First on the list is Alma Katsu’s The Taker Trilogy (The Taker and The Reckoning).  I was not excited by the prospect of The Taker when it was first presented to me. The story isn’t something I would normally read, and the author was tauted as being as good as Anne Rice.  I always feel like if you have to use Anne Rice or Stephen King in the publicity text, then its probably not that good. What got my attention was the book jacket – yup, I said it…I judged the book by the cover.  For long time Old Musty readers, you know I am disdainful of picking books on that merit alone.

The book arrived, and sat in my book stack for more than a couple months.  Eventually, I picked it up, and didn’t put it down until I’d devoured the whole book.  I emailed the publisher and told her I’d be interested in the 2nd book – The Reckoning.  And then The Reckoning arrived…and it too was devoured.

The writing was great.  It was in fact a bit reminiscent of Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire – only its not about vampires and its a bit darker and full of obsession and lust. I thought the sex scenes would be a bit much – and one of the reasons why originally I was turned off with the idea of the book (something about the description led me to believe it was more para smut lit then anything else), but they were somewhat tastefully done and I can’t remember at anytime rolling my eyes thinking “…and here it is, the reason the book is going to sell well.”  Turns out the story is a (ack) love story, but one that was gripping and meaningfully told. And these books will always be remembered as my guilty pleasure reading.

I can’t wait for The Descent to come out in May 2013, and I’m going to read the short stories The Marriage Price and The Devil’s Scribe – both very short, but both very much a part of this trilogy.

The Taker by Alma Katsu (Book One of the Taker Trilogy)
The Reckoning by Alma Katsu (Book Two of the Taker Trilogy)
Looking forward to the Descent
Short Stories: The Marriage Price and The Devil’s Scribe which also has its roots in The Taker Trilogy

Alma Katsu’s Amazon Page and Her Official Website

Then came The Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night from Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy.  I had read The Discovery of Witches during the summer of 2012, and really liked the historical fiction and paranormal aspects of the story.  Turns out you’ll see a theme here of historical fiction being a constant in my enjoyed reading – I’m also a big fan of historical witch lore.

Shadow of Night was a great sequel.  I loved that Diana and Matthew went back to Elizabethan London to find a witch that could teach Diana how to be, well, a witch.

Discovery of Witches (Book 1 in the All Souls Trilogy)by Deborah Harkness
Shadow of Night (Book 2 in the All Souls Trilogy)by Deborah Harkness

Deborah Harkness’ Amazon Page and Her Official Website

I had heard about Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin on HBO and was interested in seeing what the story was about, so I ordered it. Then we moved and had HBO as part of our cable package, shortly after the 2nd season ended. The book was amazing enough to make me want to watch the series, but not yet amazing enough to be sure I wanted to make the investment in the whole series.  And then, I watched season 2 and couldn’t wait to get the whole series.

I have since read the first three books and am mostly through Book 4: A Clash of Kings.  Book 4 is by far my least favorite book, because it focuses on characters I don’t really care if they live or die.  I loved the first three books and can’t wait to read the A Dance with Dragons (Book 5).

What do I love about this series?  Everybody dies, not to give away spoilers, but favorite characters aren’t long for this world, and just when you think you’ll not like the rest of the books because your favorite character has died, and there’s three more books to go, you realize you have a new favorite character.  Luckily, two of my original favorite characters are still alive and I’m hoping two of my newer favorite characters – one is an endearing character and one was despicable – will live to see other books (and dragons, for that matter).

I love this series!  It rates right up there with the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and the Lord of the Rings by Tolkiin in all their awesomeness and glory.  The world is expansive and the story is epic. I’m so happy I found this series.

If you haven’t read these yet, I suggest going for it and buying the four pack set that way, you won’t have to wait for the next book to arrive.

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin is 4 book bundle (because we aaalllll bundle according to the Stepford Wives neighborhood in the Vonage commercials) – Book 1: A Game of Thrones; Book 2: A Feast for Crows; Book 3: A Storm of Swords; and Book 4: A Clash of Kings
- Looking forward to A Dance with Dragons (Book 5 in the series)

George R. R. Martin’s Amazon Page and His Official Website

And that leads me to present day.  I have a new Amazon Kindle Fire (the 7″) and I love it!  More on that in the future, I’m sure.  With it came a one month subscription to Amazon Prime.  I wanted to try it out, so I borrowed The Hunger Games and subsequently Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins.

