nook This is truly a revolutionary device designed by readers for readers. It is always a joy to share Nook and all of the wonderful features with others. From the ability to shop anywhere and anytime through the 3G and WiFi signals, to the paper-like eInk display, to not having to pay extra for large print with the adjustable font size; readers of all types and ages can enjoy Nook.
The design makes it simple to use and flexible enough for all of a reader's needs. The easily accessible battery let's users carry an extra battery with them if they are traveling. Expandable memory allows for holding a library of books in the palm of your hand that would normally would occupy a modest library. Access to shop over a million titles on the device (see covers, get an overview, read a sample, etc.) or online without the need for connecting Nook to a computer. Never lose your purchases since Barnes and Noble stores your purchases to your account. Buy once and use in multiple places by simply signing into your account with the eReader application on a PC, MAC, IPhone, IPod Touch, or Blackberry. Want to lend a book to a friend or family member? It's easy with LendMe designated books. Simply input their email address and they can read the book for up to 14 days on their own Nook, PC, Mac, IPhone, IPod Touch, or Blackberry.
There's so much to this device to be shared in just one article. I highly reommend stopping in your local Barnes and Noble and checking out all the amazing features.
Tiger's Voyage (Tiger's Curse Series #3) I will be the big spoiler and tell you- there will be other books continuing this series. The quest continues for Kelsey, Ren and Kishan and their Indian entourage as they try to find the next piece of the puzzle that will break the curse and restore the ancient (yet super hot) princes back to their human form forever. It is still a battle of wills between which of the princes will receive Kelsey's love and for me the romance goes on a bit too long. There isn't a man out there or tiger that can be told "tag, you're it" as many times as Kelsey has chosen one or the other of them. The Indian mythology and folklore is wonderful and the adventure part of the series is very dramatic. Another great feature of this series is that the romance without any adult situations makes it a surefire hit with younger teens and their moms.
Eighty-six-year-old Hennie has lived in Middle Swan, a gold-mining town in the Rockies, since before Colorado was a state. Nit has recently arrived in town with her husband and her grief, reminding Hennie of her own youthful hopes and sorrows. Finding common ground in their Southern heritage and a love of quilting, an unlikely friendship blossoms as Hennie captivates Nit with vivid memories that reach back to the mid-1800s.
"There's something about stitching together," Hennie confides, "that draws a woman out."
As they sew, Hennie recounts her childhood in Tennessee and her tragic marriage to her sweetheart Billy, soon to be lost to the Civil War. She relives the death of their only child and her journey, by wagon train, across the country to start life anew with a man she'd never met. She recalls the unexpected blessing she discovered upon her arrival in Middle Swan and describes the lively cast of gamblers and moonshiners, quilters and "soiled doves" she has come to know. Summoning the feelings, dreams, and satisfactions of Hennie's years of experience as a woman, mother, and wife, these stirring yarns serve as a healing balm for the lonely, anxious Nit-and help her piece together a new beginning for her own family.
Just as Hennie's tales weave a many-hued cloak of mountain wisdom for the benefit of her young friend, so Sandra Dallas creates for us-through a deft blend of historical detail, authentic voices, quilting lore, and, last but not least, emotional truths-a vibrant quilt of heartbreaking incident and heartwarming compassion.
Ebooks and their assorted electronic paraphernalia dominate the headlines more than ever. The last week of July saw Barnes & Noble unveil plans to carve out 1,000 square foot "Nook boutiques" in our 700 brick-and-mortar retail stores, while Amazon launched their third-generation Kindle eReader. Perhaps more astonishing was Amazon's announcement in mid-July that for the past three months, eBook sales outpaced hardcover book sales; their CEO predicts eBooks will eclipse paperbacks within a year.It was fortuitous, then, that It's a Book, the new picture book from Caldecott Honor illustrator Lane Smith arrived at my store on Friday. Filled with subversive humor and bold clever illustrations, It's a Book is delightfully contrarian in its celebration of the printed page at a time when customers, retailers, and publishers alike are jumping on the digital bandwagon with gleeful abandon.
Smith's prose adopts a simple call-and-response format as the younger, tech-savvy Jackass peppers his older companion Monkey with questions about what he's reading ("Do you blog with it?" "Does it tweet?"), to which Monkey always answers, "No. It’s a book." The illustrations are equally simple, yet richly textured. In this regard, It's a Book is a perfect example of why eBooks won't completely replace print books (at least, not yet). I shudder to think how Smith's illustrations — which frequently take advantage of the two-page spread by having Jackass on the left-hand page and Monkey on the right — would be completely mangled on the six-inch grayscale display of a Nook, and would even lose something on Apple's iPad (which has a full-color screen and can be rotated to show a two-page format).
