Hobbies and Crafts

Stephen - do you see the light blue 'Post date' at the top of the thread? Clicking on that reverses the order of the display.

Open any thread to experiment. Click on the Post Date to show last post first.
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Is there a TV series about Falco? We'll have to look out for that as I was refering to a series of books.

Det - Yes, that's what I've been doing but wondered if there was a way to set it globally as a preference without having to click it each time I go into a thread. I can't find anything anywhere.

Aah, it's a different Falco to the one I'm thinking of :-S

I'm pretty sure that I've read The Elegance of the Hedgehog". but can't recall the story. Not sure if it is still in a bookcase or if I have passed it o
Have read some Lindsey Davis. Falcon books (the Roman detective). and enjoyed them.

Have never read any Tolkien books, my son had one St my house but I think that he might have given it to his sons, who are both Hobbit ,(film) fans. I keep promising myself that I will read at least one.

Have you read any Philip Pullman books? Think that I've read all the Lyra books. Enjoyed them all.

Stephen - If there is a way to anchor a thread the wrong way up, no one has shared the secret yet ;-)

I couldn't get on with the Lyra books. They seemed to go against my 'indoctrination'.

I think Det and I have similar tastes. I have a lot of the Terry Pratchett books but prefer the earlier ones; I love Tolkien but I am glad I read the books before I saw the films. I also saw the musical of Lord of the Rings which was instantly forgettable and didn't last long in the West End.

On the fantasy front I like the Chronicles of St Mary's series by Jodie Taylor and the Ben Aaronovitch books.

I like crime/detective novels. I haven't read any of the Falco books but enjoyed the radio serials.

I also enjoy history books whether they are factual or historical novels.

In fact, now I think of it I just enjoy reading and the back of the cornflake packet will do if I haven't got anything else :-D

Hi Tess - No I haven't read any of Philip Pullman's books. One day maybe, but I've got so many on the shelf to get through yet. That Barnardos shop is too convenient :-D

Vera - I'm the same, I'll read anything.

Memo to self........buy a cornflake packet ;-)

I used to spend £££ a year on charity shop books until it got to a point where they were double stacked on the shelves. Then I was given a kindle. Now I go through the free download list and choose several every couple of weeks. Some turn out to be dross, but there are quite a few gems by established authors. Best of all, they don't take up physical space and I can chose out of my comfort genre without throwing away money.

I've toyed with the idea of getting a Kindle but I'm not sure I'd take to it too well. I still love physical books. The space thing I understand and I accept they're great for travelling with, but to me, in the end, it's not the same as holding a real book in your hands.

If you get a kindle and still have your books you get the best of both methods of reading. Like most readers I love to have a physical book but a kindle can be very convenient. It's good to take with you if you travel at all and I do a lot of reading lying in bed in the middle of the night and a thick book can be a bit unwieldy.

But I am a bit on the mean side and often look at kindle books and think to myself "Why pay out for that if I can it from the library for free?" I check out the free kindle books every so often and sometimes download a couple but they are mostly not to my taste. I do pay out for kindle books that I know I will keep and read more than once.

I love my kindle which is getting old now, it is one of the original ones, not sure how I'd get on with a swipe screen one. But I do also buy and read books. Mainly if I see one I like in a charity shop or a £1.99 one. And I am still going through four shelves of unread books. I read most sorts except SciFi and fantasy. Although not sure which Genre the Cross stitch series come into, I did like those.

My local charity shop sells fiction paperbacks for three £1. I try to take three back every time that I buy any. At that price I will try previously unknown authors - often with good results.

I also get a lot of books via the library, a marvellous institution.

You could ask if your library 'lends' digital downloads. Our county service does....not that I've tried to access them. From what I can make out, you/we can only 'borrow' them for a couple of weeks.

Rumours are that Amazon are launching a new Kindle Voyage 2 shortly.

Few details have emerged yet except that it will probably have a faster processor and animated graphics, though no news (that I could find) if they've sorted the screen colour problems that were a concern for many users - and it could be pushing the £200 barrier when released.

http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/amazon-kindle-voyage-2-to-be-released-november-2015

That sounds like an all singing, all dancing model which will be great if you want to spend that sort of money, but the basic model that my daughter bought me a few years back works fine for me.

If you do decide to get one give yourself time to get used to it. The first time I used mine I hated it. It seemed everytime I wanted to turn a page I had to find the bar on the side and press it just right. But I was trying too hard and I very quickly learnt that a flick of the thumb was all that was required and it soon became as automatic as turning a paper page.

The only thing I don't like is that you can't just flick back a few chapters to check something or look at a map as you can with a physical book, but even that may be easier with the more advanced models.

Happy reading :-D

It may be easier for a new user if they bought a cover. It 'bulks' it up, making it more comfortable to hold.

Like SVera says, mine is a basic model. I'm not sure if I'd get on with the slide-screen version. Wouldn't that mean you'd need to use both hands?

When ££ allows, I'm hoping to buy a newer ipad or tablet. (Currrent one is a first generation Hand-Me-Up from an offspring) Apparently you can 'sync' your Kindle with it which would be handy when we go away.

Yes I can sync my kindle with both my Ipad2 and my Hudl which is useful. I am dreading my basic kindle packing up because I am not sure how I'd get on with a slide screen. Daughter has one and sometimes she seems to end up a few chapters ahead or behind where she should be. My kindle has played up a few times recently, not charging properly and occasionally refusing to switch on so I am wondering if it is on the way out.

I've finished The Dark Tower IV.

Next is a stand-alone novel 'The Wind Through The Keyhole' which was published some 7 years after volume VII but which, luckily for me, fits in between IV and V.

My niece gave me a WHS voucher for my birthday and I'm looking for any recommendations. I've had a browse on their website (don't like it, I much prefer Amazon) but they don't stock the ones I want; the Jefferson Tayte books and The Marriage Certificate. I guess I'll have to wait until Christmas for those.

Always nice when you get the money or token/voucher to spend on books. I remember way back in the 40s/50s when I used to be overjoyed to get book tokens as presents. Can still remember the excitement of going to the bookshop to choose new books.

I still remember the time I won a school prize at my junior school when I was 11 years old. I had actually won a prize and I was absolutely thrilled to bits.

Our class teacher took all the winners down to the local book store. I was already into SF by then and chose a book called something like 'Beyond the Stratosphere' IIRC but teacher wasn't very happy with my choice; he said I should get something 'more worthwhile' but he relented in the end after many please, please sirs :-D

That was 50 years ago. It's amazing what memories stay with you over the years.

Just finished reading The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham
by Tony Riches also Twopence to Cross the Mersey and
Philippa Gregory's latest book which I can't remember the
title (senior moment)
Am now reading Carstairs Hospital for Horrors by David Leslie,
89p kindle addition from Amazon.