Free Book (EPUB/nook) - Disturbed Earth

Update: Now free from B&N. Looks like a good one, so be sure to report the lower prices to Amazon.
Update: 6/10/11 Now free from Amazon!

Disturbed Earth ($9.99 Kindle), the fifth in the Artie Cohen Mystery series by Reggie Nadelson, is free in the Sony ebookstore.

Book Description
Winter 2003. Still reeling from 9/11, New York City is hit by the worst blizzard in years. On the verge of making peace with his own turbulent life, Artie Cohen-Reggie Nadelson's Russian-born, angst-ridden detective-is called to investigate a pile of blood-soaked children's clothes found on a Brooklyn beach. Artie is reluctantly drawn into a case that involves the death of one child, the strange disappearance of another, and growing anxiety about the fate of his own godson- all against the backdrop of a city already on edge. In his increasingly obsessive search for the missing child, Artie veers from posh parties on the Lower West Side of Manhattan to the remote coastal suburbs of Brooklyn, among the Russian community he thought he had left behind, only to discover truths that will haunt him in more ways than one.

Like Sara Paretsky in Chicago and George Pelecanos in Washington, D.C., Nadelson-a native New Yorker-captures the character of New York City and its outer boroughs. Disturbed Earth is both a riveting thriller and an insightful portrait of a post-9/11 New York.

Click HERE for the free book from B&N.
Click HERE for the free book from Sony.

Rice Krispies Now GLUTEN FREE!

I know a few of my readers are gluten free, like myself, and had to share the news. Kellogg's Rice Krispies are now not only whole grain brown rice, but are GLUTEN FREE! To introduce them, Amazon has a special sale on them, 10% off with coupon code GFRKMAYI. You can combine that code with Subscribe and Save for another 15% off, for a total of 25% off ($11.92, including shipping, for 4 12-oz boxes). I don't know if they'll make two options now or will switch over to only gluten free, as Chex has done (if they switch over, you'll have to watch closely in the store until the old stock runs out; make sure it says "Gluten Free" on the cover), but having this mainstream favorite back will be a big plus for many families (now you can easily make Rice Krispie Treats, as well as Chex Mix, gluten free).

Speaking of Chex, looks like you can get up to 30% off Chex Chocolate or Chex Honey Nut Cereal, by combining Subscribe and Save with coupon code JUNEBIGG this month!


Book Description
As the first crisped rice cereal, Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® has been bringing families together in the kitchen for over 80 years. Whether it’s in a bowl with milk, or mixed into a ready-made snack, the magic and wonder of childhood can be found in every bite of the “cereal that talks.”

A gluten-free option with the same beloved sound
After hearing from so many gluten-free families, we’re happy to bring you Rice Krispies® Gluten Free cereal, made with brown rice. Now your kids can enjoy a bowlful for breakfast, and they won’t miss out on the timeless taste of homemade Rice Krispies Treats® marshmallow squares.

• Pack of four, 12-ounce, total of 48-ounce
• Kellogg's Rice Krispies Gluten Free Whole Grain Brown Rice Cereal 12 Ounce Box (Pack of 4)
• Toasted Brown Rice Cereal
• 100% Whole Grain; 31G Or More Per Serving.
• Gluten Free; Kosher

Book Review: Shadowmagic

When I bought Shadowmagic ($0.99), by John Lenahan, in October '09, I paid $3.40 and considered it a good bargain. At the current sale prices, you should grab this one and the newly released sequel Prince of Hazel and Oak (Shadowmagic Book 2) ($1.59), before the publisher (The Friday Project, an imprint of HarperCollins) decides to raise the prices. If you happen to have already purchased the sequel and got it when it too had the title "Shadowmagic", be sure to delete it and re-download so that you Kindle has the proper title (one of the few changes a publisher can make and you get an update just by redownloading).

