Excellent Books for Early and Eager Readers by Kathleen T. Isaacs is more or less a giant bibliography of books for children. It's organized into different categories such as transitional books (between picture books, easy readers, or short chapter books), quests, talking animal stories, and books about magic. I ended up taking down so many titles to add to my TRL that I had a stack that was nigh on teetering to the ceiling (18 books before I stopped counting). Needless to say, this is an excellent resource for anyone who is either a professional working with children or a parent trying to encourage their child to reach their maximum potential. (It doesn't beat the Read-Aloud Handbook though.) This isn't a book one would generally read cover-to-cover (although that's exactly what I did) but rather one you'd dip in and out of for ideas on books you and the children in your life could read. 8/10

 

What I'm Currently Reading: The Lumberjanes Vol. 4: Out of Time by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, & Brooke Allen

The internet has a plethora of sites that offer free or deeply discounted e-books to members.

They get their product from authors who are enticed by the opportunity to have a promo template of their book sent free to the site’s membership in hopes that some members will download it, read and review it.

The free offer is a teaser to encourage you to pay for their enhanced list - more members and prolonged exposure.

They also offer a free author interview template. Answer the questions, add your picture and they’ll post it for free.

I discounted Local Rag to 99¢ and submitted it to the four sites listed below, taking advantage of free option only. I work hard to write and produce a decent book and I won't pay to give it away for free.

 

Like so many things that are free, and I suppose that goes for most free e-books, you get what you pay for. I didn’t see a whiff of interest.

I’ve researched a few authors who have documented how much they spent versus how much they made in sales using this approach. They claim to have broke even, but I have my doubts. I’m reminded of my friend who makes frequent trips to Las Vegas. When he wins, I hear about it. When he loses, well, he’s back talking about the time he won.

The other thing I noticed is that their book sales were not sustained. There may have been a blip, but there was not enough reviews, word of mouth, or buzz, in general, to elevate their book from self-publishing oblivion.

 

Stay calm, be brave, watch for the signs

 

Discount book sites

http://discountbookman.com

http://pretty-hot.com

http://mybookplace.net

Awesomegang.com

 

My Amazon Book Page in case you want to purchase Local Rag for 99¢ until the end of August

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

 

 

Not as good as 3 cups of tea, I felt this book came off much more blowhardishness with "look at me, look at me!" moments versus some of the humility I felt that GM showed in his first book.

Cultural sensitivity and the empowerment of those he seeks to help are key factors in the success of the Central Asia Institute's mission to educate girls in remote areas of Afghanistan & Pakistan. The individual stories of CAI staff and students form a compelling narrative and provide insight into complex conflicts. Anyone interested in making the world a better place would likely benefit from Greg Mortenson's insights and experience.

Very satisfying to read how much progress CAI has made since we left off at the end of "Three Cups of Tea". I loved the motley cast of hard-working characters. It's really nice to hear the military over there is aware of Greg's work and listens to his voice, his ideas, and his wisdom.

The writing on this book was somewhat better than on the last, but what captivates about these is just the simple story of an ordinary man with no particular charisma or public-speaking skills taking things into his own hands and making a real difference in the world. The books give me great hope for the future of the world. They teach us that we don't have to wait for some aid organization or some government to make things right. We can just do it ourselves.

I believe the next generation, those who have been raised with the internet, within this new global neighborhood, will finish what we here today are starting. They will finish the unification of the world and the application of rich-world resources to poor-world problems so that in the future anyone's problems will be everyone's problems, and we'll all pull together to clean up this slum called the world and make it into a clean, safe, beautiful, and healthy home for the family of humankind.