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..."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.

E-Readers...My Confession...

If you are a regular reader here, you may have read some of my rants about e-books and e-readers in the past. I have issues with them. Serious issues. With the whole idea of e-books and with the specifics of e-readers in general and, especially with the Evil Kindle, in particular.
I have tried to control myself and not write about the subject recently because I was starting to annoy even myself.

So, this may be a shocking announcement, but the other evening after work, I went to the local Best Buy and plunked down my hard earned moola and bought myself a Nook. Yes, an e-reader Nook!

You may ask..."Why? Have you changed your mind about the negative aspects of e-readers? Don't you still love 'real' books?"

And the answer is no, I still have serious issues with e-books and e-readers. And yes, I do not think the experience of reading a real book, holding a real book, smelling a real book, looking at a real book on your shelves, will ever be replaced with an e-book. It just reached a point where the negatives were starting to be outweighed, or at least balanced out, by the positives.
It is like I made a list, with the pluses on one side and the negatives on the other, and the positive list appears to be a tiny bit longer.

As my tidying up of the house at Christmas reminded me, I am running out of space for books. I took a number of the piles I had scattered about, of books read and, more importantly, books unread, and put them in big plastic tote boxes. 4 big boxes just dented the surface.
So, thought I, maybe I should borrow more books from the library. And then I noticed that I could also borrow e-books from the library with a program called OverDrive. Either way, I do not have a physical book to deal with when I am done. And it is free.
I tried it on my phone. Granted, the number of books available at this point is rather limited...but it is so easy. And so cool, as I read the Fanny Flagg book I recently reviewed on my phone. You might think it would be too small on the phone, but actually, it was fine for me.
Then I read a review of a book, the book I reviewed yesterday, Confessions, and it sounded interesting. But it is only available as an e-book. Yes, I could buy it and read it on my phone or my netbook, but I figured, with the e-reader prices where they are now, so reasonable, maybe I should just take the leap into the 21st century.

I had done some reading about the different readers out there and had pretty much made my mind up as I went to the store to take a look at all the different offerings out there. But the saleswoman at Best Buy, a fan of the Nook, cinched it up for me.
So why a Nook...and not say, an Evil Kindle? Because, first of all, I do not want a reader I will always call in my head Evil. I have a strong objection to Amazon's proprietary software on the Kindle. Yes, if you are a computer genius, there are ways around it. But I am not that smart. I prefer the Nook and it's ability to easily deal with several different formats.

I like that the Nook is compatible with library programs like Overdrive and that again, easily, I can borrow books from my local library with a Nook...and can not with a Kindle.
Also, recently I have downloaded a number of e-books, most advanced review copies, from NetGalley. I have read them on my netbook, an OK experience but not ideal. One that I thought would be better, without question, on a dedicated e-reader. But as those of you who know NetGalley may have noticed, they have had some issues recently with e-books being downloaded to Kindles for the last few months. When I received an e-mail from them saying that maybe in the next few months the Kindle issues would be fully resolved, and which I assume means maybe it will not be resolved in the next few months, it was the last nail for me in the Kindle coffin.

Personal, I like the look and feel of the Nook better. I find navigation with the bottom color touch screen more natural. I like the options on page turning more. I like that you have the option of adding more memory by putting in an micro SDHC memory card. A battery you can replace yourself is a plus. The Nook uses page numbers, which I like. The Nook is clean and neat, with just a few buttons and very easy to use without reading a manual. From what I can see, the books available are just as numerous and about the same price. About the same number of free and 'deal' books on each site. And the basic readers of the Nook and Kindle are about the same price. OK, I decided to get the 3G/wifi Nook for $50 more. And a cover. And a wee light.

So, I did it. I bought a Nook.
And how do I like it? It is nice. It is light and easy to hold. It is nice to know that you can download a bunch of books and always have one on hand. For $6 I bought 100 classics, so I will never run out in a pinch...lol As you know, I read at work at night. Now I can have a few to pick from on hand without having to drag several heavy books in my tote bag. More room for snacks! I like that it marks what page I was on when I come back to read it again. And the books are so neat and tidy, never out of place. I can create shelves, different shelves to put them on.
Yes, I may have a touch of OCD.

