Musing Monday...Ode to the E-Book

Monday, Monday...Musing, Musing..
As always, hosted by MizB at  Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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Yes, you read that right.
I, who once ranted about e-books, have come to praise them.
But I must admit, there are a lot of reasons to like these electronic vade mecum.
I credit this idea to my sister-in-law who brought this topic up in  a conversation, when she realized how much easier it is to read an e-book in bed, not having to bothering the Bro with a light on.

So lets made a list..

Pros of e-book-

• Can carry many books on one small device.
• Great for travel, whether to work on a bus or a trip around the world.
• Can buy new books and download them in seconds.
• Most devices are illuminated, requiring no outside light.
• Built in dictionary, highlighter, note taker.
• Books are cheaper than 'dead-tree' books.

Cons-

• You have to buy the device.
• Limited battery life. What is worse than the battery running out at the best part of a book?
• Can not give away..or except to a very limited degree with some devices...loan books.

Now, REAL books.

The pros-

• They smell good. The older the better.
• They are sometimes very attractive, with lovely covers, nice bindings. (of course, in reality, most are rather cheaply made trade paperbacks)

Cons-

• They are bulky, heavy.
• More expensive.

I have to admit it, the contest seems to be leaning toward those Evil E-Books!
Do you have any pros or cans of your own to add.
Who do you think the winner is??

Musing Monday...A Rose by Any Other Name

 Monday! Let's get going!
But be sure to check out the other Musing Monday posts at  Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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Well, I have nothing to rant about this week, so I will tell you about a few books I got my hands on recently...

Holy Orders by Benjamin Black
"When the body of his daughter’s friend is brought to his autopsy table, Quirke is plunged into a world of corruption that takes him to the darkest corners of the Irish Church and State.

So begins the latest Quirke case, a story set in Dublin at a moment when newspapers are censored, social conventions are strictly defined, and appalling crimes are hushed up. Why? Because in 1950s Ireland the Catholic Church controls the lives of nearly everyone. But when Quirke’s daughter Phoebe loses her close friend Jimmy Minor to murder, Quirke can no longer play by the Church’s rules. Along with Inspector Hackett, his sometime partner, Quirke investigates Jimmy’s death and learns just how far the Church and its supporters will go to protect their own interests."

I just know this one is going to get me mad...lol
But still I requested it, so I will do my best to read it and stay calm.


Louisiana Fever by D.J. Donaldson
"Andy Broussard, the plump and proud New Orleans medical examiner, obviously loves food. Less apparent to the casual observer is his hatred of murderers. Together with his gorgeous sidekick, psychologist Kit Franklyn, the two make a powerful, although improbable, mystery solving duo.
When the beautiful Kit goes to meet an anonymous stranger—who’s been sending her roses—the man drops dead at her feet before she even could even get his name. Game on."

This one was offered to me and although I swore never to take another book from a publicist or author, I accepted this one...and am happy I did. I really must write the review, but I will just say I love books set in New Orleans. As you can see, this one has another coroner as the lead character. And a great character Broussard is.


The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

"After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.
The Cuckoo's Calling is a 2013 crime fiction novel by J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith."

I am sure most of you have heard about this last book. It seems Ms. Rowlings, she of Harry Potter fame, wrote a mystery under a pseudonym but got found out. Now the book is rocketing up the best seller list and I admit it, I was interested. Interested because it got good reviews before the true author was discovered.
So, yes, I had to buy it.

Of course, writing under a pseudonym has a long history in the world of literature, for a variety of reasons. The Bronte sisters and George Elliot are two of the most well known, in their cases to disguise their genders. But other have written to disguise their fame as well. Stephan King, who wrote a letter in USA Today in defense of what Rowlings did, wrote under another name. Sadly, he killed off his nom de plume Richard Bachman when he was uncovered, saying Poor Richard died of "cancer of the pseudonym".

