Cozy Mysteries discussion
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Your Latest Cozy Splurge
okay so Kari, I am still really jealous!! What do you do with your books when you are done reading them?? Hahahaha....by the way, sometimes they only take off a dollar on combined shipping and that burns me bad....then the box comes and you see they charged you like 8 bucks more for the shipping then what is on the box!!
Kari wrote: "It cost 10.00 to ship and they charged me 20.00 for shipping and the books were just packed in supermarket plastic bags. I do not mind paying a few bucks over the shipping cost but for 10.00 mo..."
Yeah, that's too much, especially when they did a crappy packing job to boot. I sell my hardcovers on eBay and most of my new release paperbacks, too. What I can't sell on there I put on PBS or give to my niece or some friends.
Wow! You got a lot of books, Kari! I've read all of those except the first set (pet detective). I guess I should consider selling those new books I read once but then I just figure I'll try to give them to a good new home so I've been putting most of mine on the bookswap here.My next big splurge will be in July when the following books I want will be released: Cricket McRae "Something Borrowed, Something Bleu", Deborah Sharp "Mama Gets Hitched", Avery Aames "The Long Quiche Goodbye", Riley Adams "Delicious and Suspicious", Donna Andrews "Stork Raving Mad", Annette Blair "Death by Diamonds", Casey Daniels "Tomb with a View", Rebecca Hale "Nine Lives Last Forever", Linda O. Johnston "Feline Fatale", Victoria Laurie "A Glimpse of Evil", Mary Jane Maffini "Closet Confidential" and Sheila Lowe "Last Writes." Those all come out on 1 or 6 July. Then Elizabeth Duncan's "A Brush with Death" and Jane Haddam's "Wanting Sheila Dead" come out on 20 July and Chris Cavender's "Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder" comes out on 27 July. Woohoo! (Borders loves to see me come in with my shopping list!)
I loved the Maddy Hunter series you bought Kari. The seniors in her tour group make me laugh.I went to Goodwill today and came home with:
The New Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie
Artists in Crime
50 Harbor Street
Murder of a Small-Town Honey
Wreath of Deception
Peril at End House British Edition with different cover art than the one I already have.
Kari what is your ebay seller name?? I will surely check out your inventory-hahaha.
Not cozies but I recently purchased books 4, 5 and 6 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward. I'm moving soon and can't order any books from PBS (worried about them getting to me) or I would have WL them there. The lines seems to move pretty steadily. Then I found a couple of books at the thrift store. So this week I got: Lover Revealed JR Ward Amazon
Lover Unbound JR Ward local bookstore
Lover Enshrined JR Ward Amazon
Rushed to the Altar Jane Feather-grocery store impulse buy
Snowy Night with a Stranger (thrift store)
The Gunfighter Bobbi Smith (thrift store)
Slave to Sensation Nalini Singh (amazon)
Wild Heat Bella Andre (amazon)
Oh and 2 books for my daughter from the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter. Which is what led to the Amazon order where I forgot to get one of the BDB books which led to my trip to the local bookstore.
Caroline wrote: "Wow! You got a lot of books, Kari! I've read all of those except the first set (pet detective). I guess I should consider selling those new books I read once but then I just figure I'll try to gi..."Amazon has had the Cricket McRae book in stock for going on 2 weeks now. I'm about 1/2 way through it and it's a good one! My copy of SIZZLING SIXTEEN is on the way, and I also have the Avery Aames, Riley Adams, Casey Daniels & Victoria Laurie books on order, along with KITTY GOES TO WAR by Carrie Vaughn, LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater, DARK & STORMY KNIGHTS edited by P.N. Elrod, BRING ON THE NIGHT by Jeri Smith-Ready and UNDEAD & UNFINISHED by Maryjanice Davidson, all for July!!
Kari wrote: "I am really going to try and not buy any new books until I get my TBR pile down a little. The Diva series by Eileen Davidson has been calling my name though. Melodie do you sell lots of paperba..."
I sell a lot of my cozies on eBay. The new releases anyway. I usually group them in lots of 3. Sometimes I'll have 2 new ones and an older one in a group, just to get rid of some of the older ones I have. My name is paylady!. The exclamation point is part of the name.
