Prices keep dropping, it seems, on USB Flash Drives - today Amazon has a
Lexar 32 GB JumpDrive for $26.99. That should be large enough to hold many, many hours of music (I use USB drives in my Roku, one per genre or with playlists, set on shuffle, to listen on my stereo) or probably be large enough to back up most people's book (or possibly even audiobook) collections. The per/GB cost on the 64GB version is nearly as good, but it's a third-party vendor, not Amazon, and with these and SD/SDHC cards, I prefer to stick with a purchase from a vendor that is not likely to deal in counterfeits (which are a big problem with both types of storage devices). This one can be attached to your keyring and you can't lose the cover, two features I prefer, along with being slim enough to fit into your XBOX (which not all USB drives do).
There were lots of rumors and even seeming pre-announcements that you would be able to get a free Kindle (or DX or possibly a tablet or .... something!) with a year's subscription to the
New York Times, but nothing ever actually turned up (although you do now get access to the online website with the Kindle subscription and you can subscribe on any of the Kindle devices, including the Kindle Fire). Today, though, Barnes & Noble has announced you can either get a
free nook Simple Touch or $100 off the older nook Color (which means $99 out the door) with a one-year
subscription to the NYT. It's the same $20/month as on Kindle (technically, it's a penny higher), so this is the equivalent of getting it half price for 10 months out of the 12. I haven't subscribed to any publications on the nook, so I don't know if you are locked into a single device (as you used to be with Kindle, but no longer are), but access to the online site is included. Be sure to sign up on the
bundle page, though, as there is no sign of the deal on the newspaper subscription page. Also, you have to access the nook version from a stock nook device, not from a dual-boot SD card as some use to get full Android Market access. BTW, if you'd much rather have the newer nook Tablet and are into a little less intellectual reading, you can get $50 off with a one-year subscription to People magazine ($9.99/month), with
this bundle deal.
Additional formats on these free books are now available:
Today's backlist/indie free books on Kindle (not likely to be free for long):
You can pre-order a bonus edition of Alex Flinn's teen fantasy,
Cloaked, for 99 cents. If you want to sample first, get that from the
$9.99 edition (but be careful not to one-click that one). You can also pre-order
Beastly: Lindy's Diary, which looks at the same events as her bestselling
Beastly (although I suspect the diary is more novella length than novel). She also has a new series starting, with
Bewitching (The Kendra Chronicles) releasing in February and which is the sneak peek bonus feature in the special edition of
Cloaked.
Book Description
Happily ever after gets turned upside down in Cloaked, a fantasy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Flinn that combines several classic fairy tales and spins them with a modern twist! Bonus content includes a sneak peek at the upcoming Bewitching. Kendra Hilferty, the witch that curses Kyle Kingsbury in Beastly, tells about her immortal existence—how she discovered she was a witch and the various ways she has used her powers to help people (unfortunately her attempts have often backfired!).
Cloaked welcomes readers to sunny South Beach, Florida. Too bad Johnny is stuck in the Coral Reef Grand repairing shoes. At least he can spend some time designing his own. But nothing ever happens at the Coral Reef Grand! That is, until the beautiful Princess Victoriana comes to stay. Johnny gets more than just a little eye candy when Victoriana invites him to her suite—he gets dragged into a quest for frog prince! Set loose in the Florida Keys with a magical cloak and earpiece, Johnny enlists the help of a fox named Todd. But will spells—and giants—deter his search for the frog prince? And will Johnny even want Victoriana’s promised reward?
(from the original edition:)
I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.
It all started with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.
There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.
Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked.
The Identity Man (
$2.28), by Andrew Klavan
Book Description
John Shannon is a petty thief on the run. A three-time loser framed for a murder he didn’t commit, he knows the cops are closing in on him and that he’s facing life in prison—or death by lethal injection. Then, as if out of nowhere, a bizarre text message draws him to a meeting in the dark of night. A foreigner who calls himself the Identity Man offers Shannon an incredible chance to start again: a new face, a new home, a new beginning.
