Cyber Monday's 5 Best Book Deals

Cyber Monday was a phenomenon born out of Black Friday's success. The idea is that after consumers had had their shopping deals in brick and mortar stores, they were ready to sit down at home in front of their computers and browse for further holiday deals - this time from online stores.



A Blogger's Books - as expected - now brings you Cyber Monday's biggest book deals. There are hundreds of books from every category. However, I'm just going to pinpoint a few publications that caught my eye and interest. Buckle up your seat belts. Here we go!



True life

America by Heart

This hard cover book has been reduced by half price ($12.98) for Cyber Monday Book Deals.  It's sold quite well, even though many Americans (and the rest of the world) have their reservations about this politician. If you've ever wanted to find out what Sarah Palin got up to post elections, here's your chance to do so.

Amazon's description (in part):

Since the publication of her bestselling memoir, Going Rogue, in 2009, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has travelled the country extensively. She has visited cities and towns in almost every state, dropped in on military bases, given talks and speeches to small groups and at massive rallies. Throughout her travels, she has had the privilege of meeting thousands of Americans—ordinary men and women who have shared with her their hopes and dreams, their love of country, and their fears about what lies ahead. Governor Palin, inspired by these encounters, celebrates in her new book the enduring strengths and virtues that have made this country a beacon of liberty and hope for the rest of the world.

Fiction

Full Dark, No Stars

I'm a huge fan of Stephen King's work. I have a collection of his best books. This amazing new masterpiece is on the best sellers books in 11 solid categories. It's now been sold (hard copy) for half price in the Cyber Monday sale. 

Merely reading the Publishers Weekly's description gives me the heebie-geebies: I'll have to make sure I'm not at home alone when it finally gets here.

Eerie twists of fate drive the four longish stories in King's first collection since Just After Sunset (2008). In "1922," a farmer murders his wife to retain the family land she hopes to sell, then watches his life unravel hideously as the consequences of the killing suggest a near-supernatural revenge. "Big Driver" tells of an otherwise ordinary woman who discovers her extraordinary capacity for retribution after she is raped and left for dead. "A Good Marriage" explores the aftermath of a wife's discovery of her husband's sinister secret life, while "Fair Extension," the book's most disturbing story, follows the relationship between a man and the best friend on whom he preternaturally shifts all his bad luck and misfortune.

Factual

Guinness World Records

This one needs no introduction. Kids simply love these publications. I get one for my kids each year and they spend hours poring over the heavily tattooed men, or the woman with the tiniest waist - not ideal, I know. But they take pleasure in the more serious records too (which is why I buy them). I have to admit, I'm a closet fan of world records myself. Cyber Monday sale means I can get it for half price this year.

Cookery

Cooking Light. Complete Meals in Minutes

This is another Cyber Monday half price deal. There are over 700 remarkable recipes in this book, and it's all about cooking healthily and quickly. I suspect it's a commodity for every modern family home. Click on the link for a complete product description.

Books for kids and teens

There were several in this category that caught my eye. Many of them are less than half price! I thought it would be a great idea to get some now and keep them hidden until the holiday rush has died down. My plan is to farm them out to the kids (mine and friends') during the year when they've run out of 'new' things to do. We haven't given our kids personal TVs and game boys, so books are perfect companions for them when they're tucked up in bed in the evenings.

If you're looking for a lighter way to read this holiday (or for a perfect gift for someone who loves books), you may want to have a look at this kindle. If you can afford it, this is Amazon's number one wish list gift. At the moment there isn't a deal on this reader, but if/when I find one, you'll be the first to know.

Please be informed that these deals are only good for Cyber Monday and do not extend beyond this date. Best of luck and hope you find something to suit your reading needs.

A Blogger's Books is off to find some bargains!

Writing Opportunities - Update

Don't forget that A Blogger's Books runs a regularly updated writing opportunities' page. Subscribe to this site and you'll be notified when there's a new post to suit your individual needs.



I've searched the web to come up with writing ops of every kind. Most of them on the linked page above are hard-copy writing jobs where you can earn good money in exchange for your hard work. There are however, a few online links too. You will also find small opportunities like tips requests. If you are a poet, start earning by writing greeting  cards messages etc.



This page has been updated today, so go check it out. 

Blog Jog Day

Thank you for stopping by my blog on International Blog Joy Day, November 21st. Please explore all this blog has to offer, then jog on over to Clogs and Tulips at http://clogsandtulips.blogspot.com.





If you would like to visit a different blog in the jog, go to http://blogjogday.blogspot.com





Thank you and hope to see you again!





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10 Ways To Create A Popular Blog Post

make your blog popular

It’s exciting to create a new blog post. You plan it, think of what you’ll say and how you’ll say it. You write it and go through several edits to make it the best it could be. You want to help your readers achieve a solution in their lives, or to contribute positively to their existence. Or maybe the aim of your blog post is to help them achieve something fantastic. Finally, your post is perfect. You upload it to your blog, only to find that merely 12 of your followers have read it, let alone the strangers browsing on the web.

There are several ways to make all (or most of) your posts popular and give them the very best chance of being found by people looking for that particular topic. I’ve outlined below some of the easiest ways to make all your new posts available for the world to find. It goes without saying that you should begin this process by creating the best possible articles. Well-written and helpful pieces will be propelled above their lesser counterparts. 

You've just uploaded your new post. Now give it the best exposure!





