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Free Book Friday! Iron Fey Boxed Set – Winner!

Sunday, April 12th, 2015

FBF banner 2015 spring winner

The Winner of the The Iron Fey Boxed Set by Julie Kagawa is:

 

Sandra E. (Sandia

 

Congratulations, your books will be on the way to you soon!

 

Thank you to everyone who commented on the Blog!

 

Free Book Friday! Iron Fey Boxed Set!

Friday, April 10th, 2015

FBF banner 2015 spring

 

This Week’s Free Book Friday Prize is:

 

The Iron Fey Boxed Set by Julie Kagawa

This Boxed Set includes a copy of each of these 4 books:

     

ISBN  9780373210787, Trade Size Paperbacks

There are over 100 Members currently wishing for these books, and 24 wishing for the 4-book Boxed Set.

To enter to win this 4-book Boxed Set, simply leave a comment on this Blog post. You must be a PaperBackSwap member to win.

 

We will choose 1 winner at random from comments we receive here on the Blog from PBS members.


You have until Sunday, April 12, 2015 at 12 noon EDT, to leave a comment.

 

Good Luck to everyone!

 

Note: All the books given away on Free Book Friday are available in the PBS Market. We have thousands of new and new overstock titles available right now, with more added hourly. Some of the prices are amazing – and you can use a PBS credit to make the deal even better!

 

 

Mystery Monday – The Rubber Band

Monday, April 6th, 2015

The Rubber Band by Rex Stout

 

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

 

The Rubber Band aka To Kill Again

First serialized in six issues of the weekly Saturday Evening Post in 1936, The Rubber Band is the third novel featuring the heavy agoraphobic detective Nero Wolfe and his active wise guy of a personal assistant Archie Goodwin.

The story begins with a highly successful businessman trying to persuade the lazy Wolfe to investigate the apparent theft of $30,000 from his office suite. Coincidentally enough, the woman that his colleagues are convinced is guilty of the theft, aptly named Clara Fox, visits Wolfe’s office. She tries to persuade Wolfe to take up the case of collecting an old, undocumented debt.

Given the debt, the theft, and the inevitable murder, the plot becomes complex. Count on Stout to keep the balls in the air, play fair, and end with a surprising reveal. On top of the story, though, is the attraction of being the fly on the walls of Wolfe’s brownstone on West 35th Street. As J. Kenneth Van Dover wrote in At Wolfe’s Door, “It is the center from which moral order emanates, and the details of its layout and its operations are signs of its stability.”

Though populated by four males, nothing brings to the mind the locker room as the place is spotlessly clean and gourmet meals are served on a rigid schedule. The place becomes a madhouse, however, because Wolfe allows Clara Fox to hide from the cops in the brownstone. Misogynist Wolfe falls for her a bit, while Archie looks askance and ribs him about reading her Hungarian poetry.

With such a safe domestic interior as the brownstone, I can’t see the Wolfe novels as hard-boiled. Archie is tough and ready with weapons, but he’s too funny and nice a guy to be compared with Sam Spade or Lew Archer. Sensing Goodwin’s genial soul, in the early Sixties a cousin of mine – a reader down to her shoes – named her basset hound Archie in his honor.

Plus, Stout hit on something with character of Wolfe. Wolfe is the thinking device, the heir of Sherlock Holmes, but his conceits and pompousness are a hoot . “Confound it, Archie. I have you to thank for this acarpous entanglement.” Stout, a lover of big words, reverses the roles when he has Archie complain about Wolfe’s eccentric ways: “I exploded, ‘If this keeps up another ten minutes I’ll get Weltschmerz!’”

The League of Frightened Men and Fer de lance were the first two Wolfe novels. Both were too long, nearly painfully so. The Rubber Band is long also but it never feels long. I think I would recommend The Rubber Band to a reader new to Wolfe, but tell them an even better place to start would be with the post-WWII outings such as The Silent Speaker. Then read Black Orchids and Some Buried Caesar. The novellas, which number about 50, are, in a word, perfect.

 

 

 

Free Book Friday! Audio Book Bundle!

Friday, April 3rd, 2015

FBF banner 2015 spring

 

This week’s Free Book Friday Prize is an Audio Book Bundle that includes a copy of each of these books:

 


Never Go Back by Lee Child

Never go back — but Jack Reacher does, and the past finally catches up with him. . . . — Former military cop Jack Reacher makes it all the way from snowbound South Dakota to his destination in northeastern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. The old stone building is the closest thing to a home he ever had.  Reacher is there to meet, in person, the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner, so far just a warm, intriguing voice on the phone.
But it isn’t Turner behind the CO’s desk. And Reacher is hit with two pieces of shocking news, one with serious criminal consequences, and one too personal to even think about.  When threatened, you can run or fight.  Reacher fights, aiming to find Turner and clear his name, barely a step ahead of the army, and the FBI, and the D.C. Metro police, and four unidentified thugs.
Reacher gets put through his paces — and that makes him question who he is, what he’s done, and the very future of his untethered life on the open road.

