Four Free Books from Copia (EPUB)

There are four new free books from Copia today, all of which should be in EPUB format (you have to download first to your Copia reader app). All are classics, but I don't see a free version on Kindle (three have Rosetta Books editions). If you have any problems with the Buy Now button wanting payment, try adding all four to your cart, then using checkout from the cart - this seems to bypass that screen (and is what I had to do for three of the books; I am also having a problem downloading those three books, but am fairly certain that Copia will straighten it out soon and they are in my library until then).

The Borgias ($1.99 or more, various editions), by Alexandre Dumas (Copia link)

Book Description
CELEBRATED CRIMES Vol I, Part 1: The Borgias

There are dreadful -- perhaps scurrilous -- rumors about the Borgias of renaissance Italy, and here Dumas, author of such classics as THE THREE MUSKETEERS, in his Celebrated Crimes series, dishes up the dirt in all its ugly glory. This book was not written for children. Dumas has minced no words in describing the violent scenes of a violent time. In some instances facts appear distorted out of their true perspective, and in others the author makes unwarranted charges. The careful, mature reader -- for whom the books are intended -- will recognize and allow for this fact.

The House of Dr. Edwardes ($4.49), by Francis Beeding (Copia link)

Book Description
The basis for Hitchcock’s masterpiece Spellbound, Francis Beeding’s The House of Dr. Edwardes is a chilling mystery set in an asylum in France. A study of good and evil that owes some of its brooding, portentous atmosphere to the Gothic fiction of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Beeding’s novel is also a classic page-turner, a gripping work of suspense and intrigue.

Mute Witness ($7.19), by Robert L. Fish (Copia link)

Book Description
A slimy district attorney, an assortment of inept police officers, an underworld boss turned snitch, and the hardboiled lieutenant charged with protecting him until his trial make up the cast of characters of Robert Fish’s hair-raising 1963 novel Mute Witness. For Lieutenant Clancy of the New York Police Department, the assignment of protecting mobster Johnny Rossi soon turns into an investigation into who wants him dead and why. The inspiration for the Steve McQueen film, Bullitt, Mute Witness is a classic.

The Wheel Spins ($4.49), by Ethel White (Copia link)

Book Description
One of the Iris Carr's companions in coach, a sweet old woman, suddenly disappears on long train ride and none of the other passengers has ever even heard of her. Iris's increasingly desperate search uncovers a web of danger and intrigue. Basis of one of Hitchcock's most famous films, THE LADY VANISHES, (1938, England) with British cast headed by Michael Redgrave.

Will you stop writing about ...? (and some free music)

I've received a few emails lately and one recent comment asking if I was going to keep writing about a particular subject that the reader didn't find interesting or helpful. These have run the gamut from Kindle books to Kindle special offers to Games (including Kindle game or just games in general), but also there are the occasional complaints about the types of books (whether Christian Fiction, LGBT erotica or just romance in general and one recently political offering, although the first two are the most often commented upon). The answer, of course, is that yes, I'll just keep writing about what I find interesting. I try to highlight all the free books in the major (and some minor) ebookstores that are either under copyright (thus, are special deals from publishers) or backlist books from authors who are still writing. Some of these will have subject matter that doesn't appeal to everyone (or even to me, in some cases).

I stumble across free music or game deals now and then and I write about them because I find them interesting (and I know that some of you do, also). Audiobooks are "books" for some, so are included (even though I greatly prefer the printed word) and some movies might get mentioned (if there is a great deal on one that is also in print or just because Amazon wants to give us all some free credit to try out their store). A few of the deals won't be available to those outside the USA (this seems to be the case with Kindle games/apps and all the movie/tv/music downloads), while I also may mention sales or that are only applicable to those outside the US -- I have readers in several countries, with the US comprising the greatest portion, of course, but which includes Canada, Australia, India, the UK and more. Those outside the US do often see different prices (and miss out on the US deals), so the small portion of non-US deals that those in the US see seems like a fair trade-off.

I hate to lose readers because I mention subjects they don't find appealing, but if I stripped out everything that at least one person objected to, there would not be much left. Those with only a nook don't much care about the Kindle posts, while those with only a Kindle can't enjoy some of the DRM'd EPUBs that get mentioned (although both could read the other format on their PC's, I do understand not wanting to do so ... it's one reason I eventually caved in and bought a couple of EPUB based readers for our family).

In the end, though, I will write for myself and hope that those of you along for the ride find most of the content enjoyable. I can suggest that you consider using an RSS reader or follow on twitter, if you don't want to read directly on the website - both will let you see the post titles, so you can decide if the subject is interesting before you click thru to read the post. Twitter can even be configured to notify you via text message on you phone, every time a new post goes up and there are some RSS readers that will let you set up filters, if you want to strip out posts with certain tags or words in the subject. I always try to add appropriate tags/labels to every post and include a title that lets you know generally what a post is about: "KSO" for Kindle Special Offers, "Game" or "App" on the Kindle, Android or other games/apps, "Free Book" if that is what is contained (along with platform, at least at the point the post goes up, such as Kindle, nook, EPUB, noDRM, etc) or "Bargain" if I am writing about Kindle books.

Thanks for reading and here are some more free samplers at Amazon, to listen while you read (here or on your Kindle). I can guarantee that at least some of it I like and some I don't, but that least a few of you would have differing opinions on which was which!

