Certified Pre-Owned NOOK Wi-Fi and NOOK 3G Wi-Fi bargains at Barnes & Noble

Certified Pre-Owned NOOK Wi-Fi and NOOK 3G Wi-Fi - Barnes & Noble

$149 for 3G+WiFi and $119 for WiFi. Thats a savings of $50 and $30 respectively. Decent bargain if your're giving it as a gift to a non-techincal person: includes 1 year warranty and good phone and online support.

2010 World Fantasy Award Winners - The City & The City by China Miéville

Announcing the 2010 World Fantasy Award Winners at Tor.com:

The World Fantasy Awards have been given annually since 1975, to fantasy authors the world over, and are announced every year, appropriately, at the World Fantasy Awards Convention, which is being held in Columbus, Ohio this year. Nominees are selected by a group of judges, composed this year of Greg Ketter, Kelly Link, Jim Minz, Jürgen Snoeren, and Gary K. Wolfe.

NOVEL
* WINNER: The City & The City by China Miéville (Macmillan UK / Del Rey)
* Blood of Ambrose by James Enge (Pyr)
* The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
* Finch by Jeff VanderMeer (Underland Press)
* In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield (Jonathan Cape UK/Del Rey)

Follow the link for the rest of the winners.

The more time that passes since I read The City & The City the less I am impressed... in that it left no lasting emotional impression. The book's excellence lies in the originality of the concept of the two cities and the skill demonstrated by Miéville in making this world so totally believable.

Note to self: pick up  Finch by Jeff VanderMeer. City of Saints and Madmen was a roller-coaster ride of tentacular proportion. Cannot make a mistake by reading more VanderMeer.

Hugo Nominees: 1955 | Tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts

Hugo Nominees: 1955 | Tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts:

"There’s a kind of a trick fannish trivial pursuit question which is “Which is the worst book ever to win the Hugo?” The answer is They’d Rather Be Right, by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley, 1955’s winner. I don’t know if the book deserves this reputation because I have not read it, because when absolutely everybody tells me that the jar contains marmelade all the way down, I don’t feel compelled to take the lid off. I have never heard a good word for this book"

The gauntlet has been thrown down and I must pick it up. I've got some library books on my plate right now so I'll probably get to it in a few weeks.

It’s Simple: ePub is Open, Except When It’s Wrapped in DRM, And Then It’s Not - Unwrap the Fish

It’s Simple: ePub is Open, Except When It’s Wrapped in DRM, And Then It’s Not | Publishing In the 21st Century

Looking back at an August post on E-reads reminded me to take another look at this issue.

Search for "strip drm epub" in google and you would be inept if you can't figure out how to unwrap the epub from the DRM wrapper. This is, of course, moving to the Dark Side. If you are want backup copies of books you own, want to transfer them to another e-reader, or feel that DRM is an insult to your sense of justice (buy an e-book for the same price as a hardcover and you are only "renting" it?) then you may want to investigate further.

Entourage Pocket Edge reveals itself on the Home Shopping Network for $399

Entourage Pocket Edge reveals itself on the Home Shopping Network -- Engadget

Its heartening that the Pocket Edge is on sale for $399, down $100 from the regular $499. I like the clamshell e-ink/LCD combination and the WACOM pen-able screen is great for document markup. I think they sckimped a bit on the LCD side: better touchscreen sensitivity would have been good. Haptic response would have been ideal for the times you wanted to sit it up sideways like a netbook and do some serious typing.

Out of my price range, but maybe it'll show up on HSN next X-mas for $299.

Maybe it'll be Easter.

WTF with Marc Maron - POW! Best Podcast Ever.

IMO Marc Maron has the best podcast out there. I've listened to about 30 of the 1-hour WTF episodes and every hour was time well spent. The intensity he brings to his interviews is balanced out by his candor and honesty (and humor--the solo bits he does at the beginning and end of the show--hawking his sponsors and begging for donations--are sometimes the funniest parts of the episode). Ira Glass's blog post highlights some of the outstanding interviews: Louis CK, Jud Appatow, Robin Williams, Ben Stiller--as well as the infamous Carlos Mencia interviews.

He gets comedians to really open up. He uses his own stand-up cred and shared history and issues in the business to draw out thoughtful, frank and often hilariously funny stories. The Ray Romano episode really shows how Marc can draw out a "mainstream" comedian into a serious, funny and adult conversation.

I just saw Marc on CNN as a guest on what looks like comedian Peter Dominic's new "What The Week" spot. An homage to Maron? Marc didn't look too upset. Hopefully it indicates that his podcasts are giving him the greater visibility that will lead to bigger and better things.

Podcasts can be downloaded as mp3 from his site for free. Buy/donate what you can. We do not want to see this go away.

Best Advertisement for coffee ever: (sip) POW! I've just shit myself! 

Augen “The Book” – $90 is cheaper than $99

Augen “The Book” – Yet another new eReader for us to relish – and cheap too!!! | eBookAnoid

One of the cheapest color readers out there. So-so hardware quality but for the price it can't be beat. I'd like to see what the hackers can do with it.
No touchscreen, but for if you are writing paragraphs of stuff then a keyboard is probably the best bet. Neither methods are particularly fast.

No idea what Canadian availability is like, but then again I'm not that interested.

#2 in Top 5 List of Best Debut Sci Fi Books by New Novel Writers - How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

Top 5 List of Best Debut Sci Fi Books by New Novel Writers

"How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Super funny novel about a son’s search for his father in time and space."

Note to self: grab this book soonish. I haven't read a time travel book in a while and this on is supposed to be both funny and a fresh take on the concept of time travel and its consequences.