I’ve been hesitant to read this series, and I’m not really sure why.  I like dystopian worlds, I love Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, Stephen King’s The Long Walk and The Running Man, and I liked Moira Young’s Blood Red Road (not quite the same, but close enough).

I was pleasantly surprised, but also really disappointed, but (sorry mom, two buts in the same sentence, I know…bad) I’m also willing to hold out and read the last book and revise my opinion.

I loved the concept of the WHOLE story. I did, but I hated the way the girl (katniss) used the boy’s (Peeta) love against him to live.  She made people think she loved him back to survive.  I can’t help but think this isn’t really what we want to teach our kids- girls/boys, if you pretend to love him, then you will get all the things you need to survive…I actually think too many people operate this way as it is. Frankly, it made me really uncomfortable.

That said, I thought the brutality of the games was realistic for the type of story this is.  I am very interested to see how it plays out in Book 3 – but not so interested that I’m running out to get it.  I want to finish it just so I can have closure in the series.

As I said at the onset of this part of the review, I will happily revise this review after reading the third book, but I’m pretty sure I’ll not change too much about it.  I think that maybe I’ll have a bit more to say about why there was so much hype about the books, but then again maybe not.

If you haven’t read them yet, and want to:
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins’ Amazon Page and Her Official Website

If you have read them and want to read more like this:
The Long Walk by Stephen King
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Running Man by Stephen King

I had the opportunity to read for review White Lies and though I found it predictable and unrealistic, it wasn’t a bad read.

The biggest thought-provoking idea from this book for me was contemplating whether we, as a society, have had enough time pass to actually begin cogently writing fiction about the effects of Iraq (and Afghanistan) on not just our soldiers but anyone who has been over there for a long period of time. I, personally, don’t think we have – and I think the book suffers from the author trying to include Iraq to the final climax of the plot.

I was supposed to publish a guest post by Jeremy Bates on Aug 13., due to moving, I missed it.  Here is the submission from Jeremy Bates (posted as submitted).  Without furthur ado,

10 things you didn’t know about Jeremy Bates:

1. I’ve traveled to about thirty countries and lived in six over the past ten years.
2. My favorite country I’ve lived in is probably Japan because it is so friggin weird! (in a good way). And it helps the people and food are fantastic.
3. My great great grandfather was a Christian missionary and started a university in Japan, outside Osaka, which has become one of the biggest over there.
4. I wrote six or seven other manuscripts because my “debut novel” WHITE LIES was published.
5. I’ve just given up going to the gym in favor of Muay Thai training.
6. A friend of mine was stabbed here in the Philippines seven times by the ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend. Broke, he couldn’t afford a hospital so I paid his bills, sort of saving his life.
7. Went to the International Thriller Writer’s Conference on July ‘12!
8. An Aussie friend and I got ripped off in the middle of the night in Paris. We took a taxi back to our hotel but, because we had no money, we jumped out and ran. (I lost a shoe in the process).
9. Saw the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. An Irish guy in our camp area died by climbing a pole and jumping off it, expecting people to catch him. No one did and he landed on his head.
10. Two favorite pastimes: staying in and watching a movie or going to a bar for a few drinks!

The Old Book Store is located at:
32 Masonic St # B, Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 586-0576
Don’t forget to check out the many book stores near The Old Book Store as well – several of them looked pretty interesting as well, but I only had time for the one. I think, next time I go, I’d like to do a book store crawl.

The Old Book Store located in Northhampton, MA

And here’s the google earth view – The red car is pointing to the bookstore. Also, check out the mural on other side of the street documenting the women’s movement – Northampton is a pretty spectacular place really:



View Larger Map

Now, I figure London will probably host the Olympics at least once more in my lifetime, so there’s still a chance.  That in mind, I decided to google map the book stores located in the London, England area so I could plan the route, train and be ready for the London Olympics 2052.

