Read 'The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner' for free online

Looks like Stephanie Meyer's latest book in the Twilight series "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" is going to be another best seller. She's literally milking the cow while she can.

Anyway, as a gift to her fans, you can read the story for free online till midnight EST on July 5th. Thanks Stephanie.

I told my wife but she plans to buy the novella anyway.

Buy "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" on Amazon.com $7.54

Free books

Quite recently I received an unexpected gift, or should I say gifts - four great books for free. These were books we had reviewed as part of the initial judging panels of the Inaugural 2009 Warwick Prize for Writing. Of the four, three were actually in the long list, namely, Glister (fiction) by John Burnside, Planet of Slums by Mike Davies and Brasyl (Sci-fi/ fiction) by Ian McDonald. I particularly liked Brasyl.

The one that didn't make it is 'Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum' by Richard Fortey which is kind of interesting in a way.

Naomi Klein ultimately took the prize for her book 'The Shock Doctrine' (I have her signed book as well).

These books should keep me occupied for a while.  Looking forward to the books they have short-listed for next year's prize.

The Freemium model

The 'Freemium model' is the latest concept from Chris Armstrong, Editor-in-chief of Wired and best known for his 'Long Tail' theory.

I read the exclusive interview with the author on the 123-reg blog, where Chris discusses his latest concept and clarifies some misconceptions about the Long Tail theory. He also shares his thoughts on social networking as well.

In the interview, Chris mentions how online companies "experiment with giving away one thing to sell something else." I guess commercial blogs work with the same principle but in a slightly different way. That is why you see ads and sponsored posts on a number of popular blogs.

I specially found the interview with Chris really interesting because it is quite relevant to my doctoral research topic. It was also the first time I heard about the social networking site Ning (www.ning.com). That doesn't sound good for someone who's doing research on the Internet and show how no one can claim to be a "Net Guru" as the Internet is evolving so quickly with new applications and sites emerging every day. Looking forward to his new book.

Advantages of incorporating your business

Stephen L. Nelson is the author of the bestsellers, Quicken for Dummies and QuickBooks for Dummies books. He is the author of more than 150 books, which have have sold more than 4,000,000 copies in English and have been translated into several other languages.

He has recently come out with self-published do-it-yourself Fast Easy Incorporation Kits and limited liability company formation kits. He actually makes more money from these kits than from his two bestsellers. The website Fasteasyincorporationkits.com, provides basic information about Subchapter S corporations.

According to Nelson, the two benefits of incorporating a business are namely Minimizing liability and Minimizing Income and Payroll Taxes. Go on to his site to find out more.

A simple way to self-publish

Are you an aspiring author but have no idea how to go about publishing your book?

You may very well be the next JK Rowling but unfortunately convincing the various, well established publishing houses otherwise may prove to be the biggest hurdle. Even if you do convince them, they might take away most of the control over the book while giving you a paltry sum as a royalty.

You may want to consider a new way of publishing a book, by Self Publishing with AuthorHouse. This leading self-publishing company was established in 1997 and have since then has helped over 25,000 authors to self publish their book.

The best part is that you as a author retain all rights and control decisions regarding the publishing and ultimate marketing of their book. After it is published you won't even have to worry about the marketing of the book as it will available for order at more than 25,000 retail outlets worldwide, online at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, well as their own online book store.

Rowling set to start another series

For those traumatised by the end of the extremely popular Harry Potter series, don't worry!

The latest rumour on the grapevine is that Rowling is working on yet another series of books - following the adventures of Ron and Hermione as they grow up and get married. There might be a TV series on the line as well.

Tags: harry potter jk rowling ronald weasley hermione granger

My copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Oops! I should make that OUR COPY of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (my wife wants to read it first). Drove down to the nearby Morrisons and grabbed a copy. I was quite surprised because there was so many copies left. I had expected the shelves to be half empty at least. Read my post "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows price war".



There was an elderly couple in front of me at the payment counter and they were really surprised when I told them it cost only £4.99. The husband quickly ran to the display near the entrance to grab a copy for their grandchild.

"People were queuing up for it at midnight", the lady told me. "Yeah!" I replied, "they didn't need to".

Tags: harry potter harry potter and the deathly hallows morrisons

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows price war

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) is $17.99 on Amazon.com. On the other hand, it is £8.99 on the Amazon UK site.

Compare that with what UK supermarket chain Morrisons is offering. The last Harry Potter book is only £4.99 here. No! I won't be queuing up anywhere when the clock strikes midnight. However, I will be rushing there tomorrow morning and hope that there are still some copies left. If not, my next choice will be Asda where it is going for £5.

It is still £8.87 at Tesco and Sainsbury's.

Waterstone's and Woolworths are sellingit at £8.99 per copy while it is £10.99 at WH Smith.

The price war is on in Malaysia too. According to a news report, bookstores here are protesting against hypermarkets Carrefour and Tesco, slashing the price of the book from the recommended retail price of RM109.90 to RM69.90. The four major bookstores there, namely MPH, Popular, Harris and Times announced at a press conference, that they would not sell the last Harry Potter book. Cry babies!

Updated: 22 July 2007

Tags: harry potter harry potter and the deathly hallows morrisons

Harry Potter theme park

Even though the story is going to end soon, the magic is going to live on.

Artist's impression of Hogwarts

According to news reports, Warner Bros. will create a theme park called "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" within Universal Orlando Resorts.

