Month: March 2016

No More Kindle

John Guillen40 Comments

I’ve had my Kindle since 2011, I think? Maybe 2012. I’ve read fewer than ten books on it since I first received it as a birthday present. But I think I last read a book on it over a year ago. Some might upgrade to a new device, and that’s fine, but I’m not. Why upgrade something I have no desire to use? So I’m not upgrading anything. I’m sending it back to Amazon for their trade-in program in exchange for a gift card. There isn’t anything I need at the moment from the site, so I’ll just let the gift card sit in my account until I feel like using it.

Do you actively use your Kindle?

On Completed Series

John Guillen9 Comments

Have you ever stopped to think about all the series you’ve read? Especially the ones you’ve finished. Well I just did. And guess how many I came up with? Two.

There’s always a chance I’m missing some, but I think I’m pretty spot on. Merci Rayborn and The Hunger Games. Those are the only book series I’ve read from start to finish. It probably sounds crazy, but it really isn’t.

I’ve written on here before about the length of series you’re willing to read, and I remember several people saying that four or five books is just too many for a series. I thought it was garbage back then and I still think so today.

The majority of the series I read are 10+ books. Spenser. Bosch. Alex Cross. Jesse Stone. Elvis Cole. Alex McKnight. And several I started and never finished. Mystery writers tend to write long series, and I have no issue with that as long as the writing stays top notch.

Do you have any idea how many aeries you’ve completed?

Back at it

John Guillen11 Comments

I last finished reading a book nearly two months ago. And then I started a book I knew nothing about. Bad choice. The book is now my latest DNF.

So last night I was deciding on what to read next. I have books from the Amazon list. I have books for my reading challenge. And I have books that are right in my wheelhouse of crime fiction. I decided to go with what I know. I started the next book in the Elvis Cole series. And only later did I realize that I’d not read in the series since 2014. That’s outrageous. I love Elvis and Joe, and it took the first five pages for me to realize how much I’ve missed them.

Do you have any books you turn to when you’re in the midst of a reading slump?

Robots Writing Books

John Guillen3 Comments

Let’s face it, robots and different programs are doing things for humans today. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that robots are now being used to write books.

In Japan a major writing competition accepts submissions written by robots, and one submission advanced past the first round of judging. It didn’t win. Not yet.

I’m not sure why anyone would be surprised by this. Technology is doing far more complex tasks than writing books at this very moment. I think it’ll be interesting to see how these robots fare against humans.

Do you think there will be a time in which the publishing industry is compiled of authors and robots both writing books? I think yes, but maybe not in my lifetime.

Two posts today because I didn’t post yesterday. And watch my video on Amazon’s Bosch!

Unexpected Bestsellers

John Guillen2 Comments

The term bestseller in this instance doesn’t mean on any bestseller list. It just means a book that sells REALLY well. And I’ve come across one in particular since my switch to a new section of my store. First, my new section is education and parenting. So you’ll have primary education workbooks, textbooks for teachers, all things science, and parenting.

One of the things I’ve noticed in the past is that we ALWAYS have What to Expect When You’re Expecting. People want babies, I guess. But what I didn’t realize is how many people are actually looking for it. There’s a new edition on the way, but I checked Amazon out of curiosity last night and it’s in the top 100 bestselling books on the site! Seriously.

A book that came out in 2008 and isn’t young adult. That was a bit of a surprise to me. It’s the bestselling pregnancy book on the site.

Have you ever come across a book that sold way more copies than you’d have thought?

This Week in Books #7: Bosch

John Guillen5 Comments

Welcome back to Johnny Reads and This Week in Books. This week I’m talking about Amazon’s Bosch. Bosch is the show adapted from Michael Connelly’s bestselling book series that follows LAPD detective Harry Bosch.

But this is not your typical crime show. Not even close. Bosch is excellent. Now watch so I can tell you exactly why!

Have you watched any of the first two seasons of Bosch? Or are you a reader of the books?

