Kindle DX Returns, Keyboard Exits

I think we all knew that the Kindle Keyboard 3G's days were limited and apparently they are now over, as this model has been removed from the current Kindle Family lineup at Amazon. Amazon is no longer taking orders on any of the Keyboard models, both are showing as out of stock and no known time when they will come back in (there are a few used ones that can be ordered).

In the meantime, though, a model we all thought was gone for good has come back: the graphite Kindle DX, complete with free 3G and global coverage. From the specs and images I can see, this is identical to the 2nd generation Kindle DX that disappeared from their lineup earlier. For those who read a lot of PDF's, the DX's size is ideal; it can be a bit slow loading PDF's and those that are image only can be slow turning pages, but those are the same files that can be impossible to read on the smaller Kindles that are out there. If your eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, the DX lets you enlarge the print much more (and you get more words on the page when you do), plus it has sound support (which is lacking in the rest of the eInk Kindle line-up, at this point). That means you can use the Read-to-Me feature on your books and newspapers, as well as load up on audiobooks for the times when reading isn't as convenient. And, of course, you can listen to music and podcasts and there is a basic web browser for checking your email or shopping on the web.

I will say, I was hoping that the DX would return with a lit screen (essentially, a Paperwhite DX), preferably without losing features and memory, as has been the recent direction Amazon has taken with their devices. One by one, we've lost the ability to add books and music via SD card, then the keyboard, then sound entirely. Sure, some of those features are on the tablets, but none of those will give us 2-3 weeks of battery life (or even 3 days, for mine) and it is a lot easier (and faster) to transfer music and audiobook via an SD card than it is to try to reload them via the slow internet connection we have here (or find in most hotspots).

Kindle Daily Deals 6/4

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Dog Lived (and So Will I) ($1.99), by Teresa Rhyne [Sourcebooks], which is also the Nook Daily Find today.

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Lulu in the Amazon, an interactive storybook for kids.

If you are one of those that bought Scrabble for their Kindle Fire (1st Gen) and was disappointed when it would not work on your new Kindle Fire HD, you need to go to your library and check for the newest update. If you've held off on buying Scrabble because it wasn't compatible, you'll want to visit the Amazon store and get it now. All new HD graphics, it's compatible with all the current (and the original) Kindle Fire/HD models and the Single User mode is also back (it apparently disappeared in an interim version that I didn't upgrade to).

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is A Cowboy's Touch ($1.99), the first novel in Denise Hunter's Big Sky Romance series [Thomas Nelson].

Book Description
Abigail is just in Moose Creek, Montana for the summer to temporarily care for her great aunt. But a tender-hearted cowboy beckons her to stay.

Abigail Jones intends to spend just one summer in middle-of-nowhere Montana with her Aunt Lucy. Time away from her job is just what Abigail needs to reassess her life. The slow pace has her breathing deeply for the first time in years. And the majestic scenery encourages her to get reacquainted with herself . . . and God.

What she didn't count on was the handsome widowed cowboy who owns the ranch where her aunt lives. When the rancher loses his daughter's nanny, Abigail decides to lend a hand for the summer.

Wade Ryan can't help being attracted to Abigail. But he's given up everything to protect his daughter, and he's not about to risk it all on a pretty face.

Under Abigail's care, Wade's home and daughter thrive. And with Wade's touch, Abigail's heart feels at home at last. But Abigail knows this elusive rancher is hiding something. Will her own secrets separate her from the cowboy who finally captured her heart?

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is White Raven: The Sword of Northern Ancestors ($1.99), by Siberian author Irina Lopatina [Light Messages Publishing].

Book Description
In the kingdom of Areya, humans, animals, and the magical creatures that inhabit the Eternal Forest have long coexisted peacefully, but now something is horribly wrong. A terrifying stream of monstrous creatures has begun to emerge from the secret depths of the earth, terrorizing all of Areya's native inhabitants. From the tiny, wise drevalyankas to the bellicose cave-dwelling gnomes to the devious kikimoras who gather roots and herbs in the marsh, everyone is in danger. With the aid of Urart, the magical sword that has been passed down from the time of the ancient northern ancestors, Grand Duke Vlady can offer temporary protection to his people. But Prince Vraigo, Vlady's nephew, who is endowed with magical power himself, understands that the source of the evil monsters must be found if there's any hope of survival. Along with a motley crew of his forest-dwelling friends, Vraigo sets off on a perilous quest in search of the koschei, the powerful, corrupt Archmagus whose mission is the destruction not just of Areya, but of the entire world. As if this weren't bad enough, Urart disappears from the duke's stronghold. Without it, Areya is doomed, and only Vraigo, the White Raven, can possibly get the sword back. This journey requires Vraigo to use all of his keen wits and magical abilities, as well as to ally himself to dangerous creatures like yagas and werewolves, natural enemies of man, and precipitates the young prince into the most bewildering, complex challenge he has faced yet: life in the twenty-first century.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Boy at the End of the World ($1.99), by Greg Van Eekhout [Bloomsbury USA Childrens].