Tell me, what do you think of this Rowling thing?
Was it all a ploy, the revelation set up to boost sales.
How cynical! No, I think she just wanted to write, as King said, "just for the joy of it", to see what people would honestly think of the book on its own, without the Famous name.
Well, either way, I will be reading it.

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Musing Monday...First, Get a Book and a Knife..

 

Monday=Musing

And a stop over at  Should Be Reading to check out this weeks other Musings!

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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I have a little craft project, of a bookish nature, to present to you.
OK, I warn you that this post may cause some of you actual physical pain.
Nausea.
I know it did when the idea was first presented to me.

But then I got over it.
Pretty much.

 

The Niece texted me last week and asked if I had a few books I could give her to deface.
Yes, that is the word she used and it is accurate.
Deface.
But see what you will get above?

Just a few books standing up, you say?

No, in fact, it is a clever storage device, perfect to hide, as the Niece needed to do, a router and all those nasty, ugly wires and blinking lights on a bookshelf.
Look, she even cut out a little door for the wires...cute.
Of course, you could use it to hide all sorts of other things on a bookshelf too.
And your cat might enjoy trying to get in there.

 

Yes, OK, it does require the destruction of a few books.
It also requires an Exacto knife and a hot glue gun.
Which does still make me a little weak.
And I do not mean the glue gun or the exacto knife.

But, if you have the stomach for it, for a more detailed explanation, HERE is the web site with some nice pics and step-by-step instructions.
You might notice, if you look closely that the Niece added some pieces between the books at the top to make it even a little more sturdy. And the little 'doorway'.
Love those hot glue guns!!

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Musing Monday...Do Nice Guys Finish...Last?

 

How time flies..There is never enough...Check out the other muses at...
 Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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“Sir—” remarked Samuel Johnson with droll incredulity to someone too eager to know whether he had finished a certain book—“Sir, do you read books through?” 

How do you feel about finishing a book.
Must you? Do you feel compelled to soldier on, even if you are not enjoying it?

Yes, I have another Wall Street Journal article to quote...hey, you have to love a newspaper that still actually writes about books and reading every week!

"In the age of the e-reader, dropping a book has never been easier: It doesn't even require getting up to grab another off the shelf. But choosing to terminate a relationship with a book prematurely remains strangely agonizing, a decision fraught with guilt.

"It goes against how we're built," says Matthew Wilhelm, a clinical psychologist with Kaiser Permanente in Union City, Calif. "There is a tendency for us to perceive objects as 'finished' or 'whole' even though they may not be. This motivation is very powerful and helps to explain anxiety around unfinished activities."

Oh gosh, "choosing to terminate a relationship with a book.." That makes me feel even worse!

I must admit that in the past, that is how I felt. I would read and read...maybe skim a tiny bit..until the last page, relieved that then I could go on to another book I might really enjoy. To do less was to fail.

But as with many reading related matters, blogging has changed me. So many books to read...and I don't just mean the ones in my greedy TBR pile that we talked about last week.
No, I mean I am also more aware of all the great books coming out every month, so many of which I would like to read. I read the reviews of my fellow bloggers and other publications, I get the e-mails from publishers going on about the latest releases, all the suggestions from Library Thing and Amazon and Barnes and Noble every time I look at a book online.

So many books, so little time!

Really, who has time to waste on a book you are not loving?

But what if it is a review book? Do you then have an obligation? Or an even greater obligation. A promise, a duty? Well, to my mind, sort of. I will give it a try. A really good try. I think that is my obligation for asking for the book or taking it. But if I hate it, do you , Mr./Ms. Publisher or Author, really want me to force myself to finish it and then say why I felt like that?
Not to say I don't give negative reviews. I do. So imagine how bad the others reviews might be!
And there just is not ENOUGH TIME!

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Musing Monday...Book Greed

 

Yet another Monday..yet another muse...Check out the other muses at...
 Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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Are you book greedy?
I will admit, I am.
I try to keep it under control, but I will also admit I am not too successful.

