Free Audiobooks - Irises & Sense and Sensibility

There are two new free audiobook from Sync today. First, I've linked in the info from the ebook or audiobook version of each title (Amazon has the best reviews), then a link to get your copies free.

Irises ($9.89 Kindle, $28.18 Audible), by Francisco X. Stork, narrated by Carrington MacDuffie.

Book Description
Two sisters discover what's truly worth living for in the new novel by the author of MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD.

TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. -- if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate's boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own.

ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darknesses in their sudden freedom. But it's Mama's life that might divide them for good -- the question of *if* she lives, and what's worth living for.

IRISES is Francisco X. Stork's most provocative and courageous novel yet.

Sense and Sensibility ($0.99 Kindle; $20.95 Audible), by Jane Austen, narrated by Wanda McCaddon. My mother bought this exact audiobook, just the other day (Sorry, Mom!). There are various Kindle editions of this classic, but the one I've linked in the title is the Oxford World Classic edition, which is currently on sale for 99 cents.

Book Description
Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, is a wonderfully entertaining tale of flirtation and folly that revolves around two starkly different sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. While Elinor is thoughtful, considerate, and calm, her younger sister is emotional and wildly romantic. Both are looking for a husband, but neither Elinor's reason nor Marianne's passion can lead them to perfect happiness - as Marianne falls for an unscrupulous rascal and Elinor becomes attached to a man who's already engaged.

Startling secrets, unexpected twists, and heartless betrayals interrupt the marriage games that follow. Filled with satiric wit and subtle characterizations, Sense and Sensibility teaches that true love requires a balance of reason and emotion.

Click HERE to get the free downloads (you'll need to enter your name and an email address. You'll end up clicking about three pages (for each book), before the audiobook actually downloads. Don't stop so long as you still see a button that talks about your Sync download (or until you see the Overdrive software open up; there is a link at Sync, if you don't already have Overdrive installed).

Once in Overdrive, you'll need to tell it where to save the files (just click OK to use the default location, since Overdrive will keep track of them for you), then again to actually start the download (by default, all parts of the book are downloaded; I would suggest not changing this in the last dialog box, just click on OK to get the download started). Make sure your audiobook is fully downloaded before the end of the week, as once the promo period is over, you won't be able to get them free.

You can't get any titles that have been missed, but once they are loaded into Overdrive (which you will need to install, if you are not already using it for library books), they are yours to keep (there is no expiration date). Two new titles each Thursday!

Free Audiobooks - The Eleventh Plague and The Grapes of Wrath

Audiobook Sync is once again giving away audiobooks aimed at young adults during the summer. There are two new ones each week, so you have to keep checking back. You can't get any titles that have been missed, but once they are loaded into Overdrive (which you will need to install, if you are not already using it for library books), they are yours to keep (there is no expiration date). Two new titles each Thursday!

First, I've linked in the info from the ebook or audiobook version of each title (Amazon has the best reviews), then a link to get your copies free.

The Eleventh Plague ($9.28 Kindle; $20.95 Audible), a standalone novel by Jeff Hirsch, read by Dan Bittner. This one had been on my wishlist for quite a while and I managed to pick it up in March when it was on sale and read it straight thru in about two days! Recommended.

Book DescriptionIn an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.

In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing--and their lives--forever.

The Grapes of Wrath ($12.99 Kindle, $5.95 Audible), by John Steinbeck, as adapted by Frank Galati, narrated by Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovanm, Emily Bergl and the L.A. Theatre Works cast.

Book Description
Based on the epic novel by Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck. Set during the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath tells the powerful story of the Joad family's trek from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the promise of a new life in California. But what they find threatens to rip apart their lives, and sever the ties that bind them together. Starring Shirley Knight as Ma Joad, Frank Galati's heart-wrenching adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel finds its timeless heart in the generous spirit of the common man.

A full-cast production featuring: Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, Emily Bergl, Mike Buie, Daniel Chacon, Maurice Chasse, Shannon Cochran, Trista Delamere, Francis Guinan, Charlie Matthes, Rod McLachlan, Bob Pescovitz,Joel Rafael, Stephen Ramsey, Nick Sadler, Andy Taylor, Todd Waring, Fredd Wayne, Michael Weston, and Kate Williamson, with live music performed by the Joel Rafael Band.

Click HERE to get the free downloads (you'll need to enter your name and an email address. You'll end up clicking about three pages (for each book), before the audiobook actually downloads. Don't stop so long as you still see a button that talks about your Sync download (or until you see the Overdrive software open up; there is a link at Sync, if you don't already have Overdrive installed).

Once in Overdrive, you'll need to tell it where to save the files (just click OK to use the default location, since Overdrive will keep track of them for you), then again to actually start the download (by default, all parts of the book are downloaded; I would suggest not changing this in the last dialog box, just click on OK to get the download started). Make sure your audiobook is fully downloaded before the end of the week, as once the promo period is over, you won't be able to get them free.

