"Rocks on my device. Cute book my kid will completely enjoy." - snomin App World review

Harold and the Purple Crayon was originally a children’s book from 1955 by Crockett Johnson. It was Harold’s first adventure in a series of 9 books. The idea behind Harold and the Purple Crayon is Harold, 4 year old, has a…wait for it……..purple crayon. Didn’t see that coming, did you? He uses it, and his imagination, to create a fantastic new world. My memory isn’t the greatest, but I’m pretty sure I read this book when I was a wee lad, or it was at least read to me.

My son loves it when I read a story for him every night; he also loves my BlackBerry PlayBook. Marmalade brought the two together with Harold and the Purple Crayon interactive story. The application was recently the AppCircus Winner at BlackBerry DevCon Europe. The story comes to life with crisp animation, playful music and friendly narration. If they keep this up, I may be out of a reading gig.

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We all have our own reasons for sticking with BlackBerry, and one that we hear time and again is the indispensable keyboard. A lot of converts to other platforms brush it aside, saying keyboards are overrated and out-of-style, but then a story like this pops up and reconfirms just how much we rely on those smooth QWERTY keys.

Richard Lee is a professional English footballer currently playing for Brentford as goalkeeper. There came a point in his career where he considered quitting altogether, but instead he chose to fight for his place on the team and ended up writing a book about the challenges he faced. What's unique about Richard's book, is that all 50,000 words were written on his BlackBerry Bold. In a recent interview, Richard revealed that he actually started out writing a blog for his website, but before long was 10,000 words in and had a lot more to say. You can read an excerpt from the interview after the break, where Richard goes into further detail about why he wrote the book on his BlackBerry, and why he chose that over a different type of phone. (Spoiler: It's the keyboard!)

This isn't the first time a book has been written on a BlackBerry. CrackBerry member Jessica Meigs wrote a novel on her BlackBerry as well, and even paid tribute to Kevin in the story, naming a virus after him. You can find out more about Jessica and her zombie horror series The Becoming on her blog, becomingzombies.com.

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If you're a BlackBerry PlayBook owner looking to get the most out of your tablet and prefer flipping through pages instead of browsing online PlayBook help articles and forums, you'll want to check out Wiley's newly released BlackBerry PlayBook Companion book.

Written by our friend Matthew Miller, with a forward by yours truly, the PlayBook Companion covers all the important topics that a PlayBook purchaser needs to know to use their tablet effectively. The book provides simple overviews of how to use a PlayBook to do all the things today's consumer expects of a tablet, including:

• Reading books, magazines and other texts
• Sending and receiving email and text messages
• Taking pictures and videos
• Downloading and using third-party applications
• Using instant messaging and social networking
• Using the PlayBook with a BlackBerry

What more is there to say? If you're looking for a book to help you get up to speed on on the BlackBerry PlayBook, look for the BlackBerry PlayBook Companion book.  You can learn more on Wiley's website and grab it from Amazon or a bookstore near you.

It's becoming quite common to hear of folks using their BlackBerry Smartphones to harness creativity in ways some of us may not think of. Will.I.Am has been noted to use memopad on his BlackBerry for harboring his thoughts and lyrics to songs. Now, Styles P, a member of the hip hop group The LOX, is getting set to release his debut novel, most of which was written on his BlackBerry. As noted in the MTV interview, the unorthodox method of writing the novel took Mr. Styles P two years to write and finally the effort is seeing fruition. The novel is now available for sale in bookstores and online via his website. But we're still holding out for the zombie novel our friend, @a_silent_song is writing on her BlackBerry considering Kevin has a minor role in it.

• Head On Over To Style P's Website To Order Invincible>>

Source: MTV

It was back in late 2008 when we first announced the availability of our self-published definitive guide to BlackBerry addiction - CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse.

It's exciting to be able to now say that the CrackBerry book has now been picked up by Apress and who will be releasing the updated version in time for the holiday season this year. With Apress' awesome reach, you'll pretty much be able to find the book in every (english) book store around the world!

We're working on a tight schedule to get our updated version cleaned up and off to the presses, and in doing so we're looking for even more real world stories of BlackBerry use gone awry. If you have a BlackBerry tale to tell and would like it to make the book, email it in to book @ crackberry.com (make the subject My CrackBerry Book story). Whether it's a story of how your BlackBerry got you into trouble in a social setting, or where it saved one we want to hear it. Have any tips on how you've come to manage the smartphone use in your life? Share those too!

Submission Tips: We'll want to keep the quotes we use intact as much as possible, so keep that in mind when you submit your stories. Give us the details but try and keep them concise and on point and write in your voice in the way you'll want others to read it. Be sure to include your info (name, where you're from, etc. don't worry, we'll just stick with first names in the book). That's it. Send them in. Hurry!!  And keep your eyes on the blogs - we may have a couple of follow up requests and polls here related to this endeavor soon.