Soon, to his amazement, Shannon finds himself living a life he never dreamed possible. In a ruined city that is trying to rebuild, he finds work as a carpenter and a wood carver. He meets the beautiful Teresa Grey and for the first time falls in love with the sort of woman who could make him a better man.
It seems too good to be true—and it is. Just as Shannon feels within sight of redemption, all hell breaks loose. It turns out this ruined city is crawling with corruption. There are crooked politicians, gangsters, dirty cops everywhere—and, for some reason he doesn’t understand, all of them seem to want Shannon dead.
Katie MacAlister has re-released a group of her backlist romances, three in the Noble series, for 99 cents each on Kindle. The selection (and pricing) isn't quite as good at
B&N or
Smashwords, but you can get some of them there, also.
Suffragette in the City
Cassandra Whitney is a New Woman, from her forward-thinking attitudes toward women and society, right down to her determination to take a lover—just as soon as she can find one who doesn’t dribble soup, or yell at her for her involvement with the suffrage movement.
Unfortunately, the only candidate she’s found worthy is the annoying, but sinfully attractive, Griffin St. John. It’s just too bad he appears to be central in a plot to destroy everything she’s worked for…
Noble Intentions (Noble #1)
Noble Britton suffered greatly at the hands of his first wife, and he refuses to fall into the same trap again. This time he intends to marry a quiet, biddable woman who will not draw attention to herself or cause scandal. Gillian Leigh’s honest manner and spontaneous laughter attract him immediately. It matters little that she is accident-prone; he can provide the structure necessary to guide her.
But unconventional to the tips of her half-American toes, his new bride turns the tables on him, wreaking havoc on his orderly life. Perpetually one step behind his beguiling spouse, Noble suffers a banged-up head, a black eye, and a broken nose before he realizes Gillian has healed his soul and proven that their union is no heedless tumble, but the swoon of true love.
Noble Destiny (Noble #2)
A poor widow, Lady Charlotte Collins returns to England eager to take her place in the ton, only to find herself shunned by all. Her one choice is to marry a groom with wealth, a title, and good looks, but Alasdair McGregor cruelly refuses to be the answer to her problems.
In fact, she is forced by Dare’s obstinacy to take extreme action: the faulty codpiece that leads to this marriage, the wedding that is literally a circus. But nothing can stand between Charlotte and what she wants most: the love of her husband.
The Trouble With Harry (Noble #3)
Just What is the Trouble With Harry?
1. He is Plum’s new husband. Not normally a problem, but when you consider that Harry advertised for a wife, and Plum was set to marry his secretary, there was cause for a bit of confusion.
2. He has a title. Plum has spent the last twenty years hiding from the ton, and now Harry wants her to shine in society? Horrors!
3. He doesn’t know about her shocking secret. How is she going to explain about the dead husband who isn’t a husband…and who now seems to be alive again?
4. He’s fallen in love with her. And yet, the maddening man refuses to confide in her. For Plum knows the real trouble with Harry is that he’s stolen her heart.
Bring Out Your Dead (novella in the Dark Ones series)
Battling a demon lord is all in a day’s work for the Dark One named Sebastian. But now he must take on a horde of unhappy zombies and an obnoxious teen vampire if he wants to win the hand of the one woman who can make him whole.
Ysabelle is a woman with a past, and not a whole lot of future if a certain demon lord has his way. With zombies, demons, and a little thing like death standing in her way, will she find happiness in the man who’s seen more darkness than she can imagine?
Strata (
$0.99) is a novella by Stephen Gaskell and Bradley Beaulieu, both Writers of the Future Award winners.
Book Description
It's the middle of the twenty-second century. Earth's oil and gas reserves have been spent, but humankind's thirst for energy remains unquenched. Vast solar mining platforms circle the upper atmosphere of the sun, drawing power lines up from the stellar interior and tight-beaming the energy back to Earth. For most of the platforms' teeming masses, life is hard, cramped—and hot. Most dream of a return Earthside, but a two-way ticket wasn't part of the benefits package, and a Sun-Earth trip doesn't come cheap.
