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Sat March 28 2015

MobileRead Week in Review: 03/21 - 03/28

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

If you've been absent and are keen to find out what MobileRead was up to this week, check out the links below:

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations


Wed March 25 2015

Nominate MobileRead's 10 best fiction books of the 20th Century

06:31 AM by pdurrant in E-Book General | Reading Recommendations

The best books of the 21st century thread made me think that a MobileRead list of the ten best books of the 20th century would be fun.

To avoid, as much as possible, recentness bias, let's go for the best book of each decade of the 20th century. That is books first published:

1901-1910, 1911-1920, 1921-1930, 1931-1940, 1941-1950, 1951-1960, 1961-1970, 1971-1980, 1981-1990, 1991-2000

So this is the nomination thread. Please post your nominations for the best book of each decade of the 20th century. If you don't have a nomination for a particular decade that's fine. Please identify the decade for every nomination. No more than one nomination per decade per person.

Please only nominate books that you have actually read: don't nominate based on reviews, TV programmes or films.


After there have been sufficient nominations, I'll make a voting thread, either one thread per decade (if there are LOTS of nominations) or one thread for the whole 20th century.

Let's see what books the collective wisdom of Mobileread thinks were the best of the 20th century!

[EDIT: Please keep this thread just for nominations. You'll be able to discuss the nominations in the voting threads.]

[EDIT2: Title changed to clarify that this is for a list of fiction, not non-fiction]

[EDIT3: Nominations will be open until the end of April, or until a full 7 days have passed since the last nomination, whichever comes SOONER.]

[EDIT4: Consolidated list:]
Here's the list I have of nominations and first nominator. Please check it to make sure your nominations are in here and in the right decade! Voting threads go up starting next weekend.

1901-1910
Kim (pdurrant)
The Golden Bowl (issybird)
Anne of Green Gables (BearMountainBooks)
Hound of the Baskervilles (frddgls)
Buddenbrooks (knuthmeyer)
The Jungle (obs20)
The Call of the Wild (Synamon)
The Psaemmead Trilogy (EndlessWaves)
The Diaries of Adam and Eve (spellbanisher)
The Wings of the Dove (sun surfer)
Nostromo (everlod)
Before Adam (Ralph Sir Edward)
The Getting of Wisdom (Lynx-lynx)
The Virginian (GA Russell)
Howards End (missimpossible)
Where Angels Fear to Tread (ccowie)
The Riddle of the Sands (bfisher)
The Wind in the Willows (gmw)

1911-1920
The Nightland (Rizla)
The Metamorphosis (dickloraine)
Kokoro (HomeInMyShoes)
The Good Soldier (issybird)
Ethan Frome (frddgls)
Der Untertan (knuthmeyer)
The Mysterious Stranger (Ralph Sir Edward)
Main Street (obs)
The Secret Garden (Synamon)
The 39 steps (EndlessWaves)
Of Human Bondage (spellbanisher)
Under Fire (BelleZora)
Death in Venice (sun surfer)
The Magnificent Ambersons (Hamlet53)
Songs of the Sentimental Bloke (Lynx-lynx)
A la recherche du temps perdu (pynch)
You Know Me Al (GA Russell)
Sons and Lovers (missimpossible)
Tarzan of the Apes (gmw)

1921-1930
The Great Gatsby (issybird)
The Trial (HomeInMyShoes)
Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Clock (BearMountainBooks)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (treadlightly)
Siddhartha (frddgls)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (knuthmeyer)
Red Harvest (Ralph Sir Edward)
An American Tragedy (spellbanisher)
A Passage to India (BelleZora)
Ulysses (sun surfer)
Steppenwolf (everlod)
The Passage (Lynx-lynx)
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (caleb72)
Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (pynch)
The Maltese Falcon (GA Russell)
To the Lighthouse (missimpossible)
The Sound and the Fury (bfisher)
All Quiet on the Western Front (AnemicOak)
Winnie the Pooh (gmw)
Wild Geese (ccowie)
Murder at the Vicarage (disconnected)
Carry on Jeeves (Bilbo1967)

