eBook Pricing

Smart *itches has an interesting article on e-book prices here. I think it's very interesting that the ebook prices are increasing. I got a Kindle for Christmas and have noticed that before Christmas there were ebooks for a penny to $1 but now most of the books are $9.99. I confess I have yet to purchase an ebook on my Kindle. I am waiting for Adriana Trigiani's new book and Jodi Picoult because I know these will have long waits at the library...and I want to try out the Kindle book.

I struggle with the fact that I already have a HUGE TBR pile of books I already own - PLUS I can get books from the library for free. I asked my library if there are any plans to have the ability to check out ebooks, but our library has no plans (because they don't have any $$). Does your library offer ebook checkouts? I would be interesting in hearing how this works.

I do think if there are only a few dollar differences between the ebook and the paperback I would purchase the paperback. Mostly because I can pass the physical book onto my friends where the ebook doesn't offer this option.

I also think ebooks should be cheaper because distribution costs are very inexpensive AND you pay a fee to get the Kindle. At the rate that I am going it will take YEARS to make up the cost with savings on the books.

What are your thoughts on ebooks?
Any thoughts?

My Great Brit Book Tour (Short Story) - Adrinana Trigiani

Short Story Title: A Day in the Life of My Great Brit Book Tour

Autor: Adrinana Trigiani

Book: American Girls About Town

Rating: 4 out of 5 horses

In honor of Andria Trigiani's new book coming out next week I read one of her shorts!

This is a story about an author who is going to Britain on a book tour with her husband and small baby. She has visions that the tour is going to be wonderful an wildly successful. After a harrowing plane ride where her daughter wanted to be held but only for 15 minute intervals she deplanes and breaks a tooth. Her PR manager is shuttling her to a TV interview, where no one can understand her. Here is my favorite quote:

"It's our first day of the book tour and I have already learned a big lesson: let go. Let go of the perfect picture and embrace the moment because the moment is extraordinary."

I need to remember this quote on a daily basis!

I highly recommend the Big Stone Gap series by Adriana Trigiani. Keep watching here I am chomping at the bit to read her new book and plan to do it soon -possibly in the hospital after I have my new addition.

Take a look at The Book Mine Set for more Short Stories Monday's.

Rumors - Anna Godbersen

Rating: 5 horses out of 5

Pages: 423

Challenges: Library, Young Adult, Young Adult Romance, 20 in 2009

Synopsis

The second book in the Luxe Series picks up on the main characters of the first: Elizabeth and Diana Holland, Penelope Hayes, and Carolina (Lina) Broud. Elizabeth was taken for dead, but really went to find her true love Will in California. Diana is in love with Elizabeth's fiance (arranged by their parents) Harry and Penelope is after Harry as well. Lina is just trying to break into the upper class after being fired as Elizabeth's maid.

Will Elizabeth find Will? Will she be able to come back home to New York after leaving under the pretense of having "fallen" into the river? Will Elizabeth and Will be happy together?

Will Diana and Harry find happiness together?

Will Penelope continue her manipulation to marry Harry?

Will Lina continue to use her inside knowledge of the Holland family to get money from Penelope? Or will she find herself loyal to her previous employers? Will she get her sister Claire in trouble for divulging Holland family secrets? Will Lina get exposed for not being in the upper class?

Review

The second book in the Luxe series was just as good as the first! I devoured it. I like historical fiction and have really enjoyed both of these series. #3 comes out in a few days and I already have it reserved at the library. The last chapter of the book sets up the premise of the next book (but I don't want to give anything away). If you have started this series and liked the first book I am confident that you will like the second as well.

Getting Rid Of Matthew - Jane Fallon

Rating: 2

Pages: 336

Challenges: New Author, Audio, Library, Book Awards, 20 in 2009

Synopsis (from BN.com)

A sparkling, sophisticated, witty story about what happens when he finally leaves his wife for you . . . and you realize you don't want him after all.
For once this isn't a novel about the heroine getting the guy. It's about getting rid of the guy, and in the process, finding herself.

