When Apple introduced the IPad this week, rumors immediately started flying as to what this would mean for the e-book market, specifically Amazon’s Kindle.

Well, it didn’t take long:

Go to Amazon.com. Search for any publication by Macmillan, one of the world’s largest publishing firms. The Prince of Silicon Valley, perhaps, or Sarah’s Key. Or last year’s huge #1 bestseller The Gathering Storm.

Gone, mysteriously gone. We found Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, but his new novel Makers and his popular debut, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, have been removed. Robert Jordan’s entire Wheel of Time series of fantasy novels is gone, except for 2005’s The Knife of Dreams.

You get links to other sellers. But Amazon has stopped carrying them.

According to the NY Times, the issue is, as usual, money. Specifically, the money publishers CAN’T charge for their first run books, since Amazon insists on $9.99 as the maximum price. Apple, while keeping MORE of the profit from the sale, would allow publishers to set a higher price, thus raising the floor on what customer would see as the lowest price that new releases are worth.

I’ve talked to a person in the industry with knowledge of the dispute who says the disappearance is the result of a disagreement between Amazon.com and book publishers that has been brewing for the last year. Macmillan, like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of electronic books from $9.99 to around $15. Amazon is expressing its strong disagreement by temporarily removing Macmillan books, said this person, who did not want to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Macmillan is one of the publishers signed on to offer books to Apple, as part of its new iBooks store.

This is going to get PRETTY interesting. Stay tuned.

Tags: Amazon, apple, ipad, kindle, Macmillan

I have finally finally gotten myself a copy of Dark Lady’s Chosen! I’ve been looking for it in the stores since it came out and, much to my dismay, was unable to find it anywhere until yesterday when I went to a Borders bookstore in Dallas. It’s not a store I would say I rarely go to, but it’s not very close to my place either, and it had been a while since I’d visted that particular store.

I also finally got a copy of The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson, which is the last book of a trilogy – that book also was nowhere to be found in the Borders or Barnes & Noble stores that I typically frequent…and now that I have these two books…I CAN’T DECIDE WHICH ONE TO READ FIRST!

And, finally, I found a copy of a new book by Elizabeth Kostova, entitled (I think) The Swan Thieves which is also a must-read for me because I read The Historian and absolutely loved it. So many wonderful authors, so little free time! What is the world coming to?

Granted, right now I have to prioritize and read The Prarie, by James Fenimore Cooper because that’s for class, but for the class period after that we’re going to be watching a film which means I’ll be able to sneak in ONE book for fun reading…normally I would say I could read both in one weekend (which is not beyond my abilities) but I will still have homework for other classes…and though I can read through a novel fairly quickly I slog through poetry very slowly. And this semester, I think I’ll be reading a LOT of poetry. Plus, this weekend I have to read the first half of Hard Times, by Dickens…and Dickens and I have a strange relationship. As I read, I hate Dickens with a fiery passion. When I finish the book I think “That was the best book I’ve ever read. Ever!” (Except with A Tale of Two Cities…that one I just hate.)

Anyway, I just wanted to have a quick post to celebrate my newest books and say “hello” to my (few, but valued) readers! Hello readers!

In closing…if you’re looking around for a new book and not sure what you want, I recommend Why Manners Matter, by Lucinda Holdforth. It’s my current carry-around-in-my-purse-to-break-out-in-free-moments book and I love it. It’s written very similarly to Eats, Shoots, and Leaves and Talk to the Hand, by Lynn Truss. Those, by the way, are gems. So, if you get the chance look for Why Manners Matter in the store. (The ISBN, for enterprising/online/curious shoppers, is: 978-0-399-15532.) Good luck and happy reading, folks! I’ll be scrambling to read as much as I can!!!

While you have been languishing away for lack of reviews (you know you have) I have been scurrying around trying to keep up with the first two weeks of my last semester of college and watching movies.
One of these movies was “The Young Victoria.” I had seen information about this movie coming up and thought to myself that I should go check it out, but as is usual for me I had no idea that it had hit theaters. Luckily, my British Modernism Literature professor sent out an e-mail to the class suggesting we go see it since we’re starting with Victorianism and moving into Modernism. So, I looked up the nearest theater showing the movie, hopped in my car, got myself a ticket, some popcorn, a small, over-iced coke and settled in for the duration.
Not knowing much about Queen Victoria’s biography I can’t say how accurate the movie is to her early life and rule, but I can say “Wow! Great movie!” I will say that the movie may seem slow to a lot of people because not much of the action is ACTION as moviegoers usually expect, with fiery explosions and car crashes, but it is for a more intellectual viewer quite interesting and quite enjoyable.
I was, however, disappointed that it was “The Young Victoria” and not “The Lord-of-the-Rings-length-film-documenting-Victoria’s-entire-life.” That, however, has more to do with my inherent nerdliness than anything lacking in the film.
It was interesting to see (again, I make no claims for accuracy) what a struggle it was for the then-Princess Victoria to have a say in her own life and become an independent woman. Family ties are complicated enough when you aren’t next in line to inherit the throne and living under the thumb of people who desperately want to take that throne away from you before you ever get the chance to sit on it.
All in all, a beautiful movie to watch and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend it, but not if you’re in a mood for something really action-packed and fast-paced. It’s a great movie. Just know what you’re getting into.

