Entries Tagged 'Kindle book' ↓
March 18th, 2010 — Books, Kindle, Kindle book
The times they are a’ changing…
Ebook blog
I subscribe to a blog about ebooks and ebook readers. The writer is prolific with long posts sometimes several times a day.
I let him do the research for me, once I got to the decision to buy a Kindle for my first ebook reader.
Heads up on free ebooks
One reason I subscribe is that it gives me a quick heads up on any free ebooks, because sometimes they are free for only a couple of days. If I don’t check my multiple sources for a couple of days, I can be out of luck as far as getting them free, so I let him do the work for me and check my sources — and others.
Technical aspects
Some of his posts are too technical for me, especially since I will never buy one of the peripheral brands — at least I say that now, but who knows for the future! But I like to at least scan them so I have some awareness, and I know where to go for additional info if I need it.
Yesterday there was a post that 23 John Grisham books are now offered as ebooks. And you’ll notice that not one of them is listed at the regular Kindle price of $9.99. That’s a big deal for two reasons. First, Grisham had not originally wanted to do ebooks. Second, at least one other publishing house is trying to up the price of ebooks to $14.99, never mind that there are not significant costs to get them to an ereader. It is an attempt to keep publishing with publishers. But the times they are a’ changing!
Here are the Grisham offerings for Kindle:
1. The Firm for $7.99.
2. The Pelican Brief for $7.99.
3. The Client for $7.99.
4. Ford County (short stories) for $9.99.
5. The Associate for $9.99.
6. A Time to Kill for $7.99.
7. The Brethren for $7.99.
8. The Runaway Jruy for $7.99.
9. The Innoncent Man for$7.99.
10. The Broker for $7.99.
11. The Partner for $5.99.
12. The Rainmaker for $7.99.
13. Playing for Pizza for $7.99.
14. Skipping Christmas for $6.99.
15. A Painted House for $7.99.
16. The Summons for $7.99.
17. The Appeal for $7.99.
18. The Street Lawyer for $7.99.
19. The King of Torts for $7.99.
20. The Last Juror for $7.99.
21. Bleachers for $7.99.
22. The Testament for $7.99
23. The Chamber for $7.99.
Kindle available for MAC
And more good news: Kindle is now available for MAC. It works for Mac OS X 10.5 and above.
Minimum system requirements -
A Mac with a 500MHz Intel processor or faster. At least 512MB of RAM.
Screen resolution of 800×600 or greater. 100MB of available disk space.
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
According to their press release it will allow users:
Access to their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers for free
To choose from 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
To view notes and highlights marked on Kindle, Kindle DX, and Kindle for iPhone
To read books in full color including children’s books, cookbooks, travel books and textbooks
Getting a second ereader
I wonder what my second ebook reader might be? And I suspect I’d pass my first one on to one of my kids — or not, in case some of the books I’ve purchased do not move from one reader to another because of proprietary decisions.
Personally, I think all ereaders should have the capability to be compatible. In a perfect future, that would happen. Of course, that would require cooperation (and payments) between ereader companies. Oh well! It still should happen!
What do you think?
Do you have an ereader? Do you like it? Would you buy a second one with other features? What features are you looking for? I know others would be interested to hear, because I believe many people are sitting on the fence trying to make a decision which to buy, just as I was a short time ago.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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March 15th, 2010 — Book Review, Humorous, Kindle book, Romance
Recently a friend gave me this book for Kindle. I have to say it was a delight. 522 people have rated this book 4 1/2 stars at Amazon, so I am in good company. The Kindle version is available for $5.99.
Sophie Kinsella also wrote the shopaholic books.
The story
Emma Corrigan faces the usual difficulties of a young woman. She has a boyfriend who is perfect in every way, including looks, but he’s not perfect for her. She has kept herself hidden in the relationship, and he thinks she likes everything that he does. Not! Her family is enamored with her cousin Kerry who can do no wrong, in their eyes, and is a successful businesswoman. She has, however, not treated Emma right.
