Random Stuff: Reading, Of Monsters & Men, Ticket To Ride
Instead of bombarding you with multiple posts today for some random stuff, I thought I would combine them into one post..
First up: reading. Over the past 18 months, I have concentrated on reading only completed series (with only a couple of exceptions). I did that because I found that if I had 1 year (or more) between reading books in a series, I often forgot important details. However, I am finding I don't enjoy reading several books in a row of the same series like I used to. And I miss reading a lot of the new books coming out (and being able to discuss them on the blog and/or forums). So I plan to mix in more new books. I will also continue to mix in some reading in the thriller genre, too.
Second: Ticket To Ride. I bought my first Euro boardgame (as these types of games seem to be called) for the iPad a couple of weeks ago, and it took me a week to finally play it. I've always thought I would like strategic board games, but I don't have anyone around me to play them with. So the idea of being able to play against the computer has always been intriguing, though when I had an iPad 1 (original) I never made the leap to purchase any boardgames to play on it. I resolved to fix that when I bought the new iPad, and Ticket To Ride was my first purchase. I won't go over the description of the game, the link above will take you to the iTunes store for that info. But I did want to say the game is a blast to play against the computer. There are a few different computer opponents to choose from, and you can play against more than 1 of them..thus you could play a 3 player game against 2 computer opponents if you wanted. So far, all my games have been 2 player games against 1 computer opponent. The game also supports online multiplayer and local multiplayer. In other words, there are many ways you can play against computer opponents, and real opponents (both local and all over the world). While I have only played the US board that comes with the game, there are several other boards you can buy with an IAP (in app purchase). The game goes by pretty quickly...my 2 players games against the computer are usually over in 10 minutes. It is the kind of game where you want to sneak in just one more, so if you aren't careful, 90 minutes will go by before you know it. If you like strategy board games and own an iPad, I highly recommend this one. And if you want to play me online sometime, let me know. It would be neat to have a game with one or more of you one evening. Next up, I hope to play Carcassonne soon.
Third: Of Monsters And Men, My Head Is An Animal album. I somehow missed out on the Mumford and Sons craze, though I liked all the songs I heard on the radio by them. Of Monsters and Men is often compared to Mumford And Sons, so if you like MaS, you should like Of Monsters and Men (OMaM so I don't have to keep typing their full name). I usually don't go for the guy/girl lead singer bands, especially if they are in the folksy genre. But there is something about this band and their music that appeals to me in a big way, despite it being a bit different from my usual sound. At times, the songs can have a really driving beat, and the background chants add an extra oomph. I don't normally associate the folksy type music with the kind I want to turn up loud and sing along, or that would make good driving music. OMaM are an exception in many ways for me. At times, their sound reminds me of the Springsteen Seeger Sessions band...a bit of folk & americana, but with a rock sound, too. This one is highly recommended, and might by my favorite album of 2012 so far (at least until the new Gaslight Anthem album comes out sometime this summer).
Fourth: The Fantasy Series Ending in 2012 page has been updated to fill in some books for October-December. I will continue to update that page once or twice a month.
Fifth: I also updated the Fantasy E-Book Deals page yesterday, though I didn't find anything new to add..just found several books to remove. I need to make more of an effort to update the Thriller E-Book Deals page more regularly. I updated a couple of publishers on that page earlier this week, but never got around to checking the rest of them. I might try to update it at random times over the course of today, so keep an eye on it if you are interested in thriller e-book deals.
Some Interesting Forthcoming Release Dates Plus Commentary (Abercrombie, Weeks, Others)
While updating the fantasy ebook deals page this morning (sorry, no new deals to report, but I did remove a few that had expired), I decided to browse the new release list on Amazon. I ran across some interesting finds and thought I would list some of them here. Some of these dates are so far in the future, I wouldn't take them as official. But sometimes its fun to see a date for a book you are really waiting for, even if you know you can't trust the date. So below are some of the interesting finds...
-The Gully Dwarves: The Lost Histories, Book 5 by Dan Parkinson (Kindle edition publishing on Jan 1, 2035. Preorder now to beat the rush in 23 years. In reality, I am guessing Jan 1, 2035 is the default pub date in the Amazon system if the publisher forgets to include a pub date. Or its just a simple error.)