Smith, best known for his frequent collaborations with author Jon Scieszka, really strikes a blow for "dead tree books" with It's a Book. Kids will love the illustrations (and snicker at a certain word), while parents will be able to relate to Monkey's patience and perseverance with a child who's grown up in a world of digital ubiquity.
Only five short chapters into Setterfield’s deft, enthralling narrative, her readers too have been transported: they’ve inhaled the dusty scent of Lea’s Antiquarian Bookshop, shared the sense of adventurous comfort Margaret absorbs from her late-night reading, and been seduced by the glamorous enigma of Vida Winter. Yet The Thirteenth Tale has just begun. Commissioned by Miss Winter to compose her unvarnished biography, Margaret is soon swept up in the tragic history she must unravel—a story stranger and more haunting than any the celebrated author has ever penned, encompassing a grand house, a beautiful yet doomed family, passion, madness, ghosts, and a secret that holds readers spellbound until the very end. Richly atmospheric and deeply satisfying, Setterfield’s debut revives in all their glory the traditions of gothic and romantic suspense exemplified by the works of Wilkie Collins, the Brontës, and Daphne du Maurier. Old-fashioned in the best sense, it’s an urgently readable novel that’s nearly impossible to put down.
I had no idea when I picked this book up how much I would love it. Set in Mississippi, during the turbulent 1960's a privileged, young, white woman dreams of being a writer. Skeeter applies to several publishing houses, but has no previous writing experience. A woman that works at a publishing house sends her a letter and tells her to write whenever and whatever she can. When Skeeter finds a job writing a "how-to" cleaning column for the local paper she realizes she needs help. She finds the answers in the form of her best friends black maid. What starts as a basic request for cleaning tips soon turns into an unbreakable bond.
You will not want this book to end and once it does you will want to tell everybody you know to read it.
Department 19 Imagine you are Jaime Carpenter- your dad was accused of being a terrorist and you have been on the move for the two years since your dad was gunned down in front of you. Then mom gets kidnapped and you are attacked by some crazed vampire. End of story? No way! Jaime meets Frankenstein's monster (in a suit no less) and learns what the descendants of Brom Stoker's book have really been doing all these years. It is a wild ride filled with somewhat gory details of vampire attacks as our heroes fight off the evil around them with swat team weapons and blind faith. Jaime must find his mom who has been taken by the second biggest bad guy vampire of all time. Will he make it? This is the first of a series that will be a sure fire hit with the guys and many of the girls as well. Very fast paced and loaded with action plus a few historical details that will fill in the missing pieces. Written for teens but younger kids will enjoy the action.
Bernie's enterprise, the Little Detective Agency, limps along, waiting for the next job to arrive. While Chet freely admits that he doesn't always understand the humans around him, the mutt who failed to graduate from the police academy quickly establishes that he's got a nose made for sniffing out trouble — as well as the tasty morsel.
When the story begins, Chet and Bernie are settled into the companionable routine they established when Bernie got divorced and lost custody of his son. Riding shotgun for stakeouts in Bernie's beat-up convertible (and snarfing up doughnuts and beef jerky) is the perfect life for Chet, though he knows Bernie's worried about cash flow.
But their luck is about to change. During a nighttime stroll through the neighborhood — an older enclave in the southwestern desert that Bernie fears will soon be eclipsed by new development — the pair encounter a panicked neighbor, Cynthia Chambliss. Waving a wad of bills, she beseeches Bernie to find her daughter, Madison, a 15-year-old who has been missing for several hours.
Bernie heeds the call of cash and the urgency of parental concern, but Madison soon returns home on her own, only to disappear again in short order — this time for several days. Cynthia frantically rehires Bernie, but her ex, Damon Keefer, refuses to cooperate, insisting that Bernie be taken off the investigation. Nevertheless, intrigued by the young girl's apparent connections to a group of Russian thugs, Bernie and Chet follow a trail of clues that leads them into more danger than they'd bargained for.
As Chet and Bernie race across the desert toward Las Vegas in their sandblasted Porsche, Quinn's narrative unfolds with mounting suspense. At every stage of their journey, readers will warm to Chet's loyalty and courage — to say nothing of his delightfully doggy digressions — and be captivated by Spencer Quinn's deft blend of humor and thrills in this enormously entertaining tale, bound to be the first of many adventures.
If you value your sleep and free time, do not read this book.
If you start this book, you will not be able to put it down.