1931-1940
The Grapes of Wrath (Bilbo1967)
Brave New World (treadlightly)
The Power and the Glory (issybird)
Lost Horizon (crich70)
La Nausée [English: Nausea] (GeoffR)
The Big Sleep (Rizla)
The Hobbit (HomeInMyShoes)
Schloß Gripsholm (knuthmeyer)
Odd John (Ralph Sir Edward)
The Good Earth (obs20)
At the mountains of madness (EndlessWaves)
Gone with the Wind (Catlady)
Of Mice and Men (spellbanisher)
And Then There Were None (sun surfer)
Musashi (Katsunami)
Blinky Bill (Lynx-lynx)
Good-bye, Mr. Chips (pdurrant)
The Waves (pynch)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (GA Russell)
Sunset Song (missimpossible)
The Nine Tailors (disconnected)

1941-1950
The catcher in the Rye (dickloraine)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (treadlightly)
Cannery Row (HomeInMyShoes)
Tales of The South Pacific (Ralph Sir Edward)
Animal Farm (grumbles)
I, Robot (EndlessWaves)
The Stranger/L'Étranger (spellbanisher)
Brideshead Revisited (issybird)
The Victim (mandy314)
The Makioka Sisters (Hamlet53)
Spartacus (Rizla)
All the King's Men (Jeff L)
Ride on Stranger (Lynx-lynx)
The Little Grey Men (banjomike)
The Third Man (GA Russell)
Gormenghast (missimpossible)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (AnemicOak)
Foundation (gmw)
Keys of the Kingdom (ccowie)
Ficciones (curtw)
Appleby’s End (disconnected)
Ali and Nino by Kurban Said (HomeInMyShoes)

1951-1960
The Lord Of The Rings (cadele)
The Broken Sword (svenlind)
Lolita (issybird)
To Kill a Mockingbird (treadlightly)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (GeoffR)
The Long Goodbye (Rizla)
Rabbit Run (HomeInMyShoes)
The Stars My Destination (Geralt)
The Charioteer (Alsicole)
Fièvre au Marais (knuthmeyer)
Atlas Shrugged (Ralph Sir Edward)
Lord of The Flies (obs20)
The Daughter of Time (Synamon)
Childhood's End (EndlessWaves)
On the Road (spellbanisher)
East of Eden (Grey Ram)
Things Fall Apart (sun surfer)
The Stories of Frank O'Connor (BelleZora)
Star Diaries (mandy314)
The Adventures of Augie March (Jeff L)
All The Rivers Run (Lynx-lynx)
Querelle de Brest (pynch)
The Day of the Triffids (banjomike)
The Once and Future King (Catlady)
A Question of Upbringing (A Dance To the Music of Time # 1) (bfisher)
Fahrenheit 451 (AnemicOak)
Tempest Tost (ccowie)
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison (curtw)
Eloise (disconnected)
Lucky Jim (Bilbo1967)

1961-1970
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (treadlightly)
Brandbilen som försvann [English: The Fire Engine That Disappeared] (GeoffR)
Farewell Gul'sary (HomeInMyShoes)
Spring Snow (issybird)
The Master and Margarita (Geralt)
A Moment In Time (Alsicole)
Ringworld (Apache)
Dune (Ralph Sir Edward)
The Man in the High Castle (grumbles)
Slaughterhouse-Five (obs20)
Flowers for Algernon (Synamon)
Catch 22 (EndlessWaves)
Where the Wild Things Are (spellbanisher)
Cien Años de Soledad (One hundred years of solitude) (Grey Ram)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (BelleZora)
The Godfather (drofgnal)
The Stone Angel (ccowie)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (sunsurfer)
The Last Temptation of Christ (Hamlet53)
The Alexandria Quartet (everlod)
My Brother Jack (Lynx-lynx)
The Left Hand of Darkness (caleb72)
A Wizard of Earthsea (pdurrant)
Franny and Zooey (pynch)
The Witches of Karres (banjomike)
Otley Victorious (GA Russell)
Cancer Ward (bfisher)
2001: A Space Odyssey (gmw)
The Giving Tree (curtw)
The Doorbell Rang (disconnected)

