The Tax Man Cometh

Today’s the day we fear all year long. April 15th. Otherwise known as The Day You Wonder Where Your Money Went. Strangely enough, this year’s process of gathering up baskets of receipts and scraps of paper forced me to evaluate how I spend money on one of my favorite items: Books.

Apparently I spend quite a bit on books—$780.97 to be exact.


What was really interesting to me, however, was how and where I spent the money.

Here’s my breakdown:

Amazon: $272.
Borders: $205.
Barnes & Noble: $162.
E-books: $62.
Independent bookstores: $58.
Used bookstores: $18.

You can see I don’t care for e-books all that much. They’re nice in principal. I love the immediacy—I can buy what I want and start reading right away. The problem is, I almost never finishing reading an e-book. For awhile I even lost interest in reading altogether because I was buying all my books in digital formats. Then I stopped and went back to paper books. They just happen to be my preference.

However, there was one really cool thing that I discovered as I rooted through my receipts. I found the actual slips of paper that listed the books I purchased. And with each title, I went on a mini journey, remembering my impressions of each book. Honestly, I didn’t finish very many of them. If a book doesn’t hold my interest, I usually stop reading and give it away to someone who might enjoy it more than I did.

But there were four books that stood out from all the others. They almost glowed. I ran my fingers over those slips of paper like I was holding treasure. These were moments when I’d discovered new best friends. Three were books by authors I’d never read before, one was a sequel to a book I’d read during the previous year.

What were the books that stood out amidst of my towering TBR stacks?

1. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

2. Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett

3. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

4. Origin: A Novel by Diana Abu-Jaber

For me, these were all five-star books. Heck, I’d give them all ten stars, I enjoyed them that much. Sometimes I’ll go back and reread sections, just to get caught up in the characters and the worlds all over again.

So, what I’d like to know on this Dreaded Day of Taxation is this:

What book did you read last year that you would give ten stars to and why?

And just a quick note, I’m giving away a tote-bag from the Romantic Times Convention over at my blog. All the rules are over there. The bag has been signed by Kimberly Derting, Kami Garcia, Melissa Marr, Rachel Vincent, Margaret Stohl, Carrie Ryan, Sophie Jordan, Tera Lynn Childs, Pamela Palmer, Kerrlyn Sparks, Virna DePaul, and me, Merrie Destefano.

I'm looking forward to reading your answers!


And, just to whet your appetite. Below is the trailer for my next novel, FEAST. Release date is June 28. SQUEEEE! I'm getting so excited!!! If you'd like to read the first chapter and some deleted scenes, then please sign up for my newsletter on the right side of my blog.