Q&A with Mindy McGinnis

Today I welcome Mindy McGinnis, author of the upcoming Not A Drop To Drink! 

I have been waiting for this book ever since that amazing blurb came out! Just wait until I get my hands on a copy. 

I will be UNSTOPPABLE!!

And for those of you who have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about... neither do I. It's getting closer to October I guess. I'm try to connect with my inner villain. Obviously not working. Let us move on before I humiliate myself any further.

Author Bio

Mindy McGinnis is an assistant YA librarian who lives in Ohio and cans her own food. She graduated from Otterbein University magna cum laude with a BA in English Literature and Religion. Mindy has a pond in her back yard but has never shot anyone, as her morals tend to cloud her vision.

Check out Mindy McGinni's upcoming release:

Title: Not A Drop To Drink

Author: Mindy McGinnis

Pub. Date: Sept. 24, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Check it out on: Amazon

Blurb:

Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water. 

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snow less winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

 

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own. 

If you have been searching for the best of the best when it comes to tough watches for women see here.

Book Review: Reboot

Title: Reboot Author: Amy Tintera Hardcover: 365 pages Pub. Date: May 7, 2013 Publisher: HarperTeen Source: Bought Check it out on:  Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).
Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.
The perfect soldier is done taking orders.
Starting Lines:
They always screamed.
My assignment wailed as she slipped in the mud, whipping her head around to see if I was gaining on her.
I was.
My Reaction to those lines:

With extra butter.

My Thoughts: 

Okay, I actually finished reading Reboot a while ago, but I couldn't decide how to approach this book without making it sound terrible, because it wasn't horrible... it just wasn't amazing. And 'amazing' was what I was looking for. Reboot fell somewhere in-between 'Waste. Of. Time.' and 'I Must Read This Book Over and Over Again Until the Pages Fall out'. So in other words: 'Eh'.

Character-wise, Wren confused me. She was rebooted 178 minutes after she died, and that's as far as anyone has ever gone, so she was supposed to be this unfeeling, merciless soldier that everyone was afraid of. Everyone was definitely a little freaked out when she showed up, but she acted like any other Reboot. There wasn't anything special about her other than the way everyone acted around her. She was cool, but not as badass as the blurb made her out to be. I was hoping she would be cold-hearted and ruthless, but she was actually one of those tough girls with the hard outer shell, but inside she was full of lollipops and sunshine and girlish crushes.

Callum, on the other hand, was a weirdo. Sometimes I was glad when Wren beat the crap out of him because his naivety was so aggravating, and other times, I kind of wanted to hug him and apologize (those weren't many). He's a sweet. A little too sweet, and a couple pages into the book, Wren was already thinking about him nonstop. Sure, there were a lot of cute moments stolen between the two of them that I'm sure would have melted any normal girl's heart in an instant, but Wren isn't normal is she? She sounded like it though.

 

Most of my disappointment came from the fact that Reboot fell short of surprises. And I'm starting to find this in many of the new YA dystopia books. It's the same hackneyed concept rearranged and tweaked to follow a similar plot with similar characters, but from a different perspective. Thing is, sooner or later the entire thing is just going to grow old and wither away. Like Twilight and the take-over of sappy werewolf/vampire love stories *shudders*. And Reboot was basically the same thing. 

Wren (love the name) is the tough girl in the tough environment where the government is bad and takes advantage of her heightened powers. She meets the new, sweet guy and he changes the way she sees things. She falls in love with him, realizes what a horrible society she lives in and they both run away and find this mysterious haven where they lived happily ever after. *cue the fireworks* 

Yes, this Reboot stuff was definitely a nice addition (a little refreshing too), but the rest of the plot was lacking in suspense and, although there were tons of action, it didn't really lead anywhere because there weren't any unexpected turns. All I looked forward to is Wren and Callum's safe departure and safe arrival to the Reboot haven. Other than that...

The beginning was great though. I was totally immersed in the story because (like it or not) all this Reboot stuff had caught my attention. Plus, Amy Tintera's writing is amazing, so that was a huge bonus. But I feel like the story didn't make much of an impact, because by the time I was done with it, I had forgotten most of the beginning.

