Free Book - The Paris Lawyer (DF)

The Paris Lawyer ($7.99 Kindle), by Sylvie Granotier and Anne Trager (Translator), is free from the publisher (via Smashwords) as a Bastille Day celebration, in return for signing up for their newsletter.

Book Description
Winner of the Grand Prix Sang d’Encre crime fiction award in 2011, for the first time in English.

As a child, Catherine Monsigny was the only witness to a heinous crime. Now, she is an ambitious rookie attorney in sophisticated modern-day Paris. On the side, she does pro bono work and hits the jackpot: a major felony case that could boost her career. A black woman is accused of poisoning her rich farmer husband in a peaceful village in central France, where the beautiful, rolling hills hold dark secrets. While preparing the case, Catherine’s own past comes back with a vengeance. This fast- paced story follows Catherine’s determined search for the truth in both her case and her own life. Who can she believe? And can you ever escape from your past? The story twists and turns, combining subtle psychological insight with a detailed sense of place.

Get the free book from Le French Book by clicking the flag icon on the upper right section of the page, signing up for the and confirming the subscription - that will then get you a Smashwords coupon and a link to the book.

Free Drinks at Starbucks Today!

I just stopped by Starbucks and they are giving away Tall Refreshers in Very Berry Hibiscus and Cool Lime from noon to 3PM here (and probably near you). I also found free codes for an iBooks cookbook there - the Tasting Table Cookbook (mine is downloading as I type). So, stop by and tell me what you think of them - they have "green coffee extract" but taste nothing like coffee!

For those that can't get a free code or stop by, you can leave a comment too - I'll draw a few names for the extra codes I picked up for it and a TV episode of Cat in the Hat. Let me know which you'd prefer (or music - I think I have a couple of those left from last week.

Today's Deals

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Welcome to the Monkey House ($1.99), by Kurt Vonnegut. I grabbed this last year when it was on sale (and at twice this price).

Book Description
This short-story collection Welcome to the Monkey House (1968) incorporates almost completely Vonnegut's 1961 "Canary in a Cathouse," which appeared within a few months of Slaughterhouse-Five and capitalized upon that breakthrough novel and the enormous attention it suddenly brought.

Drawn from both specialized science fiction magazines and the big-circulation general magazines (Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, etc.) which Vonnegut had been one of the few science writers to sell, the collection includes some of his most accomplished work. The title story may be his most famous--a diabolical government asserts control through compulsory technology removing orgasm from sex--but Vonnegut's bitterness and wit, not in his earlier work as poisonous or unshielded as it later became, is well demonstrated.

Two early stories from Galaxy science fiction magazine and one from Fantasy & Science Fiction (the famous "Harrison Bergeron") show Vonnegut's careful command of a genre about which he was always ambivalent, stories like "More Stately Mansions" or "The Foster Portfolio" the confines and formula of a popular fiction of which he was always suspicious. Vonnegut's affection for humanity and bewilderment as its corruption are manifest in these early works.

Several of these stories (those which appeared in Collier's) were commissioned by Vonnegut’s Cornell classmate and great supporter Knox Burger, also born in 1922.

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is Robert Macfarlane's The Wild Places ($1.53 / £0.99 UK) and Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination ($1.53 / £0.99 UK). US editions are $12.99 and $13.99; really out of sight, though, is his treatise Original Copy: Plagiarism and Originality in Nineteenth-Century Literature, which is $60 and published by Oxford University Press, USA (it isn't much less less for those in the UK, at just under $53).

The Wild Places

The Wild Places is both an intellectual and a physical journey, and Macfarlane travels in time as well as space. Guided by monks, questers, scientists, philosophers, poets and artists, both living and dead, he explores our changing ideas of the wild. From the cliffs of Cape Wrath, to the holloways of Dorset, the storm-beaches of Norfolk, the saltmarshes and estuaries of Essex, and the moors of Rannoch and the Pennines, his journeys become the conductors of people and cultures, past and present, who have had intense relationships with these places.Certain birds, animals, trees and objects - snow-hares, falcons, beeches, crows, suns, white stones - recur, and as it progresses this densely patterned book begins to bind tighter and tighter. At once a wonder voyage, an adventure story, an exercise in visionary cartography, and a work of natural history, it is written in a style and a form as unusual as the places with which it is concerned. It also tells the story of a friendship, and of a loss. It mixes history, memory and landscape in a strange and beautiful evocation of wildness and its vital importance.

