Life was so much easier before E-books: A Mini Rant

So over the last 6 months or so, I’ve become more accustomed to reading e-books (mostly on my phone). Call it keeping up with the times if you will. Now I’ve always been partial to the printed word, and even now still prefer it to its electronic equivalent. However e-books have many advantages which I’m not going to point out today, since we’ve all read the many posts on books vs. E-readers etc. But despite all the advantages that e-books present us with, I must admit...life was so much easier before them (or at least my technologically incompetent self thinks so). Physical books came in one format, paperback...well 2 really if you include hardbacks as well, but let’s not get into semantics. It was simple back in the day, you walk into a store pick up the book you wanted and WaBam! done. 

But nowadays, the skill of reading isn’t enough for you to be able to read a book, you have to posses the coveted skill of technology. My recent experience has given me an eye-opener on how difficult it can be at times with e-books and the frustration that comes along with mucking around and moving files to the many devices you have etc. Recently I downloaded a book, which was in .ascm file (which is apparently to do with copyright and sharing files), so anyway I had to authorise my version of Adobe Digital Editions, which then converted the file into a PDF. It seemed simple at first, but the hard part came... when I wanted to transfer the same file over to my phone.

The transferring part was easy, I mean to say I’m not so incompetent I don’t know how to copy and paste...but then the file wouldn’t import into my Aldiko app...my problem solving went as follows

Step 1: I was advised to try another file locating devise for my phone called ‘Astro’. Downloaded it, still couldn’t open up the file.

Step 2: Ok, so the file is a PDF, how about I just open it with Adobe Reader on my phone. Nope, not going to happen. 

Step 3: Back to the computer, how about I convert this Mother Fucker into an epub, that will solve all my problems. Programme can’t do that, because the file is DRM (Digital Rights Management) protected.

Step 6*:  See if there’s an Aldiko app update for my phone. Why, hello, I’ve been using the wrong Aldiko app this entire time....

Step 7: YAY! Finally got the file on my phone and into the correct Aldiko App, which I also had to DRM authorise in order to open the book. Start reading happily...then, hmm I wonder how I can increase the font size. WRONG, PDF files don’t change text size, but I can zoom in. (Less enthusiastic Yay)

Step 8: Write long ranting blog post about how e-books are utterly confusing. Done!

*(Steps 4 and 5 have been skipped due to their embarrassing nature ie. tearing my hair out and cursing to the heavens)

OVERALL LESSONS LEARNT 

• Check I'm using the correct app on my phone and don't assume the reading app that came with the phone is of any use. 

• Authorizing Adobe Digital Editions with an ID, allows you to transfer files between devices legally. otherwise you can only read them on the device you originally downloaded to. 

• E-books are an increasing trend, with more and more independent authors publishing their works in e-reader format, but I still prefer the old ways. Call me old school if you must :)

I’m pretty new to E-books, so I’m probably in the minority with this problem, plus I don’t have a ‘proper’ e-reader which makes life more difficult. But has anything frustrating like this happened to you?

Review - Pushing The Limits (Katie McGarry)

   Synopsis

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.    -Goodreads.com

 

 My Review

This book is an emotional rollercoaster; a good one, that is hard to get off once you’ve started. I’m usually not one to get overly emotional about a book (besides the occasional fan girl moment), but this book actually had me weeping, and I haven’t cried reading a book since I was about 12. 

My emotional range when reading this book: 

In response to Grace’s attitude toward Echo.

 Noah... Noah... Noah...*swoon*

 Noah ‘giving up’ his younger brothers.

 When finding out how Echo got her scars, and how it all unfolded.

I don’t want to give too much away about the story, but if there’s one thing that differentiates a good book from an amazing one in my opinion, it’s character growth. Echo and Noah are both lost in their current lives, but somehow they're both able to overcome everything they've gone through, and build a new life. Echo suffered a traumatic event which she can no longer recall due to her mind repressing the incident. In addition she feels like she’s lost everyone who loved her, her mother to mental illness, her brother in the Iraq War and her father to his new wife. Enter swoon worthy Noah with his delicious good looks and 6 pack abs own set of problems, who just happens to need tutoring from the leading lady; passion and romance ensue.

“Echo already felt like a heavy drug. The kind I avoided on purpose—crack, heroin, meth. The ones that screwed with your mind, crept into your blood and left you powerless, helpless.”
― Katie McGarry, Pushing The limits

Noah and Echo are both amazingly detailed characters, but to be honest Mrs Collins (the school psychologist/social worker) was the star for me. She was the catalyst for a lot of what happened in the story. I loved that she had Noah and Echo’s wellbeing at heart, and I only wish there were more people like her working in “the system” today. As for other supporting characters, they all had their own story which complimented the main story, but never detracted away from it.

