October 2010 Audio Book Discounts – James Patterson Update
October has come upon us fast and we wanted to notify you of our monthly update to our audio book specials as well as update you on our James Patterson audio book collection.
One of the audio books that is being discounted this month is James Patterson’s Honeymoon. It prompted us to update the spotlight section of our website dedicated to the growing catalog of books written by both him and his coauthors. We updated the review and series pages to include the latest audio books that have been added to the collection.
Though most of the new James Patterson audio books in our catalog are just new releases of his latest books we also added some older titles that have been made available to us in audio book format. Of particular note is the addition of the Women’s Murder Club Box Set which includes the first 3 Books in the Series, 1st to Die 2nd Chance and 3rd Degree. This completes a whole that I really wanted to fill for our customers since I am a big fan of the Women’s Murder Club Series.
Also of note is that 2 other characters have reached “Series” status. Now Michael Bennett the Detective character that started out in Step on a Crack has 2 other books. His popularity may allow it to rival Alex Cross someday. In the Young Adults category Daniel X has also made it to Series level. James Patterson continues to produce books that captivate his audience. Discover his books at CreateTimeAudio.com.
The other specials this month revolve around Leadership, Motivation and Achievement. These areas and books are timeless so explore them on our discounts page. Also on special this month is the Newbury Award Winning Children’s Book Sounder by Willam B. Armstrong.
Enjoy! Next we will be updating our Halloween Audio Book offerings…
Clemente – A Famous Hispanic Story on Audio
Famous Hispanics abound in today’s society though we rarely shine a spotlight on them as brightly as during Hispanic Heritage Month which takes place between September 15th and October 15th each year. Much of the focus is on the Hispanic and Latino contributions to the world of entertainment like Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Shakira and George Lopez just off the top of the head. There would be quite a few people on this list.
When it comes to sports though the rising contributions of baseball players from Hispanic countries like Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic can not be denied. If you are a baseball fan, even a young one you would be able to spout out the names of famous Hispanic baseball players like David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, and Manny Ramirez just to name a few. Before they all came along Roberto Clemente paved the way.
We are spotlighting the David Maraniss biography on the life of Roberto Clemente. A famous Hispanic baseball player that unfortunately died at the young age of 38 while attempting to deliver relief supplies to the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua back in 1972. He was an unexpected humanitarian. Though his death was tragic and noteworthy it was his life that highlighted what one person can do both for his country of Puerto Rico and his chosen sport of baseball.
Though he was not recognized in life as he was after his death Clemente broke down many barriers for both Hispanic baseball players and Hispanic sports figures overall. Looking back on his career he achieved many baseball milestones including making it into the 3000 hit club during the season that preceded his death.
We highly recommend this audio book not just for it’s historic significance for Hispanics but also as a review of an impressive Hall of Fame baseball career. Download Clemente on Audio Today.
Hispanic Heritage Month 2010 Audio Book Spotlight
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month we are spotlighting some of the Hispanic authors in our audio book collection. For fans of Univision and members of the wider latino/hispanic audience Jorge Ramos isn’t a stranger. He has been the news anchorman for UniVision for more than twenty years. Though much of his work is appreciated by the hispanic community his book the Latino Wave seemed to careen him further into the national spotlight.
The Latino Wave is a book about how the Latino population is having more power in American politics primarily because it is forecast to grow into a majority in the foreseeable future. Though written in 2004 the book offers many insights into the growing influence of the Hispanic community. The Spanish Language version of the book La Ola Latina is read by Jorge Ramos himself.
We also have both language versions of Ramos’ Dying to Cross about a tragedy involving immigration. Though Morir en El Intento has garnered some criticism for attributing blame inconsistently it does humanize the quest that drives many immigrants to find a way into the U.S. As a naturalized U.S. Citizen from Mexico it of course has a personal perspective.
What follow are some of our Spanish Content and Hispanic Author Audio Books:
Malinche by Laura Ezquivel Read by Maria Conchita Alonso
Don Quixote De La Mancha by Miguel Cervantes Read by Robert Whitfield
El Secreto By Rhonda Byrnes Read by Rebeca Sanchez Manriquez
Su Mejor Vida Ahora by Joel Osteen Read by Gustavo Rex
Las Cinco Personas que Encontraras en el Cielo (The Five People You Meet In Heaven) by Mitch Albom, Read By Francisco Rivela
Los Santos de Agua Mansa California by Alex Espinoza Read By Cony Madera
2666 by Roberto Bolaño Translated by Natasha Wimmer and Read by John Lee, Armando Durán, G. Valmont Thomas, Scott Brick, and Grover Gardner Winner of the 2008 National Book Critics’ Circle Award for Fiction.
We hope to continue to grow our collection of spanish content audio books. Enjoy Hispanic Heritage Month 2010!
Audio Book Savings for September 2010
Ann Rule Green River, Running Red
Yes the summer is almost over as we head into Labor Day Weekend. For September we have a a couple of themes for our audio book discounts which seem to be prolific women authors and getting focused on achievement.
I confess that sometimes I can’t change the channel when those news mystery magazines highlight some strange case of murder. It seems to be human nature to want to know what motivates someone to unspeakable acts. We are always looking for a why in the story. Sometimes that answer is sadly there is no why only a sick individual. Ann Rule is a well-known true crime writer that tries to explain some of the strange crimes that take place more often than we would like to admit. The Green River, Running Red audio book on special this month is a journey through the lives of not only the infamous serial murderer but also of his victims.
The True Crime genre is one that we have not highlighted before but if you walk through any of those brick and mortar book stores you can see how popular these titles are. Ann Rule also defined the genre with her first book about Ted Bundy who she ended up working with at a Seattle suicide crisis center. It shouldn’t be surprising that these types of audio books are interesting to me since it is part of the Crime and Thrillers category that I love so much. I invite you to explore the True Crime audio books in our collection.
The other prolific female authors on our discounts page are Sandra Brown, Anne Rice and Nora Roberts. All 3 have been able to turn out best selling audio books consistently over the years.
The other titles on special this month revolve around Goal Setting and maintaining a Positive Attitude. Though selp help books on these topics can be popular at the beginning of the year they also are popular when you begin major undertakings in life. September is a month that coincides with the beginning of a new school year or a fresh start after a summer of recuperation. Let’s welcome the Fall Season with a new attitude!
Listen to the Classic Wizard of Oz on Audio
L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz
Today Google reminded everyone that it is the 71st anniversary of the classic 1939 movie the Wizard of Oz. I have fond memories of seeing the movie but also of reading the book by L. Frank Baum. We have a few different offerings of this classic audio book.
Some may be surprised to know that there were other books though that were based on his original Wizard of Oz. There are said to be thirteen sequels to the Wizard of Oz. To list a few there are The Land of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz and The Patchwork Girl of Oz.
Some of the characters are the same like the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman but the central character is sometimes a boy named Tip versus Dorothy.
Last year I made a conscious effort to show the movie to my 2 young children and it is amazing how timeless this classic is. They were as amazed and delighted even with the less than advanced special effects available back in 1939.
I was surprised to find in researching this post that there actually was a full cast sequel to the movie version with Judy Garland that was supposedly scrapped because of her rising popularity. The World of Oz definitely lends itself to performance and audio makes for a great medium for that. The pictured version above is a full cast dramatization of the original story.
I definitely plan on downloading the audio book sequels for my kids who will be thrilled to know there were more sequels to the Wizard of Oz.
Here is a link to all the Wizard of Oz audio books in our CreateTimeAudio collection.
I also thought you might enjoy the original Wizard of Oz movie preview:
