Google Play 25 Cent Specials

Newberry Medal winner The Giver ($0.25 Kindle, Google), by Lois Lowry, is today's Google Play Book deal for those in the US. If you are in Canada, it's apparently Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back To Health ($9.45 Kindle, ?? Google), by William Davis MD (which Amazon hasn't price matched at all), in the UK it's Rules of the Game ($0.31 Main/£0.20 UK), Neil Strauss (I can't get a link to the Google book on this one) and for those in Australia, it's Cocaine Blues: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ($1.05 Kindle, ?? Google), by Kerry Greenwood.

The Giver
Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world.

When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does Jonas begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Today's 25 cent movie rental from Google is Sunshine Cleaning ($2.99 Amazon; $0.25 Google).

Movie Description
Former high school cheerleading captain Rose (Amy Adams) is a thirty-something single mother who cleans houses for a living. Wanting to send her trouble-making son Oscar to a private school, Rose decides to take her married lover's (Steve Zahn) advice and get into the "lucrative" business of crime scene cleanup with her sister Norah (Emily Blunt).

Take Care [Explicit] ($0.25 Amazon, Google), by Drake, is today's Google Play Music Deal. This one isn't as overtly explicit as the last one; again, if there is a single song you want on it, it's cheaper to just grab the album.

Book Description
On his second proper full-length, 2011’s most popular rapper sings, “I be yelling out, ‘money over everything/ money on my mind’/ then she want to ask when it got so empty.” Drake is the sad sack don, both excited and dizzy from his ascension to the top. He desperately clings to an idea of self, while acknowledging, “you lose some and win some/ as long as the outcome is income.” The lyrics’ interiority is complemented by the music’s understated elegance. Divorced from Drake’s pronouncements that he “never cheated when we were together,” the skeletal drums and ambient synth of “Take a Shot” are spacious and a bit cold. It’s a neat trick, and Take Care is fully realized in its emotional texture and nuance. Sam Chennault, Google Play

Camera ZOOM FX ($0.25 Amazon; Google), by Androidslide, is the Android App of the Day. Since it works with a camera, it isn't Kindle Fire compatible (of course), but if you have an Android tablet or phone, it's well worth getting (and it normally sells for more than its "sale" price of $4.99).

App Description
Camera Zoom FX brings a full set of photography features to your Android device by combining powerful camera functions with stunning post-processing.

Capturing the Moment
Your photo options are endless with Camera Zoom FX, but thanks to its incredibly intuitive and organized interface, your ability to capture the perfect moment quickly won't be hindered by buttons and choices. Shoot now, play later.

Seamless Shooting with Accessible Options
The shooting options are offered along the sidebars of your screen upon launch. Quickly and easily make a change if necessary without searching through endless settings. The left bar offers your zoom scale, focus, flash, and front-facing camera support. The right sidebar offers the shooting mode icon. Tap it to change it. Choose from Normal, Stable Shot, Timer, Burst Mode (capturing multiple shots consecutively), Time Lapse, Collage, and Voice Activation. Take the photo using the shutter button or just tap anywhere on the screen to take advantage of the full-screen shutter.

If you'd like to view your subject through an effect filter, tap the FX icon in the upper right-hand corner. Some effects are disabled in preview mode, but will be enabled once the shot is taken.

Post-processing Options
With more than 90 unique camera effects, and an array of frames, props, grid overlays, and more, your photos will look so good that you'll be tempted to quit your day job.

Bargain Book/Game/Music/Movie Roundup (25 cent Google Deals)

This weekend's coupon code at Fictionwise is 030912 for 45% off. Valid until Sunday (or a few days, thereafter, usually).

Three of the four 25 cent Google deals seem to be exclusives with Google, as I could not find them at Amazon or they were full price: rent Crash ($2.99 Amazon; $0.25 Google), get a strange Android App, Smart Tools, or grab The Rolling Stone's Brussels Affair album for a quarter. I was quite surprised I couldn't find this one at amazon, but I've grabbed the Google version and will just send it to my Amazon Cloud. I also grabbed the free copy of Summer Is The Champion ($0.99 Amazon), by Laura Veirs, on the main Google Music page.

The fourth of the 25 cent Google Play deals is Unfinished Business ($0.25 Kindle, Google), by Nora Roberts

Book Description
What was she doing here? Hyattown had changed very little in the years Vanessa Sexton had been away. In some ways her high school sweetheart, Brady Tucker, hadn't changed much either—he was still lean, athletic, rugged…But the once reckless boy had become a solid, dependable man. He'd stood her up on the most important night of her life; could she ever trust him again?

So Vanessa had finally come home, Brady thought. She could still turn him inside out with one of her sultry looks. He couldn't believe she hadn't forgiven him for that night twelve years ago—but he'd had his reasons for not showing up. He'd let her leave town then—but he wasn't going to let her get away this time…

American Psycho (Picador 40th Anniversary Edition) ($0.32 Kindle Main, £0.20 UK), by Bret Easton Ellis, is the Google Play deal for those in the UK (I can't link to the UK Google site, though).

Book Description
Even before its publication in 1991, American Psycho captured the attention and imagination of readers. Now an acknowledged modern classic and a multimillion-copy bestseller, it continues to be one of the most talked-about books of all time. A film based on the novel, starring Christian Bale, was released in 2000. Patrick Bateman is twenty-six and works on Wall Street; he is handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. Taking us to a head-on collision with America’s greatest dream – and its worst nightmare – American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront. In 2012 Picador celebrates its 40th anniversary. During that time we have published many prize-winning and bestselling authors including Bret Easton Ellis and Cormac McCarthy, Alice Sebold and Helen Fielding, Graham Swift and Alan Hollinghurst. Years later, Picador continue to bring readers the very best contemporary fiction, non-fiction and poetry from across the globe.

Switched (Trylle Trilogy 1) ($0.32 Main, £0.20 UK), by Amanda Hocking, is also on sale for those in the UK.

Book Description
Wendy Everly knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her and accused her of having been switched at birth. Although certain she’s not the monster her mother claimed she is – she does feel that she doesn’t quite fit in . . . The new girl in High School, she’s bored and frustrated by her small town life – and then there’s the secret that she can’t tell anyone. Her mysterious ability – she can influence people’s decisions, without knowing how, or why . . . When the intense and darkly handsome newcomer Finn suddenly turns up at her bedroom window one night – her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past, the answers to her strange powers and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist. Förening, the home of the Trylle. Everything begins to make sense to Wendy. Among the Trylle, she is not just different, but special. But what marks her out as chosen for greatness in this world also places her in grave danger. With everything around her changing, Finn is the only person she can trust. But dark forces are conspiring – not only to separate them, but to see the downfall everything that Wendy cares about. The fate of Förening rests in Wendy’s hands, and the decisions she and Finn make could change all their lives forever . . .

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen ($3.99), by Jacques Pepin. I'd rather have it been one of his cookbooks, but there is a recipe or two at the end of each chapter, according to a review.

Book Description
From the moment of its publication, The Apprentice established itself as an “instant classic” (Anthony Bourdain). With sparkling wit and occasional pathos, the man whom Julia Child has called “the best chef in America” tells the captivating story of his rise from a terrified thirteen-year-old toiling in an Old World French kitchen to an American superstar who ad-libbed and demonstrated culinary wizardry as the cameras rolled — and changed American tastes.

The Apprentice is an engrossing tale of the modern cooking scene and how it came to be, told from an engaging personal perspective. The story begins in prewar France, with young Jacques cutting his teeth in his mother’s small restaurants. Moving to Paris, it offers tantalizing glimpses of Sartre and Genet. In his role as Charles de Gaulle’s personal chef, Jacques witnesses history being made from behind the swinging door of the kitchen.

In America, he rejects an offer to be chef in the Kennedy White House, choosing instead to work at Howard Johnson’s. He then proceeds to make some history of his own, creating a revolution with a band of fellow food lovers: Julia Child, James Beard, and Craig Claiborne. Culinary high jinks and revealing portraits ensue. The Apprentice also includes well-loved recipes, from Maman’s Cheese Soufflé to Chicken Salad r la Danny Kaye.

Fast Food Nation ($3.99), by Eric Schlosser

Book Description
In 2001, Fast Food Nation was published to critical acclaim and became an international bestseller. Eric Schlosser’s exposé revealed how the fast food industry has altered the landscape of America, widened the gap between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and transformed food production throughout the world. The book changed the way millions of people think about what they eat and helped to launch today’s food movement.

In a new afterword for this edition, Schlosser discusses the growing interest in local and organic food, the continued exploitation of poor workers by the food industry, and the need to ensure that every American has access to good, healthy, affordable food. Fast Food Nation is as relevant today as it was a decade ago. The book inspires readers to look beneath the surface of our food system, consider its impact on society and, most of all, think for themselves.

Magic Steps ($3.99 Kindle, Google) is the first title in the Circle Opens YA series by Tamora Pierce.

Book Description
Lady Sandrilene fa Toren knows all about unusual magic--she herself spins and weaves it like thread. But when she witnesses a boy dancing a spell, even she is confounded. To her dismay she gets news of a mysterious murderer stalking a clan of local merchants. The killer employs the strangest magic of all: the ability to reduce essence to nothingness. As the murders mount and the killer grows bolder, Sandry's teaching takes on a grave purpose. It becomes clear to everyone that the killings can only be stopped by the combined magic of two people: the young teacher and her even younger student.

Flawless ($3.99), by Lara Chapman

Book Description
Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She’s got killer blue eyes, gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There’s just one tiny-all right, enormous-flaw: her nose. But even that’s not so bad. Sarah’s got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame.
On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it’s like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do-she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking?

This hip retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with hilariously misguided matchmaking, sweet romance, and a gentle reminder that we should all embrace our flaws.

Sunrise Over Fallujah ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by Walter Dean Myers

Book Description
Operation Iraqi Freedom, that's the code name. But the young men and women in the military's Civil Affairs Battalion have a simpler name for it: WAR.

In this new novel, Walter Dean Myers looks at a contemporary war with the same power and searing insight he brought to the Vietnam war of his classic, FALLEN ANGELS. He creates memorable characters like the book's narrator, Birdy, a young recruit from Harlem who's questioning why he even enlisted; Marla, a blond, tough-talking, wisecracking gunner; Jonesy, a guitar-playing bluesman who just wants to make it back to Georgia and open a club; and a whole unit of other young men and women and drops them incountry in Iraq, where they are supposed to help secure and stabilize Iraq and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. The young civil affairs soldiers soon find their definition of "winning" ever more elusive and their good intentions being replaced by terms like "survival" and "despair."

Caught in the crossfire, Myers' richly rendered characters are just beginning to understand the meaning of war in this powerful, realistic novel of our times.

Lone Star ($0.99) is the first title in the Edna Ferber Mysteries by Edward Ifkovic and another of the Poisoned Pen Press discounts for the month.

Book Description
It’s 1955, and Edna Ferber is basking in the success of her blockbuster novel Giant. Headed to Los Angeles, where director George Stevens and Warner Brothers Studio are in the final days of filming her Texas oil epic, she is looking forward to meeting Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor, and especially the young James Dean.

But there is trouble brewing. Dean, the new box-office sensation and teen heartthrob, has been accused of fathering a child with an unstable (and recently fired) extra named Carisa Krausse. The studio fears the negative publicity will jeopardize the release of the movie. Then the actress is murdered, and James Dean is the prime suspect. He was seen at her apartment moments before Carisa’s death. The police are ready to arrest him.

With actress Mercedes McCambridge as her sympathetic sidekick, Edna investigates, determined to clear Dean’s name. Soon Edna finds herself exploring the troubled lives of Dean’s circle of disparate friends. As she delves into Hollywood’s dark side she discovers a powerful studio obsessed with a cover-up and a solution she doesn’t want to accept—a solution that she, in fact, dreads.

Still Missing ($2.99 Kindle, Google), by Chevy Stevens

Book Description
On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two year old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

The truth doesn’t always set you free.

Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.

The English Major ($7.99/$9.99 Kindle, $3.99 Google), by Jim Harrison, has two editions on Kindle, but neither one is marked down like the Google edition is (B&N has one edition, but at $8.80, it splits the difference in price for the two Kindle editions). I'm reporting the lower price at Google on both editions, in hopes that one of the will drop.

Book Description
"It used to be Cliff and Vivian and now it isn't." With these words, Jim Harrison sends his sixty-something protagonist, divorced and robbed of his farm by a late-blooming real estate shark of an ex-wife, on a road trip across America, armed with a childhood puzzle of the United States and a mission to rename all the states and state birds to overcome the banal names men have given them. Cliff's adventures take him through a whirlwind affair with a former student from his high school-teacher days twenty-some years before, to a "snake farm" in Arizona owned by an old classmate; and to the high-octane existence of his son, a big-time movie producer in San Francisco.

The English Major is the map of a man's journey into—and out of—himself, and it is vintage Harrison—reflective, big-picture American, and replete with wicked wit.

The Ragtime Kid ($0.99) is the first title in the Ragtime Mystery Trilogy by Larry Karp

Book Description
Brun Campbell, a 15-year-old piano-playing fool, hears Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” played one 1898 afternoon in Oklahoma City. It’s destiny calling. Asking for ragtime lessons, he’s told, “No, Ragtime is colored music.” So Brun runs away from the family farm to Sedalia, Missouri, to persuade Joplin to take him on as a pupil. What Brun doesn’t expect is to trip over the body of a young woman. He thoughtlessly picks up a couple of items before he rushes away from the murder scene.

When Edward Fitzgerald, a man who befriended Brun his first night in town, is arrested for the woman’s murder, Brun is certain he’s innocent. But if the boy shows anyone the things he pocketed at the scene—things he now knows belonged to Scott Joplin—he’ll point the finger at the composer...and himself.
Brun decides to get Fitzgerald, Joplin, and himself off the hook by finding the real killer, but for that he eventually needs some help from Dr. Overstreet, the alcoholic town mayor; and John Stark, a man pushing sixty, who’s been employing Brun at his music store.

Sedalia is rife with suspects, some of them opportunists bent on stealing Joplin’s music. And then there are the girls and women—mysteries to Brun—like a teenager seized with religious fever, a couple of mischievous prostitutes, and an attractive, ambitious young woman with a hint of scarlet in her past, who further complicate his pursuit of the killer.

Google Play 25 Cent Specials

It looks like my earlier find of Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto (Amazon/Google) is going to be today's 25 cent album. The movie rental today is American Psycho ($2.99 Amazon; $0.25 Google), starring Christian Bale, Justin Theroux.

We Need to Talk About Kevin ($0.25 Kindle; Google), by Lionel Shriver, is today's 25 cent book special from Google. Amazon has already price matched, but don't expect it to last more than a day. It looks somewhat interesting and at a quarter, I'm grabbing to to look thru later on.

Book Description
That neither nature nor nurture bears exclusive responsibility for a child's character is self-evident. But generalizations about genes are likely to provide cold comfort if it's your own child who just opened fire on his feellow algebra students and whose class photograph—with its unseemly grin—is shown on the evening news coast-to-coast.

If the question of who's to blame for teenage atrocity intrigues news-watching voyeurs, it tortures our narrator, Eva Khatchadourian. Two years before the opening of the novel, her son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and the much-beloved teacher who had tried to befriend him. Because his sixteenth birthday arrived two days after the killings, he received a lenient sentence and is currently in a prison for young offenders in upstate New York.

In relating the story of Kevin's upbringing, Eva addresses her estranged husband, Frank, through a series of startingly direct letters. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son became, she confesses to a deep, long-standing ambivalence about both motherhood in general—and Kevin in particular. How much is her fault?

We Need To Talk About Kevin offers no at explanations for why so many white, well-to-do adolescents—whether in Pearl, Paducah, Springfield, or Littleton—have gone nihilistically off the rails while growing up in the most prosperous country in history. Instead, Lionel Shriver tells a compelling, absorbing, and resonant story with an explosive, haunting ending. She considers motherhood, marriage, family, career—while framing these horrifying tableaus of teenage carnage as metaphors for the larger tragedy of a country where everything works, nobody starves, and anything can be bought but a sense of purpose.

Today's 25 app is Paper Camera (Amazon, Google). This would be a lot more fun if the Kindle Fire had a camera, but it works fine on my phone and tablet (both of which have cameras).

App Description
Paper camera offers a camera filter that transforms your reality into more than just a photo. Using your camera video feed, view the world just the way an artist would recreate it--all in real time. Like what you see? Take a picture; it lasts longer.

What You See Isn't What You Get
Upon launching Paper Camera, immediately see what's in front of you through the video feed, but expect it to look like a cartoon world, artist's sketch, or unique digital creation. Scroll through the many lens filters and experience your reality like you've never seen it before.

Life as Art
Watch the world as you know it transform. Choose from unique camera filters not typical in a camera app such as, Granny's Paper, Pastel Perfect, Comic Boom, Sketch Up, Acquarello, Old Printer, Neon Cola, Con Tours, Bleaching, and Gotham Noir.

Through a Paper Frame
The camera options are displayed along the wrinkled edge of your Paper Camera screen. Use the sketched arrows to move through your many filter options, and watch as each alters your reality in real time. Use the sliding scales to adjust the contrast, brightness, and lines to create the exact look you prefer.

Capture and Share a New World
Take multiple photos in as many filters as you like by tapping the red camera sketch in the lower right-hand corner. Each shot is automatically saved to your device's photo gallery after a brief display on the screen. Choose the small share icon in the upper right-hand corner to share the last photo taken. Enjoy your creative quest through the lens of a paper camera.

Bargain Book/Game/Music/Movie Roundup

Today's Google Play video rental for 25 cents is Vicky Cristina Barcelona starring Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson (it's $3.99 at Amazon). I watched Puncture yesterday on my tablet and it was OK - it's a pain to have to hold it the entire movie (and watching on the phone results in a hot phone and dead battery), but I may try plugging it into the TV to see how that works (the one other time I tried this, the resolution simply wasn't as good as even using the Roku box). Until Google fixes up a channel on either the TV or Roku box, though, I don't know that I'd recommend them for most movie watching, unless you always watch on your laptop, which is what I'll probably try for the next one, it's just a lot more of a pain to hook it up to the TV so more than one person can see it). At least this movie has a 30 day period to start watching it (I think, from reading the page), instead of the ridiculous 24 period the last one had.

Kitchen Confidential ($0.25 Kindle, Google), by Anthony Bourdain, is today's Google Play Deal of the Day, and Amazon is price matching it (just double check the price before clicking, as I had to refresh a couple of times to see the price). I already have this in mobi format, but for a quarter I'm buying it again at Amazon, so it'll be back up in my library.

Book Description
Kitchen Confidential reveals what Bourdain calls "twenty-five years of sex, drugs, bad behavior and haute cuisine."

Last summer, The New Yorker published Chef Bourdain’s shocking, "Don’t Eat Before Reading This." Bourdain spared no one’s appetite when he told all about what happens behind the kitchen door. Bourdain uses the same "take-no-prisoners" attitude in his deliciously funny and shockingly delectable book, sure to delight gourmands and philistines alike. From Bourdain’s first oyster in the Gironde, to his lowly position as dishwasher in a honky tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown (where he witnesses for the first time the real delights of being a chef); from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, to drug dealers in the east village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again, Bourdain’s tales of the kitchen are as passionate as they are unpredictable. Kitchen Confidential will make your mouth water while your belly aches with laughter. You’ll beg the chef for more, please.

Lady Antebellum's Own The Night ($0.25 Amazon; Google) album is today's MP3 Deal of the Day from Google. The Amazon version includes the digital booklet (although you can get it at the same price, without the booklet).

Book Description
After you've conquered the world, what do you do for a follow-up? In the wake of Lady Antebellum's 2010 blockbuster, Need You Now, the trio's third album finds the group untroubled by that question. Lady A sagely stays the course, mixing post-Sugarland radio-ready anthems with dashes of R&B, roots rock and '70s singer-songwriter influences. Those who started calling them "the country Fleetwood Mac" when they first appeared will have little reason to alter that appellation, as Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott continue to blend their voices and songwriting skills seamlessly on slow-burning tear-jerkers ("Dancin' Away with My Heart") and up-tempo jukebox fodder ("Friday Night") alike, with expertly baited hooks to spare. Jim Allen, Google Play

Quell Reflect ($0.25 Amazon; Google), by Fallen Tree Games, is today's App Deal from Google Play, price matched at Amazon. I'm not sure how it works, but it does have almost all 5-star reviews at Amazon (and hey, with all three of these, I've still spent less than a buck today, so why not). It is compatible with most devices at Amazon (my phone, tablet and Kindle Fire), so that's where I'll go this time for this one

Book Description
Play a charming zen puzzler that is sure to test your brain and capture your heart. Quell Reflect has more than 80 levels of ingenious gameplay, a gorgeous art style, and a haunting soundtrack.

The objective is simple: Slide a droplet around a layout of obstacles, traps and pathways, until you have collected all the pearls. Underneath this simple gameplay lies a world of intricacy.

Quell Reflect's appeal lies in its gentle, soothing mood, which makes it a great way to unwind.

While browsing the 49 cent apps page at Google, I also ran into Jamie's 20 Minute Meals ($0.49 Amazon, Google), by Zolmo, which normally sells for $7.99 according to Amazon. This is essentially a 60-recipe cookbook featuring Jamie Oliver, complete with videos to show you how to cook. If you missed this when it was free last summer, then definitely grab it now, if you are able to do so (you have to have Android device registered at Amazon or Google or they won't let you purchase). It's also a shame you can't gift the apps, as this is a perfect one to give college kids or new grads and works on phones, tablets or the Kindle fire. There's some other deals on that 49 cent page you might want to check out, such as Business Calendar (usually $5), TuneIn Radio Pro and a number of games and even a kids book. Most of them are also at Amazon and appear to be price matching (at least, for now).

Book Description
Who can help but be charmed by England's Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef? Jamie is well known as chef, restaurateur, and an advocate for improving unhealthy diets, especially championing healthy school lunches for children.

Watch an introductory video from Jamie and get right to the recipes. Search for a recipe or peruse 10 categories such as Delicious soups, Tasty stir-fries, and Simple risottos. Each recipe includes a summary with a picture of the dish, an ingredient and equipment list, detailed instructions, and relevant videos on tasks like garlic preparation or onion chopping. Double-touch the screen in landscape mode to see pictures of each step.

Add ingredients to your list and then use the general shopping list to view by recipe or by aisle. Use the menu to quickly access any video or learn about what Jamie feels are kitchen essentials -- both ingredients and equipment. Jamie promises that this app will "arm you with the confidence" to have tasty meals in 20 minutes!

Liar, Liar ($0.99), the first title in the Cat DeLuca Mysteries series by K.J. Larsen, is one of Poison Pen Press' sale books this month (still full price at Google, though).

Book Description
Burned by her run-around ex-husband Johnnie Ricco, Caterina DeLuca took the skills she mastered during marriage and opened her own private eye agency. Now she’s a second-story woman, armed with a camera, ready to print 8x10 glossies for use in divorce court.

The men in her big, whacko family, all Chicago cops—one a crook—aren’t sure what to make of Cat’s career choice. But hey, it’s serve and protect!

Then one Rita Polansky retains Cat. Rita’s liar-liar husband is the mysterious, but seriously hot, Chance Savino. Cat is hot on his heels when an exploding building hurls her out of her stilettos and into the hospital. The FBI claims Chance was killed in the fireworks, but concussed Cat remembers a different scenario.

She escapes the hospital to meet with her client. But when Rita doesn’t show, Cat breaks into her home to find Rita with a knife in her chest and two clues at the murder scene: a clutch of candy wrappers and Chance Savino, rummaging through Rita’s drawers.

One surprise after another piles up. As no one else sights Savino, everyone around Cat thinks she’s crazy. Everyone except a determined killer who has put her on his “kill” list.

I've been watching for The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by Anne Byrn, to go on sale and was starting to think that it never would.

Book Description
Thirty million Americans are gluten-intolerant or have a gluten sensitivity, eliminating it from their diets because gluten—a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley—has been implicated in health issues ranging from respiratory problems and abdominal discomfort to anemia, anxiety, and infertility. The food industry has bullishly taken notice. Gluten-free baking products, including cake mixes from Betty Crocker, King Arthur, Whole Foods, and others, have increased sevenfold on grocery shelves in recent years, and the number of other gluten-free products has grown as well—832 were introduced in 2008 alone. And gluten-free options are on the menu of national restaurants like Boston Market, Chili’s, Ruby Tuesday, Outback Steakhouse, and others.

Now comes even sweeter news for people looking to cut gluten from their diets: Anne Byrn shows how to transform gluten-free cake mixes into 76 rich, decadent, easy-to-make, impossible-to-resist desserts. Performing the magic that’s made her a bestselling baking author with over 33 million copies of her books in print, she doctors mixes with additions like almond extract, fresh berries, cocoa powder, grated coconut, cinnamon, lime zest, and more—naturally, all gluten-free ingredients—and voilà: Tres Leches Cake with Whipped Cream and Summer Berries, Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Chocolate Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Ganache, Caramel Melted Ice Cream Cake, Warm Tarte Tatin Apple Cake, plus brownies, bars, muffins, and cookies. Dessert is back on the menu.

I picked up Thunder Dog: The True Story Of A Blind Man, His Guide Dog, And The Triumph Of Trust At Ground Zero ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by Michael Hingson, during one of the earlier sales at Amazon and have finished about a third of it and can recommend it from what I've read so far.

Book Description
Faith. Trust. Triumph.

"I trust Roselle with my life, every day. She trusts me to direct her. And today is no different, except the stakes are higher." - Michael Hingson

First came the boom- the loud, deep, unapologetic bellow that seemed to erupt from the very core of the earth. Eerily, the majestic high-rise slowly leaned to the south. On the seventy-eighth floor of the World Trade Center's north tower, no alarms sounded, and no one had information about what had happened at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001- what should have been a normal workday for thousands of people. All that was known to the people inside was what they could see out the windows: smoke and fire and millions of pieces of burning paper and other debris falling through the air.

Blind since birth, Michael couldn't see a thing, but he could hear the sounds of shattering glass, falling debris, and terrified people flooding around him and his guide dog, Roselle. However, Roselle sat calmly beside him. In that moment, Michael chose to trust Roselle's judgment and not to panic. They are a team.

Thunder Dog allows you entry into the isolated, fume-filled chamber of stairwell B to experience survival through the eyes of a blind man and his beloved guide dog. Live each moment from the second a Boeing 767 hits the north tower, to the harrowing stairwell escape, to dodging death a second time as both towers fold into the earth.

It's the 9/11 story that will forever change your spirit and your perspective. Thunder Dog illumiates Hingson's lifelong determination to achieve parity in a sighted world, and how the rare trust between a man and his guide dog can inspire an unshakable faith in each one of us.

Murder in Mykonos ($0.99), the first novel in the Inspector Kaldis series by Jeffrey Siger, is another Poisoned Pen Press published title.

Book Description
A young woman on holiday on Mykonos, the most famous of Greece’s Aegean Cycladic islands, simply disappears off the face of the earth. And no one notices.

When politically incorrect, hot-shot detective Andreas Kaldis is promoted out of Athens to serve as police chief for Greece’s island paradise of Mykonos, he’s certain his homicide days are over. Murders don’t happen in tourist heaven; at least that’s what he’s thinking as he stares at the remains of a young woman found ritually bound and buried on a pile of human bones inside a remote mountain church.

Teamed with the canny, nearly-retired local homicide chief, Andreas tries to find the killer before the media can destroy the island’s fabled reputation with a barrage of world-wide attention on a mystery that’s haunted Mykonos undetected for decades.

Just when it seems things can’t get any worse, another young woman disappears and political niceties no longer matter. With the investigation now a rescue operation, Andreas finds himself plunging into ancient myths and forgotten island places, racing against a killer intent on claiming a new victim who is herself determined to outstep him.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by Alison Bechdel

Book Description
A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books.

This breakout book by Alison Bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings. Like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, it's a story exhilaratingly suited to graphic memoir form.

Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescense, the denouement is swift, graphic -- and redemptive.

Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, is not the diet book for those who want their hands held!

Book Description
Not your typical boring diet book, this is a tart-tongued, no-holds-barred wakeup call to all women who want to be thin. With such blunt advice as, "Soda is liquid Satan" and "You are a total moron if you think the Atkins Diet will make you thin," it's a rallying cry for all savvy women to start eating healthy and looking radiant. Unlike standard diet books, it actually makes the reader laugh out loud with its truthful, smart-mouthed revelations. Behind all the attitude, however, there's solid guidance. Skinny Bitch espouses a healthful lifestyle that promotes whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and encourages women to get excited about feeling "clean and pure and energized."

Highland Protector ($3.49 Kindle, Google), by Hannah Howell

Book Description
The Murrays are back! From New York Times bestselling author Hannah Howell comes an all-new story of the beloved Scottish family, and two lovers entangled in a plot against the king. . .

Someone would see Ilsabeth Murray Armstrong hang for murder.

When her dagger is found buried in the body of one of the king's men, there is little room for doubt--the perpetrator must pay with her life. But Ilsabeth is no killer, and only one person can help clear her name: Sir Simon Innes, a man so steely and cool that no danger can rattle him. . .and no woman in distress can sway his heart.

Until now. Simon has spent his life searching for truth in a world fraught with deception. But the hauntingly beautiful fugitive seeking his aid affects him so deeply, he wonders if he can trust the flawless judgment he has always relied on. For all signs point to Ilsabeth's guilt, except one--the unparalleled desire he feels at her slightest touch. . .

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale Of True Love And High Adventure ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by William Goldman

Book Description
William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that's thrilling and timeless.

Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions.”

Once upon a time came a story so full of high adventure and true love that it became an instant classic and won the hearts of millions. Now in hardcover in America for the first time since 1973, this special edition of The Princess Bride is a true keepsake for devoted fans as well as those lucky enough to discover it for the first time. What reader can forget or resist such colorful characters as

Westley . . . handsome farm boy who risks death and much, much worse for the woman he loves; Inigo . . . the Spanish swordsman who lives only to avenge his father's death; Fezzik . . . the Turk, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bare hands; Vizzini . . . the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he's foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck . . . the eviler ruler of Guilder, who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and the beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen . . . the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max. . . the King's ex-Miracle Man, who can raise the dead (kind of); The Dread Pirate Roberts . . . supreme looter and plunderer of the high seas; and, of course, Buttercup . . . the princess bride, the most perfect, beautiful woman in the history of the world.

S. Morgenstern's timeless tale--discovered and wonderfully abridged by William Goldman--pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. From the Cliffs of Insanity through the Fire Swamp and down into the Zoo of Death, this incredible journey and brilliant tale is peppered with strange beasties monstrous and gentle, and memorable surprises both terrible and sublime.

The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood ($3.99 Kindle, Google), by William J. Bennett

Book Description
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MAN

Raising up men has never been easy, but today is seems particularly tough. The young and old need heroes to embody the eternal qualities of manhood: honor, duty, valor, and integrity. In The Book of Man, William J. Bennett points the way, offering a positive, encouraging, uplifting, realizable idea of manhood, redolent of history and human nature, and practical for contemporary life.

Using profiles, stories, letters, poems, essays, historical vignettes, and myths to bring his subject to life, The Book of Man defines what a man should be, how he should live, and to what he should aspire in several key areas of life: war, work, leisure, and more. "Whether we take up the sword, the plow, the ball, the gavel, our children, or our Bibles," says Bennett, "we must always do it like the men we are called to be." The Book of Man shows how.

Dry Bones ($0.99), the first title in The Enzo Files by Scottish author Peter May, was originally published under the title Extraordinary People.

Book Description
What has happened to Jacques Gaillard? The brilliant teacher who trained some of France’s best and brightest as future Prime Ministers and Presidents at the École Nationale d’Administration vanished ten years ago, presumably from Paris. Talk about your cold case.

The mystery inspires a bet, one that Enzo Macleod, a biologist teaching in Toulouse instead of pursuing a brilliant career in forensics back home in Scotland, can ill afford to lose. The wager is that Enzo can find out what happened to Jacques Gaillard by applying new science to an old case.

Enzo comes to Paris to meet journalist Roger Raffin, the author of a book on seven celebrated unsolved murders. The assumption is that Gaillard is dead. Armed with Raffin’s notes, Enzo begins his quest. It quickly has him touring landmarks like the Paris catacombs. Then Enzo finds Jacques Gaillard’s head.

The artifacts buried with the skull set him to interpreting the clues they provide and to following in someone’s footsteps after the rest of Gaillard. He must also review some ancient and recent history. As with any quest, it’s as much discovery as detection. Enzo proves to be an ace investigator, scientific and intuitive, and, for all his missteps, one who hits his goals, including a painful journey toward greater self-awareness.

Mew is for Murder ($0.99) is the first in the Theda Krakow Mysteries series by Clea Simon

Book Description
Theda Krakow is in a funk. Her sometime boyfriend’s gone for good. The death of her beloved cat opened a bigger void. And the career leap she’s made from copy editor to freelance writer has left her finances—and her spirit—flat. She desperately needs a headline to get her life back on track.

One day, out for a stroll in her Cambridge neighborhood, Theda spies an adorable stray kitten. This charmer leads Theda to an old woman holed up in a decrepit house full of cats. Is this one of those “crazy cat ladies,” a classic hoarder, or is the old woman a neighborhood do-gooder? More important: is this the story to catapult Theda out of the dumps? But when she returns to interview Lillian Helmhold, Theda finds her fascinating subject dead of an apparent accident. The neighbors are celebrating, the police aren’t interested, and the cats are removed to a shelter. End of story? Not for Theda—one or two things don’t compute. So Theda marshals her investigative journalism skills to turn gumshoe.

Why is the purple-haired punk Violet, a barista at Theda’s favorite coffee house, hanging around Lillian’s home? Then there’s Lillian’s neighbor who’s only too anxious to clean up an eyesore. What’s the story on Lillian’s disturbed son? Theda’s inquiries lead her from a halfway house in the hills of Western Massachusetts back to Boston’s happening rock scene. Enter a music-loving artist, the one who jumpstarts Theda’s pulse. He’s handsome, he’s interested—but is he a bit too mysterious? Theda’s quiet life, her heart, and her bank account are about to be shaken to the core.

Google Play - 25 Cent Intro Specials

Google is merging their Books, Music, Movies and Appstore into a single Google Play website (and renaming the Android Marketplace app). Your old content will transition to the new site, for those who already have apps and books, so nothing should be lost. To promote the new site, Google is running a 25 cent special in each section and it looks like Amazon is matching them (at least, it is right now). These are the current specials I see active:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel ($0.25 Kindle; Google), by Jonathan Safran Foer

Book Description
Jonathan Safran Foer follows his best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated, with an unexpectedly hilarious and affecting story about New York City in the period following September 11.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close recasts recent history through the eyes of Oskar Schell, an unusually intelligent nine-year-old on an urgent quest to find the lock that matches a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center. This unlikely adventure takes Oskar through every city borough and into contact with survivors of all sorts, and it's his irrepressible voice—one that few writers could conceive as imaginatively as Foer does—that transforms the tragedy of circumstance into an exhilarating tribute to love.

Where's My Water? ($0.25 Amazon; Google), by Disney

Book Description
Now test your skills with "Cranky's Story"!

Cranky is the toughest alligator around and he has worked up an appetite from sabotaging Swampy's water supply. He eats anything, especially all the rotting and disgusting junk found in the dumps and sewers. Cranky will not eat vegetables however, and now his food is covered with vegetable-like algae. Use the dirty purple water to clean off Cranky's plate so he can eat!

• Enjoy five of these new puzzles for free

• Purchase the Cranky's Story in-app item to unlock more than 50 super-challenging puzzles, including Cranky's Challenge, and enjoy a completely new way to play--Cranky's Challenge is a game within a game: four unique puzzle packs with 16 special levels for the most-skilled puzzle solvers

• Swampy's stories will continue to be updated for free

Please note: The ability to write to external storage is not enabled in this version. Swampy will get his ducks in a row and enable this permission in the next update. In the mean time please send any questions to Disney's Customer Care service accessible via the Where's My Water Facebook page.

Have you "Tri-Ducked" the game yet and completed all the bonus levels?

Puncture ($3.99 Amazon; $0.25 Google), Starring Chris Evans, Vinessa Shaw, Michael Biehn and Marshall Bell

Book Description
An attorney fighting a corrupt system is battling his own demons as he tries to do right by others in this drama based on a true story. Vicky (Vinessa Shaw) is a nurse at a hospital in Houston whose life takes an unexpected turn when she accidentally jabs herself with a used syringe. The needle had been used on a patient who was HIV-positive, and Vicky contracts AIDS. Jeffrey Danfort (Marshall Bell) is a close friend of Vicky's who designs medical equipment, and he's inspired to invent a syringe with a safety point that would prevent such mistakes. However, as Jeffrey tries to sell his new invention to pharmaceutical manufacturers, he discovers how much they're governed by corruption and insider dealings. Jeffrey decides to take on the dishonest firms with a lawsuit, and he secures the services of Weiss & Danziger, a small law office eager for any kind of business. But while Paul Danziger (Mark Kassen) needs the work to support his wife and children, Mike Weiss (Chris Evans) is more concerned with supporting his cocaine habit, which is spiraling out of control. Even though Mike sees the case as a chance to prove himself, his hunger for drugs is a constant obstacle. Puncture received its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.

Now That's What I Call Music! 41 ($0.25 Amazon; Google), by various (EMD).

Book Description
The 41st volume of Now That's What I Call Music! delivers a variety of pop radio hits and, after nearly 30 years of compilations, continues to showcase the music of the times. The hit-makers are all here, from LMFAO, Gym Class Heroes and Coldplay, to Adele, Katy Perry, Jessie J and Lady Gaga, while T-Pain, Pitbull, and rapper J. Cole add a hip-hop edge. Throughout the 20 songs featured, the formula and momentum never waver. This edition also includes "Now What's Next," four bonus tracks from up-and-comers Sammy Adams, Hunter Hayes, Susan Justice and The Wanted. – Laura Checkoway, Google Music

Get $2 off an MP3 Jazz Album (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers (which you can turn on and off, of course, on some of the later eInk models).

Get $2 off any one of 50 MP3 jazz albums

To take advantage of this offer:

1. First, turn on your Kindle with Special Offers, click Menu, then View Special Offers.
2. Find the offer: Get $2 off any one of 50 MP3 jazz albums. Click on it, then on the link to Email Me This Offer.
3. You will get an email from Amazon with your promotional code, right away.
4. Once you have the promotion code (and have selected your album; see below), click this link, then on the button labeled Enter Your Code, at any time up to the expiration date of April 4, 2012.
5. Enter your code and follow the directions.
6. Choose any of these albums and you'll get $2 off

You'll have a promotion code on your account that will apply to the FIRST album you buy (from the list) after that. Current prices range from $4.45 to about 10, but those can change at any time. You should save the code and not enter it until you are ready to buy an album (I find this helps me remember if I've used a code - when I go to apply it, if it isn't accepted, I know I've used that offer).

To recap: you must claim the offer by March 4 and must do so from your Kindle with Special Offers. You'll get a promotion code via email and you have until April 4, 2012, to enter and redeem the code. Once you enter it, it will work on the next album from the list that you purchase.

Comments

Well, it looks like the offers are definitely slowed down. This one is exactly one month after the last MP3 offer (for a classical crossover album). In between, we've had exactly four offers (other than the ever present and not so local AmazonLocal deals). Then again, that's better than the month before (which had three offers bunched up at the beginning, then nothing for three weeks).

I missed one of the classical albums I was considering on the last offer (it went up in price, nearly double from the beginning of the offer), but that doesn't appear to be an issue with the albums on this offer's list, as they all appear to be full price, currently. However, it looks like two of the choices are already "unavailable" (don't know if it is a geographic restriction or if they sold out at the discount price, so the selection may dwindle over the month the offer is valid (then again, one or two might drop in price at the beginning of next month, as The Greatest Journey - Essential Collection by Celtic Woman has done with the Classical offer, which means it is only $3 with the KSO credit, least for the next two days!

Save $2 on MP3 Albums

This deal is for everyone, whether you have a Kindle or not!

Save $2 on Valentine's Day MP3 Album Gifts
Note that the offer page says "gifts", but since you can gift the album to yourself, that isn't really an issue. In fact, it also says "Valentine's Day MP3 Albums", but it is really for any album with a price of $5 or more:

Happy Valentine's Day! Through midnight February 14, send any MP3 album of $5 or more to your friends and loved ones, and get $2 off with code GIFTLOVE.

That means that you can choose any album from this month's 100 MP3 Albums for $5 and pay only $3! You do have to use the Gift option, though, as that is the only way to get the page that allows you to enter the promo code, GIFTLOVE, before you checkout:

3. Follow the instructions to personalize your MP3 album gift and click the "Proceed to Checkout" button. Ensure the "Select the entire album as a gift" option is selected. (If you do not currently have a credit card and billing address associated with your account, you will need to add them.)

4. On the checkout page, enter code GIFTLOVE in the box labeled "Have any gift cards, gift certificates, or promotional claim codes?" and click the "Apply" button. Your $2 credit will be added. If you receive an error, make sure you've entered the code correctly and that the promotion is still valid and has not expired.

There is a limit of one per customer, but nothing says that you and your Valentine's Day choice of partner can't send each other an album apiece, so long as you have separate accounts.

Amazon has a button that lets you share the deal with everyone via FaceBook or Twitter, but if you appreciate finding the deal here, why don't you share a link to this post instead?

Get $2 Off an MP3 Classical Crossover Album (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers.

Get $2 Off an MP3 Classical Crossover Album

To take advantage of this offer:

1. First, turn on your Kindle with Special Offers, click Menu, then View Special Offers.
2. Find the offer: Get $2 Off an MP3 Classical Crossover Album. Click on it, then on the link to Email Me This Offer.
3. You will get an email from Amazon with your promotional code, right away.
4. Once you have the promotion code (and have selected your album; see below), click this link, then on the button labeled Enter Your Code, at any time up to the expiration date of March 4, 2012.
5. Enter your code and follow the directions.
6. Choose any of these albums and you'll get $2 off

You'll have a promotion code on your account that will apply to the FIRST album you buy (from the list) after that. Current prices range from $3.99 to nearly $18, but those can change at any time (so, if one you want is $5 or less, I'd grab it now; if over $10, I'd wait to see if it drops in price). You should save the code and not enter it until you are ready to buy an album (I find this helps me remember if I've used a code - when I go to apply it, if it isn't accepted, I know I've used that offer).

To recap: you must claim the offer by Feb 4 and must do so from your Kindle with Special Offers. You'll get a promotion code via email and you have until March 4, 2012, to enter and redeem the code. Once you enter it, it will work on the next album from the list that you purchase.

Comments

OK, who else had started to think we weren't ever getting another Special Offer? Other than the annoying AmazonEverywhere ads (at least, on mine they weren't "local", since I had four pages of ads for offers good in one city or another across the country, none of which were even within a day's driving distance). This isn't the best offer I've seen (groceries were my biggest money saver, so far), but I'm glad to see offers starting to show up again. I do see that a $1 romance book offer is on it's way (I would imagine that it will show up by Feb 14 at the latest).

