PFKBC Busy 1st Week - 11 New Books!

Every week or so I update our family members on their Kindle books.  We each keep our own Kindle, but we share an Amazon account together.  I keep track of who buys what.  The cool part is that we can share the books with one another.  Not only does it save us money, but it gives us something to enjoy with one another.  Here is this week's email.

Dear Dad, Jillian, Tim, Jessica, Dave, Jennifer, Mike, Nancy, Patty, Cheryl, Grayden, Mary Kay, Kimberly and Riley: 

This first week of 2012 you have been quite active in buying... and I hope, reading... your Kindle ebooks.  This past week the PFKBC (Pierce Family Kindle Book Club) purchased 12 new books!  These purchases were made by 6 different members of our family!  I don't always send out an email every week, but some of these purchases were so spectacular, I just knew you would want to know about it. I figured some of you would want to start reading what your other family members have purchased. The new books are listed below.

How It Works. I haven't explained this for awhile, so it's worth reminding you here.  Amazon permits us to have as many devices as we want on one account.  The individual publishers determine how many books may be out on the various devices at a time.  Some books have no limit.  However, most books limit the number of books out on devices to six at a time.  Therefore, when you finish reading your book, delete it from your device.  It won't be deleted from our archived library; it just will be deleted from your device.  That way you'll free up another copy for someone else to read.

Jennifer's New Kindle 3.  Jennifer (pictured above right) was our most active buyer and reader this past week.  She had actually "misplaced" her Kindle.  As Jennifer explained it to me, it was never lost.  She just wasn't exactly sure where it was.  Apparently there is a world of difference between "misplaced" and "lost." Ha!  She found it stuck down her couch. Unfortunately the screen, while not fractured, was fragmented - meaning that the entire screen was not refreshing.  Since she was still within her warranty period she figured she had nothing to lose by calling the great Amazon customer service folks.  She confessed all - exactly what happened - and the nice CSR from Amazon told her that a fragmented screen is covered by warranty.  Jennifer received her new K3 the next day!!! This is why Amazon was rated #1 in customer service last year!

Sicily Becoming Kindle Reader. Jennifer told me something else this morning that was so cool to hear.  Sicily is becoming a Kindle reading fan also!  As grandpa in this family I love that my grandchildren are loving to read.  Jennifer invested in a 3-book collection of books named Ivy and the Bean.  She tells me that Sicily is loving reading these books.  I'm thinking that we may want to do the same thing for Sicily that we did for Grayden last year.  Because of your generosity, Grayden was able to buy his own Kindle last year.  Why don't we do the same thing for Sicily?  When you see her, slip her some change or a dollar or two.  Give her some work to do and pay her for it.  Let her know the joy of saving for something special.  Let her know how much this family loves reading and loves her!  Just my thoughts... admittedly I'm biased!

New Books.  Here are the new books you all have purchased this week. Thanks for purchasing and sharing these with your family.  Let me know if I got any wrong.  Sometimes I have to guess.  Last week I gave Cheryl credit for buying the Mouse poem, then later found out it was really Jennifer who picked up the free poem.  Write me an email or text message when you pick up a book, even if it's free. That way I can include who picked it up in this newsletter.  Thanks!

 

The Cheapskate's Guid to Grocery Savings by Daniel Mathews
Price $0.00
Purchased by Jennifer
Budgeting, Groceries

This is a book that both Walt and Jennifer could have written themselves!  An Average Family Of Four Can Save $180 to $240 a Month On Groceries Just By Following A Simple Buying Strategy  Warning: Most people never learn the truth about grocery shopping, and they continue to spend twice as much time and money as needed for the rest of their lives... Every single marketing strategy like price matching, coupons, and club membership is designed with one aim: to maximize profits from your wallet.  The Grocery Industry is ran by smart people. Most shoppers think and truly believe they are getting great deals and therefore never question their grocery shopping strategy.  I finish all of my grocery shopping in about two hours every few weeks. Most people don't realize how much time they spend grocery shopping.  You can't just count the time you spend on the big grocery shopping trips. You also have to consider all of those last minute runs to the corner store to pick up bread or milk. And, there is something else you have to think about.Every single dollar you waste on groceries represents time you have to spend at work trying to earn it back. Let's say you spend $200 too much on groceries every month. How much extra time do you have to spend at work to earn your money back?

What You Will Learn in "The Cheapskate's Guide to Grocery Savings"

* Proven techniques to lower your grocery bill today

* How to craft a budget for grocery shopping you can easily stick with

* How to get the most from your grocery shopping trip and maximize your precious time

* How to effectively use leftovers to save serious cash

* Why meal planning helps massively lower your grocery bill

* How great drinks begin with water

* How to save a ton at the Butcher Shop and Seafood Market

* Secrets about grocery stores they don't want you to know

* Why you should grocery shop with your credit card (contrary to popular belief)

 

Hourglass by Myra Mcentire
Price $9.99
Purchased by Jennifer
Mystery, Time Travel, Young Adult, Romance

One hour to rewrite the past . . .
 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?
 
Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut. 

 

Ivy and Bean Bundle Set by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall
Price $9.39
Purchased by Jennifer
Juvenile Fiction, Grades 2-3, Action & Adventure

I'm thinking that Grayden may enjoy this one too!  This is the one that Sicily is reading. 

"Annie Barrows accomplishes the almost impossible task of reflecting the world of second grader, creating the tension and drama of family and friendships in language that can be read easily by child who recently graduated from easy readers to early chapter books. " - Lisa Von Drasek, Children's Librarian, Bank Street College of Education.

This three-book bundle is a delightful introduction to the beloved, bestselling series. This bundle contains the first three books in the series, including: Ivy and Bean, Ivy and Bean and The Ghost That Had to Go, and Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record. Ivy and Bean’s hilarious adventures hook readers from the first page and everyone is sure to fall in love with these two spunky characters who never meant to like each other. 

 

Catch That Collie!!! by Tarrin P. Lupo and Ruby N. Hilliard
Borrowed through Kindle Owners Lending Library
Purchased by Cheryl
Children's Literature, Dog Lovers

This one is borrowed so you only have until the end of January to enjoy it.

   Catch That Collie is the tale of a Savannah Shelter Dog that is adopted by first-time pet owners. As the inexperienced family makes mistakes, Raja, The Collie, escapes and explores Savannah, Georgia. Through trial and error, Raja teaches his new family how to properly care for a dog and be responsible pet owners.

Tarrin P. Lupo is an Author and Activist living in Savannah, Georgia. He is obsessed with his pets and shares his home with two dogs, Raja and Marcie and five cats. Raja spends his days barking at squirrels and begging for beef jerky. Marcie loves when Tarrin sings to her and wags her tail wildly when she hears Tom Jones. They love spending time as a family, taking long walks in Savannah's beautiful squares and parks.      

 

Grandpa Hates The Bird by Eve Yohalem
Price $0.00
Purchased by Cheyrl
Children's Short Story, Animal Lovers

“I am no fool. I knew that if I wanted to make it to the end of the week alive, I would have to avoid upsetting Grandpa as much as possible. No singing, no playful nips, no jaunty bell.”

Bird and Grandpa stay home in Massachusetts while Mother, Father, Joseph and Maya head south for a winter holiday. When Grandpa determines to set tropical Bird free in freezing February, Bird must use every bit of bird brain power to outsmart him.

• Will Bird become a parrot popsicle?
• What’s in the creepy second bedroom where no one ever goes?
• Do Grandpa and Bird play Dig a Hole to China and Send Birdie on a Trip?

In the spirit of Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, here come Bird and Grandpa in the hilarious first short story in the Grandpa Hates the Bird series!

 

Locked On by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney
Price $12.99
Purchased by Walt.
Contemporary Fiction, Action, Thriller

Enough of children's books.  How about a book for us adult Tom Clancy fans? It's great to see you back buying books again. Thanks Dad!

 There's hardly another thriller writer alive who can fuel an adrenaline surge the way Clancy can. (Though to be fair, it's Tom Clancy AND Mark Greaney!) Tom Clancy's All-Star lineup is back. Jack Ryan, his son, Jack Jr., John Clark Ding Chavez and the rest of the Campus team are facing their greatest challenge ever.

Jack Ryan, Sr. has made a momentous choice. He's running for President of the United States again and thus giving up a peaceful retirement to help his country in its darkest hour. But he doesn't anticipate the treachery of his opponent, who uses trumped up charges to attack one of Ryan's closest comrades, John Clark.

Now, Clark is in a race against time and must travel the world, staying one step ahead of his adversaries, including a shadowy organization tasked to bring him in, all while trying to find who is behind this.

Meanwhile, Jack Ryan, Jr., Ding Chavez, Dominick Caruso and other members of the Campus-the top secret off-the-books intelligence agency founded by Jack Ryan during his first term in the White House-deal with a question of their own: Why is a Pakistani military officer meeting with Dagestani terrorists? The answer will ultimately lead to a desperate struggle, with nothing short of the fate of the world at stake. 

