Michael Seidlinger Popular Books
Michael Seidlinger Biography & Facts
Handbook for Mortals is a 2017 young adult fantasy romance novel by Lani Sarem, first published by Geeknation Press in 2017 and subsequently mass-printed as a hardcover book. The title received media attention for its placement on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2017, as the book was not well-known, it was not readily available in brick-and-mortar stores, and the author had never published before. An investigation into the novel by author Phil Stamper showed evidence that the book's placement was achieved through manipulation, such as unusual bulk ordering sales. The New York Times subsequently removed the book from its rankings. Plot summary The novel follows the adventures of Scheherazade "Zade" Esther Holder, a twenty-five-year-old woman who comes from a family of folk magic practitioners in a small Tennessee town. She decides to leave home in the hopes of discovering her identity and breaking away from an overprotective mother, in the process joining a Las Vegas troupe of eccentric stage magicians and performers. She forges romantic connections with several men, both her fellow troupe members and other men such as Carrot Top, relishing having several men "constantly fawning over" her. The one exception is Zeb, a magician with whom she is constantly at odds. While alluring to men, Zade questions the prospects of a "mixed" relationship with a mortal man, and fails to get along with Sophia, one of the female performers, whom she calls ugly and treats with disdain. During a magic show, Zade performs a stunning illusion but then falls into a coma after exerting herself without her "anchor" and lover, Mac, a fellow performer, who suspected that Zade was having an illicit affair with the elderly head stage magician, Charles Spellman. This is proven to be false, particularly as Zade discovers that Charles is actually her long-lost father. Development Lani Sarem initially wrote Handbook for Mortals as a screenplay for a film proposal. She eventually re-wrote it as a novel, while also still intending for it to have a film adaptation. Publication Handbook for Mortals was first published in ebook and hardback formats through Geeknation Press on August 16, 2017. The cover featured artwork that critics claimed was plagiarized from Australian artist Gill Del Mace's The Knife Thrower III, as the artwork appeared to have been traced over and recoloured. New York Times Bestseller List placement On August 27, 2017, Handbook for Mortals appeared on The New York Times Bestseller list, in the number one ranking. The book displaced Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, which had previously held that rank for several months. Such placement received scrutiny from readers and media outlets, as no one had previously heard of the book and that it had released the week prior. Of the copies reported sold, The Guardian noted that "Industry monitor Nielsen BookScan recorded 18,597 sales of Handbook for Mortals in one weekend". Young adult fiction writer Phil Stamper, who was skeptical of the book's placement, noted that it was a rarity for most books to sell more than 5,000 copies in their first week of publication, and that Handbook for Mortals was not stocked by any major book retailer. Stamper would later post screenshots on Twitter of a conversation he had with a bookstore employee who reported receiving bulk orders for the novel; others would go on to post similar conversations they had with bookstore employees, all of whom worked in locations that reported their sales to The New York Times. Sarem stated that she had pre-sold approximately 5,000 copies of the novel through her website and 13,000 through appearances at Wizard World and comic-con conventions alongside her collaborator, actor Thomas Ian Nicholas, for an average of about 2,100 per appearance. This was also met with skepticism, as publisher Charlie "Spike" Trotman and bookstore owner Maryelizabeth Yturralde noted that sales of this magnitude at conventions would be unusual and would draw attention, citing that authors Neil Gaiman and George R. R. Martin would typically only sell hundreds of copies of their novels on their best days. The New York Times investigated the sales for Handbook for Mortals and subsequently removed the title altogether from the rankings, reporting that "After investigating the inconsistencies in the most recent reporting cycle, we decided that the sales for 'Handbook for Mortals' did not meet our criteria for inclusion". Blues Traveler band member John Popper commented on the media coverage and Sarem's prior employment with the band, stating that he found it in keeping with his experiences with her and that these experiences had led to her being fired. Sarem's response to her book's removal from its bestseller ranking was that "there has been no official explanation to what happened other than The New York Times reported inconsistencies. Nobody talked to us." She denied claims that she had gamed the system or knew of anyone doing it on her behalf. Sarem also criticized the book industry, stating that the criticism and skepticism towards her was a result of her not following "the normal YA rules" and "do[ing] it the way that they think it's supposed to be done". In an interview with Lila Shapiro of Vulture.com, Sarem later admitted that she and Nicholas had hired a company, likely ResultSource, to bulk buy copies of her book but that her sales via her website and conventions were legitimate. A year after media outlets reported on Handbook for Mortals' appearance and removal from the bestseller list, BookRiot's Priya Sridhar reported that Sarem had never apologized and was still trying to adapt her novel into a film. Sridhar criticized Sarem for not realizing "the racist implications of what it means to knock down Angie Thomas to Number 2 and Nicola Yoon completely off the New York Times bestseller list. In addition, she doesn't realize that Young Adult readers are smart, and can