Book Embargo

So a funny thing happened on Stephenie Meyer day….

Like I said, we had our little table with Bloody drinks and Bloody snacks… well in true vampire fashion (though I know not Meyer’s type of vampire), we had a bat!

Yes indeed, a bat. Now I was a little surprised since I was not expecting to pick up the table cloth and see a scared little batty! Eventually we did get it outside (though it shuffled back in on its own and then hid for a few minutes before flying around and then flying out the open door we held for it), but in the meantime, a bat gave the SEAL OF APPROVAL to our Stephenie Meyer day festivities. That is all you can ask for

Tags: bat, breaking dawn, brown bat, eclipse, little brown bat, new moon, stephenie meyer, twilight, twilight series

I don’t want you to think that I missed out on the Breaking Dawn extravaganza! I made t-shirts for my coworkers as well as 3 for random people on our reserve list. I brought in hawaiian punch, and put it in a beautiful Venetian Cut Glass pitcher. I also made Red Velvet cupcakes, blood red. So there was a little blood theme. It was really fun. Everyone who came in to get their book was so excited. We had people waiting at the door, it was great fun.

Link to EW with the first chapter: here.

Here are the quotes from the website, all from the book.

1.Alice: “I’ll play you for it. Rock, paper, scissors.”
Edward: “Why don’t you just tell me who wins?”
Alice: “I do. Excellent.”
2. Bella: “Oh, Mike! How will I go on?”
3. Tanya: “Ah, Edward. I’ve missed you.”
4. Emmett: “Oooo, scary.”
5. Bella: “Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You’re not taking him to a strip club, are you?”
6. Charlie: “Bells, we’re up to bat.”
7. Edward: “You’re awfully small to be so hugely irritating.”
8. Bella: “Why am I covered in feathers?”
9. Alice: “No one will dare to call you plain when I’m through with you.”
Bella: “Only because they’re afraid you’ll suck their blood.”
10. Edward: “Oops.”
11. Renee: “Alice wouldn’t let us do anything else. Every time we tried, she all but ripped our throats out.”
12. Edward: “Do you want me to sing to you? I’ll sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away.”
13. Rosalie: “Over my pile of ashes.”
14. Edward: “You look so guilty—like you’ve committed a crime.”
15. Sam: “This is not something our treaty anticipated. This is a danger to every human in the area.”
16. Rosalie: “I’d like to beat you dead.”
17. Jasper: “I can’t understand. I can’t bear this.”
18. Seth: “You’ll hurt her. Let her go.”
19. Carlisle: “I’ve seen vampire venom work miracles, but there are conditions that even venom cannot overcome.”
20. Jacob: “I’ll kill you myself! I’ll do it now!”
21. Bella: “Should I be afraid?”
Edward: “Terrified.”

Some more great photos are at Vball Lover’s Flickr.com page. Definitely check it out. Lots of great stuff!

I still have not read it yet. I’m going on vacation this weekend. So I will have had to wait an ENTIRE WEEK to start it. EEK! So NO spoilers, well… no spoilers ever, that’s just rude, but definitely not until I’ve read it.

Also, going to listen to the Host in the car. Gotta love Stephenie Meyer.

PS. Don’t forget the movie is coming out December 12th. EEK!!!!

Tags: breaking dawn, eclipse, host, meyer, new moon, stephenie meyer, the host, twilight, twilight saga, twilight series

This is a marvelous year. It is the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery. It is a magical book, and there is an entire series. In 1985, Anne of Green Gables was a highly acclaimed made for television by the CBC. Directed by Kevin Sullivan it starred Megan Follows as Anne. Simply phenomenal.

She has her own, Wikipedia page. For those of you not familiar with Anne, here is the plot summary from the Wikipage:

Marilla Cuthbert and Matthew Cuthbert, middle-aged siblings who live together at Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea, on Prince Edward Island, decide to adopt a boy from an orphan asylum in Nova Scotia as a helper on their farm. Through a series of mishaps, what ends up under their roof is a precocious girl of eleven named Anne Shirley. Anne is bright and quick, eager to please but dissatisfied with her name, her pale countenance dotted with freckles, and with her long braids of red hair. Being a child of imagination, however, Anne takes much joy in life, and adapts quickly, thriving in the environment of Prince Edward Island.

