Buy Books for the Holidays

Books With Bite

2009-11-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

Vampire books have definitely made a come back after the release of popular books such as Twilight and Cirque du Freak (now a motion picture!) and the success of the TV series, True Blood, which is based on Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series. If you know someone who loves a good vampire book here are some gift options:

YA Vampire Books

Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz
Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan
Darke Academy series by Gabriella Poole
Evernight series by Claudia Gray
House of Night series by P.C. & Kristin Cast
Morganiville Vampires series by Rachel Caine
Night World series by LJ Smith
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
Vampire Diaries series by LJ Smith
Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber

Adult Vampire Books

Dracula by Bram Stoker
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice

Adult Romance Vampire Books

Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward
Dark series by Christine Feehan
Dark Ones series by Katie MacAlister
Darkyn series by Lynn Viehl
Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole
Midnight Breed series by Lara Adrian
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series by Charlaine Harris

Finding the Right Children's Book: Sometimes It Helps to Get a Second Opinion

2009-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my now 8-year-old daughter, I have a renewed love for children's books. When she was about two, we would visit the library and explore the children's section together. I'd pick a few (okay a pile), and she would pick some.

We'd rush home, sit down to start enjoying our collection, and invariably we'd hit a clunker. Two or three pages in, she would grab the book, close it, and say "No more, Mama." Drat! I started letting her pick more of her books thinking okay, if she picks it then it must be something she likes. Double drat! Even those books weren't safe from "No more, Mama."

Her relationship with books was like most toddlers' relationship with food: she knows what she likes and isn't going to try what she doesn't. Admittedly, she would try new books, but she obviously had an idea of what would "work" for her and what wouldn't. Picky! Picky! Picky!

My daughter is not unique. Kids are notoriously finicky audiences, which is why it can be daunting to try to buy books for them. Sometimes a book that didn't click the first time becomes the cant-live-without pick for the next month. The book about their favorite thing - princesses, trucks, Elmo, Dora, you name it - falls flat. Books that your coworker L-O-V-E-D didn't connect with your child; the one they said was "eh" left them laughing for days. That's when it helps to get a second opinion.

Recommendations from friends and relatives are a great start when you're trying to find books. When they offer a title, be sure to find out if they read the book for themselves (yes, some of us do that) or whether they read it with kids. Ask them what the kids liked about the book. Ask them to tell you a little bit about the child: do they sit still for long stories? did you have to read it more than once before they liked it? This is information you can use to help you decide if the book is a good fit for the child you are buying a book for.

Along the same lines, visit the library. Children's librarians are a wonderful resource. Most libraries host programs for young children, so with a little bit of information about your child, they can offer suggestions on the books their audiences like. If you're buying for your own child, talk to your school librarian. What kinds of books does your child pick out when they visit the library?

Six years ago, I started the Reading Tub. What is now a public charity started out six years ago as a hobby website: a place for me and a couple friends to share reviews of books we were reading with our kids. Now, we have volunteer reviewers all over the country. All of the profiles - currently at 1,650 - include details about the kid's reactions. Our database (we call it the book bag) lets you search by author, title, or keyword ... and it return the results sorted by audience (o-2, 2-4, 5--8, 6-9, 10 and up). Each audience list is printable, too.

You won't find books that get lots of press - what could we possibly add to the conversation about Harry Potter that hasn't already been said? You won't find many books tied to television programs or movies. These characters are known commodities. Instead, you can search for books that interest your audience: by subject, from aardvark to zoo); by genre, including fiction and nonfiction; by topic, from friendship to reluctant reader; and reading level, too.

Six years ago, I didn't know about this thing called the book blogosphere and, for my purposes, the kidlitosphere. Now, it is one of my go-to sources for book ideas. The 'spheres are filled with passionate people - teachers, librarians, parents to name a few - who read books with kids and then share their "findings."

Books can feed the natural curiosity that kids have about the world, which is why buying books as gifts are such a wonderful choice. Just like any gift, we want to find the "perfect" one. When you're not sure if something is the "it" choice, getting a second opinion from someone who has "read-tested" a book can help.

If You Like THAT Author...

2009-11-06T03:03:00.000-08:00

For quite a few years I taught high school English and read THE GREAT GATSBY, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, etc. over and over. Each time I would teach one of these books, I'd read it again. Between that and all the other "stuff" that went with teaching, I wasn't reading much outside of what I taught. So when I left the classroom, I was pretty clueless as to what was out there. Like many people I saw what was on the shelves in the stores I frequented most often: Sam's Club, the grocery store, the drugstore, Wal-mart, K-mart, Borders, B&N, etc. That was where I found the two authors I credit with pulling me head first into the mystery genre.

At the time Linda Fairstein had a book out called ENTOMBED. The title grabbed my attention and I read the book jacket to find the plot had a tie-in with Edgar Allen Poe. Ding, ding, ding! Former English teacher, bells are going off! As I flipped through the pages, I discovered Linda had an entire series of these books and me being the obsessive-compulsive type, I surely couldn't start in the middle of the series! I devoured the entire series in less than a year and was waiting for the next Alex Cooper novel to come out.

My experience with Robert Crais was almost identical. So here I am, desperate to read more of these two authors, but I've finished both series and the new books aren't ready yet. So, I started doing some searching and I discovered a group of folks called The Craisies. They, as you can imagine, talk about Robert Crais and his books. But they also talk about other things they are reading. It was with this group of folks that I started to learn about all the fantastic books that aren't on the shelves at Wal-mart, Sam's Club, Costco, etc. I owe these Craisies a lot and I want to pay the favor forward. Do you enjoy crime fiction? Do you have a loved one who enjoys crime fiction - in books or on television/movies? Let me show you just a sampling of who else is available in the crime fiction world and give you suggestions of who from the big box stores they might compare to.

