Free E-books

I don't know how many of you all enjoy e-books, but I am a fan. It is a nice alternative to print because there are no trees killed in the making of an e-book, but it is also really nice because you can occasionally find free downloads of really popular books. For example, this week you can read Coraline by Neil Gaiman here for free. I read Coraline over the weekend and it was really good. I was expecting the book to be really creepy, since I have seen the movie trailers, and it was. Not creepy in a way that I am embarrassed to admit, but since the book is really aimed at eight-year-olds, pretty creepy. However, I honestly think that Coraline will appeal to any age group. It is the story of a young girl and her family who live in London. There is a door in the parlor which leads to her "other" house where her "other mother" and "other father" live. They want Coraline to stay with them forever, and when she refuses the other mother steals Coraline's real parents. Coraline must face her fears and rescue her real parents, buy outwitting the other mother. The other mother was a seriously creepy bad guy. She looks like Coraline's real mother, she has button eyes, and whenever Coraline isn't talking to her she vanishes. She also has complete control over the other house and she manipulates the weather and the copies of Coraline's neighbors. There are also rats who are spies for the other mother and they spend all their time trying to keep Coraline from fulfilling her quest. Coraline is a great character. She is brave and faces her fears because she knows that if she doesn't she will be trapped forever in the alternate universe (I tried so hard not to say that!!) with the other mother. There are plenty of twists and turns that keep the book exciting, and there are quite a few "whoa..." moments as well. So if you like creepy stuff, or if you have plans to go see the movie, read this book. You can get a copy at the library or download the e-book.

Also available this week is a copy of the first book in the Ranger's Apprentice books. The publisher and Scribd have a copy available here until February 15th. So, if the weather is too nasty for you to come to the library, there are still books out there that you can access. Enjoy these limited time online reads!