There is an amazing discussion on the importance of Anne Shirley, which great extras in the comments, Here at Jezebel.com

Additionally, in honor of this magical year, there was a prequel written by Budge Wilson. Before Green Gables. More here at the official website.

A must-read for generations of book lovers…

Before Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley’s life before her arrival at Green Gables—a heartwarming tale of a precocious child whose lively imagination and relentless spirit help her to overcome difficult circumstances and of a young girl’s ability to love, learn, and above all, dream.

Check out Anne if you havent, and then read Wilson’s new, Before Green Gables. Anne Shirley is a girl that everyone should know!

Tags: 100th anniversary, anne, anne shirley, before green gables, budge wilson, canada, cuthberts, green gables, lm montgomery, lucy maud montgomery, montgomery, PEI, prince edward island, wilson

So this December, JK Rowling and Amazon.com will offer up to sale The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in standard and collector’s editions.

This is a picture from the special edition that Amazon purchased at auction. Beautiful isn’t it?

Here is the link to the Collector’s edition page.. And oh.. it is pretty…

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector’s Edition
Offered Exclusively by Amazon (Available in Limited Quantities)
In December 2007, J.K. Rowling unveiled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very special book of five fairy tales illustrated by the bard herself, embellished with silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. Amazon was fortunate to come into possession of one of the original copies, and it was our privilege to share images and reviews of this incredible artifact. Now J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with a new edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard (available December 4, 2008) and Amazon is thrilled to exclusively offer a luxuriously packaged Collector’s Edition designed to evoke the spirit of the handcrafted original.

Tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library, the Collector’s Edition includes an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling’s handwritten introduction, as well as 10 additional illustrations not found in the Standard Edition or the original. Opening the case reveals a velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature, in which sits the piece de resistance: your very own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, complete with metal skull, corners, and clasp; replica gemstones; and emerald ribbon.

Offering the trademark wit and imagination familiar to Rowling’s legions of readers–as well as Aesop’s wisdom and the occasional darkness of the Brothers Grimm–each of these five tales reveals a lesson befitting children and parents alike: the strength gained with a trusted friendship, the redemptive power of love, and the true magic that exists in the hearts of all of us. Rowling’s new introduction also comments on the personal lessons she has taken from the Tales, noting that the characters in Beedle’s collection “take their fates into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe,” and “that magic causes as much trouble as it cures.”

But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard’s-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered “among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives,” the venerable wizard’s ruminations on the Tales allow today’s readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that “Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles” during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.

Professor Dumbledore also includes fascinating historical backstory, including tidbits such as the history and pursuit of magic wands, a brief comment on the Dark Arts and its practitioners, and the struggles with censorship that eventually led “a certain Beatrix Bloxam” to cleanse the Tales of “much of the darker themes that she found distasteful,” forever altering the meaning of the stories for their Muggle audience. Dumbledore also allows us a glimpse of his personal relationship to the Tales, remarking that it was through “Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump” that “many of us [wizards] first discovered that magic could not bring back the dead.”

Both a wise and delightful addition to the Harry Potter canon, this new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is all that fans could hope for and more–and an essential volume for the libraries of Muggles, wizards, and witches, both young and old.

Net proceeds from this Collector’s Edition and the Standard Edition support of the Children’s High Level Group, a charity co-founded in 2005 by J K Rowling and Emma Nicholson MEP to make life better for vulnerable children. (The Children’s High Level Group is a charity registered in England and Wales under registered charity number 1112575.)

