JaiDee Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Did you guys know that out-of-copyright books printed before 1923 are free? Not sure why, but it's some kind of law that they can't charge for these and Amazon [and surely Barnes and Noble Nook and whoever provides books to the Ipad] will send these to your kindle completely free of charge! It's a great thing, and I have filled up my library with everything from War and Peace to The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Heart of Darkness, Great Expectations by Dickens and about 75 others....mostly classic stuff I was told to read in High school but never did Even if I don't get around to reading these titles it's no big deal, the Kindle holds 3000 books so never a need to delete. Just figured I'd let you guys know in case you weren't aware of this. Here is an easy guide to finding a few places online to get your free books! http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-websites-amazon-find-great-kindle-books/ 3 Quote Link to comment
JaiDee Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Here is an example.....Amazon price; Free! Usual price - 12.99, you save 100% Awesome. Quote Link to comment
pdogg Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 somehow downloading books is never easy for me; just can't get the hang of it, so i more or less gave up. Quote Link to comment
JaiDee Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Kindle makes it so easy.....go to Amazon.com and they keep your history and billing info, etc.....they even say "Welcome back, JD" and have new suggestions, etc......now that I have ordered a bunch of these freebies a lot of the ones they suggest now are free as well, or .99 cents, which is just crazy. I even got the original ''12 years a slave" book, published in 1853, absolutely free. I can read it before I watch the movie, which will be great. Just a matter of clicking on the book you want and in the top right click on "Buy now with one click" and it gets sent to the Kindle. Amazon makes it so easy....I like them as much as Snick likes Apple Quote Link to comment
pdogg Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I don't have a Kindle; I have a tablet i use as an e-reader. I like Kindles's in the daytime and tablets at night. Wheneevr I try to download something I spend a couple hours trying and jsut end up frustrated so I jsut say fuck it. Quote Link to comment
360 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 pdogg, do you have the kindle app installed on your tablet? If not, install it and anything you buy (or get for free) on amazon will show up in the app. Another cool feature with the kindle app is that you can send documents to your Amazon registered email and the docs will be available to read or review on your kindle app. Here's Amazon's one page howto 2 Quote Link to comment
mikibyne Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 For peeps without a Kindle but a tablet or smartphone, just install any e-book reader (moon reader recommended on Android devices) and convert e-book files to the format you need, usually epub, with Calibre http://calibre-ebook.com/download on your computer. Quote Link to comment
Snick Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 This is one of the best sites for (legal) free ebooks, http://www.gutenberg.org Quote Link to comment
KendoUK Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I use the kindle app on both my smartphone and tablet, it's definitely more readable on a tablet though. The cool thing is if I read a few pages on my phone, it syncs and remembers my position for when I revert back to the tablet. 1 Quote Link to comment
strocube Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I have a kindle app on my iPad. Since I've had the thing I have been mostly reading ebooks on it. My problem is that fucking Amazon is just as bad as Walmart. Another parasitic corporate behemoth wreaking havoc on workers and independent businesses. I know my not buying from them will not affect them at all, but I would really rather not contribute to what they are about. Looking for other options and may have to go back to actual books, which I prefer anyway, just that they do tend to take up all kinds of room, and they are heavy as fuck to move. Trust me, it's no fun moving a library. Quote Link to comment
JaiDee Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Looking for other options and may have to go back to actual books, which I prefer anyway, just that they do tend to take up all kinds of room, and they are heavy as fuck to move. Trust me, it's no fun moving a library. Well, that's the thing; traveling with books is a major hassle and takes up a lot of space in the backpack. Before my Kindle I'd go to Laos or Cambodia for a week or 3 and have to carry 3 books, which were heavy and space-consuming; with the Kindle it's smaller than one. With that said, when I am back in the states I still buy regular ol' books......I much prefer reading them to the Kindie, which is really for convenience only. And what a convenience. Quote Link to comment
