Its Monday, What Are You Reading (2 of 3)

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Hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey Through A World Of Books http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week
FINISHED:
Unfortunately I did not finish a book last week, had too many distractions for me to complete my current read.
PLAN TO READ & FINISH THIS WEEK:

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Mailbox Monday (3 of 3)

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Hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page http://printedpage.us/

05/18  Monday from Pump Up Your Book
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05/19 Tuesday
From Author
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Won from Bookin’ With Bingo
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So Cold The River by Michael Koryta

So Cold The River by Michael Koryta
Published by Little Brown and Company
ISBN 978-0-316-05363-1
At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a PB copy was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion
  Synopsis: (from back of book) It starts with a beautiful woman and a challenge. Alyssa Bradford approaches filmmaker Eric Shaw to make a documentary about her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a ninety-five-year-old billionaire whose past is cloaked in mystery, the only clues being the name of his hometown and an antique water bottle he’s kept his entire life.
  Only a few hours after his arrival in Campbell Bradford’s rural hometown, Eric experiences a frighteningly vivid vision. As the days pass, the frequency and intensity of his hallucinations increase. He’s drawn deeper into the town’s dark past which is centered on a glorious hotel where presidents and mobsters once mingled, drawn to the area by the curative powers of its mineral springs. Eric discovers that something besides the hotel has been restored-a long-forgotten evil that will stop at nothing to regain a lost glory. Brilliantly imagined and terrifying real, So Cold the River is a tale of irresistible suspense.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Some of the words that I would describe this book would be gripping, suspenseful, unreal and mostly strange. It is hard to review this read without giving a lot away but will try. The mystery and suspense held my attention to the very end. Parts of the plot were questionable and unbelievable but still held my interest. The characters real, but their situations doubtful. The words written of this rural town are beautiful and it’s history interesting. The ending explosive with questions being both answered and not answered leaving the reader dangling. My rating is based on the nature of suspense that held me captive the entire book even knowing that some of the story line could never be true. Words to describe. Gripping yet Strange.
  My Rating: 4 star  Photobucket

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DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my HONEST review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family or friends.

Musing Mondays (1 of 3)

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Before getting to today’s memes, I want to thank Mr. Vincent Zandri author of Moonlight Falls, for spending the afternoon with us and to all those that stopped by and joined in our discussion.  There were some great comments and fantastic questions.   It appears, that both EReaders and Books will continue to live together in the avid reader’s and consumers lives.  There is not one clear winner but both have pros and cons to what we like as individuals.  And the poll that was placed this week on this blog had HC 45.5%.  I have to admit, that surprised me, with today’s economy and the price of HCs.  Or either that, used book stores are very busy lol.  Paperback books followed and EReaders came in last.
Also, I have a favor to ask.  I enjoy all the memes that I participate in.  Great way of finding new blogs and meeting the new people behind those blogs.  So what is my favor?  I am looking for a couple of more memes for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.  If you know of any or have joined some on those days, would appreciate you linking me up.

Its Monday, What Are You Reading (2 of 3)

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Hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey Through A World Of Books http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/
This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week
FINISHED:
Unfortunately I did not finish a book last week, had too many distractions for me to complete my current read.
PLAN TO READ & FINISH THIS WEEK:

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Mailbox Monday (3 of 3)

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Hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page http://printedpage.us/

05/18  Monday from Pump Up Your Book
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05/19 Tuesday
From Author
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Won from Bookin’ With Bingo
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Guest Author Live Slapdash Sunday

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Hosted by Kayla at The Eclectic Element http://www.theeclecticelement.blogspot.com/
As part of Slapdash Sunday, and its premise, today started off as an idea and became a reality.  Vincent Zandri was going to do a Guest Posting regarding EReaders and Print from an author’s view and I was going to do it from a consumer, avid reader’s view.  Then he made a generous offer that he would spend the day with us replying to comments and questions that other bloggers have.   Being a semi newbie blogger, I wonder if this has ever been done before!?  So post your thoughts and questions here and during the day he will  respond.  I am beyond honored and pleased to introduce:

ImageChef.com
Mr. Zandri’s thoughts on EReaders and Print:
  E-Books vs Print?
It’s not a question of versus. It’s a question of living together. One of the reasons I still publish traditionally albeit with Indy publishers who embrace the new electronic model, is that they produce both E-Book and print versions of my work. Despite the exploding popularity of E-Books and their brilliant future, many of my fans prefer to read a real “paper” book. I like my fans. They put food on my table and often send me nice notes making me feel like a “real” writer. So even though I foresee a time when I will be publishing in E-Book format only (we all will be), for now anyway, I see myself mixing tradition publishing with major houses with that of the traditionally based indy presses along with self-publishing my OOP books and previously agented/edited manuscripts that never sold for one economically based reason or another.

How will I make the majority of my money down the road? Hands down, from E-Books. I make 50% off the price of an ebook. And they never go out of print. They are the gift that keeps on giving. We can control the price and never do I have to worry about a publisher giving up on it. Simply said, the E-Book revolution is going to bury the major New York publishers whose antiquated and broken publishing system is about to collapse not because of some bomb that’s about to explode in Times Square, but because of their model which allows for returns, and offers authors only a small percentage of sales. In fact, these houses, like the one’s I’ve published with have actually held me and my work hostage by retaining rights to books they pulled off the shelves years ago. In the words of one of my old Bantam/Dell editors, “They (the corporate head honchos) are PREVENTING you from selling books.”