Free Audiobook - Wives and Daughters

Celebrate Mother's Day with a free audiobook download of the Elizabeth Gaskell's classic Wives and Daughters (free Kindle; $32.95 Audible), narrated by Josephine Bailey, over at Tantor Media. You'll also get a PDF copy of the ebook (or can click on the book cover to get a free Kindle edition) for reading along.

Book Description
Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel, is regarded by many as her masterpiece. Molly Gibson is the daughter of the doctor in the small provincial town of Hollingford. Her widowed father marries a second time to give Molly the woman's presence he feels she lacks, but until the arrival of Cynthia, her dazzling stepsister, Molly finds her situation hard to accept. Intertwined with the story of the Gibsons is that of Squire Hamley and his two sons. As Molly grows up and falls in love, she learns to judge people for what they are, not what they seem. Through Molly's observations the hierarchies, social values, and social changes of early-nineteenth-century English life are made vivid in a novel that is timeless in its representation of human relationships.

Get the free audiobook and ebook from Tantor Media.

Free Audiobook - The Tempest

Get a free audiobook download of The Tempest ($4.99 Kindle), by William Shakespeare, with David Warner as Prospero, as part of their Radio 3 Shakespeare series.

Book Description
David Warner is Prospero, with Carl Prekopp as Ariel, Rose Leslie as Miranda and Don Warrington as Gonzalo in Shakespeare's play of magic, romance and revenge. With music by the Devil's Violin Company. Broadcast as part of the Shakespeare Unlocked season and the third in the series of Radio 3 Shakespeare dramas.

Generally agreed to be Shakespeare's last play, THE TEMPEST was most likely written in 1610. Twelve years before the action begins, Prospero--Duke of Milan--and his daughter, Miranda, were stranded by Prospero's brother, Antonio, on a remote and idyllic island where Miranda has grown up happily among the beasts and flowers, never seeing any man but her father. Many years later, Prospero uses his powers and the help of Ariel, the sprite, to effect a shipwreck--hence the play's title--that brings Antonio to the island, along with the king of Naples and his son, Ferdinand, who promptly falls in love with Miranda. Their love story, juxtaposed with Prospero's revenge on his brother and his final act of mercy, form the basis of a simple plot. A combination of tragedy and romantic comedy, the play includes a happy ending that, finally, leans toward the latter. Unlike Shakespeare's other plays, THE TEMPEST is full of magic and exoticism and what we now think of as special effects, using evocative music and extravagant imagery to create a mood of enchantment that, nonetheless, confronts serious questions about reality and illusion. Some interpretations of the play see Prospero--who, in his dazzling last speech, renounces his magic powers--as the aging Shakespeare bidding farewell to the theater. THE TEMPEST is also interesting because its events take place in a 24-hour period. And it is, of course, the source of a famous phrase: when the sheltered Miranda first lays eyes on Ferdinand, she exclaims, "Oh brave new world, that has such people in it!"

Get the free audiobook from the BBC. You can also listen online to their rendition of Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet, thru Saturday (actually sometime Sunday, UK, time, but I wouldn't push it).

If you prefer to read (or read along), you can get a well-formatted (and free) copy of Shakespeare's Comedies, over on MobileRead, which includes two of the three titles in the series.

If you crave even more Shakespeare and history, then grab the podcasts for Shakespeare’s Restless World, a 20-part series that you can download direct or via iTunes, or get A History of the World in 100 Objects.

Free Audiobook - The Importance of Being Earnest

Audible is giving away a free performance of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, narrated by James Marsters, Charles Busch, Emily Bergl, Neil Dickson, Jill Gascoine, Christopher Neame and Matthew Wolf. I know this is free for those in the US and Canada (requires an account), but does appear to be geographically restricted in some other areas (such as the UK).

April is also Listening Rewards Month at Audible - if you buy four audiobooks that normally sell for $14.95 or more (using any combination of credits or $$), then Audible will deposit $10 into your account, to use on the audiobook of your choice during May.

Book Description
This final play from the pen of Oscar Wilde is a stylish send-up of Victorian courtship and manners, complete with assumed names, mistaken lovers, and a lost handbag. Jack and Algernon are best friends, both wooing ladies who think their names are Ernest, "that name which inspires absolute confidence."

Wilde's effervescent wit, scathing social satire, and high farce make this one of the most cherished plays in the English language.

Hear more of your favorite performances LIVE from L. A. Theatre Works.

Get the free audiobook from Audible.

Tantor Media Now Publishing eBooks

Tantor Media, whom you probably know from the free audiobooks I post here about once a month, has entered the eBook publishing area. As an introduction special, they have many of them discounted to the $1.99 or $2.99 price point. These range from true Classics (like John Carter in A Princess of Mars $1.99) to “modern classics” (like Games People Play $6.99 and Pathways to the Gods $1.99) to the new (like Warriors Don’t Cry $6.64 and Southern Light $2.99).

You can find their entire line of ebook at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. As always, I recommend sampling first, but I know that the PDF editions of ebooks I've downloaded from Tantor have been well formatted in the past and the samples I checked on Kindle appear to be the same (and not just scanned in, OCR'd text or converted PDF's).

