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Good Reads - Discussion of Books, Literature, Reading, etc.


Cluttermagnet

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Guest LilBambi

Go to a "Dollar" store and get some reading glasses. They cost about $1.

 

An optometrist told me they will not degrade your vision.

 

I keep three pairs around the house in various locations because I got tired of guessing where I last put them down.

 

Already have a pair of these at 2x. They work OK, but not great.

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Guest LilBambi

The smaller magnifiers that can be used across a single hard cover page, or paperback page is best for me to read. One that can double as a bookmark so much the better and lighted even better yet.

 

Not a bad idea to scan the pages, but that's a lot of work plus, the resultant pdf would be a bit large don't you think? If it's gonna be decent quality to enlarge....

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The cheaters are a good workaround . And I get the prescription glasses free. Don't need glasses to read if I'm out in bright sunlight.

But the optometrist maximizes her payoff by doling out a pair for reading and a pair for distance at night .

 

However a good introduction to James Joyce 's writings would be Dubliners. Not too long and full of humor , (humour)

 

There is one thing that bothers me .No offense intended here ,But the Americanization of the English language takes a lot of the subtlety away leaving the prose a little dry.

The exception to this is the writings of the great American writers.

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Already have a pair of these at 2x. They work OK, but not great.

I have a couple of pairs of 2.5x, and I've seen them up to at least 3x in the drugstore up here. Maybe something a little stronger would help?
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abarbarian

Hmm do not know what it would look like, but you should be able to make text and size to suit. The process is a little fiddly.Of course a simple script would make life easier. A lot of work perhaps for a read but then you would have a copy for a e-reader as well.

 

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/OCR

 

:fish:

Edited by abarbarian
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Guest LilBambi

eBooks are no worries. That's why eBooks and Audiobooks are still great for me but normal books are harder these days.

 

It's also why I started subscribing to the digital version of 2600 Hacker Quarterly

 

I get every edition and can make the size as big as I need.

 

Can also get the year in epub or pdf format too.

 

And the normal print edition subscription is also still available for those with really good eyes/magnifiers (tiny print edition so they can fit more in! Not complaining! I got this version before i went to the digital version).

 

2600 is great reading.

 

I like the digital version because I can make the type as big or small as I need.

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abarbarian

Americans are masters at butchering up the Queen's English. :yes:

 

Si thi nows ta'kin sense, nowt laik truth ter git cat 'mongst pijins. :breakfast:

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amenditman

I really started to love eBook format when I was getting my SysAdmin A.S.

The textbooks were all O'Reilly and other professional training manuals, not college textbooks.

They were around 1000 - 1200 pages, heavy, hard to read near the binding.

Real neck and shoulder pain problems.

 

eBooks, put 'em up on the big screen, blow up the text as big as you want, change the font and background colors to suit, and computer searchable to boot.

How did we ever live with "real" books?

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abarbarian
“What do you mean, blindly? That baby is a very sentient creature… That baby sees the world with a completeness that you and I will never know again. His doors of perception have not yet been closed. He still experiences the moment he lives in.”

Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

 

An they say drug takers are crazy. :pirate:

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Guest LilBambi

Si thi nows ta'kin sense, nowt laik truth ter git cat 'mongst pijins. :breakfast:

 

Huh?

 

Some in my heritage have a very heavy accent and do not conform to the Queen's English either; Irish and Scottish...

 

I also have English heritage as well as German, Dutch, French.

 

A real Heinz 57. ;)

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The Queen's English, spoken only by the Queen.

The rest of us pretty much butcher it.

 

Now hold up there pardner . It's not hers .no way Jose. It belongs to all of us Its our heritage and ours alone . The regals base lingo is French.

While ours is Saxon .German and a few other bits and bobs thrown in for good measure.

 

By Americanization I actually meant the differences in spelling . It's turning the business into a huge clanjammerie.

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V.T. Eric Layton

Actually, English is a Germanic-based language. It has incorporated a lot of stuff from other languages, though... French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, Native American Indian, even that Canadian lingo. ;)

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abarbarian

Actually, English is a Germanic-based language. It has incorporated a lot of stuff from other languages, though... French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, Native American Indian, even that Canadian lingo. ;)

 

Spot on but you missed out Greek and Old Norse and a bit of Indian(asia), Aboriginal and Celtic etc etc.

 

http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/english-language-history.html

 

 

Britain was an Empire for 200 years between the 18th and 20th centuries and English language continued to change as the British Empire moved across the world - to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Asia and Africa. They sent people to settle and live in their conquered places and as settlers interacted with natives, new words were added to the English vocabulary. For example, 'kangaroo' and 'boomerang' are native Australian Aborigine words, 'juggernaut' and 'turban' came from India. (See more borrowings from different languages.)

 

English continues to change and develop, with hundreds of new words arriving every year. But even with all the borrowings from many other languages the heart of the English language remains the Anglo-Saxon of Old English. The grammar of English is also distinctly Germanic - three genders (he, she and it) and a simple set of verb tenses.

