Free Book (Kindle/nook/iBooks/EPUB) - Into the Wild

Into the Wild, the first title in the Warriors series for middle-grade readers by Erin Hunter, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Kobo.

Book Description
Fire alone can save our Clan...

For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by the powerful ancestors. But the warrior code is threatened, and the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger. The sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying -- and some deaths are more mysterious than others.

In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary housecat named Rusty . . . Who may yet turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.

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

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

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

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Free Book (Kindle/nook/EPUB/iBooks) - The Incredible Tito

>Update: 12/21/11 Now free from Sony.

The Incredible Tito: Man of the Hour (US/UK), a short biography by Howard Fast, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes and nearly free from Sony ($0.01). This is a reprint edition from Open Road and is no doubt meant to whet your appetite for the 44 (yes! 44!) upcoming releases from his backlist. Most are priced at $9.99, but two very short titles are 99 cents.

Book Description
Fast’s fascinating biography of Joseph Broz, known to the world as Tito, including his rise to power and his remarkable stand against fascism

The world was mired in the Second World War when Howard Fast wrote The Incredible Tito. Upon the book’s publication in 1944, there was still no united Yugoslavia, the Axis controlled most of Europe, and D-Day was only in the planning stages. In the Balkans, Tito was a beacon of hope against the advancing Nazis. He led a force of resistance fighters that bedeviled the occupying German army throughout Slavic regions and empowered people’s committees to act as local government in all liberated areas. For observers on the political left, Tito seemed uniquely poised to unite the East and West against fascism—once and for all.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.

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Get the nearly free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (nook/iBooks/PDF/EPUB) - Napoleon's Pyramids

Update: 12/19/11 Once again, free at B&N, for a "limited time".
Update: 12/17/11 No longer free at B&N.
Update: Also free from BooksonBoard, iTunes, Kobo and Sony. Since this is an Agency title and retailers are not supposed to give a discount, I've reported the lower prices to Amazon, so they can get the price corrected there (if the publisher has it free one place, their contracts say it must be free everywhere, supposedly).

Napoleon's Pyramids ($7.99 Kindle), by William Dietrich, is this weeks Free Friday book at Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
What mystical secrets lie beneath the Great Pyramids?

The world changes for Ethan Gage—one-time assistant to the renowned Ben Franklin—on a night in post-revolutionary Paris, when he wins a mysterious medallion in a card game. Framed soon after for the murder of a prostitute and facing the grim prospect of either prison or death, the young expatriate American barely escapes France with his life—choosing instead to accompany the new emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, on his glorious mission to conquer Egypt. With Lord Nelson's fleet following close behind, Gage sets out on the adventure of a lifetime. And in a land of ancient wonder and mystery, with the help of a beautiful Macedonian slave, he will come to realize that the unusual prize he won at the gaming table may be the key to solving one of history's greatest and most perilous riddles: who built the Great Pyramids . . . and why?

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Get the free ebook from BooksOnBoard (ADE-EPUB or ADE-PDF).
Get the free ebook from iTunes.
Get the free ebook from Kobo.
Get the free ebook from Sony (for Canadians).

Free Book (Kindle/nook/iBooks/EPUB) - Christmas with Family & Friends Cookbook

Update: 12/13/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 12/12/11 As expected, now free in the US Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and iTunes.

Christmas with Family & Friends Cookbook: Favorite recipes, homemade memories and little touches that make the holidays warm & cozy (Main/UK), by Gooseberry Patch, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store and should be free for US customers by morning. This one is a full size cookbook (228 pages), rather than usual mini-cookbooks that this publisher usually offers free.

Book Description
Just imagine the aroma of homemade gingerbread cake, the savory taste of bacon-wrapped chestnuts and the festive fruitiness of Santa Claus cranberry punch. For Christmas dinner, try rosemary-garlic turkey alongside cranberry-pecan stuffing. There’s a whole chapter of favorite cookie recipes and you’ll treasure the chapter of memories too!

