Reading Roundup – 28th June 2013
Book Reviews , Reading Roundup / June 28, 2013

This week I finished The Gem Trilogy by Kerstin Gier, which I absolutely adored.  I will say though that it is one long book divided into three parts rather than three separate books with an overarching storyline – the first two novels don’t really have a strong ending.  For this reason you may wish to wait before starting the trilogy as the final book, Emerald Green, is not due out in English until October – unless you read German, that is. There were several twists in the final volume, some of which were clearly signposted along the way, others more surprising – I found that Gier had a nice balance there. I continued to enjoy the character of Gwen and her adventures.  The fact that the subtitle of “love throughout the ages” can be applied to more than one couple was very appealing to me.  I would certainly recommend this trilogy, although I recommend waiting a few months until the English translation is available!  Check out the Gem Trilogy on Kindle, Kobo, iBook and Audible formats. The next book I read/listened to was Brandon Sanderson’s new YA novel The Rithmatist.  As an aside, I would not recommend listening to this…

Reading Roundup – 28th June 2013
Book Reviews , Reading Roundup / June 28, 2013

This week I finished The Gem Trilogy by Kerstin Gier, which I absolutely adored.  I will say though that it is one long book divided into three parts rather than three separate books with an overarching storyline – the first two novels don’t really have a strong ending.  For this reason you may wish to wait before starting the trilogy as the final book, Emerald Green, is not due out in English until October – unless you read German, that is. There were several twists in the final volume, some of which were clearly signposted along the way, others more surprising – I found that Gier had a nice balance there. I continued to enjoy the character of Gwen and her adventures.  The fact that the subtitle of “love throughout the ages” can be applied to more than one couple was very appealing to me.  I would certainly recommend this trilogy, although I recommend waiting a few months until the English translation is available!  Check out the Gem Trilogy on Kindle, Kobo, iBook and Audible formats. The next book I read/listened to was Brandon Sanderson’s new YA novel The Rithmatist.  As an aside, I would not recommend listening to this…

A bit of an introduction to me.
Miscellaneous / June 24, 2013

 Some of you kind enough to check out my writing may not know me personally, so I thought it was probably about time to tell you a bit about myself. To get started, here’s a fun fact. I have read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings right through – all 1,200+ pages – in four different languages; English, French, German and Dutch.  Normally, I don’t like to be pinned down to a favourite book, but if you really, really REALLY pressed me, I’d probably have to answer Tolkien’s masterpiece.  My handle is Scottish Bookworm in Quebec.  Yes, I am Scottish, yes, I am a bookworm and yes, I do live in Quebec.  In order to fund my book habit I work in technical support, although I’d much rather be reading with my cat Isis curled up on my knee.   As a youngster, I always had my nose stuck in a book.  It was hardly surprising then that I studied Modern Languages at the University of Edinburgh where I spent four years dissecting classic French and German literature.  For some time after I graduated I refused to read anything deeper than the latest issue of Cosmopolitan.   It wasn’t until I…

A bit of an introduction to me.
Miscellaneous / June 24, 2013

 Some of you kind enough to check out my writing may not know me personally, so I thought it was probably about time to tell you a bit about myself. To get started, here’s a fun fact. I have read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings right through – all 1,200+ pages – in four different languages; English, French, German and Dutch.  Normally, I don’t like to be pinned down to a favourite book, but if you really, really REALLY pressed me, I’d probably have to answer Tolkien’s masterpiece.  My handle is Scottish Bookworm in Quebec.  Yes, I am Scottish, yes, I am a bookworm and yes, I do live in Quebec.  In order to fund my book habit I work in technical support, although I’d much rather be reading with my cat Isis curled up on my knee.   As a youngster, I always had my nose stuck in a book.  It was hardly surprising then that I studied Modern Languages at the University of Edinburgh where I spent four years dissecting classic French and German literature.  For some time after I graduated I refused to read anything deeper than the latest issue of Cosmopolitan.   It wasn’t until I…

Reading Roundup – 21st June 2013
Book Reviews , Reading Roundup / June 21, 2013

This week could more easily have been described as “listening roundup” as I’ve been listening more than reading – or rather I have been listening and reading along on my brand spanking new Kindle Fire. Here is what I have been reading and listening to this past week.  I recently finished Siege and Storm in both Kindle and Audible by Leigh Bardugo, the followup to Shadow and Bone.  To be honest I was rather disappointed in this book.  I loved the Russian-style setting of the first book, and my enjoyment of this continued into the second book.  However, I found the pacing of this second book rather slow.  After a promising start, the story slows down to a crawl.  It also annoys me when young protagonists suddenly find themselves in a leadership position with no training or experience, just because they have some unrelated power.   On a positive side some new and very interesting characters were introduced, especially Sturmhond.  Also the ending picked up again dramatically and I will certainly read the final book in the Grisha trilogy to see how it all ends. I listened to Graceling by Kristin Cashore from Audible which was marked as a full…

