Thursday, July 31, 2008

J D Robb and In Death eBooks

 This week Henri talks about J. D. Robb from a man's point of view.

Nora Roberts apparently wrote this series as J D Robb for some reason not associated with the qualities of her writing or her audience's perceptions. After all, with more than 150 novels and 250 million books sold she hardly needs to do anything to improve her success but simply keep writing.

Her books use a formula and a model that works for her basic audience and stands behind her success as a writer. But her insight and depth as a writer is not as limited as that analysis implies. I like her characters. Even her villains are consistent with the social and moral models she portrays in her work. I am always looking for another author to fill my insatiable need for books to read. Imagine my surprise when I tried one of her books and got hooked on the "In Death" novels.

Now I am commonly disposed to dismiss as Chick lit or even Chick  lite any books that suffer from the appellation Romance Novel. Of course I read so much socially unredeeming and unredeemed Sci Fi and Mystery fiction that I am hardly a paragon of the literate reader of myth and legend. So I finally picked up one of the series in question here and viola I was absolutely compelled to keep reading until I finished the series.

I am virtually certain that if I took a look at the Internet a whole brigade of fans of J. D. Robb would appear. Before I started reading this series I would never have guessed that I would actually like these books. So much for machismo and the art of creating entertaining characters.

Nora Roberts' main character in these  books is a woman detective with more angst and controlled violence in her little finger than most male detectives ever experience. The psychological foundations of the character are well built on a fantasy of abuse and mistreatment generating a need for certainty, right and the law to reign triumphant. I have yet to see that happen in the real world but it makes for a compelling character.

Obviously I like books where the good guys win, but not without a great deal of effort and some real challenges to overcome. Eve Dallas, the main character in this series has a fine set of villains to overcome and a great cast of people around her that make it all possible. Even if the sex scenes are a bit too intense for most of us more sensitive men; even if the ideas behind the curtain tend toward the romantic rather than the masculine, these books are actually fun to read.

Monday, July 28, 2008

The Sony eReader, DRM and Literacy

eBooks have been a hot topic this week. Much news about the Sony change in strategy and what it means for the Kindle. I have had a hard time getting this piece together. . . for some reason (probably the heat), I am having a difficult time thinking, much less getting inspired or passionate. But here goes. . .

The Sony eBook Reader now reads Adobe Digital editions eBooks!

Last week Sony announced a new way of thinking. It came in the form of a software (firmware) release. In what appears to be a direct challenge to the Amazon Kindle, Sony opened up the Sony eBook Reader so that their owners can buy from other retail outlets.

Until now, the only way to read a copy protected (DRM) eBook on the Sony was to buy a book in the Sony store. sony prc 505 Not true anymore. The latest update allows the Sony reader to handled protected Adobe files and any of the ePub formatted files.

For those who wonder, the ePub format is the new standard proposed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. The IDPF has spent a lot of time developing this "universal" standard as a way to eliminate the confusion caused by many proprietary formats.

I am thrilled that to be able to welcome Sony eBook owners to the eBooks About Everything store!

A few words about DRM

In the beginning, Sony and Amazon created their eBooks with proprietary reading software. If you owned a Sony you could only buy books from Sony. If you own a Kindle you can only buy a book from Amazon.

The lack of a standard eBook format has been even more hampered by the way publishers think about copy protection and their decision to use Digital Right Management.

Make no mistake, I am NOT a fan of DRM, but as a bookseller I am more or less forced into selling DRM protected books. The publishers insist that it will protect their intellectual property and prevent piracy. SO if I want to sell the latest titles from the big publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster or Harper Collins I have no choice.

Most books in the eBooks About Everything store are offered in four formats -- adobe digital editions, palm eReader, MSReader and Mobipocket. Very cumbersome!

At least 95% of our customer support issues are related to DRM! That is a lot of time and energy.

microsoft-piracy-softwareAs much as it might pain me, I agree with Bill Gates about piracy. It is inevitable and probably helps more than hurts:

"And as long as they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade. . . They'll get addicted and we will collect."

