CatHouse Chat

E-books shouldn't scare publishers!

The other week, the New York Times published an article about the match-up between Google Books and Amazon -

In discussions with publishers at the annual BookExpo convention in New York over the weekend, Google signaled its intent to introduce a program by that would enable publishers to sell digital versions of their newest books direct to consumers through Google. The move would pit Google against Amazon.com, which is seeking to control the e-book market with the versions it sells for its Kindle reading device.

Google’s move is likely to be welcomed by publishers who have expressed concerns about the possibility that Amazon will dominate the market for e-books with its aggressive pricing strategy. Amazon offers Kindle editions of most new best-sellers for $9.99, a price far lower than the typical $26 at which publishers sell new hardcovers. In early discussions, Google has said it would allow publishers to set a suggested list price, but that Google would ultimately set consumer prices.

See, e-books could bring the price of most books back down from the exosphere into the troposphere... I remember when the average paperback sold for somewhere between $1.95 and $3.95 (OK, yeah, I'm dating myself...). Now, even a thin brain-candy romance starts at about $5!!! That's absurd!

Amazon's Kindle has made a significant crack into e-reader resistance with a simple, sturdy and portable device that looks a bit like a book with an electronic cover. It's not the same as a book - pages, worn covers and dog ears just can't be copied - but it can give sort of a similar experience AND hold a whole library without the weight.

I have a Sony e-reader (and since I'm on Linux Ubuntu, it can be a pain, since the software to purchase books is exclusive to the Windows OS) that my Mom gave me. I currently have almost 80 books on it, mostly copyright-free things like Little Women, A Princess of Mars, Ivanhoe, Sherlock Holmes, and many other out of copyright books - Jane Austin,  G.K. Chesterton, John Bunyan, H. Beam Piper, Rudyard Kipling, Herman Melville and many more - at no cost. But, with a little computer know-how, I can put a library that OUGHT to weigh 50 pounds (minimum) onto a one pound computer tablet!

I travel - that's worth a LOT...

I think that publishers who aggressively support e-books and the development of e-reader devices will see the costs of publishing, production, promotion, and editing go down - which means they can offer their product for a lower price while maximizing their profits. New authors may get more chances to be bestsellers, since there won't be as many costs to get them onto the shelves of book stores...

I like the e-book possibilities! The choices aren't perfect yet (thought they're pretty awesome), but it looks like this is an up-and-coming thing that will be beneficial to many MANY people!

Reading now...

The ESV Study Bible - I'm actually doing pretty well with my Bible reading this year. I'd started out with MacArthur's Daily Bible, but decided to switch to the reading plan in Table Talk magazine. This way, I only need to carry one Bible with me, and since the ESV Study Bible is a hefty monster (but sooooo AWESOME!), switching plans made sense.

Just this week, I began reading a great classic of Christian theology and doctrine: Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. I am going to go through this very carefully, underlining and making notes since I really want to understand and retain the information. This is no light read, so I'm only dealing with one chapter per day at most.

I've also decided - this morning - to take this book off the "later" shelf and crack it open. Sowell's Applied Economics is another book that must be read actively, but it's come highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to learning a lot from it.

Finally, courtesy of Mom, Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism. I'm thinking of adding it to my reading schedule, but may wait until after I've finished Sowell's book. I've got enough heavy reading on my plate, and I don't want to overload, LOL!

So, that's what I'm reading... What about you?

k-angel

Yes, I'm still here!

I'm down in Florida right now; Mom had her first cataract surgery tomorrow morning, and wanted me to be here to manage things while she's not up to par (boy, I've really hoodwinked her, don'tchathink? LOL).

Anyway, I've continued my reading of J.I. Packer's Knowing God, and the eighteenth chapter, "the Heart of the Gospel," is just ripping me to shreds! Wow. Wow, wow, wow, WOW!!!!

