Amazon AutoRip

You may have received an email recently from Amazon, introducing their new AutoRip program. Essentially, it bridges the gap for those who prefer to buy a CD, but want to have the music on their Cloud Player, for use when the CD isn't as easily used, but don't want to buy both versions or pay Amazon to move up from the 250 songs you are allowed to add to your Cloud Player for free. Even better, Amazon went back to 2008 and added all the CDs you've purchased that are AutoRip eligible (some are not, as they are out of print or an MP3 version isn't available) and added the MP3s to your Cloud Player for you. I had purchased a number of the $3-$4 CDs during the Black Friday week sales, so found a nice bonus in my account from those.

Sure, you could rip them yourself (and I will, as lossless files to play on my main stereo), but that both takes a bit of time and you would then have to add the MP3s to your Cloud Player account. Instead, with AutoRip, Amazon puts the MP3s in your account as soon as the CD ships (for most CDs, you can start listening right away) and you can download them, the same as any other MP3 on your account), to put on your MP3 player or iPod.

There are a few conditions, of course. The program is limited to those in the US (presumably the only area where Amazon has negotiated rights to distribute the MP3 "companion versions" and if you return the CD and have already downloaded the MP3 files, they'll charge you for the MP3 version of the album (you still have the usual refund restrictions on the CD). If you haven't downloaded the MP3 files, then they simply remove them from your account if you return the CD. If you like to trade CDs at a local store or sell them off after a while, then the MP3s stay in your account, since that is outside of anything to do with Amazon.

I browsed thru the AutoRip eligible CDs at Amazon and noticed something rather interesting - they often display an import CD (at a very high price), but there will be a US version of the CD at a price much closer to the MP3 album and it will also be AutoRip eligible. For some of the albums I looked at, you paid only about 50 cents more for the physical CD (especially if you are a Prime member and get free shipping), but had all the immediate listening benefits of the MP3 purchase.

Bargain Book Trio

A Rake's Vow with Bonus Material ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), the second book of the Bar Cynster series by Stephanie Laurens.

Book Description
In A Rake's Vow, Vane Cynster vowed he′d never marry.

To Vane, Bellamy Hall seems like the perfect place to temporarily hide from London′s husband hunters. But when he encounters irresistible Patience Debbington,
Vane realizes he′s met his match ...

She vowed no man would catch her.

Patience isn′t about to succumb to Vane′s sensuous propositions. Yes, his kisses leave her dizzy and his caresses made her melt; but Patience has promised herself she′ll never become vulnerable to a broken heart. Is this one vow that was meant to be broken?

Firelight ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), the first novel in the Darkest London series by Kristen Callihan; you may also want to pick up the prequel novella, Ember, which is only 99 cents.

Book Description
London, 1881.
Once the flames are ignited . . .
Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .
Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

Blackberries, Blackberries ($3.99 Kindle), an AmazonEncore edition by Crystal Wilkinson, which I selected solely based on the background description from the author.

Book Description
Winner of the 2002 CHAFFIN LITERARY AWARD

An enchanting, haunting collection of stories by Crystal Wilkinson, a self-described Black, country girl and poet from rural Kentucky. The stories explore the joys and pain of the women of "Affrilachia", and will touch the reader profoundly.

"I grew up on a farm in Indian Creek, Kentucky during the seventies. I swam in creeks and roamed the knobs and hills. We had an outhouse and no inside running water. Our house was heated by coal and wood-burning stoves and we lived so far back in the woods that we could get only one television station. But it was a place of beauty - trees, green grass and blue sky as far as you could see. I am country. Being country is as much a part of me as my full lips, wide hips, dreadlocks and high cheek bones. There are many Black country folks who have lived and are living in small towns, up hollers and across knobs. They are all over the South—scattered like milk thistle seeds in the wind. The stories in this book are centered in these places.” - Crystal E. Wilkinson

Today's Deals 1/12

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is Dreamland ($2.99), by Sarah Dessen.

Book Description
"Wake up, Caitlin." My English teacher wasn't the only person who'd noticed.

"Caitlin!" the dance coach barked as I flubbed another cartwheel.

"Caitlin?" Rina, my best friend, asked. "Hello?"

And finally, the one voice to which I snapped to attention, every time.

"Caitlin," Rogerson said, and I listened so hard, trying to tell just by the cadence what might happen when we were alone.

