Year End Sale at Fictionwise

Fictionwise is having their big year-end sale, with all the ebooks (but not magazines) at 40%-60% discounts (for multiformat books) or a 40%-60% rebate (DRM'd books). The multiformat books work on the Kindle and there are some well known authors (Fritz Leiber) as well as relative unknowns (and a large collection of erotica). On the DRM'd side, the books won't work on the Kindle, but are generally compatible with the nook, PC and iPhone (ereader format, on nearly all DRM'd books) and the Sony Reader (ADE Epub, not on all books) as well as a few other mobipocket compatible readers.

The sale on the Secure (DRM'd) side is supposed to only be on orders paid for using a credit card or paypal (and that is still true of the 100% rebate books, whether they are NYT bestsellers or the new selections for the week), but most of the books are giving the rebate, even if you use micropay. Which means that if you have a balance built up (or build one up by grabbing some of those 100% rebate books) you can get 60% back on the books you are buying, then use that to buy even more books.

So, buy $100 in books using credit, get $40 to $60 back in credit. Use that $60 to buy books and get $36 back ... and so on. I suspect they'll close this loophole tomorrow (if not, go on a spree), but in the meantime, you can get some very good deals. Even with the requirement to pay by credit card (and thus building up credit), there are some good prices here and there, with the net cost often below Amazon's (of course, since they don't work on the Kindle, they are not for everyone).

If you are buying multiformat books, there is a simple straight discount (plus your member discount, if applicable), but you can use your micropay credit there as well (and it's planned that way, so should work all week).

UPDATE: Add the coupon code thoughts25, through Dec 15, and get an additional 25% off the entire purchase.

Kindle Gets a Wish List

Amazon has changed the Save for Later function in the Kindle Store to instead support your normal Wish Lists at Amazon, as well as updated the Kindle book listings to allow you to directly add a Kindle book to any wish list - you no longer have to use the Universal Wish List tool to do this.

One cool thing I noticed when I accessed my wish lists from the Kindle - I could see all my lists (the Saved for Later items were now on a list called Kindle Wish List - I now have to liss with the same name, as I already had one with this title) and for each one, there is a count of how many Kindle books are on that list. When you open a list, you then see all the Kindle books from the list and (on my Original Kindle), three small blocks/buttons to click on - the top (unmarked) one opens the book detail page, the delete button removes the book from the list (no confirmation is asked for, no undo) and the third lets you move a book from one list to another. You can't see the prices in the list from the Kindle, so it isn't quite as useful as the online version and there is one odd behavior - every list I opened started on page 3, rather than page 1 of the wish list, requiring me to hit the Previous Page button twice to get to the first page.

So far, you still can't get someone else to buy something for you from your wish list (but you have to know that Amazon is working on it), just as with any other digital content. But you can now co-ordinate between the Kindle Store and the Web Store to manage the Kindle items in your wishlist.

Under the Dome pre-order price drop to $7.99

It's not as good a deal as the momentary drop to $7.20 a while back, but Under the Dome, by Stephen King (December 24, 2009), can be pre-ordered now in the Kindle store for $7.99.

If you have already pre-ordered at a higher price, I'd recommend canceling that order and re-ordering at the new price (but do so quickly, after confirming the new price, as it can go up again at any time). Apparently the pre-order price guarantee at Amazon may not cover Kindle books, as they don't display the "Pre-Order Price Guarantee" banner that is required (and there are reports of people who have and haven't received lower prices on Kindle pre-orders).. Easy enough to order again, since it's only a couple of extra clicks.

12 Days of Christmas (Music) Contest at Amazon

Amazon is giving away 12 prize packages in their 12 Days of Christmas Music Contest, each one selected by a different musical artist/group. They also are having one or more of the artist's CD's on sale the day that they are featured; today it is A Cherry Cherry Christmas, by Neil Diamond, for $8.99. on CD or as an MP3 Download

Every day's entry is different, so I've put up a link to the contest in the top banner, so you (and I) can find it each day to enter. The contest started yesterday (you can still enter that day's contest) and continues through through Thursday, December 17.

Free Audiobook - The Brothers Karamazov

ChristianAudio's free download this month is The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, narrated by Simon Vance (various Kindle versions $0.95 and up). After adding the audiobook to your cart, enter the coupon code DEC2009 during checkout. There are also a few other Dostoevsky on sale there, this month, most at $7.49; you can see them at the bottom of the free download page.

Fyodor Dostoevsky's crowning life work, The Brothers Karamazov, stands among the greatest novels in world literature. His exploration of faith, doubt, morality, and the place of suffering in life are equaled in no other work of literature, save the Bible.

The book explores the possible role of four brothers in the unresolved murder of their father, Fyodor Karamazov. At the same, it carefully explores the personalities and inclinations of the brothers themselves. Their psyches together represent the full spectrum of human nature, and continuum of faith and doubt. Ultimately this novel seeks to understand the real meaning of existence and includes much beneficial philosophical and spiritual discussion that moves the reader towards faith.

This new abridgment done exclusively for Hovel Audio by Russian Studies scholar Thomas Beyer keeps the important religious themes of the novel intact. It is an excellent way for the admirer of Dostoevsky to refresh himself, or to introduce Dostoevsky to a friend who has yet to experience the joy of reading his works.

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) writes with a passion and keen insight of biblical grace like no other modern novelist. His works Crime and Punishment and The Idiot testify to his great skill. The Brothers Karamazov has been hailed by readers for over a century as one of the finest achievements in all of western literature.

Thomas R. Beyer is Professor of Russian at Middlebury College in Vermont. He holds three degrees in Slavic Literature including a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. In his decades of teaching, Tom Beyer has read The Brothers Karamazov dozens of times. His abridgment of the novel for Hovel Audio shows his thorough knowledge of his subject.

Get your free audio download HERE (be sure to use the coupon code shown, so you won't get charged). After you finishing checking out, you will be asked which format you prefer - select MP3 if you want to be able to play the book on your Kindle.