Kobo Arc – Full Review
Uncategorized / August 13, 2013

I have now had my Kobo Arc fir 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…

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence – Review
Book Reviews / August 12, 2013

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is the final book in the Broken Empire trilogy in which Jorg Ancrath tries to consolidate his claim on the Imperial Crown and deal with the threat of the Dead King.  This is undercut by a past timeline in which he tries to uncover the secrets of the Builders. Regular readers of my blog will know that I was at first unengaged by the Broken Empire trilogy, finding it hard to become emotionally invested in such a dark character as Honorous Jorg Ancrath as he was in Prince of Thorns and being somewhat put off by the violence.  Having decided to abandon the series, I was persuaded by the promise of great character development to give the second book, King of Thorns, a second chance and am very glad I did.  Like many fans, I was eagerly awaiting the release of Emperor of Thorns and picked it up on release day for your reviewing pleasure. What I liked Skillfully interwoven multiple plotlines.  It has to be said there’s a lot going on in this book; Lawrence is weaving disparate plot threads together with real expertise.  We have Jorg’s attempt to become Emperor and the…

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / August 12, 2013

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is the final book in the Broken Empire trilogy in which Jorg Ancrath tries to consolidate his claim on the Imperial Crown and deal with the threat of the Dead King.  This is undercut by a past timeline in which he tries to uncover the secrets of the Builders. Regular readers of my blog will know that I was at first unengaged by the Broken Empire trilogy, finding it hard to become emotionally invested in such a dark character as Honorous Jorg Ancrath as he was in Prince of Thorns and being somewhat put off by the violence.  Having decided to abandon the series, I was persuaded by the promise of great character development to give the second book, King of Thorns, a second chance and am very glad I did.  Like many fans, I was eagerly awaiting the release of Emperor of Thorns and picked it up on release day for your reviewing pleasure. What I liked Skillfully interwoven multiple plotlines.  It has to be said there’s a lot going on in this book; Lawrence is weaving disparate plot threads together with real expertise.  We have Jorg’s attempt to become Emperor and the…

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / August 12, 2013

Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is the final book in the Broken Empire trilogy in which Jorg Ancrath tries to consolidate his claim on the Imperial Crown and deal with the threat of the Dead King.  This is undercut by a past timeline in which he tries to uncover the secrets of the Builders. Regular readers of my blog will know that I was at first unengaged by the Broken Empire trilogy, finding it hard to become emotionally invested in such a dark character as Honorous Jorg Ancrath as he was in Prince of Thorns and being somewhat put off by the violence.  Having decided to abandon the series, I was persuaded by the promise of great character development to give the second book, King of Thorns, a second chance and am very glad I did.  Like many fans, I was eagerly awaiting the release of Emperor of Thorns and picked it up on release day for your reviewing pleasure. What I liked Skillfully interwoven multiple plotlines.  It has to be said there’s a lot going on in this book; Lawrence is weaving disparate plot threads together with real expertise.  We have Jorg’s attempt to become Emperor and the…

Reading Roundup – 9th August 2013
Reading Roundup / August 9, 2013

So far this week I have only finished one book – Republic of Thieves – on which I have already written and posted a review.  Short version: I loved it. Added to my library this week: As I mentioned in my last reading roundup, several books were released this week about which I was very excited.  Emperor of Thorns, Codex Born and Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns were added to my library this week in Kindle format.  It was disappointing though that Audible didn’t have Emperor of Thorns available on release day.  I have been absorbed in the story, and I would have liked the professional narration to help it along. I will, of course, be reviewing these books in due course. I have had Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, the first book of The Mortal Instruments series, in my Audible library for some time, but I have had difficulty getting into it.  However, as soon as I listened to the first few minutes of Jennifer Ehle’s narration of The Clockwork Angel, the first book of the Infernal Devices trilogy, I knew I was hooked.  I immediately bought all three books in both Kindle and Audible formats.  Sadly, Ms…

Reading Roundup – 9th August 2013
Reading Roundup / August 9, 2013

So far this week I have only finished one book – Republic of Thieves – on which I have already written and posted a review.  Short version: I loved it. Added to my library this week: As I mentioned in my last reading roundup, several books were released this week about which I was very excited.  Emperor of Thorns, Codex Born and Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns were added to my library this week in Kindle format.  It was disappointing though that Audible didn’t have Emperor of Thorns available on release day.  I have been absorbed in the story, and I would have liked the professional narration to help it along. I will, of course, be reviewing these books in due course. I have had Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, the first book of The Mortal Instruments series, in my Audible library for some time, but I have had difficulty getting into it.  However, as soon as I listened to the first few minutes of Jennifer Ehle’s narration of The Clockwork Angel, the first book of the Infernal Devices trilogy, I knew I was hooked.  I immediately bought all three books in both Kindle and Audible formats.  Sadly, Ms…

