avidbookreader » SidePosts

Taking a Brief Break From Blogging

Avid Reader — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:15:27 +0000

Debated on posting this but I think I will for those few of you who check this blog on a regular basis. This is just a brief note that to say that I will be taking a brief break from blogging right now. I have a new job with new responsibilities and this will be (and already has) taken up a lot of my spare time for Internet browsing/social media conversations with my fellow bloggers.

I don’t post everyday anyway so lack of updates won’t be a red flag that I’m gone for most of you. Quite frankly, I am quite weary of the Internet. Just uninterested in it right now. It happens on occasion. Anyway, I’ll be back after I get acclimated with things. Promise. I will be reading though and checking my emails. I will continue to participate in the TBR Challenge but that’s about it. Thanks.

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B&N: Where’s the Ebooks?

Avid Reader — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:00:52 +0000

Remember the commercial: where’s the beef? Yeah, where’s the ebooks? Barnes and Noble ebook store has this motto on their twitter page that boasts:

Enjoy eBooks Any Time, Any Place at the world’s largest eBook store

Can’t be all that big since two titles are missing from it but can be found everywhere else including Fictionwise. Nice going B&N.

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Territorial Rights and Ebook Readers

Avid Reader — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:41:04 +0000

Ran across this somewhat brief article from Digital Book World that discusses the territorial rights that prohibits readers from buying ebooks from other countries. The article isn’t all that in depth but it briefly explains why territorial rights were established. Quite frankly, readers don’t care anything about why they are restricted or what territorial rights were intended to do, they just want to read the damn ebooks.

The sooner this gets resolved the better. Many times I recommend books to other readers and friends who reside in other countries and they can’t buy them. A lot of lost sales at every turn because of these damn geographical restrictions are in place. On it’s face it seems ridiculous and it’s very frustrating from a consumer viewpoint. That’s the only viewpoint I have and as a consumer, it should have some weight to make these publishers and authors think about making their ebooks available to everybody.

Speaking of other countries and their marketing strategies, take a look at the cover art of these three books from Laurell K. Hamilton’s very popular (when will this end?) Anita Blake series. Booksellers and marketers know what sells in their respective regions because clearly the covers look really, really weird to this American reader. I will say one thing in that they are very arresting to look at as I don’t know what exactly I am looking at or what made them conjure up these covers.

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Thinking About Leaving A Bad Review on Goodreads? Are You Sure?

Avid Reader — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:25:06 +0000

Be prepared for some of the authors to respond in a hostile fashion (no links) on Goodreads or any other public forum for that matter. I’ve read or entertained myself thus far with two authors who are learning the hard way what it truly means to attack a reviewer. It’s not like “reviewer” is a revered position. It’s just that authors are fighting a losing battle when they confront reviewers about their opinion on their book(s).

It’s fair game when the author’s response to a bad review is well reasoned and not personal but as most authors will tell you, it’s not smart to respond to positive reviews or negative reviews. It’s best to say nothing and remain in the background. I’ve been online a long ass time. Suffice to say that bad reviews are not going anywhere anytime soon.

No author likes to read or hear bad things about their work. Especially after their book has been getting great reviews everywhere else on the net. It’s like a slap in the face when they see a bad one. See? I understand. But once the book is published, it’s up for public consumption. And it’s not like everybody has great taste either. Books are no different than any other consumer good as far as I’m concerned. And yes, readers come in all kinds of stripes as well. The most extreme we term “rabid” and yes we talk about them too.

In conclusion, new authors, clueless authors, self-published and NYT published — do yourselves a favor and just thank the reader for reading your book and then go offline and cuss them out in the privacy of your own home. Just don’t do it on the Internet for the world to see. Common sense 101.

As an Internet user, I’ve run across topics that have made my blood pressure go up on occasion and to alleviate that I just hit the back button. But you know, I value my time and my sanity too much to participate in online drama. I really, truly, don’t want to argue or convince someone named “anon” to my side of things. I have better things to do than that, thanks.

