Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Can you advise where they are available cheaply? They are £3.95 at Amazon UK, which I wouldn't regard as cheap, although it's certainly not outrageous.

Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver mysteries are couponable at Kobo. I've purchased one in the series on a KDD and two cheaply at Kobo.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver mysteries are couponable at Kobo. I've purchased one in the series on a KDD and two cheaply at Kobo.

Thank you - useful to know!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Much Fall of Blood by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint & Dave Freer, the third in their "Heirs of Alexandria" series about a magical Venice in the 1500s.

And an excellent series and an excellent book in that series. Most enjoyable. OK, so the goodies are good and the baddies are bad, and the good prosper and the bad do not. It is fiction, after all.

Next up: Reboots — Diabolical Streak by Mercedes Lackey & Cody Martin

The sequel to this month's Phoenix Pick freebie.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Patricia Wentworth died in 1961, so they're out of copyright in life+50 countries (e.g. Canada), but won't be out of copyright in life+70 until 2032.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Can you advise where they are available cheaply? They are £3.95 at Amazon UK, which I wouldn't regard as cheap, although it's certainly not outrageous.

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver mysteries are couponable at Kobo. I've purchased one in the series on a KDD and two cheaply at Kobo.

First, I'm in Canada, so I was able to score several free. Then, Amazon has The Watersplash as a $6.99 one now, and I got it as a monthly special for $1.99 a while back. Also, there's currently a questionable collection on Amazon US that appears to include those that are available in Canada from Project Gutenberg repackaged and being sold in the US for $5.80.

And, as pointed out, they are couponable at Kobo.

All in all, I have a half dozen or so, and expect to get some more when a good coupon comes around. Most of the legitimate ones on Amazon are selling for $6.59-$6.99 right now. Or there may be more made available on PG Canada. IAC, I enjoy them.

ETA: I notice in perusing the PG Canada site that there are a bunch of Wentworth books in the process of being completed, but not yet posted to the official PG Canada site, still on the Faded Page site. So it looks good for those of us in Canada, and other life+50 countries such as Australia.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by CRussel

So it looks good for those of us in Canada, and other life+50 countries such as Australia.

Australia has a life+70 copyright law, not life+50. It changed a few years back. Those books which were in the public domain stayed there, but no new books will enter the Australian public domain until it "catches up" with life+70. So no PD Patricia Wentworth in Australia, I'm afraid.

[HarryT]

Based on the numerous recommendations for it here, I've just started reading "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Only a few pages in, but very good thus far. Just the sort of book that I enjoy.

[CRussel]

Australia has a life+70 copyright law, not life+50. It changed a few years back. Those books which were in the public domain stayed there, but no new books will enter the Australian public domain until it "catches up" with life+70. So no PD Patricia Wentworth in Australia, I'm afraid.

Ah, thanks for the correction, Harry. I was not aware of the change. Once again a good reason to live where I do.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Ah, thanks for the correction, Harry. I was not aware of the change. Once again a good reason to live where I do.

. Somewhat to my surprise, I find that the Australian change happened ten years ago now. The first new public domain works in Australia are now only a little over 11 years away, on 1st January 2026.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Based on the numerous recommendations for it here, I've just started reading "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Only a few pages in, but very good thus far. Just the sort of book that I enjoy.

Can't wait to hear your opinions. I found it a modern version of Mysterious Island.

[pilotbob]

Looking for my next great read. After The Analyst and The Martian I want to keep the great reads going.

Was thinking Robin Hobb. I've heard good thing about her books but haven't read any. Where should I start? The Farseer trilogy?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Based on the numerous recommendations for it here, I've just started reading "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Only a few pages in, but very good thus far. Just the sort of book that I enjoy.

I'm sure you in particular will love it. It's heavy on the real science stuff..

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Looking for my next great read. After The Analyst and The Martian I want to keep the great reads going.

Was thinking Robin Hobb. I've heard good thing about her books but haven't read any. Where should I start? The Farseer trilogy?

I haven't read any Robin Hobb but if you're looking for recommendations for excellent fantasy, I highly recommend Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. It's the first in the Raven's Shadow trilogy. The second book, Tower Lord comes out in July.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Gazella

I haven't read any Robin Hobb but if you're looking for recommendations for excellent fantasy, I highly recommend Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. It's the first in the Raven's Shadow trilogy. The second book, Tower Lord comes out in July.

Thanks, I'd rather stick to completed series if possible.

I was going back in library thing to see what series I have started and didn't continue. Two came up:

I've read The Name of the Wind in the Kingkiller series.

I've read Her's Majesty's Dragon book one of the Temeraire series. Thought, I'm not sure this series ends or is really a "trilogy" type series. Or just a collection of stories based on Tameraire.

I've read The Bakers Boy book 1 of The Book of Words.

Then again, the reasons I didn't continue any of these was because the first book didn't really impress me that much or leave me wanting to continue to store, so maybe I should leave them as they are, unless people can tell me they get much better.

[Hampshire Nanny]

I'm about 1/3 of the way through The 2080s by Jeff Hannan that I picked up from the library here at MobileRead. The 2080s. The book was released via Creative Commons, but his web site is now offline. I've searched online and cannot find anything else from him. 'Tis a shame -- so far, this is a pretty good book.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I just finished The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray, and what a Wilde trip it was. This version was not released to the reading public until 2011. There have been 3 versions of this work. The first was heavily censored by the publisher, but even so, enough remained that eventually Oscar Wilde was convicted to two years hard labor, based largely upon evidence found in that 1890 version, for sodomy and gross indecency. The 1891 version, which is what most people know, was expanded to 20 chapters and toned down considerable. The uncensored version was finally published in 2011 by Harvard University Press under its Belknap Press imprint and contains Wilde's original work, with nothing removed.

If anyone's interested, the MobileRead Book Club will be discussing The Picture of Dorian Gray (reader's choice which version to read) starting on the 20th of April.

Man, am I ever going to be ready for this discussion. I just finished the Marvel Illustrated graphic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde as adapted by Roy Thomas & Sebastian Fiumara. This was obviously based on the expanded version of 1891, and it was, hands down, the best adaptation of a novel to graphic novel that I've ever seen. It certainly was far better and truer to Oscar Wilde's vision than the two movies I've seen in preparation for this discussion (The picture of Dorian Gray [1945] and Dorian Gray [2009]). I highly recommend this Marvel Masterpiece.