The New Writers Handbook 2007 Authors and Contents Part Four

provided by ideagirlconsulting youtube channel

5 MARKETING YOUR WORK
41 THERESA MEYERS – YOUR PRESS KIT
42 LINDA CARLSON – HOW AUTHORS CAN HELP THEIR PUBLISHERS WITH MARKETING
43 JAY LIPE – HOW TO GET GREAT TESTIMONIALS
44 DAVID UNOWSKY – PLANNING AUTHOR EVENTS IN BOOKSTORES
45 JENNA GLATZER – TIPS FOR A WELL- ATTENDED EVENT
46 KATE BANDOS – FOCUS ON NICHE MARKETS
47 PAULETTE ENSIGN – THE POTENTIAL OF TIPS BOOKLETS
48 MICHAEL STELZNER – WRITING WHITE PAPERS
49 DEBORAH RANEY – HAVE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE

This is the list of authors and titles featured in Part Four of The New Writers Handbook 2007 by Philip Martin.

As you know I was blogging about this book and decided to make a tribute video to all the authors in it.

After reading this section I wanted to make a video prescense as a writer, so I started making videos and uploading them to Idea Girl Consulting Youtube channel.

I covered topics that I blogged about and now a week later I’ve made 28 movies!

For a super surprise for my most recent birthday, I got a Kindle!  I cannot tell you just how surprised I was!  I had specifically stated, “no gifts,” but the request was (thankfully) ignored.  Even though I had planned to spend the entire day with my family at Dave & Buster’s playing various games like Skeeball and driving a virtual tractor trailer, after getting my gift all I wanted to do was play with it and read.  Yes, I am a true reader and use reading to escape, to learn, to laugh, cry and all other emotions.  Hopefully I pass the love of learning onto my kids just by them seeing how much I enjoy myself.

The Kindle is so thin and easy to carry.  I can easily imagine putting it into my purse to take with me to doctor’s appointments.  Why wait in the doctor’s office with magazines from 2007 when you can get a fresh one delivered to your Kindle in under a minute! It’s on a 3G Network, so there’s no need to search for wifi hotspots.  Books anywhere, anytime!  I bought my first book from bed (my husband and my girls always treat me to breakfast in bed on my birthday — a rare, but highly cherished, treat)!  I did not have to get up and hook the Kindle to any wires or do anything special.  I simply went to the Kindle store on Amazon.com and wirelessly and wordlessly ordered a book.

I learned how to use the Kindle in about five minutes, but my youngest daughter had figured it out within one.  We read

Amazing Kindle

the instruction booklet which is amazingly brief and put the device to work in record time.  Amazon.com is one of the smartest companies in the world — it created an instruction booklet with just the facts you need to get started.  After all, nobody wants to spend hours and hours trying to figure out how to use something (can you say ‘remote control’ without grimacing?).

It is now three days since my birthday and I have completed one book and am working on the second.  Yes, it’s the holidays, but there’s nothing better to help de-stress than to grab your Kindle and dive into the worlds of others.  Plus, the Kindle is actually easier on the eyes than a real book.  I think it’s because the color of the background is more beige/gray than white, and there’s no glare on the screen even in bright light.

I highly recommend the Kindle — yes, I still love the touch and smell of real books, but for the one simple fact that I will no longer ever be without a book before bed makes this a must-have gift for anyone who enjoys reading!

Do you have a Kindle?  Let me know what you think!

I am neither a physicist, nor the son of a physicist, but it’s undoubtedly a fascinating topic.  Here are the top 10 current best sellers:

1) The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
Farmelo, Graham
Basic Books
2009. ISBN 0465018270 [9780465018277]. $29.95

2) Einstein’s Generation: The Origins of the Relativity Revolution
Staley, Richard
University of Chicago Press
2008. ISBN 0226770567 [9780226770567]. $98

3) The Speed of Light: Constancy & Cosmos
Grandy, David
Indiana University Press
2009. ISBN 025335322X [9780253353221]. $50

4) What Color Is the Sacred?
Taussig, Michael T.
University of Chicago Press
2009. ISBN 0226790053 [9780226790053]. $65

5) Plastic Fantastic: How the Biggest Fraud in Physics Shook the Scientific World
Reich, Eugenie Samuel
Palgrave Macmillan
2009. ISBN 0230224679 [9780230224674]. $26.95

