Sunday, March 31, 2013

The New York Times Top 15 Best Sellers for the week ending March 31st, 2013!


Welcome! It's Sunday again! Posted by noon or earlier every Sunday, just for "YOU"! Every week seems shorter and shorter!  There is a faint smell of Spring in the air here in Michigan every now and then, and this is making me crave some warmer days ahead when I can sit outside and read. Ooooo! Such a nice thought! Now, if only my neighbors would not play their music at such high decibels! Last year it kept me IN the house. Pathetic, I say! This year will be different! If I need to have a talk with them, or our Landlord, whoever, I WILL! I am NOT going to miss out from sitting outside enjoying some fresh air and a great book this year!
So what do you think about Amazon buying Goodreads? Please LEAVE COMMENTS BELOW! I would LOVE to hear what YOU think about this!
I've seen so MANY thoughts and opinions about this subject, both good and bad. I like to focus on the positive, so I am 'hoping' it will stay somewhat the same. I can hope! I LOVE Goodreads and I really don't want to see much change to it, but if there are some good ones, GREAT!
I'll admit to one thing. I sure am glad I own a Kindle! That was the best choice I have ever made. Now with Amazon taking over Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers are NOT going to be featured/available for purchase through, most likely guaranteed.
I read in one article that this sale is going to give Amazon even MORE availability to suggest books to us. I'm kind of on the line with that one because I LIKE the Publishers advertising books on Goodreads like they do now. There may be a book I might not otherwise have read, but because of the advertisement from a publisher for a book that catches my eye, I'll go and check it out. Now, the same books may be advertised for me that are advertised for me on Amazon. Bummer about that because I enjoyed the variation, although this is only speculation on my part and of the others that I have read.
What about Publisher advertising? Will we still see that? I LIKE THAT!!! MORE books for me to see! Plus, the Giveaways! I LOVE entering those, too!
The thing I really like about Goodreads is our ability to voice our opinions about books more so than what we do in a traditional review on Amazon, and I think we tend to be more truthful on Goodreads than what we may be on Amazon, and we also get some pretty good conversations going about books, too. We can make Groups there, Book Clubs, To Be Read lists, (so will Amazon REQUIRE ALL the books on our TBR lists be on our Wish Lists, too? LOL!! That would be ridiculous because I have something like 200 books on my list! LOL! We ALL do!) Those are some of the questions I have.
The only thing we can do is wait and see.
If you have any thoughts about this sale, please list them below in the COMMENTS!

Important! Something I 'just' noticed that started THIS WEEK.
All the books you see here from the NYT Top 15 Best Sellers ARE direct links to the physical books whenever possible, and directly to Amazon. If there is NOT a physical book available, then the book is directly linked to the ebook at Amazon.
Just this week I have noticed some of the publishers out there have much lower prices on some their ebooks, and then others are much higher. Please know when the lower occurs, I will make note that it is a publisher's price point.
Whenever there is an Independent Author out there who self publishes their book, I also make a HUGE note of this, too! Why? I believe this is EXTREMELY important because I completely support ALL Independent Authors! The blood, sweat and tears they have gone through to get HERE! WOW!!! Although I even  do this when they release a NEW book too, for ALL the same reasons, but when they hit THIS LIST, believe me when I say I am doing the HAPPY DANCE!!! This is an author who is  BEYOND OUTSTANDING, WONDERFUL, AMAZING, PURE EXCELLENCE, THE BEST, THEIR WRITING PROVES THEY ARE DIVINE, and on and on and on! It is  someone with such talent they "DESERVE" TO BE NOTICED! KOODLES TO THEM!!
And now, ON TO THE BOOKS!