If you enjoy Kathy Reichs or Patricia Cornwell, you may also enjoy:

Thomas Holland
Tess Gerritsen
Karin Slaughter
Jonathan Hayes
Jefferson Bass

If you enjoy Michael Connelly or James Patterson, you may also enjoy:

Craig Johnson
C.J. Box
Jo Nesbo
Michael Stanley
Robin Burcell

If you enjoy Robert B. Parker, you may also enjoy:

Michael Koryta
Reed Farrel Coleman
A.E. Maxwell
Les Roberts
Don Winslow

If you enjoy Dennis Lehane, you may also enjoy:

Ken Bruen
S.J. Rozan
Sean Chercover
Megan Abbott
Daniel Woodrell

If you like Sue Grafton, you may also like:

Libby Fischer Hellmann
Alafair Burke
Sophie Littlefield
Jan Burke
J.A. Jance

If you like Harlan Coben or Joe Finder, you may also like:

Gregg Hurwitz
Andrew Gross
Lisa Unger
Tim Hallinan
Simon Lewis

If you like John Grisham, you may also like:

John Lescroart
Margaret Maron
Ken Isaacson
Robert Dugoni
Paul Levine

If you like Vince Flynn or Tom Clancy, you may also like:

Andrew Grant
Brett Battles
Tom Rob Smith
Lee Child
Daniel Levin

If you enjoy humor mixed with complex plots, you may enjoy:

Chris Grabenstein
Tom Schreck
Jeffrey Cohen
Steve Hockensmith
Louise Penny

If you're looking for lighter fare, more along the lines of Agatha Christie, you may enjoy:

Jane Cleland
Karen Olson
Rosemary Harris
Diane Stuckart
Hank Phillippi Ryan

This is a very small sampling of the wonderful authors writing in the crime fiction genre. In my future posts I hope to share with you some more names and titles that may help you in your search for holiday gifts. I also encourage you to ask some of my own sources: those wonderful folks at my favorite mystery bookstores. My friends out in California at The Mystery Bookstore are always happy to help. In Texas I call on my friends at Murder by the Book. In Michigan, the lovely folks at Aunt Agatha's are super helpful. In Pennsylvania I call on the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and finally in Ohio here I visit Foul Play. These people all love what they do and they love to offer crime fiction suggestions.

So, if you have a person on your list who already enjoys crime fiction, watches crime dramas on television, action movies, etc., a crime fiction novel would make a fantastic gift for the holidays.

I hope your holidays are wonderful and full of crime...fiction that is! Happy Reading.

Jen Forbus
http://jensbookthoughts.blogspot.com

Buying Books for Those Who Wouldn't Buy for Themselves

2009-11-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit of a late convert to the idea of buying books for the holidays, honestly.

Okay, that's not completely true. If there is a child, and that child is having ANY sort of occasion (and sometimes even if they are not), I buy a book. My go-to authors are always Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle, although I like to mix up it with a variety of children's authors I found while teaching but I digress, great books for children is another post.

Anyway, I've long had a REALLY tough time buying books for adults over the age of 12, unless they've expressed interest in a specific book or they are a good friend who shares my reading tastes, but does not read as much as I do. Perhaps this stems from the fact that I'm hesitant about most of my family and friends picking out a book that I would actually like (I'd usually prefer they just give me a bookstore gift certificate).

However, I have recently been determined to get my husband to read more and, by and large, I have been successful, by gifting him very specific books that he will love. He enjoys reading, but doesn't miss it if he isn't doing it and, so, will often go insanely long times without picking up a book (of course to me, anything more than 24 hours without a book in hand is insane!). Here are some ideas that have worked for me in buying him books that will make him excited to read:

Tie into leisure interests: I guess I'd already been doing this to some extent, giving my dad and grandfather different books of golf courses for birthdays and Christmas forever, but last year I was able to move this in a more meaningful direction. My husband is not only serious about his faith, he's also a huge Simpsons fan so in his stocking? "The Gospel According to the Simpsons." Sure, it took him 4 months to read it because he picked it up for little bits and pieces, but he read and enjoyed the entire thing and still makes references to things he read in it over a year ago!
Connect with life changes: This summer my husband and I became parents to an adorable little boy. My husband LOVES being a daddy and can't get enough of our son. This year he will be getting "Manhood for Amateurs" by Michael Chabon in his stocking, which contains a series of essays on fatherhood. This is where you want to be careful, though. Makes sure the book has some real meat to it. Some people might enjoy "Chicken Soup for the _____'s Soul," but I don't know of anyone who really reads the little coffee table books about funny things for dads/moms/etc. "Manhood for Amateurs" has been getting great reviews and promises to be an amusing, thoughtful book that just so happens to also be meaningful to my husband because of his stage of life.
Play to passions: My husband is a teacher and he loves his job. He doesn't necessarily love all of the stuff that goes along with being a teacher, but he can't get enough of helping kids and planning for their successes. He's not interested in books about teaching best practices, but give him a book about a revolutionary teacher who bucked the system for the sake of his or her students? You'll barely be able to pry him away (if you know anyone like this, he loves Rafe Esquith's books).
Go with what works: I'm all about getting my husband books about passionate, rebel teachers, or books that use research to push back against accepted classroom culture right now. They really get him excited both to read and to try new things in the classroom. If ever I can find related titles to what he has already devourered, I'm on it.
Keep your eyes open and a list in hand: This is really good advice (which I often don't follow) for ANY gift giving. I see titles throughout the year that I think would interest my husband, or a variety of other people on my gift list. If I don't write them down somewhere, chances are excellent that I won't even remember that I saw anything when the time comes.

