Reading Selections

One of my favorite ways to spend a break at work is to look through the Amazon Kindle freebies. I tend to gravitate toward the science fiction and fantasy categories, but occasionally I find myself looking through the literature, suspense, and romance lists. This daily addiction has led to quite a collection of self-published and indie books in my Amazon Cloud Reader.

Now, I know that some of those books will be terrible (not necessarily the ones pictured above!). They may not have been edited. Typos could abound. Plot holes. Bad characterizations. Cringe-worthy writing. I know this because I've seen it. I've opened more than one of those freebies and, after a few pages, I've realized I can't continue reading because, while the premise may have been promising, the author rushed to publication.

Yet, I also know that there will be gems waiting to be unearthed. I've found them. I've enjoyed them. I've been impressed more than once. More than one self-pubbed author has managed to get everything from sentence structure, voice, and tone to characters, plot, and theme working cohesively. These things working together create a splendid reading experience.

This is why this year in addition to the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge that I am participating in, I want to challenge myself to read at least ten self-pubbed Amazon Kindle Freebies. But I want to take this challenge one step further. I am going to try to give each of those as-of-now mystery books a post of their own here in order to help the author spread the word about the book they've created.

I'm hoping to have the first review up by the end of the month.

Comments

They saved the finger..

This was supposed to be an easy, carefree weekend. One of those rare weekends where spontaneity is possible because plans were not made ahead of time. We could lounge on the couch, work on our hobbies, or even do a little shopping. And, no, I'm not referring to the necessary evil of grocery shopping, but the much more enjoyable version where you get to buy things that actually make you happy. Because the oldest boy needed some pants and the youngest could use a new pair of shoes, I decided to head into the city to do some shopping at Kohl's. Of course, my decision to shop there was not quite so altruistic. Mama needed a new bathing suit! So, I pack the kids up and head into the city. The youngest picks out his shoes . The oldest tries on a few pairs of jeans and ends up with two in the basket. Did I mention we have to shop in the men's department now? That he's wearing size 29? My baby is growing up! Then it was Mom's ...

Looking for Willing Victims

I've decided I'd like to expand my photography skills and experience. This means I need willing models. So far I've got a couple of people who might be willing to let me practice on them. I'm excited but nervous. I want so badly to take amazing pictures and give them each something they like. Shoot #1: Mom wants me to take Christmas pictures of her three daughters. I'm very excited, but I also want a lovely background. I was thinking of taking them to a park or some other such setting where there's a lot of pines. The problem is that Fall has just arrived and these are supposed to be Christmas pictures. Any suggestions? Shoot #2: A senior. I think I'm okay on this one. She wants fall colors in her pictures, so I just need to wait for the trees to do their thing. Then its a matter of finding the right location. Now here's my real delimna: Where do I upload them so they can be printed to look like professional pictures? Rounded corners and im...

Camping with Little Boys

Our first travel trailer. I don't remember camping much with my family as a kid. This is likely because we always had the same vacation destination: a family plot in Baldwin, MI. There was no cabin there. Instead, there were two structures: a small, silver camper and an old single-wide trailer. The silver camper is gone but the single-wide still sits there and is used by extended family members to this day. It wasn't until I was a teenager that my step-mom and dad bought a pop-up trailer and we started camping elsewhere in the state. My memory isn't the greatest, but I'm almost certain they got the pop-up after I started dating Ken. Eventually, my parents upgraded to a fifth wheel that my dad still pulls around to various nearby camping spots. Ken, by contrast, didn't have a set vacation destination growing up. His family camped. They started out with a truck-bed camper, I believe, and eventually upgraded to a fifth wheel. Ken and I vacationed both in Baldwin an...

Castle in the Clouds

Search This Blog