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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Bargain Book Roundup

Macmillan sale on Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone Mystery series has  finally arrived at Barnes & Noble and Kobo, in addition to Kindle, Books on Board, and Sony. I haven't checked every book, so you may want to price-shop  a bit if you aren't shopping the Kindle store exclusively.

Pie Town ($9.99 Kindle), by Lynne Hinton, is 99 cents from Barnes & Noble and Sony. It's an Agency title, so you can report the price and hope it goes down, but it's just as likely to be a pricing error and go up elsewhere.
Book Description
Pie Town, New Mexico, was once legendary for its extraordinary pies. But it's been a while since these delectable desserts graced the counter at the local diner. The townspeople—a hearty mix of Anglos, Hispanics, and Native Americans—like to think of themselves as family, especially when it comes to caring for Alex, a disabled little boy being raised by his grandparents. But, unforeseen by all, Pie Town's fortunes are about to take a major turn—due to the arrival of a new priest, Father George Morris, who seems woefully unprepared for his first assignment, and the young hitchhiker Trina, who some townsfolk just know is trouble....

The Fallen Blade: Act One of the Assassini ($4.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), the first title in the Vampire Assassin Trilogy by Jon Courtenay Grimwood, is this month's Orbital Book Drop.
Book Description
Venice in the early fifteenth century is at the height of its power. In theory Duke Marco commands. But Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. Within the Serene Republic, their word is law, but for all their influence, Venice's fate still lies in other hands . . .

Lady Giulietta is the Duke's cousin. She enjoys greater privilege than many can even dream of, but her status will demand a terrible price.

Atilo Il Mauros is head of the Assassini, the shadow army that enforces Venice's will - both at home and abroad.

Prince Leopold zum Bas Friedland is the bastard son of the German emperor and leader of the krieghund - the only force in Venice more feared than Atilo's assassins.

And then there is Atilo's angel-faced apprentice. Only a boy, Tycho is already stronger and faster than any man has a right to be. He can see in the dark, but sunlight burns him. It is said that he drinks blood.

Award-winning author Jon Courtenay Grimwood seamlessly blends history, politics and dark fantasy in a compelling vision of a Venice that might have been.

Birthmarked ($2.99), the first in the Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh M. O'Brien, is dystopian fiction for the young adult market.
Book Description
IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future.

Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone and her mother faithfully deliver their quota of three infants every month. But when Gaia’s mother is brutally taken away by the very people she serves, Gaia must question whether the Enclave deserves such loyalty. A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

The Declaration ($4.66), by Gemma Malley, is also a young adult title
Book Description
Anna Covey is a 'Surplus'. She should not have been born. In a society in which aging is no longer feared, and death is no longer an inevitability, children are an abomination. Like all Surpluses, Anna is living in a Surplus Hall and learning how to make amends for the selfish act her parents committed in having her. She is quietly accepting of her fate until, one day, a new inmate arrives. Anna's life is thrown into chaos. But is she brave enough to believe this mysterious boy?

A tense and utterly compelling story about a society behind a wall, and the way in which two young people seize the chance to break free.

Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight ($1.76), by Linda Bacon
Book Description
Fat isn’t the problem. Dieting is the problem. A society that rejects anyone whose body shape or size doesn’t match an impossible ideal is the problem. A medical establishment that equates “thin” with “healthy” is the problem.
The solution?

Health at Every Size.

Tune in to your body’s expert guidance. Find the joy in movement. Eat what you want, when you want, choosing pleasurable foods that help you to feel good. You too can feel great in your body right now—and Health at Every Size will show you how.

Health at Every Size has been scientifically proven to boost health and self-esteem. The program was evaluated in a government-funded academic study, its data published in well-respected scientific journals. Updated with the latest scientific research and even more powerful messages, Health at Every Size is not a diet book, and after reading it, you will be convinced the best way to win the war against fat is to give up the fight.

About the Author
Dr. Linda Bacon, a nutrition professor and researcher, earned her doctorate in physiology from the University of California–Davis. She also holds graduate degrees in psychology and exercise science.