Yes, this just happens to be what works with my husband, but I have every confidence that one or more of these suggestions can help you pick a book for anyone on your list - even those who are not big readers.

The Gift of Reading: Sharing Books with Readers in Need

2009-11-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

You are reading this because at least one special someone in your life – mom, dad, brother, sister, teacher, grandparent, the list goes on – gave you a gift. They invested their time and money in creating a reader.

Admittedly, most of us are in the book blogosphere because we love to read, and while we may not read everything, we can all call ourselves accomplished readers. We recognize millions of words instantly and we have learned the strategies to figure out those we don’t.

As we have all experienced, November and December are consumed by celebration and reflection. We gather to enjoy each other’s company, share some memories, and show our love to those who matter most. At the same time, we tend to look back on the last year to assess where we are in this journey, how we got here, and who we want to be.

Buy Books for the Holidays is an event that not only helps us celebrate a love of reading, it also creates a venue for thinking about how we got here! It is a way of paying forward the investments someone made in us. We are all very fortunate to have had that person (or people) in our life. But what about the person who doesn’t have the mentor or book lover in their life? Don’t they deserve the chance to feel that same passion you do? Maybe you can be the person that helps spark a love of reading in someone else.

One of the pivotal indicators of reading success is the amount of reading material at home. Books, magazines, catalogs, junk mail … it all counts. At a recent kidlitosphere conference, a Reading is Fundamental (RIF) representative noted that there are 25 million children who do not have access to books outside of school. Here are some other staggering statistics:

There are currently more than 14 million children living in poverty in the United States. Many children living in poverty do not have books of their own and regular access to quality literature. Access to books is one of the major factors of early educational success for children.
In 2003, 30 million adults read “below basic” level.

We need to break the cycle of illiteracy for a multitude of reasons from socio-economic to psychological. Whether you are in a position to donate books, buy books, or donate money to existing projects, you CAN make a huge difference.

In each organization you'll find people (staff and/or volunteers) who dedicate themselves to helping children and adults build the skills they need not only to get through daily life, but to participate in their communities. As you will see, we selected charities that have a broad reach … every charity has local chapters so that you can help readers-in-need in your community. We also included organizations that provide literacy services for children, adults, and families. For each of the next six weeks, I will be profiling at least one literacy charity. In the meantime, we are offering links to their websites.

Everyone Wins has chapters in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Everybody Wins! chapters are providing trained mentors to help low-income elementary students develop their reading skills.

First Book gives new books to low-income families with young children throughout the United States and Canada. The organization has a number of entities in place to offer free and low-cost books for the children they serve. There are also volunteer opportunities, with more than 270 Advisory Boards (volunteer groups) throughout the country.

National Institute for Literacy has information about literacy for all ages, from childhood to adult. It is built to be a "national resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy." Within the NIfL web site you will find America's Literacy Diretory, which lists community-level groups, organized by the audience served.

ProLiteracy is an international literacy organization, offering services for adults and children throughout the world. Visit the ProLiteracy website, enter your zipcode and find organizations in your area.

Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit that supports early literacy. Volunteers work in ROR program offices (e.g. pediatricians) reading books with children and modeling book-sharing techniques for parents.

Read Indeed is the brainchild of nine-year-old Maria Keller, who started this nonprofit in 2007. She is hoping to get one million books into the hands of children by her eighteenth birthday (2018). So far she's got just over ten thousand, passing them on to various charitable organizations.

Reading is Fundamental is America's oldest children's literacy charity. RIF serves children (0 to 8) and families in every state, the District of Columbia, and US territories in programs that operate in 25,000 sites throughout the country.

We are offering these profiles solely as a way of introducing you to the charities and their work. There are lots of other organizations that offer literacy services, and whether you want to donate books, money, or time, they are happy to accept your assistance. I would also like to call your attention to two other resources.

DonorsChoose.org. On Donors Choose, you can donate money to support a school-based project. Each project includes a specific list of the literacy-based tools teachers need to serve their students.

Literacy Organizations on the Literacy & Reading Wiki. There is a page in this wiki dedicated solely to offering links to international, North American, national, and state literacy nonprofits.

Sources for Statistics and image:
National Assessment of Adult Literacy http://nces.ed.gov/naal/kf_demographics.asp
US Department of Education http://www.education.com/reference/article/children-poverty-access-reading/
Pearson Education http://www.pearsoned.com/pr_2009/091709a.htm
US Census Bureau Report: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/sep2009/pove-s30.shtml
International Symbol of Information Literacy: http://www.infolitglobal.info/logo/en/home

Buy Books for the Holidays 2009!

2009-11-01T20:21:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year! The Halloween decorations are getting packed away, and the stores have turned their full attention to Christmas. Plans are frantically being made to have the perfect holiday season, and we are all examining our budgets to figure out how we're going to make the dollars stretch into satisfying meaningful gifts.

We have a suggestion for you! Buy books.

Books are truly the best gifts and there is a book out there for everyone on your list. Once again, at Buy Books for the Holidays we encourage you to make this holiday season a literary season by:

1) Buying books for as many people on your list as you can
2) Donating to literacy charities for year end giving

Additionally, we encourage you to support your local independent bookstores if you can! We'll be spotlighting as many as we can on the blog throughout the following months. (If you own an independent bookstore, please apply to be spotlighted!)