Mountains of the Mind

Why do so many feel compelled to risk their lives climbing mountains? During the climbing season, one person a day dies in the Alps, and more people die climbing in this season in Scotland than they do on the roads. "Mountains of the Mind" pursues a fascinating investigation into our emotional and imaginative responses to mountains, and how these have changed over the last few centuries. It is rich with literary and historical references, and punctuated by beautifully written descriptions of the author's own climbing experiences. There are chapters on glaciers, geology, the pursuit of fear, the desire to explore the unknown, and the desire to get to the summit, and the book ends with a gripping account of Mallory's attempt on Everest. "Mountains of the Mind" is a beautifully written synthesis of climbing memoir and cultural history.

Charred & Scruffed ($14.71 paperback, $3.99 B&N), by Adam Perry Lang, is the Nook Daily Find, no Kindle edition. This PagePerfect NOOK Book requires a NOOK Color or NOOK Tablet with software version 1.4. or the NOOK Study app (I have it on my desktop in addition to the nook app).

Book Description
New ways to grill from the master

With Charred & Scruffed, bestselling cookbook author and acclaimed chef Adam Perry Lang employs his extensive culinary background to refine and concentrate the flavors and textures of barbecue and reimagine its possibilities.

Adam's new techniques, from roughing up meat and vegetables ("scruffing") to cooking directly on hot coals ("clinching") to constantly turning and moving the meat while cooking ("hot potato"), produce crust formation and layers of flavor, while his board dressings and finishing salts build upon delicious meat juices, and his "fork finishers" - like cranberry, hatch chile, and mango "spackles" - provide an intensely flavorful, concentrated end note.

Meanwhile, side dishes such as Creamed Spinach with Steeped and Smoked Garlic Confit, Scruffed Carbonara Potatoes, and Charred Radicchio with Sweet-and-Sticky Balsamic and Bacon, far from afterthoughts, provide exciting contrast and synergy with the "mains."

A Monster Calls ($9.34 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Patrick Ness and Jim Kay (Illustrator), is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting— he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd— whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself— Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

Grade Level: 7 and up

Free Audiobooks - Funny Business & The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

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 Guys Read: Funny Business ($5.99 Kindle; $16.95 Audible), by Jon Scieszka (editor), narrated by Michael Boatman, Kate DiCamillo, John Keating, Jon Scieszka, Bronson Pinchot.

Book Description
It’s here: Volume One of the official Guys Read Library. Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read initiative was founded on a simple premise: that young guys enjoy reading most when they have reading they can enjoy. And out of this comes a series that aims to give them just that. Ten books, arranged by theme, featuring the best of the best where writing for kids is concerned. Each book is a collection of original short stories, but these aren’t your typical anthologies—each book is edgy, inventive, visual, and one-of-a-kind, featuring a different theme for guys to get excited about.

Funny Business is based around the theme of—what else?—humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: ten hilarious stories from some of the funniest writers around. Before you’re through, you’ll meet a teenage mummy; a kid desperate to take a dip in the world’s largest pool of chocolate milk; a homicidal turkey; parents who hand over their son’s room to a biker; the only kid in his middle school who hasn’t turned into a vampire, wizard, or superhero; and more. And the contributor list includes bestselling author, award winners, and fresh new talent alike: Mac Barnett, Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paul Curtis, Kate DiCamillo (writing with Jon Scieszka), Paul Feig, Jack Gantos, Jeff Kinney, David Lubar, Adam Rex, and David Yoo.

Guys Read is all about turning young readers into lifelong ones—and with this book, and each subsequent installment in the series, we aim to leave no guy unturned.

The unabridged edition of The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County ($14.95 Audible), by Mark Twain, narrated by Norman Dietz, is the second selection for this week. There are several Kindle editions, ranging from 95 cents and up, which feature one or more of the included stories, for those that like to read along with the audio. I did find a free version of at least the main story over on Feedbooks (although I haven't checked the formatting).

Book Description
Originally published in 1865, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" began Mark Twain's remarkable career, and immediately demonstrated his masterful storytelling and brilliant sense of humor. This delightful tale introduces Jim Smiley, a man who loved to gamble, whether on horse races, dogfights, catfights, or even how long it took bugs to cross the Mexican border. When a gullible stranger came to town, Smiley boasted that his pet frog, Dan'l Webster, could outjump any frog in the county. Smiley, figuring it would be easy money, eagerly made a bet with the stranger, who had a secret plan to stop Dan'l in his tracks. This wickedly funny collection also includes several of Twain's other great short stories, including "A True Story," "Extracts from Adam's Diary," and "The Private History of a Campaign that Failed."