-Red Country by Joe Abercrombie (this is mostly likely more of a hopeful date, but Amazon is listing Nov 20, 2012 as the release date)
-The Parasol Protectorate Boxed Set: Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless and Timeless by Gail Carriger ($19.99 isn't too bad for a 4 ebook omnibus. Coming Oct 23, 2012. Print edition is listed for $39, on sale for $29)
-Legends of the Dragonrealm: Shade by Richard Knaak (those Dragonrealm omnibus novels have sold well enough to enable the author to write a brand new story in this world. Publishing in September 2012)
-The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer) by Brent Weeks (Sept 11, 2012...I have a feeling this date is probably correct. No real basis for that, just a hunch)
-Night Angel: The Complete Trilogy by Brent Weeks (coming in April. The ebook price is listed as $19.99, while the print book can be bought for about $13. I know publishers can't do much about the sale price of physical books, but still seems like $19.99 is a bit high for a 3 ebook omnibus. I would say $17.99, so the avg price is just under $6 per book)
-The Kingmaker, Kingbreaker Series by Karen Miller (August 14, 2012. Another omnibus, this one containing just 2 books. Kindle price $15.99, print sale price $10.87. This digital price I will flat out say is too high. You can buy the individual ebooks for $7.99. Who the heck is gonna pay more for the omnibus? Sure it is only $0.01 more, but its more about the reasoning behind the price I don't understand. I mean, what is the advantage of buying the digital omnibus if you aren't going to save any money? There are no other advantages like saving shelf space (an advantage of the physical book omnibus). Anyway, I think the max price on this 2 ebook omnibus should be $12.99)
-Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories by John Jackson Miller (July 31, 2012..this is a collection of the 8 short stories/novellas for $4.99 digital, $7.99 mmpb. The interesting thing here is that the 8 ebook editions are all free. So why pay $4.99 when you can get the 8 stories individually for free? Because the collection has a never before published finale! Thus, folks who have read the series get to pay $4.99 for the bonus story, even though the 8 ebook series is being marketed as complete. Sure, it was nice of the publisher to make the first 8 ebook short stories free. No arguing that. But it seems a bit of a bait to say "hey, here is a complete story across 8 short ebooks. And its totally free!" then later publish another book, for a price, that has an "explosive, never-before published finale". So was the 8 book short story complete, or not? Or was it just a way to suck readers in, then get them to pay for the real ending? Maybe I'm just being cynical this morning. But having to pay $4.99 to read the "real" ending seems wrong. There should be an ebook with only the "new finale" for sale, maybe $2.99. Just to be clear, I'm not upset with the $4.99 price itself. I don't like how it feels readers might have been manipulated into buying the omnibus due to this new finale. I mean, here is the first line of the description for the upcoming 8th ebook: It’s the beginning of the end for this epic series in the thrilling final eBook installment, Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith #8: Secrets. Sounds like the last book, right? But we know that is not true, hence my irritation..even though I have no plans to read this, as it is a SF series).
I guess that is enough rambling for one post. Thoughts?
Discussion: Taking Advantage of Pricing Mistakes. Is It Theft?
I always feel a bit guilty when I post about (probable) publisher's mistakes, like yesterday with the Orcs:Inferno novel by Stan Nichols. Note that I'm also the guy that points out pricing mistakes if a store doesn't charge enough...say the price on something is $9.99 and it rings up $6.99, I almost always mention it to the cashier to make sure the lower price is correct. Weird, I know, but that's how I roll
Anyway, it got me to wondering. Is it unethical to take advantage of a publisher's mistake and buy books that are free when you are sure they shouldn't be free? I guess you could make the argument that you can never be 100% sure that a book is free due to a pricing mistake. But I think it is pretty safe to assume a brand new book is not going to be given away, especially during the pre-order phase and when the publisher is a major publishing house. Yeah, the big publishers will sometimes lower a book's price to $0.99 or $1.99 when the author has a new book coming out. However, giving the digital book away for free prior to its release is not normally done. Hence, I would say at least 95% of the time its going to be due to a mistake by the person at the publisher who is responsible for uploading the book to Amazon (and setting its price).
What do you think..is it wrong to take advantage of a mistake and get a book for free that you know shouldn't be free? While I normally will go through with buying the free book, it makes me feel dirty. Almost as if I was stealing the book. Technically I know I'm not stealing. Morally is a lot more unclear.
