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I used to read exclusively on a kindle from like 2011 and to around 2015, but I drifted straight back to physical books. they don't need charging, and it doesn't matter what the formating is mostly, because turning a page is still just simply turning it over besides, the only good ebook reader is still the kindle, but amazon is literally the devil. and I also don't want to deal with DRM and all the other bullshit that comes with digital copies.
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Dec 10, 2023 18:30
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Physical books, digital books, and audiobooks are all great and all have their upsides and downsides. I use all three formats regularly depending on situation, but probably ebooks the most due to convenience and how small and light my kindle is. I prefer physical books, but space is an issue, as is having to hold a sometimes heavy and bulky item, plus not being able to adjust font (  )Audiobooks are good chore/travel fodder for me.
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Dec 10, 2023 19:28
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tried listening to gideon the ninth audiobook but had to quit in chapter 2 because it had such big theatre kid energy
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Dec 11, 2023 16:04
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Crazy thing is, that's only the first book in The Stormlight Archive.
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Dec 11, 2023 18:57
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:This is one reason I prefer ebooks these days. Especially if I'm tired. Just crank that font up to mega. Yes, this. Absolutely.
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Dec 12, 2023 00:05
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It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. Liked: - Murderbot (Wells) (currently reading) - Bone (Smith) - The Hobbit (Tolkien) - HP (Rowling) Rejected: - Eragon (Paolini) - The Halloween Moon (Frink) (but he loves the NightVale podcast) - Percy Jackson (Riordan) - Redwall (Jacques) - Lord of the Rings (Tolkien) His primary complaint is that there’s “too many flashbacks” which confuses me. I know at my age I was devouring age inappropriate books like Jurassic Park, The Belgariad, anything Asimov, Red October. I suspect that he doesn’t have the same theater of the mind I have when I read, but it could also just be middle-school-itis. (Q. What was the best/worst thing that happened at school today? A. <Noncommittal grunt>). He needs chapter books for school, but I’m ok with a few Graphic Novels for home. I just want to push his reading skills while also opening his eyes to new viewpoints. He seems to respond best to genre fiction, which is probably the fault of my own tastes. I’m leaning towards Heinlein’s juvenile books, but I’m worried they’ll be too old fashioned.
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Dec 12, 2023 17:29
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. A quick list of YA I enjoyed - I can't seem to pick out what he likes or dislikes from that list, so forgive me. Also forgive me if I get an age-inappropriate thing in, my parents let me roam free - so I'm giving the books to you the parent instead of him the child. - Animorphs (cannot rec this enough) (I can't imagine any kid who wouldn't be intrigued by 'turns into animals' and 'fights aliens' and 'evil alien slugs that go into your brain') - The Giver (may not be 'exciting' but it's amazing) - Pern (Anne Mccaffrey is a weird person and the books may need you to check for content warnings, but they are THE 'get adopted by a dragon' OG) - Skullduggery Pleasant (fun urban fantasy romps with some horror) - Tamora Pierce's works, starting with Wild Magic - Narnia (narnia owns) - His Dark Materials - Cynthia Voigt's The Wings of a Falcon - TA Barron's Lost Years of Merlin - Jane Yolen's Dragon's Blood - A Series of Unfortunate Events - Discworld; start with Guards, Guards! - A Wrinkle in Time (THIS BOOK IS PERFECT IN EVERY WAY) - Ella Enchanted - Artemis Fowl - Island of the Blue Dolphins (obsessed me as a kid... surviving alone on an island...) - Hatchet (same vein, surviving alone in the arctic) - Howl's Moving Castle - Watership Down  - Johnathan Stroud's The Amulet of Samarkand - Garth Nix's Sabriel - Patricia C Wrede's Dealing with Dragons - Mercedes Lackey's Brightly Burning. Picking this one from her series to rec as it's standalone, explains itself, and has a cool fire wizard as the main character; another good intro would be The Black Gryphon, which I read like five times in late middle school. I could go on but just. Wow, I'd forgotten how many absolute classics there are and I'm so jealous your kid gets to read them all for the first time.