Helen is nearly forty, and has, for far too long, had an affair with Matthew, a high-powered, much older, attractive, married man who was once, of course, her boss. After years of being disappointed by missed dates, out-of-the-way restaurants where there's no chance of them being caught, broken promises, and hushed phone calls, at last Helen realizes enough is enough-it's time to dump Matthew and get on with her life.

This, of course, is the exact moment when Matthew decides to leave his wife for her. He appears on her doorstep, announcing, "I've done it! I've left her! I'm yours!" and proceeds to move in. Helen then discovers how much she can't bear him. But she can't just throw him out-after all, she's been begging him to do exactly this for years. The only thing to do, she decides, is to convince his wife, Sophie, to take him back.

So after a "chance" meeting in the park, Helen befriends Sophie and hears all about her lying, cheating husband. But then, the unexpected happens-Helen really starts to like Sophie, and thinks she's way too good for a selfish bore like Matthew. And then there's the other small problem of Matthew's handsome, charming son . . .

Jane Fallon turns the conventional love story on its head in this irresistibly delicious, ironic debut for every woman who has ever realized, "Be careful what you wish for."

Review

This book was a Book Sense Pick and although I typically think the Book Sense picks are pretty good I was very disappointed in this one. I thought it was predictable and I kept wondering why does Helen or even Sophie want Matthew? He is a guy who is a serial cheater and can't have one woman at a time. He is pompous and a bore who only cares about himself. Helen stayed in a 4 year relationship with this man and only after he moved in (because he was worried he was loosing her) did she realize she wanted to break up with him. Then the book was all about her living 2 lives and trying to get rid of him. I wouldn't recommend this book.

Lock and Key - Sarah Dessen

Rating: 5 - Loved it!

Pages: 432

Challenges: New Author, Library Book, Young Adult, Young Adult Romance

Synopsis (from Publishers Weekly)
Dessen (Just Listen) inverts a familiar fairy tale: what if Cinderella got the prince, the castle and all its accoutrements, but wasn’t remotely interested? After her mother abandons her, Ruby Cooper is flying below the radar of officialdom and trying to make it to her 18th birthday, when she’s busted by the landlord and turned over to social services. Ruby gets taken in by her estranged sister, Cora, who left for college a decade earlier and never looked back, and Cora’s husband, Jamie, the wealthy founder of a ubiquitous social networking site.

Resentful, suspicious and vulnerable, she resists mightily, refusing the risky business of depending on anybody but herself, and wearing the key to her old house around her neck. All the Dessen trademarks are here—the swoon-worthy boy next door who is not what he appears to be; and the supporting characters who force Ruby to rethink her cynical worldview, among them the frazzled owner of a jewelry kiosk at the mall. The author again defines characters primarily through dialogue, and although Ruby and her love interest, Nate, sound wiser than their years, they talk the way teens might want to—from the heart. A must for Dessen fans, it will win her new readers, too.

Review

Well this reader is a new fan of Sarah Dessen! This book was awesome. It kept me entertained and I could relate to Ruby's struggles with life and adjusting. I liked how she came into her own in the book.

I am so glad I joined the Young Adult Romance Challenge - it has introduced me to so many great books!

The Water Dancers - Terry Gamble

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pages: 275

Challenges: New Author, 20 in 2009, RYOB

Synopsis (from BN.com)

A stunning debut novel from a new voice in literary fiction, set on Lake Michigan following World War II, The Water Dancers limns the divide between the worlds of the wealthy elite "summer people" and the poor native population who serve them–and what happens when those worlds collide.

When Rachel Winnapee first comes to work at the March family summer home on vast and beautiful Lake Michigan, she quickly learns her place. Servants are seen and not heard as they bring the breakfast trays, wash and iron luxurious clothes, and serve gin and tonics to the wealthy family as they lounge on the deck playing bridge. Orphaned as a poverty–stricken young girl from the nearby band of Native Americans, Rachel is in awe of the Marches' glamorous life–and quite enamored of the family's son Woody.

