Apps - For the Reading and the Writing

New Year, new reading and writing goals. For a reason I can't remember now, something sparked my curiosity, and I began looking at book-related apps. There are quite a few. Some of them, I already use. Others, I used in the past, but stopped. I thought I'd share some of the apps I currently enjoy... Here are the book and writing apps that I use.

Book Tracking:

Leio

I discovered a few years ago that when it comes to reading, I like to see my progress, especially when working my way through big books. I think I'm halfway done, but am I really? Leio gives me all the information I want. I also really like that Leio predicts the date I will finish the book. It motivates me to finish the book even sooner (sometimes). The interface is simple and easy to navigate. Some people are familiar with Bookly, which does many of the same things. Why not use it instead? (It's got the cute factor.) I did use Bookly for over a year. With several of the updates, the features I liked were slowly becoming part of the premium version. I got frustrated, so I deleted it and found Leio instead.

Goodreads

Most readers are familiar with Goodreads, right? Has it gotten more commercial over the years? Amazon did buy it, after all. I think it's still a useful reading tool. I don't see myself ever giving it up. It's got my library. I save books I want to read so I don't forget about them. One of my favourite things is their end of the year wrap up. I love seeing all the books I read, which was the longest and shortest. All the stats from the whole year. It makes me happy.

eReading:

iBooks 

I use iBooks the least (sorry). That's mostly because it can only be used on Apple devices. I have a PC and other non-Apple products, so, ya. 

Kindle

I was using Kindle the most. I really like it's interface and the adjustments you can make so that it suits you. It was an easy reading experience. I like how it saves notes and highlights. 

Kobo

I've started using Kobo more and more this past year. I really like how you can customize your home screen. It helps me pick the next book I want to read or reminds of the books I "aught" to be reading. I find it nicely tailored to me, and I can edit which types of books are displayed. Kindle's home has mostly become advertising with only a few of my own books showing up. I'm also trying to buy less from Amazon, though I know several indie-authors and they want me to buy Kindle, so that's what I will do for them. 

I'm going to stop before this gets all philosophical. This is about apps. Kobo has become the one I use the most.

Time to turn to the other eReading apps, Library Apps.

Libby

I LOVE Libby. I really do. I like reading on it, though one of its last few updates changed the interface enough that I had a hard time finding some of the stats info. But I adapted and I love it again. I like searching for books on it. I think Libby has done a decent job of getting that "browsing" feeling to translate to the app. It's obviously not the same as going into a real library or bookstore. I appreciate the feature sections. They're always highlighting Ontario authors (we're in Ontario). There's a "Just Added" section. They rotate through different highlighted areas, "Diverse Voices", "Indigenous Voices", "Action Packed Adventures", "Love Through the Ages", and more. Like a display inside an actual library or bookstore. There is so much I enjoy about this app. I can't recommend it enough.

Hoopla

While Libby offers many graphic novels and audio books, Hoopla has it beat. Which is understandable since I think they're supposed to work together. They're both "powered" by the same library. If you're a comic nerd, but don't want to spend thousands of dollars on every series. Use Hoopla. Is it the same as reading an actual comic in your hand? No. But that goes for any book versus ebook. They added some She-Hulk comics and I'm excited. They also offer comics that are out-of-print or hard to find. You want to read some Avengers from the 1960's, Hoopla will help you do that. Did I mention they offer music and movies? It's a great library app. Paired with Libby, what more could you need?

CloudLibrary

You could need CloudLibrary. CloudLibrary drives me a bit nuts. I don't like their homepage. I do not enjoy the browsing. When I use CloudLibrary, it's because I'm looking for a specific book. I search and they either have it or they don't. Why do I use it? One of the libraries I belong to switched from Libby to CloudLibrary. Why? Book availability, I think. CloudLibrary just has more books. Things I can't find on Libby, I can find there. Waitlist times are greatly reduced. a 6 month wait at Libby might be 10 days at CloudLibrary. So, depending on what I want to read and how long I have to wait for it, I might choose CloudLibrary.

