January 2017 Newsletter
Welcome to January and welcome to 2017! From a website and newsletter standpoint I’m really looking forward to this year!
(Want to subscribe? It’s on the right side of the site in the sidebar)
First we are completely revamping our database which will make it easier to do lots of cool functions on the site. Such as making it much easier for us to add books and authors and thus more content, allowing you to get notified on new books by authors you like, print off lists easier and also customize lists (such as marking off books you’ve read) etc.
We’ve actually made the database live at the website http://www.BookSeries.org and that’s where we’ll be setting everything up before we port it all over to OrderOfBooks.com. Still a LOT of work to be done until that day but we’re looking forward to it.
Also with some down time in December I spent some time looking through previous newsletters. Basically the software we use tracks what people clicked – it shows us the percentage each section got clicked. So we know what interests people and what doesn’t. The “Top 10 upcoming books for January” etc section was rarely used, while the “3 Book Recommendations” section was used a TON.
So what I’m going to do from here on out is remove the upcoming books section, and expand the book recommendations to 4-5 books. If you have any book recommendations to share please do – see that section for how to contact us or just reply to the newsletter and feel free to write a description to entice readers!
As for me – I began December wrapping up the latest Mitch Rapp book. Loved it! I felt like I needed to continue with the “lone badass” type of books and start a new series. I was very close to going with the Gabriel Allon series which I know is much loved upon our readers however at the last moment I went with the John Wells series by Alex Berenson instead and OH MAN – I am so hooked it’s ridiculous. I just can’t stop reading them. I’ve on the 5th one now and getting sad that I’m about halfway done(although an 11th book comes out in January).
If you’re a fan of Mitch Rapp, Scot Harvath etc – then be sure to check out John Wells.
Each month we give away 2 prizes. 1st prize is a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate, and 2nd prize is a $25 Amazon gift certificate.
To win all you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing more! When we go to hit “Publish” we take a list of all of our subscribers, throw them into a random draw and those are the winners.
Our $50 gift certificate winner is Patti from Colton, CA and our $25 gift certificate winner is Noreen H. from Saskatoon, SK Both of you have been e-mailed. If you haven’t received an e-mail check your junk mail folder!
Book Recommendations:
In this section I give 5 random book recommendations. They can be old books, they can be new. But either way – I recommend you read them if the type of genre they are in appeals to you. Feel free to e-mail suggestions to site@orderofbooks.com as many of the suggestions each month are from our readers. If you wish to add a description for the book around the same size as the ones below that’d be great too!
The Faithful Spy: I mentioned this book series above and if you like spy fiction I can’t recommend it enough. I had this book on my to read list forever and can’t believe I put it off so long. It features John Wells in a post 9/11 world who in the beginning of the book is undercover with Al-Qaeda. With a big attack planned in the states it’s time for Wells to come out of cover – time for Wells to come home. Read more about it.
Defending Jacob: If you’re someone who always loves the legal thrillers by John Grisham, check out Defending Jacob by William Landay. Many have said it is right up there with Presumed Innocent with some amazing courtroom scenes and a great writing style. Thanks to Doug for the recommendation for this one. Read more about it here.
44 Scotland Street: The first novel in the 44 Scotland Street series. Written by Alexander McCall Smith it focuses on a neighbourhood in Edinburgh with the main star Pat MacGregor who lives at 44 Scotland Street. What’s notable about the first book is it was initially written as a serial and appeared in a newspaper every day with one chapter. Humourous and with great characters and descriptions and a great look at human nature. More details.
The Chemist: You’ll know the authors name, Stephenie Meyer, from the Twilight novels but Meyer is more than that and this is one standalone novel she wrote last year which is getting lots of praise. An ex-agent is on the run from the government in this thriller but has to do one last job for the agency she worked for. Not the type of book you’d expect from Meyer but reports are it’s an amazing thriller. More details.
January 2017 Book of the Month:
Author of the Divergent Trilogy, Veronica Roth, is back with her new novel Carve the Mark. It’s a sci-fi fantasy series which takes place on a planet ruled by vengeance and violence. On this planet everyone has a unique power which most benefit from – however Akos and Cyra do not. Instead their “powers” mean they’re vulnerable to others controlling them and their task is to reclaim their gifts, fates and lives.
I loved the first book in the Divergent Trilogy series and while I felt the story got a lot poorer, Roth was always an incredible world bulder. I remember watching the first movie and thinking “This is exactly how I pictured it” so I’m looking forward to this one.
It comes out January 17th, 2017. For more details see our Veronica Roth page.
Your Thoughts:
Last month I asked about memorable scenes in books. The reader mailbag is later in the newsletter.
This month I am asking a nice simple one – what book related gifts did you give or receive over the holiday season? Or if there’s an awesome gift you’d just like to talk about go for it!
My go to book for gifts for readers of thrillers/mysteries etc was Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. For more casual readers I went with Based on a True Story: A Memoir by Norm MacDonald. That one went over very well – everyone I gave it to ended up reading it within the space of 2-3 days. Even people who haven’t read one book all year.
My dad went blind over the past year so for him I went the audio book. Bloody hell some of those are expensive! In this day with everyone reading on Kindles(myself included) though I always find it fun to buy people actual books.
E-mail us your feedback to site@OrderOfBooks.com or just reply to this e-mail, and we’ll pick the best comments and feature it in next months newsletter.