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / August 7, 2013

I received a free copy of The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch for review.  This is the third book in Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards series and I was very much looking forward to reading it.  In the way that Red Seas Under Red Skies explored Locke’s relationship with Jean through flashbacks and a present day narrative, Republic of Thieves explores our hero’s relationship with the mysterious Sabetha in a similar manner.  This book also deepens our knowledge of the Bondsmagi and gives some possible hints about what to expect next for Locke. What I liked Lynch’s writing style.  I really enjoyed the witty. light banter of the previous two books, and this one continues the trend.  Many times I found myself giggling out loud at a particularly funny turn of phrase. Character relationships.  Lynch clearly has a knack for writing relationships.  In Red Seas Under Red Skies the Locke/Jean relationship reminded me of a Hope/Crosby Road to… movie while Republic of Thieves is more like a well-written rom-com.  Their fears, hopes and misunderstandings seem very real. The Bondsmagi.  In this book we get to learn a lot more about them and how they work.  The storyline takes us deep into…

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / August 7, 2013

I received a free copy of The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch for review.  This is the third book in Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards series and I was very much looking forward to reading it.  In the way that Red Seas Under Red Skies explored Locke’s relationship with Jean through flashbacks and a present day narrative, Republic of Thieves explores our hero’s relationship with the mysterious Sabetha in a similar manner.  This book also deepens our knowledge of the Bondsmagi and gives some possible hints about what to expect next for Locke. What I liked Lynch’s writing style.  I really enjoyed the witty. light banter of the previous two books, and this one continues the trend.  Many times I found myself giggling out loud at a particularly funny turn of phrase. Character relationships.  Lynch clearly has a knack for writing relationships.  In Red Seas Under Red Skies the Locke/Jean relationship reminded me of a Hope/Crosby Road to… movie while Republic of Thieves is more like a well-written rom-com.  Their fears, hopes and misunderstandings seem very real. The Bondsmagi.  In this book we get to learn a lot more about them and how they work.  The storyline takes us deep into…

Delicious Library and My Out-of-Control TBR List
Miscellaneous / August 5, 2013

Recently, I spent a fun couple of days putting together a digital bookshelf of all my books with Delicious Library (Mac OS X only).   I particularly appreciated being able to view my Kindle and Kobo ebooks, physical hard copy books (of which I still have a few) and Audible audiobooks all in the one place.  The software includes a barcode scanner, so you can scan in and add physical hard copy books.  Audible audiobooks and iBooks are added via iTunes and I used a drop and drag from the Amazon Manage Your Kindle page to add my Kindle collection.  I had to manually search for and add my Kobo books.  I should note that Digital Library has full iTunes integration so it also includes your iTunes movies and TV shows.  It took me a little while to work out how to include Audible and ebooks on the same shelf – but a quick Google search indicated that I needed to edit my shelf to include both “iTunes Audiobook” and “book” type content.   Delicious Library can also generate fascinating stats about your library.  For example, I learned that to listen to my entire Audible collection back to back would take me…

Delicious Library and My Out-of-Control TBR List
Miscellaneous / August 5, 2013

Recently, I spent a fun couple of days putting together a digital bookshelf of all my books with Delicious Library (Mac OS X only).   I particularly appreciated being able to view my Kindle and Kobo ebooks, physical hard copy books (of which I still have a few) and Audible audiobooks all in the one place.  The software includes a barcode scanner, so you can scan in and add physical hard copy books.  Audible audiobooks and iBooks are added via iTunes and I used a drop and drag from the Amazon Manage Your Kindle page to add my Kindle collection.  I had to manually search for and add my Kobo books.  I should note that Digital Library has full iTunes integration so it also includes your iTunes movies and TV shows.  It took me a little while to work out how to include Audible and ebooks on the same shelf – but a quick Google search indicated that I needed to edit my shelf to include both “iTunes Audiobook” and “book” type content.   Delicious Library can also generate fascinating stats about your library.  For example, I learned that to listen to my entire Audible collection back to back would take me…