100 Words Review, History, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Romance, Writings

The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris

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Originally published: 11 January 2018
Authors: Heather Morris
Page count: 288 pages (Paperback)
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 4, 2018)
Subjects: Romance/History
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062797158
ISBN-13: 978-0062797155
Product Dimensions: Kindle eBook / Audiobook

100 Word Book Review:

Based on a true story, a powerful evocation of everyday horrors of life as a concentration camp prisoner. In the worst circumstances, there is no excuse for pessimism. In the test of extremes, being positive is still a choice. And even in hell, love can be found. The unspoken horrors of what humans are capable of reveal the unbreakable strength of what the human body can endure, physically and emotionally. This illuminates humanity greatest strength: Hope. Towards the end even with liberation, there are myriad of aftereffects and scars that will be etched and cast forever in this lifetime, permanently.

 

Who should read:

What is true love? To answer this question, reading this book might be a good start to it. While it will not give the full complete answer to the question, it captures the essential fundamental definition of love. Anyone in mood to read a love story, this is a good short book that is based on actual events.

No doubt it is a positive ending, the book gives a comprehensive coverage after the story ends. In this way, readers get to know what happens after that. It somewhats give a closure, a full picture of what happens after in the real. Unlike other romance stories, this is the real love story that brings tears and smiles.

 

Who should NOT read:

Perhaps the survivors of concentration camps or anyone who is not in the mood for romance stories in rough times. Not forgetting the faint hearts who cannot stand reading the gruelsome human experiments in camps. It is horrifying and shocking, almost like reading the proof of a living hell. It is painful, and hard to accept that humans as sentinels, can bring themselves to perform such cruel acts according to one’s volition.

 

Takeaway points:

Love is simple, love is sweet. It is what one can do for the other, in good and bad times. Love is not fair, never fair, and it is not a transaction of this for that, or to have a partner at someone’s beck or call. It is an eternal promise to each other, to pamper and care mutually, to converse casually in daily events, to have mutual support and rapport even in the simplest thing that one does not agree at all.

Where can we find love? In all places, in all ways. Which in this case, it is in the concentration camp, where it is almost the last place where love can be found. Yet, Lale and Gita proved us wrong. Love was found.

Personally, I really love this book, and I am glad that I picked this title. It reminded of my happier days. A good and easy book to read when I was travelling alone.

 

About the Author

Heather Morris is an Australian writer and social work administrator. For several years, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter in the US.

In 2003, Heather was introduced to an elderly man who ‘might just have a story worth telling’. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives, as their friendship grew and he embarked on a journey on self-scrutiny, entrusting the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust to her. Heather originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Writings

Are ebooks Really Cheaper Now?

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Many eBooks are cheaper than paperbacks & many are free to download. Look at the economics of the system & you’ll see the price inefficiencies woven throughout the pricing mechanism.

Here are some very important consequences of the internet & eBooks:

1) The publisher’s old standby of the no, or very little, royalty cost book business has been devastated by the existence of sites like Project Gutenberg. Now, instead of buying a copy of Plato’s Dialogs in paperback format, just download it for free at the Plato page on gutenberg.org!

2) Downloaded eBooks have a moderately high cost of creation, but a near zero cost of distribution. The distribution expenses of server storage & electronic marketplace are a high barrier of entry, but ultimately amortize over millions of downloaded eBooks.

3) There is an ongoing fight over the pricing of eBook versions of Best Seller books.

See Amazon.com: The Battle of $9.99, How Apple, Amazon, and the Big Six Publishers Changed the E-Book Business Overnight (Kindle Single) eBook. A $0.99 eBook on a part of this war!

4) The fact that places like Amazon, Barns & Noble, and others have “Discount Books of the Day/Month” and other pricing schemes & the eBook pricing bounces all over the map as the sellers attempt to maximize sales & profits. (Think airplane seats & the idea of “Yield Management” and you should get the picture.)

Even so, over the years a lot of things have changed the industry, the publishers and ultimately the end users: readers.

buy-kindle-books-in-singapore

So to answer the question, “Are ebooks really cheaper now?”, you have to read our earlier article here: Why Are E-books More Expensive Than Printed Books? 

Yet bear in mind, that article was written and compiled in 2013.

In recent years, it is relatively cheaper. And to make things easier to compare, I will list it in points.

  1. Read Amazon books for FREE
  2. How to Buy Kindle Books For Those Living Outside US
  3. Amazon FreeTime Unlimited (Unlimited ebooks, apps and TV programs for kids)

And lastly not forgetting, we have FREE book swaps in Singapore.

So on an ending note, e-books might be cheaper. It depends on where you are getting it from and if you have the promo links to get the better, cheaper rates for your reading pleasure.