If you are in the mood for an audiobook instead, their March Madness sale is still going on and there are 81 titles still at $6.99. I haven't really looked thru it, but see a Peter Robinson title near the top of the list that looks interesting.

Free Audiobook - Letters of a Woman Homesteader

Celebrate Women’s History Month with a free audiobook (and ebook) edition of Elinore Pruitt Stewart's Letters of a Woman Homesteader (free Kindle; $13.99/$8.25 Audible), narrated by Rebecca Burns, free from Tantor Audio. Tantor is also throwing in a companion PDF eBook, but you might want to grab the mobi edition at Amazon if you'd rather read along on your Kindle; I haven't checked it for formatting, though, but tracked down another version at Mobilereads, that looks pretty good.

Book Description
Told with vivid gusto by a young, fiercely determined widow, this towering classic of American frontier life paints a candid portrait of her work, travels, neighbors, and harsh existence on a Wyoming ranch in the early 1900s.

About the Author
Elinore Pruitt Stewart (1876 - 1933) was orphaned early in life. She and her brothers and sisters made their own way in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, and in the absence of schools, she taught herself to read and write. After losing her husband in a railroad accident, she went to Denver, where she worked as a laundress, housekeeper, and furnace tender to support herself and her daughter. She heard about Wyoming from a friend while recovering from an illness. Two days later, she was on her way there. An ad placed in a newspaper quickly gained her empoyment as housekeeper for Clyde Stewart, a rancher, whom she later married.

America's most famous woman homesteader, Elinore is the author of the classic Letters of a Woman Homesteader, which was the inspiration for the critically acclaimed movie Heartland, and Letters on an Elk Hunt.

Get the free Audio Download from Tantor Audio.

3 Free Books from Charles River Editors (K)

The Charles River Editors have added to their batch of free books in the Kindle store

1. How to Get Great Skin: From the Inside and Out, by Dr. E
2. Current Events: Israel and Her Enemies (Illustrated)
3. American Legends: The Life of George Washington (Illustrated)

36 Free Books from Charles River Editors (K)

The Charles River Editors have another batch of free books in the Kindle store

1. The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol and 13 Other Classic Stories (Illustrated)
2. Current Events: Arab Spring (Illustrated) *repeat
3. Consulting Interview Case Preparation: Frameworks and Practice Cases
4. The Law, by Frederic Bastiat
5. 25 Classic Christmas Poems (Illustrated), by Walt Whitman, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Frost and Sir Walter Scott
6. Christmas Short Stories (Illustrated), by Stephen Leacock
7. A Kidnapped Santa Claus (Illustrated), by L. Frank Baum
8. A Christmas Story: The Story of Three Wise Men (Illustrated), by William J. Locke
9. Christmas Every Day (Illustrated), by William Dean Howells
10. Timeless Classics: The Overcoat (Illustrated), by Nikolai Gogol
11. Balancing the Chakras: The Body's Energetic Channels, by Michael Solis *repeat
12. Timeless Classics: Rip Van Winkle, by Washington Irving
13. How to Craft the Perfect Admissions Essay for an Ivy League School, by Michael Solis *repeat
14. Timeless Classics: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
15. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh (Illustrated), by Ulysses S. Grant
16. Timeless Classics: The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith
17. How to Get Into an Ivy League School, by Michael Solis *repeat
18. Master the Tricks of the S.A.T., by Michael Solis *repeat
19. Timeless Classics: Antigone (Illustrated), by Sophocles
20. Timeless Classics: Oedipus the King (Illustrated), by Sophocles
21. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: The Confederate Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign (Illustrated), by John S. Mosby
22. Timeless Classics: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (Illustrated), by Henry David Thoreau
23. Timeless Classics: The Best Russian Short Stories (Illustrated), by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov
24. Timeless Classics: The Theban Plays (Illustrated), by Sophocles
25. Timeless Classics: The Nose, by Nikolai Gogol
26. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: The Cavalry Battle near Gettysburg (Illustrated), by William E. Miller
27. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: The Chancellorsville Campaign (Illustrated), by Darius N. Couch
28. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: The Invasion of Maryland (Illustrated), by James Longstreet
29. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: The Struggle for Round Top (Illustrated), by Evander M. Law
30. Timeless Classics: Dead Souls, by Nikolai Gogol
31. Timeless Classics: Oedipus at Colonus (Illustrated), by Sophocles
32. Timeless Classics: Philoctetes (Illustrated), by Sophocles
33. Timeless Classics: The Iliad (Illustrated), by Homer
34. Timeless Classics: The Iliad and The Odyssey (Illustrated), by Homer
35. Timeless Classics: The Odyssey (Illustrated), by Homer
36. Timeless Classics: The Trachiniae (Illustrated), by Sophocles

Free Book - The Piazza (K/N)

Update: 2/19/12 Now free from Barnes & Noble.

