June 30, 2007

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

The Harry Potter story is coming to an end. Soon we’ll all be reading Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling’s long-awaited seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series. Fans around the world are speculating on where this final book will take us, and where it will leave Harry. The only secrets Rowling has given away are that the final chapter will tell us some of what happens to Harry and his classmates after they leave Hogwarts, and that a secret about Harry’s mother, Lily, will be revealed. Oh, yes - we also know there will be deaths. Will Harry find and destroy Voldemort’s remaing Horcruxes? Will we finally know for certain whether Snape is good or evil? Who will die? The answers will come on July 21st with the release of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

Order Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows now, support two charities

If you haven’t ordered your copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, yet, I hope you’ll consider using one of the links in this post to do so. Your copy of Book 7 will cost just $17.99 - that’s 49% off of the full price of $34.99. Your order will be processed through Amazon, so you know it will be handled reliably. But here’s the best part - your order will be helping to support two great charities. One of the charities supports the needs of children around the world and the other promotes global literacy. One dollar will go into the charitable fund for every book sold through the site. The goal is to raise one million dollars for these charitable causes. Performancing, a well-known and respected weblog written by and for professional bloggers, is managing the charitable project.

Write your own ending to Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

If you’re a hardcore Harry Potter fan (aren’t we all!) you’ll want to check out the writing contest after you order your copy of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. Two winners will be selected. Submissions judged to be the best ending and the most accurate ending will each win $500. Entries must be submitted by July 20th, so get those creative juices flowing!

Order your copy of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows today! You know you were going to anyway!

Technorati Tags: books, charities, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter Book 7

June 10, 2007

Free online library!

I’ve fallen in love with StumbleUpon all over again. I’ve liked it since the day I first … well … stumbled upon it. Every now and then I get busy with other things and forget about it for a while, but it’s always only a brief while. I’ve found interesting sites each time I’ve stumbled, so I’ll keep going back for more.

Today I stumbled upon The Burgomeister’s Books and I’m a happy camper indeed! If you know me at all, you know I’m a reader. I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately, probably because of my health problems. If I sit still for very long I fall asleep. Not good when you have piles of great books sitting around waiting to be read. Happily, things seem to be on the upswing now. While I’m not totally up to speed, I am reading several books a week again. I’m a greedy soul when it comes to great literature, so the fact that I have an ample supply of books handy does not deter me from wanting more. I buy books, I swap books with friends, I BookCross books and I even occasionally patronize the local library. Any source of books is to be treasured and I’ve added a new one to my list today, right up near the top. The Burgomeister’s Books offers free ebooks from modern authors. I’ve visited quite a few ebook sites in the past and been discouraged to find out that the definition of free seems to elude the publishers of so many of them. Burgomeister doesn’t have that problem. I love these words from his front page, a mission statement, so to speak:

“Words may be caged thoughts. But thought is like the wind: it cannot be bottled and sold.

Nourishment for the imagination must be free - free as in Liberty, free as in accessible to all, regardless of income or place in the pecking-order.

The Burgomeister is doing his small part to see that it is. Join me.”

Still, there are other sites that are truely free, so you may be asking yourself why this one excites me. Well, first of all, the material available on this site is from Burgomeister’s personal library and he has great taste (ie: he and I like a lot of the same authors.) Secondly, he’s filled the gap by providing modern literature in downloadable ebook format. Shakespeare and Austen are available everywhere. Burgomeister gives us Asimov, Bradbury, Vonnegut, Ann Rice, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, all of the authors we want to read. It was an unfamiliar Asimov title that first caught my eye, but scroll through the list and prepare to find yourself guilty of biblio-envy. Unlike him, my preference is to hold a book in my hot little hands. I like the wieght of a book, the feel of the pages, the acrid smell of new ink or the mustiness of older tomes. Still, e-reading is becoming more and more a part of my life (and probably yours too.) I can’t afford to buy all of the words I want to read, and wouldn’t have space for them if I did, so ebooks allow me to continue to indulge myself. Finding previously undiscovered titles by my favorites is a major turn on, and Burgomeister has them. Mahalo nui loa (Thank you very much!) Burgomeister for making such wonderful titles available!

Word to the wise: The site has a few simple rules that you’ll need to follow. They help conserve bandwidth and establish fairness. Scroll to the bottom of the page and read the terms of service before you do your first download. They are not burdensome. Play nice.

If you’re not familiar with StumbleUpon, click the link and go see why I play there!

