Amazon Best Books Challenge - 2013

Hosted by Wickedly Delicious Tales

Basically, Amazon posts a list of the 100 Best Books of the previous year. Whether or not these are in fact the best is up to us to find out.

Since the majority of "Bests" aren't really in my usual genres... I'll be aiming for the Competent Level of 10 books:

10) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green ~ Amazon | GoodReads

15) Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie ~ Amazon | GoodReads

21) Quiet by Susan Cain ~ Amazon | GoodReads

23) Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt ~ Amazon | GoodReads

32) Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan ~ Amazon | GoodReads

40) How to Be a Person: The Stranger's Guide to College, Sex, Intoxicants, Tacos, and Life Itself by Dan Savage ~ Amazon | GoodReads

51) The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters ~ Amazon | GoodReads

53) The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey ~ Amazon | GoodReads

56) Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo ~ Amazon | GoodReads

59) America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't by Stephen Colbert ~ Amazon | GoodReads

The challenge host, Cassandra, also decided to include the YA Top 20 Listin the challenge, since only 1 or 2 YA books made the main Editor's list. Of those, I'll probably be picking up...

2) Reached by Ally Condie ~ Amazon | GoodReads

6) Dodger by Terry Pratchett ~ Amzon | GoodReads

7) Insurgent by Veronica Roth ~ Amazon | GoodReads

9) Seraphina by Rachel Hartman ~ Amazon | GoodReads

10) Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor ~ Amazon | GoodReads

11) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater ~ Amazon | GoodReads

12) The Diviners by Libba Bray ~ Amazon | GoodReads

13) Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver ~ Amazon | GoodReads

16) Cinder by Marissa Meyer ~ Amazon | GoodReads

17) Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas ~ Amazon | GoodReads

I figure between the two lists, I should be able to get at least 10, if not even 15 (or 20 if I get really motivated!). Overall, I'm pretty excited to give this another go. And thanks again Cassandra for hosting this challenge for us!

Any others on the list you think I need to check out?
Leave a comment below, and wish me luck!


Keep track of my progress on my Reading Challenges page.

An Awesome Announcement for Audiophiles

Do you love classics?
Do you love audiobooks?
Do you love getting free stuff???

Then Amazon's latest offer is perfect for you!

Basically, Amazon is trying to get the news out about their newest line of tablets (Kindle Fire HD) having whispersync technology, which syncs the e-book you're reading with the audiobook you're listening to. So if you want to continue listening to a book, but forgot your headphones at home, you can go ahead and keep reading and then the audiobook picks up your progress the next time you read. Pretty neat, no?

To spread the word, Amazon is offering 22 e-books for free download, PLUS the 22 corresponding audiobooks through combined Audible accounts. So if you have a Kindle reader, tablet, or free app and an Audible account (and free app), you can take advantage of this offer!

Simply click any of the links below, purchase (for FREE) the e-book and you will be directed to a confirmation screen. On that confirmation screen will be a link to Audible to purchase (once again, for FREE) the audiobook. If you're interested in multiple audiobooks, I'd suggest holding off on the actual checkout since you'll get a confirmation e-mail each time you check out.

A Word Of Caution:
Be sure that you are logged in to your Amazon-linked Audible account prior to clicking any links to purchase the Audible audiobooks. I made an account with a different e-mail than my Amazon account, and thus now have two separate accounts. I was logged into my other account when I clicked my first Audible link and now can't get the free download promotion applied to that one book. Luckily I don't think I'll be reading A Tale of Two Cities in the near future, so it's not a complete loss...

So without further adieu, here are the books available:

Complete List of 22 Titles

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
       Read by Anne Hathaway ; 3 hrs and 52 mins
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
       Read by Anne Flosnik ; 12 hrs and 19 mins
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
       Read by David Suchet ; 6 hrs and 8 mins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
       Read by James Langton ; 18 hrs and 49 mins
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
       Read by Davina Porter ; 13 hrs and 15 mins
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
       Read by Simon Vance ; 33 hrs and 53 mins
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
       Read by Jon Smith ; 13 hrs and 15 mins
The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
       Read by Patrick Tull ; 4 hrs and 6 mins
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
       Read by John Lee ; 23 hrs and 38 mins
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
       Read by Shelly Frasier ; 6 hrs and 34 mins
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
       Read by John Lee ; 8 hrs and 35 mins
White Fang by Jack London
       Read by Bob Thomley ; 8 hrs and 8 mins
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
       Read by Frank Muller ; 21 hrs and 20 mins
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
       Read by Nathaniel Parker ; 5 hrs and 21 mins
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
       Read by Simon Vance ; 8 hrs and 21 mins
Dracula by Bram Stoker
       Read by a Full Cast including Alan Cumming & Tim Curry ; 15 hrs and 28 mins
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
       Read by David Hyde Pierce ; 9 hrs and 52 mins
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
       Read by John Castle ; 31 hrs and 6 mins
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
       Read by Elijah Wood ; 10 hrs and 12 mins
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
       Read by Scott Brick ; 3 hrs and 47 mins
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
       Read by Wanda McCaddon ; 12 hrs and 11 mins
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
       Read by Simon Prebble ; 8 hrs and 6 mins

Yeah, that's right. You can enjoy the voices of Anne Hathaway, Elijah Wood, and Tim Curry in your ear FOR FREE!!!

