Top preternatural e-books (fiction and nonfiction)

We never dreamed it could happen. Nothing, Nothing! Could ever lure us away from reading books. Real books, not some book file on a computer screen. Hard bound or paperback, it didn’t matter. Reading was about more than just the words on the page. Or so we thought. Lately, however, we’ve had a change of heart.

You see, we’ve been on the road and our iPod, GalaxyTab, Kindle, Nook, NetBook and even laptops hold so many more books than our carry-on luggage ever could. And we’d be lugging them anyway, even if we were carrying books. So we’ve started reading e-books. And we have to admit, we’re hooked. Here are just a few of the reasons why.

Fiction

A Song of Fire and Ice series

This week’s list of 5 bestselling e-books is entirely tied to the popular HBO original series Game of Thrones. In fact, four of the top five selling fictional paperback books are related to the series and written by George R.R. Martin and published by Bantam Dell. The top 5 bestselling e-novels are:

1. A Dance of Dragons
2. A Game of Thrones
3. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
4. A Clash of Kings
5. A Storm of Swords

A Game of Thrones, the first in the series and the bestselling paperback fiction book of the week was nominated for a Nebula award and introduces readers to the vividly real world and characters of the Seven Kingdoms. Each subsequent book picks up the thread of the tale and carries it forward through complex plotting and such beautiful prose it’s almost a shame it was ruined by being performed.

Breaking up the A Song of Fire and Ice reign among paperbacks is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a new twist to an old tale. While still maintaining about 85 percent of Jane Austen’s original text, author, Seth Grahame-Smith spices things up in the world of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy as they are paired together as skilled fighters to overcome the zombie epidemic that has taken over England. Can love triumph or will this couple be doomed to join the ranks of those they so desperately seek to destroy? The only way to find out is to pick up a copy and get to reading!

Nonfiction

At the top of the nonfiction ebook list is Heaven is for Real: A little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. This book, told in the voice of a young Nebraska boy who had a near death experience, offers a remarkable glimpse into heaven wrapped in a charmingly simple message: Heaven is for Real. Published by Thomas Nelson. (Ranked Number 2 on the NYT list.)

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman explores the mysteries of the brain beyond (beneath, behind?) the conscious mind. Eagleman, a renowned neuroscientist, reveals the truths, or at least parts of the truth, to many surprising mysteries in what turns out to be a very engaging and oddly easy read. Incognito is published by Pantheon Books, a division of Knopf Doubleday. (Ranked Number 17 on the NYT list)

Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen, is a compelling and at times revealing account of the most famous military installation that doesn’t exist. Once considered science fiction,Area 51 is full of myths and conspiracy theories that captivated imaginations for much of the last half of the 2oth century. Based on interviews from those who have lived and worked there, this is the first non fiction book chronicling the history of Area 51 in a fascinating eye-witness narrative demonstrating that fact can be as gripping as fiction and sometimes even more incredible. Published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Books Group. (Ranked Number 18 on the NYT list.)

That should give you something to get your e-book collection started. Oh, and did we mention that when you pre-order e-books (like, say the next Sookie Stackhouse novel from Charlaine Harris) they get delivered directly to your device, wherever it is, as soon as they become available? Beats waiting for the UPS guy….

Bestselling preternatural books in paperback (fiction and nonfiction)

The bestselling paperback books with preternatural themes are a study in contrasts this week. Religion, specifically Christianity, dominates top sellers on the New York Times’ nonfiction paperback list, while mass market paperbacks having television tie-in top the bestselling lists for fiction in both the New York Times and Publisher’s Weekly.

Nonfiction Paperback

At the top of the nonfiction paperback list is Heaven is for Real: A little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. This book, told in the voice of a young Nebraska boy who had a near death experience, offers a remarkable glimpse into heaven wrapped in a charmingly simple message: Heaven is for Real. Published by Thomas Nelson. (Also ranks Number 1 on the NYT list.)

From a glimpse inside heaven to a glimpse Inside a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. The Number two book among bestselling nonfiction paperbacks is a must read for those seeking to become or understand shape shifters. Author (and psychology professor) Alexandra Horowitz invites readers to imagine a world colored not by sights but by smells and the incredible olfactory senses of canines. Inside a Dog is not a training book nor one that memorialize a beloved companion. It is a book about better understanding of man’s best friend and how we live together. Published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. (Ranked Number 16 overall among bestselling paperback nonfiction according to the NYT.)

