Notes of Life

Founded in 2004, The Book Depository is an online book store selling a large range of books. In fact, they claim to be the UK’s largest dedicated online bookseller offering the largest range of titles in the world, available for dispatch in 48 hours.

The website is clearly laid out with a list of book subjects down the left hand side (Audio Books, Crime & Thriller, Humour, Food & Drink etc) and links to Bestsellers, Fast Movers, Reviews, Offers, Blog, Interviews etc along the top. At the very top of the page are links to Login/Register, Track Order etc, as well as Currency Selection (British Pound, US Dollar, Euro, AUD Dollar and CAD Dollar), a search box and a Basket/Checkout button.

The search box is simple to use as you can search using keywords, book title, author or ISBN, or clicking the Advanced Search link will take you to a page where you can search using one or more fields. The website also has a “Super Powerful Deep Search”, but I have not yet had the need to use that.

The Home page also includes Features, Editor’s Top Picks, Book Recommendations and Charts, but their unique feature is Watch People Shop. Using Google Maps, this feature shows you what people have just bought, e.g. a speech bubble pops up with a marker showing where the shopper is and the speech bubble will say something along the lines of “Someone in Ireland bought The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with free delivery 5 minutes ago”. So it’s really just a fun and nosey feature, but I’ve never seen it on any other website before.

Another feature The Book Depository provide is that if they believe a book is out of print they will show a link to Abebooks to help you track down that certain book. Very helpful!

Most, if not all, of the books sold by The Book Depository are discounted and in some cases they are discounted by over 50%! Even brand new books and pre-releases can be discounted to this extent, ensuring that The Book Depository is one website that you should definitely check for prices when buying books.

The Book Depository don’t just sell hardback and paperback books, but they also sell audio books and ebooks. They even have a selection of ebooks for free!

My most recent reason for buying from The Book Depository came a couple of weeks ago. I was after a book that had just been released and I always check Amazon first but they were showing a 2-4 week dispatch time-frame. Most of the sellers on Abebooks were showing that they would dispatch the book from the US and so I tried The Book Depository… Not only was the book cheaper on The Book Depository, but it would be dispatched within 48 hours, so I ordered the book straight away.

The Book Depository provide free postage worldwide (which is very handy when you only want to order one book!), so all I had to pay was the price of the book. Payment-wise, they take VISA, MasterCard, AMEX, VISA Debit, VISA Delta, Maestro, Electron, SOLO, as well as Paypal. So they cover the main payment options.

I made my order on the Sunday, my book was dispatched on the Tuesday and it arrived on the Thursday. This was pretty much what I was expecting, given their “Dispatched within 48 hours” notice and the fact that postage is free (and so they use 2nd class postage within the UK).

The one thing that annoys me about The Book Depository is that while you get an Order Confirmation (and Receipt for Payment, if paying via Paypal), you don’t get a Dispatch Notice (which usually gives you a fair idea of when to expect the book). Still, that’s only a small niggle, but I’m sure it’s something they could sort out.

However, all in all, I’m very happy with the service The Book Depository provides. I’ve yet to fail to find a book on their website and their prices are very reasonable and on a par with Amazon. The free postage is most definitely a bonus!

Highly recommended!

Website: www.bookdepository.co.uk

I will apologise in advance… This is a bit of a mish-mash of a review. It’s the result of me emptying my head just having finished reading the book!

Penguin’s Synopsis

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days

Genesis 6:4

When Sister Evangeline finds mysterious correspondence between Mother Innocenta of the Saint Rose Convent and legendary philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller, it confirms Angels walked among us – and their descendants, the cruel Nephilim, still do.

Indeed, the Nephilim are hunting for artefacts concealed by Abigail Rockefeller during the Second World War – objects that will ultimately allow them to enslave mankind – and have so far been prevented from reaching their apocalyptic goal by one, clandestine organisation: The Angelology Society.