[God's Anger] is not the capricious, arbitrary, bad-tempered and conceited anger which pagans attribute to their gods. It is not the sinful, resentful, malicious, infantile anger which we find among humans. It is a function of that holiness which is expressed in the demands of God's moral law ("Be holy, because I am holy" 1 Peter 1:16), and of that righteousness which is expressed in God's acts of justice and reward. [...]

God's wrath is "the holy revulsion of God's being against that which is the contradiction of his holiness" (John Murray, Epistle to the Romans). And this is righteous anger - the right reaction of moral perfection in the Creator toward moral perversity in the creature. So far from the manifestation of God's wrath in punishing sin being morally doubtful, the thing that would be morally doubtful would be for him not to show his wrath in this way. God is not just - that is, he does not act in the way that is right, he does not do what is proper to a judge - unless he inflicts upon all sin and wrongdoing the penalty it deserves. [...]

God propitiates his wrath by his own action. He set forth Jesus Christ, says Paul, to be a propitiation; he sent his Son, says John, to be the propitiation for our sins. It was not man, to whom God was hostile, who took the initiative to make God friendly, nor was it Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son, who took the initiative to turn his Father's wrath against us into love. ... [I]t was God himself who took the initiative in quenching his own wrath against those whom, despite their ill-desert, he loved and had chosen to save. [...]

Nor was this done as God's acknowledgment of some real devotion on our part; not at all. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that" - in a situation where we did not love him, and there was nothing about us to move him to do anything other than blast and blight us for our ingrained irreligion - "he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." [...]

The basic description of the saving death of Christ in the Bible, is as a propitiation, that is, as that which quenched God's wrath against us by obliterating our sins from his sight. God's wrath is his righteousness reacting against unrighteousness; it shows itself in retributive justice. But Jesus Christ has shielded us from the nightmare prospect of retributive justice by becoming our representative substitute, in obedience to his Father's will, and receiving the wages of sin in our place.

By this means justice has been done, for the sins of all that will ever be pardoned were judged and punished in the person of God the Son, and it is on this basis that pardon is now offered to us offenders.

Wow.

I am going to have to re-read this chapter several times! It really illuminates large portions of the book of Romans to me - a book I thought I knew pretty well. But no, it looks like there are whole new oceans of meaning and richness I can look forward to!

The "Lost Fleet" series is well worth the read!

In the past week, I bought and read the four books currently available from the six book series by Jack Campbell (a pen name for John G. Hemry). From what I read, the fifth book is due out in 2009, and I daresay that the last book will be available by late 2009 (just from the release-pace of the current four).

I confess, the first book took about a day to lure me in (mainly because I kept getting distracted by other things), but I've definitely been hooked, and have burned through the other three books in a frenzy of enjoyment for the excellent plot and vivid, realistic writing.

One thing which grabbed me is the premise:

The Alliance has been fighting the Syndic for a century-and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is Captain John "Black Jack" Geary-a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief. Now, he must live up to his own legend.

When I started the first book, I expected a prologue which set up the scenario, but right from the first paragraph, Jack Campbell plunged his main character right into the crisis. It's only by reading the book and "watching" the plot unfold that you see and understand just who John "Black Jack" Geary really is.

Now, Campbell is a bit like David Weber for me, in that the more detailed battle scenes will make me skim a bit, but the plot and character development are - to me, anyway! - absolutely riveting!

So, I highly recommend fans of military sci-fi stories to pick up these books and enjoy them. If you like the Honor Harrington series, you will definitely find this one a fantastic read!

Pretty please, if you think you might like to buy them, I ask that you click out on these Amazon links I've provided - it would be nice to get some "paying" hits, LOL!

UPDATE: Well, the link image widgets from Amazon don't seem to be working, so I'll do this:

Book One: Dauntless
Book Two: Fearless
Book Three: Courageous
Book Four: Valiant

DO WANT!!!!

Oh, wantwantwantwant!!!!

