Black Order by James Rollins

In Black Order (New York:  Harper Collins-WilliamMorrow, 2006), the second Sigma Force novel (not counting the prequel), James Rollins only goes back a few decades in history, to the Nazis, rather than centuries as he has in the other novels that I’ve read.  The Black Order was Heinrich Himmler’s SS.  It’s interesting how Rollins ties the Nazi’s search for the ideal Aryan to quantum mechanics and evolution.  In his “Author’s Note: Truth or Fiction,” Rollins mentions a couple of books that sound interesting:

• The Hunt for Zero Point by Nick Cook
• Quantum Evolution by Johnjoe McFadden

As I mentioned when I wrote about Steve Berry’s The Venetian Betrayal, which was published in 2007, in that novel Berry made “a passing reference to Painter Crowe from James Rollins‘ Sigma Series.”  That may have been in response to Rollins’ mention in Black Order of a book store in Copenhagen owned by “an ex-lawyer from Georgia” (43), who must be Berry’s protagonist Cotton Malone.

The next book in the Sigma Series is The Judas Strain.

101 Things You Didn’t Know About Jane Austen by Patrice Hannon

My sister saw this book and bought it for me.  In 101 Things You Didn’t Know About Jane Austen: The Truth About the World’s Most Intriguing Literary Heroine (New York:  Fall River Press, 2007), Patrice Hannon takes a novel approach to a biography.  Short, focused chapters make for easy reading and, along with the limited length of the book, will attract lay readers (i.e., non-English majors or professors).  Hannon relates events and people in Austen’s novels to those in her own life.

Of course, the title is a bit confusing because Austen isn’t really a “literary heroine”; that role is reserved for the protagonist of a literary work.

Research Journal Assignment #5

Post in Your Blog:

Post three times  in your blog (research journal), using the numbers, letters, and phrases in bold as the titles of your respective posts:

RJA #5a: Reference Articles–Use the reference works listed here and any others you know of to find articles and definitions related to your research topic.  In your research journal, record where you looked and what kind of information you found.  Bookmark sites you may want to use in your Delicious account.

For each relevant article that you find in a printed reference work and might use, record the following information:

• Name(s) of author(s) of the article
• Title of the article
• Title of reference work
• Place of publication (include state if needed)
• Name of publisher
• Date of publication
• Page number(s)

For an online reference work, you will also need the web address and the date you accessed the article.

In addition, record the following information in your research journal for each search you conduct:

• Resource searched
• Keywords used
• Search strategies used (including operators and types of searches)
• Date of search
• Number of hits
• Relevance of hits (on a scale of 1 to 5)

In the future, if you find additional reference articles that you might use, add the information to this post.

RJA #5b: Books–Using any of the libraries listed here or any of the websites listed or linked here, identify books on or related to your topic (You may need to broaden your search some.) You may request books from other libraries through Prospector using your county library card number. You may also use your local public library, which you can search through the Colorado Virtual Library, or any bookstore. Once you have identified books that you want to read, go ahead and check them out, put them on hold, or purchase them. (The last option is entirely up to you.)

If you have trouble with your research, in addition to the librarians at your college and county libraries, you may use one of the ask-a-librarian services listed on the same page as the libraries.

In your research journal (blog), record the following information for each book you find that you want to use:

• Name(s) of author(s), editor(s), translator(s), and/or compiler(s)
• Title and subtitle of the book
• Edition number or information
• Number(s) of volume used
• Name of series
• Place of publication (include state if needed)
• Name of publisher
• Date of publication (copyright)

If you identify any electronic books that would be useful, you also need to record the web address, the site where you accessed it, and the date you accessed it.

In addition, record the following information in your research journal for each search you conduct:

• Resource searched
• Keywords used
• Search strategies used (including operators and types of searches)
• Date of search
• Number of hits
• Relevance of hits (on a scale of 1 to 5)

If you do request assistance from a librarian, either in person or online, please record the incident in your research journal.

In the future, if you find additional books that you might use, add the information to this post.

