Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Guest Post: 8 Online Resources for Book Lovers

8 Online Resources for Book Lovers

I’d like to thank Jess Buike for sharing this article with her readers. She offers quick and easy to digest reviews mainly within the fantasy, sci-fi and paranormal genres. Check out her top book lists for a compilation of books to read now.

Thanks to the Internet, there are thousands of places book lovers can share, discuss, find and read books online. If you’re a bibliophile, you’ve probably already heard of LibraryThing and GoodReads, but below are a few lesser-known sites you might not have heard of.

BookMooch
This free online service allows you to trade books you no longer want for new ones. Users can receive two books for every one they give away. This is a perfect way to keep your library replenished without increasing its size. Unlike a library, you don’t have to return the books you receive. You can choose to keep it or trade it for another one if you decide not to add it to your collection. BookMooch works on a point system. You receive a tenth-of-a-point for every book you type in and one point for each book you give away. You then trade in your points for books. You can also donate your points to charities such as children’s hospitals, Library fund and African literacy.

Oyster
Similar to Amazon Unlimited, Oyster offers a subscription-based model. For $9.95 a month you can get access to more than 1 million books, including new releases and textbooks. You can try out the service free for 14 days. If you’re not interested in a monthly subscription, you can buy the books individually off the Oyster app on iOS, Android, Kindle, Nook or your desktop. The company’s partners include Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House and Scholastic.

Luzme
Reading is an expensive habit, especially if you buy your books at full price. Luzme, a price comparison site, allows you to find the best deals on eBooks and eTextbooks. Membership is free and you don’t even need to register to start using the site. However, registration does come with some perks. You can add books to your wishlist and Luzme will email you when the prices drop. In addition, you can add your favorite authors and the service will email you when their new book becomes available.

Wattpad
Available online and as an app, Wattpad is the largest community for readers and writers. With over 40 million members, the site boasts 100 million stories available for free. You can follow your favorite authors and receive notifications when they share a new piece of writing. As a social site, Wattpad also offers messaging so that you can interact with writers or other users. It’s a great place to discover new talent and share your own.

Rare Book Room
This site has photographs and scans of some of the rarest books from libraries around the world. Constructed as an educational site, it took a company called Octavo over a decade to digitally photograph these books. To date, Octavo has digitized around 400 books covering a wide variety of topics and rarity. Some highlights include Shakespeare Quartos from the British Library, Galileo’s Starry Messenger and sections of Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac.

Bookyards
The site has an ambitious dream – to be the library to the world, in which anyone who has an Internet connection can access books, education materials, information, reference materials, documents and content free of charge. So far, the site has 21,331 eBooks, 38,945 external links, 4,197 news and blog links, 384 videos, and access to hundreds of online libraries. It’s available to use on your desktop or on your iOS or Android device.

LibriVox
Sometimes you don’t have time to sit down and read a book, but that doesn’t mean you can’t listen to one. LibriVox offers public domain audiobooks free of charge. All you need is a computer or mobile device. Volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain which the site then releases as audio files. The audio itself is in the public domain so you can also use it for whatever purpose you want. If you think you have a good speaking voice, you can also volunteer your talents as a reader. You just need a computer, microphone and free recording software.

A Virtual Private Network
Whether you want to stay secure when downloading eBooks from sites or you simply want to maneuver around geo-restrictions, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a book lover’s best friend. Through VPN services, you can encrypt your IP address to ensure your personal information is safe, secure and anonymous when surfing on public WiFi. Since you can connect to a local IP through these services, you can also download books only accessible in your home country while you travel. You should check out this review by Secure Thoughts to learn more or find the one that suits your needs.

Many of these resources offer over thousands of books for you to rent, trade or download, which should hopefully keep you busy for the summer. Others offer information and protection while you read. Do you know of other sites for book lovers? Tell us in the comments below.