The music industry has finally given in; it will be interesting to see how long the publishing industry holds out.

The New York Times and Literacy in the Digital Agenytlogo153x23

The Sunday edition of the New York Times has an excellent piece on literacy in the Digital Age: Literacy Debate: R U Really Reading.

This is an excellent piece on the pros and cons of digital reading and the largely generational divide in attitudes about literacy and online reading. Highly recommended!

Friday, July 25, 2008

The Beach House eBook edition

imageIt is probably a good thing that the words Jane Green are so huge and that the words The Beach House is so small. After all, The Beach House is a very popular name for a book -- seems we have one every year. The last one I read was by James Patterson. Trust me on this, Patterson and Green are worlds apart in how they pay homage to a beach house!

This Beach House is the perfect "chick lit" beach read. Or at least it should be.

Personally, I found the writing style annoying. I would be reading along about Bea and all of the sudden the next paragraph is talking about Michael. Huh??? The disconnect jarred me out of the story line and stopped me cold for a few seconds. This definitive lack of transitions made the entire book less enjoyable than it should have been. Strike One: Writing Style

The plot centers on Nan and her big decrepit house on Nantucket. That sentence may tell it all. But in case you need more, here we go. One summer she decides to rent rooms in her house as a way of bringing in a little extra cash. Before long she has two borders and her son moved in. These people are shallow, flat and basically non-sympatric. The behave in bizarre ways and I found it hard to care about any of them (for any reason). Strike Two: Characters

And then there is the matter of the plot. If you haven't figured it out by the second chapter it is because you were to interrupted by the choppy writing style. It is contrived, unbelievable and predictable. To say it is thin, would be generous. Strike Three: Plot

This book is a major disappointment. Jane Green has been writing for a long time. Her books have never been great literature or anything like it. But she has always delivered entertaining, light fiction that is enjoyable and fun to read. I have no idea what happened here!

I guess this is one of those cases that when you have written enough books (we have nine other in the store) you can get away with writing any crap thing and it will still get published. I must say, however, that as a publisher Penguin generally does a much better job filtering out inferior work.

As much as I disliked it, however, I must confess that I did read it from beginning to end. I wonder what that says about me??

At any rate, here is the publisher's description:

The perfect title for the perfect beach read.

Author Jane Green is one of the preeminent authors of women’s fiction today, and with each new novel, her audience grows. Green’s avid and loyal fans follow her because she writes about the true-to-life dilemmas of women—and The Beach House will not disappoint.M

Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn’t care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn’t she skinny dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes.

So Nan takesout an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside-down.

Jane Green’s novels Second Chance and To Have and to Hold were New York Times bestsellers. Swapping Lives, The Other Woman, Bookends, and Babyville all appeared on The New York Times extended bestseller list for hardcover fiction. Jane was recently awarded the Fun Fearless Fiction Award by Cosmopolitan magazine.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Discounted eBooks - July 23, 2008

ebook logo

Biography, Finance and Religion are the popular non-fcition titles this week For fiction we have romance and mystery; how fun is that?!