You will find yourself totally immersed in the unique world Patrick Rothfuss has created. Kvothe is such an instantly likeable character you will immediately be emotionally attached to his plight. Getting to know this mysterious character and his origins, in his own words, on his terms, is entertaining to say the least. This is a great novel to get lost in. From first meeting Kvothe, to his parents and their traveling troupe of performers, to his burgeoning education with Abenthy. From his life living on the rough streets with a knack for putting himself into the sights of danger, to his determination to get into the University and continue his knack for keeping himself in the sights of trouble and danger. From his first meeting with the girl of his dreams to burning down a town. Rothfuss has created a complete world that will envelope you, and leave you craving more.
When Kvothe begins his tale , he says he needs three full days to tell it properly. The 672 pages here are only day one. Which leads us to the second problem, waiting for the next installments of the series.
I recently read this series and I would definitely recommend it to any fan of the Twilight series. It has vampires in it, albeit they don't play a huge part, but they are present. The book is about 15 year old Clary Fray and she is trying to find her place in the world when her mother suddenly disappears. Who is this new guy she's met, Jace Wayland and his friends?
This book has action, romance, vampires, werewolves, and the main species which is Shadowhunters. Great series, maybe a little bit more for the mid/older teens than the younger ones. 
PS: this book has 2 more, making it a trilogy. Easy reads, the level is not to difficult making it enjoyable.
Kate DiCamillo has done it again!
Peter, a young orphaned boy was taken in some years ago by an embittered soldier, who was his father's comrade. He has spent the last few years learning how to be a good soldier like his father, and although he wants to respect his dead father, his heart lies elsewhere. One day, a fortuneteller's tent pops up out of nowhere, and a force compels Peter to visit her and ask a question. Once he meets her, he doesn't even need to ask his question, but is told, "You must follow the elephant. She will lead you there." After all these years, he is faced with the hope that his little sister is still alive and that he will actually find her if he can just figure out this elephant of a riddle.
This captivating story unfolds with a dreamlike quality. The chain of events set up by the arrival of the fortuneteller constantly provokes us to ask ourselves "What if?" The beauty of this story lies in that single thought, and questioning the impossible. "What if?"...when the impossible proves not to be, one cannot help but be filled with hope.
This is a timeless fable that could definitely earn a Newbery, but more importantly inspire kids and adults in abundance. This book feels like Amelie-meets-children's-literature, and I can't wait to start recommending it.
Introducing Thursday Next, Jasper Fforde's no-nonsense, smart, funny, and loving heroine of his first series. We meet Thursday in an alternate mid-1980s Great Britain - one still fighting in the Crimea with Russia - and she is hot on the trail of forgers, Shakespeare impersonators, and book thieves. Everyone is mad for literature including Acheron Hades, the most wanted man in Britain, and it is Thursday's job to catch him once Jane Eyre is kidnapped from her book leaving the remaining pages of the beloved novel blank. Fforde's first novel is laugh-out-loud funny, including obscure literary in-jokes that even the most well-read bibliophile might miss, with a drop or two of sci-fi tech, and also quite terrifying when Thursday fights for her life atop the blazing Thornfield Hall. Fforde uses Thursday's world to comment on certain aspects of our own society including government interference by large corporations (signified by the hulking Goliath Corporation), over-commercialization, and the decline in literacy. Fforde's books suck you in, which is great because you'll want to follow Thursday through the rest of her books: Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, Something Rotten, Thursday Next, and one more Thursday novel due sometime in 2010 (or so Jasper says); Thursday learns about the Bookworld and Jurisfiction, apprentices with Miss Havisham, fights grammasites in the Well, tracks the Minotaur, takes the indecisive Dane of Denmark under her wing, and saves Pride and Prejudice from the degredation of reality TV (now I've really got you wondering...I guess you'll have to read all the books now 
) - it's all very accessibly, absurd, and fun to read. Once you've finished Thursday's published books, and need a tide-over until the next one, you can start on Fforde's Nursery Crime series (Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear), following DCI Jack Spratt and his partner, Mary Mary, as they solve hard-boiled nursery rhyme crime in Reading, and his new series, Paint by Numbers, will debut in December 2008.