 

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Price $9.99
Purchased by Jennifer
Love and Romance, Science Fiction

Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2011: Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice. --Jessica Schein

From Booklist

Oliver’s follow-up to her smash debut, Before I Fall (2010), is another deft blend of realism and fantasy. The hook is irresistible: it’s the near future, a time when love has long since been identified as a disease called amor deliria nervosa, and 17-year-old Lena is 95 days away from the operation that everyone gets to cure themselves. Can you feel the swoon coming? Enter Alex, a rakish daredevil who, as it turns out, is one of the Invalids—a tribe of uncured who live on the lam in the surrounding wilderness. With the clock ticking down to her surgery, Lena is drawn into Alex’s world, one of passion and freedom, while her emotionally castrated family members hope to turn her into yet another complacent zombie. Oliver’s masterstroke is making a strong case for love as disease: the anxiety, depression, insomnia, and impulsive behavior of the smitten do smack of infirmity. The story bogs down as it revels in romance—Alex is standard-issue perfection—but the book never loses its A Clockwork Orange–style bite regarding safety versus choice. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus      

 

 

Learn Me Good by John Pearson
Price $0.00
Purchased by Patty
Comic, Quotations, Humor

This is Patty's first contribution to PFKBC and it looks like a good one.  Thanks Patty!

Jack Woodson was a thermal design engineer for four years until he was laid off from his job. Now, as a teacher, he faces new challenges. Conference calls have been replaced with parent conferences. Product testing has given way to standardized testing. Instead of business cards, Jack now passes out report cards. The only thing that hasn't changed noticeably is the maturity level of the people surrounding him all day. Learn Me Good is a hilarious first-person account, inspired by real life experiences. Through a series of emails to Fred Bommerson, his buddy who still works at Heat Pumps Unlimited, Jack chronicles a year-in-the-life of a brand new teacher. With subject lines such as "Irritable Vowel Syndrome," "In math class, no one can hear you scream," and "I love the smell of Lysol in the morning," Jack writes each email with a dash of sarcasm and plenty of irreverent wit.

John Pearson was born just outside of Washington, DC, but moved to Texas as quickly as he could. Growing up with a passion for science, math, and calculator watches, he obtained engineering degrees and basketball (watching) accolades from Duke University and Texas A&M. His first job out of college was designing small solid-state heat pumps, where his cubicle simply was not big enough to contain him. When the engineering market went sour, he decided to try his hand as a teacher, and he has been a 3rd grade math teacher ever since.

When he's not teaching, he's reading, blogging, or making YouTube videos like "Darth Vader Explains the Pythagorean Theorem."  Learn Me Good was born of the baptism-by-fire nature of Pearson's first year as a teacher.      

 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Price $9.99
Purchased by Kimberly
Literary Fiction, Bestseller

This is Kimberly Marietta's first contribution to the PFKBC and it's a great one! We own this book in our Audible collection, but we didn't have the ebook version. I know it will be read over and over again. Thanks Kimberly!

In writing about such a troubled time in American history, Southern-born Stockett takes a big risk, one that paid off enormously. Critics praised Stockett's skillful depiction of the ironies and hypocrisies that defined an era, without resorting to depressing or controversial clich√©s. Rather, Stockett focuses on the fascinating and complex relationships between vastly different members of a household. Additionally, reviewers loved (and loathed) Stockett's three-dimensional characters—and cheered and hissed their favorites to the end. Several critics questioned Stockett's decision to use a heavy dialect solely for the black characters. Overall, however, The Help is a compassionate, original story, as well as an excellent choice for book groups.

From Booklist  Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s is a city of tradition. Silver is used at bridge-club luncheons, pieces polished to perfection by black maids who “yes, ma’am,” and “no, ma’am,” to the young white ladies who order the days. This is the world Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan enters when she graduates from Ole Miss and returns to the family plantation, but it is a world that, to her, seems ripe for change. As she observes her friend Elizabeth rudely interact with Aibileen, the gentle black woman who is practically raising Elizabeth’s two-year-old daughter, Mae Mobley, Skeeter latches ontothe idea of writing the story of such fraught domestic relations from the help’s point of view. With the reluctant assistance of Aibileen’s feisty friend, Minny, Skeeter manages to interview a dozen of the city’s maids, and the book, when it is finally published, rocks Jackson’s world in unimaginable ways. With pitch-perfect tone and an unerring facility for character and setting, Stockett’s richly accomplished debut novel inventively explores the unspoken ways in which the nascent civil rights and feminist movements threatened the southern status quo. Look for the forthcoming movie to generate keen interest in Stockett’s luminous portrait of friendship, loyalty, courage, and redemption. --Carol Haggas      

 

Guns of Seneca 6 by Bernard Schaffer
Price $0.00 (Price back up to $3.99)
Purchased by Mark
Westerns, Adventure

I couldn't go another week and get closed out myself!  I saw this one day for free and thought it might be one that Dad would like to read.  I know he used to like to read Westerns... and they're hard to find these days.

