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I'm getting a Kindle! Any suggestions?Follow

#1 Aug 31 2010 at 5:43 PM Rating: Good
I'm getting a Kindle, mostly to help cut down on book costs for school since I'm an English major, but also because I'm a bookworm and a gadget lover. Anyone have any suggestions of books (in particular the free ones) that they really enjoyed and want to recommend?
#2 Sep 01 2010 at 8:34 AM Rating: Good
I don't know much about the Kindle, but I understand that on the Nook if you do a search for 0.00 then you find all the free books. I assume the Kindle would have some similar feature.
#3 Sep 01 2010 at 9:36 AM Rating: Good
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Amazon used to have a page on their website with the Top 100 Free books, but now I can't find it. You should look around the site though, maybe you'll have better luck.
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#4 Sep 01 2010 at 4:37 PM Rating: Default
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Yes, don't buy a kindle.
#5 Sep 01 2010 at 4:52 PM Rating: Good
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Paskil wrote:
Yes, don't buy a kindle.


DURR HURR YOURE SO HELPFUL
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#6 Sep 01 2010 at 5:02 PM Rating: Default
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Vataro wrote:
Paskil wrote:
Yes, don't buy a kindle.


DURR HURR YOURE SO HELPFUL


I try.
#7 Sep 02 2010 at 3:46 AM Rating: Good
Vataro wrote:
Amazon used to have a page on their website with the Top 100 Free books, but now I can't find it. You should look around the site though, maybe you'll have better luck.


Yup, I found it. Stupidly long Amazon link. That has both the top 100 paid and free kindle books side by side. I didn't even know they had a list of those though, so thank you for mentioning it.

There's over a million (in fact I think close to 2 million) free books available for download for the kindle, hence why I was wanting to know if anyone had suggestions. That's a lot of book titles to peruse through.
#8 Sep 02 2010 at 8:29 AM Rating: Good
PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
There's over a million (in fact I think close to 2 million) free books available for download for the kindle, hence why I was wanting to know if anyone had suggestions. That's a lot of book titles to peruse through.


I have no idea what the free books are, or what you enjoy reading, so it would be difficult to offer you any suggestions.
#9 Sep 02 2010 at 9:17 AM Rating: Good
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PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
I'm getting a Kindle, mostly to help cut down on book costs for school


Not knowing what a Kindle was, I was somewhat baffled.
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#10 Sep 02 2010 at 11:44 PM Rating: Good
Mazra wrote:
PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
I'm getting a Kindle, mostly to help cut down on book costs for school


Not knowing what a Kindle was, I was somewhat baffled.


Well, as an English major, the majority of my "textbooks" are actually fiction novels. The Kindle costs about the same as I usually spend in one term on books, so it should end up saving me money in the long run, especially if my classes stick with novels that are over 75 years old (those ones are free). Granted, it would have ended up saving me more money if I was just starting my college career instead of having a year left, but oh well.

Obviously I didn't expect anyone without a Kindle to know what books in the Kindle market are free, Belkira. I figured that with the huge amount of people we have that come to this forum on a regular basis there was bound to be some posters who already have a Kindle who could offer recommendations.

Your point about not knowing what kind of books I like is valid though. I really like fantasy novels, in particular the Cheysuli series by Jennifer Roberson and the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey. I've also been fond of the Marion Zimmer Bradley novels I've read so far. I also like most of the early novels from English literature that popped up in the later years of the Renaissance and Restoration and Gothic fiction, such as Aphra Behn, Jonathan Swift, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, the Bronte sisters, etc. Generally speaking, in novels I enjoy authors who are good at character development and put a lot of effort into describing the surroundings of the characters so long as they don't go overboard. Unpredictable plots are appreciated as well. I realize that's a bit general, but those are the three main things I really care about.
#11 Sep 03 2010 at 12:25 PM Rating: Good
PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
Obviously I didn't expect anyone without a Kindle to know what books in the Kindle market are free, Belkira. I figured that with the huge amount of people we have that come to this forum on a regular basis there was bound to be some posters who already have a Kindle who could offer recommendations.


I didn't think you would. I was just pointing out that any suggestions I make, I won't know if they're free. I didn't mean to offend you or anything...

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
Your point about not knowing what kind of books I like is valid though. I really like fantasy novels, in particular the Cheysuli series by Jennifer Roberson and the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey.


I love the Cheysuli. Smiley: inlove

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
I've also been fond of the Marion Zimmer Bradley novels I've read so far.


Might be a stupid question, but have you read "The Mists of Avalon?" It's really the only MZB book I like, but it's really good. And a lot of the pre-quels are good, too. But when Diana Paxton takes over, they go downhill a little.

