Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Barnes and Noble After Holiday Sale

Apparently Barnes and Noble is having this sale, online and in the actual stores, 50 percent off or more on various items including books and DVDs.

The following is from: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108485/how-to-outsmart-retailers-in-post-holiday-sales

Barnes & Noble


Save 50% or more on select books and calendars during the bookseller's After Holiday Sale. Some items are discounted up to 90%, says de Grandpre. “That's one of the largest percent-off discounts we've seen on these items from Barnes & Noble,” he says. Deals on select DVDs, music and toys are also included in the sale.

Those purchasing textbooks through Jan. 30 from the retailer can pick 10 free song downloads from a choice of 30 in total. Titles include Vampire Weekend’s “Horchata” and Neko Case’s “Red Tide.” (Note: Sales tax is added where applicable.)


Online on www.bn.com The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan is 3.99 in paperback and is a bargain book. That's fifty percent off right there.
AND,
The Sight (Warriors: Power of Three Series #1) is two dollars from it's original 6.99. Again, paperback and bargain book. "Bargain books' quantities are limited".

Those were two books for a great price,
but there are others as well, and now I'm itching to use those BN Gift Cards I have. So go online and check out if BN has something that may interest you in buying.

Medallion

Books Comin' Next Year: Fang by James Patterson

Maximum Ride Fans including me are probably jumping up and down with excitement(not literally) when they think about the next book in the Maximum Ride Series, Fang, by James Patterson. Fang is the sixth book in the Maximum Ride series, a "young adult science fiction/fantasy series."
It is said he once declared he wanted to be known as "the king of the page-turners."
I think he is among that high class. He truly is a king in that aspect. When I read The Angel Experiment, I was astonished at how true those words on the inside flap were, saying something like "Hold on tight, these pages fly." The pages did fly. And the series is AWESOME. I LOVE IT. I could probably ramble on forever detailing every single thing I love about the five books that are currently out.
Anyways, in March 15, 2010, Fang is coming out. I CANNOT WAIT. Right now, since I have some BN Gift Cards waitin' to be spent, I'm thinking of buying the entire series, and pre-ordering Fang. And possibly the Daniel X Series as well. Anyways, for those of you who havent read the synopsis, here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Maximum-Ride/James-Patterson/e/9780316036191/?itm=1&USRI=fang.

FYI:Witch and Wizard by James Patterson came out on the fourteenth.

Medallion

Books Comin Next Year; Steel Trapp: Academy by Ridley Pearson

For those of you who have read Steel Trapp: The Challenge by Ridley Pearson,
and had a good reading experience in regard to it, may be anticipating Ridley Pearson's next book in the series, Steel Trapp: Academy, coming out January 19, 2010. Personally, I think the second holds more promise than the first book. For those of you interested, there's a synopsis for the second book: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Steel-Trapp/Ridley-Pearson/e/9781423115328. Scroll down for the synopsis.

The first book was definitely a unique crime novel, and a good book as well. What appealed to me most was the style of the novel, how he created the constituents in the plot, and placed them. It was a pretty good book.

But the summary of the second blew my mind, and now I'm filled with utter anticipation for the second. You HAVE to read the synopsis. Right now I'm reading this online biography of Ridley Pearson 'cause I really don't know much about him,
and I just read he has his own airplane. Interesting.
OMG. Here's the link to the biography. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Steel-Trapp/Ridley-Pearson/e/9781423115328/?itm=3&usri=steel+trapp#TABS

Here's the section that caught my attention:
"As his fans know, Pearson works hard at nailing the details of forensic investigation and police procedure. In Undercurrents (the first novel in his Seattle-based Lou Boldt mystery series) his research was so thorough -- he consulted an expert in oceanography -- that the book helped convict an actual murderer. A Washington state prosecuting attorney happened to be reading it while working on a case similar to Pearson's fictional one: A woman's body had been found in a bay, and at first it appeared that she had committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. The oceanographer mentioned in Pearson's acknowledgements was called in as an expert witness to help prove that, based on tidal currents, the woman must have been dead before the time her husband claimed to have last seen her. Due largely to the expert testimony, the victim's husband was convicted of second-degree murder."

