Six Free Books from Sony

Six more free titles in the Sony ebookstore, courtesy of Xlibris Publishing.

The Urban Book of the Dead ($9.99 Kindle), by Jonathan Cottam

Book Description
Urban Book of the dead is my second book to be published, after ‘The Unrequited Zombie’. It is a rather less experimental work, though still unusual, vivid, and descriptive. I would describe the book as both psychedelic and surreal, being rather pedantic about the use of those two words. That is, if it were surreal I would be dealing with a psychological work, something that looked towards expanding knowledge of the Id, that primitive part of our nature that is repressed by social conventions and the need to plan to get what we want. It is, in that it is self gratifying without recourse to opinion, it is every animalistic urge that can only be released through art, because to do it any other way would have terrible repercussions. Having said that, next to my early work, it is not particularly arty or deep. It is psychedelic because it looks to reaching a higher consciousness by through creativity, to reach a state beyond the normal level of seeing things, it is also psychedelic and surreal in the commonly understood sense, it is ‘trippy’ and sometimes deals with drugs.

From Dawn to Deceit ($19.99 paperback), by Terry Joseph

Book Description
Are the Wall Street players Jasper Cunningham encounters along his quest for power merely a pawn in his murderous passion for wealth? From Dawn to Deceit reveals the saga of a self-made multimillionaire whose greed and malice succumb him to fight the justice system to regain his freedom and stature in the business world. Through flashbacks of the adulterous years preceding Jasper's arrest and trial, we encounter cold-blooded murders, corporate fraud and embezzlement, and justified rape. In his journey, Jasper affiliates with seemingly faithful lovers and underworld cohorts who become jointly entangled in their common goal-the pursuit of wealth, sex, and power. But who can Jasper trust? The layers of deception only accelerate after his verdict.

Growing up with A Heart Defect and Faith ($9.99 Kindle), by Shelia Ratliff

Book Description
The Story you are about to read is based on my life. It’s a true story. I wanted to share it with others hoping it will make a difference in their life. After you read it you will see how I fit back with my faith, by helping others fight back as well. How I was called a poor girl to heart trouble kid. But with my faith I was the richest girl in the world. Not money wise, but being blessed wise. Stories about some of my friends who fit back with their lives and won. About special people in my life who made a difference. You will see how miracles happen. You will be amazed how little things can make a difference and never give up on faith or your dreams, … because this is one of mine.

God's Poetic Treasure's: A Poetic Journey Through The Scriptures ($9.99 Kindle), by Priscilla McGee

Book Description
God’s poetic treasure’s is a poetic Journey through the scriptures. This book has section headings and in each section there is a prayer and a related scripture. Within each section there are eight to ten poems with a related scripture. This book is designed in the style of a devotion book which allows the reader to look at the section heading, find the area that they may need encouragement. Then through accessibility they can turn to it and read the poems and scriptures that are related to the topic.

What Every Catholic Should Know about Mary: Dogmas, Doctrines, and Devotions ($9.99 Kindle), by Terrence J. McNally

Book Description
This book provides a concise summary of Traditional Catholic Mariology. It explains the following facts:
• Jesus worked his first miracle for Mary (Jn 2:1–11).
• Mary kept the faith of the Church alive on Calvary (Jn 19:25–27).
• By 200 CE, Catholic Mariology was virtually completed.
• Early Christians painted pictures of Mary in the catacombs.
• The earliest prayer to Mary dates from c. 270 CE.
• Between 100 and 200 CE, a church was dedicated to Mary at Nazareth.
• In the 350s, the feast of the Assumption of Mary was celebrated on August 15.
• In 431 CE, the Church proclaimed Mary Mother of God.
• Marian devotion is Christ-centered and presupposes conversion of heart.
• Catholic Marian teaching derives from the Bible and Tradition (the apostles as witnessed by the Fathers of the Church).
• The four Marian dogmas are the Divine Maternity, Perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption into heaven. The Church never defined dogmas of Mary as Co-Redemptrix and/or Mediatrix of all graces.
• In heaven, Mary shares subordinately in the mediation of Jesus Christ, the only Mediator.
• The rosary is 57 percent biblical.

Misery Doesn't Always Love Company ($9.99 Kindle), by Mark A. McDonald. This appears to be a poetry collection, but I can't find a book description anywhere.

Almost Free Book (Kindle) - Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help

Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help, by Douglas Anthony Cooper, is a single penny in the Amazon Kindle store. Aimed at young readers (age 9-12), this one has only five-star reviews (you can't see them on the Kindle book page, but HERE under the paperback version.

Book Description
No one except Milrose Munce knows that ghosts of former students live in his school. Not only is Milrose aware of these ghouls – he’s on a first-name basis with all of them. Of course, some are more likeable than others: the third floor is the home to nearly all of his good friends. Most of them – like Imploded Ig, Deeply Damaged Dave, and Toasted Theresa – were the victims of science experiments gone wrong though they do manage to maintain a sense of humour about their demise. Then there are the ghost athletes who lurk in the basement – a pretty disagreeable group, the majority of them having died after a particularly clumsy manoeuvre on the school’s sports field.

After Milrose is given yet another detention for offering his teacher an answer that was just a bit too clever, his life takes an unexpected turn. He is sent to a hidden den in the school’s basement to receive Professional Help. Here, he and the quick-witted Arabella, a fellow captive, are put under round-the-clock supervision of the maniacal Massimo Natica. Fortunately for Milrose and Arabella, once they join forces with their ghostly friends, Massimo Natica doesn’t stand a chance.

In the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, the dark comedy and imaginative brilliance of Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help will appeal to adults as much as it will to younger readers.

Collections coming (SOON!) to the Kindle

Amazon has announced version 2.5 of the Kindle software today, which will finally include a method of organizing your Kindle books, which they (copying Sony) are calling Collections (too bad, as tagging is already a mobipocket feature and more powerful than Sony's Collections). Unfortunately, it looks like all the original Kindle buyers will be left out in the cold, as there is only a footnote that they are at version 1.2 and there doesn't appear to be an update in the works. So, those of us with an original Kindle will have to keep using separate SD cards and software like Calibre to manage our books. Even the note-based tagging workaround that many have used on their Kindle 2's is useless on the original Kindle, due to the slowness of the search facilit, once you get a few hundred (or more) books on it.

