Mariannes Motifs

Free Book from Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program

Barnes and Noble has a great Summer Reading program for school kids.  You download a summer reading "passport" and have your kid keep track of 8 books they read over the summer.  Then they bring it in to BandN and get to pick out a free book.

My son Ben did this last year and this year I have TWO readers to take part.

10 Things I Love About the Kindle

1.  Send a Sample - instantly sends about a chapter of the book to your Kindle so you can get a feel for whether or not you will like it.  Then if you want to buy, one click sends it to your eReader in about 10 seconds.

2.  No one can tell what you are reading from the cover.  The ultimate in stealth reading.

3.  Whispernet wireless download means no more late night trips to the bookstore to fish through what they happen to have on the shelves.  Or worse - trying to find a decent book at the grocery store.

4.  The eInk display does not give eyestrain. I do not like doing serious reading on a backlit screen.  I frequently have to read technical admin guides offered in pdf format for my work.  Since I have trouble reading that level of detail onscreen I used to print them out.  Some of them are huge - 300 plus pages.   Now I can put my work pdfs on the Kindle and not have to print them out just to read through a technical manual once.  Saves paper.

5.  Knitting patterns work pretty well on the Kindle, as well.  Very handy.

6.  I don't have to fight to have a paperback lay flat.   My M-Edge leather cover not only lays perfectly flat, but it also can stand itself up easel style for hands free reading.

7.  The dictionary lookup feature is surprisingly cool, especially when reading the classics and historical fiction.  For example, Georgette Heyer uses a lot of Regency period "slang" and I love the way I can just click on a word and the definition shows up on the bottom of the screen.

8. There are lots of free books available.  I love the Project Gutenberg "Magic Catalog" where you can instantly download classics over Whispernet.  Also feedbooks.com which has a great interface for downloading all different free eBook formats for whatever reader you happen to have.  I love that authors and publishers are offering some books for free as well.  On Sci Fi Jungle I have a nice list of resources for Free Kindle Books with links, by the way.

9.  Lots of new books to buy.  The main reason I decided on a Kindle is that Amazon has the largest selection of eBooks available right now.  I am sure that the Apple store and Barnes and Noble will be working hard to catch up, but I went with the leader.  Plus I love Amazon anyway.  Not only do I own a little bit of Amazon stock, but I also make a modest few dollars a month on affiliate sales through them.  (Mostly due to their best price on Keurig K-Cups, but that's a whole other story)  I am a voracious reader and have books factored into my budget.  While I do borrow from the library and skulk around used books stores, garage sales and Goodwill for books, I also buy books new.  For my favorite authors I will even shell out for hardcover.  I like that there is even a slightly lower price for the Kindle version, although I with the price battles going on right now I am not sure how the price thing will all shake out.

10.  Fantastic battery life.  If you have to have yet another electronic device, its great to not have to worry about it running out of battery all the darn time.  The Kindle has a great battery life which is great when you want to carry it around everywhere you go!

What I've Read on the Kindle

Someone asked in a ravelry kindle readers forum what people are reading on their Kindle's right now.  Someone mentioned they were taking part in a 100 books challenge to read 100 books this year.  That's n0 challenge for me.  I finish a book every few days.

Here's what  I wrote:

I am reading Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a project Gutenberg book. I just finished Faking It, which is .99 cents at Amazon. It was cute, but it had about 7 typos in it, which kind of bugged me.

Recently I have read Mary Balogh’s A Matter of Class, (great book - bad Kindle formatting) and Jayne Ann Krentz’s Fired Up. Jayne Ann Krentz is my favorite author and it was so cool when I preorderd the book and it just popped up on the Kindle one morning.

Also kitty  and the Dead Man’s Hand and kitty raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville Werewolf series) and Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series numbers 6 and 7. Oh yeah and the Queen of the Orcs trilogy by Morgan Howell.

I got the Kindle a couple of days before Christmas and I have read all those and a few more. 100 books plus in year is normal for me - no challenge needed.

I think it's a cool idea to keep a list of what you are reading in the year.  Maybe I will make a page for that.   I've never really kept track of all the books I've read through the years.  A lot, I can tell you that.

It would be cool to keep a list with links to all the books, free or for purchase.  It might be a good referral page for Amazon affiliate sales - as good as any of the best paid web directories.  They don't give any referral credit for Kindle books, however they do for the paper versions, the Kindle itself, and any other items purchased.   What do I do with affiliate payments from Amazon?  I get paid in Amazon gift cards which I apply to my account so when I use the one click to purchase books on the Kindle the money goes off of the gift card balance first.  Nice!

First Chapter Books (With Lots of Pictures and Engaging Stories)

I find myself in the position of compiling a list of early chapter books, especially onces suited for boys.  My little Mr. 6 year old is enjoying Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta books so much that I have to plan for the next foray into kid reading.

