Not everyone is a dyed-in-the-wool book collector or quite as rabid a reader as I or my mother (a fact I don’t truly comprehend, but acknowledge as a remote possibility. =) However, most people I know enjoy a great read and would love to be able to have a chance to read more if only it didn’t cost so much to buy books nowadays or take so much time to find a good book, not to mention not having enough room to house all the titles they’ve read/want to read. Just as Netflix and Hollywood Video have made life a LOT easier for avid movie buffs in the U.S. to access and watch a huge library of films without spending a lot of money or time driving back and forth to the store, there’s now a similar service for book lovers, whether you prefer holding a book in your hand as you read (in paperback format) or you need to have your stories read to you (ala audiobooks) because you can only ‘read’ during your commute or long family drives. Booksfree.com is a great new service now available for the rabid reader with unlimited rental plans starting as low as $9.99/month. Why Booksfree?
Providing reading and listening enjoyment to thousands of satisfied customers since 2000, Booksfree offers unparalleled value to its members. Nowhere else will you find the savings, selection, and convenience offered by Booksfree. Some of the benefits of a Booksfree membership include:
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Another neat thing is to be able to ‘try before you buy’ for book collectors. You get a chance to ‘test drive’ an author’s newest title(s) before you decide whether to add it to your collection permanently in a more expensive ‘collectible edition’ such as 1st Edition Hardcover. (As we probably all know, not EVERY title an author writes is up to his or her normal standards, so unless you’re a ‘completist’ – someone who collects everything an author writes in all formats regardless of each item’s writing quality – I prefer to keep only the best of each person’s works… It’s being able to identify them as such before investing a lot of money that I like about this service!)

So if you’d like to Rent unlimited paperback books or Rent Unlimited CD or MP3-CD Audiobooks, then definitely check out Booksfree.com

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Janet Evanovich, author of the Stephanie Plum novels and the Alexandra Barnaby books, along with non-fiction author Ina Yalof and Janet’s daughter, Alex Evanovich, put together an audiobook guide to show how Janet generates her creative writing ideas and what the life of a full-time writer is really like. It’s called HOW I WRITE: SECRETS OF A BESTSELLING AUTHOR and it’s read by Janet Evanovich herself (along with the other two authors.)

For anyone who enjoys the Stephanie Plum books (starting with ONE FOR THE MONEY and now up to LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN with a few ‘between the numbers’ books in the meantime) and would love to be able to know just how Janet Evanovich does it, or for anyone who is thinking of writing a book of their own and is looking for writing tips and tricks, this is an invaluable reference.

You get the inside information on just how Janet thinks up those hair-raising plots, her techniques for revising and editing, and what she would tell an aspiring author about the publishing industry. (Having worked with my mom on submitting things to agents and such for some of her writing projects, ANY help from established people in an industry is a big PLUS, especially SUCCESSFUL established people, so this is definitely useful info to hear.)

At 4 and 1/2 hours on 4 CDs, this is an audio book you can listen to on a long car trip/commute, leaving you time when you come home to put these ideas into practice. You might not reach Janet Evanovich’s level of popularity, but her creative writing ideas can only help you reach your own potential as you apply them to your own projects.

Find it on eBay: HOW I WRITE: SECRETS OF A BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Find it on Amazon: HOW I WRITE: SECRETS OF A BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Don’t forget to also check out the Janet Evanovich Official Website: www.evanovich.com

With a book series like HARRY POTTER, I find I like to read it in hardcover first, then listen to the audiobook version afterwards. (Then, of course, see the movie…)

Back when the HARRY POTTER series first came out, audiobook versions weren’t as prevalent, so I had to do it the ‘hard way’ starting with HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE: read it for myself. For me, that established a certain set of ‘voices’ in my head for each character (besides the other voices that are already in there! LOL). As each book in the series was released, I found I liked keeping my own set of rhythms, cadences and nuances ‘consistent’ for Harry, Hermione, Ron (and all the others) by continuing to read it for myself for the first time, taking as long as I wanted with each chapter or scene to make sure it ‘felt’ familiar. (There’s also just something about holding it in your hands, the heft and feel of a great hardcover, plus it doesn’t hurt that J K Rowling is such a consistently good writer…!)

However, just as the movies give additional layers to the characters and storylines that you just don’t get through reading, so do the unabridged HARRY POTTER audiobooks. They give me a 3rd way to ‘live’ the stories, through Jim Dale’s telling of them, with his as the ‘voice in my head’ that time around. (Not much room left in there, though. Glad he’s been the narrator for ALL of them!! =)

Listening to someone else read a book for you gives you a whole new perspective and sometimes a new take on scenes you might not have noticed before or skimmed very quickly or that had a different flavor in your own mind. And just as when I watch the HARRY POTTER movies over (and over and over) I catch things I missed the first (and second and sometimes fifteenth) time out, listening to the audiobook version can do that for me, too.

Of course, depending on the narrator, it can make or break the experience for you. In the case of the HARRY POTTER audiobooks, though, Jim Dale is one of the best. He can be a ‘voice in my head’ anytime… (For more on Jim Dale, click on the picture for his official website.)

To see the Official J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter) website go to: www.jkrowling.com