Overall, I didn't hate the book. It's one of those 'you read it once and once is enough' books, but it had the potential of becoming something unforgettable. Sadly, it didn't reach that mark. On a lighter note, Reboot had it's cute moments between relatively likable characters and the writing definitely drew me in. It lagged a couple of times, but there was plenty of action. I don't really know if I'll go onto the second one though. If I had to choose the next book in this series against any other one in my TBR pile, I'd go with the latter.

Do I recommend it?

If you don't have anything else to read and you like cute romances, then sure, but don't expect too much out of it.

Q&A with Julie Kagawa!

Meet Julie Kagawa (my all-time favorite author)-

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.

When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon.

Today, Julie and I will be discussing (more squealing on my part) about her new series,  Blood of Eden.

Here's some extra info on Julie Kagawa's AWESOME new series:

 

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Pub. Date: April 24, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Check it out on: Amazon

Blurb:

To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.
Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for… again.
Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins.

Title: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Pub. Date: May 3, 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Check it out on: Amazon

Blurb:

In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood 
She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever-and possibly end human and vampire existence. 
There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago-and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time. 
Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.

 

So let's talk~

Have you ever read any of the Blood of Eden books? Did you love them? Hate them? Wanted to throw them against the wall and cry because you have to wait until 2014 for the next book and you just can't because the ending in The Eternity Cure was TORTURE?!

 

From the Fey to the Vamp by Julie Kagawa

Meet Julie Kagawa (my all-time favorite author!)

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.

When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon.

People often ask me if it was difficult to switch from writing about faeries to writing about vampires. While it wasn't exactly hard, it was very different. In the world of the Iron Fey, the setting and characters were almost surreal. I wanted the Nevernever to be a place where you weren't sure if you were dreaming or not; it was a haunting, dangerous place, and its inhabitants were just as beautiful and deadly. 

And then, we have vampires.

Even more then faeries, the vampire myth has changed tremendously in these modern times.  Where vampires used to be terrible, night-walking monsters, creatures you would never want to meet in a dark alley, they are now tortured souls who hate what they are and drink animal blood so they don't have to prey on humans.  They can walk in the sunlight, eat normal food, and blend perfectly into human society.  They are sexy and romantic and beautiful, and would do anything to protect the human female they inevitably fall in love with.  

There is nothing wrong with this type of vampire.  It just wasn't the creature I wanted to write about.

I wanted my vamps to be monsters.  The vampires of old, much like the faeries of old, were feared and respected, creatures that people took seriously.  A creature that would rip your throat out before it ever kissed you.  They may remember their human life, they might even feel human emotion at times, but these vampires are predators, and the Hunger for human blood overpowers everything else.  Their world is dark, filled with blood and violence, and that was my inspiration when I created the post-apocalyptic setting of The Immortal Rules.  A bleak and desolate world, and a perfect fit for the vampires who ruled as monsters.

Dun. Dun. Duuuuuun.

A world of vampires.... yes, I am 110% positive that I would not survive for more than five seconds.
In the fey world, I have Puck. That's all I need.

Why I Write Dystopian by Katie French

A few days ago, as I was watching the critically acclaimed show, The Walking Dead, I had a thought. Just as Andrea was about to stab a screwdriver into a zombie's eye socket, I wondered what exactly was wrong with me. Just an hour before I was listening to Justin Cronin's The Twelve, an equally brutal look at possible human annihilation by vampires. Prior to that I was on the treadmill reading Fuse, Julianna Baggot's new book about survivors of an atomic blast that left them fused to the objects, animals or people they were touching when it detonated. Looking back on my day, I realized there might be something really psychologically wrong with me. Why would I spend copious amounts of time amerced in human destruction? Why would I be draw to stories that start with the basis that everything we love and value has been destroyed? Conclusion: I need a good therapist. 

Yet, I am not alone. I know that if you have picked up The Breeders and liked it, you might be a little sick in the head like me. The third season finale of The Walking Dead pulled in a whopping 12.8 million viewers. Hunger Games books were on the New York Times Best Seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks. That's a lot of us crazies walking around out there. So, humanity is fascinated with its own demise. But why? Folks, I have a theory.

