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Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Free Book - Nicolas Slonimsky: Writings on Music (K-CA)

Nicolas Slonimsky: Writings on Music: Early Writings: 1, a textbook by Nicolas Slonimsky and Electra Yourke, is free for Canadian customers only in the Kindle store. This is no doubt a pricing glitch, as the US edition is $92, so grab it if you can.
Book Description
Nicolas Slonimsky (1894-1995) was an influential and celebrated writer on music. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1894, in his 101 years he taught and coached music; conducted the premieres of several 20th century masterpieces; composed works for piano and voice; and oversaw the 5th-8th editions of the classic "Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians." Beginning in 1926, Slonimsky resided in the United States. From his arrival, he wrote provocative articles on contemporary music and musicians, many of whom were his personal friends. Working as a freelance author, he built a large file of reviews, articles, and even manuscripts for books that were never published. This is the first volume of a 4 volume collection on the best of this material.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Bargain Book Roundup - International Edition

Some bargains that are only for those who are in Canada or the UK, these are all full price for US customers (and most other countries, as well). For those in the UK, I'm including both US and UK links, but I only checked the prices in the US store.

I'm not sure how much karate you'll learn from How to Beat Up Anybody: An Instructional and Inspirational Karate Book by the World Champion [Kindle Edition with Audio/Video] ($1.16 UK), by Judah Friedlander, but from checking out the sample, if you aren't laughing out loud while reading it, you are doing something wrong. Note that only the Audio/Video enhanced edition is on sale; the standard edition is full price. (UK link)

Book Description
Watch the 19 videos in this enhanced eBook of How to Beat Up Anybody and become a champion, just like Judah Friedlander.

In How to Beat Up Anybody, master of the martial arts and extra-dark blackbelt Judah Friedlander, with the help of instructional videos and step-by-step photos and drawings, teaches you how to kick anyone’s ass. Except his. That’s impossible.


Taliesin ($2.92 UK), by Stephen R. Lawhead (UK link)

Book Description
It was a time of legend, when the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. While across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for two thousand years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis.

Taliesin is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the Atlantean princess who escaped the terrible devastation of her homeland, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is the story of an incomparable love that joined two worlds amid the fires of chaos, and spawned the miracles of Merlin...and Arthur the king.


My Soul to Take ($1.06 UK), by Rachel Vincent (UK link)

Book Description
She doesn't see dead people, but...

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...


A Kidnapped Santa Claus ($0.76), by L. Frank Baum & Alex Robinson (Illustrator), is a graphic novel adaptation of the classic story (you can see several pages using Look Inside for the Hardcover edition. (UK link)

Book Description
First published in 1904, "A Kidnapped Santa Claus" by L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz, describes the action of some uncommon events in the land of Santa. Not far from the Laughing Valley where Santa and all his magical helpers live, and beyond the Forest of Burzee, there stands a huge mountain that contains the Cave of Demons. Each demon has a specialty: Selfishness, Envy, Hatred, Malice, and Repentance. Because the promise of Santa puts all girls and boys on their best behavior, the demons have hardly any visitors to their caves. In order to remedy their dismal foot traffic, they conspire to kidnap Santa! But oh! even when it looks as if the demons might win, one can never underestimate the power of devoted (and magical!) friends.

Adapted by Alex Robinson, author of several graphic novels, the action and menace of the tale will be enhanced and lightly spoofed. It seems a most appropriate treatment of Baum's work -- he was an author who often let his profound and unsettling meanings roil beneath the surface of his otherwise fanciful stories.


Hardly Knew Her ($0.99 Canada), by Laura Lippman, is the entire short story collection (each story also sells for 99 cents each).

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman has been hailed as one of the best crime fiction writers in America today, winning virtually every major award in the genre. The author of the enormously popular series featuring Baltimore P.I. Tess Monaghan as well as three critically lauded stand-alone novels, Lippman now turns her attention to short stories—and reveals another level of mastery.

Lippman sets many of the stories in this sterling anthology, Hardly Knew Her, in familiar territory: her beloved Baltimore, from downtown to its affluent suburbs, where successful businessmen go to shocking lengths to protect what they have or ruthlessly expand their holdings, while dissatisfied wives find murderous ways to escape their lives. But Lippman is also unafraid to travel—to New Orleans, to an unnamed southwestern city, and even to Dublin, the backdrop for the lethal clash of two not-so-innocents abroad. Tess Monaghan is here, in two stories and a profile, aligning herself with various underdogs. And in her extraordinary, never-before-published novella, Scratch a Woman, Lippman takes us deep into the private world of a high-priced call girl/madam and devoted soccer mom, exploring the mystery of what may, in fact, be written in the blood.

Each of these ingenious tales is a gem—sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous, always filled with delightfully unanticipated twists and reversals. For people who have yet to read Lippman, get ready to experience the spellbinding power of "one of today's most pleasing storytellers, hailed for her keen psychological insights and her compelling characterizations," (San Diego Union-Tribune), who has "invigorated the crime fiction arena with smart, innovative, and exciting work" (George Pelecanos). As for longtime devotees of her multiple award-winning novels, you'll discover that you hardly know her.


