Today's Deals

Today's the last day for the $47.40 Kindle (using Amazon Visa). Amazon has replenished their stock of Kindle Touch 3G, but only the ones "with Special Offers". The Kindle Touch WiFi Only (also only "with Special Offers") is now down to a 2-3 day wait. If you don't want the ads, you have to go with the entry level Kindle or step up to the Kindle Keyboard 3G.

If you use SD or USB Flash drives to back up or move data, Amazon has several from Transcend on sale today, at 40%-70% off list price, as their GoldBox Deal of the Day. There are also a couple of SSD drives in the sale (although not at as high a discount). The 256GB drive would work well as a replacement start drive for many notebook computers (I've noticed several computers now come with an SSD drive as the boot drive and a regular SATA drive as the secondary, for added storage).

On B&N's Facebook page, you can now vote for this weekend's $3.99 deal: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi vs. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. Both are YA dystopian debuts; since they are both published by HarperCollins, the price should be matched on Kindle this weekend. If you pick Shatter Me, you'll also want to pre-order the sequel novella Destroy Me and watch for Unravel Me next February. Under the Never Sky, on the other hand, has already been optioned for a movie and the sequel, Through the Ever Night, releases in January. It's a tough choice (and they are running neck and neck in the voting), but I'm going to go with Rossi on this one.

Celebrate Julia Child's 100th birthday with today's Kindle Deal of the Day: As Always, Julia ($1.99), by Joan Reardon. I was lucky enough to get a review copy and fans should enjoy the tidbits revealed in her correspondence and the photos included. This was one of Amazon's Best Books of the Month, December 2010. You'll also want to check out the extra photos on Amazon's page, including her penciled remarks when she received a rejection letter the first time she submitted their cookbook. Amazon has also picked up a few other books by and about Julia that you might be interested in.

Book Description
With her outsize personality, Julia Child is known around the world by her first name alone. But despite that familiarity, how much do we really know of the inner Julia?

Now more than 200 letters exchanged between Julia and Avis DeVoto, her friend and unofficial literary agent memorably introduced in the hit movie Julie & Julia, open the window on Julia’s deepest thoughts and feelings. This riveting correspondence, in print for the first time, chronicles the blossoming of a unique and lifelong friendship between the two women and the turbulent process of Julia’s creation of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, one of the most influential cookbooks ever written.

Frank, bawdy, funny, exuberant, and occasionally agonized, these letters show Julia, first as a new bride in Paris, then becoming increasingly worldly and adventuresome as she follows her diplomat husband in his postings to Nice, Germany, and Norway.

With commentary by the noted food historian Joan Reardon, and covering topics as diverse as the lack of good wine in the United States, McCarthyism, and sexual mores, these astonishing letters show America on the verge of political, social, and gastronomic transformation.

Running With the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth ($2.02 / £1.29 UK), by Adharanand Finn, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $13.99). Note that although a Ugandan won the Olympic Gold, he had trained in Kenya since his teens and Kenya took both Silver and Bronze (and the top two slots in the London Marathon this year, as well).

Book Description
After years of watching Kenyan athletes win the world's biggest races, from the Olympics to big city marathons, Runner's World contributor Adharanand Finn set out to discover just what it was that made them so fast - and to see if he could keep up. Packing up his family (and his running shoes), he moved from Devon to the small town of Iten, in Kenya, home to hundreds of the country's best athletes. Once there he laced up his shoes and ventured out onto the dirt tracks, running side by side with Olympic champions, young hopefuls and barefoot schoolchildren. He ate their food, slept in their training camps, interviewed their coaches, and his children went to their schools. And at the end of it all, there was his dream, to join the best of the Kenyan athletes in his first marathon, an epic race through lion country across the Kenyan plains. With global attention on both the London Marathon in April 2012 and the London Olympics in the summer, there has never been a more exciting time to experience what it is really like to train and race with the stars of distance running.

Revenge of the Witch ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney and Patrick Arrasmith, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. If you missed the incredible pricing snafu on this series last summer, this is your chance to start a good YA series.

Book Description
For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried–some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope; the last apprentice. Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook's warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county ... ?