Elonex eTouch Android tablet for just 90 Pounds | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News

Elonex eTouch Android tablet for just £90 | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News

Looks good. Maybe big sales in UK will lead to North American Sales.

Book Review - Keys to The Kingdom (7 book series) by Garth Nix

A young timid boy stumbles upon a key that leads him into a series of adventures that both takes seven days and spans all of space and time. Arthur Penhaligon must travel through seven kingdoms to collect seven keys (giving him greater power) and seven parts to the will left by the Great Architect of All (greater knowledge). Arthur is pushed forwards, at various times through the series, by motives both high and low, from protecting his friends and family (and the world) to gaining power improve his own lot in life and claim his 'inheritance'.

This Young Adult series has a strong Judeo-Christian theme running through the series. God and the Satan are major characters and angels and demons abound. Along with the seven days of the week there are seven virtues and seven sins that are incorporated into the story line. For all that, the books are not preachy and mix fantastic realms as a backdrop for a set of great adventures. The only thing missing was ninjas.

1. Mister Monday

Arthur finds a key to a mysterious house. He learns that the Great Architect has disappeared and left her 'living' Will to seven Trustees. The trustees decide to ignore the Will and take control of the Kingdom (of which Earth is a minor sub-realm). Control is vested in seven keys. Arthur learns that he is apparently the Heir to the Architect and expected to wrest control of the keys from the trustees and execute the will. Mister Monday is first.

2. Grim Tuesday

Arthur's family is in great danger and there's no going back, as much as Arthur wishes it would all go away. Arthur learns more about the House, the challenges he will face even if he can defeat Tuesday, and the ultimate peril that can end his race to collect all the keys.

3. Drowned Wednesday

This time its pirates. Lady Wednesday is not so much the opponent that Monday and Tuesday were, as she is a dangerous force of nature that needs to be solved. As the mystery of the House unfolds before him Arthur realizes that he is involved in something more complicated than a treasure hunt.

Each story brings a new world, virtue acquired or understood, and a new "sin" to face. After pirates will it be Ninjas next?

4. Sir Thursday

Arthur goes to war. He is separated from his friends and his own past as he is drafted into the Glorious Army of the Architect. His "real" world friend Leaf must destroy his evil doppelganger while he fights his way through basic training and the ever-growing threat from the chaos from outside.

5. Lady Friday

Mirror mirror on the wall... Arthur is on his own again and his friends are in peril as chaos threatens to overwhelm the kingdom. The House is itself in peril and Saturday (and Sunday) are already actively opposing Arthur. Instead of direct confrontation Arthur's must deal with an offer from Lady Friday that is hard to refuse.

6. Superior Saturday

Saturday is the top dog and Lord Sunday is not playing the game, giving Saturday his proxy. Arthur faces his greatest challenge as he comes to realize he cannot match Saturday's sorcerous power power, even with all the power of the first five key at his service. Even the Will can no longer be trusted. Will even the sixth Key be enough to defeat Saturday?

7. Lord Sunday

The seven Keys come together and the Will is complete but not everything is as it seems. The Kingdom is never going to be the same again... or is it? Arthur will never be the same again... or will he? The epic adventure of Arthur Penhaligon is comes to an end.

Libraries Say 'No DRM'; Springer Agrees

Libraries Say 'No DRM'; Springer Agrees
Springer Verlag has been doing it right since 2006:

“Libraries buy direct from us and they own the content,” he said. “Once users download content, they can give it out, share, whatever. They own it.” Scottie explained that once libraries have paid for the content, the e-books are available without charge to everyone at these institutions, so there’s no need to repost or redistribute it online. Once the e-book is downloaded from the library, no return is necessary. “Some of our competitors are afraid to do this,” Scottie said, “but we say, free the content.’”

Eking S700 tablet/e-notebook - a review and a blog post

Eking S700 tablet/e-notebook:

"Guangxuntong spent more than two years to research and develop its proprietary handwriting technology. Older handwriting technology requires transforming information into standard font to save. The input speed for this method is slow. Guangxuntong’s original handwriting technology can record writers’ calligraphy completely, support original handwritings and original handwriting storage, and it can help people to write smoothly and record in their original handwriting style. The EKING e-notepad unifies original handwriting technology, computer technology and wireless Internet technology; it has widespread applications in mobile officing fields, including meeting minutes, original handwriting signature, outdoor officing, long-distance document approval, hand-written mails, free hand sketches and so on."

Above is a key excerpt from a detailed review of the new tablet. This is an innovative tablet that, while too expensive for me, is something I'm going to keep a close eye on. This tablet is designed, from the ground up--hardware and software, to do real work and do it efficiently. Hopefully it will embarrass the other tablet makers into giving us products that can be used for something other than the consumption of media.

Below: a blog post. Durrr. I love me iPad.

EKING S700 e-notepad - SlipperyBrick.com:

"The device features resistance touch control and electromagnetic induction touch control, along with 3G connectivity. You get a 7-inch display and Wi-Fi as well. Even a 3-megapixel automatic focus camera. Yeah, I think I’ll go with the iPad just the same, thanks."

Sometimes the shallowness of much of the tech blogging out there gets to me. Of course 99% of my posts resemble the last example. Oh well. No glass houses on the internets.

The hard edge of empire - Charlie Stross is annoyed

The hard edge of empire - Charlie's Diary

Fun stuff. Everyone is jumping on the Steampunk bandwagon and its annoying. Also, promises not to write one.

Note to self: read K. W. Jeter's "Infernal Devices"

French passes law forcing price of ebooks to match pbooks. Butts and champagne.

