Bargain Book Roundup

The 25 cent apps have changed at Google Play - this time there are some cute kid's drawing apps (at least one matched at Amazon), SketchBook Mobile for adults, a kid's storybook, World of Goo and several other interesting looking games (I love Cut the Rope, so grabbed it). Paper Camera looked interesting, but Amazon won't let you install it on a Kindle Fire (Haven't they heard? We have cameras now ... and always had photos to play with).

If you took advantage of Discover's $10 Credit Deal, the credits are now starting to hit accounts (exactly 10 business days after the purchase). You'll get an email from Amazon and the $10 will automatically add to your gift card balance (no need to find and apply a gift card code).

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye ($0.99), by Horace McCoy, is a price-match to Google's 99 cent book sale.

Book Description
McCoy’s hardboiled noir classic, about an Ivy League graduate’s criminal rampage through the seedy underground and glitzy high society of an unnamed American city

To escape prison, Ralph Cotter uses the same genius for planning and penchant for cold-hearted violence that helped earn him a spot in the slammer in the first place. On the lam in a city where he knows nobody, Cotter has nothing to lose, no conscience to hold him back, and no limit to his twisted ambition. But in the midst of a criminal spree, a grift leads him to the boudoir of wealthy heiress Margaret Dobson, a woman with the power to peel back the rotten layers of his psyche and reveal the damaged soul beneath.

Vicious and thrilling, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a look at one man’s relentless attack on American society, conjuring one of the most memorable antiheros of twentieth-century noir fiction.

This ebook features an extended biography of Horace McCoy.

Essays in Humanism ($0.99), by Albert Einstein, is another price match on an Open Road edition.

Book Description
An inspiring collection of the great thinker’s views on a rapidly changing world

Nuclear proliferation, Zionism, and the global economy are just a few of the insightful and surprisingly prescient topics scientist Albert Einstein discusses in this volume of collected essays from between 1931 and 1950. Written with a clear voice and a thoughtful perspective on the effects of science, economics, and politics in daily life, Einstein’s writings provide an intriguing view inside the mind of a genius addressing the philosophical challenges presented during the turbulence of the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the dawn of the Cold War.

This authorized Philosophical Library ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

All three titles in Daniel Parker's Wessex Papers series, for readers grade level 8+, are $2.99 apiece:

Trust Falls

Hey man,

This place is crazy. They (I'm not exactly sure who "they" are, but that oaf of a dorm counselor I told you about is at the top of the list for sure) actually planted chewing tobacco in some kid's bag so that they could expel him. And I thought all I'd have to put up with this year was a bunch of spoiled brats with platinum cards.

James, an evil stench is wafting through the air here at Wessex Academy, and it smells just like a conspiracy.

Gotta go,

Fred

Alumni brat Sunday Winthrop and new student Fred Bushmill's pranks lead to their uncovering a sinister blackmail ring -- one that will stop at nothing to incriminate one of their friends.

Fallout

Dear Charles,

I regret to inform you that I have expelled your son, Noah. This was not a decision that I made lightly. Indeed, it is particularly vexing to me, as you and your family have faithfully supported the Wessex Academy for so many years. Sadly, I had no choice. I don't want to go into the sordid details on paper; suffice it to say that the incident involved one of our female faculty members, and that Noah's behavior was inappropriate in the extreme.

Perhaps some kind of arrangement can be made, although I'm doubtful.

Again, my most sincere regrets.

Yours,
Phillip Olsen,
Headmaster

Sunday and Fred discover more about the sinister conspiracy at Wessex. The blackmailers are getting desperate....and they're willing to turn to murder.

Outsmart

Date: October 23
From: Headmaster Olsen
To: Pearson Ellis
Re: Winslow Ellis

Dear Mr. Ellis:

As you know, I've always held your son in the highest esteem. It pains me to have to inform you of his involvement in various illegal and immoral money-making schemes on the Wessex campus. Details attached.

Winslow is at a critical juncture in his education and can not afford any blemishes on his record. Toward that end, I am offering to overlook his transgressions in exchange for a donation of $300,000 to the enclosed account number.

I trust you will take care of this matter in a timely fashion.

Phillip Olsen
Headmaster

In the satisfying conclusion Sunday and Fred pull off the scam of the century -- and beat the blackmailers at their own game.

Last Bite: A Novel of Culinary Romance ($1.99), by Nancy Verde Barr

Book Description
After ending a bad relationship, Casey Costello, an executive chef at a morning television show, swears off men. Who has the time anyway? She's busy overseeing a rambunctious food-prep crew in a kitchen the size of a closet; trying to please high-maintenance celebrity guest chefs; and dealing with her large extended Italian American family, who believe that the solutions to life's problems involve food. And in the midst of her high-energy, stress-inducing career—punctuated by a steady stream of parties and restaurant openings that must not be missed—she's trying to uncover why Sally Woods, a grand old dame of the culinary world and regular on the television show, is suddenly ready to jump ship and find a new station and a new executive chef.

