Games, Games, Games

Photo courtesy of University of Rochester.

It seems that every week sees a new story on how playing games is good for our brains, whether the games involve puzzles, word use, math and now even action games: the ability to perceive changes in shades of gray improves up to 58 percent, something you need when reading a Kindle in low light conditions, viewing it's graphics or when driving in low light conditions. The photo above demonstrates the difference that can make. No longer need you feel guilty about playing video games (unless, of course, your Kindle becomes too lonely or your family forgets what you look like).

This last week, I've been working my way through the levels of Airport Mania: First Flight, which Amazon had for 98 cents earlier this month (it's $9.99 now), which has both action and puzzle elements (as well as airplanes that get as angry as passengers at a real terminal if they are kept waiting too long). If you missed this game, it isn't too late to pick up some others at some good prices, as Amazon is having a month-long Buy One, Get One Free Sale on Game Downloads. Each week will be a different category of games - this week it is Puzzle Games. Two of the top three sellers were also free at one time: The Scruffs and Jewel Quest II (Build-a-lot was also free at one time and Big Kahuna Reef is still free - the sequel, Big Kahuna Reef 2, is $9.99 and on this week's sale) .

The way it works is you buy one title (the most expensive of the two you want) and within two (business) days you get a credit to your account and can then come back and buy the second title at no charge (I've had similar credits in the MP3 download store, from other Amazon promotions). You have until May 31 to purchase your second game, which must come from the same list as the first selection. Just like Kindle books, Game Downloads all come with a free sample - except in this case, it's the entire game and it's generally free for 14 days (however, this sale changes each week, so don't take that long to make up your mind). It's a good idea to use the trial, as game downloads are non-refundable, unlike Kindle books. My biggest problem with the sale? There are just too many interesting looking choices.

For the RPG players out there, White Wolf has a special treat for you: a free PDF (and DRM-free) copy of the Exalted Second Edition rulebook (registration is required), as well as a one-time 10% discount on the purchase of any White Wolf PDF titles through DriveThruRPG.com and RPGNow.com from 1 Am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Simply enter the coupon code “wwlovesyou” to receive the discount. Both offers expire by midnight (EST) on Sunday, April 12th. Wizards of the Coast’s recently decided to discontinue on-line PDF sales (existing customers and the sole vendor had very little notice, essentially a single day) and had to complete all downloads of purchased PDF's by April 7th), citing piracy concerns (of a watermarked and personalized PDF; what are they crazy?). But White Wolf wants to demonstrate that other game publishers are remaining the the DRM-free PDF arena. This rulebook is a massive, 65MB, 400+ page, color, illustrated manual. Not something that will work well on the Kindle (for now) and nothing you'd want to print out at home (even an inexpensive color ink printer will use a ton of toner), but a great reference to have on hand in your Netbook or gaming computer.

Free Read: The Winner Stands Alone

The Winner Stands Alone ($16.82 Hardcover; not yet on Kindle) by Paulo Coelho. The author of The Alchemist, returns with another haunting novel — an exploration of our fascination with the worlds of fame, fortune, and celebrity.

A profound meditation on personal power and innocent dreams that are manipulated or undone by success, The Winner Stands Alone is set in the exciting worlds of fashion and cinema. Taking place over the course of twenty-four hours during the Cannes Film Festival, it is the story of Igor, a successful, driven Russian entrepreneur who will go to the darkest lengths to reclaim a lost love—his ex-wife, Ewa. Believing that his life with Ewa was divinely ordained, Igor once told her that he would destroy whole worlds to get her back. The conflict between an individual evil force and society emerges, and as the novel unfolds, morality is derailed. 

Meet the players and poseurs behind the scenes at Cannes—the "Superclass" of producers, actors, designers, and supermodels, as well as the aspiring starlets, has-been stars, and jaded hangers-on. Adroitly interweaving the characters' stories, Paulo Coelho uses his twelfth novel to paint an engrossing picture of a world overrun by glamour and excess, and shows us the possibly dire consequences of our obsession with fame.

For a limited time, 100% of The Winner Stands Alone is available for you to read online, for free!