The theme park will even have a Hogwarts castle.

I am not really sure about the opening date. Some reports say 2009 while others say 2010.

Read the full report below:

Tags: harry potter orlando theme park warner bros

The art of bonsai

Was introduced to the art (and some say, science) of bonsai as a kid when I discovered a book on it, in my father's bookcase. It really fascinated me and I finally understood why my uncle kept pruning that small plant of his.

Bonsai comes from the Japanese words "Bon" meaning "tray" and "Sai", "growing" or "planting". It literally means potted plant and refers to plants grown in containers and miniaturized aesthetically.

You may ask what makes it different from other potted plants. One of my friends actually thought that they were genetically dwarfed plants when he found out that a small tree growing in a pot was more than 20 years old. They are NOT genetically dwarfed.

The Bonsaigardener.org, is a great site if you are interested in learning more about bonsai. Erik Olsen, the webmaster of the site, has written more than 200 articles about the hobby. I really liked one titled "Geeks Turning to Bonsai to Combat Stress".

He's the author of Bonsai Gardening Secrets, which you can download from the site. You can also sign up for a free bonsai email course.

Tags: bonsai gardening

Publish your book online

If you are an aspiring author, I am sure you want an easy way to get it out to the public as soon as possible. You may want to take a look at Amira Press, a relatively new comer in the book publishing industry. According to Yvette A. Lynn, CEO of the company and author herself:

"our mission is to provide an experience so far out of the ordinary, that our readers will look to stay lost forever in the worlds our writers have created for the reader's enjoyment."

They require new authors in most genres of fiction, including romance, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, futuristic, young adult, etc. However, writers of horror, children's stories and erotica should go somewhere else as Amira Press doesn't accept these genres.

If you do have written something and on the look out for a publisher, check out the submission guidelines here: http://www.amirapress.com/submissions.htm

It should also be noted that Amira Press is a royalty-paying publisher and no fees to authors at all.

I was going through some of the titles they have and most of them seem to be romance titles. The prices start from $2.50. Not much of a fan of romance novels and would love to see some science fiction titles on their list.

What's the Ultimate Gift

Life is how you live it ...
not how you spend it.

That is the message behind the new movie, "The Ultimate Gift" which will be released on March 9.

Starring Academy Award nominee and “Little Miss Sunshine” star Abigail Breslin, James Garner, Ali Hillis, Drew Fuller and Brian Dennehy, this movie is based on the book of the same name by Jim Stovall, which has so far sold 4 million copies.

This is not your typical popcorn movie but rather a values-oriented, heartfelt one with a social message. It is based on the message that "The only way you can truly get more out of life for yourself is to give part of yourself away.”


I was amazed to learn that the movie has made such an impact even before it's official release, with over $5 million in donations to charity. Schools are already incorporating the message into their curriculum and has even resulted in a unique teen charity initiative called “Show Of Hands".

I have already read the book and I can truly tell you that it really made quite an impact on me. Just can't wait to see the movie version. You can view a short teaser clip of the movie on youTube here.

This is the official site of the movie "The Ultimate Gift" and the grass-roots movement its starting to help charities and give to others.
Tags: Ultimate Gift Movies Abigail Breslin Jim Stovall

Harry Potter out in July

J. K. Rowling has announced on her official site that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7),” the last and 7th installment in the Harry Potter series will be released on the 21st of July this year.

Rowling "admitted she felt an 'incredible sense of achievement' upon completion of the series, but couldn't help feeling despair at the same time." Source - andPOP.

The book is already on the best-seller lists at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Related posts:
- Harry Potter news

Tags: Books Harry Potter Rowling

Harry Potter news

Orders for the final Harry Potter book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (Yes! That's the name of the 7th book. Read here) reached the No 1 spot after customers were allowed to book it on Amazon.co.uk

That's quite amazing considering the fact that author J.K. Rowling has not quite completed writing the book neither has the price been set. The book is priced at £13.99.

On the Amzon.co.uk site:

Availability: Not yet published: you may still order this title. We will dispatch it to you when we receive it from the publisher. Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.

Amazon has not opened pre-orders in the United States as yet.

Related posts:
- Harry Potter Mania
- Goblet of Fire
Related links:
- No pottering about when it's Harry Potter

Tags: Amazon Books Harry Potter Rowling

Cheapest books ever

I am slowly but steadily building up a small collection of books again. Yesterday I just put down Tolkien's The Hobbit.

For those who are not aware, this exciting story is the prequel to the Lord of the Rings and also tells us how Bilbo Baggins (the main character) found the One Ring. There are some rumours that Oscar winning director Peter Jackson is going to shoot the movie adaptation of this book soon.

I bought this book along with Frank Herbert's Chapter House Dune, the final book in his series of six Dune novels for a mere 50p (approx. RM3.48). I also bought a limited edition Official Annual 1981 issue of Superman (hard cover) and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (hard cover) for 50p each. Where did I get this amazing deal?

Well! I bought all of them last Sunday at the car boot sale in Stoneleigh. The best part is that all of the books, apart from The Hobbit, are in pristine condition. Looking forward to next Sunday and some more great deals.

p.s. I just realised that my daughter has a bigger collection than mine.

Related posts:
- Car Booty in Coventry
- Led Zeppelin and the evil one

Related links:
- theonering.net
- theonering.com

Tags: Car boot sale CJ's Car Boot Dune Hobbit Tolkien