More books I find at work

Yesterday’s books:

“Life” – Keith Richards

Life: Keith Richards (via Amazon)

“A Backwoodman’s Year” – R. W. F. Poole

A Backwoodman's Year - R. W. F. Poole (via Goldringbooks.com)

Books i find at work

Today’s book find:

“Sahara” by Clive Cussler

Sahara - Clive Cussler (via Amazon)

The search for the perfect Kindle cover

I recently acquired a Kindle 4 for Christmas and am eager to avoid it ending up scratched and bashed like everything else (phone, mp3 player, etc all blighted by unsightly dents and blemishes) because i live by my personal mantra: “if it ain’t tough, it won’t survive”! So clearly it is very important to find a case which both protects my new gadget but is also not boring!

I have looked around and found some frankly rather boring Kindle cases provided by Amazon itself and a few others. Although i think they’re supposed to be more like a book cover, I’m concerned that cases like the one below will not protect the edges of my Kindle and will accidently open in a bag:

Kindle Leather Cover, Wine Purple (via Amazon)

This case style isn’t one i’m willing to waste my money on, even if it is my favourite colour purple! Amazon seems to charge a stupid amount of money for these cases, nearly half what the Kindle costs! There is also this one which isn’t too bad colourwise and has a nice clippy thing to keep the case closed, but i’m still not sure about it:

New Kindle Purple SD Folio Case – SD Tabletwear (via Amazon)

I did find some nice, less boring versions of that style, such as this Kate Spade one which is quite funky:

Kate Spade New York Kindle Cover (via Amazon)

There are the quite nice but extremely pricey designer ones, as shown on Pretty Shiny Sparkly’s blog:

Reader Chic: Designer Kindle Cases

Even though i’m not sure on this style, i do actually LOVE the pattern on this one:

Wild Rose Kindle 4 Cover – Oberon Design

It’s really beautiful, and they have many more different designs on their website for all Kindle models and also cases for other devices too, see Oberondesign.com.

And maybe this one is quite nice too:

Flower Kindle case – Lente Designs (via Amazon)

And then there are the sleeves for Kindle, such as this amusing one inspired by “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mixalot! (and that song got stuck in my head when i saw this!):

I LIke Big Books Kindle Sleeve – Cafepress.co.uk

Or maybe this simple one:

Belkin Knit sleeve for Kindle (via Tesco)

I would rather have a slip-on case which covers the whole thing and keeps it all safe and bash-free, maybe one like this:

SD TabletWear Leather Style Amazon Kindle Slip Pouch – Purple (via Gearzap.com)

Or there is this nifty reversible black and red one:

Forefront Cases NEW KINDLE 4 Black / Red Reversible Neoprene Case (via Amazon)

I am still undecided as to what to buy as i haven’t found anything that i like enough to buy. If there is nothing i can find that i like then i may have to design my own, either through one of these websites, medgestore.com, or bagsoflove.co.uk. Or i might just sew my own (looking like the easiest and cheapest option to get something personal and more attractive!

I will keep looking for now though, you never know when someone will bring something nice out!

Book Review: Before I Go To Sleep

I’ve just finished reading “Before I Go To Sleep” by SJ Watson, and wow, what a read!

Before I Go To Sleep - SJ Watson (via Amazon)

The protagonist, Christine, suffered an accident in which serious head injuries cause her to lose her memory every night when she goes to sleep, so she wakes up not knowing who she is or who the people around her are. She can remember being a child and a young woman, but there are so many things she forgets and has to be reminded every single day when she wakes up. Her husband looks after her and reminds her of everything she’s forgotten each day, and his love for her is clear as he has stood by her all these years even though she doesn’t recognise him when she wakes up. Each day her doctor rings her up and reminds her of her journal, where she is encouraged by him to write down what happens each day, each memory she remembers, etc. She reads her journal entries to remind her what happened yesterday.

This novel is gripping and fascinating! I thought it might be too repetitive with Christine having to go through the same thing everyday – although it’s new to her each day – with her waking up with a stranger, thinking she’s young but looking in the mirror and realising she’s middle-aged, having to be reminded by her husband who she is and who he is. However, her thoughts each day change, especially when she remembers different things.

As the novel progresses, it’s obvious that she’s starting to remember more things and it gets complicated working out how everything fits together. Dr Nash tries to help her by taking her to places where she’s spent periods of her life and showing her photos, hoping to jog her memory, and it does work at times.

All the way through the novel, she questions her husband, Ben, and his actions, wondering why he doesn’t remind her sometimes that she has a son and that he is dead. I found it really weird that he would tell her who she is  each day, makes her breakfast and then goes off to work and leaves her alone. She could be a danger to herself as she has so few memories yet he leaves her alone all day. He just leaves her to fend for herself, what does he expect her to do all day? It seems like he expects her to look after the house and so on, but she’s so busy trying to figure out who she is and what is going on around her.

The plot gets more and more complex as Christine remembers vital things which change her whole perspective of her life and the people around her. She gets confused about what is real and what is not. As she tries to work out what happened to her, she regains contact with her best friend and then everything starts to get more confusing and then there is a brilliant twist which i admit i didn’t see coming! I thought it was something else, but the climatic ending is superbly written and executed!

I love this book, and i give it 9/10 because it is so original and complex! The plot is just fascinating and makes you question so many little things which happen throughout the novel as you try to work out where it’s heading. It makes you wonder how you would cope if it was you going through this same experience. I understand why it’s been the No1 Bestseller in the UK! I thoroughly recommend this book!