French government dictates price of ebooks in France – Very odd move. | eBookAnoid:

"Not surprisingly, French publishers have come back at the Government with a degree of anger about this, saying they see no reason why the Government should dictate what they can charge for their products, and point out further, that as this law obviously can only be applied to ebooks sold in France, it will give their international competitors (Amazon, Barnes and Noble and all the myriad other online ebook sellers) an incredible advantage over the poor old French Publishers."

Confusion, despair, outrage, depression, resignation: all appropriate responses to government stupidity. Its France of course, so that kind of takes the issue into the Twilight Zone. Check out the Google translation of the Actualitte (a French opinion magazine) article on the issue. Its all a matter of champagne and butts.

In the interview published in The Tribune yesterday, Herve Gaymard stated that the legislation "the single price of digital books" was mandatory legislation. And primarily "for new players like Google and Amazon know what to expect. These are butt and went to face the resistance of French publishers, they are now obliged to negotiate."

With this law, it is not a negotiation will start. It's just a lock and a final grip by those who already control the market that develops. Sure, Amazon and Google know where they stand: they have even been the champagne.

Sipix sux - bad news for Pandigital Novel and Bookeen Orizon

Sipix make the best screen tech for 2006
First hand opinion of the Sipix screen technology is not flattering.

Even eBookstores Are Doomed ... to change

Even eBookstores Are Doomed:

"In a world that’s decentralized, what could any of them add that couldn’t be added by blogs with affiliate links? How many people today rely on any bookstore for recommendations over, for example, blog reviews or — the gold standard of recommendation — word of mouth?

Consolidation will inevitably fail. Discovery is the business to be in."

Theres some truth to this, but I think that many/most writers are not like Cory Doctorow. Marketing/proofing/distribution/bookkeeping is something they are not good at, mostly because they're not interested in that stuff. eBookstores will likely stick around, as long as they serve authors as much as they serve readers.

Latest Cory Doctorow book is self-published, with a little help from his friends | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Latest Cory Doctorow book is self-published, with a little help from his friends | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home:

"But Doctorow has other goals in mind than just the money he can earn. After the project is completed, he plans to publish his data about the process and its results, to give other potential self-published writers more information to work from. And he notes that since he’s already comfortably well off thanks to the other novels and story collections he’s published, he doesn’t really have to worry about money. “I feel like it’s giving something back to people.”"

Nook color e-reader is not an Android tablet - Its got a job already.

Barnes & Noble's new color e-reader - E-books - Salon.com
A number of article, like the Salon piece, are complaining that the Nook Color is not an open Android Tablet. I think Nook is doing it right. Using Android as the the OS for your hardware is not license to install anything you like (of course it will get a jailbreak immediately, but that's the hackers do). Keep it locked down until Android cleans up its act. In the meantime regular users won't get frustrated trying to download Angry Birds.

Eric Butler - Software Developer in Seattle WA

Eric Butler - Software Developer in Seattle WA

Its not the wireless network at the coffeeshop, its the poor security at the website you are visiting. If you are not using HTTPS/SSL then you password is easily available.

Everyone Seems To Like The Color Nook - $249

The Color Nook Looks Good For $249 - eBookNewser
Nook Color first hands-on! (Updated: with video) -- Engadget
Barnes & Noble Nook Color announced - SlipperyBrick.com

Its a bit pricey for me, but everyone's first impression is pretty favourable. I'll take another look at it next x-mas season when its on sale (or refurbished) for $99.

The Paris Review Now Provides Free Access to All of Its Author Interviews | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

The Paris Review Now Provides Free Access to All of Its Author Interviews | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home
This is the good stuff, folks. A good interview is hard to find.

On Sale: eReaders and Tablets as Low as $99 | The eBook Reader Blog

On Sale: eReaders and Tablets as Low as $99 | The eBook Reader Blog
Walgreen’s now selling $99 Android tablet
Borders now selling the original (not Wi-Fi) Kobo for just $99
As I predicted, decent readers are dropping below $100 as room is made for the newer line of products. Eventually you have to jump in and grab something as the even new products come out.

10 Reasons Kindle Will Fail & Our Misguided Predictions - eBookNewser

10 Reasons Kindle Will Fail & Our Misguided Predictions - eBookNewser

1. It’s big and ugly – it’s no sleek iPhone

1. I wasn’t invited to the launch press and blogger meeting nor is the CN feed included in the device day 1.
2. $399 to have the privilege of then buying books to read on the device? Can I get a Fail Fail?
3. Isn’t reading about the enjoyment of reading?
4. So now I have to carry an iPod and a cell phone and a Kindle?
5. Notice the large laptop bag in the demo video? That’s because this guy has to carry his laptop, his cell phone, his iPod and now his kindle.
6. Be a big hit with the ladies when you whip out your Kindle. "Hey Baby, I read!"
7. It’s the Homer Car - hat tip to Dan Lewis
8. Can it do images or video? If not, how does it deal with books that have images or blogs that have videos? Is it Lynx all over again?
9. Who wants to pay for the Scoble feed? Only if it comes with the whiteboard sessions!

A blast from the past.

New solar e-reader from Toshiba | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News

New solar e-reader from Toshiba | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News:

"Toshiba is going to be releasing soon the Biblio Leaf SP02 e-reader soon. Now if you are thinking “ho hum, yet another new e-reader,” you are in for a surprise!The Biblio Leaf SP02 is among the very few that can derive its power from the sun! It is one of the very first e-readers to be powered by solar energy."

It had to happen eventually. I think all e-readers can be solar powered these days with those external solar-charged battery packs. No way I'm leaving my e-reader sitting on a window sill.

AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review

AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review

New Canadian Science Fiction magazine. Open for submissions.