The Harper Perennial Classic edition of The Piazza, by Herman Melville, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Don Benito faltered; then, like some somnambulist suddenly interfered with, vacantly stared at his visitor, and ended by looking down on the deck. He maintained this posture so long, that Captain Delano, almost equally disconcerted, and involuntarily almost as rude, turned suddenly from him, walking forward to accost one of the Spanish seamen for the desired information. But he had hardly gone five paces, when with a sort of eagerness Don Benito invited him back, regretting his momentary absence of mind, and professing readiness to gratify him.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Audiobook - The Valley of Fear

The audiobook edition of The Valley of Fear: A Sherlock Holmes Novel ($12.59 Audible), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Simon Prebble, is free direct from Tantor Audio; they also include the full text, in DRM-free PDF format, for those who prefer to read along when listening. It looks like they are also running three different 50% off sales, right now: Romance, Black History Month and President's Day. All three are easily accessed from their home page.

Book Description
A coded warning sends Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to a country retreat, where they follow a perplexing trail of clues to unmask a murderer—and to break the stranglehold of a terrorist cult—in The Valley of Fear, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel.

Also included is the bonus Sherlock Holmes story "The Final Problem."

Get the free audiobook from Tantor. After you've completed your order, use the link labeled My Bookshelf to get to your downloads, then click the orange download button (not the title of the book).

Free Audiobook - Sophie's World

The third free audiobook that The Guardian (a UK newspaper) is giving away as part of their Head Start program is Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy ($9.99 Kindle), by Jostein Gaarder and Paulette Moller.

Book Description
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print.

One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning--but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

Get the free Audiobook from The Guardian UK. You'll need to enter a name and email address, click to submit the info, then click a link that takes you to AudioGo (NOTE: This link is missing the "s" at the end of "sophie", which you have to to manually add to the URL if you get a 404 error, as I did Audiogo has fixed their site and their link now works, no editing required); be sure to note the coupon code on that page, as you'll need it to get the book for free. Once at Audiogo, click on the ad, then click Checkout; log in (or create an account), then enter the promotional Code and click Update. Don't click on Continue until after you've confirmed that a total of $0.00/£0.00 is shown. You'll need an account with AudioGo, but should not need to enter any credit card info. Once you've added the audiobook to your account, you can download at any time (I'd expect download times to be very slow this week).

Free Book -Tales of Adventure (DF)

You can get Tales of Adventure free, direct from publisher Delphi Classics, in either EPUB or Mobi (Kindle) format. This publisher specializes in well formatted collections of classics, which can be handy for those who would rather have a "collected works" volume on their ereader, instead of a hundred or so loose titles on the menu.

Book Description
To celebrate our release of the Complete Works of Daniel Defoe, we are pleased to announce a FREE adventure tales eBook, which can be downloaded by everyone - regardless of which eReader they favour - directly from this page.

Including 14 of the greatest adventure tales ever told, this beautiful collection, packed with hundreds of colour illustrations, is sure to chase away those winter blues. Beginning with Defoe's timeless Robinson Crusoe, the collection offers a range of adventure novels from across the world, with informative introductions and images relating to the works and authors. So, whether it's a voyage with Long John Silver, an exotic Arabian adventure or a journey into the dark and distant future, make sure you don't miss out on this wonderful collection!

Get the free ebook from Delphi Classics.

Ten Twenty Free Books from B&N Classics Series (N)

Update: OK, I've taken Pinky's list and added direct links for the ones that B&N doesn't put on their own Classics list (instead, these are labeled as part of their Kickstart Program, but don't show up in searches).

B&N has made 10 of their Barnes & Noble Classics Series available for free, once again (if you've collected these in the past, you probably already have them all, as I do). The ones available for free are:

1. Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
3. Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
4. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
5. House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
8. Odyssey by Homer
9. Paradise Lost by John Milton
10. Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
11. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners by James Joyce
12. Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
13. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
14. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
15. The Art of War by Sun Tzu
16. The Awakening and Selected Short Fiction by Kate Chopin
17. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
18. Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
19. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
20. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

These are more than just scans of the classics, as B&N uses their own translations and illustrations and generally includes commentary and other notes from a scholar in the field.

Series Description
Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

• New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
• Biographies of the authors
• Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
• Footnotes and endnotes
• Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
• Comments by other famous authors
• Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
• Bibliographies for further reading
• Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.

More Free Audiobooks

I have found several more free audiobooks for you, from LearnOutLoud and Tantor Press. Once "purchased", most of these can be downloaded any time. LearnOutLoud also has 49 audiobooks marked down to $1.99 each you may want to browse thru. Over at Tantor Audio, they feature a number of titles for $6.99 each month (it's easiest to find these on their Facebook page) and the rest of their audiobook catalog is 50% off right now.

First up, seven free editions of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol ($9.95 Amazon) that have been gathered together by LearnOutLoud (although one of the editions is one I told you about earlier this month). Some of these require an account and are only free for a limited time, so don't dawdle.

Book Description
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman and Hall and first released on 19 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visitations of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim.

The book was written and published at a time when Britain was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and the Christmas stories of Washington Irving.

The tale was pirated immediately, was adapted several times to the stage, and has been credited with restoring the holiday to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America after a period of sobriety and somberness. A Christmas Carol remains popular, has never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media.

