I belong to our Branch book club, Atascocita Reads, and have for going on two years. The group itself was formed about 7 years ago. I also belong to Goodreads, and have several friends that I swap titles and reviews with, and Librarything, on which I mostly add titles. I prefer the more intimate nature of a book club, with real people with real opinions and conversation, rather then discussions on the internet. I personally don't find communicating with people on the net very satisfying, unless it is a chat situation and real time. The best part of any conversation is what is showing on the other persons face, one can see if they really liked a book or story, or if they are pulling your leg, being ironic or sarcastic, or truly entranced with a story or author.
As for forming a book club, I have considered possibly a club devoted to the classics, or one whose members read and compare books of humor, either a humorist, such as David Sedaris, or just funny stories, such as some of Christopher Moores' work. Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, even Bill Bryson, whose Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is one of the funniest books I have ever read! In these uncertain times, with job loss, and the economic downturn, everyone could use a laugh, and a funny story or two. For a classics club, we were all forced to read The Scarlett Letter, Lord of the Flies and 1984 when we were in high school. Actually I managed to avoid all those, but recall being devestated by Steinbeck's The Pearl, and Hershey's Hiroshima. It might be interesting to go back to these well-hated books and look at them from an adult perspective. After checking on Goodreads, I found lists of books of lists of classic literature, "must reads" which were helpful in choosing titles for the club. They suggested, Pride and Prejudice by Austen, The Three Musketeers by Dumas, The Secret Garden by Burnett and a personal favorite, My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok. For my laughing book club, I also found lists on Goodreads, suggesting Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Adams, RightHo, Jeeves, by Wodehouse, Lamb, the Gospel according to Biff by Moore, and for those who are feeling particularly naughty, Napalm and Silly Putty, by the late George Carlin. All the lists had been complied and voted on by members of Goodreads, and ranked accordingly.
After checking various social websites, I was very pleased that the book Katherine is so highly thought of and fondly remembered. Apparently, it was read by many women of a certain age, and recommended to their daughters, who also enjoyed the story. I looked at Goodreads, Amazon, Shelfari and Librarything, and all of them had ratings of four and one half stars out of five for the book, and the commentary was very gracious. So I am pleased to see that some stories just stick around and are loved by several generations.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
#53 Finding Books Online. Where oh where?
There were actually several bookstores listed in the Houston directory that were fairly close to the Atascocita Branch. None of the small, independent stores listed had on online presence, Books by Rita had a page under construction. Bookstop and Crown books, at least the online addresses, were more lists of links for finding more books. Crown books seemed to be more into the religious books end of the business. Barnes and Noble is not too far from us at the Deerbrook Mall, and of course they have a huge online database where one can purchase books either at the store, or online sent to either your home or the store.
When looking for copies of used books, I used the book Katherine, by Anya Seton that I had read in the previous post. At Booksamillion.com, I found a paperback copy, used for $10.15, and one with library binding for $21.55. At Powell's, a used copy was $10.50. ALibris had copies from $1.99 to $10.75, and Bookmooch had no copies at all. A new copy at Barnes and Noble was $13.45.
I searched through several different websites, Amazon.com, Netlibrary.net and Bartleby.com, and did not find an audio version of Anya Seton's Katherine. It is an older book, it is a shame no one has thought to voice it. With the new non-fiction book by Alison Weir, titled, Mistrss of the Monarchy, the life of Katherine Sywford, Duchess of Lancaster, perhaps there will be a renewed interest in her story.
I downloaded an ebook from the Harris County Library site, titled Ammie,Come Home, by Barbara Michaels. This was another favorite book from my younger years, which I first read in a condensed Readers Digest version, and from which, a cheesy made-for-tv movie starring Barbara Stanwyck, was inflicted on the public at large. Anyway, I digress. I had some trouble with the downloading process, but eventually, the deed was done, and I sat in my uncomfortable desk chair, trying to read the screen. It was not a bad experience, The letters were large enough to be seen, and I can see where some people would find it advantageous to be able to read books, while on their computer, especially on your break at work, or needing some down time from your web designing. For me, I prefer a comfortable chair and the weight of a book in my lap, or the ability to read in bed, focusing on the story and tuning out the world. Holding a book is much more of joy to me then downloading it on to my computer screen.
When looking for copies of used books, I used the book Katherine, by Anya Seton that I had read in the previous post. At Booksamillion.com, I found a paperback copy, used for $10.15, and one with library binding for $21.55. At Powell's, a used copy was $10.50. ALibris had copies from $1.99 to $10.75, and Bookmooch had no copies at all. A new copy at Barnes and Noble was $13.45.
I searched through several different websites, Amazon.com, Netlibrary.net and Bartleby.com, and did not find an audio version of Anya Seton's Katherine. It is an older book, it is a shame no one has thought to voice it. With the new non-fiction book by Alison Weir, titled, Mistrss of the Monarchy, the life of Katherine Sywford, Duchess of Lancaster, perhaps there will be a renewed interest in her story.
