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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Save 25% on Digital Cameras & Camcorders (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers:

Save 25% on Select Digital Cameras & Camcorders at Amazon.com

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page to sign up and get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires on July 31.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Special Offer page and a promotion code to enter at checkout. Once you have the promotional code, you have until August 31 to complete your purchase. Like previous offers, this one requires you to use the full checkout process in order to enter your promotional code. Also, like all Amazon sales that use promotional codes, if you have a gift card balance, you must use it for the payment (if there is not a sufficient balance, then you can pick which credit card or other payment to use).

Once again, this offer can be used more than once per account, so long as you have more than one KSO registered. Just click on the ad on each device to receive the individual promotion codes via email.

There may seem to be a limited list of items to choose from on this promotion, but I found three different waterproof cameras just on the front page that can be used to take HD video. And if you have two of the GoPro HD cameras, then you can use this 3D Mounting Kit to take true 3D 1080P video. From the windshield of your bike or car or your chest while skydiving! To find more choices than are shown on the Offer page, be sure to click the links for Qualifying Digital Cameras and Qualifying Camcorders. There are well over 600 choices between the two..

Free Audiobooks - Ashes, Ashes and Rescue

Audiobook Sync's summer of free audiobooks continues. First, I've linked in the info from Amazon for each title (Amazon has the best reviews), then a link below to get your audio copies free. You can't get any titles that have been missed, but once they are loaded into Overdrive (which you will need to install, if you are not already using it for library books), they are yours to keep (there is no expiration date).

Two new titles each Thursday, so be sure to check back next week.!

Ashes, Ashes ($9.99 Kindle; $19.59/$13.71 Audible), by Jo Treggiari, read by Cassandra Campbell.

Book Description
A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

Epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.


Rescue: Stories of Survival from Land and Sea ($16.95 paperback; $17.47/$10.95 Audible), edited by Dorcas S. Miller and Clint Willis, read by Terence Aselford, Colleen Delany, David Elias, Graeme Malcolm and Nick Sampson.

Book Description
Following the successes of Epic, High, and Rough Water, the latest addition to the Adrenaline series presents the most gripping rescue narratives. Rescue includes Doug Scott's account of saving himself by crawling off Pakistan's Ogre with two broken legs, and Spike Walker's story of the race to recover a king crab fisherman from the Bering Sea in midwinter. The book also includes an account of trying to rescue two canoeists battling hypothermia on a storm-tossed lake; Alison Osius's tale of two teenagers lost in the Great Gulf Wilderness of New Hampshire; and a missionary doctor and his dog team being blown out to sea on an iceberg off the coast of Labrador.

With two great selections today, it's no surprise that the Sync site is running quite slow this morning - if you can't get thru, be sure to try again tomorrow.

Click HERE to sign up for an account and get the free downloads. Don't forget, you'll also need to install the Overdrive software (there is a link at Sync). In addition, you end up clicking about three pages, for each book, before the audiobook actually downloads. Don't stop so long as you still see a button that talks about your Sync download (or until you see the Overdrive software open up). Once in Overdrive, you'll need to tell it where to save the files (just click OK to use the default location, since Overdrive will keep track of them for you), then again to actually start the download (by default, all parts of the book are downloaded; I would suggest not changing this in the last dialog box, just click on OK to get the download started).

Free App (Android) - Jamie's 20 Minute Meals

Jamie's 20 Minute Meals, by Zolmo, usually sells for $7.99, but is free, today only, in the Amazon Android App store. If you have any type of Android tablet or phone (or can persuade a friend to let you use theirs, just long enough to register it to your account), I'd recommend you pick this one up. There are some reports of a problem with the DRM causing the app to close, on some devices (mostly phones), a few seconds after opening -- but that should eventually get fixed, as it generally does on most apps. When it does, you'll get the update, if you already have the app in your library.

Book Description
Who can help but be charmed by England's Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef? Jamie is well known as chef, restaurateur, and an advocate for improving unhealthy diets, especially championing healthy school lunches for children.

Watch an introductory video from Jamie and get right to the recipes. Search for a recipe or peruse 10 categories such as Delicious soups, Tasty stir-fries, and Simple risottos. Each recipe includes a summary with a picture of the dish, an ingredient and equipment list, detailed instructions, and relevant videos on tasks like garlic preparation or onion chopping. Double-touch the screen in landscape mode to see pictures of each step.

Add ingredients to your list and then use the general shopping list to view by recipe or by aisle. Use the menu to quickly access any video or learn about what Jamie feels are kitchen essentials -- both ingredients and equipment. Jamie promises that this app will "arm you with the confidence" to have tasty meals in 20 minutes!
  • 80 MB of additional media - the download works best over Wifi or in smaller parts as needed in the app.
  • Access 60 of Jamie Oliver's quick and delicious recipes
  • Watch videos guiding you through common cooking procedures
  • See color photos of each recipe, including photos for each step
  • Learn what ingredients and equipment Jamie recommends you keep handy

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Free Kindle Game - Every Word: Crossings

Every Word: Crossings, by Amazon Digital Services, a new game in the Kindle store, is currently available to download for free.

Book Description
Every Word: Crossings is a word game in which you try to unscramble letters to fill in as many words as you can on a crossword style grid.

You are given five to seven scrambled letters with the goal of finding as many words as you can. When you find a word it gets added to the crossword style grid, which gives you clues about the words that intersect with the word you just found. You score points by filling out the words in each empty spot on the crossword grid. When you find a word that uses all available letters, you can move on to the next level, or keep at it until time runs out or until you fill up the board. The more words you make, the higher your score!

Every Word: Crossings has 10 levels of difficulty and as you progress through them the puzzles become more and more complex. Level 1 gives you 5 letters to work with and a relatively small grid with about a dozen words to fill in. Level 10 gives you 7 letters to work with and more than 30 words to find.

There are thousands of unique puzzles to play -- if you like word games, you'll love Every Word: Crossings.

Please note: Every Word: Crossings may contain content inappropriate for children.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

New Kindle Game - KenKen Vol. 1

KenKen Vol. 1 Presented by Will Shortz ($1.99), by Gameblend Studios, is a new logic puzzle game in the Kindle store. It looks quite similar to Sudoku, but with the added challenge of mathematical operations, and you get 50 levels to play.

Game Description
KenKen is a puzzle in which you combine simple math and logic to fill in a grid of numbers.

