Sunday, February 22, 2015

The #NYTimes Top 15 (20) #Bestsellers #ebook + #print for week ending 2-22-15/Blog Updates/FLASH #GIVEAWAY!


Welcome! It's been another week of GREAT books! I've read some amazing books lately, and I hope you have, too! This post is always up by NOON every Sunday, and most of the time earlier! It's the weekend! You never know what's going to happen!

Blog Updates: No 'new' blog hops or giveaways this week, however, you'll be the first to know if that changes!
I know last week I said I had reviews to write, and they are partly written, but I want to change a few around!
Like MANY of you, I have been trapped in this BELOW ZERO ARCTIC AIR! I don't know about you, but I have been reading and reading, all bundled up in blankets! I'll be honest with you here, the thought of coming out from under this little cocoon and putting the laptop ON my lap exposing my arms to the ICE COLD FRIGID AIR has not sounded appealing at ALL! How about you?

FLASH GIVEAWAY!!!Whoever is reading this, if YOU are or have been stuck in this BELOW ZERO ARCTIC AIR BLAST that has been hanging onto us for OVER the last 3 WEEKS NOW, (Anyone reading this can leave a comment for a chance to win!)
1 WINNER!
1 ebook VALUED at $3.99 or less! 
HOW?
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with the info needed below this!
1. Tell us your name
2. What is your email address?
3. Where do you live
4. What was the coldest day and night temperatures - even if it's WARM out!
5. What are you reading? TITLE and AUTHOR? Don't forget to ADD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS! Make sure to mix it up like this: laurieisreading at g mail dot com so the robots don't pick it up! Good luck!
ENDS SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28th AT MIDNIGHT!

Okay! Let's hit the books!

FICTION: COMBINED EBOOK AND PRINT
All links take you to the ebook. If you want a different version, look in the area which shows the different versions and click on that link and it will take you there! Have FUN!                                                                                                

1.  The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
ebook: $  8.99
print:   $16.17



2. Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James
ebook: $4.99
print:   $8.97



3. Obsession in Death by J D Robb
ebook: $10.49
print:   $20.68



4. Motive by Jonathan Kellerman
ebook: $  9.99
print:   $21.17



5. 50 Shades Darker by E L James
ebook $4.99
print:  $9.57



6. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
ebook: $10.99
print:   $15.57



7. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
ebook:$11.99
print:  $16.20



8. Fifty Shades Freed by E L James
ebook: $4.99
print:   $8.98



9. Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James
ebook: $14.99
print:   $27.99



10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
ebook: $4.00
print:   $6.38



11. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
ebook: $12.99
print:   $16.79



12.  Private Vegas by James Patterson
ebook: $  9.99
print:   $12.49



13. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
ebook: $  3.99
print:   $16.16



14. One Night Unveiled by Jodi Ellen Malpas
ebook: $  4.74
print:   $12.75



15. Twelve Days by Alex Berenson
ebook: $11.99
print:   $21.13



Thank you SO much for stopping by!
I do have one thing to say.
How many MORE people out there have not YET bought and read the entire '50 Shades' trilogy besides myself? (I won't be purchasing these.) I ask this because ALL 4 BOOKS made it onto the Bestseller list yet AGAIN!!! Why? (Probably because of the movie.)
I am so sorry, but I am SO tired of these books taking up to 4 spots AWAY FROM OTHER BOOKS/AUTHORS - AGAIN. Books/Authors whose books will NEVER GET A CHANCE TO HAVE THEIR BOOKS SHINE! There is not a way to measure these, either, given it ALL depends upon their popularity.
I have a serious question because maybe I'm missing out on something since I have not bought ONE of these books and I will NOT be going to see the movie, nor renting it when it comes out - are/were ALL 3 or 4 of these books, plus the movie worth the money you have shelled out for it all? Will you be picking up ALL 3/4 books again to read them ALL cover to cover? Are you sorry you purchased ALL of this? So ARE the 50 Shades books that good, looking back now, that you WILL pick them up on a rainy day? Are they are destined to be books you'll be proud to own into the future? 'Can' these be the type of books you CAN/WILL pick up in front of your kids?
The NYTimes Bestseller list is based on the publics' "sales" of books. To learn even more about how the list is determined/reported sales, etc., please click HERE - scroll ALL the way to the bottom of the page to find the explanation. In essence, the public is voting for sex with this/these books, and since I don't read Erotica (many women do and do not), I feel it's a shame when there are so many other better (this is MY opinion) books out there to choose from, especially when what I rely on reading is generally from this list.
I guess I have really learned a LOT about this list this week over the weeks/months/years that I have been writing this Post, and seeing some of the books that have hit this list. One is just having the title of being a "New York Times Best Selling Author" no longer means very much at all to me as it did at one time in the past because it is ALL based on POPULARITY. (Gee, just like back in High School! This is WRONG!) If there was a book I just loved and it did hit this list, many people loved the book as well BUT THAT WAS "ONLY" DURING "ONE WEEK"! Half those people could have liked that book one week, and the other half the second week, they just ALL didn't buy and read that ONE BOOK during that ONE WEEK! I feel this POPULARITY CONTEST back in High School! This "LIST" IS WRONG/UNFAIR/UNJUST. I could go on, but I'll spare you. Also, books I just LOVE/LOVED may very well NOT EVER have hit this list, and that is okay! It definitely appealed to myself, (and that IS what matters when you are reading!) but not everyone in ONE certain week of time. Over time, a book may sell MORE copies than a book that does hit this list, just not at the same time as one that hit the list in ONE week, and that is okay! One book may not be on this list now because it may not have appealed to a LOT of people one week, and not another, and then three weeks later but that book was only 'popular' at one time, not that it made an impact on people's lives, or made a difference in the world - YET! (Yes, I very much do believe Fiction CAN make a HUGE impact upon the world!)
It is time to QUIT RELYING ON THIS LIST TO FIND BOOKS - or to make one book look better than another! This list is just a list to watch and have FUN with! Time to find BETTER lists! Lists like that last a month or longer! Time to talk to some author friends of mine to find out the lists THEY think are the BEST!
Here are the rest of the books that should be higher up on the list (in my opinion)
If you are going to write a COMMENT about this section, please WRITE #2 BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR COMMENT! THANKS!!!