When Danny O'Shea, a handsome chef from one of New York's hottest new restaurants, makes a guest appearance on the show, Casey smells trouble. But feelings ignite faster than a flambé dessert, especially when Danny whips up a few surprises during a television shoot in Italy.

Narrated in Casey's smart and refreshingly disarming voice, Last Bite is an irresistible culinary caper, with characters whose appetites are as big as their personalities.

Ginseng, the Divine Root: The Curious History of the Plant That Captivated the World ($1.99), by David A. Taylor; it's the time of year when we have to shoo off ginseng hunters on our property (along with deer hunters, one of which our pups flushed out of the wood yesterday), so I may get this one myself.

Book Description
The story behind ginseng is as remarkable as the root itself. Prized for its legendary curative powers, ginseng launched the rise to power of China's last great dynasty; inspired battles between France and England; and sparked a boom in Minnesota comparable to the California Gold Rush. It has made and broken the fortunes of many and has inspired a subculture in rural America unrivaled by any herb in the plant kingdom.

Today ginseng is at the very center of alternative medicine, believed to improve stamina, relieve stress, stimulate the immune system, enhance mental clarity, and restore well-being. It is now being studied by medical researchers for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease.

In Ginseng, the Divine Root, David Taylor tracks the path of this fascinating plant—from the forests east of the Mississippi to the bustling streets of Hong Kong and the remote corners of China. He becomes immersed in a world full of wheelers, dealers, diggers, and stealers, all with a common goal: to hunt down the elusive "Root of Life." Weaving together his intriguing adventures with ginseng's rich history, Taylor uncovers a story of international crime, ancient tradition, botany, herbal medicine, and the vagaries of human nature.

Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America ($1.99), by Steve Almond (isn't that a great name for a writer of chocolate bars?)

Book Description
Perhaps you remember the whipped splendor of the Choco-Lite, or the luscious Caravelle bar, or maybe the sublime and perfectly balanced Hershey's Cookies 'n Mint. The Marathon, an inimitable rope of caramel covered in chocolate. Oompahs. Bit-O-Choc. The Kit Kat Dark.

Steve Almond certainly does. In fact, he was so obsessed by the inexplicable disappearance of these bars—where'd they go?—that he embarked on a nationwide journey to uncover the truth about the candy business. There, he found an industry ruled by huge conglomerates, where the little guys, the last remaining link to the glorious boom years of the candy bar in America, struggle to survive.

Visiting the candy factories that produce the Twin Bing, the Idaho Spud, the Goo Goo Cluster, the Valomilk, and a dozen other quirky bars, Almond finds that the world of candy is no longer a sweet haven. Today's precious few regional candy makers mount daily battles against corporate greed, paranoia, and that good old American compulsion: crushing the little guy.

Part candy porn, part candy polemic, part social history, part confession, Candyfreak explores the role candy plays in our lives as both source of pleasure and escape from pain. By turns ecstatic, comic, and bittersweet, Candyfreak is the story of how Steve Almond grew up on candy—and how, for better and worse, candy has grown up, too.

Man with a Pan ($1.99), by John Donohue

Book Description
Look who’s making dinner! Twenty-one of our favorite writers and chefs expound upon the joys—and perils—of feeding their families.

Mario Batali’s kids gobble up monkfish liver and foie gras. Peter Kaminsky’s youngest daughter won’t eat anything at all. Mark Bittman reveals the four stages of learning to cook. Stephen King offers tips about what to cook when you don’t feel like cooking. And Jim Harrison shows how good food and wine trump expensive cars and houses.

This book celebrates those who toil behind the stove, trying to nourish and please. Their tales are accompanied by more than sixty family-tested recipes, time-saving tips, and cookbook recommendations, as well as New Yorker cartoons. Plus there are interviews with homestyle heroes from all across America—a fireman in Brooklyn, a football coach in Atlanta, and a bond trader in Los Angeles, among others.

What emerges is a book not just about food but about our changing families. It offers a newfound community for any man who proudly dons an apron and inspiration for those who have yet to pick up the spatula.

Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen ($1.99), by Donia Bijan

Book Description
For Donia Bijan’s family, food has been the language they use to tell their stories and to communicate their love. In 1978, when the Islamic revolution in Iran threatened their safety, they fled to California’s Bay Area, where the familiar flavors of Bijan’s mother’s cooking formed a bridge to the life they left behind. Now, through the prism of food, award-winning chef Donia Bijan unwinds her own story, finding that at the heart of it all is her mother, whose love and support enabled Bijan to realize her dreams.

From the Persian world of her youth to the American life she embraced as a teenager to her years at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (studying under the infamous Madame Brassart) to apprenticeships in France’s three-star kitchens and finally back to San Francisco, where she opened her own celebrated bistro, Bijan evokes a vibrant kaleidoscope of cultures and cuisines. And she shares thirty inspired recipes from her childhood (Saffron Yogurt Rice with Chicken and Eggplant and Orange Cardamom Cookies), her French training (Ratatouille with Black Olives and Fried Bread and Purple Plum Skillet Tart), and her cooking career (Roast Duck Legs with Dates and Warm Lentil Salad and Rose Petal Ice Cream).