Just Clean Enough ($4.80), by I.B. Caruso and Jenny Schroedel
Book Description
  • Organize your closets or color with your kids?
  • Scrub your kitchen floor or play with your dog?
  • Tackle the garage or have dinner with your friends?
Forget feeling guilty! You don't have to choose and you don't have to be perfect either. Just Clean Enough features 365 simple tips to keep your home guest-ready and in tip-top shape in half the time—with half the effort. After all, why spend all day mired in housework when it's easy to do small things like:
  • Use baskets to control your kids' clutter
  • Buy some silicon oven liners to cut down on cleaning time
  • Put rugs down in your entry way to keep outside dirt contained
  • Clean your toilet with a capful of bleach left overnight
  • Add an Ottoman that doubles as storage
With plans to declutter room by room or to tackle tasks when you have a few spare minutes, this book puts the cleaning team to shame. So instead of spending all of your free time cleaning your home, now you can actually enjoy it!

I've read some of the sample for El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency ($2.99), by Ioan Grillo, and I think I may buy it. For those who haven't been paying attention, Mexican gangs have been infiltrating neighborhoods all over America. Many of them have ties to the Mexican cartels that have taken over many parts of Mexico (and that only seem to make our local newspapers when they do something spectacularly awful, such as the tiny town a walk away from TX, where no one will be the sheriff and the last one that tried lasted less than a day until he was murdered). For those that remember a bit of history, their exploits read a lot like the Mongol hordes that swept down from the Russian steppes, but with a lot more firepower.
Book Description
The world has watched stunned at the bloodshed in Mexico. Thirty thousand murdered since 2006; police chiefs shot within hours of taking office; mass graves comparable to those of civil wars; car bombs shattering storefronts; headless corpses heaped in town squares. And it is all because a few Americans are getting high. Or is it? The United States throws Black Hawk helicopters and drug agents at the problem. But in secret, Washington is confused and divided about what to do. Who are these mysterious figures tearing Mexico apart? they wonder. What is El Narco?

El Narco draws the first definitive portrait of Mexico's drug cartels and how they have radically transformed in the last decade. El Narco is not a gang; it is a movement and an industry drawing in hundreds of thousands from bullet-ridden barrios to marijuana-growing mountains. And it has created paramilitary death squads with tens of thousands of men-at-arms from Guatemala to the Texas border. Journalist Ioan Grillo has spent a decade in Mexico reporting on the drug wars from the front lines. This piercing book joins testimonies from inside the cartels with firsthand dispatches and unsparing analysis. The devastation may be south of the Rio Grande, El Narco shows, but America is knee-deep in this conflict.

The Prince of Mist ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Book Description
It's wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they've recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners' son, who died by drowning.

With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist--a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden--an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Gargoylz Make Some Noise ($0.66), by Jan Vogler and Sara Burchett, is a 96 page book aimed at the younger set.
Book Description
MAKE SOME NOISE - Max and Ben are going on a school trip to the library and can't wait to meet Troy Brawn, the coolest spy book author ever. But there's a disaster! Troy doesn't turn up and the boys end up stuck in a super-girly, super-boring talk instead - yuck! Can the Gargoyles do anything to help? And what about their new friend - will he leave his books and peace and quiet behind and join the boys in playing some pranks?

One More River ($4.99), by Mary Glickman
Book Description
From the author of Home in the Morning comes the sweeping story of a father and son, and of the loves that transform them amid the turbulence of the American South

Bernard Levy was always a mystery to the community of Guilford, Mississippi. He was even more of a mystery to his son, Mickey Moe, who was just four years old when his father died in World War II. Now it’s 1962 and Mickey Moe is a grown man, who must prove his pedigree to the disapproving parents of his girlfriend, Laura Anne Needleman, to win her hand in marriage. With only a few decades-old leads to go on, Mickey Moe sets out to uncover his father’s murky past, from his travels up and down the length of the Mississippi River to his heartrending adventures during the Great Flood of 1927. Mickey Moe’s journey, taken at the dawn of the civil rights era, leads him deep into the backwoods of Mississippi and Tennessee, where he meets with danger and unexpected revelations at every turn. As the greatest challenge of his life unfolds, he will finally discover the gripping details of his father’s life—one filled with loyalty, tragedy, and heroism in the face of great cruelty from man and nature alike.

A captivating follow-up to Mary Glickman’s bestselling Home in the Morning, One More River tells the epic tale of ordinary men caught in the grip of calamity, and inspired to extraordinary acts in the name of love.

