Book Reviews and Bargain reads for the Amazon Kindle, nook, Kobo, Sony and other ereaders, Kindle Fire, nookColor, Kobo Vox, and other tablets, along with some games, music, technology and computers tossed in now and then.
For Easter, get a free Audible download of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter, narrated by Pauline Brailsford. It's short, but should be a nice listen with kids.Book Description
Mother rabbit cautions her children against entering a vegetable garden grown by Mr. McGregor. Her three daughters obey, but Peter, the naughty rabbit, helps himself to the crops from Mr. MacGregor's garden, to the dismay of all.
The Last Chinese Chef ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Nicole Mones [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]. The companion audiobook, which I already have, is only $3.99 via Audible. Be careful if you are searching for this one and not using the links, as there are two editions and only this one is on sale (too bad it is the Topaz format one).Book Description
This alluring novel of friendship, love, and cuisine brings the best-selling author of Lost in Translation and A Cup of Light to one of the great Chinese subjects: food. As in her previous novels, Mones’s captivating story also brings into focus a changing China -- this time the hidden world of high culinary culture.
When Maggie McElroy, a widowed American food writer, learns of a Chinese paternity claim against her late husband’s estate, she has to go immediately to Beijing. She asks her magazine for time off, but her editor counters with an assignment: to profile the rising culinary star Sam Liang.
In China Maggie unties the knots of her husband’s past, finding out more than she expected about him and about herself. With Sam as her guide, she is also drawn deep into a world of food rooted in centuries of history and philosophy. To her surprise she begins to be transformed by the cuisine, by Sam’s family -- a querulous but loving pack of cooks and diners -- and most of all by Sam himself. The Last Chinese Chef is the exhilarating story of a woman regaining her soul in the most unexpected of places.
The House at Sea's End ($2.99 Kindle, B&N) and A Room Full of Bones ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the third and fourth novels in the Ruth Galloway Mystery series by Elly Griffiths [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]Just back from maternity leave, forensic archeologist Ruth is finding it hard to juggle motherhood and work when she is called in to investigate human bones that have surfaced on a remote Norfolk beach. The presence of DCI Harry Nelson, the married father of her daughter, does not help. The bones, six men with their arms bound, turn out date back to World War II, a desperate time on this stretch of coastland.A Room Full of Bones (companion audiobook $4.99)
Home Guard veteran Archie Whitcliffe reveals the existence of a secret the old soldiers have vowed to protect with their lives. But then Archie is killed and a German journalist arrives, asking questions about Operation Lucifer, a plan to stop a German invasion, and a possible British war crime. What was Operation Lucifer? And who is prepared to kill to keep its secret?
Forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway investigates her most complicated case to date: two people affiliated with a museum housing aboriginal skulls succumb to a mysterious fever that later threatens the life of DCI Harry Nelson.
When Ruth Galloway arrives to supervise the opening of a coffin containing the bones of a medieval bishop, she finds the museum's curator lying dead on the floor. Soon the museum's wealthy owner lies dead in his stables, too.
These two deaths could be from natural causes, but when he is called in to investigate, Nelson isn't convinced, and it is only a matter of time before he and Ruth cross paths once more. When threatening letters come to light, events take an even more sinister turn. But as Ruth's friends become involved, where will her loyalties lie? As her convictions are tested, Ruth and Nelson must discover how Aboriginal skulls, drug smuggling, and the mystery of “The Dreaming” hold the answer to these deaths, as well as the keys to their own survival.
Beast Master's Planet ($9.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), an omnibus volume containing Andre Norton's Omnibus of Beast Master and Lord of Thunder, both in the Beastmaster series. Unlike the titles I highlighted on sale yesterday, this one is published by Macmillan and $5/title is a pretty good price for the set (individual titles are running around $8 apiece).Book Description
In 1959 Andre Norton published The Beast Master, a fast-paced science fiction adventure that introduced to readers a new kind of hero, Hosteen Storm. Storm, a Navajo from the American southwest, served in the Planetary Confederacy forces as a Beast Master teamed with an African eagle, a meercat, and a dune cat.
Telepathically linked to his team animals, Storm served valiantly in the war that eventually defeated the alien Xiks, though victory could not prevent the aliens from destroying Earth. With his homeworld gone, Storm emigrated to the colonized frontier planet Arzor, where he would have to help fight a holdout Xik force that has brought the war to his adopted home.