RJA #5c:  Search String Check–Go to two of your classmates’ blogs (ENG 1020, ENG 122) and check their search strings (Research Journal Assignment #4b).  In comment on those posts, offer suggestions for improving their search strings or confirm that they are correct.  In your own blog, post links to the web addresses of the posts you commented on (not the main addresses for the blogs).

Use the department and course number (ENG 1020 or ENG 122) and other appropriate tags (”Labels” on Blogger) for each of the three posts.

Map of Bones by James Rollins

Map of Bones is the first book in  James Rollins‘ Sigma Series.  I didn’t like it as much as I did Sandstorm, the prequel to the series, probably because the violence was more “up close and personal.”  Map of Bones was exciting and a great mix of ancient history/archeology and modern technology/science.  I’ll definitely read the next book in the series, Black Order.

Sandstorm by James Rollins

Like Excavation, James Rollins‘ first Sigma Force novel and prequel to the Sigma Series, Sandstorm (New York:  William Morrow-HarperCollins, 2004), is “reminiscent of Indiana Jones”–particularly since one of the main characters, Dr. Omaha Dunn, is a Jonesesque archaeologist who is often called “Indiana Jones” by another character.  There’s as much action and archaeology as the Indiana Jones movies but even more science, making the library’s science fiction label, which I didn’t notice until I was well into the book, quite appropriate.

I’d never heard of Ubar, but I’m interested in learning more about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Sandstorm and am looking forward to reading Rollins’ next book in the Sigma Series, Map of Bones.

Excavation by James Rollins

Excavation by James Rollins (New York:  Harper, 2000) is reminiscent of Indiana Jones, especially the last movie.  Indiana Jones fans will enjoy this book, too.

Twilight

One of my sisters and her daughter are true fans (i.e., fanatics) of the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer.   On the other hand, one of my teenage nephews said he got bored on the first page.

After hearing so much about the books, my other sister and I decided to read them.  She’s read all four, and I just finished the first one.  We agreed on our assessment:  The books are worth reading once, but we wouldn’t buy them or read them again.  (For the record, we have both read a lot of fantasy; we both really enjoyed and have reread The Obsidian Mountain Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory.)  I also have no interest in seeing the movie versions.

I guess I have trouble willing suspending my disbelief enough to accept that a 17-year-old narrator could sound so mature (more like a woman in her 20s or 30s) and that a being so old could fall in love with a teenager.  Meyer adequately explains his physical attraction to her but not his romantic feelings.

I can understand why teenage girls are so obsessed with the series and teenage boys wouldn’t particularly enjoy it.

Resources for Self Publishing

Books:

• Carroll, William.  Self Publishing Made Easy.  San Marcos, CA:  Coda Publications, 1999.
• Fry, Patricia L. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. 2nd ed. Ojai, CA: Matilija Press, 2007
• Poynter, Dan.  Self-Publishing Manual:  How To Write, Print, and Sell Your Own Book.  15th ed.  Santa Barbara, CA:  Para Publishing, 2006.
• Rich, Jason R.  Self-Publishing for Dummies.  Hoboken, NJ:  Wiley, 2006.
• Ross, Tom and Marilyn.  The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing: Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish, Promote and Sell Your Own Book. 4th ed.  Cincinnati, OH:  Writer’s Digest Books, 2002.
• Sander, Jennifer Basye.  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Self-Publishing.  New York, NY: Alpha Books, 2005.
• Start Your Own Self-Publishing Business:  Your Step-by-Step Guide to Success.  2nd ed.  Irvine, CA:  Entrepreneur Press, 2007.

