What the Kindle Team Is Reading, Part 1
Just finished a Kindle title and looking for your next read? Why not peek into the digital shelves of the people closest to the source--the Kindle Books team themselves.
I’m not going to pretend that we’re “experts” on eBooks. I mean, why pretend when you actually *are* an expert? It’s like going into Starbucks Corporate and taking a sip out of their coffee mugs, or peering into the back of an REI manager’s SUV to see what gear they have. (Only less gross and voyeuristic.)
Enjoy the list below to find out which eBooks half a dozen Kindle employees picked out of the hundreds of thousands of titles we work so hard to make available for you, our readers.
The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes
Brilliantly conceived as a relay of scientific stories, 'The Age of Wonder' investigates the earliest ideas of deep time and space, and the explorers of “dynamic science,” of an infinite, mysterious Nature waiting to be discovered. Three lives dominate the book: William Herschel and his sister Caroline, whose dedication to the study of the stars forever changed the public conception of the solar system, the Milky Way, and the meaning of the universe; and Humphry Davy, who, with only a grammar school education stunned the scientific community with his near-suicidal gas experiments that led to the invention of the miners’ lamp and established British chemistry as the leading professional science in Europe. This age of exploration extended to great writers and poets as well as scientists, all creators relishing in moments of high exhilaration, boundary-pushing and discovery. Holmes’s extraordinary evocation of this age of wonder shows how great ideas and experiments--both successes and failures--were born of singular and often lonely dedication, and how religious faith and scientific truth collide. He has written a book breathtaking in its originality, its storytelling energy, and its intellectual significance.
"It’s excellent. But I love nonfiction stuff about science and old-timey nerds."
- Courtney M., Vendor Manager
Soccernomics by Stefan Szymanski
Why do England lose? Why does Scotland suck? Why doesn’t America dominate the sport internationally...and why do the Germans play with such an efficient but robotic style? These are questions every soccer aficionado has asked. Soccernomics answers them. Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology, and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, Soccernomics reveals the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer. An essential guide for the 2010 World Cup, Soccernomics is a new way of looking at the world-s most popular game.
“Much like I wasn’t ready to stop dragging myself out of bed at the wee hours of the morning to watch the 2010 World Cup matches, I don’t want this book to end. Brimming with data analysis, this book answers all those questions and assumptions that everyone is always tossing out to sound like they know more about the game than everyone around them. Well, for the sports nut and number-cruncher at heart – here’s your ammunition.”
- Cassondra C., Assoc. Account Manager
A Reader on Reading by Alberto Manguel
In this major collection of his essays, Alberto Manguel, whom George Steiner has called the Casanova of reading, argues that the activity of reading, in its broadest sense, defines our species. We come into the world intent on finding narrative in everything, writes Manguel, landscape, the skies, the faces of others, the images and words that our species create. Reading our own lives and those of others, reading the societies we live in and those that lie beyond our borders, reading the worlds that lie between the covers of a book are the essence of A Reader on Reading. The thirty-nine essays in this volume explore the crafts of reading and writing, the identity granted to us by literature, the far-reaching shadow of Jorge Luis Borges, to whom Manguel read as a young man, and the links between politics and books and between books and our bodies. The powers of censorship and intellectual curiosity, the art of translation, and those numinous memory palaces we call libraries also figure in this remarkable collection. For Manguel and his readers, words, in spite of everything, lend coherence to the world and offer us a few safe places, as real as paper and as bracing as ink, to grant us room and board in our passage.
“Alberto Manguel’s writing will resonate with those who love to read, and he has written much about reading. I have returned to A Reader on Reading, and The Library at Night to better understand the implications for reading our work on the Kindle team will have.”
- Paul C., Content Ingestion Program Manager
Roman Blood by Steven Saylor
In the unseasonable heat of a spring morning in 80 B.C., Gordianus the Finder is summoned to the house of Cicero, a young advocate staking his reputation on a case involving the savage murder of the wealthy, sybaritic Sextus Roscius. Charged with the murder is Sextus's son, greed being the apparent motive. The punishment, rooted deep in Roman tradition, is horrific beyond imagining. The case becomes a political nightmare when Gordianus's investigation takes him through the city's raucous, pungent streets and deep into rural Umbria. Now, one man's fate may threaten the very leaders of Rome itself.
“It is a taut thriller, perfect for airplane or beach reading. The book is more interesting than the average murder mystery because it is set in Rome (around 70 BC), and uses real historical figures and events in a very engaging plotline. I was reminded of Agatha’s Christie’s Death Comes As the End. I enjoyed learning history through this book, my only gripe is with the unrealistic “twist” at the end.”
- Ketaki R., Senior Product Manager
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Becky Bloomwood has a fabulous flat in London's trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season's must-haves. The only trouble is that she can't actually afford it -- not any of it. Her job writing at Successful Savings not only bores her to tears, it doesn't pay much at all. And lately Becky's been chased by dismal letters from Visa and the Endwich Bank -- letters with large red sums she can't bear to read -- and they're getting ever harder to ignore. She tries cutting back; she even tries making more money. But none of her efforts succeeds. Becky's only consolation is to buy herself something ... just a little something.... Finally a story arises that Becky actually cares about, and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will transform her life -- and the lives of those around her -- forever. Sophie Kinsella has brilliantly tapped into our collective consumer conscience to deliver a novel of our times -- and a heroine who grows stronger every time she weakens. Becky Bloomwood's hilarious schemes to pay back her debts are as endearing as they are desperate. Her "confessions" are the perfect pick-me-up when life is hanging in the (bank) balance.
“I decided to read this book since I’m probably the only thirty-something female who hasn’t read the it. Confessions of a Shopaholic is an entertaining and easy read. (I was able to finish it in two days while my kids were asleep.) I’m sure all the fashionistas can relate to the rush you get when you see a “sale” sign at your famous designer store or trying to justify spending a huge amount of money on the perfect grey sweater or purple scarf. These scenarios are quite funny but sometimes annoying since Rebecca, the main character, has no self control or priorities. She's self-absorbed and many times lacks integrity by lying throughout the book to get what she wants. I do have to say I did enjoy the book more toward the end when Rebecca starts to realize material items can't buy happiness. I think the quote from Coco Chanel summarizes my thoughts on this book, “How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone". But then again, I must confess, how can "someone" not love a lambskin jumbo classic flap? Overall, this book is well worth reading!”
-Marisa H., Vendor Manager
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.
“It’s a fast read and an enjoyable ride. I have a hard time putting the book down!”
- Syd M., Technical Account Manager
Lisa Kramer Taruschio on 08/31/2010 at 10:16 AM
Suggestion: One of you, try Verdi's Dream, historical novel set in Milan 1945, based on the true episode of the Secret Surrender negotiated by Allen Dulles, OSS chief in Bern, and SS Gen Karl Wolff, commander of all Nazi troops occupying northern Italy. The novel is fully researched, has a passionate love story, and a gorgeous cover by the incomparable Milton Glaser. Starring Mussolini, Himmler, Petacci, and others. On Kindle, of course.
Lisa Kramer Taruschio on 08/31/2010 at 10:16 AM
Suggestion: One of you, try Verdi's Dream, historical novel set in Milan 1945, based on the true episode of the Secret Surrender negotiated by Allen Dulles, OSS chief in Bern, and SS Gen Karl Wolff, commander of all Nazi troops occupying northern Italy. The novel is fully researched, has a passionate love story, and a gorgeous cover by the incomparable Milton Glaser. Starring Mussolini, Himmler, Petacci, and others. On Kindle, of course.