KindleObsessedJust another random rambling!!

Hello Kindle-ites.  One of my readers forwarded me this article the other day and basically said “Hey!! This is you!” and after reading it…I concluded he was probably right.  Thought all of you might enjoy the banter as well.

Happy Reading!

E-Book Hoarding Disorder: A New Digital Disease
By Patti D.

Published today in the NotSoNewYorkTimes

American consumers are facing a new challenge with the emergence of new forms of mental disorders related to the popular new digital book technology, or e-Readers. The American Psychiatric Association has just issued a press release stating that E-Book Hoarding Disorder will be formally recognized as a sub-form of OCD in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSMVI)

The current President of the APA, John McKindlenook, stated yesterday: “It is only recently that we have come to understand the seriousness of obsessive compulsive hoarding and have recognized that this is a mental illness that is very difficult to treat. Researchers at Amazon University have recently completed studies which confirmed the presence of a specialized form of this disorder specific to owners of e-Reader devices. This disorder has been named E-Book Hoarding Disorder. Little is known yet as to the effectiveness of any current treatments for this serious disorder.”

E Book hoarding can follow one of two patterns. Some users display both patterns. These mixed type cases appear to be particularly difficult to treat. Most users, however, lean more heavily to one of the two subtypes.

The Tangible Evidence E-Book Hoarder collects a variety of physical objects related to e-Readers. Patients with this sub-type may own multiple contemporary e-Reader devices. (Contemporary e-Reader devices are those manufactured during the same period of time, as opposed to devices purchased to replace technologically defunct earlier generations). For example, the patient may own both a Kindle DX and Nook, and be contemplating the purchase of the new iPad. (Opinions differ on whether the purchase of an iPad device qualifies as an e-Reader. Medical professionals should use caution in basing their diagnosis of e-Reader disorder on the contemporary purchase of this device as its use as an actual e-Reader is debatable.) Tangible Evidence Hoarders may also collect a wide variety of “skins,” cases, sleeves, back-up devices, headphones, speakers, specialized book-lights and other similar physical objects which the reader believes will enhance their use of the device.

The second form of this disorder appears to be restricted primarily to the downloading of extensive numbers of e-Books, far in excess of those which the book owner can actually read. This subtype appears to have elements of both Digital Content Hoarding and Bibliomania (neither of which are official DSM diagnoses. See Wikipedia for further information about these disorders.) Official efforts to name this subtype have resulted in some controversy. It is popularly nicknamed “Freebie & Indie e-Book Hoarding” by some psychiatric specialists and Kindle users. Others disagree with this name since many books that are hoarded are neither free nor independently published. Typical users do, however, acquire hundreds, or even thousands of free eBooks from sites such as Project Gutenberg and Google Books. The more severe cases have resorted to downloading a popular free software, Calibre, to allow them to hoard books from an ever widening range of sources and file formats. Many websites, including AddAll Ebooks and Jungle Search, plus a wide variety of blogs assist Freebie & Indie e-Book hoarders in furthering their collections.

The causes of E-Book Hoarding Disorder are not yet understood. It appears that both genetics and environmental determinism probably play a role. Regardless of the cause, the outcome can be quite serious as it can have severe financial recriminations for the E-Book Hoarder, especially when the disease progresses to the downloading of extensive collections of New York Times best sellers which can no longer be sold for 9.99 under the new MacMillan and Apple Agency model.

Research into this mental illness, which does appear to be progressive, is currently being funded by a consortium of companies which are usually at odds with each other. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, and Jeff Bezos, the founder, president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Amazon.com, have agreed to cooperate in funding a search for further information about the causes of this disease. Each of the major publishing houses have agreed to contribute 35% of all author royalties to the search for a cause. Several popular authors have pushed the Authors Guild into agreeing with this arrangement since they are afraid to offend their publishers. (Their primary concern seems to be that they would have to resort to digitally created artwork for the covers of their future novels.)