An exhilarating, heartfelt memoir, Maman’s Homesick Pie is also a reminder of the women who encourage us to shine.

52 Loaves ($1.99), by William Alexande

Book Description
William Alexander is determined to bake the perfect loaf of bread. He tasted it long ago, in a restaurant, and has been trying to reproduce it ever since. Without success. Now, on the theory that practice makes perfect, he sets out to bake peasant bread every week until he gets it right. He bakes his loaf from scratch. And because Alexander is nothing if not thorough, he really means from scratch: growing, harvesting, winnowing, threshing, and milling his own wheat.

An original take on the six-thousand-year-old staple of life, 52 Loaves explores the nature of obsession, the meditative quality of ritual, the futility of trying to re-create something perfect, our deep connection to the earth, and the mysterious instinct that makes all of us respond to the aroma of baking bread.

Road Dogs ($2.99), by Elmore Leonard

Book Description
Legendary New York Times bestselling author Elmore Leonard returns with three of his favorite characters: Jack Foley from Out of Sight, Cundo Rey from LaBrava, and Dawn Navarro from Riding the Rap.

Jack Foley, the charming bank robber from Out of Sight, is serving a thirty-year sentence in a Miami penitentiary, but he's made an unlikely friend on the inside who just might be able to do something about that. Fellow inmate Cundo Rey, an extremely wealthy Cuban criminal, arranges for Foley's sentence to be reduced from thirty years to three months, and when Jack is released just two weeks ahead of Cundo, he agrees to wait for him in Venice Beach, California.

Also waiting for Cundo is his common-law wife, Dawn Navarro, a professional psychic with a slightly ulterior motive for staying with Cundo: namely, she wants his money. And with the arrival of Jack, she sees the perfect partner in a plan to relieve Cundo of his fortune. Cundo may be Jack's friend, but does that mean he can trust him? And can either of them trust Dawn?

Road Dogs is Elmore Leonard at his best—with his trademark tight plotting and pitch-perfect dialogue—and readers will love seeing Cundo, Jack, and Dawn back in action and working together . . . or are they?

Bone Worship ($2.99), by Elizabeth Eslami

Book Description
A rich and soul-searching novel about an Iranian-American girl whose enigmatic father has decided to arrange her marriage

Jasmine Fahroodhi’s Iranian father has always fascinated her. With his strange habits and shrouded past, she cannot fathom how he ended up marrying her prim American mother, although lately it seems that love in general is just as incomprehensible.

Failing out of school just shy of graduation after a disastrous romance sends her into a tailspin, a conflicted Jasmine returns home without any idea where her life is headed.

Her father has at least one idea: he has plans for a hastegar, an arranged marriage, between Jasmine and whatever man he sees fit. Confused, furious, yet intrigued, Jasmine meets suitor after suitor with increasingly disastrous, and humorous, results. Only when she begins to open herself up to the mysteries of familial and romantic love does Jasmine discover the truth about her evasive father—and the depths of her own strength—in Elizabeth Eslami’s highly original and striking debut novel.

Arctic Fire ($2.99), by Stephen Frey, is a pre-order from Thomas-Mercer; once it releases, Oct 9, the price will rise (the list shown is $9.99).

Book Description
Troy Jensen could do it all: he conquered the Seven Summits, sailed solo around the world twice, and even fought a bull in a Mexican slum on a dare. So when word comes that a rogue wave has swept Troy off a crab fishing boat in the Bering Sea and into a watery grave, his brother, Jack, doesn’t buy it.

Against his better judgment, Jack decides to quit his job as a Wall Street trader and head to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to investigate. Minutes after revealing his plan in his father’s New York City office, Jack is nearly run down in the street. He doesn’t think much of it at the time, but as he digs deeper into Troy’s disappearance, Jack unearths information about RED-CELL-SEVEN (RCS), a super-secret American intelligence group that has operated for forty years in almost total secrecy and with complete impunity—and its leaders intend to keep it that way at any cost.

An adrenaline-pumping tale of one man’s descent into a hellish underworld populated by terrorists, assassins, and very bad “good guys,” Arctic Fire explores the disturbing difference between doing what is good and doing what is right when it comes to protecting America from her greatest enemies.

Every Breath She Takes ($3.99), by Norah Wilson, was previously published as Lauren’s Eyes. You can also get the companion audiobook for this one at $4.99.

Book Description
Veterinarian Lauren Townsend has good reason for hiding her psychic ability. Not only did her “freakishness” earn her pariah status in the small town where she grew up, it cost her a fiancé and her faith in love. When Lauren foresees a murder—through the killer’s eyes—she traces the victim to a sprawling ranch, never guessing what waits for her…

Cal Taggart’s rugged ranch life doesn’t need any more complications. His stubborn determination cost him his marriage, and now may cost him his livelihood. But then beautiful Lauren enters his corral…with danger close behind. And Cal wants nothing more than to protect her. They can’t deny their intense attraction. Nor do they want to. What begins as a fling with no strings becomes a fight for survival—and for true love.