Christina Hendricks on an endless loop: The glorious GIF renaissance. - By Jonah Weiner - Slate Magazine

Christina Hendricks on an endless loop: The glorious GIF renaissance. - By Jonah Weiner - Slate Magazine

TeleRead E-book Primer Part Two: Formats | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

TeleRead E-book Primer Part Two: Formats | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

A fairly good overview of the various formats common to North American e-readers. The DRM stuff is important to understand (we must understand it if we are to destroy it)

There is more to the ePub story. Its a standard format that is still changing.

Pandigital Novel Personal eReader First Impressions, Availability Updates | The eBook Reader Blog

Pandigital Novel Personal eReader First Impressions, Availability Updates | The eBook Reader Blog:

"The touchscreen functions aren’t as advanced as with Sony’s new Readers—there’s no on-screen note-taking or highlighting for instance—but works well enough for turning pages and making selections."

A deal-breaker for me, but the $130 price (after rebate) is pretty good for 6" and wi-fi.

Inside the Blogosphere: What is your reviewing process? – Grasping for the Wind

Inside the Blogosphere: What is your reviewing process? – Grasping for the Wind

Some good insight into the book review work flow process. Some inspiration too, for when weeks go by without trying to write a review or even take some notes.

Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review

While looking through the lists of various bloggers' lists in Inside the Blogosphere: Best/Most Interesting novels or short story collections since May 2010 from Grasping For The Wind I came across the list from Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review. We matched on 5 out of 7 so of course I am immediately subscribing to his RSS feed. The web is, after all, all about finding sources of information that confirm your own beliefs.
Hope to track this one down to boost the score to 6/7...

Going Bovine by Libba Bray –  The lone YA on the list although Boneshaker could apply as well.  Bray is the female John Hodgman effusing humor and intelligence with a wit not easily matched.

Baen’s free Cryoburn CDROM includes Bujold’s complete Vorkosigan series | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Baen’s free Cryoburn CDROM includes Bujold’s complete Vorkosigan series | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home:

"Baen has published another book with a promotional CDROM pack-in, and (as with all the others) the CDROM is available for free download from the Fifth Imperium Baen CD repository. In either case, the contents are free to share and upload, but cannot be sold. The book is Cryoburn, the latest Miles Vorkosigan novel, and is worthy of mention for a couple of major reasons.

One reason is that it includes (in multiple DRM-free formats) the entirety, start to latest volume, of a smashing good 14-book series, based around the adventures of one of military SF’s most unusual heroes (though the first two books chronologically actually cover his parents)."

This is a fantastic series and including the entire series (DRM free!) with the latest book is guaranteed to bring in more fans. Genius.

PBS Rolls Out Major Expansion Featuring National-Local Integration

PBS Rolls Out Major Expansion Featuring National-Local Integration

comScore rates PBS as the 20th most popular site for video. They show an average viewing time for long-form video of 22 minutes per stream. PBS.org shows an average age of online viewers is 35, vs. an average broadcast viewing age of 62. So, you know. So far, so good.

The average broadcast viewing age is 62? Wow.

Caring about paper - feathers or live chicken?

On Being Divided While Books Are Sliced

Matt Hayler should read Vernor Vinge's Rainbow's End to appreciate the more dangerous aspects of digitizing everything. Vinge's description of an entire library being put through holographic-imaging wood-chippers is quite sobering. More sobering is the prospect of a world where all information is susceptible to change.

The second thing that occurred to me is that "caring about paper" is an emotional attachment to an inanimate object. The belief that there is some special or spiritual status inherent in printed matter is a fetish (non-sexual, for the most part).

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Charles Yu's top 10 time travel books | Books | guardian.co.uk

Charles Yu's top 10 time travel books | Books | guardian.co.uk

15 Coolest Vintage Tech Ads - Oddee.com

15 Coolest Vintage Tech Ads - Oddee.com

Fantasy Book Critic: "Literary Fiction" for SFF Lovers (by Liviu Suciu)

Fantasy Book Critic: "Literary Fiction" for SFF Lovers (by Liviu Suciu)

Hallucina: The Top 10 "Spongebob Squarepants" Lines That Are Perfectly Innocent but Sound Incredibly Filthy Out of Context.

Hallucina: The Top 10 "Spongebob Squarepants" Lines That Are Perfectly Innocent but Sound Incredibly Filthy Out of Context.

Martin Freeman cast as Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit" - Trending - Salon.com

Martin Freeman cast as Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit" - Trending - Salon.com:

"Freeman is best known to Americans for playing Tim Canterbury in the British version of 'The Office.' The character Tim, a mild-mannered salesman who is drolly aware of his job's pointlessness, is the U.K. version of Jim Halpert."

Nook 2 to have color touch interface? | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News

Nook 2 to have color touch interface? | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News:

"Specs wise, the new Nook will have a 7 inch display and is likely to be called Nook Color. Price wise, the Nook Color may retail for $249, which if true will be be a real bargain. More so if the Nook Color’s iPad beating credentials turns out to be true. This will let B&N to tap into the higher market segment, while towards the lower end, it will still have the Nook. Also, with this move, its will mark a change of policy at B&N as they no longer be seen chasing Amazon but is aiming higher and newer pastures."

The price is decent for trying to take a chunk out of the iPad market. I'm more interested in the $100-orbiting e-readers and tablets out there. If the new color Nook can get the same app-crazy cachet as the iPad then the price is well justified and I may be willing to spend the extra bucks.