Emma’s job at Panther Cola involves the usual office politics, and Emma has her own ways of getting around them. No one takes her seriously, even her immediate boss, who has promised her a promotion, but has no intention of giving it to her. And she would like to have it as much for herself as a statement to her family.
Enter a business trip that isn’t the most successful. Feeling sorry for her, one of the flight attendants upgrades her to first class (business) and she is seated next to Jack, a man who must be successful, mustn’t he, to be in that seating also.
And then the plane hits enormous turbulence, and Emma in her extreme fear tells the man everything — everything — in her life — her family, her doubts about her boyfriend, her job, things about the office, her roommates, her sex life, her weight, what her perfect date, she thinks, would be.
And it is very, very funny.
And then, as books do, while they part at the airport, they meet again in the office, for lo and behold he owns the company she works for.
And she is not to mention that she met him on a plane coming back from Scotland.
He knows everything about her, but she knows nothing about him. He is very secretive about his own life. And he becomes moreso as the book goes on. The speculations as to why are both serious and funny.
How the story is told
For the most part, the story is told in Emma’s stream of consciousness. It is a testament to Kinsella’s ability that we never tire of it. And it is very funny!
Along the way
Emma divests herself of her perfect boyfriend, gains her voice in many ways, and earns our respect and sympathy. She is spot on in her assessments of much in the office, and Jack becomes her ally as well as her lover. As he says, she is the only one who has told him the truth, albeit on the plane.
The sex
There isn’t much. Most of it is off-screen and talked about in retrospect. And it is funny, and much like you’d expect with Emma.
My view
I give it 5 out of 5. I really enjoyed the humor, which isn’t forced, in the book. I liked the resolution in the end. It was very satisfying and believable. There were a couple of twists and turns along the way.
Have you read it?
If you are looking for something light, yet with some deep concepts, with a lot of humor, you could do a lot worse than this book. Let me know if you enjoy it as much as I did.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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February 7th, 2010 — Book Review, Inspirational, Kindle book, Non-fiction, Troll or other beads
Flipping Brilliant is a short little inspirational book based on penguin life, but it is filled with wonderful, wonderful pictures of penguins.
It is also available as a Kindle book for $6.39. But I’m not sure you’d want it as an ebook yet, because you would lose the color photos. I don’t think black and white would be quite as good, despite the majority of penguin color being black and white.
I had no idea there are 17 different kinds of penguins!
Ever wonder why the Emperor Penguins march so far from the sea before making their nests? This book has the answer — because when the ice begins to melt, if they are too close to the sea, the entire colony would be lost.
I rate this book 5 star for the photos, and the inspirations drawn from them are better than I expected.
Have you read it?
Trollbead/Pandora/Chamilia/etc. penguins
BTW, for those of you who collect trollbead bracelets or Pandora, there are plenty of different styles of penguins to choose for your bracelet. Barbara Maria has one (she designed TB geese) that is really cute.
Another management book: Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter
If I had time right now, I’d read this book among the first of the books I have to read. But it will be on a later agenda, even though it is an approximately 45 min read. It looked very interesting at the book store. Additionally, you can find it at $9.99 for your Kindle. This fable is about a penguin colony faced with a potentially fatal problem. Along the way, the author teaches 8 insights into how to understand and manage change.
Have you ever thought that change either comes too quickly — or not soon enough.
Managing change, the unexpected kind, might be a good thing!
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 25th, 2010 — Book Review, Kindle book, Non-fiction
$8.00 in Kindle.
$9.99 in Kindle
These books were given to me as Christmas presents. They are not easy reads, but they have information that everyone should have some knowledge of, if they don’t already. I had some awareness before I read these books, but I had no single book that would be a reference book on the subject.
The young reader’s edition is like a Reader’s Digest take on the adult book. The book is an abbreviated version, but it includes all the highlights. It is not something I want either my teen or pre-teen (or maybe even Book Girl) to read. Suffice it to know a bit about it, without reading it.