6) Cracking the Einstein Code: Relativity and the Birth of Black Hole Physics
Melia, Fulvio
University of Chicago Press
2009. ISBN 0226519511 [9780226519517]. $25

7) Lives in Science: How Institutions Affect Academic Careers
Hermanowicz, Joseph C.
University of Chicago Press
2009. ISBN 0226327612 [9780226327617]. $55

Quantum Theory: A Philosopher’s Overview
Cannavo, Salvator
State University of New York Press
2009. ISBN 0791493474 [9780791493472]. $60

9) Deciphering the Cosmic Number: The Strange Friendship of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung
Miller, Arthur I.
W.W. Norton
2009. ISBN 0393065324 [9780393065329]. $27.95

10) Collider: The Search for the World’s Smallest Particles
Halpern, Paul
John Wiley
2009. ISBN 0470286202 [9780470286203]. $27.95

Via Library Journal.  Click here for the full list of the top 20.

CDs
1. Bob Dylan – Christmas in the Heartland
2. Tom Waits – Glitter & Doom Live
3. Norah Jones – Fall
4. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
5. Lady Gaga – Fame Monster
6. John Mayer – Battle Studies
7. Susan Boyle – I Dreamed a Dream
8. Dave Rawlings Machine – Friend of a Friend
9. Alicia Keys – The Element of Freedom
10. Andrea Bocelli – My Christmas

Vinyl
1. Flaming Lips – Embryonic
2. Morrissey – Swords
3. Ratatat – Classics
4. Flamin’ Groovies – Teenage Head
5. Jimi Hendrix – Axis: Bold as Love
6. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
7. Weezer – Raditude
8. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
9. She & Him – She & Him
10. Devil Makes Three – Devil Makes Three

DVDs
1. Kings of Leon – Live at the 02 London
2. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol
3. Boondock Saints
4. Heartbreak Ridge
5. His Girl Friday
6. The Hangover
7. Wizard of Oz
8. Lost Boys
9. Big Sleep
10. Double Indemnity

Video Games
1. New Super Mario Bros
2. Resident Evil 4
3. Lego Star Wars – Complete Saga
4. Left 4 Dead 2
5. Assassins Creed 2

Our Best Seller of the day is the Octopus Chignon Pin, #266 Shell (shown, lower left)

The Shell Chignon Combo Set includes one (1) each: 5 inch Octopus Chignon Pin, 4 3/4 inch Square Top Chignon Pin, and 5 inch 5 -Prong Chignon.

The Combo Set also comes in Crystal and Black and each set sells for $4.49 for all three pieces.

Stop by today and check out all we have to offer, and see what makes for Good Hair Days®!

—3.5—

Do you ever feel like you just aren’t able to give a book its fair chance?  I was so busy during the time my book club was reading Dan Brown’s latest thriller The Lost Symbol, I don’t think I ever became emersed in the mystery.  I had been excited to read this follow-up to Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code, but I think I failed to completely give myself over to the story.  If I had would I have liked it as much as the first two novels?  Probably not; I still don’t think this foray is as impressive of a work as his two before.  But I think it was suspenseful and the puzzles were deliciously cryptic, and isn’t that why we all read Dan Brown’s books in the first place?  (Why do I keep asking questions in this post?)

This time Robert Langdon is in D.C. deciphering the mysteries of the Masons in order to save his friend and mentor from a psychopath who has infiltrated the Masons’ ranks.  Washington D.C. is a beautiful backdrop for the twists and turns of this story, and being semi-familiar with the city made its reading all the more enthralling.  At times the story feels a little too much like the movie National Treasure, but that was a great movie so I can’t really complain!

I think I liked this novel the least of the Robert Langdon stories, but more than Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress and Deception Point. How much of that is due to the circumstances of my life while reading it, I’m not sure.   The wonderful thing about these books,  in contrast with the films, is how the clues open themselves up to the reader, instead of just being explained quickly by the actors on screen.  Definately worth reading, and I don’t think DaVinci fans will be disappointed, although most have probably already read the book!

3.5/5

The year is almost over, but that’s not all.

For those of us who haven’t already penned the best-selling book that came to us in a dream, or created our hilariously irreverent, ad-soaked blog site, or given birth to a child who will grow up to cure a disease – the pressure is really on!

You see, some people believe the world will end when the Mayan Calendar does, Dec. 21, 2012.
I think most of us think that’s ridiculous.

