Bargain Books!

I've mentioned in previous posts that I am quite the bargain shopper.  I love my Kindle to death, however, it just isn't economical for me to buy books on the Kindle at the rate that I read.  Well, my good friend told me about an AMAZING thing...and I thought I would share with you all, and let you know what books I got!

A couple of months ago, we went through her bookshelf and got rid of all the books that she no longer wanted.  I took some of them, and the rest were to be donated to the library.  She's a busy girl, so it's been a while, but she finally took the books to the library this past weekend.  When she carried her box of books in, she noticed that there was a book sale going on.  Now the libraries around here do that a lot (I guess as a fundraiser --although at the prices, I'm not sure that they are making a whole lot of money -- but who knows).  I had been to the one at the Sandy Springs library a few years back, and had a ball.  At the Sandy Springs library there was an entire room just filled with paper backs, hardbacks and books on tape.  It was incredible.  I walked into a mecca of books!

Well my friends, at the Dunwoody library this weekend, you could go and fill up a bag of books (one of the paper bags from the grocery store) and pay $6 for the whole bag.  Don't act surprised---I filled up two bags!  I spent a total of $12 on 34 books! A few of the books were for my friend...but here are the ones I kept.

  

I mean -- SERIOUSLY!?  I will be set for at least 6 months?  That's not including all the books on my TBR shelf...which in case you were wondering there are 90.  Just sayin.

While I was at the book sale, one of the ladies I spoke with told me about a website that is dedicated to letting people know when and where there were book sales.  Check this out -- Book Sale Finder.  You go in and type in the state you are looking for a book sale for and they will list ones that are at libraries, non-profit organizations -- anywhere! 

Obviously, I won't be needing to go to another book sale for quite a while, and honestly I should probably consider having one of my own...

Another thing that I heard that upset me was about the budget cuts that are going on.  In DeKalb County (not my county, so I'm not sure how Fulton's budget cuts went), they cut the budget from almost 2 million dollars down to 200k.  Are you kidding me?  How are these libraries supposed to fill their shelves?  Are they going to have to start making people pay to check out books.  Honestly, I am appalled.  Last year they cut a lot of things out of the budget in the school systems (like physical education and music programs), and now this?  What is going to happen to our children?  I know there probably isn't a whole lot that I can do about this, but it sickens me that children are going to be growing up in a world without books. 

Where do you find that you buy books most often?  Do you go to bookstores?  Do you just check books out from the library?  If the library decided to charge a membership fee for renting out books, would you still go?

Happy Reading!

Quick Post - Comic Novels

So, as I'm sure you can tell from my previous posts that my favorite genre is hands down mystery!  Well, I'm trying something new today, and I thought I would share the experience with all of you. 





I've never read a comic novel, and I don't really understand the draw.  To me it seems like some sort of picture book for grown ups...and I don't know that I am a fan.  A while back when Watchmen became famous I thought I would purchase the book and see what I thought.

Today I finished reading Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler (I will post my review on that later on), and I decided I wanted to change things up a bit.  I noticed Watchmen sitting on my shelf of books to read, and I thought, 'what the hey, I'll give it a try'.


I'm only about 20 pages in so far, but I really like it!  It's super interesting and it isn't hard to follow like I thought it would be.  I'm easily distracted, and thought that maybe with all the pictures and stuff I would have a hard time following along with the plot, but I think I am getting it!


What are your feelings on comic novels?  Have you tried to read one before?  How do you think it is different from reading a 'regular novel'?  Do you like it better?


I will keep you updated as I go through the book, and let you know what I think.


I just wanted to do a quick post to let you know what I was up to -- and also to get your input!


Happy Reading!

By Request (Part 1)

Okay okay, I know I said I wasn't going to go back through and try to document and review all of the books that I've read this year, but I've gotten some requests to at least do some quick reviews so that you can figure out if you actually want to read these books or not....so here goes...

Instead of giving you a summary of the book, I'm really just going to tell you if I liked it, and if I would recommend it.  I will also rate them on a scale of one star to five stars (one star being "I hated the book/could not finish it" to five stars being "the best book ever").  You can read my previous posts to view the first few books I read this year...but here are the rest.  


I would love it if you read the whole post, but honestly, it is going to be long -- so feel free to just scroll through and see if there are any books that catch your eye, and then go from there.  Enjoy!

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas - James Patterson

Finished 3/9/10

I am a die hard James Patterson fan.  Always have been, always will be.  James Patterson is most well known for his murder mystery books, so when I found this book I was caught off guard.  This is in no way a murder mystery book.  As it turns out, James Patterson can also write a mean love story.  I highly recommend this book to anyone needed a quick read, but also an emotional read.  About halfway through I started tearing up, and didn't stop until well after I had finished the book.