My favorites in the fantasy genre are:

Anything by Anne Bishop, but her Black Jewels books are her best. The three I linked are the first three, and all that follow after are excellent.

Anything by Kelley Armstrong. I started with her werewolves ("Bitten" is the first book I read) and I didn't get into her witches series as much at first, but have since started to like them a lot. Her young adult series, the darkest powers starting with "The Summoning," is really good, too.

Terry Pratchet is awesome, too, but his style is a bit unique. If you've ever read and enjoyed Kurt Vonnegut's dry humor, you'll enjoy Terry Pratchet's Discworld. I recommend anything with Vimes to start. "Small Gods" is good, too, but that's not a Vimes book.

"Wizard of the Grove" by Tanya Huff is good. It's actually two books in one.

I loved the first two books in Melanie Rawn's "The Exiles" series, but I can't recommend them because she won't @#%^ing write the last book, and the second one ends on such a cliffhanger. Smiley: mad (I mean, seriously, the second one came out in 1997 and her website still says "The Mage Captal's Tower" is still forthcoming. What the hell??) But her Dragon Prince and Dragon Star series are good.

"Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet was good, I thought, though it's quite long.

"The Eight" by Katherine Neville was pretty good.

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" was actually quite awesome.

My husband recently read and loved "Super Sad True Love Story." It's not fantasy at all, but he said it was really good and funny.



Sorry for not linking any more books, but for some reason Amazon has been crashing our entire network here.

Edited, Sep 3rd 2010 1:25pm by Belkira
#12 Sep 05 2010 at 7:22 AM Rating: Good
Oh you didn't offend me Belkira. Not sure why, but I took your statement as hostile. Lost In Translation and all that I suppose...

Yeah, I've read MoA twice now. Just finished the second reading today actually. It's another one of my favorite novels. Might sound kind of silly, but it helped me to realize how much I disliked Christianity as a faith (for myself personally) and got me interested in Wicca. Before I read that book I'd heard of it, but I really had no idea what it was in any sort of capacity. If I'd never read that book, I might not be on the path spiritually that I am today. I've read one or two of the prequels as well, as I rather enjoyed them too. I don't recall whether they were ones written by MZB herself or Diana Paxton. Those books are definitely some I intend on getting on my kindle at some point, but alas they aren't free. Smiley: frown

Funny, I think I have a TV mini-series on my Netflix queue called Pillars of the Earth. I haven't watched it yet, but it looked interesting. I've heard of Terry Pratchet, but never actually read any of his/her(?) books before. I'll definitely take a look at some of your recommendations though. The Black Jewels trilogy definitely looks interesting. One of these days I'd also like to check out the Sword of Truth series. I just finished watching the two seasons of Legend of the Seeker, and I really liked it. Kind of hokey in some parts, but I've grown rather fond of the characters and I'd like to get to know them more intimately.

I have heard that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was good, but I've been too horrified of the idea of that novel being tampered with to give it a read. I did hear that the other alteration, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters was pretty bad.
#13 Sep 05 2010 at 11:23 AM Rating: Good
PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
Oh you didn't offend me Belkira. Not sure why, but I took your statement as hostile.


It couldn't be because I'm a ***** on the boards so often. No, that couldn't be it. Smiley: wink I can see how it could be taken that way.

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
Yeah, I've read MoA twice now. Just finished the second reading today actually. It's another one of my favorite novels. Might sound kind of silly, but it helped me to realize how much I disliked Christianity as a faith (for myself personally) and got me interested in Wicca. Before I read that book I'd heard of it, but I really had no idea what it was in any sort of capacity. If I'd never read that book, I might not be on the path spiritually that I am today.


No, I understand exactly. I felt the same way. Smiley: lol

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
Funny, I think I have a TV mini-series on my Netflix queue called Pillars of the Earth. I haven't watched it yet, but it looked interesting.


You probably do. It's a new Starz series and anything on Starz you can get on Watch Instantly on Netflix at the same time. I have it on mine, too, but I haven't watched it yet. I think a lot of people might find that book boring, but I really enjoyed it.

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
I've heard of Terry Pratchet, but never actually read any of his/her(?) books before.


He's a he, and I went through a phase where for months all I read was Terry Pratchet. The books about Vimes are good, but thte books about Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg might be better. Smiley: grin

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
I'll definitely take a look at some of your recommendations though. The Black Jewels trilogy definitely looks interesting.


Only if you like strong male and female characters, an awesome world, and kickass magic.

sh*t, now I have to read those again... My husband's going to make fun of me. I read those books about six times a year.

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
One of these days I'd also like to check out the Sword of Truth series. I just finished watching the two seasons of Legend of the Seeker, and I really liked it. Kind of hokey in some parts, but I've grown rather fond of the characters and I'd like to get to know them more intimately.