The author claims that those who are vegetarians begin to eat meat again, after reading his book, or conversely, those who eat meat become vegetarians.
He talks a lot about how corn has taken over, and what that means even for a cow’s digestion.
He takes us from cattle ranching to small, green type farms that are self-sustaining. He helps on the latter for a period of time and on the day that chickens are processed. This particular farm was very interesting to me. I definitely recommend reading this section — how the chickens are brought into the pastures where the cows had been a couple of days earlier. They clear the manure of eatable bugs, adding food to their diet and clearing the pasture for the safety of the animals. The systems of moving the animals is very interesting.
He finds large packing plants won’t let him in. He describes in detail how a cow is killed for food, humanely.
These are not easy books to read, but they might be necessary for one’s education.
Have you read either of these books?
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 24th, 2010 — Book Review, Kindle book, Military, Romantic Suspense
Hot Ice continues the story of the T-Flac group. As usual it starts off with a bang.
I had a very hard time reading this book, and if it weren’t for the fact that I like the characters, I could have given up, because much of it was distasteful.
It reads much like the Da Vinci Code with alternating chapters. I enjoyed the story of the good guys, but the bad guys were too evil for me. Plus the evil guy they are trying to head off is a religious fanatic who self-flagellates, similar to the DVC, and nope, that is not for me.
The woman
Taylor Kincaid is a jewel thief and real good at her work. She has some life secrets unknown to the T-Flac operatives. She is being targeted by two groups of bad guys and by T-Flac for something she stole along with the jewels in a safe. While she took it deliberately, she didn’t know what she had. T-Flac had hoped to have her steal it for them, but before they could contact her, she did it on her own.
She finds herself in a San Cristobel jail — able to escape, but being caught and worked over each time — the first time she has been in custody for any of her jobs.
The man
Huntington “Hunt” St. John needs her, not only for what she stole, but for her ability to crack safes and other codes. In the first few pages he rescues her from jail. He doesn’t trust her (and she doesn’t trust him.) Of course he doesn’t know her motivation for stealing or who has hired her.
Their love story Erotic as usual.
She awakens his protective instincts against what he thinks is his better judgment. Together they are able to thwart the bad guys (and women.) You knew that from the genre of the book.
What they are up against
A religious fanatic who is also a terrorist — and a second terrorist group which is gunning for the first, as well as them.
Jose Morales has an underground lair, complete with armed missile. He has rigged it all to follow the book of Revelation in his twisted way.
Warning
Some murders that are particularly distasteful (which all murders are, really.) A religious fanatic who is more than a little crazy. Chemical warfare; hand to hand warfare with knives; etc.
My take
I would prefer a lighter hand in the evilness. More of a romp than a treatise on evil. I’m not sure I want to continue with the books, except to take a quick look to see who has the next stories. I should only have read the chapters concerning the T-Flac group.
Have you read this book?
It is available for Kindle for $5.59.
Book 2 Kiss and Tell
Book 3: Hide and Seek
Book 4: In too deep
Book 5: Out of Sight
Book 6: On thin ice
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 18th, 2010 — Book Review, Kindle book, Romantic Suspense
On thin ice takes us to the Alaskan wilderness in the 6th book of the T-Flac series. This is the first hard cover book in Cherry Adair’s repertoire.
It is also available for $5.59 for Kindle.
Once again we learn another facet of the Wright brothers. This time it is Derek, a wealthy rancher, — and more.
The hero
Derek Wright is no fool, but he has been fooled by a consummate con artist, who had seemingly been a good friend. In the process he lost the woman he had come to love in only a few short dates. She, unfortunately, married the liar (who has since died.) He wants her to realize she wants him for a lifetime. He wants the whole package — marriage, children, et al.
The heroine
Lily Monroe is a veterinarian who is afraid to fly. Yet, when she is forced to the wall, she does it.