What can you expect from Buy Books for the Holidays this year?

We'll be introducing you to literacy charities, spotlighting independent bookstores, providing gift suggestions and printable shopping lists, as well as sharing some fun ways you can accessorize your bookish gifts for low cost. And of course, if you need help finding the perfect book for that hard to shop for person on your list? We're here as a community to help you find it!

Why are we doing this?

Everyone on this extremely committed team of bloggers loves books. We believe strongly in the written word, in the importance of a literate society and we recognize that it's up to us make our voices heard about books and reading. You have a lot of options for gifts this holiday season, but we hope you'll work to give a gift with lasting value, a gift that communicates that you care, a gift that has life changing potential. We hope you'll give books as gifts for this holiday.

Sign Up!

Are you in? If you want to give books as gifts this holiday season, please drop a link to your blog in the Mister Linky below. Subscribe to our feed, and follow us on twitter. (If you don't have a blog, you can put a link to your twitter or facebook account or just your name!) Please grab a button and help us spread the word!

Indie Bookstores, Let Us Spotlight You!

2009-11-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

We love and support Indie Bookstores and would love to spotlight some on the Buy Books for the Holidays blog this year! If you are interested in having your store spotlighted, please fill out the form below:

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Help Out with This Year's Campaign!

2009-10-05T10:31:00.001-07:00

We have enough volunteers, now, thank you!

Book Extras

2009-10-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

There are lots of lovely things that you can include to make a book an extra-special gift. Here are some bookmarks and some book tags (to: from:) and other fun things.

Note: These files are PDFs. Clicking the link will download them

Buttons 2009

2009-09-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

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Sign Up 2009

2009-08-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

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Spread Some Literary Love This Valentine's Day: Kids ♥ Authors Day

2009-02-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

February 14 is Kids ♥ Authors Day in New England

Over 40 independent bookstores and 170 authors and illustrators share Valentine’s Day events with kids and families throughout the region

Andover, MA, January 18, 2009: Shower your pint-sized (or teen-sized) valentines with literary love. On Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14, 2009, from 10 a.m. to noon, independent booksellers throughout New England will host illustrators and authors of books for kids and teens, kicking off a new tradition of signed literary valentines for families.

Over 170 authors and illustrators and more than 40 independent booksellers in Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, and New York are participating in Kids ♥ Authors Day. Bookstores will provide bunches of books, and authors and illustrators will personalize them, talk about why they do what they do, and answer any and all questions about writing and drawing. Whether it’s an illustrator demonstrating his technique to a group of fascinated onlookers or a teen author chatting with excited fans about her characters, Kids ♥ Authors Day promises something for book lovers of all ages.

How did Kids ♥ Authors Day get started?

It began with a 140-character Twitter message on December 7, 2008 from Newton, MA resident and author Mitali Perkins, whose new novel for teens, Secret Keeper, is just out from Delacorte/Random House. “IDEA,” she tweeted. “Indies partner with authors for a ‘give a signed book’ day, all Kid/YA authors in area show up at stores to sign one afternoon.” Strong response from Perkins’ Twitter followers gave way to discussions with the New England Children’s Booksellers Association (NECBA) and New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA), and Kids ♥ Authors Day was born.

It’s for the Community and the Kids

“There's nothing like enjoying a warm fire, family, friends, and great stories on a February day in New England,” says Perkins. “On Kids ♥ Authors Day, it's like each bookstore is inviting their community to gather around a hearth with a loved one or two to meet some of our region's storytellers."

"One nice thing about hard economic times is that it makes people reflect upon the importance of community, and this event is an appropriate and meaningful vehicle for strengthening our community of New England authors and independent booksellers,” says Kenny Brechner, NECBA co-chair, of Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers, Maine.

Show your support for local business and head to an independent bookstore on Saturday, February 14th. To find out who’s going where and read 100-plus reasons why we need independent bookstores, visit www.kidsheartauthors.com.

Extend the literary love with free bookmarks created by participating bookseller Jennifer Hopkins at the Woodknot Bookshop in Newport, VT. T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and pins designed by author Laya Steinberg are available from the Kids ♥ Authors Day Cafe Press Store, with proceeds going to Reach Out And Read, a Boston-based national non-profit that gives books to children in pediatric exam rooms across the nation.

The Gargoyle

2009-02-05T07:35:00.001-08:00

The Gargoyle is Andrew Davidson's debut novel and a powerful meditation on the meaning of love. Seven years in the writing, this first novel reads as if it had been written by a self-assured master.

From the dust jacket:

An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.

The narrator of The Gargoyle is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide -- for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul.

A beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name of Marianne Engel appears at the foot of his bed and insists that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly injured mercenary and she was a nun and scribe in the famed monastery of Engelthal who nursed him back to health. As she spins their tale in Scheherazade fashion and relates equally mesmerizing stories of deathless love in Japan, Iceland, Italy, and England, he finds himself drawn back to life—and, finally, in love. He is released into Marianne's care and takes up residence in her huge stone house. But all is not well. For one thing, the pull of his past sins becomes ever more powerful as the morphine he is prescribed becomes ever more addictive. For another, Marianne receives word from God that she has only twenty-seven sculptures left to complete -- and her time on earth will be finished.

Already an international literary sensation, The Gargoyle is an Inferno for our time. It will have you believing in the impossible.

Read the hardcover novel or check out the 16 CD unabridged recording, read by Lincoln Hoppe.

