32 posts tagged “links”
I have reviews to do but I'm lazy so here's a funny book cover that gave me some chuckles. This was from a website that posts particularly hilarous covers and blurbs of self-published books. This too was found through twitter a few months ago but I forgot to post it. This cover is my favorite but there are so many funny ones. It kind of reminds me of the awkward family photos blog.
I love twitter. I found out about everyone's reading there from eagle-eyed @Lou_bookpushers a couple of days ago. I've been meaning to try out Deanna Raybourn for a while now, so the first book from her series being out there for free is great. Also amusing: 7 out of the 10 books here have a baby/pregnancy in them!!! (By the way you can download these no matter where you are. I had no problems downloading from the U.S. and Lou is in the U.K I think).
This one from Juno books looks promising. Embers by Laura Bickle:
"EMBERS
Truth burns. Unemployment, despair, anger—visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. Homes and businesses are increasingly invaded by phantoms and now, with the annual destruction of Devil’s Night approaching, a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient power that will leave the city in ashes. A sizzling debut from a red-hot new author.
By day, Anya Kalinczyk is an arson investigator in the Detroit Fire Department. At night—accompanied by her elemental familiar, a salamander named Sparky, and an eccentric group of ghost hunters—Anya pursues malicious spirits. The rarest form of psychic medium, a “Lantern,” Anya doesn’t allow spirits to communicate through her with the physical world like most mediums, she devours restless harmful souls and incinerates them. She’d like to get closer to Brian, a ghost-hunting techno-wiz, but a lifetime of those she loves getting hurt makes her hold back. Her two roles mesh when, on the trail of a serial firebug, she discovers an arsonist is attempting to use the fires to rouse Sirrush, a supremely powerful elemental, from the salt mine beneath the city of Detroit. Anya must capture the arsonist before Devil’s Night, when the spell will be complete and Sirrush will rise to raze the city. "
Just a quick post here:
I'm a big Ann Aguirre fangirl and every time I hear news about any of her new books I'm all a-tizzy. So I wanted to point out that over the weekend ocelott has put up the very first review anywhere of Doubleblind. She says:
"if you haven't read the previous two books, here there be spoilers. If, however, you've glommed the first two and are waiting impatiently for Doubleblind to release, you're safe. I give out no plot twists."
And with that- - the Doubleblind review is here
I am looking forward to this one because I kind of have a thing for the "ambassador in a strange land/world" trope. Love it.
There's a whole BUNCH of new books coming out today. Sci Fi Guy posted June releases on his website and about 80% of the books there I want to read. Which is so bad when I just hauled back 40 some books from BEA. I have the sickness.
Amongst the list (coming out June 23rd) is Diana Rowland's debut The Mark of the Demon. I'm currently reading it and it is GOOD. Also - the cover is really gorgeous - I gasped aloud when I saw the coverflat. Seriously - it has shiney patterns on it and I am mesmerized by it's beauty.
The book I'm FOR SURE going to get this week is Ilona Andrew's Silent Blade which just became available from Saimhain today. I'm all over it. It's a short story and costs just $2.50. It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.
- I just read and reviewed (LJ / vox / wordpress) Dru Pagliassotti's Clockwork Heart. She's busy working on the second book tentatively titled Obstruction Currents. She has also been working on a third novel with the working title King's Monster, but I don't know if that is also steampunk.
- Karin Lowachee is working on The Gaslight Dogs (she's the author of an amazing science fiction trilogy Warchild, Burndive, and Cagebird). I haven't seen much about this one so it may be coming out later from orbit books:
"Very different from her previous military science fiction novels, this is a Victorian era steampunk novel in the style of Philip Pullman taking us from the Arctic North to steeped rooftops of civilization and the savages to the east. (Fall/Winter 2009)" - Liz Maverick is working on Crimson and Steam, which should be out January 2010 and which is set in her Crimson city universe.
- Katie MacAlister is working on a Steampunk series that will have it's first book out in 2010. Her website has this announcement: "I've just received the cover to Steamed, the first in a new series of Steampunk romances, which will be out February 2010. The cover isn't quite finished (you can view a large version of it here), but you can get a sneak peek at it and the back cover copy to see what all the fuss is about. Fluff up your bustle, polish your pocket watch, adjust your goggles, and crank up the Abney Park! It’s steam time, ladies and gentlemen! "
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The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber is coming out from Dorchester on 09/09/09 and has a lovely cover. The author calls it a "ghostly, gothic Victorian fantasy". Looks promising. Link to the book trailer. The cover blurb:
“What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death….”
- Gail Carriger has a book out September from Orbit: Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate): "Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?
SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking." - Meljean Brook has twittered about a steampunk book with pirates. Research reveals she's got a new series in the works called the Iron Seas
Cool Link -
http://paintalicious.org/2008/11/20/thomas-allens-book-art-photography
"American photographer Thomas Allen constructs witty and clever dioramas using figures cut from the covers of old pulp paperbacks. Using salacious pulp art drawing’s of the ’40s and ’50s that covered books such as ” I Married a Dead Man” and ” Marihuana Girl’, Allen constructs one set of pictures up close while obscuring another, and in the process creates a different context. Each piece is given a brand new storyline, though never quite strays from their cheeky origins"
OK for some reason today is the day for things that make me snort. Two reviews for books I've read had me chortling away:
A Twilight Review here: http://mekosuchinae.livejournal.com/39690.html
This is so snarky.
and
A review of Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair here:
http://thebooksmugglers.com/2009/03/guest-dare-games-of-command-by-linnea-sinclair.html
This reviewer liked the book a lot (which is good because this is my favorite Sinclair so far) and she still made me laugh.
And for good measure here's a short story that pokes fun at the idea of certain kinds of heroes: http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2009/03/18/one-hero-doesnt-fit-all/
Some interesting contests going on out there right now:
- Mark Henry is hosting a contest with a variety of great prizes to celebrate the release of his second book - Road Trip of the Living Dead. Prizes include a Dinner and a Movie package, Coffee and Gas package and a basket of books. All you need to do is preorder his book and send a copy of the receipt to zombiestimulus@markhenry.us. Winners are announced Feb 24th, so try to enter before then.
- So have you not heard about the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Basically Lizzy and Darcy meet and battle zombies together or something.
If that's not nutty enough for you, how about the movie "Pride and Predator"? Executive produced by Elton John, it's about Pride and Prejudice plus aliens (I'm still not convinced this isn't a hoax). Smart Bitches is having a 24 hour contest for a $25 gift certificate if you come up with another zany combination of a book with some nutty thing inserted into it like these two shining examples.
- Ann Aguirre is having a Blue Diablo blowout to celebrate her newest release. This is the first book in her new Corine Solomon urban fantasy series. Some really nice B&N, Amazon and Lush gift cards are on the line - more than one prize, and more than one way to enter. Plus this contest is open for a while (you have about a month or so). Check it out!
OK, I decided to update my wishlist of books coming out this year. I need to keep track of whats coming out when. Of course I have a HUGE TBR I need to wittle down too...
2009
**** January ****
Lord of Misrule (The Morganville Vampires, Book 5)
**** February ****
Made to Be Broken (Nadia Stafford, Book 2)
Hope's Folly
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4)
Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1)
**** March ****
Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3)
**** April ****
Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine (Buy: Amazon | B&N)
Blue Diablo: A Corine Solomon Novel
The Trouble With Demons by Lisa Shearin (Buy: Amazon | B&N)
Dayhunter (Dark Days Book 2) by Jocelynn Drake (Buy: Amazon | B&N)
**** May ****
Endless Blue by Wen Spencer (Buy: Amazon | B&N )
Bad to the Bone
**** June ****
**** July ****
**** August ****
Unbound by Kim Harrison, Vicki Pettersson, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, and Jocelynn Drake (Buy: Amazon | B&N)
Mercy Thompson Homecoming by Patricia Briggs/Francis Tsai (this is the graphic novel by the Dabel brothers) (Buy: Amazon | B&N)
**** September ****
The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 by Jennifer Ashley, Dawn Cook, Caitlin Kitteredge, Diane Whiteside, Eileen Wilks, Ann Aguirre, et al. Edited by Trisha Telep. (Buy: Amazon | B&N)
On the Edge by Ilona Andrews (Buy: Amazon )
**** Late 2009 ****
I got a couple of interesting book related emails today.
1) Abebooks most expensive sales of 2008
Topping the list is an art book called Etudes à l'Eau-Forte with 25 plates by artist Seymour Hayden, which went for $17,216. Number 3 was a first edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban which was signed by the cover artist, which fetched $12,874. Other interesting sales:
- The Twilight series (all 4 books) - first editions, first printings and signed by the author - $4000
- Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell - first edition, first printing - $6780
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding - first edition, proof copy - $9260
- Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm - first edition, first issue copy including 22 plates by George Cruikshank inside a clamshell box - $11,388
Click the link above to see more, I'm just giving you the ones I thought were interesting but there are several categories that Abebooks displays on that webpage. Moral of the story: it may pay to be a reader and to hold on to the first edition copies of books you love.
2) From bookcloseouts I got an email about their dollar for dollar sale. Don't hate me when you spend all your money.
"How it works: When you add books to your shopping cart, you may spend that same dollar amount on these 5000+ selected titles for FREE* For example: Buy $10 worth of books, put them in your shopping cart, and then go back to here and spend your $10 credit.
Please note (*) the following:
- This promotion cannot be used in combination with any other promotion including coupons.
- This promotion ends January 31, 2009.
- "FREE" books are limited to the 5,000+ titles selected for this promotion
- Some titles have limited quantities
- Dollar for Dollar free product must be added to your shopping cart before you finalize your purchase
- All free product will appear in BLUE in your shopping cart "
