When it comes to bad news, we’ve never had it so good.
Laurence Shorter is feeling anxious. Every time he opens a newspaper or turns on the radio he finds another reason to be tearful. It’s time to make a change. It’s time to be optimistic!
His plan is simple:
1. Learn how to jump out of bed in the morning.
2. Secure personal happiness.
3. Save the world.
The Optimist charts Shorter’s ambitious, year-long, international quest to seek out the world’s most positive thinkers, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jung Chang, Matthieu Ricard, California’s renowned Surfing Rabbi, and Bill Clinton. But optimism doesn’t come easy, and Shorter’s resolve is tested at every corner: by a flagging career, a troubled love affair, and his ever-pessimistic dad.
The Optimist is a hilarious and ultimately life-affirming stand against the grind of everyday strife, packed with reasons to be cheerful.
About the Author
Laurence Shorter is a stand-up comedian and writer. He has been writing and performing since 2001, when he was selected for the Old Vic Theatre’s noted “New Voices” programme. He and his work have appeared on the BBC, in The Observer and The Independent, and at the Edinburgh Festival and assorted London theatres.
On March 16, 1912, British polar explorer Titus Oates commits suicide by walking out of his tent into an Antarctic blizzard, to save Robert Falcon Scott and the other members of the English exploration team. His body is never found — because he was snatched away into the year 2045 by scientists experimenting with a new faster-than-light drive. Arriving in the future, Oates stubbornly sticks to his old explorer job and sets off on an intergalactic adventure that leads to both knowledge and self-knowledge. The first section of this novel appeared as a novella in Analog Science Fiction magazine (April 2001) under the title “May Be Some Time.” It was a finalist for both the Nebula and the Hugo awards.
Immediately following Marla Gershe’s nonexistent coffee break at three in the afternoon, a policeman shot her through the mid-section with one of those newfangled xanthan guns. That simple act changed her life forever. Actually, her life had been changing slowly over the previous few months, but everything came to a head starting at 5:15 a.m. the day she was shot.
“quirky and electric” — Temple Library Reviews
“funny and oddly depressing” — GenreReviews
Charles de Lint’s Spiritwalk (1992) is the sequel to Moonheart, his groundbreaking novel about the people in and around a house in modern Ottawa that straddles this world and another one. Here is the same cast of characters, as they deal with a pair of very different threats to the ancient house. As in Moonheart, de Lint skilfully combines a contemporary sensibility, a great sensitivity to the rhythms and patterns of myth and folktale, and a set of simply likeable characters whose lives you find yourself wanting to hang out in.
Spiritwalk is currently technically out of print; there are copies in retail pipelines, but they’re increasingly scarce. Tor has a trade paperback reissue scheduled for mid-2010.
The Spring tells the story of eight friends approaching the end of their senior year of high school. Preparing for graduation should be an exciting time, but as they look forward to college, fall in and out of love, and just try to survive their last days of high school, they discover the old bonds of friendship that held them together are falling apart. Can their teenage friendships survive their final steps toward adulthood? It’s a little bit angsty, a little bit funny, a little bit philosophical, and a little bit romantic.
Stacey muttered, “But I hate this school, and this city, and the sooner I leave, the better. I want to start over in a new place. I haven’t . . .” her voice trailed off and she looked away from Jason, hoping instead to find her words among the falling raindrops. “Do you ever feel like you aren’t the person you’re supposed to be? That you could be a different person – and have a better life – if things had been just a little different?”
Amazon’s extraordinary cave in to the Authors Guild over the Kindle 2′s text to speech feature says more about the importance Amazon places on ebooks and its own Kindle Reader than anything else.
For those who haven’t been following the story, Amazon recently introduced an “experimental” text to speech feature with its new Kindle 2. This allowed any book to be read aloud using a built in computer voice. Computerized speech is nowhere near as good as a real human narrator but it’s quite understandable and great for listening to ebooks while driving, doing manual work and of course a lifesaver for the visually impaired. Why they labeled it “experimental” is any one’s guess but here are a few reasons that come to mind.
Development wasn’t sure they could complete it by the Kindle shipping date and it only made it in at the last minute.
Product management wasn’t sure a computerized voice would be well received by readers.
Not enough real world testing had been done prior to shipping to know with confidence that it would work well in practice.
Perhaps they had an inkling there could be some legal fuss.
