I'm going to start off with a music deal, that I found while looking for the Google Deals today: Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto (Amazon/Google) album is 25 cents! I haven't seen it announced at Google, so this might be today's album or it might not (and could change price at any time). I'll post later with the Google deals, as this one might expire in a couple of hours...I also uncovered a number of 25 cent songs at Amazon, which seem to share some sort of strange Christmas theme. It's not the right time of year, to be sure, but there are a few gems hiding in there that you might want to add to your library.
Next up, there are a couple of free songs from the Hunger Games movie: Amazon has Offical Hunger Games Instrumental, while Google is giving away (today only; likely expires at 3 or 4 PM ET) Taylor Swift's Safe & Sound (it's a dollar at Amazon, so I'll just upload the version from Google to my cloud; you can download your Google music two times using the Play website or as many times as you like with the Google Play Music Manager). That track features The Civil Wars and you'll find several of their songs for free at Google, also (click on the "Free" button at the end of the individual songs).
Succubus Blues ($3.99 Kindle, Google) is the start of another series by Richelle Mead, featuring Georgina Kincaid. It looks like the second in the series, Succubus On Top, is also currently bargain priced.Book Description
When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?
But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.
But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny. . .
I'm always happy to see more JRR Tolkien in ebook form and even happier when it priced like The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun ($2.74), edited by Christopher Tolkien.Book Description
Many years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien composed his own version of the great legend of Northern antiquity, recounted here in The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún.
In the Lay of the Völsungs is told the ancestry of the great hero Sigurd, the slayer of Fáfnir, most celebrated of dragons; of his awakening of the Valkyrie Brynhild, who slept surrounded by a wall of fire, and of their betrothal; and of his coming to the court of the great princes who were named the Niflungs (or Nibelungs), with whom he entered into blood-brotherhood.
In scenes of dramatic intensity, of confusion of identity, thwarted passion, jealousy, and bitter strife, the tragedy of Sigurd and Brynhild, of Gunnar the Niflung and Gudrún his sister, mounts to its end in the murder of Sigurd, the suicide of Brynhild, and the despair of Gudrún.
The Lay of Gudrún recounts her fate after the death of Sigurd, her marriage against her will to the mighty Atli, ruler of the Huns (the Attila of history), his murder of her brothers, and her hideous revenge.
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by Timothy Egan, has dropped for everyone and can now be borrowed from the Kindle Lending Library.Book Description
In a tour de force of historical reportage, Timothy Egan’s National Book Award–winning story rescues an iconic chapter of American history from the shadows.
The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Timothy Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, he does equal justice to the human characters who become his heroes, “the stoic, long-suffering men and women whose lives he opens up with urgency and respect” (New York Times). In an era that promises ever-greater natural disasters, The Worst Hard Time is “arguably the best nonfiction book yet” (Austin Statesman Journal) on the greatest environmental disaster ever to be visited upon our land and a powerful reminder about the dangers of trifling with nature.
Eating Animals ($4.99 Kindle, Google), by Jonathan Safran FoerBook Description
Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his teenage and college years oscillating between omnivore and vegetarian. But on the brink of fatherhood-facing the prospect of having to make dietary choices on a child's behalf-his casual questioning took on an urgency His quest for answers ultimately required him to visit factory farms in the middle of the night, dissect the emotional ingredients of meals from his childhood, and probe some of his most primal instincts about right and wrong. Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir and his own detective work, Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting. Marked by Foer's profound moral ferocity and unvarying generosity, as well as the vibrant style and creativity that made his previous books, Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, widely loved, Eating Animals is a celebration and a reckoning, a story about the stories we've told-and the stories we now need to tell.
Altar of Eden ($1.99 Kindle, Google), by James Rollins Book Description
Following the fall of Baghdad, two Iraqi boys stumble upon armed men looting the city zoo. The floodgates have been opened for the smuggling of hundreds of exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles to Western nations, but this crime hides a deeper secret. Amid a hail of bullets, a concealed underground weapons lab is ransacked—and something even more horrific is set free.
