Jen Devourering Books

Author's Guild takes on the idea that Amazon's "innovation" is the reason for their market share

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:44:09 -0600

Author's Guild takes on the idea that Amazon's "innovation" is the reason for their market share:

Spoiler alert: it is actually their predatory, anti-competitive business practices.

Monthly Ebook Promo from Algonquin Books!

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:21:41 -0600

Monthly Ebook Promo from Algonquin Books! :

The fabulous Algonquin Books is doing a new monthly ebook promo during the second week of every month. For February they asked seven Algonquin authors to choose their very favorite Algonquin backlist book, all of which are being offered this week for just $1.99! There are some really great titles there, check them out!

PBS’sGreat Expectations, airing April 1 & 8

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:06 -0600

PBS’sGreat Expectations, airing April 1 & 8

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:27:40 -0600

So, just like I said last week, I should really be writing this week and not reading (most of last week I didn’t do much of either, actually). Still, there are some things I want to get to:

To finish (already started):

Changeless by Gail Carriger (Nook)
The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak (print)
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (audio)

To start:

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson (print)
Julia’s Child by Sarah Pinneo (print)
The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (Nook)
The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons (audio)

embezzledimprudence: Best. Flowchart....

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:33:18 -0600

embezzledimprudence:

Best. Flowchart. Ever.

nylonguysmagazine:

“Hey Jude” flowchart.

The entirety of my bookshelf space (shared with hubby and...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:54:50 -0600

The entirety of my bookshelf space (shared with hubby and toddler) in our temporary place. Other than a few more books in my closet, everything else is in storage.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:55:26 -0600

Once again I’m so behind on reviews that I should probably work focusing on writing more than reading, but I’m sure I’ll squeeze some reading time in too.

To finish (already started):

Changeless by Gail Carriger (Nook)
Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron (print)
The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney (audio)

To start:

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson (print)
The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak (print)
The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (audio)

“Fresh oranges are cultish compared to frozen orange juice because I have to eat the bitter outside to get to the sweet inside.” No, you don’t. You are doing it wrong.

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:30:43 -0600

“Fresh oranges are cultish compared to frozen orange juice because I have to eat the bitter outside to get to the sweet inside.” No, you don’t. You are doing it wrong.:

A bookseller takes on the stupid Slate article about Amazon.

"In almost any other realm in Europe, illegitimacy was a stigma that effectively prevented a person..."

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:19:29 -0600

“In almost any other realm in Europe, illegitimacy was a stigma that effectively prevented a person from attaining a respectable digital standing, but in Italy, bastard children were the norm - especially in the ruling house of Milan.”

- The Tigress of Forli by Elizabeth Lev

"Even severed as it was from the rest of the body, the hand was majestic."

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:56:15 -0600

“Even severed as it was from the rest of the body, the hand was majestic.”

- Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

(Don’t worry, this is part of the Statue of Liberty)

I sort of love John Burton.

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:04:14 -0600

I sort of love John Burton.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:23:58 -0600

I have a lot of writing to do this week, so I doubt I’ll have a lot of reading time, but I’m still hopefully that I’ll get through a few things.

Anyway, here’s what I’m hoping to get to:

To finish (already started):

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard (Nook)
Accidents of Providence by Stacia M. Brown (print)

To start:

Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine (print)
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Monday! What are you reading?

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:12:08 -0600

I have these high hopes of reading a TON this week since I have two days off, even though I know that the days I have off AND my weekend will all be much busier with family in than if I was just at work.

Anyway, here’s what I’m hoping to get to:

To finish (already started):

Wicked by Gregory Maguire (Nook)
The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White (print)

To start:

Charles Dickens: A Life by Jane Smiley (print)
The Printmaker’s Daughter by Katherine Govier
Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

whimpulsive: You can’t make this stuff up Nov. 8, 2011...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:37:05 -0600

whimpulsive:

You can’t make this stuff up

Nov. 8, 2011 -

Mulholland Books pulls ‘Assassin of Secrets’ over copied passages

Nov. 14, 2011 - Assassin of Secets listed as Kirkus 2011 Best of Fiction.

oopsy

Crazypants, you guys. Seriously.

What's In a Name 5

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:32:46 -0600

You GUYS, it is What’s in a Name Time! *throws confetti*

If you don’t know about What’s in a Name, it is a fun reading challenge that is now hosted at Beth Fish Reads. It is also the only challenge I do, because I can complete it on accident and I only have to remember to link 6 things. There are other challenges I can complete on accident too (audiobook, ebook, historical fiction), but I don’t ever remember to actually link up to them so that anybody knows I completed them. Hence, I just do What’s in a Name.

So, the deal is, there are 6 creative categories, and you read one book in each of the categories. Easy peasy. This year’s categories are:

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley

A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title: Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas

A book with a creepy crawly in the title: Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm

A book with a type of house in the title: The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Ape House

A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah’s Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary

A book with a something you’d find on a calendar in the title: Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, Year of Magical Thinking

Here’s what I’m thinking at the moment for these categories, although it might change. I’m pretty sure that I barely read any of the books I thought I would for last year’s categories:

Topographical feature: Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg
Something you see in the sky: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabelle Wilkerson - I’ve been meaning to read this since I asked for it for Christmas last year. An excuse! Alternate: A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison
Creepy crawly: Little Bee by Chris Cleave - I’ve had this ever since it came out and still haven’t read it. Again, a good excuse!
A type of house: The Bungalow by Sarah Jio Alternate: A Slave in the White House by Elizabeth Dowling Taylor
Something you’d carry in your pocket: The Chalk Girl by Carol O’Connell
Something you’d find on the calendar: The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees

"If you want to understand how these [dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein] and other..."

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:07:52 -0500

“If you want to understand how these [dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein] and other megalomaniacs pull it off, read the last third of Moby-Dick and watch as Ahab tightens his stranglehold on the Pequod’s crew through a series of magic tricks worthy of Las Vegas.”

- Why Read Moby-Dick by Nathaniel Philbrick, p. 99

"There is a wonderful slapdash quality to the book. Melville inserts chapters of biology, history,..."

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:03:03 -0500

“There is a wonderful slapdash quality to the book. Melville inserts chapters of biology, history, art criticism, you name it, sometimes at seeming random.”

- Why Read Moby-Dick by Nathaniel Philbrick, p. 64

Somehow, I don’t find this very convincing.

How to Write an Important Novel

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:37:59 -0500

emmainpictures:

HA

wwnorton:

“But can you?”

“Can I what?”

“Write an important novel.”

“Of course I can. All you have to do is cut out the plot and shove in plenty of misery.”

-P.G. Wodehouse, Ice in the Bedroom

Mr. Darcy’s Guide to Wooing Women

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:49:32 -0500

Mr. Darcy’s Guide to Wooing Women :

whatsoldisnew:

This is the kind of snark that we can get behind, here at What’s Old is New.

irisblasi: Alphabet Soup, alphabetized (& other...

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:29:29 -0500

irisblasi:

Alphabet Soup, alphabetized (& other extraordinary examples of organization)