Collector’s Edition Product Features:
• All five fairy tales from the original The Tales of Beedle the Bard
• Outer case disguised as a wizarding textbook from the Hogwarts library
• Exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling’s handwritten introduction
• 10 new illustrations by J.K. Rowling not included in the Standard Edition or the original handcrafted edition
• Velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature
• Metal skull, corners, and clasp
• Replica gemstones
• Emerald ribbon

This is the standard edition cover.

So in preparation for December 4th of 2008, start saving your clams now! Though if the $100 price is too steep for you, know that the standard edition will be about $13. A bit more reasonable.

Tags: amazon.com, bard, beedle, beedle the bard, Book, collector's edition, harry potter, JK Rowling, rowling, special edition

I really enjoy this video. I hope you will too!

Tags: democrat, election, political, republican, youtube

There are so many training manuals for our furry friends. From the “perfect puppy” to the Monks of New Skete. The newer excitement was with Cesar Milan. I agree with some parts of his training methods, though not all. Tamar Gellar (a=at Loved Dog.com) is Oprah’s new dog trainer (as Millan was her former trainer).

So what is your experience? I read “Cesar’s Way” and took a few things from it and just loved them. Walking your dog (one of the basic tenants) is so simple and SO important. When a dog uses its energy, it is mentally as well as physically healthier. We got a little rat terrier who has more energy than he has ANY IDEA what to do with. Going for thirty minute walks twice a day, and we had a different dog.

My only strong problem or issue with Cesar Millan is not completely with him. He can do things that I can’t. I accept that. I saw the clip with the psycho shepherd and he had to use a tennis racket so that it couldn’t bite his legs. I don’t want to do that. But the problem is that people think that they can do a dominance roll on a red zone pit bull. I’m sorry, but not everyone can do that. What Cesar does is awesome, but regular people need to keep in mind that they are NOT him. The work that he has done, and the individual stories of dogs who’s lives have been brought back from the edge of death (literally in some cases as they were to be put to sleep within days), makes his work worth it to me.

I try to be consistent with my dog. We go on hikes when we can. I teach him a few tricks. I know that we have more to work on (dealing with other dogs and with strangers… and some car manners) but he is completely worth it in the end. Give me a shout with what your experience has been. I’m interested.

Tags: cesar millan, dog, dog training, dog whisperer, dominance roll, kayden, monks of new skete, tamar gellar, training

A while back I read a BBC news article on an interesting, though not new, book. Here is the link to the full article.

In 1919, a young British army officer, Francis Stockdale, was deployed to the Waziristan area of British India. The title of his book, “Walk Warily in Waziristan” seems no less appropriate now than it did 90 years ago, because today the autonomous Pakistani tribal region of North and South Waziristan is the centre of militancy orchestrated by pro-Taleban and al-Qaeda militants. It is also an area where many believe the al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, may be hiding after the September 2001 World Trade Centre attacks.

If the same situation is happening now as sixty years ago, where is the knowledge? The gain?

The concept of learning from past mistakes and history in general is so important, and yet… where are we?

Tags: 1919, al-queda, Book, osama bin laden, taliban, waziristan

As most of you have gathered by my recent flurry on Infected, I’m a bit excited about it.

But beyond my advance that I got, there was the audio, and for a short time, there will be a PDF available for download. But what is interesting is that Itunes is not very happy with getting all of Scott’s word, and there have been troubles for others too. (Mine might be because the computer goes to sleep and shuts off Itunes…)

A really interesting blog post at BoingBoing.net. I enjoyed the post and *most* of the comments. But it does raise interesting questions for publishing. Scott has basically proven that if you let people download it, they WILL read it (and therefore get excited enough to buy it hopefully), but by limiting the download time, and especially before the book is even OUT, how can they keep track of the numbers of people who are actually getting to the book.

I don’t know, but it will be interesting to watch! In the meantime, go find your pdf of Infected if you want it, buy it anyway on April 1st, and listen to his other stuff too

Remember, Scott Sigler.com for all your Junkie Cravings.