I remember the days before the blogging. I bought some books, I got some from the library. I would maybe have a book or two in reserve for when I finished what I was reading. The SIL would buy some and we would trade.

And then the blogging.  
I would request books for review from various sources and, as time went on, I started to get a few.  
Wow, how exciting!!
Then quite a few.  
I needed to keep some sort of record, so I joined Library Thing. Oh look, they have this Early Reviewers thing. I can request a book from hundreds, and as I faithfully reviewed them, I 'won' one many months.
Then there was that e-mail from Amazon Vine, asking if I would like to join, guaranteeing 4 books a month if I so desired.

I started to get offers from blogging book tours..offers from publishers...offers from publicists..offers from authors.

And so many looked good. Or at least good enough. And I wanted them. I certainly don't need them. I WANT THEM.

Of course, I am still buying some books. I read a great review and I want it. Look, in seconds I can get a copy for my Nook! And Barnes and Noble has a Nook free book every Friday! Will I like it? Well, it is free, so way not take a chance? 
And who had the nerve to tell me about this site called BookBub. Free e-books, .99 cents books for your Kindle or Nook or iPad.

And I still go to the library on occasion. I tell myself I will be good. Not buy the book but get it from the library. That is responsible, right? Of course, I get the call to pick it up, and leave with 2 additional books because I was stupid enough to check out the New Releases section. 

I must sort them, physically or, for e-books, in my mind. Amazon Vine has a new policy that you must review 100% of last month's requests to be able to get any new ones. At first I was upset, but honestly it is a good thing, keeping me in line. And I try to really keep after the Library Thing books. The library books go ahead of the ones I buy, and the review books often go ahead of them both. So many books are waiting.
Well, my eyes are bigger than my ability to keep up.

But they make me happy.
OK, a little concerned when I think of the show Hoarders, 
but at this point, they still make me happy, happy. 
All those books I have stored up, each one, possibly, a great adventure, just waiting for me, hours of pleasure just sitting there, patiently.  

Is it greed..or saving for a rainy day?
Or a rainy year.  
Perhaps a decade. 

Do you understand??
Oh please, say you do!  

    

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Musing Monday..Not an Open Book

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 Another Monday, so let's Muse!! Here are the questions from  Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.

• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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Since we were talking about libraries...

We were last week, and it seems that many of us have fond memories of the local library as a child and probably as an adult as well. Most likely we are thinking about our local branch. However, if you live in a city or a large community, how about your central library. You know, like the place in NYC with the lions outside. Whatever the future of our local outlet in this digital age, what about those places with stack after stack of 'real' books? Are they needed in the modern world, the digital information world?
Well, according to another article from the WSJ, The Library's Future Is Not an Open Book....what can I say, they have good articles!...that future is not as clear.

Branch libraries have long served as community hubs offering book clubs and after-school story times. But central libraries, dedicated to the care and maintenance of weighty collections within ornately crafted and lofty spaces, are having to recast themselves. Thanks to the shift of emphasis to online resources over hard copies, the prevalence of mobile technologies and changing approaches to studying and learning, libraries have a different social purpose.

These day, these central libraries are not about books, those stacks often being moved to other places. No, now it is about 'information', it is about being 'relevant'! The problem is no one is really sure what that means. And if they can determine what it means now, today, and shape the library for that use, what will it mean in a year or 5 years. Timeless this is not.

Librarians themselves don't talk about "books" much anymore. The library today, said Michael Colford, the director of library services in Boston, "is more of a platform launching you in all different directions."

Launching you in different directions...
Is that how people learn? Personally, I know I need guidance, direction. If not, why just not give everyone a laptop and launch them out there. In fact, lets close the schools altogether and let kids just decide what is revelant themselves.

