Read in July

In July, it seems (from my list) that I either didn’t read much, or it went into one ear and out of the other…

I did enjoy listening to this 1970s classic as Audible audio book, though:

Watership Down

• Written by: Richard Adams (1972)
• Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
• Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits. As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters, and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiver's vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.

A stirring epic of courage and survival against the odds, Watership Down has become a beloved classic for all ages. Both an exciting adventure story and an involving allegory about freedom, ethics, and human nature, it has delighted generations with its unique and charming world, winning many awards and being adapted to film, television, and theater.

My old paperback copy of the book is from 1978 and gives the impression that I must have read it more than once; but I’m pretty sure the last time was still decades ago. I know I liked it back then, though; and I still liked it now. I also probably see even more dimensions to the story now, related to all the recent destruction and migration going on in the world. Whom can we trust? Whose advice and instincts should we listen to? And if disaster strikes, is there anywhere one can go to live in peace and feel safe??

- - -

Having recently enjoyed Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and also Gaiman’s version of the Norse Mythology, I thought I’d also give Gaiman’s Neverwhere a try. Alas, this proved to be another one of those that I just couldn’t seem to get into, felt I didn’t really like, and didn’t care to finish. May just have been that I wasn’t in the right mood for it, I don’t know! Anyway I decided to once more make use of one of the bonuses of being an Audible member, i.e. return it and just get another book instead:

Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga

• Written by: Edward Rutherfurd
• Narrated by: Richard Matthews
• Length: 25 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

The saga begins in tribal, pre-Christian Ireland during the reign of the fierce and mighty High Kings at Tara, with the tale of two lovers, the princely Conall and the ravishing Deirdre, whose travails cleverly echo the ancient Celtic legend of Cuchulainn. From that stirring beginning, Rutherfurd takes the reader on a powerfully imagined journey through the centuries. Through the interlocking stories of a memorable cast of characters (druids and chieftains, monks and smugglers, noblewomen and farmwives, merchants and mercenaries, rebels and cowards) we see Ireland through the lens of its greatest city.

While vividly and movingly conveying the passions and struggles that shaped the character of Dublin, Rutherfurd portrays the major events in Irish history: The tribal culture of pagan Ireland; the mission of St. Patrick; the coming of the Vikings and the founding of Dublin; the glories of the great nearby monastery of Glendalough and the making of treasures like the Book of Kells; the extraordinary career of Brian Boru; and the trickery of Henry II, which gave England its first foothold in Medieval Ireland. The stage is then set for the great conflict between the English kings and the princes of Ireland, and the disastrous Irish invasion of England, which incurred the wrath of Henry VIII and where this book, the first of the two part Dublin Saga, draws to a close, as the path of Irish history takes a dramatic and irrevocable turn.

I have had the printed book (770 pages) in my book-case since 10+ years, but only read half of it – or so at least my memory told me. Now I’ve listened to all of it (even if I have to confess that I probably slumbered through some parts). But somehow, it still seemed to sort of end “in the middle”… Which made me wonder if maybe I did read it to the end the first time too, and just always felt like I hadn’t!

So… I just checked - and found that there is indeed a Part 2: The Rebels of Ireland… And as I had an unused Audible credit for September, I have just downloaded it. Another 30 hours! But there’s a long winter season ahead…

- - -

Grace Space: A Direct Sales Tale

by Robin Merrill [read on Kindle]

Also in July, I happened to came across this title free for Kindle. Feeling in the mood for something light and contemporary just then, I decided to give it a go.

It’s about a young woman in her early twenties (Darcy), struggling with her student loan payments. So, when she hears that the Grace Space Independent Consultants make good money (selling cosmetic products), she decides to join them... Being young and naive, she really has no idea what she’s getting into. I have to say, the book puzzled me, in that it had me wondering how much was to be taken as irony, naïvity versus “based on a true story”. The cosmetics company that Darcy gets involved with comes across as a mix of a commercial direct sales business and a religious sect. Unfortunately, I suspect it may come closer to the truth of some similar companies than one would prefer to think. Which kind of makes one hesitate between laughing and feeling scared!