Amazon Kindle Discussion Board participants are suspicious of this cooperation between normally competitive companies. A participant posting under the moniker, TheWorldsBiggestKindleFan seems to have summed up this suspicion in his short post, “I think it’s pretty suspicious. They say they are looking for the cause. No mention has been made about a treatment though. I think they are looking for a cause so they can exploit it. I think they just want to know how to get us to buy even more books. They want us all to be hoarding e-Books!” User TinFoilHat suggests something similar, but much more eloquently, “I think it’s all a scam. Bezos and Jobs aren’t even human, man. Follow the money trail, man.”

Disclaimer: None of the quotes in this article are real. This is a work of fiction. No disrespect is intended to any person. I have no medical or psychiatric expertise. If you take this as real or serious in any way, then I have a bridge to sell you.

Happy Friday People! Hopefully you are out and about and doing something so fantastic that you could care less about this book review, but for those of you who are home-bound and tied down, as promised…here is my take on “World War Z”

I found this book a few months ago and plopped it into my “to read” list without much hope of it ever being released to Kindle, but a few days ago, when I finished the shortest book on the planet, I decided…hey…why not let someone else pick my book?  So I did.  I called my husband and said “Hey…pick a book!” (sounds pretty simple right?)

Apparently not so much, the man immediately picked 2 books that weren’t even out yet (HELLO!!!) and then finally landed on this…the book I had given up hope on.

“World War Z” was great! It was also unlike any other book I have ever read in my entire life.  It was…in short form, a biography written about a war that never existed.”

Now shush it! I know that you are thinking….Geez… really?? A biography… you are kidding right?  If I wanted to spend time with reality I’d turn on the Discovery Channel. (which I love by the way) but have no fear…this is the most interesting mock-bio you will ever have the pleasure of digesting.

In 1996 the world as we know it was overrun by Zombies, and for the few thousand that survived, the struggle was not without consequence.  Entire families were lost in the battles, your neighbor was suddenly hungry for your eyeballs, and your son’s little league coach suddenly became more of an arrogant ass than he already was.  The years were long and the winters were bitter.  New countries were formed from the rubble of desperation and alliances were formed that were otherwise unimaginable.

Now, while I make the premise sound a lot “funnier” than it actually is, the book was still undeniably intriguing and courageously written.  “Max Brooks” wrote in the form of interviewer/interviewee, trying to get a human perspective and timeline of the war that changed the world.  Each section is a detailed account of a singular persons experiences starting from the original outbreak and taking you to the rebuild of a torn planet.  The plot was clearly defined through each person’s story and while there was an enormous amount of detail in each “sitting” it in no way drug down the flow of the book.

There were stories from a disabled artist/neighborhood watch member, the former US Joint Chief of Staff, a human trafficker, a money hungry pharmaceutical developer, a movie director, a doctor/smuggler, a mother who ripped of a zombies head with her bare hands to save her daughter, a soldier from the epic battle of Yonkers, an asylum patient, a female soldier who was taught not to desert her post the hard way, a girl who followed her daddy north, and a former spy who knew the truth before anyone else did. (just to name a few)

My conclusion? I’m glad that my husband didn’t write it off as quickly as I did… because to miss this read would have been a shame.

Read it if you like zombies, read it if you find the human psyche fascinating…read it if you want a well written book with a whole new twist on an old topic.

Get it, live it, love it…pass it on!

Happy reading my fellow Zombies and remember: you don’t have to be the fastest person alive…just faster than the people around you!

For a complete description click image.

(4/5)

Well…it’s official, I suck.  I didn’t post anything yesterday for no other reason then pure unadulterated laziness! I apologize and pray that you can look past my moment of unmotivatedness (hum.. is that a word?) and bank on me getting back to my overactive, compulsive self.

Keeping that in mind… today is Thursday and that means its time for “It’s a Tween Thing”

I always loved Science as a child, lets face it, mixing things together and seeing what happens is just plain fascinating! So…for a new twist on a old subject here is Science with FOOD!

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: When THIS worlds got you down…Pick up a new one!

p.s. I’ll post the review for “World War Z” tomorrow.

Science Experiments You Can Eat!

