I snagged this book, The Angel Experiement Book 1 by James Patterson simply because it was free. It was a decent fast read. It had some bad language in it, but the story is good. I haven’t read the rest of the series, so I’m in a lurch about where Patterson actually takes it. What’s the book about? Imagine being a cross between bird and human….that’s right, a human with wings and the ability to fly (a common dream of many people I would think). But, imagine if that came about through some kind of experimentation….. This series appears to put a group of kids in this situation. it deals with them while they are run off from their hideout by erasers and then try to find out more about their own history.
Here are some stats for the book: Publisher: Hachette Book Group Locations: 5,587 Errors: There were a few minor formatting errors (extra spaces, etc….) Cost: $0.00 Overall: 5 out of 10
[Update 12-02-2010 06:04:43] Edited the Amazon links to use my new affiliate link. For information why, see this post.
Ok all…I just found out something totally cool about the Kindle (I got Cyndi one for Christmas). Even here in Europe, we can use the experimental web browser to get access to the www. For free! Very cool.
As I write this, I’m in a CoffeeShop Company coffe shop in Skopje, Macedonia. They have free wifi and I’m pretty impressed with the speed. Here’s the speed test results I just got:
Locations: 5,194 Genre: Fiction, general Formattting Errors: I remember only 2 or 3 words with wierd spaces. Nothing distracting. Summary: Imagine turning 15 and having your own room in a hotel to take care of! How exciting! But when the hotel is in danger of colapse, it isn’t very exciting. Until a mystery guest shows up to stay for the entire summer. How will things turn out as the 15 year old suite taker-care-of-er runs all over town as the assistant of this new gues? Rating: 5 out of 10.
[Update 12-02-2010 06:04:43] Edited the Amazon links to use my new affiliate link. For information why, see this post.
For Christmas this year, I bought Cyndi a Kindle K2 International Edition. I wanted to let her have the opportunity to read as much as she could while being in the hospital, waiting on the baby, or recovering. However, living overseas, English books are expensive and hard to find at times. Yes, we could have people send them to us, but that is expensive too. And, in either case, we would have to have something to do with the books when we left. I saw Amazon had announced the international version of the Kindle (and reduced the price) so I jumped on it.
I preloaded it with tons of free books for her to have. Well, shortly after, Amazon released the Kindle for PC application. I said to myself “self! Why not download it and give it a shot?” And, given the fact that I have a tablet PC, I thought I could put it to use reading in portrait mode instead of landscape mode.
Well, after reading several books (for reviews, go here) I have some tips and thoughts I wanted to put out there in case you are thinking about using the app.
I want a kindle now. Using a laptop is just too cumbersome.
The tablet PC functionality is finally being used. I wouldn’t even consider reading on a standard screen. The page is way too wide and the text doesn’t flow naturally to my eyes.
If you are thinking about getting a kindle, jump on the kindle for PC app…NOW. Why? Well, if you check the site every few days, Amazon offers new free books. You can snag these now, then get them on your kindle later. What good is this?
Jump on free books now! Bits and Bytes are cheap. The price may go up tomorrow. Most of the freebies I’ve downloaded since Christmas are already up in the $6-$9 range. They only take up a few hundred kb (I know Alan…bloatware)
Reading on my tablet isn’t as easy as a book (the thing is way heavy and I have to watch out for the fan–I have an hp pavillion tx 1000 series and it gets HOT, but the battery life makes me take breaks because it is hard to ready while the thing charges (I get to ready about 2 hours)
I’ve read much more since Christmas than I have in the past year. Have all the books been great? No. Is it because I have the books instead of being limited by my small library I bright here? probabaly somewhat. But, Cyndi and I had a rather large library in the US (7 standard bookcases in our house in Richmond. And that was only about 1/2 our books) and I didn’t read this much. I wanted to, but didn’t.
Download the books to your PC after you buy them. This is the transfer via computer option. Why? Well, if Amazon pulls a 1984 stunt again, you still have your copy of the book (they say they won’t, but “they” say lots of things).