In general many of us read for entertainment and escape, but those of us who read dystopian also read for a third purpose, to prepare. Do we all think we'll die soon by a North Korean missile and build bomb shelters in our basements? No. But, many of us might wonder, late at night, how we would act if society suddenly came to a halt. Would we be those that took up arms, marched to the aid of others and rallied those left to a new America? Or would we be zombie food? We read to ponder the multitude of ways it could go down. We read to quantify those qualities it takes to overcome. And when and if that bomb drops, we'll be the first to roll out our super secret Zombie survival plan. (Mine includes a visit to my local Outdoor World.)

There's one more reason I believe people read dystopian. There's something so magical about basic human survival. When all this commercial garbage is stripped bare, the human soul and its capacity to overcome is astounding. We know that about our race, that we never go down without a fight. There's a scene in episode two of season two of The Walking Dead where Hershel, the veterinarian turned surgeon, is speaking to Rick. Rick is distraught, wondering what's the point? Why go on in such a broken world? Hershel turns to him and says (I'm paraphrasing here, so don't get mad at me Walking Deadfans). "This is just a bump in the road. It's just nature's way of resetting itself. That's the beauty of humanity, we always overcome." Well said Hershel. 

So, my lovely dystopian readers, if you need some recommendations here are some of my recent favorites. Happy reading. 

Fuse and Pure by Julianna Baggot

Wool by Hugh Howey

A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Scourge by A.G. Henley

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The World of Shell and Bone by Adriana Ryan

  

Author Bio

Katie French imagined herself an author when her poem caught the eye of her second grade teacher. In middle school she spent her free time locked in her room, writing her first young adult novel. Though her social life suffered, her love for literature thrived. She studied English at Eastern Michigan University, where she veered from writing and earned an education degree. She spent nine years teaching high school English. Currently she is a school counselor, doing a job that is both one of the hardest things she's ever done and the most rewarding. In her free time she writes, reads great books and takes care of her two beautiful and crazy children. She is a contributor and co-creator of Underground Book Reviews, a website dedicated to erasing the boundaries between traditional and non-traditional publishing. She lives in Michigan with her husband and two children. You can find her at www.katiefrenchbooks.com, at www.undergroundbookreviews.com or on Facebook.

More info on The Breeders-

More info on The Breeders-

Title: The Breeders
Author: Katie French
Pub. Date: Aug. 1, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
Check it out on:  Amazon

Goodreads Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Riley Meemick is one of the world's last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother escaped the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster the dwindling human race. Her parents do everything possible to keep her from their clutches-- moving from one desolate farm after another to escape the Breeders' long reach. The Breeders control everything- the local war lords, the remaining factories, the fuel. They have unchecked power in this lawless society. And they're hunting Riley.

When the local Sheriff abducts the adult members of her family and hands her mother over to the Breeders, Riley and her eight-year-old brother, Ethan, hiding in a shelter, are left to starve. Then Clay arrives, the handsome gunslinger who seems determined to help to make up for past sins. The problem is Clay thinks Riley is a bender-- a genderless mutation, neither male nor female. As Riley's affection for Clay grows she wonders can she trust Clay with her secret and risk her freedom?

The three embark on a journey across the scarred remains of New Mexico-- escaping the Riders who use human sacrifice to appease their Good Mother, various men scrambling for luck, and a deranged lone survivor of a plague. When Riley is shot and forced into the Breeder's hospital, she learns the horrible fate of her mother—a fate she'll share unless she can find a way out.

This totally makes sense! See, I'm NOT turning into a lunatic, I'm just unconsciously preparing for the end of the world. After reading so many dystopia/post-apocalyptic books, I was starting to question my sanity there. Reading this was actually very relieving. :)
So, do you read a lot of dystopian/post-apocalyptic books? What do you think of Katie French's theory? Relieved? Maybe not?

Write A Book Without Writing It

Do you want to be an author? Or would you like to have your own e-book to sell on the Internet?

Maybe you just want an e-book to give away as a promotion for your products or services. At the same time you realize a popular e-book will be useful in building your reputation as an expert in a particular field.