Time for some writing apps.

Scrivener

I buckled down and got even "even though I have Word". I have it on my iPad and PC, which is a bit of a pain to sync (I'm hoping they make it compatible with Google Drive or iCloud). Over the last year or so, I've begun to enjoy writing on Scrivener. There's a steep learning curve, but once you push through, Scrivener is great. I am also really enjoying/appreciating the iPad app. I often feel trapped behind my computer, in the same space all day, since I also work from home. The app lets me go to my reading nook and write there, surrounded by wonderful books. Or anywhere, really. (Not that there are a lot of places we can go these days.) The app is also easier to use than the desktop program. But ya, Scrivener.

Google Docs

To use MS Word on mobile apps require subscriptions now. No thanks. I'm not a fan of the whole subscription thing. If I pay for your program. I want to own it. That's it. If I have to pay a little extra for the mobile version, fine. But subscriptions are an automatic turn off. So, not only have I been using Scrivener more, I've also been using Google Docs more. I can open documents in Google Docs, edit, do whatever I need to and save it as a .docx file.

Pages

I can also save files as .docx in Pages on my iPad. Pages lets me use the Apple Pencil, which is *almost* as good as writing by hand in a notebook. This way it gets converted to text right away. Time saver! If Pages, Google Docs, and Scrivener can all give me .docx files in the end, I don't need to pay for a subscription.

Have I mentioned I don't like the subscription thing?

If I find another writerly or bookish app, I'll be sure to add it to my list, but unless something happens in an update, I don't see this list changing anytime soon. 

Unravel Me

Unravel Me was the perfect long weekend read. The children had their games and movies, I had my book. It’s times like these where I’m glad I bought the ebook. When it is late, I’m tired, but I need to stay awake, an ebook can light up the dark.

Unravel Me was exciting. I had no problem reading this book for hours and hours last weekend. It was easy to make my way through each event, each problem, the conflict, and the explosions of power. Tahereh Mafi had me hooked. So even when we were (finally) home and I should be sleeping, I just had to read "one more chapter". I barely had time to think about the story, the plot twists and surprises. There was one surprise, in the last third of the story that I didn't expect at all. I should have seen it though. It makes sense based on other things that happened in this story and Shatter Me. 

Adam drove me a bit nuts though. I'm interested in reading his perspective in Fracture Me. Like Destroy Me overlapped with the first and second books, Fracture Me overlaps with books 2 and 3. I'm hoping to warm back up to Adam Kent. Juliette drove me even more nuts. Just when I though she had finally grown up, gotten some backbone, something happened and she would crumble. I could understand Castle's frustration. Juliette was so positive and happy at the end of Shatter Me, I was surprised at her behaviour in Unravel Me. I think by the end though, Juliette was where she needed to be. 

I'm still thoroughly confused by Warner. I love him, but hate him. I have more sympathy for him now, but he really needs to believe he can change. I have no idea what is going to happen to him. I feel like he could go either way, he could go nowhere.

Kenji was the real stand-out for me though. What is his story? What are his secrets? I can definitely relate to Juliette's curiosity for her friend. She grows to care for him deeply, knows that she can rely on him, but she knows almost nothing about him. She wants to learn more about him and so do I. I'm hoping that happens soon, and I hope he is around for a long time.

I think I am officially out of my reading slump. All I can think about right now are the characters of the Shatter Me series. I'm also still thinking about the characters of Ready Player One. I think I need more fast-paced excitement. I wonder what will be next.

Why I Started Reading Romance Novels

Because sometimes I need a happy ending.

At first, I was going to call this post Guilty Pleasures,  but then I wondered what I have to feel guilty about. They are books. I love books. I am willing to give any book and any genre a chance. Yes, there are some I gravitate towards more than others, but I’m not going to discount a book just because someone calls it "cheesy" or "fluff" or whatever. I have been reading contemporary, ebook, romances. Mostly from Melissa Foster, a few from Bella Andre, some from Gena Showalter and Juliana Stone, and most recently, Merry Farmer.