1. Six Years by Harlan Coben
Print Book: $15.37
Ebook:       $14.99

 

2. Wait for You by J Lynn
INDEPENDENT AUTHOR AND SELF-PUBLISHED!
Ebook ONLY: $2.99

 

3. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Print Book: $15.97
Ebook:       $12.74

 

4. Just One Night, Part 2: Exposed by Kyra Davis
(Simon and Schuster Digital Sales)
Ebook:      $1.99

 

5. Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson
Print Book: $15.41
Ebook:       $11.99

 

6. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Print Book: $13.75
Ebook:       $12.99

 

7. A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
Print Book: $14.32
Ebook:       $12.99

 

8. Falling Into You by Jasinda Wilder
INDEPENDENT AUTHOR AND SELF-PUBLISHED!
Print Book: $9.12
Ebook:       $2.99

 


9. Three Sisters (Blackberry Island) by Susan Mallery
Print Book: $8.92
Ebook:       $5.50

 

10. The Host: A Novel by Stephanie Meyer
(Hachette Book Group)
Ebook only: $1.99

 

11. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Print Book: $8.14
Ebook:       $5.69

 

12. Just One Night, Part 1: The Stranger by Kyra Davis
(Simon and Schuster Digital Sales)
Ebook only:   $1.99

 
13. Surrender Your Love by J C Reed
(Independent Author and Self Published!)
Print Book: $9.99
Ebook:       $2.99

 

14. Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James
Print Book: $8.77
Ebook:;      $9.99

 

15. Admission by Jean  Hanff Korelitz
Print Book: $10.00
Ebook:       $  2.99

 

Wow! There we have them! "Three" Independent Authors who self published this week  ON the New York Times Best Seller List! AMAZING!! KOODLES TO YOU!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a GREAT week ahead!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Hoppy Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop! March 29th to April 5th!


Thank you to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Read Now, Sleep Later for Hosting this Hop!

INTERNATIONAL!!!!

So WHAT am I giving away????

"1 WINNER" 
of the ebook - ONLY available as an ebook so far Mention of a paperback is NOT until August 2013! YOU will get this book much SOONER than August as an ebook!

The 3rd and final book in the Young Adult "Slammed" series - when it releases on April 30th!
For further instructions, please see the GIVEAWAY TAB ABOVE!

"This Girl" by +ColleenHoover@live.com!!!



So, if YOU want to win this, then CLICK HERE!!! 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

COVER REVEAL!! Colleen Hoover's "This Girl", Book 3 in 'The Slammed Series'! Come see it!

HERE IT IS!


If you are reading this on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013, then CLICK HERE TO GO TO COLLEEN'S WEBSITE to ENTER to win a SIGNED SET of the "Slammed" THREE BOOK SERIES by Colleen Hoover, the author!
The above date ONLY!

If it's after Tuesday, that's okay! You can STILL pre-order the ebook only NOW and on April 30th, 2013, it will AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD onto your Kindle! Pretty cool!

This Girl: A Novel by +Colleen Hoover 
No print book available yet
Ebook: $7.59 
Sold by Simon and Schuster


Saturday, March 23, 2013

The New York Times TOP 15 BEST SELLER LIST for the week ending March 24th, 2013


Welcome! It' Sunday again! Time for ANOTHER list of the Best Sellers! Woo-hoo! Posted by NOON or earlier every Sunday!
I have a question for you first. How do you feel about ebooks costing MORE than the paper or hardcover books? I don't agree with paying more for a computer file that I'm STUCK with ONLY being able to read on that certain device. Ebook add up just as if you were purchasing the paper or hardcover books. If I want to switch over to an Android device, then ALL the books I purchase through Amazon do NOT cross over. I'm stuck, regardless, and have to have a Kindle that reads MOBI files. I don't like that. I do NOT purchase ebooks that are over $10.00, and even then, it has to be a pretty darned GREAT book! Usually, the MOST I will spend on an ebook is around $2.99, and that's IT because of the reason I gave above.
Remember when ebooks and their reading devices cames out? It was ALL the rage to put switch our ENTIRE READING LIBRARIES over to ebooks? LOL! Hopefully no one fell victim to that, at least not YET!
I have a Kindle, and this Christmas my son got an Android Tablet. The more I thought about it, I wondered about this very thing. I would NOT be able to switch ALL of the ebooks I purchased to an Android device, unless I use some type of program called Calibre which takes the DRM lock OFF of the books. I've tried that program, and I 'cannot' figure out HOW it works??? So I'm stuck to Amazon for LIFE if I want to keep reading!
I have no plans on changing devices because I LOVE my Kindle! However, if, in the future I DO want to change over, I don't think it's fair that I CANNOT switch my books over unless I can FINALLY FIGURE OUT CALLIBRE???
I do know there is a lawsuit going on right now about taking the DRM locks OFF of ebooks. I DO believe it WILL go through, too! I think it will go through because SO many people have purchased ebooks that it's only fair, don't you think?
Another thing, too. Amazon has the MONOPOLY on ebooks the way things are right now. Brick and mortar bookstores CANNOT SELL EBOOKS! This is NOT fiar! So I'm hoping and praying that this lawsuit turns out POSITIVE!!!
Again, back to my first question. What is your price point that YOU will spend on an ebook? Is it like me, at $2.99? I will NOT spend anything higher than $2.99 for an ebook. Higher, lower, free? Just how much are you willing to spend on one?
I thought this could stir up a GREAT conversation! Come on over and tell us
What do you think? What are your thoughts on this?

