iBeth

Funny book is big hit

I checked out Jay Leno's book, How to be the Funniest Kid in the Whole Wide World, for Emma, figuring that she might enjoy it.  Score!  She followed me around for days, reading the funnier bits out loud.  Then, inspired, she and her friends decided to write their own joke book (though I have not yet seen this custom publication). 

"I really like this book," she confided one day (as if it weren't obvious).

"I'm glad," I told her.  "I know you like Jay Leno's _Headlines_.  When I saw that book, I thought you would enjoy it."

She paused.  "I'm really not that predictable, you know," she said.

And to think we still have five more years before she is a teenager.

We Love Alcatraz

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, that is.  One great perk of parenthood is getting to read your kid's books!  Emma loves books that are funny and Alcatraz does not disappoint.  She materializes at my elbow every few pages to read me another delicious bit of humor (such as when Alcatraz tries to say "Hello" but is interrupted after the first syllable by his grandfather, who admonishes him not to swear.  Or when Alcatraz tries to act "stoopid" and lapses into misspellings).  I'm hoping to find her some funny books that have female protagonists, just to mix it up a bit.  Suggestions welcome.

I also just finished The Merchant's War by Charles Stross.  Love the series!  Hate the fact that the latest book in the series is a cliffhanger.  Grr!  Now I need to wait until 2009 to find out what happens next.  I try not to read newly published series to avoid just this situation, but when the books are as good as these, well, I just can't resist.

BTW, the Merchant Princes series involves characters who start in our universe and travel to others.  What is the name of this subgenre?  Charles de Lint books do this too, plus many others whose names escape me at the moment. 

Defying the Library Rule, Emma Reads Longest Books Ever

Emma is very, very happy--she just finished reading the longest books she has ever read in all her 7 years:  The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 1:  The Hero Revealed and The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 2: The Return of Meteor Boy.  She stayed up way too late to do it, but I didn't have the heart to take her books away.

Emma, a superhero fan, had been pining to read about Ordinary Boy since she saw the books in her school library . . . but she was not allowed to check them out!  Why not?  Because these books are classified for reading level 6.0, and Emma's reading tests showed that she was only at level 5.8.

As soon as he heard about the problem, Daddy went straight to the public library to check out these books, while Mommy spoke with Emma's teacher (it turns out that Emma hadn't told her teacher about the problem). Emma's teacher explained that kids sometimes check out books that are too hard and then they get so frustrated they give up on the idea of reading for pleasure--hence, the rule about levels.  But since Emma definitely is hooked on reading, all agree that she should be able to check out whatever books she wants.  I wonder what she will pick next?

Inspired by Ordinary Boy's uncle, Emma drew up this menu of unusual ice cream flavors.  Mmmm, doorknob ice cream.  I'm getting hungry already.

Don't Log This Book

While playing at Grandma's house, Emma unearthed from somewhere a copy of Little Black Sambo (sans "darky" images).  She loved it!  "I want to take this to school to show my teacher!" she said.  Grandma was in the midst of giving her permission when Daddy interrupted.

Daddy: No.  You are not bringing that book to school to show your teacher.

Grandma: Is her teacher . . .

Daddy: Yes.  She is.

I don't think we'll be entering it into the reading log either.  But I do recommend that you read the Wikipedia entry about it; the history of the story, which itself is not overtly racist, is interesting, and you can go from there to free e-books of Little Black Sambo via Project Gutenberg.

What Is Clifford Doing?

Amelia's new book, Clifford's First Easter, a gift from her grandma, features this thought-provoking illustration.  What is Clifford doing behind that milk carton?  I admit that my first thought wasn't terribly appetizing.  Find out what Clifford is really doing after the jump.

Free Ed Howdershelt

Awhile ago, I mentioned that Ed Howdershelt was a great author only available via e-book.  Well, this week at Fictionwise, you can download his 3rd World Products: Book 1 for free!  Enjoy . . . .

E-Book Week Featured Author: Ed Howdershelt

Another great thing about ebooks: You can read authors in e-format that you can't read any other way.  One of my favorites is Ed Howdershelt, a man whose bio is as interesting as his books--in fact, many of his books are reportedly based on his varied experiences as medic, spy, mercenary, artist, computer geek.  And you can't get his books in dead-tree editions.

A good place to start: 3rd World Products, Book 1.  The book opens with first contact: an alien spaceship appears in midair off the coast of Florida.  Protagonist Ed watches it for a little while; it does nothing but hang there. So he goes about his day, figuring that it would either be there later, or it wouldn't.  Thus begins an unpredictable, erotic, happily satiric adventure that continues for at least seven more books.  (And I'm not kidding about the erotica--it's an ever-present Howdershelt feature.  In some of his books, such as Assignment: Atlanta and the In Service to a Goddess series, sex fulfills a major plot function and makes Ed seem like a particularly good guy to know. But the sex never outweighs the story)   I'm not going to write a longer review because you can find a great review here.  This book won the Preditors & Editors 2005 Reader award for best SF novel, and it gets great reader ratings at Fictionwise (along with Howdershelt's other books).

