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Monday, January 17, 2011

Bargain Book and Game Roundup

I first told you about Choice of the Dragon and Choice of Broadsides on Christmas Day, when they were both added to the Kindle store at $4.99 apiece. These are both text adventure games and I considered that to be too high a price (especially as there are versions free on the iPad, currently). Until the end of the month, though, Amazon has both of these for 99 cents apiece, which is a much more reasonable amount. Both also have reviews now and appear to have been well implemented on the Kindle platform.

Book/Game Descriptions
Choice of the Dragon
Dominate the local kingdom, loot and pillage, and inspire terror in the hearts of your enemies! Please note: Choice of the Dragon contains content that may be inappropriate for children.

Choice of Broadsides
The sails have been hoisted and the guns run out as the enemy ship approaches. Your country is counting on you!


The idea behind a new guidebook series from Amazon, which premiered with Chef's Walks Seattle with Tom Douglas ($3.99), by Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance, is that rather than overwhelm you with a definitive guide to everything you could do in a city (which you won't have to to read, let along get to, on a typical vacation visit), is to instead highlight a section of the city as seen through the eyes of a local chef. You get a few recipes, some stories about a few neighborhoods and maps to help you find your way around. It'll be interesting to see where the series goes next and which chef they select for each city.

Book Description
Imagine this: You’re sitting in a coffee shop, paging through your Seattle dining and city guides to figure out what you’re going to do with your day. Suddenly, Tom Douglas – the James Beard Award-winning Seattle chef and restaurateur - pulls up a chair at your table. You chat about all of the things and places you’d like to see in Seattle, Tom tells some stories about what he loves about the city, and then starts jotting down his suggestions on the back of a napkin. He even draws you a little map, giving you tips about some local attractions and great shops along the way. He hands it across the table, bids you a great visit, and you’re off on your adventure.

That’s the idea behind Chef’s Walks Seattle. It’s a casual guide to exploring some of Seattle’s neighborhoods the way only a local chef -with food on the brain! – can, providing suggestions for some of his most-loved restaurants, bars, shopping, and local attractions. This brief, easy-to-use guide includes:

• Overview maps and numbered walking points for five Seattle neighborhoods
• Five essays by the author, providing insights into some of the Northwest’s most treasured icons
• Five Tom Douglas recipes that serve up the essence of Northwest cuisine


101 Amazing things to do in Great Britain ($0.99), by Harry Warraich, is what appears to be a self-published guide and quite small. I saw a recommendation someone who had read it and called it the best buck (technically, 74p in the UK) they had spent on a budget travel guide. Apparently, it even tells you where you can Husky Trek in Britain, amongst other quirky selections.

Book Description
A list of 101 amazing things you can do in Britain. If you fancy adventure and mystery and if you're visiting or if you live here, then this is the guide for you!

A Dangerous Fortune ($5.00), by Ken Follett, is just one title still on the five dollar sale that Amazon has been running to match Borders and B&N.

Book Description
In 1866, tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns in a mysterious accident involving a small circle of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many loves... From the exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London's upper classes to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world's wealth, Ken Follett conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust, bound by a shared legacy... men and women swept toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped, or not just one man's dreams, but those of a nation, will die...

The Boxcar Children Mysteries Box Set: Books One Through Twelve ($28.99), by Gertrude Chandler Warner, works out to just over $2/book and less than that if you get it at Kobo and use one of their current coupon codes (try 35%offbook or welcome20).

Book Description
Books One through Twelve of the celebrated Boxcar Children Mysteries, now available as an ebook box set—twelve ebooks for the price of ten

Since its debut more than half a century ago, the Boxcar Children Mysteries has been one of the most beloved and popular children’s collections of all time. Collected here are the first twelve classic stories, following the Alden children from their first adventure living in an old boxcar all the way through to their exciting journey on a houseboat. This box set is the perfect introduction to a timeless and cherished series.

This enriched ebook box set includes an illustrated biography of author Gertrude Chandler Warner, with photos from the archives at the Warner Museum in Putnam, Connecticut.


The Eleventh Victim and the sequel in the Hailey Dean series, Death on the D-List, by television personality Nancy Grace, are both currently $4.99.