Use coupon code B2J8G at checkout to get your discount on these great titles.
eBook cover
Life with My Sister Madonna eBook edition
by Ciccone, Christopher
Madonna up close, by the brother who knows her better than anyone. Christopher Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his forty-seven years of growing up with, working with, and understanding the most famous woman of our time, who has intrigued, scandalized, and entertained millions for half a century. Only Christopher can tell the full scale, riveting untold story. . .
More Info
List Price : $17.99
Your price $15.38 (Using your 10% discount and $ .81 points in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Wicked as Sin eBook Edition
by: Hunter, Jillian
Handsome cavalry officer Sir Gabriel Boscastle returns from Waterloo a hero, only to resume his pursuit of forbidden pleasures in London. . . The beautiful and solitary Lady Alethea is seemingly still mourning for her fiancĂ©, who died in battle. But beneath her shield of feigned sorrow, she hides an unspeakable secret–one that could destroy her reputation forever.
More Info
List Price : $6.99
Your price $5.98 (Using your 10% discount and $ .31 iin eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Profit from the Peak: The End of Oil and the Greatest Investment Event of the Century s eBook edition
by Hicks, Brian, Nelder, Chri
This book is a clearly written, succinct, and well-referenced summary of information about, and related to, what I believe will be the most important issue to strike Western civilization ever: the end of cheap oil. It is clear to me that how we make investments over the next few decades will determine whether we can survive the end of cheap oil and in what fashion
More Info
List Price : $l27.95
Your price $23.90 (Using your 10% discount and $1.26 in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
The Paper Moon eBook edition
by: Camilleri, Andrea
The moody Inspector Montalbano is further beset by the existential questions that have been plaguing him of late. But he doesn't have much time to wax philosophical before the gruesome murder of a man-shot at point-blank range in the face with his pants down-commands his attention.
More Info
List Price : $13.00
Your price $11.70 (Using your 10% discount and $ .59 in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Divine Hours eBook edition
by: Tickle, Phyllis
The third and final book in the set, Prayers for Springtime, provides prayers, psalms, and readings for this season associated with rebirth. Compact, with deluxe endpapers, it is perfect for those seeking greater spiritual depth
More Info
List Price : $12.95
Your price $11.07 (Using your 10% discount and $ .58 in eBook Reward points)

Our guarantee: If you have bought one of these titles from eBooks About in the last 15 days -- we will gladly offer you a rebate on the book; just contact us

Monday, July 21, 2008

eBooks About Everything is proud to be a Commercial Sponsor of the 3rd Annual World eBook Fair.

world ebook fair 3

Doesn't seem possible that a year has gone by -- and yet, here it is again -- The World eBook Fair!

This year the theme is "Own Your Own Library".  And with a little time and patience you could, indeed, download a library of books to keep you busy reading for a lifetime!

The Fair keeps growing.  Last year it opened with over 666,000 downloadable, free titles.  This year there are over 1,000,000!

The 2008 Fair showcases contributions by 100-plus eLibraries from around the world.  There are books in every imaginable format and in over 100 languages.

The World eBook Fair is the brain child of Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg. Michael is the Godfather of eBooks.  He started Project Gutenberg in 1971 to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. His idea was really simple -- provide as many free eBooks in as many formats as possible for the entire world to read in as many languages as possible. Today Project Gutenberg has over 100,000 books available for download as well as Audio Books and digitized sheet music. 

While Michael is he founder of Project Gutenberg, the site has grown because of dedicated volunteers.  Thousands of people have converted text and proofread each file.  And  you are the ultimate beneficiary since you can download them all for free.

The latest addition to the Project Gutenberg site is their Wiki.  Check it out and offer your insights and reviews. Or better yet -- Donate your time and money.

I suppose that when the Fair talks about owning your own library this is NOT what they had in mind:

image

This amazing picture showed up on Boing Boing last week and was posted by Cory Doctorow.  Evidently when it comes to books, there is no end of creativity in this world!

I love this picture!  To do it full justice you need to go to the site and take a good look.

Go visit Project Gutenberg, download a few classics and spread the word!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of Its Own eBook edition

A few years ago, back when gas was less than $2.00 per gallon, Henri and I seriously considered buying an RV or bus and taking the great American road trip.

We ultimately decided against it, but a part of me always wondered what it would have been like. 

I don't need to wonder anymore thanks to Queen of the RoadDoreen and Tim have done it (for me and countless others).  Not only have they done it, the did it better than I could have even imagined!

The story starts with leaving Boulder, Colorado and takes you through one year and 48 states; laughing all the way.  Doreen chronicles the strange and wonderful characters they meet, the sights they see and the breakdowns, malfunctions and other misadventures of life on the road. 