Tags: audio books, availability, boingboing.net, Book, books online, crown, infected, pdf, podcasting, random house, scott sigler, scottsigler.com, sigler

So, with my newfound discovery of Scott Sigler (remember, to be scared witless and a few other things-less, read INFECTED, coming out at your local indpendent bookshop on April 1st, and its no joke), I have gotten drawn back into the world of podcasting. I only visited for a little while because of 2 interests. I went to Scotland and got drawn into a few radio personalities there, and when I got home, I could continue to listen to them! Also, Veronica Mars, one of my FAVORITE girls ever, had a set of podcasts and videocasts that I was listening to for a time. She has been cancelled now… but thats a different sort of rant!

If you are unsure of what a podcast is, have no fear, we all were like you! It is basically a blog post that someone reads to you, with fewer pictures. Some individuals use it for news shows, radio talk shows, or like Scott Sigler and a few others, reading a novel in chapters, like old time radio programs. A good website to learn about them is The Wiki page. Sidenote, most people use either Itunes to play and keep track of the sections they have listened to, or RSS Feeds so that they automatically get the next “issue” of the podcast of their choice.

Anyways, I wanted to review a few podcasts that I knew were good, and a few that are recommendations.

First, of course, my man Scott. I am 4 chapters into Earthcore right now, and yeah, still scared. Scott Sigler has changed the world of podcasting by reading aloud his novels. These are not published books that he then reads. Nope, he writes the book and then podcasts them for our pleasure… well maybe not “pleasure” because his writing is very very scary, but for us to listen to anyways. I found all of his stuff though Itunes by just searching his name and then clicking my favorite button, “get all.” Scott provides two levels of information at his website, ScottSigler.com. You can listen to his OWN books, and he recommends other podcasts that he has listened to with a Sig rating system.

Next, one of my other favorite authors, Shana Norris. Don’t forget to read her book that is available in stores, Something to Blog About. Her most recent blog post at her website there is on…. *wait for it*…. PODCASTING!!!! Indeed, it is Shana that gave me the idea for this post, her and the wonder of Mr. Sigler. So Shana lists a variety of podcasts there, and I am planning on signing up for a few myself! Here are the two that I will be signing up for shortly,

Notes In Spanish invites you to “Learn Real Spanish with Notes in Spanish!
Our Spanish audio and worksheets bring you real conversations in Spanish about real-life topics. We go beyond the textbooks to the Spanish you’ll never find in a classroom! Listen here, or on your iPod or mp3 player as podcasts.”

Betty in the Sky with Diamonds invites you to share the plane traveling stories of Flight Attendant Betty. This just sounds too too funny.

Another podcast that I found through Scott is Buffy Between the Lines. This just seems like pure brain candy. The most recent edition of this podcast involves a vampire getting sidetracked by Infected as he works to find a particular candle. A self-description from their website,

Buffy Between the Lines is a fan-based, audio drama podcast that tells stories between the seasons of Buffy. Fans from all parts of the world including South America, Australia, Sweden, the UK, Canada and the US come together to create each episode via technologies such as Skype, Google Groups, blogging and podcasting. Started in Oct of 2006 by Tabitha Grace Smith and Kim Butler, Buffy Between the Lines has become an instant fan phenomenon.

That is all for now, if you have other great podcasts that you view worthy to share, drop a comment!

Tags: itunes, podcast, podcasting, rss, rss feeds, videocast, videocasting

Here is some information about another book blogger. Book-worm.biz also does book reviews.

What I like about this blog is the “about” page actually. While most of my books that I read and blog about are from publishing houses, and while I do work at an independent bookshop, I don’t get a monetary kickback for reviewing books positively on this website. As of this time, I don’t make any money on my website, because as you will see, there are no ads here. (This may change at a later date however.)

They specify on their about page,

Ethics
The reviews have neither been paid for nor solicited by any company or publishing house and it is our intention to maintain this independence into the future.

I enjoy that they mention that they are running it to promote books of worth, instead of running it to make scads of money from a publishing house.

They are like me; they read a book and say, HEY! You should read this too!

Tags: , blog, blogging, Book, book-worm.biz