New Release Tuesday

As hard as it is to find bargains in the Kindle store, it can be just as difficult to find new releases. Most publishers have joined with the videogame and music industry and release new books on Tuesdays. Searching the Kindle store itself, though, shows many pages for today's date, with little ability to filter the results, plus the date shown may mean the ebook publication date, not the actual book release date. Unlike a physical bookstore, there also isn't a big new release table on the front of the store, which Amazon does have in it's videogame stores (to be fair, there are many more books coming out versus video games). So on Tuesdays, I'll try to highlight one or two of the prominent new releases each week, from major publishers. Selection will be pretty much arbitrary and capricious and will be mainly those that I plan to read. I'll note the prices, but keep in mind that ebooks that release at the same time as a popular author's Hardcover edition are often priced at or above $9.99, although they often drop in price for the Kindle later in the day or once they hit the New York Times Bestseller's list.. Even so, the ebook price can be a bargain compared to the Hardcover, even after discounts at many stores, especially after counting your time and fuel to get to the store and are faster than ordering from Amazon. This week there are two by an author whose series I have been following. A year ago, I'd have run down to the bookstore and grabbed the Hardcover; this year I can just download and start reading with my morning coffee.

First off is Turn Coat, by Jim Butcher ($14.27; this will no doubt come down, but the last Jim Butcher release on Kindle stayed above $9.99 for several weeks before dropping; Hardcover $14.27), book eleven in The Dresden Files series (twelfth or thirteenth if you count the novella Backup or the graphic novel Welcome to the Jungle, which precede the series in the timeline).The Warden Morgan has been accused of treason against the Wizards of the White Council—and there’s only one, final punishment for that crime. He’s on the run, wants his name cleared, and needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. Someone like Harry Dresden... Now, Harry must uncover a traitor within the Council, keep a less-than-agreeable Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head—someone like Harry.

Second, Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance ($6.39, paperback $7.99). This is the fourth in the Cassandra Palmer series (Touch the Dark, Claimed By Shadow and Embrace the Night). Cassie Palmer may be the world's chief clairvoyant, but that doesn't mean people have stopped trying to kill her. And now, the self-styled god Apollo, the source of Cassie's power, is on the warpath - leaving her no choice but to face down her creator once and for all.

Kindle Books for a Buck or less

The bargains at a dollar or under continue in the Kindle store, as independent authors lower their prices to the minimum in order to attract readers (ten times the sales at an average of $4 off actually makes them more money and readers get a bargain as well, truly a win-win situation). I've also started seeing these authors note in their descriptions that their books are TTS enabled, so I've included that note in the descriptionls. All books are 99 cents unless otherwise noted, book descriptions, in italics, courtesy of Amazon. As always, remember to sample first, as styles and interests vary, but you should be able to find at least a few gems in today's roundup of nineteen titles.

Mystery / Suspense / Thriller

Sudden Death by Michael Balkind. Reid Clark is a pro golfer at the top of the leader board during the PGA tour; he's also a hot-head with a reputation for trouble. Reid receives a death threat right before teeing off on the final day of the Master's Tournament, and hires a P.I. to track down the perpetrator. Suspense builds throughout as Reid tries to compete in one of golf's most prestigious contests...and woo the woman he loves...while dodging death at every turn. For golfers and mystery lovers in general, Sudden Death will score big.

J.D. The Plot to Steal J.D. Salinger's Manuscripts by Sierra Philpin. He's a professor with a mission: "I, Leonard Wellington Worthy the third, spent twenty-five years designing an assault on a fortress, an expropriation of certain documents, and a perfect escape." Find out what happens when the fortress is J.D. Salinger's bunker, the documents are his unpublished manuscripts, and a messy murder thwarts a perfect plan. Political intrigue? Sure, there's plenty of that, too. J.D. is a funny, sexy romp for the literary set (relax: no authors were harmed in this book). Adult language and situations. Two others from the same author are available under a buck: The Absence of Color and Emily Dickinson Beyond the Myth (A Novel). TTS is ENABLED on all three.

Uncubicled by Josh McMains. Joe Tompkins was having a bad day at the office: boring meetings, pointless assignments, and this feeling that he was being watched. When he could take no more, he did what anyone would do. He knocked out his co-worker with a keyboard and escaped.... Uncubicled follows the drastic series of events that would take one man from his mid-level desk job to an elaborate getaway from the long arm of the law—and perhaps something even more sinister. Along the way, Joe crosses paths with former friends whose destinies have been intertwined from the start. Joe encounters mystery, adventure, and car trouble as he struggles to find out what he was always meant to do and who, exactly, wants him dead. And you thought YOUR job sucked.

The White Lady Murders by Wendy Potocki. In a Malibu beach house, David Lynx struggles with writing with his latest tour de force – a book on magic. It’s a subject he knows nothing about. In a desperate attempt to understand, he decides to perform an ancient ritual not realizing that he will unwittingly open a door for a forty-year-old unsolved murder spree to start all over again. While The White Lady Murders is immersed in the supernatural, fans desiring a solid murder mystery will not be disappointed. At its core, The White Lady Murders offers an action-packed detective story replete with a hard-boiled, hard-nosed police officer named Robert Moran leading the charge. Moran is a veteran police officer who vividly remembers the original murders that occurred during The Summer of Blood. The string of vicious crimes terrorized the city and held its residents captive in the killer's steely grip. No one felt safe and now Moran desperately races to solve the mystery of who or what is behind the new wave of brutal killings to prevent The White Lady Murders from beginning again. The White Lady Murders is the book that will keep you guessing up until the very end!