Legacy of the Dragon: A Paul Chang Mystery ($1.99), by J. Gregory Smith

Book Description
For former NYPD and Delaware State Police detective Paul Chang, retiring to open his own agency with former partner Nelson Rogers should mean leaving behind politics and scapegoating. Instead, corrupt Colonel Byrd of the state police and his lackey Clyde Foley harass Chang at every turn, and their unwanted attention puts his fledgling business on the brink of bankruptcy.

With the police on his back and the agency taking sleazy cases he never thought he’d have to, Chang erupts under the job’s pressures and sees his personal demon, an alter ego he calls the dragon, emerge. Only the training from his martial arts teacher and old friend Shu can keep Chang sane. But when someone tries to frame him for the stalking of his ex-wife and a journalist, the harassment turns deadly and the lives of everyone close to him are in danger. Unable to wait for events to take their course, Chang must unleash the dragon.

The second installment of J. Gregory Smith's Paul Chang mystery series, Legacy of the Dragon is a riveting exploration of the profound impact the sins of the past have on our present.

The Second Ship ($2.99), the first title in the The Rho Agenda series by Richard Phillips, is available for pre-order. Previously self-published, this edition is from 47North. I see that the second in the series, Immune, is also available to pre-order at the same price and Wormhole (#3) will be coming out at the end of November.

Book Description
In 1948, an alien starship fell from the New Mexico sky—and immediately vanished behind the walls of the Los Alamos Laboratory. Since that day the US military has endeavored to reverse engineer the ship’s alien technology through top-secret research known only as the Rho Project. Now, sixty years after the crash, the government is prepared tell all.

Or so it claims…

For there is a second ship, hidden for decades just out of the military’s reach. And when a trio of students discovers it buried deep inside a remote canyon, they are changed forever. With a single touch, the technology the government has spent billions trying to unlock is uploaded into the minds of three teenagers—teenagers who now know the frightening truth about the Rho Project. Together they are thrust into a violent world of secrets and corruption, becoming reluctant soldiers in a war destined to alter what it means to be human.

Wizard's First Rule ($2.99), by Terry Goodkind, is a great deal on it's own, but add the companion audiobook for $1.99 and it's a deal that's hard to beat. Too bad the edition I bought several years ago isn't the one linked to the audiobook.

Book Description
Wizard's First Rule, the first novel by Terry Goodkind, was a phenomenon from the moment it was published by Tor Books in 1994, selling more than 100,000 copies in North America alone. It still sells more than 100,000 copies a year and has gone on to bestsellerdom in the United Kingdom and in more than twenty foreign translations as well as audiobook form.

It is now being developed as one of the most ambitious television miniseries of all time. Executive Producer Sam Raimi (director of the three Spider-Man movies), in collaboration with Disney/ABC, is creating a 22-episode adaptation of the book to be filmed in New Zealand.

Richard and Kahlan's story unfolds over ten more novels, collectively known as the Sword of Truth series, concluding with Confessor in 2007. Placing Goodkind in the elite club of #1 New York Times bestselling authors, the series has sold more than twenty million copies to date worldwide.

In Wizard's First Rule, Goodkind introduced the world to an ordinary forest guide, Richard Cypher, and the mysterious, powerful woman he comes to love, Kahlan Amnell. Learning his true identity, Richard accepts his destiny as the one man who can stop the bloodthirsty tyrant Darken Rahl. Hunted relentlessly, betrayed and alone, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword and invoke something more noble within himself as the final confrontation with Darken Rahl looms.

The importance of Wizard's First Rule is sourced in Goodkind taking on the toughest of all literary challenges: to tell an electrifying story of action, violence, and adventure that also makes people think, and that would influence the choices and actions of its readers.

Years after reading Wizard's First Rule, Goodkind fans still ask themselves, "What would Richard do?" when confronted with life's obstacles and challenges. "Your life is yours alone," Richard says at a key moment. "Rise up and live it."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terry Goodkind is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve books. His first novel, Wizard's First Rule, immediately established him as one of the world's bestselling authors. Originally published in 1994, it is the first in the eleven book Sword of Truth series, which has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.

Audrey Braun's Fortune series is composed of two titles, A Small Fortune and Fortune's Deadly Descent, both on sale for $2.99 apiece.

A Small Fortune

When Celia Donnelly’s husband, Jonathon, surprises her with a family vacation to Mexico, the harried book editor couldn't be happier. She is overworked and exhausted, a situation that has taken a toll on her eighteen-year marriage, not to mention her relationship with her teenaged son. Escaping the perpetually rainy Pacific Northwest for the sugary sands of Mexico could be just what the doctor ordered. Yet shortly after their arrival south of the border, a chance encounter with a stranger sparks illicit memories of a former affair. The moment passes, but that brief encounter proves enough to change her life forever. Hours later, Celia is lured from the beach and abducted off the street. At first a seemingly random victim, Celia quickly realizes her captors know exactly who she is. Desperate for news of her family and devastated by the betrayal of someone she trusts, Celia, along with an unlikely ally, is soon running for her life. Pursued from the balmy shores of Mexico to the steamy thickets of the jungle, to the crisp, cold mountains of Zurich, Celia will stop at nothing to find her way home.