90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life offers another glimpse into heaven, this time through the eyes of Baptist minister (and author) Don Piper. After years of keeping this remarkable experience to himself, friends and family have finally prevailed upon him to share (with a little help from Cecil Murphey)  the tale with the world. After being declared dead at the scene of an accident, Piper spends 90 Minutes in Heaven, before coming back to life and a long painful recovery. This book, published by Revell Books, a division of the Baker Publishing Group, reveals a story that may just change a life. (Number 19 overall on the NYT list of bestselling nonfiction in paperback.)

Have you ever wondered if Vampires and Weres could ever truly get along? Checking out Unlikely Friendships might shed a little hopeful light on the possibility of the supernatural creatures living in harmony. Jennifer Holland, a senior writer for National Geographic, grants insight to 47 unusual and yet, touching pairings within the Animal Kingdom. Published by Workman. (Ranked Number 23 overall among bestselling paperback nonfiction according to the NYT.)

Some sort of a psycho-socio-anthro-ologist person would probably look at this book and say that it has nothing to do with cuteness and really symbolizes how, deep down, humans want to see beyond differences. That we believe that love comes in many forms, and that we all can really get along if we just look past surface differences, much like the elephant on Page 4 that is best friends with a sheep. They cuddled and napped together!

Monica Hesse, Reviewer, Washington Post

Paperback Fiction

This week’s list of 5 bestselling paperback novels is almost entirely tied to the popular HBO original series Game of Thrones. In fact, four of the top five selling fictional paperback books are related to the series and written by George R.R. Martin and published byBantam Dell. The top 4 bestselling paperback novels are:

1. A Game of Thrones
2. A Clash of Kings
3. A Storm of Swords
4. A Feast for Crows

A Game of Thrones, the first in the series and the bestselling paperback fiction book of the week was nominated for a Nebula award and introduces readers to the vividly real world and characters of the Seven Kingdoms. Each subsequent book picks up the thread of the tale and carries it forward through complex plotting and such beautiful prose it’s almost a shame it was ruined by being performed.

Rounding out the list of bestselling novels with a preternatural twist is The Shack by William P. Young. In this tragic thriller readers are Mackenzie Allen Phillips’ (Mack) receives a letter from God inviting him back to the shack in the wilds of Oregon that was the scene of his greatest sorrow four years earlier. What he finds will change him forever. Published by Windblown Media.

 

This week’s top preternatural e-books

We never dreamed it could happen. Nothing, Nothing! Could ever lure us away from reading books. Real books, not some book file on a computer screen. Hard bound or paperback, it didn’t matter. Reading was about more than just the words on the page. Or so we thought. Lately, however, we’ve had a change of heart.

You see, we’ve been on the road and our iPod, GalaxyTab, Kindle, Nook, NetBook and even laptops hold so many more books than our carry-on luggage ever could. And we’d be lugging them anyway, even if we were carrying books. So we’ve started reading e-books. And we have to admit, we’re hooked. Here are just a few of the reasons why.

Fiction

A Song of Fire and Ice series

This week’s list of 5 bestselling e-books is entirely tied to the popular HBO original series Game of Thrones. In fact, four of the top five selling fictional paperback books are related to the series and written by George R.R. Martin and published byBantam Dell. The top 5 bestselling e-novels are:

1. A Dance of Dragons
2. A Game of Thrones
3. A Clash of Kings
4. A Storm of Swords
5. A Feast for Crows

A Game of Thrones, the first in the series and the bestselling paperback fiction book of the week was nominated for a Nebula award and introduces readers to the vividly real world and characters of the Seven Kingdoms. Each subsequent book picks up the thread of the tale and carries it forward through complex plotting and such beautiful prose it’s almost a shame it was ruined by being performed.

Nonfiction

At the top of the nonfiction ebook list is Heaven is for Real: A little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. This book, told in the voice of a young Nebraska boy who had a near death experience, offers a remarkable glimpse into heaven wrapped in a charmingly simple message: Heaven is for Real. Published by Thomas Nelson. (Ranked Number 2 on the NYT list.)

Ever wonder why Maenads believe so strongly in Dionysus that they will themselves into becoming immortal? Or if there is life after death? Michael Shermer’s The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies—How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths, expresses his theory on the birth and actualization of beliefs. From superstitions, believing in aliens to economic and political beliefs, this book doesn’t discriminate in its analysis of beliefs, regardless of how realistic or bizarre they may be. Published by Times Books. (Ranked Number 26 on the NYT lst)

We form our beliefs for a variety of subjective, personal, emotional, and psychological reasons in the context of environments created by family, friends, colleagues, culture, and society at large; after forming our beliefs we then defend, justify, and rationalize them with a host of intellectual reasons, cogent arguments, and rational explanations. Beliefs come first, explanations for beliefs follow.

Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen, is a compelling and at times revealing account of the most famous military installation that doesn’t exist. Once considered science fiction,Area 51 is full of myths and conspiracy theories that captivated imaginations for much of the last half of the 2oth century. Based on interviews from those who have lived and worked there, this is the first non fiction book chronicling the history of Area 51 in a fascinating eye-witness narrative demonstrating that fact can be as gripping as fiction and sometimes even more incredible. Published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Books Group. (Ranked Number 34 on the NYT list.)

90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life offers another glimpse into heaven, this time through the eyes of Baptist minister (and author) Don Piper. After years of keeping this remarkable experience to himself, friends and family have finally prevailed upon him to share (with a little help from Cecil Murphey)  the tale with the world. After being declared dead at the scene of an accident, Piper spends 90 Minutes in Heaven, before coming back to life and a long painful recovery. This book, published by Revell Books, a division of the Baker Publishing Group, reveals a story that may just change a life. (Ranked Number 35 overall on the NYT list .)

That should give you something to get your e-book collection started. Oh, and did we mention that when you pre-order e-books (like, say the next Sookie Stackhouse novel from Charlaine Harris) they ge delivered directly to your device, wherever it is, as soon as they become available? Beats waiting for the UPS guy….

Bestselling preternatural books in paperback (fiction and nonfiction)

The bestselling paperback books with preternatural themes are a study in contrasts this week. Religion, specifically Christianity, dominates top sellers on the New York Times’ nonfiction paperback list, while mass market paperbacks having television tie-in top the bestselling lists for fiction in both the New York Times and Publisher’s Weekly.

Nonfiction Paperback

At the top of the nonfiction paperback list is Heaven is for Real: A little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. This book, told in the voice of a young Nebraska boy who had a near death experience, offers a remarkable glimpse into heaven wrapped in a charmingly simple message: Heaven is for Real. Published by Thomas Nelson. (Also ranks Number 1 on the NYT list.)

From a glimpse inside heaven to a glimpse Inside a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. The Number two book among bestselling nonfiction paperbacks is a must read for those seeking to become or understand shape shifters. Author (and psychology professor) Alexandra Horowitz invites readers to imagine a world colored not by sights but by smells and the incredible olfactory senses of canines. Inside a Dog is not a training book nor one that memorialize a beloved companion. It is a book about better understanding of man’s best friend and how we live together. Published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. (Ranked Number 11 overall among bestselling paperback nonfiction according to the NYT.)

Have you ever wondered if Vampires and Weres could ever truly get along? Checking out Unlikely Friendships might shed a little hopeful light on the possibility of the supernatural creatures living in harmony. Jennifer Holland, a senior writer for National Geographic, grants insight to 47 unusual and yet, touching pairings within the Animal Kingdom. Published by Workman. (Ranked Number 12 overall among bestselling paperback nonfiction according to the NYT.)

Some sort of a psycho-socio-anthro-ologist person would probably look at this book and say that it has nothing to do with cuteness and really symbolizes how, deep down, humans want to see beyond differences. That we believe that love comes in many forms, and that we all can really get along if we just look past surface differences, much like the elephant on Page 4 that is best friends with a sheep. They cuddled and napped together!

Monica Hesse, Reviewer, Washington Post

90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life offers another glimpse into heaven, this time through the eyes of Baptist minister (and author) Don Piper. After years of keeping this remarkable experience to himself, friends and family have finally prevailed upon him to share (with a little help from Cecil Murphey)  the tale with the world. After being declared dead at the scene of an accident, Piper spends 90 Minutes in Heaven, before coming back to life and a long painful recovery. This book, published by Revell Books, a division of the Baker Publishing Group, reveals a story that may just change a life. (Number 14 overall on the NYT list of bestselling nonfiction in paperback.)

Paperback Fiction

This week’s list of 5 bestselling paperback novels is almost entirely tied to the popular HBO original series Game of Thrones. In fact, four of the top five selling fictional paperback books are related to the series and written by George R.R. Martin and published by Bantam Dell. The top 4 bestselling paperback novels are:

1. A Game of Thrones
2. A Clash of Kings
3. A Storm of Swords
4. A Feast for Crows

A Game of Thrones, the first in the series and the bestselling paperback fiction book of the week was nominated for a Nebula award and introduces readers to the vividly real world and characters of the Seven Kingdoms. Each subsequent book picks up the thread of the tale and carries it forward through complex plotting and such beautiful prose it’s almost a shame it was ruined by being performed.

Rounding out the list of bestselling novels with a preternatural twist is The Shack by William P. Young. In this tragic thriller readers are Mackenzie Allen Phillips’ (Mack) receives a letter from God inviting him back to the shack in the wilds of Oregon that was the scene of his greatest sorrow four years earlier. What he finds will change him forever. Published by Windblown Media.