I would give this book 5 stars, on the basis that it was a great book, and was well worth the time spent reading it.

As Young As We Feel - Melody Carlson

Finished 3/14/10

This was a freebie on my Kindle, and as I have found freebies on the Kindle are, well, free for a reason.  This wasn't the worst book that I've ever read, but it was slow, and did seem to drag on much longer than necessary.  For a free book, it wasn't bad, but I am glad that I didn't pay full price for it (I know that is awful, but you know, some books just aren't as good as others...).  Basically it is just all the other books with four women who were all friends as children that have now grown up and reconnect.  Cute, but predictable.  

I would give this book 3 stars...I didn't want to stop reading it, but I probably would be okay today if I had never read the book before.

House Rules - Jodi Picoult

Finished - 3/20/10

Okay, first I would like to say that hands down, Jodi Picoult is my FAVORITE AUTHOR OF ALL TIMES!  Her work is amazing, inspirational, and just down right incredible.  Quick background on Jodi Picoult -- She puts out one book per year (which saddens me deeply, as I would only be completely satisfied if she were the only writer in the world...).  The reason she is a perennial author is that all of her books involve extensive research, and in order to write as well as she does, she needs all that time.  Her books are mostly about important issues that most people don't want to discuss, but she "goes there".  She helps people to understand different diseases that are out there, and puts it into a fiction story that just grabs at your heartstrings.  I'm never disappointed with her work.  House Rules is the story of a boy that struggles daily with Asperger Syndrome, and finds himself caught up in a whole world of trouble.  One of the things I love so much about her books is that each chapter is written from one of the many "lead characters".  So, for instance, in this book not only were there chapters written by the main character, Jacob, but there are chapters written by Jacob's mother, his attorney, and so on.  So without giving any more away, I HIGHLY recommend not only this book, but any of the books by Jodi Picoult.

5 stars, get it, read it, love it.

Worst Case - James Patterson

Finished 3/23/10

Alright, so I have already sung my praises of James Patterson, and it is obvious that I will read any and every book that he writes.  This book is one of the books in the series involving Detective Michael Bennett (a widowed father of 10 adopted children!!), who is one of my favorite characters.  In this book, Michael is chasing the serial killer that is targeting wealthy families and their children.  I would definitely consider this a "page turner", and I would recommend this to anyone that loves a good thriller.

4 stars.

Wife for Hire - Janet Evanovich

Finished 3/25/10

So as I mentioned in my previous post, Janet Evanovich is an author that I read in between more "serious" books.  Again, I am not discrediting Janet Evanovich, nor am I saying that she is a bad author, I'm strictly saying that her books tend to be on the fluffier side, and are quick and easy reads.  Wife for Hire is absolutely adorable.  It is a sweet little romantic novel that is extremely hillarious as well. The main character, Maggie, is looking for a job and finds an ad in which the man, Hank, is looking for someone to pretend that they are his wife for a little while.  As I'm sure you could tell, Maggie and Hank fall madly in love, but there is a cute mystery in the mix too. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone that isn't looking for a quick book, full of fluff.

For the type of book that it is, and knowing that my expectations were a lot lower, I would give this book 4 stars.


The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
Finished - 4/7/10


Wow.  This is a book that I would consider to be more "intellectual", or "harder" to read than say a Janet Evanovich book.  While this book did take me quite a while to read, it was fantastic.  I've read both The Da Vinci Code: A Novel and Angels & Demons, and this was just as good, if not better than those.  I really fell in love with Robert Langdon, the main character, and all of the mystery and what not surrounding these books is incredible.  I'm not a religious person, but these books do hint a lot at religious symbolism, etc.  I would highly recommend this book to pretty much anyone.  The only thing I would say is that I would read this series in order.  I read The Da Vinci Code before I read Angels & Demons and that didn't change a lot for me, but I think I would have enjoyed it a lot better had I read Angels and Demons first.
5 stars.






Caught - Harlan Coben
Finished 4/9/10


SOOOO creepy!  Harlan Coben is the author that I would say keeps me coming back for more.  His books are extremely well written, and once I start reading one of his books, I can't seem to put it down.  I know that he has written somewhere around 20 books so far, and I haven't read them all, but the ones I've read I have loved!  This was one of the books that I actually purchased on the Kindle, and I did so as a money saver.  I wanted the book as soon as it came out, and if I would have gone to the bookstore to get it, I would have paid somewhere around $25 for it, however I got it on the Kindle for under $10.  (So, like I said previously, the Kindle definitely has advantages).  I would recommend this book to murder mystery lovers, as it is quite the page turner.
4 stars.








