The Concrete Blonde: Book Review

The Concrete Blonde is the third book of Harry Bosch series.

If you like reading a methodical,procedural yet captivating novel, pick any one of the Bosch series.Though reading them in an chronological order is not important, but it is better if you do so.

Harry Bosch is a LAPD cop, who is facing a trial for killing a person three years back. Norman Church was killed by Harry during his course of investigation of a high profile serial killer case. Though Harry didn't intend to kill him but he strongly believes that he got 'The Dollmaker' that night.The killings also stopped since then confirming that Church was the killer indeed.
However, LAPD receives a note on the day when the trial begins.A note which challenges the cops to find a new victim ;an innocent blonde buried deep inside the concrete.Just like 'The Dollmaker', just the same way the sick killer used to do!

If Harry got the right guy 3 years back, then where did this note come from? Did Harry really get the right guy?
Or an innocent person was killed by an unruly cop and framed as a serial killer?

The book is a fascinating amalgamation of an intense court room drama and a police investigation. The author Michael Connelly has handled both the generes in his other books eg 'The Black Ice' is a police story whereas 'The Lincoln Lawyer' is a thriller based on a lawyer. But here, the blend is so intriguing that it becomes difficult to judge which part is more fascinating. As Harry juggles between his irksome trial and the unsettling case, you will feel his anxiety and helplessless at every nook of the book. The book maybe a bit slow in places as Harry delves into an old and busted case but it has so many chilling moments that you will find it difficult to put it down.

Give it a try and let me know!

E reading apps in Android:Device-Samsung Galaxy TAB

For those who are still waiting to take the plunge into the e-world and thinking how good a reader the galaxy tab can be, please read on!

Before you actually start reading on your TAB, get a scratch-guard for your tab. Opt for the matt finish guard if you want to prevent finger prints on the screen. I would also recommend to get a nice flap cover as well. That way, carrying the tab will be easier and it will have a diary like feel in your hands.
Once done with the accessories, lets come to the real part!
I can feel the hardcore book lovers lining up with their doubts and concerns...

Can I read any book I want?
Can I get books easily? Are e-books cheaper than real books?
Can I get free books?
Can I read in any language I want?
Can I get old classics to read ?
Can an ebook make a 'chikk' sound when I flip pages ? Can I place bookmarks?
Can I adjust the brightness of the screen ? Can I adjust the font-size or even the font styling?
Can I read it at night without any lights ON?

Well, let me try to answer some of them.

To begin with, get the books(files) you want to read and put it in any folder in the TAB after connecting it via the USB. Yes,it is as simple as a drag and drop! If you are not aware of the sources from free ebooks, please continue reading..

There are various apps that are available in the Android market for free which makes reading a pleasant experience.Though most of these apps support various formats like .doc,pdf,txt etc but to make your life easy, try to get an epub version of the book that you want to read.

Lets have a look at some of the apps that I've used. I'll primarily talk about those apps which allows you to read your own content easily:-

1) Aldiko

This is one of the oldest and most popular e-reading app in the market.
Upon opening the app you are presented with a virtual library, which will initially be empty or will contain a pre-loaded book from Aldiko.
Click on the Home button on the left top of the screen to check the various options available.From the HOME screen,you can visit the online stores, view your recent read, configure how you want your library to appear and yes, import your own books.
Considering you have already placed the epub files in the TAB, just click on 'SD Card' option and navigate to the folder where you have placed your files.Select the files you want to load into Aldiko and click on Import. Once done, you can go back to your library to view the books you have just added.On the library screen you'll see the book's cover, the book's title and the author's name. You can sort the books in different ways like Title, author,rating etc.