11 CDs, 13.5 hrs (810 mins), unabridged.  Dick Hill, narrator.
There are currently 24 Member wishing for this book.
ISBN 9780307749666, Audio CD


Revival: A Novel by Stephen King

A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life. — In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs?including Jamie?s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family?s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties?addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate?Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil?s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.
This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. It?s a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe.

11 CDs, 13 hrs, unabridged.  David Morse, narrator.
There are currently 26 Member wishing for this book.
ISBN 9781442372764, Audio CD

To enter to win this 2 book prize package, simply leave a comment on this Blog post. You must be a PaperBackSwap member to win.

 

We will choose 1 winner at random from comments we receive here on the Blog from PBS members.


You have until Monday, April 6, 2015 at 12 noon EDT, to leave a comment.

 

Good Luck to everyone!

 

Note: All the books given away on Free Book Friday are available in the PBS Market. We have thousands of new and new overstock titles available right now, with more added hourly. Some of the prices are amazing – and you can use a PBS credit to make the deal even better!

 

Fiction Review – Lamb

Thursday, April 2nd, 2015

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal

by Christopher Moore

 

Review by Gail P. (TinkerPirate)

 

Traditions:
We all have them. Some of us even have the same ones. This is especially true for this time of year as Christians prepare to celebrate Easter. Lent is full of traditions. There’s Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday/Pancake Day – whatever you call it – when we get our final chance to binge on goodies before officially enter Lent on Ash Wednesday. There’s Meatless Fridays. There’s that whole thing about giving up something that we really, really like as penance. And, then there’s the whole Easter Egg and Chocolate Bunny thing that I liked as a kid, but really can’t figure out as an adult.

I have different traditions. My traditions are based on 3 things: 1) God doesn’t want any of us to be hungry, 2) God wants all of us to be the best we can be, and 3) God has an awesome sense of humor. So, while I binge on “that” Tuesday, I don’t go meatless and I don’t give up anything. Instead, I look for opportunities to feed God’s people by keeping little bags of easily consumed food (pouches of tuna, pudding cups, fruit cups, etc.) in my car to give to the homeless standing on the corner as I drive home from work. I work on something I need to improve…patience has been a topic for years and each year, I think I get a little better at being patient, but I sure wish I could learn it quicker…and, yes, I see the irony here. And, lastly, I read Lamb – The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.

I was introduced to the book and Christopher Moore by the pastor of my church. She knew me, my quirky sense of propriety, and my love of reading. She started what you might call an obsession with this book. I currently own six copies – a first edition, first printing hardbound; two editions of the “bible” version complete with pleather cover, gilt page edges, and satin ribbon; and three different editions of paperbacks. But, enough about me…back to Lamb…

In the Bible, we meet Christ as a baby, a small child, and a boy…and then he reappears years later  as an adult. What the heck happened during those “lost years”? Well, Lamb tries to explain all of that in a way only Christopher Moore and his quirky mind can.

We meet Christ – called Joshua or Josh for short in the book – at six with a lizard’s tail hanging out of His mouth. It’s part of a simple game he plays with his younger brother. It goes like this…Josh’s brother smites a lizard with a rock, lizard dies, Josh puts the lizard in His mouth, lizard comes back alive, and the cycle repeats. And, that my book friends, starts us on a whirlwind adventure that lets us get an insight in to what Christ’s life may have been like in those “lost years”.

Josh knows He’s the Messiah, but doesn’t know how to be one. They go to the prophet Hillel to find out what Josh needs to know and he sends them in search of the three Magi – Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior. This trip takes them to the mountains of Afghanistan, the Buddhist monasteries in China, to India and point in between. From Balthasar, Josh learns compassion, moderation, and humility…the three jewels of Tao and about justice that leads to turn the other cheek instead of an eye for an eye. From Gaspar, Josh learns about the oneness of everything leading “to love our neighbors as ourselves”. From Melchior, Josh learns how to multiply food leading to His ability to feed that the multitudes. There are many, many other lessons, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you. Even though I’ve read the book every year for 10+ years, I find new insights every year.

It’s not all about the lessons. Along the way, we meet interesting beings and …interesting in a way only Christopher Moore can create…Delicate Personage of Two Fu Dogs Wrestling Under a Blanket – one of Balthasar’s eight concubines; a yeti; Vana, the elephant, and Rumi – an Untouchable in India who lives in a pit of…well, we won’t go there…

I always save the last few chapters for Holy Week because Moore takes us all the way to the crucifixion. By the end of the book, I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and I’ve discovered a little something more about me, Christ, and our relationship.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. But, I recommend it with some warnings. If you are a biblical literalist, this book is not for you. If you are offended by people poking fun at beliefs, this book is not for you. If you easily offended in general, this book is not for you. But, if you can approach this book with an open mind and heart, I guarantee you will have a wonderful time!

