Amazon exiles discussion
TV, radio, cinema, books & tech
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"I read a book once - Green it was"
Okay, I'm sold on the idea now - and I will start off with A once I have got myself all over Christmas time and set up for the year ahead ;o>
Made a start on the Christmas haul, and currently very much enjoying 'This is Memorial Device' by David Keenan, who describes it as 'an Hallucinated Oral History of the Post-Punk Scene in Airdie, Coatbridge and Environs 1978 -1986'. It comes with a recommendation from no less a personage than Cosey Fanni Tutti.
cool! i think it was shuggie (where art thou?) recommended that a while back. i've been keeping an eye on the price (tightwad looking for kindle bargain!) :)btw, mrs tech gifted me a new kindle for xmas, backlit and touchscreen (nae buttons!), so she'll not be troubled by lamplight! literally took seconds to sync to my account, but left out more than 200 'other' items from the previous device, so i'll need to run with both for now.
I'm still using my first edition Kindle, and have no issues with it, other than the fact I keep trying to make it work by touching the screen! How quickly cutting edge becomes quaint.
WoW? - a new Kindle! You must have been a VERY good boy then this year?!! ;o>
there's not a thing wrong with my 6 year old 'keyboard' model, although on the new paperlight, i keep looking for the button to turn pages!
i'm a very good boy. i also got an ikea 'billy' unit with glass doors, as (i assume) mrs tech is fed up with the boxes and drawers full of cds at various locations throughout the house! there's a theme here, i theenk! :)
I've got a question that I've been wanting to ask a Kindle owner ;o> ...Can you also access and use the Goodreads Forum on a Kindle as well or is it only just for downloading Books on to it?
Only there is a very frustrated and fed-up newbie to Goodreads who cannot manage to get her Samsung Tablet to display a fully workable Forum page and so I was wondering if using a different Device might be the answer - and she did tell me that she also has a Kindle as well.
Tech wrote: "i'm a very good boy. i also got an ikea 'billy' unit with glass doors, as (i assume) mrs tech is fed up with the boxes and drawers full of cds at various locations throughout the house! there's a t..."Mrs tech definitely has some kind of a plan in mind to sort and tidy you into a far more manageable space ... don't go to sleep in a messy heap for too long on the Sofa! ... you might just wake up to find yourself all neatly tucked up in an Ikea Storage Box labelled 'My Husband' ... ! ;o>
.....and addressed to...........? :)
"Can you also access and use the Goodreads Forum on a Kindle as well or is it only just for downloading Books on to it?"dunno! :)
mibbe on a kindle 'fire', not a regular reader.
Hmmm? - I've tried Googling as to just what you can do with a Kindle but I'm still none the wiser as to whether you can use them to gain access so you can post on Goodreads Forums?I don't really understand Apps, and my friend seems to be even less technologically minded than I am, and so I don't think that I'm going to be able to help her on this one unfortunately.
wrapped up the brilliant detective novel, Masks of the Illuminati - for holmes and watson read albert einstein and james joyce tackling a mystery of malicious masonic initiation. a highly improbable (or is it?) romp thru many issues of the processes and methodologies of secret societies.
Tech wrote: "Masks of the Illuminati..."Sounds right up my alley! I'll add it to our skull & bones reading group. I mean, to my local reading group. It's pirate themed. we like pirates. Nothing to do with anything else just pirates. Move along.
nearest thing to a pirate would be aleister crowley, but there's them that would say that's near enough! :)
I finally finished Kate Atkinson's Life After Life - when did modern books become such a chore for me? You can read my review but I was sorely disappointed as I have enjoyed many of her books. I found it rather pretentious and would-be worthy. But having made the commitment to the first book, I now have to gird my loins for the follow-up - A God in Ruins. I WILL read it but after that it'll be something I can actually enjoy.
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Okay, I'm sold on the idea now - and I will start off with A once I have got myself all over Christmas time and set up for the year ahead ;o>"Suzy - if you are looking to buy rather than borrow from the library, look for the compendium issues, e.g. Three Complete Novels: A is for Alibi / B is for Burglar / C is for Corpse. Available on ABE for about £2.80 delivered
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...
Thanks Val, I've taken a quick look but I'm not familiar with the ABE Books site and unfortunately I can't see the one that you have found for £2.80 delivered? Is it 'Used' or 'New'?I'm off to bed now but I'll take another look tomorrow when I'm far less tired and hopefully more with it ;o>
I love ABE (Advanced Book Exchange) - have been using it for nearly 20 years, but then I love pre-loved books. You may be confused because the price shown is in US dollars. Click on Convert Currency underneath the price and a small window will open. Scroll down to United Kingdom Pounds to see the cost. If there is a price for delivery, click on Destination, Rates & Speeds, choose your country (United Kingdom) and tick Apply To My Search Results and then click Go.