Book Description
As a young psychology student, Hailey Dean's world explodes when Will, her fianc?, is murdered just weeks before their wedding. Reeling, she fights back the only way she knows how: In court, prosecuting violent crime...putting away the bad guys one rapist, doper, and killer at a time. But dedicating her life to justice takes a toll after years of courtroom battles and the endless tide of victims calling out from crime scene photos and autopsy tables. Just as she grows truly weary, a serial killer unlike any other she's encountered begins to stalk the city of Atlanta, targeting young prostitutes, each horrific murder bearing his own unique mark. This courtroom battle will be her last.
Hailey heads for Manhattan to pick up the pieces of the life she had before Will's murder, training as a therapist. In a vibrant new world, she finally leaves her ghosts behind. But then her own clients are brutally murdered one by one by a copycat using the same M.O. as the Atlanta killer she hunted down years before. As the body count rises across Manhattan, Hailey is forced to match wits not only against a killer, but the famed NYPD. 

 Unless she returns to her former life and solves the case, still more innocent people will die at the hands of a killer who plans to get her, before she can get him!


The Collected Novels of José Saramago is down to $19.80 at Amazon (Blindness alone is $9.50 and it's one of 12 included) and $19.99 at Kobo, before any coupon codes.

Book Description
This collection available exclusively in e-book form brings together the twelve novels (and one novella) of the great Portuguese writer José Saramago with an introductory essay by Ursula Le Guin. From Saramago's early work like the enchanting Baltasar & Blimunda and the controversial Gospel According to Jesus Christ through his masterpiece Blindness and its sequel Seeing to his later fables of politics chance history and love like All the Names and Death with Interruptions this volume showcases the range and depth of Saramago's career his inimitable narrative voice and his vast reserves of invention humor and understanding.

The Bachman Books ($8.59), by Stephen King, works out to just under $3/book.

Book Description
The name on the covers was Bachman. But the imagination could only belong to one man. This is a compelling collection of three spellbinding stories of future shock and suspense. It includes: "The Long Walk", "Roadwork", and "The Running Man" - in which Stephen King also explains 'Why I was Richard Bachman'.

Snapped ($2.99), by Tracy Brown, is from "the Essence bestselling author of Twisted, White Lines, Criminal Minded, Black and Dime Piece".

Book Description
As the pampered wife of Frankie Bingham, Camille wants for nothing. After all Frankie and their life together are her whole world. So Camille tries not to be bothered by his closeness with his coworker and dear friend Gillian. But it soon becomes clear that Camille’s suspicions are correct. When his indiscretions become a public matter for the world Camille is pushed to a dangerous breaking point that spells disaster for them all.

Camille's sister Misa is newly divorced and clueless about men. She smothers men with phone calls, emails and pops up unannounced at their homes. She hacks into their voicemail and email and causes drama. So when she sets her sights on Baron, he has no idea what hit him. Will her quest to win his heart cost her everything?

Dominique Storms appears to have it all - a great career, a beautiful NYC condo and a gifted teenaged daughter. Her only problem is that the man she loves is incarcerated. While trying to juggle the demands of motherhood, work, and friendships, she manages to make her man Jamel a priority in her life. But is he doing the same? And is she too distracted to notice what is going on with her daughter?

Latoya Blake seems to be the one who has life all figured out, that is, until some skeletons are discovered in her closet. When her well-put-together façade crumbles, will she crumble as well?


Fool's Bargain ($2.66), by Timothy Zahn

Book Description
Includes an exclusive excerpt from the eagerly anticipated novel STAR WARS: SURVIVOR'S QUEST by Timothy Zahn (Hardcover, on-sale: February 3, 2004) and an interview with the author.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES A DEAL

The history of the planet Kariek has been one of seemingly endless violence— thanks to the constantly erupting revolutions among the many divided tribes of the native Eickarie race battling for dominance. Yet none of these tribes has held sway since a mysterious Warlord and his legion of alien mercenaries seized power and began a fifty-year reign of terror.