My jumbled thoughts as a consumer and avid reader:
As a consumer and avid reader, I have mixed feelings with EReaders and Print.
  Let’s start with Print first since that is what I have used since I started reading. I love the smell of a book, only real addicts know what I mean, turning actual pages and sometimes just having a book in my hands. In the summer I love to sit in the pool with a paperback, that’s the only time I will allow the books to get a little abused. Cons and they are starting to pile up. Hard Cover…only have them if they have been passed on. I would never pay that kind of money for a book that I will probably be done with in a few days. Even the price of paperbacks, I feel are getting to be expensive for a few days of reading.  New releases, for library edition, will take many months to get after putting your name on the list, and by that time it is probably already in paperback. Clutter…won’t even go there. I have paperback books hidden by another level of paperbacks with even another level with newer paperbacks
  EReader…a lot more portable.  In this instant gratification society, there is a huge plus, to be able to purchase and dowload a book in seconds. So far, at least for me, ebooks are almost 1/2 price of a paperback. easier to read when in bed. easier to be mobile, no clutter..YES !!!!  The clutter can be in my EReader.  Dictionary, note taking all in one place. Cons..no backlight, would never use by pool or in pool. doesn’t have the smell of a book.
  Just a few of my pros and cons…but I honestly say within a year or so when newer models have all the features I would like and more that I haven’t even thought of, I will probably upgrade from the EReader I have now and using only my EReader to buy digital books.

OK…..it’s your turn.  What are your thoughts on today’s topic.  Or maybe you just have a question.  Either way…..POST HERE and lets start this LIVE discussion……….

Guest Author Live Slapdash Sunday

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Hosted by Kayla at The Eclectic Element http://www.theeclecticelement.blogspot.com/
As part of Slapdash Sunday, and its premise, today started off as an idea and became a reality.  Vincent Zandri was going to do a Guest Posting regarding EReaders and Print from an author’s view and I was going to do it from a consumer, avid reader’s view.  Then he made a generous offer that he would spend the day with us replying to comments and questions that other bloggers have.   Being a semi newbie blogger, I wonder if this has ever been done before!?  So post your thoughts and questions here and during the day he will  respond.  I am beyond honored and pleased to introduce:

ImageChef.com
Mr. Zandri’s thoughts on EReaders and Print:
  E-Books vs Print?
It’s not a question of versus. It’s a question of living together. One of the reasons I still publish traditionally albeit with Indy publishers who embrace the new electronic model, is that they produce both E-Book and print versions of my work. Despite the exploding popularity of E-Books and their brilliant future, many of my fans prefer to read a real “paper” book. I like my fans. They put food on my table and often send me nice notes making me feel like a “real” writer. So even though I foresee a time when I will be publishing in E-Book format only (we all will be), for now anyway, I see myself mixing tradition publishing with major houses with that of the traditionally based indy presses along with self-publishing my OOP books and previously agented/edited manuscripts that never sold for one economically based reason or another.

How will I make the majority of my money down the road? Hands down, from E-Books. I make 50% off the price of an ebook. And they never go out of print. They are the gift that keeps on giving. We can control the price and never do I have to worry about a publisher giving up on it. Simply said, the E-Book revolution is going to bury the major New York publishers whose antiquated and broken publishing system is about to collapse not because of some bomb that’s about to explode in Times Square, but because of their model which allows for returns, and offers authors only a small percentage of sales. In fact, these houses, like the one’s I’ve published with have actually held me and my work hostage by retaining rights to books they pulled off the shelves years ago. In the words of one of my old Bantam/Dell editors, “They (the corporate head honchos) are PREVENTING you from selling books.”

My jumbled thoughts as a consumer and avid reader:
As a consumer and avid reader, I have mixed feelings with EReaders and Print.
  Let’s start with Print first since that is what I have used since I started reading. I love the smell of a book, only real addicts know what I mean, turning actual pages and sometimes just having a book in my hands. In the summer I love to sit in the pool with a paperback, that’s the only time I will allow the books to get a little abused. Cons and they are starting to pile up. Hard Cover…only have them if they have been passed on. I would never pay that kind of money for a book that I will probably be done with in a few days. Even the price of paperbacks, I feel are getting to be expensive for a few days of reading.  New releases, for library edition, will take many months to get after putting your name on the list, and by that time it is probably already in paperback. Clutter…won’t even go there. I have paperback books hidden by another level of paperbacks with even another level with newer paperbacks
  EReader…a lot more portable.  In this instant gratification society, there is a huge plus, to be able to purchase and dowload a book in seconds. So far, at least for me, ebooks are almost 1/2 price of a paperback. easier to read when in bed. easier to be mobile, no clutter..YES !!!!  The clutter can be in my EReader.  Dictionary, note taking all in one place. Cons..no backlight, would never use by pool or in pool. doesn’t have the smell of a book.
  Just a few of my pros and cons…but I honestly say within a year or so when newer models have all the features I would like and more that I haven’t even thought of, I will probably upgrade from the EReader I have now and using only my EReader to buy digital books.

OK…..it’s your turn.  What are your thoughts on today’s topic.  Or maybe you just have a question.  Either way…..POST HERE and lets start this LIVE discussion……….