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Post by 😎 on Jan 22, 2024 17:53:54 GMT
Signature Edition has a faster chipset, more storage, slightly better screen and wireless charging (for some reason)
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ned
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Post by ned on Jan 22, 2024 18:34:37 GMT
I have the latest basic version of the Kindle and it has a lighted screen now, so works for night reading well enough.
I do like them. I love that you can read a sample of every book on the store, so get to try before you buy on everything.
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Post by rawshark on Jan 23, 2024 13:58:11 GMT
To stop Spotify from recommending it to me, if nothing else, I'm listening to the audio book of The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer. It's amusing enough. No idea where it's going, and I think bob only had the vaguest of ideas while he was writing it. Am going to start having conversations with squirrels now, though.
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Post by dfunked on Jan 23, 2024 13:59:43 GMT
Paul Lynch - Prophet Song 9/10
Covers the slide of modern day Ireland into a dystopian state and the damage this does to a family. It took a little while to adjust to the prose, but once you do it's an absolutely riveting read.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jan 23, 2024 14:27:51 GMT
I have a paperwhite, but it's an older version from a few years back. The new regular kindle seems pretty identical to my paperwhite. I think it depends what you'll use it for. The signature edition doesn't seem particularly worth it, unless you *really* need the extra storage for carrying loads of audiobooks. Kindle is a bit smaller, but that makes it a bit lighter, so it's good for reading paperbacks one handed. Paperwhite is a bit bigger and heavier (though the weight is still no more than my phone), but the main thing is the brighter screen (more for outdoor reading I guess, not sure how good the regular kindle backlight is, but I imagine it'd be enough for nighttime reading) and the waterproofing (this is the bit I wish mine had, so I could read in the bath!) I guess if you were trying to read Manga or something then the bigger screen might help with that. PS/ If you're just reading text-based books then don't worry about storage, even the 8Gb model will store thousands of the things. It's only really manga or audiobooks that'll take up space. If you want to save money, amazon discount them quite heavily quite often, and also do the versions with ads. (Mine has ads, I thought it'd be really annoying, but it's basically only on the lockscreen and I never really notice it.) Or an older versions. graph.keepa.com/pricehistory.png?asin=B09SWRYPB2&domain=co.uk
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Post by dfunked on Jan 23, 2024 14:36:13 GMT
The regular 2022 kindle is fine for nighttime reading, but again I don't really have a point of reference. I usually have it set to 6 or 7 which feels like a good balance between light enough without blinding you (max is 24) The warmer light of the paperwhite might be better suited, but it's never been a problem for me. And yeah, storage has never been an issue for me, but then if I wanted to listen to audiobooks I'd do it on my phone. RE the ads version, if you buy it through someone else's Amazon account and then set it up on your account, it's easy to get them removed for free. Just contact support and say you received it as a gift but there's something wrong with it, it keeps displaying ads
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senso
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Post by senso on Jan 23, 2024 16:08:02 GMT
A trilogy of sci-fi/fantasy trilogies I have read recently:
The First Law Trllogy (The Blade Itself, Before they are Hanged, The Last Argument of Kings) by Joe Abercrombie
These were the first kindle books I ever purchased, over 7 years ago (!) and I finally managed to read them all. I have to say I wasn't as blown away as I expected to be, given the high praise the series has gotten. Yes, there are fun characters, lots of action set pieces and intriguing plot twists, but I felt the books were too long overall and Joe could have definitely trimmed the page count down and make the story flow better. Didn't like the ending either; felt like Abercrombie didn't really know how to tie up all the loose ends he created.
8/10
Eisenhorn Trilogy (Xenos, Malleus, Hereticus) by Dan Abnett
Was not a fan; it was recommended to me as 'police man in the Warhammer 40k universe' but read more like 'one man army in the Warhammer 40k universe'; and not in a good way. Too much exposition (very little showing, more telling), especially in book 2 which was mostly boring. The characters seemed to speak with the same voice and the pacing was all off. Unless you can't get enough of the universe these stories are set in I'd personally avoid. I did read some Gaunt's Ghosts a few years ago and found them more entertaining. They are by the same author, set in same universe.