Book Description
This is what he knew:

His name was Fisher.

The world was dangerous.

And he was alone.

Fisher is the last boy on Earth - and things are not looking good for the human race. The carefully crafted survival dome where Fisher and dozens of other humans have been sleeping for millenia has been destroyed. Through a lucky accident, only Fisher survived.

The world Fisher wakes up in is a lot like ours - but it's changed, too. After the human race wiped itself out, nature took over, and wild creatures evolved into barely familiar beasts. Fisher must face them all as they set off on a journey that seems hopeless - at first. Then Fisher uncovers evidence that there may be a second survival dome far to the west. What was once a struggle for one boy's survival becomes a journey of hope.

With a broken robot and a friendly mammoth as his only companions, Fisher heads West. But something is watching them... something that wants to find the second survival dome just as badly as they do.

Age Level: 10 and up

Nook Daily Find 6/4

Dog Lived (and So Will I) ($10.09 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Teresa Rhyne [Sourcebooks], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
The tale of a dog who wouldn't let go and the woman who followed his lead.

Teresa Rhyne vowed to get things right this time around: new boyfriend, new house, new dog, maybe even new job. But shortly after she adopted Seamus, a totally incorrigible beagle, vets told Teresa that he had a malignant tumor and less than a year to live. The diagnosis devastated her, but she decided to fight it, learning everything she could about the best treatment for Seamus. Teresa couldn't possibly have known then that she was preparing herself for life's next hurdle - a cancer diagnosis of her own.

She forged ahead with survival, battling a deadly disease, fighting for doctors she needed, and baring her heart for a seemingly star–crossed relationship. The Dog Lived (and so Will I) is an uplifting and heartwarming story about how dogs steal our hearts, show us how to live, and teach us how to love.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/4

The Gilded Edge (£0.99 UK), the second Vince Treadwell novel by Danny Miller [Robinson], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
London 1965, and Vince Treadwell investigates the seemingly unrelated murders of a playboy aristocrat from Belgravia and a young black nurse from the wrong side of town. It takes the detective to the illegal drinking dens of Notting Hill run by the self-styled Black Power leader, Michael X; the nightclubs of Soho owned by the legendary gangster, Billy Hill; and the exclusive gaming tables of the Montcler Club in Berkeley Square, where the blue bloods and power players of England gamble thousands on the turn of a card.

But as Vince Treadwell digs deeper he finds himself not only embroiled with a beautiful society girl, Isabel Saxmore-Blaine, but a world of espionage and corruption where the underworld mixes easily with the aristocracy, and no one is innocent.

Bargain Book Roundup

Grub Line Rider ($1.99 Kindle), by Louis L'Amour [AmazonEncore], is just one of over 200 Western Books on sale for $2.99 or less (almost all are $1.99 are less).

Book Description
The fury of the Wild West explodes in this thrilling dramatization of the Louis L'Amour classic Grub Line Rider. Most folks would call Kim Sartain an easygoing, peace-loving man. But the few who crossed the young drifter knew there was nothing he liked better than a good fight. When cattleman Jim Targ challenges Sartain's right to ride across an unclaimed stretch of meadow, Sartain decides he'll do better than ride through: He'll put down stakes there and homestead the land. Soon there's more at risk than land and pride when Targ hires a gunman to teach Sartain a permanent--and deadly--lesson.

Barbecue! Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes ($2.99 Kindle), by Steven Raichlen [Workman Publishing], has over 300 pages of both traditional and new ideas for this summer's BBQ season. For those that don't have his Barbecue! Bible (now in it's 10th Edition), the first part of the book goes over both the basics and the steps for creating a great barbecue.

Book Description
Marinate skewers of beef tips in Tex-Mex Tequila-Jalapeno Wet Rub before putting them on the grill. Or slather pork chops with B.B. Lawnside Spicy Apple Barbecue Sauce. Or coax a chicken breast to perfection with a Coconut Curry Baste. From Steven Raichlen, author of the big, bad, definitive BARBECUE! BIBLE, comes BARBECUE! BIBLE SAUCES, RUBS, AND MARINADES, BASTES, BUTTERS & GLAZES, an in-depth celebration of those cornerstones on which unforgettable live-fire flavors are built.

Here are fiery spice mixtures for massaging into food, sensuous bastes to be brushed on like lacquer, killer marinades, sugary glazes, tangy mops from award-winning barbecue teams, and dozens of sauces, from the classic tomato-based American Sweet and Smoky to a bold Moroccan Charmoula with its medley of fresh herbs and spices.