The book I tried to link you to is used (from: Goldstone Books (Llandybie, United Kingdom) and described as:
About this Item: Pan Books, 2005. Paperback. Condition: Good. All orders are dispatched the following working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we have over 500,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
If you want a new book, I would search via Booko:
https://booko.co.uk/?region=gb
However, as the compendium was published in 2005, the price of a new copy is horrendous. You'd be better looking for the single title.
https://booko.co.uk/9780330455503/A-i...
is a new copy for £5.04.
Ahhh, I couldn't manage to get the 'Currency' button to work for me last night although the Shipping one did make changes to the pages that I was looking at ;o>I have to be honest, Val, I am very dubious about buying Books in just a 'Good' condition as buying 'Very Good' to 'Like New' Books off Amazon meant that I was sometimes sent some Books in a truly awful condition - and so that has made me feel all the more wary now of anything less than New.
I'm not in any great hurry for any Books at the moment - as my concentration levels are extremely poor right now - and so I think I'll keep an eye out on ABE, as well as on eBay and Amazon, and see what turns up on them over the next year.
Once all of the cashing in on their author, Sue Grafton, sadly dying recently has settled somewhat then the prices may possibly drop down to a far more acceptable level ;o>
Suzy, I’ve been buying from Abe Books for years and have never been let down. They’ve been at least as good as described. If there’s a choice, I tend to buy from World of Books or The Book Depository. Some are connected to charities.
Yeah, I think my problem has probably been down to the fact that most of the Books that I used to buy (before deciding to considerably downsize my Bookcases!) were all Baking Books and so any damage to them was almost always going to be Baking related! - LOL! Even supposedly 'Like New' Books can occasionally come with a rather questionable stain or the odd sticky page or cover as well ... (*shudder*) ... and I obviously don't want to have those anywhere near my other Books or my Kitchen.
I wonder if 'Acceptable' Crime Books suffer the same way? ... maybe come with what looks very like Blood Stains on them?!! ;oO
Hello fellow exiles.Just a quick note to say that my book, "Monkey Arkwright", is available FREE on Amazon Kindle today and up until 22nd January. Some members on here have been kind enough to buy it and leave a review, which I'm most grateful for.
If anybody else feels like grabbing a copy, fill yer boots ...
https://amazon.co.uk/dp/B077L29WJJ
Otherwise, feel free to tell your family, friends, colleagues, parole officers etc. about this glorious offer!
Cheers,
Rob.
Val wrote: "I finally finished Kate Atkinson's Life After Life - when did modern books become such a chore for me? You can read my review but I was sorely disappointed as I have enjoyed many of...".Val, life's too short to persevere with books you don't like.
Must admit I loved both 'Life After Life' and 'A God in Ruins', but if you didn't like the former, I doubt very much if you will get on with the latter.
Thanks nc. I will give it a red hot go before throwing in the towel. Some reviewers have said the second book can stand alone but I think I would really have given up if I hadn't read the first one and at least knew who most of the characters were. I have four collections of short stories waiting up next and they're looking awfully enticing!
Val wrote: "I love ABE (Advanced Book Exchange) - have been using it for nearly 20 years, but then I love pre-loved books. You may be confused because the price shown is in US dollars. Click on Convert Curre..."
I think it could be because I'm having issues with the Internet today, Val? I had to keep on refreshing my eBay page just now as the Search Button wouldn't work which is something that has never ever happened to me before.
I couldn't get your linked page to work properly for me - last night clicking on 'Currency Change' had no result at all and today it just pulled up an Error Pop-Up Box instead. I think my Laptop's ongoing issues with Internet Explorer could possibly be to blame for this but, not being IT savvy, I can't really be sure.
However, I went to the Home Page on your ABE.com link and found the link to ABE.co.uk and used that - and suddenly I found the Sue Grafton Books Pages much easier to understand and to scroll through. I also took on board what you and Lez have said about the Book conditions usually being accurate and used ABE to compare a 'Very Good' at £2.80 to the same Seller on eBay selling a 'Very Good' for £2.69 ... and so I gave in to temptation and I bought it!
It's a very good job that you live over in Australia, Val, because my Mum is already asking me why I am buying Books again - and so I've just told her that it is entirely all your fault!!! - can you feel your Ears burning?!! - LOL!!! ... ;o> ... ;o> ... ;o>
All this pressure! I just hope you like Sue Grafton after all the effort you have put in on her behalf!
Just saw that Ursula Le Guin has died. She's been one of my favourite authors for years - apparently gentle tales with an edge. I'll be going back to some of her work, now.
Does no-one else enjoy Ursula Le Guin? I wonder as there's no reaction to my earlier post. If you don't know her work, I think you're missing a treat but I'd be interested to know why if anyone doesn't like her books. :0)
well, quite simply i've never read any of her work, so i'm unable to form an opinion! she has a positive reputation, but i've never gotten round to it - might never! the main thing is that you enjoy her books, so the opinion of others wouldn't sway that.
