Free AudioBook Short Story

The audiobook edition of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a short story by Dr. Seuss, narrated by Walter Matthau, is free from Audible.

Book Description
The Grinch, whose heart is two sizes too small, hates Who-ville's holiday celebrations, and plans to steal all the presents to prevent Christmas from coming. To his amazement, Christmas comes anyway, and the Grinch discovers the true meaning of the holiday.

Get free audiobook at Audible (use the link; the edition you find by searching isn't free).

Today's Deals 12/17

Today's Gold Box Deal at Amazon is a Roku box for $39.

At Amazon, the 5 Free Holiday Songs have updated, although I already had two of them, there are three newly free.

Amazon's Android Appstore spotlight today is on Zombiewood: Kindle Tablet Edition (free)

Today's Audible Daily Deal is The Magic Treehouse series for $1.99 Each

At Harlequin, Enter for a chance to win one of five $50 shopping sprees on Harlequin.com.

Join the festivities with 12 Days and 12 FREE comics during comiXology’s 12 Days of Gifting! Today, (until 1PM) Dynamite Entertainment proudly presents Masks #1 for FREE today only! After 1PM, the free download will change.

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal:

• $2 Instant Amazon Instant Video Credit

Today's Kindle Teens Daily Deal is Sanctum ($1.99), the first novel in Sarah Fine's Guards of the Shadowlands YA urban fantasy series. Although a relatively newly published author (this came out in October), she has another book coming out next year and a contract for two more starting in 2014, so we'll be seeing more of her work in the future.

Book Description
"My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple."

A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance – hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone – she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.

As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t – the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Last Block In Harlem ($1.99), by Christopher Herz, with the companion audiobook also $1.99.

Book Description
All fire escapes lead back to the same block in Sugar Hill, Harlem- where kids run through hydrants and music blares from stereos plugged into lampposts. When a new resident (the story's unnamed narrator) notices the trash polluting the picturesque streets and tainting the block's beauty, he is spurred to action. However, his best intentions go awry when the clean-up brings media coverage that in turn, sets off a rash of evictions and ushers in an influx of new and affluent tenants. In an attempt to preserve his neighborhood, the tenant mobilizes a grassroots effort to improve the neighborhood from the inside out.

Realizing he has yet again polluted his reality with unintended consequences, his fight to clean up the block evolves into a quest to cleanse his soul. The choices he makes cannot change the past and the secrets that haunt him, but will alter the future for himself, his family...and the last block in Harlem.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Sunny Days for Sam ($0.99), by Jennifer Shirk.

Book Description
Sunnyva 'Sunny' Fletcher is a firm believer in fairy tales. With the recent debt she's acquired, the hope of something magical happening in her life is the only thing keeping her going. She needs a job fast. So when Sunny learns the sexy new vacationer in town is looking for a nanny, she starts to believe she just may have a fairy godmother after all!

Internet guru Sam Calloway is only in town for the summer and needs a nanny for his two small children. However, the beautiful and inexperienced Sunny is not exactly the kind of caregiver Sam has in mind. It doesn't take long for Sunny's tenderhearted and bubble-blowing ways to soon have the children -- and Sam -- enamored with her. She's a dream come true. But after what Sam's been through, he's stopped believing in fairy tales long ago.

Sunny manages to work her way into Sam's closed-off heart, but at the end of the summer, will the workaholic dad go back to his life in New York City, or will he decide his days are much sunnier here with Sunny?

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Roadside Picnic ($2.99), by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky, a Rediscovered Classic with a foreword by Ursula K. Le Guin. I'm definitely adding this to my TBR list and hope the Chicago Review Press brings more of their work back into print.

Book Description
Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those young rebels who are compelled, in spite of extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artifacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the alien products. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a “full empty,” something goes wrong. And the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he’ll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answer to all his problems.

First published in 1972, Roadside Picnic is still widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels, despite the fact that it has been out of print in the United States for almost thirty years. This authoritative new translation corrects many errors and omissions and has been supplemented with a foreword by Ursula K. Le Guin and a new afterword by Boris Strugatsky explaining the strange history of the novel’s publication in Russia.

The Dead Women of Juarez ($1.59 / £0.99 UK), by Sam Hawken, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $5.72).

Book Description
Since 1993 over 500 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juárez.

Residents believe the true number of disappeared stands at 5,000.

When a new disappearance is reported, Kelly Courter, a washed-up Texan boxer, and Rafael Sevilla, a Mexican detective, are sucked into an underworld of organised crime, believing they can outwit the corruption all around. The Dead Women of Juárez follows these two men obsessed with seeking the truth about the female victims of the Mexican border wars.