In Lord of Thunder, Storm's beast master skills and animal partners are needed to unravel the mystery behind a huge gathering of the indigenous Norbies. Only Storm and his half-brother Logan Quade can penetrate the Norbies' clan secrets and discover what is behind the threat of an uprising that could destroy the tenuous peace between the colonists and the aliens who share their planet.
These two novels are science fiction adventure at its best. Here is exciting space opera full of colorful, absorbing SF action on an alien world, as only Andre Norton can write it.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
Beauty Dies ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), a Claire Conrad/Maggie Hill novel by Melodie Johnson Howe [MysteriousPress.com (Open Road)]Book Description
A former supermodel takes a fatal tumble, and only the unlikely duo Claire and Maggie can say who pushed her....
Women like Cybella are not destined to survive their fifties. Her looks long gone, the ex-supermodel takes a leap down a stairwell—an apparent suicide that lands her on the front page one last time. Maggie Hill and her employer, the eccentrically brilliant detective Claire Conrad, are about to leave New York when a streetwalker named Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Murphy barges into their hotel room, clutching a tape that she claims proves the model was murdered—a tawdry bit of pornography starring Jackie and Cybella’s daughter. Conrad is unimpressed, but Jackie gets her attention on her way out of the hotel, when an unseen killer stabs her to death in the street.
Discovering the truth behind the two murders will take Maggie and Claire on a trip to the ugliest corners of New York City, and show them that there is no back alley as dangerous as a high-fashion catwalk.
Shoveling Smoke: A Clay Parker Crime Novel ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Austin David [Chronicle Books]Book Description
Reveling in outrageous shenanigans and hilariously off-kilter characters, Shoveling Smoke does for East Texas what Carl Hiaasen's novels do for South Florida. Burned-out corporate lawyer Clay Parker chucks it all and moves from Houston to a tiny firm in a dusty small town, searching for his lost integrity and a simpler life. Instead, he lands in the middle of a bungled fraud case defending the disreputable and downright nasty Bevo Rasmussen, accused of torching the stables housing his overinsured thoroughbreds. Immediately confronted with corrupt officials, crazed survivalists, an incompetent hit man, an emu, and a naked county clerk, along with an assortment of vengeful wives and great barbecue, Clay discovers that nothing is what it seems to be. By the end, our hero gets way more than he bargained for, justice (Texas-style) gets served, and the reader gets a laugh-out-loud first novel.
Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by David Sheff [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt], one of Amazons Best of the Month, February 2008 picks, with the companion audiobook $3.99.Book Description
What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3 A.M. phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the rehabs. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic.
Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help.
The Patron Saint of Liars ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Ann Patchett [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]Book Description
Since her first publication in 1992, celebrated novelist Ann Patchett has crafted a number of elegant novels, garnering accolades and awards along the way. Now comes a beautiful reissue of the best-selling debut novel that launched her remarkable career.
St. Elizabeth's, a home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky, usually harbors its residents for only a little while. Not so Rose Clinton, a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes to the home pregnant but not unwed, and stays. She plans to give up her child, thinking she cannot be the mother it needs. But when Cecilia is born, Rose makes a place for herself and her daughter amid St. Elizabeth's extended family of nuns and an ever-changing collection of pregnant teenage girls. Rose's past won't be kept away, though, even by St. Elizabeth's; she cannot remain untouched by what she has left behind, even as she cannot change who she has become in the leaving.
The Best Contemporary Women's Fiction: Six Novels ($13.20 Kindle, B&N, $14.89 Kobo - coupon eligible) combines the first novel listed above with five others, dropping the price to essentially $2.10 each. Authors included are Nicole Mones, Ann Patchett, Maggie O'Farrell, Jenna Blum, Elizabeth Benedict and Molly Gloss [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]. You don't get access to the reduced price companion audiobooks with this volume, but some of the included titles are selling for ~$10 each, so it's a great deal for those that skip those, anyway.Book Description
Best Contemporary Women’s Fiction: Six Novels includes works by some of the finest novelists of today.
Almost by Elizabeth Benedict chronicles the attempt of writer Sophy Chase to come to terms with the death of her almost ex-husband -- who may have committed suicide on the New England resort island where she left him just months before.
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum follows Trudy, a professor of German history, as she investigates her mother's past and the truth surrounding her life in Germany during WWII. Combining a passionate, doomed love story, a vivid evocation of life during the war, and a poignant mother/daughter drama, Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.
The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss is a heartwarming, greatly satisfying story of a young woman with the rare talent of “gentling” wild horses and the unexpected and profound connections between people and animals.