She learned fast that her husband was not what he appeared to be. But when she confronted him for divorce, he was dying of cancer. So she ended up nursing him until he died. In the meantime, she has overheard something that puts her life in danger. She isn’t sure if Derek is part of it, but has not had time to talk to him about it.
Derek appears to be only a playboy to her. He is away much of the time, and of course, she doesn’t know what his other real work is.
She nearly dies more than once. Derek is there for her.
Iditarod Race
Both of them race this grueling event. Lily is determined to win this time. Unknown to them she is being stalked by determined killers. Derek believes that they are stalking him. This puts her life more at risk.
The enemies
Not only is Lily being stalked (and shot at — and avalanched), there is a group of terrorists in the vicinity, hell-bent on destruction. Derek is the only one close enough to do anything about it.
There are a number of domestic suspects for Lily’s nemesis. I was glad it was not one of them that it might have been.
Violence
The body count mounts. First, one of the stalkers is done in by another stalker, in a gruesome murder that shows the character of the second man. Terrorists die right and left. We are not sorry. Along the way, Derek and Lily both take a few hits.
The love story
We hear the thoughts of both Lily and Derek. Lily is afraid to trust because her trust was violated in her marriage. Complicating matters is that her dead husband had told her that he was the man with the ranches and that Derek worked for him. She needs to sort out fact from fiction, but she has pretty much figured it out. Derek is determined to show her that he loves her.
Plenty of love shown physically. It’s more than sex, but it is hot, hot, hot, no matter how cold Alaska is.
Have you read this book?
So far, this is the book I have liked the most in the series. I give it 5*.
Reading the books so close together
It’s interesting to me to read the series altogether at one time. It’s easy to see comparisons within the books and within the characters. Each hero and heroine is distinct, but they share certain qualities. They may be flawed because of things in their pasts, but they march into the future, holding their own. There is a lot of loyalty expressed within the family and within the T-FLAC organization. The love between the each pair of main characters is strong and keeps them both safe against all odds. There is usually a bit of catch up with the other characters we already know and love.
Book 2 Kiss and Tell
Book 3: Hide and Seek
Book 4: In too deep
Book 5: Out of Sight
Book 7:Hot Ice
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 17th, 2010 — Book Review, Kindle book, Military, Romantic Suspense
Book 5 of the T-FLAC series, Out of Sight is the story of Kane Wright, fashion and other photographer extrordinaire. It was strongly hinted in the storylines of other books in the series that he is not all he seems, and so it is.
The hero
Yes, Kane is a photographer, but he is also a T-FLAC operative, going in under the guise of being a photographer to various hotspots in the world. He is adept at disguises. And he’s fighting his own demons because he lost one team to torture when they were captured.
The heroine
A.J. Cooper can hit a target without fail, but then she has an accident during training in which she is shot. She is blamed for it, but we learn later there is more to the story. Meantime, sent in as part of Kane’s new team to take out a wicked terrorist, she misses the shot. Then freezes in fear. She vows to get the target the next time.
She is another strong woman who doesn’t give in to her fears. She holds her own and then some.
The love story
Believable. Some interesting situations, including one place I’ve never seen in a book before. Adrenaline does that to you. Plus she is very beautiful and both have noticed each other before this op. Together they watch each other’s back and get out of some tight situations, which might not work in RL.
Violence
As usual, the baddies get taken out, one by one. A couple of gruesome deaths — and dead bodies. Some torture, but of baddies to baddies, except for finding the body of one of the good guys. Makes you not want to give the bad guys any chances.
The action is fast and furious. Of course, you root for the good guys (and woman.)
Have you read this one?
It is also available for Kindle at $6.39.
Book 2: Kiss and Tell
Book 3: Hide and Seek
Book 4: In too deep
Book 6: On thin ice
Book 7: Hot Ice
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 16th, 2010 — Book Review, Kindle book, Military, Romantic Suspense
This is the 4th book in the T-FLAC series.