 

 

 

Mystery Monday – Best Max Carrados Detective Stories

Monday, March 30th, 2015

Best Max Carrados Detective Stories by Ernest Bramah

 

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

 

It is a tribute to his imagination and writing ability that Englishman Ernest Bramah (1868 – 1942) remains fairly well-known as the author of the Kai Lung stories, artistically licensed as narrated by a Chinese teller of tales.

Bramah’s Max Carrados books are also well-regarded. The books are collections of short stories starring a wealthy blind man, Max Carrados, one of whose hobbies, besides collecting ancient Greek coins, was criminal investigation. This Dover reprint kicks off with the story that introduces Carrados and his pompous sidekick the professional PI Louis Carlyle “The Coin of Dionysius.

But a better story is the second one “The Mystery of the Vanished Petition Crown.” A coin collector himself, Bramah uses his own experience with coin dealers and coin auctions to write this persuasive story. After finding the missing coin with supernatural insight, Carrados tells us mortals how to do his method, as if Zeus were instructing us dudes on how to become swans to attract the ladies:

[T]here is no form of villainy that I haven’t gone through in all its phases. Theoretically, of course, but so far as working out the details is concerned and preparing for emergencies, efficiently and with craftsman-like pride. Whenever I fail to get to sleep at night-rather frequently, I’m sorry to say–I commit a murder, forgery, a robbery or what not with all its ramifications … the criminal mind is rarely original, and I find that in nine cases out of ten that sort of crime is committed exactly as I have already done it.

 “The Holloway Flat Tragedy” is a departure from the usual “inexplicable crime” story in that it involves a murder, but its psychological insight is convincing and the twist is quite satisfying. Other stories involves puzzling cases Louis Carlyle has brought to involve nutty but all too human behavior such as “The Ghost at Massingham Mansions” or “The Mystery of the Poisoned Dish of Mushrooms,” or the unique “ The Disappearance of Marie Severe,” which includes tough smacks at Christian Science and its obnoxious American proponents.

The appeal of the stories is that an attention to detail and robust characters contribute to an air of verisimilitude. Also attractive are the Edwardian interjections “egad” and “pshaw” not to mention turns of phrase like “But, for all that, I feel devilishly bad.” This kind of Dickensy turn, a reader likes or doesn’t like, I suppose:

Mr Carlyle had no difficulty in discovering the centre of interest in the basement. Sir Benjamin was expansive and reserved, bewildered and decisive, long-winded and short-tempered, each in turn and more or less all at once. He had already demanded the attention of the manager, Professor Bulge, Draycott and two underlings to his case and they were now involved in a babel of inutile reiteration. The inquiry agent was at once drawn into a circle of interrogation that he did his best to satisfy impressively while himself learning the new facts.

 “A babel of inutile reiteration.” It’s been a long time since I felt that rush of a thirteen-year-old reader, that buzz a reading kid gets from seeing new words deployed in new ways, usually in Sherlock Holmes stories. Plus, “a babel of inutile reiteration” perfectly describes too many meetings that, because I am a sinner, I am compelled to attend….

I don’t think the more far-fetched stories are any more far-fetched than a Sherlock Holmes story such as “Speckled Band.” Some points test skepticism. Max Carrados has supernaturally sensitive finger-tips, so he can read the headlines and even some of the 12-point in an ordinary newspaper. Ink is raised on the rough paper of a newspaper, don’t you know? Carrados’ super-sharp sense of temperature changes, hearing, taste and smell also allow him to gather clues out of the ken of us seeing folk. His disability is no barrier to excellence.

I unearthed this book on the recommendation of George Orwell. In the essay “Good Bad Books” he cites Ernest Bramah by name as the writer of “[a] type of book which we hardly seem to produce in these days, but which flowered with great richness in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is what Chesterton called the “good bad book”: that is, the kind of book that has no literary pretensions but which remains readable when more serious productions have perished.” The Max Carrados stories have remained in print for about a century by now and at present are available in various electronic formats (and free at Project Gutenberg). What better proof that they have stood the test of time?

Free Book Friday Let’s Get Cooking Winner!

Sunday, March 29th, 2015

FBF banner 2015 spring winner

 

The Winner of the Let’s Get Cooking 3 Book Prize Package is:

 

 Toni B. (finetacodog)

 

Congratulations, your books will be on the way to you soon!

 

Thank you to everyone who commented on the Blog!