Seven years later, Louisiana state veterinarian Lorna Polk stumbles upon a fishing trawler shipwrecked on a barrier island. The crew is missing or dead, but the boat holds a frightening cargo: a caged group of exotic animals, clearly part of a black market smuggling ring.
Yet, something is wrong with these beasts, disturbing deformities that make no sense: a parrot with no feathers, a pair of Capuchin monkeys conjoined at the hip, a jaguar cub with the dentition of a saber-toothed tiger. They also all share one uncanny trait—a disturbingly heightened intelligence.
To uncover the truth about the origin of this strange cargo and the terrorist threat it poses, Lorna must team up with a man who shares a dark and bloody past with her and is now an agent with the U.S. Border Patrol, Jack Menard.
Together, the two must hunt for a beast that escaped the shipwreck while uncovering a mystery tied to fractal science and genetic engineering, all to expose a horrifying secret that traces back to humankind's earliest roots.
But can Lorna stop what is about to be born upon the altar of Eden before it threatens not only the world but also the very foundation of what it means to be human?
Relative Danger ($0.99), by Charles Benoit, is another from Poisoned Pen Press that I may have to add to my TBR list. From the starred review at Booklist: "with a debut novel this good, it's hard to believe he hasn't published at least 10 previous books."Book Description
Picture a Singapore hotel room in 1948. Picture a dispute between black marketer and thief Russell Pearce and an associate—one who opens fire and murders Russell Pearce.
Fast forward to present-day Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Young Doug Pearce, just fired from his steady job in the brewery, has never strayed far from home. But he’s always found stories of his Uncle Russ, the family black sheep, fascinating. In comes a letter from an old friend of his dead uncle inviting him up to Toronto. Doug, at loose ends and bored with killing time, accepts. On arrival, he learns that wealthy and glamorous Edna wants Doug to solve the murder of Russell Pearce and exonerate the chief suspect. And what about the legendary red diamond he was thought to be smuggling?
Doug, nervous but game, agrees to play detective. How bad can it be to jet off to a glamour spot or two and have an adventure? Whoa! By the end of his first day in Casablanca, Doug knows he’s made a mistake. And while he meets people eager to help—a retired museum curator, a beautiful and self-absorbed heiress, and her elderly grandfather, a colleague of Russell Pearce—it becomes clear that someone else is interested in Doug and his quest.
From Morocco to Egypt to Bahrain to Singapore, Doug stumbles on. And whether he’s escaping across Cairo rooftops, ducking bullets in a high-speed desert chase, or killing time in a crowded Egyptian jail cell, Doug is sure of one thing: He has no clue what he’s doing. But surely he’ll think of something as he’s propelled full circle back to Singapore and the famed Raffles Hotel. He’s definitely not 007...but will he prove to be a zero?
Past Imperfect ($0.99), by Kathleen Hills, kicks off her John McIntire mystery series.Book Description
A grizzled Lake Superior fisherman with a massive allergy to bees dies very early one morning alone on his boat. Was he stung to death? John McIntire, retired from a career in military intelligence and striving to regain a place in his boyhood home after 30 years away, is serving as township constable. He questions the easy verdict. The town of St. Adele has little experience with violent death — or murder. Nor does McIntire, despite fighting in two world wars. Worse, all the suspects are friends and neighbors, men and women he grew up with “talking Swede.” The dead man, last of a Norwegian family who came to raise apples in the struggling rural township sandwiched between the Huron Mountains of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the southern shore of Lake Superior, had no real enemies despite his gruff temper. And he had little to leave aside from a heavily mortgaged boat. So, who wanted to kill him?