I fondly remember my days in my local branch library, but I also fondly remember my trips downtown to the central Newark Public Library, an impressive old building, to work on some school project. Yes it was full of stacks of books, and microfiche for newspapers article and rooms full of cabinets with illustrations and prints. There were librarians to help me and guide me and get me to pull my scattered ideas for a project into some sort of order, to guide me to where and for what I might need to look.
But maybe most of all, the building, the atmosphere, convinced me that learning was an important thing. Look at this beautiful building built to its honor, in honor of knowledge. There was a timeless quality to it, something way bigger than me, Big Things and Big Ideas. These beautiful buildings, these..

structures still serves the function for which it was created—to hold books—and inspires awe through the ideals expressed in its architecture and the intellectual resources housed within.

Inspire awe..what a nice idea!

Musing Monday..."Con Te Partirò"

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 It's Monday and which question should we answer from Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.

• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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What does the title of this post say? Well, it is the name of a song that is translated into English as Time To Say Goodbye. And that is what I want to take about. The issue is, when should an author say goodbye to a series?

Now I like series, and my favorite genre, mysteries, thriller, suspense and police procedurals..which in my mind are all part of one Big Genre...has many, many series. You create a great character, a great cop or a great detective and a good setting and you are off to the races. But if the series is a success and people are buying the books, publishers and authors are making money and fans are happy, is it possible at some point to call it quits? My answer would be, not only is it possible, but sometimes it is necessary, both for the reader and for the author.

The reason this issue came to mind was an article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago called How To Kill A Vampire (Series). I hope that link works..one was locked except to subscribers only but this seemed OK, because I though it was an interesting article..
But bottom line, it seems that after 13 books, and inspiring the HBO show True Blood, the author Charlaine Harris has decided to end her very popular Sookie Stackhouse vampire series.
To say the least, fans are not happy.
She has received thousands and thousands of negative posts and e-mails, there are people who have threatened to kill themselves if she ends the series.
She has received death threats.
Really.

Ok, can we all say some people needs to get a life.
Some people need to get a grip on reality.
Some people are just a little too vested.
Folks, it is only a book.
If you don't like the series ending, just make up your own and pretend that is how the book ended.
Because this stuff is all made up..it is all pretend.

This from someone who LOVES books.

Personally, I admire Ms. Harris's decision. She said she was getting bored, wanted to do some other things. Another series, a project with another author, are in the works. And she felt the whole thing was getting out of hand, having to deal with too many new characters and creatures to keep it fresh. Blow them all up I say!! A massive explosion of vampires and werepeople and shape-shifters! Or they could all be sucked into a Black Hole, never ever to reappear. Woo Hoo!!

I am sure it is not easy.
First, let's just be practical. I am sure these books made her a great deal of money, more as the series became more popular and she could easily dragged it out for book after books. There is certainly no guarantee she will be able to have such success again.

But I am a great believer that almost every series has some sort of natural life. Then it should die. To be replaced, by the talented author I have liked all along, by a fresh, new idea, fresh, new characters, fresh, new stories and fresh, new situations. Or honestly, you are most likely going to lose me as a reader anyhoo. Because I, as a reader, seem to have a limit. I am not sure there is a magic number but I think at about 10 books you should be giving it some serious thought.

I am sure all of us can think of an author or two that we once loved but who lost us when the series just went on long after the great ideas ended. Patricia Cornwell and her Dr. Kay Scarpetta series is one that comes to mind. I checked Wikipedia..seems there are 21 books in the series including a new one this year.
Yes, I loved the first few. They were well written, different, great plots, good books..and then things went quickly downhill. 7 or 8 would have been a great place to stop Patricia.
Really.

Do you have a favorite series that comes to mind, one that should soon, or long ago, died?
Or do you have one that you love and hopes goes on forever and ever..and you think I am just full of hot air?
I am pretty sure I am right! At some point it is just Time To Say Goodbye.

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Now, if you like, you can hear Bocelli and Sarah Brightman sing it.

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Musing Monday...Order in the Court!

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 Woohoo, another week is starting,
so let's check out the questions at Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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I have a rant today, brought on by a book I just finished, and one I am going to read shortly. But both suffer from the same issue. They are part of a series, but book in that series that are bring translated and released in the US out of order.
Really, what are publisher thinking??