Several of the updates seem to be geared towards younger readers (Really? Twitter sharing of passages from a book? As if that social network isn't filled with enough trivia). Nor am I much interested in what passages in a book others marked as interesting (although it looks to be a readily exploited feature if used by students to skip reading an entire book when preparing a report), while other features are those that original Kindle owners have been asking for all along (and which could have been developed for that hardware platform without much difficulty, especially tagging). Passwords have long been needed and locking your Kindle is something many business users have wanted (as have a few people who don't want others to see what they are reading), but parents have been asking for parental locks on their Kindles even louder and it doesn't appear those are included. I know I'd love to be able to mark books (using my Manage My Kindle page) as to which Kindle is allowed to access a book - that would make it easier for families with multiple Kindles, where the romance and sports readers don't want to see each others titles, for the most part. I'll definitely use the PDF enhancements on my DX, I suspect, and perhaps the Collections feature there will be useful (even though I only keep a small subset of my books there).

Here's a list of the coming enhancements:

• Collections: Organize your books and documents into one or more collections.
• PDF Pan and Zoom: Zoom into PDFs and pan around to easily view small print and detailed tables or graphics.
• Password Protection: Password protect your Kindle when you're not using it.
• More Fonts & Improved Clarity: Enjoy two new larger font sizes and sharper fonts for an even more comfortable reading experience.
• Facebook & Twitter Posts: Share book passages with friends on Facebook and Twitter directly from your Kindle.
• Popular Highlights: See what the Kindle community thinks are the most interesting passages in the books you're reading.

Amazon is rolling out the new software update to a limited group of Kindle users (it sounds like theses have started) and plans a broad release in late May 2010. They are updating in batches, so don't be surprised if your Kindle doesn't get the update right away. This update also appears to take a while to download, install and reboot (the estimate is about 10 minutes), during which time you should not power off or reset your Kindle.

Click HERE for additional details and for updates on the release schedule.

Free two-day shipping on Kindle

Just in time for Mother's Day, Amazon has brought back their free 2-day shipping offer on the Kindle and Kindle DX. Order either one today and you'll get free shipping and delivery by Friday. According to the countdown clock I see on the order pages, you have until 11PM EST to place your order (one-day shipping is $3.99 for those with Amazon Prime, letting you procrastinate until tomorrow to place your order). I know my mother uses her Kindle daily and I'd get one for my M-I-L, if she were not in such a remote area that she has no Whispernet access (and no computer, either, for USB downloads). Of the two, the Kindle DX has larger fonts and better speakers, for those who use the Text-to-Speech feature, while the Kindle is quite a bit easier to hold, has buttons on both sides and is more transportable.

How to redeem:

• Add Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation) or Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation) to your Shopping Cart.
• When you're done shopping, click "Proceed to checkout." Select Two-Day Shipping.
• On the final checkout page, the shipping discount will appear in the upper-right corner of your Order Summary.
  

Additional details on the offer can be found HERE.

If your mother already has a Kindle, don't forget to print off a Kindle Gift Certificate, which can double as a Mother's Day card.

Five Dollar Cookbooks

No matter how much I love my Kindle, so far I prefer traditional paper copies of cookbooks when I am cooking (best of both worlds: the ebook version to read or check at the store and the paper copy to use in the kitchen). Barnes & Noble is trying to tempt me to add to my collection with their $5 Cookbook Sale, with titles ranging from The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry to Incredibly Easy Gluten-Free Recipes. There are five pages of books included in the sale, a few of which caught my eye and I'm highlighting below. Where available at Amazon, I've included prices and links so you can find reviews.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry ($9.99 Kindle), by Kathleen Flinn

This is the funny and inspiring account of Kathleen Flinn-s struggle in a stew of hot-tempered chefs, competitive classmates, her own -wretchedly inadequate- French, and the basics of French cuisine. Flinn was a thirty-six-year-old middle manager trapped on the corporate ladder-until her boss eliminated her job. So she cashed in her savings and moved to Paris to pursue her lifelong dream of attending the venerable Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Fans of Julie & Julia and the late Julia Child will be richly rewarded by this vibrant tale of self-discovery, transformation, and ultimately love.

Incredibly Easy Gluten-Free Recipes ($9.98 Amazon, 4-for-3 promotion eligible), by the Staff of Publications International

Cutting gluten out of your diet? That s no reason to deprive yourself of flavor and variety. Going gluten-free may sound awfully limiting, but there are plenty of delicious options, many more than the forbidden foods. The wonderful recipes in this book will show you new ways to prepare old favorites like pizza, cookies, and casseroles without a speck of gluten.

With this cookbook, you are covered for a gluten-free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Nobody has to be on a special diet to love these delicious dishes:
Grilled Fish Tacos
Cajun Chicken and Rice
Cheese Grits with Chiles & Bacon
Ham and Potato Pancakes
Turkey Piccata
Almond Flour Pound Cake
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant($9.99 Kindle), by Jenni Ferrari-Adler

In this delightful and much buzzed-about collection of essays, 26 writers and foodies invite readers into their kitchens to reflect on the secret meals they relish when no one else is looking. Part solace, part celebration, part handbook, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant offers a wealth of company, inspiration, and humor-and finally, recipes that require no division or subtraction.

Featuring essays by: Steve Almond, Jonathan Ames, Jami Attenberg, Laura Calder, Mary Cantwell, Dan Chaon, Laurie Colwin, Laura Dave, Courtney Eldridge, Nora Ephron, Erin Ergenbright, M. F. K. Fisher, Colin Harrison, Marcella Hazan, Amanda Hesser, Holly Hughes, Jeremy Jackson, Rosa Jurjevics, Ben Karlin, Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Beverly Lowry, Haruki Murakami, Phoebe Nobles, Ann Patchett, Anneli Rufus and Paula Wolfert.

Outstanding in the Field: A Farm to Table Cookbook, by Jim Denevan & Marah Stets

Instead of bringing food to guests in a traditional restaurant setting, Jim Denevan brings diners to their food, creating what Alice Waters has called “the restaurant I always imagined.” His innovative organization, Outstanding in the Field, sets up dinner tables in fields, ranches, dairies, vineyards, and community gardens across the country for alfresco meals that truly reconnect us with the land and people that produce our food.

In Outstanding in the Field, Denevan presents a cookbook full of seasonally inspired dishes from his farm-fresh dinners, sharing more than one hundred recipes with home cooks and food lovers everywhere. Celebrating local ingredients at their height of freshness, favorites include Haricot Vert and Early Girl Tomato Salad with Summer Savory; Burrata Cheese with Nectarines, Mâche, and Hazelnuts; Sea Scallops with Sugar Snap Peas and Chervil; Pure Maple Syrup–Braised Short Ribs; Green Tomato Marmalade; and Upside-Down Fresh Fig Cake. All of the recipes present opportunities to use the most flavorful produce, meats, and cheeses in the area where you live—and suggestions for substitutions when necessary.

