Thank you to everyone who posted their lists of best books they read in 2011. It's given the rest of us lots of new books and authors to consider.
So, random selection of winners!
Sidney Bristol
Joanne (e.balinski@att.net)
Aerinah
Please email redlinesdeadlines@gmail.com to claim your prize.
What happens in the Cave doesn't always stay there... Conversations and news from Ellora's Cave Publishing, an erotic romance publisher.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
We Made the Lists!
A huge thrill for Ellora's Cave and for our author Laurann Dohner -- Laurann's new book, Brawn, has hit both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! This is our first book on the lists, although we anticipate many more in future.
It was such a major step forward for epublishing when these two lists began tracking ebook sales! NYT has separate print and ebook bestseller lists, and a combined list. USA Today has a combined list.
The New York Times Book Review, January 15, 2012
E-Book Best Sellers (Fiction)
35 BRAWN, by Laurann Dohner. (Ellora’s Cave Publishing.)
It was such a major step forward for epublishing when these two lists began tracking ebook sales! NYT has separate print and ebook bestseller lists, and a combined list. USA Today has a combined list.
The New York Times Book Review, January 15, 2012
E-Book Best Sellers (Fiction)
35 BRAWN, by Laurann Dohner. (Ellora’s Cave Publishing.)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Purging the Paper
by Raelene Gorlinsky
Last weekend my son helped me take 8 large boxes and 18 bags of books to the library, to donate to the semi-annual book sale fundraiser. Well over 700 books! And I've already got another three large bags filled, and will have more in the next few weeks.
Yes, I am purging my personal book collection. There are 8 bookcases in the den, 14 bookcases in my bedroom. And many boxes of books in the storage room. (And this is only the fiction, not counting the nonfiction and reference books.) I'm a book "keeper"--you never know when you might want to reread a book or even just a favorite scene in a book. Unless I disliked or was totally bored by a book, when I finish it I stick it on my shelves. Which is why there is no more space for books or for more bookcases.
So periodically I force myself to go through the shelves and cull books that I haven't looked at in several years. It's excrutiating to give them up, and I am never as firm with myself as necessary. But this time... Well, I'm having the flooring in part of the house replaced (my landlords love me, I spend more on the house than an owner would), which means having to empty and move all those bookcases, and then later put all the furniture back and reorganize all the books onto the shelves. So that's a strong impetous to have fewer books to deal with.
Also, my mind is finally making the subconscious adjustment to a digital future. I no longer have to fear that if I get rid of a book, I may later want it again and be unable to find it. No more haunting used bookstores--there's a good chance I can find most books in future as ebooks.
Not that I won't always want print books. I would never feel comfortable in a building without lots of books to look at and fondle. And I do have a few rare collectibles. But I can cut back a bit, I guess. Of course, I should probably mention that my office here at EC houses the official company library of one copy of each of our print books. Ah, lots of bookcases and books in my office to make me feel cozy...
So what about you? Are you an obsessive keeper of books, or one of those people who gives every book away once you've finished it?
Last weekend my son helped me take 8 large boxes and 18 bags of books to the library, to donate to the semi-annual book sale fundraiser. Well over 700 books! And I've already got another three large bags filled, and will have more in the next few weeks.
Yes, I am purging my personal book collection. There are 8 bookcases in the den, 14 bookcases in my bedroom. And many boxes of books in the storage room. (And this is only the fiction, not counting the nonfiction and reference books.) I'm a book "keeper"--you never know when you might want to reread a book or even just a favorite scene in a book. Unless I disliked or was totally bored by a book, when I finish it I stick it on my shelves. Which is why there is no more space for books or for more bookcases.
So periodically I force myself to go through the shelves and cull books that I haven't looked at in several years. It's excrutiating to give them up, and I am never as firm with myself as necessary. But this time... Well, I'm having the flooring in part of the house replaced (my landlords love me, I spend more on the house than an owner would), which means having to empty and move all those bookcases, and then later put all the furniture back and reorganize all the books onto the shelves. So that's a strong impetous to have fewer books to deal with.