1971-1980
Roadside Picnic (Rizla)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (poohbear_nc)
Crocodile on the Sandbank (BearMountainBooks)
The Stand (treadlightly)
The Book of Morgaine (GeoffR)
If On a Winter's Night a Traveller (HomeInMyShoes)
To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Apache)
The Mote in God’s Eye (gbm)
Deathbird Stories (Ralph Sir Edward)
The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin (obs20)
The Princess Bride (Synamon)
Rendezvous with Rama (EndlessWaves)
The Dispossessed (spellbanisher)
The Shining (Grey Ram)
Watership Down (drofgnal)
The Magus (revised version) (ccowie)
Flowers in the Attic (sun surfer)
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Conner (Hamlet53)
Schilten (mandy314)
Shogun (Katsunami)
Beloved (everlod)
Gossip from the Forest (Lynx-lynx)
The Gods Themselves (caleb72)
A Morbid Taste For Bones (pdurrant)
Chronicle in Stone (issybird)
Gravity’s Rainbow(pynch)
The Spike (GA Russell)
Dragon's Egg (bfisher)
The Killer Angels (AnemicOak)
Lord Foul's Bane (gmw)
The Ghost Writer (ccowie)
Riddley Walker (curtw)
Lady Oracle (disconnected)

1981-1990
Lyonesse Trilogi (svenlind)
The Pillars of the Earth (treadlightly)
Mythago Wood (GeoffR)
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (HomeInMyShoes)
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Geralt)
House of the Spirits (Alsicole)
Red Storm Rising (gbm)
Last of the Breed (Ralph Sir Edward)
The Bonfire of The Vanities (obs20)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (Synamon)
In the Skin of a Lion (Rizla)
The Hunt for Red October (EndlessWaves)
Neuromancer (Grey Ram)
Skinny Legs and All (BelleZora)
Watchmen (sun surfer)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Hamlet53)
The Handmaid's Tale (issybird)
Martin Amis: Money (mandy314)
The Elfstones of Shannara (Katsunami)
City of Glass (Jeff L)
An Indecent Obsession (Lynx-lynx)
Skallagrigg (caleb72)
The Misenchanted Sword (pdurrant)
White Noise (pynch)
The Beiderbecke Affair (banjomike)
The Remains of the Day (missimpossible)
Midnight's Children (ccowie)
Agent of Change (bfisher)
Lonesome Dove (AnemicOak)
The Stonor Eagles (gmw)
The Color Purple (curtw)
A Short History of a Small Place (disconnected)

1991-2000
Publieke werken (Zetmolm)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (dickloraine)
Cryptonomicon (GeoffR)
A Suitable Boy (HomeInMyShoes)
A Game of Thrones (Geralt)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (obs20)
The English Patient (Synamon)
Perdido Street Station (EndlessWaves)
Snow Crash (spellbanisher)
O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo (The gospel according to Jesus Christ) (Grey Ram)
A Fine Balance (ccowie)
Persepolis (sun surfer)
The Windup Bird Chronicle (Hamlet53)
Hit Man (mandy314)
Blindness (everlod)
The Gold Bug Variations (Jeff L)
Grand Days (Lynx-lynx)
Stardust (pdurrant)
No Greater Love (pynch)
Raptor Red (bfisher)
Parable of the Sower (Purple Lady)
Small Gods (gmw)
House of Leaves (curtw)
Crow Road (Bilbo1967)

[ 242 replies ]


Tue March 24 2015

April 2015 Book Club Vote

01:34 PM by WT Sharpe in Reading Recommendations | Book Clubs

April 2015 MobileRead Book Club Vote

Help us choose a book as the April 2015 eBook for the MobileRead Book Club. The poll will be open for 5 days. There will be no runoff vote unless the voting results a tie, in which case there will be a 3 day run-off poll. This is a visible poll: others can see how you voted. It is You may cast a vote for each book that appeals to you.

We will start the discussion thread for this book on April 20th. Select from the following Official Choices with three nominations each:

(1) For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Amazon US / Kobo US

Spoiler:
In 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight," For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving and wise. "If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote to Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.

