Sunday, March 17, 2013

Books, books, books

I love books.  I love paper books, I love shopping at bookstores.

But sometimes you just can't beat an e-reader.

I am soon going to Africa for five weeks.  The places I will going be don't have bookstores or libraries.  In the old days I would have had to take an extra suitcase for all the books. For a long flight I'd need three books just in my carry on luggage. Two to read, and one extra in case one of them wasn't any good.

Now,I can just load up my e-reader.

Because I worked all those years in the computer business I know all about backups and rates of failure.  Thus I own a Kindle AND a Kobo. And a new iPad.

I'm prepared for any eventuality.

In case you're interested here's the list of book I've bought to get me started.  Note that I haven't read any of them yet, so I'm not making any recommendations, just a list of what looked interesting, and varied.

The Christie Curse by Victoria Abbott
A Little History of Philosophy  - Nigel Warburton
The Impostor Bride - Nancy Richler
Human Croquet - Kate Atkinson
The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman
Dead Water - Ann Cleves
Wolfe Hall - Hilary Mantel
Half Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan
Seven Days - Deon Meyer
The Broken Shore - Peter Temple
An Inquiry into Love and Death - Simone St. James

Hum. 11 books.  34 days.  4, 8-hour plus flights.



Saturday, March 2, 2013

A New Book for Rapid Reads

I was delighted to be offered a contract for a second Rapid Reads book from Orca Press.  The first one is titled A Winter Kill and is about a new police officer with the O.P.P. in Prince Edward County.

When rookie police constable Nicole Patterson discovers a body on the edge of town, she's drawn into a murder investigation that's well beyond her experience and expertise.

The Rapid Reads books are very special. They're meant for adults with low literacy skills, ESL students, or those with not a lot of time to read who are looking for a quick yet fast-paced, suspenseful book.

I myself love to have these books to take with me on the plane.  You know that horrible time when you have to turn off all your electronic devices and end up searching the well-thumbed in-flight magazine for something anything! to read until you can get back to your book?

The Rapid Reads books are perfect for that. They're very small so they tuck neatly into your carry-on bag and then into the compartment in the seat in front of you.  One book should see you through take off and landing.

My new book will be different than anything I've done before. It's called JUBA GOOD. For the first time I have a male first person POV protagonist.  Ray Robertson is an RCMP officer serving with the UN in South Sudan.

As it just so happens I'm going back to South Sudan soon, so I'll be able to refresh all the details.

Can't wait.

In the meantime, if you're looking for an exciting short read, check out the full list of Rapid Reads books, by some of your favourite crime writers. www.rapidreads.ca

If you're an educator or otherwise interested in expanding your understanding of the books, Orca has provided a reading guide.  Beware - the guides are intended for people who've finished the books, so the full plot is discussed.