Rachel is soon assigned the task of caring for Woody, a young man whose life has been changed utterly by his experience as a soldier in WWII. The war has cost Woody not only his leg, but, worse, the older brother he loved and admired. Now back at home, Woody cannot bear to face the obligations of his future – especially when it comes to his bride–to–be Elizabeth. Woody finds himself drawn to Rachel, who is like no one he's ever known. The love affair that unites these two lost souls in this Great Gatsby–esque portrait of class division will alter the course of their lives in ways both heartbreaking and profound.

Review

I really liked this book. For some reason it reminded me of the Great Gatsby (funny that the synopsis had the same opinion). I think because it doesn't explicitly tell you everything that happens you have to read some into it. It was a quick read and kept me engaged the whole time. I would recommend this book.

The Bookshelf Meme

The Bookshelf Meme
I was tagged for this meme by Alice at At Home with Books.

Tell me about the book that has been on your shelves the longest...

Drums in Autumn & Voyager by Diana Garbon. I have read the first 2 in the Outlander Series but haven't gotten around to these 2. Not sure why I liked both books I have read in the series. The first 4 books in the series were given to me by a co-worker 3-4 jobs ago!! And I am not a job hopper - it has probably been 9 years since she gave them to me!! Yikes I need to get these read. They have also moved with me from Illinois to Kentucky! I have a few boxes of books in storage also, but since I can't remember what these were I will ignore that there might be some older ones in there!!

Tell me about a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (i.e. a person, a place, a time, etc.)...

Has to be What to Expect when you are expecting! LOL! I read this book cover to cover with my first baby and only pieces with the 2nd baby. The only complaint about this book is very little coverage of Gestational Diabetes.

Tell me about the most recent addition to your shelves...

Water Dancers by Terri Gamble this is our book club book for the this month. I am trying not to add more to my huge TBR pile!

Tell me about a book that has been with you to the most places...

This one is hard because I typically read the books I take places. I would have to say Water Dancers will be the most places but not necessarily with me. I mooched it so it was at a previous owner, my friend Sarah is reading it so it is at her house, I will read it, it will go to the book club meeting with me, and then off to my friend in China who has a hard time finding English language books (and she is a speed reader!). Although going on this theme I have several library books - who knows where they have been!

Tell me about a bonus book that doesn't fit any of the above questions...
The book I have been referring to a lot lately is 50,000+ Best Baby Names. 38 days to go and still no name...we have some options but no firm name. I think we will pick out a few and take a look at the baby and see if the name fits. Some in the running right now are:

Kira or Kirya

Cassidy

Gabriella or Gabrielle

The Rules
1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!

2. Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair, so that Eva can collect everyone’s answers.

3. If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a bookmooch point if you prefer.

4. Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…

5. Make the meme more fun with visuals! Covers of the specific edition you’re talking about, photos of your bookshelves, etc.

I am tagging

Booklogged at A Reader's Journal

Joy at Thoughts of Joy

Maree at Just Add Books

Stephanie at The Written Word

Sunday at Tiffany's Give Away

Joy at Thoughts of Joy is giving away 3 Audio versions of Sunday's at Tiffany's by James Patterson. I don't know if you have tried to check this out of the library, but our's has quite a waiting list for it!

Peaches - Jodi Lynn Anderson

Rating: 4 out of 5 horses

Pages: 320

Genre: Young Adult (Romance)

Challenges: Young Adult, Young Adult romance, New Author, Library

Synopsis (from BN.com)

In a Ya-Ya Sisterhood for teens, Peaches combines three unforgettable heroines who have nothing in common but the troubles that have gotten them sentenced to a summer of peach picking at a Georgia orchard.

Leeda is a debutante dating wrong-side-of-the-tracks Rex.