The first example, the book I just finished is Blessed Are Those Who Thirst: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel by Anne Holt.
A good book and a series I like.
But... the first book in the series that I read, and I believe the first published in English in the US, was the last in the series, 1222. Now, you see, the problem here is that by the time 1222  takes places, a HUGE event has occurred in our heroine Hanne's life, and we have missed what happened.

Then I went back and read the first book, Blind Goddess, at that time the only other one in English. Reading it and having read the last book, you can not help but think about what you know will happen to Hanne in the future, although it has nothing to do with this book. It is almost like reading the ending of a book, something I know most of you would never do. But, in this case, what else can you do? I believe there are 10 book in the series, only three which have been translated and are available in the US. So we meet Hanne in the beginning, then many years later, a changed woman, with a BIG gap in the middle.

Another confusing example is the books of Jo Nesbo.
Worse yet, it appears that some were translated into English, published in the UK, but not available at the same time in the US. I tired (OK, not too hard) to make a list of his Harry Hole series, the order they were written in and when they became available in the US..and I got totally screwed us. Some are available in the UK, or Canada but not in the US, so I lost track of which edition the date published referred to and gave up.

Maybe this is why, while I have read a couple in this series and liked them, I do not love them. I read somewhere that the first, The Bat, presents a young Harry Hole. I would love to meet that young Harry Hole and follow his story. After searching around a bit, I see I could get a Canadian edition from a third party..but it is all a bit too complicated.

Now I just got a review copy of The Redeemer, which will be published in May, the 6th in the series. At least I think it is the 6th...or the 4th..
Which might be fine if they have not already translated the 9th, and I read that.
And found out some rather shocking events.Which I would rather not know when I read the earlier books.
Honestly, it all makes my head spin a bit.

Both of these are examples of series that I think should be read in order. The life of the main characters, their development, is important to the series. That is not always true in a series, but with these two it is. But they are also, sadly, for some unknown reason examples of books published in the U.S. all out of order.
WHY?
Really why?
For a reader, it drives me nuts. 
For a publisher, I think it is very bad business.
The whole appeal of a series is getting to know the characters, watch them as they develop, as their lives change. Jumping all around that is very difficult, if not impossible.
And bad for business.

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Musing Monday...The Galactic Empire of Amazon

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 Monday is upon us once again, so let's look at the questions at Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

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OK, a book industry rant this week.
Did you read about it?
I saw it in Friday's Shelf Awareness Pro and I must say, as a reader, as a book purchaser, I found it a little concerning. Rather sad.

Amazon is buying the popular book-focused social networking site Goodreads, which was founded in 2007 and now has more than 16 million members. The acquisition is expected to close by July.

I am a member of Goodreads and have been for years. But to tell you the truth, I no longer use it very much, much preferring the set up at Library Thing. But don't worry, LT has already, at least partially, been gobbled up by Amazon as well. 

The move also adds to the sense that Amazon is slowly buying up much of the book world. Over some 15 years, the company has bought AbeBooks.com, Audible.com, Brilliance Audio, the Book Depository, Shelfari, BookFinder.com, Lexcycle, BookSurge, CreateSpace, Mobipocket.com and (through AbeBooks) 40% of Library Thing.

I knew about Shelfari but Audible and the Book Depository and AbeBooks and all those others as well? Wow.

I like Amazon. I use Amazon. I buy stuff from Amazon.
But...do I want them to become such a huge force in the book world? They sell books, a LOT of books, they publish books, they are by far the biggest review site. They do it all.
NO! I do not want any one company to take such an overwhelming role.

Look, we all know that you have to take the reviews on Amazon with a grain of salt. Authors, publishers, companies hired by authors and publishers, stack these reviews. We have talked about that before. But I thought I was able to trust, at least to a larger degree, what I read on a site like Goodreads. You had to be a member. I could check out your books and if you had only one, this one your were reviewing, OK, that would be a bad sign. Bottom line...

