Bargain Book Roundup

Solo Faces: A Novel ($1.99 Kindle), by James Salter [Open Road]

Book Description
“Solo Faces contrasts a devotion to mountain climbing with the earthbound tugs of love and ordinary life . . . A beautifully composed book that will remind readers of Camus and Saint-Exupéry. It exemplifies the purity it describes.” —The Washington Post

Vernon Rand is a charismatic figure whose great love—whose life, in fact—is climbing. He lives alone in California, where he combats the drudgery of a roofing job with the thrill of climbing in the nearby mountain ranges. Sure of only his talent and nerve, Rand decides to test himself in the French Alps, with their true mountaineering and famed, fearsome peaks. He soon learns that the most perilous moments are, for him, the moments when he feels truly alive.

One of the great novels of the outdoors, Solo Faces is as thrilling, beautiful, and immediate as the Alpine peaks that have enthralled climbers for centuries.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of James Salter including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Kingdom of Fear ($2.99 Kindle; $4.99 companion audiobook), by Hunter S. Thompson [Simon & Schuster]

Book Description
Brilliant, provocative, outrageous, and brazen, Hunter S. Thompson's infamous rule breaking -- in his journalism, in his life, and under the law -- changed the shape of American letters, and the face of American icons. Kingdom of Fear traces the course of Thompson's life as a rebel -- from a smart-mouthed Kentucky kid flaunting all authority to a convention-defying journalist who came to personify a wild fusion of fact, fiction, and mind-altering substances.

Call it the evolution of an outlaw. Here are the formative experiences that comprise Thompson's legendary trajectory alongside the weird and the ugly. Whether detailing his exploits as a foreign correspondent in Rio, his job as night manager of the notorious O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, his epic run for sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Power ticket, or the sensational legal maneuvering that led to his full acquittal in the famous 99 Days trial, Thompson is at the peak of his narrative powers in Kingdom of Fear. And this boisterous, blistering ride illuminates as never before the professional and ideological risk taking of a literary genius and transgressive icon.

By Night in Chile ($2.99 Kindle), by Roberto Bolaño and Chris Andrews (Translator) [New Directions]

Book Description
A deathbed confession revolving around Opus Dei and Pinochet, ByNight in Chile pours out the self-justifying dark memories of theJesuit priest Father Urrutia.

As through a crack in the wall, By Night in Chile's single night-long rant provides a terrifying, clandestine view of the strange bedfellows of Church and State in Chile. This wild, eerily compact novel—Roberto Bolano's first work available in English—recounts the tale of a poor boy who wanted to be a poet, but ends up a half-hearted Jesuit priest and a conservative literary critic, a sort of lap dog to the rich and powerful cultural elite, in whose villas he encounters Pablo Neruda and Ernst Junger. Father Urrutia is offered a tour of Europe by agents of Opus Dei (to study "the disintegration of the churches," a journey into realms of the surreal); and ensnared by this plum, he is next assigned—after the destruction of Allende—the secret, never-to-be-disclosed job of teaching Pinochet, at night, all about Marxism, so the junta generals can know their enemy. Soon, searingly, his memories go from bad to worse. Heart-stopping and hypnotic, By Night in Chile marks the American debut of an astonishing writer.

Pigs in Heaven ($1.99 Kindle), by Barbara Kingsolver [HarperCollins]

Book Description
Picking up where her modern classic The Bean Trees left off, Barbara Kingsolver’s bestselling Pigs in Heaven continues the tale of Turtle and Taylor Greer, a Native American girl and her adoptive mother who have settled in Tucson, Arizona, as they both try to overcome their difficult pasts.

Taking place three years after The Bean Trees, Taylor is now dating a musician named Jax and has officially adopted Turtle. But when a lawyer for the Cherokee Nation begins to investigate the adoption—their new life together begins to crumble.

Depicting the clash between fierce family love and tribal law, poverty and means, abandonment and belonging, Pigs in Heaven is a morally wrenching, gently humorous work of fiction that speaks equally to the head and the heart.

This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from Barbara Kingsolver, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.

The 13th Valley ($1.99 Kindle), by John M. Del Vecchio [Warriors Publishing Group]

Book Description
A work that has served as a literary cornerstone for the Vietnam generation, The 13th Valley follows the strange and terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in territory controlled by the North Vietnamese Army. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account of Chelini’s plunge and immersion into jungle warfare traces his evolution from a semi-pacifist to an all-out warmonger. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book.

Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons ($2.99 Kindle), by Walter Lord [Open Road]

Book Description
In the bloodiest island combat of World War II, one group of men risked it all to fight from behind Japanese lines

The Solomon Islands was where the Allied war machine finally broke the Japanese empire. As pilots, marines, and sailors fought for supremacy in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and the Slot, a lonely group of radio operators occupied the Solomon Islands’ highest points. Sometimes encamped in comfort, sometimes exposed to the elements, these coastwatchers kept lookout for squadrons of Japanese bombers headed for Allied positions, holding their own positions even when enemy troops swarmed all around.

They were Australian-born but Solomon-raised, and adept at survival in the unforgiving jungle environment. Through daring and insight, they stayed one step ahead of the Japanese, often sacrificing themselves to give advance warning of an attack. In Lonely Vigil, Lord tells of the survivors of the campaign, and of what they risked to win the war in the Pacific.

Fade to Black ($1.99 Kindle), by Molly Kate Gray [Crimson Romance]

Book Description
Working undercover is nothing new for DEA Agent Rory Johnston. In the years following her sister’s death, she’s been involved in investigations in more high schools and colleges than she cares to count. The case in Bourland is different, though. Not only is she supposed to find the source of the drugs on the college campus, she also has a secret assignment – find the dirty cop within the department who has been responsible for having their informants killed.

Zachary Rowlins is the officer Rory must work with in her new assignment – but for all she knows, he might be the dirty cop. When Zach is unexpectedly pulled from the case, he discovers that the corruption within the department goes much deeper than either of them suspected. Zach finds himself in a race against time to save his partner knowing one thing – if he loses Rory, he’ll lose more than just a partner. He’ll lose his future as well

Senuality Level: Sensual

Summer at Willow Lake ($2.99 Kindle), the first novel in the Lakeshore Chronicles by Susan Wiggs

Book Description
Susan Wiggs's Lakeshore Chronicles series has captivated thousands of readers with its relatable characters, warm humor and engaging stories. Summer at Willow Lake is the story that started it all. Meet Olivia, Connor and the families and friends of Willow Lake that make these emotional romances a must-read.

Real estate expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family's old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis—a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp.

But as the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can cool the passions flaring or keep shocking secrets at bay. The nostalgic joy of summers past breathes new promise into a special place and people…a promise meant to last long after the season ends.

Don't miss the latest story, Return to Willow Lake, Book 9 of the Lakeshore Chronicles.

