Where do all the books go…..??

After you have finished reading a book….

 

How do you decide if you are going to keep it or pass it on?

If it is an ARC, does that influence your decision?

Who do you pass it on to? or where do you pass it on?

I only keep a select few books.  Almost all the books on my shelf are to-be-read books.  I do have one shelf for my granddaughters – for when they come and for when they get older.

Most of my books are passed on to friends that I think will enjoy them.

My daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings and I go to Baltimore to The Book Thing as often as we can.  I like to take my books there because they give them all away.  I enjoy the feeling of knowing someone who might have the opportunity to read a book just because we took them there.inside book thing

book thing

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a good place to take my ARC because they do not sell books – they just pass them on.

For exchange, we go to 2nd and Charles.  The store is large, clean, and easy to find what you are looking for.  They are selective on what they will buy from you.

 

outside 2nd

 

 

2nd & Charles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know where your books go…  
Wouldn’t be fun to know where your book is now?

How does a book cover influence you?

I recently read an article from the Washington Post about book covers.  It fascinated me and made me stop to think… how much does the cover influence my decision to buy or read a book?

beach

Give me a book with a beach cover and I am drawn in every time!  What draws your eye to a book?  Are you more likely to pick up a  haunted cover?  Do you like the winter scenes?  Does it change depending on the time of the year?

I also noticed that a book may come out with different covers.  For example Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn has one cover for hard back and another for mass market.  Is there a different audience for different editions?gone girl

 

goneThe one on the left is the hard cover and the one on the right is the mass market.  Which one is more appealing to your eye?

 

 

 

 

Is the focus on the authors name or the title of the book more likely to get you to pick it up?

I am amazed at all that goes into the process of getting a book out there so we will buy it.  The cover, the synopsis, hardcover/ paperback, different print, the feel of the pages and so much more.

Please share your favorite book cover.
Tell me what attracted you to that book.

Coming Soon….

….  On a Bookshelf near you!

In February I hope to read….

how to

Publication Date:   February 24, 2015
Publisher: Zondervan

Goodreads:  Prince Stephen came to America to escape responsibility. But what he found complicates his life more than ever.

Corina Del Rey is happy with her life in Melbourne, Florida. She spends her days engrossed in her career as a journalist and has her sights set on climbing the corporate ladder if for no other reason, to distract herself from her dissolving family. But when she is confronted with the past she fought so hard to put behind her, she struggles to make sense of her future.

Prince Stephen of Brighton Kingdom has moved on since the tragic death of his buddies in Afghanistan. A star professional rugby player, he has no intention of looking over his shoulder at what could ve been.

But when a notice arrives in the mail requiring his and his wife s appearance before the courts to dissolve their marriage, he must deal with the questions rumbling around in his heart. He thought his marriage had been annulled long ago, but his memories of Corina Del Rey remain close. Does he still love her? Can he even find her? Above all, can he tell her the truth about that fateful night in Afghanistan seven years ago? If he does, he might really lose her forever.”

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

Happy New Year !!

Hope your new is starting off with some
awesome books and some new goals!

 

Here are a few of my goals:

–  only raising my goal for books a little this year.  I want to enjoy each read and not try to cram too much in.

–  to challenge myself to try one book out of my usual genres.  Hopefully, I will like it and open up a new world of reading.

–  to try to choose off my shelf at least one book a month that my daughter has passed on to me.

– to read some of the books that have been on shelf so long that they are starting to collect dust!  No book should sit still that long.

I would really like to hear your goals.
Maybe I will change mine, give me some new ideas
or encourage me in my blogging.
It would be fun to hear all the ideas.

 

 

Gifts for your Avid Readers

If you don’t want to pick out a book for your avid reader, I have several gifts that your reader might really enjoy receiving.

Bookmarks are always a small way to say happy holidays.  Here are two examples. Find one that says something special for your reader.  They can cost from $2 to $10.

eat book mark

 

book mark

 

Bookends are another great gift for book lovers.

green m

This M is from Hobby Lobby.  It cost $15.00 – an affordable gift.

white M

This bookend is from Joann’s craft store.  This size was $4.00.  There are different sizes.  You can paint them to go with the shelving in any room.