Isabella wrote: "Does no-one else enjoy Ursula Le Guin? I wonder as there's no reaction to my earlier post. If you don't know her work, I think you're missing a treat but I'd be interested to know why if anyone doe..."I do know her name well, Isabella, but must admit that I've never read any of her Books - although I have come across a fair few of her Poems over the years.
To be honest, I was massively into Book reading from a very early age until I hit around my 20's, and then an incredibly busy life completely took over my days and so I got out of reading so much and as often as I possibly could. I've never really been into Fantasy-style Books or into Sci-Fi either - and so I've not been tempted into wanting to read any of her Books.
Very much Isabella but i'll admit it's been a while since I devoured Earthsea and Left Hand of Darkness. And embarrassingly I'd assumed she was already dearly departed. I'm really not up to scratch on her later works either.
I tend to forget she wrote adult books, we filed most of her stuff in the Young People’s section.
Lez wrote: "I tend to forget she wrote adult books, we filed most of her stuff in the Young People’s section."I read her adult stuff first and enjoyed the fact that it wasn't typical sci-fi, being much more concerned with the possible structure of alien societies and relationships within them than space wars.
As for other people's opinions affecting my enjoyment, I'm always curious to hear their insights - I don't imagine that mine is the only possible judgement or that I'm going to see every subtlety of a story. Other ideas always welcome! :0)
being thoroughly absorbed by the mind of Robert anton Wilson in Cosmic Trigger I: Final Secret of the Illuminati - this is more about his personal journey into his own mind via all manner of conspiracies and methodologies - fascinating stuff!more than pleased to obtain a factory fresh (vended as used-like new) copy of Voice of the Fire for under a fiver, post free.
junior has lent me the graphic novel Nick Cave: Mercy on Me, which is loosely based on his life and fictionalised pieces set around some of his songs. along with 'jerusalem', that's me set up for a coupla months. mibbe!
i picked this kindle bargain up for a penny less than a poond, tho' i imagine anyone who wants one will already have it.https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
slight hint as to the non-appearance of Wreckers of Civilisation: The Story of COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle might come in the form of the publisher going bust - will probably affect the pricey scott walker books as well,https://www.thebookseller.com/news/bl...
Oh dear. I'd guess the liquidator will try to sell the 'completed books' to other publishers in due course, so watch that space as they say.
aye, there's mibbe a warehouse stacked with them, bound for poundland! :)
nocheese wrote: "Must admit I loved both 'Life After Life' and 'A God in Ruins', but if you didn't like the former, I doubt very much if you will get on with the latter. j..."Wrong, nc! I really liked the second book and eagerly picked it up each time. It was the "many lives" device that annoyed me about the first one. Ursula was never a real person to me. Without the device, the second book flowed much more freely and I truly believed in Teddy and especially Viola. I can't say they're books I love and will forever cherish (I've already passed them on) but I'm glad I read them.
My pile of short story collections is still waiting for me as I've been lent three books and feel obliged to finish them first. Two are Australian crime (a favourite genre) and I'm already hooked on Under the Cold Bright Lights. I'd previously only known Gary Disher as a writer for children/adolescents and apparently he has quite a history as a crime writer.
of Nick Cave: Mercy on Me, nick cave says,"Reinhard Kleist, master graphic novelist and myth-maker has - yet again - blown apart the conventions of the graphic novel by concocting a terrifying conflation of Cave songs, biographical half-truths and complete fabulations and creating a complex, chilling and completely bizarre journey into Cave World. Closer to the truth than any biography, that's for sure! But for the record, I never killed Elisa Day."
it is indeed better than any biography ive read on him - the 'and the ass saw the angel' chapter is both terrifying and touching! awesome job!
wowee! talk about invocation through literature! started my alan moore reading project with Voice of the Fire, in 12 chapters, each centred on imagined? characters thru' history and set in the area of northampton. the 1st is based on a 'half-witted' manchild from 4000 bc, and written in the imagined? vernacular of those times (and of a 'half-wit' into the bargain!), which is a bit of work initially, but flows when you are becoming used to the terms and language. maybe, it's because i'm having to concentrate, but i swear i could almost smell the burnt wood of the forest, and the 'shit' running down his leg! (and no, i hadn't keeched myself!) :)
Cheers Poppet! - I found her first book to be very interesting and so I've just made a note of this one ;o>
Tech wrote: "viv albertine follows up her brilliant debut memoir in april,To Throw Away Unopened"
Nice. Pre-ordered. 😀
Voice of the Fire - stunning, awesome, essential, towering triumph of a book - to have dug so deeply into the local history of his hometown (northampton), going back thousands of years, and then to weave such incredible fiction around it, put moore into genius territory for me! can't speak highly enough about this - the last chapter, which is in effect, himself reflecting on the stories and the town, is achingly beautiful in parts. wish i lived somewhere as interesting as northampton (or as interesting as moore makes it!)
Gap in the market, tech! Now's your chance - Kilmarnock awaits its very own chronicler to show it's not really all that chronic after all.
yeah, i could call it 'whine of the jake' :)
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I second that, Suzy. Good plots, likeable heroine, well written.