Touchpoint ($1.99 Kindle), by Shay Lacy [Crimson Romance]

Book Description
She learns secrets with a touch. He has secrets to hide.

Insurance investigator Gabrielle Healey uses her touch clairvoyance to learn the truth about disasters. But when the crippled Densmore building can’t provide the answers she needs to deny the claim, surely the man who designed it can. The evidence points to a flawed design. A touch will confirm his guilt.

Brilliant architect Christian Ziko has secrets he can’t reveal, and not that he caused the building he created to collapse. With the victims’ families howling for justice and a grand jury poised to indict him, he must uncover what happened so he can clear his name and his conscience. Yet his brother and business partner discourage him. When a clue unearths terrible truths about the people he trusts, Christian is forced to ask beautiful Gabrielle for help. But someone wants their investigation terminated...and is willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.

Sensuality Level: Sensual

All but one of the novels in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain children's series are on sale for $2.49 [Henry Holt and Co]. Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

The Book of Three

Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the curmudgeonly Doli--all of whom become involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of Prydain.

Henry Holt is proud to present this classic series to a new generation of young readers. Jackets have been handsomely redesigned while retaining the original art of Caldecott Medal-winning artist Evaline Ness. Each retypeset volume now includes a pronunciation guide prepared by Lloyd Alexander. A companion book of short stories, The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain, is also available in hardcover for the first time in twenty years.

In their more than thirty years in print, the Chronicles of Prydain have become the standard of excellence in fantasy literature for children.

The Black Cauldron (1966 Newbery Honor Book)

In the imaginary Land of Prydain, where "evil is never distant," it has become imperative that the Black Cauldron, chief implement of the diabolical Arawn, be destroyed. In this cauldron Arawn has created his terrible army of deathless warriors from the stolen bodies of the slain. For each of those chosen to journey to Arawn's domain, the quest has a special meaning, and to Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, the adventure becomes a glorious opportunity to wear his first sword and prove himself a man among men.

The Castle of Llyr

In the imaginary kingdom of Prydain, Princess Eilonwy must leave her friends to go to the Isle of Mona for training as a proper princess. Because Eilonwy has magical powers, she is sought by Achren, the most evil enchantress in the land. Shortly after her arrival on the Isle of Mona, something sinister and secret befalls her. Eilonwy's loyal friends--Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper; Flewddur, the bard; and Prince Rhun, her intended husband--realize her peril and set out on an exciting and terrifying mission to rescue her. They encounter great forces of enil as well as private--sometimes painful--revelations in the course of their journey.

Taran Wanderer ($4.73)

Taran, the assistant pig-keeper who wants to be a hero, goes questing for knowledge of his parentage, hoping that his journey will ennoble him in the eyes of Eilonwy, the princess with the red-gold hair. Accompanied by several loyal friends, Taran begins his search when three wily enchantresses of the Marshes of Morva send him to consult the Mirror of Llunet for the answers he is seeking, cryptically promising that "the finding takes no more than the looking." During his adventures he meets Craddoc, the shepherd, and the common people of Prydain, whom he comes to respect and admire. With their help, he continues his mission to learn the secret of the Mirror and the truth about himself.

The High King

The Sword of Dyrnwyn, the most powerful weapon in the kingdom of Prydain, has fallen into the hands of Arawn-Death-Lord. Now Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and Price Gwydion lead an army against the powerful lord. After a winter expedition filled with danger, Taran's forces arrive at Mount Dragon, evil's stronghold. There Tara is forced to make the most crucial decisions of his life as he confronts the evil enchantress Achren and the diabolical Arawn.

Released over a period of five years, Lloyd Alexander's beautifully written tales not only captured children's imaginations but also garnered the highest critical praise. The Black Cauldron was a Newbery Honor Book, and the final volume in the chronicles, The High King, crowned the series by winning the Newbery Medal for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

Bargain Book Roundup

Sony has a new coupon code this week, 30JULY13, good for 30% off eligible titles through Monday.

Kobo's Independence Day Sale runs thru July 7th, with titles up to 70% off.

There are two new ebook bundles available this month. StoryBundle has a Kevin J. Anderson title in theirs and if you pay $10 or more, you get two extras (Frank Herbert and Gregory Benford); minimum price for the first 6 is $3. I'll probably get this bundle, as I have read every author included, but only have one of the novels in the bundle (although I do have David Farland's short story with the same name as the novel and the audiobook of Kristine Kathryn Rusch's novel). Humble Bundle has their second ebook bundle available and theirs works a bit differently: pay anything you want, but you have to beat the "average" at the time you buy in order to unlock the two bonus books. They are also known for adding more titles later in the month, but also the longer you wait, the higher that average tends to go (it's currently $9.43). I'll be skipping this one, since I already own all the books in the main bundle.

Only Forever ($0.21 Kindle), by Linda Lael Miller [Harlequin HQN]

Book Description
As far as Vanessa Lawrence is concerned, jocks are bad news. Once married to one of baseball's superstars, she's coped with betrayal, divorce and the tabloids. She's worked hard to establish her career, and now her exhusband's tell-all autobiography threatens to destroy everything she's achieved.

When ex-football hero Nick DeAngelo takes to the playing field that was once her heart, Vanessa's not about to let another sports-crazed womanizer ruin her life. But Nick's not prepared to let Vanessa get away. Instead, he tackles her stubborn pride, her obnoxious ex and the gossip columns head-on. Because the day he saw Vanessa, he knew he'd found his destiny….

Look for more captivating titles from #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller! Big Sky River is available now from Harlequin HQN. And don't miss The Man from Stone Creek!

Rum Punch Regrets ($0.99 Kindle), the second in the Abby George series by Anne Kemp [Premier Digital Publishing]

Book Description
In just a few short weeks, thirty something Abby George has endured the death of her mother, was dumped by her fiancé, and got laid off from her job.

Stunned and seeking a shoulder to cry on, she turns to her perfect older sister, Leigh. But instead of comfort, Abby receives a surprise: Leigh needs her in the Caribbean to help with some mysterious personal business.

While assisting in the sale and repair of a bed-and-breakfast, Abby uncovers a few huge family secrets as she juggles an unexpected roommate, quirky locals, and nasty centipedes.

Abby's world is further complicated when two potential suitors enter her life. Can Abby get beyond her own psycho drama long enough to open her heart to someone new? Or will she neurotically make her romantic life worse?

Packing nothing but her suitcases and a sense of humor, Abby George travels down an unfamiliar road, but it's all she can do to hang on for the ride...

Or will she wake up with "Rum Punch Regrets?"

Lowcountry Boil ($2.99 Kindle), by Susan M. Boyer [Henery Press]

Book Description
Private Investigator Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape. When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer.

She’s fit to be tied when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, so she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated. When more folks start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.

Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all! Lowcountry Boil is the first book in the Liz Talbot Southern mystery series. Bonus: Includes book club discussion questions.

Sweet Tea and Secrets ($1.99 Kindle), by Nancy Naigle [Montlake Romance], with the companion audiobook also $1.99.

Book Description
This edition of Sweet Tea and Secrets has been revised and includes new scenes.

When beloved town matriarch Pearl Clemmons dies on a warm June afternoon, the folks of Adams Grove, Virginia, can hardly believe it. Sure, Pearl was eighty-five years old, but everyone—particularly her granddaughter Jill—just assumed she would live forever. Now Jill must return home to settle Pearl’s estate, comfort a town in mourning…and face Garrett Malloy, the man who broke her heart years ago.

Making matters worse, a string of break-ins at the Clemmons place has Jill and the rest of the town on edge. She can’t imagine what Pearl possibly could have had that is worth stealing. But when Jill’s safety is threatened, she and Garrett must join forces to unearth Pearl’s secrets before someone else—someone dangerous—gets there first. Garrett may have been the last man Jill wanted to see, but now, she may not want to let him go.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions ($0.99 Kindle), by Edwin A. Abbott and Rosemary Jann [Oxford University Press]. I read this years ago and it was one of the first ebooks I tracked down when I got a Kindle. It's in the public domain, but this Oxford World's Classics edition contains bonus notes you won't find in the scanned editions. The companion audiobook is $2.99.

Book Description
Including hyperlinked explanatory notes within the ebook-optimized text, introductions by leading authorities, and a wealth of other valuable material, Oxford World's Classics ebooks continue the series’ century-long commitment to scholarship across a broad spectrum of literature from around the globe.

Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions: How would a creature limited to two dimensions be able to grasp the possibility of a third? In Flatland, A Square's linear world is invaded by a Sphere bringing the gospel of the third dimension. Part geometry lesson, part social satire, the novel enlarges readers' imaginations beyond the limits of our 'respective dimensional prejudices'.

The Wind in the Willows ($0.99 Kindle), by Kenneth Grahame and Peter Hunt (Editor) [Oxford University Press], another Oxford World's Classics edition with bonus materials and a companion audiobook for $2.99.

Book Description
Including hyperlinked explanatory notes within the ebook-optimized text, introductions by leading authorities, and a wealth of other valuable material, Oxford World's Classics ebooks continue the series’ century-long commitment to scholarship across a broad spectrum of literature from around the globe.

The Wind in the Willows: An international children's classic, The Wind in the Willows grew from the author's letters to his young son, yet it is concerned almost exclusively with adult themes. This new edition explores a profoundly English book with a world following; a book for adults adopted by children; a timeless masterpiece and a vital portrait of an age.

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Echoes of Empire: The Garden of Stones ($2.99 Kindle), by Mark T. Barnes [47North], with the companion audiobook for $1.99.

Book Description
An uneasy peace has existed since the fall of the Awakened Empire centuries ago. Now the hybrid Avān share the land with the people they once conquered: the star-born humans; the spectral, undead Nomads; and what remains of the Elemental Masters.

With the Empress-in-Shadows an estranged ghost, it is the ancient dynasties of the Great Houses and the Hundred Families that rule. But now civil war threatens to draw all of Shrīan into a vicious struggle sparked by one man’s lust for power, and his drive to cheat death.

Visions have foretold that Corajidin, dying ruler of House Erebus, will not only survive, but rise to rule his people. The wily nobleman seeks to make his destiny certain—by plundering the ruins of his civilization’s past for the arcane science needed to ensure his survival, and by mercilessly eliminating his rivals. But mercenary warrior-mage Indris, scion of the rival House Näsarat, stands most powerfully in the usurper’s bloody path. For it is Indris who reluctantly accepts the task of finding a missing man, the only one able to steer the teetering nation towards peace

Two Winters in a Tipi: My Search for the Soul of the Forest ($3.99 Kindle), by Mark Warren [Lyons Press]

Book Description
One stormy August night, a lightning bolt struck Mark Warren’s tin-roofed farmhouse and burned everything to the ground. Even his metal tools melted. Friends loaned him a tent, but after just a month it began to break down—which Warren vowed not to do. Instead, he decided to follow a childhood dream and live in a tipi. Excitement stirred in his chest, and so began a two-year adventure of struggle, contemplation, and achievement that brought him even closer to the land that he called home.

More than just the story of one man, Two Winters in a Tipi gives the history and use of the native structure, providing valuable advice, through Warren’s trial and error, about the confrontations that march toward a tipi dweller. It shows, without thumping the drum of environmental doom, how you can go back to the land for two days or two years. The wild plants that Natives harvested for food and medicine still grow nearby. The foods still nourish; the medicines still heal. As Warren beautifully reveals, the wild places of the past still exist in our everyday lives, and living that wilderness is still a possibility. It’s as close as the river running through your city, the woods in your neighborhood, or even the edges of your own backyard.

About the Author
Mark Warren was named Georgia’s Conservation Educator of the Year by the National Wildlife Federation. A national champion in whitewater canoeing and a winner of the World Championship Longbow Tournament, Warren founded and runs the Medicine Bow Wilderness School in the North Georgia mountains.

We, the Drowned ($2.51 Kindle), by Carsten Jensen, translated by Charlotte Barslund and Emma Ryder [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]

Book Description
Carsten Jensen’s debut novel has taken the world by storm. Already hailed in Europe as an instant classic, We, the Drowned is the story of the port town of Marstal, whose inhabitants have sailed the world’s oceans aboard freight ships for centuries. Spanning over a hundred years, from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War, and from the barren rocks of Newfoundland to the lush plantations of Samoa, from the roughest bars in Tasmania, to the frozen coasts of northern Russia, We, the Drowned spins a magnificent tale of love, war, and adventure, a tale of the men who go to sea and the women they leave behind.

Ships are wrecked at sea and blown up during wars, they are places of terror and violence, yet they continue to lure each generation of Marstal men—fathers and sons—away. Strong, resilient, women raise families alone and sometimes take history into their own hands. There are cannibals here, shrunken heads, prophetic dreams, forbidden passions, cowards, heroes, devastating tragedies, and miraculous survivals—everything that a town like Marstal has actually experienced, and that makes We, the Drowned an unforgettable novel, destined to take its place among the greatest seafaring literature.

The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific ($2.99 Kindle), by Paul Theroux [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]

Book Description
In one of his most exotic and breathtaking journeys, the intrepid traveler Paul Theroux ventures to the South Pacific, exploring fifty-one islands by collapsible kayak. Beginning in New Zealand's rain forests and ultimately coming to shore thousands of miles away in Hawaii, Theroux paddles alone over isolated atolls, through dirty harbors and shark-filled waters, and along treacherous coastlines. This exhilarating tropical epic is full of disarming observations and high adventure.

Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea ($2.51 Kindle), by Steven Callahan [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]

Book Description
Before The Perfect Storm, before In the Heart of the Sea, Steven Callahan’s dramatic tale of survival at sea was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than thirty-six weeks. In some ways the model for the new wave of adventure books, Adrift is an undeniable seafaring classic, a riveting firsthand account by the only man known to have survived more than a month alone at sea, fighting for his life in an inflatable raft after his small sloop capsized only six days out. “Utterly absorbing” (Newsweek), Adrift is a must-have for any adventure library.

Waiter Rant ($1.99 Kindle), by Steve Dublanica [HarperCollins], with the companion audiobook for $3.99.

Book Description
According to The Waiter, eighty percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining twenty percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths. Waiter Rant offers the server's unique point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen bits of human grace transpiring in the most unlikely places. Through outrageous stories, The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food. The Waiter also shares his ongoing struggle, at age thirty-eight, to figure out if he can finally leave the first job at which he's truly thrived.

Daily Deal - Island of the Swans (E)

Island of the Swans ($15.99 $8.79 Kindle), a romantic historical novel by Ciji Ware [Sourcebooks Landmark], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $2.60 (8 copies left).

Book Description
Re-issued in its original full length, this acclaimed and bestselling romantic historical novel by award-winning author Ciji Ware tells the true story of passionate and flamboyant Jane Maxwell, the 4th Duchess of Gordon (1749-1812). In love since childhood with Thomas Fraser, when she hears that he's been killed in America, she marries the Duke of Gordon with disastrous results. But Fraser, very much alive, returns to England to claim her love.

In addition to telling a heart-wrenching love story, Island of the Swans also paints a fascinating portrait of a powerful and controversial woman and the tumultuous era in which she lived. Patroness of poet Robert Burns, advisor to King George, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Jane Maxwell was a towering figure in her own time and is an unforgettable heroine.

Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

Books for a Buck, Part 2

More selection from the HarperCollins 99 cent sale. Although it's getting late and I don't have room to list them, there are also a number of very good Science Fiction and Fantasy titles on the sale.

The Bone Chamber, the second novel in the Sydney Fitzpatrick series by Robin Burcell

Book Description
“A very talented writer” (Lee Child), who is “smart, tough, and right on the mark” (Catherine Coulter), and “among the best writers of crime fiction” (Jan Burke), Anthony Award-winning author Robin Burcell broadens her canvas with The Bone Chamber—an electrifying thriller that recalls the best of James Rollins and Dan Brown as it races across the globe. An extraordinary adventure that combines C.S.I. forensic investigation with global conspiracy and ancient secrets of the Vatican and the Knights Templar, The Bone Chamber is a non-stop thrill ride that never slows down.

To Have and to Kill, the first Piper Donovan/Wedding Cake Mysteries novel by Mary Jane Clark

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author and mystery writer par excellence, Mary Jane Clark kicks off her delicious new Wedding Cake mystery series with To Have and To Kill. A tasty departure from her thrillers featuring KEY News television anchor Eliza Blake (Dying for Mercy, It Only Takes a Moment), To Have and To Kill introduces readers to actress-turned-wedding cake decorator Piper Donovan, who discovers that the heat in the pastry kitchen can be hotter—and deadlier—that she ever imagined…and that her creative new enterprise is anything but a piece of cake. Foodies and fans of cable TV’s Amazing Wedding Cakes, as well as Faye Kellerman, Jayne Anne Krentz, and Diana Mott Davidson readers are going to eat this one up!

Guys & Dogs by Elaine Fox (one of several of her titles in the sale)

Book Description
A GUY VS. A DOG

One of them is affectionate, loving, and eternally loyal –– a companion for life who lives only to make you happy...

Small–town veterinarian Megan Rose doesn't usually wake up next to strangers. But this morning she finds one sleeping in her bed. Unfortunately, "Baywatch" a stray puppy, doesn't belong at the address on her tags, either: the mansion of Sutter Foley, millionaire software mogul and six fabulous feet of gorgeous, eligible male.

Sutter doesn't even like dogs. He does, however, like the sexy, spunky vet who's trying to saddle him with a pooch. The animal magnetism they share is intense, but so is the spotlight in which Sutter lives. Can Megan stand the heat? Though her outspoken ways make a lot of waves in Sutter's goldfish–bowl world, he's never enjoyed life so much. Could she be the trustworthy companion he's been looking for . . . or should he stick with the dog?

It's the old story: girl meets dog . . . girl and dog meet guy . . . guy loses girl, gets dog . . . Or will there be a frisky new twist to this puppy's tale?

Cold Granite, Dying Light and Broken Skin, the first three Logan McRae novels by Stuart MacBride (several more in the series are on sale under $4).

Cold Granite

Stuart MacBride’s Number One bestselling crime series opens with this award-winning debut. DS Logan McRae and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer who stalks the frozen streets.

Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather…

It’s DS Logan McRae’s first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn’t get much worse. Three-year-old David Reid’s body is discovered in a ditch, strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. And he’s only the first. There’s a serial killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood.

Soon the dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. And if Logan isn’t careful, he could end up joining them…

Dying Light

The Number One bestselling detective series from the award-winning Stuart MacBride continues in this second crime thriller. It’s summertime in Scotland: the sun is shining, the sky is blue and people are dying…

She’s just the first. How many more will die?

It starts with Rosie Williams, a prostitute, stripped naked and beaten to death down by the docks – the heart of Aberdeen’s red light district. For DS Logan McRae it’s a bad start to another bad day.

Rosie won’t be the only one making an unscheduled trip to the morgue. Across the city six people are burning to death in a petrol-soaked squat, the doors and windows screwed shut from the outside. And despite Logan’s best efforts, it’s not long before another prostitute turns up on the slab…

An unputdownable serial killer tale packed with mystery and suspense, as well as Stuart MacBride’s distinctive grittiness and dark humour.

Broken Skin

In this third DS Logan McRae thriller, The Granite City’s seedy side is about to be exposed…

A crime of passion, or cold-hearted murder?

A serial rapist is leaving a string of tortured women behind him, but while DS Logan McRae’s girlfriend, PC Jackie ‘Ball Breaker’ Watson, is out acting as bait, he’s trying to identify a blood-drenched body dumped outside Accident and Emergency.

Logan’s investigations suggest someone in the local bondage community has developed a taste for violent death, and he soon finds himself dragged into the twilight world of pornographers, sex-shops and S&M.

Meanwhile, the prime suspect in the rape case turns out to be Aberdeen Football Club’s star striker, and he has an alibi for every attack. Logan thinks they’ve got it horribly wrong, but can he get anyone to listen before the real rapist strikes again? Especially as Jackie is convinced the footballer’s guilty and she’s hell-bent on a conviction at any cost.