I've been hitting garage sales hoping to score some books cheaply. I've been getting 3 for $5 on John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, etc. And at one on the weekend the lady charged me $1 each!So, in the past two weeks I've bought:
Whew.
Erin wrote: "I've been hitting garage sales hoping to score some books cheaply. I've been getting 3 for $5 on John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, etc. And at one on the weekend the lady charged me $1 each!So, ..."
I LOVED
! It was a hoot! And I'm a Sookie junkie! GONE, BABY, GONE is my favorite of Lehane's Patrick & Angie books. The movie was "god-awful", but the book is great.
I bought You Suck before I realized it was part of a series so now I need to find book one. I avoided Sookie for SO long, but since I liked Charlaine's books in the past I finally caved and I love 'em. I made my husband find and download all of True Blood so I can watch the show now!
Kari wrote: "Thanks to Melodie my resolve not to buy any more cozies until my present TBR pile went down a little lasted a week. She had 
for auction plus two other b..."Thanks, Kari! I'll be sending them out tomorrow!
For me, I don't wait for my TBR pile to be completely gone. Even though I have a lot of books I could re-read, I like to go to bookstores and look for new finds. And since I have discovered 3 new (to me) authors, I am trying to get to all of their books as well. I am hitting the library for them though, there are to many in each series and I just can't afford to buy every single one of them. With all of that being said, I did hit a used bookstore yesterday and picked up 6 pbks for around $6.50 total! I usually go to half-price books, but this place is so much cheaper, some of the books I got for $.85!
Oh, the 3 new authors are Marcia Talley, Sara Rosett and Victoria Thompson. I am on the 3rd in the Victoria Thompson books and I have read the first in each series by the other two. Both of these seem very promising.
Mod
I occasionally hit a library's book sales, too, which are usually the first Saturday of the month (with some months having two). It's weird but while this particular branch is difficult for me to get to, the facility where they hold their monthly sales is right by the grocery store. Some months the selection seems really picked over, and other months you can tell they just had a bunch of new donations.
When I went to this month's sale I walked away with three trade-size paperbacks, the kind that normally cost $15 to $17 in stores. Two were $3, one was $2. Paperbacks are usually 50 cents up to $2, depending on how recent they are.
I just splurged on amazon: 
Bit of a mix of cozies and PNR, but that's me done for June and July (and probably August as well).
Mod
Nairabell wrote: "I just splurged on amazon: [bookcover..."You've got some good stuff there! The Yasmine Galenorn series is pretty good, a bit up & down, but good on the whole. I love Stephanie Plum & Nevada Barr is great, tho I'm a few behind on that series right now. I liked NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED and the Abby & Ophelia books I was on the fence about for the longest time as I found Ophelia unlikeable, until the last book which redeemed the whole series for me!
Well, I'm new to reading cozies; romance and westerns have been my thing in the past, but I do like mysteries too and wanted to get involved with the cozies. So I went to the a local used bookstore last week and splurged to get books for the "summer" challenge. I bought .......S - Sew Deadly, by Elizabeth Lynn Casey
U - Unraveled Sleeve, by Monica Ferris
M - Monet Talks, by Tamar Myers
M - Murder Unleashed, by Elaine Viets
E - Embroidered Truths, by Monica Ferris
R - A Rose from the Dead, by Kate Collins
"Summer" - Milwaukee Summers Can Be Deady, by Kathleen Ann Barrett
I also got Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs which is the featured author for July, AND I got Sleeping with Anemone by Kate Collins for my Dads/Grads book for the June theme challenge.
Now that other challenges have been posted I'll have to go back to the bookstore ..... what a bummer :)
Happy Reading Everyone!
I have been trying not to buy any books because of the planned move to Phoenix should my bid ever be accepted on the house but we stopped at Big Lots tonight and they had a Clearance rack of books for 50 cents. Really wasn't much there but I picked up (no mysteries): Beyond the Blonde
Why I Jumped: My True Story of Postpartum Depression, Dramatic Rescue & Return to Hope
The Queen's Command : A Novel of Elizabethan England
Scattered Suns (for the signif other)
Then I looked at the other books they had and picked up two more books:
The Authentic South of Gone With the Wind: The Illustrated Guide to the Grandeur of a Lost Era because I am a true GWTW fan and this book looks really interesting
and because I love cats I also bought:
Cat Biz: A Compendium of Amazing Facts and Anecdotes from the Cat World
I know, very odd collection but if you notice I read a very wide range of books.