Back to the Bedroom - Janet Evanovich
Finished 4/10/10


Okay, okay, I know what you are thinking -- and I'm laughing to myself as well.  I'm sure from the last few comments that I've made about Janet Evanovich I make it sound like I couldn't stand to read her books, but let's be honest -- I've got a soft spot for these books.  I can't stop -- they are just so cute, and witty and quick!  Again, this isn't the type of book that I would recommend to someone looking for a "serious" read, as it is a romantic mystery type book with a lot of humor that leaves me smacking my forehead.  So, while I still hold firm to the fact that this is a "fluff" book, it was cute.  This wasn't my favorite so far, and I think I did lose interest about halfway through...I managed to finish it and I'm no worse for the wear.
3 stars.






All That Remains - Patricia Cornwell
Finished 4/14/10


Murder mystery!! Whoot! So this is one of the books in the series that contain Kay Scarpetta, the Chief Medical Examiner.  I have not read these in order, because when I started reading books by Patricia Cornwell, even though I noticed that Kay Scarpetta was in them, I didn't realize there was an order to them.  Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone that likes murder mysteries.  I think that the books I've read by Patricia Cornwell are all page turners, and they all leave me thinking "WHAT?, WOW!"
4 Stars












The Last Summer (of You and Me) - Ann Brashares
Finished 4/16/10


Okay, so this is the first book so far that I am going to have to say I didn't enjoy.  I pushed through, and finished reading it, but I was very disappointed.  Ann Brashares is the author of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants novels, which I loved.  Now, this was the authors first try at an "adult novel" as The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants books are "young adult", so I would like to cut her some slack.  I'm sure it is hard to go from one group of readers to another (although, obviously I do enjoy some of the young adult books too).  I was not impressed with the characters, and found that most of the time I wanted to punch them (and I'm not a violent person!!).  Anyway, without going on a long rant -- I don't know who I would recommend this book to...
2 stars




Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris
Finished 4/20/10


OOOOOOH Sookie Stackhouse!! :)  Okay, so like I've said a million times, I love series!! This is the 5th book in the series, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sookie Stackhouse. I highly recommend this book, as well as any of the other books in this series.  Now, I would only recommend this book to those that like things that are supernatural, etc.  Sookie is a young waitress living in Bon Temps, Louisiana, and is friends with the Vampires....so if I've lost you already, don't try it....you've got to love the Vamps/Shape-Shifters/Werewolves....
5 stars


(Side note about these books -- I love the books, however I was extremely disappointed by the show TrueBlood on HBO...anyone else feel that way?  I won't lie, I am still a watcher of the show, but they are just two completely different things happening.)





The Girl With a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
Finished - 4/23/10


Okay, so I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, I guess because I get bored by thinking that people actually had to live their lives like they did...I don't know...just not my thing.  I had several friends that read this book and told me I should try it.  I was reluctant at first, and definitely went in with the wrong attitude.  I loved this book! It was a short, quick, good read!  I feel in love with the main character, and was just so interested in the plot that I couldn't put the book down.  Before I read this I would have said that I would only recommend this book to people that like historical fiction, but I can't see who wouldn't enjoy this book.
4 stars






Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris


Alright, I could go on and on about all of these books - but this post is already extremely long -- and if you've made it this far -- PROPS!


6th book in the series -- still love everything about it -- still trying to keep the story going and going, because I kind of want Sookie in my life forever...silly huh?


Like I said before -- I recommend this book to any reader that enjoys the supernatural, and you could even say that it is a mystery too.


5 stars






The 9th Judgement - James Patterson
Finished 5/1/10


Oh, James Patterson!  By now, you know I love him!  This is another book in a series, the Women's Murder Club series.  Basically there are four women that have all come together to form "the Women's Murder Club".  The characters include Inspector Lindsay Boxer, District Attorney Yuki Castellano, Medical Examiner Dr. Clare Washburn and reporter Cindy Thomas.  They are friends that all work together to solve murders in their area.  I love each of the characters, and this was the most recent addition.  All of these books are page turners, and they are all super creepy!!