(2) The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle

Spoiler:
From Amazon:

With his face swaddled in bandages, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses and his hands covered even indoors, Griffin – the new guest at The Coach and Horses – is at first assumed to be a shy accident-victim. But the true reason for his disguise is far more chilling: he has developed a process that has made him invisible, and is locked in a struggle to discover the antidote. Forced from the village, and driven to murder, he seeks the aid of an old friend, Kemp. The horror of his fate has affected his mind, however – and when Kemp refuse to help, he resolves to wreak his revenge.

(3) Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Goodreads | Amazon Au / Amazon Ca / Amacon UK / Amazon US / Kobo /

Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Unburdened by the material necessities of the more fortunate, the denizens of Cannery Row discover rewards unknown in more traditional society. Henry the painter sorts through junk lots for pieces of wood to incorporate into the boat he is building, while the girls from Dora Flood’s bordello venture out now and then to enjoy a bit of sunshine. Lee Chong stocks his grocery with almost anything a man could want, and Doc, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love.

Cannery Row is just a few blocks long, but the story it harbors is suffused with warmth, understanding, and a great fund of human values.

First published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is—both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. John Steinbeck draws on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, and interweaves their stories in this world where only the fittest survive—creating what is at once one of his most humorous and poignant works. In Cannery Row, John Steinbeck returns to the setting of Tortilla Flat to create another evocative portrait of life as it is lived by those who unabashedly put the highest value on the intangibles—human warmth, camaraderie, and love.

(4) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Goodreads | The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Illustrated) / Kindle | Amazon Au / Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US / Kobo

Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

The most popular pirate story ever written in English, featuring one of literature’s most beloved “bad guys,” Treasure Island has been happily devoured by several generations of boys—and girls—and grownups. Its unforgettable characters include: young Jim Hawkins, who finds himself owner of a map to Treasure Island, where the fabled pirate booty is buried; honest Captain Smollett, heroic Dr. Livesey, and the good-hearted but obtuse Squire Trelawney, who help Jim on his quest for the treasure; the frightening Blind Pew, double-dealing Israel Hands, and seemingly mad Ben Gunn, buccaneers of varying shades of menace; and, of course, garrulous, affable, ambiguous Long John Silver, who is one moment a friendly, laughing, one-legged sea-cook . . .and the next a dangerous pirate leader!

The unexpected and complex relationship that develops between Silver and Jim helps transform what seems at first to be a simple, rip-roaring adventure story into a deeply moving study of a boy’s growth into manhood, as he learns hard lessons about friendship, loyalty, courage and honor—and the uncertain meaning of good and evil.

(5) Shōgun by James Clavell
Goodreads | Amazon US / Google Play / Kobo Ca / Overdrive

Spoiler:
A bold English adventuer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love. All brought together in a mighty saga of a time and place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust and the struggle for power.

(6) Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Amazon US / Audible / Kobo US

Spoiler:
Welcome to Guards! Guards!, the eighth book in Terry Pratchett’s legendary Discworld series.

Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...). How did it get there? How is the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night involved? Can the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order – and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to power?

Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon...who could ask for anything more?

Review
"'This is one of Pratchett's best books. Hilarious and highly recommended'" The Times "'Pratchett is at the peak of his powers; it's hard to think of any humorist writing in Britain today who can match him...A masterful ear for dialogue, a keen eye for the ridiculous and a real feel for language'" Time Out "'The best humorous English author since P.G. Wodehouse'" --Sunday Telegraph

Review
"Discworld takes the classic fantasy universe through its logical, and comic evolution".--Cleveland Plain Dealer

(7) The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Project Gutenberg

Spoiler:
From Amazon:

Here is Oscar Wilde's most brilliant tour de force, a witty and buoyant comedy of manners that has delighted millions in countless productions since its first performance in London's St. James' Theatre on February 14, 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillating epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.

(8) Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos
Kindle US / Kobo US / Overdrive

Spoiler:
From Wikipedia:

Manhattan Transfer is a novel by John Dos Passos published in 1925. It focuses on the development of urban life in New York City from the Gilded Age to the Jazz Age as told through a series of overlapping individual stories.