Fortune's Deadly Descent

Memories of her dire past fade as Celia Hagen enjoys life in Switzerland as a best-selling author, surrounded by an extended family, her beloved Benicio, and their imaginative young son Benny. But when Benny disappears from a train during an unexpected stop in the French Provencal countryside, Celia suspects her past may not be buried after all. With Benny gone, she quickly realizes her life wasn’t nearly as idyllic as she believed. Infuriated by the unorthodox search efforts of Interpol and the French police, Celia, along with her older son Oliver, undertakes her own search, only to find that the village where Benny vanished has its own chilling history, and her interference in the case will have grave and irreversible consequences.

In the follow up to Audrey Braun’s best-selling debut, A Small Fortune, Celia discovers just how quickly everyone she loves can spiral toward a life—or death—that none of them could have seen coming.

New Nook Tablets Announced

Barnes & Noble has announced their new Nook Tablets and they can now be pre-ordered. There will be a 7" model, the Nook HD, and a 9" model, the Nook HD+. On paper, both models will outdo the Kindle Fire HD equivalents, with better resolution in the screens, microSD card support and that extra .1 inches of screensize in the larger model. Both also weigh nearly two ounces less than the Kindle models and both feature a laminated screen (which reduces glare). They are also besting Amazon in color selection (white or black for the 7" model) and price (only on the 9" model, but they are lower by $30 for the 16GB model and by $70 on the 32GB model; the 7" models are actually more expensive, since they start with a lower memory configuration). Also, the Nook devices all ship with a power charger, which saves you another $10 (the price of the Amazon charger, if ordered at the same time as the tablet; if you order it later, it is $20).

Oh, and of course, none of the Nook devices have ads (which you can turn off on any of the Amazon tablets, for $15).

They don't have a model with cellular access (and probably won't) and there aren't a lot of details on their WiFi antennas (Amazon has beefed up this part of their devices, adding two antennas for better reception in areas with low signal, such as remote bedrooms in your house or when sitting outside at Starbucks). Battery and processors on both models are essentially equivalent to what Amazon is claiming in their marketing materials and both companies have included HDMI ports so you can watch on the bigscreen (nice for sharing movies or pictures). Both companies are now claiming unlimited storage for purchased content (which is easy to give you - they don't have to actually store it for each person, but just flag your account for access to a single stored copy).


For Families, both Nook HD models will have individual profile setup out of the box (Amazon has said their FreeTime app for this will ship next month), although it is limited to six profiles (not a problem for most families, but will be for others). There's no info, though, on what either company's choices of settings will be, or if they will be useful for adults to set up a full access profile and one for showing off the device to others (or when visiting the in-laws or using it at church).

Both companies also have built-in apps to sync email, calendars, etc. I'm sure they are great, but I suspect they'll chew up battery life and storage (which I've seen on my Android Tablet, which is always checking for new email). I prefer to keep mine on the web only, which means some features of the built-in browser don't work (well, at least on the Kindle fire - on the older Nook tablet I have, there isn't any type of 'share this page' choice, from what I can tell). You may not be able to install 3rd party apps (from outside the Nook store) on the Nook HD, but they do offer alternate browsers in their store (Dolphin, for example, which isn't in the Amazon store, but which I was able to install as a 3rd party app. One cool feature that I've seen B&N advertising lately is that you can trial Nook apps on your device (Amazon allows trials only on the PC and not for all apps), so you can see if you'll really like it before buying.

Whether or not you want one of the B&N models will come down to where you have the most content, I suspect. With Amazon, I know I can watch movies on my tablet, PC or Roku box, my music is also easily portable. Both lock you in to their platforms for Android Apps (and Google stubbornly refuses to let you set up either one so you can purchase from that store, easily). I haven't tried any of the magazine subscriptions at B&N, but I know that at Amazon, if you cancel a subscription, you lose all your purchased editions, which is why I won't buy much of anything there, other than TV Guide, which is worthless after a week, or single editions (which do stick to your account and can be accessed at any time in the future). A few of my paper subscriptions also have apps that allows me to read on the Kindle Fire; I don't know if they are available on the nook tablets (I haven't looked), but at least a couple were not available thru the Google Play store (at least, not yet).

There are groups already at work trying to root the Kindle Fire HD and will no doubt do the same with the Nook HD tablets, once released (doing this gives you access to the Android store, amongst other things, but sometimes breaks features you get from an un-rooted device) and they may find it easier to set up dual boot with the Nook HD (this has been an option, albeit not one sanctioned by B&N, for the current nook devices, for some time - this gives you the best of both worlds: a completely open tablet or a device tied to their store, so you can use Read In Store).

