Around the Bookish World: News Week-in-Review

In ebook news this weekSony’s Reader Store has had over ten million books downloaded, Sony announced in a press release yesterday. The top ten most downloaded books in their ebook store are:

1. “The Lost Symbol,” by Dan Brown2. “I, Alex Cross,” by James Patterson3. “Breaking Dawn,” by Stephenie Meyer4. “Eclipse,” by Stephenie Meyer5. “The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett6. “Twilight,” by Stephenie Meyer7. “New Moon,” by Stephenie Meyer8. “The Lovely Bones,” by Alice Sebold9. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” by Stieg Larsson 10. “The Last Song,” by Nicholas Sparks

It looks like the Twilight crowd is into eReaders!Barnes & Noble tweeted about a new HP ebook store and ereader available for HP computers.Book News Related to the Flooding in Nashville, Tennessee (USA)Romance Writers of America (RWA) had to move their 2010 Annual Conference to Orlando after the conference …

Bookish Rants or Raves: Reader / Author Relationships – The Good, The Bad and The Weird

It still amazes me the array of possibilities that the internet has opened up when it comes to the relationship between us, the readers, and the authors we love so much.

However, as with anything else in life, there is the good and there is the bad side of it and I decided to talk about both today.

Personally I love that, us, book bloggers that live in countries that don’t have English as their native tongue and therefore much less access to books, signings and conventions, are able to connect with our favorite authors through Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and so on. I feel really lucky to be able to talk to them, share stories and really get to know them in a level that was not possible not so long ago.

But, as I said before, there is also the bad side …

Randomly Booked: Because of You by Ne-Yo

When I think about some of the interactions some of the characters have with each other in a book there is always something or someone to blame. Many characters meet each other by chance and they need saving so its always the stronger characters fault. However the characters in these books end up loving each other or become really close friends. This song is more for the characters that fall in love but there is always this inner conflict that the characters are hesitant because they aren’t sure of their partners. This song is sweet because you feel how the singer is really in love with a girl who he isn’t sure loves him but he is having an inner conflict because he loves her to no end.

If I think about it there are many characters like that. Cat and …

All YA Love: Interview with Janet Fox

Today I am honored to share an interview with Janet Fox. Her debut, Faithful, is released next week (May 13th). Maggie looks like an interesting character and I am so curious to see how she deals with the hand she’s been dealt! I am excited to share with you an interview with Janet, so without further ado.. The Monster Lover: Can you tell us a bit about Faithful?

Janet Fox: Sure! Faithful is set mostly within Yellowstone National Park (hence the title, after Old Faithful geyser). It’s a love story, but it’s also a story about loss and renewal. Maggie, my main character, loses her mother under mysterious circumstances. This sets the story in motion and sends Maggie and her father from their Newport mansion to Yellowstone. Maggie is trapped by her position as a young society woman and may be forced to marry …

And the winners are…

Happy Star Wars Day everyone!!!
We have 2 lucky winners today.
1. Winner of an eBook copy of Passion Model by Megan Hart:

*~*~*drumroll*~*~*

Linda Henderson

2. Winner of one of Megan’s backlist books:

*~*~*drumroll*~*~*

revsangel 

Congrats you two! I will contact you ASAP to get the info I need!Have a great day everyone!

Copyright 2010-11 Book Lovers Inc.

New Releases: May 4, 2010

Magic on the Storm (Allie Beckstrom, #4) by Devon Monk

Genre: Urban FantasyAllison Beckstrom is committed to her work tracing illegal spells. Now, there’s an apocalyptic storm bearing down on Portland, and when it hits, all the magic in the area will turn unstable and destructive. To stop it from taking out the entire city, Allie and her lover, the mysterious Zayvion Jones, must work with the Authority-the enigmatic arbiters of all things magic-and take a stand against a magical wildstorm that will obliterate all in its path…

Vampire Mistress (Vampire Queen, #5)by Joey W. Hill

Genre: Paranormal Erotic RomanceThe fifth book in the sensational series of “sizzling paranormal erotica.” (Fresh Fiction)

Joey W. Hill returns to the dark and seductive landscape of her Vampire Queen novels as a …

Explore This: Tang Dynasty China

My virtual tour for this week was inspired by my recent review of Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (I reviewed it on my on blog, which can be linked to here). While Under Heaven takes place in a fictional place, it is loosely based on Tang Dynasty China. The Tang Dynasty began in June of 618 and lasted until June of 907 AD.

Today, I have samples of architecture, art work, and even a dance all based on this era of Chinese history. And, no discussion of China is complete without mentioning the Great Wall, which, again, has a paralleled version in Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel. For further research, I’ve linked some interesting articles at the bottom of this post. Happy traveling!

Tang Dynasty

The Great Wall