Books you should read before you die!

[snow]

May 15, 2015 22:40:42 GMT prr said:

The Stand, Stephen King.

Great post apocalypse novel that all be it unsubtally considers good and evil, but works well by its "folksy" touch.

One of my all time favourite books which I have read over and over - if you like that also try Swan Song by Robert McCammon very similar theme and almost as good. 

[VapingBad]

Luddites: eBook reader's with eInk screens, definably not tablets, crapPads, lap-tops or phones which are sh1t for sustained reading sessions, are fantastic for narrative, not so good for non-fiction/reference books (jumping pages & screen size for text with graphics). Books get heavy after an hour especially if laying on you back, you can take a small library with you, no eye strain, mega battery life and books cost nothing if out of copyright or you are naughty. Physical books can be beautiful, even works of art, but for text only it's the content that matters: more content easily available less dead trees . Mrs Bad thinks your way, well if you ask her that what she says, but she is on her second Kindle which is used every day.

[thatguy]

May 16, 2015 0:01:21 GMT VapingBad said:

Luddites: eBook reader's with eInk screens, definably not tablets, crapPads, lap-tops or phones which are sh1t for sustained reading sessions, are fantastic for narrative, not so good for non-fiction/reference books (jumping pages & screen size for text with graphics). Books get heavy after an hour especially if laying on you back, you can take a small library with you, no eye strain, mega battery life and books cost nothing if out of copyright or you are naughty. Physical books can be beautiful, even works of art, but for text only it's the content that matters: more content easily available less dead trees . Mrs Bad thinks your way, well if you ask her that what she says, but she is on her second Kindle which is used every day.

for those on android phone/tablets, FBreader in night mode is perhaps the best I'd had for low eye strain, file compatibility and low battery drain.  The night mode (white text on black background makes a huge difference to the comfort of reading.  The worst devices I've read on are Crapple devices.  Eyeache central.

[VapingBad]

May 16, 2015 0:10:57 GMT thatguy said:

May 16, 2015 0:01:21 GMT VapingBad said:

Luddites: eBook reader's with eInk screens, definably not tablets, crapPads, lap-tops or phones which are sh1t for sustained reading sessions, are fantastic for narrative, not so good for non-fiction/reference books (jumping pages & screen size for text with graphics). Books get heavy after an hour especially if laying on you back, you can take a small library with you, no eye strain, mega battery life and books cost nothing if out of copyright or you are naughty. Physical books can be beautiful, even works of art, but for text only it's the content that matters: more content easily available less dead trees . Mrs Bad thinks your way, well if you ask her that what she says, but she is on her second Kindle which is used every day.

for those on android phone/tablets, FBreader in night mode is perhaps the best I'd had for low eye strain, file compatibility and low battery drain.  The night mode (white text on black background makes a huge difference to the comfort of reading.  The worst devices I've read on are Crapple devices.  Eyeache central.

Have you tried an eInk screen they are soooo different to LED screens?  Just (almost, satin rather than true matt) like paper?  I have to read loads for work on various computer (LED) screens and it hurts my eyes, but eInk doesn't.  Trouble is perceived value and they added colour (no longer eInk) which just makes them a cut down tablet.

It's all about the screen and being able to just add files/books by USB with eReaders.

ETA: I do have my main working environment with a black surface and muted context/key word specific colours for text.  Incidentally when I get stalemated dyslexic I was advised to print things out on barge paper.

[phatfil]

fwiw i lurve my paperwhite kindle, weeks of use on a single charge, and oh so easy on the eyes.. and a fair bit lighter than a paperback too.. not forgetting all the free books..

but there is nothing quite like a real physical book tho boxes n boxes of em make moving a real pita..

[thatguy]

May 16, 2015 0:18:03 GMT VapingBad said:

May 16, 2015 0:10:57 GMT thatguy said:

for those on android phone/tablets, FBreader in night mode is perhaps the best I'd had for low eye strain, file compatibility and low battery drain.  The night mode (white text on black background makes a huge difference to the comfort of reading.  The worst devices I've read on are Crapple devices.  Eyeache central.

Have you tried an eInk screen they are soooo different to LED screens?  Just (almost, satin rather than true matt) like paper?  I have to read loads for work on various computer (LED) screens and it hurts my eyes, but eInk doesn't.  Trouble is perceived value and they added colour (no longer eInk) which just makes them a cut down tablet.

It's all about the screen and being able to just add files/books by USB with eReaders.

ETA: I do have my main working environment with a black surface and muted context/key word specific colours for text.  Incidentally when I get stalemated dyslexic I was advised to print things out on barge paper.

Yep, I've tried e-ink screens.  They are a step in the right direction, but still cause eye strain over longer reading sessions.  Hardware wise they are the best out there at the moment.  The main reason I posted the FBreader stuff was that many people read e-books on multifunction devices such as phones/tablets and don't want (or cant justify the cost of) a dedicated device.

Most android tablets come with a micro sd card slot so adding stuff is simple enough via usb(direct to device or card). 

I'll agree a dedicated reader with a good quality e-ink display is the mutts nuts, but for me, I really don't want to carry another device about with me.  Already got my samsung phone, android tablet (mine), crapple mini-crypad (work makes me use this piece of camel excrement- don't ask me why, but those in charge of ICT have a crapple fetish, the same people who cannot stop their proxy server blocking my Autodesk a360 account IDIOTS!!!!!!!)

[VapingBad]

So get not carrying another device thatguy and don't disagree with any of your points, but like for like with a paper back (often 1 k pages in my case) they are an eminently sensible item and unlike tablets and smart phones you can charge them before you go on holiday and that would be more than enough for most people.

[thatguy]

No arguments there. Both camps have their pros and cons, all down to the preference of the user. Anyways, lets get this thread back on topic about books and not how we read them. A good app for shorter reads, a dedicated device for longer.

Another addition......

Douglas Adams - hitch-hickers guide to the galaxy trilogy of 5 books(his words, not mine)

[VapingBad]

More for fun and an insight into the time when they were written or set in
Everything by Dickens
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, not the squeals
The Patrick O'Brian Aubrey Maturin (Master and Commander) series, well written lots of good historical background and dialogue (I hate historical novels in modern English where what was spoken at the time is known and comprehendible now).
The English Passengers by Matthew Kneale

E:
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, just a fun romp, but Fielding was an important man writing with his world view in mind, says a lot about middle class the morality of the time.

[collie2011]

Not as historically important as some of your suggestions (most of the books I'd recommend have been said already lol) the Shardlake series by CJ Sansom is brilliant.

If you are interested in religion then anything by Hitchens or Dawkins is a must read for the other side of the argument. Particularly love God is Not Great.

A life changing author for me was John Taylor Gatto, he inspired us to Home Educate our daughter, his view on education, although american centric, is very accurate.



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[gill2009]

I agree with 99% of the books mentioned...but would like to add any writings by the wonderful Margaret Atwood - just amazing!

[michnig]

Im not a big reader at all but one book ive read and had a major effect on me is THE RAILWAY MAN by Eric Lomax.
About his treatment in WW2 on the Burma railway,a life changing twist at the end.

Fiction wise I like Tana French.

[BrenD]

Just about anything by Iain Banks is worth reading, especially The Wasp Factory.

I was perhaps a little too young to read the book when an English teacher at school suggested I read it as it would be right up my street. It was!

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[DiscoDes]

The Matian - Andy Weir

The Matian - Andy Weir

The Matian - Andy Weir!

[Nosmo-King]

A book, praised by George Orwell, and was once banned in the UK. 'The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists' by Robert Tressell.