4/10
The Interdependency Trilogy (The Collapsing Empire, The Consuming Fire, The Last Emperox) by John Scalzi
I did enjoy this - it is fast paced, has great dialogue and fun plot twists. But I feel that the science that Scalzi kept promising to explore throughout the series never materialised, and he instead wanted to focus on all the characters' many interactions between each other. I would probably describe this as 'light sci-fi' (if such a tag exists) so I would recommend this series to casual sci-fi readers or those who enjoy more dialogue driven stories.
7/10
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jan 24, 2024 1:43:51 GMT
I just finished Molly, which is a memoir a guy wrote about his wife who committed suicide.
It is absolutely rough reading, because it is a warts-and-all tribute to someone who - if you believe the words in this book - was oftentimes an emotionally manipulative, straight-up abusive piece of shit. Maybe not without cause (Molly had an abusive upbringing, and a lot of mental issues to deal with), but it's still a supremely toxic relationship.
The book isn't a hit piece. There's as much love and sadness and understanding, mixed in with the anger. Maybe even too much love and sadness and understanding; sometimes it comes across as the thoughts of a victim who's been gaslit into blaming themselves. But it is complex, as relationships often can be.
It's probably the best thing I've read in the last year or so, but I was not comfortable reading it. And then there's the whole issue of publishing this kind of thing. It's not exactly airing dirty laundry out in public, but it comes close.
So... recommended? Maybe? I don't know, I've never really read anything like this before.
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rhaegyr
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Post by rhaegyr on Jan 24, 2024 13:29:23 GMT
Planetary - Warren Ellis
It was decent? I expected more after reading good things about it over the years and Alan Moore's forward.
There's some good build up and a ton of imagination but the artwork didn't do much for me and the ending is a bit of a damp squib.
Not on the level of any of Moore's work or Sandman, Blankets, Maus, Dark Knight Returns etc.
6/10
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jan 24, 2024 13:57:50 GMT
Eisenhorn Trilogy (Xenos, Malleus, Hereticus) by Dan AbnettWas not a fan; it was recommended to me as 'police man in the Warhammer 40k universe' but read more like 'one man army in the Warhammer 40k universe'; and not in a good way. Too much exposition (very little showing, more telling), especially in book 2 which was mostly boring. The characters seemed to speak with the same voice and the pacing was all off. Unless you can't get enough of the universe these stories are set in I'd personally avoid. I did read some Gaunt's Ghosts a few years ago and found them more entertaining. They are by the same author, set in same universe. 4/10 I'm not sure if they are any better, but there is the Shira Calpurnia trilogy, which are about an Adeptus Arbites and are more about solving crimes. Apparently.
I got a massive paperback (Enforcer) that was actually the trilogy of previously published novels. I've only read the first one though. It was ok, though I don't remember being blown away by it.
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mikeck
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Post by mikeck on Jan 30, 2024 14:54:28 GMT
Just finished Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee. Absolutely fantastic story, set in a near future and entirely believable that the UK could go down this path (but hopefully won't).
Set in Margate against a backdrop of soaring inequality and political extremism, with catastrophic rising sea levels, this really is a fucking powerful book.
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Post by Dougs on Jan 31, 2024 6:51:47 GMT
That sounds a cheery read!
I just finished The Family Upstairs. Which is complete trash thriller fiction, a proper summer holiday read. But it kept me engaged far more than I expected and is a better story than many more established books and authors in the genre (and better written, frankly). Can definitely see it being adapted for an ITV drama.
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mikeck
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Post by mikeck on Jan 31, 2024 7:50:16 GMT
Yeah, it's not the cheeriest. It has its moments though and isn't entirely bleak 😆
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gamma
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Post by gamma on Jan 31, 2024 21:52:54 GMT
Read Bad Brains by Kathe Koja. It's a character study of a painter who is recently divorced and has an accident involving head trauma. Contains themes of mental illness, the US health care system and also light horror elements. What lifts it is the prose which is absolutely amazing. Really well written book that reads like a poem in places, and goes into some quite dark stuff. Well worth a read.
