Friday's Freebie...

If you love reading and have a Kindle or the Kindle app then this is for you!  Get a free book every day if you want at eBook Daily.  I have found a few books already that I can't wait to read, and these are not the books you usually find for free, these are new and current in a variety of genera like romance, mystery, science fiction and biography, there are even self improvement and children's books.  Its free to join and free to download the books. 

Have a great Friday!

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

I have a couple of freebies today that you may have a harder time getting but are so worth it if you qualify.  The first one is a Kindle copy of the book Super Duper Totally Authorized Top Secret Recipes by Todd Willber if you are an Amazon Prime member this book is totally free to borrow and download to your Kindle or Kindle app. The thing to remember is that you can borrow the book free of charge, but you must return it before you download another or you will be charged the $9.99 for the book. This is a great way to find recipes I enjoy and write them down.  I love having Prime, the free shipping more than pays for the membership for me, but in addition to that you get a free Kindle loaner ebook each month and unlimited free streaming video.

The next offer is for a free Blockbuster Express DVD Rental Code, just text one of these keywords to 39777:  BASEBALL, BILLY, CATHERINE, CHEF, CLOONEY,  DENIRO, DEPP, EDGAR, EMILIO, FARIS, GANG, GERE, GOSLING, HOLMES, HUGH, ITALY, JUSTIN, KERIA, KUMAR, LAW, MAMA, OLSEN, PERLMAN, POLICE, RACHEL, SCARY, SCOTT, SETH, SHAW, STEVE, TATUM, TAYLOR, TERROR, VIRUS, WEDDING, ZANE.

Hope you are all looking forward to a great weekend!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

I have a love for reading, its something I grew up with, and am thrilled with the advent of e-books.  It means my book shelves can be cleared of the books I won't read again.  Books I look at kind of like the 1/2 hour sitcom on TV; a lot of fun but not a lot of substance.  I do however have a few authors I will only buy as real books, one being James Patterson.  A big part of that is the large collection of his books built up over the years by my parents and passed on to me after my mom was gone.  Today's book is Private by James Patterson.

"The police can't help you Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily--and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases. The press will destroy you Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer. Only one place to turn: Private But Jack doesn't have to play by the rules. As he closes in on the killer and chooses between revenge and justice, Morgan has to navigate a workplace love affair that threatens to blow the roof off his plans. With a plot that moves at death-defying speeds, Private is James Patterson sleekest, most exciting thriller ever."

For those of you who like the feel of a book in your hand, you can find the hard cover version at Buy.com used for $1.01 plus $3.99 shipping, or new at Bobbis Bookstore for $5.00 plus $4.49 for shipping.  In paperback you can find it used at Thriftbooks.com for $3.95 with free shipping, or new at eCrater for $6.20 with $1.99 for shipping.  You can download a digital audio copy of the book for $18.89 at We Read For You or you can find it on CD at the Barns and Noble Marketplace for $9.50 with $3.99 shipping.  It can also download it to your Nook for $14.99 or you Kindle for $9.99.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

For those of you who have not read the Left Behind series, the first book titled simply Left Behind is available free from Amazon for your kindle.  If you don't have a Kindle you can download the Kindle app to your iPad, iPod, phone or computer for free.  This freebie is the full 490 page book which is normally $14.99.

Have a great Friday!

C.Q.



 

Sunday's media madness...

You may have seen the movie trailer recently for The Help staring Emma Stone.  The movie is based on the best selling book of the same name by Kathryn Stockett.  I love reading the story before seeing the movie, usually the move doesn't do the book justice and so much seems to get left out.