If having your own e-book is on your wish list, you don’t have to spend hours punching a computer keyboard to make that wish come true. In fact, your book may already have been written. And it’s just waiting to earn you cash and recognition.

How is this possible? Through the power of the public domain.

There is a world of books, courses, songs, poems and stories in the public domain... all with expired copyright protection, or never having been copyrighted material. In other words, you and I are allowed to use this content in any way we want.

For example, you can find books and courses that were published before copyright laws existed or perhaps the copyright has expired. Creators of other material may not have bothered with a copyright or may have donated their work into the public domain. Also, there is a staggering amount of material published every year by the U.S. government that is available to you copyright free.

How can you put this huge resource to work generating cash for you?

One individual discovered a lost book on strength building that contained a lot of valuable and forgotten information. He converted the book into a course and it is still selling strong. To date, that one book has earned him over a million dollars.

Where do you find this material? How do you determine whether it is truly copyright free? How do you convert it into a useable format that you can load into your computer for editing or printing?

You have two choices. You can do all this yourself. Though it could take weeks, perhaps months of research. It will require paying a lawyer to check for copyrights. And you can spend an enormous amount of time and money converting the book into a useable format on your computer.

Your second choice is to have all this done by someone else. Wow... was this ever a revelation to me! Instead of weeks, I had a public domain book ready to start selling in days. And within 48 hours, I had two sales that paid for my entire investment. Every sale since then has been 100% profit.

Forget all the research, the lawyers, the reformatting, and the expensive marketing tools. There are sites that will do all of that work for you.

Remember, one of the big reasons some people are making huge bucks on the Internet is because they leave the nitty gritty work to others. That gives them the freedom to concentrate on the important job of marketing.

If you get nothing else out of this article but that one truth, it can put you well on the road to success. Someone once said, "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today."

My motto is, "Never do today what you can get others to do for you." Then use that time you save to think, plan and execute. Within an amazingly short time, you could become one of those people that we talk about as ‘making a killing on the Internet’.

Writing For My Daughter: Turn Your Ideas Into A Book

Maybe you're one of those lucky writers whose head is bursting with ideas. Or perhaps you have one idea that's been nagging you for weeks, always at the edge of your thoughts. Either way, you're itching to begin writing. That's good. But before you rush headlong into your story, stop and ask yourself one question: Is this just an idea, or is it a book?

Ideas, of course, are the seeds of any work of fiction or nonfiction. But until an idea is fully developed, until you can envision its beginning, middle and end, that one idea might not be enough. The experience of writing for pages about an idea and ultimately getting nowhere (or getting a pile of rejections) has taught many writers to outline their books before they begin. But if the thought of an outline sends shivers up your spine, at least thinking your idea through and making sure it merits months of writing can save you future frustration.

Ideas for Fiction

A lot of writers, especially when they're beginners, get ideas for fiction from their own lives. This can be useful for several reasons: you're emotionally invested in the topic, you can relate directly to the main character, and if the situation actually happened to you, you're less likely to be unconsciously basing the story on a book you've read. But remember, just because you find this thing that happened to you or your child fascinating, it doesn't mean it will be fascinating to thousands of potential readers. Very often, a real-life event is just that--an event. It's a vivid scene you recall with pleasure, or a family joke that's repeated over and over. It evokes strong emotions when you remember it, perhaps you even look back on an event as a turning point in your life. But only rarely does reality provide a plot.

When writers stick too closely to what really happened they fail to develop the elements necessary for a good story: a believable main character who is faced with a problem or conflict, mounting tension as that character tries to solve her problem and experiences setbacks, and a tension- filled climax followed by a resolution that's satisfying to the character and the reader. If your main character is really your son, you might not want to get him in trouble or throw rocks in his path. But you have to. It's the only way you'll create a story that will keep readers hooked and wondering how it will end.

Speaking of endings, if the resolution of your story comes too easily, it's probably obvious and predictable. Try mixing up real life and have the situation evolve in a different direction. Surprise yourself, and you'll surprise an editor.