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones takes readers inside the hidden world of elite cuisine in modern China through the story of an American food writer in Beijing. When recently widowed Maggie McElroy is called to China to settle a claim against her late husband’s estate, she is blindsided by the discovery that he may have led a double life.
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell is a gothic, intricate tale of family secrets, lost lives, and the freedom brought by truth that will haunt you long past its final page.
The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett tells the story of a secretive magician's death that sets in motion his partner's journey of self-discovery.
Another deal as part of the anniversary celebration (and anticipation of the next volume in the series), has the Audible edition of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code available for $0.99. You'll need to have picked up the free Kindle edition first (if you haven't, there are links on the Audible page) to get the price, which also then lets you use WhisperSync between the two editions. For those wanting EPUB, there are more formats free now, all linked in my original post.Book Description
An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.
An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.
While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.
Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci—and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.
A special audiobook edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray ($24.95 list), by Oscar Wilde, narrated by Steven Crossley, is free over at Audible. For those that like to read along while listening, there are many editions in the Kindle store, ranging in price from free to a nice edition from Bantam Classics (Random House) for $6.99.Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Audible. Note that the edition found when searching isn't free, so use this link; this edition is also not Whispersync enabled; for that, you can buy the pay-edition for $2.99 after picking up on of the Kindle editions above (this edition is in my library, so I suspect it was, at one time, a free edition).
Oscar Wilde’s classic story of a young man who sells his soul in exchange for eternal beauty and youth continues to thrill generations of readers. Written by a man who was every bit as flamboyant and unconventional as its hero, The Picture of Dorian Gray is as haunting today as when it first shocked the British public in 1891. Dorian Gray, young, intelligent, sophisticated, gazes on his freshly painted portrait. Wishfully, he murmurs, “If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! … I would give my soul for that!” From that moment, as Dorian spends his days enjoying the splendors of the world and his nights exploring its depravity and sin, his face remains untouched by life. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde creates a metaphor that transcends a specific era to become a timeless reflection on the nature of art, morality, and beauty—and a splendid horror story. Narrator Steven Crossley’s performance highlights the interplay of innocence and corruption that weaves a dark, seductive spell on all who encounter this enigmatic work.
Get a free audiobook download of Robinson Crusoe ($20.97 Audible), by Daniel Defoe, narrated by John Lee, from Downpour (Blackstone Audio's retail site). There are a couple of low-cost editions, for that that like to read along, including a $1.99 edition from Bantam Classics.Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Downpour. Use Promo code crusoeemail during checkout (and make sure you see a $0.00 total before continuing).
Shipwrecked and cast ashore onto an uninhabited island, Robinson Crusoe ingeniously carves out a solitary, primitive existence for 24 years. Eventually, he meets a young native whom he saves from death at the hands of cannibals. He calls him Man Friday and makes him his companion and servant.
Crusoe and Friday share in a variety of adventures, including a fierce battle with cannibals that culminates in the heroes recapturing a mutinous ship and returning to England.
Based partly on the real-life experiences of Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, Defoe's novel of human endurance in an exotic, faraway land exerts a timeless appeal and has taken its rightful place among the great works of Western civilization.
Audible has a special Valentine's Day gift for all account holders, whether you have a subscription membership or not: Six Free Audiobooks. The email I received said you could get one for yourself and give one away, the page is confusing vague and it looks like you have to choose to get one or give one, but, it turns out you can add all of them to your cart and once (and give as many away as you like, I suspect) and checkout without using any credits or cash.
The download edition of The Souls of Black Folk (free - $11.99 Kindle; $20.99 Audible), by W. E. B. Du Bois, narrated by Richard Allen, is free direct from Tantor Media.Book DescriptionGet the free ebook from Tantor Media, along with a bonus PDF ebook when you download the complete ZIP file from your library. The download is available in MP3 (Kindle compatible) format and both it and the book are DRM-free.
W. E. B. Du Bois was the foremost black intellectual of his time. The Souls of Black Folk, his most influential work, is a collection of 14 beautifully written essays, by turns lyrical, historical, and autobiographical. Here, Du Bois records the cruelties of racism, celebrates the strength and pride of black America, and explores the paradoxical "double-consciousness" of African American life.
When it was first published in 1903, The Souls of Black Folk quickly established itself as a work that wholly redefined the history of the black experience in America, introducing the now-famous "problem of the color line." In the decades since its publication, its stature has only grown, and today it ranks as one of the most influential and resonant works in the history of American thought.