If I were doing it right now, I’d probably start with this list of top 9 from visitlondon.com – I think I’d start at Foyles (because it seems like the center of the map) and then work my out in an expanded square pattern.  I’ll be 78 years old in 2052, I’ll probably have to take it a bit slow, but I’m betting if I begin training now, I can get through at least 75% of them in a two week period.  I’m figuring not all of these bookstores will still be in operation by the next London Olympics; some will have closed, but some will have only changed hands and will still be in the same buildings they have been for in one shape or another for hundreds of years.

View Larger Map

Selecting the Right Agent
If you are a writer, and assuming you’ve sent out enough queries, partials, and full manuscripts, you have, inevitably, gotten rejections. Lots of them. • ‘Writers need thick skins,’ the sage advice goes.• ‘Writers must learn to deal with rejection.’• Writers must do this and that, and yes, the other thing. No matter what the advice, no matter who says it, or how many times you get rejected—it stings, chafes, burns, even hurts…when someone tears your masterpiece apart.

Rejection
Some people couch their critiques in honey—‘I loved the book, but…’?Okay, that doesn’t sting so much. We’ll categorize that as a honeybee sting. Others are not so tactful. ‘I thought the story started off good, but…’?Wasp sting.?And others… ‘The characters were one-dimensional.’ Full-blown African killer bee assault.

How to Deal With the Rejection
Back when I was searching for an agent, and I got those wonderful rejection letters, here is how I dealt with it.

I marched to my wife’s bookshelf and randomly selected a book. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that whatever book I picked up I would not like. I’d get a few pages into it, fifteen or twenty at best, before the criticism began. Too much description. Too much emotion. That’s ridiculous, nobody would act that way. My adventure into reading my wife’s books ended the same. I’d close the book, gently place it back on the shelf, and think to myself, I can’t believe someone likes that.

So, why did I do this?

To remind myself that everyone has different tastes.

People don’t like the same foods, drive the same cars, wear the same clothes—or read the same books. My daughter reads only non-fiction. My two sons restrict themselves to magazines on nature or science, or health and fitness. My daughter-in-law has a lot of the same books I do, also a lot I couldn’t conceive of reading.

What’s the Point?
The point is, that agents and editors are no different than other people. They have specific tastes, likes and dislikes. Certain styles they like to read. Voices that appeal to them. Plots that keep them turning the pages.

You cannot write a book that will appeal to all readers. As a writer you know that. It stands to reason you cannot write a book that will appeal to all agents. Just because they are agents doesn’t mean they will recognize your masterpiece.

What’s the Answer?
You can increase your chance of success by customizing your query list. Put more effort into your research on which agents to query.

We will assume you have a solid query. If not, go to the many sites that offer advice and critiques and/or get some critique partners who can help you polish it. Janet Reid at Query Shark has a great site: and Rachelle Gardner always has wonderful advice:

Who to Query
* One of the biggest mistakes writers make is assuming that all agents want to see their book. They don’t.
* And don’t assume all agents who represent fiction want your particular genre. They don’t.
* Don’t assume that if they represent mystery authors they want yours. It might not be the case.

Some agents might love cozy mysteries but be appalled by your hard-core blood-and-guts detective who keeps one foot on the wrong side of the fence. And I’ve always found it odd that science fiction and fantasy are lumped together. I read a lot of fantasy, but seldom read science fiction. And the preferences go even deeper. There are hard-core science fiction people who want the intricate details of how a technology might work, and others who want a love story couched in a make-believe world of fantasy, or a futuristic setting on another world. Or a time traveler, and they don’t care one bit how this person travels in time.

In the mystery genre, there are readers who need the details of what forms a detective fills out when he/she arrives at the scene, what caliber of bullet killed the victim, and who touches what first at the scene. These readers worry about how much blood has pooled at the base of the victim’s spine and how congealed the blood on the floor is…you get my point.

There are other readers who simply need to know the person in the story is dead. Content that the corpse isn’t going to spring up with a ten-inch butcher knife in their hand and strike out at the detective, although that would put it in the horror category, two aisles over.