Presented by New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz, KenKen is a challenging follow-up to Sudoku. As in Sudoku, KenKen requires that you fill in a grid with numbers without repeating a number in any row or column. In KenKen, you are also shown heavily outlined sets of squares called cages, each of which has a target number and a mathematic operator (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division). The numbers in each cage must combine to produce the target number in the cage using the mathematical operation indicated. Easy cages are made up of one or two squares and are in just one column or row. More difficult cages can cross multiple columns and rows and are made up of many squares, requiring creative thought as you figure out how many different ways you can create the target number with one operator!

KenKen Volume 1 contains 50 puzzles ranging from Easy to Expert, with grid sizes between 3x3 and 9x9. You can use the inline notes feature to help you jot down potential solutions, and if you get stuck, you can always get a hint.

Give your brain a workout and have fun with KenKen!

Amazon Video Game Deal Day

If you are a gamer, you may want to keep an eye on the Gold Box and Deal of the Day page at Amazon. The first main deal of the day and the first Lightning Deal are first person shooters for the XBOX/PS3 and it looks like there will be different games all day, mostly action/shooters this morning (including a Marine sniper and Star Wars sequel game), then some type of exercise game in the afternoon (Pacific time), along with what is surely a Raving Rabbid, from the hints given.

Brink is today's Gold Box deal, marked down to $19.99 (from $59.99 retail).

Game Description
Brink is an immersive first-person shooter that blends single-player, co-op, and multiplayer gameplay into one seamless experience, allowing you to develop your character whether playing alone, with your friends, or against others online. You decide the combat role you want to assume in the world of Brink as you fight to save yourself and mankind’s last refuge. Brink offers a compelling mix of dynamic battlefields, extensive customization options, and an innovative control system that will keep you coming back for more.

STORY:
Brink takes place on the Ark, a man-made floating city that is on the brink of all-out civil war. Originally built as an experimental, self-sufficient and 100% “green” habitat, the reported rapid rise of the Earth’s oceans has forced the Ark to become home to not only the original founders and their descendants but also to thousands of refugees. With tensions between the two groups growing, Security and Resistance forces are locked in a heated battle for control of the Ark. Which side will you choose?


Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the first of the lightning deals today and is marked down to $39.99 (you only see that price on the Lightning Deals page).

Game Description
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a third-person action game that ups the ante in the series' ongoing battle between Autobot and Decepticon. Designed as a companion game to the major motion picture of the same name, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is intended as a prequel to the events of the movie and contains a variety of game features such as: the new Stealth Force hybrid, a form that combines the weapons and firepower of robot mode with the agility and maneuverability of vehicle mode; the ultimate Decepticon assassin, Shockwave; the ability to play as either Autobot or Decepticon Transformers; three distinct character class chassis and more.

It has been three years since Megatron and the Decepticons last threatened the world. Earth's leaders believe that Megatron has fled the planet in defeat - but Optimus Prime knows better. An alien transmission is intercepted, exposing Megatron's plan to spread chaos and fear among the humans, and unleash the ultimate Decepticon assassin: Shockwave. The Autobots must hunt Megatron, neutralize Shockwave, and save their new home from total destruction at the hands of the Decepticons.

Monday, July 25, 2011

New Kindle Game - Snap Sudoku #1

Snap Sudoku #1 ($0.99), by Puzzazz, is a new game in the Kindle catalog, joining their other recent title Mad About Sudoku #1 and their Unbound Sudoku/Wordoku titles.

Book Description
Are you looking for Sudoku puzzles you can solve in a snap? If so, this collection of carefully constructed and calibrated super easy Sudoku puzzles is right for you.

These 33 super easy puzzles are the easiest Sudoku puzzles that Puzzazz offers, and are designed to be simple, elegant, and enjoyable. You will appreciate features like in-cell notes that help make solving these puzzles as easy as it is on paper. You can move to another puzzle at any time without losing the progress on your current puzzle, and come back to that puzzle whenever you like. Snap Sudoku puzzles are specially designed to give you a quick and fun challenge, but if you're having trouble, you can always get a hint any time you need one.

If you're looking for an easy introduction to Sudoku, or just looking for quick, fun puzzles to solve, try Snap Sudoku today!

Free Book (EPUB) - Soul Catcher

Previously free in the Kindle store (May '10), Soul Catcher, by Leigh Bridger, is free over on Kobo, courtesy of Bell Bridge Books. There's a chance that Amazon will drop their price to match, if enough people report the lower price (although I still don't see any movement on Zendegi, which is still free at B&N).

Book Description
From the gothic eccentricity of Asheville, North Carolina, to the terrifying recesses of the Appalachian wilderness, from modern demonology to ancient Cherokee mythology, Soul Catcher follows the tormented journey of folk artist Livia Belane, who has been stalked through many lives by a sadistic and vengeful demon.- Livia and her loved ones, including her frontier-era soulmate and husband, Ian, a Soul Hunter, have never beaten the demon before.- Now, in this life, it's found them again.

Click HERE to get the free book from Kobo.

Bargain Book Roundup

If you've exhausted all the options in the The Big Deal sale (really? I still haven't browsed all the pages), or even if you haven't, you will want to pick up a few of the titles below, before the prices change.

First, I recommend you run, don't walk, over and grab Karen Chance's Cassie Palmer Series bundle while it is $7.51 (pre-order). It's ok, we'll wait right here until you get back .... ok, got it? Good! This is a four book bundle and contains the entire series except for the very latest title, Hunt the Moon, which was released last month. If you like paranormal/time-traveling romance/female lead books at all, then you need to read this series. The only ones exempt from the recommendation to buy the bundle are those, like me, who already have the entire series in your ebook library, already. It isn't like Penguin to price their bundles this low, so grab it before they come to their senses.

Book Description
Clairvoyant Cassandra Palmer's magical powers are a mixed blessing-she may be able to contact spirits but sometimes this can be a whole lot more trouble than it's worth. Battling with vampires, feys and mages who all seek supremacy, Cassie must use her powers wisely in order to save herself - and the world. The Cassie Palmer Series includes Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night and Curse the Dawn.

Next, you will want to check out the newly released titles from Elizabeth Peters that list Robinson as publisher. These are all currently priced at $4.44, which is nearly half off what Hachette has been charging. All total, there are 12 titles to choose from.