Well it turns out the text to speech did work, certain readers found it especially useful, some going so far as to buy a Kindle just for this feature. Even the press were kind. I doubt there was a single article on the Kindle 2 that didn’t mention the new text to speech functionality. Amazon seemed to be gathering some renewed interest in its Kindle Reader.
And then it all turned to shit. The Author’s Guild got wind of it and decided the Kindle’s ability to read a book aloud was infringing on the audio rights of publishers and authors. They demanded Amazon remove the text to speech feature, effectively gagging the Kindle. Now as a layperson this claim seems absurd – how is this any different from a parent reading a print book to a child or a sighted person reading aloud to the visually impaired.
Amazon’s initial response was the same. `Kindle 2’s experimental text to speech feature is legal.’ – CNET News.
Great! Reason prevails. Case closed. Lets move on. This is the 21st century.
Not so fast. A few days later came Amazon’s back-down. Publishers will now be able to decide whether their ebooks have text to speech enabled or not. This means a publisher can prevent readers from listening to their ebooks on the Kindle. Time will tell how many publishers turn on this restriction, but given they were the ones lobbying Amazon for this control in the first place, its a safe bet that most will disable text to speech for their titles.
This decision by Amazon to introduce yet more DRM can only harm their Kindle platform and once again leave readers looking around for alternatives.
The Kindle brand may have been irreparably damaged. Up until this point almost all talk surrounding the Kindle 2 had been positive. Now the talk is about nothing but Amazon’s shameful cave in to publishers or worse, siding with publishers.
To me this says the powers that be within Amazon don’t place much importance on ebooks or their own Kindle. Why else would they back down so easily. The claim by the Author’s Guild that the Kindle’s text to speech infringes publishers’ audio rights seems tenuous at best. Why not put up a fight. Let the Author’s guild take them to court and fight out a test case. Of all companies, Amazon has the resources to fund such a fight. Not only that they’d get plenty of public support and flow on publicity for such a stand.
The problem I believe is they’re still primarily wedded to the old world of print. They don’t want to jeopardize their relationships with the major print publishers. No one can accuse Amazon of not being innovative. The problem is they’ve innovated around a publishing industry that is fast becoming obsolete. Their online store is just as relevant for ebooks as for print. But order fulfillment and shipping is not longer needed. What value do existing publishers bring to the table for ebooks? Why does Amazon need to deal with them at all?
Unless Amazon can fully embrace the future of ebooks, more forward thinking companies will put them out of the book business. You only have to look at companies such as Smashwords to see the future. It won’t be too long before print becomes the exception rather than the rule. Almost all books will be purchased in electronic form. Most readers will choose to read them using an ereader. Some will prefer a printed copy and take their ebook to a local print on demand service.
This is similar to the switch to digital photography. Today everything is shot digitally, most photos are viewed on the screen and a cherished few are printed.
Amazon leaves me with mixed feelings these days. On the one hand I love the way I can order almost any book over the Internet and have it arrive at my doorstep in Australia a couple of weeks later for less than the cost of purchasing it locally. With ebooks the feelings are opposite. Instead of providing great value and service, they’re trying to lock customers into proprietary DRM-laden formats and charge them a premium for the privilege – ebooks should be a fraction of the cost of a printed book.
It’s a fiery hot summer, and sixteen-year-old Jesse Wright is on the run. An oddly gifted boy, he arrives in a new city where the direction of his life is about to change. He’s hungry and lonely and desperate – and beset by visions of a stranger who is being brutally tortured. And then there are Jesse’s own memories of a fire …
Questing Marilyn: In Search of My Holy Grail, Personal Growth Through Travel, takes readers on a uniquely personal Quest to sacred and historical sites in England and Ireland.
You will visit
Stonehenge
Avebury
Glastonbury
Bath
Tintagel
Kilkenny
Dublin
and other favourites of travellers
I confront how what I was taught to believe influences my life as an adult.
Explore myths and legends.
Question beliefs.
See how group dynamics provoke relationship issues.
Learn life skills.
See how I create a plan that allows me to experience deep joy and satisfaction.
Experience how my change in energy brings me new experiences in rich and marvellous ways that might appear to be coincidences.
Readers feel they are present on the journey.