Also, my mind is finally making the subconscious adjustment to a digital future. I no longer have to fear that if I get rid of a book, I may later want it again and be unable to find it. No more haunting used bookstores--there's a good chance I can find most books in future as ebooks.
Not that I won't always want print books. I would never feel comfortable in a building without lots of books to look at and fondle. And I do have a few rare collectibles. But I can cut back a bit, I guess. Of course, I should probably mention that my office here at EC houses the official company library of one copy of each of our print books. Ah, lots of bookcases and books in my office to make me feel cozy...
So what about you? Are you an obsessive keeper of books, or one of those people who gives every book away once you've finished it?
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Best Reads of the Year?
by Raelene Gorlinsky
Okay, everyone’s doing it – making “Best of the Year” lists about everything in the world, including books. Hey, at least we waited until the year was over, to include that book you were reading on New Year’s Eve!
So tell us your top reads of 2011—the books that moved, intrigued or fascinated you; made you rush to buy other books by that author.
Yes, there will be prizes! Probably random drawing amongst the people who post their lists in Comments. Ebooks, t-shirts, hmm, maybe other good stuff.
To kick it off, here are my best reads of 2011 (not necessarily books published that year), in no particular sequence. These represent books that were “different” in my opinion, that had a unique take on a standard theme or a special twist. [Caveat: I have not listed any Ellora’s Cave books, although there were many I loved. Hey, I have to deal with 450+ authors, I’m not going to show preference. ;-) ]
Death Comes to Pemberley – P.D. James (mystery)
Dragon Bound – Thea Harrison
Steam & Sorcery – Cindy Spencer Pape
No Proper Lady – Isabel Cooper
Touched by an Alien – Gini Koch
Archangel’s Consort – Nalini Singh
Never Again – Michele Bardsley
A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness (despite how incredibly frustrating I found the cliffhanger ending)
Your turn!
Okay, everyone’s doing it – making “Best of the Year” lists about everything in the world, including books. Hey, at least we waited until the year was over, to include that book you were reading on New Year’s Eve!
So tell us your top reads of 2011—the books that moved, intrigued or fascinated you; made you rush to buy other books by that author.
Yes, there will be prizes! Probably random drawing amongst the people who post their lists in Comments. Ebooks, t-shirts, hmm, maybe other good stuff.
To kick it off, here are my best reads of 2011 (not necessarily books published that year), in no particular sequence. These represent books that were “different” in my opinion, that had a unique take on a standard theme or a special twist. [Caveat: I have not listed any Ellora’s Cave books, although there were many I loved. Hey, I have to deal with 450+ authors, I’m not going to show preference. ;-) ]
Death Comes to Pemberley – P.D. James (mystery)
Dragon Bound – Thea Harrison
Steam & Sorcery – Cindy Spencer Pape
No Proper Lady – Isabel Cooper
Touched by an Alien – Gini Koch
Archangel’s Consort – Nalini Singh
Never Again – Michele Bardsley
A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness (despite how incredibly frustrating I found the cliffhanger ending)
Your turn!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Publishing Predictions for 2012
Digital Book World has published a list of ten predictions for change in the publishing industry for 2012. None of them are surprising.
1. We will see more self-published best-sellers next year with an exponential rise in the number of million-selling authors.
2. Large publishing companies will go through major restructurings, creating new positions and redundancies of all shapes and sizes.
3. Amazon will come out with a larger tablet with an 8.9-inch screen and it will be priced at $299 or lower.
4. Apple will come out with a smaller iPad at a reduced price.
5. Sony will get a second life in the e-reader game when Pottermore launches in the Spring.
6. Literary agencies will engage in a campaign to communicate the value of their services to the book industry.
7. Authors will become disenchanted with the rights they sign away to publishers. Shorter and more flexible copyright terms will become more attractive to authors.