America’s appetite for organic and local food has never been stronger and there is no better guide to this growing movement than Jim Denevan. With inspiring recipes, beautiful photographs throughout of farms and food across the country, and information on finding local ingredients and helping Community Supported Agriculture and community gardens, Outstanding in the Field is a cookbook that celebrates the pleasures of raising, preparing, and enjoying good food.

Keo's Thai Cuisine by Keo Sananikone($16.50 Amazon)

The books that ushered in the Thai revolution in kitchens across America is back in a revised edition featuring the classic recipes that earned Keo an international following, along with new recipes fresh from the kitchen of his world-famous restaurant in Hawaii. With over 80,000 books in print, KEO'S THAI CUISINE continues to be the definitive source for home cooks serious about Thai cuisine. Each chapter is structured to allow a beginner to understand the components and philosophy of Thai cuisine, as well as prepare such winning dishes as Keo's Thai Spring Rolls, Evil Jungle Prince with Mixed Vegetables, and Musamen Beef Curry. The fresh new look we've given the revised edition makes the full-color food photography look more enticing than ever.

With over 80,000 books in print, "Keo's Thai Cuisine" continues to be the definitive source for home cooks serious about Thai cooking. Full color.

The GL Diet Made Simple ($9.99, by Antony Worrall Thompson

This is the follow-up to Thompson’s best-selling GI Diet Cookbook and a must for those who have adapted their diet to the sound principles of the Glycemic Index.

The GI diet explained how to manage blood glucose levels to help weight loss and encourage long-term good health. The GL (glycemic load) is an exciting new extension of these principles and measures more accurately the carbohydrate load of food. This means that foods that had previously been considered high GI, e.g. melon, can now be introduced into your diet, as the amount of carbs you would eat in a portion, rather than in a whole melon, is calculated. This will give you a better understanding of how to combine foods to bring down the overall GL and allows an even greater choice of foods to be included in your diet.

Antony Worrall Thompson has created 100 delectable recipes based on the GL to help you lose weight sensibly. His GL Diet is a diet that you can follow for life without missing out on favorite foods – and it offers a tempting range of desserts and treats (allowed because the carb calculation is more precise).

Whether you are already a fan of the GI and looking to expand your recipe collection, or if you are new to the GI/GL, this book will help you to eat healthily, lose weight for good and still enjoy delicious food.

Free Game - Word Monaco

The free game this week at Sandlot Games is Word Monaco ($6.95 Amazon Game Downloads). This was also free back in mid-January, for those who have followed this blog for a while.

I have this installed on my XP notebook, but have been unable to get it to unlock on my Windows 7 computer. Update: I disabled my antivirus software in Windows 7 (since I've been running the same program with no issues on another computer and was using the same install file, there wasn't much risk in this), reinstalled and unlocked with no problem at all. Apparently this can be a problem with some of Sandlot's older games (it depends on the antivirus program, not necessarily the OS version).

Game Description

• A Unique Blend of Word Creation and Solitaire
• 50,000+ Entries In A Massive Word List
• 5 Decks From Easy To Champion
• 75 Progressively Challenging Levels

Welcome to Word Monaco! Relax under the warm sun of the Mediterranean and play a unique blend of word-creation and solitaire. Create words by moving letters from column to column and use power-ups for bonus points. When all of the letters are used, you'll move on to the next of 75 progressively difficult levels in 6 different locations! With a word list of over 50,000+ words and 5 decks of varying difficulty, there are endless possibilities.

Click HERE to sign up for the free download. For step by step purchase and installation instructions, see this post.

Dozens of free non-fiction books at B&N

There are dozens of free books from MG Press in the B&N bookstore today, but they can be tricky to find. Most appear to be history, legal or political subjects from a British or Canadian point of view, but I also found one about women pilots in England between WWI and WWII.

Click HERE to get a sorted list, just be careful to check the prices before buying (many are quite expensive, as you get near the end of the list). I found free titles on at least the first seven pages of results. Most (if not all) appear to only be in eReader format, so nook and PC compatible.

Update: I bought several of these and despite being marked as free, B&N apparently ran one-penny charges for each of those. No big deal to me (it's only 60 cents if you buy every one of them), but it triggered the fraud protection on my credit card (which declined the charges, but B&N put the books in my library, anyway), so it was a bit of a hassle to have to call the credit card company and get it unblocked.

Free Book (Sony) - The Beginning... the End... Anew!

The Beginning... the End... Anew! ($9.99 Kindle), by Zedart Hodges, is another selection from XLibris (which appears to specialize in self-pulished authors) that is free in the Sony ebookstore this evening. This one is marked as a religious, motivational memoir.

Book Description
For sometime I’ve been clean and at times it has been hard, but I think about my love for me and know that I can't and refuse to fall back into that self pity state of denial and that now I understand that it´s not about me also there's a saying that is so true which says in order to keep what you got you must give it away. I hope this will help someone or somebody out there that's beginning to realize that life is bigger than they are and more important to someone else other than you thank you for time.

Free Book (Sony) - The Whore of Babylon

The Whore of Babylon, A Memoir ($9.99 Kindle), by Katrina Prado, is free in the Sony ebookstore.

Author Bio
Katrina Prado is the author of several novels, including a mystery series as well as many literary short stories. She has had material published in Woman’s World, Potpourri, The Chrysalis Reader, The Santa Clara Review, Lite, and Woman. Ms. Prado’s comments have also appeared in Yoga Journal. She has been a freelance writer for Woman’s World magazine and her work has aired on Public Radio’s Valley Writers Read. She was a two-time panelist at the Sacramento Reads! book festival. Her short story Twig Doll won first place in the 2000 Lite Circle Literary Contest. Her novel BOXES OF YEARS (March 27, 2002, Rising Tide Press) is available at all bookstores, as well as from Amazon.com. She lives with her husband in northern California.

Free Book (Sony) - Where 45 Ends

Where 45 Ends ($9.99 Kindle), by E. Marie Aldrich-Creasy, is free in the Sony ebookstore.

Book Description
Penning down over two hundred fifty poems, the author opens the windows to her soul through lyrical verse that displays immense emotional power. Each piece in this collection is carved by the emotions of a young woman with whom many others can relate. She vividly captures different events and ideas that a person has to encounter in the journey of life.