Links for the free downloads (with formats noted; several include a download of the text of the book, as well):

1. LearnOutLoud, narrated by Antonia Bath (MP3 & MPEG-4) *free today only
2. ChristianAudio, narrated by Simon Vance (M4B, MP3, EPUB) *free this month only
3. LibriVox, narrated by Glen Hallstrom (MP3, OGG, M4B, ZIP, TXT, RSS)
4. iTunes, narrated by Patrick Horgan (podcast)
5. Wired for Books, narrated by Karen Chan (MP3, RealAudio Stream)
6. Mercury Theatre, narrated by Orson Welles & The Campbell Playhouse (RealAudio, MP3)
7. Lit2Go, narrated by Rick Kistner (MP3, TXT/HTML)

Tantor Audio is offering a free download of both the audiobook and ebook of Favorite Stories of Christmas Past ($11.95 Amazon), by Clement C. Moore, Nora A. Smith, Louisa May Alcott, et al, narrated by Renée Raudman and Alan Sklar.

Book Description
Tantor Media presents a collection of some of the most popular Christmas stories read by award-winning narrators Renee Raudman and Alan Sklar. This special anthology will transport listeners back to the Christmases of their youth, when they first heard these holiday tales. From "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", Clement C. Moore's classic depiction of St. Nicholas at work, to O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi", which embodies the very spirit of Christmas, Favorite Stories of Christmas Past has something for everyone.

Also included is Francis Church's moving editorial response to a little girl's Christmastime query, "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus", as well as seven other Christmas classics that can be heard and shared year after year.

The classics that can be found in Favorite Stories of Christmas Past are: "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore; "The Story of Christmas" by Nora A. Smith; "A Country Christmas" by Louisa May Alcott; "An Empty Purse" by Sarah Orne Jewett; "The Bachelor's Christmas" by Robert Grant; "The Fir Tree" by Hans Christian Andersen; "The Birds' Christmas Carol" by Kate Douglas Wiggin; "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" by Francis Church; "The Festival of St. Nicholas" by Mary Mapes Dodge; and "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry.

Tantor Audio's second free download is Gulliver's Travels ($19.95 Amazon), by Jonathan Swift, narrated by David Case.

Book Description
In Gulliver's Travels, the narrator represents himself as a reliable reporter of the fantastic adventures he has just experienced. But how far can we rely on a narrator who has been impersonated by someone else? The work purports to be a travel book, and describes the shipwrecked Gulliver's encounters with the inhabitants of four extraordinary places: Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the country of the Houyhnhnms. A consumately skillful blend of fantasy and realism makes Gulliver's Travels by turns hilarious, frightening, and profound. This is one of literature's most disturbing satires on the human condition.

Free Audiobook - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The audiobook edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated Ralph Cosham, is free from Audible (normally $16.95)

Book Description
In the more than 100 years since Doyle created the immortal Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr. Watson, no other mystery writer has come close to eclipsing him as the standard bearer in crime fiction. A brilliant London-based "consulting detective," Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning, and inference to solve difficult cases. Holmes is at the height of his powers here in this collection of 12 of his most famous cases, including "The Red-Headed League" and "The Adventure of the Speckled Band."

Get the free audiobook from Audible.

Free Short Story (Kindle/nook/iBooks/EPUB) - Master and Man

The Harper Perennial Classic edition of the classic Master and Man, a short story by Leo Tolstoy, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Kobo.

Book Description (Kobo)
Tolstoy (1828-1910) wrote Master and Man in 1894, from an idea which originated two years earlier while he was organising food centres in the famine-stricken areas of central Russia. The story is of two individuals caught in a snowstorm. By showing how they react when faced with danger and lonely death, Tolstoy expressed implicitly what he felt to be essential to man for his understanding of the meaning of life and his acceptance of death. Mrs. Aitken has stressed the Russian text first published in 1895. She includes a brief introductory essay on Tolstoy and Master and Man and provides notes on the text and a full vocabulary.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from iTunes.
Get the free ebook from Kobo.

Free Book (Kindle) - Booksurfers: Treasure Island

Treasure Island (US/UK), the first title in the Booksurfers series by David Gatward, is free in the Kindle store. The next two titles in this children's series, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Tale of Robin Hood, are $4.79, with the latest, A Christmas Carol, currently discounted to $1.99. Yes, the titles are all familiar ones, but these are a new take on these classics, as a group of four children are kidnapped and jumped into the events of the book, where they are forced to steal artifacts to bring back to the present.

Reading Age: 9-12

Book Description
Jake, Becca, Ryan and Harriet are kidnapped by Dr Crookshanks and his accomplice, Professor Kaufman. Against their will, the gang have to jump 'into' the world’s best known adventure stories to steal important artefacts, using an incredible invention called the Nautilus. If they don't get what Crookshanks wants, what will he do to their parents? And what will Becca do without her dad's credit card?

