Saturday, May 18, 2013

The NYT Top 15 Best Sellers for the week ending Sunday, May 18, 2013.


Hello everyone! It's that time again!
This week I want to talk about TRILOGIES! Also, I want to talk about books that are Novellas, and have 7 or 8, or MORE in the series. What do YOU think about these? (I am NOT singling the two authors who I happen to mention out. I am only using them as an example. They have published their books as a series of Novellas, and even the reviews on Amazon complain about what I am going to complain about. Again, I am ONLY using their names because they have published a series of Novellas the way they have.)
Trilogies - Why? Almost every book I come across seems to be a Trilogy. Unless there is a certain reason for a trilogy, then okay. There is a favorite author of mine who has a trilogy out, but she kind of planned it that way after her fans went crazy over her first book! There are a lot of authors I have read that are planning on taking that first book they wrote and turning it into a trilogy automatically. They do not have it planned out, but they are going to write one. Why? If you don't have it planned out already, what is the draw of writing a trilogy? I don't understand why? Why can't one book be a stand-alone? Why not write a stand-alone? Besides that one favorite author of mine, does it seem ALL authors want to write trilogies? I don't understand? Do they want to keep their readers?
I have another favorite author who has never written a trilogy. She has written ALL stand-alones. She does QUITE WELL! Why don't we have MORE authors like her?
I'm just not into trilogies. I LOVE a good stand-alone book. I prefer stand-alones just about. Some books SCREAM trilogies, but not ALL of them.
Now the 'series' of books: I just wrote a review on a HUGE author who has just done a 6 book series, Wanda E. Brunstetter, The Discovery Series, about the Amish. Also, a LOT of Independent Authors are doing this, too. H M Ward and others are doing this. I've read the reviews on most of those books, and what I am getting is that "I" am NOT THE ONLY ONE who is disappointed with this type of publishing. We get about 76 pages of the story, then we have to wait for the next Novella to be published. Why? Why not write ONE book?
Back to that Amish series of books I mentioned. I was VERY disappointed with the series. (I am NOT singling out these 2 authors, either, again. It just so happened I read the reviews on H M Ward's books today, and I wrote a review on Wanda E Brunstetter this week.) I read most of the Amish series so far. It recapped what happened in the previous book IN the next book people will pay for when it started! The stories are SO SHORT! The endings are abrupt. By the time you PAY FOR ALL THE BOOKS, you have spent almost $20 to $30! Outrageous, I say! Thankfully I got the Amish series of books from NetGalley, so it was not money out of my pocket, but I did NOT like them. I do NOT like this new Novella 'thing'. Why?
Why reread a recap, the story having it end at 76%, and then in some authors' books, in the back, have ALL advertisements of the other books she has written? Yes, the rest was advertising for her other books! CRAZY!
May I ask what is the point of doing this is to us? Money? Grabbing other Readers' attention with ONE book, then sucking them into the entire series? I don't get it? I really do NOT want to see 'this trend' continue. I want a full novel, not novellas.
I hope the authors get wind of this. Not the one's I mentioned intentionally, as I said that is NOT my intention at all, and I am not singling them out, but they ARE published that way. I'm talking about ALL authors. I don't want to see ALL authors get into this trend of writing Novellas. They are not satisfying. I feel like I am being milked for money, and the read, I know, is going to end abruptly. I don't like that. Anyway . . . this is to ALL AUTHORS. I HOPE you do NOT follow this current 'trend' of Novellas. Please don't! Same goes for Trilogies, unless the characters are SCREAMING to say more, and the author can really pull it off!
That's my beef for the week. What do YOU think? Comments are welcome!!

On to the books!

FICTION: COMBINED PRINT AND EBOOK

1. Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) By Charlain Harris
Print Book: $15.33
Ebook:       $12.99

 

2. Silken Prey by John Sanford
Print Book: $15.99
Ebook:       $12.99

 

3. The Hit by David Baldacci
Print Book: $16.20  
Ebook:       $   .00 BE CAREFUL! ONLY the first so many chapters are FREE. After that, you must pay the FULL asking price, and that price is NOT LISTED.

 
4. 12th of Never (Women's Murder Club) by James Patterson AND Maxine Paetro
Print Book: $15.98
Ebook:       $   .00 AGAIN, BE CAREFUL - The price for the ebook is NOT LISTED. You only get so many chapters for FREE, then you have to pay the FULL ebook price!

 
5. Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts
Print Book: $15.43
Ebook:       $  9.99

 

6. The Bet by Rachel Van Dyken - Independent Author who Self Published! Congrats!!
Print Book: $7.93
Ebook:       $ .99

 

7. A Step of Faith: A Novel (Walk) by Richard Paul Evans
Print Book: $12.21
Ebook:       $ 9.68

 

8. The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley
Print Book: $11.97
Ebook:       $10.09

 

9. A Delicate Truth: A Novel by John le Carre
Print Book: $16.25
Ebook:       $12.99

 

10. Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Print Book: $16.25
Ebook:       $12.99

 

11. Don't Say A Word by Barbara Freethy - This book is self-published. Usually she has a publisher. Hmmmm? This IS a NEW book, too, just so you know.
Print Book:  $11.69
Ebook:        $   .99

 

12. The Silver Linings Playbook [movie tie-in edition]: A Novel by Matthew Quick
Print Book: $10.18
Ebook:       $  4.99

 

13. Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card
Print Book: $5.24
Ebook:       $4.00

 

14. Down London Road by Samantha Young
Print Book: $8.99
Ebook:       $7.99

 

15. The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
Print Book: $12.37
Ebook:       $  2.37 - This book is reprinted from 1997.



These are the books for this week! Only '1' Indie Author who self-published this week in the Top 15, which is odd as of late. If you would like to see the rest, up
to #25, you can find them at THIS LINK ! It is unusual this week. Usually the New York Times goes up to #40 in their Best Sellers. This week they ONLY go up to #25. They changed it. Hmmm? Happy Sunday!
Laurie

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