Monday, January 18, 2010

Where to Look on the Internet For Works of Fiction?

Thousands of books are published each year, with most of the books being published in English. It is practically impossible for a person to store and read all the books that are published. However, public libraries provide a way for books to be stored. The largest library in the world is the US Library of Congress that is a repository for millions of books, recordings, manuscripts and maps. It also has an online catalog that can be used for searching the books housed in the library. Other places like universities have specialized libraries.
However, there could be an instance where a person does not live near a library and still wants to read a particular book, or the local library does not have the book the person is looking for. Fortunately, the Internet has provided a way in both the instances.
The Internet Public Library has many links to online resources. This is a library founded by the University of Michigan School of Information, and offers a wide range of topics.
When you check online resources, you will find that most of the online books are classics. Majority of these classics are no longer under the protection of copyrights law and thus, can be made available on the public domain. You can find these classics online in The Harvard Classics and Shelf of Fiction, which can be accessed through Bartleby's website. This collection was started by Harvard in 1909. You can access classics from Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson and many other authors and writers.
Similarly, you can access Bibliomania website that has over 2,000 classics, or you can check out Online Book Page, a website run by University of Pennsylvania that has over 25,000 online books for free reading.
Many of the online libraries also offer dictionaries, thesauruses, religious books besides classics. You can also purchase books from many of the websites listed above. All this has been made possible by the Internet, which now allows us to conduct research on basically anything under the sky.

2012 Doomsday Book Review - Is the 2012 Official Countdown Guide Any Good?

This is my 2012 doomsday book review of the 2012 official countdown guide by James Michael Sayer. Find out in this ebook review if the 2012 doomsday guide by James Michael Sayer is worth reading or skipping. Most importantly does it answer the question on everyones mind, does the world end on December 21, 2012?
So what's all the hype with this Mayan Calendar?
The situation regarding 2012 is that the mayan long calendar which is thousands of years old will end and with it many people believe the world will end as well. Now there are numerous theories to this situation, ranging anywhere from polar shifts, planetary collisions & extreme natural disasters that would wipe out the entire population on earth.
The official countdown guide does an excellent job of explaining all the possible situations that could occur in 2012 and providing a solid foundation for each one, answering all the why's. James goes into all the prophecies, including those made by the Indigenous Americans, Mayas, Hopi people, Merlin, Sybils, the Hindu, the Celts, Mother Shipton, Nostradamus, the Bible, the Druids, and the Web Bot Project.
Having read through a couple of other mayan prediction books it was a very nice change to be able to easily read this guide without wracking my brain over trying to understand all the math and theory. Basically it's the ideal guide for someone who wants to get all the info without having to read until 2012 to understand it all!
Pros:
- Easy to understand, although still highly informative.
- Many details are explained fully which are generally difficult to find elsewhere.
- Instead of being purely a "Mayan Calendar" prophecy guide it makes numerous connections which solidifies many predictions all the more.
- Goes beyond prophecies by explaining what you will need to do for survival and where you should be living come 2012 should the doomsday prophecy come true.
- Ties in many conspiracy theories regarding the NWO & Illuminati. A great deal of which appears well researched.
Cons:
- 2012 "Experts" may find they know a great deal of the information, although some small details may still surprise them.
- Those seeking out deep detailed information regarding the Mayans may need to look elsewhere.

The Good News Bible

The Bible is the Word of God. It contains 27 books in the New Testament and 39 in the Old Testament. It is one of the most selling books in the 21st Century and the more you read it, the more you will love it.
It was written by several authors from different backgrounds, varied professions and from different countries for a period of about two decades. Surprisingly, its one book with the same theme: "The creation, the downfall and the redemption of the human race" from Genesis to Revelation.
"It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword and the Christian character. Read it to be wise believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding its stories are true and its decisions are immutable." (Gideons).
Go forth, at one time in his life had read the Bible 35 times and by his death he had read the New Testament 73 times. He confessed before he died "I am ever wishing I could spend several hundred years at the Bible."
Most manufacturers provide manuals to guide their customers on how to operate the bland new machines. Likewise the Bible is the Creator's manual and contains all the necessary guidelines required to operate the most complicated machine in the world, the human being.

How Not to Write a Novel by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark - Book Review

There are thousands of books out there that purport to show you how to write your great novel. This book is somewhat different in that it endeavors to show you how NOT to write your novel, or novil as was first written here.
The book lists two hundred mistakes to avoid at all costs, and if you are struggling to write a good book, then this list may well save you an awful lot of grief.
It is a well known fact that sex scenes are amongst the hardest to write. Reading some of the bungled attempts featured in this book and I can well believe it. I am not certain whether the "bad writing" featured in this guide is real or simply made up, but of one thing I am certain, some of the bad sex is so toe-curlingly awful, it becomes hugely amusing.
Surely no one could write this bad, you might be forgiven for thinking, yet we all know that bad writing is plastered all over the internet under the guise of "my latest exciting book".
As Lynne Truss commented, the lady famous for her Eats Shoots and Leaves punctuation guide, "Heavens, what a joy this book is, extremely funny."
The guide covers such facets as plot, dialogue, pacing, character essentials, bad guys, beginnings, endings, narrative stance, historical research, sentences and paragraphs, and much more besides.
At the end is a section entitled: How not to sell your novel, which again is incredibly funny, if some of the enclosure letters to publishers repeated here are to be believed.
If you have been struggling to land a publishing deal for years, or have just started out on that rocky road, How Not To Write A Novel could well be the best book you have ever bought.
Hugely amusing and mighty useful, I defy any writer not to look at their own work through different eyes, once they have read this work. It comes highly recommended because it is both a great read, and downright useful. An essential addition to the bookshelf for anyone determined to find a traditional publisher to take on their work.