Buying a home for the first time will be the biggest thrill as well as the hardest, most frightening, long-term commitment you will probably make. Announcing it will bring out the advice columnist in all of your friends, your family, and even people you just met. Well, that’s how real estate work, everybody has advice about what you should do.

The thing is, purchasing a home is your own family’s business, so it’s your responsibility to research and ask advice from people who could really help you. Here are some books to help you make sense of what to expect and to understand the groundwork for what lies in your home hunting journey and subsequent ownership.



The Dummies series is notorious for showing people who know nothing about a particular stuff to be somewhat an expert after reading the book. To find the perfect house, this packed with invaluable advice in an objective, down-to-earth style fashion. It has tips and tricks on things you should do after sealing the deal as well as things you ought to understand about real estate investing. It also includes advice on how to sell your house (if you ever decide in the future), as well as a sample buying contact and a comprehensive inspection report.



This book shows first time homebuyers what they need to know straight from the experts. It has everything about home buying from mortgages to inspections, agents and more. You’ll also find tips on exploring your local market for the best value, qualifying for and lining up financing and getting the right insurance and inspections. What’s great about this book is the checklist that helps you track your progress.

TV-Y; 132 minutes; $19.99; Amazon

Arriving today on DVD from Disney Home Entertainment is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Sport-Y-Thon, featuring 6 episodes from the hit Disney Junior series. There are no special features or extras, but each DVD comes with one Golden Mickey Medal.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a computer-animated series for preschoolers. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald the Duck, Pluto and the Mouseketool called "Toodles" (a mechanical assistant) go on kid-friendly adventures, where the audience gets to interact and help make the decisions that are made in each episode.

The series debuted on the preschool block of programming that aired on the Disney Channel in 2006, but eventually moved to the Disney Junior when the channel debuted in 2011. While Disney Junior occasionally airs a "special" episode, the rumor has it that the series has ceased production. A spin-off, Mickey and the Roadster Racers, will debut sometime next year.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Sport-Y-Thon is a sports-themed DVD, featuring the following episodes:

Mickey's Sport-Y-Thon (30 minutes) - Mickey and the gang have invited the Martian versions of Mickey, Minnie and Donald to participate in a Sports-Y-Thon event.


Mickey's Mousekeball (24 minutes) - Mickey and the gang play a new game called Floatin' Fun-Time Mousekeball.

Jimmy Patterson Books; 384; $13.99; Amazon

With many schools taking a hiatus for summer vacation, kids now have plenty of time to crack open a book. One of the most popular middle-grade and YA author is James Patterson.

Yes, I said that right - James Patterson, the New York Times Bestselling author of the crime thriller series Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club, and many other titles. Mr. Patterson has written (and co-written) several different series for younger readers, such as the Maximum Ride books, the Middle School novels, the I Funny novels, the Treasure Hunters novels, the House of Robots Novels, and the Daniel X novels.

Now available from Jimmy Patterson Books (part of Little Brown and Company), is Jacky Ha-Ha by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (co-writers of the Middle School and I Funny books).

Jack Ha-Ha is written in point-of-view of Jacky, an actress who is about to receive an Oscar, but before she heads off to the Academy Awards, she writes down a story for her daughters, Tina & Grace, to read. The story is set in 1990 and centers around Jacky Hart when she just a kid. Her mother was in Marine Corps and was sent to Iraq, leaving her father, a lifeguard, to take care of Jacky and her six sisters.

Why is she called Jacky Ha-Ha?

Thomas Nelson; 326 pages; $15.99; Buy Link; Blog Tour

Now available to purchase in bookstores is the third installment in the "A Divine Private Detective Agency Mystery" series, titled "Sister Eve and the Blue Nun" by New York Times Best-Selling author Lynne Hinton.

Sister Eve and the Blue Nun centers on Sister Evangeline, a motorcycling-riding nun who has a habit of solving mysteries. As of lately, she has been questioning her faith after learning the archbishop made the decision that priests and nuns cannot live in the same building; leading her to consider leaving what she has called home and joining her family's detective agency.

Of course it seems some of sort of supernatural force is always throwing a mystery her way and that is exactly what happens when Brother Anthony suddenly vanishes during the night; his disappearance may or may not have something to do with Dr. Kelly Middlesworth, a professor who arrived at Sister Maria de Jesus de Agreda to give a presentation.

Coincidence?

Not Rated; 3811 minutes; $44.98; Amazon; Mill Creek Ent.

Now available this month for the first-time in the United States from Mill Creek Entertainment. is Airwolf: The Complete Series, featuring all 79 episodes from the 1984-1987 series. There are no special features or extras or on the 14-disc set. The complete series is also available on Blu-ray. The first season was also released on a two-disc DVD set.

Created by Donald P. Bellisario, the original 97-minute pilot centers on Airwolf, a high-tech helicopter developed by The Firm, a division of the CIA), being stolen its designer,  Dr. Charles Henry Moffet. The Firm's point man, Archangel (played by Alex Cord), makes a deal with Stringfellow Hawke (played by Jan-Michael Vincent) - String will steal back Airwolf in exchange the government's help in locating his brother whom went MIA during Vietnam War. 

Along with his friend Dominic Santini (played by the late Ernest Borgnine), String travels to Libya to retrieve Airwolf. After the mission is a success, String refuses to return Airwolf to The Firm, hiding it in a cave in the "Valley of the Gods," until The Firm locates his brother.

After the pilot, Seasons 1-3 focused String and Dominic using Airwolf to go on missions that were funded by The Firm. To boost ratings, season two added Jean Bruce Scott as pilot Caitlin O'Shannessy. Sadly, this move didn't help much as the series was canceled by CBS after three seasons, but that wasn't the end of the series as a fourth season was ordered by USA Network.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews!

Do you keep a Blog Roll List?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

 No, I don't keep a blog roll list anywhere on my blog as it takes up too much room in the sidebar.

Thomas Nelson; 320 pages; $15.99; Buy Link; Blog Tour

I believe almost everyone has read at least one fairy tale story or has watched one of those classic Disney cartoons during their lifetime. Though many fairy tales are aimed for a female audience, for some reason these stories happens to be one my guilty pleasures.

Released this week to bookstores is the medieval fairy story The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson.

Set in 1363, the novel centers on ten noble born young women being invited to spend two weeks at the Thornbeck Castle, where the girls would be tested to see who would be the best bride-to-be for the Margrave of Thornbeck.

This is where Avelina comes into the picture, a maidservant who is instructed by Earl of Plimmwald to go to Thornbeck Castle and stand in for his daughter, Dorothea. Sounds easy enough at first, but Avelina must keep her true identity a secret from everyone and make sure she doesn't get picked as the bride-to-be.