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Ellis Weiner, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Suppose there were 12-year-old twins, a boy and girl named John and Abigail Templeton. Let's say John was pragmatic and played the drums, and Abigail was theoretical and solved cryptic crosswords. Now suppose their father was a brilliant, if sometimes confused, inventor. And suppose that another set of twins—adults—named Dean D. Dean and Dan D. Dean, kidnapped the Templeton twins and their ridiculous dog in order to get their father to turn over one of his genius (sort of) inventions. Yes, I said kidnapped. Wouldn't it be fun to read about that? Oh please. It would so. Luckily for you, this is just the first in a series perfect for boys and girls who are smart, clever, and funny (just like the twins), and enjoy reading adventurous stories (who doesn't?!).

Grade Level: 4 and up

Get 1 of 50 Books for $1

This offer is set up via AmazonLocal and anyone (in the US) can participate.

Free Voucher to Purchase Select eBooks from the Amazon Kindle Store for $1

Click to "purchase" the voucher, sign in (to Amazon) and click thru a few more pages and you'll find the voucher code you need under "Your Vouchers" (link in top/right corner of the page). Sign-up for this offer expires December 18, 2012 or when the number of vouchers set aside by Amazon have been exhausted.

To use the Voucher, just click back to Amazonlocal and then on View Code next to the offer title. Click to copy the code, the on the link in step #2, to apply the code to your account (make sure you see the green "Success" message after entering the code). It works like a gift card and once applied to your account first, you can then shop from your Kindle or desktop, picking any one of the 50 qualifying titles. You should be able to gift the book to someone else (I have in the past), if there isn't one you want yourself (the full price shows all the way thru, but on the invoice summary, you will see the $1 promotional price). The voucher will expire if not used toward a qualifying Kindle book purchase from Amazon.com by 11:59 p.m. PST, December 26, 2012

I don't see this offer on any of my Kindles (eInk or Fire), but it is set up just like the Fire Special Offers I've signed up for in the past (via AmazonLocal), so I wouldn't be surprised if it shows on the Special Offers page for some people.

Today's Deals 12/16

Amazon has a web page up for their Top Whispersync for Voice Picks for 2012 and you can add professional narration to any of the 75 books on the page for $4.99 or less.

Today's Audible Daily Deal is Ernest Cline's Ready Player One for $9.95. Members with credits get a bonus deal: Sci-Fi & Fantasy 3 for 2 boutique (and if you don't have two credits, Audible will probably show you a Buy 3 discount page.

At Harlequin, save 20% on any Carina Press Fantasy books, today only! Use CPFANTASY20 at Checkout

Join the festivities with 12 Days and 12 FREE comics during comiXology’s 12 Days of Gifting! Today, Dynamite Entertainment proudly presents Masks #1 for FREE!

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Ruins of Gorlan ($2.99), the first title in John Flanagan's teen Ranger's Apprentice series. As a bonus, you can get the companion audiobook for $4.99.

Book Description
The international bestselling series with over 5 million copies sold in the U.S. alone!

They have always scared him in the past—the Rangers, with their dark cloaksand shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied. . . .

Perfect for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, and George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Grade Level: 5 and up

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Always Looking Up ($1.99), by Michael J. Fox.

Book Description
There are many words to describe Michael J. Fox: Actor. Husband. Father. Activist. But readers of Always Looking Up will soon add another to the list: Optimist. Michael writes about the hard-won perspective that helped him see challenges as opportunities. Instead of building walls around himself, he developed a personal policy of engagement and discovery: an emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual outlook that has served him throughout his struggle with Parkinson's disease. Michael's exit from a very demanding, very public arena offered him the time-and the inspiration-to open up new doors leading to unexpected places. One door even led him to the center of his own family, the greatest destination of all.

The last ten years, which is really the stuff of this book, began with such a loss: my retirement from Spin City. I found myself struggling with a strange new dynamic: the shifting of public and private personas. I had been Mike the actor, then Mike the actor with PD. Now was I just Mike with PD Parkinson's had consumed my career and, in a sense, had become my career. But where did all of this leave Me? I had to build a new life when I was already pretty happy with the old one..

Always Looking Up is a memoir of this last decade, told through the critical themes of Michael's life: work, politics, faith, and family. The book is a journey of self-discovery and reinvention, and a testament to the consolations that protect him from the ravages of Parkinson's.