The poem “Through It All” is a powerful reminiscence of past hardship and trials. Written in a whimsical yet edifying tone, “What to Say” tells of an unknown story of girls known as bartenders and waitresses. “Back of the Truck” relives the good old days of 1972 racing life, and “Country in Music” expresses how people should return to God and bring hope, faith, and belief back to the rhythm of everyday life. By reading her poem “I Want To Say”, you’ll know where her heart is.

An eloquent delivery of Aldrich-Creasy's philosophies, Where 45 Ends collects pieces of the heart. It is a highly entertaining and inspiring read for readers of any age and life situation.

Free Book (Sony) - The Adventures of Button

The Adventures of Button ($9.99 Kindle), by Richard W. Leech, is free in the Sony ebookstore.

Book Description
With Buttons, the adventures—and misadventures—never end…

Buttons has her way with everything around her. She is indeed an extraordinary Scottish terrier dearly loved and enjoyed by all—even the dangerous or maddest of creatures are enthralled and captivated by the young Buttons.

Free Book - The Shop on Blossom Street

The Shop on Blossom Street ($5.76 Kindle), by Debbie Macomber, is free in the Sony ebookstore (and more, see below) this morning. The first in the Blossom Street series, this looks like a promotion in conjunction with the release today of the seventh volume, Hannah's List ($9.99 Kindle), so I would not be surprised if this one ended up free in the Kindle store. In the meantime, I picked up the Sony version, which I can always read on my PC.

Book Description
There's a little yarn store in Seattle.

It's owned by Lydia Hoffman, and it represents her dream of a new life free from cancer. A life that offers a chance at love...

Lydia teaches knitting to beginners, and the first class is "How to Make a Baby Blanket." Three women join. Jacqueline Donovan wants to knit something for her grandchild as a gesture of reconciliation with her daughter-in-law. Carol Girard feels that the baby blanket is a message of hope as she makes a final attempt to conceive. And Alix Townsend is knitting her blanket for a court-ordered community service project.

These four very different women, brought together by an age-old craft, make unexpected discoveries--about themselves and each other. Discoveries that lead to friendship and more...

As always with Sony titles, you'll need to open the Reader Library software and search for it in the bookstore.

Update: This book is also free at Barnes & Noble and at All Romance Ebooks, where it is is in many formats: Adobe Acrobat, Palm DOC/iSolo, Microsoft Reader, HTML, Mobipocket, Epub. Which means it'll work on your Kindle and pretty much any other reader out there, with a bit of work. The EPUB and LIT (MS Reader) versions are both DRM free (the mobipocket version claims to have DRM, so I haven't opened it), so are easily converted using Calibre to any other format desired.

Free Book (Sony/nook) - Savior

Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith #4: Savior ($0.80 Kindle), by John Jackson Miller, is free in both the Sony and Barnes & Noble ebookstores today. Since the original intention was for the entire series to be published as free, I suspect the Kindle version will drop as well within a few days.

Book Description
Twenty-five years ago the survivors of the marooned Sith ship Omen bloodlessly conquered the native population of the remote planet Kesh, installing themselves as overlords and transforming the primitive Keshiri civilization into a new Sith society. Letting nothing stand in his way-including his own brother-s life-Omen commander-turned-Grand Lord Yaru Korsin has ruled unopposed ever since. But now his days, and those of the ruthless Sith order on Kesh, may be numbered.Revolt-and revenge-have been brewing in the hearts of the two women closest to Korsin. One is Adari Vaal, the once-outcast Keshiri who rescued the stranded Sith, aided their domination of Kesh, and now leads the secret resistance against them. The other is Seelah, wife of Korsin, widow of his murdered brother, and mastermind of the plot to assassinate the Grand Lord and seize power. But have the comforts of a king and his own arrogance blunted Korsin-s cunning Sith instincts? Or is he ready to deal swiftly and mercilessly with treachery from any quarter? Enemies themselves, Adari and Seelah are unaware of each other-s destiny-altering gambits. They only know that there can be no turning back-and no escaping the consequences if they fail.

Click HERE for the Barnes & Noble version. For the Sony version, just search on the title in the reader software's bookstore.

Game of the Day - Adventure Chronicles

Amazon's Game Download of the Day is a $2.99 download of Adventure Chronicles, which is a hidden object game.

Game Description

• Discover The 5 Amazing Treasures!
• Unique And Challenging Mind Puzzles!
• Many Useful Tools!
• 30 Bonus Geo Cache Missions!

After her narrow escape from an earthquake struck museum, Susan Anderson is presented with an unbelievably rare opportunity to travel the world and explore never before seen treasures. Guide Susan on her quest to find some of the greatest treasures in history! Solve challenging mind puzzles and use special tools to achieve your goals! Also, there are 30 bonus geo cache missions to keep you on your toes! It's the chance of a lifetime with Adventure Chronicles!

Free Book and a Contest at Kobo

As a reader pointed out, you can pick up The Scent of Shadows, by Vicki Pettersson, free at KoboBooks in (DRM'd) EPUB format. It isn't the "Free" edition from Amazon, though, so no bonus material, however, you can download it today and start reading.

Book Description
When she was sixteen, Joanna Archer was brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert.

By rights, she should be dead.

Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset—a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow—seeking answers to whom or what she really is . . . and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure.

But the nightmare is just beginning—for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful shadows want her for their own . . .

Kobo is also running a contest to win one of 10 Kobo eReaders. Every book purchased during the contest period gets you an entry (remember, they are a Canadian company, so the rules may be a bit different than found at US companies).

CONTEST DETAILS

Duration: Next 2 weeks only (April 22nd - May 6th)

Two weekly draws to be held on the following dates:

* First draw with 5 eReaders available to be won(one per winner): April 29th
* Second draw with 5 eReaders available to be won (one per winner): May 6th

1 eBook Purchase = 1 contest entry

Every eBook you buy is one entry to WIN!

All the official rules can be found HERE, but essentially all you do is buy the books you would have anyway (remember, Kobo's books are not Kindle compatible), up to six entries per person. Since the rules specify clicking on the "Buy Now" button, this and other free books won't count (unless they bring back coupon, which it does not appear they will do, due to the agency model forced upon them by publishers).

Free Book (Sony) - In the Beginning: Hijacking of the Religion of God

Two free books in the Sony ebookstore this morning. As always, you'll need to use their reader software and search by title or author to find the book, as direct links won't work. These are the first two of a three-volume set, although I don't see the third book in the series in the Sony store yet, although you can get it as a Barnes & Noble ebook. None are available for the Kindle (yet), although the first volume is in the Amazon store in hardcover and paperback.

