Apologies for the uninspiring title to this post but I couldn’t think of any clever way of linking the two ebooks I just bought.
The first, Cat’s Cradle Time Yarns, is a new anthology featuring a short story by Candy Korman.
Candy is one of my favourite authors so I had to buy it. Besides, I’m a sucker for all things feline, and this anthology looks as if it’s going to be fun. Congratulations Candy! I honestly don’t know where she finds the time to sleep. π
The second ebook, Erinyes, is a science fiction novel by an author I’ve never heard of before. So why did I buy it? I’m damned if I know. It certainly wasn’t the blurb. I enjoy the concepts of worm-hole jumps and cryogenics, but on their own, neither would have been enough to make me click that Buy button.
The truth is, I think I was hooked by theΒ nameΒ of the book. Erinyes is a good, strong name, and it’s unusual, however it could mean anything, and belong to anything. Β Is Erinyes a person? A place? Something else entirely?
I have no idea what this name means but it was enough to get me to buy the book. I’ll let you know whether it was worth the outrageous sum of $0.99 in a few days. Β Until then it might be fun to just ponder the power of names.
Are they as effective as a distinctive book cover? Or – rank heresy – is it possible a catchy title can do more for a book than its cover?
Okay, enough random musings, I have about 14 more chapters of proof reading to do if Vokhtah is to arrive on schedule so I’m off to the salt mines again.
cheers
Meeks
January 11th, 2013 at 5:55 am
Best wishes for health, happiness, peace, and prosperity to you and yours for 2013 and beyond.
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January 14th, 2013 at 8:54 am
Thanks Russel. π
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January 6th, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Glad to be one of the contributors for the anthology. Thank you Erin Lale.
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January 7th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Welcome to the blog. π
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January 7th, 2013 at 3:45 pm
Thank you, Meeka’s Mind !
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January 7th, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Call me Meeks. Please π
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January 7th, 2013 at 11:22 pm
Meeks. π
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January 8th, 2013 at 10:14 am
-grin-
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January 4th, 2013 at 9:29 pm
continuing above comments…….
Old Man’s War is under $7. A short one of his is ‘An Election’ for 99c and equally enjoyable. π
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January 4th, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Thanks Metan. I’ll check them both out now. I’m ready for bed and a good read. π
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January 2nd, 2013 at 6:45 pm
If it wouldn’t cause her problems walking through doorways I’d admit that Kandy is a favourite of mine too.Her first title intrigued me and I loved reading it and then reviewing it. A clever title certainly helped there. Just recently I’ve been reading books by Jinx Schwartz , again because of the great titles but also because her subject is such a feisty woman who in real life would scare me to death. As she says, Hetta Coffey is a woman with a boat and she’s not afraid to use it.
Currently I’m reading a book called A Presence in Russell County by S J Sprague but in all honesty I’m not sure I’m enjoying it. though I will persist a while longer. I’m at the halfway point now and we’ve known the bad guys for a long time. The introduction of the cavalry seems superfluous since we already had good strong characters, and the cavalry seem a little unreal as a secret organisation of helpmeets one of whom is disabled yet is in love with the heroine before meeting her in the flesh and then is slapping flesh with her on day one.Still , maybe jealousy is laying a part here……..
Hurry up with Voktah, that birthday is fast approaching Meeks.
Huge Hugs. xx
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January 3rd, 2013 at 10:07 pm
Yes, this business of titles is a curious thing. I just finished a book called Turing Evolved. Both the title and the cover intrigued me, but the story left me dissatisfied. It wasn’t boring or anything, it just didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I’m still mulling over exactly what was missing, or perhaps should have been missing.
And I’m working on it Bloss! Not sure how much I’ll get done tomorrow as it’s going to be a scorcher. I may just spend the day prostrate and praying for rain. π
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January 2nd, 2013 at 4:04 pm
Sometimes buying something on a whim is just the ticket. I like to make most of my important decisions in live in that way. Not because I am reckless but because we know what we want all along, but just don’t admit it. Therefore, but elimiating all the self doubt and over thinking I can move on with live.Happy New Year Meeks, and Happy belated birthday!
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January 3rd, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Yes! Some of the biggest decisions of my life appear impulsive but deep down inside they were all pure me. π
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January 2nd, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Thanks for getting Cat’s Cradle. I hope you enjoy “Locard’s Tale.”
I think there’s an intriguing topic lurking in your blog post β a big one for writers β and that’s the mysterious process of picking books. Now that we’re shopping on the internet (usually alone and sometimes in our pajamas) we’re no longer asking a helpful bookstore owner for suggestions. We’re basically on our own, judging the veracity of reviews and books by their covers.
Why do I click “buy” for one book and pass on another? Price? Title? Glowing reviews?
Sometimes I buy ebooks impulsively. The timing is simply right to say YES!
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January 2nd, 2013 at 12:22 pm
Absolutely! The way we choose books now is completely different to how we did things say, five years ago.
I would miss the physical experience of going to a bookstore and wandering up and down the aisles except for one thing – I usually ended up frustrated. They rarely stocked any of my favourite authors, unless they happened to be on some best-seller list, and the books they did stock tended to be the same old, same old.
In fact, thinking back, one of the reasons I first started buying books from Amazon [long before the advent of the Kindle] was because Amazon seemed to stock absolutely /everything/.
Of course, since getting my own Kindle, the shopping experienced has changed yet again. Now I can indulge in a $3 lucky dip whenever I wish. π
But getting back to your point, I always start with the Title, and/or the cover. Then to the blurb and finally to the reviews. And sometimes I skip all the sensible stuff entirely! lol
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January 2nd, 2013 at 12:46 pm
I’m with you, title and/or cover, blurb, reviews. A great book with a bad title will be skimmed over, bad for me, and the author!
I love the cheap specials on the kindle, I wouldn’t go and buy just anything in a bookshop, at that price they are an investment. The disappointing book I buy for a dollar or two for the kindle never puts me off looking for an unknown bargain the next time.
I’ll have to go and look for these ones next time I am browsing π
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January 3rd, 2013 at 10:12 pm
I think this is the most liberating thing about the ebook revolution – we can enjoy reading again without having to budget for every book!
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January 3rd, 2013 at 10:19 pm
And it might be bringing back the serialization of books again. I am eagerly waiting on the first book in a 13 part monthly series to be auto delivered to my kindle.
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January 4th, 2013 at 11:11 am
Oh!?! I haven’t come across any of those yet but I like the idea a lot.
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January 4th, 2013 at 11:50 am
Remember John Scalzi who wrote Redshirts? I love his books so much I have already paid for the entire series! 99c each, how can I go wrong? π
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January 4th, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Another friend recommended Redshirts to me but I couldn’t get the ebook on my Kindle for some reason so I haven’t read it. I really have to check Scalzi out one of these days.
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January 4th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
It wasn’t available for ages but is now. An expensive one though at $13. I just finished Old Man’s War, that was brilliant, you won’t regret paying for them.
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January 4th, 2013 at 2:15 pm
Ungh… at that price I might see if I can get them on Booktopia instead.
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