Sometimes the best book reviews are two sentences long - Austin Grossman - Soon I Will Be Invincible

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: The Magicians (reviewed by Peter V. Brett):

"When I first heard of The Magicians, I was immediately intrigued. Not by the marketing blurb, but by the fact that it was written by Lev Grossman, the brother of Austin Grossman, author of Soon I Will Be Invincible, a book I seriously loved. (Even now, I sometimes think about Dr. Impossible and chuckle to myself.)"

Sometimes the best book reviews are two sentences long and embedded in some other authour's book review.

I've read the first chapter of Soon I Will Be Invincible and I can say that by Lev's brother Austin Grossman is a great read and explores a premise that is both rather unique, funny , and entertaining.

Since it is not a book I want to put down I will probably have a review within a week or two.

Comic book artist finds sales increase after 4chan piracy | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Comic book artist finds sales increase after 4chan piracy | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Interview | Brent Weeks, Author of THE BLACK PRISM | A Dribble of Ink

Interview | Brent Weeks, Author of THE BLACK PRISM | A Dribble of Ink

bookofjoe: Experts' Experts: Top 15 mystery novels of all time

bookofjoe: Experts' Experts: Top 15 mystery novels of all time

Arthur Conan Doyle: "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" (1887-1927)

Dashiell Hammett: "The Maltese Falcon" (1930)

Edgar Allan Poe: "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" (1852)

Josephine Tey: "The Daughter of Time" (1951)

Scott Turow: "Presumed Innocent" (1987)

John le Carré: "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" (1963)

Wilkie Collins: "The Moonstone" (1868)

Raymond Chandler: "The Big Sleep" (1939)

Daphne du Maurier: "Rebecca" (1938)

Agatha Christie: "And Then There Were None" (1939)

Robert Traver: "Anatomy of a Murder" (1958)

Agatha Christie: "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (1926)

Raymond Chandler: "The Long Goodbye" (1953)

James M. Cain: "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1934)

Mario Puzo: "The Godfather" (1969)

Sad to say I've not read any except Sherlock Holmes.

Google Book Search will never have an effective competitor - Boing Boing

Google Book Search will never have an effective competitor - Boing Boing:

"Let's be clear: I'm delighted that Google has figured out a way to bring back orphan works -- I just wish that the Authors Guild and Publishers' Association had the foresight to understand that vesting all this power with one firm (even one I admire as much as Google) was disastrous policy.

I also disagree with the idea that scanning books for the purpose of indexing them is illegal -- making a copy of a copyrighted work in order to generate an index is fair use, and it takes place billions of times every day, as search engines crawl the web (itself made up of largely copyrighted works), doing exactly that."

Google is doing everything in its power to become more powerful. The failure lies with the arrogance of the Authors Guild:

a collection of 10,000 writers who had the gall to negotiate this deal on behalf of every writer, living and dead, all over the world

The failure lies with the US legal system that thinks it has the right to rule on this issue.

Some books that have caught my eye

If Jeff VanderMeer likes it then its probably worth checking out.
Omnivoracious: The Sad, Defiant Beauty of John Vaillant's The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

A well-written book review in that it has strong opinions and backs it up.
Review | THE LAST PAGE by Anthony Huso | A Dribble of Ink

...that genuinely embrace the genre’s roots, but instead of imitating their influences, they set out to create something new, something fresh.
...
Debuts like this don’t come around often, and fans of weird, wonderful Fantasy should be clambering over each other to get their hands on The Last Page

I'm looking for another Urban Fantasy series and this my fit the bill:
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: Game of Cages

To cross the line from genre fantasy to "real" literature is often a case of writing dense intricate plots with ambivalent characters. I'm interested to see if The Separation is an enjoyable read or a challenge.
The Wertzone: Christopher Priest completes new novel

Always on the lookout for a good trilogy:
Cover Art & Synopsis | A new cover for THE BOOK OF TRANSFORMATIONS by Mark Charan Newton | A Dribble of Ink:

"The novel itself sounds great. Nights of Villjamur (REVIEW) was a solid debut, but Newton showed great progress with City of Ruin (REVIEW); if The Book of Transformations continues that trend, we’re likely looking at one of the most unique and compelling series in recent years."

The Mind of John Scalzi - Shorts and E-readers

No, this is not about that pesky laptop cooking the boys problem that many people have, but two interesting article by author John Scalzi.

Shorts and Singles - thoughts about Amazon's plans for marketing short form fiction and the future of that market in general.

Reading Electronically: A Review - thoughts about reading electronically, and the Nook in particular.

Authors and ebook problems: expanding the net of responisbility | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Authors and ebook problems: expanding the net of responisbility | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Worth reading for anyone who has been frustrated by the poor quality (typography and page formatting) of e-books. Especially since many (agency model) publishing houses are keeping e-book prices as high as (or higher) than better quality paperback and hardcovers.

Bring long fantasy epics back to life

The longest fantasy series, and why we read them : Walk Into Mordor

If you are a fantasy reader then Bookmark this link! A very good list (76 and growing) of the longest fantasy series out there. If you're looking for something new to read you can browse through the list and click through to Librarything.com to get the details.

To get on the list there had to be at least 5 books or 2000 pages (way too many trilogies out there). Pages counts come from Amazon you are pretty well assured that there are retail copies of all books out there.

The discussion of why we like to read a long series of books with the same characters and setting is fairly straightforward. What occurred to me was the utter stupidity of the publishers who have failed to move mountains to get some authors' back-catalogs into e-books as soon as possible, if only to fill in voids in some of these series.