And here's some more for ya in case you're too lazy to read all of the bio:
Pearson calls himself a workaholic, "not so much by desire as out of necessity," since he reserves a lot of time for his two young daughters. His hobbies, which he now defines as "something you once did and no longer have the time for," include recreational tree climbing, fly-fishing, backyard volleyball, snow boarding -- and, of course, bass guitar in his rock band. An avid reviser, Pearson says, "I'm said to have a nervous, worrying disposition, but rarely feel I live up to that description -- perhaps internal calm is expressed as external nervosa."

"Pearson loves to travel, especially to southern France, with wife Marcelle and second child Storey, who is adopted from China. We're certain to do a good deal of international travel in the years to come. He also attends local symphony and theater. But his "favorite avocation is to spend an evening around our dining table with two or three other couples. This, I feel, is where many of the world's ills are solved, and many souls restored. Mine, especially."

"Pearson is renowned for fast-paced, thrill-a-minute suspense novels that include "a rare humanism and attention to detail" (Publishers Weekly). In a Greenwich Magazine interview he called his work "aerobic fiction, because I hope to get your heart pounding and get you turning pages." Entertainment Weekly dubbed him "the thinking person's Robert Ludlum." "

Medallion

Monday, December 28, 2009

Questions

Hey all, I just thought it would be beneficial for me to remind you not to hesitate to post questions, comments, concerns, etc. in the comments section. We will try to respond to feedback as soon as possible, and answer any book related questions that we can.
Marvel

Cirque du Freake by Darren Shan

This series is said to be "terrifying", but for some reason I'm not as frightened by it as I am admirent of the author's audacity (in his writing.) It's difficult for me to elaborate on this, so I suppose you'll have to read the book(s) to truly understand what I mean.

The series is compromised of twelve books,
and Marvel and I have just finished the fourth. Well, I have, and I assume by now she's completed the fourth; we read the series together.

I have also just learned of Darren Shan's The Demonata Series,
and the publishing of the last book in that series.

Here is my summary of the first book, Cirque du Freake: A Living Nightmare, followed by a very small, personal commentary of what I have read so far in the series. I will do my best to make it as non-spoiler as possible.

Darren Shan acquires a ticket to go to the Cirque du Freake, a "freak show".
Unlike any freak show, however, it includes one who will become a main character in the series, a vampire named Larten Crepsley, as well as an assortment of other strange, unique people.
Darren's good friend, Steve, pleads with Larten after the show for him to make him a vampire. Larten attempts to do so, by "blooding" him, yet is unable to do so as he says Steve has "bad blood." Steve, deprived of his absolute desire and wish, is obviously outraged, and swears to hunt Mr. Crepsley down. Fascinated by Mr. Crepsley's spider, Madam Octa, a unique spider, Darren steals the spider away. While playing with it one day, he is interrupted and due to his momentary lack of concentration, Steve is bitten by the spider. Mr. Crepsley offers Darren the antidote to save Steve's life if Darren becomes his assistant, and a half-vampire. Darren agrees, and so begins his life as Mr. Crepsley's half-vampire assistant.

I hope you guys liked this summary I wrote; I think I did pretty good, especially since I'm writing this from my reading of the book, no assistance from anything except my memory.

The first four books have been pretty good, but I think the fourth would be my favorite, because, well, you'll see when you read it. Mr. Crepsley is definitely one of my favorite characters in the series so far, and probably Darren as well. You'll see why when you read the series. Unless you don't mind me describing the character of the characters to you. But wouldn't you like discovering and "meeting" the characters on your own?

Well, I hope you liked this first post of what I hope will be many more.

Comments Welcome

A New Beginning

Hi. This is Medallion.
First, Podcasts are going to be Summers only, not year-round.
But in the meantime, I'm going to be posting about Books. Book news, Book Recommendations, anything and everything that would give the name of this blog justice.
Marvel apparently might be too busy to support this idea of mine,
so I might be the only one doing these posts.

Comments Welcome.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

A Clarification...Sort of

OK. Hi. I'm in a hurry, but I just HAD to write this post.
Well, we, Marvel and me have been busy and havent been able to even record a final first podcast.
SO...
I had an idea.
I need to discuss it with Marvel,
but it's a pretty good idea.
JUST DONT GIVE UP ON THIS BLOG.
I dont want y'all thinking that you should just ditch this blog cuz it's not regularly posted on.
Hoping to post again soon,
Medallion