For this week’s reading roundup I read Rick Riordan’s short story The Son of Sobek in which Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series meets Carter Kane of the Kane Chronicles. It was a fun read, if nothing majorly exciting. I was disappointed that the enhanced ebook version with narration from author Rick Riordan was not available for Canadians – indeed, I purchased it on Kobo. It also contains a sneak peak at the fourth book in the Heroes of Olympus series, House of Hades, which I am really looking forward to. I also read The Companions by R.A. Salvatore, which I received as a free copy from Netgalley. I plan to write a full review of it later, so I will save my thoughts for then. Suffice it to say, I wish I’d discovered R.A. Salvatore much sooner. The final book I read/listened to was The Lost Colony, the fifth in Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series. This is a series I much prefer listening to on Audible, mainly because of Nathaniel Parker’s wonderful narration. His accent work and general excellent storytelling make this series a joy to listen to. Check out a sample. The Lost Colony…
Kobo is currently offering a special price on the Kobo Arc, so today I picked one up and have been playing around with it these last few hours. Here are my first impressions. The device seems solid and well made although it took a while to start up, because it had no battery left. Once I charged it up, it worked well. The setup was easy – I entered my Kobo username and password and my Google Play username and password to access the apps I’d previously bought. My Kindle, Kobo, Audible and GoodReads apps all downloaded easily and installed with no fuss. The Arc is a major step up from the Kobo Vox, which was underpowered, underdeveloped and underwhelming. The newer device is based on Android Jelly Bean with a Kobo skin. The skin is far more subtle than that on the Kindle Fire, which is unrecognisable as Android. With the Kobo Arc you have access to Google Now, Google Playstore and all the features of Android Jelly Bean. For me it seems a really great hybrid of ereader and fully fledged tablet. I can see real advantages to having all the features of Android available on an ereading…
Kobo is currently offering a special price on the Kobo Arc, so today I picked one up and have been playing around with it these last few hours. Here are my first impressions. The device seems solid and well made although it took a while to start up, because it had no battery left. Once I charged it up, it worked well. The setup was easy – I entered my Kobo username and password and my Google Play username and password to access the apps I’d previously bought. My Kindle, Kobo, Audible and GoodReads apps all downloaded easily and installed with no fuss. The Arc is a major step up from the Kobo Vox, which was underpowered, underdeveloped and underwhelming. The newer device is based on Android Jelly Bean with a Kobo skin. The skin is far more subtle than that on the Kindle Fire, which is unrecognisable as Android. With the Kobo Arc you have access to Google Now, Google Playstore and all the features of Android Jelly Bean. For me it seems a really great hybrid of ereader and fully fledged tablet. I can see real advantages to having all the features of Android available on an ereading…
Emerald Green is the final book in Kerstin Gier’s Gem Trilogy. It follows Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue. Originally released in German, the English translation is not available until October 2013. However, as I read German I can and will review it for you. The three books in the trilogy read like one long book cut into three parts rather than three separate novels with separate stories and one overarching plot line. I will be reviewing them as such. As I mentioned in my recent Reading Review, I was introduced to the books fairly recently and I devoured all three in a matter of days. They tell the story of Gwyneth (Gwendolyn in the original German) who learns that her family is the carrier of a gene allowing her to travel through time. Unlike her cousin, she has not been inducted into the family’s secrets, so she must work things out on her own, with the help of the mysterious and attractive Gideon.
Emerald Green is the final book in Kerstin Gier’s Gem Trilogy. It follows Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue. Originally released in German, the English translation is not available until October 2013. However, as I read German I can and will review it for you. The three books in the trilogy read like one long book cut into three parts rather than three separate novels with separate stories and one overarching plot line. I will be reviewing them as such. As I mentioned in my recent Reading Review, I was introduced to the books fairly recently and I devoured all three in a matter of days. They tell the story of Gwyneth (Gwendolyn in the original German) who learns that her family is the carrier of a gene allowing her to travel through time. Unlike her cousin, she has not been inducted into the family’s secrets, so she must work things out on her own, with the help of the mysterious and attractive Gideon. What I liked Gwyneth’s “voice.” I loved Gwyneth’s humour and warmth as she comes to terms with her situation. Having compared the English and German original the translator has done great work bringing that across. I liked that…
For this week’s reading roundup I read something I don’t often read – a play. I was fortunate enough to catch via NT Theatre Live Helen Mirren’s wonderful performance as Her Majesty The Queen in Peter Morgan’s witty play about the weekly audiences between Queen and Prime Minister. It always wonderful to watch a well written play performed by skilled actors, and this was no exception. I enjoyed picking up on a few things I’d missed – like the explanation of why Peter Morgan opted to avoid a chronological narrative – he didn’t want to have the audience counting off the Prime Ministers on their fingers. It’s certainly worth checking out. Morgan also wrote such excellent screenplays as The Queen and Frost/Nixon. Pick it up on Kindle, Kobo or iTunes. I also recommend that you take a look at the NT Theatre Live’s programme of events – this is a truly excellent series of plays and I applaud the theatre’s commitment to bringing them to a wider audience. I am coming to the conclusion that I’m not really so fond of the grimdark genre. This week I read/listened to Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. There are some interesting characters –…
For this week’s reading roundup I read something I don’t often read – a play. I was fortunate enough to catch via NT Theatre Live Helen Mirren’s wonderful performance as Her Majesty The Queen in Peter Morgan’s witty play about the weekly audiences between Queen and Prime Minister. It always wonderful to watch a well written play performed by skilled actors, and this was no exception. I enjoyed picking up on a few things I’d missed – like the explanation of why Peter Morgan opted to avoid a chronological narrative – he didn’t want to have the audience counting off the Prime Ministers on their fingers. It’s certainly worth checking out. Morgan also wrote such excellent screenplays as The Queen and Frost/Nixon. Pick it up on Kindle, Kobo or iTunes. I also recommend that you take a look at the NT Theatre Live’s programme of events – this is a truly excellent series of plays and I applaud the theatre’s commitment to bringing them to a wider audience. I am coming to the conclusion that I’m not really so fond of the grimdark genre. This week I read/listened to Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. There are some interesting characters –…
Through @katytastic I recently learned about BookTubeAthon – a book reading marathon for YouTube book bloggers. Take a look at the introductory videos. Although I don’t blog on YouTube, I think this sounds a really exciting idea, and I look forward to taking part. In summary, it’s a challenge to book bloggers to read as much as possible between 15th and 21st July and to complete certain challenges:
Through @katytastic I recently learned about BookTubeAthon – a book reading marathon for YouTube book bloggers. Take a look at the introductory videos. Although I don’t blog on YouTube, I think this sounds a really exciting idea, and I look forward to taking part. In summary, it’s a challenge to book bloggers to read as much as possible between 15th and 21st July and to complete certain challenges:
I received a free copy of Finding Colin Firth by Mia March to review from Netgalley. It is set in the same town as her previous work The Meryl Streep Movie Club, on which I cannot comment as I have not yet had the chance to read it. Finding Colin Firth is a sweet story of three women drawn together in a Maine town connected by a theme of unplanned pregnancy and its impact on their lives. The theme of giving up a child is also explored through other characters in the novel. There are frequent references to characters being adopted, looking to adopt or working with young pregnant teens.