The good folks at Apress just let us know about a new book they have released called Learn BlackBerry Games Development. Written by expert software game developers Andrew Davison and Carol Hamer, the book shows you how to leverage the BlackBerry Java Development Environment to design and create fun and awesome games for BlackBerry Smartphones.

As a certified BlackBerry Addict and Fearless Leader of CrackBerry Nation, on behalf of BlackBerry owners everywhere our message to all the developers out there is GO BUY THIS BOOK. We need to see more good games available for BlackBerry. Press release below and click here for more details.

Last thought... I'm not quite sure why they put raspberries on the book cover instead of blackberries... but it works. Kinda hungry just looking at it. :) 

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I've got to do some cleaning this weekend and in looking around my mess of a home office I noticed I had a pile of BlackBerry-related books lying around. So I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and while carrying them off to the bookshelf give them a few minutes of fame in youtube video primetime action. You can check out the video above for a quick look at BlackBerry books that will help you get BlackBerry smart. And for more info on each of the books mentioned in the video or to purchase, you can follow the links below:

• BlackBerry Storm for Dummies (2nd Edition) | All BlackBerry for Dummies Books
• My BlackBerry Curve
• BlackBerry Made Simple by Made Simple Learning
• Beginning BlackBerry Development | Advanced BlackBerry Development
• CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse | Kindle Version

Happy Reading! While you can usually find any answer you need for free in our CrackBerry articles or forums, books are always tend to be nice to have around and are especially good for those just getting their first device - step by step how tos and help make learning easy. And for BlackBerry Application development, the clear and precise instructions and theory are a big bonus. If you know of other good BlackBerry-related books out there you have read, you can make mention of them in the comments. Now go get BlackBerry smart! :)

* Update - to those in the comments asking for it, I posted the link to the straight .pdf version. *

Have a New Year's Resolution to get your BlackBerry use under control? Get an Amazon Kindle for Christmas? If so, then just type the word "crackberry" into your Kindle and you can pick-up CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse. This is not a BlackBerry how-to book, but rather a book full of real-life stories of BlackBerry use gone too far as well as lots of tips and tricks to get your smartphone use under control (even though it was written for BB, the strategies are good for anybody who can't put down their mobile device).

The paper back copy of this book came out in November 2008, and the Kindle version actually was released in May of 2009, but of course it was only since I personally picked up a Kindle this Christmas for myself (contributing to these sales stats I guess) that I even realized it was available in Kindle-format! The Kindle version actually sells for $6 less than the paperback.

All in all, if you're one of those hardcore BlackBerry users you should appreciate it - it's kinda funny, slightly disturbing and actually has some really helpful and useful information. Definitely take the BlackBerry Addiction quiz. And one of these days we'll have to follow up with an updated version - so if you have good stories to share jot them down and be ready to send them in for when we do a call for stories.

I guess now all we need is that Amazon Kindle for BlackBerry app to get released! :)

• CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse (Amazon Kindle) >>
• CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse (ShopCrackBerry - paperback) >> 
• CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse (Amazon - paperback) >>
• CrackBerry: True Tales of BlackBerry Use and Abuse (.pdf version for .pdf readers) >>
  

Order your copy today!!!

w00t! Craig's book is now available!!! A few months back we dropped word on the blogs here that our resident podcast co-host and enterprise expert Craig Johnston was working on a book, My BlackBerry Curve. Published by Que, it's now available for purchase. 

The BlackBerry Curve is the #1 selling smartphone in the United States and My BlackBerry Curve will help get you up to speed quickly and covers the Curve 83xx, 85xx and 8900 series devices. Full-color, step-by-step tasks walk you through getting and keeping your BlackBerry Curve working just the way you want. The tasks include:

• How to get started fast with any BlackBerry Curve: 8300 Series, 8500 Series, or 8900 Series
• How to make, receive, and manage calls and emails efficiently
• How to use the BlackBerry Curve's powerful contact management and calendar software
• How to listen to audio and watch video
• How to connect to the Internet, Bluetooth devices, and your company's VPN
• How to browse the Web from your BlackBerry Curve
• How to use the BlackBerry Curve's messaging tools, including text, multimedia, PIN, and IM
• How to find, choose, and install new BlackBerry Curve applications
• How to connect with social networking sites and tools
• How to use Airplane Mode to watch videos, read emails, and listen to music during flights
• How to keep your BlackBerry Curve up-to-date, reliable, and running at top performance 

If you or a friend, colleague or family member that could use a hand getting a handle on your BlackBerry Curve (or if you just want to support Craig on this awesome endeavor!) then jump on over to MyBlackBerryCurve.info for more information and to purchase. Congrats Craig.. Awesome!