Today's Deals

Little White Rabbit ($12.99 Kindle [Fire and Android App only], $3.99 B&N [NOOK Color and Tablet only]), by Kevin Henkes, is the Nook Daily Find for Families. Despite being an Agency priced title, apparently the publisher thinks these are different books, since they don't work on the same devices, and has priced the one at B&N lower. I don't even want this title, but I'm reporting the lower price, in hopes that if enough of us do so, Amazon can pressure HarperCollins into matching the price for those who do want it on their Kindle Fire.

Book Description
In the newest picture book from best-selling Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes, a curious young rabbit hops through the wide world before finally ending up safe at home.

This NOOK Kids Read and Play book features narration, animation and interactivity. Kids can choose to hear the story read aloud and play activities on select pages of the book. Animations replay with a simple tap. Plus, kids can tap to enlarge text and pinch & stretch to zoom in on pictures.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is 11 engaging young-adult novels, all on sale for 99 cents apiece. It looks like these are all from Marshall Cavendish Children's Books and the age range covered starts with tweens and works up to the older teen and young adult, so you'll probably be able to find one or two for most kids 10+ (even yourself).

Whether confronting alienation and racism in a mid-1960s Alaskan boarding school, or fighting mind control in an Orwellian world secretly run by corporations, all of today's young-adult novels explore the complicated and adventurous struggles that boys and girls face as they come of age.

1. Memento Nora, by Angela Smibert
   In the future, it doesn't pay to remember.
   
   In Nora's world you don't have to put up with nightmares. Nora goes with her mother to TFC--a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic. There, she can describe her horrible memory and take the pill that will erase it. But at TFC, a chance encounter with a mysterious guy changes Nora's life. She doesn't take the pill. And when Nora learns the memory her mother has chosen to forget, she realizes that someone needs to remember. With newfound friends Micah and Winter, Nora makes a comic book of their memories called Memento. It's an instant hit, but it sets off a dangerous chain of events. Will Nora, Micah, and Winter be forced to take the Big Pill that will erase their memories forever?
   