About the Author: Isa is a freelance writer who believes technology can greatly increase worldwide literacy. She loves finding sites and communities that encourage people to read more.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Highly Recommended Read - Regina Shen: Endurance by Lance Erlick

Regina Shen: EnduranceRegina Shen: Endurance by Lance Erlick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, Mr. Erlick has written a brilliant novel filled with heart-pounding action surrounding his strong female heroine, Regina Shen! In this fourth novel of the series, Regina finds herself racing back across the country and through the desert to try to barter for her sister. Along the way, she meets with old and new faces, and finds herself making a difficult choice in the end that could completely change everything.
Another great read - I can't wait to read the next book in the series!!

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Monday, April 18, 2016

Highly Recommended Read - Chew on This by Eric Slosser

Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast FoodChew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food by Eric Schlosser
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you really want to find a way to deter yourself from eating so much fast food (or any at all), this is the book to read!! It's written in a clear way that really exposes the fast food industry, with everything from how it changed our job industry (for the worse) to what ingredients may actually be in some of your favorite foods (some of which aren't even really edible)! This is a fast read with great information that is explained so that we can all understand it, even if we don't have business or nutrition degrees. I highly recommend it!

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Recommended Read - Looptail by Bruce Poon Tip

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333463-looptail" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1378070868m/17333463.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333463-looptail">Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6922566.Bruce_Poon_Tip">Bruce Poon Tip</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1614025037">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
As a travel agent, I knew of G Adventures from various trade shows and classes. However, I didn't really appreciate all of their nuances until I read this book! It's a great example of doing what you feel is right, even when it goes contrary to popular business practices. The strategies won't work for everyone, but it's still a really good read for anyone in the small business world who wants to provide authentic products or services to their customers.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Monday, February 1, 2016

Sorta Recommended Read - A Danger to God Himself by John Draper

A Danger to God HimselfA Danger to God Himself by John Draper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yes, this book has a lot of Mormonism in it, and yes - at times that made it a little difficult and/or confusing, as I am not very familiar with the Mormon faith. However, if you can look past the Mormon references what you'll find at the core of this book is a story about mental health disorders and the vast discrepancies there are in treatments and beliefs. Some people believe faith is all you need, others tout medicines, still others just try to avoid the subject all together. This shows the various treatments and leads the reader to think more about what mental health disorders encompass and how "faith" or "religion" can sometimes be used to avoid the life-saving treatments that some people desperately need.
There were a lot of parts I liked in this book, along with a lot of parts that were just not my style. It left me feeling decidedly neutral - I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. You'll have to read it to figure out where you fall on the spectrum.

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Recommended Read - Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe

Season of Salt and HoneySeason of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is like a big family dinner - full of warmth, too much food, and the occasional crazy relative! The main character finds herself in a termless state - you can't be a widow without being married, so what are you when you lose your fiance? - and flees to the one place she thinks she could find peace. Instead of peace she finds herself dealing with her estranged sister, her dead fiance's brother, and some truths that are hard to handle.
Intermixed with the narrative you'll find delightful Italian family recipes, a reminder that food and family are often a part of our own stories.


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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Recommended Read - Driving Grandpa by John Redstand

Driving GrandpaDriving Grandpa by John Redstand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An adorable series of vignettes told by a grandfather to his adult grandson while they stumbled into adventures together. This was whimsical and fun while also being poignant and a great reflection on enjoying those around us while we can. It made me miss my own grandfather and wonder more about the stories we may be missing out on from The Greatest Generation as they pass away. It's a short and sweet book so it's an easy one to add to a weekend away if you want something light to pack. Highly recommended!

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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Recommended Read - Richard Simmons: Never Give Up by Richard Simmons

Richard Simmons Never Give Up: Inspirations, Reflections, Stories of HopeRichard Simmons Never Give Up: Inspirations, Reflections, Stories of Hope by Richard Simmons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I adore Richard Simmons - I don't think anyone in the history of the fitness industry has been as approachable, lovable, and inspirational as he has throughout his career! So of course when I stumbled on this book in a "free" bin I had to have it.

This is a cute collection of anecdotes with a common theme - every day is a new day, don't give up, and keep working! Is it life-changing? Well, not for me, but I still found it interesting and inspiring. Is it typical of Richard Simmons? Heck yeah - lots of perkiness and tender-heartedness!

If you've made a health or fitness resolution this year, this might be something fun to add to your reading list to keep you motivated.

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