tell when a story doesn't work." In 2019, writer Michael Seidlinger referenced the novel in relation to a similar situation with Oobah Butler's How to Bulls*t Your Way to #1: An Unorthodox Guide to 21st-Century Success, noting that Sarem was not the first author to try rank manipulation, citing Donald Trump purchasing bulk copies of his book The Art of the Deal to get it onto bestseller book lists when it was first published as an example. That same year, Laura Miller also mentioned Sarem and the novel in a retrospective of YA literature throughout 2010 in an article for Slate, citing the investigation into the bestseller list controversy as an example of the "sophisticated networking of YA's adult fans". Reception Jennifer Armintrout obtained a 2011 copy of the screenplay of Handbook for Mortals and reviewed it on her website in 2018, criticizing its characters and plotting, elements she said were also issues with the novel. She also conducted a chapter-by-chapter review. See also Small press publishing References .... Discover the Michael Seidlinger popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Michael Seidlinger books.
Best Seller Michael Seidlinger Books of 2024
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Wuthering Heights
Emily BrontëAn Apple Books Classic edition. If you’ve only ever seen Wuthering Heights on screen, you may have an image of Catherine and Heathcliff as the ultimate starcrossed lovers. But that...
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A Bookshop to Die For
M.P. BlackDitching her fiancé at the altar, Alice Hartford bolts to her childhood hometown to reconnect with the last, happy remnant of her past: her mom's old bookstore. But the bookst...
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan DoyleAn Apple Books Classic You get not one, not two, but 25 gripping mysteries in Arthur Conan Doyle’s first of five collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Follow the brilliant ...
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Think and Grow Rich
Greg Habstritt & Napoleon HillThink and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of alltime, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70...
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The Art of War
Sun TzuAn Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...
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Peace on Earth
Maia RossCrime never takes a holiday. Why should Irma? Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past, a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seaso...
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The Holy Bible - King James Version
King JamesHoly Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...
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The Three Little Pigs
Mark LeskyClassic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...
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Man In The Water
Jon HillAn attempted murder. A missing spouse. And an international conspiracy that could change the world. Jack Green has always been skeptical of socalled facts. Though he's forced ...
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Teased by Fire
Molly O'HareFrom USA Today bestselling author Molly O’Hare comes an enemiestolovers, older brother’s best friend, romantic comedy with a curvy, antisocial, supernaturalobsessed, allyearround h...
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Bewitching a Highlander
Roma CordonDefying all for the love of a bewitching lass. Breena MacRae, a healer from Skye with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She ar...
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The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel HawthorneAn Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...
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The Seduction Series Boxset
Roxy Sloane“Sensual, thrilling and wild!”   Discover the bestselling series in one collection: THE SEDUCTION, THE BARGAIN, and THE INVITATION. Perfect for fans of Ana Huang, Sierra S...
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Become A Better Version of Yourself
Ben LeightonThis ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotion...
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Awaken Me
Jenna JacobHe was more than a ghost haunting my dreams…he was real. By day, I’m Julianna Garrett …a prim, proper accountant. By night, I’m tormented by dreams of an alpha, ambereyed Adonis wh...
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The Target
Lexy TimmsWhen you seek revenge be sure to dig two graves… Revenge was the only thing I had going for me. It kept me awake at night and drove me into desperate situations in dive bars across...
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre DumasAn Apple Books Classic edition. Alexandre Dumas’ classic paints a portrait of Edmond Dantès, a dark and calculating man who is willing to wait years to exact his perfect plan for r...
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The Great Gatsby
F. Scott FitzgeraldAn Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...
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Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove
Melody GraceCelebrate the holidays in Sweetbriar Cove with this festive romance collection, containing two sizzling smalltown holiday stories perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Sophie Kinsella...
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Death at Hazel House
Betty Rowlands‘Riveting, can't put it down! I love this story… a wonderfully twisted tale of a crime that has more twists than I thought possible... fantastic.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ...
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Noxious
Lexy TimmsStop setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm. Brady and Levi have been together since high school, since before he became famous and started thinking only about himself....
