Get Your Readmill On
Earlier this month my boss, Tim, informed me of his plans to visit the folks at Readmill in mid December. Being in the eBook/Self Publishing industry, I knew who they were, but now I had a special interest and wanted to know more. So I did what anyone in my shoes would’ve done. I went online and snooped! After plugging in their site address, my eyes were pleasantly met with a clean, sleek design layout. Well played, Readmill. Their tagline “Books have a big future” struck a chord with me since BookRix embraces the same mentality.
Don’t let my comments surrounding their site aesthetics fool you. The team at Readmill offer much more than an polished website. This past year, they’ve built a solid e-reader platform that allows their users to connect with one another regardless of the e-reader device they’re utilizing (Kindle, iPad, Nook, Smartphone, etc). Brilliant, right? According to them, their goal is to “integrate books with the web making them linkable, embeddable, shareable and hackable.” Who wouldn’t want this level of freedom?
Sadly, my Kindle was laid to rest this past November after a nasty fall down my apartment stairs. Until Santa brings me my new iPad for Christmas, I’m stuck bugging everyone with an e-reader to test various apps and programs for me. When I asked Tim about Readmill for iPad, he sang its praises and was quick to recant how “easy and comfortable” the app was to use. That’s what I like to hear!
With the Readmill Reader for iPad, you can read books, track your progress and share your highlights. On Readmill.com you can follow people you like, explore books, and see what your friends are reading. It’s also a great companion for the books you discover with us on BookRix. Rather than listen to me talk about it, why not take a look and see for yourself? Check it out: http://readmill.com/invite/bookrix
Comment your thoughts below. I’d love to hear what you have to say!
Calling All Readers and Authors!
Are you a new, unpublished author looking to distribute your work? Are you motivated and eager to sell it? If so, BookRix is looking for you!
Do you consider yourself a book lover? Are you constantly looking for new material to feast your eyes on? If you answered ‘yes’, we need your help!
Very soon, all of our members will have the ability to publish and distribute their work via BookRix, Amazon, Apple iBooks, etc. Before we open these services up to all of our members, we’re conducting a private beta test to prepare for our launch.
Writers will have full creative control over the content they’d like to publish (no offensive or copyrighted material please). To sweeten the deal, BookRix is waiving the setup costs! The selling and distribution of your book is just $1 (this Includes ISBN, BookRix and third party distribution). Once the beta testing is complete, authors can keep their books for $1. To show our appreciation, authors will receive a $50 gift card and readers will be given a $20 gift card for participating in our test.
Important requirements:
- Must live in the US
- Be 18+ years old
- Have a Paypal and/or Click&Buy account (this will be needed when testing begins)
- Books must be new and unpublished. If your book is currently for sale elsewhere or has an ISBN, we won’t be able to publish your book
Interested? Here’s what we’ll need from you
- Social Security Number (SSN) OR a Employer Identification Number (EIN) OR a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (You can choose)
- Real Name
- Username
- E-mail address
- Age
- Gender
- User Rank (Scribbler, Penman, Wordslinger, etc)
- Date of registration at BookRix.com
If you’d like to participate in our beta-test, please send your request with your data to BookRix at: support-en@bookrix.com In the subject line, please tell us if you’re an interested ‘Reader’ or ‘Author’.
Thank you!
- The BookRix team
It’s No Fun To Be a Librarian Nowadays
As a kid I remember being shushed by librarians more than anything else, but as a teenager they proved extremely helpful when writing a paper or assisting with research. Thinking back, it’s been well over a decade since I’ve asked a librarian for help on anything. Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s been utilizing internet search engines in place of them. Shame on me.
Recent figures compiled by the California Department of Education show an average loss of 100 librarians each year in the past two years. To cope with state budget cuts this year, both Los Angeles and Orange County school districts have cut librarian positions. As a result, librarians are being forced to divide their time between various campuses in an effort to keep the doors open. According to the state Department of Education, California ranks last in the country for its student-to-librarian ratio. It’s depressing to think about, isn’t it?