So, on to the books!! Let's see what they are!

1. Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson
Print Book: $15.41
Ebook:       $11.99

 

2. Wait for You by J Lynn
Print Book: N/A - No paperback available/Ebook only
Ebook:  $0.99

 

3. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Print Book: $15.97
Ebook:       $12.74

 

4. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Print Book: $13.75
Ebook:       $12.99

 

5. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Print Book: $5.99
Ebook:       $5.69

 

6. Three Sisters (Blackberry Island) by Susan Mallery
Print Book: $8.93
Ebook:       $5.50

 

7. A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
Print Book: $14.32
Ebook:       $  9.99

 

8. Mirror Image by Sandra Brown
Print Book: $7.99
Ebook:       $4.74

 

9. Breaking Point (A Joe Pickett Novel) by C J Box
Print Book: $15.26
Ebook:       $12.99

 

10. The Host: A Novel by Stephanie Meyers
Print Book: $9.74
Ebook:       $5.99

 

11. Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James
Print Book: $8.77
Ebook:       $9.99

 

12. Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines
Print Book: $8.47
Ebook:       $0.99

 

13. The Silver Linings Playbook [movie tie-in edition]: A Novel by Matthew Quick
Print Book: $8.99
Ebook:       $9.99

 

14. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Print Book: $8.77
Ebook:       $8.33

 

15. Never Too Far (Fallen Too Far) (Volume 2) by Abbi Glines
Print Book: $8.29
Ebook:       $3.99

  

If you would like to see the rest of the books up to #35, you can CLICK HERE TO GO SEE THE BOOKS!
Have a GREAT rest of the week!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

"Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop!" 3-22 to 3-25-13


Special thanks for sponsoring this Hop to Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

WELCOME! TO THE
"SPRING CLEANING GIVEAWAY HOP!"

This is a US ONLY Giveaway due to high postage costs.

I have a VARIETY of 5 books for you to choose from!
I will show a photo of each book and they will be listed on the form for you to fill out.
I've read almost all of these, with the exception of a few, such as The Infernals, which is just not my type of book.
Go ahead and have fun!
There will be

1 WINNER PER BOOK LISTED!

To ENTER this hop, PLEASE CLICK HERE! Have FUN! 

Sunday, March 17, 2013

The New York Times TOP 15 Best Sellers for the week ending March 17th, 2013! And . . . HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!


