Free Jane Austen e-books

Google's Doodle in honour of Jane Austen's birthday

It was Jane Austen's 235th birthday yesterday, Dec 16. How did you celebrate it? On my part, I went to the Amazon Kindle Store and downloaded 16 free e-books either by Jane Austen or inspired by her books. You can still download them for free today, Dec 17!

The amazing Sourcebooks has decided to provide these titles for free in conjunction with Jane's birthday. Here are the titles:

Special e-book editions of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Mansfield Park.

Eliza’s Daughter by Joan Aiken
The Darcys & the Bingleys by Marsha Altman
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown
The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins
The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview
Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange
Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan
Lydia Bennet’s Story by Jane Odiwe
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy by Abigail Reynolds

There was some confusion yesterday (Dec 16) like the books still had prices on Amazon even though they were supposed to be free for a day, so I was hesitant about downloading them.

But it had been sorted out when I checked this morning. Go ahead and download them today wherever e-books are sold. Enjoy!

Winners!

Please forgive me for this late announcement of the winners from my latest book giveaway, which was held in conjunction with my blog turning four! Anyway, here are the four winners:

-ROCKprincess-

Belle Découverte

Alessandra

Stephmartin71

Congratulations to the winners! I've sent an e-mail to each of you so please reply within three days. Also a big thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in my giveaway. It was definitely fun! :)

Sell your books online

As a book lover, I have the incurable habit of buying more books than I need. I love to read books and I love to buy them even more! In fact, like most of you guys, I have more books than I can read. This is why I need to be more disciplined and spend more time reading.

Buying lots of books also affects the question of space. I don’t live in a Harry Potter world where I can use magic to create extra space for the extra stuff. So what do I do? What do you do? Well, you could trade the books with friends, donate them to the library or sell them off.

From my experience, selling books online works quite well despite having to wait for somebody who wants to buy them. But I just came across this site called Sell Back Your Book and guess what? They buy used books! Forget about waiting for ages to sell off that extra heavy textbook because that website will buy it. They also buy hardbacks and paperbacks as long as the books are in good condition.

When they receive your books and have confirmed the contents, you’ll be paid via check or Paypal. They pay for the shipping of the books too!

With sites like this, I guess you won’t need to worry about selling off your books anymore.

Now reading: The Struggle by L.J. Smith & book fairs

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith

I'm actually reading the second book, The Struggle right now. I've already read and reviewed the first book, The Awakening in July. I've also finished watching the entire Season One of the TV show of The Vampire Diaries. This is one reason why:

Haha!

For fans of the TV show, you could check out this blog, Vampire Diaries Guide for all you need to know about the show. I just stumbled upon it and well, they have interesting stuff to offer fans. There are widgets such as calendars, banners, jigsaw puzzles (!!!) and picture makers among others.

Hmm, I would really like to watch Season Two...

Anyway, the Times Book Clearance is back in Island Plaza, Penang! 

And for those staying in the mainland, don't miss out on the bookstore Popular's Book Fair in Megamal Pinang.

Book Blogger Hop: November 26-29, 2010

Welcome to this week's Book Blogger Hop which is hosted by Crazy-For-Books. Go over to her blog for more information and to leave your links to your post.

This week's question: What is your favorite book cover?

My answer:

Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I also like the cover of Fallen by Lauren Kate. I may like these books but I haven't read them yet! Oh dear. Ooh, the cover of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer works for me too. Love the White Queen! (It is a queen, right?)

I am also impressed with the cover of Catcher in the Rye (with the horse) by J.D. Salinger. My list also includes I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - the one with the castle and the clouds in the background. Now that's a pleasant, picturesque scenery that I'd like to look at every day.

Using my Kindle Wireless Reading Device (aka Kindle 3)

It took 22 days for my Kindle 3 (Wi-fi) to arrive at my doorstep. Mind you, it was quite a painful wait. If I were to live in the US, I would have received it around a week after I had placed my order.

So, since Amazon does not ship the Kindle to Malaysia, I used vPost in which they provided me a US address. (Click here to sign up for a vPost account.) It's a Singaporean service, if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, I paid vPost SGD30.50 (RM73++) to have the Kindle sent to me in Malaysia. I got my Kindle ten days after I paid them.

What a joyful moment it was when my mom said there was a parcel for me on the evening of Nov 11 as I got home from work. The unboxing was exciting. The Kindle greeted me as I lifted the lid of the box. Under it were the 'Quick Start Guide' and the USB cable.