8. The standard e-book royalty from major publishing houses will rise next year and will escalate with increased sales.
9. Standards of what an app and what a book is will change and apps will eventually be sold in the iBookstore.
10. More publishing companies will form in-house transmedia groups.
1. We will see more self-published best-sellers next year with an exponential rise in the number of million-selling authors.
2. Large publishing companies will go through major restructurings, creating new positions and redundancies of all shapes and sizes.
3. Amazon will come out with a larger tablet with an 8.9-inch screen and it will be priced at $299 or lower.
4. Apple will come out with a smaller iPad at a reduced price.
5. Sony will get a second life in the e-reader game when Pottermore launches in the Spring.
6. Literary agencies will engage in a campaign to communicate the value of their services to the book industry.
7. Authors will become disenchanted with the rights they sign away to publishers. Shorter and more flexible copyright terms will become more attractive to authors.
8. The standard e-book royalty from major publishing houses will rise next year and will escalate with increased sales.
9. Standards of what an app and what a book is will change and apps will eventually be sold in the iBookstore.
10. More publishing companies will form in-house transmedia groups.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
12 Days of Christmas, Editorial Version
The 12 Days of Christmas—for word nerds and grammar geeks
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10268.aspx
For example:
The Ghost of Christmas Future Perfect Passive: "Ebenezer! You will have been disappointed with your life."
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10268.aspx
For example:
The Ghost of Christmas Future Perfect Passive: "Ebenezer! You will have been disappointed with your life."
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Rap to Writing
http://vimeo.com/33410512
A rap video about The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, from students at Columbia Journalism School!
A rap video about The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, from students at Columbia Journalism School!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Winner: Bad Sex in Fiction Award
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/06/david-guterson-bad-sex-award
An over-reliance on coy terms such as "family jewels", "back door" and "front parlour" has won acclaimed American novelist David Guterson the dubious accolade of the Literary Review's bad sex in fiction award.
Guterson, who took the literary world by storm in 1994 with his bestselling debut Snow Falling on Cedars, snaffled the bad sex prize for his fifth novel, Ed King, a modern reimagining of the Oedipus myth. His win was announced in the apt setting of the In & Out Club in London by Carry On star Barbara Windsor; although the American writer was unable to accept his award of a plaster foot in person, he took his triumph in good spirits, saying in response that "Oedipus practically invented bad sex, so I'm not in the least bit surprised".
Guterson edged out strong competition from Haruki Murakami's long-awaited new novel 1Q84, which sees the Japanese writer pen the immortal line: "A freshly made ear and a freshly made vagina look very much alike, Tengo thought".
An over-reliance on coy terms such as "family jewels", "back door" and "front parlour" has won acclaimed American novelist David Guterson the dubious accolade of the Literary Review's bad sex in fiction award.
Guterson, who took the literary world by storm in 1994 with his bestselling debut Snow Falling on Cedars, snaffled the bad sex prize for his fifth novel, Ed King, a modern reimagining of the Oedipus myth. His win was announced in the apt setting of the In & Out Club in London by Carry On star Barbara Windsor; although the American writer was unable to accept his award of a plaster foot in person, he took his triumph in good spirits, saying in response that "Oedipus practically invented bad sex, so I'm not in the least bit surprised".
Guterson edged out strong competition from Haruki Murakami's long-awaited new novel 1Q84, which sees the Japanese writer pen the immortal line: "A freshly made ear and a freshly made vagina look very much alike, Tengo thought".
Monday, November 28, 2011
When Grammar Elements Go Out Drinking
I love this! Maybe this will help you understand when your editor marks "comma splice" or "passive". Dangling modifiers are a particular pet peeve of mine.
From http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/
Jenny sent this along from a FaceBook post by Jeff Blackmer--
A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.
A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink, the bartender asks it to leave.
A question mark walks into a bar?
Two quotation marks "walk into" a bar.
A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.
The bar was walked into by the passive voice.
Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.
From http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/
Jenny sent this along from a FaceBook post by Jeff Blackmer--
A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.
A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink, the bartender asks it to leave.
A question mark walks into a bar?