   Angie Smibert's remarkable debut novel takes readers on a thrilling ride through shadowy world where corporations secretly rule--and wish you'd just keep shopping.
2. Blackbriar, by William Sleator
   Danny can feel something sinister about his new home, Blackbriar, an old, abandoned cottage in the English countryside. The residents of a nearby town refuse to speak of the house and can barely look Danny in the eyes. Then Danny begins to have strange dreams of fire and witches, and awakes to shrieks of laughter that seem to come from another time and place. With help from his friend, Lark, Danny begins to unravel the mysteries of Blackbriar and its frightening past, through the discovery of an ancient doll and a chilling list of names and dates carved on the cellar door. But what might be most terrifying of all is the mystery that does not lie in the past but in the here and now ...
3. Soccerland (International Sports Academy), by Beth Choat
   "One day I’m going to play for the U.S. Women’s National Team." That’s what Flora Dupre promised her mom, before her mom died of cancer. Flora and her mom had created a place called Soccerland, an escape world where they went and just talked soccer. And now Flora’s dream of playing for the U.S.A. might be coming true. Flora’s received the invitation of a lifetime: the chance to try out for the Under-15 U.S. Girls’ Soccer Team, an opportunity that could put Flora on the road to making her dream a reality and reaching the real "Soccerland." But when Flora arrives at the International Sports Academy, the level of talent there is like nothing she’s ever seen before. Flora struggles to hold her own, grappling with new positions on the pitch, injuries, a frustrating coach, and contempt from other players. But Flora is a big, strong Dupre girl—and she’s not going to go down easy.
4. My Name Is Not Easy, by Debby Dahl Edwardson
   My name is not easy. My name is hard like ocean ice grinding the shore . . . Luke knows his Iñupiaq name is full of sounds white people can’t say. So he leaves it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles away from their Arctic village. At Sacred Heart School, students—Eskimo, Indian, White—line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there’s some kind of war going on. Here, speaking Iñupiaq—or any native language—is forbidden. And Father Mullen, whose fury is like a force of nature, is ready to slap down those who disobey. Luke struggles to survive at Sacred Heart. But he’s not the only one. There’s smart-aleck Amiq, a daring leader— if he doesn’t self-destruct; Chickie, blond and freckled, a different kind of outsider; and small, quiet Junior, noticing everything and writing it all down. They each have their own story to tell. But once their separate stories come together, things at Sacred Heart School—and the wider world—will never be the same.
5. Cloaked In Red, by Vivian Vande Velde
   So you think you know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl with the unfortunate name and the inability to tell the difference between her grandmother and a member of a different species? Well, then, try your hand at answering these questions: Which character (not including Little Red herself) is the most fashion challenged? Who (not including the wolf) is the scariest? Who (not including Granny) is the most easily scared? Who is the strangest (notice we're not "not including" anyone, because they're all a little off.)? Who (no fair saying "the author") has stuffing for brains? Master storyteller Vivian Vande Velde crafts eight new stories involving one of the world's most beloved (and mixed-up) characters in literature. You may never look at fairy tales in quite the same way again.
6. Sizzle, by Lee McClain
   Sizzle . . . or burn? Linda Delgado has the best nose in all of Arizona—for cooking, that is. She may be only fourteen, but Linda loves making fresh Mexican food with her aunt Elba and blogging about food with her best friend, Julia. But after Aunt Elba suffers a ministroke, Linda is catapulted across the country and into a whole new life. In Pittsburgh, living with bossy Aunt Pat and her seven kids, Linda feels completely out of place. Worst of all, Aunt Pat is a local celebrity with her own TV show, Cooking from Cans—and she won’t let Linda in the kitchen. Linda might go loco if she doesn’t get some fresh food—like now. Then Linda finally gets her chance to sizzle—alongside cute-guy-with-a-secret Dino Moretti (who even smells delicious) and her jealous cousin Chloe. Linda’s new life is about to heat up fast.
7. Shelter From The Wind, by Marion Dane Bauer
   It used to be just Stacy and her dad, ever since Stacy’s mother left them five years ago. But Stacy’s stepmother, Barbara, seems to have taken over their world—and now she’s pregnant, too. One hot June morning Stacy runs away, not sure where she’s going or what she’s looking for—her mother, maybe? She heads across the Oklahoma panhandle where she has always lived, without supplies, without a plan.
   
   After a scary night alone on the prairie, a pair of white German shepherd dogs finds her. They lead her to their mistress, Old Ella, a woman who lives alone in a small secluded cabin. It is here that Stacy confronts the true source of her anger and learns what it really means to be a woman, a daughter, a friend. First published in 1976, Shelter from the Wind is a heart-rending story of a girl’s coming of age set against the backdrop of the harsh Oklahoma panhandle.
8. Rebound, by Bob Krech
   It looked like every black kid in the school was going out for the team. And then me. Pale skin, long nose, sandy brown hair, and a cowlick that won’t stay down. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t being the only white guy.
   
   Black kids play basketball. White kids wrestle. That’s the way it is at Franklin High School and especially in Ray Wisniewski’s neighborhood, the tight knit Polish-American town of Greenville, New Jersey. But Ray’s got a passion for basketball, even after the varsity coach cuts him two years in a row. When a new coach comes on the scene, Ray’s luck rebounds, but now he has to deal with Robert, the team’s high scorer, a kid who hates Ray simply because he’s white.
   