Charles Stross posted an answer to a fan's concern about not finding book four of a six book series. He went through the whole 'and this is how sausage is made' process of why there was no e-book and concluded:

PSA: Where is the ebook edition of "The Merchants War"? - Charlie's Diary: "Anyway, Tor have my written permission to roll out 'The Merchants War' as an ebook whenever they want, and I've expressed my feelings quite clearly (about the unwisdom of making all but one middle volume of a series available through a given retail channel), and my editor Feels My Pain: but I'm not holding my breath in anticipation. If in the meantime you want to download a dodgy scan of that particular book (and buy a mass market paperback for the conscience money), I personally won't hold it against you."

A number of fantasy authors (CJ Cherryh for one) have bought/are buying out their back catalog and self-publishing:

Closed Circle: "We’re rescuing our kids as fast as we can get the rights back, scan and edit them for all the typos put in by New York, and give them a new look. ...
We’re also rewriting a lot of these books. Why? Well, for one thing, we learned a lot on the way, both about writing and the characters, and this is a chance to let the work reflect that. For another, in many cases, the books never reached their full potential because they were written for a market where length was a primary concern…or they were trimmed due to marketing ‘category’ limitations."

I'd like to see all of these epic fantasy series as e-books and, if the author is interested, have the earlier books in a series repaired and reworked of necessary. In the case of Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Burroughs we have everything we will ever get out of them. In the case of living and engaged authors we have an opportunity to get an even "epicer" epic series.

New e-reader from Pandigital – Sipix screen, Wifi, $199

New e-reader from Pandigital – Sipix screen, Wifi, $199

Looks good, does everything. Not crazy about the price. Even if was $179 I'd think about breaking open the piggy-bank and not be thinking about $299-$399 tablets as an alternative choice.

Copying a Right: Ripping off someone else’s work isn’t always indefensible

A great article from the National Post covering all aspects of copyright infringement, from e-books and music to designer handbags.

Copying a Right: Ripping off someone else’s work isn’t always indefensible:

"Marcus Boon, a York University professor who authored the book In Praise of Copying, hails duplication as inherently human and beneficial."

How are Publishers coping with the advent of the ereader and ebook? Not very well so far. | eBookAnoid

How are Publishers coping with the advent of the ereader and ebook? Not very well so far. | eBookAnoid:

"On the face of it, the answer just now is apparently not. The world’s publishers are struggling to come to terms with a major shake up in their industry, the first for hundreds of years, and they are apparently completely at a loss as to how to cope… The poor dears."

Cool Tools: Calibre Instapaper

Cool Tools: Calibre Instapaper

A great way to get longish articles from a web site onto your e-reader. The article is kindle-specific but it will work for any reader that Calibre supports.

Sci-Fi Writer Iain Banks Talks Surface Detail’s Hell, Creationists’ ‘Heresy’ | Underwire | Wired.com

Sci-Fi Writer Iain Banks Talks Surface Detail’s Hell, Creationists’ ‘Heresy’ | Underwire | Wired.com

I've read the Culture series so far and its easily the best conceived far future sci-fi out there. Definitely going to read Surface Detail. The interview is well worth reading. Banks frankly discusses the role of sci-fi in society, his views on religion, etc. etc.

PSA: Where is the ebook edition of "The Merchants War"? - Charlie's Diary

PSA: Where is the ebook edition of "The Merchants War"? - Charlie's Diary:

"If in the meantime you want to download a dodgy scan of that particular book (and buy a mass market paperback for the conscience money), I personally won't hold it against you."

My back-of-the-envelope estimate is that for Tor to put their backlist online would take on the order of 2000 employee-months of labour. Which is a tall order for a company with 50 full-time staff, to serve a channel that accounts for at best 6% of sales.

Sci-Fi Writer Iain Banks Talks Surface Detail’s Hell, Creationists’ ‘Heresy’ | Underwire | Wired.com

Sci-Fi Writer Iain Banks Talks Surface Detail’s Hell, Creationists’ ‘Heresy’ | Underwire | Wired.com: "I think it’s more to do with being threatened. I’ve argued for years that in a sense it’s the most important literary genre. It’s the only one that deals directly with the effects of change, and specifically technological change, on people and society. And that has been one of the most important aspects of our lives since the industrial revolution. There simply isn’t another genre that deals with that, and mainstream writing touches on it but doesn’t concentrate on it."

Book Review - Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

From the publisher:

When he was 19, James Stark was considered to be one of the greatest natural magicians, a reputation that got him demon-snatched and sent downtown — to Hell — where he survived as a gladiator, a sideshow freak entertaining Satan's fallen angels. That was 11 years ago. Now, the hitman who goes only by Stark has escaped and is back in L.A. Armed with a fortune-telling coin, a black bone knife, and an infernal key, Stark is determined to destroy the magic circle — led by the conniving and powerful Mason Faim — that stole his life. Though nearly everything has changed, one constant remains: his friend Vidocq, a 200-year-old Frenchman who has been keeping vigil for the young magician's return. But when Stark's first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head that belongs to thefirst of the circle, a sleazy video store owner named Kasabian, Stark discovers that the road to absolution and revenge is much longer than he counted on, and both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for his future...

A pretty good first book in a new Urban Fantasy series. The wise-cracking, mystery solving protagonist dishes out his own form of justice against the people who did him wrong. James Stark is cast in the same mold as Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files) and Simon Green's John Taylor (Nightside). They are all inextricably tied to the supernatural forces that empower them to effect change (solve the mystery, right the wrong...) yet force them to live outside of normal society.

Stark, like Dresden and Taylor, strikes a balance between superhuman abilities and all-too-human frailties. Stark differs, however, in that he is a truly immoral anti-hero. We like our anti-heroes to play outside the rules, but we typically see them do so reluctantly in their pursuit of an ultimate "justice".