Beautiful Darkness Look for some excitement in teens! First ,the look of the teens department will be changing in October. It will be much easier for everyone to find a great new book based on the genre you are looking for. Fantasy/Adventure, Paranormal Romance and Teen Fiction signs will grace the teen shelves as well as sections that feature the very newest titles you love. Here is just a taste of some of the great sequels that are hot off the presses. Book number two in the great steampunk alternate history Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld - Behemoth. It takes us where Leviathan left off with Alek and Deryn working together to avoid World War I and keep Alek away from those who would like to see him disposed of. Will Deryn's secret remain a secret? Read and find out in this action packed thriller that includes some wonderful illustrations. One of my all time favorites last year was The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The sequel will take up where we left off with the kids escaping the compound but entering into what? This is a great pick for those teens who loved the Hunger Games. Last but not least is Kami Garcia's sequel to Beautiful Creatures- Beautiful Darkness. We left Ethan and his new witch girlfriend Lena in their small southern town jam packed with witches both good and bad.
Will their high school life get any easier? October is shaping up to be a great read !
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children This is one of those rare finds that is so original that it is hard to place it in any one genre. The actual photographs bring to mind a circus freak show and the story that accompanies them is classic fantasy like the works of Narnia or your favorite ghost story. Sixteen year old Jacob idolized his grandfather so when he is murdered in a gruesome manner and Jacob sees the monster that did it, he is traumatized. Jacob's parents (who never really bought all of the grandfather's stories) seek the help of a psychiatrist who agrees to have Jacob and his father go to the tiny part of Wales to seek answers of his grandfather's past. He soon finds the house (once an orphanage) in ruin but meets a curious group of children- never aging and caught in a time loop. Jacob manages to travel between this time and his own to help them get away from some really terrible monsters. Ransom Riggs first novel has created a world of misfits that we come to know and love and the addition of the real? photos draws us in even further. The story doesn't end here and I am eager to see the next installment. Adults and teens will love this as well as older kids who enjoy a good ghost/horror story.
I have always loved fantasy novels. Growing up I loved to spend time in Narnia, Middle Earth, and Redwall, and even now as somewhat of a grown up, some of my favorite haunts can be found between the covers of a fantasy novel, And maybe that is why I fell in love with The Magicians so quickly. I could really relate to Quentin Coldwater, who even though he is near the end of high school he is still in love with the books of Fillory (think Chronicles of Narnia) even though they are much to young for him. Of course he knows that magic isn't real, that is, until he finds himself in upstate New York at Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy.
This isn't just Harry Potter dressed in a new robe. Lev Grossman has created an original, engaging story that melds literary fiction with that of the fantasy genre while paying tribute to some of our favorite fantasy worlds. The narrative really zips along, and I found myself reading it at every opprotunity. Don't expect any "happily everafters" here though, as this one is certainly for the adult audience. Quentin and his friends often find themselves in darker and darker places, as growing up is never as clean and simple as we pretend it will be.
If you are looking for that next fantastic place to escape to, you can't go wrong with The Magicians.
Kafka on the Shore left me breathless.
After years of an unnamed but horrific abuse, 15-year-old Kafka Tamura deliberately plans an escape from his father, a man so evil that he steals souls. As Kafka seeks both his fortune and answers to his past in the seemingly random city of Takamatsu, he finds refuge in the stacks of a library, becoming close friends with the assistant and fantasizing that the head librarian is his lost mother.
Though the magic realism of this novel begins right away - and is at times complex and seemingly random - about a quarter of the way into the book the plot and characters burst into focus and harmony. The secondary plot (involving a mentally-damaged man who can talk to cats and is on his own quest) all of a sudden aligns with Kafka's life, and the entire story dramatically rises in a tornado of crazy events and emotions: murder, incest, and oedipal prophecy.
The ending of this story was so beautiful that I couldn't read for a full day afterward from the emotional hangover. I can't wait to read more Murakami.
A few weeks ago I was browsing through new books coming out and had to do a double-take when I saw "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". After rubbing my eyes and refreshing the screen I saw that the title was correct. I was intrigued to say the least and wanted to know more. After reading the synopsis I knew this was a book I wanted to read. Needless to say, I was eagerly waiting for this book to come out. On the day of it's release, I scooped up a copy and immediately found myself captivated.
Seth Grahame-Smith does it again with another unique twist after his best-seller "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies". Historians always speculated that there was a secret diary written by Abraham Lincoln, and they were right. The journal reveals a background of the man and history we never knew. Intertwined with actual historical events and characters, Seth Grahame-Smith takes the reader on a fast-paced riveting account of the life of Abraham Lincoln and his secret mission to rid the world of vampires who took his Mother and family members from him. Weaved in with actual historical accounts, we find another agenda and motive behind the man and his decisions.
This is a great, fun read. But be forewarned, it's difficult to put down once you start and definitely leaves you wondering "What if . . .?"