Crookshanks explains that in order to keep their families safe, the children must bring him back the actual treasure map from Treasure Island. Their parents’ lives are in the hands of a complete madman! The Booksurfers have little time to argue. Before they know it, they are thrown into Treasure Island; they’re talking to Jim Hawkins, running away from pirates and risking their lives to get their hands on that map!

Ever wondered what it would be like to not just read a book, but actually experience it? Throughout these books you'll find something rather ingenious: hyperlinks. They're pretty easy to spot; look out for an underlined word or phrase or sentence. And whenever you see one, you can just click on it, and - KA-POW! - you'll be zipped into the actual book the Booksurfers are exploring at the exact point they are discovering it! Have fun tagging along; you never know what story you'll end up in next...

Free Books (noDRM) - Delphi Christmas Collection

The Delphi Christmas Collection, a collection of classics for the holiday season, is free at Delphi Classics. You can download either an EPUB edition or a Mobi edition for those with a Kindle.

I just email books like this one to my @free.kindle.com address, so I don't have to bother tracking down a USB cable. Now that Personal Documents are in the archive, you only have to email it once and can retrieve it from your other Kindles easily.

Book Contents

1. A Christmas Tree By Charles Dickens
2. The Heavenly Christmas Tree By Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3. Mrs. Perkins's Ball By W.M. Thackeray
4. Christmas At Dingley Dell By Charles Dickens
5. A Christmas Song By Louisa May Alcott
6. A Christmas Turkey And How It Came By Louisa May Alcott
7. Christmas Storms And Sunshine By Elizabeth Gaskell
8. A Luckless Santa Claus By F. Scott Fitzgerald
9. Christmas Day At Sea By Joseph Conrad
10. The Gift Of The Magi By O. Henry
11. Christmas Poems By Thomas Hardy
12. The Thieves Who Couldn't Help Sneezing By Thomas Hardy
13. The Devil's Dice Box By Jack London
14. A Letter From Santa Claus By Mark Twain
15. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Bargain Book Roundup

For the nightowls, here are a few coupon codes:

• Harlequin Halloween deal - Save 31% on all ebooks, with coupon code HALLOW3111. Should also works on regularly priced print books. Also, Use Code SAVE5DOLLARS for $5 off $15 (Expires 03/31/12. one coupon per order, so choose the best one for the order).
• Samhain - 30% off your entire order with coupon code SPHW11
• Kobo is late shipping the Vox, so get 25% off any one book on this list using coupon code vox25oct28. (exp Nov 4)
• Books on Board is giving everyone 8% rewards + 26% discount on all non-Agency books. No coupon code and the prices you'll see this week reflect the discount. (exp Nov 4)

For those in the UK, Amazon has set up a Rainy Day Reads page, off the Kindle Bargains page. Looks like several good deals for you guys.
Happy Halloween!

Copia is giving away a specially annotated edition of Dracula, by Bram Stoker. You can side-load it into Adobe ADE (use the Settings and Purchase History menu), but if you want the annotations, you'll need to stick to the Copia app.

Book Description
More than 100 years after it was written, Bram Stoker's Dracula remains as powerful and potent as ever. This classic Gothic horror story has crossed into popular culture, inspiring an entire underworld, as it were, of vampire related movies, stories and costumes. The sweeping, cross-cutting plot, told in a series of diary entries and letters, finds two sets of lovers inadvertently caught up in a blood thirsty scheme by Transylvania's erudite, mysterious Count Dracula.

This Copia Editions volume features over 150 exclusive annotations by Dr. Anne DeLong and Dr. Curtis Herr, co-editors of The Journal of Dracula Studies. These notes, which appear in the margins of the eBook, can only be accessed using the free Copia eReader App

God's Eye ($2.51), by A.J. Scudiere

Book Description
A demon . . .
Every soul he claims is another chance to advance. Until he can walk among us, look like us, make us believe in him. The only thing holding him back is . . .

An angel. . .
The rules of the realm bind him from fighting on the demon’s terms. But this is his chance to steal something away from the demon, to steal the thing the demon wants most . . .

A woman who must choose . . .

A woman who has been chosen. Katharine is suddenly a pawn in a game where the rules and the stakes are beyond her comprehension. She must take a side even though she can’t tell angel from demon.

And in the end, they will all be judged.

It's a bit early for The Gift of Thanks: The Roots and Rituals of Gratitude ($3.46), by Margaret Visser, but it's likely to have gone back up price by it's holiday season.

Book Description
Known as an ‘anthropologist of everyday life,’ Margaret Visser has, in five award-winning books, uncovered and illuminated the intriguing and unexpected meanings of everyday objects and habits. Now she turns her keen eye to another custom so frequently encountered that it often escapes notice: saying ‘Thank you.’ What do we really mean by these two simple words?

This fascinating inquiry into all aspects of gratitude ranges from the unusual determination with which parents teach their children to thank, to the difference between speaking the words and feeling them, to the ways different cultures handle the complex matters of giving, receiving, and returning favors and presents. Visser illuminates the fundamental opposition in our own culture between gift-giving and commodity exchange, and the similarities between gratitude and its opposite, vengefulness. The Gift of Thanks considers cultural history, including the modern battle of social scientists to pin down the notion of thankfulness and account for it, and the newly awakened scientific interest in the biological and evolutionary roots of emotions.

