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Need advice!! I just got a Kindle :4biggrin: I"m heading to Africa (for business) and want to bring some good things to read. I've downloaded some freebies - both classics, as well as some things that were on Amazon's freebie list (romances? Not really sure - not familiar with the authors)I want to get a couple of other books though - and most of what I read tends to be quick reads (mysteries & historical romances) and I want something that will take more time to get through. Will pobably pre-order Discovery of Witches because it's long and looks pretty good. I've been reading some non-fiction before my trip - just finished Too Close to the Sun - the biography of Denys FInch Hatton from a couple years ago, and am reading Peter Matthieson's African Trilogy.....

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Need advice!! I just got a Kindle :4biggrin: I"m heading to Africa (for business) and want to bring some good things to read. I've downloaded some freebies - both classics, as well as some things that were on Amazon's freebie list (romances? Not really sure - not familiar with the authors)I want to get a couple of other books though - and most of what I read tends to be quick reads (mysteries & historical romances) and I want something that will take more time to get through. Will pobably pre-order Discovery of Witches because it's long and looks pretty good. I've been reading some non-fiction before my trip - just finished Too Close to the Sun - the biography of Denys FInch Hatton from a couple years ago, and am reading Peter Matthieson's African Trilogy.....

I got Gabaldon's Outlander for free for my Kindle...not sure if it's still being offered for free, but it was a hell of a deal, esp. if you haven't already read it. SASSENACH!!

 

I also just read chaon's Await Your Reply, which was a good mystery/thriller type...that was a fast, good read.

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Fykey - I actually went over to check out your blog for ideas after I posted this - I've read (and own most of) all of Gabaldon's books - I was hooked when they first came out and have subsequently gotten many others hooked. Hers would be good to take on this trip, but since I've already read them....

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Fykey - I actually went over to check out your blog for ideas after I posted this - I've read (and own most of) all of Gabaldon's books - I was hooked when they first came out and have subsequently gotten many others hooked. Hers would be good to take on this trip, but since I've already read them....

 

have you read "the doomsday book" by connie willis? It's historical fiction about a student who goes back in time to study the middle ages...so good!

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Have you read "the doomsday book" by connie willis? It's historical fiction about a student who goes back in time to study the middle ages...so good!

No, but that sounds good! I've been loving the Lauren Willig books about the modern PhD student studying Napoleonic era spies - fun mix of modern/historical - I'm on the library waiting list for the last one and a new one comes out shortly....But I read those too quickly to spend the money on downloading :unsure:

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I just finished Head to Head by Linda Ladd, a crime/suspense/chick lit type easy read. Very, very good. Just found out it is part of a series, so I'm looking forward to reading more.

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Discovery of Witches actually downloaded to my Kindle from the wilds of Africa - yippee! AND it was really great - I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Edited by Hoyaheel

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just started reading The Pillars of the Earth - hooked already! I tried to search to see if someone had already discussed it in this thread, but that didn't turn out so well. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting further in it!

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Just read the best fiction I've read in forever: So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman. Used the time-shifting / multiple-perspective thing better than Franzen, sucked me in from the beginning and kept me hooked until the end, and tickled the latent English major at the same time. Fykey - I think you will like this (p.s. I've missed your blog!).

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Just discovered Susan Mallery and Rachel Gibson. Both contemporary romance novelists. Neither are going to shock the world with their stories, and I don't know that I would pay full retail, but it's a good way to pass the time and they are enjoyable. Both have series, so if you pick up one, check to see if the others in the series are available. (I like to try to read them in order :) )

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I've read a lot of Rachel Gibson- like her. Don't think I've read Susan Mallery so I'll have to look her up at library :4biggrin: I love romances!

 

Just finished a couple old Jennifer Weiner books over the weekend (Good in Bed and Certain Girls), Armistead Maupin's new book Mary Ann in Autumn (I just ADORE the entire Tales from the City series - read it all one summer when I was in graduate school - my only pleasure at the time. Sad, I know)

 

Am now reading Dreams of Joy, Lisa See's sequel to Shanghai Girls, which I loved.

 

Doing another long trip in September so looking for dense books for my Kindle - I don't pay for romances for the Kindle because I'll read them too quickly! So everyone else chime in with your summer reading recommendations!!!

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Downloaded The Help on my Kindle and really liked it. Also, go to Amazon's site and download free books. They are great summer reading and if you don't like them, they were FREE.