“The most important message of this book, however, is the introduction of travel as a tool towards self-exploration and self-acceptance. Often, due to the busyness and chaos of daily life, individuals don’t have the luxury or time to truly understand who they are and what they want from life. However, during a vacation, normal routines and responsibilities can be temporarily forgotten. Thus, vacation time is the perfect time to reflect on these very personalized aspects of one’s life, how he or she feels about that life, and what they need to do to make his or herself happy. Moreover, this analysis need not take place in Britain or Ireland. In fact, where the reader’s quest starts and ends is completely unique to that individual.” Tami Brady M.A., Co-Dean of the School of Religion and Spirituality, archaeological consultant, freelance writer, Calgary, Alberta.www.tcm-ca.com
A year ago, Diana decided to return home, get a teaching credential, and work with kids as mixed up as herself. Going through the boxes in the garage, the stuff her family had been lugging around for as long as she could remember, she found a record of another dropout from another generation. Her father’s Berkeley Barb articles were in those boxes, along with some short-story attempts, and the responses to Aimai Cristen’s ad in the Barb’s personal column. She wanted to discuss them. Her professor father was reluctant, afraid where their discussions might lead.
” Young attractive girl, 24, searching for love, compassion, joy from a man who can provide financial security. Write Aimai Cristen, Barb Box 3689, Barb Office, 1234 University Ave, Berkeley CA 94709.”
An odyssey through the late 1960′s from L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium to Berkeley and Altamont, this novel describes a daughter’s search today for her father and herself.
1539- In a remote Spanish outpost, one man holds the secret to the greatest treasure and deadliest secret in human history.
Utah, Present Day Cave paintings in a newly-discovered Indian site provide evidence that Christ visited the New World. Or do they?
Dane Maddock returns in another unforgettable adventure! When Dane rescues beautiful archaeologist Jade Ihara , he joins her on asearch for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. Cibola takes the reader on a journey across the American southwest, where the ruins of the mysterious Anasazi hide deadly secrets, creatures long-forgotten lie in wait, and foes lurk around every corner. Dane and his partner “Bones” Bonebrake must decipher clues from the fabled Copper Scroll, outwit their enemies, and be the first to unlock the secret of Cibola.
Jeremy Robinson, author of Kronos and Antarktos Rising, says “Cibola by David Wood is a page-turning yarn blending high action, Biblical speculation, ancient secrets, and nasty creatures. Indiana Jones better watch his back!” .
Robert Masello, author of Blood and Ice and Ritual, says “Ancient cave paintings? Cities of gold? Secret scrolls? Sign me up! Cibola is a twisty tale of adventure and intrigue that never lets up and never lets go!”-
Travel writer Karen Goa and her boat-builder husband Ken fled their native Saskatchewan’s bone-crackingly cold winters for New Zealand’s hilly greenery and beaches in the 1980s. Twenty years on, the Canadian Kiwis rustle up a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon and set off across Canada’s back roads. From bear-ridden British Columbia to bald, blasted Newfoundland the couple poke around fishing villages, Hutterite colonies, Indian reservations, classy Quebec and the fearsome, bug-infested Far North finding out what Canadians across the land have been doing, thinking and eating while they’ve been away enjoying the New Zealand good life – and uncovering some surprising Kiwi connections.
25 short, sometimes funny and sometimes mean stories ideal to rediscover the joy of reading a book as shiny and beautiful as a brand new cell phone.
A look from a distance at the absurdity of our present day lives: fights with the less and less comprehensible equipment, pursuit of the latest technological news, pitfalls of our modern lifestyle, useless inventions and issues racing in all directions at a breakneck speed.
A lot of entertainment and a little food for thought. Just perfect for the moment when you’re finally bored with exploring the alarm settings on your new iPhone.
Nick Name’s Password Incorrect is a selection of short stories addressed especially for iPhone users. The book was designed to be downloaded for free to iPhone, which among its many other features seems to be also a great e-book reader.
Opposite to devices specifically designed for e-book reading, which still look unattractive and suffer early stage problems, iPhone with it’s large color screen, smooth interface and millions of users around the world has the real power of rediscovering the pleasure of reading books – so that we could hear a louder “bye, bye” to paper.
The time for the reader’s change of mind is perfect. With Stanza application, which allows to read books in ePub format on iPhone/iPod and Feedbooks’s Online Catalog of free publications, a typical gadget-hunting, forward-looking consumer, who perceives reading paper books as an outdated way of spending time – can rediscover book reading, and even more – reinvent it.