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Dec 12, 2023 17:47
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Enfys posted:Physical books, digital books, and audiobooks are all great and all have their upsides and downsides. I dunno I "read" all of Dreadnought by Robert K Massie via audiobook and then when I tried to recall specific events or information from the book it was essentially like I had never read it in the first place Audiobooks are good for light reading or anything that you're not too concerned about retaining I suppose
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Dec 12, 2023 19:02
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. Strix told me about this post and then bullied me into coming to reply with more recs. 😂 Doing this from my phone and I only occasionally use this forum so apologies for any formatting issues. I most emphatically second the Skulduggery Pleasant rec, the parts I’ve read are really good. Also while she says the Abhorsen trilogy specifically, I would also like to point out that Keys to the Kingdom, Frogkisser, and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London are also amazing works. Other recs are: - The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet and A Psalm For The Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - The Stravaganza Series by Mary Hoffman - The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander - The WondLa trilogy by Tony DiTerlizzi - The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black - Larklight by Phillip Reeve - Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (might be too close to Riordan for your kid in particular, but I’ve met plenty of kids who couldn’t stand Percy Jackson yet loved Fablehaven) - The Edge Chronicles, the Far Flung Adventures series, and Muddle Earth by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell - The Kendra Kandlestar series by Lee Edward Födi - Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde - If the mystery aspect of Fugitive Telemetry was appealing, would also rec the Flavia de Luce books by Alan Bradley - Also for mystery, would rec Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett - Also ALSO for mystery, would rec Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach For graphic novels/comics/manga I recommend: - The Girl from the Other Side: Siul a Run - Aquapunk by Lo (a webcomic, and thus free! Has a very Mike Mignola-inspired feel to the art) - Atomic Robo - The Property of Hate (also a webcomic) - Newsprint - Witch Boy - Nimona - The Nameless City (has a very Avatar: The Last Airbender feel to it) - Backlash (also a webcomic)
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Dec 12, 2023 19:57
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. prydain was already mentioned, i'd suggest the three first wizard of earthseas by ursula leguinn
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Dec 12, 2023 20:38
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years.
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Dec 12, 2023 21:47
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_in_public_domain Some good stuff coming into the public domain next year. In the US, there's Decline and Fall, Orlando, All Quiet on the Western Front, Lady Chatterley's Lover, and Point Counter Point The EU has the works of Hilaire Belloc, Eugene O'Neill, Dylan Thomas and, uh, Joseph Stalin
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Dec 12, 2023 21:57
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. Diane Duane's Young Wizard series
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Dec 12, 2023 21:58
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. The Discworld books should work perfectly
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Dec 13, 2023 01:52
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. Discworld. A lot of other good recs ITT (Sabriel, Young Wizards, Animorphs...) but that's the first one that came to mind. On the nonfiction side, my daughter (who is 9, running out of Discworld and who I need to hook up with Murderbot) absolutely loves Randall Munroe's What If? and How To books. ToxicFrog fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Dec 13, 2023 |
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Dec 13, 2023 03:52
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Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest books or something by Tamora Pierce should both work nicely.
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Dec 13, 2023 04:05
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. Threadbare
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Dec 13, 2023 04:25
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Rand Brittain posted:Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest books or something by Tamora Pierce should both work nicely. Tamora Pierce owns. another great rec The Chrestomaci series by Dianna Wynne Jones, hell most of anything by her Joan Aiken rocks as well Nonfantasy but I loved loved the Gerald Durell and James Herriot books at that age Wodehouse was also great fez_machine fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Dec 13, 2023 |
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Dec 13, 2023 05:02
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rollick posted:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_in_public_domain going to cross post this over to the BotM thread, some really excellent potential reads in that list
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Dec 13, 2023 05:54
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poo poo I was going to say everything by DWJ. And yeah Wrede and Duane.
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Dec 13, 2023 14:33
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MrQueasy posted:It’s coming up on Christmas and I need ideas that are interesting but still challenging for an advanced 11yo reader who has hated almost everything I’ve given him so far in the last couple years. People have covered the big ones but don't forget Howard Pyle (robin hood and arthur, illustrated versions only) and Prydain, Susan Cooper, Madeleine L'Engle, Princess Bride, Hitchhiker's Guide. The best Heinlein Juvie is Citizen of the Galaxy and its pretty much free of heinlein weirdness. If he doesn't like the lord of the rings tho probably best to write him off and ask for a new nephew. See if the fire station will give you an exchange. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Dec 13, 2023 |
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Dec 13, 2023 15:32
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LOTR is mega boring in the first book, especially compared to the Hobbit. Absolutely understandable to check out as a kid.