The question is how a site that was prized for its independence and noncommercial cred will fare as a part of the Amazon empire.

Is Amazon going to use Goodreads in a negative way somehow, peppered with Amazon ads, Amazon 'recommendations', everything funneling us to an Amazon site? Well, there is some reason they spent a great deal of money to buy it, and I can't see even one that will be beneficial to those who have been using the site.
I guess we will see what happens, if some bad signs start to pop up. Personally, I am closing my Goodreads account and will just stick with Library Thing for now. 40% is better than 100% and Library Thing is about the best site that I know about at this point. LT is very open about what they do, how things are run and I have seen no change in that way of doing business since the AbeBooks/Amazon buy out.

Oh my, are those Galactic Stormtroopers I see coming done the road?
Ok, maybe not just yet, but keep your eyes open..lol

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Musing Monday...An Underground Bestseller

Hey folks, it's Monday! So let's look at the questions at Should Be Reading...

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Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are(or, aren’t) enjoying it.
 • Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up?
 • Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it.

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This week, I wanted to muse about an article I saw in the WSJ this week.

Have you ever heard of a book called "Wool" a post-apocalyptic thriller by the author Hugh Howley?

Well, I had not, which is pretty odd since this self-published e-book has sold more than 500,000 copies, earning more than $1 million dollars and has readers posting more than 5,000 Amazon reviews. This was all before Howley sold the foreign rights...and the movie rights, to Ridley Scott, he of Alien fame...and now, the hardcover and paperback rights to Simon and Schuster.
But not the digital rights. No, Mr. Howley kept those for himself and it seems he is quite wise to do so. It seems to benefit the author and quite possibly benefit the reader.
So, what is it about?

"Wool became a viral hit last winter, a few months after Mr. Howey began publishing the five-part series on Amazon.

The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where a few thousand remaining humans live in a giant, 144-story underground silo. Couples who want to have a child have to enter a lottery; tickets are distributed only when someone dies. Citizens who break the law are sent outside to choke to death on the toxic air. Those who are sent to their deaths are forced to clean the grime off the digital sensors that transmit grainy images of the ruined landscape to a screen inside the silo. The images are meant to remind residents that the world beyond the silo is deadly, but some begin to suspect their leaders are lying to them about what's outside and how the world came to ruin."

I must say it sounds interesting and I am impressed by the sales and by the hugely popular reviews. Yes, I had to go online and buy a copy. I have not read it yet but I am looking forward to it and it seems I am not alone.

Or so a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Wool: Sci-Fi's Underground Hit discusses. The article is about more than just the book's success. The article is about something even bigger, something that this book is an example of, a whole new publishing model for authors, self publishing. True, author could always self-publish a book, but now, in the days of e-books and, to take just one example, the role of an online publisher like Amazon, it is a whole new world. Not only can they publish a book, they can publish a bestsellers, a huge, underground bestseller.

"It's a sign of how far the balance of power has shifted toward authors in the new digital publishing landscape. Self-published titles made up 25% of the top-selling books on Amazon last year. Four independent authors have sold more than a million Kindle copies of their books, and 23 have sold more than 250,000, according to Amazon. Publishing houses that once ignored independent authors are now furiously courting them. In the past year, more than 60 independent authors have landed contracts with traditional publishers. Several won seven-figure advances."

I found those statistics startling...
25% of the top selling books are self published?
Four have sold more than a million Kindle copies?
23 more than 250,000...
Really? How did I miss this?

Yes, I have had my issues with e-books in the past and while I still love to read "dead-tree" books what is the future going to bring?
And what part are the traditional publishers going to play?
Will it be a declining role...you have to think it will be... and is that a good or bad thing for writers and readers.

Another figure they mention in the article is that the author's deal with Amazon is that the writer gets a 70% commission on what he or she sells as opposed to traditional publishers who offer a 10-15% royalty on digital sales.
Let me see...70% or 10% ..that is a big difference. True, no doubt publishers offer some pluses, say a marketing and publicity campaign but ..

