E-books at Look into Books!

Wait!  I can buy eBooks from Look into Books now?

Yes, that's right.  Simply buy a special eBook card from the shop for any amount of your choosing between £1 and £250.  Then, simply log on to the web site.  On there, you'll find every eBook you could ever wish for.  Another great thing about the tokens is you don't have to plug your card details into the web site, so there's no risk of any hackers or other unsavoury sorts getting their hands on your bank account information.

Can I use my eBook token to buy eBooks for any device?

You can use these tokens to buy eBooks for most ereaders, smartphones, computers, tablets and to be read online.  You can't use it to purchase books on Amazon for kindle.  If you have a kindle fire with a magic app, you can buy eBooks from here.

What are the benefits of eBooks?

Ever had a case of Simply Too Many Books?  Shelves buckling under the strain of your collection of Terry Pratchetts and Lee Childs?  You want to buy more lovely books ... but you've no space and it would involve - gasp - getting rid of some of your old treasures and you just can't possibly bear to do that?  With eBooks, you can fit oodles* of your favourite books onto one slim, handy device.  Ever been on a long train journey to Milton Keynes**?  Of course, you want to take your book with you.  If you read quickly, you might even want to take more than one book with you.  With an ereader, you can take as many books as you like, and War and Peace needn't weigh you down any more than The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.  Also, prying eyes won't know if that's really Fifty Shades of Grey that you're reading.  Although time was when you couldn't have eBooks and support your local independent bookshop at the same time, now you can do exactly that!

Okay, I've bought an eBook card and used all the funds on there to buy loads of eBooks.  Now there's no money left on there.

No problem.  Simply bring the card back into the shop, and we can top it up again.  As many times as you like.  Just like that!***

But I already have a National Book Token Gift Card, but it isn't this new eBook sort, and I'm feeling a bit left out.

Don't feel left out!  You can still go along to the web site, and use it to buy eBooks on there in exactly the same way, just as if it actually were an eBook card.  Great, hey?

I have an eBook card, and eBooks are great, but on this occasion I would like a normal book that's made from paper.

Did you know that you can still buy traditional books with your eBook card, even though it has 'eBook' written all over it?  You can!  Just bring it into the shop and spend it in the same way you would an ordinary book token.  Could anything be easier?

Wow, now I just can't wait to get started.  Do you have any recommendations for me?

There are always book recommendations on www.indieboundbookrecommendations.co.uk.  And don't forget to keep checking the Look into Books blog for news of our book of the week.

*scientific term
** or, indeed, anywhere
*** apologies to Tommy Cooper

Book of the Week - Goddess

This week, we have chosen the third book in the Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini to be our book of the week.

She must rise, or they will fall ...Helen's powers are increasing--and so is the distance between her and her mortal friends. To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a dangerous traitor is lurking among them, and all fingers point to Orion. Still unsure whether she loves him or Lucas, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, or risk all-out war.

Book of the Week - Tour de France 100

First staged in 1903, the Tour de France lasts three weeks every July and takes approximately 200 competitors through over 3600km of varied terrain, including testing mountain stages. The race is broken into one-day 'stages', with the overall leader wearing the fabled yellow jersey. Tour de France 100 celebrates 110 years of the Tour and publishes in the run up to the 100th race.

 This book captures key visual moments in its history, including heroes of the race, great rivalries, moments of high drama, accidents and scandals, all accompanied by Richard Moore's authoritative text that illuminates and expands upon the superb imagery.

Book of the Week - The Devonshires

It's the first normal Monday for a couple of weeks.  Boo!  It's not all bad news, though, as it does mean that we have a new book of the week for you.  This week, we've selected The Devonshires - The Story of a Family and a Nation by Roy Hattersley.

The story of the Devonshires is the story of Britain. William Cavendish, the father of the first Earl, dissolved monasteries for Henry VIII. Bess, his second wife, was gaoler-companion to Mary Queen of Scots during her long imprisonment in England.

Arbella Stuart, their granddaughter, was a heartbeat away from the throne of England and their grandson, Lord General of the North, fought to save the crown for Charles I. Fifty years later, the First Duke of Devonshire conspired to depose James II, and make William of Orange king. For the next two centuries the Devonshires were at the heart of fashionable society and the centre of political power.

The Fourth Duke became prime minister and Georgiana, wife of the Fifth, scandalised even the Regency. Spencer Compton, the last of the great Devonshires, was three times offered the preimership, and three times refused it. Even the Devonshire servants made history.

Joseph Paxton was their gardner and Thomas Hobbes was the family tutor. With the help of previously unpublished material from the Chatsworth archives, The Devonshires reveals how the dynasty made and lost fortunes, fought and fornicated, built great houses, patronised the arts and pioneered the railways, made great scientific discoveries, and, in the end, came to terms with changing times. It is popular history at its very best.