25 January 2013

Mrs Readalot Discovers eBooks (and alternate realities)


Mrs Readalot got a tablet for Christmas. You know what this means... she can now read eBooks.
First of all she downloaded the Kindle app. Then she explored Amazon looking for cheap eBooks, but couldn't find anything that took her fancy. And why fork out money for a book you can't slip under your pillow? Nothing can replace the joy of turning actual paper pages, right?

Nervous Mrs Readalot really didn't know where to begin. Until she talked to her friend Lyns and heard about Overdrive. The library app.
Where you find your local library and download eBooks to read for free.
Surely it can't be that easy?

Mrs Readalot downloaded the Overdrive app. She searched for Auckland Library. Yep, there it is. She signed in with her library card... and started looking for eBooks to request.

[Lyns introduced me to the Overdrive Library App]

Jodi Picoult, she's always a good read. Request a few of them.
How about Stephen Lawhead... has he written anything new? Oh! A whole new series. Time travel and alternate realities??? Written by one of Mrs Readalot's favourite authors? Wahoo.

Within a few days of requesting the titles, Mrs R got a notification they were available to download. (You keep them on your device for up to three weeks, then "return" them and delete after your borrowing period is up. Mrs R is a fast reader so she got through three or four books easily within two weeks).

[I love my tablet - but so does everyone else]
How did reading on the tablet compare to reading a paper book? Well, it was actually easier while camping! No need to hold a torch up to read the pages; the screen glows all by itself. Mrs Readalot is now fully sold on eBooks. She loves how the eBooks automatically open to where she was reading last (the kids were always moving her books and losing her pages, before).

Mrs Readalot is totally raving about the Library Overdrive app. So easy, and FREE. Download it and look for your local library, then sign in with your library card for a bunch of FREE eBooks. Do it. And since you'll be getting new books to read for free, you can join in with Bookclub more often! (see below)


Mrs Readalot Loves Stephen Lawhead's Bright Empires Series

BOOK 1: THE SKIN MAP
BOOK 2: THE BONE HOUSE
BOOK 3: THE SPIRIT WELL


I absolutely love this latest series from Stephen Lawhead. It's like nothing else I've ever read. I've always loved this author's ability to paint history so vividly, to dig deeper than the usual answers and create fascinating characters and riveting plots with a thread of the familiar running through them.

The Bright Empires series takes the premise of Ley Lines* as doors to alternate realities and opens up a whole new world / universe / multiverse of possibilities.
Parallel realities, time travel, alternate universes. It's a fascinating idea, so well written and fast paced.
This is the best series I've read in ages. I got the first two books as eBooks on Overdrive from the Library. The third book is only recently published and only available in hardback. I couldn't wait. I had to have it, so I ordered it from Book Depository and it arrived yesterday. I can't wait to dive into it. Two more books are planned in the series, so I'll have to be patient before I get to discover the end, but at least Stephen Lawhead writes faster than George R.R. Martin!
I'm trying to think of books you might have also read, which are comparable, but there's nothing. These are truly original stories, well written, addictive and more-ish.

Kind of Diana Gabaldon (without all the sex), meets Tad Williams meets Suzanne Collins.
If you're not sure it'll be your thing, hey, just download the Overdrive app and find your local library. Read it for free. Can't go wrong really.

Stephen Lawhead also wrote other great series: The Arthurian Legend series, The Robin Hood Series and many others, all great reads. For other books of his I've reviewed go here

(Ley Lines = lines of energy which run in certain areas, often marked out by the Ancients with standing stones etc) 


MRS READALOT GIVES THE BRIGHT EMPIRES BOOKS:





buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery                  buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery


Find a Book on BookDepository...



If you are a keen reader, we'd love you to join in with our bloggy bookclub.
How it works:
  • Book Club members take turns choosing the Book of the Month and hosting the linky
  • You can choose to read & review either the Book of the Month or a book of your choice
  • Anyone can join in the linky fun - you don't have to be a signed up member
  • Members are kept up to date via email, so nobody misses their chance to link up or host
  • Linkies go up on the host's blog at the beginning of the month and remain open all month 
Mrs Readalots bloggy Bookclub

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Mama’s Losin’ It
I'm also joining in with mama Kat's writers workshop, "sharing what I'm reading"

January Book Club is being Hosted by Rachel from Rachel Cotterill Books


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