Hello,
It’s already August, and the summer seems to be flying by at record speed. First off, if you are a new subscriber, welcome to Gregeration X! If you’ve been on board for a while thank you for your continued support! I am grateful for all of you.
In this edition:
- My Musings
- Mechhaven Missives
- Featured Authors
- Featured Promotions
My Musings
I may have mentioned before that I am a fan of audiobooks. I’ve been a fan for so long, that I remember when they were called Books on Tape. Back in those days, you had two main options. Most Books on Tape were “abridged” this meant the story had been edited to fit on a handful of cassettes. These were the most plentiful and economical option, but always left you feeling unsatisfied in terms of story. The second option was “unabridged” which were less common, more expensive, and cumbersome. Some longer books could have dozens (20-30) of cassettes that you had to juggle and keep track of. Try doing that while driving! The biggest downside to unabridged books in those days was lack of cool titles, and the cost. Sometimes you could find them at the library, but that brought its own challenges in terms of availability, sometimes cassettes weren’t rewound fully, or they could even be missing!
At some point, Books on Tape transitioned to Books on CD (compact disc), which resulted in high quality, no flipping, and a better overall experience. Still, they were very expensive. Over time, with the invention of the mp3 player and the iPhone, Books on Tape and Books on CD turned into the generic name of audiobooks. Audiobooks on your phone become such a much better experience, easier to manage, and with Audible’s subscription model, they became more affordable.
Audible came to me at a time in my life when I needed to commute to my job a couple times a week, either by train or by car. Either method resulted in 4+ hours of commuting per trip. A later job (my current one) required that I commute every day for several years. Between audiobooks and podcasts, the years between 2004 and 2017, were a golden age of listening. These days, I’m not required to commute as often, which is better overall for my physical and mental wellbeing, but now I don’t have nearly as much time to listen to audiobooks. I’m still a fan and listen as much as I can, but I take much longer to get through a book these days, especially to super long ones that were my favorite to listen!
What’s your favorite way to consume your books? Are you old school and like printed books? Do you read on a Kindle or other device? Or do you prefer audiobooks? Let me know!
Mechhaven Missives
- In the previous edition, I mentioned how I had just returned from a trip with my family. Upon my return home, I was immediately slammed with a ton of work at my regular job. This onslaught is typical for this time of year, so not unexpected. However, over the last two weeks I’ve been working non-stop with overtime every day (even the weekends). The best way to describe my brain at the end of the day would be a “toasted marshmallow”–not an evenly toasted marshmallow with a nice gooey center, but a blackened marshmallow that caught on fire and you couldn’t blow out fast enough. Needless to so word count over the last two weeks has not been impressive.
- Even with the above, I completed three pivotal scenes in Rally Point. A scene with Blinding Star of Infinite Light, a scene with Ajax, and a scene with Dennis and Connie. So much is building in Rally Point, and it’s all about to become unhinged! I’m so excited about what’s coming. I hope you are too!
Featured Authors
This week I have three featured authors for you. These authors are sharing my books in their newsletters, too. Your support is always appreciated!
by
Drew Avera
They’re on the run for their lives.
When Commander Kevin Hoyt returns from a scouting mission he finds that he is wanted for treason. Despite his innocence, Hoyt flees with his family and tries to escape the inevitable.
by
M.E. Pickett
A space exploration novelette
Forced into a risky mission to the outer reaches of the solar system, Roxanne “Rox” Weaver is about to confront a horror from her past, and a threat to humanity’s future.
Doc Roberts And The Mindharp of Tombaku
by
Jay Toney
With great power comes greed, corruption, and domination…
Doc Roberts is a privateer working for the Alliance military to destabilize shipping, trade, and the planetary governments of the Coalition of Free Worlds, to sway them to accept Alliance protection. He does this by raiding colonized worlds, and hijacking freighters loaded with trade goods.
Featured Promotions
This week I have two Kindle Unlimited and two Free promotions for you. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, take a look at these books available to you. Thank you for your support!
Kindle Unlimited
Free
Until next time, have fun and read a lot of books!
Greg Sorber