A Revelation

John Guillen29 Comments

I’m sitting here reading about embarrassing mothers in literature, right? Just a regular article. And then I see something that leaves me like 😲. I’ll share.

There’s this movie. One that I imagine you will know as soon as I write the name of it. Mrs. Doubtfire. You know it. Sally Field. Robin Williams. Lots of laughs. But did you know it’s actually based on a book!? I definitely didn’t. I also didn’t expect it to be young adult. But yes, the movie was adapted from a book published in 1987.

Which leads me to today’s question. There are so many movies adapted from books nowadays that we can’t possibly know all of them. What are some of the movies you’ve enjoyed (or not) that you didn’t initially know were based off of books?

I think this one takes the top spot for me. There are others, but they’re not as well done or respected as this.

Top Five Wednesday: DNFs

John Guillen4 Comments

Oh look, two Top Five Wednesday videos in two weeks! This week’s topic is DNFs. For those of you not in with the lingo, that’s “did not finish”. I originally didn’t plan on doing this topic, but then I realized that doing it would give me the chance to talk about two of my FAVORITE (sarcasm) books ever. How could I possibly pass up the opportunity?

Anyway, take five minutes to watch and tell me what you think of the books I started for some reason, but never got around to finishing.

Which are the most notable of the books you’ve started and not finished?

Top Five Wednesday was started by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

The official Goodreads group is here.

James Patterson’s BookShots

John Guillen11 Comments

We all know someone or several people who will not read. They make excuses or say that books are old fashioned. Heck, you wouldn’t believe how many people walk into my HPB and say they can’t believe people still read books. It’s one of those things I can only akwardky laugh at. Because it’s a ridiculous statement.

Anyway, James Patterson has all those people in his sights with his forthcoming BookShots. BookShots (don’t know where the name came from) will be his way of getting those people reading. How? By writing shorter, more plot driven books that are meant to be read in one sitting. The books will be less than 150 pages and cheaper than $5. The aim is to publish 2-4 of these each month. And also to get these books into stores that don’t typically sell books anymore.

Now I have no problem with him trying to get as many people reading as he can, but I would like to remind Mr. Patterson of something. Other bestselling authors already do this with things like Kindle Singles. And those are generally priced between $0.99-$2.99. So I’m just skeptical that this will actually get people reading. And I honestly think Patterson’s name is both good and bad for this. It’s good because there’s no doubt in my mind that people who read his other work will read these. It’s bad because those who don’t, won’t.

What I think will ultimately happen is he’ll keep selling a ridiculous number of books because he’s simply got the math on his side. But I don’t really see his attempt at reviving the dime novel being any more successful than that.

What do you think of Patterson’s BookShots? Destined for success? Failure?

Things you Dont Expect to Find in a Bookstore

John Guillen10 Comments

I’ve worked in a bookstore for seven months now. I haven’t really been asked for anything crazy. Until Saturday. On the scale of crazy, this is only like a 2 or 3, but I was surprised when I was asked for it.

I mentioned in my last post that last week was coupon week at HPB. I’ve explained it before but here it is again. For the seven days of the week there will be a coupon for each day. Monday and Tuesday will have 20% off one item. Wednesday and Thursday will have 30% off one item. Friday and Saturday will have 40% off one item. And Sunday will be 50% off one item.

So on Saturday a customer asks me if we have any Street Fighter chess sets. I may have wrinkled my forehead. I told him no. He then asked if I could check the inventories of other stores. I honestly thought it was pointless. I’ve never heard of or seen a Street Fighter chess set, and I ran the games section for six months.

But of course there was one available to be shipped to him. It cost $100. He told me he’d be back in on Sunday to make the order and save an additional $10. I didn’t see him. I also don’t know if he bought it or not.

But in my time at HPB I’ve seen a few things that made me scratch my head. I’ve seen an auto tool kit thing. I’ve seen a mini tool kit of screws and bolts. And I’ve seen a unicorn Bluetooth speaker.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve come across in a bookstore?