Grade Level: 8 and up

Big Nate: In a Class by Himself ($7.15 Hardcover, $1.99 B&N), by Lincoln Peirce, is the Nook Daily Find for Families (no Kindle edition). Note: PagePerfect™ NOOK Books require NOOK TABLET or NOOK Color with software version 1.4.

Book Description
Big Nate is in a class by himself!

But things don't always go your way just because you're awesome.

• Nate barely survives his dad's toxic oatmeal before rushing off to school—minus his lunch.
• He body slams the no-nonsense principal.
• He accidentally insults his least favorite teacher, the horrifying Mrs. Godfrey (aka Godzilla).
• And school has barely started!

Nate keeps his cool. He knows he's destined for greatness. A fortune cookie told him so.

For fans of the ever popular, ever hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series: Get ready to meet Big Nate!

Grade Level: 3 and up

Free Book - The Incredible Shrinking Tour of Chicago (I)

The Incredible Shrinking Tour of Chicago, by by Wilco, is on iTunes, courtesy of dBpm Records / ANTI- (Warner Music). It's short, but includes behind the scenes shots and music (so is quite large); requires iBooks 2 and iOS 5.

Book Description
A document of Wilco's December 2011 Incredible Shrinking Tour of Chicago, during which they played a succession of intimate venues as a "thank you" to hometown fans. The book features exclusive photos of the shows, backstage video footage and audio, documenting this unique week of shows of one of America's foremost rock bands.

Get the free ebook from iTunes; also available for Canadians.

Today's Deals

Warren Adler is repeating his offer for a free copy of New York Echoes (DRM-free).

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The Time of the Dark ($1.99), the first title in the Darwath series by Barbara Hambly (Open Road). I bought this one the last time it was offered at this price.

Book Description
A murderous force threatens a far-off magical world, and an ordinary Californian is drawn into the battle to save mankind

As a student of medieval history, Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories. She knows well the Crusades, the Black Death, and the other horrors of the Middle Ages, but it is another kind of atrocity that has begun to haunt her dreams. She sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat.

Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil's world. The student of history is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barbara Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

The Report ($1.55 / £0.99 UK), by Jessica Francis Kane, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99).

Book Description
It is an early spring evening in 1943 when the air-raid sirens wail out over the East End of London. From every corner of Bethnal Green, people emerge from pubs, cinemas and houses and set off for the shelter of the tube station. But at the entrance steps, something goes badly wrong, the crowd panics, and 173 people are crushed to death. When an enquiry is called for, it falls to the local magistrate, Laurence Dunne, to find out what happened during those few, fatally confused minutes. But as Dunne gathers testimony from the guilt-stricken warden of the shelter, the priest struggling to bring comfort to his congregation, and the grieving mother who has lost her youngest daughter, the picture grows ever murkier. The more questions Dunne asks, the more difficult it becomes to disentangle truth from rumour – and to decide just how much truth the damaged community can actually bear. It is only decades later, when the case is reopened by one of the children who survived, that the facts can finally be brought to light …

Tall Tales and Wedding Veils ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Jane Graves, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. Looks like I bought this one the last time it was on sale, also.

Book Description
Accountant Heather Montgomery is a planner. So never in her wildest dreams did she think she'd run into sexy charmer Tony McCaffrey in Vegas, play lady luck, and celebrate his jackpot with a champagne-soaked night. And she certainly never expected to wake up the next morning married! How could this good girl pick a man whose fridge is empty and whose apartment is a disaster zone, yet still drives her so crazy with lust she can't see straight?

Quickly hitched and happily ditched, Tony can't wait to get back to his playboy ways. But when Heather's family is thrilled that their no-nonsense daughter is finally in love, he proposes a plan: stay married for a month to repay his good luck charm, even though she sterilizes his toothbrush and forbids anything between the sheets. But Heather is more than he bargained for--a sharp-witted, passionate woman who just might turn his near miss into wedded bliss!

Madhattan Mystery ($9.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by John J. Bonk, is the Nook Daily Find for Families. There aren't many customer reviews yet, but it does have a starred review from Booklist, so worth looking into for those with younger kids; at 300 pages, it'll also keep them busy for a while. I've reported the lower price; generally if enough people do, Amazon lowers their price by the afternoon/evening.