I have also reviewed the first (Kiss and Tell) and second books (Hide and Seek).
The hero
In too Deep follows the story of Michael Wright, the second of the three Wright brothers. When the story opens, he is a changed man. No longer a Navy Seal, because he lost one eye on his last assignment, he now fights his fear of the water. All he wants to do is revenge the death of Hugo, his partner.
As luck would have it, he meets the daughter of his arch-enemy. He rescues her from certain death when the yacht she is on explodes.
Tally Cruise has come to the same island to meet her father, having been invited there. Michael expects he will use her to get to her father, but he underestimates Tally herself.
The heroine
Tally has not had a happy childhood, traipsing all over the world in search of her illusive father at the whim of her mother. She is fighting her own demons. Not as beautiful as her mother, never really having the love of her father, extremely afraid of the dark …
Like the other Adair females, she is strong and feisty, fighting for her life on more than one occasion and fighting for Michael’s life, once she knows he is trustworthy.
Flashbacks
Michael’s flashbacks eventually reveal to us the accident that took his eye. Tally’s one flashback reveals to her and to us why she is afraid of the dark.
Tally’s father
SOB doesn’t begin to describe him. He doesn’t show up on the scene until the last few pages. One particular act of murder on his part is particularly shocking and grim, even if you don’t much like the one he kills.
Figuring it all out
It doesn’t take long to figure out that Tally is slated for murder. The reader figures it out, at least I did, before she or Michael do. The question is, by whom?
The sex
Definitely there. The love story is believable.
My take
There is violence in this book. The baddies get theirs, which doesn’t hurt the reader a bit. You practically cheer. Tally is roughed up more than once, but more than holds her own. She gives as good as she gets, sometimes almost comically. Though you can almost feel her palpable fear, you also see how strong she is not to give in to it. The book is not as dark as the second book, thankfully, or I couldn’t keep reading the series.
Have you read the book or any of the series?
If you like this genre, you would like this book.
It is also available for Kindle.
Book 2: Kiss and Tell
Book 3: Hide and Seek
Book 5: Out of Sight
Book 6: On thin ice
Book 7: Hot Ice
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 14th, 2010 — Book Review, Kindle book, Military, Romantic Suspense
Hide and Seek is the third book in the T-FLAC series. This book concerns Kyle Wright, the second of the Wright sibs. He is a medical doctor, but like all the Wright brothers, not what he seems.
Be warned
This book is considerably darker than Kiss and Tell. Personally, I prefer it a little less dark. Truthfully I read over much of this, skimming very rapidly to get to the part that carries the story forward. I was strongly tempted to just say: I know they end up together and get out alive, skip to book 3.
The hero
Kyle has been working undercover to expose and destroy the far-reaching empire of an international crime lord who now wishes to release small pox on the world. Imagine his surprise to run into Delanie Eastman with whom he had had a very hot 3 days several years earlier. He is afraid his work will be ruined. Later, he is joined by his career military brother and his brother-in-law (who was featured in Kiss and Tell.) He does everything in his power to keep Delanie safe, but it isn’t always enough.
The heroine
Delanie has problems of her own. She is pretending to be a dumb blond bimbo in order to find her sister who has disappeared into the recesses of this evil empire. She thinks Kyle is part of it. On the whole, she is a very strong, resourceful woman. She fights with all that is in her to save herself (and Kyle, once she realizes he is one of the good guys.) She holds her own and doesn’t give up any territory.
The protagonist
The drug lord is particularly evil, with a streak of sadism, and just despicable evilness. And his mother is even more so. There is murder and torture. Piranas and a big snake. Very hard to read these sections.
The good men
The good men have a strong, protective streak for women, as well as keeping the world safe.
The sex
Hot and heavy. Including some drug induced aphrodisiac administered by one of the baddies. The scene is almost comical, were it not for the evil of it. Be warned.
I believe two of the characters are introduced in this book that may end up having a book of their own.