In addition to the main plot there are some great messages about friendship in this book, which I think are very relative to today’s society. Ever heard the saying, ‘When everything turns to shit, you’ll find out who your real friends are’. Well Echo's 'friend' Grace is the epitome of a crappy friend. When Echo becomes the school ‘freak’ she doesn’t want anything to do with her, basically doesn’t acknowledge her existence in public, but tells her in secret she still wants to be her friend. But when Echo starts to head back down the ‘desired’ path of dating  her old Boyfriend (typical school jock) suddenly Grace wants to be friends again, but only because it benefits her socially.

“They say be a good girl, get good grades, be popular. They know nothing about me.”                                                                                           ― Katie McGarry, Pushing the Limits 

Noah on the other hand has 2 great friends, who are also ‘social misfits’, who he deems as his family and often refers to them as his brother and sister. A reminder that family doesn’t necessarily run in the veins

Overall I loved this book. It’s a definite must read! But set aside a few hours, because it takes some will power to put it down!

 My rating: 5/5

In My Mailbox (2)

In my mailbox is a weekly feature hosted by The Story Siren. It’s a way to showcase the books that you gotten through different places. Books you gotten in the mail, brought from a store, borrowed from the library, received to write a review, or they can be in eBook form.  Head here for more information.

   

 

Bought

I got the books below at a monthly book fair in my local community. Most of the books are ex library books, but they were only a dollar each :)

E-Books/Netgalley

 

  

Feature and Follow (2)

Here’s this week’s question: Is there a song that reminds you of a book? Or vice versa? What is the song & the book?

  

'Gravity' by Sara Bareilles, always reminds me of 'Stolen' by Lucy Christopher. In short the book is about a girl who is kidnapped from an airport and taken to the Australian outback by her captor. Through the story she starts to develop a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, torn between her feelings of hatred and 'love' for her captor. This song reminds me of  being held prisoner by your own feelings, unable to escape and torn between loving and hating someone, wanting to be set free but too afraid to leave.

"And you expected me to love you. And that's the hardest part. Because I did or at least, I loved something out there. But I hated you, too. I can't forget that."       

- Lucy Christopher (Stolen: A Letter to my Captor)

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community.

What's Your Feature and Follow? Leave your links Below :) 

My Movie Monday (1)

Movie Monday  can be found here @ Mindful Musings. It’s where  two of my favorite things come together: books...and movies! We've got everything from ideal castings for your favorite book to movie, recommendations based on the books you've read and liked. 

So this weeks Book to Movie is..

   Synopsis

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again

-Goodreads.com 

My Cast

So below is who I picture as Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins. I admit I know that my Echo doesn’t have red hair, and that’s her characters typical trademark. But something about this picture just drew me in... I don’t know maybe it’s the eyes.There was just something about her, that fit with how I imagined Echo in the book. As for Noah (Shiloh Fernandez), damn that boy is fine, 'nuff said.

  

 If you’ve read the book, Who would you cast as Noah and Echo? I’d love to hear your thoughts (and see your pictures) Or link back with your own My Movie Monday post with a book of your choosing.

Review - Warm Bodies (Isaac Marion)

   Synopsis

'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...                                                           

                                                                              -Goodreads.com

 My Review

I don’t quite know where to start with this book. I have quite mixed feelings about it, I didn’t love it nor did I hate it either. It simply existed upon my bedside table, was read until finished, and then put to the side; with no further thought really given. It’s not that it was a bad book it just didn’t particularly spark anything in me.

I first wanted to read this book after seeing the trailer for the movie, but was kind of disappointed when the book, didn’t really have any of the witty dialogue I was hoping for. ‘R’ was a very internalized character with a lot of the dialogue going on in his head. At times during the book, I felt the dialogue was too drawn out and had too much of a philosophical feel to it, something I wasn’t really expecting; not that it wasn’t a nice change.

I think the author did a good job of developing the characters, particularly R and it was great to see him change throughout the book, both physically and emotionally. However the main drawback to my enjoyment of this book was the slow pace. It started off great, but kind of lulled in the middle, with a lot of travel, internal monologue and little action. It wasn’t till the end that the story really picked up again.

If you have the time, and are particularly interested in the internal war of instinct versus morality then this book is definitely for you. But if you’re more interested in a hack and slash thrill ride I would give this one a miss.

My rating: 3/5