In using the Kindle for the first time, I followed all the steps laid out in the Quick Start Guide. The device was already registered under my Amazon account so I need not register again. The wireless also worked perfectly. I even downloaded some free e-books from Amazon via Whispernet though I received this e-mail the next day!

Dear xxx,

I see that you attempted to purchase "xxx [Kindle Edition]" while in a different country than the United States listed on your Amazon account. Certain Kindle titles are not available everywhere. We are reaching out to you to ensure the best possible service for your account.

Dang. Then I followed some steps provided by this guy who claimed to have successfully bought e-books from Amazon. Bought a gift card for myself to buy an e-book, Jellicoe Road (Kindle edition) by Melina Marchetta.

But yesterday, a message popped up in my Kindle, telling me to change the location of my country! I de-registered the Kindle from my Amazon account, created a new Amazon account with a different e-mail and linked the Kindle to it. Downloaded more books after that. Today, I got the same e-mail again! I can still download free e-books from Amazon but not sure for how long. See what happens tomorrow.

I like having the books downloaded right away to the Kindle though because it's easy and takes a short while. :)

Here are some useful links:
Kindle Content Outside the US
Buy Kindle books from outside US
Buying Amazon kindle books from overseas?
Amazon Kindle 3 In Singapore (this blog writer insists that users do not buy free e-books from Amazon via Whispernet/Wifi/3G! Great. Should have read this blog before using my Kindle! Guess I'll have to always transfer the e-books from my computer to the Kindle via USB cable.)
International Kindle users: change your country to avoid additional fees
How to Do (Almost) Everything With a Kindle 3

Check out this screensaver on the Kindle:

There are more cool-looking screensavers on the Kindle actually. This is only one of them.

I *heart* my Kindle but I need to stop receiving those e-mails from Amazon!

My blog's 4th Anniversary Book Giveaway!

Deadline: Dec 8, 2010

Fill in the form here.

Books Love Me! will turn four in December and I'm holding a not-to-be-missed book giveaway! Yes, you stand the chance to win a book of your choice if you enter this contest. There will be FOUR winners.

*For international winners, books will be mailed from The Book Depository so please make sure they have the book you want.

*For Malaysian winners, I'll get the book for you from MPH or Borders and have it sent to you.

Here are the details:

1. This giveaway is open to EVERYONE. Yes, you and you and all of you! And you over there! Make sure you have a mailing address.

2. You don't have to be a follower of my blogs to enter. But I'd be so happy if you do and thank you to my faithful followers for staying with the blog(s) all this time!

3. You can spread the word on this book giveaway in any way you like - Facebook, Twitter, blog post, blog sidebar and more. Five extra entries each way for your hard work!

4. Closing date: Dec 8, 2010. Winners will be chosen via Random.org.

5. Fill in the form here. Good luck!

Last minute sign up for holiday swap

I hope I'm not too late for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap this year. The closing date for signing up is Nov 14, 2010 which was yesterday. Has anyone else signed up for it? Cos I haven't seen any post on another book blogger's blog, probably why I completely forgot about it!

Anyways, hope I'm not too late and I can't wait to know who my Santee will be. :)

P.S. My Kindle 3 arrived on Thursday! Will blog about it after this. :D

New books and update on my Kindle 3

I make it a rule not to buy any books whenever I decide to stop by bookshops like Borders, MPH or Popular. Why? Because there are so many unread books at home! But I overheard an announcement in Borders this morning and I thought I heard that if I spent RM50 and above, I'd be entitled to some special promotion or something.

So I grabbed a copy of Pop Star! magazine, which had Justin Bieber posters inside. No, I'm not gonna pin Justin up in my room but my niece was asking for large posters of him. Then I browsed the Young Adult section to select a title so that my purchase would amount to more than RM50.

Boy, was it tough to choose a book! There was an abundant of great titles but it took me a really long time to make up my mind. I would have grabbed them all if I had all the money in the world but since I don't enjoy such luxury, I decided to settle for one book only.

Finally, I chose Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. I haven't heard of this book before but the synopsis on the back sounded good. It cost me RM39.90.

So I went to pay for the book and magazine. Guess what? There was no promotion for purchases above RM50. I must have heard wrong. The cashier said there were promotions only for those who were going to fly on Malaysia Airlines and also something about RM100. Hmph! I swear I heard RM50 somewhere. Never mind.

Anyway, the Borders store at Queensbay Mall is going to set up a Book Club. They might meet once or twice a month. It's not confirmed yet but they're getting members now.

I also received the copy of Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s & 30s, which I ordered from Book Depository.

Meanwhile, I got The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook for review. Thanks Audra from The B&B Media Group for sending it to me!

