Wednesday, June 25, 2008

John Saul's "Black Creek Crossing"

I'm not a big fan of gothic novels. In fact, I'm surprised that I'm such a fan of the Harry Potter series. That fondness of things Potter is due mostly to the ingenious twists and turns of the plot, and J.K. Rowling's fantastic writing style that carries the reader along entranced.

John Saul's style is not anything like J.K. Rowling's, though the story is one of teenage witchcraft, bullying and child abuse. These were all themes explored in the Harry Potter series also. The treatment of these topics under Saul's pen, however, are raw, real and will be painful to anyone who has ever suffered at the hands of a parent or a peer. Saul's style is a stark and journalistic as Rowling's is fantastic and literary. It is hard to feel empathy for any of the characters, even the teen hero and heroine, unlike Harry Potter and his chums.

Mostly the plot is predictable, rather like a teenage scary movie. There is an ironic twist in the last chapter that I liked. You know by the ending that the haunted house at Black Creek Crossing will go on for all time wreaking havoc on anyone who attempts to live there.

While this book is really not my cup of tea, it will be an enjoyable summertime read for those who like Gothic fiction or teenage scary movie plots. For whom this description fits, enjoy!

Liz Nichols

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Bookwise 2.0: A Review

I have been a Bookwise affiliate since May 2007. I have enjoyed the social network and the team spirit, and the excellent marketing advice passed on to our team by some of our leaders (including Paulie Sabol, Donna Fox and BobtheTeacher.)

Those who choose to build a business using at least the old Bookwise formula were going to build a business quite slowly, except for those on the top of the 5x7 matrix. The people who started out when the system first came up in January 2007 and stuck with it are now doing very well.

The Bookwise model and matured, and stabilized. People have more choice of what level of monthly involvement is best for them. Business Builders get advanced training and an additional level of commissions. Affiliates earn on one matrix level and get fast start bonuses, plus a classic book that should be in every marketers' library. If you want to buy books beyond the preselected work, you do that at a discount from the vast array of books available at an average of 37% discount. Preferred customers pay the same as an affiliate each month, except that they get their selection of books from the online store and do not get any of the marketing tools or commissions.

Serious business builders and associates now have a lot of extra tools to help grow the preferred customer and affiliate base. There is a new party plan called "Rich Women Rich Desserts" that takes the message of Bookwise into the home, much like Tupperware or Pampered Chef. I am looking forward to having some of my friends host these parties just as soon as I get the training to be able to moderate them. There is also a blog/book journal built right into the back office so affiliates can easily post their own current comments and book reviews right from the back office. I love this feature!

The Bookwise Bookstore is now very comparable to the other large online bookstores with over a million titles to select from. There are lots of helps to select a good read, such as the New York Times bestseller lists and reviews. The discounts are comparable to the other sites as well.

In short, if you love books and would like to build a business around books, I highly recommend Bookwise.

Liz Nichols

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Paperbackswap: A Unique Book Club

Are your bookshelves teeming with books that you have read and don't plan to read again? Well, there are several things you can do with them, the newest of which is to join Paperbackswap. More about that in a minute.

In the past, my favorite way of disposing of used books was to donate them to a local public library. I know one in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that just lost 2/3 of its collection in the Great Flood of 2008. I know they are accepting donations. My own public library, the Iowa City Public Library, was luckier and avoided any flood damage. However, the Friends of the Library operate a bookstore in the new library and are always looking for good used books.

You can sell them in a yard sale. I perused several yesterday in our neighborhood. Books were generally going for 50 cents a pop. The paperbacks were definitely going faster than the hardbacks. You can set up a used book store online, or join Amazon.com as an affiliate and sell your leftover books there.

There's a new and unique swap 'n shop on the Internet. Check out Paperbackswap. This community of book lovers has a database of over 2.2 million books available for swap. The only cost is that the person sending the book on pays for shipping. At an average cost of $2.30 or so per book, that's probably less than it costs to drive downtown, pay for parking and library fines at my favorite public institution. (I suspect, though, that this will merely allow me to get rid of more of my books a little faster and cause me to read more. NOTHING will take the place of my trips to the public library every few days. I may haul fewer titles to the Friends of the Library booksale, although I'll certainly reserve some for that source of easy book disposal.)

