Month: July 2015

Looking for Permanent Contributors for Write me a book, John!

John Guillen24 Comments

I want to be honest here. It is not always easy coming up with quality topics for posts on here each and every day. And sure I could always go back to a strict schedule of posting five days a week, but I really have no desire to do that. So I’ve decided to test out having other writers post on here instead.

This is not a call for guest posts. You won’t be a guest blogger for a random post to be published at my convenience. This is something I’m hoping will become more permanent for anyone interested. The thing about this is that you probably already have your own blog, right? You’ve probably worked really hard on just about every aspect of it like I have mine. That’s fine. I’m not asking you to abandon that, I’m simply offering you this space to use as your own.

Let me tell you what I am and am not looking for.

  • Your post should always have a bookish/writing element.
  • There will be no book reviews.
  • You will not have to run topics by me.
  • Posts will always publish at my usual posting time. Make sure you know what it is!
  • I need to be familiar with you. If you just happen upon this post and I’ve never seen you around here and I don’t read your blog, then you likely have no chance of being selected.
  • There will never be multiple posts published on the same day.
  • You will need to demonstrate that you reply to comments. Some bloggers never reply and just Like them. That won’t be acceptable.
  • Rants welcome.
  • I’m not looking for anyone to copy and paste posts from their blog.
  • You will not have a minimum or maximum number of posts expected from you.

I think that’s it. Now all you have to do is let me know that you’re interested in the comments. Then I’ll click your name and check out what you’ve been blogging about. I have no idea if anyone will even be interested, but all I can do is offer.

I think it goes without saying that you will not be paid for any posts published on here.

I’m looking for one, maybe two people.

Interested? Let me know!

On this day in 2014 I published A Change of Plans.

 

July Book Haul

John Guillen2 Comments

I decided that since July has been a record month in terms of book buying for me, I might as well write a post about all the books I acquired. Except I have that whole YouTube thing going, right? Why not use that instead?

I’ve written two posts this month about the books I’ve bought. I combine all the books from those posts into this new video. And give you a little bit of insight into why I bought them that I didn’t do the first time around. For the most part.

Also, I won’t have a set schedule to release videos, but whenever I do it’ll always be either a Monday or Thursday. I think.

Also, once I hit a specific number of YouTube subscribers I’ll be able to get a custom URL. Can y’all help me with that, please?!

Just click here to get to my channel page.

A Story I Know You’ll Love

John Guillen32 Comments

Ron Lynch is a name likely completely unknown to you. And Matthew Flores is probably no different. But the rest of the world is becoming more and more acquainted with the two by each passing day. Let me tell you why.

Ron Lynch is a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS). For those of you located in other parts of the world, USPS is our primary snail mail service. Recently Ron Lynch discovered 12-year-old Matthew searching through junk mail for anything he could read. And Matthew even asked him if he had any extra mail that he could read because his family doesn’t have a car and can’t afford for him to take the bus to his local library. But Mr. Lynch decided to do something just a little bit better than junk mail. He put this on Facebook.

One would expect the typical person to have a few hundred friends on Facebook and to actually interact with a fraction of them, right? Wrong. This post has caught fire. People all over the world have been rushing to send young Matthew books to read. And I’m asking you to join in! I’m not asking you to send him a box of all your favorite books, but if you do have a book or two that you think this young boy would enjoy, then I say ship it to him. I’m getting on Amazon and finding something for him right now as I sit here and write this. I’m even going to include a personal message.

Matthew just wants to read as much as he possibly can, and I want to help him do that.

Let’s all give Ron Lynch a nice salute for what he did. He showed us that the world isn’t such a bad place after all. There are plenty of good people all around.

PS: The address for Matthew’s local post office is at the end of the first picture. You may have to click “see more” depending on your device.

This happened after just a few days.

I decided to send him a boxed set of the Percy Jackson series! But then I realized that he’s already gotten it. 😦 I’m going to think about this for a day or two and then decide. But you don’t need to wait for me!

It would be really nice of you to share this post with your friends, followers, or whomever. Because it’s impossible to have too many books, right? 🙂

Another Dr. Seuss Book is out Today

John Guillen32 Comments

Dr. Seuss died in 1991. Seven new books have been published under his name since his death. The difference between this situation and what’s going on with Harper Lee is there is no controversy surrounding the release of his books after his death. It probably helps that he’s probably more popular now than he was during his lifetime.

What Pet Should I Get? is his newest book to be released posthumously. If you’re questioning my above statement about his popularity, then let me tell you a fun fact. This new book is currently the top selling book on Amazon. That’s right. It’s outselling Go Set a Watchman.

The main reason I’m writing this today is to talk about his popularity rather than his new book. Is there anyone in America who doesn’t at least know his name? I’ve stated on here several times that I’ve never actually read one of his books, but I could probably name 5+ just off the top of my head. And I’m not the only one. I read from a reputable source that he’s sold more than 450 million books since his death. I mean, holy shit. Wow. That number is simply ridiculous. I’m not sure there’s another author out there who could sell that many books in the first 25 years after his or her death. And there will be even more books forthcoming.

What I want to ask y’all is why you think he’s managed to remain so popular in the two and a half decades since his death. Sure there are some authors who will always sell books no matter how long it’s been since their death, but he’s basically outselling all living authors right now besides the handful of mega bestsellers! How? Someone enlighten me because I’m really curious.

You can view the Amazon product page for the new book here.

On this day in 2014 I published United Way’s Reading Together Program.

 

STOP! Don’t Give Those Books Away

John Guillen29 Comments

Late last night (perhaps it was early this morning?) I found out about something I’d not previously been aware of. And it could save you money! You know that really depressing moment you realize you no longer have enough room for your books? Or perhaps that exhaustive feeling after stopping a book before you finish because the story never really grasped you? You know you do. And in both cases you make the decision to give away some books. Maybe to your local library or the Goodwill or a non-profit. But before you do that you may want to keep reading.