Today's Deals

Rovio, the creators of Angry Birds, have a new game out, Bad Piggies. You can buy the Premium HD version for $2.99 at Amazon (which will only install on a Kindle Fire) or grab the phone version or HD version free on Google Play (which I'm going to try to move from my Android tablet to the Fire HD). There is a place to report lower prices at the bottom of App pages and it seems to work: Google is celebrating 25 billion downloads by offering their top apps for 25 cents apiece and I am seeing some price matches, such as Angry Birds Space(Ad-Free) and OfficeSuite Professional 6 (Amazon/Google). The latter is usually $15 and I'd recommend you grab it in both stores, if you can, so you have it for all your Android platforms.

While you are over at Google Play, check out their updated list of free songs. Several are from bands I've listened to in the past and there are 9 free albums on the left side by some of the same artists, such as the Dave Matthews Band and The Civil Wars. The albums appear to be Google exclusives, as I couldn't find them on Amazon.

Google also has a 99 cent Banned Books sale; the ones I see in the US are all from publisher Open Road. So far, the ones I checked are not yet price matched at Amazon, but may be later this afternoon. Google's books are in EPUB format, so are compatible with the nook, Kobo and Sony readers, as well as many desktop apps (on the Kindle Fire, I read them with Aldiko).

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Wicked ($1.99), by Jill Barnett (Bell Bridge Books), the conclusion of her Medieval Trilogy.

Book Description
Winning a stubborn lady turns into the battle of his life for a powerful knight. Lady Sofia Howard has sworn never to marry, after her young heart was broken by an arrogant young squire. She's spurned every suitor to the dismay of her guardian, King Edward I, who finds that even increasing her dower prize will not lure men to offer for the defiant but lonely Sofia. So the king takes matters into his own hands and betroths Sofia to Sir Tobin de Clare, the man who once broke her heart. Passion explodes and Sofia’s tattered pride demands that Sir Tobin surrender his heart. A battle of wills that ensues that makes war seem tame, when nothing will stop this ruthless warrior from winning his lady. In a classic Barnett battle of will and wit, a knight and his lady find that love at first sight is dangerous at best and never, ever easy. Wicked has all the pageantry of Medieval England, liberally laced with poignancy and humor.

The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Wendy Jones, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99).

Book Description
Everyone has to make decisions about love.

Wilfred Price, overcome with emotion on a sunny spring day, proposes to a girl he barely knows at a picnic. The girl, Grace, joyfully accepts and rushes to tell her family of Wilfred's intentions. But by this time Wilfred has realised his mistake. He does not love Grace.

On the verge of extricating himself, Wilfred's situation suddenly becomes more serious when Grace's father steps in. Up until this point in his life, Wilfred's existence has been blissfully simple, and the young undertaker seems unable to stop the swirling mess that now surrounds him. To add to Wilfred's emotional turmoil, he thinks he may just have met the perfect girl for him.

As Wilfred struggles in an increasingly tangled web of expectation and duty, love and lies, Grace reveals a long-held secret that changes everything...

Wendy Jones's charming first novel is a moving depiction of love and secrecy, set against the rural backdrop of a 1920s Welsh village, and is beautifully told.

Evolution: A View from the 21st Century ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by James A. Shapiro, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. You will probably already have this in your library, if you are long time follower, as it has been offered free in both stores earlier this year.

Book Description
James A. Shapiro proposes an important new paradigm for understanding biological evolution, the core organizing principle of biology. Shapiro introduces crucial new molecular evidence that tests the conventional scientific view of evolution based on the neo-Darwinian synthesis, shows why this view is inadequate to today's evidence, and presents a compelling alternative view of the evolutionary process that reflects the shift in life sciences towards a more information- and systems-based approach in Evolution: A View from the 21st Century.

Shapiro integrates advances in symbiogenesis, epigenetics, and saltationism into a unified approach that views evolutionary change as an active cell process, regulated epigenetically and capable of making rapid large changes by horizontal DNA transfer, inter-specific hybridization, whole genome doubling, symbiogenesis, or massive genome restructuring.

Evolution marshals extensive evidence in support of a fundamental reinterpretation of evolutionary processes, including more than 1,100 references to the scientific literature. Shapiro's work will generate extensive discussion throughout the biological community, and may significantly change your own thinking about how life has evolved. It also has major implications for evolutionary computation, information science, and the growing synthesis of the physical and biological sciences.

The American Spirit: Celebrating the Virtues and Values That Make Us Great ($11.99 Kindle, $4.99 B&N), by Edwin J. Feulner, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.

Book Description
The United States is an exceptional place to call home thanks to the character of the American people. With conviction and urgency, Ed Feulner and Brian Tracy affirm our core tenets?from patriotism and optimism to faith and generosity?and challenge all of us to live out the timeless principles of citizenship.

