best kindle book ever
July 19, 2013 8:01 AM Subscribe
Kindle book recommendations: I'd like to get my sister a kindle book for her birthday (she has the kindle. I'd like to send her a kindle edition of a book). I'd love recommendations!
I'm looking for books that are fun reads - fiction or non-fiction that read like a story - published in the last two-three years (so she hasn't read it yet), with a good kindle edition (I understand some books look great and others terrible). Any suggestions? Thanks!
I'm looking for books that are fun reads - fiction or non-fiction that read like a story - published in the last two-three years (so she hasn't read it yet), with a good kindle edition (I understand some books look great and others terrible). Any suggestions? Thanks!
I loved Hotel Angelina, and I loved The Night Circus.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by DarlingBri at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2013
Response by poster: no fantasy or make believe worlds. if fiction, has to be believable. if non-fiction, then a good story.
posted by mirileh at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by mirileh at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2013
Since you appear to be asking for things that look good on a Kindle, more than specific genres, try browsing the Kindle Singles collection, as these are specifically designed for the device.
posted by jbickers at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by jbickers at 8:06 AM on July 19, 2013
Response by poster: and no short story collections (forgot that one)
posted by mirileh at 8:08 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by mirileh at 8:08 AM on July 19, 2013
If she's most interested in recent stuff, how about that detective novel that got awesome reviews and then turned out to have been written by J K Rowling under a pseudonym?
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:10 AM on July 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:10 AM on July 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh, or Mary Roach's newest book. I haven't read this one, but having read Stiff and Packing for Mars, I think she counts as 'nonfiction that reads like a story' for sure
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:13 AM on July 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:13 AM on July 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: showbiz_liz, that's high on my list ;-)
posted by mirileh at 8:13 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by mirileh at 8:13 AM on July 19, 2013
I really liked The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. I read it a couple books ago, and intend to go read more Bryson as soon as I'm done with this series of schlocky thrillers I'm reading. I've been told that A Walk in the Woods is fantastic.
posted by phunniemee at 8:16 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by phunniemee at 8:16 AM on July 19, 2013
I can't say that Where'd You Go, Bernadette is exactly believable; but it's unbelievable in a "Things this hilarious don't really happen, right? Especially not in Antarctica?!" way, not in a fantasy way. It's a great read, and it works really well on the Kindle.
(I think some of it--emails and other correspondence--are actually nicer to read on an e-reader. That kind of thing always seems like a bit of a stunt on paper but I didn't have that feeling at all in this case. Not sure if it was the Kindle or if it was because Bernadette is just. that. good.)
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:21 AM on July 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
(I think some of it--emails and other correspondence--are actually nicer to read on an e-reader. That kind of thing always seems like a bit of a stunt on paper but I didn't have that feeling at all in this case. Not sure if it was the Kindle or if it was because Bernadette is just. that. good.)
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:21 AM on July 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm just going to say that I read almost everything on the kindle, and have been doing so for about 3 years. And I read A Lot. Think a book a week, or less. Out the hundreds of books I've read on the kindle, I can only think of one that came from the publisher and looked like crap. It had a font that didn't resize and was blindingly difficult to read. But that was early on and it was an academic history book so I think the publisher hadn't really gotten the memo about what an ebook should look like.
Other than that, I've never had a problem with a kindle book that was made for the kindle. Sometimes when I get books from other sources that were originally epubs or pdfs, they have some issues from the conversion, but even that's getting less and less.
That said, seconding Mary Roach. And also Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is really good as is Warmth of Other Suns.
posted by teleri025 at 8:22 AM on July 19, 2013 [6 favorites]
Other than that, I've never had a problem with a kindle book that was made for the kindle. Sometimes when I get books from other sources that were originally epubs or pdfs, they have some issues from the conversion, but even that's getting less and less.
That said, seconding Mary Roach. And also Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is really good as is Warmth of Other Suns.
posted by teleri025 at 8:22 AM on July 19, 2013 [6 favorites]
nthing Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It's really excellent non-fiction.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:20 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:20 AM on July 19, 2013
I guess it might be weird to send someone a free ebook as a gift, but maybe you could add it as a bonus. I've been tremendously enjoying Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).
posted by usonian at 9:49 AM on July 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by usonian at 9:49 AM on July 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm about halfway through We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and it's the first novel in years that I can't wait to finish so I can recommend it to people. So I'm not waiting!
posted by workerant at 11:21 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by workerant at 11:21 AM on July 19, 2013
How old is your sister?
I really enjoyed the Flavia de Luce series, via kindle.
Also A Wild Sheep Chase
Real real liked Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but that might be too fantastical perhaps. But, your criteria is pretty wide so who knows.
Peace by Gene Wolfe is fantastic, but a difficult read.
non Fiction:
Yeah Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Also perhaps Assassination Vacation.
posted by edgeways at 11:33 AM on July 19, 2013
I really enjoyed the Flavia de Luce series, via kindle.
Also A Wild Sheep Chase
Real real liked Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but that might be too fantastical perhaps. But, your criteria is pretty wide so who knows.
Peace by Gene Wolfe is fantastic, but a difficult read.
non Fiction:
Yeah Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Also perhaps Assassination Vacation.
posted by edgeways at 11:33 AM on July 19, 2013
I only feel the need to point this out because it fits all of your other requirements so you might accidentally get it, but the Kindle edition of A Visit From the Goon Squad is unreadable.
I recently loved, on the Kindle, You Are One of Them and The Round House. Both have a bit of a darker edge so I wouldn't call them "fun" reads but they are engrossing page turners.
posted by telegraph at 1:42 PM on July 19, 2013
I recently loved, on the Kindle, You Are One of Them and The Round House. Both have a bit of a darker edge so I wouldn't call them "fun" reads but they are engrossing page turners.
posted by telegraph at 1:42 PM on July 19, 2013
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. One of the best books I've ever read, and definitely the best in the past few years. It's technically "YA" but I'm a 30 year old English major and I loved it.
I'd second Lionel Shriver, but I really liked So Much For That as well as We Need To Talk About Kevin.
posted by guster4lovers at 8:47 PM on July 19, 2013
I'd second Lionel Shriver, but I really liked So Much For That as well as We Need To Talk About Kevin.
posted by guster4lovers at 8:47 PM on July 19, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rtha at 8:04 AM on July 19, 2013