Some time after its publication, The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith was revealed to have been written by none other than J.K. Rowling. It was published under a pseudonym to allow the book to stand on its own merits and not that of its author. Until the revelation, it was selling slowly but surely and gathering positive reviews. It is difficult, if not impossible, to review this book without being aware of its authorship now that the secret is out. I would like to think though that I would have enjoyed the book as much whoever wrote it. It is a solidly written book, much more engaging than The Casual Vacancy which was written officially by Rowling. The Cuckoo’s Calling tells the story of Cormoran Strike, an ex-SIB private investigator hired to look into the apparent suicide of model Lula Landry. Initially it appears an open and shut case of suicide, but Strike’s client, Landry’s brother John Bristow believes she was murdered. Strike is ably aided and abetted by his temporary secretary, Robin. What I liked Meticulous planning. One of Rowling’s strengths as a writer is her detailed, long-term planning. In Harry Potter, minor throwaway lines in book…
Some time after its publication, The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith was revealed to have been written by none other than J.K. Rowling. It was published under a pseudonym to allow the book to stand on its own merits and not that of its author. Until the revelation, it was selling slowly but surely and gathering positive reviews. It is difficult, if not impossible, to review this book without being aware of its authorship now that the secret is out. I would like to think though that I would have enjoyed the book as much whoever wrote it. It is a solidly written book, much more engaging than The Casual Vacancy which was written officially by Rowling. The Cuckoo’s Calling tells the story of Cormoran Strike, an ex-SIB private investigator hired to look into the apparent suicide of model Lula Landry. Initially it appears an open and shut case of suicide, but Strike’s client, Landry’s brother John Bristow believes she was murdered. Strike is ably aided and abetted by his temporary secretary, Robin. What I liked Meticulous planning. One of Rowling’s strengths as a writer is her detailed, long-term planning. In Harry Potter, minor throwaway lines in book two…
Following on from yesterday’s announcement of the latest update to the Kindle Fire HD operating system, Amazon and GoodReads announced an update today to the Kindle Paperwhite second generation software which brings Cloud Collections and GoodReads integration as well as Kindle Freetime. Both Amazon and GoodReads have posted press releases on the update. Note that this is only available at this point for the second generation of Kindle Paperwhite released earlier this year. As with the Kindle Fire update, you can choose to wait until the update is sent to your device automatically, sometime over the next few weeks, or you can go to the update page, download the software and install it manually. I chose to install manually, and the instructions are very clear and very easy. It took me all of about 10 minutes to update my device. GoodReads Integration This was announced along with the Fires and Paperwhites and was something I was particularly looking forward to. I’m very active on GoodReads (check out my profile) and was excited about a tighter integration with Amazon. When you update the software you see the new G GoodReads logo on the top menu and when you click are prompted…
Following on from yesterday’s announcement of the latest update to the Kindle Fire HD operating system, Amazon and GoodReads announced an update today to the Kindle Paperwhite second generation software which brings Cloud Collections and GoodReads integration as well as Kindle Freetime. Both Amazon and GoodReads have posted press releases on the update. Note that this is only available at this point for the second generation of Kindle Paperwhite released earlier this year. As with the Kindle Fire update, you can choose to wait until the update is sent to your device automatically, sometime over the next few weeks, or you can go to the update page, download the software and install it manually. I chose to install manually, and the instructions are very clear and very easy. It took me all of about 10 minutes to update my device. GoodReads Integration This was announced along with the Fires and Paperwhites and was something I was particularly looking forward to. I’m very active on GoodReads (check out my profile) and was excited about a tighter integration with Amazon. When you update the software you see the new G GoodReads logo on the top menu and when you click are prompted…
Amazon and GoodReads have just announced the release of the Kindle Fire OS 3.1 which brings GoodReads integration, Cloud Collections and other features to the new Kindle Fire HDX and HD second gen. It can be downloaded from the Amazon updates page or you can wait a couple of weeks for it to hit your device automatically. GoodReads also has an article on its blog about the update. Unfortunately I won’t be able to review this for you until next week when my Kindle Fire HDX is due to ship to Canada – I currently have the first gen HD for which the update isn’t yet available. There is no mention yet of the update for the Kindle Paperwhite first or second gen, which is also supposed to get a GoodReads update. I am very excited about this update as I love both Kindle and GoodReads. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do together.