This is a wonderful travel book.  Full of meticulous details about places like Savannah, Key West and Alaska.  Her keen eye and descriptive powers make you feel like you are there.

To classify it merely as a travel book, however, would be a travesty.  Yes, it takes place on the road.  Yes, they travel and have adventures all over the country.  But somehow the travel on the bus morphs into a journey of self discovery and re-evaluation of what is important in life.  So maybe it is a self help book.

Alternatively, this is the story of a love and marriage.  Doreen and Tim approach each other with respect, love and great humor.  Their ability to negotiate their differences is impressive.  I learned a thing or two about communication.

However you finally decide to classify this book is probably not important.  What is important is that this is a vastly entertaining, laugh out loud funny, wise and surprisingly thoughtful book.

The perfect remedy for rising gas prices, summer heat and taking a "staycation" this year.  I can't image anyone who would not enjoy it!

The publisher says:

A pampered Long Island princess hits the road in a converted bus with her wilderness-loving husband, travels the country for one year, and brings it all hilariously to life in this offbeat and romantic memoir.

Doreen and Tim are married psychiatrists with a twist: She’s a self-proclaimed Long Island princess, grouchy couch potato, and shoe addict. He's an affable, though driven, outdoorsman. When Tim suggests “chucking it all” to travel cross-country in a converted bus, Doreen asks, “Why can’t you be like a normal husband in a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?” But she soon shocks them both, agreeing to set forth with their sixty-pound dog, two querulous cats—and no agenda—in a 340-square-foot bus.

Queen of the Road is Doreen’s offbeat and romantic tale about refusing to settle; about choosing the unconventional road with all the misadventures it brings (fire, flood, armed robbery, and finding themselves in a nudist RV park, to name just a few). The marvelous places they visit and delightful people they encounter have a life-changing effect on all the travelers, as Doreen grows to appreciate the simple life, Tim mellows, and even the pets pull together. Best of all, readers get to go along for the ride through forty-seven states in this often hilarious and always entertaining memoir, in which a boisterous marriage of polar opposites becomes stronger than ever.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

eBook Discounts for July 16, 2008

ebook logo

This week you choose a variety of books that defy a neat one sentence description. We guarantee that you'll enjoy them!

Use coupon A9JG4 at checkout to get your discount on these titles.
eBook cover
Just Do It eBook edition
by Brown, Douglas
Just Do It is an exciting and hilarious story about a busy couple taking the time to put the passion back into their marriage. It's a fantastic read--very funny, and a touching story. I hope this inspires everyone to rediscover the intimacy in their relationships
More Info
List Price : $21.95
Your price $16.98 (Using your 10% discount and $ .89 points in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
How to be Single eBook Edition
by: Tuccillo, Liz
It's the most annoying question and they just can't help asking you. You'll be asked it at family gatherings, weddings, and on first dates. And you'll ask yourself far too often. It's the question that has no good answer. It's the question that when people stop asking it, makes you feel even worse: Why are you single?
More Info
List Price : $17.99
Your price $15.38 (Using your 10% discount and $ .81 in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Desigend to Last eBook edition
by: Edlund, Dr. Matthew
Weight loss gurus have preached to the obese for years: "Diet and Exercise!" Dr. Edlund has found a powerful, but very simple, method to take that routine one step further - giving us a far more effective way to get and stay healthy. Drawing on his extensive experience as a Circadian Medicine expert, Edlund wants us to adopt his Food-Activity-Rest paradigm
More Info
List Price : $6.99
Your price $5.98 (Using your 10% discount and $ .31 in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao eBook edition
by Diaz, Junot
Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love.
More Info
List Price : $24.95
Your price $21.33 (Using your 10% discount and $1.12 in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Rice Cooker Meals: Fast Home Cooking for Busy People eBook edition
by: Bertrand, Neal
Rice Cooker Meals: Fast Home Cooking for Busy People contains 60 quick and easy meals you can make in a rice cooker, most in 30 minutes or less. Enjoy delicious, multicultural recipes that are less expensive and healthier than fast food. Includes Mexican, Italian, Tex-Mex and Cajun recipes!
More Info
List Price : $9.95
Your price $8.51 (Using your 10% discount and $ .45 in eBook Reward points)

Our guarantee: If you have bought one of these titles from eBooks About in the last 15 days -- we will gladly offer you a rebate on the book; just contact us

Monday, July 14, 2008

The Future of Digital Reading? The Scroll!

