BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Susan Sontag dies: Your tributes
Scroll to the bottom for Ariel Dorfman's beautiful tribute to Sontag:

"The last time I talked with Susan - some months ago - she lamented the way in which her country was becoming increasingly alien, almost unrecognisable. "I live on a ship called Manhattan, parked just off the continental US", she said, and wasn't sure, she added, how much longer she could stand inhabiting even New York. And now she has left us - as if we could afford the loss of her fierce intelligence and wry sense of humour and cool gaze into the maelstrom of pain and war, precisely at a time when her fellow countrymen sink ever more into denial of what happens in the wider world that she so brilliantly explored."

-- Ariel Dorfman, Chilean living in the USA

"I live on a ship called Manhattan, parked just off the continental US" -- what a perfect metaphor...

Where The Stress Falls

Only one of Susan Sontag's books is available as an ebook: Where The Stress Falls, a collection of essays from the last two decades.

Fictionwise offers it at $9.00, with a 20% rebate ($7.20 final price). Buywise members can get it for $7.65 ($6.12 after rebate)

eReader.com is selling Where The Stress Falls for $8.85 (or $7.70 with the newsletter discount. This week's Promo Code is NEWYEARNEWYOU)

Susan Sontag dies at 71

Amid the horror and devastation in SE Asia, it seems odd to grieve for one stranger. But I have admired Susan Sontag for almost 40 years.

I'm also pissed to note how many canned obituaries refer to her brief marriage in the 50's, with no mention of the rest of her life. AP gives a passing mention to Annie Liebovitz (calling her a "longtime companion" no less!) only in the context of Sontag's commentary for Liebovitz's "On Women."

Heather Scrooge

And just in case you've endured so much Christmas treacle, you are about to pass out...

Here's Heather Scrooge by JT Langdon:

"Synopsis From the Publisher:

"SASSY, SEXY, SAPPHIC RETELLING OF EVERYONE'S FAVORITE CHRISTMAS STORY!

"High-powered Boston attorney and lesbian Heather Scrooge wants nothing to do with Christmas – love or lovers. She would much rather spend the night in her apartment alone going over lengthy case files than celebrate the season with the rest of her women friends. Her love life consists of getting off with a vibrator. But Heather wasn’t always such cold, distant person. In this naughty retelling of the Christmas classic, the ghost Jenna Marley, Heather’s former law partner, reaches out to Heather from beyond the grave to help Heather see the error of her ways and reform before its too late. And Jenna needs a little help from her friends, in the form of three comely female spirits. The sensual dyke of Christmas Past takes Heather on a rollicking journey back in time, revealing crucial moments from her love life that Heather had forgotten. Former loves (and former lusts!) remind Heather just how much she once craved the touch of another woman. From romantic trysts to hot, sweaty passionate encounters, Heather experiences her youthful sexual escapades all over again. Christmas Present is a tough leather dyke who just loves to watch and she takes Heather on a voyeuristic roller coaster ride, showing Heather exactly what she is missing by keeping herself locked up in her apartment all alone. As an unseen observer, Heather learns a great deal more about the women in her circle than she ever imagined ... their kinks, their appetites. And just when Heather has had enough the dyke of Christmas Yet-To-Come gives her a glimpse of the future, not just her future but the future of those women closest to her. For some it is a wanton future of dominance and submission, punishment and reward, but for others the future is one of meaningless sexual liaisons. Will Heather be moved by what she sees? Will visions of the past, present, and future thaw her icy ... heart?

"Or will Heather Scrooge spend of the rest of her life in a lonely bed with out a love to keep her warm? Warm up your own nights with this sizzling new riff on the traditional holiday tale from the author of Hard Time and Lady Davenport’s Slave."

I'm thinking.... Sybil Danning as Heather....

eReader.com: A Christmas Carol

If you're a Dickens fan - or an Alastair Sim fan - you can download Dicken's A Christmas Carol today for free from eReader.com

Tell me you didn't see that one coming...

eReader.com Free Book for Dec. 21

If you are a CSI fan, grab today's free ebook: Body of Evidence: CSI #4

The publisher's blurb says, "Early one quiet Monday morning, in an empty executive office, assistant Janice Denard begins to prepare for another ordinary day -- but instead discovers evidence of horrific crimes, shocking photographs left abandoned in a printer. Now, with the help of the LVPD's computer forensics experts, the CSI team must track through hardware and software, deception, and deceit to find the perpetrators.

"But while Willows and Stokes investigate the once well-hidden secrets now revealed in print, Grissom, Brown, and Sidle uncover new and disturbing evidence in a high-profile media case... the brutal murder of the Mayor's long-missing secretary."

Fictionwise Year End Sale

Fictionwise's annual Holiday Storewide sale is on. Through January 1st, get 20% off the purchase of any unencrypted MultiFormat title at Fictionwise, and get a 20% Micropay Rebate on any Secure title at Fictionwise.

eReader.com: Anna Karenina

Today's free download from eReader.com is one of the greatest books ever written: Anna Karenina.

Don't miss it!

But if you do miss it, it is available for free, 365 days a year, from PDAFiction.com's Gutenberg Archives: Anna Karenina

The Art of War

Today's free eReader.com book is The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Fictionwise Reader

Just what the world needs -- another ebook format.

Fictionwise has introduced The Fictionwise Reader, based on the Tiny Book Reader. It comes in a Lite (free) and a Pro (pay) version. The reader is still in the beta stage. Expect lots of bugs.

Also note: it currently works only on PCs and Pocket PCs. No Macs, no Palms, though Fictionwise says they are working on Palm and Mac versions.

If you feel 5 or 6 readers on your PDA isn't nearly enough - give it a try.

Today's Free eReader.com Book: Star Trek: New Frontier: Stone and Anvil


If you are a Star Trek fan, this is a good deal: Peter David's Star Trek: New Frontier: Stone and Anvil for free, today, 12/7/04, only.

Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent

Today's free ebook from eReader.com is Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent - a book I heartily recommend.

If you miss it at eReader, Secret Agent, and other Conrad novels, are also available 365 days a year from PDAFiction.com

9-11 Commission Report

Today's free book from eReader.com is the 9-11 Commission Report. This is the professionally formatted version they usually sell for $5

If you don't have a copy yet, grab it now.

UCC Ad

The United Church of Christ has produced a commercial. CBS and NBC have refused to air it. The ad's controversial message? God welcomes everyone (and judging from the pictures of "everyone" includes gays and lesbians).

See the ad here

From the UCC press release:

"The UCC's first 30-second television advertisement - part of the denomination's new, broad identity campaign - began airing nationwide on Dec. 1, stating that - like Jesus - the United Church of Christ seeks to welcome all people, regardless of ability, age, race, economic circumstance or sexual orientation.

"The ad has been accepted and will air on a mix of broadcast and cable networks, including ABC Family, AMC, BET, Discovery, Fox, Hallmark, History, Nick@Nite, TBS, TNT, Travel and TV Land.

"On the eve before the campaign's launch, negotiations with CBS and NBC broke down, after the networks deemed the UCC's all-inclusive message as "too controversial."

You can support UCC's efforts here

Free Books from eReader.com

eReader.com is giving away one free book each day in December, starting today with Around The World in 80 Days

If you enjoy Public Domain classics, and don't want to do the formatting work yourself, check back and download daily.