And as a reader, I have to consider that Howley is offering the digital edition for $5.99 while the hardback or paperback is being sold by Simon and Schuster for $26 or $15 respectively. I know publisher do not use that sort of pricing model, often charging almost as much for the e-book as for the paperback, something I do not understand. But if the author can offer it for a significantly lower price online..well that will hurt traditional publisher in many cases, will it not..and yet benefit readers!

So, what do you think of the whole issue of self-publishing vs. the role of traditional publisher? Or as Mr. Howley says "Publishing is changing so quickly that we are all equal experts....We're all trying to figure this out."

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Do You Want To Be Number One?

We all want to be number one, or even 100th, including authors it seems. There are so many best selling lists, but of course most of them only note the top ten or twenty and only so many can be in the top ten or twenty. Like...ahhhh..ten or twenty. But there is another ranking, a much bigger ranking and that is the All Powerful Amazon's ranking. It seems that since Amazon instituted the system 10+ years, it has become quite an obsession among both authors and their publishers and discussed in this NY Times article. It seems that some authors become a bit obsessed with their ranking, checking every day to see if they have moved from 1800th to 1700th place. And of course, as with every system someone come up with, it doesn't take long for someone to figure out how to 'game' the system.

For most books, it does not take many orders to increase rankings. Knowing this, authors, publishers, even nonprofit organizations like MoveOn.org will send out e-mail blasts asking people to buy a book at a set time, or buy up copies themselves. Some authors get their friends to write reviews or even write a positive review for a rival book and mention their own title.

Oh, that is one of my pet peeves. Sometimes, I am looking at books on Amazon, maybe a book recommended because of another book I bought. There is a book, maybe one with only a small number of reviews, but an oddly large number in the 5 star category. So, I look at the review authors.
Is this the only book they have reviewed? And, of course, it is the very best book they have ever, ever read! Thanks mom and sis and college roommate!
I usually leave a comment for others to take this one with a grain of salt perhaps.

Also, there is some real mystery as to how the system even works. Seems there is some secret to it all. I am shocked...not.Sily me, I thought it was just like..the book that sold the most copies. But it seems not...

Neither Amazon nor Barnes & Noble will divulge the algorithms they use for rankings. What Amazon will say is that sales rankings are updated hourly for millions of items. The sales history counts, but recent sales are weighted more heavily.

I think I have clearly voiced my disinterest before in these best selling lists and such. Oh, they are fun to look at, but when it comes to buying or reading, give me a good review or recommendation from someone I trust any day. In fact, if something is very, very popular (in the past, insert any Oprah pick here), that is a bit of a red flag for me. I can't say that I believe I have ever read a book just because it was on one of these list...and I know that I have NEVER bought a book on Amazon because of it's ranking. So authors, don't be distracted and besides, they are probably 'fixed' somehow anyhoo. Just write really good, entertaining stuff and then get some great reviews out there. Personally, I think it is worth a lot more than some questionable ranking somewhere.

Really my dear readers, I am curious. Have you ever based a buying/reading decision on an Amazon ranking?

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SURPRISE!! Or not...

Ok, I usually like to keep this secret.
A lot of people get really upset when I admit this.
But it seems,at least according to one study, maybe I don't have anything to be ashamed of.

What is my secret?
I often read the last pages of a book first.

There, I said it, and I know many of you find that a terrible thing to admit or just totally beyond your understanding, especially for a mystery lover like myself.
"Doesn't that ruin the suspense? Don't you want to be surprised." Well, very often...not really.
And it seems I am not the only one according to an articled in Wired about a study done at UC San Diego that will be published in Psychological Science.

As the author of the article says,

"I’ve got a weak spot for pulp fiction, especially when it involves a mysterious twist. I like unironic thrillers and mediocre Agatha Christie imitations. Basically, I like any kind of fiction that lets me forget for vast stretches of time that I’m sitting in an airport terminal.