And if the Angelologists are to stand any chance of winning this new battle in the ages-old war, they must find the artefacts first. But their fate rests in the hands of innocent Sister Evangeline, who holds the key to unlocking Abigail Rockefeller’s hiding places … and whose own destiny may yet find her prey to the terrifying Nephilim army, with horrifying consequences for humanity.

———————

Religion is something I tend to stay clear of and I’ve never had much interest in mythology either, however when I read GoodReads’ description of Angelology something drew me to the book. It sounded interesting and different, so I was delighted when GoodReads selected me to receive the book as part of one of the giveaways and when Penguin sent me the hardback edition complete with a bookplate signed by the author.

The story is based in a world just like ours, except in Angelology the angels walk among us, not that you’d know or accept that unless you were an Angelologist. These angels aren’t like you’d expect them to be, they’re bad, even evil, but they are dying and believe that the Angelologists have the information and means to cure them, and they will do anything to get what they want. The Angelology Society have to stop them and Sister Evangeline finds herself at the centre of this war.

The earlier chapters of the book introduce us to the main characters, while the rest of the book knits the story and the characters together. I think Evangeline is the most important character in the book as most of the characters connect with her in one way or another.

The story itself slowly gathers pace until it’s going at full pelt. There is one point mid-way during the story where a chapter seems to go on and on (it’s possibly the longest chapter I’ve ever read), yet the information is vital. I think this is the part of the book which will either have you close the book and put it down, or will keep your interest, as I have read of a few people putting the book down half way through. However, the angelologists have gathered much knowledge and so must the reader. The author, Danielle Trussoni, must have done a lot of research into angels and the bible as the book is very detailed. This certainly isn’t a light read, but it is an interesting one.

Most of the book is written in the third person. However one chapter (the longest one) is written from Celestine’s point of view, which may seem odd, but when you read the book you realise why it was done that way.

The first thing I noticed about the book was the chapters… Instead of being titled “Chapter 1″ and so on, each chapter’s title is marked by a location, “St. Rose Convent, Hudson River Valley, Milton, New York” is the title of the first chapter, for example. I thought that was a nice touch, I like it when authors do things a little differently to the norm (it shows creativity).

All in all, despite my lack of religion and mythological interest or knowledge, I really did enjoy this book. I found it interesting and the further I got into the book, the more I had to keep reading (to the point of not wanting to put it down!). I’d certainly recommend giving it a go!

P.S. – I hear it’s being made into a film.

Visit the Penguin website for a link to the Penguin Taster of Angelology (e.g. download a PDF of the first few pages of the book!).

If I’m impressed with something then I like to let people know (as some of you might have gathered), so below is a review of a company called PastelPrint – who I highly recommend!

As a Bizziebaby member I was given a PastelPrint Fingerprint Charm kit to try out, test and review. I had never heard of PastelPrint before, but having looked at their leaflet and website (www.pastelprint.co.uk) I was interested in giving it a go and was looking forward to the end result.

PastelPrint create handmade beautiful jewellery in silver using childrens or other loved ones fingerprints, handprints, footprints or artwork. PastelPrint can also silver a leaf from a wedding bouquet or some special flowers and turn it into a charm or pendant.

You can choose from charms, pendants, cufflinks, charm bracelets, keyrings and bookmarks. Every item is unique due to your child’s or loved one’s unique stamp (e.g. fingerprint, handprint, footprint or artwork). The silver used to make these pieces of jewellery is a recycled product – the silver is extracted from a number of sources, including old film stock and negatives – so the jewellery is eco-friendly as well as being beautiful and unique.

The website is easy to navigate around and it is beautifully set in pinks and blues. The images of the products on the website show just how delightful and unique they are.

While initially you might think the prices are a little steep, you must remember that these are unique products and a lot of hard work goes into making them… They are worth every penny, believe me!

As I said, as a Bizziebaby tester I was sent a kit to try free of charge. The kit I was sent was for 1 fingerprint charm. The kit included an instruction leaflet, 2 pots of putty (1 blue and 1 white) and a padded envelope to send the fingerprint back to PastelPrint. If I had ordered my fingerprint charm direct from PastelPrint, it would have cost me £35.