Looking up the author on Amazon and seeing some of her other titles is no real help. (Like, a book entitled The Jesus Diet seems to be meant to be taken seriously…)

All in all, I guess Grace Space was worth the free read - but I’m not very likely to spend money on another title.

My Amazon Adventures

Since I first ventured out in the Blogworld a few years ago, and especially since I joined the weekly Booking Through Thursday meme (not sure when that was – around two years ago, maybe?), e-readers seem to have become increasingly popular; and judging by what I come across in the Blogworld, I rarely hear about any other kind than Kindle.

In Sweden however, it’s not that simple. Kindle is not an obvious choice, as Amazon don’t have Swedish e-books. Moreoever, libraries as well as publishers here have hesitated between different systems; and library books here can’t be downloaded to Kindle.

Actually I’ve never seen any kind of e-reader advertised in Swedish media, or in a store where I could just go in and check out what they really look like. And no one I knew had one...

… until, this summer, my brother (who else?) bought a Kindle (from the US), and brought it to show me when he was visiting. That was the first time (and so far the only time) I saw one IRL (in real life).  After that demonstration, I did see some advantages of it though, and decided to order one for myself too.

Ordering the Kindle proved easier said than done though. The first time I tried (back in August), I obviously did something wrong, because just I kept getting error messages. So I got tired and gave up, and it took me a while to get inspired to try again.

This week I decided to have another go. Scriptor Senex mentioned a book that sounded interesting, and when searching, I found that the title was available as e-book for Kindle… So again, I was inspired to try and overcome the obstacles.

When I got to the Amazon webpage this time, however, it seemed that the version my brother has – Kindle Touch - was no longer available, but has just been replaced by a brand new version just now being heavily launched (Kindle Paperwhite). That one seemed to have both pros and cons compared to the Touch that I had set my mind on…

… so I had to start by reading up again on reviews and demonstration videos etc. But as the new one seemed the only option now (except the cheaper Kindle, with buttons instead of touch ), I decided to go for it; and  went ahead…

… Or so I thought. But again the order just would not go through and I kept getting error messages, and  couldn’t figure out what on earth I’d done wrong.

Until… I suddenly noticed a small-print link referring me to the "international" page; and it dawned on me that every time I'd visited the site so far, I'd been on a page for US residents only; so that was why I was unable to complete the purchase.

SO I clicked on the magic link and got transported to the international page. But what do you think I found there? … NO trace or mention of the new Kindle Paperwhite; but instead the Kindle Touch that I originally had in mind still seemed available!

Confused, I left Amazon and went a-googling again. Turned out that the new Paperwhite is only being launched in the US for now (and even there it seems they are having problems with the delivery date), and no date has been set for when it will also be sold to Europe. The speculations are that Amazon want to make sure they have enough PWs for all the Americans who want it for Christmas first! So Europe will probably have to wait another five or six months (or until we’ve bought all the remaining stock of the Touch … my suspicion!).

Finally having got this far in the process - did I want to have to wait another five or six months?? No I did not! Especially not since I had been set on the Touch to begin with, and hadn’t heard a word about the new one until that very day. So (after some trouble in finding my way back to the well-hidden Amazon International page...) I went ahead and made another attempt to place an order... And yay! This time I succeeded! The Kindle Touch has been shipped, and is on its way. With luck, I might even get it before the weekend.

The main advantage of the “old” Touch over the new(est) one is that it also supports audio; something that has been removed again from the new Paperwhite. As I like the idea of being able to shift between reading vs listening to the same book, I hope it will all turn out for the best for me that I’m European and not American…

At the same time I have to shake my head a bit at the marketing process, though… (And also the lack of a world-wide common standard for e-books, still.)

No doubt I’ll get back to this topic here once I’ve got my Kindle and have had a chance to get more acquainted with it. While waiting, I’ve already downloaded a number of free books to “the cloud”, so that I will have something to start with…

Wikipedia: “The Amazons (Greek: Ἀμαζόνες, Amazónes, singular Ἀμαζών, Amazōn) are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Their name has become a term for female warriors in general.”