Another item that works as a bookend is a paperweight.  This is from Barnes and Noble.  The cost is $14.95.
paper weight
My daughter bought me this bookend.
%22books%22

Another avid book reader gift is a book light.  They run from $10 to $20 depending on what you choose.

booklight

 

When you just aren’t sure what else to get – a gift card to Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, or an independent book store is always appreciated. 

 

 Hope this helps your shopping!
Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books for Christian Fiction Readers

These are my suggestions if you want to
share the love of books for your christian fiction readers.

 

 

Take a Chance on Me                                take a chance
By: Susan May Warren
Cost: $12.01

 

 

Goodreads:  Darek Christiansen is almost a dream bachelor—oldest son in the large Christiansen clan, heir to their historic Evergreen Lake Resort, and doting father. But he’s also wounded and angry since the tragic death of his wife, Felicity. No woman in Deep Haven dares come near.

New assistant county attorney Ivy Madison simply doesn’t know any better when she bids on Darek at the charity auction. Nor does she know that when she crafted a plea bargain three years ago to keep Jensen Atwood out of jail and in Deep Haven fulfilling community service, she was releasing the man responsible for Felicity’s death. All Ivy knows is that the Christiansens feel like the family she’s always longed for. And once she gets past Darek’s tough exterior, she finds a man she could spend the rest of her life with. Which scares her almost as much as Darek learning of her involvement in his wife’s case.

Caught between new love and old grudges, Darek must decide if he can set aside the past for a future with Ivy—a future more and more at risk as an approaching wildfire threatens to wipe out the Christiansen resort and Deep Haven itself.

Ope’s Opinion:  She is an amazing writer.

 

Goodnight, Brian
By: Steven Manchester               goodnight
Cost: $13.89

 

Goodreads:  Fate was working against little Brian Mauretti. The food that was meant to nourish him was poisoning him instead, and the doctors said the damage was devastating and absolute. Fate had written off Brian. But fate didn’t count on a woman as determined as Brian’s grandmother, Angela DiMartino – who everyone knew as Mama. Loving her grandson with everything she had, Mama endeavored to battle fate. Fate had no idea what it was in for.

An emotional tale about the strength of family bonds, unconditional love, and the perseverance to do our best with the challenging gifts we receive, GOODNIGHT, BRIAN is an uplifting tribute to what happens when giving up is not an option.

Ope’s Opinion: This is an amazing family story.

 

 Hope this helps your shopping!
Happy Holidays!

 

Books for Readers of Women’s Fiction

These are my suggestions if you want to
share the love of books for women’s fiction readers.

 

Heart Like Mine            
By: Amy Hatvany                           heart
Cost: $ 12.77

 

Goodreads:  When a young mother dies under mysterious circumstances, those she leaves behind begin looking for answers in the past—and find a long-buried secret they could have never imagined.
Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?

At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been the one taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again.

But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.

Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant and hopeful portrait about womanhood, love, and the challenges of family life.

Ope’s Opinion:  This is a fast read.

 

Carly’s Gift
By: Georgia Bockoven                   carly's gift
Cost: $11.99

 

 

Goodreads:  From the author of Things Remembered and The Year Everything Changed comes a moving novel about love that lasts forever

What’s in the past is over and done with . . . or is it? 

Sixteen years ago Carly Hargrove made a decision that would irrevocably alter her life. With little comprehension of the life-long consequences of her actions, she trades her own future happiness to protect the man she’s loved since kindergarten, David Montgomery.

With an ocean separating them, Carly builds a life for herself without David. She’s the mother of three, lives in a beautiful house, and is married to a man who comes home every night—even if most of those nights he drinks too much. What more could she want?

Her answer arrives on a cold fall day when David shows up at her door. In town for his father’s funeral, he has come to see Carly one last time, hoping to rid himself of the anger that still consumes him.

Instead, he is drawn into a web of secrets that rekindles the fierce need he once felt to protect Carly. He becomes caught up in her life in a way he never could have imagined—a way that will bind him to her forever.