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Installing Python on Mac and PC, Manga Recs and More

Avid Reader — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:00:45 +0000

Just in Case You Missed It…

Jane (technical guru) wrote out the tutorial for installing Python and Pycrypto to your Mac or PC or both (you can have it your way). I am a new Mac user (purchased an iMac) and have already printed out the instructions to give it a go on my next day off because I have a feeling that it will be an all day event. I had issues with creating my own cloud of ebooks but eventually got that one going. To truly own, I mean _own_ your ebooks without worrying about the loss of your investment, you have to crack the DRM. Simple. As. That.

Ellora’s Cave Goes Audio.…Yes, you read that right. Readers now have the choice to listen to those super hawt erotic love scenes in the form of an audiobook from Ellora’s Cave. Wonder how that will come across? Blergh. Sorry but audiobooks were never my thing even for regular fiction. Have fun with that as you have a whooping three titles to choose from (at the time of this writing).

Author Interview: Karen Harper, discussing her newest novel, Down River, at the International Thriller Writers blog. I’ve always wanted to read Harper and have one or two books of hers in my stash. Must make effort to read her this year. If anyone has recs, please share.

Manga Readers like myself, appreciate lists. Here is the Manga Critic’s Ten Great Global Manga, focusing on American artists or OEL (wiki) (Original English Language-manga).

Among certain parts of manga fandom, global manga (or OEL manga) is viewed as the comic-book equivalent of New Coke: the packaging might be similar, but the taste is different and, as these fans would have it, not as good as the original.

Will give some of those titles a look when I’m in the library next time.

On a more serious note, I saw a picture (warning, warning) of Roger Ebert on the cover of Esquire magazine and froze. I knew he had cancer and that he had several surgeries that I think he said weren’t always successful that left him unable to talk, eat or drink. I grew up watching Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel on TV and enjoyed their commentary on films and on each other. After seeing the Esquire picture of what Ebert looks like today, I was in total shock. I read the article and eventually that made me feel better knowing that he has Chaz (his wife and protector) beside him to lift up his spirits.

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Must See This to Believe, Authors “Having Fun.”

Avid Reader — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:00:41 +0000

Ran across Mrs Giggles site and what do I find, a YouTube video of Connie Brockway, Teresa Medeiros and Eloisa James doing — something (not singing of course, certainly not that) with a Cindy Lauper 80’s tune. Enjoy.

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New Lord John Novella in “Warriors” Anthology

Avid Reader — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:14:43 +0000

Fans of Diana Gabaldon may want to go ahead and order this new anthology that features a BRAND NEW Lord John Grey short story that’s featured in Warriors edited by George R.R. Martin and some other guy (just kidding) & Gardner Dozois. Gabaldon also gives readers a sneak peek of this novella (go read). Kindle price is $8.18 at the time of this writing. Remember, Macmillan plans to increase ebook prices so pre-order your copy quickly. No, I’m not using affiliate links.

The anthology also features many other wonderful writers all of whom I either never heard of or never read before. Authors like Robin Hobb, Noami Novik (read only book by her) and James Rollins and many, many more. And for those restless fans looking for another Song of Ice and Fire book (who knows when that’s coming out) will be able to satiate their reading palette with a novella from George R.R. Martin. Cheers.

More details: Hardcover, 736 pages, list price $27.99 with a release date of March 16, 2010.

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Author, Scott Turow Set to Release Sequel to Presumed Innocent

Avid Reader — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:42:47 +0000

Wow, color me surprised to learn on Twitter (no less) that Scott Turow is set to release the sequel to his blockbuster hit novel, Presumed Innocent (1987). I saw the movie, never read the book about a man accused of killing his mistress. The movie was good! And that ending! What a twist, huh? I love these kinds of novels. Will the sequel surpass the first book? What plot twists could Turow have up his sleeve this time?

