Around the Bookish World : News Week-in-Review

Filed in News , The Smutty Lover Posted on January 20, 2012 @ 3:00 pm 13 comments

  Welcome to this week’s post and it is definitely one that is jammed packed with more author meltdowns; The internet went quiet and dark for awhile (in some parts) and Apple acting pretty much asstastic again and of course the books to watch out for.

 

Part 83229227374748292393 of the author meltdowns saga which.is.not.going.away. (THIS is the year for full on meltdowns methinks!) and this week we had pretty much a big doozy from several YA authors again and to break the theme – an editor ragging on a reviewer for a fantasy book review. The first incident involved authors Kiera Cass and Elena Roth discussing PUBLICLY on twitter on how to skew negative reviews on Goodreads – it looks like this was inspired due to Wendy Darling’s review on the social reading site which was a DNF.

Part 8342028293044584399039393939482920204 of the meltdown trend happened at a fantasy book review of Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence which had the editor, Jane Johnson of Voyager, commenting and accusing the reviewer was unfair and that it was a personal attack because Tor lost out during the auction of this book.

And Part 8239292948595959292023034003033729949494949282929298589594 Maggie Stiefvater decided to blog about the whole YA reviewing fiasco (she got caught up on her own drama last year which she says she now regrets over a negative review). In her post she defines that the reviews should have a more academic take and that reviews which have gifs, lolcats and macros are not REAL reviews but are posts about books.

I am not going to comment on these cases – because at this point I am bored by this and the only concern I have is to those reviewers who do want to use lulzy pics or gifs or snark or *gasp* want to write a negative well written  review on a book. Don’t be intimidated by this drama – authors and even editors/agents and their grannies shouldn’t tell you on HOW TO WRITE A REVIEW. The whole point its about YOUR opinions on the book itself whether bad or good. Yes authors will be disappointed that it might be a bad one or happy if its a good one, but most of them would be very HAPPY if the book was reviewed at all. This is a crowded and competitive market and each review good and bad highlights that book and even a bad review can sell a book.

 

*Off my soap box*

 

This week also held a global protest on the upcoming potential bills (checkout the Oatmeal’s explanation which is the BEST) to combat piracy. SOPA/PIPA has been getting a huge critical backlash and with good reason because it can potentially censor the internet and to prosecute ANYONE who just links to sites that holds copyright infringement and the definition for that is REALLY broad. Leading sites like Wikipaedia and Reddit went dark for 24 hours and quite a few sites including book bloggers joined in the protest. It also must have worked because over 100 senators/congress members have dropped support for it – also it didn’t help MANY was caught with infringing copyright which ironically SOPA/PIPA would punish those who accidentally link or use copyright work.

Ironically on Thursday – the US indicted one of the biggest download hosting sites Megaupload citing they caused five hundred million dollars of loss to the entertainment industry.  Anonymous retaliated soon after by shutting down a mega list of sites including the US Gov sites, Universal and a few others. I sense a huge battle for the control of the internet in the future.

 

If there are any authors or wannabe writers thinking of publishing with Apple ibooks – LOOK AT THE details of the EULA very clearly because this could potentially screw your book distribution of the book especially for other sites – This ZDnet article clarifies and highlights that not only Apple has to accept the book if it fits its terms but it is not compatible with other epub formats. I think this is one of the worse terms to distributing a book and that is saying a lot.

 

News in Brief:

Avon books  is looking for people to complete this consumer survey about their books and service!

The studio Lionsgate has purchased Summit Entertainment and now owns the rights to the Twilight franchise. You guys there might be MOAR movies and even a tv series! One word: RENESMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Fans of Thea Harrison – MARCH IS A GOOD MONTH! Not only we get the 4th full Elder series book but Thea has signed up to do another novella which is based in the Elder races world with Samhain. It is called Natural Evil.

And finally Grand Central Publishing is entering the digital only market. They are looking for submissions from agent and non agented authors  for novellas and full books. They will also publish backlist books as well as new ones – the imprint will be called Forever Yours.

 

Now for the covers to watch out for!

First up  Jennifer Ashley’s The Duke’s Perfect Wife – I love this series so much!

 

Lady Eleanor Ramsay is the only one who knows the truth about Hart Mackenzie. Once his fiancee, she is the sole woman to whom he could ever pour out his heart.

Hart has it all–a dukedom, wealth, power, influence, whatever he desires. Every woman wants him–his seductive skills are legendary. But Hart has sacrificed much to keep his brothers safe, first from their brutal father, and then from the world. He’s also suffered loss–his wife, his infant son, and the woman he loved with all his heart though he realized it too late.

Now, Eleanor has reappeared on Hart’s doorstep, with scandalous nude photographs of Hart taken long ago. Intrigued by the challenge in her blue eyes–and aroused by her charming, no-nonsense determination–Hart wonders if his young love has come to ruin him . . . or save him.

 

 

Jennifer Estep’s 3rd Mythos Academy YA series – I will be reviewing the 2nd  book really soon!

 

 

I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me — again.

Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects — and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me? It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me — and I’m in for the fight of my life.

 

 

 

And finally – this cover caught my eye and the premise sounds fantastic and so imaginative! One of the best covers I’ve seen this year!

Sara Beth Durst’s Vessel.

 

In a desert land where serpents made of unbreakable glass fly through the sky and wolves made of only sand hunt within storms, Liyana is destined to be a vessel, to sacrifice herself so that her clan’s goddess can inhabit her body… but her goddess never comes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going to leave it as an open thread this week on any of the stuff I highlighted which consists of a lot of interesting things! Have a great weekend guys! 