In the Beginning: Hijacking of the Religion of God, Volume 1: Judaism ($19.99 Paperback; $7.99 B&N ebook), by Sami M. El-Soudani & Nabawia J. El-Soudani (Illustrator)

Book Description
Our analysis of three millennia of religious history shows that “the Religion of God” has been hijacked right from the beginning until this day. Men who practiced hijacking long before they had wings have been engaging in the lucrative business of hijacking the religion of God, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose members miserably failed to heed the words of our Merciful God.

No irony intended in calling it “a business” and indeed “a lucrative one,” because it brings the hijackers power, enormous wealth, and often glory, which, in the sight of God, translate respectively into arrogance, greed, and infamy.

The author hopes that this presentation of a uniquely critical and candid outlook on religion will be widely disseminated to such people in search of God. This book may also appeal to readers engaged in studies of systems of government, and history of political science.

In the Beginning: Hijacking of the Religion of God, Volume 2: Christianity ($7.99 B&N ebook), by Sami M. El-Soudani & Nabawia J. El-Soudani (Illustrator)

Book Description
This volume illustrates how Jesus of Nazareth was morphed into the Son of God shortly upon his death. Sami M. El-Soudani presents the hijacking of Christianity in a diagram that summarizes how the Christian community was led to believe in a myth created over time.

Pavarotti for $1.99

A great deal for opera fans, Amazon has the MP3 download version of 75th Birthday Limited Edition - Luciano Pavarotti currently marked at $1.99. I'm not going to list the cuts included, as there are 100 of them, a total of just over 7 hours of music.

More Earth Day Specials

Barnes and Noble is running a number Earth Day specials and it looks like their prices on the Planet Earth DVD's are even lower than Amazon's, as they are giving everyone Member prices, right now (then again, they'll charge sales tax in most states, but there is free shipping over $25).

FaveCrafts is giving away a copy of their Recycling Crafts eBook, which contains 42 ways to reuse and recycle common household items thru crafts. I'll probably never make a toilet paper tube napkin ring (but they might be cute for kids), but maybe I'll find a use for all those AOL CD's I've accumulated over the years.

Book Description
This green craft eBook includes:

* Section 1: Paper- Learn how to use junk mail to make paper beads.
* Section 2: Paper Making- Use paper, magazines and greeting cards to create different kinds of crafts
* Section 3: Metal- Use tins and cans to create little critters and luminaries
* Section 4: Plastic- Use those old bottles, cans and containers to create household items and decor
* Section 5: Glass- Don’t break those old wine bottles, create coasters out of them
* Section 6: Clothing- Sweaters and belts don’t have to be clothing items, they can be made into bracelets
* Section 7: Miscellaneous- Take those old CD’s and turn them into ornaments.

Audible for Blackberry and Free Audiobook

For those who have a Blackberry, if you download the new Audible for Blackberry App, you'll automatically receive Divine Justice ($14.99 Kindle), by David Baldacci, for free. This offer only applies to those who have a Blackberry and download the app; however it appears that an Audible App for Android and the iPhone are both coming soon (but not the iPad?).

The complete Audible experience for your BlackBerry is here.

Shop, sample, download, and play audio from over 75,000 titles from every genre, including titles from top new authors and timeless classics.

Limited-Time Offer:

Receive David Baldacci's Divine Justice FREE when you download the app now.

Book Description
Known by his alias, "Oliver Stone," John Carr is the most wanted man in America. With two pulls of the trigger, the men who destroyed Stone's life and kept him in the shadows were finally silenced.

But his freedom comes at a steep price: The assassinations he carried out prompt the highest levels of the U.S. government to unleash a massive manhunt. Behind the scenes, master spy Macklin Hayes is playing a very personal game of cat and mouse. He, more than anyone, wants Stone dead.

With their friend and unofficial leader in hiding, the members of the Camel Club risk everything to save him. Now, as the hunters close in, Stone's flight from the demons of his past will take him from the power corridors of Washington, D.C., to the small, isolated coal-mining town of Divine, Virginia-and into a world every bit as lethal as the one he left behind.

Earth Day at Amazon - Free Video and More

For Earth Day, Amazon has set up an entire Earth Day Store and has a number of special deals running on their web site, a few of which I'll highlight below. All are just a small part of the large selection of green and sustainable goods year-round at Amazon Green.

First, Amazon is giving away the first episode of Planet Earth, From Pole to Pole in [HD], as part of their Earth Day Celebration.

The lives of animals and plants are dominated by the sun and fresh water which trigger seasonal journeys. The latest technology and aerial photography enable the Planet Earth team to track some of the greatest mass migrations.

Today's Gold Box deal lets you save up to 62% on Planet Earth: The Complete Series on Blu-ray or DVD. I've got the Blu-Ray version (it was one of the first ones I bought after getting an HDTV).

With an unprecedented production budget of $25 million, and from the makers of Blue Planet: Seas of Life, comes the epic story of life on Earth. Five years in production, over 2,000 days in the field, using 40 cameramen filming across 200 locations, shot entirely in high definition, this is the ultimate portrait of our planet. A stunning television experience that captures rare action, impossible locations and intimate moments with our planet's best-loved, wildest and most elusive creatures. From the highest mountains to the deepest rivers, this blockbuster series takes you on an unforgettable journey through the daily struggle for survival in Earth's most extreme habitats. Planet Earth takes you to places you have never seen before, to experience sights and sounds you may never experience anywhere else.

The 11-part series shot entirely in high-definition: From Pole to Pole, Mountains, Fresh Water, Caves, Deserts, Ice Worlds, Great Plains, Jungles, Shallow Seas, Seasonal Forests, Ocean Deep. Original U.K. broadcast version narrated by David Attenborough, including 90 minutes not shown on the Discovery Channel.

The first Lightning Deal of today is a Black & Decker EM100B Energy Saver Series Power Monitor, normally $86.70 for $74.99 (ends at 11AM EST). Checking the teaser descriptions, it appears that more energy saving and green products will be featured all day.