Anyway, the title of the sequel is Innocent, from Grand Central Publishing (May 2010). It’s hardcover with (I presume) the ebook coming out on the same day. Glanced at the Kindle price and yes, it’s a whopping $18.79 with a list price of $27.99. If you’re like me, you’ll just catch the movie version whenever it becomes available (ha ha). For Scott Turow fans, here’s an article that came out last year (Scott Turow to Switch Publishers For Sequel) that talks more about the author and his new book. Writing this up made me think of how much I miss Raul Julia. I manged to snag the synopsis from B&N website that really doesn’t say a heck of a whole lot:

The sequel to the genre-defining, landmark bestseller Presumed Innocent, INNOCENT continues the story of Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto who are, once again, twenty years later, pitted against each other in a riveting psychological match after the mysterious death of Rusty’s wife.

Guess what I’m watching tonight?

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Ebook Quality Control

Avid Reader — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:48:58 +0000

Digital Book World and it’s blog whose mission is to “[focus] on publishing strategies, not tools; solutions, not theories; practicality, not punditry” spotlights Liza Daly’s presentation (Ms. Daly is an experienced software engineer and consultant for digital publishing). Her presentation at the 2010 Digital Book World Conference talked about essentially, ebook quality control. Timely topic since major publishers are pushing for higher ebook prices.

Ms. Daly’s presentation reflects exactly how I feel about the state of ebooks today. For starters, she discusses “front matter” or extraneous info that readers typically run across in ebooks. Do I care to thumb through the acknowledgments page, the copyright page and several more blank pages before I start reading? No.

Lack of covers — most annoying. But the argument always circles back to well, you’re not even reading on a device that sports color anyway so what’s the big deal. It’s a big deal. In color or not, I would like to look at the original cover versus looking at a mock-up with book title, author name and publisher name. Its an eye-sore and it looks tacky. Besides, Stanza and eReader apps for iPhone sports color covers.

Right now I am reading an secure ePub title that has numbers in the margins. It’s not entirely bothersome but I do notice it and why is it even there? Ms. Daly also touches on the lack of conversation quality control and editorial errors. This is another big area. In many instances while reading Stieg Larsson’s ebooks, I’ve run across needless errors. It’s jarring when you have to figure stuff like this out: “aretired” when it’s actually this –> “a retired…” for example.

But from what I’ve read online (and correct me if I’m wrong), publishers aren’t really caring about the money they make from ebooks anyway since the high prices are set to be prohibitive. We are told repeatedly that the big six make their money from hardcovers. So will any of this sink in? Make a difference?

Anyway, I highly recommend reading Digital Book World as it has interesting information for readers or ebook readers. It is a most informative blog thus far, that keeps its pulse on the trends and changes and nuances of digital publishing today.

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Morning Report

Avid Reader — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:00:26 +0000

This a quick run down of the articles/posts I’ve read this past week.

Super Bowl 2010

What about that Super Bowl 2010, huh? Congrats to the New Orleans Saints! I’m sure this win has special meaning for the people of New Orleans who’ve had some trials and tribulations this past few years. Congratulations to you all.

I was at work so I didn’t get to catch the commercials for Super Bowl 2010. Did you have any favorites? Here’s the back story behind the Leno-Oprah-Letterman ad that I found funny considering the history between all three participants. Via Bill_Landay (Twitter)

Higher Ebook Prices On the Horizon

The feud is allegedly over between online retailer Amazon.com and one of the big “six” publishers, Macmillan. For one solid week, the “buy new” links were pulled for all Macmillan titles while authors and readers watched from the sidelines. I don’t suspect that my reading habits will change much now that publishers are getting ready to raise ebook prices. I never bought Macmillan ebooks or any other publisher’s if they were priced higher than the mmp.

Make sure to check out this article, My Ebook Resolution: Saying No to the Ebook Tax at Dear Author, written by Jane. I agree with her resolutions and plan to continue doing what I’ve always been doing and that is not buying ebooks that are priced higher than the mmp and stop buying hardcovers. My plan to support authors is to continue buying their ebook(s) at reasonable cost as usual. I have a tbr pile that could sustain me for a few years, too.