Book Description
Lexi and her younger brother, Kevin, are spending the summer in New York City with their colorful actress aunt while their father is away on his honeymoon with his new wife. Still mourning the loss of their mother, time in NYC should be a welcome change for Lexi and Kevin-assuming that the day camp they'll be attending isn't super lame.
But excitement finds Lexi and Kevin when, while waiting for their aunt in Grand Central in the famous Whispering Gallery, Lexi overhears a conversation about a big jewel heist going down. Once at Aunt Roz's, the siblings meet Kim Ling Levine in the building. Half Chinese, half Jewish, persuasive and all knowing, Kim Ling urges them to ditch day camp and dig into the more exciting mystery Alexi overheard in Grand Central. After several missteps and a run-in with a mischievous runaway can Lexi, Kevin, and Kim find out who's behind the jewel heist without getting into too much trouble themselves?

Age Level: 8 and up

Today's Deals

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is This Is Where I Leave You ($2.99), by Jonathan Tropper. This Agency priced title is also today's Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
The death of Judd Foxman's father marks the first time that the entire Foxman clan has congregated in years. There is, however, one conspicuous absence: Judd's wife, Jen, whose affair with his radio- shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public. Simultaneously mourning the demise of his father and his marriage, Judd joins his dysfunctional family as they reluctantly sit shiva-and spend seven days and nights under the same roof. The week quickly spins out of control as longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and old passions are reawakened. Then Jen delivers the clincher: she's pregnant.

This Is Where I Leave You is Jonathan Tropper's most accomplished work to date, and a riotously funny, emotionally raw novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that bind-whether we like it or not.

Fury of Fire ($1.55 / £0.99 UK), the first book in the paranormal romance Dragonfury series by Coreene Callahan, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99/KLL eligible). Montlake Romance has the next two in the series also on sale at $3.99 in the US and pre-orders up for the first two titles in her next series.

Book Description
A clandestine race of half-dragon, half-humans known as dragon-shifters lives among us. Bastian, leader of the Nightfury dragon clan, is sworn to protect humankind at all costs. For him, honor and duty always come first. When the clan dictates he take a human mate to sire a son, he falters, aware that for a human to birth a dragon-shifter she must die. Myst, the woman given into his care, is the most extraordinary he’s ever met, and though he can’t bear the thought of harming her he is bound by duty.

Myst loves her life in the human world, but Bastian has captured her heart in an instant of electric connection. But Bastian and his warriors are in the middle of a deadly battle with the Razorback dragon-shifters, intent on killing every Nightfury clan member—and the humans they protect—the fate of their world and ours hangs in the balance.

An extraordinary blend of action, fantasy, and steamy romance, Fury of Fire brings to life a dangerous new world intertwined with the survival of humanity, all while exploring the meaning of honor and the nature of true love.

An Enhanced Edition of Mr. Popper's Penguins ($6.71 Kindle, $1.84 B&N), by Richard Atwater, Florence Atwater and Robert Lawson, is the Nook Daily Find for Families (requires NOOK Color or NOOK Tablet).

Book Description
The classic Newbery Honor Book-now enhanced with video

Mr. Popper has penguins in his fridge, an ice rink in the basement, and a family for whom life will never be the same

How many penguins in the house is too many? Mr. Popper is a humble house painter living in Stillwater who dreams of faraway places like the South Pole. When an explorer responds to his letter by sending him a penguin named Captain Cook, Mr. Popper and his family's lives change forever. Soon one penguin becomes twelve, and the Poppers must set out on their own adventure to preserve their home.

First published in 1938, Mr. Popper's Penguins is a classic tale that has enchanted young readers for generations.

Today's Deals

Additional formats on free books:

• Under the Olive Tree (K/N)
• Forty Stories (K/N)

The Fictionwise code this weekend is 081112, good for 60% off non-Samhain titles.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Debora Geary's "A Modern Witch" series for $1.99 per volume (half price).

Light contemporary fantasy with a good dose of humor, a little romance, and characters you won't want to leave. While each book tells a complete story, you'll enjoy the characters far more if you start at the beginning of the series.