On caveat -- in the beginning of the novel, the narrator is involved in an auto accident where he is horribly burned. The accident and the torturous recovery are told in vivid detail. For many people it is the hardest part of the book to read and many quit.

My advice is don't quit.

This is a man's personal Hell on Earth (and if he is made up, remember thousands of burn victims suffer the same recovery as the narrator did). Read it -- in small doses if you have to -- read it and honor the suffering, for beyond it is one of the most beautiful stories of recovery -- of the body, of the spirit, of love -- that I've ever read.

It's a love story -- seven hundred years long.

Proudly Independent

2009-02-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

After a taste of independent bookstores here at the Books for the Holidays blog, do you desire more? Well, pop on by to IndieBound... the online community for independent bookstores.

My favourite feature is the Indie Store Finder, where you can search your local area for independent bookstores AND other independently-owned stores!

My Harlequin Valentine

2009-01-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

February is almost upon us. Love is in the air and presidents are on the news . . . it must be time for Valentine Day and President's Day!

And what do those two holidays have in common? They're great gift giving holidays.

Let me start the ball rolling with a gift I'm planning to give my wife. We were married on February 14 so Valentine's Day is also my anniversary. That means I have to pick up two cards and two gifts.

One of those gifts will be a copy of Harlequin Valentine, a hardcover comic written by Neil Gaiman and beautifully painted by John Bolton.

Harlequin Valentine

In this modern retelling of a classic commedia dell' arte legend of tomfoolery and hopeless, fawning love, creators Neil Gaiman and John Bolton update the relation of Harlequin and Columbine.

A buffoon burdened with a brimming heart, Harlequin chases his sensible, oblivious Columbine around the streets of a city, having given his heart freely. Consumed with love, the impulsive clown sees his heart dragged about town, with a charming surprise to bend the tale in a modern direction.

Gaiman's writing is poetic and as loopy as the subject matter. Bolton's art, a combination of digitally enhanced photo-realism and dynamic painting provides sensational depth with bright characters over fittingly muted backgrounds.

Those who have spent Valentine's Day alone know that the cold February holiday can be hard to swallow. Gaiman and Bolton want you to know that all it takes is a steak knife, a fork, and a bottle of quality ketchup.

Harlequin Valentine contains an additional 8-page backup feature written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by John Bolton on the history of commedia dell' arte!

Now if I can just think of the perfect anniversary gift . . .

Apex Spotlight: Brandy Leah Schwan

2009-01-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Apex Spotlight: Lavie and Steven

2009-01-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

The Heist

Transylvania Mission

Uganda

The Dope Fiend

Temple: Incarnations
Author: Savile, Steven
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Novella
Page Count: 112pp.
Pub. Date: April 30, 2007
Publisher: Apex Publications
Links: Steven Savile Official Website
Links: An Interview with Steven Savile

A man awakens in a filthy bedroom with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. Seeing an old Gideon bible on a nightstand, he finds a name to call his own -- Temple.

This is the story of Temple's quest for identity and purpose in a dying, decaying world. By turns heartbreaking, enlightening, and surreal, British fantasist Steven Savile has created a story that T.M. Wright describes as "a story about Death written by a man who has clearly consorted with devils."

This novella comprises the four part Temple series published in Apex Digest issues five through eight, with a special introduction from T.M. Wright and an afterword from the author.

Steven Savile is a fantasy, science fiction and horror author and editor who is quietly working on becoming an overnight success.

More soon . . .

Apex Spotlight: Maurice, Wrath and Alethea

2009-01-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

Apex Publications, a wonderful small press publishing horror, dark fantasy, science fiction and very weird stories is in trouble and we can help. as I mentioned in the last post, the owner Jason Sizemore needs to sell books and if you spend over $25.00 in the Apex bookstore you get free shipping.

This is a way we can directly help save a book published and get some great birthday gifts for that Horror/SF/Fantasy reader in the process. Below are a couple of Apex books, click on the book cover to go to the Apex store if you find yourself interested in making a purchase.

Orgy of Souls
Author: White, Wrath James and Broaddus, Maurice
Format: Hardcover and Trade Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 144pp.
Pub. Date: June 13, 2008
Publisher: Apex Publications
Links: Words of Wrath
Links: The Pontifications of Maurice Broaddus

Twenty for one.

Twenty souls for his brother's life is a price that seductively beautiful Samson is willing to pay. Twenty souls drenched in blood, powdered with cocaine and more than one kind of ecstasy. A fair trade for the life of a brother. A fair trade for the life of a priest. And everyone he meets seems so willing to give theirs away.

Samuel's faith often wavers. Diagnosed with HIV and in rapid decline, he hides his disillusionment in the rituals of the priesthood. But when Samson brings him the first blood-signed contract for a young woman's immortal soul, the steamy world of high fashion male models and the quiet decay of a sickly priest begin to writhe against the realities of life, death, and otherworldly power.

Brotherly love is a deadly seduction, beauty a dangerous game. Come worship in the brutal temple of Orgy of Souls. Your faith will never be the same again.

Wrath James White is a former professional fighter, trainer and writer. He is also an atheist.

Maurice Broaddus is a horror writer and a minister (called the Sinister Minister).

Beauty and Dynamite
Author: Kontis, Alethea
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Memoir, essay and poetry
Page Count: 280pp.
Pub. Date: Jun 13, 2008
Publisher: Apex Publications
Links: Aletheakontis.com
Links: Alethea Kontis's MySpace

Once upon a time, a young girl walked into a world of wonder and delight. But that's not where this story starts.

