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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Free and Bargain Book Roundup

According to a message over on the B&N forums, it looks like Dorchester Publishing may be going under soon. That should not affect Kindle customers, as Amazon should continue to give you access to purchased books, even if pulled from the active store, but those with nook libraries (and others) may want to make sure that you download and back-up any books purchased from this publisher. There are some bargain titles from them in the Kindle store, including several under $3 (not so much at B&N). Note that some authors (but not all, apparently), have had some problems with the publisher (getting paid or removing books where the author wanted their publishing rights returned), so you may want to wait and see if an author you follow there is able to republish later (note that even if Dorchester goes under, that may not result in the rights to the books reverting to the authors, depending on the bankruptcy type, so these books may simply go out of print for an undetermined length of time).

Additional formats on these free books are now available:

Tales of the City ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Armistead Maupin
Book Description
For more than three decades Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City has blazed its own trail through popular culture—from a groundbreaking newspaper serial to a classic novel, to a television event that entranced millions around the world. The first of six novels about the denizens of the mythic apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane, Tales is both a sparkling comedy of manners and an indelible portrait of an era that changed forever the way we live.

Poisoned Pen Press has 23 mystery titles marked down to 99 cents each. These are definitely worth taking a look, as are the other titles by these authors, several of whom now have a number of books under $5.
  1. Wine of Violence (Medieval Mysteries) by Priscilla Royal
  2. Interrupted Aria (Tito Amato Series) by Beverle Graves Myers
  3. Silver Lies (Silver Rush Mysteries) by Ann Parker
  4. Artifacts (Faye Longchamp Mysteries) by Mary Anna Evans
  5. In the Shadow of the Glacier (Constable Molly Smith Series) by Vicki Delany
  6. Shadows in the Night (Aurelia Marcella Roman Series) by Jane Finnis
  7. The Old Buzzard Had It Coming (Alafair Tucker Mysteries) by Donis Casey
  8. HardScape (Ben Abbott Series) by Justin Scott
  9. The Heat of the Moon (Rachel Goddard Mysteries) by Sandra Parshall
  10. Heartshot (Posadas County Mysteries) by Steven F. Havill
  11. Desert Wives (Lena Jones Series) by Betty Webb
  12. Primitive Secrets (Storm Kayama Series) by Deborah Turrell Atkinson ;
  13. Artscape (Ike Schwartz Mysteries) by Frederick Ramsay
  14. Mad Dog and Englishman (Mad Dog & Englishman Series) by J.M. Hayes
  15. A Case of Imagination (Maddy Maclin Series) by Jane Tesh
  16. Dangerous Undertaking (Buryin' Barry Series) by Mark de Castrique
  17. Family Claims (Pinnacle Peak Series) by Twist Phelan
  18. Concrete Desert (David Mapstone Series) by Jon Talton
  19. Screenscam (Rep & Melissa Pennyworth Series) by Carolyn D. Wall
  20. Till the Cows Come Home (Stella Crown Series) by Judy Clemens
  21. Done Deal (John Deal Series) by Les Standiford
  22. The Commission (Sam Kincaid Series) by Michael Norman
  23. Four for a Boy (John, the Lord Chamberlain Series) by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer

A Moveable Feast ($4.49), by Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, Mark Kurlansky and Don George
Book Description
From bat on the island of Fais to chicken on a Russian train to barbecue in the American heartland, from mutton in Mongolia to couscous in Morocco to tacos in Tijuana - on the road, food nourishes us not only physically, but intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually too.

It can be a gift that enables a traveler to survive, a doorway into the heart of a tribe, or a thread that weaves an indelible tie; it can be awful or ambrosial - and sometimes both at the same time.

Celebrate the riches and revelations of food with this 38-course feast of true tales set around the world. Edited by Don George

I Dream in Blue ($2.99), by Roger Director, for those of you who rooted for NYG, tonight! I suspect Patriot Reign, by Michael Holley, won't sell quite as many copies.
Book Description
I Dream in Blue is television producer Roger Director's up close and personal chronicle of the 2006-2007 seasons spent with Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, and the rest of the New York Giants, from the first snap of summer camp to the final touchdown of a tumultuous, heart-stopping journey.