In all, 200 recipes cover the gamut. But BARBECUE! BIBLE SAUCES aims even higher - offering a serious education in flavor. Big flavor. It tells how to use a mortar and pestle to maximize fresh garlic and onions. How to create a failproof fish cure and radically improve home-smoked fish. The best way to handle a Scotch bonnet chili to reap its heat and savor without scorching skin or eyes. How to balance acid, oil, and aromatics in a marinade so that it tenderizes meat, coats the exterior to keep it from drying out during cooking, and adds cannon blasts of flavor. And how to confidently incorporate ingredients like tamarind, lemon grass, star anise, wasabi, marjoram, kaffir lime leaf, and tarragon.

Put it all together, and you'll really have your barbecue mojo working.

The Cost of Victory ($0.99 Kindle), the second novel in the Crimson Worlds series by Jay Allan [self-pub], with the companion audiobook for $1.99, looks pretty interesting and has even better reviews than the first in the series, Marines ($2.99).

Book Description
The Third Frontier War is raging, and all across human-occupied space worlds are burning. Massive fleets struggle for dominance and kilometer-long war ships exchange thermonuclear barrages.

Battered in the early years of the war, the Western Alliance is resurgent. The brilliant Admiral Augustus Garret leads the Alliance fleet from victory to victory, taking the war to the very heart of the enemy empires. And on the ground, Colonel Erik Cain, hero of the Marine Corps, leads his crack troops again into combat, seeking the final battle.

In the background, the secretive intelligence agencies of the despotic Superpowers plot and scheme, using their own soldiers as pawns in the great game for control of space.

But the final battle will be fought in the reddish sands of a backwater world, and the prize will be the staggering secret that has lain hidden in a remote cave for untold centuries.

All the Powers struggle for the ultimate victory, but at what cost?

Forever, Erma: Best-Loved Writing From America's Favorite Humorist ($2.99 Kindle), by Erma Bombeck [Open Road]

Book Description
An anthology of Erma Bombeck’s best writing, and a tribute to one of America’s sharpest wits

When she began writing her regular newspaper column in 1965, Erma Bombeck’s goal was to make housewives laugh. Thirty years later, she had published more than four thousand columns, and earned countless laughs—from housewives, presidents, and everyone in between. With grace, good humor, and razor-sharp prose, she gently skewered every aspect of the American family. This collection holds the best of her columns—not just her famous quips, but also the heartbreaking observations that gave her writing such weight.

In 1969, Erma wrote: “screaming kids, unpaid bills, green leftovers, husbands behind newspapers, basketballs in the bathroom. They’re real . . . they’re warm . . . they’re the only bit of normalcy left in this cockeyed world, and I’m going to cling to it like life itself.” Three decades later, Bombeck’s writing remains a timeless examination of the still-cockeyed world.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erma Bombeck including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.

Strangers in the Land ($1.99 Kindle), the third Zombie Bible novel by Stant Litore [47North], with the companion audiobook also $1.99.

Book Description
Stant Litore’s The Zombie Bible retells biblical tales and ancient history as episodes in humanity’s long struggle with hunger … and with the hungry dead.

Four must stand against the dead. The aging prophetess Devora. Hurriya, the slave girl. Zadok, a legend among warriors. And the widower Barak, who has sworn to defend his homeland from a migration of walking corpses greater than has ever been seen.

Devora is all too familiar with the unclean dead. She was there when her mother was pulled screaming from her tent by zombies. And when her mother rose, famished for flesh, it was Devora's hand that ended her hunger. Now Devora has struck an uneasy alliance with those she fears most among the living. Yet the strangers in the land must stand together if they are to rid the land of its curse.

One Week Girlfriend ($0.99 Kindle), by Monica Murphy [Bantam/Random House]

Book Description
Breakout sensation Monica Murphy takes the New Adult genre by storm with the deeply emotional, completely addicting story of Drew and Fable.

Temporary. That’s the word I’d use to describe my life right now. I’m temporarily working double shifts—at least until I can break free. I’m temporarily raising my little brother—since apparently our actual mother doesn’t give a crap about either of us. And I always end up as nothing but the temporary girlfriend—the flavor of the week for every guy who’s heard the rumor that I give it up so easily.

At least Drew Callahan, college football legend and local golden boy, is upfront about it. He needs someone to play the part of his girlfriend for one week. In exchange for cash. As if that’s not weird enough, ever since he brought me into his world, nothing really makes sense. Everyone hates me. Everyone wants something from him. And yet the only thing Drew seems to want is . . . me.

I don’t know what to believe anymore. Drew is sweet, sexy, and hiding way more secrets than I am. All I know is, I want to be there for him—permanently.