Today's Deals

Additional formats on free books:

• The Rose of Fire (K/N)

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Where Are They Buried (Revised and Updated): How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy ($1.99), by Tod Benoit.

Book Description
Updated with dozens of entries of the newly dead and now in paperback, an irresistible and browsable guide to the lives, deaths, and final resting places of the world's most influential figures.

This unparalleled compilation of profiles of the deceased—from Abbott and Costello to Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, from Arthur Ashe to Paul Newman, offers all the pertinent details on how they lived and died. It is also a detailed atlas of where they are buried.

Each entry in this fascinating book includes an entertaining capsule biography full of little-known facts, a detailed description of each subject's death, and very specific directions to the location and site of the grave. Fifty photos and informative sidebars (on such topics as how to find anyone's grave) round out this indispensable field guide to the "permanent addresses" of the world's most significant late citizens.

New additions to the roster of final resting places include: • Tim Russert • Heath Ledger • Norman Mailer • Anna Nicole Smith • George Carlin • Rosa Parks • Hunter S. Thompson • Paul Newman • Katharine Hepburn … and many more

If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things ($1.54 / £0.99 UK), by Jon McGregor, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
On a street in a town in the North of England, ordinary people are going through the motions of their everyday existence - street cricket, barbecues, painting windows... A young man is in love with a neighbour who does not even know his name. An old couple make their way up to the nearby bus stop. But then a terrible event shatters the quiet of the early summer evening. That this remarkable and horrific event is only poignant to those who saw it, not even meriting a mention on the local news, means that those who witness it will be altered for ever.

Jon McGregor’s first novel brilliantly evokes the histories and lives of the people in the street to build up an unforgettable human panorama. Breathtakingly original, humane and moving, IF NOBODY SPEAKS OF REMARKABLE THINGS is an astonishing debut.

The Hand That First Held Mine ($9.99 Kindle, $3.99 B&N), by Maggie O'Farrell, is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
Lexie Sinclair is plotting an extraordinary life for herself.

Hedged in by her parents' genteel country life, she plans her escape to London. There, she takes up with Innes Kent, a magazine editor who wears duck-egg blue ties and introduces her to the thrilling, underground world of bohemian, post-war Soho. She learns to be a reporter, to know art and artists, to embrace her life fully and with a deep love at the center of it. She creates many lives--all of them unconventional. And when she finds herself pregnant, she doesn't hesitate to have the baby on her own.

Later, in present-day London, a young painter named Elina dizzily navigates the first weeks of motherhood. She doesn't recognize herself: she finds herself walking outside with no shoes; she goes to the restaurant for lunch at nine in the morning; she can't recall the small matter of giving birth. But for her boyfriend, Ted, fatherhood is calling up lost memories, with images he cannot place.

As Ted's memories become more disconcerting and more frequent, it seems that something might connect these two stories-- these two women-- something that becomes all the more heartbreaking and beautiful as they all hurtle toward its revelation.

Here Maggie O'Farrell brings us a spellbinding novel of two women connected across fifty years by art, love, betrayals, secrets, and motherhood. Like her acclaimed The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, it is a "breathtaking, heart-breaking creation."*And it is a gorgeous inquiry into the ways we make and unmake our lives, who we know ourselves to be, and how even our most accidental legacies connect us.

Dragon Rider ($7.01 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Cornelia Funke, is the Nook Daily Find for Families. If you have kids in grade school, this is definitely one to get, along with her Inkheart series.

Book Description
With a lonely boy named Ben on board, the brave young dragon Firedrake sets out on a magical journey to find the mythical place where silver dragons can live in peace forever. Flying over moonlit lands and sparkling seas, they encounter fantastic creatures, summon up surprising courage--and cross the path of a ruthless villain with an ancient grudge who's determined to end their quest. Only a secret destiny can save the dragons in this enchanting adventure about the true meaning home.

Grade Level: 2 and up

Nearly Free Book - Prince of the Red Looters (DF)

Prince of the Red Looters ($2.99 Kindle), by Norvell W. Page writing as Grant Stockbridge, is on sale for a penny, direct from the publisher, Radio Archives.

Book Description
Never before had any criminal dared give open challenge to the Spider! Never before had Richard Wentworth faced a foe who welcomed personal combat with the grim avenger whom all others feared... And while they fought — the Spider and the Fly — a new and fearless criminal army was forming; men and women were dying by the scores; and the youth of a nation was flocking to the dark banner of that gentlemanly killer whose battle cry was “Kill the Spider — and the world is ours!”

Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940s: The Spider — Master of Men!

Richard Wentworth — the dread Spider, nemesis of the Underworld, lone wolf anti-crime crusader who always fights in that grim no-man’s land between Law and lawless — returns in vintage pulp tales of the Spider, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format.