It first started with Bella Andre. I can't remember why I read the first book in the Sullivan series. I remember it was free at the time. In The Look of Love,  boy saves a girl, but the girl also has to learn how to save herself. She escapes a bad relationship, finds freedom, and also find a super hot guy. Also he’s rich.

A lot of these people tend to be rich, at least one of the two main characters. Some are billionaires, some just live comfortably. They often on their own business that they’ve built from the ground up. A lot of the times, they work hard and don’t have time for relationships. Some of the men and women are more promiscuous then their partner, but love changes them or they see others in love and it changes them before they meet "the one". Usually the men come from a big family. They love their parents or at least one parent, they yearn for love, but often feel they don’t deserve it.

So maybe there’s a formula to a lot of these books, but I don’t care. Melissa Foster has become a favourite of these ebook romance authors. Though she writes about alpha males, females are independent, intelligent and strong-willed. They often don’t have time for relationships too. They are trying to build a business, or move forward with their lives in someway. They don’t necessarily need a man, but when the right one comes along they can’t resist each other, most of them often try.  No matter who these people are or what trouble they have to overcome, there is always a happy ending.

Lately, I’ve needed happy endings. The world is kind of being a difficult place to live in. After a hard day,  after reading the news and watching emotional videos, after listening to abrasive, emotional, commentary, I need a happy ending. I love reading all sorts of book, but they don’t always have happy endings.  I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, but I wouldn’t call the end of Empire of Storms happy. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is only kind of happy at the end, the entire novel is laced with sadness. Even the end of the second Wonder Woman graphic novel I read left me a little angry. The Rules of Magic made me cry, as well as Anne Of Green Gables. Sometimes, I just want things to work out. I wanted a man and a woman to be together. I wanted the business to flourish. I wanted the little girl to get adopted.

I have to make a quick comment about why I added Merry Farmer to the mix. I think I was just looking at the Goodreads Giveways page when I saw a book that was number four in a series called Nerds of Paradise! Nerds! Like actual rocket scientists. Nerds who meet small town ranchers, farmers, etc. Boy nerds and girl nerds. I couldn't resist a title like that, so I checked out the series. The first one, Opposites Attract is free, so I read it. I have read the second and third novels since.

So, when I need a happy ending, these authors are who I go to. The books only take a day or two to read, and I am left feeling satisfied. For a few moments (maybe longer), I feel like things can work out. People can be nice. Love will win.

Ebooks and Emily

The Poems of Emily Dickinson – Three Series Complete....

It just ends. Bam, it’s over. So much time invested and there was no preamble, just the last poem, then the index of first lines. That’s it.  The index takes up the last 15% of the ebook. So I thought I had 15% more poems… or at least 10%. I’ve come to realize that the last few “pages” of ebooks are often ads for other books (by the author or similar authors) or acknowledgements or something. I knew there was an index at the end, but I didn’t think it would be so big.  I guess I should have checked. That’s been my one consistent complaint about ebooks, sudden, expected endings. It was just so abrupt, I feel thrown.

So, if anyone decides to read the complete works of Emily Dickinson, remember that any ebook edition potentially (and the Kindle edition specifically) ends at 85%.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind; or, An eBook Conundrum

I love print books, but I think ebooks are cool too. I've read a few and appreciate being able to read into the night with no lights on that keep my hubby awake. I like books being saved on clouds, so that when my son deletes every app on my iPad, recovery of the books is easy. I really like being able to quickly and easily look up words I don't know. I take notes without having to look for a pen and paper (I can't write in books, I use sticky notes typically). Ebooks have all sorts of conveniences.