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

Kobo has brought back their Trivia Contest for coupons (and prizes). You have to pick a genre (from five) after signing up for the game (you need to do this once, even if you already have an account), which you will then keep for the duration. Each day, you can enter and answer a new question - correct answers win a prize, with most of them being a coupon for 10%-75% off one book. Once a day, they also give away a Kobo Vox ereader. Don't worry about writing down the coupon code displayed on screen - you'll also get a copy in your email, so they are easy to keep track of. Generally, these coupons are valid for the duration of the contest and they are individualized (and only good once).

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is National Book Critics Circle Award winning October Light ($1.99), by John Gardner, published by Open Road.

Book Description
...(A) metafictional novel centering on the tumultuous relationship of two elderly siblings

James is a cantankerous and conservative seventy-two-year-old who has spent his life caring for the animals on his farm. His widowed older sister, Sally, has strong liberal ideals and a propensity for debate. When Sally’s bankruptcy forces her to move in with her brother, their lifelong feud quickly escalates—and Sally becomes a prisoner in her own room with nothing to survive on but apples and a trashy novel about marijuana smugglers.

As Sally becomes immersed in the book, the story envelops the narrative of the siblings’ dysfunctional relationship, and Gardner explores a wide array of themes from human autonomy to self-definition to political extremism. The result is a tour de force of Gardner’s unique literary style at the height of his protean creative powers.

This ebook features a new illustrated biography of John Gardner, including original letters, rare photos, and never-before-seen documents from the Gardner family and the University of Rochester Archives.

Morgue Drawer Four ($1.53 / £0.99 UK), by Jutta Profijt and Erik J. Macki, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99/KLL Eligible). Those in the US actually get a better deal on the forthcoming Morgue Drawer Next Door ($4.99 US / £3.99 UK), which will be released next week.

Book Description
Coroner is the perfect job for Dr. Martin Gänsewein, who spends his days in peace and quiet autopsying dead bodies for the city of Cologne. Shy, but scrupulous, Martin appreciates his taciturn clients--until the day one of them starts talking to him. It seems the ghost of a recently deceased (and surprisingly chatty) small-time car thief named Pascha is lingering near his lifeless body in drawer number four of Martin's morgue. He remains for one reason: his "accidental" death was, in fact, murder. Pascha is furious his case will go unsolved--to say nothing of his body's dissection upon Martin's autopsy table. But since Martin is the only person Pascha can communicate with, the ghost settles in with the good pathologist, determined to bring the truth of his death to light. Now Martin's staid life is rudely upended as he finds himself navigating Cologne's red-light district and the dark world of German car smuggling. Unless Pascha can come up with a plan--and fast--Martin will soon be joining him in the spirit world. Witty and unexpected, Morgue Drawer Four introduces a memorable (and reluctant) detective unlike any other in fiction today.

Morgue Drawer Four was shortlisted for Germany's 2010 Friedrich Glauser Prize for best crime novel.

Her Restless Heart ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), by Barbara Cameron, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. Most of you probably already have this, as it has been free (on all platforms) twice this year.

Book Description
Mary Katherine is caught between the traditions of her faith and the pull of a different life. When Daniel, an Amish man living in Florida, arrives and shares her restlessness, Mary Katherine feels drawn to him and curious about the life he leads away from Lancaster County.

But her longtime friend Jacob has been in love with her for years. He’s discouraged that she’s never viewed him as anything but a friend and despairs that he is about to lose Mary Katherine to this outsider.

Will the conflicted Mary Katherine be lost to the Englisch world, or to Daniel, who might take her away to Florida? Or will she embrace her Amish faith and recognize Jacob as the man she should marry and build a life with?

Racing in the Rain ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Garth Stein (author of bestselling The Art of Racing in the Rain), is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking? Meet one funny dog—Enzo, the lovable mutt who tells this story. Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: most dogs love to chase cars, but Enzo longs to race them. He learns about racing and the world around him by watching TV and by listening to the words of his best friend, Denny, an up-and-coming race car driver, and his daughter, Zoë, his constant companion. Enzo finds that life is just like being on the racetrack—it isn't simply about going fast. And, applying the rules of racing to his world, Enzo takes on his family's challenges and emerges a hero. In the end, Enzo holds in his heart the dream that Denny will go on to be a racing champion with his daughter by his side. For theirs is an extraordinary friendship—one that reminds us all to celebrate the triumph of the human (and canine) spirit. This is a special adaptation for young people of the acclaimed New York Times bestselling adult novel The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Grade Level: 3 and up