Days out diary - child friendly and family activities

Family days out Swing ride at The Big Sheep Family days out rowing boats on Derwent Water Family days out Avoncroft building museum Family days out Baby Elephant at Twycross Zoo Family days out Legoland Windosor Family days out Disneyland Paris, France Family days out Lake district cruise on Lake Windermere

Introduction about DRM free fiction ebooks

In an earlier post I've already written why DRM is bad for ebooks and how DRM free ebooks avoid ebook reader lock-in. For me I currently own a Kindle, but I expect my next ebook reader may be more of a tablet PC (possibly Android). I expect the decision to be made by me and don't want DRM lock-in to be the one that dictates what I can and can't buy.

The problem with DRM Free ebooks is finding the good books, as there are some not so good books around. This also applies to DRM locked ebooks (especially their free / low-cost self published books), although with some DRM books from big name publishers can be in press best-seller reviews. It does mean that some really good books that don't get a mainstream publisher may not get the publicity they deserve.

On the plus side many of the DRM free books are cheaper than some of the more expensive bestsellers.

These are just some of the books I've read, but they all have one thing in common. They are all available without DRM, so you can read on any ebook reader and on any PC / Tablet / Netbook regardless of the operating system or reader software available.

DRM free thrillers

In the Blood (A genealogical crime mystery) by Steve Robinson

This is the book that inspired me to write this post, because this is a great book and one that I could have very easily missed. There were no reviews at the time when I bought this and I very nearly didn't, but it was very reasonably priced and turned out to be one of the best thrillers I've read.

I'm not into genealogy, but this book captured my interest in the story from the moment I started reading. Whilst much of the book is providing the story for the excitement towards the end it is very well written and manages to keep interest throughout.

I highly recommend this book, one of the best thrillers I've read.

In the Blood (A genealogical crime mystery) by Steve Robinson - from Smashwords

Fall-out by Alan Rokeby

An a apparent suicide of a project manager at the Nuclear Power plant turns out to be more mysterious than originally thought.

Whilst this is a book that is based on the controversy of building a nuclear power plant this story doesn't push any views either way. Pros and cons are mentioned, but through the eyes of opposing sides. Instead it's a thriller about violent activists and the police hunt to stop them and the impact on the families of those involved.

This story is not a on the edge of your seat thriller, but engages the reader in other ways. It still keeps you guessing and has a few tense moments. An enjoyable read.

Fall-out by Alan Rokeby - from Smashwords

The One You Love by Paul Pilkington

A good thriller which keeps the reader constantly guessing. A very hard book to put down.

A great read.

* This book is currently available free of charge from Smashwords.

The One You Love by Paul Pilkington - from Smashwords

The Space Between by Alexandra Sokoloff

The Space Between is a tense thriller that I just couldn't put down. As the book progressed the ending was a little predictable, but still left a few possible twists.

Worth reading.

The Space Between by Alexandra Sokoloff - from Smashwords

Grave Situation by Alex Maclean

Grave Situation is a crime thriller in search of what appears to be a typical a serial killer. So far sounds so familiar, but this book has a real twist to the story.

When I first started reading I thought that the book was going to be hard going. The author has used some "big" words. This is in terms of the medical jargon relating to the post mortem, but also some unfamiliar words in the normal story line. At first this had me reaching for the dictionary particularly for the medical jargon. Once I got into the book then I didn't notice so either there was few new words or I was so engrossed in the story to notice.

The reason this book works so well is that it managed to keep me guessing until the very end. I'm actually familiar with the concept having seen it first hand (note clicking on the following link is a big spoiler! - click here AFTER reading the book), but was completely surprised when I found out the reason for the murders.

A good thriller helped by the unique storyline / ending. A bit hard going at first, but worth persevering.

Grave Situation by Alex Maclean - from Smashwords

DRM free science fiction

Privacy Most Public by Andrew Burt

I enjoyed reading Privacy Most Public. I thought that the technology side of the book was well thought through, but I thought that the legal fees were a bit too unbelievable. The ending was over quite quickly and I thought that it would be better off keeping the plot going a bit longer after the evidence was found.

Worth a read.

Privacy Most Public by Andrew Burt from Smashwords

The Meyersco Helix by Andrew McCoy

The Meyersco Helix is a fast passed science-fiction thriller. It's a good book that keeps you on edge right to the end.

I thought that some of the "science" was a little far fetched and there was no reasoning behind the "it's neutralised by a Nuclear explosion", although some good attempt was made to explain some of the other things that happened. This does not however detract from this book which is a good read, with plenty of action and some unexpected twists of fate.

The Meyersco Helix by Andrew McCoy from Smashwords

Username by Joyce Faulkner

Unfortunately this is a book that I couldn't read, which is not like me. I got a third of the way through the book before I decided to give up and read something else.

It wasn't so much that this was a adult book with some graphic details of the murders, but that this was from the point of view of the sick person committing these acts.

I'm sure that others will find this provides a different perspective and like the book as a result, but for me I just didn't want to continue reading.

It's a shame as the author has clearly done her research and is trying to exploit a certain angle, but it didn't work for me.

Username by Joyce Faulkner from Smashwords

I do recommend the following book by the same author, however as an ebook it's only available DRM locked.

DRM free non-fiction

Memories Of A Mental Nurse by Robert Panton

Memories of a Mental Nurse is a book about what it used to be like working in an old style mental hospital before they were closed down or moved into smaller mental health units. It talks about what they were like and includes some of the dark secrets about what went on behind the scenes. In some cases these could be classed as being no longer politically correct, but in other cases these may now be classed as abuse (although these are perhaps the lesser degree of abuse - if there is such a thing). In general the story is about caring nurses, doing the best they could to look after mentally ill patients, and about one particular nurse trying to muddle their way through training and the responsibilities thrust upon him. The book could do with a professional reviewer to add some polish to it. Whilst it is generally easy to read, there are some grammatical errors and spellings that a professional reviewer would be able to improve on. This does not however detract from the book which provides a unique insight into the job of a nurse and what went on behind the high walls of the mental institutions of yesteryear. Memories Of A Mental Nurse by Robert Panton from Smashwords

Hitler's Ear by Terence Nunn

Hitler's Ear is a book about a child evacuated from London during World War 2. This is a true story written by the evacuee. This is a good book and certainly managed to keep my interest. It didn't have a gripping storyline that you'd expect if this were a fiction book, but some of the incidents are enough to make this into a book worth reading. There are some parts where the book gets a bit hard going or seams to wander from the general story, but it still kept my interest and kept me reading. Hitler's Ear by Terence Nunn from Smashwords If you are looking to buy other DRM Free ebooks see the following page: DRM Free Ebooks available to buy for Kindle, Sony Ereader, Linux / Windows / MacOS PC etc.. Or go directly to Smashwords.