   As Ray fights to make his way onto the Franklin High Varsity, he finds that things are not as simple as he once thought—that a kind friend can be full of hate. A beautiful girl can be ugly inside. A well-intentioned coach can cause more harm than good. And prejudice can be defined in many ways in a world that isn’t black-and-white.
9. Kathleen, Please Come Home, by Scott Odell
   Fifteen-year-old Kathleen Winters has always been a good girl, trying to please her mother. But now, things are changing. First, there’s the new girl, Sybil Langley. Sybil is confident, rebellious, and worldly--everything Kathleen wishes she could be. As Kathleen is drawn under Sybil’s spell, she moves closer and closer toward crossing a dangerous line. Then there’s Ramón. Kathleen knows it’s risky to date an illegal immigrant, but she’s never met anyone like Ramón. They fall helplessly in love--but the most beautiful experience of Kathleen’s life soon becomes the most catastrophic. Kathleen takes off for Mexico and slowly spirals into drug addiction and chaos. In the end, only Kathleen can bring herself back home. Set against the backdrop of 1970s Baja California, Mexico, Scott O’Dell’s powerful novel takes readers on one girl’s unforgettable journey of self-destruction and discovery.
10. Mindblind, by Jennifer Roy
    Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Clark lives in two worlds—the outside world of his family and friends and his own, special, inside Aspie world, where he’s not forced to interact with people or worry about wearing his clothes right-side out. The world where he can solve mathematical problems that elude even the brightest graduate students. The world where he feels he can find his own inner truth. People say he’s a genius, but Nathaniel thinks differently. According to a book he once read, a true genius uses his talent to make a contribution to the world. Nathaniel takes the definition literally, and begins his quest for genius status. "I will start, right after I wash the chocolate off my face. If I want to be seen as a genius, I should not look like an idiot." Nathaniel has a sky-high IQ and perfect SAT scores, but Jennifer Roy and her husband, Greg, have a remarkable 8-year-old son, Adam, who not only inspired the character of Nathaniel Clark, but also created the "Amazing Race" charts and the narrative at the back of MindBlind.
11. Spotting for Nellie, by Pamela Lowell
    Claire Perry knows a split second can change everything. It can be the difference between sticking a perfect landing or falling off the beam. It can be the difference between a really fun party or a totally messed up one. Or sometimes, as Claire finds out, it can even be the difference between life . . . or death. For Claire’s younger sister, Nellie, an elite gymnast who is "destined for gold," things have always come easy. A split second is usually all it takes to capture the attention of a boy at a party, and the judges at a meet, or their critical father—everyone. Then one night, one decision, one split second—changes their world forever. The two sisters get into a car accident that leaves one of them with a traumatic brain injury. Now, the sisters will have to figure out what’s worth fighting for and what are the limits of guilt, forgiveness, and sisterhood. Memories will come crashing back and secrets will come to light—whether they’re ready for them . . . or not.

The Consequence of Skating ($3.50 Kindle, B&N), by Steven Gillis, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Gillis as only Gillis can: the politics of love, human action as theater, and the dreams we dream and chase forever. The Consequence of Skating, Steven Gillis' fourth novel, blends politics, drama, ice skating, mountain climbing, the music industry, and world affairs—not to mention artificial intelligence and G.O.D.—to create an inimitable tour de force. Centering on Mickey Greene, an actor who has fallen from grace, the novel follows Mick as he maneuvers through a series of adventures that set him on a course of reconstructing his life in a way he never before imagined.

Steven Gillis is the author of the novels Walter Falls, The Weight of Nothing—both finalists for the Independent Publishers Book of the Year and ForeWord magazine Book of the Year 2003 and 2005—and Temporary People. Steve's stories, articles, and book reviews have appeared in over three dozen journals. A six-time Pushcart nominee and four time Best Of . . . Notable Stories winner, a collection of Steve's stories—titled Giraffes—was published in February 2007. A second collection of Steve's stories, titled The Principles of Landscape, will be published by Black Lawrence Press in 2011. A member of the Ann Arbor Book Festival board of directors and a finalist for the 2007 Ann Arbor News Citizen of the Year, Steve taught writing at Eastern Michigan University.

Thursdays at Eight ($1.89 / £1.19 UK), by Debbie Macomber, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.09).

Book Description
Every Thursday at eight, four women meet to talk and share their lives.