Kawe Ndechi is luckier than most. He's a gifted rider—a skimmer pilot who races the surface of the sun's convection zone—and he needs only two more wins before he lands a ticket home. The only trouble is, Kawe's spent most of his life on the platforms. He's seen the misery, and he's not sure he's the only one who deserves a chance at returning home.
That makes Smith Pouslon nervous. Smith once raced the tunnels of fire himself, but now he's a handler, and his rider, Kawe, is proving anything but easy to handle. Kawe's slipping deeper and deeper into the Movement, but Smith knows that's a fool's game. His own foray into the Movement cost him his racing career—and nearly his life—and he doesn't want Kawe to throw everything away for a revolt that will never succeed.
One sun. Two men. The fate of a million souls.
Taming Fire (The Dragonprince Trilogy, #1) (
$0.99), by Aaron Pogue, is self-published, with a 4.4 star rating out of over 100 reviews at Amazon.
Book Description
Daven Carrickson grew up as a beggar in the filthy alleys beneath the shadows of the palace. He's the son of a known thief, disgraced and despised. His only real talent is his ability with a sword, and his only real chance at finding honor or a home is a desperate dream of joining the King's Guard.
Then Daven receives a new future when Master Claighan invites him to study magic at the Academy. The wizard offers to make him into a new kind of soldier: a swordsman equally skilled with forged blades and mystic forces. It only helps that Daven has no home, no family, and nothing left to lose.
But when conspiring forces destroy the wizard's plans, Daven finds himself wanted for treason and murder. Hunted by a great black beast of a dragon, caught between the King's Guard and a rebel force led by a rogue wizard, Daven's only hope of surviving is to become more than he's ever dreamed possible.
Mageborn: The Blacksmith's Son (Book 1) (
$0.99), by Michael G. Manning, is also self-published and looks a little rougher around the edges than the one above, but still rates 4 stars with over 150 reviews.
Book Description
Mordecai’s simple life as the son of a blacksmith is transformed by the discovery of his magical birthright. As he journeys to understand the power within him he is drawn into a dangerous plot to destroy the Duke of Lancaster and undermine the Kingdom of Lothion. Love and treachery combine to embroil him in events he was never prepared to face. What he uncovers will change his understanding of the past, and alter the future of those around him.
Amalia's Tale: A Poor Peasant, an Ambitious Attorney, and a Fight for Justice (
$2.09), by David I. Kertzer
Book Description
This quintessential David-and-Goliath saga tells the story of a wholly unexpected triumph of the poor against the rich and of a crusading city attorney who fought on behalf of an impoverished peasant.
Amalia Bagnacavalli, an illiterate young peasant from the mountains near Bologna, is forced by poverty to take in a child from the city’s foundling home to wet-nurse. When Amalia contracts syphilis from the sickly and malformed baby given to her, the city fathers callously dismiss her pleas for treatment and restitution.
Bewildered and frightened, she seeks out Augusto Barbieri, an ambitious attorney looking to make a name for himself. He takes up Amalia’s cause, fighting the case for years through the Italian courts before winning an unprecedented and stunning victory for his by now broken client. The unforgettable story of a landmark struggle for basic human rights, Amalia’s Tale is the moving drama of a rural woman whose life was ruined and the man from the city who would not stop -- or so it seemed -- until he had seen justice done.
The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily (
$1.80), by Nancy Goldstone
Book Description
On March 15, 1348, Joanna I, the queen of Naples, stood trial for her life before the Pope and his court in Avignon. She was 20, and accused of murdering her cousin and husband, Hungarian prince Andrew. That she won her acquittal--arguing her own case in Latin--was remarkable in its own right; that she would go on to rule over one of Europe's most glittering courts for more than 30 years was extraordinary.