We know the world will actually end much sooner, when The Oprah Winfrey Show goes off the air, Sept, 9, 2011. And not because we worship her, fear her, or won’t know what to do with that particular hour every day.

We know that after that date, we’ll never reach our own goals of personal fame. Not in the way that really matters: a seat next to a bedazzled-by-us Oprah. So who cares if our kindergartner sends hand-knitted socks to the troops or our husbands do all the housework.

And the motivation that has driven every person who can type to write a book, launch a website and wax philosophical on Twitter, will be lost. (As we sit here, new mommy bloggers racing to beat the end of Oprah Calendar may alone cause the internet to blow.)

When that dreaded day arrives, we might just stop writing, and probably stop bathing — or even bothering to have children. What’s the point if no accomplishment, no matter how remarkable, can ever get the ultimate level of recognition it so richly deserves?

In the fall of 2011, it’s ‘As you were!’ for everybody. We can go back to living normal, average, unremarkable lives. What a relief.

Library Journal lists the top 20 current best sellers in philosophy.  These are the top 10:

1) Cruelty: Human Evil and the Human Brain
Taylor, Kathleen E.
Oxford University Press
2009. ISBN 0199552622 [9780199552627]. $34.95

2) Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists
Neiman, Susan
Princeton University Press
2009. ISBN 0691143897 [9780691143897]. $24.95

3) Plato’s Philosophers: The Coherence of the Dialogues
Zuckert, Catherine H.
University of Chicago Press
2009. ISBN 0226993353 [9780226993355]. $45

4) Staring: How We Look
Thomson, Rosemarie Garland
Oxford University Press
2009. ISBN 0195326792 [9780195326796]. $99

5) Morality Without God?
Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter
Oxford University Press
2009. ISBN 0195337638 [9780195337631]. $24.95

6) On Philosophy in American Law
Mootz, Francis J.
Cambridge University Press
2009. ISBN 0521883687 [9780521883689]. $85

7) Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
Brague, Remi
University of Chicago Press
2009. ISBN 0226070808 [9780226070803]. $35

Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths
Waterfield, Robin
W.W. Norton
2009. ISBN 0393065278 [9780393065275]. $27.95

9) Beauvoir and Sartre: The Riddle of Influence
Daigle, Christine
Indiana University Press
2009. ISBN 0253352657 [9780253352651]. $65

10) Beauty
Scruton, Roger
Oxford University Press
2009. ISBN 019955952X [9780199559527]. $19.95

(Continue list)

Cds
1. Tom Waits – Glitter & Doom Live
2. Blakroc – Blakroc
3. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
4. NOFX – Cokie the Clown EP
5. 50 Cent – Before I Self Destruct
6. Bob Dylan – Christmas in the Heartland
7. Lady Gaga – Fame Monster
8. Dave Rawlings Machine – Friend of a Friend
9. Michael Jackson – This Is It
10. Norah Jones – Fall

Vinyl
1. Flamin’ Groovies – Teenage Head
2. Levon Helm – Electric Dirt
3. Flaming Lips – Embryonic
4. Beatles – White Album
5. The Band – The Band
6. Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago
7. Devil Makes Three – Devil Makes Three
8. Smiths – The Queen is Dead
9. Who – Quadrophenia
10. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Dvds
1. Harold and Maude
2. Killers – Live From the Royal Albert Hall
3. ZZ Top – Double Down Live
4. Stanley Jordan – Paris Concert
5. Hedwig & the Angry Inch
6. Lil Wayne – Carter
7. Gone With the Wind
8. Star Trek (2009)
9. Michael Jackson – Number Ones
10. Nirvana – Unplugged in New York

Video Games
1. New Super Mario Brothers
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
3. Assassins Creed 2
4. Tomb Raider: Underworld Walkthrough
5. Left 4 Dead 2

I’ve been noticing a lot more lately that there is some significant confusion in the book trade as to what, exactly, constitutes a fantasy novel. At times this is just kind of an academic exercise, but if your livelihood relies on a clear understanding of the book trade, it begins to matter when you go out looking for statistics that might help you make better business decisions. When we look at the fantasy genre and ask how it’s doing, overall, it would be nice to get accurate information, and more and more there’s one strange misconception that’s causing real confusion in the book business, and that’s that horror novels belong on the fantasy best sellers list.