Researching Your Agents
Invest some time in researching your targets. The internet is a magnificent tool. Look up the agents on any number of query tracking sites, on the agency’s own website, Google them, check out Publisher’s Marketplace, anywhere that will give you a good idea of what this particular agent is representing, and what they are looking for.

I have found that Googling an agent will often turn up results of interviews that someone has done with an agent. Reading these interviews can be invaluable, providing detailed insight into the agent’s likes and dislikes, far more information than is available on the website for that agency. If the agent has a blog, follow it, read the archives, learn about them. The more you know about the agent before you send the query, the better your chances of getting a request.

It takes a long time to write a novel. Sometimes it takes even longer to find an agent. Help yourself out and spend a little extra time researching the agents before you send out that query. You’ll be glad you did.

Buona fortuna,
Giacomo

About Murder Takes Time: A string of brutal murders has bodies piling up in Brooklyn, and Detective Frankie Donovan knows what is going on. Clues left at the crime scenes point to someone from the old neighborhood, and that isn’t good.

Frankie has taken two oaths in his life—the one he took to uphold the law when he became a cop, and the one he took with his two best friends when they were eight years old and inseparable.

Those relationships have forced Frankie into many tough decisions, but now he faces the toughest one of his life; he has five murders to solve and one of those two friends is responsible. If Frankie lets him go, he breaks the oath he took as a cop and risks losing his job. But if he tries to bring him in, he breaks the oath he kept for twenty-five years—and risks losing his life.

In the neighborhood where Frankie Donovan grew up, you never broke an oath.

About Giacomo Giammatteo: In his own words
I live in Texas now, but I grew up in Cleland Heights, a mixed ethnic neighborhood in Wilmington, Delaware that sat on the fringes of the Italian, Irish and Polish neighborhoods. The main characters of Murder Takes Time grew up in Cleland Heights and many of the scenes in the book were taken from real-life experiences.  Somehow I survived the transition to adulthood, but when my kids were young I left the Northeast and settled in Texas, where my wife suggested we get a few animals. I should have known better; we now have a full-blown animal sanctuary with rescues from all over. At last count we had 41 animals—12 dogs, a horse, a three-legged cat and 26 pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with me every day and happens to also be my best buddy.

Since this is a bio some of you might wonder what I do. By day I am a headhunter, scouring the country for top talent to fill jobs in the biotech and medical device industry. In the evening I help my wife tend the animals, and at night—late at night—I turn into a writer.

Go check out the website: www.giacomogiammatteo.com.

Join Giacomo Giammatteo as he tours the blogosphere June 18 – August 31,2012 with his mystery/suspense novel Murder Takes Time! Giacomo has agreed to give away an iPad 3, a Kindle Fire, and a $50 Gift Certificate (payable by Paypal). The iPad3 and Kindle Fire winners will be determined by Rafflecopter and the gift certificate will go to the person who comments the most during his 2 month tour.  If there is a tie, the winner will be chosen through Random.org!

This contest begins June 18 and ends on August 17, 2012.  This contest is open to U.S. and Canadian citizens only. Sorry international!

Visit the authors’ official tour page to gain entries and find out where else they will be appearing so you won’t miss out on a great opportunity to win the iPad 3, Kindle Fire and/or the $50 bonus.

Her ancestors, the O’Flahertys, hail from Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands located off the coast of Galway. She takes great pride in the prayer posted by the English over the ancient citygates, ‘From the wrath of the O’Flahertys, may the good Lord deliver us.’ Jeanette graduated from the University of California at Irvine and holds a Masters Degree in Education.

When not in Ireland, she teaches in Southern California, reads constantly, attempts to navigate the confusing world of Facebook and, more recently, e-publishing, concocts creations from interesting cookbooks and enjoys the company of friends and children. She is the RITA award-winning author of NELL.

Please check out her website and blog and her guest post on Old Musty Books

Thank you, Jeanette.  Without further ado:

The End…

Endings are hugely important, maybe even more important than beginnings. Bad beginnings can be forgiven if the rest of the book flows well, but an unsatisfactory ending lingers, destroying everything that went before. You know the endings I’m talking about, the to-be-continued endings when the sequel isn’t yet out, the choose-your-own ending, the surprise ending that introduces a completely new character. These endings inevitably leave the reader feeling cheated, resolving to choose the next novel more wisely, possibly even flipping to the end to be sure future novels don’t end in disappointment. What, then, constitutes a satisfying ending? How does a writer know when her novel is finished, the threads tied together, every “i” dotted and “t” crossed?