But, I still have issues. I was looking at a book this morning. I checked it out on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Both had the e-book available for instant download for $9.99. Or I could buy a 'real' book for $8.99. Or I could buy a used hardcover or paperback for a penny + $3.99 shipping for a total of $4. With the two cheaper version I get something that I actually own and can do with what I want. Give it to my Sil, loan to a friend, give to the library, sell online, trade at BookMooch or PaperBackSwap. With an e-book..I have a file, that those who sold it to me, depending on their deals with the publishers, will tell me what they will allow me to do with it. Now the Nook and the Kindle 'allow' me to 'loan' most books...once, for a period of 14 days. Period. Wow, how nice of them.

And then there is the issue of spending a large sum of money on something that is tied to a business that may not exist a year, or 5 years, from now. Or to a reader that the company that makes it might phase out at some time in the future, requiring me to buy a new 'update' or reader to access my books. Don't think it can happen? Think those books are safe?
Ask owners of the Kobo, tied to Borders, who is about to declare bankruptcy. I got an e-mail from the president of Borders today, telling owners of Kobo, among other things, not to worry, that their books were safe and available on the Borders site. OK, maybe if the worse happens and Borders disappears, you will still have access to yours books... in some way. OK....I am not worried.
Maybe because I do not own a Kobo.

Honestly, I do not plan on buying a lot of e-books. I intend to use it for library books, and free downloads from NetGalley and other places where I might find a great deal. For a few real bargains, like the 99 cent Laura Lippman book, the first in the Tess Monaghan series, that I downloaded from B&N. Little ventured, little lost.

But, I have also found it will take self control to have an e-reader, something I have little of.
Say I am at work, and just finished a great book. I look on the Nook and see the same author has several other books.
Oh, that one looks good.
Hit BUY and I will have it on my Nook in seconds...seconds....just seconds...

Oh, temptation, thy name is Nook!

Give me a Hand Pulling My Soapbox Over Here, Will Ya?

My feeling about the Evil E-readers is most likely known to many here, although it has been awhile since I pulled out my soapbox..
And yet..I will admit that on occasion, these Evil E-reader do tempts even me, if just a little bit.

Recently I was up in NY state for the weekend with my brother and sister-in-law and the SIL is the owner of an Evil Kindle. Yes, much about it is wrong, especially the Kindle's proprietary format. But having the choice of all those books on one thin little device, where as I was limited to the one bulky book I could fit in my suitcase...yes, I can see some advantage, at least for traveling.

But I will still wait. Wait for the industry to deal with some still huge issues.

Recently there was an article in the Wall Street Journal that discussed several of the issues that we hold outs have. Bottom line, I want to be able to control the “books” that I buy. But that is not yet the case.

“Reading devices like the iPad, Kindle and Nook will come and go, but you'll likely want your e-book collection to stick around. Yet unlike music, commercial e-books from the leading online stores come with restrictions that complicate your ability to move your collection from one device to the next.”

Things seem to be getting a little better, be opening up a bit. Apple, using some free apps, allows you to open your Amazon purchased Kindle books on a number of different devices now, like the iPhone and a PC. Also books purchased from Sony's bookstore and Borders Kobo can be opened on some other devices using Adobe Digital Editions to transfer them. And I am sure there are also some less than fully legal methods out there to even open up the Amazon software...but why does it have to be so complicated? I want it simple. Buy what I want, where I want, read it with any device I like and do with it what I will. Is that too much to ask?

As I see it, there are two separate issues. First, you want to decide which device you want to buy. Which is easier, nicer to read, most versatile, what is the cost...just like any other devices you buy.
Second, you want to decide where, at what e-bookstore, you buy your “books”. Again, who has the best selection, are easiest to download, has the best prices. I want to buy my books and do with them what I want. Read them on any device I own, loan them out, give them away, just like I can with a “real” book.
Why should one decision have anything to do with the other?
Why, oh why, should it be so complicated, so restricted?

But perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel, as the WSJ says, a way that Google seem to be exploring in it's soon to be release commercial service.

“Google, which plans to launch an e-bookstore later this year, says customers will be able to access its books through apps on popular devices and through a Web browser on any device—including a phone or computer. Google's argument is that we shouldn't lock ourselves into one bookstore if it is going to offer titles that are dependent on special apps or devices.”

The simply answer is that all the e-bookstores except the industry standard of the e-Pub format, without adding their own restrictive DMR (digital rights management) software, just as the music industry finally had to except the m3p format. But...

“For now, the e-bookstore choice comes down to which compromises readers are willing to accept.”

How about none? So, in the meantime, I will still be waiting.

My Latest E-Book Rant...I Know You Were Waiting.