Go green and save money on energy costs with the Black & Decker EM100B Energy Saver Series Power Monitor. This compact, easy-to-install device lets you track the amount of electricity that your household uses--and the costs of that usage--in real time. This monitor can help you reduce your energy consumption and decrease your monthly bills while helping the environment.
Displays electricity use in your home, minute by minute, in dollars or kW
Shows month-to-date bill and predicted monthly bill
Also shows day, time, and outside temperature
Helps households stick to their energy budgets and save money
Getting started is as easy as mounting the sensor to your outdoor electric meter, aligning it, and synchronizing the sensor with the cordless monitor. Once this is done, you can track real-time usage from a convenient, indoor location. The results are immediately available and can help you to make smart energy-consumption choices. You'll quickly discover that doing the little things really does add up to big savings.

Many of you already own one of their big green products, the Amazon Kindle. I know it saves a ton of fuel (ok, maybe not literally), as I've reduced my drives to the bookstore (20+ miles each way) and the big brown trucks are delivering fewer smiling boxes to my house since I got mine. Another way to make a small difference, by reducing the number of pages on my credit card statement (not to mention making it a lot easier to check each month), is to use gift certificates to manage my Kindle (and Amazon) budget.

Banks, Maya - Colters' Wife

Colters' Wife ($0.99 Kindle), by Maya Banks, the epilogue to Colters' Woman ($4.40 Kindle), is free at Books on Board in four drm-free formats (you can buy more than one at the zero price).

Book Description
In Colters' Woman, Holly Bardwell is running from her past mistakes. Straight into the arms of the Colter brothers. Adam, Ethan and Ryan aren’t looking for women. They’re looking for a woman. One woman they know will share their lives and their beds. They’re losing hope they’ll find her, until Adam discovers Holly lying in the snow just yards from their cabin. Adam knows she’s the one the minute he holds her in his arms, as soon as his brothers see her, they know it too. Only problem is convincing Holly of that fact – and protecting her from the danger of her past.

Click HERE to get the free book.

Free Game - Snail Mail

The free game this week at Sandlot Games is Snail Mail ($6.99 Amazon Game Downloads). I've already played thru the tutorial on my netbook and look forward to installing it to run on a larger screen (it's a bit tricky to manuever using a trackpad).

Game Description

• Fast-Paced Snail Racing
• Watch Out For Evil Slugs
• Go Postal In Postal Mode
• Deliver Intergalactic Mail

Guide Turbo the Snail as he rushes to deliver Intergalactic Mail throughout the furthest reaches of the universe in Snail Mail®, a fast-paced racing adventure! But watch out for the evil slugs and other obstacles!

Navigate 50 adrenaline-packed levels of top-speed action in Postal mode, put your reflexes to the test in Challenge Mode, or go for the fastest delivery time in the universe in the Time Trials.

Click HERE to sign up for the free download. For step by step purchase and installation instructions, see this post.

All Romance Earth Day Free Book - 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover ($5.99 list; $4.79 Kindle ), by Linda Wisdom, the first in the Jazz Tremaine series (which now has five books, not the three originally planned).

This is the final free book of All Romance eBooks' Earth Day celebration and is only available as an Adobe PDF. There is no DRM, but the automatic conversion in Calibre is pretty rough (I ran mine thru Mobipocket Creator, which let me make a few manual edits and remove all the tiny pictures that made up the cover, as they didn't translate well to mobi format).

Book Description
Jazz can’t decide whether to scorch him with a fireball or jump into bed with him

Jasmine Tremaine, a witch who can’t stay out of trouble Nikolai Gregorivich, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire cop on the trail of a serial killer.

The sizzling love affair between Jazz and Nick has been off-again, on-again—for about 300 years. Mostly off, lately. But now Nick needs Jazz’s help, and while Jazz and Nick try to figure out their own hearts and resist their ever-increasing attraction, they must steer clear of a maniacal killer with super-supernatural powers. They are surrounded by a hilarious cast of oddball paranormal characters, including Norma, the chain-smoking ghost who haunts Jazz’s sports car, Dweezil, her ghoul of a boss, and Fluff and Puff, a pair of bunny slippers with sharp teeth and short tempers (watch your ankles)!

To purchase: Click Add to Cart or Buy Now and you'll see an automatic discount for the full price of the book. Be sure to complete the entire check out process (which takes about three pages of clicking), all the way until you see a link for the download (I've missed a book or two in previous promotions at this site, as I thought I was done, but didn't get all they way thru to the end). Available in the following (drm-free) format: Adobe Acrobat.

This is the last book of this promotion, I hope you all found at least one to enjoy!

Free Travel Guides from Lonely Planet

Download the Lonely Planet Travel Guides iPhone/iPad app from Lonely Planet and get the San Francisco City Guide (valued at $15.99) and the Mexican Spanish Phrasebook (valued at $9.99) for free. In addition, as a Volcano Relief effort to assist those stuck in Europe with grounded flights, they are giving away city guides to 13 European destinations (offer valid thru Thursday, April 22), which normally sell for $15.99 each.

In response to the widespread chaos caused by the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Lonely Planet is offering 13 of its European iPhone guides free.

‘Travellers stuck in unfamiliar places need access to practical information as well as suggestions on what to do whilst stranded’, said Tom Hall, Lonely Planet Travel Editor. ‘That’s why we’re giving away iPhone city guides to major affected destinations.’

The cities included are:

• Amsterdam
• Barcelona
• Berlin
• Budapest
• Copenhagen
• Istanbul
• London
• Moscow
• Munich
• Paris
• Rome
• Stockholm
• Vienna

If you doing a bit of traveling, you might want to check out their website. If nothing else, you might want to sign up for their contest to win a free trip around the world.

All Romance Earth Day Free Book - Play with Me

Today's featured book at All Romance eBooks is from an author you probably already have in your library, as Slow Hands has been free direct from Harlequin, in the Amazon Kindle store and many other bookstores for over a year). Today's free title is Play with Me, by Leslie Kelly. Stay tuned, though, as tomorrow's book (the final one in this promotion) looks very interesting.

Book Description
Pilot Amanda Bauer has always craved a life of adventure...sexual adventure, that is. Lucky for her, she's currently getting her thrills by indulging in naughty games with hunky Reese Campbell! After their first explosive encounter, they arrange to get together every couple of months for days filled with fantasy and wild, no-strings sex.

And the best part of it? Nobody else knows about it. Nobody!

It's the perfect private indulgence...until they find themselves on YouTube!

To purchase: Click Add to Cart or Buy Now and you'll see an automatic discount for the full price of the book. Be sure to complete the entire check out process (which takes about three pages of clicking), all the way until you see a link for the download (I've missed a book or two in previous promotions at this site, as I thought I was done, but didn't get all they way thru to the end). Available in the following (usually drm-free) formats: Adobe Acrobat, Palm DOC/iSolo, Microsoft Reader, HTML, Mobipocket, Epub. If you want more than one format, you'll need to purchase the book more than once, but you get the discount each time.