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Dec 13, 2023 23:25
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:If he doesn't like the lord of the rings tho probably best to write him off and ask for a new nephew. See if the fire station will give you an exchange. Unfortunately he is my (differently) neurospicy son, and the trade window has been closed for a while. Thanks for the recommendations! Definitely going to at the minimum roll with Howl’s Moving Castle, Wild Magic, and I’m waffling between the animorphs (I missed it as a kid, I was “above” children’s lit by then in my middle/high school snobbery) and Red Mars (my personal favorite heinlein juvie) Worried that a “modern” 11yo might find both super old fashioned feeling though. Man, my kid is a prickly pear. I’m currently reading A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, and it’s really good, but it seems overly horny for a 11yo. (I’m just at the first punch though… maybe it stabilizes at a lower level? Personally, so far I can see why this belongs near the same level as Wells and Arkady Martine, so I’m jazzed to have a few books to read in the series.) I was going to drop my kid a copy of the first Vlad Taltos (Brust) books, but when I explain the nonlinear storytelling in my head it sounds too much like “flashbacks and backstory” Rambling more about suggestions: - Wrinkle in Time is another fond favorite of mine. I think I forget it a lot because I read too many of the sequels - Sabriel, I remember being underwhelmed but that was like 20y ago - Discworld: he loved when I read him Tiffany Aching in kindergarten/1st, but he hasn’t really shown any interest in picking them up on his own - Count of Monte Cristo: I haven’t read it, but I loved “The Stars My Destination” by Bester - getting middle schoolers to share their authentic likes/dislikes is frustrating as hell
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Dec 14, 2023 17:42
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Got my Goodreads end of year summary, I’m in the top 25% of readers 
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Dec 15, 2023 21:47
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I feel disappointed in myself that I didn't read more.
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Dec 15, 2023 22:35
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i went in hard on goodreads for some reason & set a challenge and then kept doubling it until year's end and then i burnt out completely and now i just read stuff but i still have an urge to track what i read & when i did so (it pisses me off when some cloud sync destroys my ebook "finished reading" dates, as if anyone cares incl me) and i had that urge before. it was always there & it was why i signed up, but now i also hate the thought of tracking what i read, while still wanting to do it "for posterity"? i dont think i actually care, but its still there such is life, bon courage
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Dec 15, 2023 22:58
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Carthag Tuek posted:i went in hard on goodreads for some reason & set a challenge and then kept doubling it until year's end and then i burnt out completely and now i just read stuff but i still have an urge to track what i read & when i did so (it pisses me off when some cloud sync destroys my ebook "finished reading" dates, as if anyone cares incl me) I mark goodreads when I can and I’m pretty diligent about it, but I also keep a Numbers spreadsheet, because autism I guess Both are fun to me, but if it causes you any hassle definitely let it go imo 
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Dec 16, 2023 00:32
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Finished ringworld it was alright but definitely reflects the time it was written.
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Dec 19, 2023 20:15
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a while ago, i read The Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard. It's very good, highly recommended. Sort of a mystery about loss and closure. But: there's a point in the novel where there's a bowling alley out in the woods that might be a limbo, and later i realized there's a very similar scene in the second season of the tv show Fargo. I realize these are the worst spoilers but it's about the afterlife, and there's trees* They both came out the same year (2017). Nothing else in the book has any similarities with the show. Simard appears to be Quebecois, and I'm wondering if it's North American folk tale? Like Johnny Appleseed but he goes bowling? *This is even worse, idk how to fix it.
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Dec 20, 2023 20:52
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Was it Rip Van Winkle or a different folk tale where the protagonist encounters strange dudes bowling in the woods? like I think Rip stumbles across them, joins them for a game, and drinks the booze they offter him causing him to sleep for like 50 years or whatever. It's been a long rear end time since I read it.
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Dec 20, 2023 21:01
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Turbinosamente posted:Was it Rip Van Winkle or a different folk tale where the protagonist encounters strange dudes bowling in the woods? like I think Rip stumbles across them, joins them for a game, and drinks the booze they offter him causing him to sleep for like 50 years or whatever. It's been a long rear end time since I read it. ive googled a lot and i did not read the original rip van winkle story but didnt he just sleep and wake up "in the future"?
