Booktagger Blog

Books in September

2008-10-13T04:27:00.000-07:00

Last month I finished two books, The Uncommon Reader and Scattered.

I can't quite remember when I first heard about The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, I think it was mentioned in many places. I added it to my bookshelf on Booktagger and Jeremy brought it home one evening. This book is simple to read and amusing. The queen's voice seemed to speak so realistically though the words, it was entertaining to read in short bursts on my train trips and the recognition of many titles throughout will further draw in avid readers.

Scattered by Malcolm Knox is toward the other end of the spectrum. I read a portion of this book, detailing the emergence and use of ice in Australia, in a weekend magazine that accompanied the newspaper. Coincidentally, Jeremy also brought this one home, although this time he didn't know it was on my list. I think I read Scattered over two evenings as I found it so gripping, mainly due to the stories of individuals throughout. I found the account very balanced, although I am sure many differ. It started by making the drug seem to be the answer to our time-starved and tense modern lives, but soon presented other realities. The only disappointing part of the book was a few pages that contained lists of incidences. I don't even remember what they were of, something to do with ice no doubt, but they disrupted the flow of the book so I skipped them. Although I recommend this book, I did find it disturbing and it took a while after putting it down each evening before I felt like having a normal conversation.

Lord of the Rings Online

2008-10-13T03:58:00.000-07:00

The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy from JRR Tolkien got me reading regularly when I was 14. Actually it was the Hobbit, which then lead me to read the whole LOTR series. Recently I saw a post on twitter from SilkCharm about Lord of the Rings Online. On their www.lotro.com they describe themselves: "LOTRO is the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's...". I'm intrigued and have decided to buy a version of the game and see if it is any good. I remember playing a computer game based on the LOTR adventure years ago and it wasn't any good. I think the social aspect of an online game could make this interesting. I hope they are also taking use of a lot of the supporting materials written by Tolkien that never made it into any of his books but helped shape them during their creation.

http://www.LOTRO.com

Site upgrade and speed performance increase

2008-09-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

We're upgrading Booktagger.com's site infrastructure today. We'll endevour to keep the interruptions to a minimum.

Booktagger website load should be even faster by the end of the day.

Featured Books: Gold Dust and The Other Hand

2008-09-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hachette will supply a free book to the first 10 members who join each of the following book clubs and add the book to their shelf. Only one book per member.

The Other Hand by Chris Cleaves

Gold Dust by Kimberley Freeman

Please ensure you write a review once read, we want to know what you think!

The Other Hand

We don’t want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:

It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific.

The story starts there, but the book doesn’t.

And it’s what happens afterwards that is most important.

Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.

Chris Cleaves debut novel INCENDIARY was an international bestseller published in 20 countries. It won the 2006 Somerset Maugham Award, was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers Prize, won the United States Book-of-the-Month Clubs First Fiction award 2005, won the Prix Spécial du Jury at the French Prix des Lecteurs 2007, and will soon be released as a major motion picture. Inspired by his early childhood in West Africa, THE OTHER HAND is Chris Cleaves’ second novel. He is married with two children, and lives in London. He keeps a website at www.chriscleave.com.

Gold Dust

Three women linked by their blood, their dreams…and their sins. From Leningrad in the seventies to America and London in the present day, Kimberley Freeman’s new novel follows the lives of two sisters, Lena and Natalia, and their cousin, Sofi, as they move away from Russia and all they have known. Despite promising to always take care of each other, a pact to meet every winter is shattered as their lives change and long-held resentments begin to surface. Can that resentment turn to hatred? To murder?

KIMBERLEY FREEMAN is an established writer under the name Kim Wilkins. She was born in London and grew up in Brisbane. She has degrees in English Literature and Creative Writing. Her book, THE INFERNAL, won the 1997 Aurealis Awards for Best Horror Novel and Best Fantasy Novel. In 2000 THE RESURRECTIONISTS won the Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novel, while ANGEL OF RUIN won the same award in 2001. Kim lives in Queensland. She is moving her writing talents out of the speculative fiction genre and focusing on commercial women’s fiction. She published DUET in 2007 and GOLD DUST is her second novel under the name Kimberley Freeman.

Additional Information

To ensure you receive a free copy, follow these steps:

Join the book club and add the featured book to your "I want to read" bookshelf (the first members to do this will get a copy of the book).
Ensure your address details are filled out in your profile so we can send you the book.

