Get That Off The Shelves

Posted on Jan 23, 2012 in Book History, Featured

The first book ever banned in the Americas was before the United States ever was the United States.  It was the year 1661, colonists and settlers were slowly coming into the country that was already occupied by Native Americans.  Writer John Eliot wrote a book titled, The Christian Commonwealth.  In it he wrote about evangelizing the “Indians” and living out the Christian life.  It was banned for proposing a new idea for government that would require dethroning the king.

eBooks Killing Print

Posted on Jan 2, 2012 in Ebooks, Featured

It probably comes as no surprise to most people by now that eBooks are becoming more popular than regular, print books — a trend that likely took a steep climb over the 2011 holiday shopping season that featured a whole new line of the popular Amazon Kindle eBook reader, including the company’s first tablet, the Fire.  Other eBook readers that saw a refresh late last year were the Nook and Sony.  These were some of the most popular gifts to give and receive in December, in addition to gift certificates for digital downloads of books and other media.  

NPR’s Top Fantasy Booklist

Posted on Dec 9, 2011 in Booking the News, Featured

Fantasy and science fiction fans appreciate a good booklist, since there are thousands of books in the genre published every year.  There’s little chance of getting around to all of them, so a discriminating eye will seek to navigate the plethora of novels in hopes of getting only the best of the lot at flowland.  No one wants to randomly pick up the first sci-fi novel he or she spies on the shelves at the local bookstore, only to later discover that the attractive artwork on the jacket was its only redeeming quality.  When you consult well informed booklists published by authoritative sources, you can avoid all that complexity and its ensuing disappointment.  Let’s have a look at one of the best booklists for fantasy and sci-fi readers.

10 Amazing Fantasy Authors part 3

Posted on Oct 6, 2011 in Book History, Booking the News, Featured

This is part 3 of 3: to read part 1 click [ here ] and part 2 click [ here ]

Part 1 and part 2 showed us some really great authors to check out if you like fantasy books. Part three will show you the remaining 3 authors of the ten. Last but not least the last three are…

Fun Facts About Harry Potter

Posted on Oct 3, 2011 in Book History, Featured

Since June 30, 1997, when the release of the first novel in author J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the books have enjoyed unprecendented popularity and critical acclaim worldwide. The seven books have also had some share of criticism, mostly citing concern for the increasingly dark tone of the novels as they progress through the troubled but adventurous life of a boy wizard orphaned as an infant following the murder of his parents by a dark wizard. As of the summer of 2011, the series has sold over 450 million copies and has been translated into 67 languages.  If you are a fan of the series, you probably know quite a bit about the books, characters, plotline, and the author herself.  Many people try their hand at Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit each day, flaunting their substantial knowledge of Harry Potter trivia, but even if you are one of them, chances are there might still be a few surprises.