Three Musketeers which actually took place during the reign of 14's father (maybe) Louis XIII and by Stephenson's Baroque Cycle which I actually finished a few years ago. TTM was a surprisingly good read. I didn't understand (maybe detect is a better word) the humor at first. I practically gave up on the book when the musketeers proved to be such bumbling idiots that they almost got themselves and d'Artagnan caught and killed, but once I understood that the character flaws of these most contemptible heroes was actually a large part of the story I began to enjoy the book. The bio was somewhat cursory, but that's what I was looking for anyway (and what should I expect for a dollar?) Louis XIV was an interesting character and held the throne for 72 years; longer than any other European monarch. That he was a despot, a war monger and genocidal (see the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes) was offset by his centralization of power in France, the sophistication and innovation of his court. Interesting stuff. Next is a History of England by Scottish philosopher David Hume and Bank's new non-culture S.F. novel, Transition. What has everyone else been reading? BTW, I can't recommend the Kindle enough. The interface is great, the wireless feature gives you access to all sorts of stuff much of which is free or very reasonably priced, you can download magazines, newspapers and blogs and you can even send personal documents to it via email for a small fee (I paid 15 cents for a 10 or 12 page document). It has a built in dictionary; just move the cursor in front of the word you want defined and the definition appears at the bottom of the screen. You can annotate text and there's a search function and you can change the font size. I bought a flip-over cover (not the one sold by Amazon) that allows me to set the reader down and read hands free. It's much easier to read than a regular book - especially a hardback. The $300 price tag was a bit steep. I wasn't sure I wanted one, especially at that price, but I'm very happy with it now. Doug ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
On Sep 21, 2009, at 1:48 AM, Doug Pensinger wrote: BTW, I can't recommend the Kindle enough. T I am using the Kindle app on the iphone and just finished a Baxter SciFi/Alternate history book. Best electronic book interface I have seen so far! learner ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
RE: What's to read?
I have a Sony 505. The books on my reader are on my reader and on my desktop, not on my account on someone else's server. If anyone wants to delete them [think 1984] or whatever, they have to physically steal my reader and then delete the book. I own them outright. Nobody else has any rights in the copies I own except, in this state, if I had a legally married spouse. (Community property state). No one gonna take my 505 away http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/ Subject: Re: What's to read? From: lear...@mac.com Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:12:46 -0500 To: brin-l@mccmedia.com On Sep 21, 2009, at 1:48 AM, Doug Pensinger wrote: BTW, I can't recommend the Kindle enough. T I am using the Kindle app on the iphone and just finished a Baxter SciFi/Alternate history book. Best electronic book interface I have seen so far! learner ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: What's to read?
On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 2:30 PM, Pat Mathews mathew...@msn.com wrote: I have a Sony 505. The books on my reader are on my reader and on my desktop, not on my account on someone else's server. If anyone wants to delete them [think 1984] or whatever, they have to physically steal my reader and then delete the book. That Kindle book deletion thing was a debacle, but Amazon has promised not to do it again, and I tend to believe them, since it caused such an outcry and they don't want that kind of bad press again. For the cautious, Kindle content can be backed up to a computer. I'm not sure what would have happened if someone had 1984 backed up, and then copied it back to their Kindle, with the wireless on, a few days after the original deletion order came through. Of course, you can turn the wireless off and then restore the backup, and it is impossible for Amazon to do anything until you turn wireless back on. But hopefully none of that is necessary in the future. I just want to see the book selection increase. It still boggles my mind why so few books released before the Kindle, but in the last 30 years or so, have come out in Kindle or other e-book formats. Someone must have a digital copy of the book text somewhere, and it is trivial to convert it to the Kindle or ebook formats. It seems like free money for someone. By the way, have you investigated how the book selection compares for Kindle vs. your Sony 505? Particularly with science fiction titles? I'm still waiting for Brin to release the various Startide books on Kindle. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