Of course, I'd prefer it in blue or green instead of pink, but beggars can't be choosers... ;-)

On my bookshelf to actually READ

Just before I left for Orlando on Friday, I purchased some books to read while traveling. One of them, Michael Yon's hardcover debut, Moment of Truth in Iraq, is already read and savored - definitely an excellent read, and I've already got some friends in mind to loan this book to... [evil grin]

I also purchased David Bellavia's book, House to House, which is also supposed to be a riveting read, and Trace Adkins' book, A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck, which I bought 'cause I just love Trace's tell-it-like-it-is, been-there-done-that style.

I'm very much looking forward to reading those two, but I decided to read Neil Bootz's FairTax book next, and I've also got a copy of Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It by Stuart E. Lucas, who happens to be my fourth cousin twice removed or something like that. Mom bought copies for all us kids, and I'm hoping it will be a finance book I can understand and put into practice (actually, I'm hoping the FairTax book will be like that, too).

So, I've got some serious reading to do... After all, there are some things I need to understand in better depth than I'd get just surfing around haphazardly! ;-)

Who ***CARES***?!

This is just stupid. The Harry Potter series is DONE. The plot never turned on this obscure piece of trivia, and to "reveal" that Dumbledore was "gay" is just idiotic.

I've seen this many times, when an author brings in a gay character just because they can. It's like they're saying, "Ooo, look, I'm cool, I'm politically correct, I'm not a homophobe!" when there is no relevant connection to the plot.

It's irritating, because it usually throws me out of a rollicking good story - a cardinal sin for an author. Authors, please don't do that to your readers! If it doesn't advance the plot, if it isn't truly important for character development, then it doesn't belong in the story.

I've always thought that, if the author can't restrain him/herself from this sort of stupidity, then the editor who allows it to slip by ought to be shot. (Yes, that was hyperbole. But not by much.)

Of course, Ms Rowlings, IMO, compounds the error by mentioning it after the completion of the series when it is an incredibly irrelevant point. Honey, you're already a successful and influential writer - you don't have to make yourself more "hip."

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Dumbledore, gay, J. K. Rowling

“All replete with very me”

My last post garnered some wonderful comments, and they reminded me of the beloved author of one of my favorite books: Madeleine L'Engle and A Ring of Endless Light. The main character in the book is a girl named Vicky Austin, and she writes poetry. Now, of course, poetry can be pure drivel, especially when written by the young (and yes, I penned more than my fair share of absolutely atrocious poems when I was young...), but Vicky has the advantage of being a character written by Ms L'Engle.

One of the poems Vicky writes and reads to her dying grandfather has the phrase "all replete with very me" which I -obviously - remember to this day. At this time, I can't find her actual poem, but my search led me to two poems by real people who provided inspiration for this book.

First is the inspiration for the title of the book - a poem by Henry Vaughn:

I saw Eternity the other night
Like a great Ring of pure and endless light,
All calm, as it was bright,
And round beneath it,
Time is hours, days, years
Driven by the spheres
Like a vast shadow mov'd, in which the world
And all her train were hurl'd;

A ring of endless light - eternity. How beautiful an image! A simmering, peaceful luminosity stretching out forever and ever. What a glorious future we could have in our eternal home, if we would only turn to our Father and accept His grace and love.

But we are often too focused on temporal things of lesser value, which leads to the second poem by Sir Thomas Browne which is the inspiration for the phrase "all replete with very me" -

If thou could'st empty all thyself of self,
Like to a shell dishabited,
Then might He find thee on the ocean shelf,
And say, "This is not dead,"
And fill thee with Himself instead.

But thou are all replete with very thou
And hast such shrewd activity,
That when He comes He says, "This is enow
Unto itself - 'twere better let it be,
It is so small and full, there is no room for Me."