As one life-changing year unfolds it becomes a true celebration of friends helping each other through the tough times. Having just suffered a heartbreaking divorce, Clare is bitter and angry. Then she learns some devastating news about her ex-husband. Elizabeth, in her late fifties, is recently widowed and finds herself back in the dating game. And that means putting the past behind her. Twenty-something Karen is desperate to be an actress – if only her parents didn’t want her to be more like her respectable sister. Julia is turning forty. Her kids are finally in their teens and she’s just started her own business. Now she finds out that she’s pregnant.

Kindle Fire $139

While they last, Amazon has Refurbished Kindle Fires at $139, as today's Gold Box Deal. Perhaps it's another sign that they are soon to be replaced or just that a lot of people returned them within 30 days and grabbed an eInk Kindle, instead. Barnes & Noble is still clearing out their original NookColor (over on eBay, if you buy one refurbished, they'll throw in a Simple Touch for only $20 more).

These units are usually impossible to tell from brand new (although the Keyboard unit often doesn't ship with the wall charger, buy you can pick one up for under $10 or just charge via your computer) and come with the same warranty from Amazon. You generally can't get the Amazon extended warranty on their refurbished units, but Square Trade has traditionally let you get them thru them (although I generally recommend against getting them on items like these that are relatively inexpensive and often end up getting replaced by newer technology after a couple of years).

Deal Description
Save $30 on a Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire. Each Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire is a pre-owned Kindle Fire that has been refurbished, tested, and is certified to look and work like new. They come with the same one-year limited warranty as a brand-new Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire: great for web, movies, apps, games, and more.

This offer is valid today only, March 29, 2012, when sold by Warehouse Deals. Offer good while supplies last.

Limit 5 per customer.

Neutrogena - Buy One Get One 50% Off (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers (including any Kindle Touch or Kindle Keyboard that opts in to Special Offers, which means you can add the offers, grab this one, then turn them back off!):

Buy One Neutrogena® Item, Get One 50% Off

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page to receive an email with the promo code. Sign-up for this offer expires on April 8.

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 May 8, 2012 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).

Limit one offer per customer and per device.

Shop early, of course, as their selection often dwindles as the offer goes on. This is another bonus offer, that isn't on the "normal" schedule (every 4 days, although some dates now get skipped), but it's also one that gives you plenty of time to sign up for it. If you don't see it on your Kindle, first try leaving the WiFi on for an hour or so and, if that doesn't work, try doing a Restart from the Settings menu (not a factory reset, though).

Today's Deals

A couple of notes about Harry Potter and Pottermore, some of which I made in comments yesterday, plus a few new ones:

• If you buy the bundle, then you get all seven books individually in your library at Pottermore (and at Amazon or the other partners, if you choose to send them there).
• The books appear at Amazon in your Books section, not Personal Documents. Also, they are apparently flagged to be sent to EVERY device in your account when they hit Amazon -- this still only counts as one download at Pottermore (and you can continue sending them to your Kindles over the years and it doesn't affect Pottermore downloads).
• The US version includes the illustrations and has nice covers (both on Kindle and the EPUB downloads). There don't appear to be any special fonts, but when there is something like a written note, it appears as a graphic (so far) and is quite readable. The UK/GB edition does not have illustrations other than a couple up front and never had fancy fonts, so it isn't an issue for those. Also, the covers are completely different (apparently the last ones used on the paperbacks, not the originals, from what I can tell).
• Although you can't purchase an out-of-country edition for yourself, you can gift them to someone in that country (all you need is an email address); those in Canada get the UK edition and also are able to send the copies to their nook/Sony accounts (in the UK, it's Amazon only), for those interested in that ability. All the recipient will need is the gift code received in email and to set up an account; the books will then be in their library and can be accessed and linked to their accounts (no CC info needed). For those in the US, the bundle works out to $57.54 for the US edition and $61.65 to send a gift of the GB edition.
• Mastercard is a bit more apt to flag your card as fraudulent use on the site - some had theirs frozen (mine did this) and the charge refused, others had the charge go thru and then received calls to keep the card from being frozen. Apparently some debit cards were more Pottermore friendly, as they actually let you enter a code and didn't fail the "added security" set that I never even had a chance to respond to. If you only have a single credit/debit card, you'll want to make sure yours didn't get flagged after using it on the site.
• Apparently the Pottermore site has required that Amazon and the other partners add DRM to the copies that are sent to your accounts there. This despite the addition of the same social DRM (your unique ID encrypted on the inside page). No matter, as you can get the EPUB from the site as one of your 8 downloads and use that as you personal backup.
• Although not that well publicized, Amazon has set up a special page for the Harry Potter Kindle books, which includes links to two exclusive interviews, one with JK Rowling and the other with illustrator Mary Grandpré. The UK page only includes the Rowling interview link, of course.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Chaos Walking Trilogy, a YA dystopian SciFi thriller series by Patrick Ness, at 99 cents per volume. That means all of you can grab the entire trilogy for what I paid for the first volume and I can complete the series at a bargain. Since the synopsis of the second two contain slight spoilers, I'm going to blur them on the website (just hover your mouse over the section to clear it up).

