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Fri November 16 2012

Fictionwise has shut down!

04:17 AM by ficbot in E-Book General | News

Just read on Teleread that Fictionwise is shutting down, effective December 4. US and UK customers will be given the choice to move their libraries to their Nook account.

http://www.teleread.com/chris-meadow...and-ebookwise/

[Mod: There's a transition FAQ on the Fictionwise website:
http://www.fictionwise.com/BN-Transition-FAQ.htm

[ 722 replies ]


Sat November 10 2012

MobileRead Week in Review: 11/03 - 11/10

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Another week, another steady stream of e-book goodness here on MobileRead. Our authentic roundup of what's been going on:

Miscellaneous - Announcements


Tue November 06 2012

Reminder: Tenth Birthday giveaway ends today!

07:23 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Just a friendly reminder - our current giveaway will end today, November 6th, at 11:59 PM EST. In other words, even if you haven't entered yet, you can still win. Full details are listed in the link below. Good luck!

Link: MobileRead's Tenth Birthday Giveaway!

[ 0 replies ]


Sat November 03 2012

MobileRead Week in Review: 10/27 - 11/03

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Another week, another steady stream of e-book goodness here on MobileRead. Our authentic roundup of what's been going on:

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations

Miscellaneous - Announcements


Tue October 30 2012

November 2012 Run-Off Vote

06:45 PM by WT Sharpe in Reading Recommendations | Book Clubs

November 2012 Mobile Read Book Club Run-Off Vote

Help us choose a book as the November 2012 eBook for the Mobile Read Book Club by voting in this run-off poll. It will be open for 3 days, and all MobileRead members are invited to participate. The vote this month will be hidden.

We will start the discussion thread for this book on November 20th. Select from the following Five* Choices:

(1) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Amazon (UK) / Amazon (US) / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Spoiler:
From Amazon:

A postmodern visionary who is also a master of styles of genres, David Mitchell combines flat-out adventure, a Nabokovian lore of puzzles, a keen eye for character, and a taste for mind-bending philosophical and scientific speculation in the tradition of Umberto Eco and Philip K. Dick. The result is brilliantly original fiction that reveals how disparate people connect, how their fates intertwine, and how their souls drift across time like clouds across the sky.

“[David] Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across this novel’s every page.”—The New York Times Book Review

“One of those how-the-holy-hell-did-he-do-it? modern classics that no doubt is—and should be—read by any student of contemporary literature.”—Dave Eggers

“Wildly entertaining . . . a head rush, both action-packed and chillingly ruminative.”—People

“The novel as series of nested dolls or Chinese boxes, a puzzle-book, and yet—not just dazzling, amusing, or clever but heartbreaking and passionate, too. I’ve never read anything quite like it, and I’m grateful to have lived, for a while, in all its many worlds.”—Michael Chabon


From Publishers Weekly:

At once audacious, dazzling, pretentious and infuriating, Mitchell's third novel weaves history, science, suspense, humor and pathos through six separate but loosely related narratives. Like Mitchell's previous works, Ghostwritten and number9dream (which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize), this latest foray relies on a kaleidoscopic plot structure that showcases the author's stylistic virtuosity. Each of the narratives is set in a different time and place, each is written in a different prose style, each is broken off mid-action and brought to conclusion in the second half of the book. Among the volume's most engaging story lines is a witty 1930s-era chronicle, via letters, of a young musician's effort to become an amanuensis for a renowned, blind composer and a hilarious account of a modern-day vanity publisher who is institutionalized by a stroke and plans a madcap escape in order to return to his literary empire (such as it is). Mitchell's ability to throw his voice may remind some readers of David Foster Wallace, though the intermittent hollowness of his ventriloquism frustrates. Still, readers who enjoy the "novel as puzzle" will find much to savor in this original and occasionally very entertaining work.

(2) Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Google / Kobo Books

Spoiler:
Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business—deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in “half-life,” a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter’s face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time. As consumables deteriorate and technology gets ever more primitive, the group needs to find out what is causing the shifts and what a mysterious product called Ubik has to do with it all.

(3) Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
Amazon / BooksOnBoard

Spoiler:
In a world where the slightest edge can mean the difference between success and failure, Leisha Camden is beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent...and one of an ever-growing number of human beings who have been genetically modified to never require sleep.

Once considered interesting anomalies, now Leisha and the other "Sleepless" are outcasts—victims of blind hatred, political repression, and shocking mob violence meant to drive them from human society...and, ultimately, from Earth itself.

But Leisha Camden has chosen to remain behind in a world that envies and fears her "gift"—a world marked for destruction in a devastating conspiracy of freedom...and revenge.

(4) The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Fictionwise / Google eBook

Spoiler:
eBook Description: "All the reality of a vividly realized nightmare," The Times of London wrote of John Wyndham's terrifying post-apocalyptic thriller Day of the Triffids, published in 1951. The novel is often labeled science fiction, but it might best be described as a completely unnerving fantasy, even at the distance of half a century- for nothing dates this story of a world rendered helpless by a frightening, unearthly phenomenon. Triffids are odd but interesting plants that seem to appear in everyone's garden. They are curiosities, but little more, until an event occurs that alters human life--what appears to be a meteor shower, spectacular at first, turns into a bizarre green inferno that has blinded virtually everyone and rendered humankind helpless. Even stranger, spores from the inferno have caused triffids to suddenly take on lives of their own--large, crawling vegetation that uproot themselves and roam about, attacking humans and inflicting agony. William Masen happened to escape being blinded in the green inferno--he was hospitalized with his eyes bandaged following surgery--and he is now one of the few humans left who can see, who can avoid being attacked by triffids, who might be able to save mankind from the chaos and possible extinction threatened by this cataclysm. Day of the Triffids is generally held to be John Wyndham's finest novel, and it was his first significant work. His style has been described aptly as "speculative fiction." The real power of Day of the Triffids is not in its pure invention but in its matter-of-fact depiction of bizarre phenomena occurring in the midst of day-to-day life. The narrative voice of William Masen is calm and reasoned throughout as he describes the ongoing nightmare and his attempt to prevail, recalling the struggle from an almost historical perspective. Wyndham tells a mesmerizing story in Day of the Triffids, one that has lost none of its quiet terror. (from Fictionwise)

(5) Armageddon 2419 AD by Philip Francis Nowlan
Feedbooks (Kindle) / Patricia Clark Memorial Library: ePub / LRF

Spoiler:
The original Buck Rogers story.

