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Our increasingly weekly email: Special Thanksgiving Issue

Dear %%First Name%%,

Free Shipping for the Thanksgiving Weekend

Kick off your holiday shopping today through the Thanksgiving weekend with a free shipping offer from Mystery Lovers Bookshop.

Here's what you need to know:

What: Free Shipping for any single shipment of books ordered from Wednesday, Nov. 26 (today) through Sunday, Nov. 30.

How: Use coupon code FSF in the checkout to get your free shipping.

Restrictions, limitation, other stuff to know: Your order must total at least $10 to qualify for free shipping. If you order books that we need to reorder, we'll ship your order next week when the re-orders arrive. If you order books that have not yet been published we'll give you the choice of waiting for them to arrive or shipping what we have. The additional, future publications will not be eligible for free shipping.

There's plenty to choose from between our 2008 Holiday Gift Guide, any of our newly arrived titles or the signed books you'll find listed a little later in the Newsletter. You can also special order books we don't normally stock and they'll be included in your free shipping. More about that below.

But wait, there's more

Free shipping is all well and good but what if my order already qualifies for free shipping. We've got something for your stocking as well: 10% off any order of $65 or more.

What: 10% off plus free shipping for orders of $65 or more.

How: Use the coupon code FSF10 in the checkout to get your 10% plus free shipping

Restrictions, limitation, other stuff to know: Your order must total at least $65 to qualify for the discount plus free shipping. If you order books that we need to reorder, we'll ship your order next week when the re-orders arrive. If you order books that have not yet been published we'll give you the choice of waiting for them to arrive or shipping what we have. The additional, future publications will not earn a 10% discount nor be eligible for free shipping.

And an extra gift for you

You can earn a $10 Gift Certificate for every $100 you spend on orders placed this week, Wednesday through Sunday. Just place your order during that period, regardless of when it actually ships, and we'll include a $10 Gift Certificate for every $100 you spend. You can send the Gift Certificates to anyone you choose or use them youself on a subsequent order.

Special Orders don't upset us

Perhaps you didn't know it but at Mystery Lovers Bookshop we're happy to order any book whether it's a mystery or not. You can use our Book Search form or simply send us an email (use our Contact Us or simply reply to this Newsletter) or call 888-800-6078 and tell us what you'd like to have whether for yourself or for a gift. In most cases we can have your book within a week or 10 days.

Gift Baskets with a personal touch

For many years we've been surprising and delighting the family and friends of customers who send our Gift Baskets, especially at the holidays.

We can include an assortment of books, games or puzzles along with coffee, tea, chocolate, candy and even a mug in a basket that you design whether for an individual or a family.

How about a Pittsburgh basket that includes The Fallingwater Cookbook, a mystery by a local author, some Clark bars and an assortment of hot chocolate, tea and coffee.

A family entertainment basket might include the Bananagrams game, a jigsaw puzzle and some crosswords along with an assorment of goodies.

Baskets start at $40 with price depending on the contents you choose. They can be shipped anywhere in the continental US for $10. Give us a call today at 888-800-6078 and we'll design a gift basket just for you.

Wish you had a wish list?

Would you like to keep a list of books that you'd like to get at a future date? Perhaps a list of books that you'd like to get as gifts during the holidays? Well you can at www.mysterylovers.com.

If your already a registered customer at the site simply log on with your email address and password. Then, when you display any book on the site you can click on the Add to Wish List button instead of the Add to Cart button. You're wish list will stay active and can be viewed anytime you log on to the site. Books can be moved from the Wish List to the Shopping Cart anytime you like. Further details are available on the site help.

The Wish List is also the pefect place to keep track of books being published in the future. If you come across a book by a favorite author but it's not being published for several months, simply put it in your wish list for inclusion in a future order.

Another option is to use the Send to a Friend feature. This section appears at the bottom of each display of an individual book and allows you to email information about that book to anyone you like.

