Help me load up a memory card for my dad

ficbot · 06-04-2010, 12:02 PM

We're getting my dad an ebook reader for father's day. We are going with the Libre because it does not need software to load books and he can download straight to folders. Also he has expressed reservations about the page flash on the e-ink screens. My stepmother is paying for the reader and my contribution will be to load up the memory card with as much good stuff as we can find.

He is not interested in reading 'modern' books (yet---he still has issues about giving up the smell of paper and other such newbie issues) but he is very interested in the idea of being able to carry around at all times a complete library of the classics he enjoyed as a boy. I asked for some specifics, and basically he stumbled upon some obscure boy's adventure story whose name I forget on Project Gutenberg some time ago and was so delighted to see that he could get this now out of print book for free that he read the whole thing on his computer screen. I asked him what authors he might enjoy and he said Dickens, Conan Doyle and Buchan. So far, here is what I am for sure downloading:

- The Harvard Classics complete set
- Everything by Conan Doyle, Dickens and Buchan since he mentioned those
- Perhaps all the H. Rider Haggard, I think this might be what he found himself
- Everything by Jules Verne
- The Best Short Stories series

What else? He has boxes and boxes in his garage he has never unpacked because he hasn't got the space, so he is very interested in the idea of as many books as he wants in a card that can fit in his hand. I want to get him books he'll enjoy, of course. But there is an element of wanting to wow him with sheer quantity as play here too

HarryT · 06-04-2010, 12:07 PM

A few suggestions:

Edgar Rice Burroughs.
R. Austin Freeman's "Doctor Thorndyke" stories.
Sherlock Holmes
E.W. Hornung's "Raffles" books.
Edgar Wallace.

wayspooled · 06-04-2010, 12:38 PM

A few more -
PG Wodehouse
GA Henty
Rafael Sabatini
Alexandre Dumas
Sir Walter Scott
Henryk Sienkiewicz

HarryT · 06-04-2010, 12:39 PM

Sir Walter Scott? I find his books completely unreadable personally.

ficbot · 06-04-2010, 12:48 PM

Great suggestions. I am thinking I should organize them into folders by author, depending on how many of each genre there are. This should be a fun project.

Also for reference, his favourite modern authors are people like Flannery O'Connor and Joyce Carol Oates. He also has mentioned William Faulkner.

Trebro · 06-04-2010, 06:30 PM

If you father likes the idea of people who are forced into situations beyond their control, then I would humbly suggest Joseph Conrad.

Also: He probably read some Mark Twain and Charles Dickens as a child, as well. I'd add some from both.

-Rob

SameOldStory · 06-04-2010, 07:01 PM

This thought is a little different.

He has access to a computer? If so put a couple of icons/URLs on his desktop.

Smashwords Free Books

Baen Free Library

Books For A Buck

Feedbooks

Sorry I forgot Mobileread's very own E-Book Uploads.

Just don't blame me if he's too busy to talk to you.

nomesque · 06-04-2010, 07:02 PM

Not free, from what I can see - but Hardy Boys? Biggles? Too juvenile, or a fun reminiscence? Or are the Hardy Boys not as old as I'm thinking they are?

toomanybooks · 06-04-2010, 07:17 PM

Anthony Trollope
Richard Harding Davis

Trebro · 06-04-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomesque

Not free, from what I can see - but Hardy Boys? Biggles? Too juvenile, or a fun reminiscence? Or are the Hardy Boys not as old as I'm thinking they are?

the Hardy Boys are extremely old, actually. They just keep getting reprinted and revamped. They started in 1926, and have been ghost-written for decades to varying degrees of quality.

I think I wrote a paper in middle school on their history, if I remember right.

-Rob

nomesque · 06-04-2010, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trebro

the Hardy Boys are extremely old, actually. They just keep getting reprinted and revamped. They started in 1926, and have been ghost-written for decades to varying degrees of quality.

I think I wrote a paper in middle school on their history, if I remember right.

-Rob

Thanks! Thought so.

Poppa1956 · 06-04-2010, 10:22 PM

The "Little Journeys" Series by Elbert Hubbard
Books by Mark Twain
Books by Bret Harte
Bulfinch's Mythologies
Some F. Scott Fitzgerald is PD in the US
The Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar

If you haven't already done so, you might also take a p0eek at the 100 free books that come with the Kobo reader. They're all public domain, and readily available.

FatDog · 06-05-2010, 12:12 AM

"Dracula" is very good.

How about this: "Three men and a Dog" (classic), and then Connie Willis "To Say Nothing of the Dog".

Try "The Aire Affair" by Jasper Fford - funny, but makes you want to read literature.

But toss in some Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child, or the original Jurassic Park.

Vintage Season · 06-05-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ficbot

... he stumbled upon some obscure boy's adventure story whose name I forget on Project Gutenberg some time ago ...

If your father enjoys "boy's adventure" stories, get him Victor Appleton's original Tom Swift novels (feedbooks.com has them available in epub, mobi and pdf, all of which should be handled by the Libre).

I would also suggest browsing the Public Domain Categories page on feedbooks.com, to find any number of other titles, authors and series your father might remember and enjoy.

