Kindle and eBook News

The Kindle Fire is now sold out and not coming back, along with the Kindle Touch. Both have been removed from the Kindle Family menu pulldown (although they do still show on the banner when you click on Buy a Kindle) menubar). So, those rumors from China of a new tablet, are, it seems completely true ... or, at least some of them are. There should be new eInk and tablet Kindle editions at the end of this week, which is when the big announcement/press conference is scheduled for.

On the Agency publishing front, the lawsuits have been settled in 49 states (sorry Minnesotans) and some type of compensation will be offered to every person who purchased one or more titles from an Agency publisher during the last two and a half years. You can read the press release from the Connecticut Attorney General for some of the details, but it appears that each store will handle things differently: some will send you a check, others send out an email asking if you prefer that or a store credit. Don't expect anything just yet, the settlement has to be approved, but once it is, watch your email as you should start getting contacts within 30 days. I'd also be very careful to make sure that any email you get about this is legit - seems like a good opportunity for the scammers/phishers out there to try to get your passwords with a fake email about the settlement.

The big news in the settlement, though, is that all Agency publishing arrangements that Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have with retailers – such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble – will be terminated and pricing of books will go back to the retailers. Two publisher, Penguin and MacMillan, haven't opted in to the settlement and cases against them and Apple are still pending.

On the Amazon publishing front, it appears that Amazon has purchased Dorchester Publishing (although the press release isn't on the Amazon page, yet). Not only will they be paying Dorchester's authors in the future, they will be making good on the unpaid royalties from the past few years, so you don't to boycott them anymore (or feel bad if you didn't in the past). Dorchester joins Avalon Books and Marshall Cavendish US Children’s Books (both recent Amazon purchases), along with the Amazon founded imprints, which may mean that they will be Amazon exclusive publishers (if only because other retailers decline to carry their titles, as B&N has been known to do).

Today's Deals

Amazon has reloaded their 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less sale.

Additional formats on free books (including Kindle US):

• The Widow of Larkspur Inn (K/N/E)

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is the AmazonEncore edition of True Crime ($1.99), a Nathan Heller novel by Max Allan Collins. Looks like a good one to add to my collection of his novels.

Book Description
1934 Chicago dazzles with fast action and calculating, cold-blooded meanness as private detective Nate Heller combs Chicago’s North Side looking for John Dillinger. But things take a turn for the strange when self-aggrandizing G-Man Melvin Purvis shoots down a Dillinger double in front of the Biograph Theater. Full of muscle and oozing Chicago’s tough-guy persona to the hilt, Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller is the ultimate private investigator—in the ultimate P.I. town. Heller’s undercover search for a farmer’s-daughter-turned-gun-moll has him on the dusty Depression backroads of middle America, in the company of Ma Barker and her boys, Baby Face Nelson, Alvin Karpis, and a very-much-still-alive Dillinger—whose outlandish plan to kidnap J. Edgar Hoover in downtown Chicago is one Heller tries to foil. Including appearances by fan dancer Sally Rand, boxer Barney Ross, and Heller's “godfather,” Frank Nitti, True Crime is a relentless classic.

About the Author
Max Allan Collins is the author of the Shamus Award-winning Nathan Heller historical thrillers; his other books include the New York Times bestseller Saving Private Ryan and the bestselling CSI series. His comics writing ranges from the graphic novel Road to Perdition, source of the Tom Hanks film, to long runs as scripter of the “Dick Tracy” comic strip and his own innovative “Ms. Tree.” Collins is also a screenwriter and a leading Indie filmmaker. He lives in Iowa with his wife, writer Barbara Collins, and their son, Nathan.

Out of It ($1.57 / £0.99 UK), by Selma Dabbagh, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.59).

Book Description
Gaza is being bombed. Rashid - an unemployed twenty-seven year old who has stayed up smoking grass watching it happen - wakes to hear that he's got the escape route he's been waiting for: a scholarship to London. His twin sister, Iman - frustrated by the atrocities and inaction around her - has also been up all night, in a meeting that offers her nothing but more disappointment. Grabbing recklessly at an opportunity to make a difference, she finds herself being followed by an unknown fighter.

Meanwhile Sabri, the oldest brother of this disparate family, works on a history of Palestine from his wheelchair as their mother pickles vegetables and feuds with the neighbours.

Written with extraordinary humanity and humour, and moving between Gaza, London and the Gulf, Out of It is a tale that redefines Palestine and its people. It follows the lives of Rashid and Iman as they try to forge paths for themselves in the midst of occupation, religious fundamentalism and the divisions between Palestinian factions. It tells of family secrets, unlikely love stories and unburied tragedies as it captures the frustrations and energies of the modern Arab world.