Fantasy / Science Fiction

Elfhunter (A Tale of Alterra, The World That Is) by C S Marks. Elfhunter is the first of the tales of Alterra, The World That Is. It concerns the quest of an unlikely pair of heroines, Gaelen and Nelwyn, who are Wood-elves of the Greatwood Forest. They are hunter-scouts in the realm of King Ri-Aruin, and they have sworn to protect their woodland home, but they are drawn into a quest to defend all the Elves of Alterra as they seek to destroy the 'Elfhunter', a monstrous entity intent on exterminating the Elves until none remain. Along the way, Gaelen and Nelwyn are joined by other interesting characters as they make their way through the realms of Alterra in pursuit of the Elfhunter, whose true name is 'Gorgon'. What headstrong Gaelen and her gentle cousin do not know is that Gorgon is in league with the Dark Power, and that the forces of Evil have forged an entanglement between Gorgon and Gaelen herself. Now she and all she loves are in jeopardy, and only an inspired plan put forth by Orogond, a mortal man, can save her.

The Rebirth of Rhin by Julian Traas. The Rebirth of Rhin tells the story of a young man’s journey as he sets out into the world of Iora, after his parents die in a horrific fire. Rhin’s goal is vengeance at first, but he soon learns that his destiny is grander and nobler than retribution. He finds himself at the virtual center of a conflict spanning the ages between Gods and Demons. During his travels he encounters many strange creatures, some more friendly than others, as he becomes immersed in a dark secret involving Iora’s creator, the tyrannical God, Jiaïro. Powers push at him from all sides and soon he finds himself on a quest to destroy the God Jiaïro and free the world from violence and oppression. There are great battles and genocides, magic, spiritual weapons, militant Gods, disgraced angels and demons wreathed in green flame -- as Rhin embarks on a personal journey of self-discovery.

Admiral's Ghost: Book One in the Onyalum Series by NB VanYoos ($0.80). From LA drug dealer to planetary hero of an alien world, the Universe must have a sense of humor. Tyler Jensen, an earthling lost in the cosmos, struggles to understand the technologically advanced world whose hero he has inadvertently become. Posing as the Supreme Commander of the planet's fleet, Tyler must quickly learn the murky alliances of the military to succeed against their neighboring enemy. Will Tyler's naiveté doom the warring world, or can he navigate the political trappings of the Admiral's world to conquer another? This is the first book in the Onyalum Series. This one is also available free, in several formats, at the author's web site, where you can leave a tip directly. Eighty cents isn't much to pay, though, to keep a copy in your Kindle Library and to sync with the iPhone app.

Cross-Winds, A Seventh Cross Novel (The Seventh Cross) by Brian L. Stowe. This epic adventure, brimming with realistic-seeming characterizations, details an unprecedented war of magic. The core story involves the ties of family, village, alliances, the drive to power, warring factions, ruthlessness and despair, wizards and witches, mystical powers, and the battle against long odds to rout the darkness that is blotting out the light. Stories of the forces of the Emperor Hammer, who comes to control six kingdoms, entwine with the multi-generational exploits of the Cross-Wind family members and their associates. Cross-Winds puts a human face on the many individuals, from both sides, who are forever changed by the carnage, death, and injuries to their souls and spirits. It instills the classic fantasy themes of adventure, loss and triumph. Just who triumphs in the end remains to be seen.

THE GATEWAY (Harbinger of Doom), by Glenn G. Thater, has been listed before, but the author has fixed the problem with the book's formatting and it looks pretty good now.

Religious / Poetry

Expressions - Poetry by Robert A Meacham. These works are rhythmical creations and are aimed for pleasure for the reader.If such pleasure is attained, then I have written poetry. -- Robert A Meacham.The synopsis of this one is pretty scanty, but it has received some good reviews on Kindle forums and blogs. Note that it is quite short (only 26K), as poetry often is.

The Song of Songs: A Lover's Poetic Dialogue by Andrew Cort. Think the Bible is stuffy? You're in for a huge surprise. Solomon's "Song of Songs", which is found in the Old Testament, is a beautiful, sacred and erotic masterpiece that reverberates on many levels -- from the courtship of the king and his betrothed, to the mystical wedding of Heaven and Earth, to the sweet, sensual pillow talk of all happy lovers. This adaptation, which holds closely to the original, is written as a poetic dialogue and is meant to be read out loud together. Presumably not by the built-in TTS voice, though.