When opening a book you're taken to the beginning of the book or to the last page you were reading.You can override the publisher's setting and change the font size, the margin etc.Just tap the screen while reading and click on Settings to play with the various options given. Click on the Night-mode to change the background to black with white fonts which is perfect for night reading. This is my favourite option and I usually prefer reading in this mode.
While reading you can adjust the brightness of the screen just by moving your finger vertically on the left hand side of the screen. You can easily add bookmarks by clicking on 'Bookmarks' after tapping the middle of the screen and a simple touch on the right hand side of the screen flips the page.
If you want to check the online store, click on the 'Visit-Store' button and it will bring up catalogs for Feedbooks,All Romance eBooks, Smashwords etc. The free content of the store is also good which primarily offers old classics like Dracula,Pride and Prejudice etc.

Along with epubs,I tried opening a pdf doc using Aldiko and it worked just fine.

2) Samsung inbuilt e-reader
This one gets a big 'THUMBS-UP' from me! Honestly,I didn't expect the app to be this good. It can do almost everything that others can do along with the page animation.
For those who don't know about the page-animation, it is a way you can turn pages and it resembles exactly the way you turn pages when you read a real physical book. Also it makes a 'chikk' sound, yes yes...similar to the sound you will generate when you flip pages of a book.
I remember when I was showing (rather showing off) my tab to others, this particular animation drew the most accolades.

Also,the settings here offers you to choose different backgrounds along with the day-night mode to read.For example, if the white background is 'non-bookish' for your liking, you can opt for the brown or the standard paper-like background.
The only 'drawback' of this app is it takes about 10-15 secs to load any book but I can live with that.

Importing books, adding bookmarks, font style/size updates,sorting books etc can be done easily.
However,you cant buy books from any online store using this app.

3) FBReader

Another popular app in the market and is a lot similar to Aldiko in terms of features and look-n-feel.
One of my favourite feature of FBReader is that when you put a bookmark, it saves them as few lines from the beginning of the page.
So rather than selecting "Bookmark no 12", I get something like 'Bosch walked into his room and ..." which sets the mood and kind of reminds you where you were the last time.
Good thinking!

Few of you would like to know about few of the other e-book apps like Google Books, Kindle and B&N Nook.
I downloaded them but due to limited exposure for these apps in Singapore region, I couldn't explore them at all. Also, I don't prefer these apps as loading/reading free content using them are troublesome eg Kindle reads only .prc/.mobi format and to read your own books in Nook, you will have to keep them in the Nook/My documents folder.
When there are so many other apps offering so much of flexibility, I didn't allow these giants to bully me and uninstalled them after a few days.

I've deliberately not divulged much details about the apps listed as I want you guys to explore and find out few hidden things yourself.I've just given you the footmarks, now is it up to you to delve into the woods!
Remember that all these apps are designed based on a normal reader's requirements and his/her desires. Hence these are easy to use and an absolute delight to explore.

Confused?? If yes, then forget about opening the apps and reading them. Just go to the folder where you have stored your books and click on the one you want to read.It will either open with the default app or ask you to select any one app of your choice.Just open and start reading...

I cant make it any more simpler than this!

Now for those who wants to know about the sources for free epubs,you can always google it. There are many blogs and users who are sharing their stuff for free.Else, you can check these places:

www.gutenberg.org
epubbooks.com etc

(You can also search for torrent files)

If you don't get epubs, don't worry.Get any format that is available and use the fantastic e-book converter named Calibre to convert into epubs and move into your device.
For more details, please visit:

www.calibre-ebook.com

Keep reading and keep sharing!

From paper to e-reader

I want to share my transition from an hardcore book reader to an e-book fan!

I'm sure at least some of you will find it helpful and will save some of your time.

Flashback:

I'm a book lover and I used to purchase 2-3 books per month (crime/thriller/whodunits only).

Not just any random books though..I have made a masterlist(never ending) which is populated as follows:

1> Award winners (like Edgars,Dagger,McCavity etc)

2> Nominees.

My library contains :

30 Bengali novels/collections

77 English novels

(All neatly covered either with white paper or transparent plastic covers and numbered neatly)

I always wanted to have a huge library but with my ever-growing list I realized that it was practically not possible.