Plant Seed, Pull Weed by Geri Larkin

Book Description
Gardens have often been used as metaphors for spiritual nurturing and growth. Zen rock gardens, monastery rose gardens, even your grandmother's vegetable garden all have been described as places of refuge and reflection. Drawing on her experience working at Seattle's premier gardening center, Zen teacher Geri Larkin shows how the act of gardening can help you uncover your inner creativity, enthusiasm, vigilance, and joy. As your garden grows, so will your spirit.

Larkin takes you through the steps of planning, planting, nurturing, and maintaining a garden while offering funny stories and inspiring lessons on what plants can teach us about our lives. As soothing as a bowl of homemade vegetable soup, Plant Seed, Pull Weed will entertain, charm, and inspire you to get your hands dirty and dig deep to cultivate your inner self.

Mother of Purl by Edith Eig and Caroline Greeven

Book Description
The category–killing knitting guide from one of the major influences of the back–to–knit movement and the owner of La Knitterie Parisienne, a Hollywood hotspot (her in–store knitting circle has included Debra Messing, Sofia Coppola, Sarah Jessica Parker and Russell Crowe).

Mother of Purl, written in Edith's warm, humorous but no–nonsense voice, allows readers to feel as though she is there knitting alongside them. The book combines clear instructions that Edith has honed over 30 years of teaching with the refined Parisienne styling and sophistication that has drawn the elite of Hollywood and fashion stylists to rely on her. Packed with hundreds of Edith's Secret Tips, dozens of longer–format 'Tips from the Top' and multiple celebrity anecdotes, Mother of Purl will be to knitters what The Joy of Cooking is to chefs. This is an invaluable reference, warm and witty, packed with practical techniques, inspiring projects and the kind of insight that only comes from 30 years of teaching experience.

The Complete Angler: A Connecticut Yankee Follows in the Footsteps of Walton by James Prosek

Book Description
James Prosek has been called "the Audubon of the fishing world" by the New York Times. A passionate fisherman and talented artist from a young age, he published two illustrated books on fish and fishing while still an undergraduate at Yale. After winning a traveling fellowship to follow in the footsteps of Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler became his obsession. He was fascinated by Walton, a humble man who won the friendship of kings, and he was intrigued by the book's philosophies concerning the timelessness and immortality that could be achieved by fishing. Although Walton was sixty when The Compleat Angler was published and Prosek only twenty when he set off to visit England, they each had traits in common: a love of fishing and an extraordinary ability to make friends.

This is the story of a young man's pilgrimage through England, fishing the waters that are now privately held. Along with wonderful stories about good times, great fishing, and fine eating, this trip becomes an exploration of Waltonian ideals: how to live with humor, wisdom, contentment, and simplicity.

The original watercolors complementing the text are wonderful. Like Walton's book, The Complete Angler is not about fishing but about life. Or rather, it is about fishing—but fishing is life.

The Geese of Beaver Bog by Bernd Heinrich

Book Description
When award-winning writer and biologist Bernd Heinrich became the unwitting -- but doting -- foster parent of an adorable gosling named Peep, he was drawn into her world. And so, with a scientist's training and a nature lover's boundless enthusiasm, he set out to understand the travails and triumphs of the Canada geese living in the beaver bog adjacent to his home. In The Geese of Beaver Bog, Heinrich takes his readers through mud, icy waters, and overgrown sedge hummocks to unravel the mysteries behind heated battles, suspicious nest raids, jealous outbursts, and more. With deft insight and infectious good humor, he sheds light on how geese live and why they behave as they do. Far from staid or predictable, the lives of geese are packed with adventure and full of surprises. Illustrated throughout with Heinrich's trademark sketches and featuring beautiful four-color photographs, The Geese of Beaver Bog is part love story, part science experiment, and wholly delightful.

The Fire Inside: Firefighters Talk About Their Lives by Steve Delsohn

Book Description
In the tradition of Mark Baker's Cops, more than 100 top firefighters describe the highs and lows of the world's most dangerous profession.

Fascinating and packed with emotion,The Fire Inside is a unique look at the unseen world of firefighters who risk their lives for strangers every day In their own words, these male and female heroes vividly describe how they cope with scorching flame, injuries, earthquakes, hazardous waste, and wildfire-and the rewards that keep them climbing back on the fire truck.

The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Charles Neider

Book Description
Due to copyright restrictions, this eBook may not contain all of the images available in the print edition.

"Mark Twain's autobiography is a classic of American letters, to be ranked with the autobiographies of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Adams.... It has the marks of greatness in it--style, scope, imagination, laughter, tragedy." --From the Introduction by Charles Neider

Mark Twain was a figure larger than fife: massive in talent, eruptive in temperament, unpredictable in his actions. He crafted stories of heroism, adventure, tragedy, and comedy that reflected the changing America of the time, and he tells his own story--which includes sixteen pages of photos--with the same flair he brought to his fiction. Writing this autobiography on his deathbed, Twain vowed to he "free and frank and unembarrassed" in the recounting of his life and his experiences.

Twain was more than a match for the expanding America of riverboats, gold rushes, and the vast westward movement, which provided the material for his novels and which served to inspire this beloved and uniquely American autobiography.

Walk Two Moons, a Newbery Trophy winner by Sharon Creech

Book Description
"How about a story? Spin us a yarn."
Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned.
"Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.

Raise the Barre by Richard Giorla and Laurel House

Book Description
A comprehensive guide to the hottest new fitness program in the country-Cardio Barre-a dance-based workout that combines cardio, strength training and stretching, in one fast-paced, fat-burning, body-lengthening session. With a full nutrition program as well, you'll see life-changing results in only eight weeks.

While yoga, pilates, aerobics and weightlifting are all successful, popular fitness routines, each one of them is missing something that the others offer. And with our hectic lives that leave little time for sleep, let alone hours of daily exercise, the Cardio Barre workout is the perfect combination of cardio, strength training and stretching—achieving multiple desired results from one fast-paced workout.

Richard Giorla is a classically trained dancer who has learned from his decades of training that the key to strength and endurance is developing core muscle—the center of the body must be strong in order to support the other areas of the body. In Cardio Barre, you work from your core—maintaining your balance using a barre, a countertop, a chair, or even your own strength—then repeat low-resistance motions such as plies, arm extensions, and leg flexes. With no kicking, jumping, or punching, this effective and complete workout leaves participants with long, lean muscles, flexibility, and endurance.

With the success of the Cardio Barre workout in LA, where it has gained celebrity adherents and a long waiting list of others, as well as the recent launch of Cardio Barre in New York, this is poised to become the new "it" workout. And unlike past fitness fads, Cardio Barre sets realistic goals, including following a healthy eating program, and offers the desired results of both cardio health and strength in only eight weeks.