Those of you that are regular reader here no doubt have noticed that I have issues with e-books. Not any particular e-book, not even with the specific issues of any one software, but with the entire idea.
Yes, I am a dinosaur.
Yes, I am fighting the inevitable.
Perhaps. But I am not alone in my concerns.

Two articles, in the 2/22/2010 Shelf Awareness, focused perhaps my biggest concern. The first, in the New York Review of Books by Jason Epstein, while detailing many of the positives of the digitization of books, his ultimate conclusion is that

“Digital content is fragile. The secure retention, therefore, of physical books safe from electronic meddlers, predators, and the hazards of electronic storage is essential. Amazon's recent arbitrary deletion of Orwell's 1984 at its publisher's request from Kindle users who had downloaded it suggests the ease with which files can be deleted without warning or permission, an inescapable hazard of electronic distribution.”

While he admit his own bias toward printed books...and I have to say I started to fall in love with Mr. Epstein when he talked about his floor to ceiling books...he feels confident that no matter what the positive factors of e-books, the importance of the printed word will remain strong.

“The huge, worldwide market for digital content, however, is not a fantasy. It will be very large, very diverse, and very surprising: its cultural impact cannot be imagined. E-books will be a significant factor in this uncertain future, but actual books printed and bound will continue to be the irreplaceable repository of our collective wisdom.”

From your mouth to God's ear Mr. Epstein, because it is that fragile, changeable aspect of e-books that concerns me the most.

We all are aware of the Amazon event he references, when a book was removed by the company from the e-readers of people, without their permission or knowledge. There was an uproar. The company promised not to do it again. Not that they can't, but that they won't. And certainly we can all trust Amazon...right?
But what of books being changed, sections deleted or certain alterations made, by hackers, cyber-trouble makers...or say, in certain countries, by people in power, as acts of censorship?

The second article, referenced right below Mr. Epsteins, is from the NY Times, and is entitled Textbooks That Professors Can Rewrite Digitally

“Macmillan, one of the five largest publishers of trade books and textbooks, is introducing software called DynamicBooks, which will allow college instructors to edit digital editions of textbooks and customize them for their individual classes.
Professors will be able to reorganize or delete chapters; upload course syllabuses, notes, videos, pictures and graphs; and perhaps most notably, rewrite or delete individual paragraphs, equations or illustrations.”

Ok, so I, the author, write a textbook and it is published...and then any professor out there can make whatever change she or he wants, so that it agrees with what the professor or the school or whoever thinks? Oh my, am I the only one to find this unbelievable and a totally terrible idea. So, how far is it from a little rearranging of a textbook to some teacher or school board removing certain words from Huck Finn that they find offensive or any other sort of censorship. Will there be thousands of 'versions' of "Of Mice and Men" floating around some day? Oh, that will never happen, you might say. Well I say, first we will make it possible and then someone, somewhere in the world, will do it. And perhaps worst, if there are no more books, real books to compare it to, how will be ever know?

Oh don't worry, I have heard people say, 'There will always be printed books'. Really? Well, I too am biased and I sincerely hope so. But I also know publishing is a business and it is cheaper, in so many ways, to 'publish' an e-book. And cheaper means they make more profit. So their motivation would be....what? No, it will not happen tomorrow. Books that exist today will continue to be out there in circulation for many years. But what will the future of books, for future generations, be?

I Feel Myself Being Pulled To The Dark Side...

In my continuing effort to bring you all sorts of e-book news, there is an interesting story in the NY Times about e-books and public libraries.

"Eager to attract digitally savvy patrons and capitalize on the growing popularity of electronic readers, public libraries across the country are expanding collections of books that reside on servers rather than shelves.

The idea is to capture borrowers who might not otherwise use the library, as well as to give existing customers the opportunity to try new formats."

Now there are a number of issues to be settled it seems. One is that these books can not, in the vast majority of cases, be downloaded to Kindles, because of Amazon propriety software. So let me see...if I choose an Evil Kindle, rather than the growing number of other e-readers, I cut myself off from major source of free books. Seems like more of an issue for the Kindle than the library or e-readers as a whole.
Then there is the issue that most libraries treat e-book loans like print copies, each 'copy' loaned out to one person at a time. So for a popular new book, there may be a 'line' just as there is for print books now. So the reader has a choice, as they do now, to buy it immediately or wait for a bit to get it free from a library.
And also there is the matter of now publishers feel about this issue of libraries and e-books.