Technorati Tags: books, ebooks, free ebooks, literature

May 25, 2007

The Symposium

I told you yesterday that the nice Lady Joana and I didn’t have much in common. I also mentioned that I was only just getting to know her, and I’m glad I’ve continued to do that. I’ve learned through exploring The Symposium that we have more in common than I knew. We both seem to have an insatiable thirst to read, and will read rubbish if good books aren’t available. I think Joana also shares my unfortunate inability to put a book down unfinished, even when it’s deplorably written, as she’s managed to write some scathing reviews of books that she found poorly written and without merit.

I’m a fan of well-written vampire and supernatural creature books and Joana has reviewed a few with enough skill to let me know that I need to look them up. I’m especially fond of series books within that genre, and take great enjoyment in watching characters develop and mature as events unfold in their ongoing stories. I’ll be looking out for the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison, with which I’ve not previously been acquainted. Joana has found these books to be populated with intriguing characters having complex relationships that draw the readers into their lives. I especially appreciated the comparison to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series because I, too, have been annoyed at Hamilton’s habit of not tying up loose ends in succeeding stories. Joana and I both understand and appreciate that even books based entirely on fantasy need realism and continuity to hold their readers. I expect to find that in Harrison’s books. Mahalo, Joana, for steering me towards them.

There’s some amazingly good children’s and young adult literature being produced these days. I’m a little sad for readers who fail to recognize this and deprive themselves of some really great reading experiences. I discovered Cornelia Funke a couple of years ago and was enthralled with her Inkheart and The Thief Lord. I’m therefore inclined to want to be skeptical of Joana’s less-than-stellar impression of Dragon Rider, but only because I want Ms. Funke to have continued with the exemplary writing she exhibited in earlier works. Joana’s reviews seem to be well-balanced and content-based rather than swaying to personal expectations, so I’ll try to follow her example and keep an open mind with this one.

I’ve only spent an hour or so nibbling at the delectables offered at The Symposium. I’m liking what I’ve found so far and highly recommend that discerning readers take a look at what Joana has to say. She’s an astute pragmatist when it comes to dissecting and rating the books she’s delved into and I think you’ll respect her views and come away with a few new titles scribbled on your wish list.

Technorati Tags: books and literature, book reviews, book blogs

April 2, 2007

The Capo’s Mistress

I’ve been jealous of my friend Karen for a while. She has a well-respected book blog and frequently gets advance copies of books for review. I always have plenty of books around that need reading, mind you, so it’s not the supply I’m jealous of. It’s the advance and free parts I want. That whole idea is just delicious to me. So I’m feeling a pretty special right now, because it’s finally my turn. I not only have pre-publication access to a new book, I got it for free. The specialness bit, though, is an overstatment I suppose. The Capo’s Mistress by Richard Harris is free for the asking to anyone who wants it. Scheduled for release on April 27th, the book is availble now as an MP3 download or to listen to online, read by the author.

Mike Driscoll is a mostly-on-the-wagon alcoholic and retired Los Angeles cop. Stranded when his car breaks down in Virginia City, Montana, he meets and is immediately smitten by Mary Carter when he spends some time in the railroad museum where she works. Mary had found the town by happenstance also, initially only planning to stay long enough to gas up her car. Sparks ignite at their first meeting, and Mike’s first night with Mary begins with fiery passion, then goes downhill into embarrassment as he is unable to keep up with her insatiable appetite. Mary had been a hot-blooded Las Vegas blackjack dealer before coming to Montana, and her time in a small town has left her starved for companionship and romance.

Circumstances quickly force Mary to confess to Mike that she is hiding out from the mob and the law. Gunfire had erupted following a robbery at the casino and one of the robbers, realizing that he was dying, shoved his portion of the take towards Mary. She had no moral qualms about hiding the money for later recovery before leaving Vegas in a hurry when video taken during the event clearly showed her in possession of the bag. Upon hearing the story, Mike, romantic to the core, becomes her knight in shining armor and takes off to Vegas to repair the situation. Wrapped around the little finger of the woman he loves, Mike has decided to recover “Mary’s money,” from the lagoon at Treasure Island in Las Vegas. The money, of course, isn’t hers at all and will lead Mike into more trouble than he could possibly anticipate.

The story is compelling, but I’m disturbed by Mike’s easy capitulation to situation ethics. The author, Richard Harris, is a graduate of Stanford Law School, has been a lawyer and judge, and has served on the faculty of the California Judicial College in Berkeley. Such a background implies high moral and ethical standards, leaving me hopeful that he’ll lead Mike back to higher moral ground. The Capo’s Mistress is the first in the Mike Driscoll series. With careful molding Mike has the potential to become a favorite as a flawed hero we’re all rooting for.

You can pre-order The Capo’s Mistress at Amazon in either book or audiobook form, but it’s free online until its April 27th release date. Kind of makes you wonder how the author plans on making any money, doesn’t it?

Technorati Tags: mystery, suspense, fiction, romance, books, Las Vegas