The Help is a story base in fact and takes place in the 60s in Mississippi.  A writer gets an assignment to write some stories told from the point of the help, the black maids who help raise the white children but are not allowed the same privileges, such as using the bathrooms in the homes, as the people living in the houses.  Eventually she puts the stories together in the form of a book that becomes the center of attention and debate in the south.  I like the poignancy of the book, I was born in the early 60s and its still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this has only changed in my lifetime.  I am so glad we have come so far, but it took so long.  This book is a must read for me and I think it would be an eye opener for some of the younger folks who don't know how hard life was and how much things have changed.  The book is also a look at enjoying life, no matter what your circumstance and it is sprinkled with humor and love.  I hope everyone gets a chance to read it before they see the movie version.  I was able to find the book in paper back for the lowest price at The Book Depository for $8.49 with no shipping fees, you can download the Kindle printed version of the book for $9.99 from Amazon, or you can download the unabridged audio version from Audible.com for $26.60 and they will give you two free movie tickets from Fandango so you can see the move on them.

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

Father's day is just around the corner and if you have a dad who is into sports and reading there is a new book out called Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN.  Here are some reviews of the behind the scenes look at ESPN from Amazon:

"Those who work in the business of sport will devour the book...[readers are] granted the kind of behind-the-scenes access that sports media junkies are rarely given..." (SportsIllustrated.com Richard Deitsch )

"Packed with entertaining stories of unpleasant people and awful behavior....[Those Guys Have All the Fun is] offers a nuanced look at ESPN, does some top-notch TV-biz reporting on the early days of the cable industry, and offers compelling behind-the-scenes stories...[It is] a serious, impressive, piece of work." (Entertainment Weekly Rob Brunner )

"A revelation: what goes onto the TV screen turns out to be just the glossy tip of an iceberg of ugly backstage drama. Miller and Shales must be extraordinarily talented interviewers, because their subjects are surprisingly uninhibited and frank and willing to dish and slag....[They are] good at zeroing in on a debacle and getting everybody involved to weigh in...by the end of the book you're amazed at the disconnect between the chaos behind the scenes and the relatively slick end product." (Time Lev Grossman )

"As highly anticipated by sports junkies as a Chicago Cubs championship, [Those Guys Have All the Fun] provides painstaking details on how a nutty idea concocted by a father-son team developed into a brand worth more than the NHL, MLB and NBA combined...Shales and Miller manage to create a page-turning document about the ultimate dysfunctional workplace" (Minneapolis Star Tribune Neil Justin )

"...Perhaps the most anticipated book in sports media history." (Newsday )

"This treat for sports fans has a cast of characters that is huge and varied." (New York Times Janet Maslin )

"What a story: larger-than-life personalities, salacious gossip, backstabbing and corporate intrigue set against the backdrop of the rise of cable television as an economic and cultural force....The quotes flow seamlessly, and the voices are fresh and vibrant...The depth and breadth of the interviews make it not only the definitive account of ESPN's first three decades but one of the best books yet on how cable shaped American culture." (Hollywood Reporter Andy Lewis )

"A rollicking glimpse behind the guys and gals who sport around at ESPN, America's sports church. Amen." (Publishers Weekly

I was able to find the book in several formats:  The lowest price for the hardcover was at GoHastings for $17.95 with free shipping; the audio version of the book is available for $23.09 from Amazon on an unabridged CD; The kindle version is $12.99 at Amazon, or you can download it from iTunes to your iPod or iPad for $12.99, the iTunes audio version is $21.95.

I hope you are all having a great weekend!

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

I love to read and when you can do something you love for free that's an added bonus.  Today I have two great freebies. The first is the Kindle version of A Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers and it is available for download to your Kindle or iPad app for free.  This book is put out by the editor of Budget Travel Magazine and is a look at readers stories of the weird and funny things that have happened while on vacation.  It also has photographs that readers have sent in as proof that going on vacation really can be stranger than fiction.