An elderly clergyman tells Pat and Phillis of the strange happenings in the middle of the night in the old rectory. “I was at my wit’s end,” he told them. “I wasn’t sure if I was having a nervous breakdown or becoming senile. Then, the noises. I can still hear those dreadful noises in the dead of night.” Intrigued, they rush off to Philadelphia. They’re too late. Murder gets there before them.
“When you and I talked this afternoon, Father,” Pat began after their waiter placed drinks in front of them, “you were… well, it’s no exaggeration to say, frantic. You told me about some very strange things taking place at Saint Alban’s.”
They were seated at a table in Oscar’s Restaurant. Pat Montgomary was in his mid-thirties, deeply tanned from the past two weeks at the seashore, and visibly concerned as he stared at the priest across the table from him. Phillis Toner, Pat’s half sister, was her radiant self this evening with her equally deep tan. She was ten years younger than her brother. She too was studying the third member of their party. This latter was easily in his sixties (she guessed), his face pale and drawn. He was dressed in black with a Roman collar.
“I guess you’ll think I am foolish,” the priest began hesitantly. “You might think I’m not responsible for my actions when I tell you why I asked to meet you. And, the more I think about it, the more I begin to believe that perhaps… perhaps it was wrong of me to impose upon you. It really is nothing. If I could beg your forgiveness and let it go at that….”
“Father, something is bothering you,” Pat continued, a sternness creeping into his voice. “If ever I saw someone with a problem, it’s you. I hope you’ll pardon me for being so blunt, but frankly, Father, you look to me as though you need professional help. You look as though you have not been sleeping well. Your hands are shaking. Are you an alcoholic or been drinking heavily lately?”
CompletelyNovel.com is a new site that provides publishing services and an associated reader community for Indie authors. Authors can upload their book for free. Readers can read it online for free, leave a review, suggest it to a friend, and buy a print version. It’s a bit like lulu.com + a reader community.
What caught my eye was the video review used to promote the ebook. Despite the terrible production values, it proved to be very entertaining and a great way of promoting the ebook. Here are the things they did well.
Short – 3 minutes
Two reviewers make it a conversation rather than a boring monologue
Quotes from other readers are displayed on cheezy hand-written cards, adding to the charm
No script or post production editing gives it a genuine, off the cuff feel
Light and humorous, with real interest and enthusiam shown by the reviewers
As a reader trying to decide whether to read or purchase a book, I’d much rather watch an entertaining and informative video review over some of the cringe-worthy book trailers current doing the rounds.
An anthology of brand new short stories to celebrate the launch of CompletelyNovel.com. CompletelyNovel are proud to present twelve imaginative, humorous and innovative short stories written by talented new writers. This anthology contains the winning entries of CompletelyNovel’s launch competition, asking for stories inspired by the phrase ‘And now for something completely different.’
They’ve all got more talent in their little finger than I’ve got in my whole body — Cathy Adams, budding journalist
FolkHeart Press celebrates families and folklore with the launch a new e-book, Family Folktales: What Are Yours? in March which is recognized nationally as Folklore Month.
The digitally produced book encourages readers to create their own folktales based upon family stories. The forty two page book ($7.95) which includes writing exercises and sample folktales explores the world of folktales and explains folktale motifs and how they can be used to describe people, places, and things that can be preserved through writing.
“Every family has a trickster, a prized heirloom or favorite holiday tradition. Why not write about them in a way that is both easy and relaxing?” says the award-winning writer, journalist, and folklorist Karen Pierce Gonzalez.
The book is ideal for anyone wanting to deepen their relationships with their families, notes art therapist, author and Ancestors’ Way founder, Catherine Anne Held, Ph.D.
Family Folktales: What Are Yours? provides quick and simple techniques to capture family history and preserve it for generations to come. Drawing on her experiences as a writer, student of folklore and creative writing teacher, Karen demonstrates how simple and rewarding writing family stories can be.”
FolkHeart Press produces books about folktale-related topics. Folktales are gaining in popularity and can be told in many forms, including stories, scrapbooks, and blogs.
Established in 2007, the press’ publishing credits also include first e-book in the Spanish Cuisine series Spanish Cuisine One Region at a Time: Catalonia which features Barcelona Paella food lore and recipe. The press is also producing a new edition of Family Folktales: Write Your Own Family Stories. This updated eighty four page workbook includes detailed information about folktales, family folktale podcasts, and scrap booking techniques. For information: 707-792-4376 or www.folkheartpress.com
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