If you use SD or USB Flash drives to back up or move data, Amazon has several from Transcend on sale today, at 40%-70% off list price, as their GoldBox Deal of the Day. There are also a couple of SSD drives in the sale (although not at as high a discount). The 256GB drive would work well as a replacement start drive for many notebook computers (I've noticed several computers now come with an SSD drive as the boot drive and a regular SATA drive as the secondary, for added storage).
On B&N's Facebook page, you can now vote for this weekend's $3.99 deal: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi vs. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. Both are YA dystopian debuts; since they are both published by HarperCollins, the price should be matched on Kindle this weekend. If you pick Shatter Me, you'll also want to pre-order the sequel novella Destroy Me and watch for Unravel Me next February. Under the Never Sky, on the other hand, has already been optioned for a movie and the sequel, Through the Ever Night, releases in January. It's a tough choice (and they are running neck and neck in the voting), but I'm going to go with Rossi on this one.
Celebrate Julia Child's 100th birthday with today's Kindle Deal of the Day: As Always, Julia ($1.99), by Joan Reardon. I was lucky enough to get a review copy and fans should enjoy the tidbits revealed in her correspondence and the photos included. This was one of Amazon's Best Books of the Month, December 2010. You'll also want to check out the extra photos on Amazon's page, including her penciled remarks when she received a rejection letter the first time she submitted their cookbook. Amazon has also picked up a few other books by and about Julia that you might be interested in.Book Description
With her outsize personality, Julia Child is known around the world by her first name alone. But despite that familiarity, how much do we really know of the inner Julia?
Now more than 200 letters exchanged between Julia and Avis DeVoto, her friend and unofficial literary agent memorably introduced in the hit movie Julie & Julia, open the window on Julia’s deepest thoughts and feelings. This riveting correspondence, in print for the first time, chronicles the blossoming of a unique and lifelong friendship between the two women and the turbulent process of Julia’s creation of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, one of the most influential cookbooks ever written.
Frank, bawdy, funny, exuberant, and occasionally agonized, these letters show Julia, first as a new bride in Paris, then becoming increasingly worldly and adventuresome as she follows her diplomat husband in his postings to Nice, Germany, and Norway.
With commentary by the noted food historian Joan Reardon, and covering topics as diverse as the lack of good wine in the United States, McCarthyism, and sexual mores, these astonishing letters show America on the verge of political, social, and gastronomic transformation.
Running With the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth ($2.02 / £1.29 UK), by Adharanand Finn, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $13.99). Note that although a Ugandan won the Olympic Gold, he had trained in Kenya since his teens and Kenya took both Silver and Bronze (and the top two slots in the London Marathon this year, as well).Book Description
After years of watching Kenyan athletes win the world's biggest races, from the Olympics to big city marathons, Runner's World contributor Adharanand Finn set out to discover just what it was that made them so fast - and to see if he could keep up. Packing up his family (and his running shoes), he moved from Devon to the small town of Iten, in Kenya, home to hundreds of the country's best athletes. Once there he laced up his shoes and ventured out onto the dirt tracks, running side by side with Olympic champions, young hopefuls and barefoot schoolchildren. He ate their food, slept in their training camps, interviewed their coaches, and his children went to their schools. And at the end of it all, there was his dream, to join the best of the Kenyan athletes in his first marathon, an epic race through lion country across the Kenyan plains. With global attention on both the London Marathon in April 2012 and the London Olympics in the summer, there has never been a more exciting time to experience what it is really like to train and race with the stars of distance running.
Revenge of the Witch ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney and Patrick Arrasmith, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. If you missed the incredible pricing snafu on this series last summer, this is your chance to start a good YA series.Book Description
For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried–some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope; the last apprentice. Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook's warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county ... ?
Grade Level: 8 and up
Big Nate: In a Class by Himself ($7.15 Hardcover, $1.99 B&N), by Lincoln Peirce, is the Nook Daily Find for Families (no Kindle edition). Note: PagePerfect™ NOOK Books require NOOK TABLET or NOOK Color with software version 1.4.Book Description
Big Nate is in a class by himself!
But things don't always go your way just because you're awesome.
Nate keeps his cool. He knows he's destined for greatness. A fortune cookie told him so.
- Nate barely survives his dad's toxic oatmeal before rushing off to school—minus his lunch.
- He body slams the no-nonsense principal.
- He accidentally insults his least favorite teacher, the horrifying Mrs. Godfrey (aka Godzilla).
- And school has barely started!
For fans of the ever popular, ever hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series: Get ready to meet Big Nate!
Grade Level: 3 and up
