Books moral and immoral

[jadingirl]

I read Foucault's Pendulum years ago and went to see the real pendulum when I was in Paris later on but the museum was under renovation and the pendulum had been taken down and stored (if I understand the security guard). So no pendulum viewing for me.

Howver, I could not get through the Island of the Day Before no matter how many times I tried - it was just beyond me or really boring - I was never sure which.

[Jenny]

I just downloaded The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. I don't know why I hadn't heard of this book before, but it sounds right up my word geek alley. If nothing else, I hope to learn lots of words to play in WWF .

Have you see this? The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published

[Twilight1]

I have been buying free amazon ebooks. I am also reading a bunch of Erica Stevens right now. Interesting storylines...

[Prancer]

I begin to think my problem is not the books themselves but nineteenth-century florid style tropes

I don't like 19th century writing for the most part for that reason, although there are some exceptions.

Have you see this? The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published

Oooh, no, but thanks for the recommendation. I took a whole class on reference works at one point and we spent a lot of time talking about Webster's Third. I shall add this to my list, if for no other reason than to see why "ain't" is being used as an Americanism.

I have been buying free amazon ebooks.

I cannot resist free books, but I need to do a major purge of my Nook because of my addiction. There are so many books on there I will never read but downloaded because they were free.

[michiruwater]

I got to page 150 or so of Moby Dick and gave up. I just couldn't get into it.

[jamesy]

I cannot resist free books, but I need to do a major purge of my Nook because of my addiction. There are so many books on there I will never read but downloaded because they were free.

I still thank blame you for telling me about Cheap e-Reads. (((my facebook wall))) The free books lets me try new stuff and I always have something available to read, but there's a good reason some of that stuff is free.

[puglover]

A thought someone mentioned getting an early release of the new Lincoln Child/Douglas Preston book - the latest for Pendergast. If someone has read it - what are your impressions?

[PrincessLeppard]

I posted them back a bit. Really good, with some unexpected surprises. But also, it leaves a lot of loose ends as well, and I thought this was supposed to be the final book in the trilogy.

It has a sekret Nazi island in it.

[Artistic Skaters]

My recent reads:

-- The Chaperone by Lauren Moriarty. A Kansas wife & mother with time on her hands chaperones a young Louise Brooks during her first summer in NYC performing with Denishawn Dance Company. She has reasons of her own for wanting to make the trip since she ended up in Kansas when she was selected off an orphan train from NY. Flappers, hidden gay relationships, birth control, KKK in Wichita! Enjoyed reading this historical fiction by a writer I really like.

-- The Sometimes Daughter by Sherri Wood Emmons. A coming of age story about a girl growing up during the 70s-80s in IN with a "sometimes mother". Like Forrest Gump, our characters very conveniently encounter several historical events - Woodstock, Jim Jones & The People's Temple but I enjoyed it just the same.

[lulu]

Anyone else here a Lois Lowry fan? The Giver was one of my favorite books as a child, and truthfully still one of my favorites today. I just found out she wrote a 4th book, titled Son in the same universe at the Giver: http://www.avclub.com/articles/lois-...esolves,86575/

@Artistic Skaters, The Chaperone sounds really good.

[Prancer]

I still thank blame you for telling me about Cheap e-Reads. (((my facebook wall))) The free books lets me try new stuff and I always have something available to read, but there's a good reason some of that stuff is free.

Tell me about it! I stopped downloading every single thing and started filtering a bit more, but still--some of those books should not be called books. They should be more aptly labeled "Attempts at writing by people who really need to look into another field."

It's like downloading free music at Amazon--every now and then, you find a pearl. But most of the time, you get slime and sand.

Have you tried Nook Guy? Or Nonfiction on the Cheap? You might get a little more variety than paranormal romances in the Old West and Christian fiction .

[danceronice]

I have my own book on Kindle (not free, though, and also in paperback as I actually hate e-books) and I have had to stop going to the Kindle author boards (not the Amazon boards, different thing) because 99% of the posts are people talking about how awesome being an "Indie Author" is and how the old publishing houses are just the man trying to keep us down, man, and they don't appreciate new ideas. (No, they aren't always sure 'new ideas' can sell, but if that's their issue, you don't get a form letter--I've never actually gotten a form letter rejection, just a 'I liked reading it but it's not quite our niche.' You get the form letter when they have nothing nice to say and therefore don't say anything at all.) I would look at what some people were "publishing" and have to refrain from saying "Um, have you considered that perhaps it might be you?" And some people ARE publishing first, editing later...I quit visiting the boards.