Stark truly enjoys breaking the law. In Sandman Slim he steals one car after another, often the most expensive he can find and, given his ability to slip through shadows and move instantly from place to place, he often steals for the flimsiest of reasons. When he beats up on a bunch of Nazi skinheads we cheer him on, yet feel a little uncomfortable with the pleasure he takes in planning and executing the battles.

The world Stark lives in is as dark and dangerous as Dresden and Taylor, but Kadrey is much more explicit in the expression of the evil that is barely hidden from the "normal" world.

The Big Idea: Richard Kadrey - Whatever: "The Sandman Slim books are in fact the best kind of trash — rough and dirty and full of surprising things — And Kadrey explains why that has value."

Yes, I wonder about the nature of our existence, but I don’t get all Tolstoy about it. If you like action, noise and think The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is a thousand times better than Forrest Gump you’re who I wrote the book for. Kill The Dead isn’t American Gods or Zero History. It’s Mickey Spillane with monsters.
I’m not an author. I’m a writer. That’s all I am.

If you like noir-esque urban fantasy with a hard edge then this is the book for you

Sony Popularizes Google Vandalizing Books-crap ebooks FTW

A great post showing the horrible job that Google has done with OCRing off-copyright books. To be fair, horrible is better than not there at all. Down the road I suspect that disgust will result in repair and reformatting on a book-by-book basis. Google has done this on purpose. They want volunteers to do this work rather than pay to have it done.

I agree with Mike Cane. Google should be ashamed. Unfortunately shameless corporate manipulation is name of the game these days.

Sony Popularizes Google Vandalizing Books: "I’m stabbing Sony in this post because it was at its Reader Store that I did this. Also, Sony was the first to hook up with Google, then all of the other eBookstores followed it."

Easier to pick up a book on a whim online than in a bookstore

I've read a few articles recently that claim that one of the big advantages of brick-and-mortar bookstores is the ability to expose yourself to a wide variety of material all at once. E-bookstores are too targeted and "clinical", compared to the ability to wander the aisles of a real store and browse through whatever catches your fancy.

While I suppose it is true that there is some benefit to being exposed to an eclectic variety of materials I have always found a visit to the bookstore to be somewhat anxiety-inducing. If I am blasting in to pick up a specific book then there's no problem. Make a bee-line to the correct section, find out if the book you want is on the shelves. Grab it, queue up at the cash register, pay and get out. The anxiety, however, appears as soon as I try to make a purchase decision with only the information available in the bookstore.

Is it the first book in a series? Is it the best choice for a first book by the author? If non-fiction, is it the best resource available? Is it out of date?

The greatest variety of books and the answers to the questions that inform my purchase are on-line, not on the shelves of a bookstore. Of course there is the staff to help you out--sometimes you get someone available, knowledgeable and helpful, but I've found that to be the exception to the rule.

I have no trouble browsing among varied subject areas and genres, there are so many sites that organize, review, and comment on authors and books that if you're even the least bit curious you can find your way to the unlikeliest of books. For example Fantasy Book Critic: The Top Books of 2008 Revisited (by Liviu Suciu) leads to dozens of possible choices for my next read.

I don't miss the fluorescent lights, the noise, the crowds, and the limited selection. All things being equal, if I had to pick between an hour in a book store or the any other type of shop I'd take the book shop any day. Things aren't equal, however. I do my book shopping at home and only suffer the queues, crowds, and inconvenience when I have to.

Don’t Click ‘Free Public WiFi’ When Writing Remotely: Public Service Announcement - eBookNewser

Don’t Click ‘Free Public WiFi’ When Writing Remotely: Public Service Announcement - eBookNewser

Can an ereader help you lose weight? | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Can an ereader help you lose weight? | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Buying ebooks – internet or high-street? | eBookAnoid

Buying ebooks – internet or high-street? | eBookAnoid

Check out the math. Real world examples of buying hard copies vs. e-books.

The Food Lab's Top 6 Food Myths | Serious Eats

The Food Lab's Top 6 Food Myths | Serious Eats
A great article for anyone who applies heat to various flora and fauna.

1. Moist Cooking Methods Give you Moister Results Than Dry Cooking Methods
2. Frying at a Higher Temperature Prevents Food From Absorbing Oil
3. When Grilling, It's Best to Flip Just Once in the Middle
4. Searing "Locks In" Juices
5. Pasta Must Be Cooked in Massive Amounts of Boiling Water
6. Salting Beans During Cooking Will Make Them Tough

Update:
A little bubble of truth soon lost in the mass of misinformation out there. For example this article from wired.com:

Cook a Steak - Wired How-To Wiki: "You should only flip a steak once during the cooking process. Of course, the point at which you make the flip depends on the type of cut, how thick it is, and how rare you want it."

Fantasy Book Critic: The Top Books of 2008 Revisited (by Liviu Suciu)

Fantasy Book Critic: The Top Books of 2008 Revisited (by Liviu Suciu)

The eBook DRM Guide | The eBook Reader Blog

The eBook DRM Guide | The eBook Reader Blog: "If you are new to ebooks and are considering getting an ebook reader, you may be wondering what DRM encrypted ebooks are, and what that means exactly."

Eken unveils new 8" M005 Android tablet

Eken unveils new Android tablet - SlipperyBrick.com:

"Another day, another tablet. This new Android tablet comes from Chinese-based company Eken and it is called the M005. The device sports an 8-inch 800 x 600 touchscreen TFT LCD display, 533MHz VIA MW8505 processor and 128MB RAM."

Some may consider it underpowered but at the expected $100 price point it may be a great occasional-use plaything. We'll see what the N. American price is very soon.