• Bloodshot Indie-Pendants Sampler
• Carpark Records 2011 Sampler
• Vagrant Summer Sampler 2011
• Merge Records 2011 Sampler
• Stockholm Belongs To Us - A Labrador Records Compilation
• Luaka Bop Presents Xingu
• Summer Fun with Giovanni
• Dangerbird Summer Sampler 2011 [Explicit]
• Barsuk Records Summer 2011 Amazon MP3 Sampler
• Your Mom is a Sportman's Paradise
• A Touch and Go Records Digital Sampler
• Secretly Canadian Summer Sampler 2011
• Frenchkiss Records Amazon MP3 Sampler
• Mexican Summer Vol. 2
• Hopeless Amazon Summer Sampler
• Dead Oceans Summer Sampler 2011
• Hardly Art Amazon Sampler 2011
• Paw Tracks Sampler 2011
• Karaoke - 4th of July - American Independence Day Classics
• White Swan Records 20th Anniversary Digital Sampler
• shàngtian stage version

This month is also the big music iTunes festival in London. Even if I could win free tickets, I couldn't get over there to attend, but I don't have to - click the link below and you can listen free each night on your PC/Mac or download the app for your iPad or iPhone, which not only gets you the live stream, but access to all the past performances, as well.

Free Audiobooks - Where The Streets Had A Name and A Passage to India

Audiobook Sync's summer of free audiobooks continues. First, I've linked in the info from Amazon for each title (Amazon has the best reviews), then a link below to get your audio copies free. You can't get any titles that have been missed, but once they are loaded into Overdrive (which you will need to install, if you are not already using it for library books), they are yours to keep (there is no expiration date). The web site is running a bit slow this morning (at least, the script to give you the download link is), so be patient -- it will eventually get past the login portion and display a link.

Two new titles each Thursday, so be sure to check back next week.!

Where The Streets Had A Name ($12.23 paperback; $8.90 Kindle in Australia only; $77.95 Audio CD), by Randa Abdel-Fattah, read by Kellie Jones.

Book Description
Thirteen year old Hayaat is on a mission. She believes a handful of soil from her grandmother's ancestral home in Jerusalem will save her beloved Sitti Zeynab's life. The only problem is that Hayaat and her family live behind the impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank, and they're on the wrong side of check points, curfews, and the travel permit system. Plus, Hayaat's best friend Samy always manages to attract trouble. But luck is on the pair's side as they undertake the journey to Jerusalem from the Palestinian Territories when Hayaat and Samy have a curfew-free day to travel.

But while their journey may only be a few kilometers long, it could take a lifetime to complete. . . .

Humorous and heartfelt, WHERE THE STREETS HAD A NAME deals with the Israel-Palestinian conflict with sensitivity and grace and will open a window on this timely subject.

A Passage to India ($8.71 paperback; $0.00 Kindle; $26.30 Audible), by E. M. Forster, read by Sam Dastor.

Book Description
Among the greatest novels of the twentieth century and the basis for director David Lean’s Academy Award-winning film, A Passage to India tells of the clash of cultures in British India after the turn of the century. In exquisite prose, Forster reveals the menace that lurks just beneath the surface of ordinary life, as a common misunderstanding erupts into a devastating affair.

Eager to know the "real" India, a group of English tourists develops a friendship with the cultivated Dr. Aziz. The veneer of trust and mutual affection is shattered during a trip to the Marabar caves, when one of the women accuses Dr. Aziz of assault. Arguably Forster's greatest novel, A Passage to India paints a troubling portrait of colonialism at its worst and, in the breach between Aziz and his English "friends," foreshadows the end of British rule in India.

Click HERE to sign up for an account and get the free downloads. Don't forget, you'll also need to install the Overdrive software (there is a link at Sync). In addition, you end up clicking about three pages, for each book, before the audiobook actually downloads. Don't stop so long as you still see a button that talks about your Sync download (or until you see the Overdrive software open up). Once in Overdrive, you'll need to tell it where to save the files (just click OK to use the default location, since Overdrive will keep track of them for you), then again to actually start the download (by default, all parts of the book are downloaded; I would suggest not changing this in the last dialog box, just click on OK to get the download started).

New Kindle Game - Word Quest

Word Quest ($1.99), by Compulab, is a hidden word puzzle that is newly generated each time you play, guaranteeing you'll never run out of new puzzles to solve.

Book Description
Have fun solving Word Search puzzles on Kindle!

The objective of Word Search is to find words hidden in a grid full of letters. Words are placed horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, and can even be spelled out backwards. The words you are looking for are shown at the bottom of the screen for reference, and marked off both on the board and on the list as you find each one.

Puzzles are suitable for players of all ages with board sizes ranging from 12x12 to 16x16. Each board is created with words populated from 50 themed groups, and includes topics such as Zoo Animals, Nautical Terms, Olympic Sports, and Internet/Computing.

It is unlikely that you will run out of puzzles to play because each time you solve a puzzle, a new puzzle is created with words selected randomly from the selected theme. You can also get hints, see the solution, and change the layout of the display. Your games are automatically saved so you can take a break and pick up right where you left off.

No matter how often you play, you will always have puzzles to solve. Fans of word games will enjoy this word puzzle on Kindle!

New Kindle Game - Puzzle Baron's Cryptograms I

Puzzle Baron's Cryptograms: Volume 1 ($1.99), by A Gamz, contains a series of codebreaking puzzles for Kindle.

Book Description
Cryptograms are popular word puzzles that will test your deductive and word finding skills as you decode a series of letters to reveal a hidden message.

Puzzle Barron's Cryptograms contains one hundred puzzles. Each is a quote, and is organized into popular categories like Ancient Wisdom, Celebrities, Philosophy and Sports. Special features include displaying the letters remaining in a puzzle and letter frequencies to further assist the solver. Three difficulty levels will challenge beginners and seasoned players alike, and there is a hint option if you get stuck. When you finish the puzzle, you'll see a graph showing how your time compares to other people who have completed this puzzle and the number of hints taken if any.

If you like word games or logic puzzles, Cryptograms is a fun way to exercise your brain!