Cowboy Fever is one of three titles by Joanne Kennedy, published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, that are currently on sale for $1.99.
Cowboy Trouble
A cowboy like that could break your heart...
Fleeing her latest love-life disaster, big city journalist Libby Brown's transition to rural living isn't going exactly as planned. Her childhood dream has always been to own a farm-but without the constant help of her charming, sexy cowboy neighbor, she'd never make it through her first Wyoming season.

But he could sure keep you warm at night, too...
Handsome rancher Luke Rawlins is impressed by this sassy, independent city girl. But he yearns to do more than help Libby out with her ranch. He's ready for love, and he wants to go the distance...

Then the two get embroiled in their tiny town's one and only crime story, and Libby discovers that their sizzling hot attraction is going to complicate her life in every way possible...


One Fine Cowboy
He's got a way with horses...and with women...

His heart is as wild as the horses he trained...
Nate Shawcross is perfectly content to spend his days training wild horses. So when a beautiful greenhorn unexpectedly shows up for a seminar from the famous "Horse Whisperer" of Wyoming, all Nate wants to do is send her packing...

The last thing she expects is a lesson in romance...
Graduate student Charlie Banks came to the ranch to learn about horse communication, but when she meets the ruggedly handsome cowboy, she starts to fantasize about another connection entirely...

Nate needs to stay focused if he's going to save his ranch from foreclosure, but he can't help being distracted by the brainy and breathtakingly sexy Charlie. Could it be that after all this time Nate has finally found the one woman who can tame his wild heart?


Cowboy Fever
Miss Rodeo Wyoming Jodie Bryce is back from the big city to find that her childhood friend Teague Treadwell's rugged cowboy charm never looked better. But Teague thinks Jodie's success lifted her out of his reach, and now he's got to shed his bad boy image to be worthy of the girl next door.

Sourcebooks Casablanca has two of Carolyn Brown's cowboy titles on sale: Hell, Yeah and Lucky in Love, both $1.99.
Hell, Yeah (Honky Tonk #2)
She’s finally found a place that feels like home…
When Cathy O’Dell buys the Honky Tonk, the nights of cowboys and country tunes come together to create the home she’s always wanted. Then in walks a ruggedly handsome oil man who tempts her to trade in the happiness she’s found at the Honky Tonk for a life on the road with him…

He lives the good life…
Gorgeous and rich, Travis Henry travels the country unearthing oil wells and then moving on. Then the beautiful blue-eyed new owner of the Honky Tonk beer joint becomes his best friend and so much more. When his job is done in Texas, how is he ever going to hit the road without her?


Lucky in Love (Luckadeau #1)
When hunky rancher "Lucky Beau" Luckadeau accuses spitfire Milli Torres of stealing his prize bull, she promptly shoots at him, triggering a feud that only gets resolved when they discover they share a steamy hot memory from a night long ago…

It was a night of passion that has always haunted Lucky. The mysterious beauty he seduced at a cousin's wedding disappeared. He's always been lucky at cards, lucky
with cattle, and lucky with land, but he's never been lucky in love.

Now Milli Torres has come to southern Oklahoma to help out on her grandfather's ranch. A cut fence and a big, mean Angus bull in the pasture are bad enough, but then she looks up and sees Beau Luckadeau. Great God Almighty, how did he get from Louisiana to Ardmore, Oklahoma, and what in the hell is she going to do if he recognizes her?

Today's Deals

Note that neither of today's Deals are in the Kindle Lending Library, from what I can tell.

Pearl of China ($1.99), by Anchee Min, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.
Book Description
It is the end of the nineteenth century and China is riding on the crest of great change, but for nine-year-old Willow, the only child of a destitute family in the small southern town of Chin-kiang, nothing ever seems to change. Until the day she meets Pearl, the eldest daughter of a zealous American missionary.

Pearl is head-strong, independent and fiercely intelligent, and will grow up to be Pearl S Buck, the Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning writer and humanitarian activist, but for now all Willow knows is that she has never met anyone like her in all her life. From the start the two are thick as thieves, but when the Boxer Rebellion rocks the nation, Pearl's family is forced to leave China to flee religious persecution. As the twentieth century unfolds in all its turmoil, through right-wing military coups and Mao's Red Revolution, through bad marriages and broken dreams, the two girls cling to their lifelong friendship across the sea.
In this ambitious and moving new novel, Anchee Min, acclaimed author of Empress Orchid and Red Azalea, brings to life a courageous and passionate woman who loved the country of her childhood and who has been hailed in China as a modern heroine.