However you get your idea, focus first on whether it's a plot or a theme. Many times, an initial idea is really the underlying meaning of the story, what the author wants to convey to the reader. Themes should be universal in their appeal-- such as friendship, appreciating one's own strengths, not judging others too quickly. Then play around with the sequence of events until you develop a plot (what actually happens in the book) that makes this theme clear to the reader. And remember; if you're using a childhood incident as the foundation of your story, tell it from your childhood viewpoint, not how it feels to you now as an adult.

Ideas for Nonfiction

Your nonfiction book should be based on something you're truly interested in and passionate about. After all, you'll be living with this idea for many months. The key to successful nonfiction is to take your idea and approach it in a way that no one else has ever done before. This means doing most of your research before you begin to write. Don't settle for the most easily-found information on your topic--your readers have probably read the same information. Keep digging until you find an aspect to your subject that strikes you as unique. Then search through the library and book stores to make sure no one else has already beat you to it.

For a nonfiction idea to become a book, you need enough information to fill the number of pages necessary, depending on the age group for which you plan to write. Younger children need a foundation of basic facts, but you can also get fairly detailed within the scope of the approach you've chosen as long as you explain concepts in a simple and straightforward manner (how animals hibernate, why insects are different colors). Older readers can draw on a broader foundation of knowledge, and infer connections between your topic and related subjects. A detailed outline of any nonfiction book is essential to help you see if your idea has enough substance and originality, or if you need further research before you begin writing.

Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, your idea should mean something to you, but also have the potential to mean a lot to your readers. Think it through, add to it, take the nonessential elements away, and make sure it has a beginning, middle and end. Only then will your "idea" turn into "an idea for a book."

How to Find a Book Using Online Bookstores

Looking for improving your gaming skills by reading some of the best books on professional gaming that are around? That is a good idea, but, and as you may have already noticed, it is easier said than done. Once you go online to one of the many online bookstores such as Amazon and Barnes and Ruble and can type in a phrase  you get a long list (if you are lucky) of potential books. 

What do you do then? How do you know which book suits you? And if you even could figure that out, how do you know the book is worth anything? Many of the authors are pros, but, then, you can also easily land up on amateur writers who are just trying to make a buck. Exactly for this, we have compiled a list of five practical suggestions to help you.

1) Reviews and Opinions Matter.
One of the most interesting methods of screening authors and books is by reading what other readers have to say about those literary objects. Look up one of the many forums online that focus on books and either ask a direct question or read what others have said. Another option is to look up the book at different online bookstores such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon but also others such as The Literary Guild and Pickabook. (Look them at this list compiled by the World Wide Web Virtual Library: http://archive.museophile.org/bookstores) The reasons for doing this is that for every book you can read reviews from different sites. Do this and you are reducing the chances of reading only promotional material. It goes without saying that opt for those books that receive good reviews. Generally, a book will receive some bad reviews, but look at the majority viewpoint. Note that if the book you wish to buy is new, you will not find reviews. In such a case, you will just have to take a risk.

2) Be Specific.
One of the methods of searching for a book that interests you is by narrowing down the search by typing a long search term and not just one name. For instance, type down how to play Texas holdem in an online tournament instead of just Texas holdem. Such a search will result in only a few book options. First, look up reviews and views on it and then look at its size and focus of interest.

3) Check the Experience of the Author.
Buying a book is just like buying a car. Would you be willing to pay more for a Mercedes? Likewise, check the author or editor. If the author is unknown, tread very carefully. The book might be useless. But remember that its not enough that the author is well known or has years of professional expertise, they must be experienced in the exact field of the subject of the book.

4) Check the Printing History of the Author.
After checking the authors personal biography and his scope of knowledge as pertains to the issue in question, you should, then, check his style of writing. You will not want to fall asleep on the second page, do you? If their style of writing pleases you, try reading parts of their work. Read articles or portions of other books they have read. Do this to get an idea of whether they can write and whether they are capable of handling complicated issues and putting them across in easy to understand language.

5) The Price Factor.
When looking at books, the first thing (or the second) we tend to look at is the price. Yes, you should know whether you can afford to buy it or not, but do not make you decision based on whether a book is cheap or expensive. First, check whether the book is what you are looking for. Then, decided whether you can afford it and not vice versa. Likewise, do not just buy a book because its on sale. Remember that if a book is on sale it means that no one is buying it!