The Worst-Case Scenario Almanac: Politics ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by David Borgenicht, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Leave it to the experts of the best-selling Worst-Case Scenario series to ferret out the most scandalous, dangerous, incompetent, and downright awful people to ever seek power. The most lavish palaces, the bloodiest coups, the stupidest declarations. . . . Plus all the lists, charts, maps, and profiles that have made the Worst-Case Scenario Almanacs such a success. Which country had more governments in the past 175 years Italy or Bolivia? What ever happened to all those people who ran for vice president of the United States of America and lost? Illustrated, step-by-step scenarios describe how to respond when confronted with misfortune or challenge, including how to give a concession speech, kiss a drooling baby, escape a sex scandal, and evade the truth.

The Little Mermaid - Classics Illustrated Junior #525 ($1.99 B&N), by Hans Christian Andersen, is the Nook Daily Find for Families (requires NOOK Tablet or NOOK Color with software version 1.4.3). This comic appears to be out of print (again; original publication was in the 1950's and it was reprinted last in 2009) and no Kindle edition is to be found.

Book Description
A little sea princess, longing to be human, trades her mermaid's tail for legs, hoping to win the love of a prince and earn an immortal soul for herself. On the Little Mermaid's fifteenth birthday she visits the world above the sea for the first time and falls in love with a prince whom she rescues from a storm. Capturing the magic of Hans Christian Andersen's original tale, Classics Illustrated reveals the spectacle of the worlds below and above the sea. Beautifully illustrated, this classic tale will capture children's interest and spark their imagination inspiring a lifelong love of literature and reading.

Classics Illustrated Junior is an iconic comic series featuring vibrant, full-color adaptations of literary classics; featuring fairy tales, folk tales and myths.

These digital graphic novels are presented in a comic book format with robust color illustrations that introduce literature to readers of all ages.

"Parents will find pleasure in recapturing wonderful memories while joining their children in these enchanting stories of make-believe and the wealth of thrills they hold."

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is all three novels of Jessica Day George's Dragon Slippers trilogy, for young readers Grade Level: 5 and up, for $1.99 apiece.

Dragon Slippers

Poor Creel. She can't believe her aunt wants to sacrifice her to the local dragon. It's a ploy to lure a heroic knight so that he will fight the dragon, marry Creel out of chivalrous obligation, and lift the entire family out of poverty. Creel isn't worried. After all, nobody has seen a dragon in centuries.

But when the beast actually appears, Creel not only bargains with him for her life, she also ends up with a rare bit of treasure from his hoard, not gold or jewels, but a pair of simple blue slippers-or so she thinks. It's not until later that Creel learns a shocking truth: She possesses not just any pair of shoes, but ones that could be used to save her kingdom, which is on the verge of war, or destroy it.

Jessica Day George makes a memorable debut in this enchanting tale of dragons, betrayals, and the power of friendship.

Dragon Flight

With the Dragon Wars over, Creel finds herself bored with life as a seamstress. Then word comes that a bordering country has been breeding dragons in preparation for an invasion. Never one to miss out on the action, Creel throws herself headlong into an adventure that will reunite her with Shardas, the king of the dragons, pit her against a vicious new dragon, and perhaps rekindle a friendship with Prince Luka. Funny, heart-felt, and action packed, new readers and returning fans alike will dive headlong into this exhilarating follow up to Dragon Slippers.

Dragon Spear

With peace established between the humans and the dragons, young couple Creel and Luka are planning their wedding. But then the dragon queen, Velika, is kidnapped by a band of rogue dragons in need of a ruler. When Creel and Luka rush to help, they discover that Luka's father has plans to take back the Far Islands from the dragons. Creel's happily ever after just might be postponed . . . again.

End of Month Reminder

Just a reminder that it's the last night for the current 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less sale; in addition, for those that have Amazon Prime, it's the last night to rent a book this month, if you haven't done so already. I keep a list of those I might want to rent (in a wishlist) and will have to check it tonight myself, since I haven't used up my rental, either.

Today's Deals

As I suspected, yesterday's late release from The Charles River Editors was in preparation for making this month's freebies into repeats - current count is now over 100 free titles.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Boarding House ($1.99), by Sharon Sala (Bell Bridge Books). Searching in the Kindle store, quite a number of her suspense novels are on sale under $10 (the ones from Harper are more expensive). When I checked my library, I found 15 of her novels (one of them a YA fantasy), but not this one.

Book Description
Ellie Wayne doesn't just live. She survives.

New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala brings emotional intensity to an unforgettable story of survival, empowerment and raw courage.

Ellie Wayne has grown up in frightening circumstances, damaged by a sexually abusive father and mentally fragile mother. Scarred and still threatened by a father she hates and fears, Ellie believes her future holds nothing more than danger, shame and secrets . . . until the unspeakable happens, and Ellie is forced to choose. She can claim her life or continue to hide in the shadows.

