Everyone knows, summer is for reading! After all, wasn't that the real reason for summer vacations from school (to let the teachers catch up on their beach reads, of course, not to bury the kiddies in dusty classics for required reading!) and the reason our bags for beach vacations are (or were) always so heavy? Well, the publishers and some of the retailers out there want to make it easier (and cheaper) for us to find those summer reads and have put together a number of summer sales (all with varying end dates, of course). As usual, I'm also saving some of the best deals for last (to encourage you to read the whole post, of course).
First of all, you may have noticed the new banner at the top of the blog page - that's from Tantor Audio (who gives us a free audiobook each month), a new sponsor/advertiser. They are having a
summer sale with 40% off a select list of titles (and their "bargain bin" has audio CDs with up to 75% off -- think I can convince my new pup to listen to
The Loved Dog - The Playful, Nonaggressive Way to Teach Your Dog Good Behavior) enough times for it stick?). Tantor's support, like that of other advertisers here, helps keep this blog coming to you, so be sure to keep them in mind when you are making purchases.
Next up and sticking with audiobooks for now, ChristianAudio is having their twice-annual
$7.49 Download Sale! Nearly every title in the store is $7.49, but this sale ends promptly at noon (east coast) July 8th, so do your browsing and choosing quickly. It looks like Blackstone Audio has joined the sale this year and they have set up a
special page to highlight their titles, for those who want to be sure to check those out. ChristianAudio is another affiliate that has a monthly free download (and the first blog post tomorrow morning will have the details on this month's free download).
For Kindle readers in the UK, Amazon has set up a special
Kindle Bargains page (no such thing for those of us in the US, so you'll just have to keep reading this blog!) and from it I found the big
£2.99 or Less Summer Sale page. The books on the sale will change on Aug 1, so you have this month to take advantage of the low prices (it looks like there are 507 books total on the sale this month). After Aug 31, the Summer Sale will be gone (but, perhaps there will be a Fall Sale then?). I can definitely recommend
Shadowmagic - Prince of Hazel and Oak, which is £0.49 ($1.99 in the
US) and there are a number of other interesting looking titles at £0.99 or less.
Over at
Kobobooks.com
, you can use a 20% off coupon this weekend on any non-Agency title (thru July 4). Since there is one set up for each region, it doesn't hurt to try each one (they are one-use only), if there is more than one book you want:
jun29us20,
jun29ca20 and
jun29ww20. Those in Australia can also use
jun29au20.
The Smashwords Summer Sale is back this year, with hundreds of self-published titles free (coupon code
SSWSF) or with discounts ranging from 25% to 75% off list price. Best of all, you can easily filter out just the longer (or shorter) titles or just those that are free, if you don't have time to search thru the entire list.
Updated to add: Fictionwise is having another 60% off coupon this weekend:
070111 can be used multiple times and applies to your entire cart (excludes Samhain titles).
LJ Sellers has marked down the entire
Detective Jackson Mystery series on Kindle to 99 cents apiece (thru the end of July). I do have to say, though, if LJ is paying $4.95 for a tall latte, she needs to find a new coffee shop!
Book Description
All five stories for the price of a tall latte! They’re standalone stories and can be read in any order….with an average 4.5-star rating on Amazon.
The Sex Club: A dead girl, a ticking bomb, a Bible study that’s not what it appears to be, and a detective who won’t give up.
Secrets to Die For: A brutal murder, a suspect with a strange story, a missing woman with secrets to hide—can Jackson discover the truth in time to save her?
Thrilled to Death: Two missing women with nothing in common, a dead body, and a suspect who hasn’t left his house in a year—Jackson’s most puzzling cast yet.
Passions of the Dead: A murdered family, two high-octane suspects, and a deadly home invasion lead Jackson on the most disturbing case of his career.
Dying for Justice: Two unsolved murders from the past, a corrupt cop, and dying man’s confession—Can Jackson find the link and stop the rampage?
The Hugo Awards has their annual membership voter packet up and, while it's technically not a "sale", all members, from the $50 supporting membership up, get to download all the books in the packet (and keep them). You have until July 17 to become a member and until the end of the month to download your books (and vote!). The packet is too large to list everything, but it includes the following novels that are either up for the Hugo award or are examples of work for those up for the Campbell award, in addition to a few dozen novellas, novelettes, short stories, graphic novels and more.
If you are an author, be sure to listen to
Writing Excuses, Season 4, by Brandon Sanderson, Jordan Sanderson, Howard Tayler and Dan Wells. There are even some free story ideas tossed around (I expect to see a spate of tv shows with various variations on some of the themes).
Anything You Want (
$7.83), by Derek Sivers, is only minimally on sale in it's Kindle edition, but every purchaser (whether on Kindle, paper or the audio CD), gets a passworded link to download 242 songs (total size > 1.5GB) selected by the author. More details on
The Domino Project and a full list of included songs on the
author's website.
Book Description
Best known for creating CD Baby, the most popular music site for independent artists, founder Derek Sivers chronicles his “accidental” success and failures into this concise and inspiring book on how to create a multi-million dollar company by following your passion. In Anything You Want, Sivers details his journey and the lessons learned along the way of creating CD Baby and building a business close to his heart. “[Sivers is] one of the last music-business folk heroes,” says Esquire magazine. His less-scripted approach to business is refreshing and will educate readers to feel empowered to follow their own dreams. Aspiring entrepreneurs and others trying to make their own way will be particularly comforted by Sivers straight talk and transparency -a reminder that anything you want is within your reach.
If you are planning an out of country trip (or visiting the US) in the near future, be sure to pick up on of the
Kuperard – Culture Smart! ebooks that are currently on sale for $2.99 each.
Book Description
You’ve planned a trip abroad. You’ve packed your bags and checked them twice, but you still feel like you’re forgetting something. Don’t leave home without Kuperard – Culture Smart! Now through July 8th, 2011, all books in the series are available for $2.99. Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior – insuring that you’ll learn cultural customs, not tourist traps. If you’re attending a business dinner in Beijing, read China – Culture Smart! and you’ll know to offer a gift only after the meal has finished. When taking in the sights on a busy street in Tokyo, read Japan – Culture Smart! to learn why eye contact with other pedestrians should be kept to a minimum. Or read India – Culture Smart! for the proper etiquette when entering a home in Mumbai. (Hint: remove your shoes.) Travel guides are not enough. Travel smart this summer with Kuperard – Culture Smart!
Finally (for this post, anyway), Open Road Publishing and Pegasus Books are having a
Summer Sale of their own and have 50+ books marked down to $4.99 or less. This one is active not only in the Kindle store, but also at
Barnes & Noble (sorted by price, but includes non-sale books in the search),
Kobo
(be sure to remember the coupon codes above, if you don't use them for anything else) and
Sony. At Amazon, be sure to click on each genre label, as you won't see all the titles, otherwise. Everything from the non-fiction
Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission to the horror classic
Rosemary's Baby is included in the sale.
Pixel Perfect Puzzles, by Amazon Digital Services, is a new free game for Kindle. Availability is limited to those in the US (due to technology export restrictions, no doubt) and those with a K2, KDX (both fully updated) or K3 device.