The answer lies in understanding story structure. Structure in prose is as important as bars in music. Just as musicians know a tune must “count,” writers know how and where to place the elements of a story. A satisfying story begins with a problem, moves toward rising action which complicates and, somewhere near the end of the novel, reaches a crisis point followed by resolution of the conflict. The ending is particularly satisfying when the characters, which the reader now cares about, are sorted out. While plots, characters, settings and conflicts change, story structure does not. Readers may not be familiar with terminology, but they know when conflict isn’t developed or a climax occurs too soon. Something won’t feel quite right.

Having said which endings don’t work, there are quite a few that do; the full circle ending is particularly successful. This involves a story begun after the fact, usually told by a narrator, one of the characters, who guides the reader through the story until it ends again with the narrator. The novel that comes to mind is the children’s classic, WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. Another favorite ending is the emotional ending when someone, an animal for example, is presumed lost forever only to return as in THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. The mystery is solved ending is another favorite. Loose ends are tied up, red herrings explained and the villain, a familiar character, revealed. Agatha Christie was a master of the mystery solved ending. In romance novels, the ending is always a satisfying one where the two lovers are united for life. Readers expect this kind of ending so much so that a novel isn’t labeled a romance unless the ending holds true to type.

Skilled writers are familiar with word count and shelf space. Depending on the genre, an author knows where and when a book should wrap up and works toward that end from the very beginning, usually with some type of outline. Even with electronic books removing the need to conserve shelf space, genre writers have a good idea of how long their books need to be to satisfy a fan base. Readers are sensitive and knowledgeable. Timing is crucial. Word choice is important. It’s a writer’s job to know when enough is enough. Having said that, I wish you a satisfying read.

~Jeanette Baker

Jeanette’s newest book, Tuesday’s Child, has been available for Kindle since January of this year.

Possessed of a luminous beauty and a delicate grace that belied her spirit and fierce intelligence, Tess Bradford left Maryland for London on a mission of greatest importance. Her husband, a devout patriot, had been seized by the British navy, and only one man could help her secure his release. He was James Devereaux, Duke of Langley, and former aide to Wellington. But Tess wasn’t prepared for the passion that burned beneath Devereaux’s implacable demeanor.

Wealthy and powerful, Devereaux could choose any woman he wanted to provide him with an heir. But Tess sparked in him a raging duel of loyalties. She was an American—and someone else’s wife. Yet she aroused a desire that could destroy his reason…or ignite a love as strong as the winds of battle that raged around them—a love too powerful to resist.

Please check out her website and blog.

Blood Red Road Synopsis:
Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That’s fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba’s world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

Epic love story? No. Violent action? Yes. Poetically minimal writing style? Well…I wouldn’t say poetical, but certainly minimal.

In fact, one of the things about the book I really liked was the minimalist writing.  Make no mistake, Saba is no scholar and her narration stays true to this fact.  The only other thing missing in the synopsis is that she has a little sister she resents. In my opinion, the latter is incredibly important to the story and Saba’s development as a character.

Like most books, the description of the book (which I’ve used for the synopsis) is over dramatized. However, if you take out the buzz words, its pretty close to accurate to what the story is about.

I liked the Blood Red Road – in fact, I read it straight through.  I found some incredible discrepancies, like all of a sudden Saba is a prize winning fighter, oh, and…somehow she falls for another prisoner fighter and does so in a “love at first sight” kind of way (which just seemed odd); but I was able to overlook them because I liked the idea that two sisters were trying to save their brother.  I did think there were some areas that were a bit more rushed than others, but on the whole the book read well and was very engaging.

Warning: If you pick up the book, you will need to put grammar rules and spelling rules aside and just immerse yourself in the world knowing schools are a thing of the past – not because the author and editor missed things, but because its how Saba talks, and she grew up away from others with just her brother, father and little sister.