Right up front I want it on the record that I am a big fan of the horror genre in both print and movies. If you’ve been following my (mostly) weekly blog novel Completely Broken, you’ve probably sorted out that I write horror, too. Nothing in this post should be taken as a stab (no pun intended) at horror. I love the genre, but that doesn’t mean it’s “fantasy,” and when the two are mixed it has a tendency to make the trade book business just a little less clear.

Here’s what I mean:

BookScan “Fantasy” Best Sellers, October 16, 2009

1. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

2. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

3. The Ghost King by R.A. Salvatore

4. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

5. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

6. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

7. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

8. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

9. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

10. Dead To The World by Charlaine Harris

BookScan is a service of the Nielsen Company, probably best known as the television ratings people. They collect sales data from participating stores, and more and more this service is being used to make decisions in the publishing world. They do a pretty good job, and I’m not criticizing the way they collect data, just how they present it, in this particular case.

Go ahead and accuse me of splitting hairs, but of the books on what BookScan thinks is their “fantasy” top ten list only two (The Ghost King and Unseen Academicals) are actually fantasy—maybe we can widen out to include The Time Traveler’s Wife, but I think an equally cogent argument could be made that that’s actually science fiction. The rest, all by Charlaine Harris, are clearly horror novels.

Again, that doesn’t mean I think Charlaine Harris doesn’t deserve every bit of the stellar success she’s been having—even before the TV series started up—but her Sookie Stackhouse novels clearly are horror. They’re set in the here-and-now, and the major beasties are vampires, always more a horror archetype than a fantasy trope, and they’re meant to be scary. That’s horror, and that’s fine, so then why are all these horror books on the fantasy best sellers list?

The horror genre, like pretty much any genre (except mystery, which always seems to be fine) tends to come and go in cycles. Horror, in particular, appears closely tied to economic and social conditions. Not only does the nature of what’s scary seem to change—with cold war horror typified by SF-tinged stuff like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or The Thing, to the 1970’s “slasher” films that were all about a fear of violent crime (a bigger problem in the Seventies than it is now)—but it also seems to get more popular when the economy is bad. The great Universal monster movies all came out during the Great Depression and were wildly popular. Stephen King rose to world domination during the Reagan-era recessions of the Eighties. Now we’re back in the economic doldrums and movies like Paranormal Activity are burning up the box office while Charlaine Harris, Stephanie Meyer, Laurel K. Hamilton, and a whole new generation of horror authors are firmly entrenched on the best sellers lists.

But then there was the Nineties, when it seemed as if everything would be okay, and horror really took a nose dive both in book stores and at the box office. Some stores eliminated their horror sections entirely, and all of a sudden, calling a book “horror” was sales poison. How did the creative and talented book trade sales professionals solve that problem? They happened upon a little-known sub-genre called “urban fantasy” and just flat-out co-opted the name Voila, here they are on the fantasy list.

Urban fantasy, by the way, is what Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files book are. And yes, there really is a difference.

Of the fifty titles ranked on that list, just one more than half—twenty-six—were actually horror novels, leaving only twenty-four fantasy novels on the list of the fifty best-selling fantasy novels.

Now that the next Great Depression is in full swing and horror is back, keeping it on the fantasy list does not make sense anymore. It may even be causing the fantasy genre to appear more successful than it really is.

There actually is a difference between fantasy and horror, and not recognizing that ends up feeling a bit deceptive—at least disingenuous—especially when it seems as though some people at least are deliberately misusing the “urban fantasy” moniker. First off, if those lists were broken into their real genres, fantasy books wouldn’t start selling more, and horror novels less. We would be able to look at both lists and determine things like: Horror is outselling fantasy. Among fantasy books, here are the fifty that people are buying the most.

Of course we can still do that with the existing list, but then we really only have the top half of both genres. Best seller lists only matter in very narrow confines, and if you were the author of the twenty-fifth best selling fantasy novel the week of October 16, 2009, you didn’t make it on that list, nor did your friends among the rest of the bottom twenty-six. There are twenty-four horror authors getting the shaft, and twenty-six fantasy authors sharing their pain.