We are so often replete with ourselves. We are self-focused, self-involved, self-satisfied, self-absorbed. We fill our lives with people imortant to us, issues important to us, activities important to us... We forget that we ourselves are not eternal, we are here today and gone tomorrow -

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind

I would much prefer that God finds me "disinhabited," so that He can fill me with Himself. But, I am still so filled to bursting with "very me" that I wonder if there is even a tiny niche open and available for Him!

And yet, God is still there. Even when we are so full of ourselves that there seems to be no room for Him, the Hound of Heaven comes in to our lives and offers His grace and mercy and purpose - and love! Like a gentle mist falling on a parched land, He rains on us until we slowly - oh, so slowly! - begin to open and grow. Slowly, we begin to have an inkling of an idea that, if we move aside, He will flood us with Himself. His Spirit will come to live in us to seal us unto eternity and to give us His power and His assurance

Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

So slowly our doors creak open, the windows of our souls are cracked ajar, and we creep out of the dark poverty of our selfishness. We tentatively take hold of His offered hand... And God catches us and comes in in a torrant of love..

I am confounded when people, confronted with this infinite love, who reject the mercy and grace that are offered so freely and so generously. The pain and sacrifice endured by Jesus wasn't something He had to do - it was something He wanted to do! Our Savior

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus looked ahead to the JOY of His children being with Him for eternity. He looked ahead to the JOY of our voices raised in praise and thanksgiving for the incredible gift He won for us. He looked ahead to the JOY of the final triumph of good over evil, and the eternity of righteousness and beauty without sin.

How can we not desire to empty ourselves of US, and let Him come in and fill us with His love?! The glorious, eternal, and joyful love of God. THAT kind of love:

Happiness in view
Please let it be true
How I've waited in line
Longing for a love
To come hold this heart of mine

Promises unkept
Boundaries overstepped
Left alone with the hurt
Feeling like my life
Couldn't feel much worse

CHORUS
Then I saw the way You saw Me
As my heart let You come in
And I know I felt You hold me
When You told me I could live
Safe in Your arms
That's what I want
That kind of love

Love that will not leave
Use me or deceive
One I know I can trust
Love that will not bring me down
And always builds me up

Love that knows my soul
Shows me where to go
When all I see is a cloud
How could this exist as I stood there
In my doubt

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE
You opened my soul
With what I'd never known
At a time when I was so so alone

REPEAT CHORUS

I am so tired of being all "replete with very me." I want that kind of love. Don't you?

So let's empty ourselves of ourselves and invite the Lord of Life, the Lord of Light, into our souls. Let Him fill us up with His love and His power and His joy. Let us drink from the Fountain of Living Water, and shower the blessings of His salvation on a weary, discouraged, and dying world.

The Final Harry Potter available for pre-sale at Amazon

Go preorder now.

Dedicated bookworm

I am SO proud!

"I may kill off Harry Potter"

*groan*

The Beloved Husband, on the road today, just called to let me know about this interview, and OF COURSE that was the money quote.

You know, three/four years ago, I wasn't all that interested in Harry Potter, and now I'm bumed that he may end up dying? Heck, that means I'm going to have to read the last book before the Darling Munchkin does, just so I'm ready to comfort her, if necessary.

Although, come to think of it, she was more upset by the teasing White Fang got than she was about Cedric's death in The Goblet of Fire....

Nevertheless, the last book of the Harry Potter series is definitely going to be heart wrenching:

While one character will now get a reprieve, "two die that I didn't intend to die". Asked by Judy if it will be any of the much loved characters, she said: "A price has to be paid, we are dealing with pure evil here. They don't target extras do they? They go for the main characters...well I do. This is a world where some pretty nasty things can happen."

Oh, boy - tighten your seatbelts, everyone: we're in for a bumpy ride!

Just in from Amazon!

I saw this in the DAR magazine I got two-three weeks ago, and thought it looked really interesting, so I finally got around to ordering it... Our wonderful UPS Guy, Ray, just delivered it (along with a new MemoryStick and a second battery for my camera).