Henri watched the video from last week and then came across this story in the New York Times:

One new mobile device, the Readius, designed mainly for reading books, magazines, newspapers and mail, is the size of a standard cellphone. Flip it open, though, and a screen tucked within the housing opens to a 5-inch diagonal display. The screen looks just like a liquid crystal display, but can bend so flexibly that it can wrap around a finger.


That started him thinking!


Scrolls and scholars and scribes, oh my! The world of books is starting to wend its way back into the future. Pre paper and even pre printing press most of the books in the world were written by hand on sheets of something, typically vellum made from lambskin, that rolled up easily and stored well called a scroll.
The world of computing has a notebook that can use a voice based interface or can be written on directly by a stylus. The next generation will have screens that roll up into the small device which holds their memory and communications technologies. The Scroll is on the way back. One big difference is that the whole library at Alexandria would fit into the chip that will store all of the data residing on the device.

Older people, like me, can hardly comprehend a world in which my personal digital assistant can read to me, take dictation and manage all of myreading and writing needs. Gigi tells me that it can be done.

By the time I catch up, I am sure that the roll-up screen will be more ubiquitous than massive CRT monitors once were. You remember them, they used to reside on our desks and dispense data and eyestrain with their big ugly screens, green letters and not an image in sight! Well maybe you don't remember them; you are probably a lot younger than I. But I remember them all too well.

Several types of new roll-able technologies are vying for a piece of the thin roll-up screen market. This will be a piece of the next e-reader revolution that will eventually resonate throughout the whole computing market.

eInk, OLED, (organic light emitting diodes printed on plastic) and other technical solutions will all be tried. What will eventually emerge looks like it might be an interesting variation on the original book, the scroll.

Whatever it turns out to be, it will not very likely resemble any prior solution to reading needs. It will, no doubt, be infinitely better than the current tiny screens with their even tinier keyboards found on our cell phones.

The wonder of it all! Soon our computing and communication needs will be met by devices that are the size of a large pen. With the advent of that technology one can only hope that the interface that connects directly to the human brain will not be far behind.

Otherwise our public places will be full of people talking not to one another but to their PDA's and other devices. That might be too annoying to be bourn even by a technology addict like my wife.

Friday, July 11, 2008

The Secret History of the American Empire eBook edition

This week Henri give us an analysis of his "light" weekend reading with a review of John Perkins' The Secret History of the American EmpireHe calls it

      John Perkins and Caesar

If you have ever wondered what it was like to live in the time of Christ you may have been interested enough to read a little of the history of the Roman Empire. Imperial might reached its longest lasting pinnacle in recorded human history starting around that time. The might of that empire has long faded but its works still are visible over much of the Continent where it was born. Is this Republic going the way of the Roman Republic which preceded the Empire? Are we becoming a modern version of Rome?

I think it is unlikely after reading several books promoting that point of view. Most of them were thoughtful and insightful but it is a false premise that defines their argument. In the power of the corporations that define our economic empire, if the word even fits this model, there is a whole new thing altering the face of this planet. Whether the corporate model should be used in building a human social and economic system, and whether it is good or evil, remains to be seen. What is clearly true is that it is not built on either the Roman model or even the colonial model of the British Empire. Imperial power is less the issue than raw economic force in this world.

John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" and his new book, The Secret History of the American Empire, comes down on the side of the argument that points out the evils in the system. While it would be impossible to argue about the evils of some of the actions he writes about it is also hard to swallow whole the imperial construct he sees operating here.