The next book is by one of my favorite authors, Jess Lourey.  You may recognize the name from the post I did for her new book last Sunday.  Because her series is called the Murder-by-Month Mystery series Barnes and Noble has made her book June Bug as one of the free Nook download books for the month of June.  "Local legend claims that a diamond necklace was lost nearly a century ago in nearby Whiskey Lake, not far from the present-day Shangri-La resort. Mira, a part-time reporter, goes fishing for the story behind the legend. Diving into the lake only gets her into a terrifying tango with a waterlogged corpse. And so begins the treasure hunt. Buoyed by frozen Nut Goodies and a diminutive circus performer, Mira embarks on an exhilarating search for the jewels that puts her face-to-face with menacing forces that threaten to tear the small town apart."

Today is also the last day to get in on the Swap: think about where you live and with a budget of at least $10 purchase something that represents where you are, package it up with a postcard from your city or state and mail it off to a person that I pair you up with.  It should be a lot of fun!

Have a great day everyone!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

Happy Mothers day everyone!  I hope you are all having a fantastic day of it whether you are a mom, a grandmother, wonderful Aunt or a mom to very special four legged children, this is your day, celebrate it.

Today I picked a book called The Lives Our Mothers Leave Us: Prominent Women Discuss the Complex, Humorous, and Ultimately Loving Relationships They Have with Their Mothers, a long title but well worth checking out.  This book contains stories from a series more than 20 well-known women, including Melissa Gilbert, Candice Bergen, Anjelica Huston, Whoopi Goldberg and Cokie Roberts.  Their touching and sometimes funny stories may remind you of things in your own relationships or give you insight to your own relationships.  This is a great book for anyone, not just moms.  I was able to find it for $9.13 at Walmart, if you need it today I would call the store to make sure they have it in stock, if not they will charge you an additional $1.97 to ship plus your local states sales tax.  If you would like the Kindle version it is available for download from Amazon for only $1.99.

Have a fantastic and fun day everyone!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

I recently finished the Autobiography Up Till Now by William Shatner.  I really love to read autobiographies of people I find interesting, its even better when I find an audio of their book narrated by the author.  What I love about an autobiography is that it really gives you a feel for the person, since its the story about their life told from their perspective, they are going to skew it in a way that flatters them....usually.  Some come across as vain, some tragic and martyr like, some are just plain fun and are well worth hanging onto to read again.  The latter is the case with Up Till Now.  William Shatner has enjoyed his life and it comes through on the pages of his book, even the loss of his wife does not overshadow the rest of the book.  He is able to look at the highs and the lows and put them all together in a way that ultimately will leave the reader enlightened and smiling. 

At the start of the book we learn of a very funny love story between Mr. Shatner and the famous gorilla Coco, from there travel through his career of Shakespeare, various rolls in movies, some he took, but shouldn't have and some he should have taken but didn't, his work with the Hollywood Charity Horse Show which raises money for children's causes and Nerine Shatner's Friendly House which he set up after the death of his wife to help women overcome Alcohol and drug abuse.  We also learn in the book that, unbeknownst to him, no one on the set of Star Trek with the exception of Leonard Nimoy liked Mr. Shatner, and there is in fact one or two entertainment venues he will NOT work, you will have to read the book to see if your child's birthday party is one of them.

I was able to find a new hardcover copy of the book at Bonanza.com for $2.99 with $1.99 shipping, there is a coupon you can click on right on the book page that will give you 42% off bringing the book cost down to $1.73 so the total with shipping will be $3.72.  The lowest price for a new copy of the abridged audio book was on eBay for $6.62 plus shipping, the unabridged version is on sale at Amazon for $23.95, you get free shipping on orders over $25.00, you can also find it at Amazon for your Kindle for $9.99.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

C.Q.




 

Sunday's media madness...

Last week during a blog hop I stumbled across a book that caught my eye and has since captured my heart.  Its called Housecat Confidential and is the autobiography of Fin, a beautiful long hair house cat, told in her own words and transcribed by the author Meg S. Hart.  The story opens with a wonderful look at her kitten-hood in the shelter and dealing with being different from the other kittens in her litter.  Her interactions with her litter-mates are heart warming and funny and certainly a reminder that beauty is something best seen through the heart, not the eyes.  The book covers everything you would want to know about being a cat or as Fin calls it "a Kittizen".