Book List
  1. Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody 01)
  2. Lion in the Valley (Amelia Peabody 04)
  3. The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody 05)
  4. Hippopotamus Pool (Amelia Peabody 08)
  5. The Ape Who Guards the Balance (Amelia Peabody 10)
  6. The Falcon at the Portal (Amelia Peabody 11)
  7. The Golden One (Amelia Peabody 14)
  8. Guardian of the Horizon (Amelia Peabody 16)
  9. Borrower of the Night (Vicky Bliss Mysteries 1)
  10. Street of the Five Moons (Vicky Bliss Mysteries 2)
  11. Silhouette in Scarlet (Vicky Bliss Mysteries 3)
  12. Night Train to Memphis (Vicky Bliss Mysteries 5)

Benny and Shrimp, by Katarina Mazetti, is on sale for Australian readers only - you guys get it for 48 cents! The edition in the US is still at $11.99.

Book Description
Why is it so impossible to get a relationship to work between two mature single people, driven by an enormous longing and loudly ticking biological clocks? Especially when they are struck by a totally unexpected passion when they first meet… In alternate chapters, Benny and “Shrimp” tell the story of a love that started by mistake in a village cemetery, a love that should not really be as complicated as it seems. She is a childless young widow with a sharp intellect and a home so tidy that even her jam jars are in alphabetical order. He is a gentle, overworked milk farmer, a reluctant loner, who fears becoming the village’s Old Bachelor. The attraction between them is powerful. But how will she learn to accept that he falls asleep at the opera and has a house full of his mother’s embroidered wall hangings, and how could he ever feel at home in her minimalist apartment, bare as a dentist’s waiting room? In Benny and Shrimp, Katarina Mazetti brilliantly captures the intensity of an unexpected love affair, and the heartbreaking inevitability with which life tends to get in the way.

The Parasol Protectorate: Soulless, Blameless, and Changeless ($9.99), by Gail Carriger, is this month's bargain book from Orbit. The first three books in the Alexia Tarabotti series, the fourth (Heartless) has been released and the fifth (Timeless) is available for pre-order, but won't be released until next year. I think I managed to get thru a half-dozen pages before one-clicking this one into my library.

Book Description
Book 1: SOULLESS
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Book 2: CHANGELESS

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

Book 3: BLAMELESS
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.


Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles 8-Book Bundle: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double, Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake, Ice Cold ($49.99) isn't quite as enticing a bundle as the ones above, but has eight books in the single volume. It isn't really under the $5/each bargain cutoff, but is a savings over paying $7.99 each. Since I already have the first four and #7, I'll keep it on my wish list, but will probably pick up the missing titles as singles, instead. I'll also be holding off a bit on the latest title in the series, The Silent Girl, which released this month at the $12.99 mark. The first in the series, The Surgeon, was one if the first free books I picked up in the Kindle store (Sep '08) and is a great read, leading me to snap up the other titles that I have.

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen has thrilled countless readers with her acclaimed novels of suspense featuring Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles—and TNT struck ratings gold with the Rizzoli & Isles series based on Gerritsen’s novels. Now here’s a convenient e-book bundle of the first eight installments of this compelling series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double, Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake, and Ice Cold.

Includes an exclusive script excerpt from the TNT series and a special preview of Tess Gerritsen’s new Rizzoli & Isles novel, The Silent Girl, on sale July 5, 2011.


Both titles in the Hazel Micallef Mystery series by Inger Ash Wolfe are currently marked down to $2.99.

The Calling
Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef has lived all her days in the small town of Port Dundas, Ontario and is now making her way toward retirement with something less than grace. Hobbled by a bad back and a dependence on painkillers, and feeling blindsided by divorce after nearly four decades of marriage, sixty-one-year-old Hazel has only the constructive criticism of her mother (the former mayor) and her own sharp tongue to buoy her. But when a terminally ill woman is gruesomely murdered in her own home, Hazel and her understaffed department must spring to life. And as one terminally ill victim after another is found, Hazel finds herself tracking a truly terrifying serial killer while everything around her spins out of control.

Through the cacophony of her bickering staff, her unsupportive superiors, a clamoring press, the town's rumor mill, and her own nagging doubts, Hazel can sense the dead trying to call out. Will she hear them before it's too late?


The Taken
Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef is having a bad year. After major back surgery, she moves into her ex-husband’s home to be cared for by his new wife. As if that weren’t enough to cope with, her octogenarian mother is insisting that Hazel end her dependence on painkillers—an insistence that takes the form of secretly flushing Hazel’s stash down the toilet.

It’s almost a relief when Hazel gets a call about a body found in one of the lakes near Port Dundas. But what raises the hair on the back of her neck is that the local paper has just published the first installment of a serialized story featuring such a scenario. Even before they head out to the lake, she and Detective Constable James Wingate know they are being played. But who is pulling their strings and why are not clear, nor is what they find at the lake at all what they expected. This is no simple drowning accident or even a straightforward murder. It’s Micallef herself who is snared, caught up in a cryptic game being played by a maven of the art of deception.


Alice Duncan has released several backlist titles in her Daisy Gumm Majesty series, starting with Strong Spirits, currently marked down to 99 cents, followed by Fine Spirits and High Spirits, at the same price, and Hungry Spirits at $2.99. The next title in the series is only up as a hardcover pre-order, so far, but it will be interesting to see if she managed to retain digital rights to it, as well.

Book Description
Welcome to sunny Pasadena, California, just a stone's throw from Hollywood. The twenties are in full roar, Prohibition isn't stopping anybody . . . and Daisy Gumm Majesty is getting by the best way she knows how--catering to the rich and famous as a medium who put the "con" in conjurer.

But a girl's gotta make a living! If there's one thing I've learned in this life it's that most rich people have more money than sense. My career as a "spiritualist" started the day I pretended Aunt Vi's Ouija board was talking to me and everyone believed it, especially Vi's employer, wealthy old Mrs. Kincaid. Some folks may disapprove, but the way I see it, I'm just dishing out hope to people who need it. Is that so wrong?

According to Detective Sam Rotondo, it is--and now he's blackmailed me into spying on the Kincaids for him. I don't know what he hopes to find out. Any fool could see what's going on in that house: who's in love, who's in trouble, and who's in need of a swift kick in the pants. And if Sam weren't the most irritating, hard-headed man this side of the Pacific, why, I'd give him a private reading--and tell him the spirits have a whole lot more in store for him.


Afterthoughts ($0.99 pre-order) is just one of the many Lawrence Block titles that are currently marked down in the Kindle store, only one of which is officially a part of the Big Deal sale and most of which are now published by Open Road and usually sell in the $10-$15 range.

Book Description
A collection of afterwords from Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block’s most acclaimed works

In a career spanning more than fifty years, Lawrence Block has produced over one hundred books, ranging in genre from hard-boiled detective stories to pseudonymous erotica. Collected here for the first time are more than forty-five afterwords from the works that made him a master of modern fiction.

Each afterword is an insightful reflection on the experiences that have brought Block’s fiction to life, from the lessons he learned as a reader at a literary agency to the unlikely—and semi-autobiographical—origins of the acclaimed Matthew Scudder series. Witty and inspiring, Afterthoughts is a must-read for Block fans and mystery lovers alike.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lawrence Block, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.


The Last Kashmiri Rose and Tug of War , the first and sixth in the Joe Sandilands Murder Mystery series by Barbara Cleverly, are both currently $4.44 in the Kindle store. Both of these are recent editions from publisher Robinson and have significantly prices than the older editions.

Book Description
In a land of saffron sunsets and blazing summer heat, an Englishwoman has been found dead, her wrists slit, her body floating in a bathtub of blood and water. But is it suicide or murder? The case falls to Scotland Yard inspector Joe Sandilands, who survived the horror of the Western Front and has endured six sultry months in English-ruled Calcutta. Sandilands is ordered to investigate, and soon discovers that there have been other mysterious deaths, hearkening sinister ties to the present case.

Now, as the sovereignty of Britain is in decline and an insurgent India is on the rise, Sandilands must navigate the treacherous corridors of political decorum to bring a cunning killer to justice -- knowing the next victim is already marked to die.


Life After Forty, by Dora Heldt and Jamie Lee Searle (Translator), is on the Big Deal sale, but is further marked down for those in the UK to only $1.60.

Book Description
When Christine’s husband of ten years dumps her over the phone while she watches a Hugh Grant film she is sent spinning on a cathartic, self-medicated journey to the land of self-acceptance and self-reliance. Surrounded by her sister and a strong support group of friends, Christine learns how to deal with the horrors of dating, finding new appliances, and the exhilarating feeling of shopping without consequence.

An uproarious look at the suddenly single life of a divorcee, Dora Heldt’s first book to appear in English captures the zeitgeist of the new millennium with searing insight while never deigning to take itself too seriously. Sparkling dialogue and unforgettable characters create a vibrant world of sardonic, take-no-prisoners women who hold their own in a world geared toward acceptance of their younger selves. Not since Bridget Jones’ Diary or Sex in the City has anything like Life After Forty so accurately and thoroughly expressed the modern female point of view with such startling clarity.


Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)Adventures of Waverly Bryson, by Maria Murnane, is also on the Big Deal sale and also marked down for those in the UK to $1.60. Guess these two make up, a bit, for the many titles on the sale that are actually full price for those outside the US.

Book Description
Anything can look perfect on paper. When her fiance calls off their wedding at the last minute, Waverly Bryson wonders if her life will ever turn out the way she thought it would...or should. Her high-powered job in sports PR? Not so perfect. Her relationship with her dad? Far from it. Her perfect marriage? Enough said. To keep sane, Waverly makes a habit of jotting down "Honey Notes," her own brand of self-deprecating wisdom and a pipe-dream for a line of greeting cards.

As Waverly stumbles back into the dating scene (no stalkers or jean shorts, please), her personal and professional lives threaten to collide. Perfect on Paper reminds us that everyone has a bad date (or twelve), and that everyone eventually needs a best friend to tell them,"Honey, you are not alone."

Free Book Updates and KSO Reminders

Just a reminder for the KSO owners out there: Today is the last day for both the $1 for a Kindle book offer and the Get $20 Off Select Vehicle GPS offer. If you are like me, you downloaded several samples on this $1 book offer -- if you haven't yet made your choice, be sure to do so today or the coupon code will have expired. If you picked up the Lisa Jackson's Bentz & Montoya Bundle on this offer, be sure to check out the next in the series, Devious, on the $1 Mystery/Thriller offer. The bundle is a good deal, even without the special coupon code, as you can get 6 titles for $18.14 currently, just barely over $3 each.

Several books have become free either for US Kindle or in additional formats from when they were first posted this weekend. I've broken them up by type in the lists below.

Free on US Kindle:
Free on nook:
Finally free at ChristianBook in EPUB format:

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Buy a Mystery & Thriller Title for $1 (KSO)

If you have your Kindle with Special Offers, be sure to wake it up and check the Special Offers page. Today's deal, which you must sign up for by July 27, is any one of 100 Mystery & Thriller Titles for $1.

To take advantage of this offer:
  1. First, turn on your Kindle with Special Offers, click Menu, then View Special Offers.
  2. Find the offer: Buy One of 100 Mystery & Thriller Titles for $1. Click on it, then on the link to Email Me This Offer. Repeat for each KSO on your account, as you'll get a separate code for each one and can take advantage of this deal more than once.
  3. You will get an email from Amazon with your promotional code, right away.
  4. Once you have the promotion code (and have selected your book; see below), click this link, then on the button labeled Enter Your Code, at any time up to the expiration date of August 27.
  5. Enter your code and follow the directions.
  6. Choose any of these books and you'll pay only $1.
You'll have a promotion code on your account that will apply to the FIRST book you buy (from the list) after that. Note that even if the book is free, you'll pay a dollar, so be careful which one you pick after you enter the code -- make sure you don't go grabbing some low cost title, unless that is really the one you want. Current prices range from $1.99 (titles on the current Kindle Big Deal Sale) to $13.75 (and one book isn't available in the US, despite this offer being limited to those in the US). You should save the code and not enter it until you are ready to buy a book.

To recap: you must claim the offer by July 27 and must do so from your Kindle with Special Offers. You'll get a promotion code via email and you have until August 27 to enter and redeem the code. Once you enter it, it will work on the next book on the list that you purchase.

This offer is separate from the $1 for a Kindle book offer that expires tomorrow. You can take advantage of both (provided you signed up for the earlier offer in time).