Packed with engaging stories, insightful profiles, and eye-opening statistics, The American Spirit serves as an indispensable primer on the bedrock belief that an indomitable spirit does exist, that it defines us as a people, and that it must be preserved for the nation to flourish.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Heat ($2.99), by Mike Lupica (Penguin).

Book Description
Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-year old brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael’s secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources.

Grade Level: 5 and up

Today's Deals

Members of the Codex Writer's workshop will be giving away a number of their SciFi and Fantasy books on Amazon Sept 26-27.

Get 50% off select Android Games from RealNetworks (limited time sale, but I don't see an end date published).

Additional formats on free books:

• Sweet Venom (K/N/E)
• A Little Bit of Everything For Dummies (K/N)

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Raven Ring ($1.99), the fifth novel in the Lyra series by Patricia C. Wrede (Open Road).

Book Description
In this book from Wrede’s acclaimed Lyra fantasy series, a young woman must fight for her life while on a quest to claim a magical family heirloom....

Three weeks after Eleret’s mother is killed, the messenger arrives with the tragic news. She died far from home, succumbing to wounds sustained in battle, and Eleret must travel to reclaim her belongings. The overland journey to the city of Ciaron is treacherous, but Eleret has no fear. She straps a dagger to her leg and sets off to recover one of her mother’s prized possessions: a ring etched with a raven. Though she makes it to Ciaron safely, getting home is another story.

Eleret doesn’t know what’s special about her mother’s ring, but someone wanted it badly enough to kill for it. To make it home in one piece, she must unlock the mysteries of the ring her mother died to protect.

The Goddess Test ($1.93 / £1.19 UK), the first novel in Aimée Carter's YA series The Goddess Chronicles, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.01). There is a novella that follows in the series, The Goddess Hunt (Main/UK) that is a dollar cheaper for those in the US, then a series of five novellas which are being released in the UK next month at £1.59/$2.58 apiece and are already available in the US as The Goddess Legacy ($7.49). A third novel is already scheduled for release and the author has a contract for another trilogy thru Harlequin Teen, so expect to see more next year.

Book Description

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Rae Carson, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could save his people. And he looks at her in a way no man has ever looked at her before. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn't die young.

Most of the chosen do.

Grade Level: 8 and up

With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Glenn Greenwald, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
From "the most important voice to have entered the political discourse in years" (Bill Moyers), a scathing critique of the two-tiered system of justice that has emerged in America

From the nation's beginnings, the law was to be the great equalizer in American life, the guarantor of a common set of rules for all. But over the past four decades, the principle of equality before the law has been effectively abolished. Instead, a two-tiered system of justice ensures that the country's political and financial class is virtually immune from prosecution, licensed to act without restraint, while the politically powerless are imprisoned with greater ease and in greater numbers than in any other country in the world.

Starting with Watergate, continuing on through the Iran-Contra scandal, and culminating with Obama's shielding of Bush-era officials from prosecution, Glenn Greenwald lays bare the mechanisms that have come to shield the elite from accountability. He shows how the media, both political parties, and the courts have abetted a process that has produced torture, war crimes, domestic spying, and financial fraud.

Cogent, sharp, and urgent, this is a no-holds-barred indictment of a profoundly un-American system that sanctions immunity at the top and mercilessness for everyone else.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Jungle Bullies ($1.99), by Steven Kroll and Vincent Nguyen (Illustrator). This book features Kindle Text Pop-Up for reading text over vivid, full-color images when using Kindle Fire or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android); unlike some other Text Popup books, this one won't work on any of the eInk Kindles.

Book Description
Even bullies can learn to shareWhy should a large animal get away with bullying a smaller one? That's what happens when Elephant takes Hippo's spot in the pond, which causes Hippo to pick on Lion, Lion to pick on Leopard, and Leopard to pick on Monkey. Vincent Nguyen's illustrations-a mix of watercolor, charcoal pencil, and digital techniques-enrich the story as Monkey asks his mother for advice, and she comes up with just the right solution to solve the problem.

Grade Level: 1st and up

Today's Deals

Warren Adler is repeating his offer for a free download of Never Too Late for Love.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is two Richard Castle mystery novels for $1.99 apiece. Amazon has picked the middle two titles in the series, but the initial volume, Heat Wave, can be read for free by Prime members; the latest title, Frozen Heat, was released just this month.

Naked Heat (Nikki Heat #2)

Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are together again in Richard Castle’s thrilling follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, Heat Wave.

When New York’s most vicious gossip columnist, Cassidy Towne, is found dead, Heat uncovers a gallery of high profile suspects, all with compelling motives for killing the most feared muckraker in Manhattan.

Heat’s murder investigation is complicated by her surprise reunion with superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook. In the wake of their recent breakup, Nikki would rather not deal with their raw emotional baggage. But the handsome, wise-cracking Pulitzer Prize-winning writer’s personal involvement in the case forces her to team up with Rook anyway. The residue of their unresolved romantic conflict and crackling sexual tension fills the air as Heat and Rook embark on a search for a killer among celebrities and mobsters, singers and hookers, pro athletes and shamed politicians.