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve is a historical novel that tells the story of Stella Bain, a young American woman serving as a volunteer in WWI France who wakes up in hospital one day with no memory of her identity or her past. It follows her struggle to discover who she is and then to reclaim her life. What I liked Engaging characters. I really enjoyed reading about the character of Stella and those who help and hinder her. She was well written and I felt absorbed in her story. The actions and reactions of the characters seemed authentic and consistent. I am not familiar with shellshock, but I can easily imagine its playing out as it did in Stella Bain. Beautifully drawn setting. The setting changes from a WWI field hospital to post war London and America, and each of them was wonderfully detailed and described. Each was very different, but well written. Nicely executed concept. Sometimes amnesia story lines can be very cheesy – think Teri Bauer in 24 – but it was well grounded and developed in Stella Bain. I’m not personally familiar with the psychology behind shellshock, but I felt the author had done her homework…
Amazon and GoodReads have just announced the release of the Kindle Fire OS 3.1 which brings GoodReads integration, Cloud Collections and other features to the new Kindle Fire HDX and HD second gen. It can be downloaded from the Amazon updates page or you can wait a couple of weeks for it to hit your device automatically. GoodReads also has an article on its blog about the update. Unfortunately I won’t be able to review this for you until next week when my Kindle Fire HDX is due to ship to Canada – I currently have the first gen HD for which the update isn’t yet available. There is no mention yet of the update for the Kindle Paperwhite first or second gen, which is also supposed to get a GoodReads update. I am very excited about this update as I love both Kindle and GoodReads. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do together.
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve is a historical novel that tells the story of Stella Bain, a young American woman serving as a volunteer in WWI France who wakes up in hospital one day with no memory of her identity or her past. It follows her struggle to discover who she is and then to reclaim her life. What I liked Engaging characters. I really enjoyed reading about the character of Stella and those who help and hinder her. She was well written and I felt absorbed in her story. The actions and reactions of the characters seemed authentic and consistent. I am not familiar with shellshock, but I can easily imagine its playing out as it did in Stella Bain. Beautifully drawn setting. The setting changes from a WWI field hospital to post war London and America, and each of them was wonderfully detailed and described. Each was very different, but well written. Nicely executed concept. Sometimes amnesia story lines can be very cheesy – think Teri Bauer in 24 – but it was well grounded and developed in Stella Bain. I’m not personally familiar with the psychology behind shellshock, but I felt the author had done her homework…
One of the books I read this week was one I was given free to review by the author, State vs. Lassiter by Paul Levine. This is a legal mystery/thriller in which trial lawyer Jake Lassiter sees court from the other side as he is framed for murder. This is the tenth in the Jake Lassiter series, but only the first one I have read. Not having read the others didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book; State vs. Lassiter is quite capable of working as a stand-alone. Legal thrillers is not a genre I read a lot of although I do enjoy it. In this one I particularly appreciated the way Levine, a former trial lawyer himself, was able to express complex legal aspects clearly and succinctly to be easily understood by a layman like myself. The narrative style was fresh and engaging and each chapter ended on a cliffhanger to keep me reading more. One aspect I didn’t appreciate so much was the way women were depicted in the novel. For me a little too much focus was placed on their sexual allure rather than their mental acumen. Despite that, I enjoyed the book and gave it…
One of the books I read this week was one I was given free to review by the author, State vs. Lassiter by Paul Levine. This is a legal mystery/thriller in which trial lawyer Jake Lassiter sees court from the other side as he is framed for murder. This is the tenth in the Jake Lassiter series, but only the first one I have read. Not having read the others didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book; State vs. Lassiter is quite capable of working as a stand-alone. Legal thrillers is not a genre I read a lot of although I do enjoy it. In this one I particularly appreciated the way Levine, a former trial lawyer himself, was able to express complex legal aspects clearly and succinctly to be easily understood by a layman like myself. The narrative style was fresh and engaging and each chapter ended on a cliffhanger to keep me reading more. One aspect I didn’t appreciate so much was the way women were depicted in the novel. For me a little too much focus was placed on their sexual allure rather than their mental acumen. Despite that, I enjoyed the book and gave it…