Perhaps Paperback Swap is a better alternative. Some initial conditions must be met before you can actually start swapping books with other members, but here’s how it works once the conditions are met. You have a book you’re looking to get rid of. You post it on the site. Someone says they want it. You ship to directly to them. Easy. And as soon as someone gets your book you’re able to get one from someone else. The shipper will always pay for shipping.

And members can also purchase new books at discounted prices from the site.

The obvious downside I’m seeing here is quality. Sure I’ve bought a few used books in recent weeks, but I HATE when people don’t take care of their books before, during, or after reading. And I’m not sure if there’s any way of knowing the condition of the books posted. And if the site is international, then you could potentially see some high shipping costs to ship a single book.

BUT I still think it’s an interesting concept, though I’ll never be using it because I’ve stated a million times that I don’t get rid of books. But I know a number of you do. Do you think you’ll be interested in swapping books any time soon?

You can visit the website here.

Your Book Needs Chapters

John Guillen48 Comments

Hopefully you already know this. Your book needs chapters. The book I’m currently reading hasn’t had a chapter end or start in the first 50 pages. That’s unacceptable. It reminds me of writing a single paragraph that goes on for multiple pages on a college paper. The person reading it notices and it’s just not right.

I don’t know if this book is going to ultimately have some chapters for me, but if it doesn’t it’ll be the first book I’ve ever read that doesn’t. It feels like I’m reading one giant blob of text. I don’t want to be reading one giant blob of text. Ugh. I don’t even care if you end and start chapters at terrible points in the story, but please at least do it. A book without chapters is a book almost unreadable to me.

Have you ever read a book without chapters?

Authors can Rally Around Great Books and Make Things Happen

John Guillen32 Comments

About a month ago I read about something strange. A number of prominent authors were bringing attention to a single book. And it wasn’t written by any of them. Obviously I’m not under the impression that all authors are against one another, but this just seemed different. They were promoting a book entirely because they believed it to be one of those rare, great books that doesn’t come along too often. And things are happening because of it.

First, the book they were talking about was The Cartel by Don Winslow. The authors talking about it were Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, Lee Child, and James Ellroy. I haven’t read all four, but I know them. Because I read crime fiction and those are names you have to know. But I’d never heard of Don Winslow before this book. The book became a New York Times bestseller and now has a movie deal in place.

I’m not going to say that it’s all because of what those four authors said about it, but when you’ve got a group that’s sold upwards of 100 million books talking about your book, there’s no greater promotion to be done.

The point is to say that everyone talks about how cutthroat the industry is and how impossible it is to break into publishing, but this group of crime writers has shown that it doesn’t have to be like that. That rallying around a book and its author is not such a bad thing after all.

What do you think of these bestselling authors bringing attention to Don Winslow and his book? I love it.

JetBlue and Random House Partnering up to Give Away 100k Books

John Guillen31 Comments

Yep, you read that right. When I first heard the news I thought the two companies were an odd match for something like this. But I soon realized that book programs don’t have to be limited to non-profits or bookstores or libraries. Any company can come up something. And then I also realized that JetBlue has been involved with getting books into the hands of children for years with their Soar With Reading Program.

But this year they’re changing it up a bit. They’re adding a #BookBattle to the mix. The battle is between five cities and the public is asked to vote online to decide which of the five cities should be given 100k books for children in need. I think that’s pretty great. The five cities are New York City, Detroit, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, and Houston. I don’t know how long the voting period will be open, but I do know it’s open right now. So if you don’t live in any of the five cities, then the choice you should make when considering which city to vote for is obvious, right? Houston! Duhh. Bring those books here! Please.

You can visit the Soar With Reading website here.

Also, JetBlue installed three book vending machines to dispense free books throughout the city of Washington D.C. this year. How cool are they? Have you heard of this program before?

If you Could | Book Tag

John Guillen5 Comments

Hey look, after three videos during my first month on YouTube I’ve finally gotten started on my second month! I told y’all I’d meant to make a video a few weeks ago when I finished Lone Survivor, but I just wouldn’t have been able to speak if I’d done it then. And even with all my new book purchases recently I still haven’t finished a new book from the Amazon list. So it was really something of a blessing to be tagged to do this, even though I know absolutely nothing about any BookTube tags floating around. But I figured I might as well do it so I could get SOMETHING on my channel while I work my way through a few more books.

Now go ahead and watch so you can see me answer random question about books!

So what did you think of my answers?

PS: I know you haven’t made a video in a little while, but you’re the only other person I know who might do this. So I tagged you, JOSIE, to do this! It’s okay if you don’t have time or something.

Setting a Story in a Foreign Place

John Guillen26 Comments

I’ve read plenty of books by plenty of authors. My typical experience is that most authors will set their stories in a single place. And occasionally branch out from there. But other times I’ll come across an author who sets stories in many different cities that are nothing alike. And my thought is they’re either a world traveler or they are great at research. It’s usually a mix of both.

For example, Michael Connelly set one of his Bosch stories (in part) in Japan. But as he was in the process of writing it he took a trip there and stayed for three weeks taking everything in. And also writing, of course. Suffice it to say that I don’t have that kind of money to be able to do that.

But I realized something recently. My second story was set in a different city I’d only visited once or twice. And as soon as I reached the point in the story in which Andrew had to make the trip I stopped writing. So I’m really thinking that my story didn’t work out because I didn’t know enough about the city to continue. I’d planned a short trip just to walk around and take in as much as I possibly could, but that never happened. For now and into the future I’ll just stick to the one city I know.

What about you? Have you ever set one of your stories in a city you didn’t know well?