One of the best deals I've gotten recently was an Amelia Peabody mystery A River in the Sky on CD for $1.00! I was very jazzed, and I am listening to it now. Okay, not NOW, but you know what I mean! :-)
My Mother's Day card came with hubby's Father's Day card (my son had been on vacation) and he sent me a Border's card ;) So I picked up Sizzling Sixteen and Night of the Living Deed. I can't wait to start them ;)
Just picked up this week's library books that were in. Here's what came in:Simple Secrets. I really liked Mehl's Ivy Tower's mysteries and am looking forward to this new series. This series is set in a Mennonite Town of Harmony, KS.
My Name Is Memory. This book sounds very intriguing. The deal is Lucy Broward has a crush on a guy named Daniel Grey. Daniel is no ordinary young man. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize the souls of those he's previously known. And he has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl (Lucy). Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Lucy (of course having different names through the centuries) have been drawn together and he remembers it all. (Apparently she doesn't although she is drawn to him.) For all the many times they have come together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. The book weaves together their history and their present relationship. Doesn't that sound fabulous???
Last but not least (ladies that are going to join me in the Trixie Belden read) I got one of the two Trixie books that I put on reserve. Guess which one? Yep, book two. So I am still waiting on book one because anal me needs to read a series in order.
That's okay as I am still reading Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs. This book is breaking my heart. I had seen Mattie on the Jerry Lewis M.D. Telathon and also on Oprah. He was such a special soul, a very old soul in such a young, sick body. I feel guilty about complaining about my aches and pains when I read what Mattie suffered every day of his life until he died just before his 14th birthday. Oddly enough I picked this book up to read on June 22 (it had been here for quite a while and I thought it was time to read it) and June 22 is the anniversary of Mattie's death. I know several people don't like reading books that make them cry but even though I have had several crying episodes so far Mattie's message of peace and hope is what he wanted to convey to the world. I would encourage everyone to read this book or any of Mattie's books of published poems. The depth of this child's wisdom is staggering.
Today at the UBS I found Bake Sale Murder that I got for fifty cents. I also found The Aloha Quilt and Cat of the Century on CD for $1 each and they're new releases! Cool! I also bought The Cat Who Had 14 Tales (which I haven't read yet), The Cat Who Moved a Mountain, and The Cat Who Lived High (both of which I read, but my daughter wanted to read them! I got all three for twenty-five cents each.
Misty wrote: "Today at the UBS I found Bake Sale Murder that I got for fifty cents. I also found The Aloha Quilt and Cat of the Century on CD for $1 each and they're n..."The Aloha Quilt was very good. I love the Elm Creek Quilts series.
Last week at the Library I picked up these..Cozy, YA and not cozy
Finished the 'Secret Circle' and now reading Heaven Preserve Us
Ok I keep seeing that Cricket McRae series. Is it any good?
Heidi wrote: "Ok I keep seeing that Cricket McRae series. Is it any good?"Yes, it is! Well, I think so anyway and I've read them all, including the newest one which I just finished this week. Here's a listing, in order:
,
,
and
.
Mod
Heidi wrote: 'Ok I keep seeing that Cricket McRae series. Is it any good?'... I am enjoying Heaven Preserve Us so far Heidi. This is a new author for me. I am nearly half way in and its developing nicely..
Priscilla wrote: "Heidi wrote: 'Ok I keep seeing that Cricket McRae series. Is it any good?'... I am enjoying Heaven Preserve Us so far Heidi. This is a new author for me. I am nearly half way in ..."
