The Companions by R.A. Salvatore – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / July 31, 2013

I received a free copy of The Companions to review from Netgalley. The premise of the story is that several of the characters from the Forgotten Realms series, Bruenor Battlehammer, Wulfgar and Regis the halfling, choose to be reborn and meet again in twenty years in order to protect Drizzt Do’Urden from an unspecified threat.  It is a tale of love and friendship rather than good vs evil.   At first, I felt at a distinct disadvantage not being familiar with R.A. Salvatore’s work.  The most noticeable example of that was near the beginning when the character Ruqiah suddenly declared her name was “Catti-brie.”  From the context it was clear that this was supposed to be a shocking revelation, but my reaction was more along the lines of “oh, OK.  Who the heck is Catti-brie, and why should I care about her?”  Fortunately, Salvatore made a point of answering those questions clearly and effectively.  It took me a little longer to get my head around the various races who live in this world, and their relations to each other, but that didn’t impact on my enjoyment of the book. What I liked Salvatore’s writing style.  His writing style is noticeably more…

The Companions by R.A. Salvatore – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / July 31, 2013

I received a free copy of The Companions to review from Netgalley. The premise of the story is that several of the characters from the Forgotten Realms series, Bruenor Battlehammer, Wulfgar and Regis the halfling, choose to be reborn and meet again in twenty years in order to protect Drizzt Do’Urden from an unspecified threat.  It is a tale of love and friendship rather than good vs evil. At first, I felt at a distinct disadvantage not being familiar with R.A. Salvatore’s work.  The most noticeable example of that was near the beginning when the character Ruqiah suddenly declared her name was “Catti-brie.”  From the context it was clear that this was supposed to be a shocking revelation, but my reaction was more along the lines of “oh, OK.  Who the heck is Catti-brie, and why should I care about her?”  Fortunately, Salvatore made a point of answering those questions clearly and effectively.  It took me a little longer to get my head around the various races who live in this world, and their relations to each other, but that didn’t impact on my enjoyment of the book. What I liked Salvatore’s writing style.  His writing style is noticeably more “epic”…

What will be tomorrow’s classics?
Miscellaneous / July 29, 2013

During my reading for the recent BookTubeAThon in which I compared classic works of literature with more modern novels, I realised fairly early on that there is usually a very good reason why “classics” continue to be read year after year and why they have stood the test of time.    It seems to me that what they have in common is a combination of exploration of universal themes, interesting characters, entry into a fantastical new world, understanding of the human condition and/or a witty and engaging writing style. 1984 explores the theme of government control, and Big Brother is a pretty dominant “character” in the book.  Pride & Prejudice has Jane Austen’s wonderfully witty narrative combined with the eternal quest for true love. Naturally it made me wonder which of today’s novels will become tomorrow’s classics.  Looking at Amazon’s 100 top selling books, there are several I see there that I don’t believe we will still be reading in years to come. I’m sorry E.L. James and Dan Brown, but I really doubt people will even remember Fifty Shades of Grey or Inferno in fifty years’ time.  I simply don’t think they combine enough of the criteria to last.  So…

What will be tomorrow’s classics?
Miscellaneous / July 29, 2013

During my reading for the recent BookTubeAThon in which I compared classic works of literature with more modern novels, I realised fairly early on that there is usually a very good reason why “classics” continue to be read year after year and why they have stood the test of time.    It seems to me that what they have in common is a combination of exploration of universal themes, interesting characters, entry into a fantastical new world, understanding of the human condition and/or a witty and engaging writing style. 1984 explores the theme of government control, and Big Brother is a pretty dominant “character” in the book.  Pride & Prejudice has Jane Austen’s wonderfully witty narrative combined with the eternal quest for true love. Naturally it made me wonder which of today’s novels will become tomorrow’s classics.  Looking at Amazon’s 100 top selling books, there are several I see there that I don’t believe we will still be reading in years to come. I’m sorry E.L. James and Dan Brown, but I really doubt people will even remember Fifty Shades of Grey or Inferno in fifty years’ time.  I simply don’t think they combine enough of the criteria to last.  So…

Reading Roundup – 26th July 2013
Reading Roundup / July 26, 2013

After the frantic reading of BookTubeAThon 2013 I don’t have many books to discuss for this week’s reading roundup. The first book I read was Switched at Birth by “Kathryn Kennish”.  The quotes are around the author’s name as this book was written in the universe of ABC Family’s drama Switched at Birth about two families who discover their daughters were involved in a hospital mixup.  This show has been my recent guilty pleasure when not reading.  Other than the character drama the merging of two families causes, I’ve found it a fascinating insight into the world of the deaf – one of the young women concerned is deaf.  Many of the scenes involve, or are wholly in, American Sign Language.  The writing and acting on the show are of excellent quality, so perhaps my expectations of the novelisation were too high.  I found the novel uninteresting and lacking the depth that comes across in the show.  It was written from the point of view of the hearing mother and barely touched on one of the most interesting aspects of the book, her learning about the deaf language and culture.  I would suggest you skip the book and watch the show,…

