It has been a while..

I have had it hinted to me that I have stepped away from the blogs for quite a while, actually I wasn’t quite sure how long it was and it seems that my last entry was in August.. oh my gosh. I should be ashamed, that is the problem with these blogs, you set them up, blog all the time, then it starts to slip from your mind and next thing you realise, months have passed by..

In the break since my last blog (hides with embarrassment), I have been tweeting, audioboo’ing (check it out at www.audioboo.fm/emmaL) and reading the odd book here and there on my kindle (after all, that is what this blog is supposed to be about!!)

Rest assured, I will get my blog back up and running and try to post more entries, I will have my thinking cap back on, my blogging head working and with lots more reading reviews, thoughts and much more besides..

If you are not aware, Amazon Kindle UK are now on Twitter, you can keep fully updated on special kindle deals, kindle news and totally in the loop with any developments, so why not follow them:

www.twitter.com/kindleUK

Till the next time folks, stay happy & keep reading! x

Writer puts book on the Kindle and gets a book deal!

I came across an article which I found quite amazing and an inspiration to all aspiring writers out there... don't give up!

A struggling writer landed a book deal with a major publisher after putting her novel online for 96p a copy and promoting it by using social networking.

Louise Voss, 42, shot to the top of the Kindle charts after publishing the book in digital form herself after being rejected by literary agents.

It attracted the attention of publishers HarperFiction, which offered her a six-figure, four-book deal.

Read the full article here!

Recommended Authors?

There is nothing better than discovering an author that you have never heard of but once you read one of their books, that's it, you want to find out what else they have written and download it... you have got the bug.. Reading is so addictive and one of the most enjoyable things, is discovering new books, new authors and have a look around the kindle store and you will grab the bug like me!

Some of the recent gems that I have discovered lately and are worth a read are:

Marisa Mackle
Emma Donoghue
A.K. Alexander

The Book Zone : Recommendation!

Another feature we are going to start on The Book Zone is a Recommendation for you all to check out! To start us off, we highly recommend the book "How to Leave Twitter: My Time as Queen of the Universe and Why This Must Stop" by Grace Dent

Three years ago columnist and author Grace Dent joined new social network site Twitter, mainly as a place to dump her surplus jokes, rant about garbage TV and post exclusive j-pegs of her hot new toenail-varnish. But as every ‘re-tweet’ and ‘Follow Friday’ saw her audience figures soar by tens of thousands, Dent found herself centre-stage in an all-consuming highly addictive social network revolution. One where the gags, gossip, scandal and backstabbing literally never stop.Here Dent takes a hilarious, acerbic look at what’s really going on in Twitterworld; who's actually tweeting, who’s really reading your tweets and what’s behind the 140 character lies they tell. She looks at the highs and grotty lows of twitter addiction, the shameless social climbers, the friends you'll make and the ones you can't get bloody rid of, the barefaced bragging, the shameful celeb-stalking, and the truth about ‘twanking’, twitter cliques, angry ‘twitchfork mobs’ and dealing with trolls.

Now if that description doesn't have you downloading from Amazon, nothing will.. Grace has a wit that few can manage and even less can actually get away with! She has a huge following and if you download this book, you will certainly see why..

Grace doesn't hold back and in this book, she will tell you all that you need to know about Twitter and shows you the highs, the lows and all the fun bits in between!!

Check Grace out on Twitter: Grace Dent

Buy the book right now!

Amazon launches rental e-textbooks!

I have just read that Amazon are advising students, that they can dump their heavy books and not have to lug around heavy books anymore because they have launched a much better service and better for your back too!

Tens of thousands of electronic textbooks have been added to the online retailer's catalogue for the 2011 school year. Students are able to rent the textbooks for any period of time ranging from 30 days to 360 days. 

"Students tell us that they enjoy the low prices we offer on new and used print textbooks. Now we're excited to offer students an option to rent Kindle textbooks and only pay for the time they need - with savings up to 80% off the print list price on a 30-day rental," said  Dave Limp, vice president, Amazon Kindle.

The digital textbooks will be available on Amazon’s Kindle reading apps, meaning that students don’t necessarily need to own a Kindle eReader to rent, read and make annotations on the eTextbooks. The Kindle textbooks can be accessed via an iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, PC, Mac or an Android-based device with one of Amazon’s free Kindle Reading Apps.

So what are you waiting for!

REVIEW: Mommy May I - A.K. Alexander

This was another book that I saw that interested me on the kindle, up to now, I had been buying chick lit/romantic books but this looked an interesting thriller and one genre that I would like to read a little bit
more of.

The description of this was: Helena Shea is putting her life back together. Once a highly paid supermodel and now the owner and CEO of her own modeling agency, a recent bitter scandal that nearly destroyed Helena and the daughter she gave up for adoption years ago seems to be settling down. With a chance to have a relationship with her daughter, Frankie, and the development of a center for wayward young mothers that Helena is funding, it looks as if life is turning around for mother and daughter. However...

A killer raised amidst evil and seeking revenge is targeting Helena. Leaving a trail of blood in his wake, this sadist plans his return into Helena's life. When the madman abducts Frankie, Helena fears she might never see her daughter again. Seeking help from the journalist who almost destroyed her, an FBI agent with suspicions toward her, as well as her ex-lover who is also Frankie’s father, Helena must find the strength to fight past addictions and see her daughter back home again—alive.
Prepare to lock your doors. This eerie thriller will have you up late into the night looking over your shoulder. It is as equally compelling as it is disturbing.

 This was on the whole, a good read, it did take me a little time to get into but once I was there, I was captivated at what was going to happen next. The story was told in a very believable fashion and you could empathise with the characters.

The only negatives I had with this book were that I felt it was not proofread very well, there were spelling mistakes and when you got to the end of the chapter, you had to press next several times, in order to get to the next chapter but the book is cheap and well worth a buy.

This is the cover:

It is available for 86p in the Amazon UK store and $3.51 in the Amazon US store. 

How do you find good books to read on the Kindle?

How do you find the books that are worth reading? How do you find the books that will have you gripped to every page? How do you find the books that you can't stop talking about when you  have finished?

To me, there is nothing better than having a great book, a book that has you gripped from start to finish and that you never want the book to end.. So far, since I have got back into reading,  I have only read one book like that but once you find that book, it is like finding a pot of gold!

Normally when I am on the Amazon kindle store, I use the following method, in order to find really good books:

1. Visit Amazon UK Kindle Store
2. Go to Kindle Bestsellers
3. View the Paid and Free lists
4. Alternatively, I browse by stars: 4 stars and up, 3 stars and up, 2 stars and up and 1 star and up
5. I read the reviews and if I feel it is worth it, pay for it, download and enjoy my new book!

Hope these tips help you!