Now, at last, the tide may be turning: the leaders of the warring Eickarie factions have forged an alliance—strong enough to capture a city and corner the Warlord and his minions in their fortress. And the post-Palpatine Empire of the Hand is lending support to this revolt against tyranny by deploying no less a fighting force than the Imperial 501st Legion of stormtroopers.

Once infamously known as “Vader’s Fist,” the legendary 501st are the best men for the dangerous objective at hand—capturing the Warlord alive. It’s a risky mission that might be jeopardized when Imperial unit commander Twister and his comrades, Shadow, Cloud, and Watchman, are waylaid by a band of zealous freedom fighters, armed with their own agenda . . . and plenty of firepower. The Eickarie renegades—determined to free hundreds of their people from the Warlord’s dungeons—have an offer to make, and a strategy that could give the Imperials the edge in the bloody showdown to come. But can Twister and his men trust their new allies? Or will they get more than they bargain for?


Stopping Time and Old Habits ($2.99 pre-order), by Melissa Marr, contains two novellas that are listed at $1.99 apiece.

Book Description
Stopping Time
Leslie walked away from the Dark Court, determined to reclaim her life and live it on her own terms—even if it meant leaving behind the two faeries who love her. She knows Niall and Irial watch over her, and she would give almost anything to keep them from hurting. But she resists the pull to be with either one of them. Someone knows about Leslie's past, however, and is intent on using her to reach the fey. And he doesn't care who gets hurt.

Old Habits
Melissa Marr returns to the ravishing world of Faerie with a story set between her bestselling novels Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity.

Recently anointed king of the Dark Court, Niall struggles to forge a new relationship with his subjects—and with the former Dark King, Irial, his once-friend, once-enemy, and now possible-advisor.


The Ipcress File ($4.79), by Len Deighton

Book Description
The Ipcress File was not only Len Deighton’s first novel, it was his first bestseller and the book that broke the mould of thriller writing.For the working class narrator, an apparently straightforward mission to find a missing biochemist becomes a journey to the heart of a dark and deadly conspiracy.The film of The Ipcress File gave Michael Caine one of his first and still most celebrated starring roles, while the novel itself has become a classic.

Demon's Bluff ($2.64), by Jerry B. Jenkins and John Perrodin

Book Description
The annual Demon's Bluff Spirit Fest is coming to town--all hell (and heaven) is about to break loose.

This sleepy desert town is so remote that no one is hassled for believing in God. Not even in 2022, when faith can get a guy arrested--or worse. So it's a perfect hideout for a young Christian with a price on his head.

Except that a hundred years ago, good and evil had a showdown in Demon's Bluff--and it's about to happen again.

Already, dark clouds are gathering in the desert. And a whole town is about to learn what happens when God's people choose to stand and trust instead of run and hide.


Bandit Queen ($1.24), by Jane Candia Coleman

Book Description
Based on the true story of Pearl Hart, who robbed a stagecoach, broke out of jail, was recaptured in dramatic fashion and became the first female sentenced to the Yuma Penitentiary in Arizona Territory.

The Letter Sweater ($1.00), by Skip Crayton

Book Description
Sandra Mercer moves back to her childhood home hoping to seek refuge from a better divorce and to conceal a painful secret. She is shocked to find her youngest daughter, Carla, wearing the same letter sweater she wore when she was in high school--a gift from Carla's boy friend Kevin Dawson. The sweater originally belonged to Jack Dawson, Sandra's high school and college sweetheart. Sandra and Jack had planned to wed as soon as he'd completed his military service. But fate would have its own way for the two lovers and a "Dear John" letter from Sandra, delivered just weeks before Jack was to return home, ended the dream they both had shared. For thirty years their paths never crossed. Now in the autumn of their lives, Sandra discovers that Jack, a retired TV personality, has returned home to write a book. She must now decide if she wants to deal with a love that has never gone away and a regret that that has punished her for a lifetime or to run away again.

Destiny of the Dragon ($1.93), by Fritz Galt and Steve Donaldson

Book Description
When two happy-go-lucky college guys meet two beautiful Chinese pilots, the result is love at first sight and unforeseen peril. They must overcome multicultural differences and a madman pursuing them from the Rio Grande to the Yangtze to save the Chinese leadership and their love lives. Little do they know that they are part of a broader CIA operation that involves a new, experimental technique employing psychic powers. Can our young heroes make good decisions with their newfound powers? Nothing less than the future of China and the world is at stake.