I read these books in an unusual way: I begin with the last five pages, seeking out the final twist first. The twist won’t make sense at this point, but that doesn’t matter — I enjoy reading the story with the grand finale in mind. (Hell, I even cheated with Harry Potter.)

I’ve always assumed that this reading style is a perverse personal habit, a symptom of a flawed literary intelligence. It turns out, though, that I was just ahead of the curve, because spoilers don’t spoil anything. In fact, a new study suggests that spoilers can actually increase our enjoyment of literature. Although we’ve long assumed that the suspense makes the story — we keep on reading because we don’t know what happens next — this new research suggests that the tension actually detracts from our enjoyment."

Check out the results. The numbers prove it. In three different genres, readers who read the ending first said they enjoyed the stories more than readers who did not.
Why might this be?
Well the author suggests that this fear of spoilers is a recent thing. The Greek tragedies and comedies up through the plays of Shakespeare and Hollywood movies were quite predicable and the audience often knew what the ending would be.

Also, just because we know the final twist does not know the story still does not contain surprises. In fact, to my mind, those are the best sort of books, that draw us along, surprising step by surprising step.

"Perhaps we’ve overvalued the pleasure of the shocking ending at the expense of those smaller astonishments along the way. It’s about the narrative journey, not the final destination..."

And latest, we often experience a surprise as our failure to see it coming rather than a pleasurable thing.

"The human mind is a prediction machine, which means that it registers most surprises as a cognitive failure, a mental mistake."

I guess no surprise parties for him!

Well, do any of you share my predilection...and are you willing to admit it?
Many will be upset if you do, but be brave and join me in the "not really wanting to be surprised group. It is lonely here.
Anyone else out there who turns to the back of the book first?

Come on, admit it... ;-)

Musing Monday..."Big As Trees...Brains Like Peas"

Another Monday, another question from the desk of MizB at Should Be Reading...

This week’s musing asks…

Do you like looking at other people’s bookshelves?

Oh, if only I could!
But to tell you the truth, I can't say I really know many people with bookcases of lovely books to peruse.
Or if they do, maybe they are not letting me into their houses! Gosh, I never considered that...

Seriously, we readers must remember we are in a minority book-wise. I won't quote those terrible statistics again. They are too depressing. But know that most people to not read books, yet alone own enough to fill a bookcase. Our worry about what to do with all our books, the decision whether to part with some or squeeze another bookcase into our house somewhere or live with the random piles doting the landscape is not an issue most people face.
Sad but true.

I think a bookcase can tell you a lot about a person. First, of course, that they own enough books to fill it up, already a wonderful thing! Another reader, one of the rare breed! But also you can see what sorts of books they love, especially what books they care enough about to keep. And then, how do they organize them? By subject, alphabetically, by color..or not at all. I think it is telling and interesting. And so much fun!

Now, one person who I know who reads as much as me, my sister-in-law, has no book cases full of books. It never really occurred to be before, but how can this be? I loan her a fair number of books and when she is done with them, they will sit in a box waiting for me to take them back. She seems to be the odd book lover that has no desire to actually keep any of the books she reads, something I can not relate to. And of course, she was the first person I know to get an e-reader, an Evil Kindle.I guess she can hand you her Kindle so you can look at what she owns,but really, is that in any way a similar experience?

OK, I have backed away, a bit, from my dismissive hatred of e-readers but that raises another issue. When all the books are digital, where will those lovely bookcases be found? Sure, you can make cyber book shelves, like the ones on Library Thing and Goodreads, but come on, it is not the same. No old book smell, no beautiful spines all lined up perfectly. You can't pick one up, feel the weigh of it, open it to read a page or two, getting lost, for just a moment, in another world...awww...wonderful.

Yeah, I know. I am a dinosaur.
A dinosaur who needs to build some more bookshelves.
And I am fine with that.