Here's my problem. I forget about them. My print books are on shelves, overflowing shelves, in my living room, so I see them every day. Different titles catch my eye, I think about the books I want to read and the ones I have read. I think about how many there are, if I could bare parting with any of them. I think about how I felt, what I thought, when I read them and when I purchased them. I see them.  My ebooks exist in the digital world.  I only see them if I open the app.  I don't think about them, because I don't see them.  When I have read an ebook, I have made the decision before hand that the next book I'll read will be Villette or UR, reading an ebook I don't think has ever been a random decision, where I just pick up a book on a feeling. I've always suspected this about myself, but only fully realized it recently.

 

I was out with my Hubby and his dad. We were in a shop when I saw a super cool mug, the banned books mug.  I was reading off all the books I've read with my father-in-law when I got to Animal Farm.  He said, "You've read Animal Farm." in an obviously kind of way.  I said, "No, I've read 1984, not Animal Farm." He was quite surprised.  I told him, "It's because I have it as an ebook, I forget it's there." It's true. 

I have so many ebooks that I'm excited to read... like Animal Farm. I have Cat's Cradle and Mansfield Park. I have The Scorpio Races, Shatter Me and loads of other examples I can't think of because I don't have the apps open in front of me right now.  What do I do?  Schedule my reading more?  Make notes for myself?  Open every ereading app I have before choosing my next book?  Definitely not the last one.  Maybe make more notes.  That seems like the least obtrusive option.  Because really, I want to read Animal Farm and all those other books.  I also feel like if my book-loving father-in-law, thinks I should read Animal Farm, I should.  He also almost exclusive reads ebooks now. Reading in any form is good, and reading all the books I own would be great.

Culling eBooks is SO Much Easier Than Print Books

Why?  Because I don't really get rid of them.  I remove them from my device, but they're still mine.  They exist on the "cloud". Whether it's the Apple Cloud for my iBooks, or the ones for Kindle or Kobo, they are still there.

When I first got my iPad (as an awesome gift from my husband), the first thing I did was get the iBooks app and start downloading all the free classics that I've always wanted to read.  For the classics I couldn't find, I downloaded the Kindle and Kobo apps and started searching.  I just HAD to have them.  I spent a lot of time doing this.  Then, I became a searcher for Kindle and Kobo book deals.  I downloaded a lot of free books that I still haven't read.  I also found it difficult to resist ebooks deals, especially on books that I had my eye on previously.  Soon, about 1/3 of the memory on my iPad was books.  Eventually this became a problem.

I realized that most (not quite all) books I had in my eReading apps would be saved to a cloud.  First, I only deleted books I'd read from my device.  Then as my memory problem worsened, I deleted the books that I knew I wasn't likely to read soon.  It was so easy.  I just had to pay attention to whether the book would be saved on the cloud or not, because there are a few, for whatever reason, that will not save to the cloud; if I delete them, they will be gone forever.  I also don't typically delete books that I've paid money for.  Two reasons: I feel like if I've paid for them, I might read them soon and don't want to wait for the downloading; and because I've paid money for them, I don't want to risk them getting lost, though I know logically that it won't happen.

Print books don't have a cloud.  If I get rid of them, I can't easily get them back if I suddenly decide I want to read them.  If I get rid of a print book, I have to be sure that I will not ever want to grab a hold of it again. There can't be even a remote possibility of me wanting to read it again.  Though my bookshelves are [severely] overcrowded, I can get more shelves for much less than an iPad with a bigger memory.  Also, print books are so much prettier to look at.  I don't see my eBookshelves unless I open the app, then I only see the books that belong to the specific app AND I have to scroll through them instead of just stepping back and staring.  I very much enjoy have both ebooks and print books, I think I will always enjoy having both. Culling eBooks is just easier.

The Velveteen Rabbit

A children's book almost made my cry. It definitely made me sad and concerned. I was so worried for the Rabbit. I had never read The Velveteen Rabbit as a child. I didn't know what to expect. I always heard positive things about the story, I thought it was some happy tale with a typical children's moral at the end or something. That is not The Velveteen Rabbit that Margery Williams wrote. She wrote a children's story that had some tension.  It actually made me glad that I read it privately first before I read it to my daughter.  I would have had to answer some difficult questions or my three-and-a-half-year-old would not have understood certain plot points.  I think in another year or two, she's going to love this story because of the magic.  It's magic made out of love. What's better than that?!