What they don't understand is that Caitlin can't afford to leave this dreamland, this half-sleeping state where everything and everyone can be kept at arm's length. Because then she'd have to face the ugly truth about her relationship with Rogerson: magnetic, fascinating--and very dangerous--Rogerson. What is it about Rogerson Biscoe...and why can't she leave him? In her most challenging novel yet, acclaimed author Sarah Dessen guides readers through the harrowing netherworld of a young woman's shattered dreams to her profound awakening.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Mornings in Jenin ($1.99), by Susan Abulhawa, which has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Book Description
Mornings in Jenin is a multi-generational story about a Palestinian family. Forcibly removed from the olive-farming village of Ein Hod by the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, the Abulhejos are displaced to live in canvas tents in the Jenin refugee camp. We follow the Abulhejo family as they live through a half century of violent history. Amidst the loss and fear, hatred and pain, as their tents are replaced by more forebodingly permanent cinderblock huts, there is always the waiting, waiting to return to a lost home.The novel's voice is that of Amal, the granddaughter of the old village patriarch, a bright, sensitive girl who makes it out of the camps, only to return years later, to marry and bear a child. Through her eyes, with her evolving vision, we get the story of her brothers, one who is kidnapped to be raised Jewish, one who will end with bombs strapped to his middle. But of the many interwoven stories, stretching backward and forward in time, none is more important than Amal's own. Her story is one of love and loss, of childhood and marriage and parenthood, and finally the need to share her history with her daughter, to preserve the greatest love she has. Set against one of the twentieth century's most intractable political conflicts, Mornings in Jenin is a deeply human novel - a novel of history, identity, friendship, love, terrorism, surrender, courage, and hope. Its power forces us to take a fresh look at one of the defining conflicts of our lifetimes.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Wicked One ($1.99), by Danelle Harmon.

Book Description
The bluest of blood; the boldest of hearts; the de Montforte brothers will take your breath away."

When the powerful Lucien de Montforte, the Duke of Blackheath, arrives home to find a dangerous and vengeful woman waiting for him in his bed with pistol in hand, the master manipulator never dreams that he has finally met his match. But thanks to his scheming family's successful attempts to force a wedding, the wicked and wily duke finds himself entangled in a web of his own making in this spectacular conclusion to Danelle Harmon's critically acclaimed de Montforte Brothers series!

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Full Blooded ($1.99), the first novel in Amanda Carlson's Jessica McClain series, published by Orbit.

Book Description
It's not easy being a girl. It's even harder when you're the only girl in a family of werewolves. But it's next to impossible when your very existence spells out the doom of your race... Meet Jessica McClain -- she just became part of the pack.

In the vein of Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs, a new urban fantasy that rewrites the werewolf myth...

Glass Tiger ($1.59 / £0.99 UK), by Joe Gores, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
It's election night in the US. Gustave Walberg becomes leader of the free world and legendary Vietnam sniper Halden Corwin murders his daughter and son-in-law before disappearing into the night. Driven by events that took place over forty years ago, he now has the President's head in his sights. Escaping his old life as a CIA sniper in Colombia, Brendan Thorne has become a guard at a safari camp in Kenya's Tsavo Game Park. But FBI agent Terrill Hatfield has other ideas - he arranges for Thorne to be deported back to the US, to protect the President. He is the only man who can stop Corwin and save the nation's leader. As Thorne comes steadily closer to his quarry, he discovers he can trust no one, except perhaps the mysterious Janet Kestrel. Caught in a web of lies and ambitions, Thorne realizes it is no longer the President's live he needs to save, but his own…

Against His Will ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Trish Jensen, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
They tried to resist each other, but it was impossible. Soon their passions were unleashed, and their self-control went to the dogs...

FBI agent Jake Donnelly is not the kind of man who names a dog “Muffin.” Especially not a jowly bulldog. But now Jake’s Aunt Sophie has left him her beloved Muffin, along with a sizable inheritance that has some strings attached. Jake and Muffin have to attend a two-week therapy course designed to work out any bonding issues they may have.

Enter Leanne Crosby, a pet shrink and owner of a luxury pet spa complete with private counseling sessions, a doggie dating service, and plenty of quirky advice on proper pet parenting.

When the gorgeous and brilliant Dr. Crosby sets out to help Jake and Muffin become soulmates, it soon becomes obvious that she and Jake are falling in puppy love.

Today's Deals 1/11

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Fujisan ($1.99), by Randy Taguchi and Raj Mahtani (Translator), with the companion audiobook also $1.99 .

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.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Wanting Heart ($0.99), by Rionna Morgan.

Book Description
Katherine White, a barrel racer from Colorado, lives in a fast-paced world where rhinestones shine, hooves pound, and dreams come true. She plans on winning World Champion Barrel Racer and being with her friends until she graduates from college.

She doesn’t plan on the man who broke her heart strolling back into her life. She doesn’t plan on finding solace in a charming stranger’s smile or falling victim to his knife.