The Knife of Never Letting Go
Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

The Ask and the Answer
Part two follows a boy and a girl who are caught in a warring town where thoughts can be heard - and secrets are never safe. Reaching the end of their flight in THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, while Todd faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor's oppressive new regime. In alternating narratives the two struggle to reconcile their own dubious actions with their deepest beliefs. Torn by confusion and compromise, suspicion and betrayal, can their trust in each other possibly survive?

Monsters of Men
In the riveting conclusion to the acclaimed dystopian series, a boy and girl caught in the chaos of war face devastating choices that will decide the fate of a world. As a world-ending war surges around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many. The consequences of each action, each word, are unspeakably vast: To follow a tyrant or a terrorist? To save the life of the one you love most, or thousands of strangers? To believe in redemption, or assume it is lost? Becoming adults amid the turmoil, Todd and Viola question all they have known, racing through horror and outrage toward a shocking finale.

Hitch 22 ($1.57 / £0.99 UK), by Christopher Hitchens, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $12.99).

Book Description
Over the last thirty years, Christopher Hitchens has established himself as one of the world's most influential public intellectuals. His originality, bravery, range, and wit made him first a leading iconoclast of the political left and then, later in his career, a formidable advocate of secular liberalism. When the Twin Towers were attacked in September 2001, Hitchens was re-energised again, quickly emerging as one of the fiercest and most influential advocates of war on Iraq. In this long-awaited and candid memoir, Hitchens re-traces the footsteps of his life to date, from his childhood in Portsmouth, with his adoring, tragic mother and reserved Naval officer father; to his life in Washington DC, the base from which from he would launch fierce attacks on tyranny of all kinds. Along the way, he recalls the girls, boys and booze; the friendships and the feuds; the grand struggles and lost causes; and, the mistakes and misgivings that have characterised his life. "Hitch-22" is, by turns, moving and funny, charming and infuriating, enraging and inspiring. It is an indispensable companion to the life and thought of our pre-eminent political writer.

Anno Dracula ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), by Kim Newman, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
It is 1888 and Queen Victoria has remarried, taking as her new consort Vlad Tepes, the Wallachian Prince infamously known as Count Dracula. Peppered with familiar characters from Victorian history and fiction, the novel follows vampire Geneviève Dieudonné and Charles Beauregard of the Diogenes Club as they strive to solve the mystery of the Ripper murders.

Anno Dracula is a rich and panoramic tale, combining horror, politics, mystery and romance to create a unique and compelling alternate history. Acclaimed novelist Kim Newman explores the darkest depths of a reinvented Victorian London.

This brand-new edition of the bestselling novel contains unique bonus material, including a new afterword from Kim Newman, annotations, articles and alternate endings to the original novel.

The Muppets The Movie Junior Novel ($4.49 Kindle, $2.16 B&N), by Katharine Turner, is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
This junior novelization based on the new Muppet movie features a full-color insert of photos from the film!

Harry Potter eBooks Arrive!

