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Seth Godin Gives It Away

By Michele Neylon on December 14, 2009 11:42 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Seth Godin has organised a free ebook which features thoughts from seventy "big thinkers".

Similar to some of his own recent books, the ebook's format lends itself to being dipped into ie. you don't need to read it cover to cover.

It's only 82 pages long, so it's not exactly a chore to read it anyway!

You can grab it here or read more about it on Seth's blog.

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Rating: 1/5 (1 votes cast)

Andy McNab's Brute Force

By Michele Neylon on December 27, 2008 11:15 AM

I'd read a couple of Andy McNab's earlier books and found them to be reasonable reads, so when Brute Force appeared on a list I grabbed a copy.

I'm not convinced that it was a wise move.

The story follows one of McNab's characters - Nick Stone. Stone used to be in the UK special forces, but is now in retirement when he comes under attack. The rest of the book is Stone trying to find out who wants him dead.

While the basic plot is okay, the book's pace is really really annoying. McNab seems to relish boring the reader to tears with overly detailed prose. Do we really need to experience each and every sensation of the character? I don't think so.
The other problem is that the chapters are incredibly short. Whoever edited the manuscript must have had the attention span of a goldfish, as the chapters in many cases run to a mere two or three pages, so they serve very little purpose.

Worth reading?
If you can't find anything else - yes, but don't get a new copy. Borrow it from a friend or grab a secondhand copy.

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Rating: 3.7/5 (3 votes cast)

More Dead Trees Courtesy of Grandad

By Michele Neylon on November 30, 2008 1:25 PM | 3 Comments

Richard O'Connor, aka "Grandad", got a book deal about a year ago with Mercier press and the book itself will be out in the new year. When exactly I don't honestly know, but it's already available for pre-order on Amazon.

The cover image isn't available on Amazon at the moment, but Grandad posted it the other day, so here it is (I'm saving on his bandwidth bills by stealing a copy - he can sue me later!):

I really like the subtitle!

So who do I have to kill to get a signed copy I wonder....

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Rating: 5/5 (1 votes cast)

Godin Gets To The Point

By Michele Neylon on November 6, 2008 8:36 PM | 6 Comments

I've been a fan of Seth Godin's writings for quite some time, so I was delighted when my copy of The Big Red Fez arrived a couple of days ago.

In common with some of Godin's other books, The Big Red Fez is not a hefty volume with tiny print. It's just over 100 pages long, but every second page is a screenshot of a website or email, so it's actually a mere 50 pages in total. But a book shouldn't be valued based on its length, especially not in the case of Godin.

While some authors suffer from something akin to verbal diarrhoea, Godin excels in getting his point across clearly and succintly (the screenshots help illustrate what he's talking about).

So what is it all about?

It's about taking your website to the next level. Making it more useful and thus more profitable. No matter how good you may think your website is you can probably tweak it and improve it (I know this to be very true of any I operate!)
Most of what Godin talks about is simple and easy to put into operation - making the call to action more obvious for example, or rejigging error messages etc.,

Word of advice - if you run a website get a copy of this book!

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Rating: 2.4/5 (5 votes cast)

Andalus - Moors and Contemporary Spain

By Michele Neylon on July 27, 2008 12:44 PM

Image via Wikipedia

If you've spent any length of time in Spain you cannot escape the Moorish influence. While the more obvious traces can be found in Andalucia, with Granada's Alhambra, the influences on both culture and language run a lot deeper.

Jason Webster's book Andalus attempts to explore the legacy of the Moorish conquest of Spain and its legacy hundreds of years later when the relations between East and West are strained once again.

It makes for an interesting read, as the author explores not just Andalucia, but many of the other Spanish regions in search of answers to questions about Spain's past, present and possible future.

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Rating: 3/5 (1 votes cast)

Free Books Courtesy of Penguin

By Michele Neylon on July 23, 2008 10:51 AM | 8 Comments

Image via Wikipedia

Penguin are giving away books - the only catch being you have to write a review of the book you get within 6 weeks of receiving it.

More info on their special holiday reading site

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Heading West Again

By Michele Neylon on June 14, 2008 11:30 AM

Image via Wikipedia

I'll be leaving for Ennis shortly, as I have to go and collect a load of books that I'd left in my grandfather's house.

Of course I'm running an hour or two behind schedule, but it's a Saturday, so I should be forgiven!

I left a lot of Spanish and French books with my grandfather a few years ago, so I've really no idea what is actually there. I suspect there's plenty of Garcia Marquez and a few dictionaries, though I'm not 100% sure.

My task for next week will be getting my hands on more bookcases, as I've more or less filled all the ones I have and am currently living surrounded by boxes!

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Devil May Care - James Bond Returns - Book Review

By Michele Neylon on June 5, 2008 1:24 PM | 3 Comments

Image by Thomas Roche via Flickr

I'm not ashamed to say that I am a James Bond fan (why would I?), so I was very interested in seeing how the new Bond novel would turn out. A new novel? The concept of a new James Bond novel is probably a bit bizarre considering that Ian Fleming has been dead for quite some time, but this year, to mark the centenary of his birth, Penguin commissioned Sebastian Faulks to write a new novel.

Devil May Care is classic Bond. It may only have been published last week, but it feels like it was written over 30 years ago at the height of the cold War.

The story picks up after the last "original" Bond book with our hero recovering his strength. Next thing you know we're plunged headlong into yet another exciting adventure that takes us to the four corners of the globe.

There's plenty of action, but there's also plenty of proof that while Bond maybe tough he's still only human.

Is it as good as an Ian Fleming? Possibly.
Is it worth reading? Definitely

Grab a copy!

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Irish Media Contact Directory Updated

By Michele Neylon on May 12, 2008 2:51 PM | 1 Comment

I meant to mention this before the weekend, but didn't get a chance.

The Irish Media Contacts Directory 2008 edition has just been released.

The directory is split into four main sections:

Print
Broadcast
Media Services
Politics

It also includes an "experts" section which is useful if you are looking for an informed comment on something.

It would be really nice if they gave subscribers access to the data in CSV format, as that would be very useful for mailing lists etc.,

The directory retails at EUR90 and is available via the site

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More James Bond Goodies

By Michele Neylon on May 11, 2008 1:44 PM | 2 Comments

This year is turning out to be a bumper year for James Bond fans.

The Ian Fleming centenary has acted as a wonderful catalyst for the likes of Penguin, who are releasing a series of new covers, which are simply gorgeous.

Here's the one from Casino Royale:

It maybe new, but it's got that wonderful 60s retro feel.

The full set of books will be available at the end of May, though they haven't announced if they will be making a box set available yet.

Of course there's also the new Bond film which is set to be released on October 31st.

Earlier this year Royal Mail released a set of stamps to commemorate the centenary, while the Imperial War Museum is holding a really nice exhibition.

Of course the main thing behind Bond was the books, so you could do worse than spend some time acquiring some of the first editions. While you can get some of the first editions for as little as 30 or 40 euro there are some going under the auction hammer next Friday for prices ranging from 500 euro to ten thousand euro. More information is available on the Bloomsbury Auctions' site (you can bid via eBay)

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Rating: 4.5/5 (2 votes cast)

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Recently in books Category

Seth Godin Gives It Away

Andy McNab's Brute Force

More Dead Trees Courtesy of Grandad

Godin Gets To The Point

Andalus - Moors and Contemporary Spain

Free Books Courtesy of Penguin

Heading West Again

Devil May Care - James Bond Returns - Book Review

Irish Media Contact Directory Updated

More James Bond Goodies

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