"Publishers, inevitably, are nervous about allowing too much of their intellectual property to be offered free."

I am not really sure how that is any different from the issue of libraries and print books now. Can someone explain the difference to me? But regardless, if this format become more popular, which seems inevitable, I am sure in time it will all be settled.

I must say, I found this article quite thought provoking. Now, you know about my many concerns about e-books. No secret there. But if you combine the convenience of being able to instantly download a book, read it anywhere, anytime on a wide variety of devices from a PC to an e-book device to a cell phone for a 'loan' period of several weeks and then you make it FREE...ok, I must admit it, now you have my attention!

But I can't get that image of that prep school with the empty shelves from my mind... ;-)

You Can't Do This With an E-book...Lol

Photo from designspongeonline.com

Don't know what to do with those piles of old books? Need a place to set that martini and plate of canapes as you wile away your evenings? Well, here is an idea that will solve both problems. From the folks at Design*Sponge, the book strap side table!

A Chance to Rant and Library Thing Together! How Perfect!

Oh my, it is late but still Tuesday. Once again that darn job and having to work for a living has delayed the really important things in life like Tuesday Thinger! So let's wander over to Wendi's Book Corner and check out this week's question. And maybe we will reward you with a wee picture of wee Bandit when we are done.

Questions: Do you read ebooks? Have you used Library Thing to record ebooks in your book shelves? Whether you do or don't currently read ebooks, if you read one, will you be including it in your book shelves, and will you tag it as an ebook?

You know, I try to be good. Try to keep the obsession under control and not rant about the Evil E-Books and then Wendi has to bring the topic up again. Well, what am I to do...I will have to talk about e-books, right? :-)
Now this may come as a surprise to you, my dear readers, but I do actually 'own' a few e-books, locked away somewhere on my computer. I have actually read a couple of them. I did not love the experience but I read them. Why, you may ask? Because they were free! And I was foolish and did not realize I would not like the format. Now some of you fans of those horrible e-reader devices will blame my lack of a pleasurable experience on the fact, perhaps, that I read them on a PC rather than an Evil Kindle device or such, and I admit, grudgingly, there may be something to that. But that was not the question was it? Which was...

Do I read e-books? No, not as a general rule. The few I read, in some distant past, like a couple of years ago, will remain unmentioned. I was motivated only by curiosity (it was a new idea) or greed (as I said, they were free). But if/when I do take up buying and reading e-books then yes, I will include them in my Library Thing library. Because as you may or may not remember, the primary reason I joined Library Thing was to keep track of my books. What I own, what I have read, what I own but have not read, what I borrowed, what I gave away. So I don't make the very foolish mistake of buying the same book twice.
Which has happen.
More than once.
So 'real' books, e-books, audio books or whatever form of books they come up with, they are all going in my LT library. And yes, I will tag them as such and in fact, most likely put them in their own collections.

But it seems that, at least for the foreseeable future, they will be very small collections. Tiny, empty collections.

Speaking of tiny things, I wonder how little Bandit is. I asked him to send me a picture of how he looked after his haircut last week, but he didn't, the little rascal.
So, since there is a chill in the air and the holiday season will be here before you know it, here is an old one, from Bandit's Christmas card last year. It goes nicely with the picture in my profile at the moment, wee caite with Santa. I'm beginning to think snowy, winter thoughts....

As if E-Books Were Not Bad Enough....

You may have noticed that I am not a huge fan of the whole e-book "revolution". I have issues, issues with the readers and issues with the e-books themselves. In my opinion, e-books have not developed to a level that can match the experience of reading a book. Maybe they are more efficient, maybe the offer a certain convenience, if you are looking just in terms of relaying information. If a book is just a series of images of words, then maybe the e-book is a capable medium. But for me, dinosaur that I am, reading a book is about more than just the transfer of information. It is an experience and the e-book experience has some serious problems at this point.

But fear not! It seems that some publishers are ready to meet this challenge. According to an article in the NY Times,

"...in the age of the iPhone, Kindle and YouTube, the notion of the book is becoming increasingly elastic as publishers mash together text, video and Web features in a scramble to keep readers interested in an archaic form of entertainment.

On Thursday, for instance, Simon & Schuster, the publisher of Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King, is working with a multimedia partner to release four “vooks,” which intersperse videos throughout electronic text that can be read — and viewed — online or on an iPhone or iPod Touch."