Find out what you can do locally to support your local library, as some may have volunteer opportunities for adults and teens. Next time you need to research a subject for school or are working on a writing project, take a break from Google! Hop in your car (or ride your bike – whatevs) and reach out to a librarian for help. Chances are you’ll enjoy the human interaction and your brain will feel as though it received a work-out. Not to mention it’s a nice change of pace to talk with a human being vs. staring at a computer screen. In addition, you should see if your local library offers “Text a Librarian”. I heard about this on the radio recently and I’m hoping we get something similar in LA county so I can try it out.
Bottom line – Librarians rock. Let’s o our part to keep ‘em around.
Close Encounters of the Literary Kind: Part 7
If any of you hosted Thanksgiving this year for the first time, I feel your pain. At the last minute, my mom caught a nasty flu, so I offered to take over. Besides the initial anxiety, I was excited for the challenge. That was Monday. By Wednesday I had been to 5 grocery stores (French cut green beans are impossible to find!), 1 party supply store (I needed a table big enough to fit seat 8 ) and 2 miscellaneous household stores (festive decorations, pots and pans, etc). In two days I managed to spend over $250 and I was exhausted.
I met Brooke standing in line at the grocery store Thanksgiving Day. Both of us were buying last minute items. I needed salt, Brooke was grabbing cranberry sauce, and we were stuck in a line from hell. Through small talk, I learned that she was currently writing her first book. Awesome! Over the next 25 minutes, we chatted and she agreed to participate in my blog (despite being camera shy).
1. What book has been the biggest influence in your life?
The Bible. Which may or may not be ironic, as I’m now an atheist. I’m just amazed by its folklore. It didn’t necessarily inspire me to be an atheist, but it did show me a good example of how people can just make up a system of beliefs. Society could just as easily be worshiping Frith like the rabbits if they were taught Watership Down instead of the Bible.
2. What author and/or character do you identify with most?
There’s a book by Tanith Lee called Dark Dance which I’ve had a love/hate relationship with ever since I first read it. Much of this was because I loathed the protagonist, Rachaela, because of the passive, apathetic attitude she holds towards every aspect of her life. The story is heavy with an almost tangible depression, the prose dark and frank, yet so many of the motions she goes through are so utterly lacking in passion or feeling of any kind I hated her for being so uncaring. But now I identify with her in some way- unhappiness can sometimes make you feel the way Rachaela does.
3. What do you think happens to you when you die?
I take a spiritual and scientific approach. I feel we will exist in a spiritual form in another dimension. I hope so at least. If we go into nothingness, then life would seem unimportant. But if nothingness is what awaits us, than we can’t really question life after we expire.
4. Have you ever penned anything yourself? And if so what’s the recurring theme?
I have written a lot of short stories, but right now I am focusing on my first novel. I love the horror/gothic genre, but I also like romance. Currently I’m trying to mesh the two into one story. So far, it’s working!
5. If you had to re-live your life as a character in a book, what book/character would it be?
Hester Prynne. There are so many times I wanted to be inside her head and controlling her body so she could stand up for herself. I imagine given the time and place – perhaps even my sense of modern feminism might not hold up – but I just hate how victimized she is.
Twilight, Shmilight
Thursday nights are typically mellow for me. Dinner at home with a few of my girlfriends, a bottle of wine and good conversation. No frills, just laid back fun. This Thursday in particular marked a huge event for Twilight fans. ‘Team Edward’ and ‘Team Jacob’ fans to be exact. The movie ‘Breaking Dawn’, part 4 of a 5 part movie saga, was released at midnight and my friend Yvette has been counting down the days since the release date was announced earlier this year. Please keep in mind that Yvette is 29 year old business professional who you’d never imagine “ooohing” and “aaahing” over a series that, for some reason or another, brings teen girls to tears. But looks can be deceiving and over the years I’ve come to realize that sometimes things just don’t make sense.