Get a free download of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (free-$7.99 Kindle, $15.37 Audible), by Mark Twain, read by Grover Gardner, from Downpour.com, Blackstone Audio's new consumer site. Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Downpour. Add the Download edition to your cart, then enter coupon code sawyeremail (make sure there are no extra spaces, if you cut and paste) and click on Apply. Make sure that the new total has been adjusted to $0.00, then click on Checkout. You'll be prompted to log into your account (or create a new one) and then taken to the final screen; click on Place Order and then on Continue to My Library in order to download the audiobook. The download is available in either MP3 (Kindle compatible) or M4B (iTunes) formats and is DRM-free.
This humorous and nostalgic novel takes the listener back to the carefree days of boyhood in Hannibal, Missouri, where Mark Twain grew up.
Just what did boys do in a small Midwestern town during the mid-1800s, a time when there were no televisions, no arcades, and no videos? They whitewashed fences, floated down rivers, traded marbles, formed secret societies, smoked pipes, and, on occasion, managed to attend their own funerals. Yes, they may have been a bit mischievous, but as Aunt Polly said of Tom when she believed him to be dead, "He was the best-hearted boy that ever was." Aunt Polly's sentiments reveal one of the cardinal tenets of Twain's philosophy: In this deceitful and infirm world, innocence can be found only in the heart of a boy.
Get a free download of Beowulf ($9.95 Audible/Amazon), produced and directed by Yuri Rasovsky, read by Robertson Dean, from Downpour.com, Blackstone Audio's new consumer site. Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Downpour. Add the Download edition to your cart, then enter coupon code LOLBEOWULF (make sure there are no extra spaces, if you cut and paste) and click on Apply. Make sure that the new total has been adjusted to $0.00, then click on Checkout. You'll be prompted to log into your account (or create a new one) and then taken to the final screen; click on Place Order and then on Continue to My Library in order to download the audiobook. The download is available in either MP3 (Kindle compatible) or M4B (iTunes) formats and is DRM-free.
The earliest extant heroic epic in any European vernacular, Beowulf is considered the most important poem in Old English. The title character is a warrior of superhuman strength who accomplishes glorious deeds to honor his king. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, generous to his own men while fulfilling all the forms of courtesy at court. The narrative itself falls into two parts: Beowulf first rescues the royal house of Denmark from two marauding monsters; then, after having ruled his people peacefully for fifty years, he is called upon to combat a dragon that is terrorizing the countryside.
Combining mythical elements with actual historical figures and events, the narrative ranges from fierce action sequences to detailed portrayals of court life and earnest considerations of social and moral dilemmas, all in a tone of sustained grandeur.
First transcribed circa AD 1000. Translated into English prose by Robert K. Gordon in 1922.
Get the audiobook edition of The 7th Month: A Detective D. D. Warren Story ($1.99 Kindle), by Lisa Gardner, free from Audible. The next novel in the series, Catch Me, has a companion audiobook for only $4.49, but right now subscribers can pick it up for $6.95 without first purchasing the Kindle edition, as the Audible Wishes Granted Sale has been extended yet another day (ends tonight at midnight).Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Audible, narrated by Kirsten Potter.
In Lisa Gardner’s first-ever short story following thirteen bestselling novels, The 7th Month takes readers between the books and into a day in the life of Boston Detective D. D. Warren.
In her seventh month of pregnancy, D.D. should be taking it easy. Instead, she accepts a small consulting role on the set of a serial killer film shooting in Boston. D.D. figures she’ll be useful to someone for at least one night, serving as a police expert and making a little extra money in the bargain.
It seems like a simple task—until the previous film consultant, a former Boston cop, is found beaten to death. Suddenly D.D.’s date with Hollywood gets serious. Extremely pregnant, on the trail of a killer, and surrounded by a hundred and four murder suspects in the middle of a graveyard, D.D. must quickly unravel a tangled web of lies. As another cast member is attacked, D.D. realizes that like it or not, her priorities have changed—and her last desperate hope is that she can catch a killer before she and her unborn baby face mortal danger.
Packed with the suspenseful storytelling that has turned Gardner’s novels into New York Times bestsellers, The 7th Month reveals new insights into a beloved series heroine.
The MP3 download edition of Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln ($17.49 Audible), narrated by Alan Sklar, is free direct from Tantor Media.Book DescriptionGet the free ebook from Tantor Media, along with a bonus PDF ebook when you download the complete ZIP file from your library.
From Lincoln's personal letters to the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and many more, this vital collection of speeches and writings gives listeners a uniquely intimate view of America's sixteenth president.