Nook Daily Find 6/16

Manhood for Amateurs ($9.78 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Michael Chabon [HarperCollins], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author— "an immensely gifted writer and a magical prose stylist" (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times)—offers his first major work of nonfiction, an autobiographical narrative as inventive, beautiful, and powerful as his acclaimed, award-winning fiction.

A shy manifesto, an impractical handbook, the true story of a fabulist, an entire life in parts and pieces, Manhood for Amateurs is the first sustained work of personal writing from Michael Chabon. In these insightful, provocative, slyly interlinked essays, one of our most brilliant and humane writers presents his autobiography and his vision of life in the way so many of us experience our own lives: as a series of reflections, regrets, and reexaminations, each sparked by an encounter, in the present, that holds some legacy of the past.

What does it mean to be a man today? Chabon invokes and interprets and struggles to reinvent for us, with characteristic warmth and lyric wit, the personal and family history that haunts him even as—simply because—it goes on being written every day. As a devoted son, as a passionate husband, and above all as the father of four young Americans, Chabon presents his memories of childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce, of moments of painful adolescent comedy and giddy encounters with the popular art and literature of his own youth, as a theme played—on different instruments, with a fresh tempo and in a new key—by the mad quartet of which he now finds himself co-conductor.

At once dazzling, hilarious, and moving, Manhood for Amateurs is destined to become a classic.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/13

The End of Your Life Book Club (£0.99 UK), by Will Schwalbe [Two Roads], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $11.99), an Amazon Best Books of the Month, October 2012.

Book Description
“What are you reading?”

That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.

This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world. Reading isn’t the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying.

Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other—and rediscover their lives—through their favorite books. When they read, they aren’t a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life: Will’s love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.

The Kindle Deal of the Day for for Science Fiction & Fantasy Fans in the UK is five Ben Bova novels for £0.99 each [RosettaBooks].

Mars (£0.99 UK; US edition $6.83, companion audiobook $3.49), the first title in Ben Bova's Grand Tour of the Universe series

Jamie Waterman is a young Navaho geologist who is picked for the ground team of the first manned expedition to Mars. He will be joining an international team of astronauts and scientists. But once the crew land on Mars, they soon discover they must battle not only the alien land on which they have invaded but earthbound bureaucrats as well. When they come face to face with a chasm ten times as deep and large as the Grand Canyon, all twenty-five astronauts must face the most shocking discovery of all...

Return to Mars (£0.99 UK; US edition $6.83, companion audiobook $3.49), the third title in Ben Bova's Grand Tour of the Universe series

Jamie Waterman is returning to the Red Planet, this time in charge of an expedition in which he hopes to demonstrate that one can study Martian life not only for the sake of the pursuit but more, that it can be profitable. Waterman also hopes to revisit a part of the canyon where he thought he spied a primitive cliff dwelling during the first Martian mission.

But this second voyage to Mars brings trouble right away as Waterman clashes with Dex Trumball, the son of a billionaire who is backing the expedition. Dex wants to turn the planet into a tourist attraction, while Waterman wants to preserve the planet solely for scientific research.

To further complicate matters, both men are attracted to the expedition's beautiful psychologist, Vijay Shektar, who can't seem to decide which of the two men she prefers. On top of all of this confusion, it seems that another member of the team may be trying to sabotage the mission while the elder Trumball is pulling strings in order to force Waterman to step down as the expedition's leader.

Star Brothers (£0.99 UK; US edition $6.83, companion audiobook $3.49), the third title in Voyagers series

Jo Camerata, the ambitious young student who fell in love with Keith Stoner, is now head of Vanguard Industries which has recovered an alien ship. As a result, Jo's company now controls the incredible wealth of technology aboard the ship as well as the fortune it reaps in - not to mention control of Keith Stoner.

What Camerata does not know, however, is that someone else has been awake, someone who dwells deep within the recesses of Stoner's mind. The alienate presence that has kept Stoner alive for so long is now free and fully intends to explore our world and will let nothing stand in its way.

Moonrise (£0.99 UK; US edition $6.15), the first title in Moonrise series

In the 21st century, the world is on the brink of a scientific renaissance, about to birth a future where space has become privatized and the moon transforms into a fertile commercial ground. As former astronaut Paul Stavenger works to turn a handful of abandoned government moon shelters into a full-fledged moonbase, powerful corporate lobbies align against him. Against the neo-Luddites is Masterson Aerospace, a company funding and creating major scientific breakthroughs.

But Masterson is nearly crippled when its CEO commits suicide and his wife, Joanna, backs her lover Paul Stavenger, the former astronaut, over her mentally unbalanced son Greg in the board election that follows her husband's death. So begins a power struggle that leads to murder and the ultimate conflict over Moonbase.

Moonwar (£0.99 UK; US edition $6.99, companion audiobook $3.49), the second title in Moonrise series

Moonwar, the sequel to Moonrise, is a fast-paced high-tech adventure that tells the story of the fledgling lunar colony--Moonbase--and how it is now in jeopardy as political forces seek to control or destroy it. This book is the continuation of the story of Douglas Stavenger, the Kennedy-esque scion of Moonbase's founding dynasty.

While Moonbase has been flourishing under Stavenger's management, it's existence, and even Stavenger's life, both depend on nanotechnology which have been outlawed on Earth in response to a wave of luddite fear and violence. Soon, United Nations peacekeepers arrive on the moon to enforce the anti-nanotech laws, bringing with them intrepid news reporter Edith Elgin, who soon falls for Doug. Meanwhile, Doug's mother Joanna has chosen to return to Earth, but upon arrival she is held hostage by the secretary general of the UN who wants Doug to surrender his forces and more, to be killed.

Slick politicians, beautiful television anchors, and calculating corporate barons provide complex and engaging scenery: imagine Washington in the space age, with nonstop action and cool technology.

Nook Daily Find 6/4

Dog Lived (and So Will I) ($10.09 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Teresa Rhyne [Sourcebooks], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
The tale of a dog who wouldn't let go and the woman who followed his lead.

Teresa Rhyne vowed to get things right this time around: new boyfriend, new house, new dog, maybe even new job. But shortly after she adopted Seamus, a totally incorrigible beagle, vets told Teresa that he had a malignant tumor and less than a year to live. The diagnosis devastated her, but she decided to fight it, learning everything she could about the best treatment for Seamus. Teresa couldn't possibly have known then that she was preparing herself for life's next hurdle - a cancer diagnosis of her own.

She forged ahead with survival, battling a deadly disease, fighting for doctors she needed, and baring her heart for a seemingly star–crossed relationship. The Dog Lived (and so Will I) is an uplifting and heartwarming story about how dogs steal our hearts, show us how to live, and teach us how to love.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/26

The Reluctant Yogi: A Quirky Guide to the Practice That Can Change Your Life (£0.99 UK), by Carla McKay [Gibson Square], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $5.99).