Do I care about the DRM in the books? Yes I do. I wish it weren’t there. I won’t go as far as Cory Doctorow and swear off the kindle because I think the problems will eventually sort themselves out. And if they don’t, I’m only out…well…nothing right now because I haven’t actually bought a book yet. I’ve only gotten freebies. I still like books (and used bookstores!).
As I continue reading, I’ll continue to post reviews and tips I come across. Hopefully they help someone else out too. BTW, if you have any ideas or questions, just post it in the comments.
Conspiracy in Kiev by Noel Hynd. This was my first long book on the kindle for pc app. I really wondered how my eyes would do. But, I’ve found that if I set my contrast all the way on low that the strain on my eyes isn’t bad. I can read for 1-2 hours at a stretch (about the limit of my tablet pc battery. Yep, I’ve finally found a use for the tablet feature!).
The book has 6,841 locations. I don’t remember any sex–although there are several scenes where the characters are in bars with women dancing, etc….–but there is some violece. Although, the voilence is of a “normal” nature and isn’t gratuitious.
What would a mild mannered FBI detective have to do with a Ukranian mob boss? What would both of them have to do with the President of the US? How does this relate to the famine in the USSR/Ukrane before WW2? And how do languages play into the mix? This was a good book that flowed fast and was fast paced.
[Update 12-02-2010 06:04:43] Edited the Amazon links to use my new affiliate link. For information why, see this post.
Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent . I started reading this just because it looked interesting. At first, I didn’t know if I would like it (it is too much like the cat books–no, I didn’t get one and read it…Cyndi got one on tape nd we listed to it about 7 years ago or so. I would avoid all of them if I were you).
The book has 2,505 locations. Imagine leaving your job, moving to another town–a small town–to start a new life as a cake decorator. What happens when you deliver a cake to the town gossip for the 3rd time? What happens if that gossip isn’t alive when you show up, but the door is unlocked? You don’t know any better, so you go in. How will the townspeople accept you?
[Update 12-02-2010 06:04:43] Edited the Amazon links to use my new affiliate link. For information why, see this post.
The book has 6,369 locations. Imagine being a member of an elete group of US Soldiers who fight in Afghanastan against Muslims. What happens after they leave the service and begin their lives as civilians. Now, what happens as the terrorists bring terrorist acts (imagine suicide bombers) to the US? The book is faced paced and has an interesting twist about 3/4 of the way through the book. The book is violent; however, I don’t remember any sex. This book is a good fast read.
[Update 12-02-2010 06:04:43] Edited the Amazon links to use my new affiliate link. For information why, see this post.
This is a review of The Kiribati Test by Stacey Cochran (the link is for the paperback version. I can’t find the kindle version now). The book has 2,679 locations. It is a collection of several (3 or 4) short stories. It was a fast read. I don’t remember the different stories; however, the first story in the book gives title to the book.
There was a some voilence in the first story…I don’t really remember the others. Hopefully, as I write my reviews, I’ll do them in a more timely manner and be able to give a better overview of the books I read.
[Update 12-02-2010 06:04:43] Edited the Amazon links to use my new affiliate link. For information why, see this post.
simply because it was free. It was a decent fast read. It had some bad language in it, but the story is good. I haven’t read the rest of the series, so I’m in a lurch about where Patterson actually takes it. What’s the book about? Imagine being a cross between bird and human….that’s right, a human with wings and the ability to fly (a common dream of many people I would think). But, imagine if that came about through some kind of experimentation….. This series appears to put a group of kids in this situation. it deals with them while they are run off from their hideout by erasers and then try to find out more about their own history.
) 
. I started reading this just because it looked interesting. At first, I didn’t know if I would like it (it is too much like the 
(the link is for the paperback version. I can’t find the kindle version now). The book has 2,679 locations. It is a collection of several (3 or 4) short stories. It was a fast read. I don’t remember the different stories; however, the first story in the book gives title to the book.