If you ever wondered what your cat is trying to tell you with that slightly different meow?  Its covered. Want to know what your cat is thinking when it just stands there looking at you with "that" look?  Its covered.  Want to know how your cat REALLY feels about being "fixed"?  Its covered.  This book goes through all the joys of being a companion to a cat, everything from snuggle time, to vet visits to grooming.  Having three cats myself I relished the insights on mousey love and the evil Dyson, it was also nice to finally find out why my three cats all turned out to be "Daddies" girls. 

If you have a cat or are thinking of getting a cat I highly recommend this book, it will make you smile, chuckle and nod in agreement....a LOT.  The pictures of Fin are adorable and thankfully one of the first ones, a kitten picture says you can go ahead and smooch the page if you need to....I needed to.

You can find this book at Amazon in paperback for $9.95 or Kindle download for $3.99.

Here is the Amazon Product Description: "Have you ever wondered what “Meow” really means? What would a cat say about her life, or about her observations of yours?

Maybe our lives aren’t so different.

Fin’s life is filled with many of the same struggles and joys we can all relate to. Her love of and frustration with her family, finding love despite the scandal (with her toy mouse), discovering her life’s purpose (humans don’t wake themselves), and protecting the ones she loves from danger (moths and the new family dog).

After reading this humorous and heartwarming tale, filled with advice on living life on the inside, you may never think of “Pet Peeves” in the same way again.

About the Author: Fin is an ordinary suburban housecat living life on the inside."

Fin and her mom also have a blog by the same name, Housecat Confidential, so you can keep up with her and her family, you can follow on line or have it delivered from Amazon straight to your kindle for $0.99 so you never miss a post.

I hope you are all having a great weekend.

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...



The weather is blustery around most of the country, its a good time to curl up with a good book and a cup of your favorite hot beverage.  Today's freebies will help you do just that starting with a great book.  The Google eBook store has thousands of free eBooks available for download to your Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Nook, Sony or computer, simply pick what you like and send it to your specific device.  You may need an application installed to accommodate your books, you can find the instructions right on the Google eBook site.  If you own a Kindle you can download free books from Amazon directly to your Kindle or your iPod, iPad or iPhone that has the Amazon Kindle app installed. 

Now for that nice hot beverage.  If you are a coffee fan then try a cup of Tasters Choice, just fill in your information and they will send you out a free sample.  If you are more of a tea person then check out the sample of Persimmon tea over at Natural Persimmon, again, just fill in your information and they will send you out a free sample to try on them.

Have a great Friday everyone and stay warm.

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

Usually the second full moon in one month is considered a Blue Moon, but because there are exceptions to every rule today's full moon is also a Blue Moon even though it is the only full moon in November.  For the full confusing story check out the Space.com story on Yahoo News by Joe Rao.  In honor of the Blue Moon I thought I would tell you about a book and the song which share the name.

First is Blue Moon by Lori Handeland and is the first in the Nightcreature series:

From Publishers Weekly

"Sassy, wisecracking policewoman Jessie McQuade, the book's first-person narrator, takes readers on a thrilling hunt through the forests of small town Miniwa, Wis., in search of a mythical predator in this lively paranormal romance. No-nonsense Jessie has never believed in magic or other supernatural "woo woo," but when she sees schoolteacher Karen Larson turn rabid in the classroom and attempt to bite one of her students shortly after being bitten by a wolf herself, she begins to realize that the world is not just black and white but "a host of annoying shades of gray." Before long, she's tramping through the forest with a self-professed werewolf hunter by her side and lusty thoughts of gorgeous professor Will Cadote, an expert in Native American mythology, racing through her mind. The enigmatic professor may be able to help Jessie figure out why the onyx wolf totem she found on the road near where Karen was bitten is so important, but it's possible he may be a werewolf himself. Handeland (The Husband Quest, etc.) sets a feverish pace, thrusting Jessie into one dangerous situation after another, and she keeps readers in delicious suspense over Will's motives. What makes this book so compulsively readable, however, is Jessie's spunky narration, acerbic wit and combustible chemistry with Will." - Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The lowest price for a new copy can of the paperback can be found at Book Depository for $7.49 with free shipping.   If you own a Kindle or have the Kindle app you can download the book from Amazon from $7.99.  You can find a used copy on eBay starting at $0.75 with $3.75 shipping.

