Janet’s Book Nook

Hello book lovers! I know you guys love a great deal like I do. Especially if you read as many books as I do. Well I have an amazing deal for you! The website BookCloseouts.com is having an amazing sale right now. This site has hundreds of thousands of books and most of them are already very inexpensive. Now on top of their already low prices BookCloseouts.com is having a liquidation sale with books 50-80% off.

I found many of the Mercer Mayer Little Critter books that my son loves on sale for $1.99 or $3.99. I also found several Dave Ramsey products on sale for considerably less than you would pay anywhere else. Love Disney? They have the Kingdom Keepers books plus many, many guide books for the parks and Orlando. They also carry several autobiographies about Walt. The amount of books this company has on sale is just unheard of for me. The don’t necessarily carry everything you are looking for but it is always worth it to look at this site first.

It is a great place to find old out of print books. They have a really great section of scratched & dented items. Items that are not in perfect condition but are slashed down to very low prices. They carry audio books and DVDs also. I can’t say enough great things about this company. They have amazing customer service. When I ordered the Godfather series they were out of one of the books and shipped the rest of the order. When I called to let them know I was charged for the book that didn’t ship they not only credited me the price of the book but also the shipping on all of the books. The shipping charges are really reasonable. This is the first place book lovers should look for their reading material!

I have told you guys many times how much I LOVE Vista Print. I have ordered so many personalized items from them in the past 2 years. I bought T-shirts and hats for my husband’s business. I bought him some magnetic door signs for his truck. I bought business cards for his business, myself, my kids and as gifts. I bought some personalized note pads for my niece for her birthday. I also bought some of their rubber stamps.

There are several reasons I love them so much. First I can get everything from one place and they will match in color and image. Second, they offer so many free products that you can order something for free if you like it and just pay the shipping. Once you get the sample you can decide if you like it or not before you order it in bulk. Where else can you get a box of business cards personalized for the cost of shipping. The shipping prices are amazingly good too. You can also add your own uploaded images. Finally, when you do decide to order in bulk the prices are amazing. I haven’t found any local places where I can find products with such nice quality at such great prices.

I have begun to be creative with their offers. They have offered free T-shirts in the past so the first time I ordered with my husband’s company info on it. Well the last time I created a birthday T-shirt for my daughter and just had to pay the shipping. Now they are offering free personalized tote bags. These are great to use as grocery shopping bags. I also have one I use for all of our rental/borrowed items like movies, books from the library and such. This way we can make sure everything goes back in the bag when we are done and I can grab the bag to bring everything back in. These bags can be personalized any way you want and all you pay is the shipping.

It so wonderful to find a business who really cares about their customers. Vista Print cares! I ordered Christmas cards from them one year and when they arrived I only got half of the envelopes. I called Vista Print and they overnighted a whole new set of envelopes to me. Two days later the post office delivered the original order that they had been carrying around for a few days. I called Vista Print and they just said to keep it. I have heard so many amazing stories about people who have had terrific service from them.

Finally the PTA at my children’s school is using Vista Print this year. We had free business cards made up for the PTA members so we can help parents get in touch with us. Just a few weeks ago I ordered business card size magnets with the school name, phone number and logo on them. We are going to be giving them out to everyone who joins the PTA. These will be great for parents to put on their refrigerator at home for when the need to contact the school. Best of all? I got 25 for free and just paid shipping so I could see what they would look like and bring them to the board meeting so we all had something to see when voting. Now I can order in bulk at a great price. This is a great way to make the parents feel like they are getting more than just a card for their PTA membership fee and it costs the PTA pennies.

I would love to hear from other VP customers about what types of items you guys buy and what you use them for.

The book Girl In the Cellar was one of the books I order a few months ago from bookcloseouts.com. I thought the topic looked interesting and they have such amazing prices that I figured I might as well order it. I got this one, The Godfather series and the Sweeney Todd book that tells the true story. So far this is the only one I have gotten around to reading. How was it? Well, good and bad.

I think the story about Natascha Kampusch being kidnapped by an adult man who was an odd individual and secreted away in a hidden chamber of his home for 8 years is an amazing story. I loved finding out what happened to her and where she ended up. I liked the color photos that showed not only the victim and abductor but also the reference areas where she was taken from, kept and lived. It always amazes me how the human spirit can kick in and help us to survive things we never imagined possible. This child was only 10 years old when she was grabbed on the streets and shoved in a van by Wolfgang Priklopil. She was brought directly to a dungeon he had prepared in his home. The pains he went to in creating this room that was hidden by so many doors and passageways that she would never have been found if he had passed away show just how sick this man was. The ultimate escape of Natascha was a joyful event while still leaving so many unanswered questions because of the suicide of her abductor.

What didn’t I like? The authors of this book didn’t seem to be writing from an inside view. It was almost as though they took information from a bunch of other people and quoted them and through them together in a book. There wasn’t really any first hand information. There were pages and pages of quoted conversations. I just got the feeling I was reading a story that was being told by a friend of a friend of a friend of the person it happened to. Nothing really personal about. Almost like reading a newspaper account that just says "sources say" and that was it.

I think if Natascha ever decides to write a book about her imprisonment it would be an amazing first hand story to read. As it was I enjoyed reading her story but felt like I just didn’t get the whole story.

I thought it might be a good time to remind all of you that this weekend is 4th of July. Not only does that mean some really great cookouts and parties but it also means that there will be some really great deals and a sale on every corner. You will be able to find sales going on at stores for summer items like lawn furniture and clothes. Not mention the great deals on clothing and shoes. It is even a good time to get new appliances. Don’t forget all of the food items on special at your local grocery markets. Finally I am on the lookout for some terrific 4th of July deals on electronics. Not only am I looking for a new television for my bedroom but I need to replace our portable DVD player for our trip next weekend because ours is old and doesn’t work so well. I would also like to get some new games for the Wii and the DS games. I don’t pay full price for anything though so they would have to be a good deal for me to purchase them. I would love to hear about any specials you guys have seen for this weekend. It doesn’t have to be electronics just anything you have found a good deal on.

We have an Australian Shepherd that we have had since she was just a baby. Her name is Cayenne and we have loved her and enjoyed having her. She is an outside dog because my son had bad allergies when we got her but she does live in a large barn with horses, ponies and a rabbit. She has a huge yard to run around in and spend a lot of her time herding the horses and pony. So what is the issue?

The only thing we have not found a solution to is finding her a dog bed. Every one we buy she rips to shreds and we end up having to pick up the carcass spread all over our 1 acre piece of land. It breaks my heart to think of her sleeping on the ground (I know she is a dog but still!) and so I keep trying to find a solution. I have tried so many different types of pet beds and none have survived. I even put an old blanket out there for her and she destroyed that too. I don’t want to put shavings like the rest of the animals have because I am concerned about whether or not she will consume them. I just don’t know what to do. I know she doesn’t need the warmth right now because it is so hot outside but I am thinking more about comfort. Am I being too anal? Are outside dogs meant to sleep on the ground? What do other owners of outdoor big breed dogs do? I would love some advice so I can just be done with this issue and stop worrying. Thanks!