I've recently finished two vanilla, but enjoyable books. I thought I should pass them along for your consideration.
Texas by James Michener
My favorite Michener novel remains Poland, but this was a very enjoyable book.
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
Those who know me know that I've got a soft spot for dogs, the plot of this quick read touched that spot perfectly.
I do read a great deal, and am considering the purchase of an Amazon Kindle. If anyone would care to fill me in on their experiences with this device I would be most appreciative
Lastly, given the subject matter of The Darkest Evening of the Year I want to take this opportunity to mention a good local charity, Pasado's Safe Haven, their good work will continue with our help.
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4 comments:
Mistress Milliscent
Sort of found my self laughing at this one , as i too just finished up " Texas ". it was fairly good.
I will say my favorite Michener novel remains " Alaska ".
Couldnt say on the Amazon Kindle thing though , seems it would be what folks in south america would stoke a fire with. perhaps you would do well asking someone there :).
rebecca
rebecca,
Alaska was a very good one, probably my #2 behind Poland.
The idea of the Kindle itself is a good one; I'm not a huge fan of ebooks, because I like the aesthetic appeal of dead tree books; additionally, I have trouble reading any sort of screen for more than a few minutes because there's not the break of turning a page. OTOH, the tree-free aspect of ebooks can be environmentally sound, if the ebook readers are made to last a long time.
One thing you might want to consider, though, that many people aren't aware of, is that that Amazon has been exhibiting some really unhealthy business practices with regards to both small presses and e-publishers. With small presses that use print on demand publishing, Amazon has told us that we either have to use their (poor quality) in-house printing service, Booksurge, or else our books will only be available through third party sellers. With ebooks, the Kindle contract is excessively restrictive, to include reprint rights and taking a higher mandatory cut of the profit.
There's more info here:
http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/28/the-idpf-should-stop-being-polite-remember-toys-r-us-give-amazon-hell-for-its-new-ebabel-look-for-anti-trust-violations-and-reach-out-to-google/
http://www.writersweekly.com/amazon.php (this link has the most comprehensive amount of info on the POD end of things)
I don't mean to hijack the thread; just thought I might offer some food for thought.
Lupa,
I do share your love for the tactile experience of holding a book, and share your dislike of reading from a computer screen. I wondered if the Kindle would compensate for those disadvantages by it's ability to store so many books at once. I'm currently reading six or so, it would be nice to have them all in one space.
I greatly appreciate the information you've sent regarding Amazon, and will certainly take it into consideration as I make my purchasing decisions.
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