Save $25 on Jewelry (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers:

Save $25 off a $50 jewelry purchase at Amazon.com

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page to sign up and get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires on July 27.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Special Offer page and a promotion code to enter at checkout. Once you have the promotional code, you have until August 27 to complete your purchase. Like previous offers, this one requires you to use the full checkout process in order to enter your promotional code. Also, like all Amazon sales that use promotional codes, if you have a gift card balance, you must use it for the payment (if there is not a sufficient balance, then you can pick which credit card or other payment to use).

Once again, this offer can be used more than once per account, so long as you have more than one KSO registered. Just click on the ad on each device to receive the individual promotion codes via email.

There is a lot to choose from on this promotion, as anything in the Jewelry store that is sold by Amazon.com is eligible; items sold by third party merchants are excluded (even if fulfilled by Amazon.com).

New Kindle Game - Deathtrap Dungeon

There is new episode for Worldweaver's Fighting Fantasy Adventure game series on Kindle today, Deathtrap Dungeon ($3.99). The first two are still on 1/2 price sale at $1.99 each.

Book Description
Deathtrap Dungeon brings the third installment of the popular game book series Fighting Fantasy by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone to Kindle.

A game book is an interactive story. As you read you will make decisions as to which way to go, what to say to other characters, and what to do with items you might find. A convenient in-game map tracks places you have visited, items, or monsters encountered.

In Deathtrap Dungeon, you adventure in the medieval fantasy land of Allansia, where a twisted Baron has set up a great contest which consists primarily of trying to survive the diabolical traps and vicious monsters in the deadly labyrinth, Deathtrap Dungeon. So far, none have survived to lay claim to the prize, but that was before you came along.

You are the hero! You decide which route to take, which dangers to risk, and which creatures to fight. But be warned - it will also be you who has to live or die by the consequences of your actions.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Free Book (nook) - Zendegi

If you missed getting Zendegi ($7.99 Kindle), by Greg Egan, when Nightshade was sending out copies in return for an email address, last May, then pop over to B&N and get a free copy tonight. If you want it on Kindle, instead, be sure to let them know about the lower price (there's a link just below the Product Details section).

Book Description
In 2012, journalist Martin Seymour travels to Iran to cover the parliamentary elections. With most would-be candidates disqualified this turns out to be the expected non-event, but shortly afterward a compromising image of a government official captured on a mobile phone triggers a political avalanche.

Nasim Golestani, a young Iranian scientist living in exile in the United States, is hoping to work on the Human Connectome Project -- which aims to construct a detailed map of the wiring of the human brain -- but when government funding for the project is cancelled and a chance comes to return to her homeland, she chooses to head back to Iran.

Fifteen years later, Martin is living in Iran with his wife and young son, while Nasim is in charge of the virtual world known as Zendegi, used by millions of people for entertainment and business. When Zendegi comes under threat from powerful competitors, Nasim draws on her old skills, and data from the now-completed Human Connectome Project, to embark on a program to create more life-like virtual characters and give the company an unbeatable edge.
As controversy grows over the nature and rights of these software characters, tragedy strikes Martin's family. Martin turns to Nasim, seeking a solution that no one else can offer ... but Zendegi is about to become a battlefield.


Click HERE to get the free book from B&N.

New Kindle Game - Nonograms

Nonograms ($2.99), is a new logic puzzle by Metalgrass Software. This one looks quite a bit different than any of the ones I've played before, so may be just the thing to exercise the old noggin in a different direction.

Book Description
Nonograms is a puzzle game designed to delight logic and number puzzle lovers.

Nonograms contains simple yet challenging puzzles, in which your goal is to uncover a hidden black and white pattern. The puzzles contain a grid with number clues that tell you how many groups of black squares there are in any given row or column, and how many black squares there are in each group. With this information, and some skillfully applied logic, you can solve the puzzle.

With three difficulty levels, Nonograms can be enjoyed by beginners and experts alike. An optional game clock lets you see how quickly you can solve the puzzles, and you can try to beat your best time for each difficulty level. If you find a puzzle too hard, you can ask for hints or view the solution to that puzzle. Nonograms randomly generates new grids, so it is unlikely that you will ever run out of puzzles to solve.

Nonograms are an enjoyable way to exercise your mind, and if you like sudoku and similar number grid puzzles, you'll love Nonograms.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Free Audiobooks - Chanda's Secrets and Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Audiobook Sync's summer of free audiobooks continues. First, I've linked in the info from Amazon for each title (Amazon has the best reviews), then a link below to get your audio copies free. You can't get any titles that have been missed, but once they are loaded into Overdrive (which you will need to install, if you are not already using it for library books), they are yours to keep (there is no expiration date).

Two new titles each Thursday, so be sure to check back next week.!

Chanda's Secrets ($4.78 paperback; $19.95/$13.96 Audible), by Allan Stratton, read by Suzy Jackson.

Book Description
A girl's struggle amid the African AIDS pandemic.

"As soon as I get back from the shabeen, I go next door to see Mrs. Tafa. I have to ask to use her phone to let our relatives know about Sara. I'm nervous. Mrs. Tafa would like to run the world. Since she can't run the world she's decided to run our neighborhood."

So speaks sixteen-year-old Chanda, an astonishingly perceptive girl living in the small city of Bonang, a fictional city in Southern Africa.

While Mrs. Tafa's hijinks are often amusing, the fact is that Chanda's world is profoundly difficult. When her youngest sister dies, the first hint of HIV/AIDS emerges.

In this sensitive, swiftly-paced story readers will find echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird as Chanda must confront undercurrents of shame and stigma. Not afraid to explore the horrific realities of AIDS, Chanda's Secrets also captures the enduring strength of loyalty, friendship and family ties. Above all, it is a story about the corrosive nature of secrets and the healing power of truth.

Through the artful style of acclaimed author Stratton, the determination and resilience Chanda embodies will live on in readers' minds.


Tess of the d'Urbervilles (free Kindle; $62.99/$44.09 Audible), by Thomas Hardy, read by Anna Bentinck. This is a highly regarded narration of this classic.

Book Description
Etched against the background of a dying rural society, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was Thomas Hardy's 'bestseller,' and Tess Durbeyfield remains his most striking and tragic heroine. Of all the characters he created, she meant the most to him. Hopelessly torn between two men—Alec d'Urberville, a wealthy, dissolute young man who seduces her in a lonely wood, and Angel Clare, her provincial, moralistic, and unforgiving husband—Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act.

'Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination,' said Irving Howe. 'In Tess he stakes everything on his sensuous apprehension of a young woman's life, a girl who is at once a simple milkmaid and an archetype of feminine strength. . . . Tess is that rare creature in literature: goodness made interesting.'


Click HERE to sign up for an account and get the free downloads. Don't forget, you'll also need to install the Overdrive software (there is a link at Sync). In addition, you end up clicking about three pages, for each book, before the audiobook actually downloads. Don't stop so long as you still see a button that talks about your Sync download (or until you see the Overdrive software open up). Once in Overdrive, you'll need to tell it where to save the files (just click OK to use the default location, since Overdrive will keep track of them for you), then again to actually start the download (by default, all parts of the book are downloaded; I would suggest not changing this in the last dialog box, just click on OK to get the download started).

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

New Kindle Game - Mad About Sudoku #1

Mad About Sudoku #1 ($0.99), by Puzzazz, is a new game in the Kindle catalog (hey publishers - it is getting hard to find the new Active Content entries in the Kindle store, so be sure to send me a press release when you have a new one).

Book Description
Are you mad about Sudoku? Or mad at Sudoku? Either way, this collection of carefully constructed and calibrated Easy Sudoku puzzles is right for you.

Each of the 33 easy puzzles can be solved without heroic effort, and you can always get a hint when you need one. You'll appreciate features like in-cell notes that let you solve puzzles as easily as you do on paper. You can also move on to another puzzle when you get stuck, and return to that previous puzzle at any time.

If you've enjoyed solving the easier puzzles in paper books, then these puzzles are perfect for you. Enjoy!

Big Deal Sale on Kindle

Amazon has started another limited time sale on Kindle books, The Big Deal, ending July 27, which gives us only a week to wade thru more than 900 Kindle books are on sale for $0.99, $1.99, $2.99, and $3.99. Click on any of these links and you can search the lists by author name, title or publisher, while the full list can be selected by genre, as well.

I'll leave it to you to explore (I know I have to go add a gift certificate to my account!), but one I am grabbing that isn't officially a part of the sale is Child of Fire ($0.99), The start of the Twenty Palaces series by Harry Connolly. I've had the sample on my Kindle for a while and this price is too good to pass up (and now that I finished grabbing my $1 book, I don't have to worry about getting the wrong book at that price). Del Rey has this one marked down to get you hooked (of course) before the latest in the series, Circle of Enemies ($7.99), is released at the end of August. That leaves enough time to read this one and the next in the series, Game of Cages ($5.99), if the first one is as good as the sample started.

Book Description
Ray Lilly is living on borrowed time. He’s the driver for Annalise Powliss, a high-ranking member of the Twenty Palace Society, a group of sorcerers devoted to hunting down and executing rogue magicians. But because Ray betrayed her once, Annalise is looking for an excuse to kill him–or let someone else do the job.

Unfortunately for both of them, Annalise’s next mission goes wrong, leaving her critically injured. With the little magic he controls, Ray must complete her assignment alone. Not only does he have to stop a sorcerer who’s sacrificing dozens of innocent lives in exchange for supernatural power, he must find–and destroy–the source of that inhuman magic.

Save $20 on Beauty products (KSO)

Reminder: If you signed up for the $10 for $20 Amazon Gift Card or the $20 off Hand and Power Tools offer, you only have two days left to take advantage of the savings. We are also coming up on the deadline for the $1 for a Kindle book offer, as well as the $20 off Vehicle GPS offer. I managed to snag my $1 books (we now have another KSO on the family account), but if you haven't, you might want to check out the bundles, including the Alex Kava Bundle and the Lisa Jackson's Bentz & Montoya Bundle, both of which contain six full books (and qualify for the $1 purchase).

Today's second deal for those with a Kindle with Special Offers:

Save $20 on $40 of Beauty products from Amazon.com

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page to sign up and get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires on July 23.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Special Offer page and a promotion code to enter at checkout. Once you have the promotional code, you have until August 23 to complete your purchase. Like previous offers, this one requires you to use the full checkout process in order to enter your promotional code. Also, like all Amazon sales that use promotional codes, if you have a gift card balance, you must use it for the payment (if there is not a sufficient balance, then you can pick which credit card or other payment to use).

Once again, this offer can be used more than once per account, so long as you have more than one KSO registered. Just click on the ad on each device to receive the individual promotion codes via email.

Amazon is getting a bit smarter on this one, as the products that are eligible for the Save $10 on Sun Care Products are not eligible for this promotion (no double dipping by buying one product and taking both promotional discounts. This restriction wasn't on the Save $10 on Kindle Accessories offer, which means you can use it and the 50% off Kindle Lighted Cover on the same purchase, drastically reducing the cost of a cover, if you haven't already used that promotional code.

There are a lot of items on the list that are not what you might think of when you see "Beauty" in the offer: shampoos, Q-tips, haircut kits, and hairdryers, for example, are listed along with perfume, essential oils, makeup and skin care products (both tanning and sun protection), although Rogaine seems to be the bestselling item in the Beauty store. Also, when you jump to the list of products that qualify, you'll see an Amazon Gift card -- don't bother trying to add it, as the promotion code won't work on it, even if it is listed by Amazon on the qualifying products page. Also, all the links on the Special Offers page go to the same massive list of products - use the categories on the menu at the left to make it easier to browse.

Get $25 Gift Card with Android Phones (KSO)

This offer is for those with a Kindle with Special Offers only. Turn on your wireless, click Menu, Sync & Check for New Items, then on View Special Offers after the sync has completed. You should see this new offer:

Buy an Android smartphone from AmazonWireless & get a $25 Amazon.com Gift Card

Click on the offer, then click on the link on the offer page sign up and get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires on July 23.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Special offer page. You have until August 23 to complete your purchase and you'll receive your gift card by Sept 23. This offer is limited to one per customer (not per device).

The list of "phones" includes not only the HTC EVO 3D 4G Android Phone (which I'm tempted by only due to the 3D screen and camera -- otherwise, I really like the Epic 4G that I already have), but the Samsung Galaxy Tab, for those that want an Android tablet with a cell phone plan. Personally, though, I'm holding out to see what Amazon brings out this fall (rumors now are saying a 7" tablet in the next month or two and a 10" tablet by Christmas).