Last of all, a copy of The Nanny Returns by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin arrived in my mailbox a couple of weeks ago. I had to review it as part of the International Book Tour.

As for my Kindle 3, it's already been shipped to my vPost address in the US. (Click here to sign up for vPost if you want to.) I also had to send the invoice for my Kindle order to vPost for processing. I'll need to pay for shipping to Malaysia after that. Let's hope they get back to me soon! I placed my order for the Kindle on Oct 20 and it's been such a long wait since!

Waiting for my Kindle 3

Guess what? I ordered the Kindle 3 from Amazon two days ago. Or better known as Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display (Graphite) - Latest Generation priced at USD139. The current status says that it'll be shipped soon.

Anyway, I'm soooo... impatient for it to arrive! :D  I never thought that I'll be buying an e-reader. Oh well, there's a first time for everything.

BTT: Disaster!

Today's question for Booking Through Thursday isn't out yet so I'll just answer last week's.

You’ve just dropped your favorite, out-of-print book into a bathtub, ruining it completely … What do you do now?

My answer:

Feel bad about it, I suppose. In the meantime, I'll just be really, really careful! And never bring such a book anywhere near the bathroom.

School: Best time of my life

It’s no secret that education is becoming more important by the day.

Choosing the best school to go to isn’t that easy. Will your child enjoy their time there? What kind of friends will he mix with? How are the teachers? So many questions but they can be answered if you do some research of the schools you’ve got on your list.

I remember my primary school days as fun and carefree. There were almost no problems except the occasional scolding from teachers and the childish arguments with friends. But those were trivial stuff.

My teachers were great. They were really dedicated and cared a lot for their students. They would go to great lengths to help us understand our lessons. When we did well, it would be nice to see their remarks on our behaviour in our school report.

Besides, I had friends from different walks of life. Okay, so we were still kids and haven’t seen much of life yet but in any case, we were all a mixture like different-coloured M&Ms in a bag. I studied in a national school, which has students from different races and our medium of learning was English and the Malay language. So we were a diverse lot and by all means, we learnt a lot from one another.

So I think that the kids who attend Ross Global Academy may have the same experiences with mine. I visited their website and was happy to know they aimed to serve students from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The students of Ross Global Academy would also learn about history, current events, and technology. They have to wear a school uniform too. Hey, I wore school uniforms for almost 14 years of my life. At least I didn’t have to worry what to wear to school every day.

So if you’d like to enroll your child in Ross Global Academy, take a lot at their website or find them on Facebook.

Book review: Shopaholic & Baby

I'm happy to have written a book review today.

Check out my review of Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella! Wow, I've been absent from the blogging world for like three weeks? Or was it a month? Oh well, I've been terribly busy with work. It sucks the energy and time out of me. I'm so happy that I have today and tomorrow off! Man, I really do need a break.

What to read next? Oooh, there's plenty to read, no worries! :)

Book Blogger Hop: July 23-26, 2010

Welcome to this week's Book Blogger Hop which is hosted by Crazy-For-Books. Go over to her blog for more information and to leave your links to your post.

This week's question: Tell us about the book you are currently reading!

My answer:

I'm about to start reading Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella. It's the fifth and only Shopaholic book that I haven't read yet. Well, the sixth book in the series will be out in September this year. Can't wait for that! :)

I love these books because they are extremely fun to read with hilarious bits in it. Becky is such a silly and yet kind-hearted person. Hmm, can't say I like her but I enjoy reading about her boyfriend, Luke and best friend, Suze!

If you're new here, let's get to know me:

1. Hi, I'm Josette, aged 22 and from Malaysia.

2. I've been book blogging since December 2006 and it'll be four years of blogging for me come December.

3. I enjoy reading contemporary, YA, and historical fiction. Sometimes I read thrillers, fantasy and classics. Graphic novels are great too!

4. I have two book blogs. You're reading one now and my other one, Books Love Me - Reviews is only for my book reviews.

5. Last book read: Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

6. Now reading: Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella

7. You can also find me on Twitter, LibraryThing and Goodreads.

Thanks for reading! Tell me about yourself and leave your links in the comments. :)

Book review: Shopaholic Ties the Knot

Check out my review of Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella!

Teaser Tuesdays (Shopaholic Ties the Knot)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Current read: Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

Page 212

Christina reaches for a T-shirt with spattered dye and rhinestones on the front, and as she runs her eye up and down it, I hold my breath. Lisa and Tracy raise their eyebrows at each other, and although Danny is motionless, I can see his face tightening with hope.