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Post by drhickman1983 on Feb 1, 2024 3:47:31 GMT
Leviathan Wakes (The Expense book 1)
Quite enjoyed it. I'd seen the TV adaptation, but long enough ago to give it some space before reading the novels.
It's very readable. The descriptions of events are very evocative. Not the most poetic of prose, but just a good level of detail to really make the world feel lived in.
Millers viewpoint is the most immediately interesting leaning into that hardboiled detective trope, but Holden's point of view is a bit dry to start. Still,we do see some good character moments emerge.
8/10, looking forward to reading the next book.
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Post by rawshark on Feb 2, 2024 20:21:08 GMT
The Satsuma Complex - Bob Mortimer
Amusing enough. I like Bob’s turn of phrase but even for a book that revels in the mundane it should be a bit more purposeful. It’s a pretty basic sub noir story when it comes down to it, and feels like a middle aged man ticking “write a mystery novel” off the bucket list. If it didn’t have the star factor of Bob’s name behind it no one would care.
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mikeck
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Post by mikeck on Feb 3, 2024 23:05:42 GMT
I keep going to pick that up and then for some reason never do. You've not compelled me to take the plunge.
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Post by simple on Feb 5, 2024 15:26:12 GMT
Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil by Alex Aniel
And by history, it covers a tiny bit of the pre-series backstory of Sweet Home then is every version of every RE game from RE1 in 96 on the Playstation to RE:DS on the DS (but really RE4 is where the line is really drawn).
It zips along fairly briskly and reads like its somewhere between a longform magazine retrospective and a university dissertation. It was originally a crowdfunded publication so perhaps thats understandable.
Naturally some games get more coverage than others, perhaps surprisingly the original RE1 gets possibly the least although it comes back around for the two Director’s Cut releases, the REmake and a handful of ports. The big ones in this story seem to be RE2, Code Veronica and RE4 which makes sense as they’re the big evolutionary jumps in this era of the series.
Its nice to have a complete chronology of the series with comments from most of the key game directors and producers. But the real good stuff is really all the what could’ve beens, spin-offs, ports, abandoned prototypes etc and that’s covered too.
Given its bookended by Shinji Mikami being given RE1 to direct and him leaving Capcom after RE4 I doubt there’s a part 2 coming. Although it would be interesting to know the details of how they approached the next evolution when 7 and the RE Engine remakes steered the series back to survival horror.
I can’t imagine there’s much of an audience for it outside a very specific demographic of Resident Evil fan but it was on the shelf in Waterstones so who knows.
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Post by rawshark on Feb 22, 2024 15:12:32 GMT
I've almost finished A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - the novella collection set about 100 years before Game of Thrones.
I'm enjoying it - I like that it's just knighty business wihout magic and dragons. Althought I wish they's wind it in a bit with the trials by combat. They kind of lose impact when every argument basically gets settled by one.
Dunk and Egg are good characters.
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Feb 26, 2024 19:45:23 GMT
The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time book 1) - Robert Jordan, narrated by Rosamund Pike
Thought I'd give this series a try after enjoying the show. This was ok. Great in some places and tediously slow in others. I'll probably give the next book a go but I don't feel like jumping straight into it the way I often do with a series. Pike's narration is superb though, really bringing the characters to life. I see she's done the first three books and hope she continues.
7/10
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otto
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Post by otto on Feb 27, 2024 8:56:10 GMT
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otto
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Post by otto on Feb 27, 2024 9:00:25 GMT
Thinking of picking up a Kindle. I am looking at the paperwhite for the bigger screen size but annoyingly it is quite a bit more than the basic version. Are these things ever on sale? I realise I'm coming to this very late and you've probably bought one by now but just in case, have you had a look at the Kobo? IMO they're better than the Kindle at the same price point - I have the Libra 2 which has physical page buttons and a natural backlight. And native support for epub.