I give this latest book a good rating because it could wake up a few people who have not traveled extensively in the poorer nations. The argument that we as a nation are the author of much of the misery that is engendered there is even easy to follow. But that argument is erroneous in that it is ascribing the power to the USA to alter that piece of the world very much for the better or worse by manipulating corporations. Those corporations are manipulating every government on earth at this point in history. Ours is no exception. The difference here is that we can take back our power over our government if we are willing to pay the attention to politics that such an act requires.

The issue of Imperial power versus corporate power needs to be addressed in every nation on earth. The power of corporate interests transcends any nation state's power in the world we live in today. We started forming governments to protect us from the tribe down the block as much as any one thing. If there were any litanies being said today they might include the plea to God, "From the power of the corporate raiders oh Lord deliver us." Part of the financial mess in this country is due to the chaos engendered by diverse corporate interests hijacking our government and using it as a tool for increasing their power.

I do recommend this latest book and hope that it doesn't depress you too much. It has that capacity but it also makes some good points and has some honest statements about the perversion of power and the capacity to create wealth when it is not used for the benefit of humanity. Do read it if you have the stomach it requires.

The Publishers' analysis follows:

Riveting expose of international corruption-and what we can do about it, from the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list. In his stunning memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins detailed his former role as an "economic hit man" in the international corporate skullduggery of a de facto American Empire. This riveting, behind-the-scenes expose unfolded like a cinematic blockbuster told through the eyes of a man who once helped shape that empire.

Now, in The Secret History of the American Empire, Perkins zeroes in on hot spots around the world and, drawing on interviews with other hit men, jackals, reporters, and activists, examines the current geopolitical crisis. Instability is the norm: It's clear that the world we've created is dangerous and no longer sustainable. How did we get here? Who's responsible? What good have we done and at what cost? And what can we do to change things for the next generations? Addressing these questions and more, Perkins reveals the secret history behind the events that have created the American Empire, including: * The current Latin-American revolution and its lessons for democracy * How the "defeats" in Vietnam and Iraq benefited big business * The role of Israel as "Fortress America" in the Middle East * Tragic repercussions of the IMF's "Asian Economic Collapse" * U.S. blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela * Jackal (CIA operatives) forays to assassinate democratic presidents.

From the U.S. military in Iraq to infrastructure development in Indonesia, from Peace Corps volunteers in Africa to jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes a conspiracy of corruption that has fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe. Alarming yet hopeful, this book provides a compassionate plan to reimagine our world.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Discounted eBooks - July 9, 2008

ebook logo

This week for your reading pleasure: Fathers, Women, Real Men, Vampires and Hackers. Now that is a LOT to enjoy!