I highly recommend this series to anyone that likes a good, quick murder mystery!
5 Stars







The Crossroads Cafe - Deborah Smith
Finished - 5/7/10


This was one of the Kindle freebies.  Like I mentioned before, many of the freebies are from Christian publishing houses, however I wouldn't say this one had too much Christianity in it.  This was an adorable, sweet love story that I breezed right through.  Unfortunately, this one is no longer free on the Kindle, but it was worth the read.  I loved that each of the sections started with a quote or two (which I love quotes almost as much as I love reading). All of the quotes tied in well with the story, but were also great quotes!


I recommend this book to those that like contemporary romance novels.  It wasn't what I thought a romance novel really is, because there wasn't all the mushy stuff, nor was it like a harlequin romance (which is a positive in my book).


4 Stars




Dark Pursuit - Brandilyn Collins
Finished 5/8/10


Clearly, this only took me one day to read, so it was a quick read!  Brandilyn Collins books were all freebies on the Kindle, and they are all from a Christian publishing house.  There are slight undertones of religion here and there, but I really enjoy the plots in her novels, so I am usually able to skip over that.  This book is not only a page-turner, but it also kept my pulse racing.  She is quite good at writing suspenseful, intriguing novels.


I recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries, but also to those that like a suspenseful book!


4 stars

Happy Reading!

Confessions of a Die Hard Reader

I consider myself a complete bookworm...but I don't like that term -- I prefer bookwhore!  I like that one much more!  Anyway, my favorite books are murder mystery books...however, every now and again I love me some chick lit. My idea when starting this challenge to read 100 books in a year did not include "fluff books", however I knew there would be some in there.  By no means am I saying that the authors ofchick lit are any less of an author than someone like Ayn Rand, but it usually does lack substance.  Many times, after I've read something "deep", I like to change it up with something light as the next book.

I am often riddled with what to read next.  It shouldn't be that hard, as my Kindle is full of books, as is my office...no joke, before I purged and got rid of most of the already read books, it looked a little like this...

Books, books everywhere, and never anything to read.

Like I said, usually when deciding what to read next, I take into account what I just finished reading.  I finished reading Julie and Julia by Julie Powell last night.

It wasn't a deep book, it wasn't a challenge, but I was ready for something different. I went over to the bookshelf, and browsed the titles that are in the "to be read" section of my bookshelf (which contains something like 60 books).  Usually, at first glance, I see if anything pops out and immediately grabs my attention, screaming "READ ME!!", but nothing did.  For me, that means it is time for a fluff book.  I think that the realization that I am behind by 15 books in my challenge is also part of the reason I wanted a quick, fun, easy read.  I grabbed Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich.

Again, I am in no way saying that I dislike Janet Evanovich, nor am I saying that she in untalented.  These are just quick reads, to fill in the time between my more "serious" reads.  

How do you decide what you are going to read?  I've read a bunch of different opinions in some really great blogs over the last few hours, and it looks as though, more often than not, people really do judge a book by the cover.  In all reality, I think that covers are extremely important, almost as important as the titles.  If I'm digging through the books at Goodwill and a title pops out at me, I don't flip the book over to read the quick synopsis, I flip to the front to view the cover.  It really makes a difference.  I mean when I see a book cover that leaves me intrigued and curious, then, and only then will I flip that book over to see what it is all about.  It sounds awful, but I think a lot of authors make the mistake when doing the cover art.   I'm not saying that we need to be mislead by the covers, but the cover makes or breaks it for me (at least as far as if I am willing to give the book a shot or not).  

A couple of other bloggers mentioned that they have set up lists for themselves saying which books they will read next. While this does greatly appeal to my OCD, I think that planning out my books would ruin it for me.  I love the adventure that is associated with grabbing a new book off the shelf.  I do have all of my books organized on GoodReads, however, I have not set up any particular order.  

I also found that a lot of people that enjoy reading series (which I love love love!), like to read them back to back in order.  I guess the main problem that I have with that is that I love reading series, and often times I find myself falling in love with the characters and not wanting that "relationship" to end.  I will read the first book in the series and then read maybe two or three books in between.  I also feel like if I read the whole series back to back to back, then things will start meshing together, and I will get bored (so not only am I OCD, I'm clearly ADD as well...).  

It is quite interesting to me how people select the books that they are going to read, and how they choose what order to read them in.  I guess everyone is different, and reading styles are all different as well, but I'd love to hear how you do it -- Do you judge the book by the cover art?  Do you have a pre-planned order in which you are going to read the next books?  

Happy Reading!

