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

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by orlok

I have been toying with the idea of reading Inferno, as my wife is currently enjoying it a lot. I stopped reading Dan Brown after The Da Vinci Code but the favourable reviews here have made me rethink my mini-boycott. Does anyone think I would be missing much if I skipped The Lost Symbol and went straight to Inferno?

You might regret it.

BOb

[Yapyap]

Hmm. I'm ... a bit confused now over whether I can say I finished I Capture the Castle or not.

I finished the ebook (the perfectly legitimate, Random House published ebook, which Kobo sold to me for real money last year). On the other hand, after being completely confused by the abrupt and odd ending, wondering for a while if the author just got bored or ... what (I don't mind open endings, but there are open endings and then there are endings that just don't look right!), I went and Looked Inside the Kindle version on Amazon, and ... lo and behold, the book has another, third part.

It's not an omnibus or trilogy etc, but one single book with continuously numbered chapters in three parts, and I cannot see any indication whatsoever why the Kobo-bought epub (which is now not available on their site any more, although I could still download the bought version - I did, just to check, and it's still the same incomplete one) should only have had the first two parts.

I didn't buy the Kindle version - it's a bit too expensive just for an extra third when I've already paid a not insignificant amount (nearly $7 with a Kobo coupon) for what I believed to be the entire book (Kindle one is, for me, $14.39, although if I were to have a vacation in the US, I could get it for a mere $9.99) - but after some considerations (I admit, the thought of the underworld of ebooks did occur to me - my morals wouldn't consider it wrong to download a full version, when I've already paid for it anyway), I decided I'd enjoyed the first two thirds so much that I wouldn't actually mind having it in hard copy.

So I've bought a 1950 good condition hardback edition (for much less money, including international shipping, than what Amazon wants from me for the Kindle book - and yes, I know, I don't usually compare ebook prices with second-hand DTB prices) off eBay. With any luck, in a few weeks I will know how the story ends.

(And if I'm already talking about prices - I also noticed there's a translated version from 2011 available in our local shops. €25 for a paperback. Uh. No. Not even if I were still inclined to read translations from English, which I'm not.)

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Rebirth of Wonder by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Bought in September 2013 using a Kobo discount code.

An enjoyable novella about bringing magic back into the world.

Then I decided to read some of the shorter works in my backlist:

The Cool Place by Holly Wade Matter — A sweet short story
LightSpeed Magazine #1 edited by J J Adams — An enjoyable collection of short stories and info about the authors.
Reggiecide by Chris Dolley — A humorous Steampunk look at "Reeves and Worcester", an alternate Jeeves and Wooster.

Which was great fun, bu the second in the series, so now I'm off to read
What Ho!, Automaton! by Chris Dolley

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Yapyap

It's not an omnibus or trilogy etc, but one single book with continuously numbered chapters in three parts, and I cannot see any indication whatsoever why the Kobo-bought epub (which is now not available on their site any more, although I could still download the bought version - I did, just to check, and it's still the same incomplete one) should only have had the first two parts.

I recommend complaining to Kobo and demanding a refund.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I recommend complaining to Kobo and demanding a refund.

I considered this, but I haven't had good experience with Kobo support in the past, and as it was a book I bought over a year ago, I don't think I'll bother - even in the unlikely case that they'd refund it, I'm likely to expend more time and energy than it's worth.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by Yapyap

I considered this, but I haven't had good experience with Kobo support in the past, and as it was a book I bought over a year ago, I don't think I'll bother - even in the unlikely case that they'd refund it, I'm likely to expend more time and energy than it's worth.

I understand your point, but I would still let them know. Are they aware that the book isn't complete? Maybe that's why it was removed from the store. Even one year later, they should have the record of the purchase so that's worth a try.

It happened to me with a physical book. Years after buying it I was able to read more than the first dozen pages and I realized that between 50 and 100 pages were missing in the last half of the book. But there was nothing I could do about it, too young to even consider get in touch with the publisher, and I disliked this feeling.

[Tarana]

Yapyap, don't hesitate. Just send an email to customer service, explain the problem and ask for a refund. Since you buy other books from them, request store credit (otherwise you get another round of email asking how you want your refund). I'd waited for months for them to fix a book that they still have for sale despite the fact that it contains the wrong contents. I decided that it will never be fixed and bought it from Amazon. Got my store credit within 3 days.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Why do you wish to skip it? It wasn't a boring read. Not a prize winner, but interesting. And if even half the 'information' is accurate, a good learning experience.


Stitchawl

Good question. Too many books, too little time? I've lost some enthusiasm for his stuff but am willing to be enticed back for something really good.

Originally Posted by BelleZora

I skipped The Lost Symbol and went straight to Inferno. I'm usually a stickler for reading series in order, but it didn't detract from Inferno to skip to it. Judging by reviews, it is the better book.