This is the first book in a series, and the next installment comes out October 2012. I would encourage you to put Blood Red Road by Moira Young on your summer reading stack, giving you enough time to get Rebel Heart when it comes out in October.

Click here to order the book.

I read this book over the weekend. My reaction to it is still formulating, and maybe I’ll update this post as time goes on, but I wanted to do a quick review.  I’ve read a great many of King’s short stories and the two in this book are AMAZING!  This is not a typical book of short stories. The Wind Through the Keyhole is a continuation of the Dark Tower Series, but this particular book is a story within a story within a story…a very cool concept and one I’m not sure many authors could pull off as well as King has.

The book is easily a stand alone book – and in his author’s note in the beginning King lets the Dark Tower layman know exactly what they need to know if this is the first introduction to Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah and the Dark Tower.  That said, I’m not sure if I’d read this by itself, I’d be motivated to read the Dark Tower series. I sort of felt the stories would have been good in a collection of short stories rather than made into ‘Dark Tower Series book 4.5′.  In fairness, I say this without having read the whole series again with this book inserted into its rightful place.

SPOILER ALERT: The whole book just felt a bit like The Little Sisters of Eluria – it belonged as background to understand Roland, but it was more background than necessary to the story. I understand the magnitude of Roland forgiving his mother, but its not necessary to the Dark Tower series.  In fact, I sort of think the reader knowing he forgave his mother; and also knowing she knew and forgave him prior to the murder may actually hurt the story.  My interpretation of the series is that Roland’s motivation for following the man in black into the desert is based around the betrayal of his mother which led to Roland killing her. Roland has always seemed torn and tragic and, in my mind, the essence of who he is developed around the defining event of killing his mother.   Now we find out he’s forgiven his mom and  I think by taking that away in the middle of the series changes the whole essence of the story.

I guess there’s still a question about when he finally forgave; and I guess maybe its possible that just because he’s forgiven his mom, maybe he didn’t forgive himself…? I’ll read the whole series again maybe this summer, and see if I still feel that way.

If you are a fan of the Dark Tower Series, I don’t have to tell you to read this book – you probably already have it and will start reading as soon as you get some time to dedicate to your old friends in Mid-World.  If you have never read the Dark Tower series, this book is still very enjoyable.  King is a master short story teller, and you may find you really like what you’re reading.  I would also like to invite you to read the whole Dark Tower Series – its worth the time and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

I’ve read a lot over the last year about pricing for ebooks and what not, and it seems like the publishing companies are having a really tough time trying to figure this out.  I’m no math major, but… I have researched in depth how to publish a book for Kindle and Nook…and its incredibly less expensive than to publish a traditional book.

So, why on earth are publishers pricing a product with very little overhead the same or more as products with higher overhead?

I would want to be the company that didn’t want to jack the consumer and imply they are stupid to the process of book making.

I think companies need to take a look at the self-publishers and realize they don’t need to pay massive salaries to publish books in ebook format.  Massive tech salaries is the only possible reason I can think of to make a kindle book more than a paperbook – I don’t want to think the publishing company is taking the consumers for a ride.

Because that would be a crappy thing to do.

I was looking at purchasing a book or two yesterday from Amazon. Now, I haven’t purchased a book in a while for my kindle and was extremely surprised when I found Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue priced higher for Kindle than it was for the paperback.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316098329/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=nyf-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316098329

I’ve read a lot over the last year about pricing for ebooks and what not, and it seems like the publishing companies are having a really tough time trying to figure this out.  I’m no math major, but… I have researched in depth how to publish a book for Kindle and Nook…and its incredibly less expensive than to publish a traditional book.

So, why on earth are publishers pricing a product with very little overhead the same or more as products with higher overhead?

I would want to be the company that didn’t want to jack the consumer and imply they are stupid to the process of book making.

I think companies need to take a look at the self-publishers and realize they don’t need to pay massive salaries to publish books in ebook format.  Massive tech salaries is the only possible reason I can think of to make a kindle book more than a paperbook – I don’t want to think the publishing company is taking the consumers for a ride.

Because that would be a crappy thing to do.