British Actor Who Portrayed Peter Wimsey on the BBC Has Died

Seems that British actor, Ian Carmichael, who portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey on the BBC series passed away. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Peter Wimsey series from my fellow readers. So much so that I bought the first book to try, Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Contest Equal Free Books

Contest is ongoing right now at Jessica’s blog from Racy Romance Reviews. She’s giving away all her print books since she already owns the audio or ebook version(s) of them. I should do this but I am too lazy. Anyway, make note of this: “Contest ends midnight Eastern time Saturday 2/13.”

What Are You Reading?

I am currently reading a ebook, The Girl With Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. So far, it is AWESOME. Not sure if many of you have seen this YouTube video, just pictures set to music of Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in the movie version (WSJ article) of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

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Norwegian Crime Novelist, Jo Nesbo, Upcoming US Events

Avid Reader — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:24:12 +0000

Seems that my favorite crime novelist from Oslo will be coming to the US! He has some scheduled events where unfortunately, it looks like he won’t be in my neck of the woods. Damn. Well, if he’s in your area, go meet him!

The website says he’s promoting Nemesis from his most excellent Harry Hole series. Although he does have a new hardcover coming out, The Devil’s Star in March 2010.The three books that are and will be available for US readers are: The Redbreast, Nemesis and The Devil’s Star (in March). Love. Him. I really do. Why? Great plotter. Great writer. Interesting protagonist. Read him. I have. And no, those aren’t affiliate links.

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Upcoming Mystery Releases

Avid Reader — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:08:05 +0000

Here is what I’ve found to be available within the next few months that I am buying/reading:

Broken (June 22) by Karin Slaughter, it’s the next book in the Grant County series. The first book in the series was Blindsighted (captivating). I see that Will Trent’s mentioned in the synopsis and dammit, I will be reading this book after all. Will Trent has his own series that started with Triptych but the author merged them.

Shoot to Thrill by PJ Tracy (April 29) is a mother/daughter writing team. The first book in this series was Monkeewrench, a book I enjoyed. I was underwhelmed with the follow-up, Live Bait. Therefore, I’ve cherry picked titles in this series to read. I have Snow Blind still to read but this is a series worth checking out. It has a nice, subtle romance in them. Hope to get back on track.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larrson (May 25) the third and final book in the Millennium series. I am reading the first book and after reading about 75% of the book, I can now understand the fuss. The one thing that kept nagging at me was when Blomkvist and Lisbeth Solander would actually meet. Full review next week.

The Last Illusion (Molly Murphy series #9) by Rhys Bowen (March 2). I must start this series! I own the first three books so I am making sure to read this series this year. They are historical mysteries.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (March 4) is the what, fifth or sixth Harry Hole title? Unsure since they’ve been translated out of chronological order. This is available in hardcover from the UK. I’m an impatient reader when it comes to this man’s books.

There are other titles, filed under romantic suspense that are only a passing interest for me, starting with Linda Howard (Veil of Night), Karen Robards (Shattered) and Nora Robert’s (The Search). I already know about Ariana Franklin’s new one (A Murderess Procession).

I don’t know what’s the hold-up with the lack of cover art for Julia Spencer-Fleming’s One Was A Soldier, which is due out in April. But anyway, I plan to read more Nordic noir and will focus more on that with some romance thrown in between. Well, that’s it for me. What are you looking forward to reading?

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No Thanks, Apple, Already Have An Ereader

Avid Reader — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:00:27 +0000

This is short and sweet as I’m sure many of you could care less for this topic but this is how I feel about Apple’s new creation (and no, nobody asked me). Here we go: No, thanks. The iPad changes nothing for me. In fact, it’s just a big iTouch with an ebook app among other things that pretty much duplicates everything I can very well do on my iPhone already, thank you very much. Except for screen size, really, what is the difference? And don’t get me started on the iBook store (mouthing:expensive).