* Since the first vote produced a 4-way tie for second , this poll has more than the normal two choices.

[ 23 replies - poll! ]


MobileRead's Tenth Birthday Giveaway!

08:30 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Lo and behold, it's been ten years since the launch of MobileRead. Details are a bit hazy on the exact date, but according to our super-secret spatiotemporal uncertainty model, October 23rd, 2002 seems to be a good estimate.

I started this website ten years ago with one goal in mind: I wanted to make new friends with whom I could share my crazy-obsessed interest in mobile reading. Ten years ago — that was when you could count on being considered a cave dwelling nerd when waving around a handheld organizer. It was the time when the e-book was the sole domain of salivating tech geeks and self-confessed bedroom pirates. As I look back on everything, I can say I'm very proud of what we've accomplished. I've been able to witness so many changes in how we perceive technology and how e-books have become a common, accepted way for consuming content.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you. This has been a magical decade, with friendships that have grown, with good and utterly silly jokes that have been told, with great generosity that members have shown one another. It's what has brought us all together here. All of you who come here day after day to find out more about e-books, to share your own experiences, your views, rants and rave - you are who truly make this community what it is. Thank you for that trust, the confidence and the continued support through the years. And remember to join us for the next decade as we strive to keep this community new and exciting for years to come!

Last but not least, my big thanks and hugs to the amazing MobileRead team. You have done an incredible job in making this community a safe, vibrant and supportive place. There's no doubt, you're the best team in the world, and I am humbled and blessed to have you by my side.

The Giveaway

We are celebrating our tenth birthday by launching this little giveaway.

The following prizes are up for grabs:

  • An e-book reader of your choice from the following selection: Kindle Paperwhite (valued at US $139), Sony Reader PRS-T2 (valued at US $130), NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight (valued at US $139)
  • Five e-book vouchers (each valued at US $30) either from Amazon or Kobo

It's really easy to win...

How to win

Leave a comment below with a link to your favorite MobileRead forum section. Tell us why you like it. And finally, tell us how you think it could be made even better. If you're new to MobileRead and don't have a favorite section yet, link to the forum in which you believe you'll be spending the most time and tell us what interests you about that particular forum.

The drawing will be random, so don't worry about writing a Pulitzer Prize quality entry. Just briefly share your thoughts with us.

Down to the details:

  • This contest is open to anyone anywhere as long as at least one of the main prizes (Kindle PaperWhite, Sony Reader PRS-T2, or NOOK Simple Touch with Glowlight) is officially available for sale in your country.
  • To enter, leave a comment below. We want to hear what your favorite MobileRead forum section is. Tell us why you like it and how you think it could be made even better — and feel free to be descriptive!
  • This giveaway begins now, October 30th 2012, and ends on November 6th 2012, at 11:59 PM EST.
  • Amongst the eligible entries one winner will be randomly drawn for the grand prize (Kindle PaperWhite, Sony Reader PRS-T2, or NOOK Simple Touch with Glowlight) and 5 winners will be randomly drawn for a US $30 e-book voucher each. The chosen e-reader device must be officially available for sale in the winner's country.
  • If you are chosen, you will be notified via private message. Winners must respond within four days after being notified. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
  • Full rules can be found here.

Thanks and good luck to everyone. And stay tuned for our upcoming Winter giveaway!

PS: From a former New Yorker to everyone on the East Coast and everyone else affected by this storm: My blessings and prayers to all of you. Stay safe!

(screenshots of "former" MobileRead courtesy archive.org's Wayback Machine)

[ 239 replies ]


Sun October 28 2012

Jailbreaking now illegal for Tablets and E-Book Readers

03:36 AM by Nexutix in E-Book General | News

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...t-not-tablets/

What about tablets? No dice. The Librarian "found significant merit to the opposition’s concerns that this aspect of the proposed class was broad and ill-defined ... For example, an e-book reading device might be considered a 'tablet,' as might a handheld video game device or a laptop computer."

Why the change? The Librarian cited two key factors. One is a 2010 ruling that held that when you purchase software, you don't actually own it. Rather, you merely license it according to the terms of the End User License Agreement. The Librarian argued that this undermined the claim that unlocking your own phone was fair use.

For devices bought after January 2013: This means one can no more jailbreak their Kindle or iPad legally.

[ 124 replies ]


Sat October 27 2012

MobileRead en Español

02:49 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Bienvenidos a MobileRead en Español. Esperamos servir a todos nuestros lectores de la misma manera que ahora hacemos con nuestra versión inglesa.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of our Spanish forum sections. I know we have a lot of Spanish speaking members among us who have been participating in the English discussions. Sometimes though it can be enjoyable and quite relaxing if you can share your thoughts and ideas in your own language. So here it is!

cristbo, ixtab and Pepin33 will be keeping an eye on the new forums. Please treat them nicely and with all the respect they deserve.

And now... let's spread the word! Muchas gracias.

[ 7 replies ]




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