The young woman she became published a nationally recognized children's book and edited a star-filled collection of stories to benefit the tsunami relief effort. But that's not where this story ends.

Meet Alethea Kontis, a self-proclaimed Genre Chick whose life is an adventure that tears through these pages like a hurricane. Carrot-a-day cancer cures and Murphy as a guardian angel (yes, that Murphy, the guy with all those irritating laws) are just a part of the daily routine for the Incredible Whirlwind of Beauty and Dynamite, the force of nature masquerading in human form.

Through essays, poetry, and commentary from family, friends, and famous authors alike, a world of Blood Oaths and road trips, broken hearts and mended cars, comes alive with the strength of one woman's conviction that the world is there to be befriended.

You have now been introduced. Let your adventure begin.

Alethea Kontis is a buyer for Ingram Book Company, a contributing editor for Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest, and a freelance editor for Solaris Books. She also writes books.

More soon . . .

Apex Spotlight: Fran and Sara

2009-01-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

The new year has come, and the old year is gone. But damage done in one year reverberates in the next. Apex Publications is a wonderful small press publishing horror, dark fantasy, science fiction and very weird stories. They also have a magazine called, oddly enough, Apex Magazine which recently went on-line.

Apex is owned and operated by Jason Sizemore who had a tough year of it. Many book shipments came in damaged for which he had to eat the cost and changing the nature of Apex Magazine required a lot of reimbursements. Things like this happen to a small press.

Here is where we can help. Jason needs to sells books to keep his company afloat and needs to do it fast. He needs $2500 in two weeks and one week is gone already (yes, I am late coming to this -- sorry). 7 days remain and he's almost at the half way mark. How can you help? You can buy Apex books from their store. Spend over $25.00 and the shipping is free!

This is a way we can directly help save a book published and get some great birthday gifts for that Horror/SF/Fantasy reader in the process. Below are a couple of Apex books, click on the book cover to go to the Apex store if you find yourself interested in making a purchase.

Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales
Author: Friel, Fran
Format: Hardcover
Type: Short Story Collection
Page Count: 280pp.
Pub. Date: June 27, 2008
Publisher: Apex Publications
Links: The Lair of Author Fran Friel
Links: Fran Friel's MySpace
Links: Yada Feast: Fran Friel's World of Writing, Horror and Yada, Yada. . .

This book also contains the author preferred version of Mama's Boy, nominated for the 2006 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction.

The Bram Stoker Award-nominated novella "Mama's Boy" is the cornerstone of this 14-story collection from author Fran Friel and Apex Publications. A man whose mother's demented love for him has turned him from an innocent boy to a serial killer to a near-comatose mental patient opens his world to a psychologist determined to reach him as a way of dealing with her own mother's battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. But is she helping, or is there more damage to be done?

In "Mashed," a son's simple request for potatoes with his birthday dinner opens up a world of past fears and childhood torments for his mother, while the flash fiction story "Close Shave" presents a horrifically funny solution to an everyday women's issue.

From mother and son to broader family ties, Friel explores the bonds of human connection into every dark turn. The humorous yet wickedly creepy "Under the Dryer" begins as a tale told by the family dog and ends in a bloodbath; "Special Prayers," perhaps the most disturbing offering in the collection, exposes a family secret of abuse and power; and the tragically soft and beautiful "Orange and Golden" explores the purest form of the human-animal bond as the sun sets on a natural disaster.

Fran Friel is a horror writer. She lives in Connecticut with her husband where she grows plants and gargoyles.

Table of Contents:

Beach of Dreams

Gravy

Mashed

The Sea Orphan

Orange and Golden

Under the Dryer

Close Shave

Connected at the Hip

Special Prayers

Widow

Spider Love

Fine Print

Black Sheep

Mama's Boy

The Convent of the Pure
Author: Harvey, Sara M.
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Novel
Pub. Date: April 1, 2009
Publisher: Apex Publications
Links: Sara M. Harvey's Official Author Site
Links: Sara M. Harvey's MySpace
Links: The Merry Adventures of Saraphina

Publication Date: April 1st
All pre-orders will receive a PDF containing the story "Prelude to Penemue" that is set in the same world as The Convent of the Pure.

Secrets and illusions abound in a decaying convent wrapped in dark magic and scented with blood. Portia came to the convent with the ghost of Imogen, the lover she failed to protect in life. Now, the spell casting caste wants to make sure that neither she nor her spirit ever leave.

Portia's ignorance of her own power may be even more deadly than those who conspire against her as she fights to fulfill her sworn duty to protect humankind in a battle against dark illusions and painful realities.

Steeped in the legends of the Nephilim, The Convent of the Pure is the first installment of a steampunk novella trilogy by Sara M. Harvey.

Stay tuned . . .

Vote for First Book!

2008-12-31T12:49:00.000-08:00

A message received from First Book:

Hi Everyone:

I would love your quick help on this opportunity. It's an easy way to help First Book lead the way into the New Year. Just go to:

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/launch_global_resources_network

and vote for our idea to Launch the Global Resources Network.

The top 10 ideas are going to be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day and will be supported by a national lobbying campaign run by Change.org, MySpace, and more than a dozen leading nonprofits after the Inauguration. So each idea has a real chance at becoming policy.

Thanks for the support and a happy, happy new year to all,

Jane

Open Thread: What to get with those Gift Cards???

2008-12-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

It's likely that most of the people who read this blog received gift cards to their favorite bookstores for the holidays instead of books (the book lovers curse!) Have recommendations on what would be a good gift card investment? A hot title that's coming out we should save the gift cards for?