The William Morrow Blogger Hubbub
I guess I should start this off by hoping I spelled "hubbub" correctly 
It seems there is a bit of a stir going around the blogs and I find myself to be a minority of one (so far) in finding no major problem with the letter Morrow sent to some bloggers. You can find the entire letter here. Larry and Pat posted their opinions, so check those links to see how little they agreed with the letter, then come back here for my thoughts. Overall, I don't see what the big deal is with this. I understand Larry's points and see where he is coming from, but ultimately I don't think Morrow is being unreasonable. So let's break down the letter (I'll break it down in the same order as Larry, and try to offer my take on things.
Under the new system, you will no longer receive titles piece-meal. Instead, you'll receive 1-3 emails during the month with all of our upcoming titles available for your review, one month ahead of the on-sale date. You'll be directed to a Google form where you can request up to three of your choices. Of course, we'll still happily pay the shipping. Your job is simply to review the book within a month of receiving it and post your thoughts on your blog or site. Ideally, we'd like for reviews to appear online within two weeks to a month after the on-sale date, so you might keep this in mind when selecting books.
Now I admit that using the words "Your job is.." is unfortunate. I'll assume they don't mean that literally and intend it to read more like "What we would like you to do". I think it makes a lot of sense for them to stop sending out unsolicited review copies, and instead only send them to reviewers that have specifically asked for the book. Totally understandable that they want to cut costs by not sending out a ton of books that a lot of reviewers might have no interest in reviewing. Also, I see no problem with them wanting a timely review, since that first month is so important to both the author and the publisher.
When you've reviewed a book you've chosen and sent us an email with a link to the posted review, you will be eligible for a free giveaway copy. Just let us know in the email that you'd like to host a giveaway. We'll pay for the shipping to the winner within the US and Canada.
I can see how some take this as a pay-off kinda thing. We review (and thus promote) their book, and they will give us a giveaway copy that in turn gives some publicity to the blog. Now, if the giveaway copy is restricted to bloggers who posted a positive review, then I've got a problem with it. If the giveaway copy is available regardless of the content of the review, then I don't have a problem with it. I'll be the first to admit I can be naive and take things at face value. But to me, this just sounds like a "hey, since you took the time to promote (review) our book, we'll give you a copy to promote your blog". So as long as there are NO CONDITIONS ON THE CONTENT OF THE REVIEW, I don't think a blogger is a "sellout", or that their reviews are now suspect because they agreed to these new rules.
Additionally, you'll no longer receive books that you didn't order. No more random books showing up on your doorstep! You'll only receive the titles that you want.
Not much to say here..taking this sentence in isolation, how you can argue there is something wrong with Morrow wanting to stop sending unsolicited books? I almost never request review copies anymore, and haven't for well over 2 years (partially because when I did request a copy of a book from Orbit/Pyr/Tor, I didn't get them so I quit asking. I point this out not to whine about my lack of review copies, but to point out the fact that I have no hidden agenda. I basically have no relationship with any publishers at this point for some reason. Thus I am not making these arguments to defend myself or my "publisher friends".). I do still get some unsolicited copies, and 90% of them are SF, Urban Fantasy, or Paranormal romance. Three genres I never read and will never review. I have no idea how I got on the wrong list for a couple of publishers. Its pretty obvious I read only epic fantasy (and sometimes espionage), yet of the 30 or so review copies I have received this year, maybe 5 of them were epic fantasy (pretty much all of those from J.G. at Tor). In other words, those other 25 books I received go straight to the used book store...a total waste of money for the publishers who sent them to me. I tried a couple of times to email them to clarify what I read and don't read, but nothing happened. I think cases like mine are one of the big reasons this letter from Morrow came about.
If it isn't already clear, WE LOVE THAT YOU LOVE OUR BOOKS! And to allow us to continue to offer free copies and free shipping to you committed book reviewers, we will be tracking how many reviews we receive from you. If we notice that you request books but aren't posting your comments or sending us the link, we may suspend your ability to receive review offers from us. We know you're busy bloggers – if you don't think you'll be able to post a review within a month, please pass on that offer so we can continue to offer you free books in the future!
I can see how the above comments look a bit shady, since it pretty much states that if you request books and don't review them, you might stop getting books. On the other hand, I don't see a problem with it. Why should they continue to send books if a reviewer continually promises to review their books, but doesn't? Bloggers aren't entitled to review copies. If I accept that their proposition to only send out copies to those who request them is ok, how can I have a problem if they eventually stop sending books to bloggers who explicitly agree to review books (by requesting a copy), but don't follow through with the review? Heck, I'm guessing this is why I don't get review copies from Orbit, Pyr, etc...even when I reviewed more often, it was still way less than other bloggers. Thus they weren't really getting a return on their costs of sending me books. If they had a limited number of ARCs to send out, it makes sense for them to give priority to those who post reviews more often.
