Free Audiobook - Down and Out in Paris and London

Down and Out in Paris and London ($9.58 Kindle; $13.10 Audible US), by George Orwell, is today's free audiobook from The Guardian and Audible UK.

Book Description
This unusual fictional account, in good part autobiographical, narrates without self-pity and often with humor the adventures of a penniless British writer among the down-and-out of two great cities. In the tales of both cities we learn some sobering Orwellian truths about poverty and society.

Orwell's own experiences inspire this semi-autobiographical novel about a man living in Paris in the early 1930s without a penny. The narrator's poverty brings him into contact with strange incidents and characters, which he manages to chronicle with great sensitivity and graphic power. The latter half of the book takes the English narrator to his home city, London, where the world of poverty is different in externals only.

A socialist who believed that the lower classes were the wellspring of world reform, Orwell actually went to live among them in England and on the continent. His novel draws on his experiences of this world, from the bottom of the echelon in the kitchens of posh French restaurants to the free lodging houses, tramps, and street people of London. In the tales of both cities, we learn some sobering truths about poverty and society.

To sign up for the free audiobook, click HERE. For more detailed instructions, be sure to see this previous post.

Free Audiobook - Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure

Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure ($13.25 Hardcover; $4.97 Audible US), by Kristina Stephenson, is today's free audiobook from The Guardian and Audible UK. In print, this is a very short 32 pages and the audio is 48 minutes, which is about right for a children's book aimed at the 4-8 year old market.

Book Description
Sing along to this story of derring-do! Once upon a time, there was a deep, dark forest, where monstrous trees groaned, terrible beasties moaned and wiggly woos waited to tickle your toes. Nobody ever went there until...Sir Charlie Stinky Socks, his good grey mare and his pet cat Envelope decide the time has come for a really big adventure. Sir Charlie packs his best sword and his sandwiches and off he goes, over the hills and far away, until he gets to the deep, dark forest. Sir Charlie doesn't flinch when he meets the beasties, or the dragon, or the wily witch, but when he comes across the princess, he realises he's met his match!

This is Sir Charlie Stinky Socks. He's bold, he's brave, he's awfully clever. He likes adventures with terrible beasties, wily witches and fire-breathing dragons. What? You do, too? Oh my!

This is a story about all these things ... so have a listen. Actor Michael Maloney reads this clip-cloppy hurrah of an adventure with a soundtrack and song and lots of fun.

To sign up for the free audiobook, click HERE. For more detailed instructions, be sure to see this previous post.

Free Audiobook - Matter

The Guardian, a UK newspaper, has teamed up with Audible UK to give away an audio book each day for a week. Today's book is Matter ($9.99 Kindle), by Iain M. Banks, the eighth novel of The Culture series. The audiobook is quite long, a total of 18 hours in three parts.

Book Description
In a world renowned even within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their sister, even without knowing the full truth, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever.

Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has changed almost beyond recognition to become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilisations throughout the greater galaxy.

Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy, however. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.

MATTER is a novel of dazzling wit and serious purpose. An extraordinary feat of storytelling and breathtaking invention on a grand scale, it is a tour de force from a writer who has turned science fiction on its head.

To sign up for the free audiobook, click HERE. For more detailed instructions, be sure to see this previous post.

Two Free Audiobooks from The Guardian & Audible UK

The Guardian, a UK newspaper, has teamed up with Audible UK to give away two audio books (and possibly more next week).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ($6.64 Kindle), by Stieg Larsson

Book Description
An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Charm Offensive, by Armando Iannucci, appears to be a best-of compilation, although the cover shown is from season 4 (which is $10.42 at Audible.com, via Amazon).

Audio book Description
... the best of Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, a heady mix of satirical comedy, messed-about archive, chat and outrageous fibs featuring guests Clive Anderson, Phil Jupitus, John Oliver, Andy Zaltzman, Russell Howard, Michael McIntyre, Chris Addison, Miranda Hart & David Quantick. This Observer exclusive free download is published courtesy of AudioGo.

There are only two requirements: enter your information into a form at the Guardian (which will then give you a link (which you must cut and paste into your browser, as they didn't make it a live, click-able link), and either have or create an account at Audible.UK. This account will be separate from any Audible.com account (for those in the US), but cannot use the same login credentials as your current account, if you already have one at Audible.com (use a secondary email account). Also, these books won't link up to your US Kindle account (perhaps at some point, they will with Amazon UK, but I don't see anywhere to set that up, either, at least, not yet).

Here are the links for the two free books:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Charm Offensive

If you are using Internet Explorer, you may run into problems trying to get the second book; since it sees you as already logged in, it won't add the book to the cart using the special signup screen. So, fire up either Google Chrome or Firefox (and possibly Safari) instead when you are signing up for the second book (or just use Firefox/Chrome for both, as neither of these will encounter the problem).

After you download the books, which will load into your already installed Audible Manager (or iTunes), you'll be prompted to log in -- use your UK credentials (after the first time, you should not be re-prompted to log in).

Free Book - Demon

Demon: A Memoir ($9.68 Kindle), by Tosca Lee, is free from Lifeway Christian Stores, as part of a promotion for Havah; The Story of Eve ($9.68 Kindle), which was free in the B&N (nook) store at the start of August.

Book Description
"One day . . . I realized that being angelic and fallen was very similar to being human and fallen -- except for one major difference: the provision of a messiah. I immediately wondered what it must feel like to be unquestionably damned -- and worse, to watch humans luxuriate in and take for granted the grace made available to them from a doting God. And I thought: Why wouldn't a fallen angelic creation resent a human recipient of God's grace? And why wouldn't a demon want to prove that creature unworthy again and again as a result? Now I knew what it must feel like to be an angelic outsider looking in with jealous eyes and . . . through this new lens Demon: A Memoir was born." -Tosca Lee

Click HERE for the free download. You can choose between a PDF and EPUB format (marked as "ebook", which will download as a .ZIP file -- the EPUB is contained within (yes, we know epub is already just a zip format, but that's the way their web site is set up). You shouldn't have any trouble converting it for the Kindle (I used Calibre and the epub version).