James Patterson, Little Brown Company Donates 200,000 Books To U.S. Troops

For deployed troops who like to dive into a thriller during their downtime, bestselling-author James Patterson is shipping out 200,000 hardcover books.

Patterson and Little Brown Company have teamed up with Operation Gratitude, Books for Heroes, the Peerless Bookstore and Feed the Children to distribute a number of the author's titles to military members stationed in the U.S. and Afghanistan, according to a Hatchette Book Group press release.

The troops will get to choose from "Tick Tock", "Private", and "I, Alex Cross," among other Patterson thrillers.

“Every day the men and women of our Armed Forces sacrifice themselves on our behalf," Patterson said in the release, "I can’t think of a more deserving group to receive this gift, and I hope that this gesture shows how big our gratitude truly is.”

To get involved with Operation Gratitude, click here.

To get involved with Feed the Children, click here.

Comments

[AnneWest]

02:52 PM on 03/18/2012

Yes, it's a kind gesture.
But...considering the amount of Patterson's books you'll find in remainder bins, it's also a really decent tax write-off for him and his publisher.
(Yes, I'm an ex-fan of Patterson, who's been sliding down into the bargain basement for a long time now.)

[Olderandwiser55]

07:58 PM on 03/18/2012

Agreed. On all counts.

[Scoop511]

11:38 AM on 03/18/2012

It's hard enough for them over there, they don't need the torture of a James Patterson book.

[ImpeachMalloy]

11:30 AM on 03/18/2012

Leave it to the Liberals here to bash a kind gesture and use it as a chance to bash our troops, the author, and any decency.

[MSchlagel]

05:33 PM on 03/19/2012

I don't consider this a liberal v. conservative matter as you should not either. 200,000 books is also a practicality issue with the military. They are heavy, flammable and awkward to transport. Furthermore they do not take into account the individual needs of soldiers who may desire or require other things. Giving the military 200,000 of anything means they have to store and distribute it. The military has more than enough considerations to address. If Mr. Patterson wanted to donate a portion of profits from his novels to the troops that would be more beneficial.

[viciousvirago]

12:38 AM on 03/18/2012

I once made the mistake of picking up a James Patterson book and read the whole thing in l0 minutes. My son could write better than this.

Here we go again: an elitist east coast preppie snob putting down a 'down to earth, simple' writer.

Yes, I do. Instead of his insipid, boring books, read Lee Child or John Sandford: now those are writers!

[carolineeaton]

05:33 PM on 03/18/2012

I'm over here replying to your comment (they removed it, and I have no idea why because my comment was far more insulting than yours. oh well): I've never seen so many cliches in my life as he puts together in a novel. It's because America is a nation of TV. They are glued to the TV, and in most cases, there is nothing literary about it, plus that fact that it just hypnotizes people. TV just puts people in a stupor. No wonder no one knows what is going on around them. They work 24/7, and then watch TV. What can you expect.

[viciousvirago]

05:40 PM on 03/18/2012

I completely agree. We've been glued to the boob tube since it arrived big time in the 50's.

People simply don't read books anymore. Maybe because they're so stressed out? I live in one of the 3 wealthiest counties in the states and everybody here is stressed because they want everything, rack up $25K in credit card bills and never have time to talk to their children.

As to education and t.v., we've been dumbing it down for at least 40 years. We got what we deserved. Thank God my son doesn't watch t.v.; I watch PBS and one or two network programs and that's it. I found that when we had cable, that's all I did. I AM very sick and spend nearly all my time in bed, so it was a blessing, but after a while, you just have enough.

Thank you for your reply. Well put!

[Rose Morris]

06:09 PM on 03/16/2012

A class act!

[Rich914]

09:46 AM on 03/16/2012

Gee lame novels for the troops! Nice way to boost the 'in print' stats for books nobody wants to read. Maybe if they are wrapped in bullet proof dust jackets the books might be good for something.

[tweeksmom]

08:49 AM on 03/16/2012

It wouldn't surprise me if he donated these books because they cannot be sold. I once enjoyed and respected Mr. Patterson's work but now all he is is a shill for his publishing company. Case in point- I purchased a book which claimed to be authored by Mr. Patterson entitled "The Quickie".... I read the book and I must say it was the biggest piece of garbage I have ever had the misfortune to waste money on. It was the only book I have ever actually thrown in the garbage (I generally consider throwing books away, no matter how bad they are, to be a sacrilege). I come to find out that the publishing company is simply slapping this author's name (apparently with his blessing) on books he did not write and putting the true author's name in fine print elsewhere on the cover in order to sell books. This is fraud. I won't fall for that ploy ever again and I also won't ever buy another book by Mr. Patterson.