Use coupoun code DH59Y at checkout to get your discount this week.
eBook cover
Wisdom of Our Fathers eBook edition
by Russert, Tim
After the publication of Tim Russert’s number one New York Times bestseller about his father, Big Russ & Me, he received an avalanche of letters from daughters and sons who wanted to tell him about their own fathers, most of whom were not superdads or heroes but ordinary men who were remembered and cherished for some of their best moments–of advice, tenderness, strength, honor, discipline, and occasional eccentricity. . . Heartfelt, humorous, engaging, irresistibly readable, and bound to bring back memories of unforgettable moments with our own fathers.
More Info
List Price : $9.95
Your price $7.66 (Using your 10% discount and $.40 points in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
As Good As It Got eBook Edition
by Sharpe, Isabel
Ann Redding has taken every lousy thing life has thrown at her and handled it very well, thank you very much. All she wants is to get her life back on track...but that won't happen till she makes her worried family and friends back off by spending two weeks at Camp Kinsonu, a retreat for suddenly single women. Now she's stuck sitting around a campfire, singing "I Am Woman" with a bunch of sandal-clad, makeup-boycotting women. If she doesn't get out of there soon, they'll be sizing her for Birkenstocks.
More Info
List Price : $10.95
Your price $9.36 (Using your 10% discount and $ .36 iin eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Honor Few, Fear None eBook edition
by: by Cavazos, Ruben
When Ruben "Doc" Cavazos changes his clothes at daybreak, he is no longer a CAT scan technician at the University of Southern California Medical Center. He becomes the man known—and, in a few special cases, feared—as Doc, international president of the Mongols, the fastest-growing and most closely watched organization of its kind in the United States. In reality, the Mongols are a tightly knit band of brothers devoted in equal measure to the club, their fellow Mongols, and their freedom.
More Info
List Price : $19.95
Your price $17.06 (Using your 10% discount and $ .90 in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Sucker Bet eBook edition
by: McCarthy, Erin
The national bestselling author of Bled Dry returns to vampire-filled Las Vegas! A night of indulgence can feel like an eternity. Gwenna Carrick has a history-900 years of it. As the vampiress ex-wife of the notorious vampire Roberto Donatelli, she must keep a low profile. Not easy when you're bathed in the neon glow of Las Vegas-
More Info
List Price : $14.00
Your price $11.97 (Using your 10% discount and $ .63 in eBook Reward points)
eBook cover
Hacking Googlemaps & Googleear eBook edition
by: Brown, Martin C.
This one-of-a-kind resource contains 500 pages of jaw-dropping hacks, mods, and customizations. These include creating mashups with data from other sources such as Flickr, building a space station tracker, hacking Maps with Firefox PiggyBank, and building a complete community site with Maps and Earth
More Info
List Price : $29.99
Your price $25.94 (Using your 10% discount and $1.35 in eBook Reward points)

Our guarantee: If you have bought one of these titles from eBooks About in the last 15 days -- we will gladly offer you a rebate on the book; just contact us

Monday, July 7, 2008

Book Technology: the movie

Either some virus got me or I had too much 4th of July (not sure which) so today's post is short and simple.

A friend sent me this marvelous video about book technology that is very worth watching.  Enjoy!

 



The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

The Girl I Left Behind eBook Edition

The Girl I Left Behind is a perfect counterpoint to the Wednesday SistersI hadn't planned it this way.  But overnight I moved seamlessly from the fictional 60s to the non-fictional version.

Judith Nies' memoir is the story of her transformation from a naive small town girl to an worldly aware women.  It is part coming of age story, part travelogue and part history lesson.  It is a report from the front lines from someone who lived it.

Neis captures the essence of the other sixties.  Not the "sex, drugs and rock and roll" variety.  She portrays in detail the political transformation of a generation. 

She weaves together the stories of the cold war, the CIA and the FBI into the fabric of civil rights marches, Vietnam war teach-ins and women's sit ins.  She tells of government secrecy and downright lies.  She talks of old boy's clubs and class in America.

Her stories of working on Capitol Hill in the late sixties bring some of the pivotal players of that time into sharp focus.  They are all on display from Congressman Burton of California to Daniel Ellsburg; from Senator Fulbright to Gloria Stienem. She even manages to compare and contrast the political climate of 1964 and 2004.

She graphically reminds of us of why "The Political is Personal".

This is very much the story of women.  Women and their quest for educations and votes.  Women seeking equal access to and opportunity in the workplace.  The fight for viable health care, birth control and child care. It is the story of women in the 20th century with a straight line from the suffragettes to NOW.  Unfortunately,  many of these stories have have been forgotten. It is important that we remember them and that we honor the brave women who tirelessly worked to ensure that women today have a measure of equality.

Most young women of today take it for granted that a women can vote.  They never question the idea that they can choose a career and be taken seriously in the workplace. Most young girls don't even question the "right" to play sports or have equal access to public accommodations.  Thankfully, most young women do not really understand institutionalized sexual harassment. 

And for all of that, women are too often judged by their appearance, and faced with conflicting demands about who and what they should be.

We've come a long way, baby . . . and we still have a long, long way to go!

