Jane Litte's Blog, page 998

REVIEW: Mad About the Earl by Christina Brooke

Dear Ms. Brooke (aka Christine Wells):

I didn't pick up the first title in this series. I think I was put off by the concept of the Ministry of Marriage (although that's probably why the series was bought by the publisher).  The Ministry of Marriage (and the fact that is has a name) is this corny idea where the old folks get together and arrange marriages for the young folk. Some of the old folks aren't all that old.  The Duke of Montford, the central figure in the Ministry of Marriage, is in ...

REVIEW: From This Moment On by Bella Andre

Dear Ms. Andre,

I purchased this book on a Kindle Daily Deal, I think. It's regularly priced at $4.99 and while I felt that $4.99 was a bit too pricey for DA_January's budget, I could spend two dollars and not hate myself in the morning for buying it. From This Moment On was extremely readable, but at the end, I think I respected myself a little less for enjoying it, because I shouldn't have. The storyline is saccharine sweet and almost unbelievable, and the hero and heroine are very one...

REVIEW: Nikki and the Lone Wolf by Marion Lennox

Dear Ms. Lennox,

I'm always happy to find a new novel by you when I'm browsing the Harlequin site, and when the cover (accurately) includes a dog, I'm immediately downloading. This book is the second in your Banksia Bay series, the first of which Jayne reviewed here. While both books are set in the same place and have plots revolving around stray dogs, the stories are independent and stand alone. This is an unusual book in several ways, but I found it a satisfying and enjoyable read.

[image error]Nikkita M...

The Reader Author Paradigm

[image error] I was going to write about whether readers have a duty to other readers to write and leave reviews where they shop, even one or two line reviews. But given the five days of flameouts in roughly the first five days of 2012, I thought I would briefly address the issue of the author/reader paradigm.The authorial flameouts have primarily been young adult and self published authors. I think part of the reason is the maturity of the online reading community. I don't mean maturity by chronological a...

REVIEW: Ghost in the Machine by Barbara J. Hancock

Dear Ms. Hancock,

Your 88 page post-apocalyptic romance novella, Ghost in the Macine, published by Samhain, was unlike any other romance I've read before. As I was reading it, I kept thinking of movies like the original "Terminator" and "28 Days Later" – dark yet ultimately uplifting stories about human beings struggling to survive in a world gone grim and terrifying.

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is narrated largely in the first person POV of Bet, a young woman who was left orphaned in the wake of...

Monday Links & Deals: BN Subsidizes Nook; OLPC Tablet Coming to Market

News

BN and People are offering a subsidized Nook in exchange for a subscription to People magazine.

The Nook edition of People is $9.99 a month; with a one-year subscription, customers will receive a Nook Tablet, a color device with a 7-inch display, for $199, a discount from its regular price of $249. Customers who buy a one-year subscription for the Nook edition of The New York Times for $19.99 a month, which includes access to NYTimes.com, will receive a black-and-white Nook Simple Touch...

REVIEW: An Unexpected Gentleman by Alissa Johnson

Dear Ms. Johnson,

I haven't read too many regencies lately because they were all beginning to smear together in a Duke/spy/fiesty heroine filled blur. I had Regency ennui. When I started this book, I kind of got the feeling that it was part of a series but nonetheless, I took the plunge and dove in. I also decided not to seek out any other reviews of your previous books so that nothing would cloud my judgement or color my view. After finishing it, I can understand the variety of grades as...

Thanking our January Advertisers

Each month, we have a new slate of advertisements and the advertisements help to fund things like giveaways of books and readers and to keep the blog running smooth.  Without the sponsorship funds, running the blog would be more difficult.  We have a new sponsor for the year of 2012.  Random House will be highlighting a few releases they hope will grab your attention.

Military romances from Random HousePenguin celebrates the release of "Whispers in the Dark" by Maya Banks New Releases  from...

DA/SBTB Bestseller List, Week ending January 3

Week ending January 3, 2012

Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens A | BN | K | S To Love a Thief by Julie Anne Long A | BN | K | S Under Her Skin by Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook A | BN | K | S A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant A | BN | K | S Claustrophobic Christmas by Ellie Marvel A | BN | K | S Entwined by Heather Dixon A | BN | K | S Angelfall by Susan Ee A | BN | K | S Unraveled by Courtney Milan A | BN | K | S Luring a Lady by Nora Roberts A | BN | K | S Samantha...

Setting Up a New Library with Calibre: Essential Plugins and Getting to Know Metadata

Introduction

I am a huge fan of the free open source software written by Kovid called Calibre.  It is an organization, management, conversion tool for both print and digital books.  I've had several people email me asking what the best set up is for Calibre along with what plugins that they should download.  The following is what I recommend but I am sure that there are other great organizational minds out there.

1.  Plugins

There are three essential plugins for me and they are all metadata...