Storm ($1.24), by Jack Drummond

Book Description
When the small town of Melville is caught in a freak storm, its inhabitants must do everything they can to survive. But with a ruthless eco-terrorist at large, and no chance of rescue from the outside world, the townsfolk are on their own, facing one of the greatest environmental threats the world has ever seen…Dramatic, powerful and bursting with adventure, Storm is an un-putdown-able thriller.

The Ties That Bind ($1.24), by Cliff Ryder

Book Description
Officially, it doesn't exist. Off the books, Room 59 is mandated to disrupt and terminate threats that bury official channels in red tape. Driven, dedicated and extremely efficient, the elite agents recruited for the ultimate spy game ply their trade below the radar and on the razor's edge of action...and sudden death.

New recruit Jason Siku is ex-CIA, a cold, calculating agent with black ops skills and a brilliant mind--a loner perfect for deep espionage work. Using his Inuit heritage and a search for his lost family as covers, he tracks intelligence reports of a new Russian Oscar-class submarine capable of reigniting the Cold War. But when Jason discovers weapons smugglers and an idealistic yet dangerous brother he never knew existed, the line between his mission and a secret hope collide with deadly consequences.

Free Amazon Prime Shipping for Students

Amazon is extending their free prime shipping offer to all college students with their new Amazon Student program. If you are a student and have a valid .edu email address, you can sign up for a year's free Prime shipping. It can't be shared with other family members, as the regular Prime shipping can, but it also won't cost your $80 for the year. If you are already a Prime member, you can still sign up; you'll get refund of any remaining time on the Prime membership. You'll also get alerts as to other deals aimed at students on that .edu email, such as the current deal (see below) for free music and movies to go with your textbooks.

Don't forget, student or not, today is the last day to get 130 Essential Guides free from Kaplan (KindleB&N, Sony/EPUB or iPad) for free, as well as the last day on the $99 Kobo WiFi Reader!

  • Purchase $50 or more in eligible textbooks shipped and sold by Amazon.com to your Shopping Cart by 11:59 p.m. PST on January 17, 2011. Eligible textbooks are those that display the offer message on their product information pages.
  • Complete your purchase, or complete your purchase through 1-Click ordering.
  • After shipment of your purchase, you will receive two separate e-mails indicating that a $5 credit for Amazon MP3 music downloads and a $5 credit for Amazon Video On Demand have been automatically applied to your account. The e-mails will provide instructions for redeeming your credit. If you have not received your e-mail within 72 hours of your qualifying purchase, please contact us.
  • Use of the Amazon MP3 service is subject to the Amazon MP3 Terms of Use.
  • Use of the Amazon Video On Demand service is subject to AVOD Terms of Use.
  • Promotional offer limited to one promotional credit per customer.
  • Promotional offer is valid from December 27, 2010 through January 17, 2011 and subject to change. You must redeem the credits by February 17, 2011.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

I hope that those of you who have the day off are having a great three-day weekend (and maybe getting caught up a bit on your reading). It's a good excuse to introduce a bit of history into your (or your kid's) reading and you don't have to spend a fortune to do so. Which means, you can probably skip The Murkin Conspiracy: An Investigation into the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ($85.56) and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Image of God ($42.76), unless you are a serious scholar. The books in this post are all under 4 dollars, with three of them aimed at young readers.

Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? ($3.99), by Nancy Harrison and Bonnie Bader

Book Description
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 25 when he helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was soon organizing black people across the country in support of the right to vote, desegregation, and other basic civil rights. Maintaining nonviolent and peaceful tactics even when his life was threatened, King was also an advocate for the poor and spoke out against racial and economic injustice until his death—from an assassin’s bullet—in 1968. With clearly written text that explains this tumultuous time in history and 80 black-and-white illustrations, this Who Was…? celebrates the vision and the legacy of a remarkable man.

Meet Martin Luther King, Jr ($3.99), by James T. De Kay

Book Description
Illus. with black-and-white photos. This revised edition of the popular Random House Step Up(TM) Biography of the great civil-rights leader and advocate for peaceful resistance now includes new text and additional dynamic photos.