With the humor and wit that captivated fans of his first book, Lucky Man, Michael describes how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Prelude to a Seduction ($0.99), by Lotchie Burton.

Book Description
David Broussard is a handsome, successful businessman with the unsavory reputation of a player. He’s known for his allure, charming personality, and ability to draw and seduce women. He’s gifted by nature with an unbelievably erotic scent that emanates from his body—natural pheromones that attract women in droves. Having used this advantage in the past with great success, he expects the same results as he sets his sights on Sarona Maxwell. He finds himself fascinated to the point of obsession with Sarona and has made it his priority to woo her, to seduce her, and to get her into his bed. However, in his quest to captivate and capture, he finds Sarona is more woman than he’s bargained for, and he’ll need more than cunning, charm, and nature’s gift to achieve his goal.

Sarona is undeniably attracted to the charisma and roguish good looks of David Broussard, and like any red-blooded female alive she’s fallen victim to his intoxicating scent. Unfortunately, his reputation for being on the prowl and always in search of his next conquest precedes him. She has no illusions he has any interest in her. Considering her size and the fact that she’s black, she’s sure she doesn’t fit his usual preference for eye candy. She sees herself as merely a spectator, observing from a distance his penchant to hunt, and she watches him play his game of pursuit, seduction, and surrender.

Sarona has no idea that the rules of the game have changed. She doesn’t realize that there’s no such thing as being safe standing on the sidelines and that now, suddenly she’s become the prey set in the sights of the hunter.

Sensuality Level: Hot

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Color of Magic ($1.99), by Terry Pratchett. This is a definitely recommended title and worth re-reading if it has been a while (and one I bought, long ago).

Book Description
Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent, bestselling novels have garnered him a revered position in the halls of parody next to the likes of Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen.

The Color of MagicM is Terry Pratchett's maiden voyage through the now-legendary land of Discworld. This is where it all begins -- with the tourist Twoflower and his wizard guide, Rincewind.

The Amazon exclusive translation of Fujisan ($1.59 / £0.99 UK), by Randy Taguchi and Raj Mahtani (Translator), is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99/KLL Eligible).

Book Description
From acclaimed Japanese author Randy Taguchi come four unforgettable stories of redemption, discovery, loss, and remembrance anchored by one of the world’s holiest peaks. Mount Fuji has been a source of spiritual inspiration since it was first ascended by a monk over a millennium ago.

“Blue Summit” introduces a former cult member struggling to maintain his escape from a mountain monastery, seeking solace in the fluorescent lights of the convenience store he manages. In “Sea of Trees,” three teenage boys who share a fascination with the metaphysical confront the startling realities of death and despair on their final adventure together before parting ways for different schools. “Jamila” chronicles a privileged young man’s descent into disillusionment as he works with a compulsive hoarder to clear her mess. And in “Child of Light,” a nurse struggles as she comes to terms with her role in the oft-brutal cycle of birth, life, and death.

Throughout the stories, Mount Fuji stands sentinel even as it fades in and out of view—watching and remembering as it always has.

Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Kelly Milner Halls, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
What do guys and girls really think? Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of he said/she said stories he tells it from the guy's point of view, she tells it from the girl's. Stories of love and heartbreak, like the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl and the flipside of the toxic girl who never learns to be loved; a basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; and a gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen, teach us that relationships become complicated because there are two sides to every story.

Free & Bargain Books by T. Jefferson Parker (K)

T. Jefferson Parker appears to be self-publishing some of his backlist police procedurals and today he has The Blue Hour, the first title in his Merci Rayborn series, free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Tim Hess is a semi-retired homicide cop staring at his own death sentence – lung cancer. Time is running out. Thrice divorced and childless, Hess is the classic loner cop – so he’s happy to accept the difficult job offered to him: find and stop a serial killer who’s been abducting beautiful young women in Orange County.

His new partner, and boss, is the brash, ambitious Merci Rayborn. She’s unpopular and unloved by her fellow cops, but she’s also relentless, smart and principled. Hess, challenged by the investigation and by his own disease, isn’t happy about taking orders from Merci, and he certainly isn’t planning for her to fall in love with him…
Intricately plotted and surprisingly moving, THE BLUE HOUR is T. Jefferson Parker’s most compelling – and satisfying – thriller yet.

You can also get the second in the series, Red Light, for 99 cents (and the companion audiobook for $1.99). Black Water is published by Hyperion, still, but is under $5 currently.

Not connected to any series, two more novels are also currently on sale for 99 cents: Silent Joe and Where Serpents Lie. I have several of his novels in my library, but not a single one of the ones on this sale (yay!).