 

Confirmation Code: GHVHVDN13624545

 

 

 

Announcements, book swap, Writings

How To Book Swap in Singapore?

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To book swap means you exchange book or books with another person. In other words, it will be Book A to be swap with Book B. That simple.

If you want your books back, that will be called a swap back, and you should indicate your preference from the start.

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Before you start, you will need to have the followings:

  1. Telegram app (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc..) No? Then download from:
    iPhone: https://telegram.org/dl/ios
    Android: https://telegram.org/dl/android
    or web version: https://web.telegram.org
  2. Some books to swap or swapback. Duh.

 

 

Once ready, do the following:

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Step 1: https://t.me/booksavenuebookswapsg
Or you can look for the BooksAvenue Bookswap Group @booksavenuebookswapsg

Step 2: Share the books you would like to swap. This can be done by taking a picture, or to literally list out the books you would like to swap.

Step 3: Indicate your preferences, such as what books you are looking for to swap, whether to swap back and etc.

Once there is a match, you may contact the interested party directly to swap your books.

 

There you go. Volia. No fees, no service charge or whatsoever. All arrangements are done at your convenience.

Be sure to SHARE the Telegram group with MORE readers. This increases your chance to get more book swaps too!

 

Please note, BooksAvenue staffs will not ask for any fees or whatnots. Do report to us if there is any of such abnormality.

It is a FREE and SOCIAL group to promote reading by readers for readers.

 

 

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If you do not like to book swap, and would prefer to read FREE ebooks, click here: https://booksavenue.co/2019/05/02/read-amazon-books-for-free/

 

 

ebooks, Writings

FREE eBook: Tea with Crypto Shakers: A 17 Years Old Crypto-Investing Prodigy in Conversation with Crypto Shakers Kindle Edition

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Tea with Crypto Shakers is a book on how to get prepared for the upcoming cryptocurrency market by getting into the minds of Crypto Shakers about how they think and what they are working on to capitalize on this upcoming opportunity that the blockchain technology promises.

Here the list of Crypto Shakers that Shawn managed to team up with

– Roger Ver
– Timothy Draper
– Sherman Lee
– Chris Long
– Warren Seah
– Lex Na
– Hong QiYu
– Sen Ze
– Malcolm Tan
– Max Ng
– Kathryn Hew

Now, with this book, watch 17-year-old Shawn who has achieved success in early age with cryptocurrencies, has interviewed and team up with a group of crypto shakers to provide you their insights into cryptocurrencies.

Here some insights you are going to learn about the crypto shakers
– How they got started into the crypto space
– What are they working on
– How are they preparing for the blockchain revolution?
– What’s their advice to a 17-year-old if they can turn back time and transform to their 17-year-old self, how will they get prepared for the upcoming blockchain revolution

Yes, this is going to take determination and hard work with any new disruptive technology, but once you have received the new perspectives from these successful crypto entrepreneurs, it’s going to make you see cryptocurrencies in a whole new way.

 

Now with BooksAvenue, how can you get this book for free?

 
Step 1: Sign up for a free Amazon Account to access the app for unlimited reads on cryptocurrency trading: https://amzn.to/2Vxv9jQ

Step 2– Download his book for free with this link. It should appear automatically in your Kindle App, after you click to buy at $0.00. https://amzn.to/2VW4MDD

Step 3– You will receive an email from Amazon with download instruction too.

If you enjoy this ebook, please give him a five stars review. He’s a young trader who gives refreshing perspectives. Let’s support him!

Thank you for your help.

 

 

ebooks, Writings

PROMO Code: Amazon FreeTime Unlimited

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WHY WOULD YOUR CHILDREN LOVE FREETIME UNLIMITED?

 

Amazon FreeTime Unlimited is an all-in-one subscription that provides a world of content for kids to explore within a completely kid-safe environment. Coupled with easy-to-use parental controls, parents can choose what content their child sees, and set educational goals and time limits. It’s highly customizable and parents can personalize each kid’s experience with profiles, up to four profiles per subscription, letting them watch, play and read what they want, where they want to – on Fire tablets, Kindle eReaders, Android, iOS phones and tablets, and compatible Echo devices.

Amazon FreeTime Unlimited offers thousands of books, movies, TV shows, and educational apps and games featuring kids’ favourite characters from PBS, Nickelodeon, Disney and more.