Oh yes... one more thing: Grab a copy of my first published short story for him, and tell him I said Happy Father's Day!

- M.

HarryT · 06-05-2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vintage Season

If your father enjoys "boy's adventure" stories, get him Victor Appleton's original Tom Swift novels (feedbooks.com has them available in epub, mobi and pdf, all of which should be handled by the Libre).

They are also, of course, available here at MR, in 5 "omnibus" volumes (5 books in each volume).

06-04-2010, 12:02 PM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Help me load up a memory card for my dad We're getting my dad an ebook reader for father's day. We are going with the Libre because it does not need software to load books and he can download straight to folders. Also he has expressed reservations about the page flash on the e-ink screens. My stepmother is paying for the reader and my contribution will be to load up the memory card with as much good stuff as we can find. He is not interested in reading 'modern' books (yet---he still has issues about giving up the smell of paper and other such newbie issues) but he is very interested in the idea of being able to carry around at all times a complete library of the classics he enjoyed as a boy. I asked for some specifics, and basically he stumbled upon some obscure boy's adventure story whose name I forget on Project Gutenberg some time ago and was so delighted to see that he could get this now out of print book for free that he read the whole thing on his computer screen. I asked him what authors he might enjoy and he said Dickens, Conan Doyle and Buchan. So far, here is what I am for sure downloading: - The Harvard Classics complete set - Everything by Conan Doyle, Dickens and Buchan since he mentioned those - Perhaps all the H. Rider Haggard, I think this might be what he found himself - Everything by Jules Verne - The Best Short Stories series What else? He has boxes and boxes in his garage he has never unpacked because he hasn't got the space, so he is very interested in the idea of as many books as he wants in a card that can fit in his hand. I want to get him books he'll enjoy, of course. But there is an element of wanting to wow him with sheer quantity as play here too

06-04-2010, 12:48 PM	#5
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Great suggestions. I am thinking I should organize them into folders by author, depending on how many of each genre there are. This should be a fun project. Also for reference, his favourite modern authors are people like Flannery O'Connor and Joyce Carol Oates. He also has mentioned William Faulkner. Last edited by ficbot; 06-04-2010 at 12:50 PM.

06-04-2010, 07:01 PM	#7
SameOldStory My True Self Posts: 3,126 Karma: 66242098 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor, Galactic Center Device: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	This thought is a little different. He has access to a computer? If so put a couple of icons/URLs on his desktop. Smashwords Free Books Baen Free Library Books For A Buck Feedbooks Sorry I forgot Mobileread's very own E-Book Uploads. Just don't blame me if he's too busy to talk to you. Last edited by SameOldStory; 06-05-2010 at 10:01 AM.

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06-04-2010, 12:07 PM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A few suggestions: Edgar Rice Burroughs. R. Austin Freeman's "Doctor Thorndyke" stories. Sherlock Holmes E.W. Hornung's "Raffles" books. Edgar Wallace.

06-04-2010, 12:38 PM	#3
wayspooled Crab In The Dark Posts: 486 Karma: 2328180 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Tablet PC until a 10" comes out that I like	A few more - PG Wodehouse GA Henty Rafael Sabatini Alexandre Dumas Sir Walter Scott Henryk Sienkiewicz

06-04-2010, 12:39 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Sir Walter Scott? I find his books completely unreadable personally.

06-04-2010, 06:30 PM	#6
Trebro Connoisseur Posts: 84 Karma: 14 Join Date: May 2010 Device: nook	If you father likes the idea of people who are forced into situations beyond their control, then I would humbly suggest Joseph Conrad. Also: He probably read some Mark Twain and Charles Dickens as a child, as well. I'd add some from both. -Rob

06-04-2010, 07:02 PM	#8
nomesque Snooty Bestselling Author Posts: 1,485 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia Device: PRS-650	Not free, from what I can see - but Hardy Boys? Biggles? Too juvenile, or a fun reminiscence? Or are the Hardy Boys not as old as I'm thinking they are?

06-04-2010, 07:17 PM	#9
toomanybooks Addict Posts: 302 Karma: 1039424 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Ipad, Ipod Touch, KIndle Fire	Anthony Trollope Richard Harding Davis

06-04-2010, 10:22 PM	#12
Poppa1956 Evangelist Posts: 487 Karma: 344188 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oregon, USA Device: Verizon Ellipsis Tablit w/Kindle and Nook apps.	The "Little Journeys" Series by Elbert Hubbard Books by Mark Twain Books by Bret Harte Bulfinch's Mythologies Some F. Scott Fitzgerald is PD in the US The Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar If you haven't already done so, you might also take a p0eek at the 100 free books that come with the Kobo reader. They're all public domain, and readily available.

06-05-2010, 12:12 AM	#13
FatDog Witless protection Agent Posts: 290 Karma: 1002898 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles Device: Kindle	"Dracula" is very good. How about this: "Three men and a Dog" (classic), and then Connie Willis "To Say Nothing of the Dog". Try "The Aire Affair" by Jasper Fford - funny, but makes you want to read literature. But toss in some Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child, or the original Jurassic Park.