Blog Archives
Where Do You Get Your Books?
A lot of book lovers have their go-to favorite sources of great reads. Whether you buy or borrow, have a fetish for small shops or rely on your book blogger status to keep your TBR pile full, there’s no limit to the many sources of great reads.
But here are two that all readers need to pursue (or renew, or fall in love with again, etc) in 2020.
First, Smashwords. It’s a fantastic site for affordably priced ebooks, but more importantly, they do great things for both their authors and their readers. If you’re not signed up to buy books there, you’re truly missing out. (Authors, if you’re not publishing there, you’re missing a huge opportunity… they are one of the easiest and most effective ways to get your books into libraries and to sell on Apple, among other great opportunities.)
Second, those aforementioned libraries. Far too many book fans don’t know how easy it is and how widely available borrowing ebooks from their local library can be. In many instances, local libraries–through their partnership with Overdrive–have great content that you can borrow, read, sample, and return from anywhere… no visit to the library required, no fines to deal with, no stack of books in your backseat that you meant to return!
Speaking of visits to the library, here’s a sneaky act of resistance that ALL book lovers should be engaging in on a regular basis: every time you borrow an ebook from a library, it counts as a “visit!” Whether you rely on your local public library or not, there are many people who desperately need the services they provide. By borrowing an ebook, YOU are increasing library patronage and helping your library demonstrate its relevance to the community! That’s important when it comes to setting budgets, buying more content, and more.
While you’re revamping your book reading strategy, go sign up for a book challenge. Goodreads hosts one every year, Twitter has a number of hashtags for reading challenges, and there are even genre and author-specific challenges to be found online, ie, reading x-number of books written by indie authors, by authors from marginalized demographics, and more.
Whatever you do and however you do it, just read.
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Jolabokaflod Review: The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
First, for the uninitiated, I have to explain Jolabokaflod. It’s (supposedly) an Icelandic holiday tradition that translates into “holiday flood of books.” In Iceland, you unwrap a book and curl up to read and enjoy some chocolate on Christmas Eve. It sounds absolutely heavenly, and god help anyone who tells me it’s not a real thing because yes it is.
I know it’s a real thing because I’ve been celebrating for a few years. Early each December, I send out the call to my Facebook friends, inviting them to participate in a book swap. I got a book this year that I haven’t gotten to read yet (review coming, I swear), because I went to read it and instead decided to open this book. They were both gifted by the same extraordinary author, Delena Silverfox, whose book Duchess of War is so super cool that I hope you get it long before Jolabokaflod 2017.
Anyway, you’ve probably noticed that this review is a lot less professional-sounding than other reviews on this site, and I promise that’s on purpose. The Stupidest Angel is fun and shocking and a whirlwind of wtf moments, all centered around one little town’s Christmas festivities and the weird man who arrives looking for a child.
I can’t actually tell you much more than that because, honestly, where the heck would I begin? With one of the richest men in town hitting his ex-wife with a ten-pound bag of ice from the grocery store? With the ex-wife getting into a tussle with him later while he happens to be wearing a Santa suit, only to have the struggle turn physical and he ends up tripping and impaling himself on her shovel? Or maybe I could start with the poor little kid who happened to witness Santa’s profanity-laced rant and violence towards women, only to end up dead? Oh, don’t forget the horny newcomer in town who offers to help bury Santa so he and the unwitting would-be KringleKiller could hurry up and go grab a bite to eat?
See? Where do I even start, except by telling you to get your own copy today. It’s actually the perfect AFTER-Christmas read since it’s dark and hilarious, and since you missed Jolabokaflod by almost a week.
Read a free preview of the angel book here…
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REVIEW: The Untold Stories of Broadway Vol 3
FOUR STARS
I was very surprised by the print quality of this enormous book, so surprised, in fact, that I looked up the previous two versions online to see if perhaps I was holding a galley copy and not the final version. No, volumes one and two were very similar in their cover design, their page formatting, and other features. This book is so fun and comes written by someone with unparalleled expertise in the topic, but I wish there had been a lot more effort put into making it look like a professionally crafted book.
Having said that, there are some considerations as to why it might be such an uncharacteristically strange-looking book. First, a portion of the proceeds go to support the Broadway Green Alliance, a non-profit that works to ensure that NYC productions are as environmentally-friendly as possible. The more money the publisher spent on making this into a more industry-standard book, the less money there would be to support the organization.
But the other consideration is this: when you have as much access to insider knowledge of the theater scene as author Jennifer Ashley Tepper, it doesn’t matter what the finished product looks like, even if it isn’t all that polished. You would think any of the Big Five publishers would be clamoring to get their hands on the manuscripts that led to these three books, but then the resulting publication would be so outrageously expensive that only the stars who grace the pages could even afford it. At just around $20 each, these oversized volumes share snippet-like anecdotes of life inside the biggest name theaters, and featuring the antics and tales of the biggest name stars.