There are 50 albums to choose from, including one I nearly bought yesterday, so this code should come in handy, for me.

Free eBook Shorts - Sounds from The Great Animal Orchestra (K)

Update: 2/22/12 A second version of one of these has shown up in the Kindle store (see below), while two entries now exist for buying the full book (at different prices; no clues as to any differences, though): The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places ($14.99) and The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places ($15.99).

As a promotion for the forthcoming release of The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places ($15.99), by Bernie Krause, Hachette is giving away 4 eBook Shorts, each one containing a section of the larger text, but which are self-contained titles, similar to Kindle Singles (rather than just a defined length sample of the book).

• Sounds from The Great Animal Orchestra: Air
• Sounds from The Great Animal Orchestra: Earth (and now, a new entry for this title
• Sounds from The Great Animal Orchestra: Water
• Sounds from The Great Animal Orchestra: Fire

Despite the titles on these, they are not A/V enhanced editions, so they should work fine on all Kindle devices and apps. I have no idea how large they may be, once released (all pre-orders show as 5K until the publisher uploads the actual files), but they shouldn't be all that large.

The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places
Musician and naturalist Bernie Krause is one of the world's leading experts in natural sound, and he's spent his life discovering and recording nature's rich chorus. Searching far beyond our modern world's honking horns and buzzing machinery, he has sought out the truly wild places that remain, where natural soundscapes exist virtually unchanged from when the earliest humans first inhabited the earth.

Krause shares fascinating insight into how deeply animals rely on their aural habitat to survive and the damaging effects of extraneous noise on the delicate balance between predator and prey. But natural soundscapes aren't vital only to the animal kingdom; Krause explores how the myriad voices and rhythms of the natural world formed a basis from which our own musical expression emerged.

From snapping shrimp, popping viruses, and the songs of humpback whales-whose voices, if unimpeded, could circle the earth in hours-to cracking glaciers, bubbling streams, and the roar of intense storms; from melody-singing birds to the organlike drone of wind blowing over reeds, the sounds Krause has experienced and describes are like no others. And from recording jaguars at night in the Amazon rain forest to encountering mountain gorillas in Africa's Virunga Mountains, Krause offers an intense and intensely personal narrative of the planet's deep and connected natural sounds and rhythm.

The Great Animal Orchestra is the story of one man's pursuit of natural music in its purest form, and an impassioned case for the conservation of one of our most overlooked natural resources-the music of the wild.

About the Author
Dr. Bernie Krause is both a musician and a naturalist. During the 1950s and 60s, he devoted himself to music and replaced Pete Seeger as the guitarist for The Weavers. For over 40 years, Krause has traveled the world recording and archiving the soundsof creatures and environments large and small. He has recorded over 15,000 species. He lives in California.

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.

Get $2 off an Amazon Favorites MP3 Album (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers. This is a very limited time offer and must be claimed today.

Get $2 off one of our Customer Favorite MP3 Albums of 2011

To take advantage of this offer:

1. First, turn on your Kindle with Special Offers, click Menu, then View Special Offers.
2. Find the offer: Get $2 off one of our Customer Favorite MP3 Albums of 2011. Click on it, then on the link to Email Me This Offer.
3. You will get an email from Amazon with your promotional code, right away.
4. Once you have the promotion code (and have selected your album; see below), click this link, then on the button labeled Enter Your Code, at any time up to the expiration date of January 26, 2012.
5. Enter your code and follow the directions.
6. Choose any of these albums and you'll get $2 off

You'll have a promotion code on your account that will apply to the FIRST album you buy (from the list) after that. Note that even if the album is free, you'll pay three dollars, so be careful which one you pick after you enter the code -- make sure you don't grabbing a low cost title by accident, which can happen if you apply the code right away, before you are ready to buy the album. Current prices range from $1.99 to over $14.99. You should save the code and not enter it until you are ready to buy an album.

To recap: you must claim the offer by December 26 (today) and must do so from your Kindle with Special Offers. You'll get a promotion code via email and you have until January 26, 2012, to enter and redeem the code. Once you enter it, it will work on the next album from the list that you purchase.

There are a hundred albums to choose from and right now some of them are marked down to $5 or less (I saw three at $1.99 - $2 off means it is free), so if one of those is on your wish list, I wouldn't wait until the last day to use this one (although some might be marked down next month, there is no guarantee that any will be).

Get an MP3 holiday album for $3.00 (KSO)

This offer is supposed to be for all models of Kindle with Special Offers, but so far it is only showing up on my Kindle Touch. The other offer that is showing on all my KSO's is the Free Audiobook of Beyond Religion that I told you about last week (and which everyone can get, even without a KSO).

Get any one of 100 holiday albums on MP3 for $3.00

To take advantage of this offer:

1. First, turn on your Kindle with Special Offers, click Menu, then View Special Offers.
2. Find the offer: Get any one of 100 holiday albums on MP3 for $3.00. Click on it, then on the link to Email Me This Offer.
3. You will get an email from Amazon with your promotional code, right away.
4. Once you have the promotion code (and have selected your album; see below), click this link, then on the button labeled Enter Your Code, at any time up to the expiration date of December 31.
5. Enter your code and follow the directions.
6. Choose any of these albums and you'll pay only $3.

You'll have a promotion code on your account that will apply to the FIRST album you buy (from the list) after that. Note that even if the album is free, you'll pay three dollars, so be careful which one you pick after you enter the code -- make sure you don't grabbing a low cost title by accident, which can happen if you apply the code right away, before you are ready to buy the album. Current prices range from $3.99 to $5.00. You should save the code and not enter it until you are ready to buy an album.

To recap: you must claim the offer by December 14 and must do so from your Kindle with Special Offers. You'll get a promotion code via email and you have until December 31 to enter and redeem the code. Once you enter it, it will work on the next album from the list that you purchase.

Unlike the Get an MP3 Classical Sampler for $2 offer that was only up for one day, you get a few days to sign up for this one. I'm hoping it will show up on more than just my Kindle Touch, so that others in the family can take advantage of the offer (they each have an account with their own KSO on it, since Amazon started limiting the offers to one per account). There is also a much larger selection available on this offer, with all but one of them currently at $5 and one at $3.99 (so I might pick up more than one without this offer code).