About Has


Has is a bookaholic and feeds her addiction whenever she can. She usually can be found lost in a Romance or an Urban Fantasy novel. Her favourite sub genres are Paranormal, Fantasy and some Scifi. Her most treasured authors are, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Ann Aguirre, Lisa Kleypas and Tamora Pierce. She loves that discovery of finding a brand new author and falling in love with their books. Has also blogs a The Book Pushers - Book chatter and reviews

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13 Comments

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  • aurian January 20, 2012 at 3:14 pm

    Wow, that is a lot of news. I am staying out of the YA authors stupidness, not interested in it, at all. I’ve heard earlier on the radio, that the European minister for this kind of things is against Sopa/Pipa, she wants to protect the internet against censure. Hope she is keeping that promise. But, well, you know, politicians. But that article on how hackers retaliate, well, it is fun that they can, but also scary. I love the internet!
    Thanks for the Thea Harrison news, the more books, the better! I am also looking forward to the new Jennifer Ashley book, even though I am reading Wild Cat at the moment (and loving it!).

    Have a great weekend you all!

    • Has January 20, 2012 at 3:22 pm

      I think at this point with the whole negative reviews its getting tedious and even commenting upon it is getting boring but the only ones being harmed by this is the ones who attack those reviewers.

      I heard that the EU was looking at legislation similar to that of SOPA but I think with US Congress dropping it – it was announced earlier today due to pressure may give those in charge time to think about this clearly. Well I hope 😛

  • Sheree January 20, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    I’m bypassing the YA reviewer brouhaha by staring at the cover of THE DUKE’S PERFECT WIFE – Paul Marron shirtless AND in a kilt!

  • Mel S January 20, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Dark Frost cover!! That cheered me up after the review debacle update – thanks! 🙂

  • Has January 20, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    @Sheree
    Heh! Kilts ——————> YA dramallama

    @Mel S
    I have my review for Kiss of Frost next week! I really am enjoying this series!

  • blodeuedd January 21, 2012 at 4:02 am

    Poor kid, the story of Loch Nessie and the creepy guy who has stalked her since birth, euwwww

  • LSUReader January 21, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    I agree with you on the meltdown stuff. Now, enough already!

    Thanks for The Duke’s Perfect Wife cover. I really enjoy this series, too.

  • Amanda January 22, 2012 at 4:37 am

    far out, the stupidity of these authors is really starting to on my goat…i cannot even be bothered anymore, I started writing a post, but haven’t finished it yet…I am sure there will be many, many more chances this year for me to get it up lol

  • Jan January 22, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    Wow. Lucky the review site I’m on hasn’t had bad feedback.
    We don’t accept comments though.

  • Susan January 23, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    Jennifer Ashley (under any of her names) is one of my favorite authors. Really looking forward to the 4th book in the series.

    Side comment/question: How do people know who the cover artists/models are? I’m often curious about the covers but don’t usually see that kind of info on the author sites. I don’t care as much now that most of my reading’s done on the kindle, but still. . .

    Also eagerly awaiting the new Mythos book and your review. Just read the first 2 (plus the short) a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed them.

    As for the meltdowns–agree that they are occurring w/ such frequency now that I don’t much care about the details, but do care that they’re happening. It’s not a good thing that authors/editors/anyone is basically trying to squelch people’s expressions of opinion, regardless of the format. (If someone said something good about Maggie Stiefvater and attached a dozen lolcats, I bet she wouldn’t mind so much. Makes me kinda sorry I’ve bought some of her books.) So, even if you’re getting bored w/ the topic, thanks for keeping on top of it.

    • Has January 26, 2012 at 8:53 am

      I discovered Jennifer Estep late last year – her YA series was the first but I also discovered her UF series. WISHED I started earlier. Had a great time at Forbidden Planet getting her backlist titles 😀
      And I am def looking forward to Ashley’s new book!

  • Rod January 26, 2012 at 7:45 am

    @Susan Whilst not caring about the details is absolutely fine, it does mean that you accept the characterisations offered by other people. I went to a couple of the links and find no meltdowns, just a tiny handful of pretty reasonable responses. Seems to me this is twitter/boggers chasing their own tails desperate for something to get the pitchforks and tar out over.

    • Has January 26, 2012 at 8:50 am

      That is what you may believe but I totally disagree about the chasing their own tails and pitchforks thing but then I am a blogger/reviewer. It wasn’t the reviewers who blogged about ‘on how to review’ and what construes a ‘good’ review or calling those reviewers bitches.
      Those authors chose to blog and/or conspired to vote down negative reviews. It is also unprofessional when editors or agents comment at blog reviews or at goodreads because their clients/authors books got a negative review and challenging the reviewer because of it. I also fail to see how that is ‘petty reasonable’ responses when a reviewer has to respond to that and certainly they should feel upset angry!

      My fear is that at the moment this seems to be mostly restricted to YA reviews and many are young and would feel intimidated by not expressing their HONEST voices on a book and seriously do you think that is a good thing? Bullying young people because of their opinions – SERIOUSLY?

      I have seen this issue on and off for the last 10 years – It happened with erotic romance reviews and it seems to be a YA thing right now. But once a book is out in the public sphere the AUTHOR or the publisher cannot control what people may think of it because it is there for consumption. Yes this whole brohaha is boring but I wont stop linking or highlighting this issue to others because I know many will be put off by the author’s antics. A negative review is not off-putting but when a author calls names or tries to control a critical reception of a book because they can’t handle it then FRACKFRELLSMEGGING yes I will post about it and I raise my pitchfork proudly with the burning strength of a million supernovas because this kind of wtfery is not something that is petty.

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