What Difference Do It Make?: Stories of Hope and Healing ($4.00 Kindle, B&N), by Denver Moore, Ron Hall and Lynn Vincent, is the Nook Daily Find. If you want the earlier title, Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together, you'll want to get it at Amazon, where it is $4.74 (it's $7.50 at B&N). Expect these Thomas Nelson titles to go up at the first of the year, as they become an Agency publisher.
Book Description
New thoughts and reflections from the authors of the inspirational New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different as Me.

The more than four hundred thousand readers stirred by the story of Ron Hall and Denver Moore will resonate with the all new, stand-alone true stories of hope and healing offered in this intimate, authentic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different as Me.

With new "Denverisms" and reflections from Denver on his personal dealings with homelessness and disrespect from others, additional insights from Ron on what we can learn from people not like us and from those dealing with a terminal illness, and the stories of readers who have been impacted by the book's central themes, this inspirational reader will generate a host of new fans. Topics include:
  • Faith and friendship
  • Racial reconciliation
  • Community outreach
  • Compassion
  • Healing
Book also includes for the first time samples of Denver's paintings.

Free Book (Kindle) - I'll Be There

I'll Be There (US/UK), by Deborah Grace Staley, is free in the Kindle store. This is a local author for me, as she lives just on the other side of my county! There is a neat video on her website that includes quite a view local pictures (and if you want to visit the area, NOW is the time, as the trees appear to be on fire from the fall color changes).

ETA: I just checked my library and this is the third title in the Angel Ridge series that has been free, plus I picked up one on the 99 cent sale in July. I now have the full set!
Book Description
In Angel Ridge, Tennessee, not much goes on around town in the winter. After Christmas, folks usually hunker down and wait for spring to come to the Smokey Mountains. But given recent events, which included a bombing and newspaper publisher Jenny Thompson’s disappearance, people in town are understandably on edge. Now Jenny’s in hiding on a nearby mountain, waiting for trouble to catch up with her and none too sure it hasn’t, when reclusive mountain man Cord Goins comes to her rescue. Stuck between a beginning and an ending, both she and Cord feel powerless to control the dangerous situation they’ve found themselves in, along with the unexpected consequences of falling in love.

Free Book - Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds

Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds ($8.69 paperback), by Scott Berkun, is free to download, direct from the author for the next 5-1/2 hours only. You can pick from a DRM-free PDF, EPUB or MOBI format, so should be able to grab one that will work with any ereader.
Book Description
This definitive best-of collection of one of the web's best young writers is packed with big ideas and fun, guaranteed to make you think and smile. You'll learn to find passion, think free, manage time, pay attention and more. Scott Berkun is the bestselling author of Making Things Happen, The Myths of Innovation and Confessions of a Public Speaker. His work has appeared on CNBC, MSNBC, NPR and in The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist, The Washington Post, Wired, and other media. His famous lectures and popular blog can be found for free online at www.scottberkun.com.
Oops, forgot the link! Get the free book from the author!

Amazon Prime Members Read for Free!


There have been rumors for a while, but today, Amazon announced that all Prime members have unlimited access to their Kindle Lending Library! No longer are you limited by geography and whether your local district and librarians have purchased a book you are interested it (well, sort of) and have made a commitment to ebooks. If you are in the US, have a Prime membership (which everyone who purchases a Kindle Fire will have, for a free 30 day trial later this month), then you belong to the largest Kindle Library in the world!

Of course, it is not a bit tricky to see the price of a book, if you want to actually buy it - when you land on a page, you'll see that Prime members have $0.00 as the price, but on the BUY button, you'll see the real price for the book, if you want to purchase it. The problem is, I don't see a "borrow me" button and I'm a Prime member (but not quite a full one -- I suspect that free Amazon Mom and Student Prime memberships, along with the secondary Prime memberships don't qualify and just don't see the button needed to borrow the book).
Amazon Announcement
Dear Customers,

Today we're announcing a new benefit for Kindle owners with an Amazon Prime membership: the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free, including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. No other e-reader or ebook store offers such a service.