Throughout it all, Director's got only one end in mind: the Super Bowl. He guts it out with Big Blue, refusing to let anything sideline him—not his fumble-prone television career, not even the strain of occasionally having to act like a responsible husband and father. Along the way, he tells the story of this great sports dynasty's origins and traces its rise to become the heartbeat of New York City and, finally, the world-shocking, Patriots-beating king of pro football. Director was there in Phoenix with his Big Blue heroes as they pulled off the greatest upset in Super Bowl history. In this edition, featuring brand-new chapters that take Giants fans along for the ultimate joy ride, Director continues to dream in blue—and this time watches his dream come true.

War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team ($4.99), by Michael Holley
Book Description
Football games aren’t won on Sundays in the fall. They’re won on draft day in the spring—in the war room.

In this landmark book, New York Times bestselling author Michael Holley takes readers behind the scenes of three contending National Football League teams and into the brilliant minds of Bill Belichick and his two former proteges Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli.

Holley masterfully shows how a single idea conceived by Belichick in 1991—how to build the perfect team—triggered a journey filled with miraculous finishes, heartbreaking losses, broken relationships, and Super Bowl championships. Readers are given unprecedented access—from the draft room to the locker room to the sidelines—and insights into why Belichick is considered to be the NFL’s best coach and premier strategist.

Before he achieved success, though, Belichick was barely surviving as a coach. War Room opens in Cleveland, where Belichick, a young head coach, worked in an office with two employees in their late twenties: Pioli, a low-paid scouting assistant, and Dimitroff, a groundskeeper and part-time scout. After Belichick was fired by the Browns in 1996, the three men were in separate cities and seemingly a lifetime away from being recognized as leaders and champions. But soon they were reunited in New England, where they refined and burnished Belichick’s method for constructing a winning team, overseeing one of the greatest franchises in modern NFL history.

These three master strategists are now competitors. Belichick continues at the helm of the New England Patriots, while Pioli is now in charge of the Kansas City Chiefs and Dimitroff is running the Atlanta Falcons. And even though they no longer work for the same franchise, they do have a common goal: building the perfect team, one draft pick and one trade at a time.

War Room is their unique and often astonishing story. It is packed with never-been-told anecdotes and new observations from team officials, players, coaches, and scouts, all leading to surprising and groundbreaking insights into the art of building a champion.

The Glory Game ($2.99), by Frank Gifford and Peter Richmond
Book Description
In 1958 Frank Gifford was the golden boy on the glamour team in the most celebrated city in the NFL. When his New York Giants played the Baltimore Colts for the league championship that year, it became the single most memorable contest in the history of professional football. Its drama, excitement, and controversy riveted the nation and helped propel football to the forefront of the American sports landscape. Now Hall of Famer and longtime television analyst Frank Gifford provides an inside-the-helmet account that will take its place in the annals of sports literature.

Eli Manning ($0.99), by Ralph Vacchiano and Ernie Accorsi (Foreword)
Book Description
Manning is about to lead the New York Giants into the Super Bowl for the second time, and Giants fans are hungry for the full story of the young leader who is quickly becoming a legendary quarterback. Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback by Daily News sportswriter Ralph Vacchiano tells the story of the “ELIte” quarterback. Follow Eli from the bold draft-day trade that brought him to New York, through his dramatic ups and downs on and off the field, his first training camp, his last-minute heroics in Super Bowl XLII, and even his win over the 49ers that made the Giants the 2011 NFC champions. With exclusive interviews with NFL stars, coaches, and executives, a foreword by former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, and a new afterword written by the author that brings the book up to date, Vacchiano uses his unfettered access to the World Champion Giants to present a true behind-the-scenes look at the quarterback and team that defied the odds more than once.