I add the first book to my tbr pile. Thanks for your thoughts :)
Heather L wrote: "Denise: Of course book two came in first - Murphey's Law! I've seen a lot written about My Name Is Memory and it sounds good, but I think the reason I'm hesitant to read it is that i..."Thanks, Heather, another book for my TBR list AND another PROLIFIC writer to boot. (Kay Hooper)
I don't know if the two books are that similiar. I went to Amazon.com and read the synopsis of both. I think there is enough different to make them each stand on their own merit. I will have to read them both though to be certain (twist my arm, okay, that's enough). From what I was just reading
My Name Is Memory is going to be a trilogy.
I have not read Ann Brashares's YA books The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (didn't realize there were 5 in the series) although I've heard and seen great reviews. Didn't go to the movie either.
I usually wait until the new paperbacks have been out a week or so. I've noticed that the first week Amazon has them priced normally but then after that first week they go to the 4 for 3. But this month it seems I'll have to splurge if I want to read the new books right away. I have way too many hardbacks on the TBB list. I've bid on a few on ebay so we'll see.
whew...I think that is all for now. I hope to get some on ebay to offset the cost--but who knows. My favorite used book store used to buy hardbacks and rent them. The library is also always an option but I'm not good at waiting...lol
Has anyone tried www.bookswim.com ? It's like Netflix for books. You can choose several plans, prices based on the amount of books all at once? I'm not pushing the site and have no affiliation, just wondering how the selection is, customer service, etc. I'm very intrigued by it considering how much I read and that I usually only read a book once.
I loved all the Sisterhood books Denise.
Shay wrote: "Has anyone tried www.bookswim.com ? It's like Netflix for books. You can choose several plans, prices based on the amount of books all at once? I'm not pushing the site and have no affiliation, jus..."Is this a new thing that just started? I just checked it out though and it sounds interesting because I do Netflix and love it so I'd be interested in the books too but I searched for Madelyn Alt and they don't have any of her books. Wondering if it is mostly regular fiction and if maybe they don't have too many cozies?
Yes, the more I check it out, I think that they mostly offer new hardcover books. (So, it's more expensive due to postage.) I was just hoping to find someone who had/is using it because they have a request feature and I was wondering if their selection (of mysteries) had gotten better over time, how fast the book turnaround is, etc.I mostly buy paperbacks as most of the cozy series that I like only come in paperback.
Since June 1st I have bought and recived 50 books. Mostly new ones that came out around that time. I just have been so busy with summer stuff that I have not had so much time to read this month. Summer is so hard for me to get a lot of reading in.
Shay wrote: "Has anyone tried www.bookswim.com ? It's like Netflix for books. You can choose several plans, prices based on the amount of books all at once? I'm not pushing the site and have no affiliation, jus..."That is a great idea, but they should really change their prices to be closer to Netflix prices.
Mod
Hehe...you're welcome. She writes both thrillers and romance (actually more romantic suspense I think than just plain romance, and often with paranormal elements as well), which is one of the things I like about her. If you like a good thriller, her Bishop series is good, though it can get kind of creepy at times. I have a hard time putting those down at night. Many of her earlier romances have been or are being rereleased, which makes them easier to find. Kay Hooper may not be for everyone, but I love both her romances and her thrillers.
I'm sure I'll pick up the Brashares book eventually, since there has been so much hype about it. Probably when some of the hype dies down, LOL. I have not read her Traveling Pants series, either, though I know a friend and her teen daughter love them and the movie.
Mod
Death by Diamonds by Annette Blair
(This was an unexpected find as, according to my book list, it doesn't come out until July 7. In such good condition, it doesn't even look like it was read.)
Dead and Kicking by Wendy Roberts
(Already have the first two in this series.)
Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton
A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton
A Killer Stitch by Maggie Sefton
(I was only planning to get the first book in this series, since I've heard so many talk about it here but, uh...they had the first four books and I couldn't seem to pass that up. I blame all of you for these.)
A Girl's Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister
(Inadvertently bought book 6 a while back, and I hate reading books out of order, so had to look for book one. May have to go back for others in the series...sigh.)
Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs
(For the July author read--now have first books in two different series.)
A Veiled Antiquity by Rett MacPherson
(A series recommended by a friend, already have book one.)
Blue Heaven by C.J. Box
(Wasn't on the list; it caught my attention while searching for something else...go figure.)