I was heart-broken when I left my Bengali books behind when I moved to Mumbai. I was shattered when I had to leave my English books behind when I moved out of Mumbai.

But the moment I was exposed to the concept of e-readers, I felt maybe that is the future and I need to build an e-book library rather than a 'real' library.

But is it that easy to build an e-book library? Can the e-books really replace the feeling of holding a book in your hand and read? Well, my journey began with these questions in my mind.

Current Time

So the research began..

(I LOVE to research on new gizmo or a new technology, that is better than actually buying the stuff)

Amazon,B&N,I-River,Samsung,Sony, etc all giants have actively ventured into this field and they have different types of product to offer.

Kindle, e-ink, epub, calibre etc are few words I learnt and understood the overall market scenario to some extent.

In the current market, Amazon Kindle is possible the best e-book reader. The paper like e-ink technology, the easily accessible library, easy and quick buying options and a huge collection of books..all makes the Kindle a great product indeed

Initially Kindle was my first choice, but few hindrances!

Problem 1:

I like FREE things..

Free gifts, free dinner etc..

There are a lot of places from where you can get a lot of ebooks...

With Kindle the issue was reading free e-content(also with Nook,Sony reader etc). You can't do that easily and have to rely on their respective store.Also, they don't support all possible formats.

So now I had a bigger dilema..I had to pick something not only by judging the quality of the e-reader but also by the ease/quality of the e-store.

Problem2:

The size!

I feel the 6 inch size is just a bit small.If I want to read news paper or magazines tomorrow, then it wont be handy. Yes, Kindle have a bigger version but that is again a bit too big.

I also considered I-PAD but again found it just a bit too big for portability!

So the search continued...

And then I came to know about Android and e-reading apps!

Just when I was struggling to reach a conclusion and was about to be lost in the world of formats,e-store,free books,lend ur book option etc I saw a Samsung andriod phone ad.

The ad said, you can read ebooks on phone. My initial reaction was, "That is not a big deal! Maybe they have a pdf or word doc reader using which they can read." But then I remembered that the ad showed the guy selecting a book from his virtual library.

I started thinking, it cant be Kindle-store or Nook-store or any other store as they can be accessed ONLY from their own DEVICE.

So it means I can access other stores from Andriod phones using e-reader apps! (For me, this was a big discovery)

I reached one conclusion..I'll buy a reader/device whose OS is Andriod so that I can access any store using various apps available. (so the problem of restricting to one store was over)

But what about the Andriod apps stores? How is their content?

Soon, I came to know about Kobo,Aldiko,Stanza applications and found that they have a decent collection and also offers you to read your own ebook collection!!

So, get a book from anywhere..convert it to EPUB (using the software Calibre) and start reading! Supercool!

My decision of 'not-buying' any device which will restrict access to one particular store was proved right by the following events:

1> Amazon lauching its own 'Kindle-app' and promoting it by saying..."Get this for free, you dont need Kindle(the device)

2> B&N launching new colour 7 inch Nook (Android) and also launching their own B&N app for free!

Overjoyed, I moved on and soon finalized my requirement:

Android device

7-8 inch display, light weight!

Should be able to read black/white and colour.Newpapers/magazines as well.

Night mode option

And the most obvious choice which met all the criteria is...SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB!!

Yes I know that it is not an e-reader but a tablet. But as this device matched all my requirements and in Singapore we have great data plans to choose from, it became my most obvious choice.

There was one small glitch though!

Now you can ask me, as it is a tablet and got a LCD screen it means you cant get the e-ink feel when you are reading.Right?

Well not exactly!

The screen settings can be easily adjusted to get a screen similar to the e-ink (I can live with that!)

The end.

(Note: If you find this helpful, leave your comments. Will share my actual reading experience with the tab in my next post.)

Without Fail-Lee Child

A real good thriller!