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Escape, A New Life
David J AntocciTo save herself, she had to lose everything. Trapped in a tropical paradise with no memory of how she got there, Abby is thrust into a fight for her life. Hunted by a madman, and c...
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Enemies With Benefits
Roxie NoirI don’t love him. I don’t even like him. I just want him. Eli Loveless was my nemesis from the first day of kindergarten until we graduated high school. Everything I did, he had to...
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Nothing to Hide
Scarlett FinnPrize of a lifetime: travel the world with a celebrity billionaire. Come to LA with us, Roxie… It will be so much fun! We have tickets for a latenight talk show! What could possibl...
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The Four Loves
C. S. LewisThe Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human loveaffection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candi...
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Finding Cinderella
Colleen Hoover#1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...
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You Are Kind
Michael GordonA little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...
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Salvation
Meghan O'FlynnIf you like mouthy detectives, serial killers, and suspenseful mysteries that don't quit, this chilling and actionpacked hardboiled detective series has you covered! Try this ...
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Good Guy
Kate MeaderHe's a Special Forces veteran making his pro hockey debut. She's a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She's also his best friend's widow . . . Fa...
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A Christmas Carol
Charles DickensAn Apple Books Classic edition. It’s Christmas Eve in Victorian England. While some families don’t know where their next meal will come from, Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his large hom...
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The Honeymoon Homicide
J. R. Mathis & Susan MathisEnjoy this SmallTown Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple I'm Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest in a smalltown parish who never expected this . . . When I came...
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Pride and Prejudice
Jane AustenAn Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...
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Saltwater Cove
Amelia AddlerSecond chances...and the secrets that sabotage them. At 48 years old, Margie Clifton never expected to be starting her life all over again. But when her brother gifts her a propert...
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A Green Kind of Witch
Sierra CrossCinderella crossed with Mean Girls.   That's what Hazel's daily existence feels like. Born to a family of elegant yet shallow Beige Witches, seventeen y...
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Law of Attraction
Jordan HollisHow to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...
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School of Potential
W.J. MayUSA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May brings you a continuation of the international bestselling series, The Chronicles of Kerrigan! Come back and enjoy the famous characters, or ...
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Get Lucky
Lila MonroeFall for the hot and hilarious romcom spin on 'The Hangover', perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood, and Emily Henry! What happens when you wake up in a hotel s...
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Holy Bible
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe 2013 edition of the Holy Bible contains all of the study aids contained in the 1979 edition and includes revisions to the study aids, several new photos, updated maps, and adju...
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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The Icing on the Cake
Linda SeedShe’s a baker without a kitchen. He’s got a double oven to spare. It’s a recipe for success, until his mother starts stirring up trouble … Cassie Jordan has a sweet dream to open a...
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Inception of Gold
Lexy TimmsThings are not as bad as they seem. They are worse. Being the personal assistant to a narcissistic actress who just happens to own the key to my family's undoing isn't ex...
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Never Enough
Lexy TimmsBe good enough never is... Anthony Accardi is a man on a mission: make his father's watch company a success while bringing in millions of dollars. To do that, he needs an assi...
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Masters of Restraint
Ines JohnsonMy new boss is good at giving orders. But his latest demand is NSFW. Especially when his two business partners want in on our deal. My new boss My boss’s boss Their investor &#...
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Hot Off the Press
Lexy Timms"This is what really happened… reported by a free press, for a free people…" Wes Shaw leads a secret double life. As the secret owner of a billion dollar newspap...
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Tempting the King
Jessa YorkAn escaped Mafia Queen, hiding from her past. A Mafia King who wants to claim her… Giselle They think I'm lostbut I know better. I can never be found. The path I've creat...
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All Fired Up
Kathryn ShayCaptain Jarek Zenko, a war veteran and firefighter, meets Lacey Roth at a bar one night. They don’t share their real identities, even when they retreat to a hotel. When they meet t...
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The Cupcake Cottage
Jean OramNHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....
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Eternal
W.J. MayShe will fight for what is hers. When the king is murdered, Katerina, his only daughter, must flee for her life. She finds herself on a strange and dangerous path. Alone for the fi...
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Silenced Girls
Roger Stelljes“ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...
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His Own Heaven
Jennie KewWinner of the 2021 Passionate Plume Award for BDSM Romance Finalist in the 2021 Stiletto Contest for Contemporary Romance He taught her to trust, she taught him to love. Lucy Bar...