Please help us make this a success by being one of the first Booktagger members to write a book review. The more interest we generate the more likely our publishers will expand the program.
To write a review hover over the book cover on Booktagger.com and select "Book info" for the book you're reviewing, then select "Review book" and start writing!

If you have any general questions or comments about the book you can post them in the book club.

Free books only for Australia and New Zealand mailing addresses, we're working on publishers in other countries.

Hachette: Shiny Morning and Midnight Sun

2008-09-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

*Update - Now 20 Free Copies: Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

Hachette will supply a free book to the first 20 members who join the Book Club: Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey and add the book to their shelf.

We have a limited number, if you want a copy act quickly.

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

Welcome to LA. City of contradictions. It is home to movie stars and down-and-outs. Palm-lined beaches and gridlock. Shopping sprees and gun sprees. Bright Shiny Morning takes a wild ride through the ultimate metropolis, where glittering excess rubs shoulders with seedy depravity. Frey's trademark filmic snapshots zoom in on the parallel lives of diverse characters, bringing their egos and ideals, hopes and despairs, anxieties and absurdities vividly to life. Some suffer, like the otherworldly wino who tries to save a spoilt teenage runaway. Others gain, like the canny talent agent who turns sexual harassment to blackmailing advantage. Some are loaded, or grounded, and have luck on their side. Others, like the countless actresses-turned-hookers, or schoolboys-turned-gangsters, are doomed.

Read more about the author at http://www.james-frey.com/.

To ensure you recieve a copy, follow these steps: Join the book club and add the featured book to your "I want to read" bookshelf (the first members to do this will get a copy of the book)
Ensure your address details are filled out in your profile so we can send you the book.
Forward this email to your friends!
(Free books only for Australia and New Zealand mailing addresses, we're working on publishers in other countries

Midnight Sun: Edward's Version of Twilight

Stephenie Meyer has posted a draft copy of Midnight Sun that she'd rather her fans not read. It was leaked onto the internet recently which has put her off finishing the book indefinately.

Stephenie explains: "As some of you may have heard, my partial draft of Midnight Sun was illegally posted on the Internet and has since been virally distributed without my knowledge or permission or the knowledge or permission of my publisher (Hachette).

I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution..."

To read more visit her blog: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html..

Check out our latest blog post at blog.booktagger.com.

Australians can't stop reading

2008-08-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

Australian bought 63 million books in the last twelve months, an increase of 7.5 per cent compared with the twelve months prior. This information was released by Nielson Bookscan and discussed in the SMH.

The top in Australia are:

1. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)
2. 4 Ingredients (Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham)
3. The Persimmon Tree (Bryce Courtenay)
4. Guinness World Records
5. A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
6. Underbelly (John Silvester and Andrew Rule)
7. The Six Sacred Stones (Matthew Reilly)
8. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Adult Edition
9. Those Faraday Girls (Monica McInerney)
10. The Dangerous Book for Boys - Australian Edition (Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden)

Stephanie Meyer climbs the Booktagger charts

2008-08-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

I only just came across Stephanie Myer after reading a post on ljcfyi. Blogger Jenny got Twilight on a whim, loved it, and then got a fright when she saw another of the author's books described as "Her first adult novel." The Twilight series is written for young adults, but seems to have found a much wider audience. Since then I have seen Stephanie's series everywhere and it has pushed down a Harry Potter favourite to reach #2 on the Booktagger list of most popular books.

Books have layers of meanings

2008-07-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

This table of books was a key piece in a collection designed by Richard Hutton. The collection, exhibited at Milan Design Week 2008, was titled "layers." Richard described this piece, saying “a book is all about layers, layers of meaning. This collection is about objects and what we can read in them." You can read more about the collection here.

A Faster Booktagger

2008-07-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick notice, in the next couple of days we'll be scheduling an outage to upgrade Booktagger.com to optimise and ensure it runs quickly.

Booktagger on Facebook

2008-07-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

We're quite excited this week to announce the release of a Facebook application for Booktagger. The application is located here: http://apps.facebook.com/booktagger. What does this mean? If you or a friend of yours is a big fan of Facebook you can now gain access to Booktagger through Facebook!

All you need to do is add the Booktagger Facebook application (link above). To match up your existing Booktagger account to your Facebook profile follow these instructions:

Install the Booktagger application on Facebook,
on the Booktagger application in Facebook select Customize from the menu,
then enter your Booktagger.com login credentials. Don't use your email address to login (which is fine to do on Booktagger.com) but your Booktagger username/nickname and password.
Then you will see that you've matched your accounts and all your books will be on your Facebook profile.