This new, explosive case brings on the heat in the glittery world of secrets, cover-ups, and scandals.

Heat Rises (Nikki Heat #3)

Fast-paced and full of intrigue, Heat Rises pairs the tough and sexy NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat with hotshot reporter Jameson Rook in New York Times bestselling author Richard Castle's most thrilling mystery yet.

The bizarre murder of a parish priest at a New York bondage club opens Nikki Heat’s most thrilling and dangerous case so far, pitting her against New York’s most vicious drug lord, an arrogant CIA contractor, and a shadowy death squad out to gun her down. And that is just the tip of an iceberg that leads to a dark conspiracy reaching all the way to the highest level of the NYPD.

But when she gets too close to the truth, Nikki finds herself disgraced, stripped of her badge, and out on her own as a target for killers, with nobody she can trust. Except maybe the one man in her life who’s not a cop: reporter Jameson Rook.
In the midst of New York’s coldest winter in a hundred years, there’s one thing Nikki is determined to prove: Heat Rises. This ebook includes an alternate cover created by one of Richard Castle's biggest fans!

The Hills is Lonely ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Lillian Beckwith, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition; that's too bad, as it looks to be hilarious).

Book Description
“. . . I got the impression that they could imagine only two reasons why a woman should choose to settle down in Bruach: either that she was running away from the police, or escaping from a lurid past.” Neither reason applies to Lillian Beckwith, in this memoir of her convalescence on an isolated Hebridean island where “even the sheeps on the hills is lonely”. On Bruach island, she observes, muses at and joins the native crofters in their unique rhythm of life; where friends fistfight in the evening and discuss bruises the next morning; where the taxi-driver is also the lorry driver, coal merchant and undertaker; where the locals don’t remove their hats during a funeral so their heads won’t get cold; and where the post-office’s ‘opening hours’ fit around the daily milking of cows and not the other way round! In a series of vividly drawn sketches, taking in birth, death, marriage and the seasons of life, Lillian Beckwith’s writing is shot through with warm, cozy affection and droll wit.

Priceless Memories ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Bob Barker and Digby Diehl, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
In front of the camera, he has been invited into the homes of millions of Americans as host of The Price Is Right, Truth or Consequences, Miss USA, Miss Universe, The Rose Parade, and many other programs and specials. Now Bob Barker shares stories of favorite contestants, episodes, celebrity encounters, and behind-the-scenes happenings.

Beyond his public persona, he will open up about his personal life. From being raised on a Native American reservation by a single mother through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, to training as a pilot in the Navy during World War II, through his romance with the love of his life and high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo, and his success at retirement.
His support of animal rights has always been a central part of his life. Bob delves into stories of how he has taken on Hollywood and the government in his crusade, including his anti-fur stand-off with beauty pageants, his involvement in uncovering animal abuse in movies and television, and the legislation he helped to pass. He also shares personal stories of rescuing animals, from dogs to elephants.

For the innumerable fans who have welcomed Bob into their homes over the last fifty years, this book will be like catching up with a dear and familiar friend who continues to lead a full and endlessly interesting life.

The Great Game of Politics: Why We Elect, Whom We Elect ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Dick Stoken, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
From our nation's inception there has been a constant dynamic of tension between those political philosophies that we have labeled the left and the right, despite the fact that the vast majority of American voters really fall into the category of moderates. During the early years, the shifts between the two were dramatic and frequent: the Federalists on one side, the Jeffersonians on the other, as the young democracy came to grips with the two opposing political forces that were to mold the new nation. On one hand we have the concerned with business, conservatism, and the development of capital and wealth. They want the government to provide security that will protect the nation's interest while allowing free-market forces to increase prosperity. On the other hand we have the left, concerned with personal rights, equality, and the fostering of prosperity for all citizens through an active and involved federal government.

By explicating the Presidency from George Washington to George W. Bush, The Great Game of Politics examines the American Presidency as a cyclic reflection of the concerns of the electorate vis à vis the excitation of the ideologies of our two major parties in a constant left-right swing where the will of the people sets the pendulum in motion and determines the direction the country will take for another four years. From the early years, where the dynamic tension that forged the nation initially required numerous shifts to establish an acceptable political equilibrium, to the revered legacies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, whose presidencies not only initiated major political shifts but also instituted fundamental changes in the apparatus of government that would prove to be integral to the administrations that followed them, both Democratic and Republican.

They seized the reins of government and made a lasting mark. Indeed the truly great presidents¾Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Reagan¾shaped the course of history for our nation and in doing so proved themselves to be masters of The Great Game of Politics.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Zombie-Kids ($1.99), by Julia Dweck and Mark Draisey (Illustrator).

Book Description
Zombie-Kids is a ghoulishly fun rhyming adventure. Did you know that zombies are people that have feelings, too? They like to be loved just like me and like you. Join the zombie-kids as they bowl, dance, skate, and go to the movies in their unique zombie-way. You'll have an eerily good time.