With her engaging combination of curiosity and erudition, Visser once again reveals the extraordinary in the everyday.

Quick-Fix Vegetarian: Healthy Home-Cooked Meals in 30 Minutes or Less ($2.99), by Robin Robertson

Book Description
Featuring 150 delicious recipes, Quick-Fix Vegetarian provides both novice and longtime cooks with practical and robust vegetarian dishes that can be prepared in less time than it takes to have a pizza delivered. Written by best-selling vegetarian chef Robin Robertson, Quick-Fix Vegetarian is the answer for busy families who are looking for healthy food, fast.

Quick-Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson recently was named Best New Cookbook by PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The international organization's Proggy Award (short for progress) recognizes animal-friendly achievement in 21st century culture and commerce. No longer considered a hippie fad, the vegan lifestyle is becoming going mainstream. In her latest book vegetarian expert Robin Robertson creates recipes such as Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Quesadillas, Chipotle-Kissed Black Bean Soup, Mediterranean Orzo Salad, Beat-the-Clock Lasagna, Five-Minute Slow-Cooker Chili, and No-Bake Oatmeal Almond Cookies for this growing consumer base. In addition, Quick-Fix Vegetarian shows how to use many of the new commercial vegetarian products and includes recipe variations and tips for speedy, stress-free entertaining without sacrificing flavor or mainstream appeal.

The Line of Beauty ($2.51), by Alan Hollinghurst, won the 2004 Man Booker Prize for fiction.

Book Description
In the summer of 1983, twenty-year-old Nick Guest moves into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: conservative Member of Parliament Gerald, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their two children, Toby-whom Nick had idolized at Oxford-and Catherine, highly critical of her family's assumptions and ambitions.

As the boom years of the eighties unfold, Nick, an innocent in the world of politics and money, finds his life altered by the rising fortunes of this glamorous family. His two vividly contrasting love affairs, one with a young black clerk and one with a Lebanese millionaire, dramatize the dangers and rewards of his own private pursuit of beauty, a pursuit as compelling to Nick as the desire for power and riches among his friends. Richly textured, emotionally charged, disarmingly comic, this U.K. bestseller is a major work by one of our finest writers.

Murder in the Latin Quarter ($2.70), by Cara Black, is the ninth in her Aimee Leduc series.

Book Description
A Haitian woman arrives at the office of Leduc Detective and announces that she is Aimée’s sister, her father’s illegitimate daughter. Aimée is thrilled. A virtual orphan since her mother’s disappearance and her father’s death, she has always wanted a sister. Her partner, René, is wary of this stranger, but Aimée embraces her and soon finds herself involved in murky Haitian politics leading to murder. The setting is the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank of the Seine, in the old university district of Paris.

If you are a Deborah Smith fan, then you need to run over and grab Silver Fox and Red-Hot Dove and the rest of her backlist books available for $2.99 pre-order from Bantam (Random House).

Silver Fox and Red-Hot Dove
When Elena Petrovic, a member of a visiting Soviet delegation and possessor of a secret healing power, runs away, T.S. Audubon is determined to find her before the American and Soviet agents do.

Jed's Sweet Revenge
When Wyoming cowboy Jed Powers came to claim Sancia Island, he was prepared to evict a squatter -- but instead found himself bewitched by a woman.

Hot Touch
Rugged vet Paul Belue was part Clark Gable, part Cajun Gypsy, and all male, but when Caroline Fitzsimmons arrived to train his pet wolf for a movie, he vowed to drive her from his bayou mansion!

Honey and Smoke
Tackling an intruder in the old moonshiner's cave, ex-Marine Max Templeton is astonished to find the beautiful and wiry Betty Quint, and he vows to win her over, even as she swears she will wait for a more marriage- and family-minded man.

Hold on Tight
Rucker McClure had drowned beer and chased women everywhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line, but he couldn’t resist heading straight for Mount Pleasant, Alabama, when the town’s mayor, ex-Miss Georgia Dinah Sheridan, sent him a baby possum in retaliation for a column that savaged their annual Possum Days celebration! Not a bit subtle where seduction was concerned, Rucker did his best to rough up Dinah’s smooth edges, mesmerizing her with burning caresses and a voice that drawled steamy promises. “Keep your heart open and lips puckered,” he warned her when he left town, but when he returned and began unraveling her mystery, Dinah knew her fate was sealed. If Rucker discovered the scandal that had once cost her everything, she’d lose him–and the life she loved. But if she wouldn’t trust him with her secrets, how could he prove he cherished her?

Sara's Surprise
Dr. Sara Scarborough is tormented by memories when Kyle Surprise, a man from her painful past, shows up at her Kentucky mountain refuge.

Stranger in Camelot
Cautious Agnes Hamilton, owner of a horse breeding farm, tries in vain to resist the advances of the wickedly handsome John Bartholomew, a mystery man who rides into her life and tries to sweep her off her feet.