It is considered to be one of Dos Passos' most important works. The book attacks the consumerism and social indifference of contemporary urban life, portraying a Manhattan that is merciless yet teeming with energy and restlessness. The book shows some of Dos Passos' experimental writing techniques and narrative collages that would become more pronounced in his U.S.A. trilogy and other later works.
<snip>
Sinclair Lewis described it as "a novel of the very first importance ... The dawn of a whole new school of writing." D.H. Lawrence called it "the best modern book about New York" he had ever read, describing it as "a very complete film ... of the vast loose gang of strivers and winners and losers which seems to be the very pep of New York." In a blurb for a European edition, Ernest Hemingway wrote that, alone among American writers, Dos Passos has "been able to show to Europeans the America they really find when they come here."

(9) Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
Goodreads | Amazon Au / Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US / Kobo

Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico. Here the consul's debilitating malaise is drinking, an activity that has overshadowed his life. Under the Volcano is set during the most fateful day of the consul's life--the Day of the Dead, 1938. His wife, Yvonne, arrives in Quauhnahuac to rescue him and their failing marriage, inspired by a vision of life together away from Mexico and the circumstances that have driven their relationship to the brink of collapse. Yvonne's mission to save the consul is further complicated by the presence of Hugh, the consul's half-brother, and Jacques, a childhood friend. The events of this one day unfold against a backdrop unforgettable for its evocation of a Mexico at once magical and diabolical.

Under the Volcano remains one of the most powerful and lyrical statements on the human condition and one man's constant struggle against the elemental forces that threaten to destroy him.

(10) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle

Spoiler:
From Wikipedia (edited & condensed):

Oliver Twist is about an orphan who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Naïvely unaware of their unlawful activities, Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin. The book is notable for Dickens' unromantic portrayal of criminals and its exposé of the cruel treatment of the many orphans in London during the Dickensian era.

[ 44 replies - poll! ]


Sat March 21 2015

MobileRead Week in Review: 03/14 - 03/21

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for our weekly roundup of what's new and interesting in the world of e-books.

E-Book General - News

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations


Fri March 20 2015

April 2015 Book Club Nominations

12:05 AM by WT Sharpe in Reading Recommendations | Book Clubs

MobileRead Book Club
April 2015 Nominations

Help us select the book that the MobileRead Book Club will read for April, 2015.

The nominations will run through midnight EST March 31 or until 10 books have made the list. The poll will then be posted and will remain open for five days.

Book selection category for April is:

Classics

In order for a book to be included in the poll it needs THREE NOMINATIONS (original nomination, a second and a third).

How Does This Work?
The Mobile Read Book Club (MRBC) is an informal club that requires nothing of you. Each month a book is selected by polling. On the last week of that month a discussion thread is started for the book. If you want to participate feel free. There is no need to "join" or sign up. All are welcome.

How Does a Book Get Selected?
Each book that is nominated will be listed in a poll at the end of the nomination period. The book that polls the most votes will be the official selection.

How Many Nominations Can I Make?
Each participant has 3 nominations. You can nominate a new book for consideration or nominate (second, third) one that has already been nominated by another person.

How Do I Nominate a Book?
Please just post a message with your nomination. If you are the FIRST to nominate a book, please try to provide an abstract to the book so others may consider their level of interest.

How Do I Know What Has Been Nominated?
Just follow the thread. This message will be updated with the status of the nominations as often as I can. If one is missed, please just post a message with a multi-quote of the 3 nominations and it will be added to the list ASAP.

When is the Poll?
The poll thread will open at the end of the nomination period, or once there have been 10 books with 3 nominations each. At that time a link to the initial poll thread will be posted here and this thread will be closed.

The floor is open to nominations. Please comment if you discover a nomination is not available as an ebook in your area.


Official choices with three nominations each:

(1) For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Amazon US / Kobo US

Spoiler:
In 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight," For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving and wise. "If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote to Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.

(2) The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle

Spoiler:
From Amazon:

With his face swaddled in bandages, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses and his hands covered even indoors, Griffin – the new guest at The Coach and Horses – is at first assumed to be a shy accident-victim. But the true reason for his disguise is far more chilling: he has developed a process that has made him invisible, and is locked in a struggle to discover the antidote. Forced from the village, and driven to murder, he seeks the aid of an old friend, Kemp. The horror of his fate has affected his mind, however – and when Kemp refuse to help, he resolves to wreak his revenge.