[zaphyre14]

[QUOTE=lulu;3744283]Anyone else here a Lois Lowry fan? The Giver was one of my favorite books as a child, and truthfully still one of my favorites today. I just found out she wrote a 4th book, titled Son in the same universe at the Giver: http://www.avclub.com/articles/lois-...esolves,86575/

QUOTE]

Well, I posted a while back that I disliked "The Giver" mainly for the ambiguity of the ending. I'd heard there was a sequel; if I ran across it in a yard sale, I might pick it up but I won't be spending full price on it.

I'm tearing through the Kate Carlisle bookbinders series and am on #4, :Murder Under Cover" which centers around a rare antique volume of the Karma Sutra and a dead Ukranian guy.

[Cachoo]

I normally won't buy a new hardback as money is so tight but I read the first paragraph of "The Yellow Birds" and read comments by other authors and had to buy it. This novelist is both an Iraq veteran and a poet and that is a potent combination imho.

[Prancer]

Dear Barnes and Noble:

I received your letter today informing me that my membership discount will no longer apply to Nook Books.

Well, that's a shame. Nearly all of my B&N purchases are Nook Books. And I have to spend more than $200 a year to make your membership worth having, which I don't think I will be doing any more under these conditions.

I find this particularly annoying since I just looked at book I want to buy and the Nook version of the book is more expensive than the print version, which happens rather often.

Farewell, membership of many years standing.

Signed,

Disgruntled Patron

[Artemis@BC]

Well, I posted a while back that I disliked "The Giver" mainly for the ambiguity of the ending. I'd heard there was a sequel; if I ran across it in a yard sale, I might pick it up but I won't be spending full price on it.

I never encounterd Lowry as a child, and actually only read The Giver a few months ago. I liked it very much, partly because of the ambiguity of the ending. Though I do question the wisdom of that for children's/YA lit.

I didn't know there was a sequel, must check the library for it.

[kwanfan1818]

Dear Barnes and Noble:

I received your letter today informing me that my membership discount will no longer apply to Nook Books.

Well, that's a shame. Nearly all of my B&N purchases are Nook Books. And I have to spend more than $200 a year to make your membership worth having, which I don't think I will be doing any more under these conditions.

I find this particularly annoying since I just looked at book I want to buy and the Nook version of the book is more expensive than the print version, which happens rather often.

Farewell, membership of many years standing.

Signed,

Disgruntled Patron

The only logical business reasons for this policy that I can think of are:

1. 20% cuts into their e-book margin more than it does into their physical book margin, despite the net costs of physical handing and distribution and the cost of running their stores vs. electronic storage, delivery, maintenance, permissions-related customer service issues. That includes any incremental value they attach to people browsing and buying more per purchase in a store, online or physical, over an online single purchase for an e-book, revenues from the membership (net of the cost of running the membership program) distributed over all sales under the program.

2. They're banking that it won't make a dent in membership fees and/or e-book sales.

Maybe it's step one in eliminating the Membership Program in the first place.

My first reaction was WTF?

[IceAlisa]

Read a whole bunch of books since my last post: Midnight in Peking by Paul French, The Snakehead by Patrick R. Keefe, The Real World by Natsuo Kirino, Americas's Queen (a Jackie Kennedy bio (scary scary stuff)), various annotated Austens, and some Maigret in French. Simenon's plots put JKR's to shame in terms of Swiss cheese-size holes.

Now I am reading JCO's My sister, my love based on the murder of JonBenet Ramsey but in the book the little girl is a figure skater and not a beauty queen. JCO is hilariously in no teknik when it comes to skating. The chapter with the pbp of Bliss (that's the little ice princess) skating competition is unintentionally hysterical for a skating fan even for a casual one. But the familiar themes of misogyny, exploitation, sex, shame and violence emerge. She really should have consulted someone about the skating commentary. Like FSU. We would have set her straight.

[michiruwater]

Can you give us an example? I am totally dying to hear the no teknik

[Prancer]

The only logical business reasons for this policy that I can think of are:

1. 20% cuts into their e-book margin more than it does into their physical book margin, despite the net costs of physical handing and distribution and the cost of running their stores vs. electronic storage, delivery, maintenance, permissions-related customer service issues. That includes any incremental value they attach to people browsing and buying more per purchase in a store, online or physical, over an online single purchase for an e-book, revenues from the membership (net of the cost of running the membership program) distributed over all sales under the program.

2. They're banking that it won't make a dent in membership fees and/or e-book sales.

Maybe it's step one in eliminating the Membership Program in the first place.

My first reaction was WTF?

My guess (I am not a business person) is that they don't think it will make a dent in e-book sales, which, along with Nook sales, are keeping the company afloat, and thus they don't see the need to offer a discount on thei main source of profit.

Oh, well. My discount is good until my membership expires, which won't happen until next July. I will just have to take advantage of it until then. Woe is me, I HAVE to buy books .