Book browsing, and Kindle lust.
I rarely read a book based solely on reviews, but every now and then a comment in a review intrigues me, and makes me want to read the book.
I was browsing Amazon, hopping from book to book. You know how that is - you follow that "customers who purchased this also purchased this" trail down all sorts of rabbit holes far removed from the book you were originally perusing. I was looking at a couple of China Mieville's that I've yet to read (you guys know I love steampunk urban fantasies and dystopias), and was clicking on anything interesting that popped up in relation.
Anyway, I ended up looking at a book called End of The World Blues, by Courtenay Grimwood, and Publisher's Weekly had this to say:
“Grimwood's latest tale reads as if Kurt Vonnegut were writing manga for the producers of Doctor Who.”
Note to reviewers: THAT is the sort of pithy comment that catches my eye, makes me go "Hmmmm... I may have to read that just to see if I agree..."
I also am becoming quite seduced by the Kindle advertisement that always pops up when I browse Amazon. The one that says:
"Start reading (insert book here) on your Kindle in under a minute!"
I held off buying the original Kindle, and have even resisted since the Kindle 2 came out - thinking to myself that the technology will improve yet again, and I'd wait til ALL the bugs and complaints were worked out. But damn, it's tempting - as I sit here still feeling puny and nauseous, wondering if I really want to shower, dress, and make the trek to the bookstore, when I could have a BOOK! Instantly! And I don't even have to put on SHOES to get it!
I will always buy real paper books of more beloved titles to keep, of course - I'm too much of a tactile bibliophile to not. But the download option is tempting as hell for the impulse reads, the "throwaway" books that I may not want to keep forever, but only be entertained by. It's especially so on days like today, when I've read everything in the house that is not still packed in a box somewhere, and I don't wanna have to go out and be anything approaching human.
*finger hovers over the "buy now" button on the Kindle site...*
I was browsing Amazon, hopping from book to book. You know how that is - you follow that "customers who purchased this also purchased this" trail down all sorts of rabbit holes far removed from the book you were originally perusing. I was looking at a couple of China Mieville's that I've yet to read (you guys know I love steampunk urban fantasies and dystopias), and was clicking on anything interesting that popped up in relation.
Anyway, I ended up looking at a book called End of The World Blues, by Courtenay Grimwood, and Publisher's Weekly had this to say:
“Grimwood's latest tale reads as if Kurt Vonnegut were writing manga for the producers of Doctor Who.”
Note to reviewers: THAT is the sort of pithy comment that catches my eye, makes me go "Hmmmm... I may have to read that just to see if I agree..."
I also am becoming quite seduced by the Kindle advertisement that always pops up when I browse Amazon. The one that says:
"Start reading (insert book here) on your Kindle in under a minute!"
I held off buying the original Kindle, and have even resisted since the Kindle 2 came out - thinking to myself that the technology will improve yet again, and I'd wait til ALL the bugs and complaints were worked out. But damn, it's tempting - as I sit here still feeling puny and nauseous, wondering if I really want to shower, dress, and make the trek to the bookstore, when I could have a BOOK! Instantly! And I don't even have to put on SHOES to get it!
I will always buy real paper books of more beloved titles to keep, of course - I'm too much of a tactile bibliophile to not. But the download option is tempting as hell for the impulse reads, the "throwaway" books that I may not want to keep forever, but only be entertained by. It's especially so on days like today, when I've read everything in the house that is not still packed in a box somewhere, and I don't wanna have to go out and be anything approaching human.
*finger hovers over the "buy now" button on the Kindle site...*