(3) Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Goodreads | Amazon Au / Amazon Ca / Amacon UK / Amazon US / Kobo /

Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Unburdened by the material necessities of the more fortunate, the denizens of Cannery Row discover rewards unknown in more traditional society. Henry the painter sorts through junk lots for pieces of wood to incorporate into the boat he is building, while the girls from Dora Flood’s bordello venture out now and then to enjoy a bit of sunshine. Lee Chong stocks his grocery with almost anything a man could want, and Doc, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love.

Cannery Row is just a few blocks long, but the story it harbors is suffused with warmth, understanding, and a great fund of human values.

First published in 1945, Cannery Row focuses on the acceptance of life as it is—both the exuberance of community and the loneliness of the individual. John Steinbeck draws on his memories of the real inhabitants of Monterey, California, and interweaves their stories in this world where only the fittest survive—creating what is at once one of his most humorous and poignant works. In Cannery Row, John Steinbeck returns to the setting of Tortilla Flat to create another evocative portrait of life as it is lived by those who unabashedly put the highest value on the intangibles—human warmth, camaraderie, and love.

(4) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Goodreads | The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub (Illustrated) / Kindle | Amazon Au / Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US / Kobo

Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

The most popular pirate story ever written in English, featuring one of literature’s most beloved “bad guys,” Treasure Island has been happily devoured by several generations of boys—and girls—and grownups. Its unforgettable characters include: young Jim Hawkins, who finds himself owner of a map to Treasure Island, where the fabled pirate booty is buried; honest Captain Smollett, heroic Dr. Livesey, and the good-hearted but obtuse Squire Trelawney, who help Jim on his quest for the treasure; the frightening Blind Pew, double-dealing Israel Hands, and seemingly mad Ben Gunn, buccaneers of varying shades of menace; and, of course, garrulous, affable, ambiguous Long John Silver, who is one moment a friendly, laughing, one-legged sea-cook . . .and the next a dangerous pirate leader!

The unexpected and complex relationship that develops between Silver and Jim helps transform what seems at first to be a simple, rip-roaring adventure story into a deeply moving study of a boy’s growth into manhood, as he learns hard lessons about friendship, loyalty, courage and honor—and the uncertain meaning of good and evil.

(5) Shōgun by James Clavell
Goodreads | Amazon US / Google Play / Kobo Ca / Overdrive

Spoiler:
A bold English adventuer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love. All brought together in a mighty saga of a time and place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust and the struggle for power.

(6) Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Amazon US / Audible / Kobo US

Spoiler:
Welcome to Guards! Guards!, the eighth book in Terry Pratchett’s legendary Discworld series.

Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...). How did it get there? How is the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night involved? Can the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order – and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to power?

Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon...who could ask for anything more?

Review
"'This is one of Pratchett's best books. Hilarious and highly recommended'" The Times "'Pratchett is at the peak of his powers; it's hard to think of any humorist writing in Britain today who can match him...A masterful ear for dialogue, a keen eye for the ridiculous and a real feel for language'" Time Out "'The best humorous English author since P.G. Wodehouse'" --Sunday Telegraph

Review
"Discworld takes the classic fantasy universe through its logical, and comic evolution".--Cleveland Plain Dealer

(7) The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle | Project Gutenberg

Spoiler:
From Amazon:

Here is Oscar Wilde's most brilliant tour de force, a witty and buoyant comedy of manners that has delighted millions in countless productions since its first performance in London's St. James' Theatre on February 14, 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillating epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.

(8) Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos
Kindle US / Kobo US / Overdrive

Spoiler:
From Wikipedia:

Manhattan Transfer is a novel by John Dos Passos published in 1925. It focuses on the development of urban life in New York City from the Gilded Age to the Jazz Age as told through a series of overlapping individual stories.