Reading Roundup – 21st June 2013
Book Reviews , Reading Roundup / June 21, 2013

This week could more easily have been described as “listening roundup” as I’ve been listening more than reading – or rather I have been listening and reading along on my brand spanking new Kindle Fire. Here is what I have been reading and listening to this past week.  I recently finished Siege and Storm in both Kindle and Audible by Leigh Bardugo, the followup to Shadow and Bone.  To be honest I was rather disappointed in this book.  I loved the Russian-style setting of the first book, and my enjoyment of this continued into the second book.  However, I found the pacing of this second book rather slow.  After a promising start, the story slows down to a crawl.  It also annoys me when young protagonists suddenly find themselves in a leadership position with no training or experience, just because they have some unrelated power.   On a positive side some new and very interesting characters were introduced, especially Sturmhond.  Also the ending picked up again dramatically and I will certainly read the final book in the Grisha trilogy to see how it all ends. I listened to Graceling by Kristin Cashore from Audible which was marked as a full…

Kindle Fire in Canada – Full Review
e-Reader Reviews / June 17, 2013

I have now had my Kindle Fire fir several days now and this is my update to my initial impressions.  Once I got over my disappointment in the lack of Audible integration for Canadians, I began to really enjoy the device. My other two tablets are an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. I find the smaller form factors of the Nexus and the Kindle Fire very comfortable to use. Until  now, my main tablet of choice has been my iPad 3.  I use it around the house, and if I’m travelling I take it with me.  However, I find it’s rather bulky to carry around, and I usually end up taking my Kindle Paperwhite too, as I really don’t enjoy reading books on the iPad.  I really don’t use my Nexus very much at all. Perhaps the the best way to approach this review is to discuss how the tasks I usually undertake on my iPad translate to the Kindle Fire. I don’t use the iPad for work/production related activities.  There are many apps I use on my iPhone to check a few quick things. Checking email I was able to import all my personal accounts – two Yahoo…

Kindle Fire in Canada – Full Review
e-Reader Reviews / June 17, 2013

I have now had my Kindle Fire fir several days now and this is my update to my initial impressions.  Once I got over my disappointment in the lack of Audible integration for Canadians, I began to really enjoy the device. My other two tablets are an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. I find the smaller form factors of the Nexus and the Kindle Fire very comfortable to use. Until  now, my main tablet of choice has been my iPad 3.  I use it around the house, and if I’m travelling I take it with me.  However, I find it’s rather bulky to carry around, and I usually end up taking my Kindle Paperwhite too, as I really don’t enjoy reading books on the iPad.  I really don’t use my Nexus very much at all. Perhaps the the best way to approach this review is to discuss how the tasks I usually undertake on my iPad translate to the Kindle Fire. I don’t use the iPad for work/production related activities.  There are many apps I use on my iPhone to check a few quick things. Checking email I was able to import all my personal accounts – two Yahoo…

Kindle Fire HD in Canada – First Impressions
e-Reader Reviews , Tech Reviews / June 14, 2013

Today the Kindle Fire launched in multiple countries including Canada, and one was delivered to my door for your reviewing pleasure. My initial impression is that, although the device is nice, for Canadians it is still very, very limited.  It is a lovely device, but the Amazon services which distinguish it from the other tablets out there are sadly missing. There is still no support for Amazon’s music or movie store or Amazon Instant Video for Canada.  iTunes movies will not play on the Kindle Fire due to DRM.  Through the movies for Flixter though you can view any movies you have on your UV account.  They do not have the cool X-Ray for Movies feature that gives you details of the actors in a movie when you hit pause. For the last few years, iTunes music has been sold without DRM so can easily be copied to the music folder and will be available in the music section of the Kindle Fire. For me, personally, I was very disappointed that the Audible integration is missing for Canadians.  The whole Audiobooks section is missing from the top menu, and although Whispersync for Voice continues to work, immersion reading is not available….

Kindle Fire HD in Canada – First Impressions
e-Reader Reviews , Tech Reviews / June 13, 2013

Today the Kindle Fire launched in multiple countries including Canada, and one was delivered to my door for your reviewing pleasure. My initial impression is that, although the device is nice, for Canadians it is still very, very limited.  It is a lovely device, but the Amazon services which distinguish it from the other tablets out there are sadly missing. There is still no support for Amazon’s music or movie store or Amazon Instant Video for Canada.  iTunes movies will not play on the Kindle Fire due to DRM.  Through the movies for Flixter though you can view any movies you have on your UV account.  They do not have the cool X-Ray for Movies feature that gives you details of the actors in a movie when you hit pause. For the last few years, iTunes music has been sold without DRM so can easily be copied to the music folder and will be available in the music section of the Kindle Fire. For me, personally, I was very disappointed that the Audible integration is missing for Canadians.  The whole Audiobooks section is missing from the top menu, and although Whispersync for Voice continues to work, immersion reading is not available….