Bargain Books

Yesterday I was trying to kill some time so I ran into the Dollar Tree. I don't know about you, but I always go in needing nothing and come out with a few things (sometimes like $20 worth.) I have had some luck in their book section in the past -- mainly for my kids, but sometimes for me too. It's always hit or miss there, but I couldn't believe how many hardcover books they had. I wanted to pick up a few, but I did manage to show some restraint! It's hard to justify buying more books (even when they are $1) when I have hundreds of unread ones at home.

I did come home with SLOW DOLLAR by Margaret Maron. It's the ninth book in her Deborah Knott series. Last fall, my book club was fortunate enough to have the award winning author join us via telephone to discuss her latest mystery (#13) in the series, HARD ROW. I had read BOOTLEGGER'S DAUGHTER (the first in the series) years ago and really enjoyed the book, so I was thrilled to read another one in the series and get to talk about it with the author. My entire book club enjoyed HARD ROW, but the reading experience was definitely enhanced when we talked to Ms. Maron about how she came up with the ideas for this book.

One book that I didn't pick up (but I'm now kicking myself) is Kate Atkinson's short story collection NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. I'm not a big short story reader so I passed on it; however, I did love her book CASE HISTORIES. They also had HOOKING UP by Tom Wolfe and MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS by Pete Rose to name just a few.

Let me know if you have found any good books at Dollar Trees (or other discount stores). I might find myself checking another Dollar Tree this week to see what they have in stock. While I do love reading a good book, I also love getting good bargains!!!

My Trip to BJs Wholesale Club

Last week, I went to BJs in search of a birthday gift for my friend. Of course, no trip to BJs would be complete for me without visiting the book section so I headed there right away. As I was walking around the tables, I decided that a book might be a good gift since she's a member of my book club and an avid reader. I mean -- what could be better than getting a book, right?

There were three books that immediately caught my eye -- GARDENS OF WATER, THE LIAR'S DIARY, and THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT HEAVEN BEARS. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of GARDENS OF WATER by Alan Drew a few months ago; and I absolutely loved it (click here for my review). I was a little hesitant to purchase either of the other two since I hadn't read them yet, but I still thought they looked terrific. I immediately checked both books out of my local library, and I read them right away. Let me just say that while both of the books were extremely different from each other, they were both very, very good reads. THE LIAR'S DIARY was suspenseful and kept me guessing until the end; and THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT HEAVEN BEARS was just a wonderful book that was beautifully written.

Bottom Line: Since I had read GARDENS OF WATER and loved it, I went with the "safe" choice and gave her this book. Knowing what I know now, any of the books would have made a wonderful birthday gift. I highly recommend reading all of these books!!