I was looking for some good thriller to read and thankfully heard of Without fail (thanks to internet)

Easy language, brilliant narration, nice plot and a strong main lead.Lee’s detective is not just a tough guy but an intelligent ex army man. Here,he is given an assignment to kill the Vice-President of the country. While reading try to think the way he does and I’m sure you will enjoy.The way he will include you in his thinking process is the best part of the book. Almost everything in the book makes a lot of sense and can really happen in the real world. There are no unnecessary details in the book to disturb the pace of the story and you will find it difficult to keep it down.

His style is a bit similar to Dan Brown as both of them start their novels with a "Bang" to keep you on your toes right from the word go.The novel can easily be made into a summer Blockbuster!

I’ve read Lee’s Echo Burning but didnt like it as much i liked Without Fail.

The bottom line is now I’m a big fan of Lee Child and will read all his novels!

Deception Point: Dan Brown-You will be deceived!

I read this one after the Da Vinci Code and needless to say, I had great expectations from Dan Brown...
And, he didn’t disappoint me!
An amazing, realistic plot with ordinary people, plus lots of twists and turns, will not let you keep the book down till you reach the end. As usual someone gets killed at the first chapter so you hardly get any chance to settle down. Here Dan tells you a story of deception at its gigantic best; thus making Deception Point a perfect title! There is hardly a dull moment in the book and his description about the people, locations, machineries etc are just perfect. It’s a story of a senator’s daughter who gets involved in a complete mess which also includes the most powerful man in the world.. the President of the US, and many other powerful and important people. Now, the real fun is trying to figure out who is the prey and who is the mastermind! Well, I didn’t get it right and I hope even you don’t get it. Trust me, it is an absolute cracker.

I hate to disclose even 5% of the story hence all I can say is if the plot excites you and you like Brown’s style, go for it. I’m sure you are going to like it.

Creature:- A disturbing ride!

Creature by John Saul is one of the first novel that I read and had no expectations from it when I picked it up from a stall for just Rs 20! After 3 days when I finished the book, I felt that I was very lucky to get such an amazing novel for such a throw-away prize.It is a disturbing thriller and very well paced. The story takes its time to build up and so don’t expect a Dan Brown style murder at the first page! It is a story of a perfect family moving to a new place and then how things slowly start changing.I'm sure you all will fall in love with Mark Tanner who can easily be your own brother or the guy next door.
First chapters allow the story to grow and once you realize that something is wrong, I bet you just can’t leave it. I remember canceling all my commitments and finishing the last 80% of the book in a single day. Saul has this ability to create a CHILLING factor out of nowhere which I enjoyed thoroughly. For people who like stories which will keep you guessing and who believe that sometimes being too perfect can take its tool, its a must read.
I've read few more of Saul and found him repetitive in his approach.For those who have never tried him, pick this one and have a go.
You will enjoy the book more if you love any form of sports. This book changed my perception to a certain extent and I realized that you need to accept and love your dear ones for just the way they are!

Books and recommendations

Doing a bit of research is always good when you are going to read/buy a book.Though my own experience says, there is absolutely no guarantee that after a lot of research you will end up with a book that you will like.Human beings are different and something that is mind blowing for me , can be disgusting for you.Still people recommend and we often believe in the recommendations.
I used to be a member of couple of libraries but not anymore. I buy all my books now and when I decide to read any book , I don't read the plot or the review or absolutely anything.I just pick it up and start reading the content and allow the author to take me for a ride, without any expectations that can be formed by the reviews or the plot. it is kind of unusual but that is how I do it! Whenever I finish a book which lives up to my expectations, I give myself a pat on the back for buying it.The sense of satisfaction in that case is impeccable and usually I don't start my next book for at least couple of days.But on the other hand when I fail to finish off a book, I wonder what made me spend my hard earned money on this disgusting piece of work and ask myself, shall we give the author one more chance? Buying books is a gamble for me but so far I feel it is worth the risk!
So here I'm , recommending my favorite books to you and I expect at least some of you to get back to me with your honest opinions.