Science fiction has its own separate BookScan list. The best-selling SF book that week was The Host by Stephanie Meyer, with one-week sales that would have put it at number eleven on the fantasy list. The second best-selling SF novel, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, would only make it to number twenty-five on the fantasy list. So we know that both fantasy and horror, pound for pound, are outselling science fiction, but I also know that the twenty-fifth best-selling SF novel is Xombies: Apocalypse Blues by Walter Greatshell (with sales below the fiftieth book on the fantasy list). If BookScan is willing to tell me that, and that the fiftieth best-selling SF book was Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer, why can’t I know what the real twenty-fifth fantasy book is, or the real twenty-seventh horror novel?

—Philip Athans

Just in time for semester break, take a look at the new bestsellers.

To view all the best sellers we’ve received so far this semester, click on the Just in! New Best Sellers link on the blog’s side bar.

New Moon Pictures – Wake Up – Branded by God – A Video I Made – The Idea Girl Says

I’ve found a new way to market myself, movies and books.

I’m testing this out on my Idea Girl Consulting Youtube Channel.

Then I publish them on my Idea Girl Consulting Word Press to get the word out that I’ve made something.

Over and over again I see successful people starting on Youtube by making cool videos.

I figured if they can do it, so can I.

I’m going to promote my Company Name Idea Girl Consulting. (it’s my writing company name)

My business is writing ideas and blogging about it on the internet, everywhere that I can.

It’s a hobby at the moment.

It would be cool to be a career in the future, where I get paid to be a consultant for Music, Movies, Business and Customer Service.

That is where my strengths are and I’m going to run with it.

All my life I’ve been the top sales woman for every company that I worked for, even growing up in School I won numerous awards for raising the most money for charity.

As I was meditating today I wanted to make a difference in this world, so I’m going to give it all I’ve got and go for it.

I can only fail if I stop trying.

I’m also reading the first chapter of best selling books and I’m shocked at what is there.

I picked up a book that starts with sentence fragments?

SHOCK!
What!
How did this book get to be a best seller when the FIRST paragraph doesn’t make any sense at all?

I’ll be going back to the book and finishing it, when I have some “reading” time.

I have a problem reading, it makes me exhausted and tired.

So I can only do a little bit at a time and other days I can read a book from start to finish with no problem.

Usually on a high energy day I can do that, so I save them for that time period.

I’m not feeling too well today so please forgive me if my writing is out of wack.

I’m having trouble creating thoughts and turning them into words.

It happens every now and then (since my car accident 3 years ago) this problem can be annoying at times.

On those days you will notice that I post stuff about youtube videos or information that you would be interested in reading about.

I love the internet!

It’s such a great resource for all sorts of wacky and wild things.

I’m working on a very big project today and I’ll be sharing it with all of you when it’s done.

It involves books, The New York Times and Music.

I want to make a gift to readers from around the world, it will be for Christmas!

It took me many hours to make this video, because I did it three times with three different songs.

This song youtube couldn’t block because it’s my sons band. LOL

I made this for them for Christmas and I’m having fun with it!

See it cost me many hours, but my kids love it!

I’ve created a life long memory for them.

You can do the same by using Windows Media on your computer.

Throw some family pictures together, add some Christmas Music and send it to your friends and family.

They will love it.

You can even make a digital Christmas Card this way!

Let me know if you used my idea.

Here are some Clues as to what I’m working on:

the new york times associated press - the idea girl says word press

the associated press caryn rousseau - the idea girl says

associated_press_1215_2005 the idea girl says

Associated Press machine in the newsroom of The New York Times in 1942 the idea girl says

the new york times claire cain miller publishers and daily blogs - the idea girl says

I must confess and admit that I took the easy way and “read” the book, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett by downloading it from Audible.com and uploading it to my iPod.  I do this kind of thing so that I can take the book with me while I walk or workout.  Yes, it’s not music but it is certainly entertaining, and at times, I have walked really far just to hear what was going to happen next.  So, if I have a really good book to listen to, my workout and cardiovascular health improves!

Even with my back aching and my legs twitching, I kept going with help from  The Help because I was so involved in the story.  And it is quite the story!  I do recommend it.  There were times when I would come in from a walk and then continue to work around the house just so that I didn’t have to turn my iPod off.  Each character is so interesting and complex, but rich and in-depth.  Although the subject matter is serious, the book is written in a way that is both funny, lighthearted, and engaging.  I highly recommend The Help in any form:  written or from Audible.

"Disruptive (How I triumphed over years of abuse from those who were supposed to protect me)" by Angela Bayley is now available!