Then there's the song.  Blue Moon was written in 1933 by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for MGM Studios. It was originally recorded in 1934 by Shirley Ross and has since been sung by many many performers including Harpo Marx in 1939, Mel Tormé in 1949, Dizzy Gillespie in 1954, Elvis Presley in 1958, Frank Sinatra in 1961, Dean Martin in 1964, Tony Bennett with Ella Fitzgerald in 1973, Chris Isaak in 1994 and even Rod Stewart with Eric Clapton in 2004.  You can download your favorite version to your iPod from iTunes, most of them for only $0.99.

I hope you are all having a fun weekend!

C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

I had no blog yesterday because I was personal attendant to a dear friend who just got married.  Sorry for the delay today as well but I was invited to her parents house for gift opening.  Thanks for your patients everyone.

Not all that long ago a friend got me interested in scrapbooking and I love it, so of course when I found the set of books by Laura Childs I was in my version of heaven, mystery and scrapbooking theme, its like all my favorite cooking mysteries!  So far the series consists of 7 books:

Scrapbooking Mysteries

1. Keepsake Crimes (2003)

2. Photo Finished (2004)

3. Bound for Murder (2004)

4. Motif for Murder (2006)

5. Frill Kill (2007)
6. Death Swatch (2008)
7. Tragic Magic (2009)
8. Fiber & Brimstone (2010)

I have just purchased a set of the first 4 books so these are the ones I have focused my blog on today.  I was able to find Keepsake Crimes at The Book Depository for $6.07 with free shipping for a new copy, if you would like a used copy the lowest price I found was at Sea Shell Books for $1.99 plus $1.99 shipping that brought the whole total to $3.98.  They were a few cents higher than the next competitor but they have a 5 star rating vs the others rating of 1 star.  If you have a kindle you can download the book from Amazon for $6.99.
 
The second book in the series, Photo Finished is available new from The Book Depository for $5.88 with free shipping, a used copy can be found for only $1.99 from Sea Shell Books, add the $1.99 shipping for a total cost of $3.98.  The Kindle version available from Amazon is $6.99 for the download.
 
The third book, Bound for Murder can be found new from Deep Discount for $6.29 with free shipping.  If a used copy will work just as well the look at Blue Cloud Books, the cost is only $3.95 with free shipping.  The Kindle version available through Amazon is $5.99 for the download.
 
Finally the forth book in the series, Motif for Murder is available new from Buy.com for $1.01, even with $3.25 for shipping it is still the lowest cost at $4.26 for a new copy.  If you would like a used copy its again lowest with the best rated seller at Sea Shell Books at $1.99 plus shipping of $1.99 for a total of $3.98.  Unfortunately there is no Kindle version of this book.
 
I hope you all have a great safe Halloween tonight!!
 