Caught by Surprise
Brig McKay was a hell-raiser, a rebel without a cause -- and he was Deputy Sheriff Millie Surprise's duty for the next sixty days!

California Royale
Shea Somerton was elegant and glamorous, just like Estate Mendocino, the resort she managed -- but behind her classy facade there was a hint of recklessness in her violet eyes.

Heart of the Dragon
While searching all over Bangkok for her half-sister, Rebecca Brown captures the attention of Kash Santelli, a man who suspects her of being a spy.

Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius ($3.03), by Collin Dickey, is one of two Kindle editions (the other is $7.99). This one is likely in Topaz format.

Book Description
Beginning dramatically with the opening of Haydn s grave two days after his death in October 1820, Cranioklepty takes us on an extraordinary history of a peculiar kind of obsession. The desire to own the skulls of the famous, for study, for sale, for public (and private) display, seems to be instinctual and irresistible in some people. The rise of Phrenology at the beginning of the 19th century only fed that fascination with the belief that genius leaves its mark on the very shape of the head. The after-death stories of Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig Beethoven, Swedenborg, Sir Thomas Browne and many others have never before been told in such detail and vividness. Fully illustrated with some surprising images, this is a fascinating and authoritative history of ideas carried along on the guilty pleasures of an anthology of real-after-life gothic tales.

Inside Joss' Dollhouse: From Alpha to Rossum ($0.89), by Jane Espenson

Book Description
Though Joss Whedon’s television show Dollhouse ended in January 2010 after its second season, its small but devoted cult following is still reeling from not only from its mind-blowing plot twists but also its challenging, dystopic look at the ethics of new technology.

INSIDE JOSS' DOLLHOUSE is a fitting tribute to this complex, engaging show. The anthology’s 18 sometimes funny, always insightful pieces cover Dollhouse from anticipated start to explosive finish. Drawn from an international contest judged by fan favorite Whedon screenwriter Jane Espenson, its essays get right to heart of what Dollhouse viewers loved most about the show.

Espenson also acts as the book’s editor, offering context and extra insight on its topics and the show—a role she played in previous anthologies Finding Serenity and Serenity Found, also on Joss Whedon creations.

From programmer Topher’s amorality to the accuracy of the show’s neurobiology, INSIDE JOSS' DOLLHOUSE brings Dollhouse back to life with a depth sure to satisfy its many still-mourning fans.

HOME: A MEMOIR OF MY EARLY YEARS ($2.51), by Julie Andrews

Book Description
Since her first appearance on screen in Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews has played a series of memorable roles that have endeared her to generations. But she has never told the story of her life before fame. Until now.

In Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, Julie takes her readers on a warm, moving, and often humorous journey from a difficult upbringing in war-torn Britain to the brink of international stardom in America. Her memoir begins in 1935, when Julie was born to an aspiring vaudevillian mother and a teacher father, and takes readers to 1962, when Walt Disney himself saw her on Broadway and cast her as the world's most famous nanny.

Along the way, she weathered the London Blitz of World War II; her parents' painful divorce; her mother's turbulent second marriage to Canadian tenor Ted Andrews, and a childhood spent on radio, in music halls, and giving concert performances all over England. Julie's professional career began at the age of twelve, and in 1948 she became the youngest solo performer ever to participate in a Royal Command Performance before the Queen. When only eighteen, she left home for the United States to make her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend, and thus began her meteoric rise to stardom.

Home is filled with numerous anecdotes, including stories of performing in My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison on Broadway and in the West End, and in Camelot with Richard Burton on Broadway; her first marriage to famed set and costume designer Tony Walton, culminating with the birth of their daughter, Emma; and the call from Hollywood and what lay beyond.

Julie Andrews' career has flourished over seven decades. From her legendary Broadway performances, to her roles in such iconic films as The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hawaii, 10, and The Princess Diaries, to her award-winning television appearances, multiple album releases, concert tours, international humanitarian work, best-selling children's books, and championship of literacy, Julie's influence spans generations. Today, she lives with her husband of thirty-eight years, the acclaimed writer/director Blake Edwards; they have five children and seven grandchildren.

Featuring over fifty personal photos, many never before seen, this is the personal memoir Julie Andrews' audiences have been waiting for.

Forever Liesl: A Memoir of The Sound of Music ($4.99), by Charmian Carr

Book Description
The magic of The Sound of Music lives on in the minds and hearts of everyone it has touched. Now, Charmian Carr, who in 1965 captivated moviegoers as Liesl "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" von Trapp, tells what it was like to be a part of the film that has become a cultural phenomenon. It's all here: from how she got the role (and why she almost didn't) to romances on the set and wild nights in Salzburg; from the near-disaster during the gazebo dance to her relationships--then and now--with her six celluloid siblings. Charmian offers stories from fans and friends and a treasury of photographs. And she reveals why she left acting, what she learned when she met the real von Trapp children; and how The Sound of Music has helped her get through stormy times in her own life.Forever Liesl celebrates the spirit of the movie and what it stands for: family love, romance, inspiration, nostalgia, and the joy and power of music.