Starting at only $2.99/month, after the 30-day free trial period, this low monthly membership fee gives access to all of the below benefits:
BRANDS KIDS LOVE AND PARENTS TRUST
  • Access your child’s programs from Disney, PBS, Nickelodeon, and Amazon Originals, and more all in one place.
  • Instantly access thousands of kid-friendly books, apps, movies, skills, Audible books, music, and TV shows, and create your child’s personal profile.
STEP 1: Click on this link here to sign up Amazon FreeUnlimited
STEP 2: Set your iPad or mobile devices on strict parental controls before passing it to your child.
STEP 3: With the Amazon FreeUnlimited, let your child browse and read through the books.
Announcements, Blog, ebooks

Latest Amazon Kindle With a Built-in Front Light/Black – Includes FREE eBooks here

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Cost has always been a big part of the Kindle line’s appeal at the low end. Amazon’s very good at undercutting the competition, while still managing to provide a workhorse e-reader in the process. Of course, paying $90 for the device comes with a number of cut corners, not the least of which has been the device’s stubborn refusal to adopt the front lighting found on the rest of the line.

Amazon’s just amended that oversight with the latest version of the standard Kindle. The device now features an adjustable front light, coupled with a touch 167 PPI display.

Not to mention, that price includes Special Offers (i.e. those screen saver ads the company has been serving up for most of the life of the product). There are also free ebooks which readers can load up into the Kindle too. Details are documented here.

And that is just not it. There are more functions and features summarized below:

  • Adjustable front light lets you read comfortably for hours—indoors and outdoors, day and night.
  • Purpose-built for reading, with a 167 ppi glare-free display that reads like real paper, even in direct sunlight.
  • Read distraction-free. Highlight passages, look up definitions, translate words, and adjust text size—without ever leaving the page.
  • Select from millions of books, newspapers, and audiobooks. Kindle holds thousands of titles so you can take your library with you.
  • With Prime Reading, Prime members read free with unlimited access to over a thousand titles.
  • A single battery charge lasts weeks, not hours.
  • Enjoy more books with Audible. Pair with Bluetooth headphones or speakers to switch seamlessly between reading and listening.

Now on top of all the refreshed settings and upgraded functions, Amazon is throwing in a limited time offer exclusive to BooksAvenue when you purchase the Kindle via BooksAvenue links here. Details for unlimited ebooks below:

LIMITED TIME OFFER : Enjoy 3 months of Kindle Unlimited FREE. Redemption instructions will be delivered via email after your order ships. No obligation to redeem. After 3 mos., subscription will auto-renew for $9.99 per month.

Now there will be 1 small issue for non-US citizens. It will require a forwarder service to order this special priced Kindle. For comparison of the cheapest forwarder service, Singsaver has written quite a good summary of the available forwarder services on the internet here. If not, scroll down to the appendix for reference

In summary, BUY the special kindle by Amazon via BooksAvenue promo links for Free ebooks with forwarder service all summarized in this page.

So there you go. All done at the lowest fee for the highest value.

 

This promotion begins on 10th April.

Register your interest and pre-order now.

 

 

 

 

Appendix:

 

Forwarder Services available:

SHIPPING RATES FROM US TO SINGAPORE
Service
Shipping Rate
Delivery Time
Repacking/Consolidation
Value-Added Services
ezbuy
S$3.99/0.5kg
Standard:
4-6 days
Economy:
8-11 days
Repacking: Free
Consolidation:
Free
Insurance
  • 3% of total shipment value
  • S$2,000 limit
  • S$100 compensation for items not insured
Concierge (Buy-For-Me)
  • Home Delivery: S$3 to S$25, depending on weight
Buyandship Singapore
First 1 pound: S$9
Subsequent pound: S$5
6-9 days
Repacking: Free
Consolidation: 
Free (30-day limit)
Insurance
  • 3% of shipment value per package (up to US$30 per package)
  • US$1,000 limit
  • US$100 compensation for items not insured
vPOST
Base charge: S$13.40
$0.91/100g
of volumetric weight
Standard:
4-6 days
Economy:
9-12 days
Repacking:
S$6
Consolidation:
Free for 30 days, S$1.50 per item per day thereafter
Insurance
  • 3% of total value of the shipment, or min of S$9.90 per consignment note– S$20,000 limit
Comgateway
US$13.57 for the first 0.5kg
US$3.74 for subsequent 0.5kg
Express:
3-4 days
Repacking:
US$10 for first 5 packages, US$2 per package thereafter
Consolidation:
Free for 30 days, US$1 per day thereafter
Insurance
  • 1% of total shipment value
  • USD$10,000 limit
  • Compulsory for item(s) over US$250
Concierge (Buy-For-Me)
  • 10% of total purchase cost + domestic shipping (if any)

 

 

Blog, Writings

Why is BooksAvenue not selling books anymore?

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With so many books now published on Amazon, in particular, the competition to attract book buyers is fierce.

While there are countless sources of advice and marketing tricks on how to sell ebooks and books online on Amazon, the most important factors of all are to have a good product and to attract positive attention to your books. Likewise, if you have published more than a couple of titles, perhaps it has been some time since you analysed what you are really doing to attract attention.

As with all things Internet, change is the only constant, so while certain approaches may have been successful a year or so back, it is not necessarily true that they are working now.

