The link below is to an interesting article to ponder – ebooks, traditional books and the personal library. This is something I’m currently working through myself.
For more visit:
http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2012/08/20/e-books-and-the-personal-library/
The link below is to an article that looks at the current debate over the pricing of various forms of media, including ebooks.
For more visit:
http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/apps-books-coffee-the-media-pricing-debate/
Hi all (and an especially large hello to regulars), just a bit of an update on the Blog. I haven’t posted much in the last week due to illness and was about to start doing so again when my computer bit the dust – died, gave up the ghost, packed it in… Anyway, I have now a new computer and currently I am in the process of setting it up, moving my files about, installing software, etc. It will still be a few days until I have everything sorted out and I am able to resume normal service.
Thankfully I have been able to salvage all my content and data.
I’ll be seeking to bring the Blogs back online over the next few days – hopefully one or even two may be back with fresh posts tonight. Thanks for your patience.
‘Collapse’ by Richard Stephenson is book one in the ‘New America’ series and I believe Stephenson’s first novel. The novel is set in the year 2027, with the USA falling apart. It is in the grip of the 2nd Great Depression and is at war with the Great Empire of Iran. The state of Florida has been devastated by a hurricane that has left over 1 million people dead and Texas is about to face the same fate. The government is about to fall. The people are descending into anarchy. What will become of the USA?
Though a first novel, the suspense and action of the novel is first rate. It is very easy to read and carries you along quite easily. However, there are serious issues with the grammar and spelling, as well as some fairly obvious errors in the actual text of the story. A good proof reader should have picked up on these mistakes and that would have resulted in a far more polished and professional product.
There is also a short sex scene tacked onto the end of the story which I thought was somewhat tacky and unnecessary. It did nothing for the story as a whole and was completely out of place in the overall development of the novel.
If you can see past these obvious flaws without too much prejudice, the novel is a very good read and I do look forward to picking up the story when the next book in the series is released in 2013.
Buy this book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Richard-Stephenson/dp/1477654631/
The link below is to an article/page that has numerous photos of book art/book sculptures.
For more visit:
http://thisiscentralstation.com/featured/mysterious-paper-sculptures/
I am a big fan of the Jason Bourne movies (the first three anyway). I don’t know what the fourth one (The Bourne Legacy) will be like without Matt Damon, but I’m still keen to see it. So it was having watched the movies that I decided to read the books. Wow, what a massive difference between the movie and the book. There are obvious similarities, but they are quite different from each other just the same.
‘The Bourne Identity’ is action all the way and is a great read. It is a book that is always on the go and suspense carries you foward through the book. You want to read on and see what happens to Jason Bourne next. Will
he be able to rise to the next challenge that is thrown in his way, especially given that he is trying to figure it all out as he goes along, as well as trying to figure out just who he himself is – while also seeking to protect a woman he has picked up along the way.
This is the spy book of spy books. It is an action read at the top of its game. Jason Bourne is the master spy relearning his craft as the memory of who he is and what he is returns to him with each thrilling piece of the jig saw that is ‘The Bourne Identity.’ Once you start, you want to keep on reading and as the pace quickens you find yourself seemingly reading with an increased tempo, as you’re right there with Jason Bourne every step of the way.
An excellent first read in the Jason Bourne series. I am very much looking forward to the next volume with great expectancy. I highly recommend this book.
Buy this book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bourne-Identity-A-Novel/dp/0553593544/
The link below is to an article that reports on how the ebook lending site Lendlnk was suspended while doing nothing illegal.
For more visit:
http://www.geekosystem.com/ebook-lendink-shuttered/
I really didn’t think I’d get too much read this week, but as you will see from the list below I have been able to read a fair bit.
I was able to get The Hunger Games trilogy completed, which is good given the DVD of the first movie will be out in a week or so here in Australia. I haven’t seen the movie yet, so getting the books read prior to the movie was something I wanted to do.
This coming week I’d like to get a few more books read – I’ll see how I go.
Social Networks, Web Applications & Other Tools
Not a lot done on social networks or web applications this week. I have added a few books to Goodreads, that is about all really.
Currently Reading:
Currently, I am reading the following books:
– Discipline of Grace, by Jerry Bridges
I’m hoping to actually make some good progress on this book today and tomorrow. I read it once or twice before, but not in a while. Looking forward to getting into it. Jerry Bridges is usually very good to read.
– Collapse, by Richard Stephenson
I’m just over halfway through this one, but it is a fairly long novel so it will take another day or two to complete at least.
Finished Reading:
This week I have been able to read the following books:
– Phantoms on the Bookshelves, by Jacques Bonnet
I completed this book very early in the week and have written a review which can be found via the link below. Probably only really appeal to those of us who are really into books and have a library of our own. I quite enjoyed the read.
– Killing Calvinism: How to Destroy a Perfectly Good Theology from the Inside, by Greg Dutcher
This was a great book and one I should read on a regular basis – perhaps once a year. A very challenging book, with many lessons for the church today (thinking of reformed churches).
– Catching Fire: The Hunger Games Books 2, by Suzanne Collins
I haven’t as of yet wrote a review on this one – will do soon hopefully.
– Mockingjay: The Hunger Games Book 3, by Suzanne Collins
I haven’t as of yet wrote a review on this one – will do so soon hopefully.
Purchased & Added to Library:
I again grabbed a heap of free ebooks from Amazon. These are all of the books I’ve posted on my Blog ‘The Book Stand,’ so all posted there I also downloaded for myself. I’ll certainly have more books than I can ever read that’s for sure, but certainly never wanting for choice. No harm in grabbing them while there free and in digital format – if I don’t read them all, what does it matter? At least I’ll have them if I want to read them.
Among the books I actually purchased this week:
– The Hunger Games – Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
– The Hunger Games – Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
– In Christ Alone – Living the Gospel Centered Life, by Sinclair Ferguson
– Set Apart – Calling a Worldly Church to a Godly Life, by Kent R. Hughes
The link below is to an article on how to save a bookshop. It is the first in a series of posts which can be followed by links following the article.
For more visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/how-to-save-an-indie-bookstore-day-1/2012/07/27/gJQAwMN0DX_blog.html
The link below is to an opinion piece on why one writer doesn’t trust online book reviews.
For more visit:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nina-badzin/why-i-dont-trust-book-rev_b_1757048.html
At the BookShelf 
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