A quick comment on the illustrations... I expected there to be more.  There were a few and they were lovely.  I really liked William Nicholson's style.  They matched the story beautifully, classic, just like Williams' tale.  I suppose it's not a short book, so maybe more illustrations would have made it seem too long?

The Velveteen Rabbit is the first of many books I plan on reading for The Classics Club.  It was a great start.  It's made me look forward to reading all the books on that intimidating list.

Classics Club

I’m a moody reader.  I read a variety of books, at different levels, in different genres.  Because of this, I don’t join challenges.  If I feel forced to read a book, I’ll avoid it and continue to avoid it, until I grudgingly pick it up.  Joining the Classics Club, however, has been something I’ve thought about for a while.  I wasn’t sure about joining because of the pertinent question: what constitutes a classic?  I follow several bloggers who are part of the Classics Club and after reading their reviews, I think I have a good idea of what the Club considers classic.

My list consists of “Modern Classics” and “Old Classics”.  There are some genre books, some short stories, some children’s books and some poetry.  There are even a couple books that can be debated about whether they are actually classics.  There will be a few re-reads, but it will be mostly new.  These are all books I already own.  On the Classics Club website, they describe the list we submit as a living list.  While I’ve put 60 titles on this list (to make it a little more challenging, since I'm including children’s stories, short stories and novellas), I’m not guaranteeing that I’ll read all these particular books.  Like I mentioned previously, I’m a moody reader.  If I can’t finish something or another classic catches my fancy, I’ll change the list.  The only thing I plan on guaranteeing is that I’ll finish this list in five years - January 3, 2018 (I'll be so old!).

In alphabetical order, 60 classics I plan on reading by January 3, 2018:

1. Stories from Hans Christian Andersen, by Hans Christian Andersen

2. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

3. Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood

4. The Big and The Little, by Isaac Asimov

5. Emma, by Jane Austen

6. Lady Susan, by Jane Austen

7. Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen

8. Northhanger Abbey, by Jane Austen

9. The Watsons, by Jane Austen

10. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

11. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Brontë

12. Villette, by Charlotte Brontë

13. Sonnets from the Portuguese, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

14. Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

15. Appointment with Death, by Agatha Christie

16. Lyrical Ballads, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth

17. The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins

18. Discourse on Method, by Rene Descartes

19. A Tale of Two Cities, by Dickens

20. Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens

21. A Selection of Poems (1. Life), by Emily Dickinson

22. Sherlock Holmes #1: A Study In Scarlett, by Arthur Conan Doyle

23. Sherlock Holmes #2: The Sign of Four, by Arthur Conan Doyle

24. Medea, by Euripides

25. Middlemarch, by George Eliot

26. Grimm's Fairy Stories, by Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

27. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

28. Daisy Miller, by Henry James

29. The Wings of the Dove, by Henry James

30. The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

31. The Man Who Loved Islands, by D.H. Lawrence

32. Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller

33. Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery

34. Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery

35. Anne of the Island, by L.M. Montgomery

36. Anne of the Windy Poplars, by L.M. Montgomery

37. Anne’s House of Dreams, by L.M. Montgomery

38. Anne of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery

39. Rainbow Valley, by L.M. Montgomery

40. Rilla of Ingleside, by L.M. Montgomery

41. Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro

42. Animal Farm, by George Orwell

43. Lady Lazarus, by Sylvia Plath

44. The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

45. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter

46. The Cat In The Hat, by Dr. Seuss

47. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

48. Queen Mab/The Daemon of the World, by Percy Bysshe Shelley

49. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

50. Dracula's Guest, by Bram Stoker

51. Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

52. Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

53. From the Earth to the Moon, by Jules Verne

54. The Weapons Shop, by A.E. van Vogt

55. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells

56. Under The Knife, by H.G. Wells

57. The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams

58. Kew Gardens, by Virginia Woolf

59. Solid Objects, by Virginia Woolf

60. The Waves, by Virginia Woolf

I will have a page listing each of these books, with links to reviews once I finish them.