Rage of Angels ($0.99 Canada), by Sidney Sheldon, was featured before and is still (or once again) under a buck.

Book Description
A memorable, mesmerizing heroine

Jennifer -- brilliant, beautiful, an attorney on the way up until the Mafia's schemes win her the hatred of an implacable enemy -- and a love more destructive than hate.


The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia ($4.79 Canada), by C.S. Lewis and Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

Book Description
In 2000, we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the book that first introduced millions of readers—young and old—to the magical land of Narnia. Now the timeless story of four English schoolchildren and their magnificent discovery is presented here in a special large-print edition, perfect for reading aloud. Parents who grew up with Narnia will now be able to read about Aslan, the Pevensie children, and the others with their own children in an easy-to-share format.
The land of Narnia is now available to a whole new generation of readers to treasure, enjoy, and pass on yet again.


Fragile Things ($0.99 Canada), by Neil Gaiman, is the entire short story collection.

Book Description
A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it . . .

In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . .

In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder . . .

Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams—and nightmares . . .

In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird . . .

Such marvelous creations and more—including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction—can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time.


YOU: The Owner's Manual ($1.99 Canada), by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet Oz, is the entire book (each section is $1.99 normally). I managed to get this one when it was briefly $1.99 for US customers last year.

Book Description
Between your full-length mirror and high-school biology class, you probably think you know a lot about the human body. While it's true that we live in an age when we're as obsessed with our bodies as we are with celebrity hairstyles, the reality is that most of us know very little about what chugs, churns, and thumps throughout this miraculous, scientific, and artistic system of anatomy. Yes, you've owned your skin-covered shell for decades, but you probably know more about your cell-phone plan than you do about your own body. When it comes to your longevity and quality of life, understanding your internal systems gives you the power, authority, and ability to live a healthier, younger, and better life.

The flagship book of the YOU series, which spawned three subsequent New York Times bestsellers, has now been expanded and updated to make you understand your body even better—perhaps too well.

YOU: The Owner's Manual, Updated and Expanded Edition challenges your preconceived notions about how the human body works and ages, then takes you on a tour through all of the highways, back roads, and landmarks inside of you. In this update, the doctors have included a new chapter on the liver and pancreas, which will finally demystify the most exotic parts of our bodies; a new workout chapter that will finally get you moving; and nearly one hundred Q&As asked by you, the reader. It has also been updated throughout to give you up-to-the-minute know-how to not just understand what to do to keep fit, but also why and how.

The book opens with a quiz, "How Well Do You Know Your Body?," which sets the stage for the following chapters. After taking the quiz, you'll learn about all of your blood-pumping, food-digesting, and keys-remembering systems and organs, including the heart, brain, lungs, immune system, bones, and sensory organs. Each chapter also contains common myths of the particular body part that the authors will debunk.

Just as important, you'll get the facts and advice you need to keep your body running long and strong. You'll find out how diseases start and how they affect your body—as well as advice on how to prevent and beat conditions that threaten your quality of life. Complete with exercise tips, nutritional guidelines, simple lifestyle changes, and alternative approaches, YOU: The Owner's Manual, Updated and Expanded Edition gives you an easy, comprehensive, and life-changing how-to plan for fending off the gremlins of aging. To top it off, this new edition includes even more great-tasting and calorie-saving recipes as part of the Owner's Manual Diet—an eating plan that is designed with only one goal in mind: to help you live a younger life.

Welcome to your body. Why don't you come on in and take a look around?


Audrey's Door ($1.99 Canada), by Sarah Langan

Book Description
Built on the Upper West Side, the elegant Breviary claims a regal history. But despite 14B's astonishingly low rental price, the recent tragedy within its walls has frightened away all potential tenants . . . except for Audrey Lucas.

No stranger to tragedy at thirty-two—a survivor of a fatherless childhood and a mother's hopeless dementia— Audrey is obsessively determined to make her own way in a city that often strangles the weak. But is it something otherworldly or Audrey's own increasing instability that's to blame for the dark visions that haunt her ... and for the voice that demands that she build a door? A door it would be true madness to open...


Legend of a Suicide: Stories ($1.99 Canada), by David Vann, is the full short story collection.

Book Description
In semiautobiographical stories set largely in David Vann's native Alaska, Legend of a Suicide follows Roy Fenn from his birth on an island at the edge of the Bering Sea to his return thirty years later to confront the turbulent emotions and complex legacy of his father's suicide.

The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain ($2.38 Canada), edited by Alex Ayres

Book Description
Arranged alphabetically by topic, from Adam to Youth, and culled from his novels, speeches, letters, and conversations, this anthology of quotes is timeless and represents the very essence of Mark Twain -- hilarious, cranky, and insightful.

About the Author
Alex Ayres has been a Senior Editor on Running Times. In addition to this book, he has edited The Wit and Wisdom of Will Rogers, The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, The Wit and Wisdom of Martin Luther King, The Wit and Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as The Wit and Wisdom of John F. Kennedy and The Wit and Wisdom of Harry Truman.