On Books and Ebooks 

by Hugh McGuire

Co-founder of BookOven.com, founder of LibriVox.org

Posted: October 28, 2008 12:29 PM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hugh-mcguire/on-books-and-ebooks_b_138340.html

Ebooks are not in opposition to print & paper books; they are a parallel tool to get the content contained in a book.

This Huffington Post article may not be the newest article in the world, but I think the statement above summarizes it well.

I have a Kindle. I enjoy using it. I love that I can carry multiple books on it at one time. If I don't feel like reading one book just then, I have options.

And there is nothing like holding a book in your hands: the smell, the weight of the book, the textures. It's a  heady, sensory experience that feeds the mind as well. Plus I love looking at them on the shelves. Some of them are real treasures to me.

And I used to love audio books for long car rides. Audio books have been a blessing for my mother whose eye sight is no longer the best in the world.

What do you think? Are ebooks in danger of replacing print books? Or, are they simply a parallel resource?

PS: At the bottom of the Hugh McGuire article there are a few websites listed with links for free ebooks such as Project Gutenburg.

Epic Kindle Giveaway Melted the Internet

This was part of the Epic Kindle Giveaway promotion that the authors did. As of now, they are in the process of contacting the winners. They had so many reposts and entries that facebook decided that some of the links were spam and not for real. They were for real. 

I downloaded some of the books. Currently I'm reading Drummer Boy by Scott Nicholson. Spooky and good so far. I love that Sharyn McCrumb wrote about his writing: “Scott Nicholson explores the dark legends of the southern end of the Appalachian mountain chain, a nightmare country that ends in Stephen King’s yard.”

On Tinnitus and Transcendental Meditation

A while back my Dad wrote a column for the Georgia Peach Cochlear Implant Association (GPCIA) which was picked up and reblogged in another post. He talks about his personal experiences using Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Tinnitus in the post. The comments are interesting too, particularly laughing crow's comment.

Here is a link to the other post. http://ppbnews.blogspot.com/2008/11/tinnitus.html

Makes me think that maybe I need to go back to practicing TM. Or at least try it for a while and see if it makes a difference.

Wordless Wednesday

Now available on Thursday

Review: Frost Moon by Anthony Francis

Frost Moon by Anthony Francis introduces us to the incomparable Dakota Frost, magical tattoo artist and skindancer. Not only can her tattoos perform some useful function such as make a transformation smoother for a were, they can move on the skin of the wearer. In the case of Dakota, this can make for one impressive display since she has several tattoos inked on her, mostly by her own hand. Most impressive in description to me was her dragon tattoo that started on one foot and ran all the way up her body.

The book opens with Dakota being escorted into the police station, not for anything she's done wrong, but because of what her father's old partner, Rand, hopes she can do. A serial killer is stalking those with magical tattoos and worse taking a tattoo as a trophy of sorts on or near the full moon. The police and the feds hope that she can shed some light on this and help warn others.

Dakota meets a wide variety of characters over the course of the book including vampires, weres, magic users, and some relatively normal people. Anthony Francis does a nice job of world building an "Edgeworlder Atlanta" where all these non-mainstream people live. He does a great job in fleshing out all of the characters involved including the minor ones. The subplots tie together nicely with the main plot at the climax to the novel.

Dialog is believable. Dakota has some nice banter with Philip, her main love interest and man in black. Dakota banters well in general and isn't afraid to speak up for herself. Occasionally as a result, she will put her foot in her mouth like when she is first being introduced at the werehouse. This makes her more endearing.

I was surprised at the identity of the serial killer. I don't think there was really any foreshadowing leading up to it, but it wasn't totally unbelievable either. You'll have to judge for yourself. And it is worth the time.

I received a copy of this book in return for my unbiased opinion.

Friday Reads

This week I am encouraging you to check out Friday Reads on the web or on Twitter. To quote the site: FridayReads is a global community of thousands of people who come together each week to share whatever they’re reading. Our goal is simple: to raise reading’s visibility and encourage more people to join in!


Every week thousands of people chime in on Facebook on their FridayReads page, on their homepage (FridayReads.com), on Tumblr, and on twitter using the hashtag #FridayReads and let the world know what they are reading. And audiobooks count too. Kindle, Nook or paper - it doesn't matter just so long as it's a book. Kids books are fine. Middle grades, YA, Grown-up, whatever you're reading just post it.


You can see what other people are reading in the feeds and lists as they appear, but Friday Reads also does a blog post about which books were the top listed books for the week. This is interesting as sort of real world information and not necessarily what the newspapers are saying, but what people are really reading. 


Check it out on Tumblr  this week and participate for a chance to win a copy of The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore. This is the sequel to I Am Number Four.


I've been participating in Friday Reads for a while now and I find it interesting to share and see what other people are reading as well as watch the number of people admitting to reading climb each week.


Give it a shot, why not? Let them know on the web or on twitter what you've been reading or are reading today.  

Wordless Wednesday