The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library features a wide array of popular titles, including Water for Elephants, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, and Fast Food Nation – plus award-winning novels such as The Finkler Question, motivational books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, biographies and memoirs including Kitchen Confidential, and Pulitzer Prize-winning books like Guns, Germs, and Steel.

We’re adding the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library to Prime membership at no extra cost — Amazon Prime remains just $79 a year, which gives you free two-day shipping on millions of products, plus unlimited instant streaming of almost 13,000 movies and TV shows.

If you’re a Kindle owner with Prime, you can start borrowing books today. If you don’t yet have a Kindle, our all-new Kindle family is available from just $79.

OK, it looks like access is limited to your Kindle devices only, via the Kindle storefront (so, if you are a USB access only reader, you won't be able to do this). When you search for a book, you'll see a tiny check mark and the word Prime in the lower right corner of a book. On the book's detail page, underneath the Buy button (and on this page, you do see a true price), you'll see a "Borrow for Free with Prime" button. I just tried it and I was correct - if you are a free Prime member (rather than a paid one), you can't borrow books. I'm not going to jump in just yet, though, as my 30 day free trial starts in 13 days, when my Kindle Fire arrives. I want the full 30 days with the Fire to see how I like their streaming videos both there and on the Roku Box (so I can sync watching on both size screens).

One other note (for now): Only non-Agency books are included, of course. If you are into Christian Fiction, be sure to borrow any from Thomas Nelson before the end of the year. HarperCollins has announced that they've purchased them and it should be final by the first of the year. Which means not only no Kindle Lending, but also that they prices will undoubtedly go up and there will be fewer sales on them (just as with all the Agency publishers). Their books will also be subject to the new HC rules at your regular library (they'll have to repurchase the book every 26 lends, so that means higher costs for your local libraries, some of which are boycotting Harper because of this). As the big publishers drive the smaller ones out of business, the choices may shrink. On the other hand, Amazon themselves has opened several different imprints and is supporting some independent ebook only publishers, which is actually improving access to many older titles (as is the move by many authors to republisher their backlist on their own).

Answers to some reader questions (added to the post so email readers will get them):
Yes, it appears to be one a month, BUT, there is no due date. Presumably, though, you can't a new one until you return the last one.

If a family member has Prime, but you have the Kindle account, you'll want to switch who is the main Prime owner (start it on the Kindle's account and cancel on the other, then add the other account as a secondary member).

Here's the eligibility list:
Eligible Prime members -- paid Amazon Prime, paid Amazon student, one-month free trial, and customers receiving a free month of Prime benefits with a Kindle Fire

And the fine print:
The book currently being borrowed can be read on multiple Kindle devices, as long as they are registered to the same eligible account, but cannot be read on Kindle reading apps.

One book can be borrowed at a time, and there are no due dates. You can borrow a new book as frequently as once a month, directly on your registered Kindle device, and you will be prompted to return the book that you are currently borrowing.

If you have already borrowed a book in that calendar month, you are not yet eligible to borrow a new book until the next calendar month. There is no “roll-over” or accrual of unused borrowing eligibility.
If you want a new book, you can either return the current book first, or just return it as part of the process of borrowing a new book. Also, since it is based on a calendar month, if you haven't borrowed and it's near the end of the month, it's worth going ahead and grabbing your next read early, even if you aren't quite ready for it (unless you are reading a borrowed book and haven't finished it). this will work out well for Christmas, as you can grab a book that day (if you have Prime) and get another one a week later. Of course, a week after that, you'll need to buy a book! Sneaky, aren't they?

If you want to make sure you always have access to a book, you'll need to buy it. Although Amazon will keep your notes, highlights, bookmarks, etc backed up (and your notes on the https://kindle.amazon.com page, there is no guarantee that a book will remain in the lending library. If you BUY the book, though, Amazon has publicly promised to keep the book in YOUR library, forever.

Also, as you can see from the fine print - it doesn't work at all unless you have a REAL Kindle device (but, it should work with every one created so far, even the originals - which makes them a great library device, even if you can't get local library books sent wirelessly). No apps and no desktops/laptops/phones. Not only can you not access the library on those, you can't read these library books on them (although you can books checked out from a local library, using Overdrive).