Saddened by violence striking Utopia, worried his British bride might cut and run, his task complicated by taciturn witnesses and six party telephone lines, the naturally humorous McIntire, while bringing a murderer to justice, struggles to evolve a new perspective on a rural community he has idealized for three decades. Rich in magnificent landscape, vivid characters stepping from a past both thoroughly Midwestern and multi-ethnic, and a secret-laden story, filled with laughter and warm insights
A Season of Angels ($4.99 Kindle, Google), by Debbie Macomber, has just been released in a "reprint edition" from HarperCollins.Book Description
Wishes for love bring hope from above.
Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy—three willing but sometimes wayward angels—are each given someone's prayer to answer . . .
Shirley: She's sent to help nine-year-old Timmy Potter, who longs for a new father. And although his mother, Jody, has vowed never to trust any man, Shirley is determined to help her love again.
Goodness: She knows Monica Fischer longs for a husband and home of her own, but the young woman has practically given up on finding the right man to stand by her side . . . until Goodness steps in to help.
Mercy: Can Mercy bring hope back into Leah Lundberg's life? This maternity nurse desperately wants a child to fill up the home she's made with her husband, Andrew.
But there's just one catch: Each angel must teach her charge a memorable lesson before the prayer can be granted . . .
Eat This, Not That! 2012: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by David ZinczenkoBook Description
With an angry food industry hot on their heels and a ravenous fan base clamoring for more, Zinczenko and Goulding once again redefine the American food landscape.
Featuring up-to-the-minute information on the ever-changing array of supermarket and restaurant offerings, Eat This, Not That! 2012 reveals the shocking calorie counts, mind-bending sugar and fat loads, and deceptive advertising and marketing techniques that are making America fat — and gives readers the information they need to fight back.
Packed with cool tips, industry secrets, and essential nutrition knowledge, Eat This, Not That! 2012 is a must-have for anyone who cares about what they eat — and how they look.
About the Authors
DAVID ZINCZENKO is the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine and the author of New York Times bestsellers The Abs Diet, The Abs Diet for Women, and Cook This, Not That! He splits his time between New York City and Allentown, PA.
MATT GOULDING is a contributing food and nutrition editor of Men’s Health and former professional chef. He lives in North Carolina.
Lavinia ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by Ursula K. Le Guin, should appeal to adults and teens.Book Description
In a richly imagined, beautiful new novel, an acclaimed writer gives an epic heroine her voice....
In The Aeneid, Vergil’s hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes us to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy village near seven hills.
Lavinia grows up knowing nothing but peace and freedom, until suitors come. Her mother wants her to marry handsome, ambitious Turnus. But omens and prophecies spoken by the sacred springs say she must marry a foreigner—that she will be the cause of a bitter war—and that her husband will not live long. When a fleet of Trojan ships sails up the Tiber, Lavinia decides to take her destiny into her own hands. And so she tells us what Vergil did not: the story of her life, and of the love of her life.
Lavinia is a book of passion and war, generous and austerely beautiful, from a writer working at the height of her powers.
About the Author
Ursula K. Le Guin was born in Berkeley, California, in 1929. Among her honors are a National Book Award, five Hugo and five Nebula Awards, the Kafka Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
The Crimson Petal and the White ($2.51), by Michel Faber, weighs in at 922 pages in print and has one amazing review after another from book critics.Book Description
Meet Sugar, a nineteen-year-old prostitute in nineteenth-century London who yearns for escape to a better life. From the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, she begins her ascent through society, meeting a host of lovable, maddening, unforgettable characters on the way. They begin with William Rackham, an egotistical perfume magnate whose empire is fueled by his lust for Sugar; his unhinged, child-like wife Agnes; his mysteriously hidden-away daughter, Sophie; and his pious brother Henry, foiled in his devotional calling by a persistently less-than-chaste love for the Widow Fox. All this is overseen by assorted preening socialites, drunken journalists, untrustworthy servants, vile guttersnipes, and whores of all stripes and persuasions.
Teeming with life, this is a big, juicy must-read of a novel that has enthralled hundreds of thousands of readers-and will continue to do so for years to come.