As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction: “Meet the Spider” especially for this series of eBooks.

These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and feature the original full color cover. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics line of eBooks are of the highest quality and feature the great Pulp Fiction stories of the 1930s-1950s.

Get the nearly free ebook from Radio Archives (you will need to set up an account). You'll get a zip file after checkout, with DRM-free copies in MOBI, EPUB and PDF. If you sign up for their newsletter, while you are there, you'll also get a free download an episode of the Weird Tales Radio Show, originally recorded in 1932.

Free Audiobooks - The Amulet of Samarkand & Tales from the Arabian Nights

There are two new free audiobook from Sync today. First, I've linked in the info from the ebook or audiobook version of each title (Amazon has the best reviews), followed by the link to get your copies free, with directions to ensure you get the complete download.

The first free audiobook is The Amulet of Samarkand ($7.09 Kindle, $20.95 Audible), by Jonathan Stroud, narrated by Simon Jones. I can highly recommend this one, at least in ebook form (and what I've listened to of the audiobook so far); I received a review copy from the publisher and quickly grabbed the second in the series at B&N when it was on sale a few days ago. Yes, it says it is for grade 5 and up, but if you liked Harry Potter at all, you'll like this one (I thought it was considerably better written and not as childish in writing style, even though meant for the same age group). Also like the Harry Potter series, each novel is quite long - this one is 468 pages in print.

Book Description
Nathaniel is a magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hot-shot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of his elders, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge on his mind, he summons the powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace's greatest treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.

Grade Level: 5 and up

The abridged edition of Tales from the Arabian Nights ($11.95 Audible), by Andrew Lang, narrated by Toby Stephens, is the second selection. There are several Kindle editions, ranging from free to a few dollars, for those that like to read along with the audio.

Book Description
To save herself from certain death, the beautiful Scheherazade must beguile a Persian sultan with her enchanting stories. In two of her most well-known tales, Aladdin and Ali Baba’s cleverness and quick-thinking save the day—and a great treasure. Andrew Lang’s masterful version of these ancient Middle Eastern folk tales will captivate listeners of all ages, just as they did when Scheherazade was the storyteller.

Click HERE to get the free downloads (you'll need to enter your name and an email address. You'll 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; there is a link at Sync, if you don't already have Overdrive installed).

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). Make sure your audiobook is fully downloaded before the end of the week, as once the promo period is over, you won't be able to get them 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). Two new titles each Thursday!

Today's Deals

Apologies to those that received more than one notice on posts yesterday. Blogger made a sudden change and I had to remove and repost the early posts during the day, to ensure they would work correctly on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Devil Wind ($1.99), by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid (Oceanview Publishing). In the past month, we've received two of Schlian's novels free (Dead Air and Rabbit in the Moon) and there is also another edition of this one that is eligible for Prime Lending.

Book Description
Outspoken, brash New Yorker Sammy Greene needs a second chance. Fired from her job as a Washington TV producer, her midnight to 3 am show Sammy Greene on the LA Scene at a small progressive radio station soon has Sammy ruffling the feathers of a popular Orange County Congressman. And everyone is listening.

December, 1999. 10 days before the new millennium. Already on edge with Santa Ana devil wind fanning fires threatening to engulf the city and Y2K looming, Sammy's callers imagine Armageddon - the perfect setting for a rogue CIA operative to manipulate fears as cover for his deadly plot.

A young woman's burned body identified as the wayward daughter of old friend, Gus Pappajohn spurs the ex-campus cop to join Sammy in what may be a murder investigation, along the way exposing the seamy underbelly of Tinseltown. If Sammy's not careful this time, someone will make sure she's off the air for good.

Against the Light ($1.54 / £0.99 UK), by Dave Duncan, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99/KLL Eligible). I started reading Dave's books when they were self-published in the Kindle store (some still are) and was happy to see that he was picked up by Amazon's 47North publishing imprint; I grabbed this the last time it was on sale.

Book Description
The Hierarchy, high priests of the religious order the Light, has installed King Ethan as the monarchical figurehead, ruling both the magical kingdom of Albi and its predominant religion. Scattered throughout the land, worshippers in the old ways of the Earth Mother are persecuted as heretics. And when young missionary student Rollo Woodbridge returns home to Albi, he is immediately arrested for heresy and treason, setting off a chain of events that plunges the land into utter chaos.

The Hierarchy has more treacherous motives, however, and when Rollo is rescued from jail, his family’s home is destroyed—but Rollo and his siblings are left alive. While Rollo tries diplomacy to end the religious and political conflict, his brother and sister swear vengeance. With the hours to deliverance counting down and their lives hanging in the balance, they must decide whether to stay and fight or leave Albi forever in the suspenseful, action-packed Against the Light.

