Isn’t it funny how we constantly slam the racial prejudice we witness in others, but remain blinkered to our own prejudices?  My childhood friend was black. That came across as a strong statement didn’t it? But actually her colour of skin meant nothing to me, because Samantha was my dearest and closest friend in primary school.  We ate together, played together and I remember thinking and wondering (in that innocent childhood way) how come she never ‘blushed,’ or how she managed to get those two little pigtails either side of her head to stay so neat and pointing upright.  I vivdly recall sitting on a swing beside her, and staring at the two pointy puffs on her head and telling her that they looked like two little black horns pointing to the clouds. We both cracked up at that and fell about laughing. Yes it was brilliant, we could be silly like that as children; we could say things so very innocently and without worry or hurt. We were just growing, understanding and learning about each other; about life.  Samantha drifted out of my life, (as most childhood friends do,) and I discovered in my later years that some people in this world definitely dislike people like Samantha, simply because of the tone of ...

What’s more frustrating than not having enough books?  Having too many books and not being able to get through them all fast enough. I’m a self-confessed bookworm. I love books, reading and escaping into different minds, worlds and adventures. It’s not that I want to read them all as quickly as possible. I just don’t want to take six months per book!  Unfortunately I can only escape into books here and there, now and again. I wouldn’t really want to escape all the time. But each time I pick up a book, some other priority bounds into my space (usually a two year old).  And if it isn’t mother or a friend wanting a yack on the phone, it’s ironing, cleaning, appointments, laundry, social functions, coffee with friends, cooking, bathing, sleeping, driving, kiddie playing, grocery shopping, eating and sometimes just vegging out in front of the TV.  But seriously, just think about it. Isn’t there a heck of a lot of things we need to get done in 24 hours? So where is the time for reading? Right now it’s a paragraph here and possibly a page there. The optimum time for me is late at night, but two lines later and I’m out quicker ...

The mirror has an article about a boy of 6 being offered a 23 book deal. But is it the real deal or not? The commenteer's over there don't think so. This could be really terrible for the boy if they are right, and really good if they are wrong. Personally, I could see them doing a deal for a book or two if the boy was really good at reaching out to his age group, but a 23 book deal? Come off it! For once I really hope I'm wrong. The sun has some more information but it appears that information is quite scant out there. "He will write under the same pseudonym as his mum, JS Huntlands, to protect his privacy." Update: Writer Beware have also stated that this is a scam. http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-media-gets-it-wrong.html

One has to feel a little remorse for the late Stieg Larsson. The author has apparently left a fourth instalment of his phenomenal crime trilogy on his laptop, which is currently in the hands of his lover Eva Gabrielsson. Does this forecast a book entitled 'The Girl with the Hidden Laptop?' Seriously though, sitting tightly on this extremely hot property must be such an empowering sensation for the lady in question. Incidentally, as uncanny fiction can sometimes mirror reality: her actions are in turn infuriating Larsson’s Estate holders, those being his father and younger brother. The wrangle between Camp Gabrielsson and Larson’s relatives could almost run like a psychological thriller itself. One wonders whether it’s his lover or his relatives who are licking their fingers at the huge money pot Larsson has amalgamated since his death. Gabrielsson, having never married Larsson, apparently has never benefitted from this gathering fortune, therefore one wonders why she feels so strongly about withholding his fourth and final manuscript, hence becoming 'The Girl Who Kicked The In-laws Aside?' Enough! Also, interestingly, Gabrielsson insists that Stieg would have been horrified at the title of this first book ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ saying that the original title 'Men Who Hate Women,' was chosen by him to strongly portray the theme of violence ...

I’ve spent months and months complaining about the kindle, and how cleverly it is slowly snuffing out the good old printed books. I’ve lamented and wept and said I shall never convert to its heathen call. Never!  Well guess what. I have just downloaded the Kindle App for PC!  Okay, before I am escorted over to the other side of the fence and pelted with hardbacks, let me explain.  Firstly, I don’t know what made me do it. I really don’t. There I was, happily munching on a bunch of grapes and sifting through a mountain of spam mail, and the next moment I spotted this sentence.  'Kindle App Download Free for PC. ' What? I thought these e-readers were just hardware gadgets; expensive things which you had to order online or purchase in a store, and carry around with you like all the  snooty new-cultured businessmen.  This needed checking out, because possibly my ignorance and pride have thrown me back in time with regard to all these new and fancy digital developments.  Here are some benefits I discovered on this deal: a)  The downloadable app is free (always a great thing in this money-grabbing world.) b)  I don’t have to wait for my books to be shipped to me (at ...

Has the world gone Potter-mad, or are we sliding into a new and harmless cultural revolution revolving around wizardry? The Guardian reports that a Harry Potter course is to be offered at Durham University. The focus being on ‘social, cultural and educational context.’ Before you dash off to sign up, you may be disappointed to hear that there’ll be no flying lessons, frog legs or bat ears involved in this course. It has been designed to focus on some of the reasons why Rowling’s seven book masterpiece has become such a huge global phenomenon. The Guardian post states: "Harry Potter is a culturally iconic phenomenon and has already been the subject of many well-regarded academic studies over recent years, so it is only fitting that a leading university like Durham responds to new developments in our academic and wider social and cultural environment in developing new modules like this," said Fowler.” Sorry, but I cannot fully grasp the purpose of an entire university course, (of which we now learn there is more than one) based on understanding the popularity of a children’s book! Will we see any opposing cultural/religious groups protesting at such nonsense? And apparently, (brace yourself) this new course isn’t the only Potter-themed educational craze in existence ...

Will e-readers miss the visual pleasures of book covers? There are obvious benefits to a downloadable book., but why are some readers still reluctant to lose the visual appeal and lure of a shelf full of artistic images?  When asked for her thoughts on the matter, artist J Chipol responded as follows:  Whether people actually buy books because of the cover is open for debate, however, I think it is fairly simple to make a quick judgement on the type of book you are holding even before opening to the first page.  This is a fairly common activity. I may be more attracted to actually choosing a book off a shelf simply by it’s instant visual appeal. We can also often identify genre’s by style, colour and font as she also confirms.  “I personally know that romance and 'soppy' books are not to my taste, so I always avoid pink dizzy covers with girlie 'curly' fonts. Though it may not always be right to generalise, it can be, however, fairly easy to spot 'types' or 'genres' at a casual glance across the shelves. 'True life' books with a sad story will generally be easy to identify with a 'handwritten' typeface and a white, plain background; books ...

Amazon UK have announced that authors will be able to self publish to their kindle platform. This is great news for a lot of prospective authors as it means that the entry cost of getting their books out to people has just been lowered. Not everyone is convinced that ebooks are the way to go.  However one can't argue that this will lower the cost of many self published books. Our American cousins have been able to do this for some time. Source: Gizmodo Related posts How To Make Money With Your Own E-Book Resources Amazon Digital Text Platform