Comments are open for your ideas and suggestions.

Book Suggestion: Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich

2008-12-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

In these trying economic times, there's an increased desire to simplify our lives. Enter Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich from Storey Publishing.

In a world of mass-produced food, factory-stitched clothing, 300-channel cable television, and computer-centric desk jobs, it’s easy to overlook the simple pleasures of eating homegrown vegetables, raising animals naturally and humanely, wearing hand-sewn clothing, or enjoying an evening of unplugged entertainment.
Inspired by her growing admiration for small farmers and her growing distaste for rampant consumerism, 26-year-old web designer Jenna Woginrich decided to take control of her life — what she ate, what she wore, and how she spent her free time. Learn a few basic country skills, she reasoned, and she would be able to produce at least some of the food and other resources she used every day. Goodbye, prepackaged food; hello, homesteading.

This book is a very pretty little book packed with practical advice that would make an interesting gift for anyone on your list interested in the joys of "getting dirty, working hard, and slowing down."

Graphic Novels of Horror (part two)

2008-12-21T22:09:00.000-08:00

Here is the second list of the top horror comics and comic book series. Since several series are by multiple authors, I decided to group these by title and series order when applicable. Feel free to print this list up and take it to the bookstore or use the Amazon links to order online.

Damn Nation by Crosby, Andrew
America is quarantined when a plague of vampirism overruns the country. A team of scientists in a bunker outside of Buffalo, N.Y. may have found a cure but first a special ops team must extract them.

Violent Messiahs by Dysart, Joshua D.M.
"Citizen Pain", "Family Man" and "Scalpel" . . . hyper-violent nearly indestructible serial killers that inhabit the shadows of Rankor Island's decaying city and only one cop, Lt. Cheri Major has a chance of standing against them -- assuming she can hold her sanity together long enough to put them down.

The Book of Job (Violent Messiahs, Book 1)

Lamenting Pain (Violent Messiahs, Book 2)

Hellboy Created by Mignola, Mike
He is powerfully strong, red skinned with a tails and the vestiages of horns -- he is Hellboy, one of several agents of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, he hunts down supernatural monsters and stops them.

Seed of Destruction (Hellboy Book 1)

Wake the Devil (Hellboy Book 2)

The Chained Coffin and Others (Hellboy Book 3)

The Right Hand of Doom (Hellboy Book 4)

Conqueror Worm (Hellboy Book 5)

Strange Places (Hellboy Book 6)

The Troll Witch and Other Stories (Hellboy Book 7)

Darkness Calls (Hellboy Book 8)

B.P.R.D. Series Created by Mignola, Mike
Hellboy has left the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense and it's up to his fellow teammates to step up and battle the monsters that lurk in the shadows.

Hollow Earth and Other Stories (B.P.R.D., Book 1)

The Soul of Venice and Other Stories (B.P.R.D., Book 2)

Plague of Frogs (B.P.R.D., Book 3)

The Dead (B.P.R.D., Book 4)

The Black Flame (B.P.R.D., Book 5)

The Universal Machine (B.P.R.D., Book 6)

Garden of Souls (B.P.R.D., Book 7)

Killing Ground (B.P.R.D., Book 8)

1946 (B.P.R.D., Book 9)

Abe Sapien: The Drowning by Mignola, Mike
The story of Abe Sapien's first solo mission for the B. P. R. D.

Cal McDonald Casebook (later called Criminal Macabre) by Niles, Steve
Cal is a hard drinking, hard drugging, two fisted detective -- monster hunter who's luck embroils him cases involving the supernatural.

Savage Membrane (Cal McDonald Casebook, Book 1)

Guns, Drugs, and Monsters (Cal McDonald Casebook, Book 2)

Dial M For Monster: A Collection Of Cal McDonald Mystery Stories (Cal McDonald Casebook, Book 3)

A (Criminal Macabre (Criminal Macabre, Book 1)

Last Train To Deadsville (Criminal Macabre, Book 2)

Two Red Eyes (Criminal Macabre, Book 3)

My Demon Baby (Criminal Macabre, Book 4)

City of Others by Niles, Steve
A cold-blooded assassin's life is turned upside down when he encounters two people who just won't die.

Freaks Of The Heartland by Niles, Steve
Only a young boy named Trevor stands between his angry family aligned with a frightened town and his younger brother, trapped in a monstrous freak body.

Richard Matheson's I Am Legend by Niles, Steve
Steve Niles brings I am Legend by Richard Matheson to comics in this powerful adaptation of a classic tale of vampirism.

Steve Niles' Cellar Of Nastiness by Niles, Steve
A collection of one-shots, stories completed within the span of one comic. Of course, if they're stories by Steve Niles, you know they're horror-able.

Wake The Dead by Niles, Steve
College student Victor works to reverse death, not knowing what a can of worms he's opening up. But he'll find out.

Book Charming

2008-12-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

So...you've bought your books and now you're looking for a little something extra to go with them? How about some beautiful book charms from Book Charming? Book Charming is a small business run by dedicated book blogger Sheri of A Novel Menagerie. Here's what the website says about their product:

It is our pleasure to present to you what we believe to be the BEST BOOKMARKS available! Our BookCharmers are made with 100% silk thread and hand-chosen beads, crystals, and charms. In addition to our pre-made, ready-to-ship BookCharmers, we can custom make a BookCharmer to meet your personal taste! There is a standard set price for the BookCharmers, however custom orders may cost just a tad more!