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Free Book (iBooks) - Yellow Submarine

The children's book Yellow Submarine, by The Beatles, is free on iTunes. There are only 43 pages (and your iPad needs to be updated the the latest version of iOs) in this iBooks exclusive, but the 317MB book also includes video clips from the movie, interactive animations and music clips.

Book Description
This enchanting illustrated book captures the same magical spirit found in the film. The Beatles’ journey to save Pepperland from the music-hating Blue Meanies is filled with surrealistic humor, wit, and clever references to The Beatles’ song titles and lyrics. In this iTunes exclusive, clips from the movie have been included throughout and can be viewed either embedded in the page or at full-screen. The book also contains interactive animations as well as sound effects and music clips.

Free Book (Kindle/iBooks) - Shimmer (UK)

Shimmer (Main/UK), by Amanda Roberts, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store and from iTunes. This is the first of a planned series of novels very, very loosely based on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing. Despite the publisher being shown as Harper, I don't think this one will be available at all for US readers.

Book Description
A 100% official Strictly Come Dancing novel, featuring the dancers, stars and judges you love!

What if an ordinary girl's Strictly dreams became a glittering reality?

Meet Amanda Roberts: a production runner on the set of Strictly Come Dancing, desperate to fit into the world of the dazzling and the beautiful. And when she discovers all the backstage drama, Amanda wonders if she is tough enough to survive.But then things start to change…

And incredibly she finds more GLITZ, more MAGIC and more ROMANCE than she could possibly have imagined.

Prepare to be dazzled as you tango into the glamour and mayhem of the world behind the glitter ball.

PREPARE TO BE SHIMMERED!

Get the free book from iTunes (UK).

Free Book (Kindle/iBooks) - Open Season

Open Season, the first title in the Joe Gunther Mysteries series by Archer Mayor, is free on Kindle courtesy of backlist publisher Gere Donovan Press. A more recent entry in the series, Chat (#18), is $1.99 from Grand Central Publishing (Hatchette), so you should consider grabbing that one as well.

Open Season
Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont police force has a serious problem: in a community where a decade could pass without a single murder, the body count is suddenly mounting. Innocent citizens are being killed—and others set-up—seemingly orchestrated by a mysterious ski-masked man. Signs suggest that a three year-old murder trial might lie at the heart of things, but it’s a case that many in the department would prefer remained closed. A man of quiet integrity, Lt. Gunther knows that he must pursue the case to its conclusion, wherever it leads.

Open Season is the first of Archer Mayor’s Joe Gunther novels, a series of gripping police procedurals set in New England, where small-town charm, stoicism and civility sometimes conceal brutal truths.

Chat
Intriguing plots, complex characters, and a vivid landscape are the foundation of Archer Mayor's award-winning New England thrillers. Now in this suspenseful new novel two investigations will lead Mayor's popular hero Joe Gunther to the shady realm of Internet chat rooms, where relationships are formed and broken, and nothing is as it seems.

News travels fast in the small state of Vermont. In this tight-knit society, police officers and investigators proudly maintain a kinship that transcends the boundaries of their jurisdictions. When an unidentified body is found in the peaceful town of Brattleboro, local police and the Vermont Bureau of Investigation both appear at the scene.

But before investigator Joe Gunther can begin to gather evidence of murder, a family emergency sends him to his hometown, where the lives of his mother and brother have suddenly been threatened. Gunther reaches out to a network of police officers who know him only by name and reputation as he attempts to discover the source of this imminent danger.

Meanwhile, his investigative team chases an elusive murderer who has no apparent ties to the victim. In a state that is more like a neighborhood community, secrets are difficult to keep, and it's sometimes impossible to know who can be trusted. Gunther soon finds himself opposing criminals more menacing than any he has ever encountered in order to save those he holds closest to his heart.

Get the free ebook from iTunes.

Four Free Short Stories by Joe R. Lansdale (Kindle/iBooks)

Four free short stories by Joe R. Lansdale are free in the Amazon store and from iTunes, courtesy of small publisher Gere Donovan Press. This US publisher specializes in bringing backlist titles back as ebooks, scanning paperbooks into ebook form for authors who don't have electronic editions (including at least two read-throughs to check for OCR errors). It looks like they are also publishing some short stories, as well as full novels, such as Dana Stabenow's backlist (two of which are still free Fire and Ice and Second Star).