The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell
(To replace my book that was ruined--this one was less than half price.)
Wanted! by Vicki Lewis Thompson
(What can I say, I love VLT!)
I just checked out the Bookswim site. I don't think for those of you with a great library in your town this would be any good. I'm still on the fence for myself though. I spend more than $30 every month on books which is the base membership cost. But since they don't have all the books I want I'll still be buying lots of books. I did see that they had some of the books that I got from my last amazon.com purchase--
. They have several of the new hardbacks that are on my list. There are also lots of books that I was interested in that I would never buy..but would love to read. Ugh...decisions.
In the past week I've bought:
,
,
,
and
.
One of the reasons I'm considering it is that, as patient as I am, our library system has only 40 copies of each part of Steig Larsson's books. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has over 300 requests, so three week lending period, 40 copies, transit+hold time= 7 month waiting list. Our library serves a region with a population of over 1,000,000 and it has only 40 copies of in demand books. (Fairly typical of new releases.)
I tried Bookswim and ended up canceling it. I felt like I could only add books to my list that my library didn't have. The selection wasn't all that great. I felt like I was waiting too long for books. However, I tried it when it first came out, so things may be better now. There are pros and cons (as with anything). I just went to an antique store. This particular one was great in the book area! They had an entire section of signed books. I picked up ...
(signed copy)
Shay wrote: "Has anyone tried www.bookswim.com ? It's like Netflix for books. You can choose several plans, prices based on the amount of books all at once? I'm not pushing the site and have no affiliation, jus..."Bookswim: you are renting books at the following rates PER MONTH:
$23.95 for 3 books ($7.98 per book)
$29.95 for 5 books ($5.99 per book)
$35.95 for 7 books ($5.14 per book)
$59.95 for 11 books ($5.45 per book)
Granted there are no due dates, late fees, or shipping costs but these books are rented and have to be returned. (Interesting that the 7 book rate is the cheapest.)
Just go to the library, it is FREE.
Shay wrote: "One of the reasons I'm considering it is that, as patient as I am, our library system has only 40 copies of each part of Steig Larsson's books. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has over 300 requests..."Shay: I know about waiting at the library for new popular books. I put them on reserve as soon as the library is taking reserves (or as soon as I think to look--I have never been #1 so obviously I'm a little slow) and sometimes have to wait for a good while. I have been waiting for Hannah's List for several months and I'm still only 11th on the list. But you know your calculation is not an absolute, if people read faster than the 3 week lending period (I often turn my books around in 3 days) that 7 months could shrink quite a bit. I have so many books piled up here to read (26 currently checked out from the library plus hundreds that I own) that sometimes I don't mind if I have to wait a while to get the book. I guess I'm not one to feel a pressing urgency that I have to read a book immediately upon it hitting the shelves.
If you just can't wait, I was looking on Amazon and if you want The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in hardcover there are 10 new listed from $19.66 or 13 used listed from $18.37 or for paperbacks they have 98 new listed from $6.78 or used from $5.88. If you like hardbacks they had a really good deal for the Trilogy of Girl w/Tattoo, Fire, Hornet's Nest for $43.97 which comes down to $14.66 each.
I joined bookswim.com this evening. I figure if I don't like it I can cancel after a month and I've still got my money out of it for just the new hardbacks I was going to buy anyway. I don't understand though how their book selection works. They have one Cleo Coyle book and it's one in the middle of the series--and I found that to be true with several authors. Anyway, we'll see if I like it. Since I joined PBS I've got way too many books on my shelf now. I'm going to the coast on Friday for a week--I'm hoping to just park it on the beach and read. Maybe I'll catch up a bit...lol
Cozy Mysteries
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Sprinkle with Murder (other topics)
Cloche and Dagger (other topics)
Bless Her Dead Little Heart (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jenn McKinlay (other topics)Miranda James (other topics)
Vicki Lewis Thompson (other topics)
Maggie Pill (other topics)
Victoria Howard (other topics)
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I picked up the following series:
They are in caps because I copied from the auction.
PATRICIA GUIVER~Pet Detect..."
Out of curiosity, how much did the seller charge for shipping??