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Friday, October 28, 2011

Today's Deals and Bargain Books (and free MP3's)

New Kobo coupon codes (good on non-Agency books):
  • oct27us20 - 20% off, Expires Oct. 30.
  • oct27au20 - 20% off, Expires Oct. 30.
  • oct27ca20 - 20% off, Expires Oct. 30.
  • oct27row20 - 20% off, Expires Oct. 30.

Brave New World Revisited ($1.99), by Aldous Huxley, is the Kindle Deal of the Day.
Book Description
Huxley looks backward and forward in this brilliant extended essay published a quarter of a century after his controversial, dark visionary novel. Analyzing America at mid-century against the tomorrow of the BRAVE NEW WORLD, Huxley finds some answers and asks more questions.

Charlie Wilson's War ($9.60 Kindle; $3.00 B&N), by George Crile, is the Nook Daily Find.
Book Description
Crile's book is the true story of how a Texas Congressman and a rogue CIA agent conspired to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful CIA campaign ever -- the operation to fund the mujahideen in their fight against the Soviet army that had invaded Afghanistan. Moving from the back rooms of the Capitol to secret chambers at Langley, from arms dealers' conventions to the Khyber Pass, Charlie Wilson's War presents an astonishing chapter of our recent past, and the key to understanding what helped trigger the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and ultimately led to the emergence of a brand-new foe in the form of radical Islam.

The 99 Most Essential Mozart Masterpieces ($0.99) is billed as the "Full Works Edition". Don't ask me what that means, but I can tell you that it's a great deal on some good performances. For under a buck, X5 Music Group delivers 11-1/2 hours of classical music that you can listen to while you read. The best part of this deal? You can get it for free, by first clicking HERE and sending a tweet about Amazon's MP3 store; you'll get a $2 MP3 credit (a confirmation message is displayed after you click the "Get the $2 Credit" button). You'll need to use it quickly, though, as this credit will expire at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on October 31, 2011.


Halloween Mice! ($4.58), Thanksgiving Mice! ($4.58) and Christmas Mice! ($4.76), all by Bethany Roberts and Doug Cushman (Illustrator), are three children's books for the season, all on sale by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. If you have kids in the right age range and either an iPad (or other tablet), netbook or (perhaps) a Kindle Fire on order, these should look great and be readable even in a darkened bedroom. They'll still work on all Kindles, but won't be in color (and you'll need to leave the light on to read).
Halloween Mice!
Mice whirling in the moonlight, having a party on Halloween night, are threatened by an approaching cat until they come up with an ingenious trick to scare him off.

Thanksgiving Mice!
It’s Thanksgiving and four adorable mice are putting on a play for their woodland friends in this delightful read-aloud, the fourth book about the holiday mice. Lively verse introduces beginning readers to basic words and rhyming sounds and tells the story of the very first Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrim mice traveled across the sea and settled in America. The simple story-within-a-story format, accompanied by colorful, action-filled illustrations of mice in costume, also serves as a basic introduction to theater.

Christmas Mice!
The holiday mice are back! It’s Christmas time and the four cheerful mice merrily hang stockings, string popcorn, wrap presents, and sing carols. The little mice are so caught up in their joyful preparations that they almost forget to look out for their old enemy, the cat. Happily, their Christmas spirit is so infectious that even the cat is not immune. Simple, lively verse and colorful, action-filled illustrations convey the all anticipation and goodwill that come with the Yuletide season in this delightful read-aloud.

Scott Nicholson has teamed up with and Sergio Castro and Lee Davis (Illustrators) over at Haunted Computer Books and have a trio of children's books at $2.99, all perfect to read to your kids over the next few nights.
Too Many Witches
When Moanica Moonsweep plans a special Halloween party, her witch's brew has to be just right. So she invites her witchy friends over to help her plan the perfect kettle of gruesome stew. But when they can't agree on the nastiest ingredients, they end up with a very messy situation. A bedtime, read-aloud story for ages 5 through 8, teaching all little witches how to work together to solve a problem.

Duncan the Punkin
A magical bedtime story for all ages.

Halloween is coming, and Duncan the Punkin's mom teaches him to hide in the pumpkin patch so he doesn't get turned into a jack-o-lantern. Being good is boring, and Duncan's not afraid of any old farmer. But someone else has been keeping an eye on the pumpkin patch. Skeerdy-Cat-Crow has been hanging on a pole all summer, and now he's hungry. He's heard nice little pumpkins are just right. But Mom knows a trick that will teach both Skeerdy-Cat-Crow and Duncan something new.

Features 30 color pages (will appear in black-and-white on Kindles) of rhyming fun, magic, and Halloween mystery.