These summarises the external factors why BooksAvenue not selling books now. It’s true that BooksAvenue started with book sales. Yet it is not sustainable in Singapore from different perspectives. Rather to paraphrase this, it is totureous and inefficient to compete with online retailers as well as physical bookstores. That competition itself, is an uphill challenge for us on many levels.

The other factors also include the buyers’ willingess to spend which resulted in profit margins, the book conditions, economic of scale, as well as the availability of title choices.

At the end of the day, it defeats the fundamental purpose of BooksAvenue: Bringing people closer to literature and art. We rather be building bridges to minimise the gap between readers and books efficiently, than to exhaust our resources to fight against profit driven business and corporations.

With a more focused and specialised scope, BooksAvenue believes that this will be the better way to bring people closer to the world of books.

Blog

Freebie Section coming soon!

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While we focus on bringing convenience to our fans, bridging readers to books, we are on the constant lookout to expand and grow.

And with much considerations, we have decided to start a new section to summarise all the freebies and promo codes. This should serve a greater purpose, helping more people rather than just swapping books. So stay tuned and bookmark this page by using the shortcut keys: Crt + D

Now in case you are not aware, yes we are doing FREE book swaps in Singapore. All the swaps in our BooksAvenue telegram group are on voluntarily basis at ZERO costs. So be smart and avoid those scam requests using our name to collect a fee.

If you are looking to read free ebooks, be sure to check our our page on 3 Steps To Read Amazon books for FREE. Kindle has unlimited membership plans that you can read unlimited books for FREE.

Now if you are in Singapore or some parts of the world that has no access to Kindle store, read our guide here to buy/sign up for FREE Amazon books. The basic key is to have a VPN which you can sign up for 1 month for only $7. It’s even cheaper than Netflix! Oh that said, yes you can use VPN for netflix too.

Anyways this new FREEBIE section will include all the stuffs needed for easy reference of all the free stuffs on the internet. Promo codes, freebies, discount or even Free membership plans. So stay tuned and thank you for your support!

Business and Finance, Non-Fiction

Superfreakonomics – Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

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The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world. Now, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with SuperFreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that the freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first.

Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What’s more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it’s so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?

SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:

  1. How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
  2. Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
  3. How much good do car seats do?
  4. What’s the best way to catch a terrorist?
  5. Did TV cause a rise in crime?
  6. What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
  7. Are people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness?
  8. Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
  9. Which adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor?

Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else, whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it really is – good, bad, ugly, and, in the final analysis, super freaky.

Freakonomics has been imitated many times over – but only now, with SuperFreakonomics, has it met its match.

100 Words Review, Biography/Autobiography, History, Non-Fiction, Self Help

When Breath Becomes Air

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Originally published: January 12, 2016
Authors: Paul Kalanithi (Author), Abraham Verghese (Foreword)
Page count: 231 pages (Paperback)
Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (January 12, 2016)
Subjects: Biography
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812988418
ISBN-13: 978-0812988413
Product Dimensions: Kindle eBook available

100 Word Book Review:

A doleful recount of Paul Kalanithi, a neurosurgeon’s last surviving years, the sudden transition of role from being a doctor treating the dying, to becoming the dying patient himself. As he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. In the face of death, Paul went about the preparations, reflecting on choices, goals, his infant daughter and the continuity after his departure.

Who should read:

If you are looking for a deeper meaning of life, a serious view on the perpetual continuity in the face of death, reading this book may help to align your goals and seek what your answer to your question may be. It is a very practical book exploring the last days and months of a dying patient, who happens to be a doctor too.

Overall it is a good book exploring the feelings, emotions and the process of being sick, the pratical roles of doctor and patient. It is sad, yet beautiful. Bittersweet.

Who should NOT read:

On the contrary, if you are looking for some happy ending, some ‘everything is awesome regardless so’ theme of biography, do not try this book. It is sombre and serious in general even though the author has written in light humor, looking at daily things from amusing perspectives.

Takeaway points:

Life is simple, life is short for some. Sometimes things that are fated to be. No science, religion or philosophy can alter the course of fate. If it is meant to be, it is meant to be. Regardless how science have advanced and may cure the most deadly disease, it is a little beyond what even the best doctor can do.

About the Author

PAUL KALANITHI was a neurosurgeon and writer. He graduated from Stanford with a B.A. and M.A. in English literature and a B.A. in human biology. He earned an M.Phil in the history and philosophy of science and medicine from Cambridge and graduated cum laude from the Yale School of Medicine, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society. He returned to Stanford to complete his residency training in neurological surgery and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience, and received the American Academy of Neurological Surgery’s highest award for resident research. He died in March 2015. He is survived by his family, including his wife Lucy, and their daughter Elizabeth Acadia.

Literature and Art

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