  • BLOOD INFERNAL, by James Rollins (Morrow)
  • STILL ALICE, by Lisa Genova (Pocket Books)
  • CRASH AND BURN, by Lisa Gardner (Dutton)
  • GRAY MOUNTAIN, by John Grisham (Doubleday)
  • THE ESCAPE, by David Baldacci (Grand Central)
  • 11 comments:

    1. I agree with your assessment of the Fifty Shades. I have friends who read it and improved their sex lives so their husbands may be he ones buying the set. I'm not a reader of erotica either so maybe that's part of it. There are predictions of a Fifty Shades baby boom. We shall see in 9 months. Wonder if any of the kids will be named after the characters.

      Thanks for the informative post.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Hi KJ,
        First, you're welcome! Just facts and thoughts on my mind. Then - Oh my gosh! A baby boom?!! I have not yet heard that one, yet! LOL!!! I just hope these questionable babies are 'love' babies and just not 'lust' babies creating single parent homes given this 'could be' a good 'date' movie, given the people I know who went to see it are only single and dating. The character names, though! WOW! Let's see, I did a Google search on them, and we have Christian, Anastasia, Mia, Elliot, Katherine, Jason, Ray, Bob and Jose. Pretty common except for the first two, especially the last two, Jose and Bob! OR, will they use the actors/actresses REAL names? LOL! We'll have to wait and see in 2016 what baby names were the most popular for 2015! LOL!
        You blew me away with the thought of the husbands buying the books! Most likely the younger ones who still have their energy after work! LOL!! Ladies, enjoy them while they're still young because after they start to get OLD, I mean age, (we never age!), it all seems like it starts to fizzle out! on 'their' end! That could be good or bad??!! 50/50 on that one! LOL!
        GREAT info, KJ! Thanks!! That is a nice positive spin on this and I can't wait to find out!

        Delete
    2. Here in VA we had the high of 10 on Thursday and -1 Friday morning. Brrrr!
      I just started reading Snow On the Tulips.
      Amy C
      campbellamyd at gmail dot com

      ReplyDelete
    3. It was 0 the other day. and I am reading Revenant by Larissa Ione. Can't wait for spring.
      scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com

      ReplyDelete
    4. Hi, Debby here, debby236@gmail dot com. I am going to start reading Chipmunks Drizzled With Honey by Jackie Nacht. 2 I have not read nor purchased nor do I intend to read Fifty Shades. i have read some wonderful stories like this but this one does not appeal. Coldest night time in my area of Connecticut was -17 and coldest daytime was -2

      ReplyDelete
    5. 1. Mary Preston
      2. marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
      3. Where do you live - QLD AUSTRALIA
      4. What was the coldest day and night temperatures - even if it's WARM out! Pretty average temps today min 23 degrees to max 30 degrees It is hot & steamy. A storm is on the way.
      5. What are you reading? I am reading THE HOUSE IN SMYRNA by Tatiana Salem Levy.


      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. CONGRATULATIONS, MARY!!!!! YOU WON!!!!!! I'll be emailing you shortly! Wooo-hoo!
        Thanks for participating!
        Laurie

        Delete
    6. Okay, I really can't believe that the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is STILL on the bestseller list. I have bought and read all the books. It is hard to imagine there are still people who haven't.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I haven't :( I tried to read the first book while I was 7 months pregnant and just couldn't stand the writing style. I have promised to try to attempt to read it again though (I did see the movie this weekend though)

        Delete
    7. 1. Tell us your name - Sam Kozbial
      2. What is your email address - kozchem@comcast.net
      3. Where do you live - NJ (but I spent the weekend in Syracuse with the kid)
      4. What was the coldest day and night temperatures - even if it's WARM out! One morning it was 1F and I know we got to like -6F with a windchill one night
      5. What are you reading? I am currently reading Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

      ReplyDelete
    8. 1. Tell us your name - Uma Kayla G
      2. What is your email address? bookloverfl12 at gmail.com
      3. Where do you live - Jacksonville, Florida
      4. What was the coldest day and night temperatures - even if it's WARM out! - 26 at night and 48 during day
      5. What are you reading? - The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster

      ReplyDelete

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