There was enough putty in the pots of 3 attempts, which was a good thing because I was using the kit to get a charm with my 6 month old niece’s fingerprint on and it took us the 3 attempts! PastelPrint to advise trying to get a fingerprint from young babies while they sleep, but my niece has a habit of either putting her fingers in her mouth or gripping on to something, so I had to get the fingerprint while she was awake.

I mixed one small lump of white putty with another of the blue putty as instructed by the included leaflet and managed to create a fingerprint mould on the 3rd and final attempt. I think the older the child the easier it would be to do this. After waiting a couple of minutes for the mould to harden, I put it in one of the putty pots and wrote my niece’s name on the label provided on top of the pot. I then filled in the appropriate details on the order form – shape of the fingerprint charm (I chose a heart), name to go on the charm by the fingerprint and my niece’s date of birth to go on the back of the charm. I then put the form and the pot containing the fingerprint mould into the envelope provided and popped it into the post.

As the item is handmade and unique, I was expecting to have to wait a couple of weeks for the fingerprint charm to be made and sent to me. Two weeks later and my fingerprint charm had arrived in the mail via recorded delivery.

Opening the package I was surprised to see that the charm was beautifully presented in a white gift box secured with PastelPrint ribbon tied in a bow. I undid the ribbon and carefully opened the box and there was my beautiful, shiny fingerprint charm in the shape of a heart (complete with fingerprint and my niece’s name on the front and her date of birth on the back). I also received a complimentary silver cleaning cloth to keep the lovely shine of my charm, as well as a little business card-sized leaflet giving me instructions on how to care for my charm and telling me what it’s handcrafted from.

The charm was perfect! I had already decided that I wanted to put it on a necklace I was making myself. However, it was so nice that I also wanted to share it with my niece (when she’s old enough) and brother & sister-in-law… so I’m already considering ordering a copy to give to my niece for her christening later this year!

Yes, it is possible to re-order using the same prints/impression as PastelPrint keep them on file for up to a year. This will certainly come in handy should I go ahead with ordering another fingerprint charm for my niece’s christening as I wouldn’t like to try getting her fingerprints again until she’s a bit older.

I’ve only had my fingerprint charm just over a week and I’m already thinking about making another order, this is just how much I love PastelPrints products. If I had the money I’d be buying my family and friends gifts from PastelPrint as they are unique and so beautiful.

The service is very friendly too… After receiving my fingerprint charm, I wanted to thank PastelPrint for such a wonderful product, ao I sent them an email and, much to my surprise, I received a personal reply just a few minutes later from Allison at PastelPrint thanking me for my feedback.

If you haven’t already gathered, I highly recommend PastelPrint and their products, especially the fingerprint charms!

I’m currently reading Changes by Jim Butcher. It’s the 12th book in The Dresden Files series – my all-time favourite series of books!

Jim Butcher is a fantasy writer, best known for The Dresden Files series of books (and a TV series of the same name) in which Harry Dresden (Chicago’s first, and only, Wizard Private Investigator) gets into all kinds of bother while trying to investigate several matters (it’s never as simple as he thinks it’s going to be). Jim’s books have humour, drama, love and all kinds of wizardry going ons, and are a real joy to read.

I’ve been reading Jim’s books for a number of years now and each one seems to get better and better (which is amazing, considering I loved the first book – Storm Front). Over the years, I have been recommending Jim’s books to my friends and have managed to get 2 or 3 hooked on them too.

The main character of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files is Harry Dresden, a lovable wizard who just seems to run into trouble at every corner. Harry is a hero, although some of those in authority just don’t see him that way. Some think he’s a con artist, while others think he’s on the other side (the darker side of Chigaco), but Harry has saved Chicago from all kinds of nasties whether people think they exist or not!

Changes is the latest book in The Dresden Files series and I’m already enjoying reading it.