More books i find at work!

Today’s book:

“Night Train to Lisbon” by Pascal Mercier

Night Train to Lisbon - Pascal Mercier (via Amazon)

Apparently the English translation isn’t very good, according to reviewers on Amazon. But it sounds interesting, might try this one.

Apple launches iBooks 2 app

The hottest news of the week in the publishing world was the announcement by Apple that they were launching the iBooks 2 app.

This app allows anyone to create their own ebook. It is mainly for authors wanting to create textbook ebooks for studying, with the app allowing them to upload content such as videos, images, Word docs etc into the app, which then works out how best to lay out the content.

This app will potentially lower the amount of huge heavy print books which students have to lug around campus and makes it easier to find what you are looking for. Although i guess you’d need to have an iPad in the first place which isn’t cheap, although if these ebook textbooks are cheaper than the paper versions then maybe you could afford one (or possibly not with the recent hiking up of tuition fees).

Publishers have already made use of the iPad for children’s books, and there are some beautiful ebooks out there for the iPad which i’ve seen and tried out for myself, although i still would be a little reluctant to give my expensive iPad to a small child to use, wouldn’t you? The pictures and animations are really lovely, colourful and appealing, which makes a children’s book more special.

Textbooks seemed like the next obvious target by publishers to try to digitise, as they contain far more content than other books and have always seemed rather dull. I guess with the iPad app we can now create beautiful ebook versions of these textbooks which we can interact with and make learning more enjoyable. We already have seen what can be done with textbook content in apps, the most famous being The Elements app:

Textbook ebooks look like they could be pretty big if done well, and it will be interesting to see how this works.
Here is a video explaining about the iBooks 2 app:

The video points out some interesting points about the old print textbook: They are outdated almost as soon as they are published, as new discoveries are made all the time, and the time-consuming process of publishing a book means that a textbook can be up-to-date upon its induction but by the time it reaches the shop it can be several months out of date. The ability to update the content of an ebook as new information is discovered would allow students to keep on top of developments. It may make it a bit harder to keep track of quotes a student may take from a book if new content is added, making referencing a little bit harder, but we’ll see how this works. Another point is that print textbooks are static, so if you are studying science, then ebooks make it possible to show images as animations so they look more like the real thing they are describing.

However, according to the Guardian, the textbooks will only be available in the US for now, which means the rest of us will have to wait! My main concern is that with tuition fees going up by massive amounts, students will be unable to afford to buy these textbooks, whether or not they have an iPad (and i can’t imagine many will do, i rarely saw them when i was at uni not long ago), so one hopes that libraries will buy them in so students can borrow them, but i guess that in itself will conjure up a load of trouble with lending, as we’ve already witnessed with other ebooks.

These textbooks can open a whole new way of learning, which is an exciting prospect. They look more interesting than print books, and the ability to interact with the content within the book makes it a more compelling reading experience, and if i was learning a subject as heavy and information-packed as medicine or something, i would want a more exciting way of learning about it! And it also makes it easier to take notes by simply highlighting text with your fingers and pasting it into your notes, which seems a lot easier than writing it all down by hand! I only wish i’d had this when i was at school/university, would have made life a lot easier, even though i was only studying literature and language and not science or anything!

I wonder what you think of iBooks 2? Feel free to comment!

Articles consulted:
Telegraph.co.uk: Apple iBooks 2 app lets authors make their own books

Engadget.com: Apple ibooks 2

Guardian.co.uk: Apple unveils ibooks 2 textbooks ipad

Book Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I have just finished reading “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (via Amazon)

I have to admit, after reading the first few pages, i was unenthusiastic about reading on because it seemed rather boring. I feel bad saying that actually because the protagonist, Christopher, has behaviour problems and its clearly a very good insight into how someone like him lives their life, and i decided i would give the book the benefit of the doubt and carrying on reading.He is really intelligent and loves Maths and Science, yet is freaked out by anything coloured brown and yellow and struggles with things which we find normal and take for granted.

I’m really glad i persevered with this book as it is actually really interesting once you get into it. I was fascinated how someone who likes order and familiarity in his life actually copes when his life is turned upside down. How he manages to get from his own house, and the small area outside it which he understands, to an address in London of all places is truly amazing, especially with all the barriers on the way. It makes you appreciate just how hard it is for someone like him to do what everyone else does without problems. I found myself feeling a bit choked up by the end because you just want everything to be rectified.

I give the book 7/10 because i finally understand why this book has received so much praise. I would recommend it to people who want to see what the fuss is about, but i think its one of those books which you can be unsure whether you like it or not. It’s worth a read!

Re-arranging My Bookshelves

I felt a bit bored on Friday night and decided to crack on with sorting my bedroom out, as i had already started throwing stuff out last year and tidying the rest. Last night i decided to tackle my bookshelves!

(I forgot to take a photo of the bookshelf chaos before i started pulling everything off but never mind!)

My empty bookshelves!

My tidy bookshelves!

Now they make more sense!

Top shelf: DVDs A-Z

2nd down: A-N Fiction (by author)

3rd down: N-T Fiction (by author)

Bottom: T-W Fiction (by author), and Non-fiction (no order because the books are awkward sizes!)

There you go, that shows how OCD i am!

It didn’t actually take very long to sort them all out, maybe an hour at most? And there’s about 147 books there!

Related articles

• AUDIO: How do you arrange your bookshelves? (news.bbc.co.uk)