I’m on to the third book. We’ll see if all the books are as dark. I hope not.
Have you read this book?
This book is also available for Kindle.
Book 2 Kiss and Tell
Book 4: In too deep
Book 5: Out of Sight
Book 6: On thin ice
Book 7: Hot Ice
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 12th, 2010 — Book Review, Inspirational, Joy and happiness, Just thinking, Kindle book
Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard joins the latest books in my Kindle. I believe it might have been offered free, but I missed it at that savings. I bought it for $1.99.
I’m a sucker for books on happiness, because the concept of happiness is dear to my heart, something I have to fight for, and always a little bit nebulous, almost there but a little bit out of reach.
Ricard is a French Buddhist monk and former cell biologist. He has written a number of books, which if they are as readable as this one, will join my to-read list which is getting longer and longer. I’m not very far into the book yet, but I wanted to talk about it.
Here are some of the ideas discussed in the first few pages (I could do a post on several more of them too, and might):
Is happiness a skill that, once acquired, endures through the ups and downs of life? …Happiness is … a way of interpreting the world. Matthieu Ricard
Is happiness
the radiation of joy over one’s entire existence or over the most vibrant part of one’s active past, one’s actual presence, and one’s conceivable future[?] Robert Misrahi, philosopher
How would you define ‘active past’ — (this is not discussed in the book) those things of our past that are active in consciousness today or that have long-lasting effects on our every days, whether for good or ill? compared to inactive past, that may or may not seem to have an effect on us, but are in the long-forgotten reaches of our minds?
Is happiness intentionally vague so that each person can interpret it in his or her own way? (Henri Bergson)
I like the idea that happiness is a joy that hovers over all aspects of life, that we can acquire the skills for happiness, that we can interpret happiness for ourselves. Ricard states that happiness is more than fleeting moments and causative events.
What do you think happiness is?
Would you like to read this book along with me?
I think it is possible to have happiness even in the midst of sorrow, but it takes some effort and some intentional choices. Here’s to making them!
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 11th, 2010 — Book Review, Books, Kindle book, Military, Romance, Romantic Suspense
It’s always fun to find a new author — especially when they have beaucoup books already in print!
Thanks to Susan for sharing the author, Cherry Adair who writes a genre I enjoy reading, romantic suspense.
I decided to order some from the library. The reference librarian said — Do you want all? strongly hinting that there were a lot. Ha! Yes, I did. So now I have a huge stash to read. Unfortunately, I can read them faster than she can write them! It looks as though each book gives enough of a recap to make it understandable if you read them out of order.
It is also available as a Kindle version.
Kiss and Tell is the second in the TFLAC series. I’m guessing The Mercenary is first.
While predictable, in a good way, I give it 5 stars. The odds of all this happening in a short period of time are thankfully small.
When Marnie Wright goes to her grandmother’s cabin, shortly after her grandmother dies, in order to think out her life, she doesn’t expect to meet a mercenary who pretty much has received a burn notice. When a storm comes up, washing away the bridge, and a tree falls on her cabin, she is ‘rescued’ by Jake Dolan (and her dog.)
But the bad guys — or is it the good guys — are running rampant in the woods, dressed in spy gear and speaking a special language known only to TFLAC members (or not.)
Trouble is, no one knows where he is and he hasn’t been followed.
So, of course, someone knows where he is. I figured that out right away, though Jake and Marnie do not. Who that someone is, is a main part of the story.
Romance
Believable and strong.
Strong feminine lead
Marnie is strong, feisty, hard to resist in every way. It’s great to have a strong feminine lead. She is not trained in warfare, but never underestimate the power of a woman who refuses to lie down and die.
Male lead
Jake has been burned by a woman he thought he loved. She tried to kill him by slitting his throat. So when Marnie shows up, similar in coloring to this previous woman, his defenses are up. Lucky for him he has designed a high tech lair to which they retreat, complete with infrared cameras.