The Huge TBR Readathon II

Hosted by: Bookworming in the 21st Century

July 19, 2010 - July 25, 2010 (Mon to Fri)

What to do? Read, read read.

I failed at the last readathon so here I am taking another plunge at the same reading challenge! It's not really considered a challenge but it's a challenge for me to read non-stop. It's a challenge for me to finish more than one book a week.

Not sure how many books I can read but I'm choosing the ones that are easy to read page-turners! I'm going to start working in early August so this is my (probably last) chance to read all day long. :)

Now reading: Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

When you can't finish a book...

...even though you feel like you have to, considering it's a review copy sent to you from the publisher or the author itself. So what do you do? Do you just stop reading and write out the review but mention why you couldn't finish it? I figured there was nothing wrong with that so I wrote out my review and explained why I couldn't finish the book. I don't intend on continuing it and not for a long time. I want to read something I enjoy!

And no, I did not bash the book terribly or listed out 101 reasons why it was bad. I don't think it's fair to the book and author if we heavily criticised it. Just like another blogger, Dana Alma who mentioned in her post, even if we didn't like a certain book doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't want to read it. Remember, one man's meat is another man's poison. My poison, your meat. Yeah, you get it.

The last book I never got around to finishing was The Diary of a Girl in Changi. That was so many years ago. I did not even feel guilty about stopping halfway and deciding that I won't pick it up again. I even sold it off! Well, maybe I will try reading it again if the book somehow finds its way to me. If the book is meant for me to read, there's no harm trying. Ah, the power of fate.

But after that, I think I felt guilty for not finishing it. Being a Sagittarius, I tend to stop doing things (only some things like personal projects, activities, etc!) halfway. I read about my zodiac and found out that it's a common trait among us Sags. Take notebooks, for example. I start writing in one then leave half of it empty and I go on to start writing in another one. Another example is my scrapbooks. I never got to complete them. Things like that.

So that's why I vowed to always try to finish every book I start to read. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It gives me the right to say, yeah, I've read that book, cover to cover! :) I get to feel proud of myself. But I'm not proud to say that I skipped some paragraphs of Pride and Prejudice. If you're familiar with the reader's bill of rights, you know that we have the right to skip and all that. But I don't believe in skipping! Oh well, I never believed in not finishing a book anyway and my stance on it has changed. I do hope to read P&P again but I really want the new edition that's targeted at young adult readers.

That's about it. How do you feel when you don't a finish a book? And do you pick it up again after some time?

Book review: The Korean Palace of Honolulu

Yesterday, I reviewed The Korean Palace of Honolulu by Linda Mi-Suk Enos. Click on the link to read my review.

N.B. It was a "Did Not Finish" book for me.

Friday Finds (Alice I Have Been)

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Here are a couple of books that I read about in today's newspaper. Friday Finds is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.

That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.

A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in your 20s and 30s, 4th Edition by Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly

Revised and updated, this new edition of The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s explains all the basic information anyone in this age group will need to manage their personal finances or enhance their financial plan to yield better returns on their investments.

• Covers 401(k) and retirement planning plus investment strategies for the next decade
• Budgeting tips for spiraling food and fuel costs, as well as the financial impacts of changing jobs and growing families
• Home ownership options from building from scratch to townhouses and Condos
• Up-to-date information on internet banking and online mortgage brokers

***Book descriptions taken from goodreads and Amazon

Book Blogger Hop: July 16 - 19, 2010

Welcome to this week's Book Blogger Hop which is hosted by Crazy-For-Books. Go over to her blog for more information and to leave your links to your post.

This week's question: Right this instant, what book are you dying to get your hands on (past, present, or future)?

My answer:

I would love to get a copy of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson! Other books include Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, Dracula in Love by Karen Essex (out Aug 10, 2010) and Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris!

If you're new here, let's get to know me:

1. Hi, I'm Josette, aged 22 and from Malaysia.

2. I've been book blogging since December 2006 and it'll be four years of blogging for me come December.

3. I enjoy reading contemporary, YA, and historical fiction. Sometimes I read thrillers, fantasy and classics. Graphic novels are great too!

4. I have two book blogs. You're reading one now and my other one, Books Love Me - Reviews is only for my book reviews.

5. Last book read: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. You can also check out my post on my new favourite TV series: The Vampire Diaries!

6. Now reading: The Korean Palace of Honolulu by Linda Mi-Suk Enos

7. You can also find me on Twitter, LibraryThing and Goodreads.

Thanks for reading! Tell me about yourself and leave your links in the comments. :)