pacman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I even got the original ''12 years a slave" book, published in 1853, absolutely free. I can read it before I watch the movie, which will be great. Great? I assume you mean reading the book first will be great & you are not referring to the movie. I will be most interested in your opinion of it because great isn't the first word that came to mind after I saw it. It's very powerful full of scenes designed to provoke & engender empathy for the life led by slaves. It has some wonderful acting performances apart from 10 minutes of Brad Pitt who seems to have given up acting in favour of walking through roles as himself. The last few movies I have seen him in he has done the same thing, most odd IMO. As a contender for the Oscar for Best Movie, I will be shocked if it wins. It has every element to justify success, it is a beautifully crafted film, well edited, well cast, well directed, it has so much going for it except one thing. Watchability. I wasn't expecting something overflowing with joy but two hours of it was hard work. I can't really criticise it for much else but when I am looking at my watch wondering how much longer I had to last, the thought crossed my mind that Oscar winning films shouldn't engender such feelings in those watching them. YMMV. Quote Link to comment
pdogg Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 As a contender for the Oscar for Best Movie, I will be shocked if it wins. It has every element to justify success, it is a beautifully crafted film, well edited, well cast, well directed, it has so much going for it except one thing. Watchability. I wasn't expecting something overflowing with joy but two hours of it was hard work. I can't really criticise it for much else but when I am looking at my watch wondering how much longer I had to last, the thought crossed my mind that Oscar winning films shouldn't engender such feelings in those watching them. This is very helpful to me Paccers. Based on your review there is no way my teerak and I will go see this film if it plays in Thailand. Watchabilty, that's what it's all about for me. As for books, Readability. Quote Link to comment
pacman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Don't write it off too quickly PD. It isn't a date film but people will be talking about it for a long time & you really can't offer an opinion without seeing it. The main reason why I decided I should catch it is because it has generated so much talk here & I can't follow the debate without some understanding. Maybe you can take it in alone or with one of the lads. And just because I don't expect it to win Best Picture, it would serve me right if it did. I stopped arguing the case for Gravity to take out the big prize, I was all alone there. My preferences in film does not qualify me as a pundit on the matter, I just know what I like & what I don't. Maybe others have a view as to where the film stands? Quote Link to comment
JaiDee Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 My meaning was that I can read the book before I watch the movie.....or would you recommend watching the movie before reading the book? I am sure I will do both, just depends on the order.... Quote Link to comment
pacman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I knew what you meant, I was only playing with the meaning of the word "great" as it applied to the movie. It won't matter what you do, read first or watch first. Movies leave out a lot from the book on which they are based, usually. And all the conversations & scenarios in the film will have been invented by the screen writers so maybe read the book & then you can see whether the film is faithful to it or not. And the film will take its place in the genre of early American slave tales, I know of no other film that has taken the subject on quite so forcefully. Whether you like it or not is another story but please don't let my comments stop you (or PDogg) from seeing it. Quote Link to comment
pacman Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 The BAFTA's are a guide to the Oscars. Only a guide but better than nothing. They have just awarded Best Film to 12 Years A Slave & Best British Film to Gravity. (Who knew Gravity was British?) IMO it's a two horse race between these two films for the Oscar. I have posted previously that I thought Gravity was a worthy winner & I have posted that 12 Years is a well made film that was not easy to watch. Based on that scientific assessment I predict Gravity will win Best Movie Oscar. I know Azza & others hated it but I cannot see the members of the Academy giving their vote to something as dismally depressing as 12 Years. Of course some will, in fact many will, but enough of them to carry the day? I doubt it. There's a difference between the people who vote for the BAFTA's & the Oscars. The first lot are British, they don't care how the film reflects on the US, that was touted as the reason why it took an English director to make it in the first place. The Academy members are predominantly American & they will care how the film is perceived. At least I think they will. The bottom line is 12 Years is far more divisive than Gravity. A good case can be argued for either as a worthy winner but I think an element of patriotism will sway the vote. When it comes to ticking the box I think some voters, no matter how much they appreciated the film craft presented by 12 Years will feel ever so slightly uncomfortable given it such an accolade. IMO. I will probably have to eat humble pie when some trivial piece of nonsense like American Hustle gets the nod ahead of both of them. Given all these considerations, one of the other 8 contenders might just scrape in under the radar. Quote Link to comment
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