*SIDE NOTE: I’ve been considering creating some reading projects for myself.  For example, I want to read every Margaret Atwood and Stephen King book.  I also want to read more Canadian authors and more immigrant literature.  Should I create these self-imposed projects, or will my moodiness negate my success?  Thoughts?

Forty Stories, edited by Cal Morgan

It’s been a long time since I participated in Short Story Monday.  I missed it.  So I thought I'd come back with what is probably my longest Short Story Monday post ever.

Forty Stories is a unique (and fantastic) short story collection put together by Calvert Morgan from Harper Perennial.  Forty Stories is the balance that Cal Morgan felt he "owed" us for the year he started, but didn't finish over at Fifty-Two Stories.  Fifty-Two stories was a great site, a place where you could read a new, free, short story each week.

Forty Stories is free too.  Harper Perennial made a PDF available online at the Fifty-Two Stories website and announced that on July 17^th, the stories would also be available to download as an ebook in various formats (iBook, Kindle, etc.)  I downloaded the PDF immediately (I was so excited), then downloaded the free ebook on the 17^th of July too.

I'd feel bad not writing something about all of the stories.  Honestly, each one was worth reading.  However, forty separate reviews seemed like a lot. So I'm going to make them “twitter” size. Each story comment is going to be 140 characters or less. 

1.    Ambivalence, by Ben Greenman - Great story. Though I certainly hope my hubby didn't do anything like that before we got married.

2.    Amy Having a Heart Attack, by Sharon Goldner - Umm. This one was a little off. Well-written, but I had no sympathy for the main character.

3.    The Anarchist of Darwin, by Michael Ramberg - Even though the main character was nuts, I could sympathize with him.

4.    Another Terrible Thing, by Catherine Lacey - It was an interesting story.  Though I felt like something more startling should have happened between the main character and her husband.

5.    Barnicles of the Fuzz, by D. Foy - Not sure I understood this one.  Is it about the characters? What's the point?

6.    Baselines, by Adam Wilson - It's a story about repetition.  Well done. I liked that it was snowing.

7.    Because you Asked, by Karon Luddy - Another story in lists? At least I understood this one. They are interesting answers.

8.    Before The Trip, by Adetokunbo Aviola - Had me on the edge of my seat. Very exciting.

9.    The Beginning of the Summation of Our Dead, by Blake Butler - Felt more like free form poetry, with a plot. Interesting. I can see why people would like it.  I still think it needs paragraph/stanza breaks.

10. Birthright City, by Eliezra Schaffin - An interesting look at Jewish tradition and at the growing up of a girl who doesn't fit in.

11. Can a Corn, by Jess Walter - A little morbid and sad.  Definitely attention-grabbing.

12. Confluence, by Mesha Maren. - It was a depressing story. I kept waiting for something bad to happen.

13. Djeser Djeseru (Splendor of Splendors), by Paula Younger - I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I really liked Patty, but why did the driver turn out to be sleazy? The Egyptian Christian was good, but not the Muslim? I understand that he was trying to get out of Egypt and was using her. I suppose this is the same problem I've had with portrayals of Muslims in some writing.  (I know this is bigger than “twitter-size”, but the story really bothered me.)

14. Eighty-six Ways To Cross One Desert, by Alexander Lumans - An interesting way to write a story. I liked it, but I'm not sure I understood it.

15. Everyone Loves Someone Who Doesn't Give a Fuck About Anything, by Jane Faulds - I don’t really like stories with swearing in the title. It was a good story with some serious dysfunction.

