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General Posts

The End

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 11/19/2017 - 16:26

I have some news that is both exciting and a little sad: I am going to stop posting new content to Tungsten Hippo. The website will remain up, with the archives intact.

Guest Post: Eight BookTubers You Need to Subscribe to

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 03/19/2017 - 16:50

Today I have a guest post from Dane Cobain, who introduced his book No Rest for the Wicked to us about a year ago. Today's post isn't an introduction to a book. Instead it is an introduction to BookTube, which is something I've been meaning to explore! 

Reading for The Resistance

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 01/29/2017 - 19:23

I initially intended to write a somewhat light-hearted, if still seriously intended, Taster Flight of short ebooks to read to shore you up to resist the harmful actions of the new administration in the White House. But then, those actions got even more ominous. Friday's executive order on immigration was useless in increasing our safety, needlessly cruel in its extent, and sloppy in its implementation. News that White House political strategist is going to be on the National Security Council is simply breathtaking. It is unprecedented, and for good reason.

A Review of Reviews

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 08/28/2016 - 16:09

When Deb Atwood contacted me offering me a review copy of her book 31 Ghost Novels to Read before You Die, I accepted it because it sounded like an interesting concept. (You can read her introduction to the book in an earlier post.)

I didn’t stop to think about how meta it would be to recommend a book full of recommendations for other books… But wow, is it meta. This is why I haven’t made the book one of my weekly recommendations. It turns out, it was just a little too meta for me.

Lunch Stories

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 06/05/2016 - 15:42

I have fallen into the habit of reading my social media streams over lunch. In some ways, it is a good habit. I catch up with distant friends and see what's happening in the world. In other ways, though, it is a bad habit. All too often, "what's happening" is nothing good, and I end my lunch break feeling more stressed than I was at the start.

Short eBooks as Samplers

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 05/01/2016 - 16:43

One of the common strategies I see larger publishing companies taking with short ebooks is to use them as samplers for a larger series. While I strongly dislike the practice of breaking something that is properly a novel into several small "novellas," I enjoy series of novellas and I enjoy the sampler approach. The difference is that in the latter two approaches, the short ebook stands on its own. It has a full story arc, and comes to a statisfying ending within that arc, even if it is clear there is more to the overall story.

Browsing for Short eBooks

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 04/10/2016 - 16:07

James Patterson recently announced a new initiative in publishing short ebooks, called Bookshots. The idea is to publish short, fast-paced stories. Here is a good summary, if you want more details. This particular initiative doesn't seem like it will be publishing the sort of books I usually like to read, but I am happy to see more publishers recognizing the potential of shorter writing.

What I Learned from Reading Old Short Stories

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 03/13/2016 - 16:34

Not so long ago, I decide to take the "taster flight" concept that I use in some posts here a step further, and started publishing taster flights in book form. Since I'm just starting out as a publisher, I don't have a large back catalogue from which I could pick stories, so I turned to public domain stories, namely stories that were published long enough ago to no longer be covered by copyright.

The Importance of Stories

Submitted by riverhorse on Sun, 01/17/2016 - 17:23

Unlike most people, I don't think of Snape when I think of Alan Rickman. I think of Colonel Brandon.

Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon

As I searched for the perfect image to include in this post, I came across evidence that I am not alone in that feeling.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

Submitted by riverhorse on Thu, 12/31/2015 - 17:24

Happy New Year! As I start a third calendar year with Tungsten Hippo, I feel the need to pause and reflect a bit.

Tungsten Hippo started out because I wanted to build a public website again, and I have learned that I only stick with tech projects if the content, not just the tech, interests me. (I wrote a post for The Pastry Box project about that.)

It has continued because I continue to love short ebooks. My goals for this site are evolving a bit, though.

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