For the first time, Nancy Goldstone tells the full story of one of the most courageous and accomplished women in history, who challenged the powers of her time, and whose life highlights the dynastic rivalries and alliances across Europe in the dramatic 14th century. She was the only woman in her time to rule in her own name. Dedicated to the welfare of her subjects and realm, Joanna reduced crime, built hospitals and churches, encouraged the licensing of women physicians, and lured some of the most important writers and artists of the century to her glamorous, elegant court, which rivaled that of Elizabeth I of England in power and scope. Around her also swirled war, plague, and the intrigue and treachery that would ultimately be her downfall. As Nancy Goldstone reveals, in Joanna's legacy are found the seeds of both the Renaissance and the Reformation. For anyone who has enjoyed the works of Alison Weir, Amanda Foreman, and Antonia Fraser,The Lady Queen will be must reading.
Sprig Muslin (
$1.99), by Georgette Heyer
Book Description
A dashing man of honor...
En route to propose to his sensible acquaintance Lady Hester, Sir Gareth Ludlow finds young, pretty Amanda wandering unattended and knows it is his duty to bring her back to her family. This turns out to be a challenge as Amanda seems to possess an imagination as intriguing as it is dangerous.
A shocking refusal...
Lady Hester stuns both him and her family when she refuses him. At her age, no one would expect her to turn down such an eligible suitor. But Lady Hester has met the indomitable Amanda. How can the quiet, intelligent Hester hope to compete with such a lively young lady?
Margaret Duffy has two books in her
Ingrid Langley and Patrick Gillard series on discount in the Kindle store:
Souvenirs of Murder (
$3.51) and
Corpse in Waiting (
$2.34).
Souvenirs of Murder (#13)
The brand-new Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley mystery - Ingrid Langley isnt pleased when her husband and working partner, Patrick Gillard, late of MI5 and now with the Serious Organized Crime Agency, is sent on assignment days after the birth of their new son. A local crime provides a welcome distraction, but before long Ingrid has a bigger problem to deal with Pangborne is murdered, and all clues point to Patrick as the killer....
Corpse in Waiting (#14)
The brand-new Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley mystery - Ingrid Langley and her husband and colleague Patrick Gillard, late of M15 and now working for the Serious and Organized Crime Agency, decide to holiday in Bath. It may be close to home, but they both badly need a break. The holiday proceeds sedately enough, but trouble - their old friend - is never far away. Ingrid tries not to feel jealous when they bump into Patrick's old flame, the beautiful Alexandra Nightingale, and he agrees to help her house-hunt. But when Ingrid joins them on a viewing, she makes a very gruesome discovery indeed....
Edge of Evil (
$1.99) is the first title in the
Alison Reynolds series by J.A. Jance.
Book Description
The end of her high-profile broadcasting career came too soon for TV journalist Alison Reynolds—bounced off the air by executives who wanted a "younger face." With a divorce from her cheating husband of ten years also pending, there is nothing keeping her in L.A. any longer. Cut loose from her moorings, Ali is summoned back home to Sedona, Arizona, by the death of a childhood friend. Once there she seeks solace in the comforting rhythms of her parents' diner, the Sugarloaf Café, and launches an on-line blog as therapy for others who have been similarly cut loose.
But when threatening posts begin appearing, Ali finds out that running a blog is far more up-close and personal than sitting behind a news desk. And far more dangerous. Suddenly something dark and deadly is swirling around her life . . . and a killer may be hunting her next.
With No One As Witness (
$1.99) is the thirteenth in the
Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George.
Book Description
The police never suspected a serial killer was at large until they found the fourth murdered boy -- the first white victim -- his body draped over a tomb in a London graveyard. Suddenly a series of crimes and a potential public relations disaster have Scotland Yard on the defensive, scrambling to apprehend a maniac while avoiding accusations of racism.
Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley, distracted by concerns for his pregnant wife, has been assigned to the investigation, along with his disgraced partner, Barbara Havers, who's fighting for her professional future. Winston Nkata -- deservedly, if hastily, promoted to detective sergeant -- is the black face who will speak to the media. But none of them can imagine the tenacity and ingenuity of the killer they seek . . . and no one is prepared for the savage, shocking instant when everything will change forever.