Well, kids, it’s been a while since I’ve read Salvatore because, while I enjoyed the series I was reading, the series is incredibly long and after a while I got a little burned out on it. However, I’ve had ample time to recover and I have to say that The Silent Blade exceeded my expectations.

Now, to talk about the book in detail would require spoilers, so I probably won’t be giving much to you in terms of storyline (because it would ruin some plot points of prior books), but I will try and give a bit of an overview. One question that I like to answer when I read a book is “Where did the title come from?” Sometimes it’s a word or phrase that occurs within the book, sometimes it’s somehow related to the characters, the plots, and sometimes it just seems to make no sense at all.

In the case of this book the title, The Silent Blade, comes from a phrase within the book and also seems to have something to do with the plot. Now I won’t be giving away much by telling you this: the “silent blade”, such as it is, is not an actual blade or weapon of some sort, but rather a debilitating state of being – an emotional state where one lacks empathy, or simply put, the “silent blade” is apathy. Apathy can be a frighteningly destructive emotion despite the fact that it implies a sort of neutrality. The inability to care or rouse oneself to a task is almost worse that destructive impulses because, hey, when you’re destructive at least you’re doing something, right?

One of our main characters from the Drizzt series has to face this and, because this character is profoundly affected emotionally and mentally by events of the past, the path of this character diverges from the main group. However, it is just the “good guys” who encounter this counterproductive emotion. A rather shady character that we have seen again and again reappears, but this time this character is also questioning life and motivations. Not just “What is the point?”, but “Why do I care? Why make the effort?”…and in this character’s case that apathy is dispelled by the end of the book – while our hero-character continues on, looking for the answer to his apathy and most likely not on the right path…which just leads into the next book, which is equally enjoyable.
I find the premise interesting because while Drizzt’s little interjections of inner dialogue can sometimes seem a little trite or annoying, they do offer insight applicable to actual people whether we like to think about it or not. That part makes the books a potentially valuable tool for the younger people in the audience. I wouldn’t mind my kids reading fantasy in their early-to-mid- teens when it offers lessons and questions about morality and ethics along with a great story. (Not that I have kids, but you know, maybe someday.)

So, all in all this is a brilliant addition to the series, it is appropriate for young adult and adult readers, it offers some insightful bits along with an enjoyable story, it offers opposing perspectives on “the silent blade”, and it leads well into the next book down the line. I would recommend it, but only if read as a piece of the whole series. There is too much in the book that depends on plot points from previous books, and while a lot of it is explained while you read it just doesn’t make sense in the same way as it does when you’ve been there for the whole journey, so to speak. Fortunately, none of the books are excessively long (I admit I’ve read several wonderful books and most of my favorites top 500 pages easily) so they are quick reads suitable for a cozy afternoon (or two) on the couch.

Tags: Bruenor, Cattie-brie, D&D, Drizzt, Drizzt Do'Urden, Errtu, Fantasy, fantasy series, Jarlaxle, Lolth, Series, Wulfgar

1066, more specifically the battle at Hastings, has caught my attention like no other historical event I’ve ever studied. I first encountered it as a vague mention in history, then again in my Old and Middle English Lit. class at Texas Tech, right before I decided to go through with changing my major to English…actually that class was one of the main reasons I decided that English was what I really wanted to do.

Anyway…fascinating stuff. Even saying “1066″ is fun. So, I decided after that class that I wanted to learn more and read similar literature. That led me to grabbing a copy of The Vinland Sagas, and eventually to reading positive reviews of 1066 online. So, when I found it at Half Price Books it was practically a moral impertive that I buy it. I am so glad I snatched that off the shelf.

This particular accounting of the entire year of 1066 – the events leading up to the Norman invasion, and some of the aftermath – is taken from a point of  view that goes past listing facts and dates and primary sources, but explores the possible motivations and human element of the entire scenario. It is interesting to me because after a certain point, the human element of history gets taken out of it – which is why I love history, but hate history classes. Taking a look at the way the English people would have thought of themselves and their world at that time was not necessarily a revelation, but it was riveting.

It was also extremely interesting to have piece of the story put into place in such a way as to paint what seems like a rather accurate portrait of character for Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwineson, and of course William the Conqueror. These historical figures are of interest, and that interest becomes exponential when you realize just how little information we actually have about them. It is clear in the reading that the accounts of the battle, and the incidents leading up to the battle, can be a bit skewed, but Howarth takes some of the mystery out of it and explains away the elements of obvious propaganda.

Howarth also explores the personal motivations of Harold’s brother Tostig, who is to be blamed for rousing Hardrada to battle and led that battle right before William’s forces finally landed on the coast. This book is detailed without being exhaustive and really does a wonderful job of putting the humanity back into historical figures so that we can imagine them more as human beings than names on paper.

I would highly recommend this, even if you aren’t very familiar with the history of 1066. It’s a great read.

Happy 2010 to everybody! We probably won’t have many posts over the next few days because I’ve been away from my home, and therefore all my books, for most of the holidays. I do, thankfully, have a few books with me this time so don’t despair! I hope you have all had a great time bringing in 2010 – I know I did, though for me that means avoiding the huge crowds and cold weather, so no great stories about it.

I look forward to everything this year has to bring and given how good last year was for me, I’m hoping that this year will continue the trend! I’ll update as soon as I finish the next book, which could be one of any three at this point. In the meantime, enjoy your reading adventures and the prospect of the year ahead of us.