Retail Therapy!

After an extremely frustrating and tragic week I spent an amazing Saturday with Kaylee indulging in some retail therapy. I was mostly careful to be sure that I wasn't blowing all of our bill money, and made super sure to watch out for B1G1 deals, and lots of 50% deals as well. All in all I really didn't spend much, but came home with lots of loot.

Kaylee and I discussed the fact that since we've both purchased Kindle's in the last year, we tend to stay away from buying print books. I personally try to make sure that I'm spending the least amount of money on the books I'm buying as possible, and the Kindle is just another way to do that. Sometimes, you can find the book you're looking for in print MUCH cheaper than you can in Kindle format. Ollie's, the store of bargain awesomeness, is one of the places you can get a better price. A MUCH better price. Of the books I'm listing below, none were more than 7.00, and they are ALL paperback. Not bad my friends, not bad at all.


After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr

Amazon Price (hardcover): 14.74
Kindle Price: 5.39
Ollies Price (hardcover): 3.99

Inside flap description: Maia Morland is pretty, only not pretty-pretty. She's smart. She's brave. She's also a self-proclaimed train wreck.

Leigh Hunter is smart, popular, and extremely polite. he's also completely and forever in love with Maia Morland.

Their young love starts off like a romance novel--full of hope, strength, and passion. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when maia needs him most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love.

Told with compassion and true understanding, After the moment is about what happens when a young man discovers that sometimes love fails us, and that, quite often, we fail love.


Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Amazon Price (hardcover): 6.40 (and there are only 6 left in stock)
Kindle Price: 7.19
Ollie's Price (hardcover): 3.99

Inside flap description: With her parents lost to assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia. Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So beings her secret eduction in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire...But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat to her Kingdom. Can ben save the country and herself from foul tyranny?

Wither by Lauren DeSteffano

Amazon Price (hardcover): 11.61
Kindle Price: 9.99
Ollie's Price (hardcover): 3.99

Inside Flap Description:

Thanks to modern science, every newborn has become a ticking genetic time bomb--males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and the tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape--to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

Stonewall Jackson: A Life Portrait by K.M. Kostyal

Amazon Price (hardcover): 29.95
Kindle Price: Not available
Ollie's price: 6.99

Inside Flap Description:

A Civil War legend and Gen. Robert E. Lee's right-hand man, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson emerged from the wilds of western Virginia to become one of history's most memorable military commanders. Eccentric in his habits, devout in his actions, and "mangy" in appearance, Jackson's inspiration came from God rather than from the "rightness" of Southern beliefs. Stonewall Jackson: A Life Portrait, the first illustrated biography of the celebrated and complex Confederate general, follows Jackson from his childhood in the backwoods frontier to his untimely death following a "friendly fire" incident at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Complete with a striking collection of stark black-and-white and full color images of Jackson, his family, and his fellow commanders on both sides of the battle lines, Stonewall Jackson uncovers the deeds behind the legends. Devotion to duty and an innate tactical genius propelled Stonewall into war; love and family and deep religious convictions sustained him. A brave soldier, and exacting officer, and a cunning commander on the one hand, this fascinating figure filled the roles of devoted brother, loving husband, and doting father on the other.

Author K.M. Kostyal's painstakingly researched account of the general's life delves into all facets of Stonewall's experiences, taking you through his days as a young orphan and his difficult years as a struggling cadet at West Point. There he encountered such prominent classmates as George McClellan, A.P. Hill, and George Pickett. This copiously illustrated volume also travels south to witness Jackson's exploits in the Mexican War, including his daring charge at Chapultepec, and returns stateside, where during peacetime he resigned his commission, married, and served at the Virginia Military Institute as a strict artillery instructor.

Finally, Stonewall Jackson rides into battle as the Civil War splits the country and divides family loyalties, including Jackson's own relationship with his beloved sister, Laura, a loyal Unionist. It ranges over the Shenandoah Valley as Stonewall's remarkable tactical maneuvers baffle Union commanders, chokes through the smoke and dust of the battlefields from Bull Run to Fredericksburg as he leads his men to defend the south, and mourns at Chancellorsville when Confederate soldiers accidentally open fire on him.

In addition, revealing sidebars illuminate background information from Jackson's life and times, including West Points notable class of 1846, stonewall pilgrimage sites, Confederate spy Belle Boyd, and Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. with a treasure trove of vivid images, a store of telling personal detail, and a rich overview of Jackson's military career, Stonewall Jackson: A Life Portrait brings to life one of the Civil War's most illustrious and unlikely generals.


Lincoln: Through the Lens by Martin W. Sandler

Amazon Price (hardcover): 15.59 And there are only 4 left
Kindle Price: Not Available
Ollie's Price (hardcover): 4.99

Inside Flap Description:

He was born in the backwoods of Kentucky in a humble log cabin, but Abraham Lincoln was savvy enough to embrace the new technology of his time--photography-- to help propel him all the way to the White House. This simple man with lofty goals was willing to use any means necessary, including the power of photography, to save the union and free the slaves--leaving behind an unmatched legacy of sacrifice, service, and achievement.

More than one hundred images of Lincoln's life and times provide a complete portrait of this revered president and the events that defined him. From the only confirmed existing picture of Lincoln before the historic Gettysburg Address to his second inauguration--where he is unknowingly surrounded by John Wilkes Booth and his co conspirators-- to the execution of his murderers, this eye-opening, inspiring visual journey provides a fresh take on one of the most documented and beloved figures in American history.