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mikeck
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Post by mikeck on Feb 27, 2024 14:40:09 GMT
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes This was another poweful book. A re-telling of Medusa's story, where the "hero" Perseus isn't all that, most of the gods and goddesses are absolutely vile, but more importantly we see a history told by more female voices. It's really compelling, and thought provoking, and of course doesn't paint many of the male characters in a good light at all (or in fact a lot of the female ones either). It's a reconstruction of greek mythology which is fantastically written and zips by in no time. For bonus points you just know this would be called woke nonsense by the gammons, so if that's a good thing then check this book out
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otto
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Post by otto on Feb 27, 2024 14:43:10 GMT
Thanks, I'll check that out, as a classics grad myself I always enjoyed her stand-up so definitely interested.
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skalpadda
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Post by skalpadda on Feb 29, 2024 14:38:41 GMT
I was stupid enough to start multiple books at the same time while also trying to get through some audiobooks. Turns out I can't do that anymore, especially with a bit of winter depression and other things going on. It took me a lot longer than expected and I had to drop a few for now. Anyway, some thoughts:
Otherlands by Thomas Halliday. Pop-science paleontology book, going backwards in time from the last ice age to the Ediacaran (~600 million years). I was a bit worried that it might belong to the genre of books and documentaries where everything is a narrative with extinct creatures as "characters". There's a bit of that but it's kept very light. He's rather painting a picture of each time and place then diving into more sciency stuff, and it gets delightfully nerdy at times.
A bit flowery now and then, but it's pleasant to read and I love that it spends more time on important but less eye-catching stuff, rather than just big stompy dinosaurs wot go RAWR.
Revelation Space and Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds.
All the big sci-fi world building is great but I had trouble caring about the characters. They're all a bit dry and a little too analytical all the time. Still, enjoyed these enough that I want to see where it goes in the following books and I already picked up Redemption Ark.
Xenos by Dan Abnett.
I've never really got into 40k, but the lore as seen from a distance and the occasional video game always seemed fun. And this was fun enough. Very silly and impossible to take seriously, but that's what I both expected and wanted. I chose all three Eisenhorn books as a free bonus when buying other books, so I'll get around to the rest at some point.
L'Éveil du Léviathan (Leviathan Wakes), by James S.A. Corey. (audiobook) I've read the first four books in English and while I didn't love them they were fun and breezy. Never listened to a proper big audiobook in French before, but I haven't had any major problems with reading, movies and games for a long time. A book I'm already familiar with and found light and easy in English should be a piece of cake, right?
Turns out that was overconfident. There's lots of jargon and topics I simply don't have the vocabulary for. The Belter pidgin was often indecipherable (and you can't just look that up). A quarter of the way through I put it aside. I wasn't enjoying it. On to the backup...
Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers by Jules Verne. (audiobook) My confidence a bit bruised, I worried I might have made another mistake. It's 150 years old after all. But no, this is easy. And it's just fun to be transported to a time where the world felt a little bigger and full of possibilities. Where a reasonable explanation for mysteriously sunken ships might be a hitherto undiscovered species of gigantic narwhal. The narrator is excellent as well. I haven't quite finished it yet, but I'll almost definitely pick up at least Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth after this.
One book at a time from now on though.
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rhaegyr
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Post by rhaegyr on Feb 29, 2024 14:59:51 GMT
Tenth of December - George Saunders
A book of short(ish) stories covering a wide variety of topics. Some really stick in the memory (Escape from Spiderhead and Tenth of December) but most of them are forgettable despite some great prose at times.
6/10
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Post by damagedinc on Mar 1, 2024 11:02:59 GMT
Dune on offer for kindle, 99p for each book
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Post by stixxuk on Mar 1, 2024 17:39:03 GMT
Dune on offer for kindle, 99p for each book Thanks for the heads-up, I have taken advantage of this!
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Post by damagedinc on Mar 1, 2024 18:26:31 GMT
Yeah never read them and thought be a perfect time to jump in. Just grabbed all 6 for that price.
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n0mis
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Post by n0mis on Mar 2, 2024 8:34:06 GMT
After having a SpLD assessment last year and being diagnosed with dyslexia, I was recommended a Kindle to help. My reading habit has improved vastly and I just reached a reading milestone which I am personally very pleased about.
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