Charlie Carillo ($0.99), by Raising Jake, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.Book Description
In Charlie Carillo's funny, insightful novel, a divorced man gets to know his seventeen-year-old son in a tale that rewrites the book on quality time together. . .
Sammy Sullivan is working his way down the ladder of success. Divorced and pushing fifty, his relationships have the longevity of a fruit fly. But how many men can get themselves fired and have their only son expelled from prep school all in one day? Now, after almost eighteen years, he and Jake may finally get to know each other. (That's if his ex-wife--the super-achiever Sammy can only dream of being--doesn't find out.) Jake knows virtually nothing about his roots. So, Sammy shows him the old neighborhood in the far reaches of Queens. But it's been thirty years. The older woman Sammy lost his virginity to now uses a walker to get around. Most of his hangouts are long gone. It's dreary, born-to-lose stuff. But Jake is on a mission. Wise beyond his (and his dad's) years, he doesn't want his father to miss out the second time around on the good things he blew the first time. And they've got a whole weekend together--a journey where Sammy will confront his, dysfunctional childhood and Jake will face a past he never knew he had.
This isn't your typical father-son story--one is still growing up. The other is his son.
HELP!: How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done ($1.56 / £0.99 UK), by Oliver Burkeman, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition; $9-$10 in AU and EU).Book Description
How do you solve the problem of human happiness? It’s a subject that has occupied some of the greatest philosophers of all time, from Aristotle to Paul McKenna – but how do we sort the good ideas from the terrible ones? Over the past few years, Oliver Burkeman has travelled to some of the strangest outposts of the ‘happiness industry’ in an attempt to find out. In Help!, the first collection of his popular Guardian columns, Burkeman resents his findings. It’s a witty and thought-provoking exploration that punctures many of self-help’s most common myths, while also offering clear-headed, practical and of ten counter-intuitive advice on a range of topics from stress, procrastination and insomnia to wealth, laughter, time management and creativity. It doesn’t claim to have solved the problem of human happiness. But it might just bring us one step closer.
An Edible History of Humanity ($0.79 Kindle, B&N), by Tom Standage, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. You couldn't get much more appropriate in subject for today (and I've already sent a copy of this one to my reader to enjoy this afternoon).Book Description
Throughout history, food has done more than simply provide sustenance. It has acted as a tool of social transformation, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is an account of how food has helped to shape and transform societies around the world, from the emergence of farming in China by 7,500 BCE to today's use of sugar cane and corn to make ethanol.
Food has been a kind of technology, a tool that has changed the course of human progress. It helped to found, structure, and connect together civilizations worldwide, and to build empires and bring about a surge in economic development through industrialization. Food has been employed as a military and ideological weapon. And today, in the culmination of a process that has been going on for thousands of years, the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development and the adoption of new technologies.
Drawing from many fields including genetics, archaeology, anthropology, ethno-botany and economics, the story of these food-driven transformations is a fully satisfying account of the whole of human history.
If you have an iPad 2 (lucky you) and don't yet have a case with a keyboard, you should check out the Kensington Apple iPad 2 KeyFolio Pro, which Amazon has on sale for $39.99. This is the update and improved version of the case that I use with my original iPad (alas, it says it won't work the the iPad 1 or I would get it). Not only does it have an improved keyboard (although I don't have any trouble with the old one, which keeps a charge seemingly forever), but it now lets you rotate the iPad either vertically or horizontally while using it! The non-rotating version (closer to what I have) is selling for $63, so this is really a steal.Book Description
The Kensington KeyFolio Pro provides a high-performance keyboard optimized for the touch typist. Built-in Bluetooth technology delivers wireless operation and one button set-up. A multi position stand holds your iPad 2 in place while the rotatable frame offers landscape and portrait use. Optimized for travel and in-case use, this lightweight and compact design protects your iPad 2 from wear and scratches. Camera openings allows for front and back camera use. Battery Life: 90 hours; Standby Time: 45 days
It's time once again for Amazon's Black Friday $5 Magazine sale. There are sixteen magazines on sale for $5 for a one-year subscription. I know that Backpacker, for example, is always higher (and it's double that for it's new iPad app and their Kindle/Android App isn't out yet). If you already have a subscription to one of these from Amazon, you can go to the Subscription Manager and turn off auto-renewal (at no charge and without interrupting your subscription), whether it is for you or a gift subscription. Then, purchase a "new" subscription for the same name and address and you'll get a one-year extension for $5!