I downloaded an ebook from the Harris County Library site, titled Ammie,Come Home, by Barbara Michaels. This was another favorite book from my younger years, which I first read in a condensed Readers Digest version, and from which, a cheesy made-for-tv movie starring Barbara Stanwyck, was inflicted on the public at large. Anyway, I digress. I had some trouble with the downloading process, but eventually, the deed was done, and I sat in my uncomfortable desk chair, trying to read the screen. It was not a bad experience, The letters were large enough to be seen, and I can see where some people would find it advantageous to be able to read books, while on their computer, especially on your break at work, or needing some down time from your web designing. For me, I prefer a comfortable chair and the weight of a book in my lap, or the ability to read in bed, focusing on the story and tuning out the world. Holding a book is much more of joy to me then downloading it on to my computer screen.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
#52 What to read? Decisions, decisions...
To look for read alikes, I used an older book, Katherine, by Anya Seton, a favorite of mine. On Novelist Plus, the database recommended authors, Elizabeth Chadwick, Daphne Dumaurier, Diana Gabaldone and Cecilia Holland. All enjoyable authors that I have read before. My search was not terribly difficult, once I figured out how it worked.
My experience with Fiction_L was a bit different. I had to chose from a genre, and after several tries I finally hit the jackpot with Historical European Fiction, which recommended the authors Seton, Cecilia Holland, Sharon Kay Penman and Jean Plaidy, and Ellis Peters "Brother Cadfael" series. Once again, authors I had read before.
On, What do I read Next?, the spectrum was a bit more broad. Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman, which is an excellent book. The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher, Robert Gellis, and The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. I found this website to be much more of a gamble, I opted not to sign up for it, and sometimes I got some rather odd recomendations.
I found animal books for the 4th grade girl on NovelistPlus, one, Animal Groups: how animals live together by Etta Kaner, and The Kitten That won First Place & other animal stories by Martin Greenburg. I then used What Do I Read Next? to find Mayor of Central Park by AVI and Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The website had no non-fiction for kids, but it was easy to find titles because they sort by age and grade. For the 13 year old boy, I also used NovelistPlus and What Do I Read Next, Finding Restless: a Ghost Story by Rick Wallace, Ghost Host by Marilyn Singer and a manga series called Ghost Hunt. In non-fiction I found Ghosts & Haunted Places by Rosemary Guilley and Ghosts and Spirits by Rebecca Stefoff. These titles are on Novelist. On What Do I Read Next?, there were Genres for Read if you Dare and Haunting Stories for Fall Nights. I chose More Horowitz Horrow by Anthony Horowitz and Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance.
On NovelistPlus, readalikes for Dean Koontz that were mentioned were Greg Bear, John Saul, and Dan Simmons. On What Do I Read Next?, Stephen King, James Patterson and Phillip Margolin were all recommended. According to Novelist, Koontz doesn't stick to a particular genre, which may be why the authors recommended were so different.
I had some real trouble using the What's Next? series site, my searching criteria didnt seem to be what the website wanted to hear. Operator error no doubt. However, I did find Tamora Pierce and her series, and the titles are,Song of the Lions, In the Hand of the Goddess, Woman Who Rides Like a Man and Lioness Rampant.
My experience with Fiction_L was a bit different. I had to chose from a genre, and after several tries I finally hit the jackpot with Historical European Fiction, which recommended the authors Seton, Cecilia Holland, Sharon Kay Penman and Jean Plaidy, and Ellis Peters "Brother Cadfael" series. Once again, authors I had read before.
On, What do I read Next?, the spectrum was a bit more broad. Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman, which is an excellent book. The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher, Robert Gellis, and The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. I found this website to be much more of a gamble, I opted not to sign up for it, and sometimes I got some rather odd recomendations.
I found animal books for the 4th grade girl on NovelistPlus, one, Animal Groups: how animals live together by Etta Kaner, and The Kitten That won First Place & other animal stories by Martin Greenburg. I then used What Do I Read Next? to find Mayor of Central Park by AVI and Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The website had no non-fiction for kids, but it was easy to find titles because they sort by age and grade. For the 13 year old boy, I also used NovelistPlus and What Do I Read Next, Finding Restless: a Ghost Story by Rick Wallace, Ghost Host by Marilyn Singer and a manga series called Ghost Hunt. In non-fiction I found Ghosts & Haunted Places by Rosemary Guilley and Ghosts and Spirits by Rebecca Stefoff. These titles are on Novelist. On What Do I Read Next?, there were Genres for Read if you Dare and Haunting Stories for Fall Nights. I chose More Horowitz Horrow by Anthony Horowitz and Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance.
On NovelistPlus, readalikes for Dean Koontz that were mentioned were Greg Bear, John Saul, and Dan Simmons. On What Do I Read Next?, Stephen King, James Patterson and Phillip Margolin were all recommended. According to Novelist, Koontz doesn't stick to a particular genre, which may be why the authors recommended were so different.
I had some real trouble using the What's Next? series site, my searching criteria didnt seem to be what the website wanted to hear. Operator error no doubt. However, I did find Tamora Pierce and her series, and the titles are,Song of the Lions, In the Hand of the Goddess, Woman Who Rides Like a Man and Lioness Rampant.
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