Eric is delighted to announce that after nearly four years of work, Disruptive (Disruptive: How I Triumphed Over Years of Abuse from Those Who Were Supposed to Protect Me) by Angela Bayley with Dr R. Eric Swanepoel has been published. You can read all about it elsewhere on this website.

Disruptive is

• a true adventure story with a happy ending
• a forensic analysis of the causes of eating disorders
• an astounding exposé of systematic failings in local government, the care system, the NHS, education and the justice system in the north of England
• a tale of treachery and loyalty, and, ultimately,
• a moving story of courage and recovery.

With a chapter by a consultant psychiatrist, Disruptive is, objectively, a far cry from your average “misery memoir”!

Press releases and a datasheet may be found here.

How to get hold of Disruptive and how you can help make it successful

Eric, having just taken delivery of the first copies of 'Disruptive' from the printers

There are several purchase options. All have their advantages and disadvantages so I can’t tell you which is best. I list them all below so you may make your own judgement. However, whether you end up buying Disruptive through Amazon or not, if you like the book then please post a review on Amazon! Go here to do so. You only need to write one sentence and click on a star rating. Naturally, I hope you will give it five stars! (You will be able to post a review only if you have at some point bought a book – any book – from Amazon.)

Buy from Angela or Eric

Advantages: If you buy from Angela or Eric then they make more money per copy you buy, and one of them can sign the book for you (and, with a bit of notice, get the other to sign too).

Disadvantages: From time to time you might be able to find better prices elsewhere, so it won’t necessarily be the cheapest option for you. This option does little to get the book stocked in shops or to boost its sales ranking on websites such as Amazon.

(a) Buy from Angela or Eric face-to-face

The RRP of the book is £11.99 but, for the time being, Eric will be charging £10 per copy.

(b) Buy from Synchrony Books with postal delivery

Please go to this webpage and follow instructions. For the time being the charge is £10.99 including postage and packing for UK orders.

Clare Galloway and Eric Swanepoel display the Synchrony Books logo, designed by Clare, and copies of 'Disruptive', the cover of which was designed by Vroni Holzmann. Picture taken in front of Clare's stall in the out of the Blue Drill Hall Art Market on 12 December 2009 by a kind stranger.

Buy from bookshops

Disadvantage: They probably won’t be stocking them at the moment so you’ll have to order a copy. They are likely to charge the RRP of £11.99.

Advantage: The advantage is for Synchrony Books, because the more people who order books from bookshops the more likely they are to consider stocking the book and the more likely people are to see it and buy it.

If you want to buy it from a bookshop, we suggest you print out and take along a copy of the datasheet.

Buy from Amazon

Disadvantage: Synchrony Books gets a relatively small cut of the selling price (but more if you go there though this link. You can also go through the link on the bottom right of this web page.  Collectible copies available!

Advantage: If the sales ranking goes up then more people will notice the book!

NB: Please ignore a notice that it is “temporarily out of stock”.  Amazon will order more stock as soon as you place an order, and it’ll only take a few days to arrive.

Cds
1. Tom Waits – Glitter & Doom Live
2. Lady Gaga – Fame Monster
3. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
4. Shakira – She Wolf
5. Blakroc – Blakroc
6. Susan Boyle – I Dreamed a Dream
7. NOFX – Cokie the Clown ep
8. John Mayer – Battle Studies
9. Dave Rawlings Machine – Friend of a Friend
10. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Live Anthology

Vinyl
1. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
2. Gism – Detestation
3. Nick Drake – Bryter Layter
4. Converge – Axe to Fall
5. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Dvds
1. Black Crowes – Cabin Fever
2. Stanley Jordan – Paris Concert
3. The Point
4. Boondock Saints
5. Gone With the Wind

Video Games
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. New Super Mario Bros.
3. Assassins Creed 2
4. Left 4 Dead 2
5. Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition

Whether you’re a mid-level manager, executive, student, or coach, these books cover basic leadership and motivational principles that everyone can use in their day to day lives.

1. Inside Delta Force – Command Sgt Major Eric Haney (ret)
Aside from the bible, this book single handedly changed my life. As I was drifting through school, this book gave me a sense of direction and motivation I never was able to realize before. Reading about the selection process Delta candidates go through and the level of commitment required of those who make it as actual operators is awe inspiring.