Share your posts to make them popular

1. Start with the navbar (the panel at the top of your Blogger blog) on your blog. Go here to see what the navbar is and what it does. Click on share. A drop down menu will give you 5 options. You can email your post, share it on Twitter (with a tiny url), Facebook, Google Buzz and Google Reader. Don't forget that you can share a post on Twitter more than once. It's vital that you are on the individual page of the new post rather than on your home page. This shares the actual article to the aforementioned sites, rather than just your entire blog.



Use social media to create a popular blog post 

2. If you're a member of Blogexplosion, sign in and use one of your credits to add a new headline. This is a very underused feature of Blogexplosion. Too many people join up and merely display the blog links on their pages. I always get quite a few reads when I add my new posts' 'headlines' to this site. I know there have been ongoing problems with Blogexplosion but it still offers link opportunities to get your articles listed in a popular directory (giving you more search engine juice).

Use blog directories to create a popular blog post

3 Make sure your blog has been submitted to pertinent categories on various blog directories. Any such link is vital in getting your blog seen as an authority on the web (leading to more widespread views). Furthermore, all your new posts are automatically updated on these directories.

Blog directories include: 

Blog catalogue

MyBlogLog

Blogged

Blog Explosion

BlogFlux



Writing directories can help create a popular blog post

4. If you've joined up with E-zine it's a good idea to write a summary of your post and submit this as an article on this high-ranking site. (This has to be a different, shorter article on the same subject - not just a copy of the same). Ezine allows you two links on each article you submit. Use this opportunity to link to your new post. See number five for the best way to link.



Use correct anchor texts for popular blog posts

5. Whenever you link to your article make sure you're linking with a suitable word - not just 'click here'. For example, if I want to build the reputation of a Relationship website, it's better for me to say 'Visit my Relationship blog' than 'Click here to see my Relationship Blog' when posting links on the web.



Use pinging services to create popular blog posts

6. Get your articles read by pinging all your new ones as soon as they're uploaded on places like Ping-o-Matic and Pingoat. Blog explosion also offers a pinging service for one credit each. If you're already a member you know that credits are earned by visiting blogs, taking part in the battle of the blogs and blog rocket, etc.



Submit your site to search engines to ensure traffic 

7. In order for your blog - or indeed, any article to be indexed on the web, it's crucial you submit your site to large search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. You just need to submit your home page to Google and Bing. Yahoo encourages you to submit individual pages or articles, so make full use of this.

Add your url to Google

Submit your site to Bing

Submit your page to Yahoo



Yahoo answers can bring traffic to your new posts

8. If you have the time, join Yahoo answers and try your hand at answering questions. You're allowed one link on each question you answer.



9. Add Google Webmaster Tools to your blog and see details of your posts come alive.



10. Encourage your friends to submit your new articles to their favourite social networking sites. I can recommend StumbleUpon  for a large influx of views. However, bear in mind that such visitors only visit one page and never stay that long. This, of course, can be negative where your blog's ratings are concerned. Be careful not to spam!



If you benefited from this article about creating popular blog posts, please share it. As always, thank you for visiting and leaving your comments. 

How the Internet Stole Christmas

There's a large amount of material on the web debating how the Internet has impacted on the way we read. We may be buying just as many books as we did ten years ago (perhaps even more), but the growing popularity of e-Books means we're reading more and more from Kindles and i-Pods.

photo source

Most writing blogs acknowledge the impact the Internet has on books, even though we haven't all made up our minds if this influence is a good thing or a negative one. One thing we can all concur is that our reading habits is not the only thing being influenced by the Internet.The past few years have seen the development of new holiday traditions in many homes.



Is the Internet making the holidays better

photo source

Spending time with family is, of course the ultimate holiday goal for most of us. Thanksgiving with an abundance of food would still be lacking if family members weren't there. However, we're allowing access to the Internet to make it almost okay to be absent from loved ones. One can easily get a medium-priced laptop with a webcam as standard. Families on separate sides of the globe can virtually 'come together' in one room by just the click of a button. While we're not eating together any more (and some may say this is a good thing) the Internet allows us to 'meet', 'talk' and 'spend time together'. We reveal only as much as we want to. We can pull on a tee-shirt while wearing pyjama bottoms, but no one would be the wiser on the other side of the web cam. After twenty minutes (or less) we can click that button, sign out, and go check who's replied to our recent Facebook profile update. We've done the family time. There's no one hanging around to bother us.



The Internet does allow us to have greener holidays

photo source

We've almost started a new Christmas tradition in our family. We aim to have greener Christmases, so we never have a real tree. We've invested in a fantastic artificial Christmas tree, which we re-wrap carefully after use each year and store away in our loft (attic). Because most people we know are now latched onto the Internet for dear life, (literally) we send most of our Christmas greetings as e-Cards. The Internet has so impacted on our holidays that the e-mails we send out to friends and family during this time actually makes us feel like we've made an effort to communicate. But is this really communication?



Christmas used to be about people dropping by for a meal or presents. Now an email and an e-Card will suffice. While the Internet, by all means, has empowered us to be every where, all the time, I think it has taken away the personal touch needed to maintain close relationships. Have you noticed how we already prefer to chat with people who're thousands of miles away from us (on Facebook and Twitter) rather than the ones sitting near to us in our homes? What impact is this phenomenon going to have on our Christmas and Thanksgiving this year?



Are we all going to sit by our phones and laptops texting and updating our profiles and tweets and ignore our families? Will the Internet steal your Christmas this year?