We're busy ironing out the Facebook application so let us know if you run in to something unexpected, we're happy to help. So we now have Facebook and MySpace applications! You can now keep your bookshelves consistent across both platforms and see what your friends are reading.

50 Free Books

We've also released another 50 books to for our members in Australia and New Zealand. Click here for the link: blog.booktagger.com. If you think that the books are already taken, think again as, per release, members are only allowed one book each and there are members who join every book club although they'll only get one book. So join the clubs even if you're interested in the book as you may still receive a copy. We're in the process of designing a better way to notify members of the true number of books available.

Airport fiction

2008-07-15T03:25:00.000-07:00

I was in a second-hand bookshop once that had the books organised in interesting categories. I particularly remember the section signed "Airport Fiction." It contained all those books you see for sale somewhere between customs and the boarding gates. Looking along the shelf there were so many familiar titles and authors on the books I had read in the air, but nowhere else.

I read the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella while off the ground, buying a book or two at each airport through Sydney, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Orlando.

The books kept me entertained when I couldn't concentrate on anything heavier and even the movies were too dramatic to follow.

What do you read on the plane (in-flight magazine excluded)?

Books that changed the way you think

2008-07-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

A post on the Booktagger discussion board asks if you have read any books that have changed your thinking. I immediately thought of two autobiographies by Waris Dirie, "Desert Flower" and "Desert Dawn".

The first starts with Waris hiding from a lion as she escapes from her nomadic tribe in Somalia, where her father has sold her at thirteen to a sixty one year one man. She miraculously locates family in a city when she has never visited such a place and ultimately ends up in London, illegally and unable to speak the language.

Showing how life can change most dramatically, Waris is picked to pose in the famous Pirelli calendar and becomes a sought after model.

However, what changed my way of thinking was her descriptions of the contrasts between her two lives that she still struggles to balance. Growing up every drop of water and crumb of food was precious, but in developed nations we can forget to turn off a tap or mindlessly eat while watching a movie or waiting for a train. Since reading this book I have been unable to leave the tap on while brushing my teach or eat while walking place to place. It taught me to respect the essentials in life no matter how easily they may come to us.

When writing this post I was excited to learn Waris has written two more books. "Desert Children", which documents her work to combat female genital mutilation, and "Letter to My Mother", a most personal epistle prompted by her mother became seriously ill and travelled to be with her daughter in Vienna.

Anonymous Lawyer

2008-07-13T05:09:00.000-07:00

Anonymous Lawyer is the book I am currently reading, or blook, as it is based on the blog of the same name. Humorous, politically incorrect and amusing. The book is made up of daily posts, which would be to much of the same where it not for the interspersed emails that shows both a more human side of the main character and the diversity of correspondence the blogs author received.

What are you currently reading? I have added a thread to the Booktagger discussion board for books read in July.

The five things I like best about: Booktagger

2008-07-11T02:13:00.000-07:00

01. Knowing what my sister is reading in London.
02. Tracking how many books I have read since joining.
03. Listing the books I want to read.
04. Ordering from Abbey's to get books delivered the next day.
05. Writing for the Booktagger blog!

That was too easy, I might have to do this again sometime.

50 Free Books: Of William, Strikes, Bloomsday, Magda, Devil, Lace and a Good Mayor

2008-07-10T23:44:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Allen and Unwin and Harper Collins we'll supply free books to the first members who join one of the following book clubs *and* add the featured book to the "I want to read" shelf. So what are you waiting for? Select the book you want to read and join now. Make sure you forward this post to your friends so they can register too. You must write a review of the book you receive!

Only one book per member. The more that register the merrier. Each image is linked to the book club you must join.

10 Free Copies of The Devil's Eye by Ian Townsend: Harper Collins - Click to Join
10 Free Copies of The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll: Harper Collins - Click to Join
10 Free Copies of The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry: Harper Collins - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of The Bloomsday Dead by Adrian McKinty: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of Second Strike by Mark Abernethy: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of My Name is Will by Jess Winfield: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join
5 Free Copies of I Dream of Magda by Stefan Laszczuk: Allen & Unwin - Click to Join

These books are exclusive, not even available in stores yet. We have a limited number, if you want a copy act quickly. Only one book per member.

Make sure you:

* Join a book club and add the featured book to your "I want to read" bookshelf (the first members to do this will get a copy of the book)
* Ensure your address details are filled out in your profile so we can send you the book
* Forward this email to your friends!

(Free books only for Australia and New Zealand mailing addresses, we're working on publishers in other countries)

This one's for the girls...

