Although there has been a movement away from the brick and mortar bookstore, and towards shopping online for books such as the one here, local used bookshops still exist, and those that remain may be with us for many years to come. The following are three reasons people continue to visit local used bookstores.
Sure, you can talk to friends and relatives that share your interests in reading material, but the truth is that fewer people are reading today than in years past, and those that do read are often reading best sellers or genre specific fiction. Because of today's reading environment, there are many authors waiting to be discovered by you at used bookstores. Not every book written in the past had a huge readership, but the content may be compelling to you. Used bookstores often have their books shelved by topic, so you can browse for authors you are not familiar with and make discoveries of books that you would not have found by other means. If you know exactly what you are looking for, then buying on the Internet may be your best bet, but there is no substitute for a used book store when browsing.

Scholastic; 192 pages; $7.99; Amazon

While Halloween is less than three months away, many publishers are already releasing books set around All Hallows' Eve. Scholastic released "Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Edition: The Haunter"  by R.L. Stine last month, which just happens to have a Halloween theme.

Similar to other Goosebumps Most Wanted titles, "The Haunter" opens up with a short prologue where R.L. Stine points out the readers to the "The Haunter" Most Wanted poster. Instead of telling the story himself about the monster, he quickly introduces us to Sammy Baker, the main character of this story.

Twelve-year-old Sammy is dreading Halloween, which is only days away, mostly because he's afraid of anything that is scary! He's not the most popular kid at Grover Cleveland Middle School, though he does have one good friend, Bill "Buzzy" Buzzner, who is the complete opposite of him as Buzzy is not afraid of anything. 

Out of the blue, Sammy's teacher, Miss Flake, announced that the class will split into groups for a Halloween-themed assignment, and of course he is given a scary subject to write about - "Are Haunted Houses Real?" 

The Good News: 

• Sammy's crush, Summer Magee, is in the group.

• Buzzy is also in the group.

The Bad News:

• Sammy's nemesis, Rubin, is in the group.

• They are going to play "Ghost Hunters" and explore the haunted Marple House on Halloween Night!

For some of us truly and utterly caffeine-addicted coffee enthusiasts out there in the world, a day really isn’t a day at all unless it starts with some hot, tasty, full-bodied steaming coffee or espresso from a favorite cafe or beverage cart. It’s true, those of us who are part of this “cult of coffee” will plan our lives around having a place to enjoy that first morning cup. Without it, the day just doesn’t seem right, which is why there are so many busy, quaint little coffee carts springing up in corporate lobbies, schools and outdoor patios everywhere.


The companies out there that are renting fully equipped coffee carts from companies like www.allstarcarts.com/coffee-and-espresso are very wise to do so. These carts operate like self-contained little cafes that are polished up and ready to serve the coffee craving multitudes at almost a moment's notice. These carts have special storage compartments for supplies and they also come with advertising displays. Display cases for tasty pastries are also included with the carts, as well as two Cambro 5-gallon beverage carriers. A pull-out sink area and refrigerator complete the compact kitchen area, and a jaunty awning adds a delightful detail while also adding shade.

These carts make setting up a cafe business easy as can be, and there’s no doubt that the lines will be forming as soon as the delicious coffee starts brewing.

NOT RATED; 980 minutes; $75.99; Amazon

Arriving on Blu-ray today from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is The Blacklist: The Complete Third Season. Created by Jon Bokenkamp, the series stars James Spader, Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff, Ryan Eggold, Amir Arison, Mozhan Marno, Hisham Twafiq and Harry Lennix.

The Blacklist debuted on NBC in 2013 and quickly became a hit with audiences and critics. The series centers on the "FBI Most Wanted" criminal Raymond "Red" Reddington (played by James Spader), surrendering himself to the FBI. He makes a deal with them that they would not press charges against him in exchange for him helping them locate and apprehend other criminals. He also insists on working with Elizabeth "Liz" Keen (played by Megan Boone), a rookie FBI profiler.

At the end of the second season, Liz is accused of assassinating  a U.S. Senator. With the help of Red, she escapes the authorities and becomes one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted. Season Three finds Liz and Red still on the run from the FBI. Instead of skipping the country, they go on the hunt for the clues that will unravel who had framed Liz.

With Assistant FBI Director Harold Cooper (played by Harry Lennix) under investigation, Agent Donald Ressler (played by Diego Klattenhoff) is left in charge of the FBI Task Force assigned to capture Liz and Red, but of course they are always one step ahead of the FBI.

Blu-ray Exclusives includes:

• Deleted & Extended Scenes

• Creating the Stunts: Script to Screen

• From the Shadows: Villains of Season 3

• Episode Commentaries

Other features includes:

• Outside the Box: Making The Blacklist Comic Book

• All About Aram

• Red's Gems: Favorite Lines From Season 3

Tommy Nelson; 32 pages; $9.99; Amazon

Available today in bookstores from Tommy Nelson (a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers) is Precious Moments: Happy Harvest, written and complied by Jean Fisher.

The original designs for Precious Moments were created by Sam Butcher in 1974 for J&D, the company responsible for releasing the early greeting cards, porcelain figurines and dolls. After Butcher and J&D parted ways, he started the Samuel J. Butcher Foundation and Precious Moments, Inc. in 1989.

Thomas Nelson Publishers has sold over 12.5 million Precious Moments books and bibles sold over the years.

Precious Moments: Happy Harvest is a 32-page picture book (board book) featuring Bible Verses, famous poems, prayers and original poems/stories by Jean Fisher that all center around the Fall months. Throughout the book there are adorable Precious Moments illustrations.

Tommy Nelson; 20 pages; $8.99; Amazon

Yes, Thanksgiving Day is still along way off, but publishers are already releasing autumn-themed titles.

Being released on August 9th from Tommy Nelson (a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers) is One Big Turkey, written and illustrated by Anne Vittur Kennedy.

At around 20 pages, this board book tells the story of a big turkey and his buddy the squirrel enjoying the fall the weather on Thanksgiving Day, where they go on a little adventure throughout woodland. Along the way they meet up with different animal friends - mice, deer, geese, a rabbit, a skunk and an owl.

All the woodland pals enjoy exploring the world that God has created. They play in the fallen leaves, snack on harvest vegetables, and eat the fruit from the trees. At the end of the day, the now sleepy friends say their prays to the Lord and turn in for the night.

Bethany House; 320 pages; $14.99; Buy Link; Blog Tour

While I do review many Christian titles on here, I haven't always been a fan of the genre. Throughout my teen years I read only horror novels by Stephen King, Anne Rice and John Saul; however, I stumbled upon the Left Behind books around the summer/fall of 2000. After that I started to expand reading horizons, though I didn't begin to read Christian romances until after I read a Beverly Lewis's Amish title a year or so later.

Since then I have read hundreds of Christian titles, including ones written by Tracie Peterson. The first books I had read by her was the Heirs Of Montana series. Her newest novel "A Beauty Refined" (book two in the Sapphire Brides series) was released to bookstores last month.

Set in the 1907, the novel centers on Phoebe Von Bergen, a young woman who is visiting America for the first time with her German count father. She has been sheltered for most her life, so she is exciting about taking a trip to Montana, where her father is supposed to be picking up sapphires. However, her father isn't exactly truthful as he has other "business" plans that she isn't aware of.

Ian Harper runs into Phoebe while she is staying at the Broadwater Hotel, and of course he is instantly attracted to her. Despite her father's deceptions, sparks fly between Ian and Phoebe, which leads her to consider staying in the USA.