The intricate tale begins when Blomkvist is convicted of libeling top Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Unable to prove his innocence, Blomkvist prepares to leave his position at Millennium, the magazine he co-founded, now financially threatened by the verdict. But a summons from Wennerström's rival, the aging tycoon Henrik Vanger, presents an option he couldn't have imagined: In exchange for Blomkvist's writing the Vanger family history, Vanger promises to back Millennium financially and deliver incriminating evidence of Wennerström's crooked dealings.
But that's not all. The closets of the Vanger clan are littered with skeletons, and his new patron wants Blomkvist to set one at rest: the disappearance, 40 years ago, of Vanger's 16-year-old grandniece, Harriet. Intrigued by the cold case that was never solved despite multiple investigations, Blomkvist begins to dig for new evidence on an island north of Stockholm.
He is soon joined by Salander, a freelance investigator originally hired by Vanger to vet Blomkvist's reputation. Multiple piercings and tattoos are belied by the young computer genius's photographic memory. A victim of assault and harrowing abuse, Salander is driven by a relentless will and an astonishing capability for merciless retribution.
Larsson's narrative unfolds with mounting suspense, detailing the duo's intellectual ingenuity and increasing courage as they expose hidden cultures of right-wing fanaticism and misogyny and reveal the moral bankruptcy of big capital. As they race across Europe and on to Australia to trap their prey before another woman is tortured and killed, the reader is held in breathless anticipation until the novel's unforeseen conclusion.
Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
In a teen market overcrowded with dark, brooding supernatural novels,
"Halo" stands out as something different. If the bright, liquid-gold light beckoning from the cover doesn't pull your eyes away from the black, angsty covers surrounding it, its premise will surely grab the attention of the reader looking for something "different." The novel initially caught my attention due to the fact that even though it was dealing with the supernatural theme of angels currently being made popular by smash hits such as Becca Fitzpatrick's "Hush, Hush" and Lauren Kate's "Fallen," the angels in "Halo" are still messengers of God.
The book revolves around Bethany, a young angel visiting Earth for the first time, her brother Gabriel, an Arch Angel, and sister Ivy, a seraphim. The three messengers have descended in human form in order to combat the forces of evil infiltrating mankind. It takes a lot of time for them to adjust to life as "humans," especially Bethany, who is experiencing everything anew. She is more "human" than the other angels and is able to share their emotions, which leads her into trouble when she falls for a mortal boy at her new school.
"Halo" is full of rich, vibrant detail that paints an image in the reader's mind. It's easy to envision the kind of world the angels came from and to see our own society through their eyes. The way Bethany viewed Earth felt very natural, like something an angel would think. Alexandra Adornetto masterfully wove words together to create such a cohesive point of view that never felt forced the way some other novels do.
Readers looking for a romantic focus with a lighter form of the supernatural thrown into the mix will find themselves intrigued by the latest novel to enter the teen market. It's different from anything out there and might very well pave the way for other such stories. It's also nice to see books coming out this fall where it is the female main character who is a supernatural being and that the male she winds up falling for is mortal and not necessarily a brooding bad boy, first with Sophie Jordan's "Firelight" and now with "Halo."
Grace was attacked by wolves when she was eleven years old. Given her young age and the traumatic nature of it, her memories of the event are sketchy. But she knows there was a single wolf who saved her life that day. What she has always remembered is this: his yellow eyes. I thought I'd never see them again.
The wolf has also never forgotten seeing members of his pack tearing the life out of her while she just held his gaze, letting the other wolves mutilate her. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, a tiny, bloody angel in the snow, and they were going to destroy her. So he stopped it.
Six years have passed, and Grace still feels a connection with her wolf. She watches him at the edge of the woods every winter when the earth is bitter with cold. She spends her summers mourning his absence. However, this peaceful seasonal pattern is interrupted when the wolves attack and kill a human. The community now feels threatened and a hunt ensues. When Grace realizes this, she does everything she can to stop it, lest her harmless wolf be slaughtered. She knows she may too late, though, as she's already heard many shots fired followed by the painful howls of wolves. A police officer forces her to go home that evening, and she is shocked by what she finds on her deck: her wolf, twisted and bloody...and human.
Here's the part where I must curb my compulsion to tell you every heartrending detail of this book (and there are so many!). But I will say that what follows is an exquisitely written story of discovery, love, and loss. This fairy tale unfolds offering ethereal delights and shocking revelations not just about our newly inseparable duo, but also the peculiar events that have been transpiring around them.
Shiver is easily the best Teen Fiction book released so far this year. A bold statement, I know, but I genuinely believe it. A must-read, especially for the Twilight-obsessed reader, any lover of paranormal romance, and those who just enjoy a well-written book.
It will make you shiver.