Abraham Lincoln was undeniably one of the most influential politicians in American history. In this collection of letters, speeches, and other writings by Lincoln, listeners can gain a uniquely intimate perspective on the sixteenth president of the United States. From personal letters to friends and family to Lincoln's speeches as an Illinois state legislator and a United States Representative, from his first inaugural address to the Emancipation Proclamation and the famous Gettysburg Address, Lincoln addresses such important political issues as slavery and states' rights and relates his personal views on marriage and depression. Also included are Lincoln's eulogy for Henry Clay, a letter of condolence for one of the Civil War's first casualties, the second inaugural address, Lincoln's last public address, his last written words, and many more. A vital glimpse into the mind of one of America's greatest statesmen, this is a must-listen for anyone interested in Lincoln's life and legacy.
While it lasts, download a free audiobook from Downpour.com (Blackstone Audio's new consumer site). There are twenty to choose from and you can download either an MP3 (Kindle compatible) or MP4 (iTunes) format after the audiobook is in your library.
A special audiobook edition of A Christmas Carol ($14.95 list; $2.99 WhisperSync), by Charles Dickens, featuring a Signature Performance by Tim Curry, is free over at Audible. For those that like to read along while listening, there are many editions in the Kindle store, ranging in price from free to a nice edition from Bantam Classics (Random House) for $2.99.Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Audible. Note that the edition found when searching isn't free, so use this link; this edition is also not Whispersync enabled; for that, you can buy the pay-edition (which I believe was free last year) for $2.99 after picking up on of the Kindle editions above.
This version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, masterfully narrated by Tim Curry, was available for a limited time last year, and now it's back. This one-of-a-kind performance puts a unique spin on a treasured classic, and served as the inspiration for the exciting new line of Audible Signature Classics, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with Elijah Wood, and Heart of Darkness with Kenneth Branagh. Tim Curry performs this timeless holiday story in a deliciously dark tone, returning it to its Dickensian roots with a vivid imagining of Victorian London and just the right touch of outrageous fun.
A Christmas Carol has constantly been in print since its original publication in 1849, and has been adapted for stage, television, film, and opera. It has often been credited with returning the jovial and festive atmosphere to the holiday season in Britain and North America, following the somber period that emerged during the Industrial Revolution.
The story opens on a bleak and cold Christmas Eve as Ebenezer Scrooge is closing up his office for the day. As the story progresses and Christmas morning approaches, Scrooge encounters the unforgettable characters that make this story a classic: Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and, of course, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.
The audiobook download of The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth ($12.59 Audible), by Thomas Jefferson, narrated by Mel Foster, is free over at Tantor Media thru the end of December.Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Tantor Media. Included in the ZIP download is a PDF edition of the book, as well.
Thomas Jefferson believed that the pure-principled teachings of Jesus should have been separated from the dogma and abuse of organized religion of the day. This led him to recast, by cutting and pasting from the gospels, a new narrative of the life and teachings of Jesus.
In the early nineteenth century, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, conceived the idea of extracting a gospel purified of what he saw as extraneous philosophical, mythological, and theological elements. To do so, he took verses from the four canonical gospels and arranged them into a single narrative, focusing on the actual words of Jesus. This work was never published during Jefferson's lifetime but was inherited by his grandson and printed for the first time in the early twentieth century. The original bound manuscript, popularly referred to as The Jefferson Bible, is held by the United States National Museum in Washington.
The audiobook edition of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a short story by Dr. Seuss, narrated by Walter Matthau, is free from Audible.Book DescriptionGet free audiobook at Audible (use the link; the edition you find by searching isn't free).
The Grinch, whose heart is two sizes too small, hates Who-ville's holiday celebrations, and plans to steal all the presents to prevent Christmas from coming. To his amazement, Christmas comes anyway, and the Grinch discovers the true meaning of the holiday.
The audiobook edition of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Alan Cumming, is free for members (those with a subscription) at Audible. I checked the price while not logged in, however, and it looks like everyone with an account can get it free, as well.Book DescriptionGet the free audiobook from Audible.
The season of gift-giving is here, and this year we've got something special for our members: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Yuletide whodunit "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle". In this holiday-themed short story, Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson, follow the trail of a lost hat and a Christmas goose through the streets of London and into a rapidly expanding mystery. And, since a great story calls for a great voice, we’ve brought in Emmy Award nominee Alan Cumming (TV's The Good Wife), a past Audie Award winner for Best Male Narrator and one of our very favorite narrators. We enjoyed it, and we hope you will too. Happy listening and happy holidays!