Rip Tide ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the sixth title in Dame Stella Rimington's Liz Carlyle series, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. This series is essentially a female James Bond, but written by a former Director General of the Security Service (MI5), who worked counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism during her career.

Book Description
When pirates attack a cargo ship off the Somalian coast and one of them is found to be a British-born Pakistani, alarm bells start ringing at London’s Thames House. MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is brought in to establish how and why a young British Muslim could go missing from his well-to-do family in Birmingham and end up on board a pirate skiff in the Indian Ocean, armed with a Kalashnikov.

Meanwhile, the owner of the charitable NGO that leased the ship suspects that his fleet is being deliberately targeted. But why would pirates be interested in charitable supplies? And how do they know the exact details of his ships’ cargo and routes?

When an undercover operative connected to the case turns up dead in Athens it looks like piracy may be the least of the Service’s problems.

Now Liz, with the help of Peggy Kinsolving, Dave Armstrong, and the rest of her unit, attempts to unravel the connections between Pakistan, Greece and Somalia. She’ll have to rely on their wits--and the judicious use of force--to get to the truth. And she doesn’t have long, as trouble is brewing closer to home: the kind of explosive trouble that MI5 could do without.

Tiger's Voyage ($10.98 Hardcover; $1.99 B&N), the third title in the Tiger's Curse series by Colleen Houck, is the Nook Daily Find for Families. Since this is published by Splinter, an imprint of Sterling (owned by B&N), there is no Kindle edition available.

Book Description
With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is. As the trio continues their quest by challenging five cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections--leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.

Fraught with danger, filled with magic, and packed with romance, TIger's Voyage brings Kelsey and her two tiger princes one step closer to breaking the curse.

Grades: 10+

Today's Deals

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Soldier's Joy ($1.99), by Madison Smartt Bell, published by Open Road.

Book Description Two Southern soldiers, recently back from Vietnam, struggle to resume their lives amid dangerous and deep-rooted prejudice Thomas Laidlaw returns home from Vietnam with nothing much in mind but to tend his acreage, live apart, and get lost in the roots music he grew up with. Laidlaw’s childhood friend Rodney Redmon is doubly burdened: Not only is he scarred from the war, he is also a black man living in a prejudiced area of Tennessee. Redmon’s homecoming from the war included time in jail—the result of his being framed for real estate fraud by racist forces within the local establishment. Once released, he and Laidlaw rekindle their friendship and both veterans try to put the war behind them. But when a group of local Klansman emerges, the violence that haunts them may prove impossible to escape. Masterful in its execution and stunning in its emotional resonance, Soldier’s Joy is a riveting portrait of two damaged souls struggling to achieve solace despite the demons of their past.

This is How ($1.54 / £0.99 UK), by M.J. Hyland , is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $8.80).

Book Description When his fiancé breaks off their engagement, Patrick Oxtoby leaves home and moves into a boarding house in a remote seaside town. But in spite of his hopes and determination to build a better life, nothing goes to plan and Patrick is soon driven to take a desperate and chilling course of action. This is How is a mesmerising and meticulously drawn portrait of a man whose unease in the world leads to his tragic undoing. With breathtaking wisdom and an astute insight into the human mind, award-winning M.J. Hyland’s new book is a masterpiece that inspires horror and sympathy in equal measure.

Land's End ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Marta Perry, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description Confused and angry, Dr. Sarah Wainwright returned to the Georgia island of St. James in search of answers to her husband's mysterious death--in an apparent lovers' tryst with the wife of wealthy industrialist Trent Donner. Anger seemed to be the only edge Sarah had--Trent's control of the island and his protectiveness for his young daughter were enough to drive even this scandal back into the shadows. A man whose life depended on keeping his secrets; a woman whose future depended on learning the truth--could her quest set them free, or would it destroy them all?

Chancey of the Maury River ($5.49 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Gigi Amateau, is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description On the night that Chancey is born, a "fire star" gallops across the sky, a signal that a great horse has entered the world. But it will take many years of slights and hardships before the orphaned albino will believe that the prophecy is truly meant for him. First he must find a home at the Maury River Stables and a girl named Claire who needs him as much as he needs her. Then, when his aching joints and impending blindness bring an end to their training together, he must start a new chapter as a therapeutic horse, healing people with wounds both visible and unseen. In the manner of a latter-day Black Beauty, Chancey’s observant voice narrates this absorbing story, filled with fascinating details of life at the stable and keen insight into equine instinct, human emotion, and the ineffable bond that connects them both. Grade Level: 4 and up