Well I've finally gone and done it ......... I've bought a Sony Reader.
Why? Because I needed cheering up, with at best months and months of horrible medical treatments in front of me and at worst - we won't go in to that.
The result? I'm very happy with the reader - so lightweight, portable, easy to use - and with an adjustable font size so I never need to use reading glasses. I can hold it and turn the pages in either hand which makes reading in bed so much easier too. I can sit in the garden in bright sunlight reading it with no problem.
But I'm sadly disappointed at the lack of crime fiction ebooks available for us in the UK. It's hard work finding the ones I want, and I've had limited success so far. Part of the problem is that I have narrow requirements: specific authors and specific titles.
What I desperately want to be able to read and can't at the moment:
Louise Penny: two earlier Three Pines mysteries: Still Life (not UK) and Dead Cold
Ann Cleeves: Red Bones
Natasha Cooper: A Poisoned Mind
And so many more!
What I'm looking forward to buying on 28th April:
Yrsa Sigurdardottir: My Soul To Take (from HarperCollins US site)
What I've read on my Sony Reader so far:
Henning Mankell: Before The Frosts (mostly enjoyable)
Kate Summerscale: Confessions of Mr Whicher (engrossing)
Margaret Moore: Tuscan Termination (annoying)
Asa Larsson: The Blood Spilt (loved)
C.J.Sansom: Revelations (currently)
So, a heartfelt plea: authors, PLEASE ask your publishers to release your new titles as ebooks for us in the UK, and harry them to make available as many of your back catalogue as possible too!
Friday, April 24, 2009
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8 comments:
Very sorry Steph to hear about your upcoming treatments. I hope the e-reader will make things a little better. I keep dithering about getting one. It would be nice to get books, especially review books, which didn't have to be stored on the floor in piles :).
Very best wishes for a swift recovery Steph. E books are the answer for those of us who order a book and when it arrives we gulp because the font is too small for our eyes.
What a good taste you have, and I hope the publishers will listen.
I also enjoyed Before the Frosts and The Blood Spilt, and am looking forward to Ann Cleeves & Louise Penny.
And all my best wishes to you!
Best wishes for the fortitude to endure the unpleasant parts of your treatment and the very best wishes to enjoy your favourite crime fiction!
Theresa
I've often swithered about a Sony Reader, but do worry that really it's yet to quite do it for me in terms of mixing function and use, as well as a little niggle in the back of my mind that the Amazon Kindle just sounds that little bit better. That said, I'll be really interested to hear how you get on with it.
Despite having no qualms about getting rid of my CDs and DVDs I still have a huge attachment to the physical presence of books - for me the core question is does using a reader match the tactile sensation of holding and reading paper. Again - this is something where hearing from an actual user would really help.
Best wishes too for treatment, like everyone else here hope all goes well for you.
So sorry to read about the treatments, Steph - I hope you will be well enough to attend crime fest as I am looking forward to meeting you there.
The E-reader does sound like an excellent idea. (I have to say that having spent a few days in the Lake District and observing what A Certain Person with us could do and discover on his iPhone that the rest of us could not (as we had all agreed not to bring our laptops), I am now wavering about the mobile device, having never thought I'd think that).
I have just finished Red Bones (conventional version) and enjoyed it a lot - I'll be submitting a review to Euro Crime. I think the series gets better with each book, and it was good to start with! Maybe you will be able to get hold of the Black Path, the next of Asa Larsson's after the Blood Spilt, which I thought excellent. I think I liked the Henning Mankell too, I usually enjoy him but it was too long ago that I read that, so can't remember any detail.
There were quite a few sony e-readers on display at various stands at the London Book Fair the other day - as well as an Espresso machine which was fun to watch in action, though eagle-eyed Crime Fic Reader immediately spotted an ink smudge on a page in the sample book provided!
Thanks for all your good wishes everyone. I'm not sure at the moment about whether I'll be able to attend CrimeFest, as my treatment schedule is not yet finalised.
As I have a Pitch An Agent slot, I hope at the very least to be able to make it on that day, even if I'm not well enough to attend the whole event.
So sorry to hear about your forthcoming treatment. Hope it all goes well.
I keep toying with getting the e-reader so I'll be interested to hear how you get on with it. I loved Red Bones (hard copy).
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