 

oh and of course english has assimilated some american words aswell. :hysterical:

 

Huh?

 

See now your talking sense,there is nothing like the truth to put the cat amongst the pigeons. :thumbup:

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Guest LilBambi

We are a melting pot of peoples so why not have a melting pot of language integration.

 

Capt.Crow I mix and match all the time with words like humour/humor colour/color, meter/metre, theatre/theater, etc. ... course words that are exactly the same except for one letter that is changed ce/se for instance are interesting. And ones like liquorice/licorice ... and I have to tell you, both those words seem wrong. ;) Licorice is one of my favorite flavors/flavours.

 

But I think we likely have the most fun with dual meaning words like vehicle words; bonnet and boot (which make sense by the way) and our hood and trunk (which also make sense)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

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We are a melting pot of peoples so why not have a melting pot of language integration.

 

Capt.Crow I mix and match all the time with words like humour/humor colour/color, meter/metre, theatre/theater, etc. ... course words that are exactly the same except for one letter that is changed ce/se for instance are interesting. And ones like liquorice/licorice ... and I have to tell you, both those words seem wrong. ;) Licorice is one of my favorite flavors/flavours.

 

But I think we likely have the most fun with dual meaning words like vehicle words; bonnet and boot (which make sense by the way) and our hood and trunk (which also make sense)

 

http://en.wikipedia....ing_differences

Humour means a state of fun etc .Humor is a state of health. Meter is a device a machine . metre is a unit of measurement .Theatre is where one is entertained . Theater is the blood and bone room. Every time I see the word color .My dyslexic mind juxtaposes the final consonant for an *n*. Maybe I'm crazy ,but if only we could standardize spelling we would all benefit . After all Mark Twain and Truman Capote Used the olde world spelling . Now this is all for fun . No messin!

device

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Maybe I'm crazy ,but if only we could standardize spelling we would all benefit .

 

An so the wheel turns ! We have standardised spelling and language, it is called the Queens English. :tease:

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Guest LilBambi

Humour means a state of fun etc .Humor is a state of health. Meter is a device a machine . metre is a unit of measurement .Theatre is where one is entertained . Theater is the blood and bone room. Every time I see the word color .My dyslexic mind juxtaposes the final consonant for an *n*. Maybe I'm crazy ,but if only we could standardize spelling we would all benefit . After all Mark Twain and Truman Capote Used the olde world spelling . Now this is all for fun . No messin!

device

 

Yep, I know the meaning of each of the words. I meant I mix the spellings. ;)

 

Words are wonderful fun!

 

It's where comedians like George Carlin and Firesign Theatre (yes, they do spell it that way) get some of their hilarious content.

 

Oh, also, theater/theatre has a double triple quadruple (or more) meaning though ... not just the blood and bone room but also the place where actors/actresses perform plays, a place to go to watch a movie, and the staging area of a war mission as well. ;)

Edited by LilBambi
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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

The Humble Audiobook Bundle 2 featuring Recorded Books

 

 

Eleven audiobooks to enlighten your earholes. Humble Audiobook Bundle 2 features 11 brilliant audiobooks from Recorded Books, one of the largest independent publishers and distributors of unabridged audiobooks in the world. Pay what you want for The Perfect Storm, Strip Tease, Red Rising and Grave Sight. If you choose to pay more than the average price, you’ll also receive How Music Works, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Hollow World, Rules of Prey, Baudolino and Bearing An Hourglass.

Pay $10 or more to receive all of the above plus the critically-acclaimed Fight Club. Grab this bundle and listen to these captivating stories on the go in MP3 format. Click on the icons above for descriptions of each audiobook.

Pay what you want. These 11 audiobooks would cost you more than $1,000, but you get to name your price!

 

 

Just bought these and am going to get a set for a friend too.

OK so they are listen to not reads but jolly good stories all the same.

How they work out that a audio book is worth nearly 100$ is beyond me :hmm:

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Just finished two of Nevil Shute's novels. No Highway. No pace and a book to put you to sleep. Landfall slightly better at least this one has a modicum of plot.

Next ,An old captivity. Let you know the critique when I've finished it.

 

I enjoyed On the beach .

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

https://www.humblebundle.com/books?utm_source=Humble+Bundle+Newsletter&utm_campaign=fa41a30097-Humble_Sci_fi_eBook_Bundle&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_990b1b6399-fa41a30097-96436093

 

 

 

 

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Doubt if anyone will like this but I posted as it is a barnstorming deal. :whistling:

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I make sure that I can download any digital content directly to my computer and back it up in the cloud.

I manage all my ebook reading in Calibre application.

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As amenditman suggests Calibre is an excellent program to use. It will convert almost any format to one to suit you. So once you have a file on your pc you can keep it forever.

 

If the Nook e-readers are still dirt cheap then they are a neat reader. I have the Glo Nook and am really happy with it, all I use it for is reading and it does the job well.

 

:yes:

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