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Free Book (nook) - Mussolini's Rome

Mussolini's Rome: Rebuilding the Eternal City ($14.97 Kindle), by Borden Painter, is free once again from Barnes and Noble. Be sure to let Amazon know of the lower price (even if non-fiction architectural history isn't your thing, there is sure to be another reader out there who would love this one).

Book Description
An eye-opening look at the architectural mark fascism left on one of the world's most beloved cities Rome was Mussolini's obsession. After coming to power as a result of his famed march on the city in 1922, he promised Italians that his fascist revolution would unite them as never before and make Italy a major power on the world stage. In the next two decades, he set about rebuilding Rome as the foremost site and symbol of the new fascist order. Through an ambitious program of demolition and construction, he sought to make Rome a capital that both embraced modernity while preserving and glorifying the city's ancient past. Building the new Rome put people to work; 'liberated' ancient monuments from cluttered surroundings; cleared slums; produced giant complexes for education, sports, and cinema; produced wide new boulevards and piazzas; and provided the regime with a showcase in which to assert the power and identity of fascism. This intriguing book reveals Mussolini's tremendous and lasting impact on the city to which millions flock each year.

Click HERE to get the free book from B&N.

R.I.P. Borders Bookstores

Only a few months after their Chapter 11 re-organization, Borders has announced that they will liquidate and close all stores. Liquidation sales should start as early as this Friday, so if you want to get in on any sales (and especially if you have any outstanding gift cards there), you'll want to visit soon. I haven't seen anything about gift cards, so they should still be honoring them, at least until the liquidation starts on Friday (if the judge approves their plan this Thursday). I know when we were in ours last weekend, the coffee shop had bags of beans for B1G1F and thought they were getting a new brand of coffee shop next month, but it looks like the big sale that was planned has fallen thru (and I suspect few stores have anything but flavored coffee left, for those who have missed this sale). The stores are, though, full of books, music and movies and there should be some good bargains, as it looks like they want to clear out the stores before the end of the summer (I've seen September mentioned by some blogs, but I would not be surprised if some stores closed sooner). Looks like those who signed up on the Borders+ memberships won't see the stores last long enough to get their promised bonus Borders Bucks (even though that would make them minority creditors of the company, I would not plan on seeing anything from it). If you have a free coffee or bonus bucks on your account, I'd spend those this week, too.

If you have ebooks from the Borders, I'd also be sure to download a backup of each one as an EPUB, using Adobe ADE (you download the .ACSM and open it with ADE), not just downloaded into the app on your computer or Kobo reader, as well as make sure you have moved your library to Kobo. Although Borders did invest in Kobo, that company should not be affected by the liquidation. Then again, with Borders creditor list looking like a Who's Who in publishing, the fallout from the liquidation may be far-reaching. Will publishers raise book prices even more to make up the losses (and, no doubt, guarantee their doom even faster)? In the short run, B&N should see more customers in their stores (and Books-A-Million may try to buy a few of the stores), but in our city, this closing means 2 out of 4 stores will close (and both have much better locations than the remaining two; of those B&N is the hardest to get to).

Braintonik Kindle Games Sale - 99 Cents

All three of Braintonik Games' Active Content Kindle games are 99 cents this week (thru July 25). Although the last on the list is 99 cents all the time (or, at least it has been, so far), that's a three dollar savings on the first two on the list. At these prices, I went ahead and picked up the one I didn't already have. These games are great fillers when you want to give your brain a bit to work on (or to play during commercials if watching TV). Great value, too, since we can load them on everybody's Kindle with one purchase.

Strimko (A Logic Game for Kindle)
Jump into Strimko and enjoy classic Sudoku gameplay with a twist!

The object of the game is to place a set of numbers in rows or columns without repeating them in any row or column. Strimko adds a concept of "streams" that crisscross throughout the puzzle. With streams, you must consider not only the rows and columns, but also the streams, and make sure that each contains different numbers.

You can choose from four different difficulty levels. Each difficulty level increases the size of the grid you play on: "Easy" has a 4x4 grid, while the "Master" level challenges you with a 7x7 grid. Each of the four difficulty levels has 30 different puzzles, allowing for a total of 120 different puzzles to play. A hint function can also let you keep playing if you get stuck.

Challenge yourself and tease your brain as you master the logic required to solve Strimko puzzles!


Blossom (A Puzzle for Kindle)
Solve clever puzzles with Blossom, the game that challenges you to create a network of pipes that water your flowers.

The goal of the game is to build an irrigation system that delivers water to flowers by manipulating the game tiles with water pipes on them. Just select the water pipe tiles and rotate them until the water flows through them and reaches the flowers to make them bloom.

When a pipe is connected to the water network it will fill up with water. Make sure the water flows in all the pipes to keep your flowers beautiful. You'll have to rotate the tiles with pipes, flowers, and that all-important watering can to make each part of the grid connect together and fill up every tile. All the flowers need to be connected to the watering can and every pipe must be used to finish the puzzle. Are you facing a drought? The Hint system is there to help you figure out the next best move.

With Blossom's 120 puzzles, spring is always just around the corner. Soon you'll be a fantastic florist, watering your way to a brighter future.


Futoshiki (A Logic Puzzle for Kindle)
Futoshiki is a Japanese number logic puzzle.

The rules of Futoshiki are deceptively simple but the game is challenging and addictive. Each row and column must be filled with unique numbers. However, Futoshiki has a twist. It adds greater-than or less-than signs between some cells. You must honor these signs in order to solve and complete the puzzles.

This collection of 120 puzzles is grouped into four different sets ranging from easy to expert. The grids are 5x5 in easy, medium, and hard modes. Expert mode holds thirty 7x7 puzzles. The game features annotations to help you keep track of possible solutions, and a hint function to help you keep playing if you get stuck.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Textbook Rentals and Streaming Discount for Students

In January, Amazon started giving students (those with a .edu email address) a free Prime membership, which included free shipping and discounted overnight shipping (but didn't allow sharing with other family members). Then, in February, Amazon started giving free, unlimited streaming instant videos with Prime Membership. But, students were left out in the cold (as were Amazon Moms, who also have free Prime shipping, if they meet certain monthly qualifications).

Now, though, students get a new choice: upgrade to full Prime membership at 50% off the regular rate and get streaming Instant Videos. It's the perfect solution for the cash-strapped student that could not talk Mom and Dad out of letting their dorm room be the primary location on the account (with Full Prime, you can have up to 5 members on an account, but only one of them gets streaming videos for free). For $39/year, students can watch all the videos they have time for, get munchies (or clean clothes) delivered quickly and get release date delivery on video games, DVD's, books and more. If you aren't a student, you can get the same for the regular $79/year (which is still cheaper than a streaming only Netflix membership).