When I saw the sequel was out (and the big price drop), I pulled out the first volume and read it thru in just three days (in between doing everything else). The paper edition says it is 288 pages, but they go by in a flash (unlike Lord of the Rings, which the synopsis compares it to). This is young adult fiction, but is entirely enjoyable by adults of any age; there is budding romance (but barely a kiss or two) and the story is told from the point of view of a teenage boy, who is getting ready to go to school, trying to find a good time to ask his dad for a bit more cash to take out a girl, when he answers the door ... only to have people on horseback try to kill him, a weird glow surround him and one of the attackers crumble to dust upon being unhorsed. His day only gets worse, but he quickly adapts to his new surroundings, after breaking free of his captors and finding himself not in the Real World, at all.

The action isn't non-stop (really, could anyone stand to read 200+ pages that were?), as, in addition to a bit of adventure, you get his reaction to the new land, descriptions of what he sees and finds and experiences, as he makes his way. Along that way, he first reacts without thinking, but gradually changes to reaction with forethought (well, as much as a teen can muster, at any rate), growing at least metaphorically during journey. As with most good teen fiction, good triumphs over evil, in the end (at least for the day), but there is also tragedy to provide a bittersweet tinge to the joy of the day.

At the end, you can see the hooks for a sequel are set, but the volume concludes well on it's own (no big cliffhangers to frustrate you if you do decide not to get the second title). For myself, though, I've put the sequel near the top of my TBR list (just as soon as I go thru the rest of the sale titles on the Kindle Sunshine Deals page, to see if there are any paperbacks I want to replace or any other series where I can fill in a missing title.

Book Description
A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.

Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.Conor thought he was an average teenager. OK, so his father only had one hand, spoke to him in ancient languages and was a bit on the eccentric side but, other than that, life was fairly normal. Until, that is, two Celtic warriors on horseback and wearing full armour appear at his front door and try to kill him. After that, things get pretty weird.

Shadowmagic is a fantasy adventure for young adults (although grown ups will like it too). Written by one of the most popular magicians in the country it brings a fresh approach to the genre and will have a broad appeal beyond the fantasy sections.

Free Book (ADE/PDF) - The Lavender Scare

The University of Chicago Press' free book this month is The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government, by David K. Johnson. For those that don't want an ADE-DRM'd PDF, they also have the Kindle edition marked down to $1.99 (should be good all month).

Book Description
In Cold War America, Senator Joseph McCarthy enjoyed tremendous support in the fight against what he called atheistic communism. But that support stemmed less from his wild charges about communists than his more substantiated charges that “sex perverts” had infiltrated government agencies. Although now remembered as an attack on suspected disloyalty, McCarthyism introduced “moral values” into the American political arsenal. Warning of a spreading homosexual menace, McCarthy and his Republican allies learned how to win votes.

Winner of three book awards, The Lavender Scare masterfully traces the origins of contemporary sexual politics to Cold War hysteria over national security. Drawing on newly declassified documents and interviews with former government officials, historian David Johnson chronicles how the myth that homosexuals threatened national security determined government policy for decades, ruined thousands of lives, and pushed many to suicide. As Johnson shows, this myth not only outlived McCarthy but, by the 1960s, helped launch a new civil rights struggle.

Click HERE to sign up for the free book. You'll need to enter your email address, then check your email for the link to download the book. Mine arrived within seconds -- you get a .ACSM file, which, when opened, will load the PDF book inside of Adobe ADE. This is a DRM'd PDF and is not compatible with the Kindle.

Free Book (EPUB) - Jenny Lopez Has a Bad Week

Jenny Lopez Has a Bad Week ($2.60 Kindle), by Lindsey Kelk, is free from Kobo. This is a fairly short read (one commenter said it took about an hour), so no more than a novelette.

Book Description
Digital download exclusive story: if you love Lindsey Kelk, get your fix ahead of her new novel The Single Girl’s To-Do List.

Jenny Lopez is miserable. Having spent the summer working in LA, she’s back home in New York, and missing the three key elements in a girl’s life – a roommate, a job and a boyfriend. Jenny formulates a plan; surely someone must need a roommate and surely someone must need a girlfriend?By the end of the day, she has arranged a viewing for a potential roommate, the gay blond aka the Sex God,secured two dates, and work looking after a top supermodel. Things look like they are back on track; everything is going to work out great. If only life was so easy…

Click HERE to get the free book from Kobo.