Two quotation marks "walk into" a bar.
A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.
The bar was walked into by the passive voice.
Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Interesting News & Links
Author Anne McCaffrey died Monday, Nov. 21. She was 85. She was a prolific writer of over 100 science fiction and fantasy novels, with well-known series Pern, Crystal Singer, Freedom, Doona, Tower&Hive, and many others. She won the Hugo and Nebula awards, the Robert A. Heinlein award, was a SFWA Grand Master, and was a NY Times bestseller.
http://www.locusmag.com/News/2011/11/anne-mccaffrey-1926-2011/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=c616a44ee5-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nora Roberts: The woman who rewrote the rules of romantic fiction
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/20/nora-roberts-interview-romance-fiction?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=b1b22915cd-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Amazon Reader Reviews: 12 Things Everybody and His Grandmother Needs to Know
http://annerallen.blogspot.com/2011/11/amazon-reader-reviews-12-things.html
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From the Shelf Awareness e-newsletter (10/12/11), reporting on the Publishers Launch conference:
The digital shift is happening faster than predicted, David Naggar, v-p, global Kindle content acquisition for Amazon, said. Digital now represents 20% of U.S. publishers' sales in dollars, and Amazon is now selling more Kindle books than print books in both the U.S. and U.K. "The transition is happening quickly and accelerating."
Readers who have been Amazon customers for at least a year buy three times as many print and digital books after they purchase a Kindle, David Naggar said.
Nook owners also "consume three times the content than before," Hilt [B&N's v-p of e-books] said, usually "a combination of digital and print." "If they were buying print, they still buy print books and use the Nook to enhance their library. We've learned that the print book isn't dead." In addition, new owners of the Nook buy "a tremendous amount of content for three to six months and then move into a more natural state of usage."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bad Sex Awards shortlist:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/stephen-king-haruki-murakami-top-bad-sex-in-literature-shortlist_b42761
or
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/22/bad-sex-awards-the-contenders?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=7e842f74de-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry
The Final Testament of the Holy Bible by James Frey
Parallel Stories by Péter Nádas
11.22.63 by Stephen King
Ed King by David Guterson
The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M Auel
The Affair by Lee Child
Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas
Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller
Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy
The Great Night by Chris Adrian
http://www.locusmag.com/News/2011/11/anne-mccaffrey-1926-2011/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=c616a44ee5-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nora Roberts: The woman who rewrote the rules of romantic fiction
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/20/nora-roberts-interview-romance-fiction?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=b1b22915cd-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Amazon Reader Reviews: 12 Things Everybody and His Grandmother Needs to Know
http://annerallen.blogspot.com/2011/11/amazon-reader-reviews-12-things.html
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From the Shelf Awareness e-newsletter (10/12/11), reporting on the Publishers Launch conference:
The digital shift is happening faster than predicted, David Naggar, v-p, global Kindle content acquisition for Amazon, said. Digital now represents 20% of U.S. publishers' sales in dollars, and Amazon is now selling more Kindle books than print books in both the U.S. and U.K. "The transition is happening quickly and accelerating."
Readers who have been Amazon customers for at least a year buy three times as many print and digital books after they purchase a Kindle, David Naggar said.
Nook owners also "consume three times the content than before," Hilt [B&N's v-p of e-books] said, usually "a combination of digital and print." "If they were buying print, they still buy print books and use the Nook to enhance their library. We've learned that the print book isn't dead." In addition, new owners of the Nook buy "a tremendous amount of content for three to six months and then move into a more natural state of usage."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bad Sex Awards shortlist:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/stephen-king-haruki-murakami-top-bad-sex-in-literature-shortlist_b42761
or
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/22/bad-sex-awards-the-contenders?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=7e842f74de-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry
The Final Testament of the Holy Bible by James Frey
Parallel Stories by Péter Nádas
11.22.63 by Stephen King
Ed King by David Guterson
The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M Auel
The Affair by Lee Child
Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas
Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller
Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy
The Great Night by Chris Adrian
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