Reading Roundup – 26th July 2013
Reading Roundup / July 26, 2013

After the frantic reading of BookTubeAThon 2013 I don’t have many books to discuss for this week’s reading roundup. The first book I read was Switched at Birth by “Kathryn Kennish”.  The quotes are around the author’s name as this book was written in the universe of ABC Family’s drama Switched at Birth about two families who discover their daughters were involved in a hospital mixup.  This show has been my recent guilty pleasure when not reading.  Other than the character drama the merging of two families causes, I’ve found it a fascinating insight into the world of the deaf – one of the young women concerned is deaf.  Many of the scenes involve, or are wholly in, American Sign Language.  The writing and acting on the show are of excellent quality, so perhaps my expectations of the novelisation were too high.  I found the novel uninteresting and lacking the depth that comes across in the show.  It was written from the point of view of the hearing mother and barely touched on one of the most interesting aspects of the book, her learning about the deaf language and culture.  I would suggest you skip the book and watch the show,…

Kobo Arc – Full Review
e-Reader Reviews / July 24, 2013

I have now had my Kobo Arc for several days now and this is my update to my initial impressions.  My other tablets are a Kindle Fire an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. I find the smaller form factors of the Nexus and the Kindle Fire very comfortable to use. As with my review of the Kindle Fire, I will discuss how the tasks I usually undertake on my iPad and now the Kindle Fire translate to the Kobo Arc. Generally I don’t use my tablets 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 most of my personal accounts – two Yahoo emails, Gmail and a non standard account for my evelynne@scottishbookworminquebec.com email – with minimal hassle.  I did have a problem with one of my Yahoo accounts, but I believe that to be a Yahoo problem rather than an Arc problem.I have not been able to access my work Exchange email, but i generally check that on my iPhone rather than my tablet anyway. Surfing the web I find surfing the web on the Kobo Arc noticeably faster than on the…

Kobo Arc Original version – Full Review
e-Reader Reviews / July 24, 2013

I have now had my Kobo Arc for several days now and this is my update to my initial impressions.  My other tablets are a Kindle Fire an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. I find the smaller form factors of the Nexus and the Kindle Fire very comfortable to use. As with my review of the Kindle Fire, I will discuss how the tasks I usually undertake on my iPad and now the Kindle Fire translate to the Kobo Arc. Generally I don’t use my tablets 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 most of my personal accounts – two Yahoo emails, Gmail and a non standard account for my evelynne@scottishbookworminquebec.com email – with minimal hassle.  I did have a problem with one of my Yahoo accounts, but I believe that to be a Yahoo problem rather than an Arc problem.I have not been able to access my work Exchange email, but i generally check that on my iPhone rather than my tablet anyway. Surfing the web I find surfing the web on the Kobo Arc noticeably faster than on the…

Kobo Arc Original version – Full Review
e-Reader Reviews / July 24, 2013

I have now had my Kobo Arc for several days now and this is my update to my initial impressions.  My other tablets are a Kindle Fire an iPad 3 and a Nexus 7. I find the smaller form factors of the Nexus and the Kindle Fire very comfortable to use. As with my review of the Kindle Fire, I will discuss how the tasks I usually undertake on my iPad and now the Kindle Fire translate to the Kobo Arc. Generally I don’t use my tablets 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 most of my personal accounts – two Yahoo emails, Gmail and a non standard account for my evelynne@canadianereader.com email – with minimal hassle.  I did have a problem with one of my Yahoo accounts, but I believe that to be a Yahoo problem rather than an Arc problem.I have not been able to access my work Exchange email, but i generally check that on my iPhone rather than my tablet anyway. Surfing the web I find surfing the web on the Kobo Arc noticeably faster than on the…

BookTubeAThon 2013 – Pride & Prejudice and Austenland and Final Roundup
Reading Roundup / July 22, 2013

The final pair of books I chose to read for BookTubeAthon 2013 were Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice and Shannon Hale’s Austenland.  I should disclose upfront that in preparing this blog post I rewatched the Mr-Darcy-wet-shirt scene multiple times – only in the interests of research, you understand. Both novels are romantic comedies and both explore the theme of overcoming character flaws in order to be open to love.  In Elizabeth Bennet’s case that of prejudice and in Jane Haye’s a tendency to ignore the real for fantasy. P&P is of course also a wonderful character study and exploration of Regency mores.  Austenland doesn’t attempt to live up to Austen’s standard here, choosing instead to explore the blurred line between romantic fantasy and reality. Elizabeth Bennet is a stronger heroine than Jane Hayes but the latter wins the reader’s sympathies precisely because of her vulnerabilities.  She knows she has a weakness and is taking action to work on it.  Other than their love of Mr Darcy, the heroines of both P&P and Austenland share a witty sense of humour. I was pleasantly surprised how well Austenland stood up to P&P in this case.  Of course Hale can’t match Austen’s subtle wit…