Welcome to this week's Top 15 Best Sellers! Posted every Sunday by NOON or earlier!
I have one GREAT thing I'm happy about! The 50 Shades stuff is "OFF" THE LIST!!! YES!!!! Well, they ARE still on the list, but NOT on the Top 15 anymore! YES! You ALL KNOW how HAPPY I am about this! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!!! Okay! I'll stop! LOL! I know! Sex sells!
Books #1, #2, and #13 are Independent Authors who have Self-Published their own books through Amazon! Wow! Not only are there 3 of them on the New York Times Top 15 Best Seller List, but the FIRST TWO are in the FIRST TWO POSITIONS! Yes! #1 AND #2! Pretty darn AMAZING!!! Give #13 another week, and it will move up higher, too!
CONGRATULATIONS to these authors! Congratulations to the Bloggers and the Readers who have written the reviews that helped get these authors to where they are! Thank you, ALL! Here's to Independent Authors!
This genre these books are in is the *new* 'New Adult' genre. This new genre has been recently created by the many Independent Authors who have self-published. It is generally for Readers ages 18 and up, made of characters who are now Adults, just out of High School, in college (sometimes), and up until they get married and/or have children; into their 20's. It IS a genre that helps fill in that gap/transition from High School to Adult. It was the Young Adult Genre to the Adult Genre in Fiction which had something that lacked there in the center, and left many Readers without books they could really get into, or relate to. This area 'in between' there left a void. Now we finally have something that fits that age group. New adults did not want to be reading Adult Fiction at that point, but they were over High School, so this fits perfectly! Actually, I admit I enjoy this genre myself. I surely can relate to it much more than Young Adult, (which I just do not relate to at all at my age anymore! LOL!) I like the 'coming of age' Young Adult books, such as the book "The Language of Flowers" by +Vanessa Diffenbaugh, and others like that, but that's it in that category. You won't find me reading Young Adult, but this New Adult, I'm IN!
So no doubt a publisher will be coming along and will gobble these books up FAST! My suggestion to you is YOU BETTER GRAB THEM NOW, while they are still available! Once the Publisher picks them up, they are generally NOT available for several months after, or so it seems, as they are printing 'their' logos on the books, etc. (As we already see with book #2, "Wait for You" by +J lynn). They generally ARE available still as an ebook, but that is not to say the price will not increase. Take Author +Colleen Hoover, she KEPT the rights to HER ebooks, and has kept the price point the same, too, but there is no telling as to whether or not any of these authors will follow suit or not because I've seen other authors sell the rights for their ebooks, too, and the prices have increased. I've only seen Colleen Hoover keep the rights to her ebooks, so far, but I could be wrong, too, as I am sure there are others, I just recall the nanes at this time. You are warned! Grab them while you can!
Self-Publishing gives you and I, ANYONE, the opportunity to put our stories out there without having to go through the traditional route with Publishers. This is an AMAZING opportunity! Look at these GREAT writers who would/could have been turned DOWN by the traditional publishers otherwise! So if YOU have a story YOU want to tell, GO FOR IT!
If you 'are' going to self-publish, a few words of advice from Book Blogger/Reviewer: please make SURE you have your book "professionally" edited! That does NOT mean your spouse, or a good friend, but PAY a real 'Editor'! There are so many 'could be' great books out there that die because they have not been edited properly, and you do NOT want that written in the reviews about your book.
For those of you who self-publish, I wish you THE BEST! Here's to Indie Authors and Self-Publishing those books!
So, let's get on with the books!

1. Reckless by S C Stephens - Independent Author/ Self-Published
Print Book: $9.45
Ebook:       $7.36

   

2. Wait for You by J Lynn - Independent Author/ Self-Published
NO PRINT BOOK AVAILABLE
Ebook ONLY $2.99

 

3. Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson, Book 7) by Patricia Briggs
Print Book: $14.48
Ebook:       $12.99

 

4. Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson
Print Book: $15.41
Ebook:       $11.41

 

5. Mirror Image by Sandra Brown (reprinted from from over a decade ago, 1990)
Print Book: $7.99
Ebook:       $4.74

 

6. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Print Book: $15.97
Ebook:       $12.60

 

7. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Print Book: $6.00
Ebook        $5.70

 

8. The Striker (An Isaac Bell Adventure) by Clive Cussler
Print Book: $15.98
Ebook:       $12.99

 

9. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Print Book: $13.75
Ebook:       $12.99

   

10. A Week in Winter by Meave Binchy
Print Book: $14.32
Ebook:       $  9.99

 

11.The Chance: A Novel by Karen Kingsbury
Print Book: $12.35
Ebook:       $  9.68

 

12. Calculated in Death by J D Robb
Print Book: $15.84
Ebook:       $12.99

 

13. Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines - Indie Author who Self-Published
Print Book: $9.32
Ebook:       $  .99

 

14. The Silver Linings Playbook [movie tie-in edition]: A Novel by Matthew Quick
Print Book: $9.00
Ebook:       $9.99

 

15. Damascus Countdown by Joel C Rosenberg
Print Book: $15.62
Ebook:       $  9.45

 

What am I reading? Currently, I am finishing a book I had to put down as I had several books to read for some Blog Tours. So I picked back up . . . "A Cold and Lonely Place" by Sara J Henry! Goooood! I have others I plan on picking back up, too! Can't WAIT to get back to them!
Thanks for coming by again! Looking forward to seeing you through the week, and next Sunday, too! Leave a COMMENT! LOVE to get them! Tell us what YOU are reading!
Till then!
Laurie