This Thursday, Yvette had a plan. She was coming to my place to hang out and have dinner with some of our mutual friends and then she was off to the movies with her boyfriend for the first showing. Over the course of the evening, each friend (myself included) enjoyed giving her a hard time, but she took our jabs with grace. After a few hours, everyone headed home and I was left with Yvette watching me put away the leftovers and rinsing off our plates. I heard her text message alert go off around 10pm and instantly knew it wasn’t good. Her boyfriend (he’s an EMT) got a call and couldn’t make the movie. Part of me thought he was lying (could you blame him?), but it didn’t matter because I knew what was coming. I had just told her my book reading plans for the evening, so I was an easy target and couldn’t say no to taking his place without looking (and feeling) like a jerk. If ever “ugh” had a face, it was mine at that moment.
Let me preface my experience by saying that I’ve never read any of the Twilight books and I’ve never seen the movies, except for a few scenes on cable while channel surfing. In the 12 minute drive to the theater, Yvette did her best to bring me up to cinematic speed and I did my best to feign enthusiasm even though we both knew the truth. I held in my frustration when I saw the line of teenagers (and their parents) lined up outside to get good seats. Some even brought folding chairs! Everyone was friendly and hyped, so I took the opportunity to entertain myself and ask a few questions to the youngsters surrounding us. All in all, I talked to 9 teens (6 girls and 3 boys). 2 owned the book series, but both admitted they had not finished them. The remaining 7 had only seen the movies. When I asked them what it was about the movies that made them so fanatic, I received a variety of answers. But my favorite was from Cassidy, 14, who so eloquently said “It’s really just a long love story. It’s all about love.” In a way, I have to agree because if I didn’t love my friend, she would be sitting in that line by herself.
I’m not going to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn’t seen it. That’s not my style. But in my opinion, this video clip sums the whole thing up. WARNING: this clip *does* include spoilers. So don’t watch it unless you want to save yourself the money on a ticket as well as 1 hour and 57 minutes of your life.
If you’re a true fan, god love you. Perhaps in the right mood and at the right time, I might appreciate these films for what they are. But until then, I’m going to think of those happy Twilight fans lined up outside and feel old.
The Internet Can Be a Cesspool of Awesome
Every day, I comb the internet searching for random and inspirational things. Granted, my search isn’t always successful. But in-between I find funny videos, ironic art, sarcastic comments, and a million cute (insert animal here) photos that somehow pull my workday together.
This week I clicked on a link, that directed me to a blog, that lead me to a photo, that brought me to a comment, that made me challenge a viewpoint, which inspired me to Google a quote (that I misspelled), causing inaccurate search results. It was then that I saw “Ze Frank” as the first populated result and thought, ‘what the heck?’ and clicked on his website. Maybe you’ve heard of him, maybe you haven’t. Prior to my Google mishap, I hadn’t (a terrible shame, I know!). Yet I was immediately drawn to his creativity and the uniqueness of involving other people in his projects. Kind of like Post Secret, minus the anonymity.
The first project that peaked my interest was “Like Mom, Like Dad”, where people recreate old photos of their parents. What an awesome idea! I clicked around some more on his site and found the ‘letter project’ that he’s been working on since 2001. (Send him a photo for god’s sake! It took me 1 minute on my phone.) Ze is also working on “Young Me, Now Me”, which he’s turning into a book. The idea behind it is pretty self explanatory. You simply grab an old photo of yourself (or a family member – whatevs), and then reproduce the image (same pose, clothes, setting, etc.) as you are now. If you want to be a part of his book, you can submit your photos here. How cool is that?
The internet is filled to the brim with interesting ideas and creative work. If you find something that inspires you, or catches your attention – share it with us on Facebook or Twitter. When we find a gem, we enjoy passing it on. And we’d love for you to do the same!