For too many theater lovers, even a Broadway matinee is out of the realm of possibility. They instead rely on insider views to get to know their favorite stars and the iconic performances that grace the stage. With over 300 pages of interviews, memories, inside jokes, pranks, and more, this is the gift to get the theaterphile in your life.
The Untold Stories of Broadway Volume 3 goes on sale November 15th.
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REVIEW: The Curve by Jeremy Blachman and Cameron Stracher
Five stars
What’s better than a biting satire about a corrupt for-profit law school aimed at catering to those students who never had a chance (or the genetics, or the connections, or the silver spoon) of getting into Harvard Law? A book about this very subject written by two Harvard Law graduates.
Set in the fictitious Manhattan Law School–which sounds like it could be a serious institution of higher learning, doesn’t it?–the sad reality of the school mirrors its location along the banks of a polluted body of water adjacent to Brooklyn. Adam Wright, a one-time eternal optimist who leaves behind the pressures of a law firm in order to give a professorship a try, quickly finds there’s nothing Ivy League-ish about his new position. From zombie-students who are just there taking up space to the understanding that sleeping with the students in exchange for a better grade is unacceptable unless the student is a third-year, everything that’s wrong with the legal profession is compressed into one sad law school.
So then, why is the book so darn funny? The authors have done a masterful job of creating a completely surreal environment that quickly draws you in and makes the bizarre seem acceptable. The writing is stellar, of course, but not just good, it’s masterful.
The real horror of the book? Well, let’s just hope works like this one remain firmly entrenched in satire, and don’t ever, ever cross over into plausible reality.
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Don’t Miss this Holiday Giveaway!
What’s better than free books? Cash to go buy the books on your wishlist! And this giveaway comes pre-loaded with the names of great authors and their books. Even better, clicking to follow these authors is the way you enter the giveaway. Check them out, browse through their sites and content, and you’re entered to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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We’re going to the Decatur Book Festival!
Readioactive Books and its parent company, Author Options, will be at the Decatur Book Festival this weekend! The DBF is the largest independent book festival in the US, now in its eighth year. Some of our authors will be signing books at the booth, and the general literary mayhem will be epic. If you’re in the area, please stop by!
Here’s some info on event: Decatur Book Festival
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COVER REVEAL for Maria DeSouza’s LOVE LOST
Here it is, Readioactive’s first-ever cover reveal! Woohoo! Well, technically, we had nothing to do with the book, but it’s the first time we’ve gotten to do a cover reveal for someone so we’re pretty excited!
Love Lost’s synopsis:
Love can come into your life in an instant, and leave just as quickly….
Jason Straiz is a New York detective working on a case to bring down a major crime lord.
He keeps his life simple. Work. Family. Friends.
Until he meets Selene.
Selene is a lawyer on a mission.
Her goal is to bring down the monster that has been terrorizing her for years.
When she meets Jason, the attraction is intense.
When Selene realizes Jason is after the same person she is, he becomes a complication.
When his case and her mission collide, will her secrets destroy a future they could have together?
Can he handle the truth about her?
Can love truly conquer all or is there a limit?
This title releases September 30th. Follow Maria DeSouza on Facebook at MariaDeSouzaAuthor.
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A Whole New (Old) Concept in Book Discovery
Book discovery is something plagues every author, traditionally and self-published alike. Seriously, walk into any big box bookstore and take a guess how many individual titles there are on the shelves. It’d be like trying to guess the number of jelly beans in the jar at the State Fair.
Readioactive Books was formed literally to bring much-needed book discovery to quality titles in a way that authors could feasibly participate in. So, thanks to the brilliant idea from our UK friends across the pond, Readioactive will be setting up a whole new–but very old–concept in book discovery, coming in the very near future (basically, once we get our acts together and finally get past level 65 on Candy Crush).
Look for the announcement soon, and be ready to jump on board!
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It’s Been A Crazy Three Days…
Readioactive Books officially launched not quite three days ago, and the response has already been tremendous. One of the hardest things about being an author–and that’s not discriminating against traditionally published, indie published, or self-published–is reaching an audience of readers with your work, and book fans have spent the last three days sharing the love for Readioactive. Thank you!
Now, here’s what we can do for you. The concept at Readioactive is to swap reviews. You have a book, I have a book, he has a book…let’s share our thoughts out there about the books! While we do have options for authors who don’t have the time to review others’ works, the purpose is the connectivity that comes from sharing a good book.
By the way, we love book reviewers and book bloggers! You don’t have to be an author to be a part of the community, and we even have special incentives for fans who review books from Readioactive but don’t have a title of their own to swap. Let us promote you and what you do for books!
However you choose to be a part of the Readioactive Books space, we appreciate you!
Readioactive Books 