Shanzai.com has a decent review with some cool pictures. Big screen and low price may make it worth buying desping the slow (600MHz) processor and resistive screen. Android 1.6 but hopefully upgradeable (or completely replaced with something better down the road)

Ridley Scott to return to work of sci-fi icon for BBC mini-series | Media | The Guardian

Ridley Scott to return to work of sci-fi icon for BBC mini-series | Media | The Guardian:

"Blade Runner director Ridley Scott is returning to the work of the late Philip K Dick to executive produce a BBC TV adaptation of one of the American sci-fi writer's novels.

Howard Brenton, the playwright and Spooks writer, is adapting Dick's Hugo award-winning dystopian novel The Man in the High Castle into a four-part BBC1 mini-series."Blade Runner, the science fiction movie loosely based on Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Dick has to be one of the most popular writers in terms of using novels and short stories for movies. The Man in the High Castle is often considered to be the book to read if you want to read one book to understand where PK is coming from.

Publishers' crazy e-book prices - Dan Gillmor - Salon.com

Publishers' crazy e-book prices - Dan Gillmor - Salon.com: "Having taken control of pricing from Amazon, publishers are foolishly pushing down demand"

Literati reviewed: Don't buy it!

Literati reviewed: Don't buy it!: "The Digital Reader has reviewed the Sharper Image Literati. Their conclusion is simple: Don't buy it. They say it has poor formatting, no annotations, it's slow, buggy and unstable."

Review: Sharper Image Literati: "I got a Literati about a week ago, and I was 1 of 4 blogs to get it. I’m sitting here right now, watching it fail to load my personal ebooks, and I’ve decided that I’ve used enough to give my opinion.

DON’T BUY IT!"

If you are still not convinced, take a look at a detailed review with some nice pics.
Literati Review - A Color eBook Reader From Sharper Image

Cherrypal start their scams again – this time with an Android tablet

Cherrypal start their scams again – this time with an Android tablet: "The problem with the internet is that it has such a short memory. This unfortunately makes it necessary to drecge up old news and remind people.

Cherrypal just announced a 7″ Android tablet for $188. Don’t order it; you”ll never get it. I was scammed by Cherrypal and Max Seybold last December. His business is nothing but a scam, and I’m surprised he keeps getting away with it."

Cherrypal announces $188 CherryPad America Android tablet -- Engadget

Cherrypal announces $188 CherryPad America Android tablet -- Engadget

"800MHz ARM11 processor, 2GB of flash storage, a microSD card slot for expansion, built-in WiFi, and a 3200 mAh battery that promises six to eight hours of use. What's more, unlike some other low-cost Android tablets, Cherrypal says that the CherryPad will have full access to the Android Market"

Frankly, I'm not so sure that "made in America" is a selling point for me. On the other hand I like the big battery. Given Google's policy of "no 3G no market" I don't know how much I believe Cheerypal's claim to access to the Market. Since the CherryPad is already available I'm sure we'll hear about it in the next week or two.

bookofjoe: Reading William Gibson

bookofjoe: Reading William Gibson:

"I've been at his latest book, 'Zero History, for about a week now, and a phenomenon that previously was present but unvoiced finally broke into my consciousness today.

Namely, that I read Gibson more slowly — far more slowly — than any other authors of fiction."

I noticed the same thing when I was reading Spook Country. There was no impatience associated with the slower pace of reading. There was also no sense of obligation (or dread) in picking the book up again after leaving it for a day or two. I'll see if the same is true with Zero History when I crack it open in the next week or two.

Pandigital Novel shows up in Canada, uses Kobo ebookstore

Pandigital Novel shows up in Canada, uses Kobo ebookstore

Its a bit funny that you can only get the Pandigital Novel at Bed Bath and Beyond. It looks like book stores, both big chains and independent, are quite bad at selling e-readers through their shops.

Why Readers Hate DRM: The Short Version | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

A nice list of reasons why readers hate DRM. Authors are concerned about their intellectual property rights and the impact of piracy on sales. Readers are concerned about their purchased propery rights.

Why Readers Hate DRM: The Short Version | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

"I received an email today from an author who has been networking a little among fledgling backlist self-publishers, and she mentioned a question had come up about DRM. She had made a comment about how most readers hate it, and the question came up: why?"

1) DRM removes rights that users have with paper books, so they resent paying the same price and getting less.
2) DRM creates artificial restrictions that limit the ability of users to exercise their fair, legal enjoyment of content they legally purchase.
3) DRM can make users pay multiple times for the same content.
4) DRM can leave users reliant on outside agencies in order to enjoy their books.
5) DRM forces users to rely on buggy or difficult software they may not need or want.
6) DRM is an extra cost to the book—there are development and implementation costs to it that are incorporated into the cost of the book and are passed on to the end user.

What I Think About Atlas Shrugged and a Yogurt Scenario- John Scalzi

The best (and funniest) analysis of Ayn Rand and her wacky arguments for laissez faire capitalism I've read.

What I Think About Atlas Shrugged - Whatever:

"In the wake of the “Objectivist Jerky” crack I made earlier in the week, I was asked by a friend of mine to share my thoughts on Atlas Shrugged with the general public. I suspect this friend then went off to make herself some popcorn in preparation for the presumed inevitable mind-losing that will occur in the comments. That’s what I am to you people: cheap entertainment. Well, fine."

Scalzi couldn't get the yogurt idea out of his head so he wrote a short story about it. Scalzi's point that if you make up a pretend universe with perfect straw men you can prove any philosophical or political point.

When the Yogurt Took Over: A Short Story - Whatever

Calibre 0.7.21 released | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Calibre 0.7.21 released | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

The e-book Swiss army knife just gets better and better. If your e-reader isn't supported by Calibre you bought the wrong e-reader.