That's what I'd heard. Think I'll follow suit.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by tompe

I a reading (mostly re-reading) all the Dortmunder books by Donald E. Westlake. For people liking very funny caper books these books are much recommended. Now on book number 9 "What's The Worst That Could Happen". The first book in the series is "The Hot Rock".

I'm a big fan of his Parker novels, written under the pseudonym Richard Stark, but have never tried the Dortmunder series. I may need to give them a go by the sound of it, particularly as I am nearing the end of the Parker series.

[bfisher]

The Dortmunder series is excellent. As in the Parker books, Dortmunder plans capers that always go awry for some unexpected reason. Unlike the Parker books, which are very dark, the Dortmunder books are very light-hearted. Dortmunder #1 The Hot Rock introduces the ongoing cast of regulars. There was a decent movie version of The Hot Rock, starring Robert Redford as Dortmunder (Gene Wilder would have been my pick for the casting).

[orlok]

Originally Posted by bfisher

The Dortmunder series is excellent. As in the Parker books, Dortmunder plans capers that always go awry for some unexpected reason. Unlike the Parker books, which are very dark, the Dortmunder books are very light-hearted. Dortmunder #1 The Hot Rock introduces the ongoing cast of regulars. There was a decent movie version of The Hot Rock, starring Robert Redford as Dortmunder (Gene Wilder would have been my pick for the casting).

Thanks. Will defo give them a try.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Next up is either another Parker, or a Phryne Fisher. Can't decide.

Edit: Phryne wins: Murder on a Midsummer Night

Ah, delightful. I do love the Hon. Miss Fisher. This is likely (definitely) the last book I'll read this year, so what should I start out the new year with? Decisions, Decisions. Hmmm.

I know, start out the new with something old. An old Josephine Tey, the first of the Alan Grant mysteries -- The Man in the Queue. I read this probably 30 or 40 years ago, so I have no memory of it at all.

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished reading The Superman Chronicles Vol. 1 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

These stories are wonderful, and eye-opening. This is not your father's Superman. It's your grandfather's, and he was far different than the Superman you know. Here was a guy with super strength who played by his own rules and could care less what the authorities thought about it. Cracked.com did a great article that pretty well sums up just how far the modern Superman mythos has strayed from the spirit of the original stories. (All 5 of the stories referenced in the Cracked.com article are included in The Superman Chronicles Vol. 1.)

Lois is a complete jerk in these tales. Not only did she have a nasty attitude coupled with a real cruel streak, but she was self-centered and blindly ambitious to the point where wouldn't think twice about getting Clark fired if it meant she could scoop him on a good story. Her sole redeeming quality in any of these stories was her courage, which she had in abundance.

From Comixology:

Spoiler:

For over sixty years he has been one of the most recognizable American icons. An instant hit from his first appearance, Superman's popularity has grown through the decades -- and today he is known worldwide as the defender of Truth, Justice and the American Way.

But his earliest stories reveal a Superman who took no prisoners, made his own laws and gleefully delivered his own brand of justice -- even if it meant dangling a crook by the ankle from above the city, or giving a wife-beater a taste of his own medicine. This was a Superman who embodied pure wish fulfillment, with his early adventures showing a raw super-hero in the making -- and the development of an enduring classic!

DC Comics is proud to present this definitive and affordable collection of Superman's first stories. Assembled here are his earliest adventures from ACTION COMICS #1-13, NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR COMICS #1 and SUPERMAN #1 -- including all covers.

This is one collection of stories I highly, highly recommend. They're certainly a must have for any fan of the Man of Steel, past or present.

Note: Click the thumbnails below until they fill the screen and require a scrollbar (about 3 clicks).

[Yapyap]

I've gone ahead and sent Kobo support an email (with screenshots showing the table of contents of the Kobo-bought edition in Adobe Digital Editions and an Amazon Look Inside screenshot of table of contents for comparison). Can't hurt, I suppose.

I've also started Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, but haven't got very far yet.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Just finished reading The Superman Chronicles Vol. 1 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

These stories are wonderful, and eye-opening. This is not your father's Superman. It's your grandfather's, and he was far different than the Superman you know....

I'm sorry, but I just had to commend that wonderful Cracked.com article to you all one more time. In it, the Man of Steel of 1938-1939 is described as "less of a big blue Boy Scout and more of a raging anti-establishment maniac in red underpants who spent more time destroying property than catching criminals."

Spoiler:

When we see Superman flying across the universe and effortlessly pushing planets back into orbit, it's easy to forget that he was created by two Depression-era kids from Cleveland who lived most of their lives in poverty. It's not so easy, however, when you read the early Superman stories that those two kids actually wrote and drew, in which the Man of Steel was less of a big blue Boy Scout and more of a raging anti-establishment maniac in red underpants who spent more time destroying property than catching criminals. Think we're kidding? Check it out:

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_20069...#ixzz2p5lBQEDa