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Library Books on the (Jailbroken) Nook
Apr. 10th, 2012 07:00 amOriginally published at Am I the Only One Dancing?. Please leave any comments there.
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| (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
My public library hasn’t seen me much lately, mostly because I’ve been using their ebook service rather than walking the half mile to the brick and mortar building. Some comments, and then the list of books with brief ratings/reviews.
1. Some publishers for whatever reason make their Kindle books only accessible through a wired connection. This flat pisses me off, not only for me, but on behalf of the many people who don’t have access to a wired connection. As a result, whenever possible I have been downloading books through the Overdrive application as Adobe Epub books whenever possible.
2. Adobe’s customer service is awesome. When I misunderstood how their device registration worked and accidentally set up too many devices with their DRM service, I used their tech support chat and it took less than five minutes (once a tech was available) to reset my device usage.
3. Ebooks are a great way to read at the gym. You can make the print huge if you need to (to overcome the effect movement makes on the ability to read) and you don’t bust the book spine holding the book open.
4. The library e-book service at my library is seriously understocked while simultaneously being seriously overstocked with trash reading. Every month they add more, but not nearly enough non-fiction, and not nearly enough of some of the good older fiction that is starting to be re-released as e-books but not yet copyright free.
The Books
Beauty and the Werewolf (Mercedes Lackey) From the 500 Kingdoms Series, this was a refreshing take on the fairytale trope, good enough that I reserved two more from the brick and mortar library. ****
Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New GirlieGirl Culture (Peggy Orenstein) A decent analysis of the Princess culture and its effects on American girls. A bit dry ***
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| Cover via Amazon |
Darcys & the Bingleys: Pride and Prejudice Continues (Marsha Altman) One of the good Austenalia books. I really liked the way the Darcy and Bingley families evolve in this author’s imaginations, and she did a good job of getting into Austen’s voice. ****
Dragon’sTime (Anne McCaffrey) Eh. If you like the Pern stories, this is okay, but it’s just more of the same. **
Dreaming of Mr. Darcy (Victoria Connelly) A lot of fun as a modern woman buys a place in Bath and meets a man that makes her Austen fantasies come true. Not the best, but a good one. ***
Fable: Blood Ties (Peter David) Ew. I forced my way through this, but it made me feel slimy. Unlikeable characters with too much cardboard in the mix. *
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| Cover via Amazon |
His Majesty’s Dragon [Temeraire] (NaomiNovik) Really interesting take on the Napoleonic Wars if dragons had been in the mix. Feels almost more historical than fantastical. ****
Hood [King Raven Trilogy Book 1](Stephen R. Lawhead) Robin Hood in Wales? It works. Read it. ****
Inheritance (Christopher Paolini) More of the same. Too many derivative names, overly flowery language, characters based on a teenaged boy’s idea of women rather than on how real women would act, but a compelling story nevertheless. ***
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| Cover of The Iron Daughter (Harlequin Teen) |
The Iron Fey Series [The Iron King, Winter's Passage, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, Summer's Crossing, The Iron Knight] (Julie Kagawa) If you love fantasy, particularly YA fantasy, you will love this. It has elements of the classical mixed with elements of the new and fresh. I only hope that Kagawa gets around to giving the Trickster his own book (and his own true love). *****
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Michael Pollan) A well written and insightful commentary on the business of food. Pollan deserves his reputation. ****
Oryx and Crake: A Novel (Margaret Atwood) Margaret Atwood is a great writer and thinker, and this is yet another example of her genius. A fable with elements of today that like in her other books are just too real to be comfortable, you won’t be able to put it down. *****
Unbroken: A World War II Story ofSurvival, Resiliance, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand) This got a lot of buzz, and deservedly so. Hillenbrand does not shrink from the unpleasantness and ugliness of her subject as well as the redemption mentioned in the title. ****
Utterly Charming (Kristine Grayson) This is not a serious read, but it is enjoyable light romance of the ‘Prince who ain’t all that’ variety. ***
Winter’s Bone: A Novel (Daniel Woodrell) This is high literature. Compelling and atmospheric and with characters that make your heart ache. *****
World War Z (Max Brooks) If you like zombie stories, you’ll love this. How does a global fight against zombies succeed? Very carefully. Compelling. ****
WWW Trilogy [Wake, Watch, Wonder] (Robert J. Sawyer) This is amazing and underrated. What if the world wide web woke up, and became sentient? What if its primary motivation in life was curiosity and friendship? Makes me think of Heinlein and Spider Robinson. Loved it. *****There are a few I returned without noting, and I’m not including my brick and mortar finds here, but this should give you a taste.
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