2008-07-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

Two new lipstick-themed books have been released recently by Australian authors.

Entrepreneur Poppy King's book provides help for those with a good idea who want to run with it. Poppy is well-known for Poppy Industries in Australia, and she draws from her experience building a successful brand, and her mistakes that led to the company's fall. After a few quiet years working for Estee Lauder as Vice President of Creative Marketing for Prescriptives, Poppy is back in the press with this book and a new brand Lipstick Queen that appears to have many familiar products we loved, but haven't seen for years.

Beauty editor Zoe Foster has written a novel of the beauty industry. I am a recent fan of Zoe's blog Fruity Beauty and finding she also has a book is a bonus!

Read in June

2008-07-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

Tea in the Library is written by a lawyer who started an independent bookshop. I remember visiting the shop a couple of times, but there were events on and I couldn't get through the door. Another time I made it inside, but was asked to leave as they were closing early. The next time I tried to visit it had closed down. This book documents the story behind the shop: the inspiration and the mistakes. I loved finding out what had happen that disappearing bookshop.

I saw Bringing Down the House in a small train station bookshop years ago. The shop held many titles I had not seen elsewhere and I bought a couple. However, this title was one I decided to come back for and I wrote the details in the back of my diary. The shop closed, but now the book has been made into a major movie and can be found everywhere. It is a simple narrative of a young man involved in a card counting syndicate. The skill and dedication of the competing players in this story (the counters and the casino) is what makes this fascinating.

Warrior Brothers is written by a former SAS soldier who describes some of his time in the service and afterwards as a contractor. The book gives insights into a person that thrives from the situations most of us shrink from.

2008-07-08T02:13:00.000-07:00

Recently I took my son Oskar to the zoo while in Melbourne. Oskar learnt the names of some from "Dear Zoo", a lift the flaps book he received for his first Christmas that remained favourite for a long time. He now has the three books shown above by the same author, Rod Campbell. "I'm Hungry" has different animals and the foods they like to eat, his the final animal, a tiger, liking to eat YOU! At the Melbourne Zoo Oskar loved watching the tigers and kept laughing when I asked him what they like to eat.

Charley Harper

2008-07-07T06:27:00.000-07:00

animals, originally uploaded by mohawk.

This is one of my favourite images. It is from the inside of a children's biology book, An Illustrated Life, by artist Charles Harper. I have only every viewed images from Charley's many books online, but appreciate the artwork and, as a scientist, the way it communicates a fascination with biology.

Books for display

2008-07-06T05:29:00.000-07:00

Lately I have seen some interesting displays of books. I have posted previously about arranging books by colour, but since then I have seen books placed spine outwards, cover forwards and with white or opaque covers to make them uniform. While looking at the images online I found there was lots of debate involved! But, I know Booktagger readers are all booklovers, so there should be no doubt as to whether how you display your books reflects on whether you read them.

Sources: Top left from Happy Mundane, top right from Apartment Therapy, bottom two also from Happy Mundane.

Bookcase staircase or staircase bookcase?

2008-07-05T00:15:00.000-07:00

This staircase was designed to store and display many books. The stairs lead up to loft and, with the sun shining down in the photo, makes me want to pick up a novel and climb up to get started on it. More photos and details can be found at Apartment Therapy.

Quote unquote

2008-07-04T02:32:00.000-07:00

Another book-related accessory I found lately is this pair of quote/unquote bookends. They look appealing with the white bookcovers here, but the black may not stand out as much either side of a colourful book collection.

Improving Booktagger Performance

2008-07-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say that Booktagger.com will be upgrading some hardware in the next hour or so and will expect a 30-60 minute outage window. I'll update this post as I have more information about specific commencement and ending times of the upgrade.

Enlightenment

2008-06-30T03:29:00.000-07:00

Many books claim to offer enlightenment, but this light book is different from them all. It is a novel reading lamp in the shape of a book, with "Enlightenment" etched in as the title. To further assist with reading, when you purchase enlightenment from Light Up Your World ten percent of the purchase price goes towards educational projects funded through the Edukans Foundation.

Amazon the Bully

2008-06-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

I was shown an article last week on how Amazon are bullying large and small publishers. The worlds second largest publisher, Hachette, had the buy button removed from their books on Amazon due to their resistance to further discount on agreed upon prices. They've also taken on small to medium publishers who refuse to use their print on demand services by removing their buy buttons as well.

Consider buying from other online bookshops. There are many.

via Herald Tribune