My requirements:  I am looking for books with lots of pictures, even comic book style.  They also have to have a funny engaging plot.  Underwear humor, beating up bad guys, and 1st grade humor are all important extras that can not be over emphasized.

By the way - sitting down and reading with your kids should be listed as an anti aging product.  Laughing at the silly stories with the boys really makes me feel younger.  Love and laughter together - the best.

Henrietta, There's No One Better by Martine Murray:

Dear Max by Sally Grindley

The Dumb Bunnies by Dav Pilkey

Geronimo Stilton Series by the mouse Geronimo Stilton

I am so Excited - My New Kindle is Coming

First of all, I just want to say to my mom that I promise I will buy a twin draft guard for my front door which is a little bit drafty.  No need to call and give me a phone check.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way...  I had 50 bucks of Amazon gift certs from selling K-Cups on Sale, and other items from Amazon.  I also had some other blogging income of about $60.00.  Amazon is offering free 2 day shipping on Kindle2 so the hubster told me to order it for my Christmakkah present. 

I am really excited it is in route to me and I might get it tomorrow or at the latest Tuesday.  Since we are leaving Wed. am for our drive to Columbus Ohio this is going to be great. I will have something to read when I get there.  (No, I won't be reading in the car - I get carsick)  But I can knit in the car as long as I don't have to read a pattern.  Weird but true.

Something cool about the Kindle - I was able to already buy books for it.  When I get it and turn it one they will automatically download.  Here is what I bought:

Hanukkah List for Boys 4-6 Years Old

Hanukkah time is here faster than probably most of us exptected - December 11th is the first in 2009.  My mom wanted me to make a list of things the boys might like.

This year Ben is really into Owls, and Adam is really into Monkeys.  Therefore both boys requested a stuffed animal and book about those animals.  Also I am adding Tag books and cards on the list.  The Tag is a little pen shaped gaget I picked up for them that reads out loud from the Tag books and helps the kids learn to read.  I had a nice coupon plus sale price deal on Tag readers so I already picked up two of them for the holidays.  So now with the addidtion of a few of the special proprietary books, the kids will be all set to enjoy their Tag readers.

Tag Animal Cards that work with the tag reader.  (These come together on a ring and the kid can point the tag reader at one of the animal cards and it will read the information about that animal that is written on the card)

Books for Adam:

Books for Ben:

Cool They Might Be Giants DVD for both kids:  (Entertaining AND Educational!)

Friday Morning Quiz

Can you name the titles of the modern library's list of the 100 best novels?  I got 22 out of 100.  This is a great memory sparker for those literary types amongst us.  Try to beat my score. 

Can you name the 100 best novels according to Modern Library (1900 to 1998)?

149 Sci Fi Novels Everyone must Read... or so they say

 See the list HERE on Sci Fi Jungle if you are interested.

Not To Be Read List

Lisa Roe, from Online Publicist has a great guest post on the Trish's Diary Blog about books you have never read and are just never going to read.  Here's my list.  Unashamedly.

1.  The Life of Pi.

2.  The Lovely Bones.

3.  Moby Dick.

4.  Angela's Ashes.

5.  A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose.

However, just to be fair, I am also going to list 5 Books that I have read and am glad I have read and recommend to anyone even though they were long.

1.  Middlemarch by George Eliot

2.  The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen Carter

3.  David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

4.  Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

5.  All the Harry Potter Books by J.K. Rowling

Book Meme

I ran across a fun Book Meme on the My Thermos blog. 

Below a list of 100 books. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you are interested in, and leave the ones you aren't alone. Fun! 

I am going to add to this and highlight in purple some of my favorite books that are on the list.

 
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)

5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)

6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)

7. The Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers. (Tolkien)

8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)

9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)

10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)

11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)

12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)

13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  (Rowling) 

14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)

15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)

16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)

17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)

18. The Stand (Stephen King)

19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)

20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)

22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)

25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)

29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)

30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)

31. Dune (Frank Herbert)

32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)

33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)

34. 1984 (Orwell)

35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)

37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)

38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)

39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)

40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)

42. The Kite Runner(Khaled Hosseini)

43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)

44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)

45. Bible (Old and New Testament)

46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)

47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)

49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)

51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)

53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)

54. Great Expectations (Dickens)

55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)

57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)

58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)

59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)

61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)

63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)

64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)

65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)

66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)

68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)

69. Les Miserables (Hugo)

70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)

72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)

73. Shogun (James Clavell)

74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)

75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)

77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)

78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)

79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)

80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)

81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)

82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)

83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)

84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)

85. Emma (Jane Austen)

86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)

87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)

88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)

89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)

90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)

91.The Skin of the Lion (Ondaatje)

92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)

93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)

94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)

95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)

96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)

97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)

98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford

99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)

100. Ulysses (James Joyce)