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Product Description

About the Author

Vicki Cobb is a pro at explaining the cohesive and adhesive properties of water. but she can never seem to remember that plants like water too! She finally had to decorate her home with artificial plants to keep from killing the live ones.

Ever since Science Experiments You Can Eat, Vicki Cobb has been delighting children, parents, and teachers with the fun of making science discoveries. Now, with the new Science Play series, she sets her sights on the youngest children. who are natural scientists and are always experimenting. Vicki Cobb and her husband divide their time between their homes in White Plains, New York. and Manchester, Vermont.

It’s Tiny Tot Tuesday…and you know what that means! Grab a good book and cozy up on the couch with your kiddos.  Here is one sure to keep you entertained!

Happy Reading and remember: reading is contagious…pass it on!

Velma Gratch & The Way Cool Butterfly

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Product Description

About the Author

Alan Madison is the author of some very funny books for children, including The Littlest Grape Stomper, and Pecorino Plays Ball. He lives in New York City.

Kevin Hawkes has illustrated the New York Times bestselling Library Lion and My Little Sister Ate One Hare. He lives in Gorham, Maine.

I stumbled upon “I Heart You, You Haunt Me” while doing one of my research quests at a local bookstore (aka spending hours in the stacks taking pictures of book bindings) and thought… ok this sounds interesting, but for some reason it just lacked that “Oomph” that made me buckle down and read it.

The synopsis was intriguing, girl and guy in love, guy dies, girl cries, guy comes back to haunt her, but even with the promise of a haunting I still couldn’t make myself “want” to read it.  Maybe it was that I was on psychological thriller high and didn’t want to break it with a potential cry fest, or maybe it was the fact that the entire book was written in verse form, (as in “Well howdy Mr. Shakespeare! How’s it going) but never the less… the point came where I sucked up my lack of motivation and started the journey.

My first impression was less than spectacular…the writing style made the story feel so disjointed that it was hard to focus on the plot and what was actually happening to the main character, the writing was beautiful, yes, but having it so torn apart made it feel less important to me.  Now, keeping all of that negativity in mind, about 30% of the way through, the patterns finally found their rhythm, and the story came to life.

Ava just lost her boyfriend, and it was entirely her fault….or so she thinks.  Ava and Jackson had that storybook kind of love…the destined meeting, the happy kisses and a zest for life…with each other, but when Jackson decides to take Ava up on a dare and go cliff diving, happily ever after is suddenly shattered into a million pieces.  Ava is a zombie…caught in her own world of self pity and guilt she finds it hard to do even the smallest of things…until one day she hears music. Stuck in the in-between Jackson faces struggles of his own…trying to free himself while trying to free Ava at the same time.

“Lisa Schroeder’s” decision to write her novel in the form of a poem was not only inconceivable for YA, but in some cases could be considered a literary death warrant. Think of the targeted audience for a moment; teenagers as a whole are subjected to a vast array of “Old English” poetry from the time that they enter high school, and by the time their love for reading is fully developed, having to decode more “underlying” meanings is the last thing they want to do.  Thankfully, however, “Schroeder” skipped the subtext and went straight for the jugular.  The plot was easily determined, the base line of the story flowed beautifully and in the end, instead of feeling like you just read 240 pages of Emerson or Wilde you felt as though you read…just another book.

I will warn you that the books pace is unimaginably fast.  I read it from cover to cover in less than 3 hours, and that included potty and email breaks.  I will also tell you that this book is NOT for the Kindle… yes… you can buy it for the Kindle and if you are desperate enough to read it that way then more power to you, but the formatting is a little shweck and the poems run together. (It took me a while to not be annoyed by this.)  My advice? If you want to read it… head to your local bookstore or library and pick up a printed copy.

All in all the book was beautiful and the meaning was more than worth the apprehension I first had for it.

Get it, Live it, Love it, Pass it on.

Happy Reading my fellow Ghost and remember: sometimes you just have to let it go.

For a complete book description click image

(3.5/5)

Amazon Launches Kindle For BlackBerry

The retailer said user demand spurred them to develop the e-book reader software for BlackBerry smartphones.