Don't care for SF?  Then try Dragonfly Run, a book that explains why Ed left a job helping people escape from East Germany and joined up with mercenary forces in Africa. Or Field Decision, that recounts how Ed helped a minor diplomat whose daughter was kidnapped.  Or Anne, a novel about Ed's first romantic relationship--with his high school teacher (and yes, I do mean romantic and no other adjective).  Or Cade's Quest, a historical thriller set in post-Civil War America.  You can buy these books many places--even at Amazon--but Fictionwise gives you more formats and more services for your money.

Sure, none of these books is ponderous enough to discuss with colleagues at your next department function, but who cares?  They're all great entertainment, and with ebooks, nosy types can't see what you're reading, anyway.

e-Book Heartbreak

Just in time for e-book week came this marvelous news (courtesy of the e-book community yahoo group):  Tor SF was planning to publish Webscriptions!  Author John Scalzi explains:

As many of you who read science fiction already know, for some time now Baen Books has been publishing many of its titles as e-books as well -- and in a nicely non-annoying Digital Rights Management-free style that says to readers, "hey, we trust you." Perhaps as a result, Baen is one of the few real-world publishers whose e-book division isn't a massive tidal flow of suck, either in terms of finances or in reader aggravation. Baen offers books both through a paid service called "WebScriptions," and a free service (primarily of backlist books) called the Baen Free Library.

Tor Books . . .  has apparently decided that the way Baen is doing business in the e-books sphere makes more and better sense than any other model, because the two of them are joining forces to offer an e-book initiative for Tor titles.

I was thrilled to learn here and here that one of my favorite new series, Charles Stross' Merchant Princes series, would be one of the first titles issued via Webscriptions.  Currently these books are only available in dead-tree versions, and the eagerly-awaited volume 3 isn't due until June.  The webscription version was slated for  this month!  Wow!  I was already brainstorming ways to afford all of the new Tor books I was sure to start reading.

Savvy readers will have noticed the past tense verbs above.  Apparently there is trouble in paradise.  One Tor author has explained to me via private email that Tor's parent company isn't so sure about e-books that don't have DRM.  Maybe the Webscriptions arrangement won't happen after all.  The author cautions that all hope is not lost, so maybe we will have reason to celebrate soon  . . . but for the moment . . . heartbreak. :(

Read anywhere, even in the dark

In honor of e-book week (as observed on my blog), I thought I'd talk about my favorite e-book devices.

For me, e-books have two significant advantages over "dead tree" books:

1. you can bring your library anywhere (without lugging pounds and pounds of paper)
2. you can read in the dark (great when getting the kids to sleep)

When my main objective is mobility, I rely on my pda with mobipocket software.  I can easily tuck my pda in my purse and have hundreds of books at my fingertips.  I'm never stuck without something to read.  And the pda recharger is lightweight, too, so it's easy to bring on longer trips (such as my recent trip to Sweden).  The screen is a trifle small, but mobipocket software can use landscape format and it scrolls pages so I don't have to fumble to turn them. (Great article about "Why to read books on your pda" starts here.)

When my main objective is reading in the dark, I prefer my e-bookwise reader.  It's about the size of a paperback and very easy to operate one-handed.  Because the screen is bigger than the pda, I find it more comfortable to read, and with the backlight set on low, I get 15+ hours of battery life before recharging.

Of course, both devices are great for aging eyes because they allow you to change the font size.  Read without glasses!  And both offer a staggering range of content.  Add in content from sites like Fictionwise or Blackmask or Baen or Project Gutenberg (the last site offering thousands of FREE books), and I have more to read than I can possibly find time for. 

If I really want to rest my eyes, I can buy audiobooks in mp3 format from Fictionwise for less than any other audiobook vendor I know of.

If I wanted to be especially diligent, I could buy Mobipocket creator and import .pdf and other files too--allowing me to read work-related articles on my pda too.

For readers willing to struggle with DRM, additional first-run books are available in secure Microsoft and Adobe formats, but I prefer to buy from vendors who don't treat me like a thief.

Read FREE Nebula nominees

Apparently last week was Read an eBook Week and I missed it, at least as far as blog observances go.  (Why oh why do I save so much work for my spring "break"?) 

But as far as I'm concerned, every week should be ebook week anyway. 

And now is a great time for reading ebooks, because Fictionwise is giving away free e-editions of Nebula nominees.  Free AND DRM-free too.  Read them in many different formats.  Download as many times as you need to.  No strings attached, except possibly free registration with Fictionwise.  Click now, because the books won't stay free forever.  And enjoy!