I decided to give Paperbackswap.com a try. I added the ISBN numbers of a few of my used book stock and got an immediate match for two of the titles I was offering, "The Way Things Work Now" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns." I send the two out within a few days via mail, and I'll get two of my choice in return. If you add 10 or more to the stock of available books, then you are eligible for two books without a swap. The system will spit out the address wrapper for the person who wants the book, and will even print the postage online if the book is under 13 ounces.

You can tell your friends about Paperbackswap and get referral credits. (Remember to list me as your referrer when you sign on. My email is myworldwords@yahoo.com.) There are banners to put on your blog. There's a buddy list and and journal for posting your book reviews and lots of other cool web 2.0 features.

By the way, you can send and receive more than paperbacks. There are hardbacks, and there are also links to sister sites that swap CDs and DVDs.

Have fun and happy swapping!

Liz Nichols
ednenterprises(at)gmail.com

Scottoline's "Lady Killer"

I just completed Lisa Scottoline's "Lady Killer." Scottoline is a very consistent writer in the crime-fighting genre.

In this book is the first in five years to reinstate her character, Mary DiNunzio, associate attorney in the office of Bennie Rosato, in Philadelphia. Scottoline says that Mary's father reminds her of her own. Since her father died shortly after her last DiNunzio book she put this fictional family aside until the pain of her own dad's death subsided a little.

Mary DiNunzio is a south Philly girl who made good. The pisanos from the neighborhood alternatively love her and hate her alternatively, depending on who she is defending and how well she does at settling impossible neighborhood feuds. She's a rainmaker for her law firm, but what comes down is often damaging like hail, and sometimes comes down too fast like flood waters.

In "Lady Killers" DiNunzio is defending a high school friend who has been abused by her boyfriend, a guy with connections to the Mob. DiNunzio dated the same guy in high school. Through most of the book both Trish and Bobby, the friend and her boyfriend have disappeared and DiNunzio has vowed to track them down and save her friend. She is torn between loyalty to the neighborhood and old friends, and her boss, who wants her to settle down and help with high profile cases.

This was a fast and good read. I didn't identify with the heroine as much as I often do in mysteries with strong female lead characters, but then, I didn't grow up in South Philly. The story seemed believable to me-- something right out of "48 Hours," so it felt like I was following a real crime investigation that had its share of eccentrics thrown in for comic relief. I look forward to the next Mary DiNunzio book, and hopefully we won't have to wait 5 years for it.

Liz Nichols
ednenterprises(at)gmail.com

Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Importance of Libraries

Earlier this week, the Cedar Rapids Public Library slipped under water. Certainly anything in the basement or first floor is now a muddy mess because of the rampaging Cedar River.

Now, in Iowa City, the University of Iowa Library is in dire danger of being flooded by the raging Iowa River. About 100 people were down sandbagging in front of the library, or helping to move books inside from the basement and first levels. I am headed down to help out there also. Both the Library and the University's computer center are endangered. The University power station just started taking water. Hancher Auditorium is also endangered, as is the Memorial Union, the new Art Center, and many other University buildings look like they will go.

Got to go.

Liz Nichols

Days of Atonement by Michael Gregorio

Michael Gregorio is a pseudonym for Michael G. Jacob and Daniela De Gregorio, who write historical mysteries from their home in Spoleto, Italy. They also teach English and philosophy respectively. This is their second novel, "Days of Atonement."

Those who like European history during the Napoleonic era, particularly those who like sprinkling historical fiction with mystery, will love this very well written novel. The plot: three children are brutally killed in the French occupied Prussian town of Lotingen and their mother is missing. Their father is stationed miles away at a renegade Prussian outpost. Where is the mother and who killed the kids?

Local magistrate, Hanno Stiffeniis, is teamed with French inspector, Serge Lavedrine, to solve the mystery. Hanno's wife, Hanna, plays a key role in solving the mystery.

The historical details are, I believe, very accurate. The best aspect of the book, however, is how effectively the psychological impact of the French invasion and the deep rooted cultural differences between Prussians and French, as well as between Prussians and the native Jewish population are explored in this book. The animosities literally jump off the page as many of these cultural themes are woven into the plot. By the same token, the way the main characters are able to put aside their natural distrust of each other to solve this murder as a team shows and extraordinary insight into how cultural differences can be overcome.

I look forward to the next book by this pair.

Liz Nichols
Iowa City