Find out more about Changes. However, while I feel that you can jump into any Dresden Files book and know what’s going on, why would you want to miss the rest of the series? Why not start with Storm Front -  visit the link to read the 1st two chapters of the book (you’ll also be able to listen to some snippets of James Marsters reading the audio book!).

That’s another thing I love about Jim Butcher… He puts up the first few chapters of his books onto his website as a teaser!

The last book I read (which I finished yesterday morning) was Paul O’Grady’s autobiography – At My Mother’s Knee … And Other Low Joints and having read it, I’m fully expecting there to be a second autobiography as the book finishes when he was 18! I thoroughly enjoyed it though…there was plenty of ups and downs, along with a few laughs.

Posted for It’s Monday! What are you reading?

They say never to judge a book by it’s cover, but this is exactly what I did when I bought The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The cover with it’s tag line of “When Death tells a story, you really have to listen” looked interesting, the blurb on the back pulled me in and the note that the book is a Sunday Times Bestseller told me I was in for a good read. Stood in a local bookshop, I was attracted to this book so much so that I paid the full cover price for it (£7.99).

Death narrates this story about a young girl who he… it… calls The Book Thief. Death seems captivated by her life, just as I have been captivated by this book (however, I didn’t steal it!).

The Book Thief is a young girl called Liesel Meminger. She gains the name from Death when, at her brother’s graveside, she picks up a book in the snow. The book is called “The Gravedigger’s Handbook”, it’s the first time she steals a book and it changes her life. Liesel grows to love books and words (learning to read along the way), but they are not easy to come by for a poor girl in Nazi Germany, and so she soon starts to steal other books.

Liesel goes to live in Himmel Street in Molching with her foster parents, Hans (Pappa) and Rosa (Mamma) Hubermann. Hans is a kind man with an accordian (which is actually an important item in this book), where as his wife Rosa comes across as harsh and rude (though means well). Next door is Rudy and his family. Rudy becomes Liesel’s best friend, the pair of them getting up to no end of trouble, with Rudy even helping Liesel to steal books at times. Although, while Rudy wants to help his friend get her books, he also hopes they can steal some food too to ease their grumbling stomachs!

The story follows Liesel’s life on Himmel Street and beyond. Her papa’s accordian leads them to getting a visitor, a Jewish fistfighter who must hide in their basement. Liesel is sworn to secrecy, but grows close to the Jew. They have common ground – they have both lost their family and have been taken in to Hubermann’s house in Himmel Street, only Liesel can live freely (well, as freely as a young girl can in Nazi Germany) where as the Jew can barely leave the basement for the fear of what might happen, not just to him but to Liesel and the Hubermanns.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Book Thief and loved the style of Markus Zusak’s writing. Notes, facts and announcements are dotted throughout, along with word definitions. For example, the word definition on the back cover of the book is as follows:

book thief n.
1. person who steals books
2. young girl saved by words

In parts of the book, Markus seemingly gives the game away such as when Death announces that later on we’ll learn the fate of a certain character. Yet, the game isn’t really given away, it’s just a hint at what’s going to happen.

At 584 pages long, The Book Thief is a lengthy book, but I enjoyed every minute of it and didn’t want to put it down. The story takes us through a short period of Liesel’s life, but one which has a profound influence on her life.

The story is about friends and family, and most importantly about words, both written and spoken and the influence they have on people. Liesel was saved by words.

While this book might not be for everyone, I found it an excellent read and even learned some German words along the way!

The Book Thief is now in my list of favourite books I’ve read and would recommend others to give it a go.

You can read an excerpt from The Book Thief over at Markus’s website.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is currently available from Amazon at £3.95.

ISBN-13: 978-0552773898

(Note: Review also features in my Goodreads and Dooyoo accounts).

Posted for Recommend Me – weekly event (run by Kate at The Neverending Shelf) in which participants pick one of their all time favorite reads to share. Above is one of my all time favourite reads!