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Also, go to Amazon's site and download free books. They are great summer reading and if you don't like them, they were FREE.

Yes, I've downloaded quite a few of their free books. I get their facebook feeds, so I get notifications about other books on sale. And sometimes authors I follow on FB (like Julia Quinn and Eloisa James) will post when a fellow romance author has an ebook sale - I've picked up a few $1.99 romances that way.

 

And of course, I'm fully loaded on classics from Project Gutenberg - but you really have to be in the right mood to start War & Peace, you know. Transatlantic flights are better for quick romances or action novels :4biggrin:

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If you look at their top 100 downloads list, next to it is their top 100 free download list. Lots of free romance, mysteries, even cookbooks. Too hot in Oklahoma to read anything that will make you think. One free book I just read was different, it is Palm Trees on the Hudson... by Elliot Tiber. Has mobsters, Judy Garland and other famous people and got the feeling it was his autobiography.

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Just read Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. I've read all of her books, and this is the best one yet. I finished a few days ago and can't stop thinking about it -- highly recommended.

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So funny you post now about this - one of my last posts was about reading Discovery of Witches - 2 days ago I started the sequel, Shadow of Night. Great books.

 

I've been reading a lot of non-fiction this year. All my life I've been fascinated by the Gilded Age, so I've been reading a lot of memoirs. Am currently in the middle of The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan, but interrupted it because Shadow of Night came in at the library ;-)

 

Currently planning/fantasizing about a trip to Paris in November, so when I head to the library later today, I'll be looking for some books - David McCullough has one that I think is available at my library, maybe a Peter Mayle I haven't read yet. And I really need to dig out some of my novels or plays from college or high school to stimulate my memory of French ;-) I'm thinking Ecole des Femmes by Moliere to get me in the mood?

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I'm waiting on Gone Girl from the library. Maybe I should just break down and buy it. Is it worth a second read?

 

Just picked up Discovey of Witches. I may start it next.

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I'm waiting on Gone Girl from the library. Maybe I should just break down and buy it. Is it worth a second read?

 

Just picked up Discovey of Witches. I may start it next.

 

Hm. Not sure. I used to purchase all my books. Now, I'm maxed out on space and haven't bought a book in over a year and a half, esp. since I am no longer working and need to save every dime. (Well, I shouldn't say I haven't bought a single book...there are several authors whose works I collect, like China Mieville, Arthur Phillips, etc. -- I still buy them.)

 

SO to answer your question -- would I buy it? The old me would have said yes, definitely. Not sure I'd necessarily read it again, though, even having loved it as much as I did.

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I don't buy new fiction -I just don't have space or money for it. I do buy used paperbacks but they get "recycled" back into the system. I buy for my Kindle, but I typically only use the Kindle for travel (though my library has ebooks I can check out now - they haven't had what I've been looking for recently - I'll try again before a trip when I'm looking for more options, things that might not necessarily be on my reading list.....)

 

Hope you like Discovery of Witches. I'm wishing I had re-read it before I started Shadow of Night, since it's been a year and a half and it was a very detailed book and the sequel mentions things I've forgotten.

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Just read Breed by Chase Novak. One of the most original books I've read in a long time. It's classified as horror but I don't think it's quite that. Great read for heading into fall and Halloween, but it wasn't really scary. Just unsettling.

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I'm so lucky that my library has a ton of great ebooks for checkout. The library system here is amazing for digital content. Early adopters, for sure. I rarely have to buy for my Nook unless I know it will be a "read again" or under $5. :)

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:4biggrin: I am reading The Clash of Kings which is the second book in The Game of Thrones series. I have a Kindle and check all my books out through the libraries in my area. Love my Kindle.

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:4biggrin: I am reading The Clash of Kings which is the second book in The Game of Thrones series. I have a Kindle and check all my books out through the libraries in my area. Love my Kindle.

I am about 2/3 finished the third book - the stress of this book is killing me!!

 

I had read the first two after having seen the first two seasons of the show, so I knew what was coming. This is the first book for which I am mostly unprepared for everything (I did know two spoilers, which I've already passed). It's so stressful, but so good!!

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"American Lightning - Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood and Crime of the Century" about the 1910 bombing of the LA Times building by organized labor. It's non-fiction and has a strong element of emerging Hollywood and the influence of films, specifically DW Griffiths. It's actually an entertaining and easy read, despite the heavy-sounding description.

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