Yes, it seems that what that "archaic form of entertainment", the book, needed all along...video! But wait, there is even more on the horizon. Jude Deveraux, an author of some 36 romance books, now known as "straightforward text novels", has even more suggestions for the future "book".

"Ms. Deveraux said she envisioned new versions of books enhanced by music or even perfume. “I’d like to use all the senses,” she said.
Brian Tart, publisher of Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, which released “Level 26,” said he wanted the book’s text to be able to stand on its own, but the culture demanded rethinking the format."

Personally, I like using my imagination. I don't think the "format"...formally known as books...needs "rethinking."

And maybe I am not the only one to see some problems with this vision of the future.
If people develop a taste for this enhanced medium...formally known as books...will the next generation have the patience to sit and read Henry James or George Eliot? Will centuries of classics sit unread in the future, unless someone goes back enhances those dusty, old books and let's us smell the cologne Mr Rochester wore? Oh wait, that's right, they won't be sitting anywhere because all the libraries will be going digital, like my favorite prep school.

Happily, not everyone is on board.

"Some authors scoff at the idea of mixing the two mediums. As a novelist I would never ever allow videos to substitute for prose, said Walter Mosley, the author of “Devil in a Blue Dress” and other novels.

“Reading is one of the few experiences we have outside of relationships in which our cognitive abilities grow,” Mr. Mosley said. “And our cognitive abilities actually go backwards when we’re watching television or doing stuff on computers.”

So, what do you think? Is there something, anything, unique and special about the traditional book or is this just me, yet again, fighting the inevitable?

Tell Me That It's Just a Bad Dream....Please.

photo by svenwerk

Now, I know that a few of you, my dear readers, are fans of the e-book and I may have mentioned that I have an issue or two with the whole subject. Well, an article that I happened upon on The Boston Globe website brought to reality my worst fears of where the Evil E-Readers could lead. Where it will lead if many have their way, like the headmaster of the Cushing Academy.

It seems that The Powers That Be at the Cushing Academy have decided to get rid of all the books in their library. Yes, let me say that again...they have gotten rid of all the books and decided to go totally digital.

“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus.
In place of the stacks, they are spending $42,000 on three large flat-screen TVs that will project data from the Internet and $20,000 on special laptop-friendly study carrels....And to replace those old pulpy devices that have transmitted information since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1400s, they have spent $10,000 to buy 18 electronic readers made by Amazon.com and Sony.

Sorry, I need to pause. I can't seem to catch my breath... ((gasp))

It seems that one issue is that books take up too much space, space that can now be used for a "$50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine."
The librarian is not thrilled to be in charge of a book-less library, the head of the history department is concerned with losing the 'dignity' of the traditional library.

They worry about an environment where students can no longer browse rows of voluptuous books, replete with glossy photographs, intricate maps, and pages dog-eared by generations of students. They worry students will be less likely to focus on long works when their devices are constantly interrupting them with e-mail and instant messages. They also worry about a world where sweat-stained literature is deemed as perishable as all the glib posts on Facebook or Twitter.

One student said “It’s a little strange,but this is the future."

Is it? Is it really?
I think this is one of the most horrible ideas I have heard of, an idea fraught with problems. Lack of illustrations, lack of many graphs and diagrams that are readable on e-formats. Formats that may be totally obsolete in a short amount of time as many computer technologies popular a few years ago are now. But, it seems the kids were not using the library enough, so the best idea is to just get rid of the books! Wouldn't want to address the question of how to instill a lifelong love of reading in the children. No, just get rid of the books. Cheaper, less space used. More room for a cappuccino machine. Oh yes, I can see the glow in the eyes of many an administrator.

I'm sorry, but I am feeling a little faint and need to go lie down for a minute. Then I all going to be sure all my books, my beautiful books, are safe on their shelves.

Thursday briefs...

really brief this time...lol

First, just want to remind any readers that the GIVEAWAY for "The Lost City of Z" will end this weekend. So drop a comment there if you would like to win a copy of a very interesting book.

Second, for those of you that like...or don't mind...e-books, there is an offer out there to download a PDF file of C.J.West's book "Sin and Vengeance". I have not read it yet, but it seems it is being made into a film and the books got very good, if limited, reviews on Amazon. If you are interested, the site is http://www.22wb.com/freesinbook.htm and you will need to enter the password: cjwest.

And last...I just want to remind you check out the Susan Boyle/Britian's Got Talent video here. It seems that the video on YouTube has now been viewed by over 12 million viewers.

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