Oh god, I read those. Part of me wants to tell you not to bother. I really enjoyed the first couple of books. There is almost a dozen books in the series, and after the fourth book, I realized that each book is the same story over and over again. The overarching story does advance, but the sub-plots are redundant.

PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
I have heard that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was good, but I've been too horrified of the idea of that novel being tampered with to give it a read. I did hear that the other alteration, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters was pretty bad.


P&P&Z is literally the original book but better. Smiley: lol But if you think Pride and Prejudice is something that should be held sacred and not tampered with (I won't say the original is made fun of, because I don't think it is, really) then I wouldn't recommend it. There's nothing wrong with holding a classic up like that, don't get me wrong, but it's literally the original with zombies stuck in and a few of the parts altered a little. I assume that's what Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters was, as well, but I never read that one. I don't really plan to, either, honestly.

On the Nook, I know that a lot of the classics like Pride and Prejudice are free. It may be the same on the Kindle. They are probably considered public domain by now (which may be why P&P&Z and S&S&S was able to be written).

Another couple of series you may be interested in are The Belgraid and The Mallorean, coupled with Polgara and Belgarath. I kept seeing Polgara at the book store, and kept resisting it because the cover looked so hokey. I finally gave in and bought it one day and fell in love with it. I proceeded to purchase every book in both The Belgraid and The Mallorean series, plus Belgarath The Sorcerer and loved all of them. They are all by David Eddings and his wife, Leigh Eddings.

Edited, Sep 5th 2010 12:25pm by Belkira
#14 Sep 05 2010 at 5:19 PM Rating: Good
Yeah I was reading the reviews for the Sword of Truth series on amazon last night, and your opinion seemed to be pretty popular. A lot of people liked the first four books, and found the ones after to be fairly redundant. I also read one review where they said that the author has issues with character development. Like without having any clear hints as to who is speaking of the main characters, it's hard to tell who it is because they seem to have the same voice and personality. I hope that's not the case with all the books because that'd definitely disappoint me.

Yeah, the Kindle market has access to close to 2 million free ebooks that are now considered public domain as well. That's part of why I thought getting the Kindle will help save me money with the cost of textbooks on classics. That is of course, provided my professors are okay with me not using academic versions of the classic novels they assign. >.> I don't think the Oxford versions are free.
#15 Sep 06 2010 at 7:38 PM Rating: Good
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PigtailsOfDoom, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
Well, as an English major, the majority of my "textbooks" are actually fiction novels. The Kindle costs about the same as I usually spend in one term on books, so it should end up saving me money in the long run, especially if my classes stick with novels that are over 75 years old (those ones are free). Granted, it would have ended up saving me more money if I was just starting my college career instead of having a year left, but oh well.


Yeah, it's a good investment. Just found it funny that they'd name a paper-book substitute 'kindle': the act of setting something on fire. Supposed to tell us something perhaps?

Personally, I still prefer paper books. My eyes get tired if I try to read large texts on a monitor (even those "it looks like paper!" monitors), plus it doesn't sound as romantic when you tell people about your hobbies. "I like to curl up in a chair with a blanket, a glass of wine (cognac), a cigarette (cigar) and a good datafile readily accessible on my electronic display."

Something just doesn't sound right.

But for work related stuff, yeah, sounds cool.
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#16 Sep 06 2010 at 8:13 PM Rating: Default
I used to read digital books on Amazon website.There are Top 100 Free books and most of the time the books are updated timely.Besides your novels, maybe U can read some magazines for a change, I used to read Economist with the PDF version.
#17 Sep 06 2010 at 11:47 PM Rating: Good
I've only tried to read on LCD monitors, and yeah I get headaches too if I spend too much time on my laptop or watching TV. The Kindle's screen is supposed to be one of those that looks like real paper, so I'm hoping that works better.

The name is kind of weird though, now that you mention it. I hadn't really thought of that before.
#18 Sep 08 2010 at 10:06 PM Rating: Good
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Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop is one of my favorite books.

My all time favorite book is Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. Anything else by her, though, kind of sucked.

Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth is epically great.

And I have to admit, but I'm fond of trashy sexy novels. Nora Roberts and Judith Krantz are my go-to authors for that.

ETA: There is a sequel to Ken Follett's book called End of the World. I just picked it up at the library book sale and going to start that.

Edited, Sep 10th 2010 7:57am by Thumbelyna
#19 Sep 09 2010 at 12:36 AM Rating: Excellent
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I have a few hundred free books on my Kindle, either from Amazon's free book collection, or from http://manybooks.net/ which converts Project Gutenberg books to Kindle format for you.

I've been enjoying the complete works of HG Wells
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#20 Sep 09 2010 at 7:37 PM Rating: Good
Thanks Danalog, that site looks awesome!
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