Book Description
Like many people Carla McKay thought that yoga sounded like a celebrity craze that was a bit too good to be true. Things changed, however, when a friend persuaded her to give it try for a laugh.

She did laugh – throughout the class. But the practice was also different from what she had expected. In The Reluctant Yogi she describes how her disbelief was defeated, and finds out from experts what yoga does for us. She discovers that research shows yoga has something for everyone of every shape and size, young to old: it will tone your body, calm your mind, make you sleep better, strengthen your bones, boost your immune system and even make you lose weight.

Learning her asanas from her pranayama, Carla finds along the way how you, too, can change your life with yoga.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/19

I Am The Secret Footballer (£0.99 UK), by The Secret Footballer, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.39).

Book Description
"It is often said that 95% of what happens in football goes on behind closed doors. Many of these stories I shouldn't be telling you about. But I will."

Who is The Secret Footballer? Only a few people know the true identity of the man inside the game. But whoever he is - and whoever he plays for - he is always honest, always fearless and always opinionated.

Now, for the first time, he reveals everything you need to know about the hidden world of professional football - the extraordinary highs, the desperate lows, and what it's really like to do the job most of us can only dream of.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/7

From MTV to Mecca (£0.99 UK), by Kristiane Backer [Arcadia Books], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.19).

Book Description
In the early 1990s Kristiane Backer was one of the very first presenters on MTV (Europe). For some years she lived and breathed the international music scene quickly gaining a cult following amongst viewers and becoming a darling of the European press. As she reached the pinnacle of her success she realised that, despite having all she could have wished for, she was never truly satisfied. Something very important was missing. A fateful meeting with Pakistani cricket hero Imran Khan changed her life. He invited her to his country where she encountered a completely different world to the one she knew, the religion and culture of Islam. In place of pop and rock stars she was meeting men and women whose lives where dominated by the love of God, men and women who cared very little for the brief glories of this world. She began to read the Quran and to study books about the Faith. A few years later (in 1995), after travelling more widely in the Islamic world and knowing that she had discovered her spiritual path, she embraced Islam in a London mosque. And then her real adventures began. In this private memoir Kristiane Backer tells the story of her conversion and explains how faith, despite the many challenges she faced as she turned her life upside down, at last gave her inner peace and the meaning she had sought.

Month End Bargain Books

Since it's the end of the month and it takes me quite a bit of time to look up books on B&N, Kobo, etc, to check for matching prices, I'm going to skip that for today's posts. I've linked both stores here, for those that prefer those formats; I suspect some of the larger publishers will have matching prices in all the stores (definitely Random House, which is still under Agency Pricing).

She's Come Undone ($2.99), by Wally Lamb [Atria/Simon and Schuster], an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Book Description
In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years.

"Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered. . ."

Meet Dolores Price. She’s thirteen, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood good-bye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she’s determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.

At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably lovable, Dolores is as poignantly real as our own imperfections. She’s Come Undone includes a promise: you will never forget Dolores Price.

Portuguese Irregular Verbs ($3.99), the first Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainment novel by Alexander Mccall Smith and Iain Mcintosh (Illustrator) [Anchor/Random House]

Book Description
The Professor Dr. von Igelfeld Entertainment series slyly skewers academia, chronicling the comic misadventures of the endearingly awkward Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, and his long-suffering colleagues at the Institute of Romantic Philology in Germany.

Readers who fell in love with Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, now have new cause for celebration in the protagonist of these three light-footed comic novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Welcome to the insane and rarified world of Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute of Romance Philology. Von Igelfeld is engaged in a never-ending quest to win the respect he feels certain he is due–a quest which has the tendency to go hilariously astray.

In Portuguese Irregular Verbs, Professor Dr von Igelfeld learns to play tennis, and forces a college chum to enter into a duel that results in a nipped nose. He also takes a field trip to Ireland where he becomes acquainted with the rich world of archaic Irishisms, and he develops an aching infatuation with a Dentist fatale. Along the way, he takes two ill-fated Italian sojourns, the first merely uncomfortable, the second definitely dangerous.

Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season ($2.99), by Jonathan Eig [Simon and Schuster], looks like a must read for those who saw the movie (42).

Book Description
April 15, 1947, marked the most important opening day in baseball history. When Jackie Robinson stepped onto the diamond that afternoon at Ebbets Field, he became the first black man to break into major-league baseball in the twentieth century. World War II had just ended. Democracy had triumphed. Now Americans were beginning to press for justice on the home front -- and Robinson had a chance to lead the way.
He was an unlikely hero. He had little experience in organized baseball. His swing was far from graceful. And he was assigned to play first base, a position he had never tried before that season. But the biggest concern was his temper. Robinson was an angry man who played an aggressive style of ball. In order to succeed he would have to control himself in the face of what promised to be a brutal assault by opponents of integration.

In Opening Day, Jonathan Eig tells the true story behind the national pastime's most sacred myth. Along the way he offers new insights into events of sixty years ago and punctures some familiar legends. Was it true that the St. Louis Cardinals plotted to boycott their first home game against the Brooklyn Dodgers? Was Pee Wee Reese really Robinson's closest ally on the team? Was Dixie Walker his greatest foe? How did Robinson handle the extraordinary stress of being the only black man in baseball and still manage to perform so well on the field? Opening Day is also the story of a team of underdogs that came together against tremendous odds to capture the pennant. Facing the powerful New York Yankees, Robinson and the Dodgers battled to the seventh game in one of the most thrilling World Series competitions of all time.

Drawing on interviews with surviving players, sportswriters, and eyewitnesses, as well as newly discovered material from archives around the country, Jonathan Eig presents a fresh portrait of a ferocious competitor who embodied integration's promise and helped launch the modern civil-rights era. Full of new details and thrilling action, Opening Day brings to life baseball's ultimate story.

Reporting at Wit's End ($2.99), by St. Clair McKelway [Bloomsbury]

Book Description
"Why does A. J. Liebling remain a vibrant role model for writers while the superb, prolific St. Clair McKelway has been sorely forgotten?" James Wolcott asked this question in a recent review of the Complete New Yorker on DVD. Anyone who has read a single paragraph of McKelway's work would struggle to provide an answer.

His articles for the New Yorker were defined by their clean language and incomporable wit, by his love of New York's rough edges and his affection for the working man (whether that work was come by honestly or not). Like Joseph Mitchell and A. J. Liebling, McKelway combined the unflagging curiosity of a great reporter with the narrative flair of a master storyteller. William Shawn, the magazine's long-time editor, described him as a writer with the "lightest of light touches." His style is so striking, Shawn went on to say, that "it was too odd to be imitated."

The pieces collected here are drawn from two of McKelway's books--True Tales from the Annals of Crime and Rascality (1951) and The Big Little Man from Brooklyn (1969). His subjects are the small players who in their particulars defined life in New York during the 36 years McKelway wrote: the junkmen, boxing cornermen, counterfeiters, con artists, fire marshals, priests, and beat cops and detectives. The "rascals."

