JK Rowling announced her new book The Casual Vacancy release date of September 27, 2012.
The Casual Vacancy is her first adult novel:
"In the novel, the unexpected death of Barry Fairweather leaves Pagford, the small town he lived in, in shock. Pagford appears to be a peaceful, serene town, but underneath that, it is a town at war. Fairweather's death leaves an empty seat on the parish council, and this causes the biggest fight Pagford has ever seen." (Huffington Post)
I also learned the JK Rowling website linked here and above is her new website that launched today. Good luck with it, though, I tried to check it out, but the "timeline" navigation leaves something to be desired.
I did read her Harry Potter series and I'm looking forward to reading her adult fiction. I look forward to reading something that maybe she didn't feel so pressured to write. Some of the Potter series felt rushed and unedited. I saw her speak several years ago (side effect - I was there to see Stephen King) and was quite impressed with her tales of writing the last few novels. Even then, she hinted there was an adult novel - not related to HP in anyway - and that was 2006, now that I do the math.
I think what I love most about this announcement ...
Can you feel the electricity? That moment of excitement that comes with the announcement of a new novel that could be huge? Did you stand in line for Harry Potter books? Twilight? Have you ever seen so many readers gather with such anticipation you could almost reach out and touch it? You walk around, watching the "real" fans decked out in full Hogwart's garb - and most aren't children.
You line up the night before, just to get a spot - to buy a book. You spend hours talking with other book lovers about what could happen in the next book - what's already happened in the previous books. You talk about the movies - the possibilities - and who would be Hufflepuff and who would be Slytherin - because either might be more daring and fun than Gryffindor.
Whether you even liked the Harry Potter series or the Twilight series, you can't deny they brought about an astounding level of excitement about reading around the world that's never been seen before. Of course, word of mouth is much better than the old days - now we have the internet (Thanks Al!) to share good-reads globally.
Will The Casual Vacancy draw the same excitement? Who can predict?
But, considering most children who began reading the series are now young adults - I'm guessing this could be a pretty exciting September.
We'll have to wait and see (to paraphrase Paul Sheldon).
(Visit J.K. Rowling's Amazon Page)
Showing posts with label eReader vs Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eReader vs Books. Show all posts
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Day 22: Part Two: Books, Kindles, or Zombies?
So, where was I? Oh, right -
Love books - what about ebooks and zombies?
On the ebook front - I adored my Amazon Kindle. Instead of one or two books... I could carry so many. I got a lot of the free classics right away. I finally had a way to flip between the different books I was reading. As for actually reading on a Kindle, once you're reading, you forget you're not holding a book.
Another thing I quickly loved about the Kindle - I've had some weird issue with my hands for the last 10 years or so (not arthritis) and holding some of the bigger books became unbearable at times. Even trying to hold open paperbacks was a struggle some days. Holding the Kindle - even the larger 2nd Generation - never bothered my hands.
The readability on a Kindle is amazing. Not only does the Eink display look like a page out of a book, you can change the font size from smaller to larger - whichever way works for you. And although no one would ever/should ever purchase a Kindle for the Text To Speech, it offers hours of entertainment, in and of itself. Try it some time - the word "baby" is probably the funniest word to hear on a Kindle.
Clearly, I'm an ebook fan. I was reading ebooks before the term "ebook" was named. I am not a fan of reading off a computer screen - I'm guessing it's the lighting (but I can spend hours on Pintrest.com and DYAC on my computer...).
So - it's clear - I'm a book fan. I'm an ebook fan.
Did buying a Kindle curb my "real" book purchasing? Sure. Of course it did. Now instead of $80 book purchases every few months, I spent that much about every six months. 2 things changed - 1. I now take my Kindle with me (or Kindle app on phone) and double check prices. 2. When I do go into a real bookstore - I spend money in the store and on my Kindle at the same time - which often is double the amount I used to spend on books.
Today - I still own my original Kindle, but I also have a Kindle Fire. The Fire is compact, touch screen, sleek, and downright beautiful. But, I can't put it into a baggie and sit in the hot tub with it and I can't see it well in direct sunlight. That's where my older Kindle comes into play - along with real books.
I also cannot believe airlines make you turn off your eReader in take off and landing - but because they do, I still carry a book or two when traveling (looks like that might be changing!).
So there it is - Real books vs. Kindles - Questions?
Why did you not discuss Nook or Sony's eReaders?
Right - I'm not going to discuss Nook at this point because my choice remains Kindle. As for Sony's eReaders - I played with them a lot through the years and, although they have great features missing in Kindles (one great feature - Removable Memory Cards - SD or otherwise), I felt they were bulkier, heavier, and slower to "turn" the pages. (FINE: Nook - touch is not as responsive, the Nooks in the store crashed every time I tried to do anything - overall performance was lacking in comparison - there.)
What on earth do Zombies have to do with this conversation?
I thought you'd never ask -
When the Zombie Apocalypse occurs - electricity will vanish - trumping all eReaders.
Books need no batteries.
I win either way.
Love books - what about ebooks and zombies?
On the ebook front - I adored my Amazon Kindle. Instead of one or two books... I could carry so many. I got a lot of the free classics right away. I finally had a way to flip between the different books I was reading. As for actually reading on a Kindle, once you're reading, you forget you're not holding a book.
Another thing I quickly loved about the Kindle - I've had some weird issue with my hands for the last 10 years or so (not arthritis) and holding some of the bigger books became unbearable at times. Even trying to hold open paperbacks was a struggle some days. Holding the Kindle - even the larger 2nd Generation - never bothered my hands.