Violence
Yes.
One by one the baddies are picked off. In this genre, you know the main characters will come out on top a la James Bond. You don’t have to worry about that. Along the way, they pick up assorted injuries, are in several fights (rough ones.)
While there is violence, it seems very far removed from real life — at least in once sense, until we think of terrorists — so it is not something I worry about in a dark alley.
If you want a good read — and an all too fast one — you can’t go wrong with this book.
Hints of the next book
Marnie has four brothers, all over protective, and her father owns a computer company (where she works.) One brother is a doctor; one a military man; one a photog; one owns a cattle ranch. But we are given hints in this book that they all are more than they seem. On thin ice is previewed in the back of this book, but it is not the second book, so far as I can tell. But as I said, they all pretty much can stand alone.
I’m on to the second one.
Have you read any of her books?
Do you have a favorite?
Book 3: Hide and Seek
Book 4: In too deep
Book 5: Out of Sight
Book 6: On thin ice
Book 7: Hot Ice
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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January 5th, 2010 — Book Review, Detective or mystery, Humorous, Kindle book, Romance
Handbags and Homicide is a Haley Randolph Mystery.
If you like Stephanie Plum, you will love Haley Randolph, with a cast of characters as quirky and loveable as the SP books, what’s not to love!
I knew this was going to be a good book, when I laughed my way through the first chapter. And, of course, since retail is in my blood, it was even funnier.
Haley Randolph is in trouble, big time. She is a purse aficionado, and she knows her ins and outs of handbags. Her mother has a trust fund, but Haley wants to make it on her own. And it necessitates a lot of cash because she can’t resist a good multi-$100 handbag, for every outfit.
First, she gets a job through connections to a tony law firm — then is let go under suspicion.
At the same time she has a second job working retail at Holt’s Department Store, a store whose merchandise she doesn’t like. It’s a hoot to see how she manages to ‘work’ in all the areas of the store, not get anything done, yet do more than others who actually work.
Then she finds a dead body in the stock room, and she is a suspect.
It’s up to her to clear her name on both counts.
Along the way, she picks up some friends — and some purses. She helps customers put together outfits that are actually wearable.
Her stream of consciousness is a hoot.
There is very little romance in it, less than in a SP book, but there are similarities in the number of men interested in her. She has an almost-boyfriend.
In my head I kept hearing the voice of Isla Fisher as Rebecca Bloomwood in Confessions of a Shopaholic.
If you want a book to make you laugh, this is it. I give it 5*.
And for those of you who like a good series, the second book is already out:
PURSES AND POISON, the second book in the series, finds Haley still working at Holt’s Department Store. When her sort-of boyfriend Ty Cameron’s ex-lover is poisoned and suspicion falls on both Haley and her mom, Haley launches her own investigation. From the L.A. club scene, to the Fashion District, to the elegant Biltmore Hotel, Haley must find a way to catch a murderer, get the guy, and find the purse of her dreams.
And a third:
Howell also writes historical romance novels under the pen name Judith Stacy. She’s has 23 other books and almost 3 million readers worldwide. So it’s a good bet we can expect more from her, in this series too. This is the first book I’ve read of hers, but it won’t be my last.
And good news for Kindle owners: the first two books listed here are available for Kindle. $4.47 and $9.99.
Have you read this one?
If you are a fashionista, don’t miss this one — or if you simply love purses.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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December 29th, 2009 — Books, Kindle, Kindle book
Well, whaddya know. We are moving into a new era, for sure!
2009 Christmas season
Kindle was the most gifted item in Amazon’s history
I’m not surprised!
However, Amazon gave no sales figures for the device or the electronic book sales.
Of interest, perhaps, is that Amazon does not pay bloggers when a blog reader orders an ebook, only for paper books that are purchased via a blog, if that app has been activated.
It’s a first:
2009 More electronic books sold for Kindle than paper books
The sales record was achieved on Friday, December 25, Christmas Day, when people who had received a Kindle as a present logged on to Amazon.com to load their new Kindle with reading material.