I think when you really examine this argument as a whole, I think it comes down to the fact that I don't think blogger reviewers are on the same level as those for a major newspaper or magazine. Before my fellow bloggers start hating me (maybe its already too late)...I don't mean that in terms of writing quality. I just mean that (I think) most reviewers for newspapers and magazines are professional reviewers...reviewing is their job/career. For most bloggers (I assume), reviewing is just an extension of the hobby they love (reading). Maybe my opinions are tainted because I don't take my reviews seriously cuz I think I can't write a quality review. But I just don't have a problem with there being one set of rules for reviewers for major newspapers/magazines, and another set of rules for blogger reviewers. I know I might continue to be a minority of one in this, and every other blogger will completely disagree. In the end, I would have no problem agreeing to the intent of the Morrow letter. And I wouldn't feel like a chump, or an untrustworthy reviewer, for doing it.
And just for the record, I don't have any ties to William Morrow. I've only received one review copy from them...2 years ago. It was a Tim Dorsey book that I specifically asked for, and still haven't read. At the time of the request, I had read every Dorsey book so I assumed it was safe to request (as I felt it was a sure bet I would review it). At the time, there was no conditions on my review copy. But I still felt guilty asking for the book and never reviewing it. I actually continue to buy Dorsey's books with the hope of finally getting caught up at some point.
What are your thoughts? (I ask as I put on my flame retardant suit)
To Read Only Completed Series (Or Not)
I know I have talked about this topic before, but I thought it would make a good holiday week discussion. Plus, I'm struggling again with my answer. I thought I would get some feedback from you guys/gals and see how you approach this (since I know some of you are new since I last discussed this).
Note: I have tried to write this post a few times and can't seem to get my thoughts together..so this post is probably a little scattered.
The question: To read only completed series, or read books in a series as they are published?
Before I started the blog (3 or 4 years ago now..4 I think), I used to read only completed series. I liked to read each book consecutively, with no waiting period between. That way I didn't forget as many details and storylines. And I just felt more connected with the series as a whole. I guess the momentum from reading one book after the other made the story feel more cohesive. Plus, I like knowing how things end without having to wait a long time. I'm impatient that way. However, once I started blogging and getting review copies, I started reading books as they were published. Over time, I realized I sometimes had trouble remembering characters and story lines from the previous book(s). Then I wondered if forgetting those details was leading to decreased enjoyment in my reading. This led to the decision late last year to start reading (mostly) completed series once again. The funny thing now is that I find I don't want to read 5 or 10 books in a row of the same series. In fact, apparently I don't like reading just 2 books from the same series back to back. I see new books coming out every week that I want to read, making my to read list longer and longer.
For the past 10-12 months, I have tried to stick to my "completed series only" rule, even knowing that I am having to force myself to do it. I feel like I have over-analyzed the situation and paralyzed my reading. In fact, I think this new rule is the primary reason I have read WAY less books this year than any other year of my life. On one hand, I want to read only completed series because in my younger days that is how I read, and I wondered if breaking that rule was leading to a "lesser" reading experience. On the other hand, I see all these new books coming out each month that I want to read..and if I wait until the series is complete..I could be waiting 3, 4, 5 or more years. And waiting to read (until the series is complete) leads to an ever increasing backlog of books. Plus, its fun to read, review, and talk about books as they are published. And I miss the excitement of new release Tuesdays. For example, if I am in the middle of reading Malazan (which I am, as I am just on The Bonehunters)..I know that will take me several months. That means for those months, the new list of books each week is basically meaningless (since my reading schedule is set for quite a long time).
I guess in the end I miss the excitement of seeing the new book releases each week. And I miss reading and talking about books when everyone else on the forums and blogs are talking about them. And with so many books in my to-read pile, I find it extremely difficult to read 2 books from the same series in a row. So I think I've decided to start reading books as they are published once again. And if I forget details of the previous book in a series, I'll just do a search for blog reviews and use them to refresh my memory. I'm gonna try that for awhile and see if I can regain some excitement for reading.
With all that said...how do you approach reading? Do you read books as they are published, or do you prefer to wait until a series is complete? And why?
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