The Love Dare Day by Day ($3.49), by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick
Book Description
Topping the New York Times list and already selling five million copies, The Love Dare has established itself as more than a book; it’s an unstoppable marriage movement. And like the husband in Fireproof (the film where The Love Dare originated), readers know this 40-day challenge to understand and practice unconditional love with their spouse need not end when the book does.

With that in mind, The Love Dare Day by Day encourages and challenges couples toward new steps in faith and love with 365 marital encouragements, reminders, and action points worth repeating year after year.

Unconditional love is eagerly promised at weddings, but rarely practiced in real life. As a result, romantic hopes are often replaced with disappointment in the home. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Whether your marriage is hanging by a thread or healthy and strong, The Love Dare Day by Day is a journey you need to take. It’s time to learn the keys to finding true intimacy.

Let Me Finish ($1.43), by Roger Angell, has Starred Reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist.
Book Description
Widely known as an original and graceful writer, Roger Angell has developed a devoted following through his essays in the New Yorker. Now, in Let Me Finish, a deeply personal, fresh form of autobiography, he takes an unsentimental look at his early days as a boy growing up in Prohibition-era New York with a remarkable father; a mother, Katharine White, who was a founding editor of the New Yorker; and a famous stepfather, the writer E. B. White.

Intimate, funny, and moving portraits form the book’s centerpiece as Angell remembers his surprising relatives, his early attraction to baseball in the time of Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio, and his vivid colleagues during a long career as a New Yorker writer and editor. Infused with pleasure and sadness, Angell’s disarming memoir also evokes an attachment to life’s better moments.

French Dirt ($1.99 pre-order), by Richard Goodman
Book Description
A story about dirt--and about sun, water, work, elation, and defeat. And about the sublime pleasure of having a little piece of French land all to oneself to till.

Richard Goodman saw the ad in the paper: "SOUTHERN FRANCE: Stone house in Village near Nimes/Avignon/Uzes. 4 BR, 2 baths, fireplace, books, desk, bikes. Perfect for writing, painting, exploring & experiencing la France profonde. $450 mo. plus utilities." And, with his girlfriend, he left New York City to spend a year in Southern France.

The village was small--no shops, no gas station, no post office, only a café and a school. St. Sebastien de Caisson was home to farmers and vintners. Every evening Goodman watched the villagers congregate and longed to be a part of their camaraderie. But they weren't interested in him: he was just another American, come to visit and soon to leave. So Goodman laced up his work boots and ventured out into the vineyards to work among them. He met them first as a hired worker, and then as a farmer of his own small plot of land.

French Dirt is a love story between a man and his garden. It's about plowing, planting, watering, and tending. It's about cabbage, tomatoes, parsley, and eggplant. Most of all, it's about the growing friendship between an American outsider and a close-knit community of French farmers.

The AmazonEncore edition of Silent Tears: A Journey Of Hope In A Chinese Orphanage ($2.99), by Kay Bratt
Book Description
Irrepressible memories. Vacant eyes. A child being dangled from a third story window. A boy tied to a chair. Children sleeping in layers of clothing to fight off the bitter cold. An infant dying from starvation. Some things your mind will never allow you to forget.

Silent Tears is the true story of the adversity and triumphs one woman faced as she fought against the Chinese bureaucracy to help that country’s orphaned children.

In 2003, Kay Bratt’s life changed dramatically. A wife and mother of two girls in South Carolina, Bratt relocated her family to rural China to support her husband as he took on a new management position for his American employer. Seeking a way to fill her days and overcome the isolation she experienced upon arriving in a foreign country, Bratt began volunteering at the local orphanage. Within months, her simple desire to make use of her time transformed into a heroic crusade to improve the living conditions and minimize the unnecessary deaths of Chinese orphans.

Silent Tears traces the emotional hurdles and daily frustrations faced by Ms. Bratt as she tried to change the social conditions for these marginalized children. The memoir vividly illustrates how she was able to pull from reservoirs of inner strength to pursue her mission day after day, leaving the reader with the resounding message that everyone really can make a difference.

Today's backlist/small press/indie free books on Kindle (not likely to be free for long; double check prices before one-clicking):
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