C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

My friends know my two biggest reality TV musts are Top Chef and Project Runway, I love Chef Tom Colicchio of Top Chef and Tim Gunn of Project Runway, their insights are great and the stories they can tell about things within their respective industries is very eye opening!  While both have books out I have totally fallen in love with Tim Gunn's latest, Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work, released earlier this month.  This book has some great stories from the fashion industry, many involving names you know, plus a lot of inside information on both Project Runway as well as his now defunct show Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, including why it is no longer on the air, you may be surprised.  I am also impressed with his emphasis on manners in the book, its is chalk full of great reminders for us all.  Here is the book information from Amazon:

Product Description:
On the runway of life, Tim Gunn is the perfect life coach. You’ve watched him mentor talented designers on the hit television show Project Runway. Now the inimitable Tim Gunndivadom as he describes Vogue’s André Leon Talley being hand-fed grapes and Anna Wintour being carried downstairs by her bodyguards. And you’ll get Tim’s view on the backstabbing by one designer on Project Runway and how it brilliantly backfired. Then there are his down-to-earth guidelines for making life better—for yourself and others—in small and large ways, especially in an age that favors comfort over politeness, ease over style. Texting at the dinner table? Wearing shorts to the theater? Not in Tim’s book. Living a well-mannered life of integrity and character is hard work, he admits, but the rewards are many: being a good friend, being glamorous and attractive, and being a success— much like Tim himself! He is never one to mince words. But Tim Gunn is always warm, witty, wise, and wonderfully supportive— just the mentor you need to design a happy, creative, and fulfilling life that will never go out of style.

About the Author:

Beloved pop culture icon Tim Gunn is best known as co-host of the twelve-time Emmy-nominated reality show Project Runway. He also hosted two seasons of his own former Bravo makeover series, Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style.
 
I personally downloaded a copy from Amazon to my Kindle so I could take it with me where ever I go, this version was $9.99 directly from Amazon, Barns and Noble has the e-book available for down load to iPad, iPod, iPhone, Android, PC, Blackberry, Mac and the Nook for $9.99.  If you are a member of The Book of the Month Club you can order the book for $9.95 with free shipping, if not you can find the hardcover selling at Amazon for $14.03, if you don't order enough for the free shipping the final cost will be $18.02, if that is the case then go to The Book Depository, they have the hard cover version for $17.99 with free shipping.  If you know someone who is a huge fan and are looking for a terrific gift idea there is a seller with 4 autographed copies on eBay, the asking price for them is $42.95 + $7.50 for expedited shipping.
 
I hope you are all having a great weekend!
 
C.Q.

Sunday's media madness...

I love to read, many of you know that, you probably also know that like everything else in my life I have very eclectic taste in my books, old or new, fact or fiction, love story or murder mystery I adore them all. What some of you may not know is that I really do have a favorite genera, it combines my love for reading with the foodie in me, making me a sucker for the "culinary mystery". These books typically revolve around great food as well as a succulent mystery. A couple of years ago when I got my new Kindle and was looking for books to download to it I found an author named Cleo Coyle and fell in love with her very strong female character Clare who runs a coffee house with her ex-husband. The characters are as rich and robust as the coffee that is served up in these books. The author has written these books so well that I feel I know these people and I can almost hear the little bell on the coffee shop door jingle and smell the fresh coffee every time I open the cover of one of her books. I read all the books in the series in a month and could hardly wait for more, now the newest installment in the series, Roast Mortem, is set to be released August 3rd, 2010. If you own a Kindle and want to download it the cost of the book through Amazon is $11.99, for those of you with a Sony e-Reader you can download it for $11.99 at Barns & Noble, if you would prefer to have a hardcover copy for your bookshelf then Barns & Noble should have it in store for $16.83 and Amazon will deliver it to your door for $16.47 with free shipping if you meet the $25.00 minimum purchase requirement.

Here is the product description from Amazon to give you a little information about the book: "After local firefighters pull Clare out of a blazing café, she happily comes to their rescue by teaching them the finer points of operating their newly donated espresso machine. But matters really heat up when somebody is torching cafes around the city and firefighters begin to die in suspicious ways...

Believing the two events are related, Clare investigates, staking out a five-borough bake sale and sniffing out clues in the pizza ovens of Brooklyn. When her detective boyfriend, Mike Quinn, is pulled into the fire of a false accusation, Clare is desperate to put out the flames. But will she be able to come to Mike's rescue before someone tries to extinguish her?"