There will be one of these a day, until April 21 (which is nearly here!). I'll try to post the link each day, as I find out which one it is. If you find it first, feel free to leave note here in comments and I'll get a post up for everyone else.

Windows 7: The Missing Manual

Today only, you can get the ebook version of Windows 7: The Missing Manual ($26.39 paperback), by David Pogue, for $10.00 at O'Reilly Books & Video. This is a DRM-free book and you get the MOBI, EPUB, PDF and Android versions in the package and normally sells for $31.99

Book Description
In early reviews, geeks raved about Windows 7. But if you're an ordinary mortal, learning what this new system is all about will be challenging. Fear not: David Pogue's Windows 7: The Missing Manual comes to the rescue. Like its predecessors, this book illuminates its subject with reader-friendly insight, plenty of wit, and hard-nosed objectivity for beginners as well as veteran PC users.

Windows 7 fixes many of Vista's most painful shortcomings. It's speedier, has fewer intrusive and nagging screens, and is more compatible with peripherals. Plus, Windows 7 introduces a slew of new features, including better organization tools, easier WiFi connections and home networking setup, and even touchscreen computing for those lucky enough to own the latest hardware.

With this book, you'll learn how to:

• Navigate the desktop, including the fast and powerful search function
• Take advantage of Window's apps and gadgets, and tap into 40 free programs
• Breeze the Web with Internet Explorer 8, and learn the email, chat, and videoconferencing programs
• Record TV and radio, display photos, play music, and record any of these to DVD using the Media Center
• Use your printer, fax, laptop, tablet PC, or smartphone with Windows 7
• Beef up your system and back up your files
• Collaborate and share documents and other files by setting up a workgroup network

Click HERE for the book's info and order page and use coupon code DDW7M during checkout. Thanks to David Pogue for the discount code, which he released via Twitter today. In the interests of full disclosure, I have a review copy of this book, courtesy of O'Reilly, but haven't gotten around to cracking it open yet.

All Romance Earth Day Free Book - Unholy Night

Unholy Night ($3.50 list), by Candice Gilmer, is free today at All Romance eBooks as part of their continuing Earth Day celebration. This one has a content warning (but I suspect many of the ones they have offered free this month have needed one).

Book Description
Can love be found on the unholiest night of the year?

There are some things Marissa Van Dyke won't do -- celebrate Halloween is one of them. When she's guilted into attending a Halloween party, a flamboyant woman dressed as a gypsy claims Marissa will be saved three times before she's finally free.

Foolish Halloween games, according to Marissa. Her life is fine; not perfect, but good enough, and nothing could save her anyway.

All she wants is to leave the party until a man named Neil Drigan materializes at her side, making her forget everything but his hauntingly familiar green eyes. His animal magnetism is a dangerous temptation on a night she's always reserved for mourning.

Can there be salvation under his powerful presence -- even on such an unholy night?

Warning: Some explicit sex, shapeshifting characters, and a tiny bit of psychic abilities.

To purchase: Click Add to Cart or Buy Now and you'll see an automatic discount for the full price of the book. Be sure to complete the entire check out process (which takes about three pages of clicking), all the way until you see a link for the download (I've missed a book or two in previous promotions at this site, as I thought I was done, but didn't get all they way thru to the end). Available in the following (drm-free) formats: Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader, HTML, Adobe Acrobat, Epub. If you want more than one format, you'll need to purchase the book more than once, but you get the discount each time.

There will be one of these a day, until April 21 (which is nearly here!). I'll try to post the link each day, as I find out which one it is. If you find it first, feel free to leave note here in comments and I'll get a post up for everyone else.

Iris Johansen Pre-Order for $7.99

You can currently pre-order Eight Days to Live: An Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller, by Iris Johansen, for $7.99. This is the eighth book in the Eve Duncan series and will be released April 20, 2010, in sync with the hardback, which is over $18. So even though this is a publisher set price, I fully expect this one to increase after release (or even before then).

Book Description
Eve Duncan's adopted daughter Jane has been targeted by a mysterious cult who has decided that she has only eight days to live Eve Duncan and her adopted daughter, Jane Macguire, are pitted against the members of a secretive cult who have targeted Jane and have decided that she will be their ultimate sacrifice. In eight days they will come for her. In eight days, what Jane fears the most will become a reality. In eight days, she will die. It all begins with a painting that Jane, an artist, displays in her Parisian gallery. The painting is called "Guilt" and Jane has no idea how or why she painted the portrait of the chilling face. But the members of a cult that dates back to the time of Christ believe that Jane's blasphemy means she must die. But first, she will lead them to an ancient treasure whose value is beyond price. This elusive treasure, and Jane's death, are all that they need for their power to come to ultimate fruition. With Eve's help, can Jane escape before the clock stops ticking?

How to Cook Everything - $1.99

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition): 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food, by Mark Bittman is $19.25 on Kindle and $21.70 in Hardcover, where it has over 1,000 pages and weighs roughly 5 pounds. However, you can purchase the iTunes App for $1.99 to run on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch (but not on your PC/Mac). The product page says this price is for a limited time, but gives no time limit (the app just posted yesterday). You can get a few of the recipes for your PC from links on the Amazon product pages, as well as view the list of 10 Reasons You Need the New How to Cook Everything (even if you already have the original).

Book Description
Mark Bittman's award-winning How to Cook Everything has helped countless home cooks discover the rewards of simple cooking. Now the ultimate cookbook has been revised and expanded (almost half the material is new), making it absolutely indispensable for anyone who cooks—or wants to. With Bittman's straightforward instructions and advice, you'll make crowd-pleasing food using fresh, natural ingredients; simple techniques; and basic equipment. Even better, you'll discover how to relax and enjoy yourself in the kitchen as you prepare delicious meals for every occasion.

Today's Favorite Kitchen Companion—Revised and Better Than Ever

How do you update a classic? For his bestselling, award-winning How to Cook Everything—the modern bible of home cooking—Mark Bittman started from scratch, going page by page, recipe by recipe, carefully blending the best of the beloved original with appealing new recipes and fresh, current information. The result is an even more useful and authoritative cookbook, ready to inform, inspire, and guide new and accomplished cooks alike—the single book to turn to for every kitchen endeavor.