There are a couple of gotcha's:
  • If you are already a free Student Prime member, your free period ends immediately (even if you have several months left on it) and your annual membership will begin (with a new expiration date).
  • You can only be a paid Student Prime member for four years and at the end of four years, your membership cost will automatically increase. That's also true of the free membership, btw -- you can only be a student for four years with Amazon, no matter how long you actually take to graduate.
  • You still don't get to share your membership with someone else. Amazon Moms can share their membership with one other person and full paid accounts can share with up to 4 household members or coworkers.
For students who are already enjoying a year of free Prime, you can sign up for this at any time until your current year ends, if you would rather extend your benefits than watch past episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dr. Who.

But, wait, you say... what was that you said about Textbook Rentals?

Yes, it's true. Amazon has finally added the ability to rent the Kindle edition of textbooks, a feature that Barnes & Noble added last year (but which is kind of a mess to use, what with the special student version of the reader for your desktop). Amazon, of course, makes it all easy - any book that can be rented now has the option to rent (it's even the default, so be careful with this one), with rental periods lasting from 30 days to nearly a year (depending on the book). The amount you pay depends on both the cost of the book and the length of the rental period. Once rented and for the duration of the rental period, you can then read that book on any of your registered Kindle devices, including on your desktop (or iPad ... or phone, if you need to, ahem, "check your notes" in class). Even after the rental period is over, you can still access your notes (all your notes, not just for textbooks) online, at kindle.amazon.com.

Need that book just a little bit longer? You can extend your rental period as needed, for as little as a single day (as many times as you want), or convert the rental to a purchase. Essentially, you get many of the benefits of selling back your textbooks at the end of the term, without the hassle of having to lug them around and then deal with shipping them off. And you keep your notes and highlights (unlike when you sell back that Chemistry book you find you now need).

I still have a few questions on how it works and the help pages at Amazon are not updated yet (not even for paid Student Prime), so I've sent off an email to Amazon and will let you know what I hear.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Free Book (noDRM) - Bridges

Bridges, a LGBT novella by M.J. O'Shea, is free over on AllRomance today.

Book Description
With names like Dallas and Brooklyn they could've either been best friends...or worst enemies. The war started in third grade, with a surprise punch to the face and lasted until the summer after high school when Brooklyn and Dallas are stuck working at the same store. At night. Together. It should've been a recipe for disaster. But instead of outright war, they slowly start to notice that not only do they not hate each other, but perhaps they have more in common than either of them knew. Soon, amidst unexpected laughter and camaraderie, Dallas realizes that maybe the guy who used to be his number one enemy could actually be his perfect match.

Click HERE for the free book.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Half off Lipton Tea Mix at Amazon

I usually ignore the Deal of the Day at Amazon, but thought you might want to read about this one, as you can get a bit over half off on several different Lipton Tea mixes, today only. If you buy as a one-time purchase, you get 44% off, but with the additional 15% from Subscribe and Save, it works out to 52% off. Once your first order ships, you can simply cancel the subscription without any additional charges. If you want more than one of an item on the special, you can put up to three into a subscribe and save order at a time (which should give you enough tea to last the summer, if you get a few flavors).

There is one sugar sweetened mix on the special, the Blackberry Pomegranate Green Tea Mix, but the majority of the choices are from Lipton's Tea To Go line, such as the Energize Blackberry Pomegranate. These are Splenda (or Aspartame) sweetened and are packed in individual tubes, which you can simply add to a bottle of water and shake, creating zero calorie tea anywhere, in seconds.

Click HERE to see the full selection on today's deal.

Buy a Book with Visa, Get a $10 Credit (KSO)

The second Kindle with Special Offers deal today is a return of the $10 Amazon credit if you buy a selected book using your Visa card. If you've already purchased a book from the list, you don't get to go back again, even though the offer has returned, as it has the same Special Offers page. Those of you that have just received your KSO, though, will want to read my notes on the earlier post, to make sure that any gift card balance you have doesn't get in the way of using the offer.

As for me, I picked up Abyss, by David Hagberg, and I'm about 2/3 of the way thru it already. It will work out to paying $1.99 for the book, after the credit, and it's definitely well worth that. I was also very tempted by SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper ($2.99 after the credit), by Stephen Templin and Howard E. Wasdin, so I may see if Mom will buy that one using her account and I'll just read it on her KSO (which she just received, yesterday).

I also wanted to mention that I appreciate those of you who do come back here and go thru my links when choosing books (or other items) for these offers. It doesn't cost you any extra (other than the effort to start here when searching), but as an Amazon affiliate, I do earn a small percentage for such referrals. I'm also adding a new feature on the right side menu today - the Free Song of the Day. I'll try to update it each day (although I don't guarantee that every day will bring music that we all like), although perhaps not just the first thing each morning.

Save $10 on Kindle Accessories (KSO)

If you have a Kindle with Special Offers, be sure to wake it up and check the Special Offers page today, as there are two new deals. Turn on your wireless, click Menu, Sync & Check for New Items, then on View Special Offers after the sync has completed. You should see this new offer:

Save $10 on $20 of Kindle Accessories from Amazon.com

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page to sign up and get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires on July 19.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Kindle Accessories page and a promotion code to enter at checkout. Once you have the promotional code, you have until August 19 to complete your purchase (full details here). Like previous offers, this one requires you to use the full checkout process in order to enter your promotional code. Also, like all Amazon sales that use promotional codes, if you have a gift card balance, you must use it for the payment (if there is not a sufficient balance, then you can pick which credit card or other payment to use).

Once again, this offer can be used more than once per accounts, so long as you have more than one KSO registered. Just click on the ad on each device to receive the individual promotion codes via email.

If this one works like the last one, you'll probably be able to use the code even if the Kindle Skin or other accessory you want is a penny (or even a nickel) shy of the $20 minimum. It's easy enough to check - put the item into your cart and start checkout. Enter the promotion code and click on Apply - check the summary at the right of the page to see if it was reduce by $10 (you should see "promotion" and -$10.00 and a reduced total). You can even stop at this point, go back to your cart, shop some more and come back, as the promotion code isn't used up until you actually check out.