Topic of conversation when traveling
Who knew!
Reading an ebook, my Kindle, becomes a way to meet people — either those who already have a Kindle or those who want to know or ask about it.
I met some cool folks on recent travels.
I did not see any other ebooks, only Kindle.
Do you have an ebook reader? What Kind, if not Kindle?
Do you have a Kindle?
I do. The more I use it, the better I like and enjoy it, especially for travel.
I’m trying to be carefully frugal. Most of my ebooks now are free ones, but I am slowly buying a few too.
I’m waiting for Kindle to match the Sony ebook capability of reading library books. That would be great! Do you think it will happen?
What’s your favorite genre?
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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December 23rd, 2009 — Book Review, Detective or mystery, Kindle book
The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar. by Maurice LeBlanc is a fun book. Throughout the course of the book background information is given on why he became a burglar. There is almost a romance in it, with some twists and turns and Arsene being the gentleman that he is, being even more gentlemanly and less of a thief, at least at times.
The book kept my attention and kept me smiling at the fun of it, the twists, the personality of Lupin, his choice of ‘victims.’
I suppose a modern counterpart would be the Bernie the Burglar books by Lawrence Block which were made into only one movie with Whoopie Goldberg playing Bernie as a woman, not a man as it was written (a cute movie, BTW.) (And I’d like to see more.) But Bernie always finds a dead body when he is burglaring, whereas there are no dead bodies in this book.
And somehow he always manages not to get caught.
Arsene books available from Kindle
There are a number of Arsene books available for Kindle. I ‘bought’ the free one. It’s not clear if some of the others are duplicates or not.
I do think it would be fun to read more of them. But I want to be sure before I choose one that has a cost, that it is a different book.
Perhaps if I clicked on any one of the available ones (which I didn’t yet) the description would tell me enough to determine if it were different.
Another plus for Kindle
This is a book I likely would not have found without the Kindle. I enjoyed the old fashioned nature of this book, a glimpse into the past, not as a modern book written in an older (but new) manner, but as a genuine book written in an earlier time frame. The mores were gentler, but OTOH in many ways it was a tougher time to live in. so a trade off.
As I was reading, simultaneously, I found myself imagining what a reader in his time frame would have felt about the book, how the reader would have enjoyed the twists and turns. And how it would feel if I were that person.
Have you read this one?
Have fun if you decide to read it. You can’t go wrong at the price!
Have you read any of the other ones?
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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December 2nd, 2009 — Book Review, Detective or mystery, Inspirational, Kindle book
If you would like an interesting read, full of sympathetic characters, with an underlying sense of living in another country (in this case Botswana), Alexander McCall Smith’s series about the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is one you should look into.
I am enjoying the HBO series based on his books, which is what led me to this book, 10th in the book series, as I have not read any before this. It is also available for Kindle.
Precious Ramotswe and her endearing, but aggravating assistant, Grace Makutsi, once again are called upon to solve problems big and small, using their common sense and general acumen. And woven into the plot is Precious’ fear for her new husband traveling a dark road at night, as well as her sorrow that her old van is kaput, and Grace’s very reasonable upset that her fiance is being taken in by a floozy. Along the way, Precious offers help to a woman she meets while walking to work, only to find out she is living with a weekday husband and a weekend husband, neither of which she is married to, and now one man works for the other and has asked him to dinner.
It’s rare to find a book that I want to read every word. Only because time was at a premium did I begin to skim.
I think it helps to know the way the actors have portrayed the characters, so in my mind’s eye I can picture Grace with her desire to do everything perfectly and Precious whose life has included a wonderful daddy and an abusive first husband. The reader (or the viewer) only wants the best for each of them.
Have you read any of the series?
Do you watch it on HBO?
I will begin to read other books in the series.
How about reading it on audio?
I think I’d like to check that out too~
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
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