Being avid book readers, my twin daughters and I just love this style of bookmarks, sometimes referred to as book floss. They are light weight, decorative, and always keep your page. Our family activity of crafting led us to the desire to make these available to other passionate readers, on-line.

You can visit Book Charming and check out their many different product offerings in several categories such as holiday, faith, for the gals, for the guys, and animal kingdom.

Note from Amy: While our primary purpose is to promote the buying of books, we are interested in supporting the book community as a whole. Sheri is a valued member of the book blogging community.

New Editions of Two Popular Role-Playing Games

2008-12-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I presented a list if the new Dungeons and Dragons Role Playing Game 4th ed books. Now I want to look at the new editions of two other role-playing games: Star Wars and Shadowrun.

Star Wars Role Playing Game
Using the Saga System the Star Wars Role Playing Game attempts to take the magic and kinetic frenzy of a Star Wars movie and put it in a game you can play at home with your friends. It's designed so that you can play in any epoch from the movies, the books and even the comic books. An entire universe in a galaxy far, far away is now open to you.

Star Wars Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Saga Edition by Stephens, Owen K.C. and Thompson, Rodney
This is the revised core rule book using the new Saga system. (For players and GMs)

Star Wars Gamemaster Screen
Hide you story plans and dice rolls with this colorful shield. (For GMs only)

Star Wars Roleplaying Game Accessories

Star Wars: Threats of the Galaxy by Thompson, Rodney; Cagle, Eric; Astleford, Gary; Schwalb, Robert J.; Snead, John and Stutzman, Patrick
This book gives you scores of already created bad guys to drop into your campaign and use against your players. (For GMs only)

Star Wars Roleplaying Game Supplements

Star Wars Galaxy Tiles: A Star Wars Supplement by The Miniatures Team
These tiles are an easy-to-use and inexpensive way to include great-looking terrain in your game. (For GMs only)

Star Wars: Scum and Villainy by The Wizards RPG Team
Do you have what it takes to be a criminal? How about a thief with a heart of gold? This supplement gives you all the rules you need to build a criminal empire or follow in the footsteps of Han Solo. (for players and GMs)

Star Wars: Starships of the Galaxy by Stephens, Owen K.C. and Thompson, Rodney
Advanced rules for space battle, new ship designs from the Star Wars movies and books as well as new types of characters to meet. (For players and GMs)

Star Wars Roleplaying Game Campaigns

Force Unleashed Campaign Guide (Star Wars) by Hershey, Sterling; Stephens, Owen K.C.; Thompson, Rodney and Schweighofer, Peter
This resource guide gives you all the information to set you game in the period between Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when the Jedi are being hunted and killed and a new rebellion is coming together to stop the consolidation of the Empire. (For GMs only)

Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide by Thompson, Rodney; Hershey, Sterling; Pena, Abel G. and Miller, John Jackson
4000 years ago before the Star Wars movies, Jedi Knights and Sith Lords clashed in galactic conflict. Now you can be apart of the fantastic history of the Old Republic. (For GMs only)

Shadowrun
The world of Shadowrun is a melding of the cyberpunk and fantasy genres and surprisingly it actually works. The world began to change in 2050 -- magic returned to the world and some humans were transformed into elves, dwarves, orcs and trolls -- which appear to be different expressions of humanity. People began to learn to use magic while others jacked themselves into the matrix to work for corporations or work against them. Others replaced parts of their body to become superior killers or thieves. It is now 2070 -- you are a criminal running against the evil megacorps in search of that big score that could set you up for life or get you killed.

Shadowrun 4th Edition by Catalyst Game Labs
This handbook is for both the player and the GM. Everything you need to play the game is here except the dice. This game requires only 6-sided-dice but you should have a lot of them 10-20 of them would be comfortably enough but you can get by on less. (For players and GM)

Shadowrun Runners Companion (Shadowrun Core Character Rulebooks) by Catalyst Game Labs
This is a handbook of optional runs to enhance Shadowrun gaming. Although players can dip in here too, they need to check with their GM to see if the options presented will be allowed in the game. (For players and GM)

Shadowrun: Street Magic by FanPro
This book covers the various traditions of magic and the known spells employed by Shadowrunners and the megacorps. (For players and GM)

Shadowrun Augmentation by Catalyst Game Labs
This book covers the field of body augmentation through cyberware and the new bioware. Give your character the edge in survival but be careful -- too much augmentation leads to insanity or worse. (For players and GM)

Shadowrun Arsenal by Catalyst Game Labs
Boys and girls and their toys . . . and what a lot of toys there are. Guns, gear, drones, cars, tanks, spyware and other assorted toys make up this book guaranteed to make even jaded 'runners drool. (For players and GM)

Shadowrun Unwired by Catalyst Game Labs
This is the book of the matrix. Everything a hacker or a technomancer needs to know to run the matrix and score the big dataload -- but be careful, black ICE and insane A.I. roam the matrix as well and a nanosecond hesitation could mean the difference between survival and fried brains. (For players and GM)

Shadowrun Core Settings

Shadowrun Corporate Enclaves by Harding, Jennifer
Los Angeles and Neo-Tokyo -- two cities which serve as headquarters for several powerful megacorps. And where there are megacorps . . . there are shadowrunners. (For GMs only)

Shadowrun Adventures

Shadowrun Emergence by Catalyst Game Labs
It is 2070. The Matrix crash of 2064 is history -- but the long-range ramification of that crash are beginning to emerge in this series of adventures that can change the shape of your Shadowrun campaign forever. (For GMs only)