[Kris Conner]

09:31 AM on 03/16/2012

I still like the 1st Degree, etc. books, but the Alex Cross ones are so awful. And don't get me started on the VC Andrewsing/Robert Ludluming of his books.

Happy reading to the soldiers, though.

[Olderandwiser55]

08:02 PM on 03/18/2012

Yes, can't believe authors allow their name to be used that way. A bunch of them do it now. It truly is fraud and I sure lose respect for authors. Ludlum is dead and someone else writes his books with his name on them. The children inherit the copyrights I guess-and they have no scruples.

[Toddynho]

08:10 AM on 03/16/2012

"Books for Heroes"

THEY'RE NOT HEROES! Just kids with little education, little hope and brainwashed over the GLORY of fight'n fer freedums" duped into being pawns for the military industrial complex. Stop lionizing this military.

[ImpeachMalloy]

11:30 AM on 03/18/2012

You're an idiot. On average, our troops are better educated than the general public. No one is duped. They fight for a cause they believe in.

Get an education you hatemonger.

[mykirbyroo]

12:00 PM on 03/18/2012

They ARE heroes! They are the reason you are allowed to say such stupid things. If it weren't for the United States military, you would probably speak a language other than English, and you most likely wouldn't have the opportunity to vote for your choice of representatives in government. I think you'd best sit down and be quiet. God bless our troops around the world!!!!

[Toddynho]

12:26 PM on 03/18/2012

You keep buying into that military created myth...

And while we're at deconstructing myths, you might as well get rid of that gawd myth too.

[georgette orwell]

07:15 AM on 03/16/2012

no doubt slow sells, cancelled orders and/or damaged goods
the tax right off will be far more advantagous... as is this publicity

[BlackJAC]

08:42 AM on 03/16/2012

The guy was already an instant bestseller with two movies (and a third in the works), a TV show and a TV miniseries based on his stuff, with a recurring slot on Castle.  He doesn't need either the money or the publicity.

[georgette orwell]

09:17 AM on 03/16/2012

not even you buy that...
this is a country of never enough...narcissism of the highest order...
he is on tv all the time pushing his books...
be it author and most likely the publisher...

[Books For Heroes]

10:41 PM on 03/29/2012

These books are not slow sells, cancelled orders and/or damaged goods, I ought to know!
I am the founder of Books for Heroes! I have been sending books to soldiers since 2004, This donation is incredible!!

[PRONESE]

05:51 AM on 03/16/2012

Thank you for your generous donation to our deployed Armed Forces Service Members.
I appreciate it and I am sure that many of them do also.
R/ PRONESE

[Biblebelt Socialist]

05:05 AM on 03/16/2012

Ok, I love to read and all, but unless the book you're donating is called "How to Get the Hell Out of the Middle East in One Piece", this is just a waste. My understanding is that for most of these men and women serving, there isn't a huge amount of downtime, and there is always something that needs to be done. You'd have been better off selling the books here and using the proceeds to get our troops things they could actually use... phone cards, things they may be lacking...

Books are amazing, but the aren't always the best answer to a bad situation.

[andwhatarmy]

06:03 AM on 03/16/2012

IMO, you are WAY out of line. I doubt if even the most pressured soldier on the front lines could be as big an ingrate as you when someone tries to do something nice for them when they are in a bad situation. I suspect Patterson would bring the troops home if he could; perhaps it escaped your notice, but he is not the president of the US, just a good writer with a big heart.

Get over yourself.

[Biblebelt Socialist]

01:32 PM on 03/16/2012

quote: " I doubt if even the most pressured soldier on the front lines could be as big an ingrate as you when someone tries to do something nice for them when they are in a bad situation."

So, you're saying when those soldiers were found to be burning copies of Bill O'Reilly's books a few months ago and said "Some jerk sent us two boxes of this awful book instead of anything soldiers at a remote outpost in Afghanistan might need, like, say, food or soap. Just burned the whole lot of them on my Commander’s orders," he was lying? It was really a sign they wanted MORE books?

[RMSM06340]

07:25 AM on 03/16/2012

Actually, my husband is over there now, and yes - he has time to read. He is actually working on his college degree in his downtime. He doesn't have a TON of free time, but there IS free time. Everyone thinks that they have a need for phone cards or phones; which is not always the case (depends where they are stationed), because my own husband does NOT have time for a phone call; where he is there is practically no reception, there are security issues, etc.... So for him, a book is a much better donation than a phone card that he won't use!

[outrageisin]

05:00 AM on 03/16/2012

Thank you sir. That's genorus of you.

[KIVPossum]

04:59 AM on 03/16/2012

Good for him, and a big thanks.

[BinghamLofts]

04:46 AM on 03/16/2012

i rather have a book over a tin of chocolate chip cookies any day.

[NHBill]

04:39 AM on 03/16/2012

What the heck.
With all the bookstores closed they have to something with them.