2. Biggest Brother – Major Richard Winters
More popularly known from the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers, Major Richard Winters led Easy Company, 506th, paratroopers through the European campaign. In this book, we get a more in-depth look at his background and thoughts as he dealt with training and leading his men in combat.

3. Lone Survivor – Marcus Luttrell
I don’t even know where to start with describing this book. Marcus Luttrell was part of Navy Seal recon team that made a decision to not kill a goat herder that had come across their hide site during a mission. That decision led 4 Navy Seals against a fight for their lives against hundreds of Taliban fighters. Marcus was the only survivor of the ordeal, and his story is about true patriotism and love for his brothers in arms.

4. Rogue Warrior – Richard Marcinko
A great read about Navy Seals in general. Richard Marcinko is the definition of a hard charger. I loved how he pushed the limits within his command and basically formed a unit of bad ass dudes in the famed Seal Team 6.

5. Beyond Glory – Larry Smith
This was the first book I read after having interest in serving in the military. It is a collection of experiences by Medal of Honor recipients and their stories of self-sacrifice are uncommon to us, but were just part of their duties at the time. A reoccurring theme amongst all the recipients was that if they didn’t step up to do what they did, then who would have to do it in their place? They were prepared to sacrifice their own lives in place of their fellow servicemen.

6. The Mission, the Men, and Me – Pete Blaber
Pete Blaber was the Delta Force officer in charge during the Tora Bora missions in Afghanistan. Just a great solid read on basic, basic, basic leadership skills every aspiring leader should have. I use his lessons every single day of my life. “Don’t get tread on by a chihuahua.”

7. One Bullet Away – Nathaniel Fick
Nathaniel Fick was a Lt. that lead a USMC recon platoon through its campaign in Iraq. Have you ever had to deal with incompetent superiors? Well, in his line of work, people get killed by those incompetent leaders. A Harvard grad and just one solid human being, I hope Nathaniel serves in office one day.

8. Generation Kill – Evan Wright
A writer for the Rolling Stones, Evan Wright was embedded in the same platoon that Nathaniel Fick was leading. His book was eventually made into another HBO mini-series of the same name. I usually don’t like reading second level sources regarding military experiences, but Evan’s book is a great read for anyone interested in the behind the scenes look at what was going on in Iraq at the beginning of the operation to take down Saddam.

9. Blackhawk Down – Mark Bowden
A must read after watching the movie. You might not think it, but this is a true love story.

10. Making the Corps – Thomas Ricks
The second book I read after looking into serving. A great read on USMC culture, how their commitment to honor and service is actually causing a divide between the general civilianship where honor, courage, and commitment are becoming just words in a dictionary to many.

I just found out this a.m. that a newly updated The New Rules of Marketing should be available in January, 2010.  I am so excited because, to be honest, I need some new material to quote.  I am sure there will be lots of wonderful nuggets of information about the new, new, new ways to do marketing and PR in 2010.  This is especially timely news for those of you who are looking to start your own home-based business and need help with the marketing.  David Meerman Scott provides tons of information — in fact, it can be overwhelming unless you break it down into small, doable chunks.

Another author I am really sold on is Loral Langemeier.  She writes the books like The Cash Machine and Put More Cash In Your Pocket. Between David and Loral, you will have a new cash machine and a way to market it in 2010 — experience and great advice from two experts.

P.S.  If anyone is looking for a present to buy for me, the two books I mentioned above, are a really great start

Just because it’s a virtual bookstore does not mean we can’t hire new people!  Please welcome Catherine to the Sidestreet team.  She was born (and recently) to help you and your friends locate the ideal book to buy and read.  Also, because “Cathie” just wasn’t cutting it on the sales floor, we got rid of her and replaced her with “Paige,” a well-read, but also fun-loving woman.  Yes, Paige looks an awful lot like Cathie but shhhh….don’t tell her!  She’s also missing her face, but we’re working on that

Check out all the changes at Sidestreet Books because there are a lot!  And more are truly coming soon….