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
"Easing her back against a tree trunk, she sat and listened, watching for that strange face, fearing it might abruptly burst through the limbs and brush, grinning its horrible teeth, or worse, that he might come up behind her, reach around the tree trunk with his knife and finish her in a bloody instant."

“Incident On and Off a Mountain Road” is one of Joe Lansdale’s most popular and terrifying short stories. Adapted for television, it appeared as an episode of Showtime’s Masters of Horror series.

Bullets and Fire (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
"Dad told me once, that if people don't care about where they live, the way they act, people they associate with, they get lost in the dark, can't find their way back cause there's no light left. I had taken a pretty good step into the shadows tonight." It's payback time, in this short story by Joe R. Lansdale.

The Steel Valentine (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
“Even before Morley told him, Dennis knew things were about to get ugly. A man did not club you unconscious, bring you to his estate and tie you to a chair in an empty storage shed out back of the place if he merely intended to give you a valentine. Morley had found out about him and Julie.”

A short story in the tradition of Fleming or Dahl, “The Steel Valentine” is a gem, exemplifying the suspense writing of Joe Lansdale.

Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back (Kindle/iTunes)

Book Description
They did it — they launched the damned nukes and the world went pretty much straight to hell. Not many survived, but some of those who did emerged twenty years later, to a world where mutant whales heaved themselves across the blackened, dry seabed of the Pacific, and the roses… oh God, the roses.

“Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man’s Back” is a chilling post-nuclear short story by Joe R. Lansdale.

Free Short Story - The Burned Tower (K/N/E/I)

Update: 4/7/12 Now free from Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Sony.

The Burned Tower, a short story by Sergey Dyachenko and Marina Dyachenko, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
A truck driver on a lonely stretch of road, a hitchiker, and an ancient curse— a brilliant and moving tale, steeped in folklore, by the masters of modern Fantasy. In 1999 "The Burned Tower" was awarded the "Interpresscon" as the best short story of the year on the international SF-convention in St-Petersburg. Now, for the first time, in English.

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Get the free ebook from Kobo.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book - A Pehov Duet (K/N/E/I)

Update: 4/7/12 Now free from Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Sony.

A Pehov Duet, a collection of two short stories by Alexey Pehov, is free to pre-order in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Two original, exciting and engaging short stories from Alexey Pehov that feature master thief Shadow Harold, the protagonist of the Chronicles of Siala epic fantasy series.

In "The Snake", Harold, the most accomplished thief in the world (and reluctant hero of Alexey Pehov's award-winning series, Chronicles of Siala) may have finally met his match in what could prove to be his most dangerous escapade. A stand-alone short story appearing for the very first time.

“Battle of the Margend Horseshoe” is an additional scene from SHADOW BLIZZARD, Pehov’s upcoming conclusion to the Chronicles of Siala. Harold and friends, old and new, prepare for a spirited offensive attack after cleverly cornering the Orc army at the Margend Horsehoe river bend. An exciting taste of the masterful battle scenes that are Pehov’s forte.

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Free Book - Scaly Tale (K/N/I/E)

Update: 1/10/12 Now free from iTunes and Sony.
Update: 12/8/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble.

Ripley's RBI 01: Scaly Tale, by Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, is free to pre-order in the Kindle store.

Book Description
The Florida swamplands are home to hungry gators, wild electrical storms, and a most unusual creature. Sightings of a strange lizard-like animal reach Ripley High and the RBI are sent to investigate. During their search, the RBI agents find themselves in the middle of a high-speed airboat chase, a swarm of rats, a mysterious treasure hunt, and DUL agents in disguise. But then that’s nothing unusual when you’re a member of the RBI!

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Free Book (Kindle/EPUB/nook/iBooks) - Amos Walker: The Complete Story Collection

Update: 11/22/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 11/20/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble and iTunes, so it looks like it wasn't a pricing error.