Children's / Young Adult

The Little Prince or Le Petit Prince (Illustrated) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Published by MobileReference, this is an illustrated edition optimized for the small screen (Kindle, PDA, etc), with full color pictures on the iPhone version. The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince), published in 1943, is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery's most famous novella, which he wrote in the United States while renting The Bevin House in Asharoken, New York, on Long Island. The novella includes a number of drawings by Saint-Exupery himself, which are reproduced in most versions.

Baling by Carol Hanrahan. In this heartwarming young adult novel, two teenage brothers, unwillingly sent to the country for a summer to bale hay, discover adventure, danger, and love all wrapped around a lost Civil War treasure mystery. The last place Nick Lawson wants to be is out in the middle of the country with his little brother John, helping his Aunt Jess bale hay all summer long. After discovering a Civil War uniform in the attic with a key hidden in the jacket lining, the boys search for a treasure they believe was hidden years ago by their great-uncle. With the help of the neighboring dairy farmer?s daughter, Lainey, Nick finds adventure at every turn, when he barely escapes a tornado, gets into a fight at the county fair, almost burns up in an old chapel, explores a cave, and experiences a first kiss while swimming in the nearby creek.

Public Domain

Acres of Diamonds by Russell H. Conwell, Robert Collier, Robert Shackleton and John Wanamaker. In Acres of Diamonds Russell H. Conwell shows us how to identify the riches and opportunity that lie all around us. Many people search their entire life for opportunity never realizing that everything they need to succeed is already within their reach if only they recognized it. This edition has an introduction by John Wanamaker; a biography of Conwell by Robert Shackleton; and an additional essay entitled "The Acre of Diamonds" by Robert Collier, with his take on the same subject matter, that you wont find in any other edition of this book. The basic text is available free at Manybooks.

Victory by Joseph Conrad. Set in the islands of the Malay Archipelago, Victory tells the story of a disillusioned Swede, Axel Heyst, who rescues Lena, a young English musician, from the clutches of a brutish German hotel owner. Seeking refuge at Heyst’s remote island retreat on Samburan, the couple is soon besieged by three villains dispatched by the enraged hotelier. The arrival on the island paradise of this trio of fiends sets off a terrifying series of events that ultimately ends in catastrophe. Also available free at Feedbooks.

Thieves Like Us, by Edward Anderson, is available at Amazon for under a buck, but the formatting is awful, with the space between lines all over the place and sometimes two lines on top of each other. Munsey's is listed as the original source, which is odd, since you can get a well-formatted version of this title there for free. Bowie teams up with fellow thieves Chicamaw and T-Dub to rob a bank - he needs the money to hire a lawyer to prove he's innocent of murder. On the run, Bowie finds momentary peace when he elopes with a young woman. But Chicamaw and T-Dub want to reel him back in for one more job.

The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason, is another one in need of reformatting at Amazon (this time it's just that the left margin takes up too much space). Instead, head over to Manybooks to get this one. British officer Harry Faversham resigns his commission just prior to the Battle of Omdurman for personal reasons, rather than cowardice, but he is faced with censure from three of his comrades, each of whom presents him with a feather, and the loss of the support of his fiancée, who presents him with the fourth feather. Questioning his true motives, Harry resolves to redeem himself in combat, travelling on his own to the war-ravaged Sudan.

Free Ebook: Funny in Farsi

Random House has put Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, up as a free PDF download on their For High School Teachers web site. In addition to the full text of the book, the free download also includes: a letter and two essays from the author, a Teacher's/Discussion Guide for Funny in Farsi and an excerpt from Firoozeh's latest book Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of a Global Citizen (not yet available for Kinde).

Synopsis

In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father’s glowing memories of his graduate school years here. More family soon followed, and the clan has been here ever since.

Funny in Farsi chronicles the American journey of Dumas’s wonderfully engaging family: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on Bowling for Dollars and in Las Vegas, and later lost his job during the Iranian revolution; her elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the effects of American fast food with an army of miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting pot.

In a series of deftly drawn scenes, we watch the family grapple with American English (hot dogs and hush puppies?—a complete mystery), American traditions (Thanksgiving turkey?—an even greater mystery, since it tastes like nothing), and American culture (Firoozeh’s parents laugh uproariously at Bob Hope on television, although they don’t get the jokes even when she translates them into Farsi).

Above all, this is an unforgettable story of identity, discovery, and the power of family love. It is a book that will leave us all laughing—without an accent.