Blake Spencer, the man who broke her heart, is all cowboy - from the hat on his head to the dust on his boots. He thought it’d be easy, coming back to town, bowing his head a little, saying he was sorry, and all would be forgiven. But what he didn’t know, what he didn’t plan on, was that the girl he thought he loved had become the woman he couldn’t have. If he doesn’t succeed in changing her mind, it won’t only cost him Kate’s love - it will cost Kate her life.

Will Kate survive the stalking of a serial killer and find what her heart truly wants?

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is 100 Years of Vicissitude ($1.99), by Andrez Bergen.

Book Description
"First up, a disclaimer. I suspect I am a dead man. I have meagre proof, no framed- up certification, nothing to toss in a court of law as evidence of a rapid departure from the mortal coil. I recall a gun was involved, pressed up against my skull, and a loud explosion followed."

Thus begins our narrator in a purgatorial tour through twentieth-century Japanese history, with a ghostly geisha who has seen it all as a guide and a corrupt millionaire as her reluctant companion.

Thrown into the milieu are saké, B-29s, Lewis Carroll, Sir Thomas Malory, Melbourne, 'The Wizard of Oz', and a dirigible - along with the allusion that Red Riding Hood might just be involved.

The Woodcutter ($1.59 / £0.99 UK), by Kate Danley, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99/KLL Eligible with companion audiobook $1.99).

Book Description
Deep within the Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity.

The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown.

But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot: one of Odin’s hellhounds has escaped, a sinister mansion appears where it shouldn’t, a pixie dust drug trade runs rampant, and more young girls go missing. Looming in the shadows is the malevolent, power-hungry queen, and she will stop at nothing to destroy the Twelve Kingdoms and annihilate the Royal Fae…unless the Woodcutter can outmaneuver her and save the gentle souls of the Wood.

Blending magic, heart-pounding suspense, and a dash of folklore, The Woodcutter is an extraordinary retelling of the realm of fairy tales.

Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings ($7.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Christopher Moore, is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
Just why do humpback whales sing? That's the question that has marine behavioral biologist Nate Quinn and his crew poking, charting, recording, and photographing very big, wet, gray marine mammals. Until the extraordinary day when a whale lifts its tail into the air to display a cryptic message spelled out in foot-high letters: Bite me.

Trouble is, Nate's beginning to wonder if he hasn't spent just a little too much time in the sun. 'Cause no one else on his team saw a thing -- not his longtime partner, Clay Demodocus; not their saucy young research assistant; not even the spliff-puffing white-boy Rastaman Kona (né Preston Applebaum). But later, when a roll of film returns from the lab missing the crucial tail shot -- and his research facility is trashed -- Nate realizes something very fishy indeed is going on.

By turns witty, irreverent, fascinating, puzzling, and surprising, Fluke is Christopher Moore at his outrageous best.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Old MacDonald Had a Dragon ($1.99), by Ken Baker and Christopher Santoro (Illustrator).

Book Description
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O! And on that farm he had . . . a dragon? The animals aren’t happy that there’s a dragon on the farm. But Old MacDonald likes his dragon . . . until it starts swallowing up the animals! Can Old MacDonald save his farm before it’s too late? Find out in this silly adaptation of the popular song. Christopher Santoro’s brilliant artwork combines with Ken Baker’s fun text for a story sure to tickle kids’ funny bones.

Grade Level: Pre-K and up

This book features Kindle Text Pop-Up for reading text over vivid, full-color images when using Kindle Fire/HD 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.

Free Audiobook - Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln

The MP3 download edition of Speeches and Writings of Abraham Lincoln ($17.49 Audible), narrated by Alan Sklar, is free direct from Tantor Media.

Book Description
From Lincoln's personal letters to the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and many more, this vital collection of speeches and writings gives listeners a uniquely intimate view of America's sixteenth president.

Abraham Lincoln was undeniably one of the most influential politicians in American history. In this collection of letters, speeches, and other writings by Lincoln, listeners can gain a uniquely intimate perspective on the sixteenth president of the United States. From personal letters to friends and family to Lincoln's speeches as an Illinois state legislator and a United States Representative, from his first inaugural address to the Emancipation Proclamation and the famous Gettysburg Address, Lincoln addresses such important political issues as slavery and states' rights and relates his personal views on marriage and depression. Also included are Lincoln's eulogy for Henry Clay, a letter of condolence for one of the Civil War's first casualties, the second inaugural address, Lincoln's last public address, his last written words, and many more. A vital glimpse into the mind of one of America's greatest statesmen, this is a must-listen for anyone interested in Lincoln's life and legacy.

Get the free ebook from Tantor Media, along with a bonus PDF ebook when you download the complete ZIP file from your library.