Martin Luther King, Jr ($1.99), by Ruchir Shah

Book Description
A historical graphic novel on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. The comic book gives the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. in pictures and narrations.

Voices of Radical Change: Greatest Speeches of Political and Social Transformation ($3.99), by Anne Brown

Book Description
Speeches of visionaries and great leaders who inspired change and influenced the course of history. Every speech marks a figure or moment in history that represents political or social transformation.

A thoughtful compilation of orations from revered figures with whom most readers are already familiar: Mother Theresa, Thomas Paine, Galileo, Bill Gates, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, Jr., Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Chief Seattle, and Barack Obama, to name a few.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Kobo WiFi Reader only $99!

Thru tomorrow, you can pick up a Kobo WiFi Reader at Borders.com or your local Borders store (print this coupon to take with you). It's not as versatile as the Kindle, in many ways (no web browser, no music, dictionary is limited to Kobo/Borders books), but this is a good price on a decent reader that will give you access to public library books in EPUB format and let you read any epubs you pick up elsewhere (other than the B&N nookbooks, which use a proprietary DRM scheme). You can use SD cards with the Kobo (up to 4GB), so you are not limited by the 1GB of free memory on the device. Just the thing for some kids, too, I think, as there is no need for parental controls as there is with a Kindle (I was prompted for a name and password when trying to "buy" a free book, so assume that will hold true even after syncing it to your account).

There is a choice of fonts and sizes (and your choice is remembered, unlike on my older Sony reader), although they don't go as large as the Kindle's and the writing is quite faint at the smaller size (so, not as good for those with reading issues that require large sizes and very dark text). I have an original Kobo and the main difference, other than color, is the addition of wireless to access the Borders bookstore. If you are in Canada or just prefer Kobo's own bookstore, you can sync to the Kobo desktop software instead and you'll access the Kobo store and your bookshelf there, instead. Personally, I just keep my books in Calibre (even DRM'd ones, even though Calibre can't read them) and use it to manage the books on my Kobo. I am tempted, though, to get one of these while it is on sale (too bad the lavender reader is white and silver on the front, but the black ones is a monotone that won't distract from reading).

I asked in my local store - if you keep the box and receipt, they should allow you to bring it back for a full refund in the first 30 days (this is generally NOT true online) and they are planning to honor any exchanges for defects in the first year right in the store (or for two years, if you buy the $50 extended warranty/case/screen cleaner bundle that also has a free coffee coupon inside).

If you are in the local store, don't forget to print this coupon for 33% off any item (other than a Kobo reader or ebook) ... I use mine in the cafe, if there isn't anything else that grabs me.

Free Book (Sony) - The Perfect Woman

James Andrus has released a new book, The Perfect Prey ($4.76 Kindle), and, to promote it, Kensington Books has once again made The Perfect Woman ($4.39 Kindle) available for free, this time on the Sony platform (alone, so far). This was free on Sony and from B&N last April and for the Kindle last December. While it's possible that it will end up free once again everywhere, you may want to grab the EPUB at Sony, just in case, if you missed it (or pick up the sequel, while it's bargain priced, if you already have this one).

Book Description
One Man's Obsession. . .

Pharmacy clerk William Dremmel is hooked--on drugging pretty young women and lulling them into slow, blissfully quiet deaths. Then he packs his victims in luggage--a nod to the cops that he works alone. Dremmel's no fool, he's also a college professor. He just likes using his intellect for darker purposes. . ..

Is Another Man's Anguish. . .

Haunted by his own daughter's unsolved disappearance, Detective John Stallings is committed to finding runaways and busting their abductors. When a series of girls is found dead and stuffed into duffle bags, he's consumed with capturing "The Bagman"--at the risk of his marriage, his career, and possibly his tough-as-nails partner, Patty Levine. . .

And Neither Intends To Give Up

As The Bagman grows more brazen in his crimes, the clues line up. But when he draws terrifyingly close to Patty, Stallings is determined to play by his own rules--and they won't be pretty--or quiet. . .


Click HERE for the free download from Sony.