A Modern Witch

Can you live 28 years without discovering you're a witch?

Lauren is downtown Chicago's youngest elite realtor. She's also a witch. She must be - the fetching spell for Witches' Chat isn't supposed to make mistakes. So says the woman who coded the spell, at least.

The tall, dark, and handsome guy sent to assess her is a witch too (and no, that doesn't end the way you might think). What he finds in Lauren will change lives, mess with a perfectly good career, and require lots of ice cream therapy.

A Hidden Witch

Elorie Shaw, steeped in the traditions of the Nova Scotia witching community, but not a witch. The fetching spell must have goofed this time... or did it?

Travel to Fisher's Cove, Nova Scotia, where Moira is matriarch and the old ways are nurtured and passed to the next generation. Where a crotchety old witch makes small children cry and builds walls around the silent pain in his heart. And where Elorie - sea-glass artist, inn owner, and Moira's granddaughter - makes her home.

The old magics are strong here. Which is all fine and good until the fetching spell pulls Elorie into Witches' Chat. Because she's not a witch. Or at least not any kind of witch the old ways recognize...

A Reckless Witch

With great power comes great responsibility. So says the tradition of witching. One teenage witch missed that lesson...

As a child, Sierra Brighton traveled the world. She swam with the baby whales, danced in storm funnels, and lived in complete magical freedom. And then Momma died and Sierra ended up in foster care, an unhappy and very secret witch.

Fetched by Nell's spell, she'll no longer need to do magic on lonely beaches - but can Sierra learn to use her power safely? Or will her reckless blood put Witch Central at risk?

A Nomadic Witch

Spring brings a traveler to Nova Scotia - a tiny babe who will turn Marcus's life upside down and reincarnate the horrifying events of his past.

Can Marcus find his way through the pain to love and healing? And can the witching community finally learn to keep their astral travelers safe?

Black Water Rising ($1.55 / £0.99 UK), by Attica Locke, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $1.99).

Book Description
Writing in the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Greg Iles, Attica Locke, a powerful new voice in American fiction, delivers a brilliant debut thriller that readers will not soon forget.

Jay Porter is hardly the lawyer he set out to be. His most promising client is a low-rent call girl and he runs his fledgling law practice out of a dingy strip mall. But he's long since made peace with not living the American Dream and carefully tucked away his darkest sins: the guns, the FBI file, the trial that nearly destroyed him.

Houston, Texas, 1981. It is here that Jay believes he can make a fresh start. That is, until the night in a boat out on the bayou when he impulsively saves a woman from drowning—and opens a Pandora's box. Her secrets put Jay in danger, ensnaring him in a murder investigation that could cost him his practice, his family, and even his life. But before he can get to the bottom of a tangled mystery that reaches into the upper echelons of Houston's corporate power brokers, Jay must confront the demons of his past.

With pacing that captures the reader from the first scene through an exhilarating climax, Black Water Rising marks the arrival of an electrifying new talent.

The Devil's Rooming House: The True Story of America's Deadliest Female Serial Killer ($9.99 Kindle), by M. William Phelps, is the Nook Daily Find. It's not price matched on Kindle, B&N's Daily Find link doesn't take you anywhere and searching there for the title only brings up a full-price edition, so it probably won't be. So, instead, check out the B&N Weekend Deal, Mike Hammer: Lady, Go Die! ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, the sequel to I, the Jury.

Book Description
When Hammer and Velda go on vacation to a Long Island beach town, Hammer becomes embroiled in the mystery of a missing well-known New York party girl who lives nearby. When the woman turns up naked - and dead - astride the statue of a horse in the town square, Hammer feels compelled to investigate.

Mickey Spillane's lost 1940s Mike Hammer novel, written between I, the Jury and My Gun Is Quickand never before published! Completed by Spillane's friend and literary executor Max Allan Collins,Lady, Go Die is finally making its way into print almost 70 years after its inception!

Tuesdays at the Castle ($3.06 Kindle, B&N), by Jessica Day George, is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celia’s favorite days. That’s because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing to itself. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one - other than Celia, that is - takes time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and reportedly killed, it’s up to Celia with her secret knowledge of the Castle’s many twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom.

Age Level: 8 and up