Ope’s Opinion:  Georgia Bockoven is a great writer.  

 

The Daughter She Used to Be
By: Rosalind Noonan                          daughter
Cost: $ 12.93

 

Goodreads: In this emotionally charged and riveting novel from the author of One September Morning and In a Heartbeat, one woman is torn between loyalty to her family’s ways and to her most profound convictions. . .

The daughter of a career cop, Bernadette Sullivan grew up with blue uniforms hanging in the laundry room and cops laughing around the dinner table. Her brother joined New York’s finest, her sisters married cops, and Bernie is an assistant District Attorney. Collaring criminals, putting them away—it’s what they do. And though lately Bernie feels a growing desire for a family of her own, she’s never questioned her choices. Then a shooter targets a local coffee shop, and tragedy strikes the Sullivan family.

Anger follows grief—and Bernie realizes that her father’s idea of retribution is very different from her own. All her life, she’s inhabited a clear-cut world of right and wrong, of morality and corruption. As Bernie struggles to protect the people she loves, she must also decide what it means to see justice served. And in her darkest hour, she will find out just what it means to be her father’s daughter.

Ope’s Opinion: A captivating read!

 

 Hope this helps your shopping!
Happy Holidays!

Books for Mystery Readers

These are my suggestions if you want to
share the love of books for your mystery readers.

 

Keep Quiet
By: Lisa Scottoline                  keep quiet
Cost: $16.78

 

Goodreads:  New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award winning author Lisa Scottoline is loved by millions of readers for her suspenseful novels about family and justice. Scottoline delivers once again with Keep Quiet, an emotionally gripping and complex story about one man’s split-second decision to protect his son – and the devastating consequences that follow.Jake Buckman’s relationship with his sixteen-year-old son Ryan is not an easy one, so at the urging of his loving wife, Pam, Jake goes alone to pick up Ryan at their suburban movie theater.  On the way home, Ryan asks to drive on a deserted road, and Jake sees it as a chance to make a connection. However, what starts as a father-son bonding opportunity instantly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes, and with Ryan’s entire future hanging in the balance, Jake is forced to make a split-second decision that plunges them both into a world of guilt and lies. Without ever meaning to, Jake and Ryan find themselves living under the crushing weight of their secret, which threatens to tear their family to shreds and ruin them all. Powerful and dramatic, Keep Quiet will have readers and book clubs debating what it means to be a parent and how far you can, and should, go to protect those you love.

Ope’s Opinion:  This one took my breath away and kept me reading into the night.

 

Love You More
By: Lisa Gardner                love you more
Cost: $ 7.99

 

 

Goodreads:  WHO DO YOU LOVE?

One question, a split-second decision, and Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter?

AND HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO . . . 

As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child?

. . . TO SAVE HER?

For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn, no one to trust, as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training, every trick at her disposal, to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay.

Love you more . . 

Ope’s Opinion:  If you love unexpected twists – this one if for you!

 

After I’m Gone
By: Laura Lippman             after
Cost: $ 11.96

 

 

Goodreads:  The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Most Dangerous ThingI’d Know You Anywhere, and What the Dead Knowreturns with an addictive story that explores how one man’s disappearance echoes through the lives of the five women he left behind—his wife, his daughters, and his mistress

Dead is dead. Missing is gone.

When Felix Brewer meets nineteen-year-old Bernadette “Bambi” Gottschalk at a Valentine’s Day dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative—if not all legal—businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July in 1976, Bambi’s comfortable world implodes when Felix, facing prison, vanishes.

Though Bambi has no idea where her husband—or his money—might be, she suspects one woman does: his devoted young mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day after Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she’s left to join her old lover—until her remains are discovered in a secluded park.

Now, twenty-six years later, Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealousy, resentment, greed, and longing stretching over five decades. And at its center is the man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten by the five women who loved him: the enigmatic Felix Brewer.

Felix Brewer left five women behind. Now there are four. Does at least one of them know the truth?

Ope’s Opinion: This one is full of family secrets.  

 

 Hope this helps your shopping!
Happy Holidays!