16. Fire Weather, by Brady Hammes - I feel sorry for Kate, though she seems increasingly apathetic. Phil is crazy.  Great story.

17. A Girl, by Lindsay Hunter - Interesting story.  I wish they found her. I like closure.

18. Glossolalia, by Kyle Minor - An unlove story...

19. God's Plan, by Daniel Brown - It's a sweetly sad story, but there is hope and potential at the end.

20. Granaby, by Brandon Hobson - What an utterly depressing story. It was well written and there's more to the main character than what we learn here.

21. Graveyards, by Scott McClanahan - Is this really non-fiction?  It has a ring of truth.

22. Head Down, Palm Up, by Mitchell S. Jackson - A somewhat depressing story, but it also left me disconnected from the main character.

23. Hers, by O.A. Lindsey - What a depressing, sad story.  I almost couldn't finish it.

24. The Highline Highway, by Nathan Oates - A unique and interesting story. Glad to have read it.

25. House Guests, by Alan Rossi - A great story with a crazy ending. Another unique one.

26. I Like Looking At Pictures of Gwen Stefani, by Elizabeth Crane - I love Gwen Stefani, but I don't think that was the point of the story. It was looking and seeing.

27. I'll Take You There, by David Williams - The difference between religion and faith.

28. In The Manner of Water or Light, by Roxane Gay - There is truth, the search for it, the real and the one we tell ourselves so we can move on.

29. Jailbreak, by Matt Stewart - Short and sad. If you knew your children would turn out this way, why have them?

30. Jon and Maeve, by David Backer - Amazing story!  A unique plot and characters.  They felt real.  The situation felt impossible and plausible at the same time.

31. Miss November, by Matthew Norman - I loved this story.  It was sad and sweet and very relatable.

32. Most Wanted, by Eric Raymond - It was too sad.  I kept thinking he was going to find her in the faces of one of the random girls.

33. The Mountain Population Is Me, by Shane Jones - Change is bad?  I really liked the story and I feel as though it is trying to teach a message, but I don't know exactly what.

34. opal one, opal two, by Tessa Mellas - Beautiful sentences, but difficult to understand. Haunting? Grief?  Also, no capitals!

35. A Plain Kiss (Letters To Allison), by Jamie Quatro - Very sad.  She just wants something to happen, but she's too afraid. Also, I hate the violin teacher.

36. Plank, by Kayden Kross - Not sure I like stories told in second person. Makes me feel like there is no main character.

37. Poof, by Joeseph Scapalleto - Umm, did he just throw his nephew.  A great, quick story.

38. Some Kind Of Rugged Genius, by Greg Bardsley - I loved this story!  It is unique and you do not see the end coming.

39. What Good Is An Ark To A Fish, by Kelli Ford - An apocalyptic story about family.  Beautiful and sad.

40. You Can Touch This, by Jim Hanas - A somewhat tense story. I was afraid for the zombie at the end, but it seems that it worked out for them. Also, as a mother, how could you forget your kid??!

The stories are great.  I know there were some of them where the story might have bothered me, but none of the stories were poorly written, so I’m taking those few negative reactions as subjective.  I can't express how much I enjoyed this wonderful, diverse assortment of plots and voices. I can't encourage people enough to download it.  This free ebook might just lead you to your next favourite author. 

Also, thanks to John Mutford at The Book Mine Set for hosting Short Story Monday.

Thirteen Judy Blume Novels to be Released as Ebooks

I know this is old news, but for those who don't know, you will now be able to get thirteen Judy Blume books as ebooks.  Enjoy!

Thirteen Judy Blume Novels to be Released as Ebooks

DRM, e-books, and Fictionwise

Inkygirl is having a problem with Fictionwise's ebooks. They're a Barnes and Noble company. It's been going on for a month. When are they going to fix her problem? It makes me not want to buy ebooks.

DRM, e-books, and Fictionwise/B&N Removing Access To Books *I Have Already Paid For* Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers