Nook Review

One of the best products I bought this year was the Nook from Barnes and Noble.  The Nook is an e-reader that is sleek, light-weight, and has a lot of great features.

One of the best features that I like is the free 3G connectivity to the online B&N bookstore.  I’ve never had any connection problems and an entire bookstore of e-books is available at my fingertips.  This has been one of my favorite features because as soon as I finish reading one book I’m disappointed if I don’t have another one lined up ready to go.  Not a problem for me now.

With a touch screen menu you can go to your library which holds all of your e-books, check your favorite daily blogs (like this one!), shop for more books, play games, connect to the internet and more.

When I pitched the idea to my wife it was an easy sell.  I have so many books taking up shelf space (and floor space in some rooms) in my house she was excited at the prospect of shoring up some space on the walls. 

But what if I just want to borrow a book from somebody?  If anybody else has a Nook and recommends a book to me, they can lend it to me and vice versa.  So the e-book would go from their Nook to mine. 

The craziness doesn’t stop there.  Go into any Barnes and Noble and through the free Wi-Fi feature you can read any book that Barnes and Noble offers as though you’re reading a book right off the shelf. 

I researched both the Kindle and the Nook before I made the decision for the Nook.  Honestly, they’re not that far apart in features.  The main ones that separated the Nook in my mind were the touch screen menu and the ability to borrow/lend e-books to others.  I think both are great products though. 

Typical e-books run anywhere from the low price of free, to as high as $12.99 for new releases still in hardback. Most books are $9.99.

The Nook with 3G and Wi-Fi currently runs about $199.  The Nook without 3G but has Wi-Fi runs about $149.  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp

Thriller Recommendations

The great thing about thrillers is that they have plot twists and distortions that throw you off and keep you guessing.  This week’s recommendations either came close to throwing me off or did so brilliantly.  If you have not yet read any of these then you should definitely pick one up today.

1.  Executive Privilege:  Political Thriller by Phillip Margolin.  Private Detective Dana Cutler is hired by an attorney with powerful connections.  The assignment is simply to trail a pretty college student and report on where she goes and whom she sees.  The trouble arises when Dana follows her to a secret meeting with the President of the United States in rural Virginia.  The following morning the student’s dead body turns up and Dana has to run for her life. 

-Tim’s Note:  After a certain point I started to see where this one was going, but the ride there was excellent.

2. The Third Option: Espionage/Spy Thriller by one of my favorite authors Vince Flynn.  Battle-scarred protagonist Mitch Rapp returns to take on a sensitive new assignment in Europe, only to have things go awry when his two CIA colleagues turn on him following the assassination of a wealthy German count that has been selling arms to Saddam Hussein. Rapp survives their double-dealing, but he is forced to go underground to decipher the labyrinthine chain of political connections and to learn who was trying to have him killed. Back in Washington, a similar game of spy-versus-spy is being conducted by the elderly, dying director of the CIA and his chosen successor. Rapp eventually surfaces to help his bosses, but things get personal for the ace counterterrorist when Rapp's bride-to-be is kidnapped as part of the ongoing political maneuvers (from Publisher’s Weekly).

-Tim’s Note:  Mitch Rapp makes Jack Bauer look like a little league tee-ball player. Author Vince Flynn actually became a guest writer for the show 24.

3. The Lions of Lucerne: Action Thriller by another one of my favorite authors Brad Thor.  Thirty secret service agents are executed on the snowy slopes of Utah and the vacationing President of the United States is abducted.  Former Navy-Seal turned Secret Service Agent breaks all the rules to avenge his fallen agents and to recover the President

  -Tim’s Note:  Again, if you’re a fan of 24 this book is right up your ally in a violent way. 

4. The General’s Daughter:  Military Thriller by Nelson DeMille.  This book was adapted to film starring John Travolta.  The movie was good, but as usual the book was far better and much more thrilling.  US Army CID Agent Paul Brenner investigates the unusual murder of CPT Campbell, the daughter of the General who commands the post. 

-Tim’s Note:  I read this back before the movie came out and the ending definitely threw me off.  I never saw it coming.  If you’ve never seen the movie nor read the book, definitely pick it up.

5.  The Bride Collector:  Supernatural Thriller by Ted Dekker.  FBI Special Agent Brad Raines is chasing a serial killer who murders beautiful young women and leaves behind a wedding veil.  Unable to catch the killer, Raines recruits the help of a young woman who has the ability to experience the final moments of a victim’s life by touching their body.

   -Tim’s Note:  I’m currently halfway through this one.  The characters are excellent and I’m clueless as to how this one will end.

                                                                          

My Platform

Thanks for checking out my first blog!  The reason I created this site is because I'm writing a political/thriller novel.  I’ve researched how to get published and the number one thing I’ve learned is the need to have an established platform.  A strong platform is necessary for many literary agents or publishers to give your manuscript a chance regardless of how good it may be. 

The majority of first-time novels lose money for publishers so they have been less and less willing to give first-time authors a chance.  They basically want to see that you have already established a base of readers and people who will support your book.  Thus, my blog!

Have you ever read a novel and said “I could have written that?”  I do all the time and have multiple story ideas in my head.  So I'm finally going to put it down on paper (technically Microsoft Word but paper sounded better) and see how I do.  So far I’ve completed five chapters of my first draft. 

 In future posts I'll give updates of my progress and a synopsis of my novel.  If you’re also a book fan, I’ll be posting book reviews of my favorites and not so favorites of various genres.  From time to time I’ll give my two cents on current events, music, and various other items of interest. 

I'll be writing a few posts a week so be sure to check them out.  Thanks, and be sure to visit often and to tell your friends and family too!  My goal is to have at least one-thousand followers by the time I have my final edited manuscript, ready to send off to literary agents. 

So that’s the big idea behind me creating a blog!  Hopefully I’ll be able to say someday, you all helped me get published.