So if you're like me and love listening to your books (whether you're reading along or not) I hope you take advantage of this promotion for some free lit and audiobooks.

Disclaimer - I first read about this announcement a couple days ago from one of my favorite blogs, The eBook Reader, but figured I should also do my part in spreading the news. Go check him out for great eReader & tablet reviews, tips, tricks, and news. Or just go read his article covering this announcement. You'll be glad you did.

Disclaimer Part Deux - I have no clue when this promotion will end. It stands to reason that Amazon will want all the hype they can get, but do be sure to check the Bold Red Kindle Price before you purchase.

Marching Into The Black

I know, I know - another week without posts. Don't worry, I'm still here, just had a week-long temp job (yay!) interfering with my reading (boo!). But I'm back on track and am excited to reveal some more reviews, an upcoming release, and a little of what else I've been up to lately.

On the e-reader front, I think I'm narrowing down my search. I've been introduced to the possibility of an inexpensive tablet, which I could then personalize with whatever reading apps I wanted. I'm still not sure about backlighted reading, so I'm kinda thinking about getting a Kindle Fire from Best Buy for their trial period. See if I use any of the apps, and am okay with the backlit screen, then downgrade if I have any issues. Then again, I may fall in love with it - who knows?

In case you've been living under a rock in the last few months, you've no doubt heard about the internet protection, anti-piracy acts being voted on by various and sundry governments. SOPA was struck down or at least deferred for a time, but that hasn't stopped other bills, like ACTA, from reaching other governments and in some cases actually getting approved.

Some artists/activists/internet users have had enough and have proposed a Black March:

So what are your thoughts? Are you for or against the ACTA-type bills; will you go on an entertainment strike; is this whole thing being blown out of proportion? Sound off in the comments below!

E-Reader Suggestions?

Got a question for y'all...

As you may or may not have noticed, here at The Wolf's Den, I don't usually read many e-books. It's not that I have anything against them, I just don't own an e-reader. Now, I have accepted some e-books for review now and again, but I read them at my computer.

I use free programs such as Kindle for PC and Adobe Digital Editions. I tend to prefer the Kindle program, but it doesn't accept all formats (PDF), so I'm stuck with either a converted mess or using Adobe for some books. Unfortunately, sitting and reading at the computer has two major disadvantages:

First, I find that oftentimes sitting at the computer gives me too many distractions to allow me to focus on the material I should be reading. YouTube, GoodReads, DeviantArt... I swear I don't have ADD, but——Ooh shiny! Ahem, second, the eye-strain and required seating arrangements (needing to be able to see the screen) don't allow me much in the way of comfort or variety. Frankly, I love reading in bed or sprawled out on the couch—just so many ways to toss and turn and cozy-up while I read!

An e-reader seems like it would answer both of those problems. Plus the fact that I could take my e-books out of the house! The library might be a nice change of scenery now and again. Or maybe when I'm chilling at Powell's?

And that's where you guys come in! I've stayed out of the e-reader scene mostly due to expenses. Now, I'm still not rolling in dough at the moment, so I'm really trying to balance out spiffy gadgets with my budget. Here are a few brands I've heard of, ranging from $79 to $199:
Kindle (Basic $79, Touch $99, Keyboard $139, Fire $199),
NOOK (Touch $99, Color $169, Tablet $199),
Sony (Reader $130),
Kobo (Basic $100, Touch $130, Vox $200),
and BeBook (One $99, S Club $129, Neo $159).

Honestly, I'm kinda leaning towards a Kindle at the moment. I've used the PC software for about a year now, and other than the PDF issues (which I don't know if there's a better option right now) I don't have any huge problems. Plus I already have a lot of free books downloaded, and I'm sure I'll run across other freebees regularly. Plus my library already offers a large selection of e-books in the Kindle format!

So here's my checklist:
Price - Not able to spend tons right now.
Weight/Size - Not a huge issue for me, actually.
Ease-of-Use - I'm pretty tech-savvy, so unless it's a nightmare to use, I should be fine.
Loyalty/Format - I'm not really loyal to one company over another. Powell's and Jan's are indie, and Borders kinda died. But when it comes to formats, how much of a pain is it going to be getting the right book format?
Memory - I'm not planning on replacing my library, this will be primarily for review requests that aren't available in print.
Touch or Not? - Is touch worth it for ease? Or is it a stress headache waiting to happen if it gets scratched?
Durability - Along the same lines as above, I'm pretty careful with my things and I'm not typically clutzy, but will I need a force-field around this thing?
Gadgets - I don't need tons of bells and whistles, but I won't turn them down either. Not really looking at 3G, video, or net-browsing, though music might be a plus...
Extras - Do I need to budget in for extras to get full use out of this? I don't foresee a need for an adapter, but will I need/want a case, light, etc.?

A tall order? Probably. So, what's your vote?



If you could cast your vote above then leave a comment below, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks a bunch, guys. I can't wait to hear from you!