To quote Amazon (from PC Magazine),

“Customers can read and sync their Kindle books on iPhones, iPod touches, PCs, and soon Blackberrys, Macs, and iPads. Kindle is purpose-built for reading. Weighing in at less than 0.64 pounds, Kindle fits comfortably in one hand for hours, has an e-ink display that is easy on the eyes even in bright daylight, two weeks of battery life, and 3G wireless with no monthly fees–all at a $259 price. Kindle editions of New York Times Bestsellers and most New Releases are only $9.99.”

Yeah, I laughed. Anyway, I’ll be sticking with my Sony Reader, Apple. Thanks but no thanks. If I was rich, maybe I’d entertain one of these but, I live in the real world and can’t justify the cost. Rain check?

Notes: Full article title is Amazon Responds to Apple’s iPad and story was brought to my attention by fellow Twitterer mfmakichen. Thanks.

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2010 Reissues From Author, Jennifer Crusie

Avid Reader — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:08:12 +0000

Seems that Jennifer Crusie’s publisher is reissuing some of her backlist for 2010 so BOLO. Tell Me Lies, Crazy For You and Trust Me On This, etc are all being released this year with new covers. She mentions that Tell Me Lies and Crazy For You will be coming out in trade paperback. The covers I think look cute? What do you think? I’ve not read Tell Me Lies but recently enjoyed Manhunting. As a contemporary romance author, Jennifer Crusie is one of the best and her backlist titles seem to age well over time (Trust Me On This was very good).

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Piracy…Again

Avid Reader — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:00:52 +0000

Just ran across this article by another author ranting against Piracy. I’m all tapped out, I’m afraid. This isn’t my livelihood after all. But here’s your problem, to quote JD Rhoades,

I don’t think anyone here is going to disagree that piracy is wrong. To me, the unanswered questions are (1) how do you stop it without pissing off your customers (something the record companies never managed) ; and (2) If you can’t stop it, how do you make a living anyway?

Good point and I didn’t read the other 67 comments (yawn). But go on over and entertain yourselves though. As long as publishers continue to cling to their hardcovers, you’ll have more than piracy to deal with. How about my spending my money on other stuff? Do I want to read a book or watch Inglorious Basterds tonight?

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Explanation Behind Stripping Unsold Books

Avid Reader — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:00:32 +0000

Borders bookstore is coming under fire for stripping and trashing unsold books (Trashgate). It’s a practice that’s been around for years. The reason for writing this post is because if you’ve ever been curious as to why bookstores strip unsold books and trash them, here it is:

Why Won’t Borders Donate Their Soon-To-Be-Trashed Books? (The Huffington Post, Dated Dec 11, 2009)

Yet there is surprisingly little consumer awareness of how the publishing industry’s outdated business model results in unsold books literally being thrown away. By shipping books to retailers on consignment terms, thus allowing the return of unsold merchandise, the publishing industry operates unlike all other manufacturers. An estimated 30 to 40 percent of books are returned by bookstores annually. Between 65 and 95 percent of returned books are pulped — destroyed by publishers.

But it costs money to ship returned books back. Thus was born the practice of stripping covers from books, only sending back the covers, and book stores themselves destroying the remainder of the unsold books. Dumpstering happens every day in large chain book stores. But how many customers and citizens know the truth?

Obviously, not very many. And it’s sounds so antiquated, too. Just to throw this out there, with ebooks, if publishers were to, how to put it, adopt this format, they wouldn’t have to worry so much about costly returns but then that goes beyond the scope of this article.

In the end we all agree that’s it wasteful and awful when so many others could benefit from this situation (donating to libraries has been mentioned numerous times). But there’s a reason behind all this madness but that doesn’t necessarily mean we all have to agree with it.

I agree that this is not the bookstore’s fault, however, so the ire needs to be re-directed. They are only following procedure in order to get their money back. This is standard procedure for any business that has a product that didn’t move off the shelf within a certain amount of time. That’s business 101.