Bittman has added hundreds of new dishes, and completely updated the remaining recipes and every line of guidance. New features abound: Each chapter now opens with "Essential Recipes," a section that highlights the core dishes for every cook's repertoire, such as building blocks for simple soups or ten ways to cook any seafood. He has also expanded the chapters on vegetables and fruits, grains, beans, and desserts. New charts will help you customize recipes with a variety of flavors and ingredients, and new how-to illustrations bring the total to nearly 400. With this revision, Bittman also tags fast, make-ahead, and vegetarian recipes with icons for easy menu planning.

The new How to Cook Everything provides a lifetime's worth of quick, simple, and delicious options. Its 2,000 recipes and variations cover everything from Pad Thai and Carrot Salad with Cumin to Simplest Whole Roast Chicken, Six Ways and Traditional Apple Pie. All of the recipes are easy to prepare—more than half can be completed in 30 minutes (many in even less time)—and none requires special equipment or fancy techniques. Throughout, the emphasis is on fresh, widely available ingredients and healthy, uncomplicated preparations.

As always, Bittman's recipes are instantly appealing, uniquely accessible, and refreshingly straightforward. And many of the special features you loved in the original are still here, too, fully updated. Bittman's thoughtful and inspiring sidebars and lists (like "Twenty-Five Pasta Sauces You Can Make in Advance") and suggested menus for every occasion make How to Cook Everything more valuable and indispensable than ever—the one cookbook you need for fast and flavorful home-cooked food every day of the year.

App Description
This first-of-its-kind app contains all of the content from Mark Bittman’s bestselling cookbook, including 2,000 recipes and 400 how-to illustrations — plus specially designed features for the mobile user. Limited-time: $1.99! Less than a morning Latte.

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later.

All Romance Earth Day Free Book - My Heart is Within You

My Heart is Within You ($6.99 list), by Marguerite Labbe, is the first in her Triquetra series and is free today at All Romance eBooks as part of their continuing Earth Day celebration.

Book Description
The power of heart and soul holds the key to the survival of the last of the ancient vampires. Kristair is running out of time. His race has faded away, prey to delusion and deterioration, and his only chance to live long enough to find a cure is to bind his psyche to a human vessel in a long forgotten ritual.

Kristair's chosen vessel is Jacob Corvin, a man of passionate stubbornness and fierce loyalty; he has captured Kristair's fantasies so completely that he is both the vampire's greatest strength and most crippling weakness. Drawing upon Jacob's spirit and Kristair's resolve, they each bind a portion of their souls to one other. For as long as Jacob carries Kristair's heart within him, the vampire can continue his quest.

Just when they have hope, their mission is threatened by The Syndicate, a group of younger vampires who attempt to force Kristair to teach them his secrets before he disappears like the rest of the ancients. Battling both The Syndicate's attacks and his unexpected need and love for Jacob, Kristair's strength begins to fade, forcing him to make a decision that will change his and Jacob's lives forever.

To purchase: Click Add to Cart or Buy Now and you'll see an automatic discount for the full price of the book. Be sure to complete the entire check out process (which takes about three pages of clicking), all the way until you see a link for the download (I've missed a book or two in previous promotions at this site, as I thought I was done, but didn't get all they way thru to the end). Available in the following (usually drm-free) formats: Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket, Epub. If you want more than one format, you'll need to purchase the book more than once, but you get the discount each time.

There will be one of these a day, until April 21. I'll try to post the link each day, as I find out which one it is. If you find it first, feel free to leave note here in comments and I'll get a post up for everyone else.

A Series of Unfortunate Events - $6.99

Not the usual "bargain" price for this blog, but a good deal for those who managed to pick up the 10 free titles in the A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket, when they were free the first weekend in April. All of the books are now marked at $6.99 ("discounted" from the $12.99 print price), rather than the $8.99 price from that weekend.

In order, here is the series:

• #1: The Bad Beginning
• #2: The Reptile Room
• #3: The Wide Window
• #4: The Miserable Mill
• #5: The Austere Academy
• #6: The Ersatz Elevator
• #7: The Vile Village
• #8: The Hostile Hospital
• #9: The Carnivorous Carnival
• #10: The Slippery Slope
• #11: The Grim Grotto
• #12: The Penultimate Peril
• #13: The End

You can complete the series for just under 21 bucks or for $6.99 you can at least pick up the first in the series and read up to book 6, before making another purchase decision.

Win a $1,000 Gift Card from Amazon

Sign up to receive emails from the Amazon Clothing Store and you can win a $1,000 Gift Card at Amazon. The only "catch" is that you can only use it on goods and ebooks sold directly by Amazon, so many of the ebooks available for Kindle won't qualify, due to the new Agency Model, where they are being sold by the publisher instead. Then again, there are lots of other things at Amazon that do qualify, including the Kindle itself.

Amazon Clothing's $1000 Gift Card Sweepstakes Official Rules

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

...Eligibility. If you are an individual legal resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and are 18 or older at the time of entry, you are eligible to enter the Sweepstakes...

How to Enter. You may enter the Sweepstakes beginning at 12:00:01 a.m. (PST) on April 15, 2010 and ending at 11:59:59 p.m. (PST) on May 31, 2010 (the "Sweepstakes Period").... Limit one entry per e-mail address.

...Prize. We will award a total of 1 prize during the Sweepstakes Period, consisting of a $1,000 Amazon.com Gift Certificate ("GC"). The total approximate retail value of the prize is $1,000. You may only use the GC for purchases of eligible goods on Amazon.com.

Read the rest of the rules and enter the contest HERE.

Chicago Blues for $1.99

If you are fan of the Chicago Blues, this is a must-have for your collection: Muddy Waters - The Father of Chicago Blues for $1.99. 21 cuts and just over an hour of solid music, including original recordings of Rollin' Stone and Mannish Boy and live versions Hoochie Coochie Man and Got My Mojo Working.

Playlist

1. Rollin' Stone
2. I Just Want To Make Love To You
3. I Can't Be Satisfied
4. Forty Days & Forty Nights
5. Rollin' & Tumblin'
6. Rollin' & Tumblin' Pt.2
7. Baby Please Don't Go
8. I'm Ready
9. Early Morning Blues
10. Walkin' Blues
11. You're Gonna Miss Me (When I'm Dead & Gone)
12. Mean Ol' Frisco
13. I Want To Be Loved
14. Honey Bee
15. Mad Love
16. All Night Long
17. Howling Wolf
18. Sugar Sweet
19. Good Lookin' Woman
20. I Got My Mojo Working (Live)
21. Hoochie Coochie Man (Live)