An amazing portrait of a long forgotten New York by the reporter who helped establish and utterly defined New Yorker "fact writing," Untitled Collection is long overdue celebration of a truly gifted writer.

Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes ($1.99), by Lifetime Television [Hyperion]

Book Description
Lose weight without losing your mind!

Cook Yourself Thin, a #1 New York Times bestseller, is a healthy, delicious way to drop a dress size without all the gimmicks. Eighty easy, accessible recipes teach readers how to cut calories without compromising taste.

For some of us, losing weight has always been a struggle. The challenge: figuring out how to cook healthy, low-fat foods that won't leave you hungry, bored, or running for a gallon of ice cream! Cook Yourself Thin shows how to cut calories, change diets, and improve health without sacrificing the foods we love.

Cook Yourself Thin is not a fad diet. It gives skinny alternatives to your cravings. You can't live without your chocolate cake or mac 'n' cheese You don't have to! There's never enough time to cook Cook Yourself Thin keeps it simple&dbquo;Ÿwith easy instructions and fun recipes you'll want to make again and again.

What are you waiting for? Cook Yourself Thin!

Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoys of World War II ($2.99), by Michael Walling [Osprey Publishing]

Book Description
Hitler called Norway the “Zone of Destiny” for Nazi Germany because convoys from Churchill's Britain and Roosevelt's United States supplied Stalin’s Soviet Russia with critical equipment and foodstuffs during the darkest days of the German invasion.

The words "Murmansk Run" conjure visions of ice-laden ships and thoughts of freezing to death in seconds. For five long years, thousands of men and women fought ferociously in the coldest corner of hell on earth. Some fought for survival, some struggled to help others survive, and some sought to crush their enemies. If man-made death didn't get you, the Arctic's weapons of ice and cold would. These natural weapons killed regardless of whose side you were on or how just was your cause. No one escaped unscathed. Author Mike Walling captures the Arctic convoys’ bitter essence in Forgotten Sacrifice.

The story launches in October 1939, when Germany and the Soviet Union began diplomatic maneuvering. The action accelerates with Winston Churchill's decision in 1941 to provide supplies to Soviet forces battling the German invasion. From this point until the closing days of WWII in spring 1945, an unremitting sea battle raged within the confines of the always-lethal, ever-shifting Arctic ice pack and the savage Scandinavian coastline. Nearly 4.5 million tons of supplies were moved in 77 convoys over the course of 5 years in order to help the Soviet war effort. The Allies fought to keep the sea lanes open to Murmansk while the Germans were determined to slaughter every ship which dared to make the attempt. By the end of the convoys, 98 ships had been lost. Forgotten Sacrifice reveals a timeless tale of determination, heroism, sacrifice, and the strength of the human spirit.

All three novels in the End/Jonshua Jordan series by Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall [Zondervan] are on sale for $1.99 apiece.

Edge of Apocalypse (was free Fall '10)

Joshua Jordan, former U.S. spy-plane hero now turned weapons designer has come up with a devastatingly effective new missile defense system -- the Return to Sender laser weapon. But global forces are mounting against America, and corrupt White House and Capitol Hill leaders are willing to do anything to stop the nation's impending economic catastrophe -- including selling-out Joshua and his weapon. As world events begin setting the stage for the 'end of days,' Joshua is forced to consider not only the truth of the biblical prophecies preached by the pastor of his brilliant attorney- wife, but also what gut-wrenching price he is willing to pay to save the nation he loves.

Thunder of Heaven

The End Series by New York Times bestselling author Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall is an epic thrill ride ripped from today's headlines and filtered through Scriptural prophecy. As world events begin setting the stage for the 'end of days' foretold in Revelation, Joshua Jordan must weigh the personal price he must pay to save the nation he loves. This eBook will appeal to the tens of millions of fans who have already made Tim LaHaye a household name and one of the best selling authors of all time. Thunder of Heaven is a return to form for Tim LaHaye, whose previous prophetic fiction series, Left Behind, has sold roughly 70 million copies. Those who have read Left Behind and who are eager for more highly charged fiction based on biblical prophesies will embrace Thunder of Heaven for the same reasons that turned Left Behind into the world's most celebrated publishing phenomenons of the last two decades

Brink of Chaos

Joshua Jordan remains in Israel during his self-imposed 'exile' out of the reach of U.S. authorities who have trumped-up false criminal treason charges against him. His wife, Abigail, continues to lead the Roundtable to prove the innocence of her husband.

Following the nuclear attack by Russia, Israel is cleaning up the bodies of dead enemy soldiers for 7 months and setting out on its 7 year plan---both per the prophecies in Ezekiel. As corruption in high government offices threaten to block the election of a worthy presidential candidate by all means necessary---including the unthinkable---Israel's leadership is tempted to sign a 'peace' proposal initiated by the UN under the authority of Coliquin. After he discusses this plan with Pastor Peter Campbell, Joshua is convinced Coliquin may well be the prophesied Anti-Christ and that his peace plan is a trap to destroy Israel.

Are the recurring dreams Joshua has had about the coming rapture from God. And is the end sooner than anyone expects?

The Professor and the Madman ($1.99), by Simon Winchester [HarperCollins]

Book Description
The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED, begun in 1857, was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

The Keeper of Dawn ($2.99/KLL Eligible), by J.B. Hickman [indie]

Book Description
Groomed for greatness, 15-year-old Jacob Hawthorne is sent to boarding school against his will. Jacob’s resentment toward his family reaches an all-time high when his father doesn’t bother to see him off for the 1980 school year. With a self-absorbed mother, an estranged father, and an older brother on the other side of the world, only the unlikely friendship with his grandfather can lure Jacob back home. But home feels like a distant memory from the shore of Raker Island, the isolated campus of one of the Northeast’s elite boarding schools.

As the surrogate bonds of a cloistered all-boys school fall into place, Jacob finds himself among other sons of privilege who suffer the same affliction—growing up in their fathers’ shadow. In fact, Jacob and his friends get dubbed “the Headliners” when their fathers make the headlines on the same day. Among them is Chris Forsythe, the rebellious son of a high-profile politician whose helicopter arrival sparks jealousy among the school’s upperclassmen.

Wellington Academy has been selected to host that fall’s senatorial debate, and Chris’ father is one of the candidates. Chris convinces Jacob—who is among the students selected to question the candidates on live television—to expose his father for embezzling money to finance his reelection campaign. Only Mr. O’Leary, Wellington’s inquisitive history teacher, stands in the way of Chris’ influence over Jacob. He alone can stop the inevitable head-on father-son collision that Chris is guiding Jacob toward. But when tragedy strikes, Jacob is forced to journey into the past to reclaim a well-guarded family secret.