Gift Certificates

If you're stumped for a gift for someone this year, an MLB Gift Certificate is the perfect answer. Unfortunately, we can't sell you a gift certificate on the web site but we'll be happy to take your order over the phone at 888-800-6078. Gift Certificates are available in any amount and can be paid for with a Visa or Master Card. We can send the Gift Certificate to you or to the recipient as you'd like.

Gift Certificates purchases from now until Christmas have an extra bonus in the form of our Boxing Day Special. Bring a Gift Certificate in on Boxing Day, Friday Dec. 26, and you'll get a free cup of coffee and a free paperback.

New J.K. Rowling--Harry Potter is not back!

There is a new J.K. Rowling for the holidays but, alas, no Harry Potter. Instead we have Hermione Grainger's new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. These fairy tales for the wizarding folk include the Tale of the Three Brothers, which appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, along with four other stories. Pen and ink illustrations by J.K. Rowling adorn each story and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore is included. Proceeds of the sale of the book go to The Children's High Level Group, a charity founded by Rowling for at risk children.

Order your copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard today and we'll ship it on December 4. If you're buying it as a gift we can even gift wrap and ship it for you.

What's on the website now

Here's what you can find at www.mysterylovers.com:

Go Green update

As you know, we began a campaign last month to reduce the costs and environmental impact of printing and mailing the MLB news.

The response has been tremendous with over 350 customers so far agreeing to forgo the printed News in favor of the online version. Our thanks to all of you.

If you want to know more, visit our Go Green page for full details.

New arrivals

The biggest news on the new titles front is the arrival of The Private Patient by P.D. James. This new Adam Dalgleish mystery is a continuation of this splendid series.

Otherwise, things are pretty quiet on the new arrivals front although we've received paperbacks of Steve Berry, Stephen Hunter and John Grisham's most recent books.

I also want to note the publication of Fifty to One from Hard Case Crime. This delightful little paperback is a celebration of 50 books published by this small press dedicated both to reviving out of print classics from the 50's and 60's as well as commisioning current writers for new books in the noir style. In Fifty to One, publisher and author Charles Ardai has written a humorous story about a book publisher caught up in trouble with the mob. The 50 chapter headings use the titles of the books previously published and a full color insert contains the covers of all 50 books in the series. Quite a little gem. If you'd like to see a full list of the Hard Case Crime titles, just do a search for HCC.

You'll find the complete list of both US and British books at New Arrivals.

Signed books

We have signed first editions by several authors either here now or due. If you're interested, please order now as supplies of these are limited.

Halloween Birthday Bash

We had a splendid time at our Hallowen Birthday Bash on Oct. 31. Our ten cent book sale raised over $400 for Beginning with Books thanks to the generosity of our customers.

We have signed copies of the hardcovers for four of the authors who were here. Cordelia Biddle, unfortunately, had to cancel her appearance due to illness. We have signed copies of the following:

Suzanne Martinson celebrates The Fallingwater Cookbook

Suzanne Martinson, former food editor for the Post-Gazette, will celebrate publication of The Fallingwater Cookbook on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 pm. The Fallingwater Cookbook is based on the recollections and recipes of Elsie Henderson, the Kaufmann family cook at Fallingwater. At the present time we expect Elsie to join us that evening.

This book is a splendid combination of local history, cookery and life at Fallingwater and would make a terrific gift for the holidays. We'll be happy to have Suzanne personalize a signed copy of The Fallingwater Cookbook for you if you order prior to the event next Friday.

Katharine Neville wraps up Fall Coffee & Crime

Our Fall Coffee & Crime series comes to an end with the apperance of Katharine Neville on Saturday, November 22 at 10 am. Katharine burst upon the mystery scene 18 years ago with a completely original thirller, The Eight, about a women drawn into a web of intrigue surrounding a mysterious chess set. Now we finally have a sequel, The Fire.

Upcoming Events

Nov. 21 - Publication party for Suzanne Martinson
Nov. 22 - Katherine Neville Coffee & Crime
Nov. 22 - Oakmont Light Up Night

Give a book this holiday, after all, a scented candle never changed anyone's life.
Richard, Mary Alice and the MLB Staff

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