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Dec 20, 2023 22:09
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Carthag Tuek posted:ive googled a lot and i did not read the original rip van winkle story but didnt he just sleep and wake up "in the future"? Not a clue. I know I read it in like mid high school, but don't remember poo poo. I based that on dim memories of a Wishbone episode. Kinda remember old bearded guys playing bowls in the woods and the sound of the hits being like the peals of thunder. I could be misremembering all sorts of poo poo though. Edit: I got google to agree that Rip encountered a group of ninepin players in the Catskills and he fell asleep off their booze. The identity of the ninepin players varies from "bearded dwarves" to "Dutchmen who may be ghosts." Turbinosamente fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Dec 21, 2023 |
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Dec 20, 2023 22:53
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For Christmas me and my buddy usually give each other a book that we've read during the year and think that the other might like. I happened to reread both Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea and McCarthy's Blood Meridian and couldn't decide which one to give him until I figured: why not both. They kinda work together in a way, both coming of age stories, but one being sparse and optimistic and the other cumbersome and pessimistic. I am thinking of leaning into it further and adding some non-book thematic thing to the package but can't really think of anything at the moment. Regarding the discussion upthread: A Wizard of Earthsea was one of the gateway books that got me into hungrily devouring the fantasy shelf (and from there on to reading in general) in middle school. I send a silent thank uou now and then to the unknown librarian who put it into my hand. ovenboy fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Dec 21, 2023 |
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Dec 21, 2023 20:01
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ovenboy posted:For Christmas me and my buddy usually give each other a book that we've read during the year and think that the other might like. I happened to reread both Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea and McCarthy's Blood Meridian and couldn't decide which one to give him until I figured: why not both. They kinda work together in a way, both coming of age stories, but one being sparse and optimistic and the other cumbersome and pessimistic. I am thinking of leaning into it further and adding some non-book thematic thing to the package but can't really think of anything at the moment. A small piece of butterfly art?
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Dec 21, 2023 20:08
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My wife is currently working through Jade Legacy - the third book in the Green Bone Saga, and I've never seen her so stressed out about a book before. So that's fun.
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Dec 21, 2023 20:36
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Mordiceius posted:My wife is currently working through Jade Legacy - the third book in the Green Bone Saga, and I've never seen her so stressed out about a book before. So that's fun. Oh I'm excited for her. It ends so well IMO. I just read the trilogy last year and even hearing about her experience reading it makes me want to re-read
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Dec 21, 2023 20:39
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MockingQuantum posted:Oh I'm excited for her. It ends so well IMO. I just read the trilogy last year and even hearing about her experience reading it makes me want to re-read She's going through the audiobook right now. She loved the first book. The ending of the second book stressed her out. She said she had trouble paying attention to some of the chapters because she was so worried that Wen was going to be killed. Up until recently, she has purposefully not looked up anything about the series online for fear of greater spoilers. She broke this recently during third book when the bombing happens and Hilo and Woon are supposed dead. She said she started skipping chapters to try to get an answer because it caused her such intense anxiety. And in the end, she had to just look up and see how that moment resolved. Unfortunately, in doing so she also learned that Hilo does actually die in the book. Though she didn't learn the specifics. Basically - she's loving the book and thinks its phenomenal but also it isn't a very pleasant experience, if that makes sense. Because she doesn't have anyone to talk to about the books, I call her during my commutes and have her give me daily book reports. lol
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Dec 21, 2023 20:54
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It's a really good book but for some reason it makes running a magic-crime family seem super stressful and not rewarding at all. I wanted to warn you about the parts that really hit, but I ended up with a list of like 5 major plot points. I really like how that book progresses. Soon, if it hasn't already happened, the book starts skipping years and where the first book covers like 6 months, Legacy covers probably 20 years. People get cell phones and you see the next generation take over Most of the next generation, that is  Not really a spoiler, but of all the minor details in all the books, having a shirt that says "Nonreactive to Bullshit" is the one that sticks with me the most.
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Dec 21, 2023 22:37
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StumblyWumbly posted:It's a really good book but for some reason it makes running a magic-crime family seem super stressful and not rewarding at all. Like The Godfather and like the Yakuza/LAD games, it does well to make you root for these characters but also remind you that they're criminals and crime families don't usually get happy endings. I don't mind spoilers since I'm not reading the books and don't plan too. I'm just mainly there for her to give book reports to. When she was going through Jade CIty and Jade War, I had read the plot summaries on Wikipedia just so I could have a better idea of what she was talking about. She's about half way through the Jade Legacy audiobook now. She has really enjoyed getting back into books. This trilogy is the first book series she has tackled in years. Grad school had killed any interest in books for her for a while. When work is less busy, we'll go through periods where I read books to her at night and we got through a few series that way, but this is wholly her endeavor. Currently, she's starting to get nervous about the ending not just because the consequences of the story but now she'll have to find some new books to get into. Mordiceius fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Dec 21, 2023 |
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Dec 21, 2023 23:34
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i swear this forum had a thread for posting about books that suck but i lost or hid it...
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Dec 22, 2023 02:37
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