The Book Thread Book • Page 188

If this is your first eReader, try looking for a kobo, or a tablet, it'll let you not be tied only to the Amazon infrastructure and be able to buy books elsewhere and take out library books from elsewhere.

 

I know it’s not for everyone, but sideloading onto a Kindle is extremely easy. I pretty much only buy from Amazon if I’m not home.

My Kindle is probably my favorite tech purchase of all time and whenever I consider a Kobo or other alternative, everything I read suggests it doesn’t really get any better than the Kindle for an e-ink display and speed. (That said, it’s been a year or so since I last looked.)

I also have a Boox Palma 2 for when I don’t feel like bringing my Kindle along. Thing is so sluggish but I love it, especially for using apps like Reader.

 

My late Grandpa bought me my Kindle way back in December 2015 - last Christmas present from him as he died in 2016. I was ‘against’ e-readers back then for my own use, which seems ridiculous now as I find it very useful - started by downloading and uploading free classics from Project Gutenberg. It’s so simple. The kindle has lasted since then, no issues, still great and don’t feel tied to Amazon at all.

 

I own a Kindle, have read on a Kindle, don't really use it much anymore though my wife does sometimes. I definitely prefer reading and owning physical copies, as there's a lot of love and labor put into typeset, page layout, and overall design choices that get standardized within a Kindle. That's my biggest gripe besides it being an Amazon product and all. Otherwise I totally see the convenience of an e-reader.

 

Having a great summer of reading: finally read infinite jest, short stories and a novel by Joy Williams (delightfully strange), and now reading some stories by Borges. Also have Skippy Dies by Paul Murray in the queue.

 

I’d like to reread Infinite Jest at some point. I’m a little hesitant to revisit anything of his, really, because his writing meant so much to me at one point in my life, but it’s been so long that I’m curious to see if it still has an impact.

I read The Changeling by Joy Williams a year or two ago, and while a lot of it definitely went over my head, I really liked it and still need to check out her short stories.

I’m working my way through Emperor of Gladness and I’ve also been trying to get into poetry. Read Blud by Rachel McKibbens - fantastic, but upsetting - and Obit by Victoria Chang, and now I’m reading Mary Oliver’s Owls & Other Fantasies and Juvenilia by Hera Lindsay Bird.

I also started Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem this morning.

Oh! And I picked Brian Evenson’s Good Night, Sleep Tight back up, and while I think he might have a tendency to overwrite just a little bit, I find his stories SO effective. I love that they’re just weird and unsettling and leave the reader with no answers; they have a very cool effect on me where the sense of unease just kind of creeps up from behind.

Anyway, yeah, been reading a lot the past couple of weeks. It feels good.

 

loved my kindle for over ten years, recently switched to an iPad mini and it’s leagues better imo.

 

I personally prefer e-ink, but one of my favorite things about my Kindle is the lack of distractions. If I tried reading on an iPad I’d just end up back on Chorus within ten minutes, haha.

 

Definitely prefer e-ink over iPad for books. Love to read comics on the iPad though.

 

I read a few books on my iPad but I'm also easily distracted. I have considered getting a Kindle lately though since I'm on the go so much.

 

I’ve very deliberately set mine up purely to read and removed everything distracting. Also set up a reading focus that mutes any notifications except my girlfriend.

 

posters gotta post

 

I finally finished Dave Cullen's Columbine book. It took me about three months or so to finish because it was so heavy. I took purposeful breaks in between some sections. I was born in 1990 so Columbine was the first tragedy for me that registered in my brain as a big deal. I read the first part which details the actual massacre and had to take a little break after. It hits a little different being a middle school teacher. It really is a beautiful piece of journalism though. It's so detailed and honest, but it's also really respectful to everyone. I highly suggest it to anyone looking for some nonfiction.

I just started The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. It's my first Abercrombie read. Everyone has been telling me to give it a go, so I decided to give in. I'm only about 40 pages in so far but I like his writing style.

 

I generally try to only shop at local bookstores but... B&N are having a 50% sale on a lot of hardcovers.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/book-haul-50-off/_/N-2r5n

 

my latest read was a 10/10 for me, Deep Rivers by José María Arguedas. I absolutely loved it. here's my review:

 

I finished Summer At Mount Asama by Masahi Matsuie a couple of days ago. 5/5.

I have now started The Idiot by Elif Batuman. I'm 70 pages in and I am hooked.

 

I love The Idiot and the follow-up, Either/Or.

 

Didn't even know there was a follow-up. Good to know!

 

I bought an ARC of the new Mark Z. Danielewski book on Ebay, partly as a cool collectible to own and also obviously because I wanted to read it as soon as possible, and man is this thing daunting. More pages than 4/5 Stormlight Archive books and probably has them whipped in word count because it looks very densely written. Really excited to start it tonight though.

 

Went a little crazy yesterday for the Philly Bookstore Crawl lol. My stack on the left, my wife’s on the right

 

read this last year, it’s unlike anything else (even her other novels)

 

and you can possibly say this about any of her works. she was so GOATed

 

yeah absolutely. i got the chance to teach the hour of the star to a world lit class this year and it was a dream come true

 

Just ordered The Apple in the Dark

 

I still need to read The Familiar lol