From the blurb I read, it's a compilation - for lack of a better word - of the diaries of about eight soldiers serving in the Revolutionary War. Anyway, it looks very interesting, and if I can get my rear in gear and don't get distracted by sewing or something, I'll begin reading it tonight.

Short Winter Reading List

Here are a few books to put on your wishlist for Christmas...
The FairTax Book and








America's Best Kept Secret Fairtax: Give Yourself a 25% Raise

Those books could easily be a way to give America a great Christmas present: the abolition of the IRS.













It's in paperback, now! Michael Crichton's wedgie for eco-religionists:
State of Fear














Do As I Say (Not As I Do) :
Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy












(Now, how about one on "Profiles in Conservative Spinelessness" featuring most of the Republican't Congresscritters?)


David Weber! Some new Honor Harrington (OK, so she' just does a cameo in "Shadow... ").

The Shadow of Saganami (The Saganami Island)




and

Where have I been?

Well, I suppose I've been taking a little blog-break. I've been catching up on some reading, quilting... and house cleaning [yuk!].

One of my favorite Sci-Fi authors, David Weber, has a series based on his character, Honor Harrington.

Classy lady

I was listening to Fox&Friends this morning as I drove the Darling Munchkin to school (XM Radio is soooo great!), and got to hear an interview with Lynne Cheney. Wow, she's a classy lady! I'm so glad that such a talented, well-spoken, and genteel woman is a representative of our country!

She talked a little bit about her most recent book A Time for Freedom : What Happened When in America.

Oooo! Sounds excellent, and Lord knows I need some help with American history. OK, well, history in general - not my forte, that's for sure! It gets kind of tiring looking everything up when you're not quite sure of the details, LOL.

But, dang!, she's classy!

Get This

No, really: get this book!

The FairTax Book

I have blogged elsewhere a couple of times ( _1_, _2_) about this book and the bill now in Congress that it details. I've also posted sporadically on the issue of taxation.

This book, and the bill it explains, answers almost all the issues I have with the taxation situation in the U.S.

The FairTax is NOT the "Flat Tax". It is designed to replace all the federal payroll/income taxes you now pay (including Social Security and Medicare). More fairly.  More efficiently.  More helpfully—for individuals and the country as a whole.

And still fully fund all current federal government agencies and programs.

Check out the Fairtax.org website for some advance info while you're waiting on your copy to get to you from Amazon.com.  :-) And after you read your copy, consider signing up for one of the Fairtax mailing lists. The one for my home state has been a big encouragement to me, and a source of more information about how others are dealing with their congresscritters on this issue.

It's time for taxes to be fair.

FairTax.

Crossposted at third world county

Yes, I've read it

... and it's good.

The plot twist we all expected happened, but I won't tell you who.

And I still have my suspicions...

I got the image from its Amazon.com listing, where you can buy it for $16.99 and - if you're an Amazon Prime member - can get it in two days with no shipping charges.

Excellent interview

Chrenkoff has a wonderful interview with Brian Anderson, author of South Park Conservatives posted. It's an superb read, with lots of thoughtful questions and fascinating answers.

For the voracious reader

Do you read a lot of books? Do you give a lot away? I do. I go through paperbacks like crazy (well, less now that I've been hit by the blogging bug...), and I frequently leave them behind in hotels and airports when I'm done

I recently came across a service-club-community called Book Crossing.com, which is a freebie. You register and log in your books. Each book receives a "Book Crossing ID" (BCID) that you put inside the book's front cover, along with simple instructions for the next reader. Then, you just "release" it into the wild.

Book Crossing offers, for a nominal fee, some registration kits which include bookmarks, bookplates, sticky notes, and a stamp that together explain the idea for the next reader.

Once someone picks the book up, they log on to Book Crossing.com (they don't need to set up an account), and put an entry into the book's journal. Where did they find it? Did they like the book? What did they do with it next?

All in all, I rather like the idea, so I've signed up - under "Romeocat," of course.

Go check it out.