This topic & discussion was brought to my attention by Babbling About Books and photo credit goes to SpecialKRB

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Insight Into Author James Patterson’s Success via New York Times

Avid Reader — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:56:06 +0000

James Patterson Inc (Magazine Preview)

This is a rather lengthy online article but very interesting! I’ve read only one James Patterson novel (and enjoyed it) but with so much to read, I’ve never really cared to read more. No worries though as he’s not hurting from my lack of funds: Check this out:

There are many different ways to catalog Patterson’s staggering success. Here are just a few: Since 2006, one out of every 17 novels bought in the United States was written by James Patterson. He is listed in the latest edition of “Guinness World Records,” published last fall, as the author with the most New York Times best sellers, 45, but that number is already out of date: he now has 51 — 35 of which went to No. 1.

James Patterson has a unique set-up with his publishers,

Patterson and his publisher, Little, Brown & Co., a division of the Hachette Book Group, have an unconventional relationship. In addition to his two editors, Patterson has three full-time Hachette employees (plus assistants) devoted exclusively to him: a so-called brand manager who shepherds Patterson’s adult books through the production process, a marketing director for his young-adult titles and a sales manager for all his books.

Yep, James Patterson is their golden boy so it’s really not a surprise. Read this article or bookmark it for later. Very interesting. Makes me wonder if other big name authors have a similar set-up with editors and such? Or if they’re intimately involved in the publication of their books like James Patterson? Because what he seems to be doing is working. But I find him too prolific myself and sometimes that can backfire. Obviously not with him though.

For Further Reading

REVIEW: The Quickie by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

2010 Edgar Award Nominees

Avid Reader — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:09:35 +0000

Here is the Edgar Nominee list over at Sarah Weiman’s blog of the 2010 Edgar award nominees. I’m thrilled to see Jo Nesbø nominated for BEST NOVEL for Nemesis. Anyway, here is an abbreviated list, the complete list is provided in the link. Good reading to you.

BEST NOVEL
The Missing by Tim Gautreaux (Random House — Alfred A. Knopf)
The Odds by Kathleen George (Minotaur Books)
The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books)
Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston (Random House — Ballantine Books)
Nemesis by Jo Nesbø, translated by Don Bartlett (HarperCollins)
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)

(emphasis added by me)

The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano (Grand Central Publishing)
Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley (Simon & Schuster — Touchstone)
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (MIRA Books)
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur Books – Thomas Dunne Books)
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (HarperCollins)
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Havana Lunar by Robert Arellano (Akashic Books)
The Lord God Bird by Russell Hill (Pleasure Boat Studio – Caravel Books)
Body Blows by Marc Strange (Dundurn Press – Castle Street Mysteries)
The Herring-Seller’s Apprentice by L.C. Tyler (Felony & Mayhem Press)

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Scandanavian Crime Fiction is Hot, Hot, Hot

Avid Reader — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:00:02 +0000

Scandinavian Crime: Red Blood and White Snow (Mystery Fanfare Blog)

This isn’t news to anyone who’s been reading Crime Fiction for the past few years, but Scandinavian Crime is Hot

Yep. I agree completely. European crime fiction is super hot. I’ve enjoyed Jo Nesbo’s three books: Nemesis, The Redeemer and The Devil’s Star all set in Oslo, Norway. I started reading Stieg Larrson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Just what is so good about these books that readers can’t seem to get enough of them? Well, for me, the setting is a big, big part of the reason why I enjoy Jo Nesbo’s books. Doesn’t hurt that the stories are character driven and the authors know how to plot and plot well. I bought of slew of new authors to try like Karen Fossum and Arnaldur Indriason to name a few. Can’t wait. Check out the article.

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2010 Newbery Award Winner : When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Avid Reader — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:00:48 +0000

As a fan of young adult literature and owner of this novel, I’m happy, no, thrilled to hear that Rebecca Stead’s book, When You Reach Me (Wendy Lamb Books 2009), has won the prestigious Newbery Award. The synopsis below:

Four mysterious letters change Miranda’s world forever.

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.

But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:

I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.
I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.

The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.

Awards: 2010 Newbery Medal Winner and 2009 Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner