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Howdy from Cambodia!

Bob Magness

Bob Magness

Member
Hi, I am writing you all from Phnom Penh, Cambodia where I have lived for the past two years. I have been hunting for a good forum where the focus of discussion revolves around books. BAR jumped out at me due to the large membership and its vBulletin format to which I have become accustomed.

I read on average one book a week although I typically read more than one book at a time as long as they are of different genres. I enjoy just about all genres with the exception of pure romance novels. I appreciate a little romance thrown in there but if it has Fabio on the cover I probably won't touch it.

I enjoy everything from the classics to best selling popular novels. I am not a book snob. I can get as much enjoyment from John Steinbeck and Jane Austin as I can from Stephen King and Jim Butcher. That being said I think Stephen King gets a bad rap as a "popular writer". I think it is possible to be very successful AND very talented, and King is both.

I don't have the ability to walk into a book store and browse so the internet is my only means of researching books before buying. I recently purchased an Amazon Kindle which has made life MUCH easier for me. I read several books at a time so it makes things less cumbersome for me. It also take a couple weeks for any book I order to be delivered so being able to download them directly is a huge advantage for me. E-readers aren't for everyone but it fits my lifestyle perfectly.

I look forward to contributing and hearing about what great books you have all read.
 
Welcome to the board! Can't go wrong with Steinbeck, I love The Grapes of Wrath and The Moon is Down. If you don't mind me asking-what are you doing in Cambodia?:D
 
Wow! What a great intro--It's been a while since I've read one this detailed.


(Shut up, Sparky) I wanted to say I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks the Kindle is the best invention. I've had mine since Februray and have been reading more because of it--to clarify though, since starting school, I'm now stuck reading my paper textbooks, but come back to my Kindle for some casual reading to unwind before bed.

Welcome!:flowers:

I also want to know what brought you to Cambodia--Sounds VERY interesting!
 
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. As for what I am doing in Cambodia? I am a military attaché at the US Embassy. My last assignment was the Embassy in Mexico and the next one will be Libya. I work in something called the Defense Attaché Office. We are the liaison between the US Department of Defense and the host country government.

The best part of the job is I get to live in a different country every two to three years. As a Warrant Officer this is actually my job specialty and thus will spend the remainder of my career doing this. So while I am in the Army, it is not the typical Army life and I certainly have it much better than most of my fellow soldiers. So you won't hear me complain about my job much.

The best thing that has happened to me in Cambodia is meeting my fiancé. We have been together about 1 1/2 years now and will be heading to Texas in December to get married.
 
Hey there Bob, and welcome to the forum! Hope you like it here as much as I do. I'm interested to hear about the Kindle! Does it work in Cambodia? I'm living now in Saudi Arabia and wanted to get the kindle after I read about it, but I doubt it would be working here for browsing and downloading books. I thought it only works in the US and Canada.
 
Hi Samerron, how is Saudi? My next assignment is going to be Libya. It will be my first time to the region. I am going to get 5 months of Arabic training first, and yes, I know that isn't enough.

I have to say that the Kindle is one of the best purchases I have ever made. I have had it about 4 months and have read over a dozen novels on it.

If you are outside of the US and want to purchase one, however, you do need to keep a few things in mind. One of the popular features of the Kindle, Whispernet, does not work overseas. Whispernet is a free service that uses the Sprint cellular network to allow you to access the internet and download books from Amazon wirelessly. It is true that if you are in the US you do not need a computer to use your Kindle. But I am overseas so Whispernet does not work for me. I'll be home in Texas and December and will give it a try.

That being said, you do not need that functionality to download your e-books. If you have a computer with internet access you can download your e-books and transfer them to your Kindle via a supplied USB cable. It is very easy and quick. I have no problems doing it here in Cambodia.

The next problem might be a bit more tricky. Amazon does not yet sell the Kindle to anyone outside the US. I think they are still trying to work out copyright protocols with the publishers with regards to selling the e-books overseas. I'm not 100% sure that is the reason but it is a hurdle. Amazon says it determines if you live in the US based on the address of the credit card you have on file with them. I also had the added advantage of having a US based mailing address that the Embassy provides me.

So the tough part if you are overseas is actually getting your hands on a Kindle to begin with. But once you do that you will have no problems downloading books. Amazon doesn't have any rules about downloading books in other countries. The only controls are on to whom they ship the Kindle device. Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
Bob Magness said:
Hi Samerron, how is Saudi? My next assignment is going to be Libya. It will be my first time to the region. I am going to get 5 months of Arabic training first, and yes, I know that isn't enough.
Click to expand...
Thanks for asking. Well, I have started working here but I'm not from here, I'm originally for Lebanon but lived many years outside the country. Good luck in learning Arabic, I meet many foreigner in university that plan to study it. You can study it from 2 months to two years...it depends how much you want to get from it. Anyway, if you need any help let me know :)

Bob Magness said:
I have to say that the Kindle is one of the best purchases I have ever made. I have had it about 4 months and have read over a dozen novels on it.

If you are outside of the US and want to purchase one, however, you do need to keep a few things in mind. One of the popular features of the Kindle, Whispernet, does not work overseas. Whispernet is a free service that uses the Sprint cellular network to allow you to access the internet and download books from Amazon wirelessly. It is true that if you are in the US you do not need a computer to use your Kindle. But I am overseas so Whispernet does not work for me. I'll be home in Texas and December and will give it a try.

That being said, you do not need that functionality to download your e-books. If you have a computer with internet access you can download your e-books and transfer them to your Kindle via a supplied USB cable. It is very easy and quick. I have no problems doing it here in Cambodia.

The next problem might be a bit more tricky. Amazon does not yet sell the Kindle to anyone outside the US. I think they are still trying to work out copyright protocols with the publishers with regards to selling the e-books overseas. I'm not 100% sure that is the reason but it is a hurdle. Amazon says it determines if you live in the US based on the address of the credit card you have on file with them. I also had the added advantage of having a US based mailing address that the Embassy provides me.

So the tough part if you are overseas is actually getting your hands on a Kindle to begin with. But once you do that you will have no problems downloading books. Amazon doesn't have any rules about downloading books in other countries. The only controls are on to whom they ship the Kindle device. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Click to expand...

Let me tell you that you were really helpful Bob! Thank you a lot... you made it fully clear to me and after reading your post, I think that I will buy the kindle once I have the opportunity to get it from the states. Do you have an idea if its going to get cheaper soon :whistling:, since I find it really useful in my lifestyle, but this doesn't mean it's going to substitute regular books (I bet there are many threads out there with heated debate about books & e-books, but please don't drag it here :innocent: )
 
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