To E-Read, or Not to E-Read

So, for Christmas last year, my boyfriend's parents bought me a Kindle.  I couldn't be more excited, and I stood by the door waiting on the day that it was to be delivered.  So I spent the entire day checking UPS to see how much longer I would have to wait.  I was also stressing out because I hadn't finished the book I was reading yet, and I wanted to use the Kindle as soon as I got it.  Anyway, although UPS's website said my Kindle was at the Atlanta delivery center, and was "in-transit" at 10:00 AM, I found out that they don't end up getting to our apartment complex until 7 PM at night.  Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise because I was able to finish the book I was reading by the time I got the package.



So, I got the package, tore it opened and started it up.  By the end of the night I had downloaded 10 or more of the free books, and was well on my way to being an e-reader.  There are so many great things about the Kindle.  I love that at any moment I have a library full of books in my purse.  It definitely saves me from having to lug around an extra book in case I finish reading one of them.  I don't like to be left empty handed, because I never know when I will be sitting around waiting on something.  


I had some reservations at first when I got the Kindle.  I am so used to the feeling of holding a book, and this was totally different.  Obviously it is much lighter than a book, and it is a lot easier to hold and manage.  The buttons are all placed perfectly, and I love the screen.  I enjoy reading everywhere, so as I'm sure you've seen on the commercials, I can read on the Kindle in the sun.  Majority of the time I hate reading books in the sun because it makes the pages so bright that I have to wear sunglasses just to read!  I'm also a sucker for the "book smell".  I guess if you aren't an avid reader, you won't know what I am talking about, but books have a distinct smell.  I love the smell of older library books; the smell of comfort!  Obviously the Kindle doesn't smell....so I was a little sad because it just didn't feel the same.  


I have an entire bookshelf full of books that I've bought along the way.  I'm pretty cheap, so I usually purchase my books at the Goodwill around the corner from my house.  Hardback books are $2 while paperback books are $1, you can't really beat that.  So at first I was trying to go back and forth.  I would read a book on the Kindle, and then read one off the shelf.  I'm still trying to get through the books on the shelf, but of course, I can't go into the Goodwill without buying a book, or five. 


One of the major things that has turned me off of the Kindle is the prices.  Like I said, I can go to the Goodwill and grab a stack of books for $10, but most books on the Kindle are $9.99 and up.  I'm not opposed to spending $9.99 on a book, however at the speed that I read (about 1.6 books per week) it isn't really economical.  So once I noticed the "free book" section on Amazon.com I decided I would just start doing that -- because what's better than spending $1 - $2 per book?  Spending nothing!  The only issue with this, is that a lot of the books that are in this "free section" are Christian Fiction books.  Even though I'm not religious at all, I thought that maybe I would give these books a try.  I didn't expect that they would be beating me over the head with the Bible or Jesus, but alas, they do.  


I've heard that there are a lot of websites that you can download free books from onto all types of e-readers, but I haven't found a site that I like, or that I am comfortable using.  It also seems that on these websites majority of the books are "classic"...which I'm not a huge fan of.  I've also found that as a member of GoodReads, there are often posts by authors telling you when/where to download a copy of their new books.  GoodReads is amazing (I will have to post a whole entry just devoted to it...that's how awesome it is.)  If you are an avid reader, and you don't use GoodReads---you should start!


So, I think that the Kindle (and probably any e-reader, although I'm not sure) has a lot of redeeming qualities.  I love the ease of use, having multiple books at a time, and the additional functions that the Kindle has (web surfing, a dictionary, the ability to make notes, "bookmark function").  However, I might just be purist, but nothing is better than cuddling up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee, my sweet little pup and a good book. 






What do you think?  Do you own an e-reader?  Do you have a good website that you like to download free books from?


Happy Reading!

Okay -- Back to Reality!

So, I've taken a break from writing in here, and I'm not happy about that at all.  I want to write, and I want people to read it.  I guess that means that I will have to tell people, and hope that they will want to read what I have to say.


I decided in January to take the challenge to read 100 books this year.  I've gotten pretty far along, but I'm not sure if I am going to make the goal or not.  Obviously, I need to back and write about each of the books that I did read since my last post (which might take a while), but I'm on my way.  I've got 59 books read this year, and  only three months left.  So that's 41 books in 3 months....okay, I might not be reaching my goal this year, unless I start counting books like "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish".


Anyway, I will start posting more often, and I am going to try to get caught up on the books that I have completed.  I hope you enjoy, and please leave me comments and suggestions!


Happy Reading!
Brandi


















Update ----


So I'm sitting here thinking that I might be a little crazy --- I've read 59 books this year, and honestly, to go back and review each one again is going to be a little insane.  I'm thinking about what else I can blog about in respect to reading, and I'm coming up with some ideas here and there -- keep reading, and keep sending me ideas and comments!! 


Happy Reading,