If I Were Your Monster
A father tells a bedtime story to his young daughter, sharing different kinds of spooky creatures and teaching her how to overcome fear. In this fully illustrated tale, the monsters are protectors against the bullies and mean people of the world. A great read-aloud book for youngsters or a fun journey into e-book art.

Available in color where supported by the specific user device. 24 screens of art, equivalent of 24 full-color pages in print. DRM-free and professionally formatted by Dellaster Design. (Note: the art will appear in black-and-white on hand-held Kindles.)

Junie B., First Grader: BOO...and I MEAN It! ($4.99), by Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus (Illustrator), is the 24th installment in this popular series. If you've already got a collection going (and perhaps don't want your kids to play with your iPad), you might consider the paperback edition at the same price (and eligible for Amazon's 4-for-3 promotion). Current there are ten books in the series available for Kindle. Other than the covers, though, it doesn't appear that having a color screen will make any difference for these titles.
Book Description
Halloween with Junie B. has got to be a scream! Get ready for a “Halloweenie” adventure with the world’s funniest first grader!

Horrible Harry at Halloween ($3.99), by Suzy Kline and Frank Remkiewicz (Illustrator), is just one of over 20 titles available on Kindle for this popular series.
Book Description
Horrible Harry and his classmates all love Halloween. Everyone wears a costume to school-even Miss Mackle. Every Halloween Harry shocks his classmates with his scary costume. In kindergarten he was a bloody Count Dracula, in first grade he was the Loch Ness Monster, and in second grade he was a slithering snake. So everyone in Room 3B can't wait to see what Harry is going to be this year-and they're in for a really big surprise!

Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom: The Body Thief ($2.13), by Stephen M Giles
Book Description
And you thought your family was strange.

I am dying. . . I might get the chance to know you before death takes me...I would like you to be my guest at Sommerset. . .I have enclosed a check for $ 10,000. . . Should you accept my offer...

Uncle Silas has always been greedy, evil, insulting, and extremely rich! But a dying uncle with a vast fortune is definitely one worth getting to know. Even if it means spending 2 months on his secluded island home with a houseful of suspicious servants and a hungry pet crocodile.

But what is Uncle Silas really up to? Will Adele, Milo, and Isabella outlive Uncle Silas to inherit his money? And just who is that mysterious "guest" in his basement? Is it worth the money (or their lives) to stick around and find out?

Bones: Terrifying Tales to Haunt Your Dreams ($3.82), by Lori Metzger, is aimed at the middle graders (and up) in your house (published by Scholastic).
Book Description
Spine-chilling, original ghost stories by some of today's best writers, including R.L. Stine, Richard Peck, Margaret Mahy, Todd Strasser, and more.

These bone-chilling stories by some of today's top writers may keep you awake at night! Just remember:
  • Skeletons don't always "rest in peace."
  • Ghosts hate being ignored.
  • Even cell phones can't be trusted.
If you mess with bones, you can get rattled!

Vamped ($1.99), by Lucienne Diver, is aimed at the teen/young adult market (and mostly girls).
Book Description
Gina Covello's Perks and Pitfalls of Vamp Life
  1. Hello?! Eternal youth and beauty!
  2. Free. Designer. Clothes.
  3. My hot new boyfriend Bobby went from chess dud to vamp stud.
  4. No reflection! First order of business: turn my own stylist to stop the downward spiral from chic to eek.
  5. Vampire vixen Mellisande has taken an interest in my boyfriend, and is now transforming the entire high school into her own personal vampire army. If anyone's going to start their own undead entourage it should be me.
I guess I'll just have to save everyone from fashion disasters and other fates worse than death.

Monster Ball ($0.99), by Daphne LaPointe, has a cute video that you can watch on the website and a two-song "album" you can get on iTunes to listen to even when you aren't reading the book (which is clearly aimed at the younger set).
Book Description
Marilyn is terrified! She finds herself in a town of creepy ghosts and ghouls who are very scary because they look different than she does. She’s worried that she won’t live to see another day!

But Marilyn soon discovers that they are not interested in her. Rather, they are all dressed up and happily heading to the Monster Ball. Will they invite her to join in on the fun? And once inside, what will Marilyn discover?

This delightful rhyming story has it all…
  • colorful illustrations
  • a happy ending
  • and a companion sing-along song available on iTunes!
Yes, Monster Ball the story is also Monster Ball the song! Read the story while listening to this catchy tune with all of its scary sound effects (screams, door creaks, cat hisses, bats, Igor, etc.) and funky beat! Or dance to Monster Ball at parties, perform it as a dance routine, or play it on Halloween!

That's enough Halloween for one day - I'll leave you to explore the Halloween Bestsellers and Hot New Releases further on your own.