Tag: kindle

Categories
SciFi and Fantasy

Childhood’s End

ChildhoodsEndNexus7
Childhood’s End was a great read on my Nexus 7!

I just finished reading the Science Fiction classic, Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke and right now I am overflowing with emotion. I’ve always been a Science Fiction fan and I suppose should have read this many years ago. But now, being older, and being a parent, this story has touched me on a far deeper and more primal level. Clarke maintains a growing sense of foreboding mixed with only the slightest wisps of hope throughout the story.

My own children have just started to leave home, so Clarke’s tale of human evolution and transformation resonates quite strongly with me. They are moving into a future I will be unable to enter. I’ve seen and read a lot of SF in my time and no one has told this kind of story better than Clarke. I’m sure I would not have appreciated its nuances as a teenager. With that in mind, I think it may be time to start rereading many of the books in my collection!

Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc cosplay

OMG Kawaii Desu!

It really feels good to have finally gotten OMG Kawaii Desu!: A parent’s guide to anime, manga, and cosplay out the door! I started working on the book over a year ago so this baby was already way overdue, LOL! The book is intended to be an instructive tranquilizer for parent’s whose children have gotten into anime, manga, and/or cosplay. It’s the sort of guide meant to read while waiting for your kids at an anime convention. Over the years, I’ve met a number of parents and grandparents in this role. Many really aren’t sure what this stuff the kids are into is all about. This short guide seeks to answer those questions, and, I hope, encourage parents to join the party!

OMG Kawaii Desu!
The book is now available on the Kindle for $1.99 or free to borrow for Amazon Prime members. So check it out and leave a review or rating to let me know what you think. BTW, the cover art is by my totally awesome daughter Vanessa who is herself  OMG Kawaii Desu (really cute)!

Categories
SciFi and Fantasy

Have Some Free SciFi For iPad or iPhone!

Rolled Up Dimensionality CoverEveryone likes free stuff! Yeah, don’t deny it, ya do. From now until the end of the year, you can get a free copy of Rolled Up Dimensionality: Short stories from a forgotten life from the Apple iBookstore readable on the iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch!

This eBook is also available on the Kindle and Nook, but I can’t set the price to free there unless enough readers tell Amazon and Barnes & Noble that the eBook is now free on the iPad. So if you want it free on Kindle and Nook, please let them know!

Enjoy!

Categories
Anime, Manga, Etc Tech

Bought My First eBook: Japanamerica

A couple of days ago, I bought my first ebook. I bought Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S.. I bought the Kindle version for my iPhone and so far, I’m pretty happy with it. As a life long book lover, I’m both pleased and surprised at how this came about.

Reading digital books was not the reason I got an iPhone. And while the Kindle, Nook, and other book readers are attractive, they just weren’t a top priority item for me. Digital books are a good idea and long overdue, especially for heavy laden school children, but I was in no rush to get there. But now that I’ve slipped in through the side door, I’m glad I came. The iPhone screen is pretty much perfect for the extremely casual sort of reading I would be doing on such a device and so far at least, I’m not seeing any downsides to this at all. Of course, that’s bad news for anyone trying to sell dedicated book readers, unless they get a lot less expensive.

I ended up buying a book because I was in an adventurous mood and decided to try out the Kindle reader for iPhone. I was hoping there would be some free books available like the Barnes and Noble Reader had. And I wanted to compare the two readers. There weren’t any free books, but there was a sample available of the Japanamerica book. So I downloaded that and started reading, got hooked on it and bought it. Ultimately, the content made the sale, and since I usually buy books from Amazon anyway, it was easy for me to buy one more.

I still like physical books, and have no plans to stop buying them, especially since some, like manga, wouldn’t be good on the iPhone’s screen. But from now one I’ll definitely be looking for a digital version.