Cleo Coyle also has a great web site of her own where you can find anything from information on her books (she writes two series, the Coffee House books as well as the Haunted Bookshop novels), to where to find the best cup of coffee almost anywhere, and for those of you who love having a little "extra" with your mysteries check out the Mystery Lovers' Blog for a ton of information with different authors, including Cleo Coyle.

I hope you all are having a nice relaxing weekend.

C.Q.

Free eBooks and a valuable lesson

Recently I had two things happen, one good and one not so much, both of these events prompted today's blog topic. At the beginning of the month I was finally able to purchase my iPod Touch, this got me thinking about one of my friends daughters who was over during the summer and was reading a book on hers. I did a little research and found that you can download a very nice free eReader at the iTunes store called Stanza, its put out by Lexcycle. I preferred this one because you have to pay extra for the dictionary in a couple of the other ones. When you want to download a book it is very easy and very quick, just tap on the get books button and you have your choice of either traditional book stores or free books. In the free books category you can choose from quite a few different places to find books, one of the best is Project Gutenberg. My choices for my first books were Walden, Great Expectations (a childhood favorite) and a book called Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens.

I also have an original first generation Amazon Kindle, not as fancy and tricked out as my friend Bernie's new one, and I have a few friends now that have Barns and Noble's Nooks (which have color) and Sony readers. If you are thinking about getting one of these devises they are wonderful but it can be confusing to know what will work for you, Wikipedia has a great page comparing all the different models out there so you can make the best choice for you're needs. All of these ereaders will download free books, its just a matter of knowing where to find them. The Project Gutenberg library supports many different formats and will work with almost any ereader. If you have a Kindle then you can check Amazon directly for free books that work with their ereader. The Baen Free Library has a wide selection of Science Fiction available for many ereaders. Another great site for downloads is Manybooks, they have a wide variety of books to choose from and there is a little something for everyone and download to most ereaders. If any of you are trying to learn another language (I am trying to learn French) then one of the best ways to stay immersed is to read a classic in another language, I just downloaded "Le avventure d'Alice nel paese delle meraviglie", we know it as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and although it is a children's classic, because I know the story, it will help me with the French words and sentence structure. If you like romance books Harlequin offers a small selection free ebooks downloadable in PDF format on the computer or directly to Stanza on your Blackberry, iPhone or iPod. One of the other wonderful sites I found was Bartleby, you can search for almost anything in any number of different ways. This site has a lot of neat stuff so be sure to take your time here.

On to the second occurrence that was not so good but did teach me a very good lesson. I enjoy the books (both series) by Laurell K. Hamilton and she recently just released her most recent in the Anita Blake series. It was set to be in stores last Tuesday but when I went to Barns and Noble it had not been on their trucks delivery. They took my name and assured me it would be in on Wednesday. Sure enough; Wednesday morning I had my confirmation email, the book was in come and get it, so like one of Pavlov's salivating dogs off I went. Because I had a gift certificate I decided to browse a little in the music section and picked up a copy of the Mamma Mia soundtrack I had been wanting, usually I would check the prices before I buy something but what the heck, I had a gift certificate. Because things tend to stick in my brain I later thought I would compare the price of my new CD to the prices at Amazon and Deep Discount just to make sure I got a good deal, or at least an average one, so I pulled up the Barns and Noble web site and looked up the CD and was VERY surprised to see that the price on line was LOWER (by almost $5.00) than the price in the store, OK, now a little irritated I decided to see about the book, and sure enough, that was less on line as well ($3.00). I called to check with the store and they KNOW about this problem, she offered to take the items back and re-order them using BN.com, but I had already put the CD in my iPod. Just the simple act of checking the on line price of a store against the in store price can save you a chunk of cash, so remember to call the store to get a price before you head out, you may be better off staying home and shopping in your nightgown.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.