Today's free Android App is Doodle Jump Christmas Special (and you can get the Doodle Jump (Kindle Tablet Edition) for 99 cents). You may also want to check out the featured app today, Songza, which is free and has pretty good reviews.
Today's Kindle Daily Deal is We the Animals ($1.99), by Justin Torres, one of Amazon Best Books of the Month, September 2011.Book Description
An exquisite, blistering debut novel.
Three brothers tear their way through childhood— smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from trash, hiding out when their parents do battle, tiptoeing around the house as their mother sleeps off her graveyard shift. Paps and Ma are from Brooklyn—he’s Puerto Rican, she’s white—and their love is a serious, dangerous thing that makes and unmakes a family many times.
Life in this family is fierce and absorbing, full of chaos and heartbreak and the euphoria of belonging completely to one another. From the intense familial unity felt by a child to the profound alienation he endures as he begins to see the world, this beautiful novel reinvents the coming-of-age story in a way that is sly and punch-in-the-stomach powerful.
Written in magical language with unforgettable images, this is a stunning exploration of the viscerally charged landscape of growing up, how deeply we are formed by our earliest bonds, and how we are ultimately propelled at escape velocity toward our futures.
Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Somebody to Love ($1.99), by Kristan Higgins, with companion audiobook at $4.99.Book Description
After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.
Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC….
Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Death Has Come Up into Our Windows ($0.99), by Stant Litore, the second volume of The Zombie Bible that has been featured as a Daily Deal. The companion audiobook on this one is only $1.99.Book Description
Stant Litore’s The Zombie Bible retells biblical tales and ancient history as episodes in humanity’s long struggle with hunger … and with the hungry dead.
God is weeping behind her veil in the Temple while the dead are eating her city alive, and her words are coming out through the mouth of her prophet Yirmiyahu. The king and the priesthood don’t like what he has to say, so they’ve thrown Yirmiyahu down a dry well, and once a day, his gaolers toss a zombie in after him. During the three days of this story, the prophet will have to fight to survive the hungry dead, dehydration, and some truly wrenching memories -- memories of atrocities witnessed, lives lost, and sacrifices that shatter the heart.
The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is three titles for £0.99/$1.60 each.The Sister (Main/UK), by Lynne Alexander (US edition $9.32)
William James, the psychologist… Henry James, the writer… Alice James, the sister? Alice James spends most of her short life in bed. Henry calls it her solution to the ‘practical problem of life’, and William is too busy and too far away to pay much attention. Her lifelong companion, Katharine Loring, is a constant support, but in the midst of coping with Alice’s pain and frustration, the two women are faced with the shock of discovering Henry has made use of them in his fiction. Alice’s witty voice rises vividly from the page as she casts an acerbic eye on the characters who populate her life and on the tensions between Katharine and Henry in this compelling fictional memoir.Sea of Ink (Main/UK), by Richard Weihe, translated by Jamie Bulloch (US edition $7.99)
A beautiful novella in 50 short chapters and 10 pictures about the life of Bada Shanren, the most influential Chinese painter of all times. In 1626, Bada Shanren is born into the Chinese royal family. When the old Ming Dynasty crumbles, he becomes an artist, committed to capturing the essence of nature with a single brushstroke. Then the rulers of the new Qing Dynasty discover his identity and Bada must feign madness to escape.The Mists of Simla (Main/UK), by Balraj Khanna (US edition $8.15)
The year is 1962, and young cricket-player Rahul Kapoor has just passed his final exam to enter college in Simla, in the beautiful foothills of the Himalayas. Built by the English as their summer playground, Simla still has its Grand Hotels, faded now, echoing with sounds of the foxtrot and haunted by memsahibs in ballgowns. Since Partition in 1947, Simla society has changed, and the students are building a new India. Rahul swiftly becomes a key player on the Simla College scene; as he sets off on his rites of passage, he finds the way strewn with beautiful women. What can a young man do, but to call on Lord Krishna, the Divine Lover, to help him when things get hot hot hot? Set in turbulent times, during the Chinese invasion of North India, The Mists of Simla is a captivating story, often achingly funny, full of narrow escapes and some tears, as one young man strides out onto the cricket field of adult life.
Elfbot (The Nook edition requires a Nook tablet (any model) or the NOOK Kids for iPad (no desktop access), while the Kindle edition works on the Kindle Fire/HD or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android).
Book Description (Nook edition)
Have you ever woken up on Christmas morning to find a special gift for you under the tree? It's a wonder Santa has time to make so many toys for so many kids. Luckily, he has plenty of help from the elves and Elfbots. Wait . . . .you've never heard of Elfbots? This is the story of Santa's greatest invention ever, robots that are designed to make the world's greatest toys. But what happens when the toymaker wants to be the toy?
"As someone who appreciates the value of a well-motivated, clever robot (or two), I know you will find the wonderful Elfbots as enchanting as I did. Christmas just got a whole lot merrier." - Mark Hamill.
Listen to Jim Cummings (voices of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Darkwing Duck) as he narrates the story of our little metal friend's adventure. This contemporary holiday story stars Mark Hamill (Star Wars) as Santa, Jane Lynch (Glee) as the Head Elf, introducing Haden Ryan-Embry as Lucy. Kenny G's horn provides the "voice" of elfBOT as well as an original music score.
Celebrate this tantalizing tale of wonder and Christmas wishes with a story by Joey and Maria Andrade. Enjoy Rafael Navarro's darling drawings of Elfbot and company. This is a story for the family to enjoy year after year.
Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Bronze Bow ($1.99), by Elizabeth George Speare (be careful if searching on your Kindle, as there are two editions on this one).Book Description
In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Daniel bar Jamin is fired by only one passion: to avenge his father's death by crucifixion by driving the Roman legions from his land of Israel. He joins an outlaw band and leads a dangerous life of spying, plotting, and impatiently waiting to seek revenge. Headstrong Daniel is devoid of tenderness and forgiveness, heading down a destructive path toward disaster until he hears the lessons taught by Jesus of Nazareth. With a brand new cover, young readers won't be able to pass up this timeless tale.
Grade Level: 4 and up
