Jane Litte's Blog, page 996

REVIEW: Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke

Dear Ms. Guhrke:

In a way I wish I had read Trouble at the Wedding before the first two books in the Abandoned at the Altar series. The Edwardian setting, pairing of the bourgeois heroine from the American South and the titled but impoverished English duke, and mixed cocktail of the marriage for money and the reformed rake plots add up to an ambitious vision. But I'm not sure whether my expectations were set higher after the first two books, or if what struck me as fresh earlier now seems a...

REVIEW: Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

Dear Ms. Rennison,

Your Georgia Nicholson series is one of my go-to YA recommendations for a read that makes me chuckle.  I've read maybe half of them, but each one was a treat that made me laugh out loud – and though I can appreciate a lot of humor in books – it's rare to have me actually laughing due to the hilarity of the joke.

[image error]Withering Tights is your answer to finishing your Georgia Nicholson series – a spin-off involving her cousin, Tallulah.  It nods to the Emily Bronte book, too, but...

Tuesday Links: SOPA Blackout & Deals

News

Even though the House has purportedly backed off from bringing SOPA to the floor, the idea is still percolating on Capital Hill.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid still plans to bring PIPA to the floor for a vote.  Tomorrow, many sites on the internet are going black including Wikipedia.  Twitter CEO has lashed out, saying that it is a silly and foolish decision:

Via Twitter, Radar correspondent Alex Howard asked Costolo, Google's Eric Schmidt and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, whether they...

Do Readers Owe Other Readers to Review?

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As more authors bypass traditional publishing to bring their products directly to the consumer, the greater the risk is to the reader that she wastes her money (albeit a low amount of it) and her time (possibly more precious) on a sub standard product.  The benefit of a book that is published by an actual publisher, whether it is a print or digital first publisher, is this idea that someone impartial has said "this is worth reading."  With a self published book or one published by a house...

REVIEW: Born of Ashes by Caris Roane

Dear Ms. Roane:

I have been a fan of your books since the first in the series. Yes, I do kind of make fun of the books but I'm really making fun of myself for being in thrall to the world that you are building and the idea of these world weary warriors that go out every night and battle demons and long for their breh hidden, their mate. Unfortunately, the world building based on a mate bond has its limitations and repetition is one of them. Born of Ashes is book four in the series and I...

Monday News and Deals: Publishers Glum About Digital Future

There are two big tech publishing conferences that take place in the spring.  One is Digital Book World and the second is Tools of Change. (The latter is one that I've gone to for 3 years).  Different companies collect data and present that data at these conferences.  One such survey conducted by Forrester Research Inc. says that publishers aren't looking forward to the rise of digital because it doesn't appear that digital format is bringing about more book purchases.  Indeed, with the...

REVIEW: Larkstorm by Dawn Rae Miller

Dear Ms. Miller,

This book got my attention due to the lovely cover. Larkstorm has one of the more striking covers I've seen lately, especially in a world of self-publishing that is dominated by stock photography. The sample was intriguing, and I was sold, even though I'm rather tired of dystopians. Larkstorm started out strong, but by the end, I felt like the story had begun to fray at the seams a bit.

[image error]Larkstorm is the story of Lark, a girl who is months away from graduation. Lark lives in a r...

DA/SBTB Bestseller List

Week ending January 10, 2012

Angelfall by Susan Ee | Amazon | BN | Sony | KoboUnraveled by Courtney Milan | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo  | ARETo Love a Thief by Julie Anne Long | Amazon | BN | Sony | KoboUnder Her Skin by Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook | Amazon | BN | Sony | KoboDevil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens | Amazon | BN | Sony | KoboSamantha Moon: All Four Novels by J.R. Rain | Amazon | BN | Sony | KoboGhost in the Machine by Barbara J. Hancock | Amazon | BN | Sony | a

Setting Up A New Library With Calibre: User Created Columns, Saved Searches, Multiple Libraries, Plugboard

Part two of settling up a new library with Calibre.  The first can be found here for plugins and metadata. 

Once you have the books entered into your library, you can then manipulate the data. Calibre now allows you to create your own custom columns.  Calibre comes with columns for Title, Title Sort, Author, Author Sort, Date of Publication, Date (that you add the book to Calibre), Size of the file, Rating, Tags, Series, Publisher, Description.

Creating User Defined Columns

To create a column...

REVIEW: Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer

Dear Readers,

When I reviewed The Nonesuch a few months ago during Sourcebooks' summer Heyer sale, I mentioned in passing that I really wanted to review Sprig Muslin, but it hadn't been digitized yet. Now it is, so as promised, here's a review.

[image error]This book wasn't in my Top 10 Heyer Regencies during the first decade or so that I read her (that would be my teens and early twenties). It was too slow and too rural, and the hero and heroine weren't exciting enough. I was totally a These Old...