The readability on a Kindle is amazing. Not only does the Eink display look like a page out of a book, you can change the font size from smaller to larger - whichever way works for you. And although no one would ever/should ever purchase a Kindle for the Text To Speech, it offers hours of entertainment, in and of itself. Try it some time - the word "baby" is probably the funniest word to hear on a Kindle.
Clearly, I'm an ebook fan. I was reading ebooks before the term "ebook" was named. I am not a fan of reading off a computer screen - I'm guessing it's the lighting (but I can spend hours on Pintrest.com and DYAC on my computer...).
So - it's clear - I'm a book fan. I'm an ebook fan.
Did buying a Kindle curb my "real" book purchasing? Sure. Of course it did. Now instead of $80 book purchases every few months, I spent that much about every six months. 2 things changed - 1. I now take my Kindle with me (or Kindle app on phone) and double check prices. 2. When I do go into a real bookstore - I spend money in the store and on my Kindle at the same time - which often is double the amount I used to spend on books.
Today - I still own my original Kindle, but I also have a Kindle Fire. The Fire is compact, touch screen, sleek, and downright beautiful. But, I can't put it into a baggie and sit in the hot tub with it and I can't see it well in direct sunlight. That's where my older Kindle comes into play - along with real books.
I also cannot believe airlines make you turn off your eReader in take off and landing - but because they do, I still carry a book or two when traveling (looks like that might be changing!).
So there it is - Real books vs. Kindles - Questions?
Why did you not discuss Nook or Sony's eReaders?
Right - I'm not going to discuss Nook at this point because my choice remains Kindle. As for Sony's eReaders - I played with them a lot through the years and, although they have great features missing in Kindles (one great feature - Removable Memory Cards - SD or otherwise), I felt they were bulkier, heavier, and slower to "turn" the pages. (FINE: Nook - touch is not as responsive, the Nooks in the store crashed every time I tried to do anything - overall performance was lacking in comparison - there.)
What on earth do Zombies have to do with this conversation?
I thought you'd never ask -
When the Zombie Apocalypse occurs - electricity will vanish - trumping all eReaders.
Books need no batteries.
I win either way.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Day 22: Part One - Books, Kindles, or Zombies?
I've weighed in on the debate between real books vs. ebooks with friends and family for several years now. I remember the excitement I felt as a child digging through the stacks in the public library.
As a teenager and an adult, I had always carried a book in my bag (okay, at least one book, sometimes two). If I didn't have it in my bag, it was only because I tossed it out into the car at the last minute. A few years ago, I remember my friend seeing a book sticking out of my bag and she asked, "So, what? Are you planning to be bored?"
Even though most of the people in my life are readers, I've never quite been able to fully explain my need to have a book with me at all times. I mean, you never know when you might have a couple minutes to read. Out to dinner - your friend goes to the bathroom and you're just sitting there - Standing in line at the grocery store, bank, post office, etc. - Going to the restroom yourself...
Anyway -
I vividly remember the first time I saw my daughter's friend's Sony Ebook Reader. I wanted one. I wanted it so bad I could hardly see straight. I love reading, but I read what my mood fits, so I'm often in the middle of two or more books at one time (see previous posts for current list!). I went right out to Borders (bye bye Borders, so sad) and fondled the ebook reader. I didn't get one right away - in fact, the first Amazon Kindle came out and I still didn't get one. The biggest thing that kept me from it immediately - cost. That first Sony reader was over $300. I can't remember the first price on the Kindle, but I remember it being pretty high as well.
So, did I break down and get an ebook reader?
You bet your butt I did.
I first picked up the second generation Amazon Kindle. Honestly, I picked Amazon because I've been buying from them for so long and often that I used to get Christmas presents from them in the 90s. I remember the mailman (ahem - "postal carrier") asking me once how I liked Amazon since he was delivering it so often to my apartment. This was before the shipping rates were jacked up - but I only went to Barnes & Noble to pick up books I needed (or wanted) immediately (rarely went to Borders as their shelves were not as well organized and I struggled to find anything).
I digress - to be continued...
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part Two - Books, Kindles, or Zombies?
As a teenager and an adult, I had always carried a book in my bag (okay, at least one book, sometimes two). If I didn't have it in my bag, it was only because I tossed it out into the car at the last minute. A few years ago, I remember my friend seeing a book sticking out of my bag and she asked, "So, what? Are you planning to be bored?"
Even though most of the people in my life are readers, I've never quite been able to fully explain my need to have a book with me at all times. I mean, you never know when you might have a couple minutes to read. Out to dinner - your friend goes to the bathroom and you're just sitting there - Standing in line at the grocery store, bank, post office, etc. - Going to the restroom yourself...
Anyway -
I vividly remember the first time I saw my daughter's friend's Sony Ebook Reader. I wanted one. I wanted it so bad I could hardly see straight. I love reading, but I read what my mood fits, so I'm often in the middle of two or more books at one time (see previous posts for current list!). I went right out to Borders (bye bye Borders, so sad) and fondled the ebook reader. I didn't get one right away - in fact, the first Amazon Kindle came out and I still didn't get one. The biggest thing that kept me from it immediately - cost. That first Sony reader was over $300. I can't remember the first price on the Kindle, but I remember it being pretty high as well.
So, did I break down and get an ebook reader?
You bet your butt I did.
I first picked up the second generation Amazon Kindle. Honestly, I picked Amazon because I've been buying from them for so long and often that I used to get Christmas presents from them in the 90s. I remember the mailman (ahem - "postal carrier") asking me once how I liked Amazon since he was delivering it so often to my apartment. This was before the shipping rates were jacked up - but I only went to Barnes & Noble to pick up books I needed (or wanted) immediately (rarely went to Borders as their shelves were not as well organized and I struggled to find anything).
I digress - to be continued...
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part Two - Books, Kindles, or Zombies?
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