The Doomsday Key and The Last Oracle with Bonus Excerpts: A Sigma Force Novel (
$4.99), by James Rollins, gets you two full novels at one bargain price (it's even a decent price if you are only missing one of these, as they are $8.99 as standalone titles). These are the fifth and sixth titles in his Sigma Force series, but be sure to read them in the correct order (not the order listed in the title).
Book Description
For a limited time, discover the bestselling Sigma Force thriller series by James Rollins, with a specially priced bundle of The Doomsday Key and Last Oracle.
And don’t miss an extended excerpt from The Devil Colony, Rollins’s latest New York Times bestseller, as well as an exclusive teaser from Blood Line, the next Sigma Force novel on-sale June 2012.
The Last Oracle
In Washington, D.C., a homeless man takes an assassin's bullet and dies in Commander Gray Pierce's arms. A bloody coin clutched in the dead man's hand—an ancient relic that can be traced back to the Greek Oracle of Delphi—is the key to a conspiracy that dates back to the Cold War and threatens the very foundation of humanity. For what if it were possible to bioengineer the next great prophet—a new Buddha, Muhammad, or even Jesus? Would this Second Coming be a boon . . . or would it initiate a chain reaction that would result in the extinction of humankind?
Vital seconds are ticking rapidly away as Pierce races across the globe in search of answers, one step ahead of ruthless killers determined to reclaim the priceless artifact. Suddenly the future of all things is balanced on the brink between heaven and hell—and salvation or destruction rests in the hands of remarkable children.
The Doomsday Key
At Princeton University, a famed geneticist dies inside a biohazard lab. In Rome, a Vatican archaeologist is found dead in St. Peter's Basilica. In Africa, a U.S. senator's son is slain outside a Red Cross camp. The three murders on three continents bear a horrifying connection: all the victims are marked by a Druidic pagan cross burned into their fl esh.
The bizarre murders thrust Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force into a race against time to solve a riddle going back centuries, to a ghastly crime against humanity hidden within a cryptic medieval codex. The fi rst clue is discovered inside a mummifi ed corpse buried in an English peat bog—a gruesome secret that threatens America and the world.
Aided by two women from his past—one his exlover, the other his new partner—Gray must piece together the horrifying truth. But the revelations come at a high cost, and to save the future, Gray will have to sacrifi ce one of the women at his side. That alone might not be enough, as the true path to salvation is revealed in a dark prophecy of doom.
Sigma Force confronts humankind's greatest threat in an adventure that races from the Roman Coliseum to the icy peaks of Norway, from the ruins of medieval abbeys to the lost tombs of Celtic kings. The ultimate nightmare is locked within a talisman buried by a dead saint—an ancient artifact known as the Doomsday Key.
A Faint Cold Fear (
$1.99) is the third title in the
Grant County series by Karin Slaughter.
Book Description
An apparent student suicide has brought medical examiner Sara Linton to the local college campus, along with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver. But a horribly mutilated corpse yields up few answers. And a suspicious rash of subsequent "suicides" suggests that a different kind of terror is stalking the youth of Heartsdale, Georgia -- a nightmare that is coming to prey on Sara Linton's loved ones.
A small town is being transformed into a killing ground. And the key to a sadistic murderer's motive and identity may be held in the unsteady hands of a campus security guard -- a former police detective driven from the force by the hellish memories that will never leave her. Lena Adams survived the unthinkable and has paid a devastating price. Now the survival of future victims may depend upon her ... when she can barely protect herself.
Kate Sherwood has self-published several novellas and short stories in the same series as Dark Horse, an LGBT romance published by DreamSpinner Press. The first one below takes place shortly before the epilog of the sequel, Out of the Darkness (also DreamSpinner Press). These are 99 cents on Kindle, but you can currently get them free from AllRomance (I'm including links for each). Although there aren't any reviews for the Kindle editions of these (yet), she has pretty decent reviews of her traditionally published titles and good ratings on these at ARe, so it might be worth taking a chance if this is your genre of choice.