Periodicals:

• ForeWord Magazine
• Publishers Weekly
• Writer’s Digest

Organizations:

• IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association)
• SPAN (Small Publishers Association of North America)
• SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network)

Websites:

• Book Marketing Tips and Book Promotion Ideas from John Kremer
• “How Self-publishing Works” on HowStuffWorks
• ParaPublishing.com
• Self-Pub.net
• Self-Publishing
• Self Publishing:  How to Write, Publish & Sell Your Book or Ebook on the Web
• Self Publishing Information
• Self Publishing Information and Links
• Self-Publishing Review (online magazine)

Articles:

• “Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know“

Blogs:

• Self Publishing 2.0
• Small Press Blog
• Writing and Publish News from Matilija Presshttp://www.fonerbooks.com/cornered.htm

Videos:

• FonerBooks Self Publishing YouTube Playlist
• “How to Publish a Book: Traditional or Self-Publishing – Pt 1“
• “How to Self Publish and Create eBooks“
• “Publishing Vs Self-Publishing“
• “Self Publishing: The State of Publishing in 2009“
• “Self-publishing vs. Getting a real publisher“

Research Journal Assignment #4

Post three times  in your blog (research journal), using the numbers, letters, and phrases in bold as the titles of your respective posts:

4a: Finding Reference Articles–Use the reference works listed here and any others you know of to find articles and definitions related to your research topic.  In your research journal, record where you looked and what kind of information you found.  Bookmark sites you may want to use in your Delicious account.

For each relevant article that you find in a printed reference work and might use, record the following information:

• Name(s) of author(s) of the article
• Title of the article
• Title of reference work
• Place of publication (include state if needed)
• Name of publisher
• Date of publication
• Page number(s)

For an online reference work, you will also need the web address and the date you accessed the article.

In addition, record the following information in your research journal for each search you conduct:

• Resource searched
• Keywords used
• Search strategies used (including operators and types of searches)
• Date of search
• Number of hits
• Relevance of hits (on a scale of 1 to 5)

4b: Finding Books–Using any of the libraries listed here, identify books on or related to your topic (You may need to broaden your search some.) You may request books from other libraries through Prospector using your county library card number. You may also use your local public library, which you can search through the Colorado Virtual Library, or any bookstore. Once you have identified books that you want to read, go ahead and check them out, put them on hold, or purchase them. (The last option is entirely up to you.)

If you have trouble with your research, in addition to the librarians at your college and county libraries, you may use one of the ask-a-librarian services listed on the same page as the libraries.

In your research journal (blog), record the following information for each book you find that you want to use:

• Name(s) of author(s), editor(s), translator(s), and/or compiler(s)
• Title and subtitle of the book
• Edition number or information
• Number(s) of volume used
• Name of series
• Place of publication (include state if needed)
• Name of publisher
• Date of publication (copyright)

If you identify any electronic books that would be useful, you also need to record the web address, the site where you accessed it, and the date you accessed it.

In addition, record the following information in your research journal for each search you conduct:

• Resource searched
• Keywords used
• Search strategies used (including operators and types of searches)
• Date of search
• Number of hits
• Relevance of hits (on a scale of 1 to 5)

If you do request assistance from a librarian, either in person or online, please record the incident in your research journal.

4c:  Checking Search Strings–Go to two of your classmates’ blogs (ENG 1020, ENG 122) and check their search strings (Research Journal Assignment #3b).  In a comment on that post, offer suggestions for improving their search strings or confirm that they are correct.  In your own blog, post the web addresses of the pages where you commented.

Use the department and course number (ENG 1020 or ENG 122) and other appropriate tags (”Labels” on Blogger) for each of the three posts.

New Addition to Recommended Reading List

I’ve added Ellyssa Kroski’s Web 2.0 for Librarians and Information Professionals to my Recommended Reading list.  Even though it’s written for librarians, it’s a good introduction to web 2.0.  She has chapters on the following:

• web 2.0
• blogs
• RSS and newsreaders
• wikis
• social bookmarking
• photo sharing
• social cataloging
• video sharing
• personalized start pages
• social networking software
• vertical search engines
• social news
• answers technology
• virtual worlds
• productivity tools
• podcasting
• mashups

I do have a couple of objections to her classifications:  (1) She included Second Life in a book on “web 2.0.”  To access Second Life, you have to download their software; it cannot be accessed on the web (i.e., by using a browser).  Therefore, in my mind, it doesn’t belong in this book.  (2) She included Ning in a chapter on “Mashups” when it clearly fits under social networks.