Genre Fiction

I hate spending money on hardback books: they are twice the price as paperbacks and take up more room on my shelves. Unfortunately, publishers have got in the habit of only releasing a hard copy for the first year of a new bestseller’s shelf life. This usually means that I wait in dire anticipation until the soft version comes out. But on vacation last year, my aunt bought me a hardback copy of The Friday Night Knitting Club (2007) by Kate Jacobs when it was still a brand new release.

This would be the best gift regardless of how the book turned out, but on top of it Knitting Club was fabulous! You don’t have to be a knitter to enjoy this book about both mother-daughter and women’s relationships. Any one can enjoy seeing such different personalities come together under a common bond and supporting each other through highs and lows.

Jacobs’s first read is now available in paperback - and her second one is here, too! (Albeit only in hardback, of course).

Comfort Foods (May, 2008) tells a similar tale of womanly strength and comraderie. This time, the setting is cooking show and the mother is a widow with two adult daughters.

Think you might be intrigued? Read the first chapter of Comfort Foods on Kate Jacobs’s Web site. A paperback edition of Comfort Foods is set to go on sale in April, 2009 … unless you’re lucky enough to stumble upon an aunt who splurges on you and buys you a newly released hard cover copy.

Did you go to a Stephenie Meyer’s book release, vampire themed party this weekend at Borders or Waldenbooks? I did not, but apparently over 225,000 people did! The two stores proudly announce the huge success of the Breaking Dawn events, with a total of about 250,000 books being sold within the first few hours of the book hitting the market, including online sales.

Approximately 1,000 stores nationwide hosted a “From Twilight til Dawn: A Night with a Bite” party. The highly anticipated teen read came in second only to Harry Potter for number of pre-orders.

The photo shown here is a snapshot of a New York City party for Meyer this Friday evening. For everything Stephenie Meyer and the Twiglight Saga, head over to the ultimate and official fan page at TwilightLexicon.com.

Over 900 Borders and Waldenbooks stores in the U.S. will celebrate the August 2 release of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The book is the fourth and final installment in Meyer’s best-selling vampire series, The Twilight Saga.

In-store book release parties will be held from 10 p.m. Friday, August 1, until midnight, when the book will officially be on sale. The parties will have a theme of “From Twilight til Dawn: A Night with a Bite,” and will include events such as costume contests (come dressed as a character!), trivia contests (kicking off the parties promptly at 10 p.m.), and debates on themes related to the book series. Locate your closest participating Borders or Waldenbooks store at the Borders’ Web site. The Web site also allows you to pre-order a copy that can be picked up at a party.

All events are free – with no purchase necessary to participate – and many have prizes!

After 20 minutes of browsing through the fiction racks of my favorite used bookstore on Sunday - Rainbow Music and Books - I had no heart-stopping find yet, but I had managed to select three little-known novels that sparked my interest. On a whim, I decided to give my favorite authors’ places in the ABC-ordered shelves a quick, second glance.

Burroughs, for Augusten Burroughs’s newest novel A Wolf at the Table (2008), which is his only published work that I have not yet devoured. Nothing was there.

Chevlier, for Tracy Chevalier’s latest, Burning Bright (2007), the only of hers that I have not yet savored. Score!

I picked up the hardback copy of Burning Bright. It was gorgeous: perfect condition, with a fake torn edge effect on the pages to elude an antique feel. It was inexpensive: a book that would cost $25 brand new or $8 used (the store’s seemingly standard pricing for new hardbacks), it was a mere $5.

I fear my true book nerd side showed as I cheered over my find; but, who could blame me? A favorite author? Check. An awesome copy of a book I’ve been coveting? Check. Money-saving price? Check.

Burning Bright follows suit with Chevalier’s other novels, weaving a story together of carefully researched historical aspects with well-written fiction characters. This one turns to look at poet and painter William Blake, with the title coming from one of his most-famous opening lines: “Tyger, tyger, burning bright/ In the forests of the night. …”

Now I just have to finish Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams (1990), which I am only 30 pages into, so that I can start reading Burning Bright!

Almost as soon as Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees (2002) became an instant bestseller, readers were teased with the knowledge that it would eventually become a bigscreen film. Now, six years later, it is al coming to frutition.

The film - starring Dakota Fanning as Lily Owens, the young girl who lost her mother and headed off to live with a surrogate family of beekeepers, and Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah, and Jennifer Hudson as a few members of Lily’s makeshift family — is set to release this fall, 2008.

Borders bookstore online is currently hosting the first available sneak peek of the film. And while you’re over there, pick up a copy of The Secret Life of Bees - it would make the perfect short novel to pick up at the beach this summer, finishing it just in time for the movie release.

Perusing a used bookstore is probably my favorite way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon. But you have to go with the open mind idea that you will be discovering new books, and only occasionally snagging a good deal on a bestseller. Plus, it >bothers me that they purchase the used books from patrons for only $1, then turn around and sell them for $8. That is an impressive markup.

I have found something that, while it won’t inspire the same giddiness as going to a used store, will help alleviate my qualms: PaperBack Swap.

Here’s the simple steps you can take at PaperBack Swap to trade your books for new ones:

1. Register.

2. List at least 10 books that you are willing to trade. Now you will have 2 credits good for 2 new books.

3. Request books that you are interested in.

4. Mail your books (+1 credit each) when requests come through to you; receive books (-1 credit each) when others mail you your requested ones.

5. Read a new book for only the cost of shipping one. Add it to your shelf, or toss it back in the mix of available books to be traded.

PaperBack Swap has been around enough years that the kinks should be worked out. With continued success in the book world, the company has added Swap-a-CD and Swap-a-DVD.

Borders, previously teamed online with Amazon.com, has branched out on its own to bring you a Web site experience as close to the in-store atmosphere that we love about book stores as possible.

There are so many new features, I couldn’t even begin to cover them all - you’ll have to just go see for yourself!

Be sure not to miss “Live at 01″ where you can see author interviews, in-store appearances, readings, and more. The “Magic Shelf” is another must-check out feature that allows you to peruse themed shelves, as you would in the store, and browse through books to help you decide if you should buy it.

But be warned, all of these new features use a lot of Internet technology that can jam your computer if you don’t have a top-speed connection. Plus, there’s no cafe to order a soy latte to enjoy while shopping - you’ll have to make it yourself.