One amazing man might be the miracle worker who can help Ellie see that she has the power to move on with her life, to hope for something more. If she can trust him.

Readers will cheer for this amazing woman as she struggles to leave victimhood behind.

About the Author
Sharon Sala is a long time member of Romance Writers of America writing as Sharon Sala and Dinah McCall. She writes romantic suspense, Young Adult, and Women's Fiction. First published in 1991, she's a seven-time RITA finalist, winner of the Janet Dailey Award, four-time winner of the Career Achievement award from RT Magazine, five time winner of the National Reader's Choice Award and five time winner of the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence as well as the Bookseller Best Award. Her books are New York Times, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly mass market best-sellers. Writing changed her life, her world, and her fate.

Habits of the House ($1.57 / £0.99 UK), the first title in the Love & Inheritance series by Fay Weldon, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $12.99).

Book Description
Fay Weldon’s new novel takes us inside the lives of an aristocratic household in the last three months of the nineteenth century. It’s a time of riot and confusion, social upheaval, war abroad and shortage of money. Tea gowns are still laced with diamonds; there are still nine courses at dinner, but bankruptcy looms for the Dilbernes. Whilst the Earl, gambler and man about town, must seek a new post in government; his wife Lady Isobel’s solution is to marry off their son Arthur to a wealthy heiress, and without delay. But how? It’s the end of the season, and choices are few. There’s Minnie O’Brien from Chigaco - rich enough, but daughter of a stockyard baron, and with a vulgar mother and dubious past. Hardly suitable ...! Fay Weldon tells this tale of restraint and desire, manners and morals with wit and sympathy - if no small measure of mischief - as young Minnie and Arthur, thrown together by their parents, strive to determine their own destiny.

Coming Home ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Karen Kingsbury, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Coming Home is a novel about tremendous victory and unprecedented loss, a story of faith and a forever kind of love, love that will stay with you long after the last page. This stand-alone novel will serve as either a grand introduction or a beautiful conclusion in the saga of the Baxter Family.The Baxters make plans to come together for a summer lakeside reunion, a celebration like they haven’t had in years. But before the big day, the unthinkable happens. As the Baxter Family rallies together, memories come to light in the grief-stricken hours of waiting and praying, memories that bring healing and hope during a time when otherwise darkness might have the final word.In a season that changes all of them, the brilliance of family love overshadows even the valley of heartache as the Baxters draw closer to God and each other. Along the way, secrets are revealed and the truth about the Baxter Family history is finally made known. Ultimately, in this portrait of family love, the Baxters cling to each other and to God’s promise of forever.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda ($9.84 Kindle pre-order, $1.99 B&N), by Tom Angleberger, is the Nook Daily Find for Families. This is a PagePerfect NOOK Book, so it requires NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet or NOOK Study, while the Kindle edition works on the Kindle Fire, Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android apps.

Book Description
In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel.

Grade Level: 3 and up

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance ($1.99), by Keith Graves.

Book Description
Frank was a monster who wanted to dance. So he put on his hat, and his shoes made in France... and opened a jar and put ants in his pants! So begins this monstrously funny, deliciously disgusting, horrifyingly hilarious story of a monster who follows his dream. Keith Graves' wacky illustrations and laugh-out-loud text will tickle the funny bone and leave readers clamoring for an encore.

Grade Level: P and up

In Winter's Shadow ($10.09 Kindle, $3.99 B&N), by Gillian Bradshaw, is the Nook Weekend Deal; it's not yet price matched on Kindle, but that may change over the weekend (especially if the lower price gets reported enough).

Book Description
Vows broken. . .
Friendships betrayed. . .
The fate of heroes finally revealed. . .

As powerful enemies attack the throne from inside the kingdom, Arthur, his queen, and his greatest warrior Gwalchmai will be put to the ultimate test. Never faltering in her loyalty to the king, Gwynhwyfar has stood at Arthur's side through rebellion and war. But one desperate decision could cost her all they've built. With the kingdom crumbling around them, following the Queen's heart could be the greatest threat of all. ..

Today's Deals

Be sure to check out the Free Android App and Music today - Angry Birds (ad-free) and a very good broadway musical selection (link fixed).

New coupon codes at Kobo: aug2530ij for 25% off on Bestsellers and aug2930ty for 30% off select "Amazing" titles (both exp Sep 3) and the big one: use Romance50 to get 50% off of Romance Bestsellers (exp Sep 9).

A reader spotted Beguilement, by multiple Hugo Award-winning author Lois McMaster Bujold, currently marked down to $0.99! I'd be grabbing it at this price, if it weren't one I picked up from Fictionwise (before the Agency agreements went into place). Originally conceived as a two-volume series, The Sharing Knife saga ended up spanning four volumes.

