Barefoot Into Cyberspace


An online acquaintance of mine, Becky Hogge, has released a book! Barefoot Into Cyberspace tells the story of the "hacker scene" over the tumultuous last few years. Yesterday, Becky released a transcript of her interview with Julian Assange - in it he discusses the News of the World hacking, amongst other things. A fascinating interview […]

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How Do You Upgrade An eBook?


As I've mentioned before, Jasper Fforde is one of my favourite authors. His latest book "One of Our Thursdays is Missing" is a brilliant work of fiction - but contains a rather worrying flaw. Well, I say a "worrying flaw" - I mean an error. All books contain errata - I think that's a given […]

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Kindle Wallpaper: Books are weapons in the war of ideas


A book towering above some flames.

I was reading this article on Armed Services Editions of books distributed during World War 2, when I came across this extraordinary propaganda poster. Original image is from The Boston Public Library on Flickr under CC BY NC. What strikes me is how detailed the poster is. The power of the quote. The sheer neutrality […]

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Holiday Reading


Thanks for all the suggestions on which eBooks I should read on holiday. I didn't get through as many as I would have liked (crappy flights and too many pre-lunch cocktails!) - but here's what I did read and what I thought of them. Anathem Neal Stephenson's Anathem By rights, I should have loved this […]

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Releasing a PDF eBook is Like Writing an iPhone App - and I don't mean that as a compliment!


The unsurpassed guru of mobile phones, Tomi T Ahonen, has released his latest book for free! The book, "The Insider's Guide to Mobile", is an invaluable guide to anyone in the mobile industry. I've read through a few pages of it and it is smart, funny, useful and a hugely important tome for anyone in […]

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Which eBooks Should I Read On Holiday?


A woman sat on the beach reading a book.

I'm an utter bookworm - on holiday, I like nothing better than to lie by the pool reading a good book. I generally average a book a day. Last year, I took a mixture of eBooks and physical books away with me. This year, I'm only taking eBooks. That's where I need your help, gentle […]

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QR Codes Going Mainstream? ASDA and Martina Cole


Two of the biggest "mass market" brands are using QR Codes in their advertising. ASDA - the UK arm of Walmart - and Martina Cole - one of the UK's best selling authors. Here's the poster in situ Here's a close up of the code It's a reasonable physical size and the information density isn't […]

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Girl With A One Track Mind


It's always a thrill to hear an author read their work aloud. It's even more of an honour to be at the author's début. Last night, 100 people crammed into the function room of Canal 125 for the launch event of Girl With A One Track Mind Exposed by Abby Lee aka Zoe Margolis. Sitting […]

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Holiday Book Reviews


Book cover for Jasper Fforde's "Shades of Grey". The title is covered in multicoloured paint.

I'm a manic book reader. When I'm on holiday, I like to try and read a book a day. So, my recent two weeks off was the perfect time to indulge. Here, for those of you that care, are what I read and what I thought. In no particular order... Shades of Grey - Jasper […]

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Redefining The Book


A Kindle hidden in a hollowed out paper book.

Jasper Fforde releases upgrade patches for his books. If he has made an error of fact, created a plot hole or missspelt a word - you can download an upgrade for your book.  How cool is that? He also has a "cut scenes" repository where you can see the chapters which were cruelly cut by […]

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