New Books of 2015 pt.2
Here is the second batch of books that I have so far acquired this year, another seven titles to add to the previous seven. So far that makes 14, and my paper book resolution target is still at 20 (but only just, I said I'd try and read five more than I acquired). Like the previous batch there are a couple of late 2014 acquisitions in this group, but some of these are genuine new books of 2015 for me. Here are some of the reasons that I have chosen these titles (where I did choose them, one was an unexpected present). Up Against It by Locke I saw this recommended on Charlie Stross's blog by the man himself. It was cited as being a very good view of the harshness of life in space, especially if you were trying to…
A/B Testing Amazon book sales
A/B Testing is when you try two almost identical approaches out with real people to see which option gets the best response. The only difference between A & B is the thing that you are trying to test. In my trial I had the same science fiction novella available through two Amazon ASIN. Both were enrolled in KDP (there's nothing forbidding this but I'm sure Amazon don't encourage that behaviour). Crisis Point (UK - 2 reviews) Crisis Point (UK - 0 reviews) What was different between these two was that one of the versions has two reviews, both five stars. There are also changes to the wording in the blurb. The test So this wasn't quite true A/B Testing as I didn't perform the free days simultaneously, one was over the Christmas period and the other was last weekend. However…
Book Review – The Martian by Andy Weir
The Martian by Andy Weir My rating: 5 of 5 stars Last night I finished reading 'The Martian'. I can completely understand why it was voted the best science fiction book of 2014 by goodreads users. It's an engaging rollercoaster of a story. The main character is left behind on Mars when his mission is scrubbed because of a massive storm that threatens to destroy their ascent vehicle. The wind blows part of the comms array into him, knocking him unconscious and destroying the bio-monitor in his suit. The rest of the crew believe he is dead and take off before the wind blows over their ship. Artist concept of a Mars sample return mission (Photo credit: Wikipedia) This is a story of overcoming incredible odds to survive, and you are left almost to the last page wondering whether or not he is going to…
Book Review – Far Orbit compiled by Bascomb James
Far Orbit: Speculative Space Adventures by Bascomb James My rating: 4 of 5 stars This modern science fiction anthology is in the classic style, with a positive feel and no dystopias, at least not in a grim pass the razor blades sort of way. I really enjoyed the collection and there are authors in there that I need to go and see what else they've written. I bought this anthology because I am thinking about submitting stories for publication, and I saw an article that there would be a follow-up anthology called Apogee from the same anthologist. Also I like reading science fiction, and short stories are easier to read when I'm studying (and I'm in the middle of B203, which is a real monster). Having read the anthology I was inspired, I've outlined a story and written a couple of thousand words towards…
Book Review – Zoo Station by David Downing
Zoo Station by David Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the first book that I have read entirely in 2015. Amazon had the whole series as a deal of the day for 99p each. I'd had this one, the first in the series, for a little while so I dipped in to see if the rest were worth buying. I got hooked and spent a fiver! I bought this one as an amazon recommendation. I've been buying first hand accounts and histories of the SOE for decades. I picked up the pace a bit a year ago when doing background reading for the short story Hunting Nazis which I used for the end of module on A215. I also read cold war spy fiction too. So amazon recommended me Downing's series. The link is fairly obvious. This…