Here is the publishers synopsis:

At the height of the Vietnam War protests, twenty-eight-year-old Judith Nies and her husband lived a seemingly idyllic life. Both were building their respective careers in Washington—Nies as the speechwriter and chief staffer to a core group of antiwar congressmen, her husband as a Treasury department economist. They lived in the carriage house of the famed Marjorie Merriweather Post estate. But when her husband brought home a list of questions from an FBI file with Judith's name on the front, Nies soon realized that her life was about to take a radical turn. Shocked to find herself the focus of an FBI investigation into her political activities, Nies began to reevaluate her role as grateful employee and dutiful wife. In The Girl I Left Behind, she chronicles the experiences of those women who, like herself, reinvented their lives in the midst of a wildly shifting social and political landscape.

In a fresh, candid look at the 1960s, Nies pairs illuminating descriptions of feminist leaders, women's liberation protests, and other pivotal social developments with the story of her own transformation into a staunch activist and writer. From exposing institutionalized sexism on Capitol Hill in her first published article to orchestrating the removal of a separate "Ladies Gallery" on the House floor to taking leadership of the Women in Fellowships Committee, Nies discusses her own efforts to enlarge women's choices and to change the workplace—and how the repercussions of those efforts in the sixties can still be felt today.

A heartfelt memoir and piercing social commentary, The Girl I Left Behind recounts one woman's courageous journey toward independence and equality. It also evaluates the consequences of the feminist movement on the same women who made it happen—and on the daughters born in their wake.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

eBook Discount: Take an EXTRA 20% Discount on all New York Times Best Selling Fiction!

nytimes fiction Summer is here!

For those of us in the US it is a long Independence Day holiday weekend. 
As far as I can tell, the VERY BEST holiday weekend imaginable will be spent on the beach with a good book.
So -- here is your chance to get as many of these NY Times best selling Fiction titles for 20% off.
Use Coupon Code J408 at checkout to get your discount!
New York Times Best Sellers are always discounted 10% and with coupon you will get a full 30% off on these great titles!
Happy Reading!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Henri's Lament: The Death of the Sunday Morning Bookstore Run

Gigi and I used to go to the bookstore nearly every Sunday morning.

Obviously, we both read a lot. The biggest hour in our week was spent browsing the shelves of whatever bookstore we chose on that particular Sunday. That morning period was something we looked forward to with great anticipation on most weeks of the year.

Now it is over! She reads eBooks, and thinks that I am still stuck in the past.

I still get to the bookstore; I’ve been doing that since found out that I could buy a book in the used paperback store on Lake street in Minneapolis for a dime, back in the 1950’s. I haunt the used stores and the new stores whenever I can, but it’s not the same.

The used book stores are going now, disappearing every day. I went back to one last week and it was gone. So was the owner, disappeared into the past like the onsite book trade is threatening to these days. The new stores are not far behind. Some great ones have fallen in the last two years, in New York, Boston, Pasadena and San Francisco to name just a few places where I have lost old friends.

Sure I can use the Internet. I buy books there occasionally, but I still like the feel and smell of a real bookstore. Gigi on the other hand could care less; she buys all of her books eBooks About Everything.  At least it pays for her books and mine and a usually a little more. We started it on a whim and it has grown into a real, if small, Internet business.

But I don’t want to read eBooks!!!!!!! I don’t want to buy from Amazon.com or any of the other stores on the Internet that are demolishing the bookstores that I still frequent!!!! I am the man without hope because the way of life that brought me so much joy is disappearing. In every town I ever visited someone used to make a decent living selling books. New books, used books, great books, awful books and every kind in between were all available in those stores.

Too much joy and pain passed through my mind that was carried by the books I purchased in those stores for me to ever want to give them up for something on the Internet. The Internet cannot convey the smell and feel of walking into a different store with the dream of discovering a new author or an unread tome by a favorite writer.

An now, added to that, I am in mourning most of all for all of those wonderful Sunday mornings with my lovely wife spent together searching for books to read on a lazy summer afternoon.

Google
 

Subscribe Now: Feed Icon