 www.mensaje2012.com
Los autores, en una novela de magnífica construcción, nos introducen en los temas no revelados que desde la antigüedad el hombre trata de inquirir.
Las preguntas trascendentales: de dónde venimos, quiénes somos, adónde vamos, que en la historia hemos respondido con la razón y la fe, toman otra significación cuando introducimos que el universo es mucho más de lo que percibimos con nuestros sentidos. Es multidimensional, de existencias paralelas con otros planos cosmogónicos de energía y de conocimiento.
Estamos viviendo la época de transformaciones anticipada por las grandes culturas originarias, para quienes el cambio de los tiempos es parte de la escala evolutiva del hombre. Los sabios Mayas apuntaron con extraña precisión matemática que el año 2012 comenzará ese período de cambio, que producirá en la humanidad profundos cuestionamientos de vida. Estos textos proféticos surgen a la luz tras casi 200 años de reconstrucción de los originales, que habían sido eliminados por los conquistadores españoles.
“2012 Mensaje del silencio” relata una búsqueda motivada por estas profecías. La trama de la misma responde al relato de un hombre joven, que escapa de su exitosa pero rutinaria vida al enterarse que es el elegido para una misión tan fantástica como probable. Una enigmática tablilla, que le es entregada por un mendigo, lo moviliza para recorrer un camino desconocido que se volverá fascinante: portando un extraño don que le fue concedido por un Sabio, y guiado por su intuición se lanzará a un viaje a tierras lejanas en busca de un manuscrito sagrado protegido durante siglos.
Somos, en definitiva, cada uno de nosotros los protagonistas de esta búsqueda en la aventura del conocimiento, cuyo fin es abrir las puertas de una nueva conciencia que nos transporte a otros planos del entendimiento.
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Cds
1. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
2. John Mayer – Battle Studies
3. Norah Jones – Fall
4. Muse – Resistance
5. Felt – Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez
6. Slayer – World Painted Blood
7. Lady Gaga – Fame Monster
8. 50 Cent – Before I Self-Destruct
9. Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young
10. Pearl Jam – Backspacer

Lps
1. Cro-Mags – Age of Quarrel Demos
2. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
3. Good Riddance – My Republic
4. Ryan Trevor – Introducing
5. Cannabis Corpse – Weeding

Dvds
1. Black Crowes – Cabin Fever
2. Star Trek (2009)
3. Brazil
4. Vanishing Point
5. Watchmen: Ultimate Collection

Video Games
1. Left 4 Dead 2
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
3. Tekken 6
4. Assassins Creed 2
5. Dragon Age

Vasz Books, is a new publishing company that is looking to make a name for themselves in the publishing industry. They believe that putting the authors first, is the key to becoming successful in this very competitive industry. They knows that, hard work and dedication coupled with passion and integrity, is the key to their success in such an early existence in the business.

Vasz Books publishing company, just signed a deal with a best selling author, with a best selling book in Spain and Latin America. Vasz Books is now working in the translation of the book into English, of this amazing book. They are excited and looking forward to introducing this best seller to the American public soon.  The name of the author will be revealed soon to the public as well as the title of this best seller.

VaszBooks

The last couple of days has been consumed by locating a dog for the family.  The new pet has to meet certain criteria and it is proving to be harder than we thought to find our perfect pet.  First, it needs to be a very old puppy, or a young adult.  Next, it has to be appropriate for allergy sufferers, and next, it needs to be fully trained.  I am not sure if this dog exists in the real world, but we have managed to find two potential candidates:  Sophie and George.  Personally, I am rooting for Sophie even though she will require a far trip to the north, but the kids are already dreaming of George.  I hope our family is able to adopt one of them, though; I’ll be grateful for either really.

In the meantime, we sit and wait for somebody to get back to us–we’re all kind of like dogs waiting for the “master” to decide what happens next, our tails tentatively wagging each time a car drives by.  It took me a long time to decide to bring a dog into the family, and now that I have made the “yes” decision, I want everyone else to be just as quick in their response!  LOL!  What I do know is that I wanted to wait until an adult (or two) were home more often to play and interact with a dog.  I don’t think it’s fair for dogs to be alone all day.  Right now, we’re all home more than ever, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon, so now is a great time to bring home a new member.  We have time, we have the space, and we have the love.  All the kids will want to help with the dog initially, and then I know it will become my responsibility.  I had to be sure that I could handle walking a dog a couple times per day.  Now that I am healthy, I can.

What I do know is that I will be buying a book about dogs.  Do you have any suggestions?  We are considering a Cockapoo.  I’ll let you know when/if we hear anything.  I am so excited and so is everyone else!  Who needs Black Friday sales when you can feel the same anticipation wondering if you’re going to be getting a new family member or not!  Or, that’s what I have been telling myself as I specifically avoid the sales.