tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81290139682127968902012-05-19T19:14:45.094-06:00My Book of the Day Blog: A blog of daily (or thereabouts) book reviewsKatharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.comBlogger529125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-22648764165372963142012-05-15T00:18:00.001-06:002012-05-15T00:18:25.135-06:00

When books and magazine articles about the Titanic started showing up a couple of months ago in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the sinking (which was April 15th, if you didn't already know), I have to admit, I got sucked under.  I've been intrigued by the Titanic most of my life, and was only more so after I saw the movie in the theaters in 1997. So far this spring, I've gotten two

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-84092684869306026072012-05-11T00:16:00.000-06:002012-05-11T00:16:03.830-06:00

I was planning on blogging about it yesterday, but a broken finger changed my plans.  I'm also typing with 9 fingers instead of 10 -- and the broken finger happens to be the most frequently used finger in typing, the left middle finger, controlling the E, D, and C, possibly the most common letters in the English language -- so posting is taking a little longer than usual. But back to the point

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-2279028993273158312012-04-30T14:22:00.001-06:002012-04-30T14:22:32.022-06:00

I've finally migrated my old template into the Blogger Template Designer, so even though I've used the same background and image header, it will look a little different now.  Eventually I think I will change those, too, though. I've also, by changing the template, started the process of eliminating Barnes & Noble affiliate ads from my blog.  I am doing this for two reasons: One, I wasn't making

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-76441859628781042142012-04-30T12:37:00.001-06:002012-04-30T12:37:39.654-06:00

Once again, I am so sorry for the lack of posting lately.  Despite my good intentions once my client backed off on doling out blog assignments, I've been too busy to play catch-up on my blogs quite yet.  Even with this morning to myself, the thought is still a little overwhelming, so I may have to resort to just going back to my blog like normal, rather than trying to write reviews about all the

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-18027034159917310912012-04-25T13:34:00.001-06:002012-04-25T13:34:08.198-06:00

I've had quite a few busy weeks, and as a result I haven't had a chance yet to start incorporating my changes to the blog.  My mornings have been largely taken up by pet appointments and other things, and for the first time since I started my afternoon nanny job in November, I actually am really starting to miss having my whole day to myself (instead of just the morning and early afternoon).  I

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-17426342711254522212012-04-04T23:15:00.000-06:002012-04-04T23:15:37.476-06:00

For several months now, I've been writing for a client with a number of book-related blogs, which is part of why this blog has been so ignored of late — sometimes it's hard to come up with two posts for the same books, and I'm afraid that the blogs that generate solid income are the ones that have benefited from my limited creative impulse.  (Although I do get some ad revenue from my blogs, this

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-37361980893924258542012-03-05T00:58:00.000-07:002012-03-05T00:58:28.490-07:00

Lately I've been contemplating making a few changes to my book review blog.  One is more related to what I am reading — between library books that are due at a certain time, book club selections, and even a book I promised to review by a certain date, I've been feeling a little like I've lost control of my own reading list.  Reading is a very personal thing for me: I like to choose my reading

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-63867452544638989352012-03-03T00:13:00.002-07:002012-03-05T00:51:09.453-07:00

When I picked up Redwood Bend, I have to admit I was a little skeptical.  I read another book by Robyn Carr about a year ago, Promise Canyon, and while I enjoyed it, I wasn't overjoyed about it.  (In retrospect, it probably was caused at least in part by the fact that I was reading it more for the horse story than the love story.  This is something that happens to me occasionally, as being horse

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-6580545690358449112012-02-29T20:46:00.001-07:002012-02-29T20:50:17.789-07:00

I saw a mention of Read an eBook Week on a Facebook page I follow, and sure enough, it starts Sunday, March 4th!  If you remember from last year, Smashwords and other sites celebrate the week by offering tons of books for free and on sale.  I still haven't gotten through all of my acquisitions from last year. The website has a bunch of really cool banners you can put on your blog to help with

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-16184155900990301512012-02-27T14:06:00.000-07:002012-02-27T14:06:56.837-07:00

Auschwitz came to my attention mostly because it was a sale ebook at BN.com, but it intrigued me because of the description.  It's a memoir by a Jewish doctor who was pressed into service at Auschwitz, and lived to write about it afterward, helping to expose many of the terrible things that went on there.  It's not very long, but it is well written and compelling, and it isn't as hard or as

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-61848775690568111872012-02-22T13:08:00.001-07:002012-02-22T13:08:00.063-07:00

The difficulty of reviewing books I read so long ago is that they get to be rather difficult to remember, as much else as I read!  That's another reason why these reviews may be a bit shortened until I catch up. Anyway, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed To Walk the Night.  It seems to have been inspired by Underworld and Blade, as the tone of the whole vampires-and-werewolves setting

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-51764912726559110462012-02-21T12:59:00.000-07:002012-02-21T12:59:35.820-07:00

I was really impressed by Carol K. Carr's India Black. There seem to be a lot of steampunk and vampire series lately, but instead, Carr has made a mystery/espionage series out of the "ordinary" Victorian world and an unlikely heroine: a whorehouse madam. When she is unlucky enough to have one of her clients die on her premises, while being serviced by one of her prostitutes no less, India ends

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-38945251211985585972012-02-14T15:28:00.001-07:002012-02-14T15:28:00.495-07:00