Murphy, the wildest girl in Bridgewater, likes whichever side Rex is on.
Birdie is a dreamer whose passion for Girl Scout cookies is matched only by her love for a boy named Enrico.

When their worlds collide, The Breakfast Club meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in an entirely original and provocative story with a lush, captivating setting.

Review

This book reminded me a lot of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (the movie I haven't read the book). But it was different and very good. I liked it a lot and will read some of the others in the series.

Higher Power of Lucky - Susan Patron

Rating: 3 out of 5 horses

Pages: 160

Genre: Young Adult

Challenges: New Author, Audio, Library, Dewey Recommended, Young Adult, Award Winner

Synopsis (from BN.com)

Lucky, age ten, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has.

It's all Brigitte's fault -- for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won't be allowed. She'll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. president (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Just as bad, she'll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own -- and quick.

But she hadn't planned on a dust storm.
Or needing to lug the world's heaviest survival-kit backpack into the desert.

Review

I thought this book was cute, but thought it was a little slow until the last few chapters. It was a quick read!

Contest for 3 Books and Amazon Gift Card

Maureen Lang is hosting a great contest! Here are the details from her site:

"To enter the contest, all you need to do is sign up for my newsletter (either here to the left or on my website) and you'll be entered to win a fabulous basket full of books (The Oak Leaves, On Sparrow Hill, My Sister Dilly), chocolate and a $25 Amazon.com gift card! "

To enter go here and sign up for her newsletter. The contest ends today so hurry!

2008 Reading Statistics

Here are some book summaries:

Book I would never have picked up on my own, but sure am glad I did:
*Life As We Knew it
*Luxe

My favorite books of 2008:
*Tallgrass - Sandra Dallas
*This Heart of Mine - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
* Five Fortunes - Beth Gutcheon
* Love Comes Softly - Janette Oke
* Monsters of Templeton - Laura Groff
* Life As We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer
* The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
* Somthing Rotten - Jasper Fforde
* The Goose Girl - Shannon Hale
* Love Walked In - Marisa De Los Santos
* Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
* Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen
* Luxe - Anna Godbersen

Series I started in 2008 that I must finish: Luxe, Hidden

Books I want to see continued: Life As We Knew It

New Authors that I read for the first time in 2008 and I want to read more of:
* Sarah Addison Allen
* Anna Godbersen
* Marisa De Los Santos
* Shelley Shepard Gray

* Philippa Gregory

* Susan Beth Pfeffer
* Jennifer Cheiaverini
* Laura Groff

Here are my stats for 2008:

Total books read in 2008: 60 (this is my first year tracking but I am sure all of the challenges have helped me to read more books!!)

* Pages Read: 20,986

* Fiction: 43

* Non-Fiction: 2

* New Authors: 40

* Audio Books: 32

* Did Not Finish Books: 4

* Challenges Signed up for: 14

* Challenges Finished: 7

* Challenges Carried Over to 2009: 3 (Young Adult Romance, Awards Challenge, Soups On)

My challenges finished is only 50%! I will have to try to improve that this year!! I am surprised that this is so low - but I can't complain I read many more authors and books than I would have without them!!

Ratings Stats:

2 = 7

3 = 23

3.5 = 1

4 = 16

5 = 13

Cape Refuge - Terri Blackstock

Rating: 3 - Just OK
Pages: 400
Challenges: 2008 1st in a Series

Synopsis (from bn.com)
When Thelma and Wayne Owens are found murdered in the warehouse where they held their church services, their son-in-law Jonathan is arrested for the crime--but his wife Morgan and her sister Blair, Thelma and Waynes daughters, are confident that he didnt do it and set out to find the real killer.

Review
Mysteries aren't my genre of choice so others may enjoy this book more than I did. The last part of the book was excellent and I wanted to finish it, but I thought it got a slow start. It is a mystery that I didn't figure out until the last part of the book, so that was great!

This is a book I started in 2008, but didn't finish until a few days in 2009 so I am counting it towards 2008 books. This is my last 2008 book - here I come 2009!!