Book Description
Troubled young Fawn Bluefield seeks a life beyond her family’s farm. But en route to the city, she encounters a patrol of Lakewalkers, nomadic soldier–sorcerers from the northern woodlands. Feared necromancers armed with mysterious knives made of human bone, they wage a secret, ongoing war against the scourge of the "malices," immortal entities that draw the life out of their victims, enslaving human and animal alike.

It is Dag—a Lakewalker patroller weighed down by past sorrows and onerous present responsibilities—who must come to Fawn’s aid when she is taken captive by a malice. They prevail at a devastating cost—unexpectedly binding their fates as they embark upon a remarkable journey into danger and delight, prejudice and partnership . . . and perhaps even love.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Soldier's Wife ($1.99), by Margaret Leroy.

Book Description
A novel full of grand passion and intensity, The Soldier’s Wife asks “What would you do for your family” “What should you do for a stranger” and “What would you do for love”

As World War II draws closer and closer to Guernsey, Vivienne de la Mare knows that there will be sacrifices to be made. Not just for herself, but for her two young daughters and for her mother-in-law, for whom she cares while her husband is away fighting. What she does not expect is that she will fall in love with one of the enigmatic German soldiers who take up residence in the house next door to her home. As their relationship intensifies, so do the pressures on Vivienne. Food and resources grow scant, and the restrictions placed upon the residents of the island grow with each passing week. Though Vivienne knows the perils of her love affair with Gunther, she believes that she can keep their relationship—and her family—safe. But when she becomes aware of the full brutality of the Occupation, she must decide if she is willing to risk her personal happiness for the life of a stranger.

A Carpet Ride to Khiva: Seven Years on the Silk Road ($1.57 / £0.99 UK), by Christopher Aslan Alexander, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.90).

Book Description
Chris Alexander originally travelled to Khiva, a remote walled city in Uzbekistan on the route of the ancient Silk Road, to write a guidebook. But he stayed, mesmerized by a world of silk and forgotten 15th-century carpet designs – discovering indigo blue, madder red, pomegranate gold and the subtle shades of life in a desert oasis. Alexander’s entrancing travelogue sees him stripped naked at a former Soviet youth camp, crawling through silkworm droppings, tackling a carpet-thieving mayor, distinguishing natural dyes from sacks of opium in Northern Afghanistan, bluffing his way through My Heart Will Go On for Uzbek TV and seeking sanctuary as an anti-Western riot consumed the Kabul carpet bazaar. The result is an unforgettable true story of a journey to the heart of the unknown.

Heroes and Monsters: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be Human ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Josh James Riebock, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Every one of us is both a hero and a monster, and the world we inhabit is both beautiful and twisted. We are shaken by changes, losses, gains, insights, desires, mistakes, and transitions. And just when we've gotten settled back down, things get shaken up again. This is the life we've been given. So how do we make sense of life's unexpected nature, find a way to embrace the tension, and live with a sense of peace despite pain?

In this stunningly honest, compelling, and ultimately hopeful book, Josh James Riebock explores issues of trust, obedience, intimacy, dreams, grief, purpose, and the unexpected stops along the journey that form us into the people we are. In a creative way, he shows readers that pain and beauty are so inextricably linked that to lose the former costs us the latter.

Those grappling with life's inconsistencies and trials will especially find a welcome resonance between their lives and Heroes and Monsters. Riebock both validates their experiences and challenges them to live beyond them in this ever-changing life.

The Brimstone Key ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in the Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicle series by Derek Benz and Jon S. Lewis, is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
A brand new adventure starring The Grey Griffins!

Max---the leader
Natalia---the brains
Ernie---the changeling
Harley---the muscle

A year ago, Max, Natalia, Ernie, and Harley were just regular kinds from Avalon, Minnesota, but that was before they learned that evil faeries, werewolves, and other unthinkable monsters existed just beyond our world. Now they are the Grey Griffins: monster hunters, celebrated heroes, and allies to the legendary Templar Knights--but even heroes have to go to school.

This year, they're attending Iron Bridge Academy, a school where students learn to fight against the forces of evil. Here, the Griffins find themselves in a whole new adventure when The Clockwork King, a Templar foe from the past, returns with a deadly plan.

Grade Level: 3 and up

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is A Certain Slant of Light ($1.99), a YA novel by Laura Whitcomb.

Book Description
Someone was looking at me, a disturbing sensation if you’re dead.

Though I could not feel paper between my fingers, smell ink, or taste the tip of a pencil, I could see and hear the world with all the clarity of the Living. They, on the other hand, did not see me as a shadow or a floating vapor. To the Quick, I was empty air.

Or so I thought.

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: For the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen–terrified, but intrigued–is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.