Amos Walker: The Complete Story Collection: The Complete Story Collection, by Loren D. Estleman, is free on Kindle. Grab it fast, this is likely a pricing error. Even if it isn't, it's a must have for fans of the novels in the series.

Book Description
This anthology collects all thirty two previously published Amos Walker stories, a previously unpublished story written for the collection, and an introduction by Mr. Estleman.

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Free Book (Kindle/EPUB/nook/iBooks) - The Everything Potluck Cookbook

Update: 11/22/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 11/20/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble and iTunes.
Update: 11/19/11 As expected, now free in the US.

The Everything Potluck Cookbook (Main/UK), by Linda Larsen, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store. I expect it to be free for US customer by morning and in other stores as well within a day or two.

Book Description
Potlucks are a great way to get friends and relatives together without the pricey grocery or restaurant bill! In this cookbook, veteran cook Linda Larsen gives you an array of options for every meal and course. In addition, easy-to-understand icons indicate whether a recipe is easy, healthy, quick, or inexpensive. Everything you need to host, or attend, a successful potluck is here, including: 300 tasty and creative recipes; Tips for transporting food safely; Indications of whether a recipe can be made ahead of time; Menu suggestions for a variety of potluck parties. Guests can make the dishes on their own and bring them to the host's home, or they can all gather in the host's kitchen and make them together. With this book, cooking for the perfect potluck party has never been easier!

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Get the free ebook from Sony.

Free Book (Kindle/iBooks/noDRM) - Second Star

Second Star, a backlist title from Dana Stabenow and the start of her Star Svensdotter trilogy, is free in the Kindle store, on iTunes and on the author's website (99 cents from B&N). Best of all, if you like this one, the other two titles are only $4.99 each in the Kindle store.

Book Description
When the Betelgeuse message was detected, it changed a lot of things on Earth. We began to look seriously outward, not with the heady optimism of the early days, but with deliberate calculation. We knew that Someone was out there, and that eventually, they’d be coming. If Earth didn’t occupy the High Frontier, it could be ours to lose.

Esther “Star” Svensdotter’s job is overseeing the completion of the American Alliance’s first O’Neill cylinder — a massive space hab capable of supporting thousands of colonists. It’s just weeks away from commissioning, and she’ll be damned if Luddite terrorists, squabbling bureaucrats, military takeovers or rogue AIs will stand in the way. Frontier justice on Ellfive sometimes involves an airlock — you don’t want to be on the wrong side of justice. Or the wrong side of Star Svensdotter.

Second Star is a tale of first contact, declarations of independence, and new frontiers.

Get the free ebook from the author's website (DRM-free).
Get the free ebook from iTunes.

Free Short Story (Kindle/EPUB/nook/iBooks) - This is Not a Love Story

Update: Now free on Kindle!

This is Not a Love Story ($1.99 Kindle), by Lydia Peelle, is another Agency published ebook that is free everywhere except the Kindle store. Report away!

A single short story from the collection Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing. No description on this particular story, but this is the collection synopsis:

Book Description
With this first book of fiction, a gifted young writer brings together eight superbly crafted stories that peer deeply into the human heart, exploring lives derailed by the loss of a vital connection to the land and to the natural world of which they are a part.

"Mule Killers" evokes the end of an era and of a grandfather's dreams when he decides to replace animal power on his farm with tractors. Two restless young girls in "Sweethearts of the Rodeo" live out their last summer of innocence, riding ponies recklessly and spying on their boss and the wealthy women who visit him. In "Phantom Pain," the Tennessee woods are a sliver of what they once were, men now hunt with GPS and cell phones, and the rumor of a dangerous panther on the loose stirs up a small town.

An unexpected vision of the beauty and mystery of life redeems the darkest moments in this stellar debut collection, a book that readers will want to read and reread.

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Free Book (Kindle/nook/iBooks/EPUB) - Salads for Every Season

Update: 12/8/11 Now free from Sony.
Update: 11/17/11 Now free on Kindle!