I almost forgot to say...  Happy Valentine's Day!  Hubby and I are planning to spend the evening tucked away at home, enjoying homemade pizza and watching a movie together.  Afterward I'll read for a while before bed, as always, so there will definitely be books involved in my Valentine's Day! There are, of course, some ebook deals to be had today, especially in the romance genre.  For instance,

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-26172920828564632252012-02-14T13:28:00.000-07:002012-02-14T13:28:18.474-07:00

Once again, I fell behind on my reviews.  The problem is that I'm enjoying reading so much lately — I've been blazing through books one after another, and with less time available for various things these days, that has meant less time to blog. The solution: I'm going to do fairly quick reviews on everything in order to get caught up.  Once I'm caught up, I will need to assess my time

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-21969812367950732842012-02-08T12:42:00.001-07:002012-02-08T12:42:00.318-07:00

I've read a lot of YA dark fantasy romance — vampires, werewolves, you name it.  This one was about zombies, and it was a really different take on zombies.  I loved it! Lia Habel's zombies are infected with a disease that causes their death, and then reanimates them.  Depending on how long the brain goes without oxygen — before the reanimation — and whether the person is able to keep from going

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-91601089243085407552012-02-07T13:44:00.000-07:002012-02-07T13:44:55.979-07:00

I have a lot of books to catch up on, made worse by the fact that I barely posted at all last week, but before I get to that I have a fairly important announcement to make: According to a post on the Barnes & Noble forums, Dorchester Publishing is going out of business. Dorchester is a publisher of mass market genre novels, such as romance and Westerns.  Apparently as far back as 2009, though,

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-22361008141427168192012-01-27T13:45:00.000-07:002012-01-27T13:45:00.083-07:00

I fell in love with the Sookie Stackhouse books about a year and a half ago, so when I saw another book by the same author available in ebook format from my library, I jumped right on it. Grave Sight is a quick read about a young woman who travels around the country with her brother, solving murder mysteries.  She is able to do this because she senses dead people, ever since she was hit by

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-30172095705184722202012-01-26T20:03:00.034-07:002012-01-26T20:03:00.640-07:00

Fools Rush In was the last book of a run of Kristan Higgins books I checked out from the library.  I think they still have one or two more I have yet to read, but I needed a break first! Millie, the heroine of this book, has had a crush on Joe since she was just a kid, but he has no idea she exists, so once she completes her doctor's degree, she returns home determined to make him notice her. 

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-56207348033779965352012-01-26T12:46:00.000-07:002012-01-26T12:46:00.077-07:00

Just one more off-topic post before I get back to the business of reviewing books.  A couple of weeks ago I saw a story on NPR about Walter Dean Myers, the new ambassador for Young People's Literature.  In the interview, Myers talks a lot about how books are important parts of your life, and stresses that, as part of his goals, he wants young children to be read to every day. There is this idea

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-38759139161030495102012-01-25T14:05:00.000-07:002012-01-25T14:05:42.086-07:00

What timing!  Not long after I saw the CNN article about tablet and e-reader ownership doubling over the holidays, I saw this one on NPR: Niche No More: Survey Shows Tablets Are Everywhere The NPR article quotes another survey that shows an even larger percentage of e-reader and tablet ownership: 29 percent, up 11 percent from December.  In comparison, the CNN survey found ownership to be about

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-58195579585316352012-01-25T11:16:00.000-07:002012-01-25T11:16:25.155-07:00

Sorry for the dearth of posts lately!  I've actually been reading quite a bit — I've just been too busy to write about what I've read — so I have lots of catching up to do.  But first, I want to share an article I read just the other day, about how popular tablets and e-readers have become. Ownership of tablets, e-readers almost doubles in one month The number of people who have these devices

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-59570497190408894192012-01-11T14:02:00.000-07:002012-01-11T14:02:11.438-07:00

I've been reading a lot lately, but I haven't dedicated very much time to blogging about what I've been reading.  Part of the reason is this book, The Science of Battlestar Galactica — I've been struggling with what to say about it. I checked the book out from my library on a whim when I saw it among the new arrivals in our ebook catalog.  I am a big fan of Battlestar Galactica, and was

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-77590758197745837982012-01-09T19:29:00.000-07:002012-01-09T19:29:00.544-07:00

It's not a book, but I wanted to take a moment to review a fantastic app I just downloaded to my Nook Tablet earlier today.  I found out about it when it was posted to Barnes & Noble's Facebook page this morning. A little background: I'd been wanting a way to sync calendars between my iPhone and Nook.  The iPhone calendar can be challenging to use, mainly because I don't always feel like typing

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-39277693245041599702012-01-09T12:29:00.000-07:002012-01-09T12:29:15.605-07:00

I logged on to the Barnes & Noble site today to see a fantastic deal broadcast across the top of the page: If you subscribe to the New York Times ($19.99 a month), you can get the Nook Simple Touch Reader for free, or the Nook Color for half off ($99 instead of $199). I'm not a big fan of paying for newspaper subscriptions when you can get it all online, but of course the NYT is limiting

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8129013968212796890.post-72976242400327492622012-01-07T10:51:00.000-07:002012-01-07T10:51:00.698-07:00

Being a horse person and the proud owner of two rescue horses, I tend to gravitate toward books about horses.  Some of them, like War Horse, I enjoy thoroughly.  Others make it perfectly obvious how little the author knows about horses. The Last Cowboy was, unfortunately, among the latter group.  Although the overall story, about a doctor who hires a handsome cowboy to train her and her mare for

Katharine Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16805523619692744514noreply@blogger.com0