Everyone loves a good Insane Asylum agreed? Take the criminally insane, add a dash of conspiracy and you are bound to have a fantastic time.

I absolutely, without fail, LOVED this book.  I loved it so much that I can’t even talk about it the way I should because if I do I will spoil it for you.

“Shutter Island” was one of the most masterfully plotted books I have read in years… I was astounded by the depth and creativity that “Dennis Lehane” was able to shove into a little over 330 pages, and even more… I was flipping pages faster than my eyes could keep up, only to have to turn back because I realized I had skipped a few words at the bottom of a page.

Teddy is a US Federal Marshal sent to Shutter Island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Solando.  While Teddy and his partner Chuck are baffled as to the disappearance of this woman, who can  somehow magically evaporate through walls, they stumble upon a more intriguing case.  Is this hospital really what they say it is? Why does everyone answer questions with the exact same phrasing…and why in the world is a sewage treatment plant surrounded by an electric fence?  While Teddy and Chuck race for answers they find themselves in the deepest water imaginable…are they crazy too or is it just in their heads?

I wish that my bumbling words could express to you how much you should read this book.  I wish that I could give away the plot twist that had me picking up the phone to call my husband and say “No Freaking Way!!! Are you F’ing Kidding Me????” But again… that would just be cruel.

There were uncomfortable moments in the water with creepy crawlers, piles of strategically placed rocks, battered patients whispering sweet nothings, a sad mommy, black shoe polish, water guns, and 1 number solving shrink that has all the answers.

Pick this book up, find a quiet place, and start reading… I assure you that even if you think the first couple of chapters are slow you will be thanking me by chapter 5.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Don’t take pills from strangers!

For a Complete Book Description Click Image

(5/5)

Happy Thursday! Sorry about the late night post last night but life got in the way…better late than never I suppose.  Anyways, here is a younger reader novel that has been getting an enormous amount of buzz.  I’m sorry to say that I haven’t had the time to check it out myself, but if you have…please… let me know what you think.

Happy Reading my fellow Tweeny-Boppers and remember: When THIS worlds got you down, pick up a new one!

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

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From School Library Journal

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Growing up with six brothers in rural Texas in 1899, 12-year-old Callie realizes that her aversion to needlework and cooking disappoints her mother. Still, she prefers to spend her time exploring the river, observing animals, and keeping notes on what she sees. Callie’s growing interest in nature creates a bond with her previously distant grandfather, an amateur naturalist of some distinction. After they discover an unknown species of vetch, he attempts to have it officially recognized. This process creates a dramatic focus for the novel, though really the main story here is Callie’s gradual self-discovery as revealed in her vivid first-person narrative. By the end, she is equally aware of her growing desire to become a scientist and of societal expectations that make her dream seem nearly impossible. Interwoven with the scientific theme are threads of daily life in a large family—the bonds with siblings, the conversations overheard, the unspoken understandings and misunderstandings—all told with wry humor and a sharp eye for details that bring the characters and the setting to life. The eye-catching jacket art, which silhouettes Callie and images from nature against a yellow background, is true to the period and the story. Many readers will hope for a sequel to this engaging, satisfying first novel. Grades 4-7. –Carolyn Phelan

Hey everyone… sorry this post is so late in the day but technology and I had a little bit of a disagreement, needless to say – Technology won.  So, better late than never here is a cutie for your little ones.

Happy Reading and remember: Reading is contagious…pass it on!

Green Wilma

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From Publishers Weekly

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2– When little Wilma awakens one morning, she discovers that she has turned green and developed a fondness for eating flies. Her horrified parents don’t know how to deal with her, so she hops to school. There she demonstrates her dodgeball skills, but gets in trouble after flicking her tongue on the teacher’s nose and chasing flies through the lunchroom. Of course the adventure turns out to be a dream–but the dreamer, as it turns out, is a frog, not a girl. Arnold’s breezy humor shines through in the illustrations, especially in his goggle-eyed people who must be the stuff of amphibian nightmares. The rhymed narration is adequate, but the amusing tale’s success derives from the unexpected twist and the slapstick comedy embodied in the pictures. –Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.