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...

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...

I am currently working through a wonderful book challenge at Book Chick City and my February read was called Heat Wave by Richard Castle.  Some of you may recognize the authors name from the television show Castle.  The book is based on the characters of the show so if you are a fan it adds an extra dimension to the book, if you don't watch the show it won't matter when reading the book.  Heat Wave is the story of Nikki Heat, a tough as nails female detective in New York City.  Her current case takes place during one of the cities hottest heat waves, making everything she does just that much more difficult.  On top of the heat and cities rolling blackouts, she has been saddled with a civilian ride along, Jameson Rook.  Jameson is a well known, extremely handsome, magazine journalist with friends and poker buddies most people only dream of knowing, and a knack for playing just outside of the rules.  The story opens with Detective Heat and her team investigating the probable murder of a wealthy real estate mogul who, as it turns out isn't as wealthy as everyone thought.  The ever changing list of suspects will keep you guessing through the whole book, was it the wife, the nanny, the business manager, the Russian, or the ex mistress?  Every twist and turn brings Nikki closer to the truth and the reader more and more eager to find out if their hunch is right.  This is a fast paced and fun read for anyone that likes mysteries or enjoys the weekly television series.  So, you may ask, just who is the ghost writer for this book since Richard Castle is a fictitious TV character?  Well it seems this is the best kept secret since we all wondered who shot JR on Dallas.  If I had to wager a guess myself I would say look at the guest stars on the show, Stephen J. Cannell, James Patterson, and Michael Connelly.

The book is available new in paper back from Go Hastings for $5.66, hard cover from Overstock for $12.80 and the unabridged MP3 audiobook read by Johnny Heller also at Overstock for $15.28, Overstock has free shipping through February 28, 2011.  The Kindle edition is available from Amazon for $5.00 as is the Nook version from Barnes and Noble.

 

If you are a fan of the TV show Castle on ABC you will see the similarities between the characters in the book and the characters in the series, the obvious two being Richard Castle/Jameson Rook and Detective Kate Beckett/Detective Nikki Heat.  If you haven't seen the shows they are a great mix of drama and humor with a good mystery to keep you in suspense until the end.  If you would like to check out the show you can purchase seasons one from Buy.com for $19.98 with free shipping and season two from DVDs Direct for $21.95.  If you would like to watch on line or find out more about the show, actors, books check out the Castle website.

I hope everyone is enjoying the last day of the weekend.

C.Q.

Savings to scream over...

Halloween is almost here, are you ready for the Ghouls and goblins to come out?  If not here are some places to find some great deals on every thing you may need from candy and different ideas for the trick or treaters to costumes for the family.

Most of us adults stay home for the big night and hand out candy but have you considered some different options?  I have a friend who's mom doesn't get a lot of kids to her door so she goes to Sam's Club and gets a case of those half cans of soda, the kids love to go to her house because its something different.  Another idea along those lines is the small juice boxes, Sam's Club had the Apple and Eve Fruitables variety pack in the store, these are nice because they have 1/3 less sugar than other brands.  If you are going to stick to the tried and true candy then be sure to watch your local grocers fliers for sales, the manufacture candy coupons are hard to come by because they know you are going to purchase candy for the holiday.

If you are planning on attending a costume party, or in my case an all out Halloween wedding, many of the costume sites are having sales.  Babies"R"Us is offering 20% on new ''R'' exclusive Halloween costumes order through October 30th for your little one's.  The Disney Store had their costumes on sale for the kids who are a little older, they are offering $10.00 off costume orders until October 5th.  For kids of almost all ages The WB is offering costumes at up to 50% off, everything from Harry Potter to Freddie Kruger.  Also check out Shindigz, they have some costumes marked down as much as 90%!  My friend just had a really hard time finding shoes to go with her outfit in her size and called a ton of costume companies until she got to Fierce Costumes, the lady there was above and beyond for customer service, so if you are looking for something really great or a little hard to find try them out, if you use coupon code TRICKORTREAT you will get 10% off your order, you can also find them on Facebook where they offer discounts and promotions as well.  Got a costume that just wouldn't be complete without having weird eyes?  Coastal Contacts has a huge selection of wild lens, use coupon code SFX25OFF for 25% off your order.  If you even dress up the dog for the night check out Dog.com, they have everything from cute collars to full costumes for your Fido and right now everything for Halloween is 10% off.

Looking for a little entertainment for fright night? Put your feet up, light a nice candle from Colonial Candle's scent of the month selections that are on sale for 25% off, grab yourself a little indulgent treat from Cherry Moon Farms, who is having a sale of 15% off selected Halloween goodies, and read a good book.  Barnes and Noble has all the Halloween favorites as well as some you have never seen on sale, how about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? 

Do you have plans for Halloween?  Planning on visiting a haunted house, or a real haunted place?  I would love to hear about it.

Have a fantastic day everyone!

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.