BookBrowse Blog

So Many eReaders, Which to Choose?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:40:00 -0500

About a year ago, I wrote a blog about ebook readers and my decision to purchase a Sony PRS-505. I have absolutely no regrets, and I still love my reader; I can no longer say, though, that I "wouldn't trade it for anything."

First, I'm thrilled, pleased and tickled to death that after decades of owning ebook readers I'm finally using a product that's likely to become part of the mainstream. I've got at least three obsolete devices sitting around for which I can no longer purchase books. I truly believe that ebooks are here to stay this time. You can't read an industry publication these days without seeing at least one article about the evolving ebook market. Ebooks are the only segment of the book industry whose... [More]

Autumn Reading by Elizabeth Strout

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:42:00 -0500

Not long ago I awoke in the middle of the night and realized immediately that it had arrived. The air, when I had gone to bed, was still faintly sultry, the air of evening that comes after a day of golden, soft sunshine. But when I woke in the dark I felt how the temperature had dropped, and the air smelled of autumn. It was like learning a secret, the rest of the city asleep around me, while I felt that I was the first to learn: autumn had come swiftly, quietly, to town. The moment was brief and delicious, and resonant with sudden memories and sensations that pulled me back into the comfort of sleep, and when I woke... [More]

It Takes All Kinds of Readers

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:29:00 -0500

OK, I confess, I joined Facebook. Now, you have to remember I'm a computer geek, and as such, I'm not really all that good at dealing with people, face-to-face. I'm much happier working with machines; they're logical, they don't talk back, and generally do what you tell them to without argument. (Although I do have one server that I swear wants a blood sacrifice before it'll condescend to behave.) If I have to interact with people over the course of the day, I do everything possible to do it in writing (yes, e-mail is my friend). So, it only makes sense that a medium that allows me to interact with others, without actually having to talk to them, would offer some appeal.

At first I thought it was kind of... [More]

Steampunk for Beginners by Cherie Priest

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:47:00 -0500

Steampunk: It's not as new, confusing, or weird as you may have heard. In fact, this sub-genre of science fiction is actually quite warm and welcoming and it's loads of fun. So let's take a minute to talk about what it is, and where it came from.

"Steampunk" is a style (of books, video games, comic books, movies, and more) that hearkens back to the fantastic/adventure literature of the nineteenth century. Jules Verne's stories about exploration and mayhem, H.G. Wells... [More]

Pride Falls by Elizabeth Berg

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:28:00 -0500

I have a friend who's a very famous author, and the other day I asked her, "What's the first thing you wrote that you were proud of?" And she said it was her first novel. Which is a beautiful novel, but it was written when she was in her thirties. And I thought, What? Because the first thing I remember being proud of (and I'm talking proud, proud) was a poem I wrote when I was nine. It ended with the soul-stirring line, "The beauty enchantment now was broke." I actually submitted this poem to a magazine (where it was promptly rejected, needless to... [More]