"Outlaws, savages, aliens, and a town under martial law: This is not the Wild West as you know it, and author Bernard Schaffer wouldn't have it any other way."  HulegaardBooks.com

"In fact the story is full of little gems. They come as part of the Bernard Schaffer book package - he being a master of the `visual writing'. And in Jem Clayton, Marshal James McParlan and Doc Halladay you have three very engaging characters - the brilliant threesome. The defenders."  Reader Review Amazon.UK

"If you enjoyed Cowboys & Aliens, or Firefly you will most likely find this book to be right up your alley. It has been a long, long time since I have enjoyed a good Western read." Reader Review Amazon.com

"Take Firefly, add a little steampunk, and throw in some classic Western mythology such as the story of Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and you've got Seneca 6" FringeScientist.com

Product Description The mining settlement of Seneca 6 is set on a distant planet at the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Sheriff Sam Clayton is murdered in the wasteland, beyond the reach of his two children and the people who respected and admired his firm hand in keeping them safe. 

Twenty years later, Jem Clayton is an outlaw, known as the infamous Gentleman Jim; a ruthless bandit who never once allowed a woman he encountered to come to harm.

Back in Seneca 6, an intergalactic PNDA Marshal crash lands with one of the galaxies most despicable criminals and must jail him in the Sheriff's Office until either help arrives or the Harpe Gang shows up to free him. The gang's leader, Little Willy Harpe, is carrying a weapon of such alien terror that it will destroy everything in his path if he is not stopped.

Join Jem Clayton, Doctor Royce Henry Halladay, and Marshal Jimmy McParlan, for their first amazing adventure. They are the Guns of Seneca 6.      

 

Paradise Valley (Daughters of Caleb Bender) by Dale Cramer
Price $0.00 (Price now back up to $2.69)
Purchased by Mark
Historical Romance

I picked this one up for free last week too.  Patty, correct me if I'm wrong, but over the holidays it looked to me like this was the kind of book you were interested in reading.

Cramer follows his acclaimed novel Levi’s Will (2005) with another inspiring and honest look at the Amish community in the opening volume in the Daughters of Caleb Bender trilogy. In 1920s Ohio, Amish fathers are taken to court and imprisoned when they refuse to allow their children to attend public school. Matters escalate when the Amish children are removed from their parents’ homes, stripped of their plain appearance, and forced to live in a children’s home while they attend public school. This incident inspires Caleb Bender to move his entire family to Mexico. Faced with rebuilding a homestead while battling bandits, Cramer’s characters dig deep to find the forgiveness and the strength it takes to truly love one’s enemies. Cramer’s ability to develop characters with genuine struggles sets this Amish novel apart from the rest, especially because it’s based on Cramer’s great-grandfather’s experiences as an elder statesman of the colony Paradise Valley, Mexico. Fans of historical fiction will find enough here to spur further research, and for followers of Amish fiction, this is a must-read. --Elizabeth Ponder

Product Description.  An Amish settlement in Ohio has run afoul of a law requiring their children to attend public school. Caleb Bender and his neighbors are arrested for neglect, with the state ordering the children be placed in an institution. Among them are Caleb's teenage daughter, Rachel, and the boy she has her eye on, Jake Weaver. Romance blooms between the two when Rachel helps Jake escape the children's home. Searching for a place to relocate his family where no such laws apply, Caleb learns there's inexpensive land for sale in Mexico, a place called Paradise Valley. Despite rumors of instability in the wake of the Mexican revolution, the Amish community decides this is their answer. And since it was Caleb's idea, he and his family will be the pioneers. They will send for the others once he's established a foothold and assessed the situation.Caleb's daughters are thrown into turmoil. Rachel doesn't want to leave Jake. Her sister, Emma, who has been courting Levi Mullet, fears her dreams of marriage will be dashed. Miriam has never had a beau and is acutely aware there will be no prospects in Mexico.Once there, they meet Domingo, a young man and guide who takes a liking to Miriam, something her father would never approve. While Paradise Valley is everything they'd hoped it would be, it isn't long before the bandits start giving them trouble, threatening to upset the fledgling Amish settlement, even putting their lives in danger. Thankfully no one has been harmed so far, anyway.      

 

Left Behind by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins
Price $0.00
Purchased by Mark
Christian Fiction

I saw this one for free and thought it might be something we'd like to have in our library.

An airborne Boeing 747 is headed to London when, without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread not only through the plane but also worldwide as unusual events continue to unfold. For those who have been left behind, the apocalypse has just begun. A repackage of the New York Times best-selling novel Left Behind.      

 

There you have it boys and girls of the PFKBC.  An eclectic collection of new books for our eclectic family.  Help yourself to you like.  Leave Behind what you don't like.  Some books will put you in Paradise Valley while with others you might fall into Delirium.  Don't get Locked On just one kind of book if you want to Learn Me Good.

Love you all much!  Mark