Salads for Every Season ($2.99 Kindle), a mini-cookbook by Myra Goodman, is free from Barnes & Noble and iTunes. I've reported the lower price to Amazon, but the more the merrier!

Book Description
Myra Goodman knows salad. Founder with her husband, Drew, of Earthbound Farm—the largest grower of organic produce in North America—she is the author FOOD TO LIVE BY and THE EARTHBOUND COOK, sumptuous cookbooks built on the idea of fresh, seasonal cooking. From those books, she has culled a useful and inspiring ebook short filled with 25 recipes for salads that showcase the best produce of spring, summer, fall and winter.

Colorful, healthy, and packed with delightful textures and flavors, these are what salads should be. For Spring and Summer: Strawberry-Tarragon Salad with Aged Balsamic Vinegar; Chopped Summer Vegetable Salad; Farro Salad with Edamame and Arugula; Summer Salad with Butter Lettuce, Raspberries, and Hazelnuts. Fall and Winter: Jicama and Orange Salad with Orange-Sesame Vinaigrette; Escarole with Walnuts, Dates, and Bacon; Roasted Beet Salad alla Caprese; Autumn Salad with Persimmons and Pomegranate Seeds. Plus a Field Guide to Salad Greens, sidebars exploring ingredients and salad basics, how to grow your own sprouts and infuse your own oils, and a chapter dedicated to versatile dressings and dips.

About this title: Workman Shorts is a line of subject-specific e-books curated from our library of trusted books and authors.

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Free Book (Kindle/EPUB/nook/iBooks) - Tiger Eye

Update: 12/16/2011 Now free from Kobo and Sony, for Canadians only.
Update: 12/13/2011 No longer free for those in the US, this is now free on Kindle and from iTunes for Canadians only.
Update: Now free on Kindle!

Tiger Eye ($7.99 Kindle), the start of the Tiger Eye series by Marjorie M. Liu, is free pretty much everywhere but in the Kindle store. This is an Agency published title, so I recommend reporting the lower prices, in the hopes that Amazon will drop their price.

Book Description
Long ago they roamed the earth -- dragons, tigers…shapeshifters -- men who wore the forms of beasts. Their world was magic. Now it is gone.

But some remain…

He looks out of place in Dela Reese's Beijing hotel room -- exotic and poignant, some mythic, tragic hero of an epic tale. With his feline yellow eyes, he's like nothing from her world,. Yet Dela has danced through the echo of his soul, and knows this warrior will obey her every command.

Hari has been used and abused for millennia. But he sees, upon his release from the riddle box, that this new mistress is different. There is a hidden power in Dela's eyes -- and with her, he may regain all that was lost to him. Where once he savaged, now he must protect; where before he knew only hatred, now he must embrace love. Dela is the key.

For Dela, he will risk all.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from iTunes (for Canadians).
Get the free ebook from Kobo (Canadians only)
Get the free ebook from Sony. (for Canadians).

Free Book (Kindle/nook/iBooks) - A Parchment Paper Thanksgiving

A Parchment Paper Thanksgiving, a mini-cookbook by Brette Sember, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and iTunes.

Book Description
Forget those dirty pots and pans this holiday season—getting a great turkey dinner on the table is as easy as pie with parchment paper! In A Parchment Paper Thanksgiving award-winning author and food writer Brette Sember shows you how parchment paper cooking can revolutionize the way you cook a holiday feast. Save time, money, and sanity!

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Free Book (Kindle/nook/iBooks) - Gingerbread Cookbook

Update: 11/19/11 Now free from iTunes.

Gingerbread Cookbook, another mini-cookbook from Gooseberry Patch, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Get a taste of Gooseberry Patch in this collection of over 20 favorite gingerbread recipes! In Gooseberry Patch Gingerbread we've rounded up all kinds of cookie jar favorites, from Grandma's Gingersnaps to wafer-thin Moravian Spice Crisps to the Easiest-Ever Gingerbread Boys.

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Get the free ebook from iTunes.