It is considered to be one of Dos Passos' most important works. The book attacks the consumerism and social indifference of contemporary urban life, portraying a Manhattan that is merciless yet teeming with energy and restlessness. The book shows some of Dos Passos' experimental writing techniques and narrative collages that would become more pronounced in his U.S.A. trilogy and other later works.
<snip>
Sinclair Lewis described it as "a novel of the very first importance ... The dawn of a whole new school of writing." D.H. Lawrence called it "the best modern book about New York" he had ever read, describing it as "a very complete film ... of the vast loose gang of strivers and winners and losers which seems to be the very pep of New York." In a blurb for a European edition, Ernest Hemingway wrote that, alone among American writers, Dos Passos has "been able to show to Europeans the America they really find when they come here."

(9) Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
Goodreads | Amazon Au / Amazon Ca / Amazon UK / Amazon US / Kobo

Spoiler:
From Goodreads:

Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul, has come to Quauhnahuac, Mexico. Here the consul's debilitating malaise is drinking, an activity that has overshadowed his life. Under the Volcano is set during the most fateful day of the consul's life--the Day of the Dead, 1938. His wife, Yvonne, arrives in Quauhnahuac to rescue him and their failing marriage, inspired by a vision of life together away from Mexico and the circumstances that have driven their relationship to the brink of collapse. Yvonne's mission to save the consul is further complicated by the presence of Hugh, the consul's half-brother, and Jacques, a childhood friend. The events of this one day unfold against a backdrop unforgettable for its evocation of a Mexico at once magical and diabolical.

Under the Volcano remains one of the most powerful and lyrical statements on the human condition and one man's constant struggle against the elemental forces that threaten to destroy him.

(10) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / Kindle

Spoiler:
From Wikipedia (edited & condensed):

Oliver Twist is about an orphan who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Naïvely unaware of their unlawful activities, Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin. The book is notable for Dickens' unromantic portrayal of criminals and its exposé of the cruel treatment of the many orphans in London during the Dickensian era.

The nominations are now closed.

[ 77 replies ]


Thu March 19 2015

Rakuten Buys OverDrive

09:29 AM by library addict in E-Book General | News


Rakuten buying eBook firm OverDrive for $410 million in U.S. push

(Reuters) - Japanese online retailer Rakuten Inc (4755.T) is buying U.S. eBook company OverDrive Inc for about $410 million, deepening its push into the U.S. market and into the "sharing economy".

Rakuten's announcement on Thursday about the OverDrive deal comes a week after it led a $530 million funding round for U.S ride-sharing service Lyft, signaling Rakuten's shift in focus towards more-rental based businesses.

The acquisition of OverDrive, which currently offers eBook rental services to U.S. libraries and schools, is expected to be completed in April. It will push Rakuten's eBook business EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) for 2015 closer to profit, the company said in a statement.

"OverDrive can be described as a 'sharing economy' business as it shares books," Takahito Aiki, head of Rakuten's global eBook business, told reporters.

Aiki said that Kobo Inc, a Canadian eBook company Rakuten bought in 2011 for $315 million, is "phase 1" of its eBook business as it allows consumers to buy eBooks. As part of "phase 2," OverDrive will allow libraries and schools to rent eBooks, he said.

Another reason for the purchase is the firm's aggressive drive into the U.S. market, Aiki said.

Rakuten has been on a buying spree in recent years to reduce reliance on its home market. In October it bought U.S. discount store Ebates.com for about $1 billion.

(Editing by Sunil Nair and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

from Reuters


here are some other articles:

Tech Crunch

Business Wire

[ 60 replies ]


Tue March 17 2015

New Zealand GST could soon be charged on ebooks

07:19 AM by GeoffR in E-Book General | News

Online shoppers could soon be hit with GST (New Zealand Herald)

The Prime Minister has warned New Zealanders they could soon be paying GST on online purchases as small as a song download from iTunes.

[...]

GST is not currently charged on imported digital products such as music and film downloaded from services including iTunes. Physical goods bought online and worth less than $400 also usually escape GST.

Edit: New Zealand GST is 15%.

[ 39 replies ]


Sat March 14 2015

MobileRead Week in Review: 03/07 - 03/14

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Been so busy reading e-books that you haven't had time to keep up on the week's news? Here's some of what you've been missing:

E-Book General - News




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