News: The Magic of Book Covers
I love books almost as much for their book covers as I do their actual books. A well-designed book cover matches the intent and spirit of the story, and can often enhance the experience of reading it.
News: Kurt Vonnegut Talks About the Shape of Stories
Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors, and I really miss his voice. In this video, he humorously talks about the different shapes of stories. (Or maybe not so different.)
News: Christopher Walken Reads the 3 Little Pigs
I don't know that there is much more to say. Christopher Walken reads the children's classic 3 Little Pigs.
News: Star-Base 479
Audio Book Streams, Classic SciFi Television Streams and Nightly Streams of Classic Art Bell Broadcasts. The streams consist of books consisting of Science Fiction, Classic TV Shows and Future Books. Each night also includes streams of Art Bell broadcasts for Dreamland and Coast to Coast AM.
News: Read Your Bookcase!
This bookcase is so gorgeous. I wonder what it'll look like all filled up. It's a great visual reminder to actually read the books you have.
How To: WonderHowTo Book Giveaway!
Enter to win an autographed copy of Sharon Beals' book, Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them. Enjoy her incredible photography of 50 birds and their nests.
News: Guy Laramee's Guan Yin Book Sculptures
Guan Yin is the Goddess of Mercy in Buddhist mythology. It's interesting that Laramee names his book sculptures after her - he claims to have been thinking and meditating on the devastating images that came after the Japanese tsunami.
Shelfari: A Virtual Bookshelf for Your Blog
Shelfari is a cool free widget that allows users to install a virtual bookshelf with custom picks on most blogs and social networks (Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress.com and more). Appears to be owned by Amazon; check it out.
How To: How Would You Explain the Kindle to Charles Dickens?
Everyone knows who Charles Dickens is—the famous English author responsible for such iconic novels as Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol and The Adventures of Oliver Twist. But what if this Victorian era novelist (who died in 1870) was resurrected into today’s futuristic world? How would you explain the concept of a technology he’s never seen before? Even something that perfectly fits his area of expertise—books? How would you elucidate the Amazon Kindle?
Book Review: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Note: Little Brother is available as a free ebook download. Warnings
News: KCRW podcast on ereaders & the physical book
KCRW is our local news station, and they also host a bunch of different podcasts that are usually pretty interesting. Last night they were talking about ereaders and the physical book and how the publishing industry is moving forward. It's a great discussion.
How To: EFF's guide to ebook privacy
One of the costs associated with buying an Amazon Kindle is going to be the fact that Amazon now has your info, and can track your buying habits with ease. If this is going to be a factor in your ereader purchase, you should know what you're getting into. EFF's written up a handy guide to what information different ereaders track.
News: Google eBooks is now available!
The best thing about Google eBooks, besides its 3 million titles? You can read the books on any device - from your iPhone to your Sony Reader. It doesn't currently support Amazon Kindle files, but you can download the books you buy as PDFs or ePub files and then convert them on your Kindle.