The big news today is that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books are now available (legally) in digital form. You do have to buy thru the Pottermore shop and there are a few rough edges there still, but I purchased the bundle this morning and it was, for the most part, a smooth process to get the book into my Kindle library. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that searching in the Kindle store (or any other ebookstore) for Harry Potter will turn up a number of books about the series, some very questionable cookbooks (which use the name, but have rather pedestrian recipes) and some very funny looking parodies (such as Harry Putter and the Deathly Hairballs, by Timothy R., Griffin and Riley O'Donnell), but no actual Harry Potter books. That has changed today and you will find the Harry Potter books listed, but the purchase process is a bit different - you'll be linked to J.K. Rowling's Pottermore Shop, purchase the books and then can link your account there back to Amazon and send the book to your library (which I strongly recommend, as you'll see later).

Over at Pottermore, there are vague assurances that you'll be able to read your books on your Kindle, but not a lot of info on how the process works (or how the bundle will show up on your account), so I bit the bullet and bought the books this morning, purely as research for the blog, of course. Which means I can go cancel all my reserves at the library, too, I suppose.

If you want to read a sample of a book before buying, you won't be able to do that on your Kindle, as the samples are only supplied in EPUB format and for viewing on your computer (or you could transfer via USB to a non-Kindle reader). That means you'll need a viewer on your computer, but not Adobe ADE, as the samples have no DRM (I used the Calibre viewer).

Adding to the cart is straight forward and you can also choose to send any book to someone as a gift (all you need is an email address, but the recipient will need to create an account). So far, only the English (US and UK/GB) editions are available, with other languages promised soon, and I wonder if using the gift option would be a way for those in the US to get the UK/GB edition, as the only option I was presented with was for the US edition, or if that will updated as time goes on.

During checkout, you'll need a credit card - no American Express, so far, and no PayPal (which I'm very surprised at, especially as it would have meant fewer fees to the site, I suspect) and no sign that it will ever be allowed. You may also need to try more than one card - my Mastercard was refused, with repeated attempts (and kept displaying a weird message from the site about "added security", but never asked for my input, then just dumped me back into a "denied" message) and I think it's because it's a non-US site (I had issues with the same card with Kobo, located in Canada, but was able to get an exception created for that site; with a one-time use at Pottermore, it hardly seems worth the bother). I switched to (ironically) an Amazon Rewards Visa and the purchase went thru just fine. You are prompted to print out your receipt (one should also be emailed to you) - do that and keep it somewhere safe, as you'll need it if you ever have to request more than the allowed number of downloads.

Once purchased, you may download each book a maximum of eight times (although there is an exception in case you have lost your reader or corrupted your backups, it requires getting special intervention from Pottermore and is at their discretion). Each time you download a book, you'll need to decide if you want that copy to be sent to your Amazon Kindle account (which, you only need to do ONE time, ever, as it stays in your account and can be sent to all your devices and apps from there, as well as can be read using ReadNow), to your Sony or Google Play account (which I didn't try) or to your NOOK account (which should work about like the Kindle account, allowing downloads to all your devices and apps). You can also choose to download the book directly to your computer, for use with any EPUB reader.

What about the much-speculated about social DRM? Well, on the titles I sent to Amazon, when viewed in the Cloud Reader, it does have a spot for my name or an ID, but instead shows a long line of x's, followed by d's, and the date of purchase. Any copy you download from Amazon, though, WILL have DRM added, so will be tied to a particular Kindle device or app. I suspect the same will be true of the NOOK editions and Sony pretty much always adds Adobe ADE DRM to any book in their store and I expect the same from Google Play.

Next, I downloaded the EPUB for my computer and a personalized and DRM-free edition was prepared (be sure not to leave the page after clicking to create the file, until after the download starts, or you'll lose one of your eight downloads, but won't actually get a file; it takes about 30-45 seconds from when you click until the file download begins and that will probably get longer as the site gets busy). If the download doesn't start automatically, there is a link to download manually (which I didn't have to use) - I'd recommend leaving that page and link up and waiting until the file completely downloads, then open the book to make sure you can read it before closing the window. This ensures that you won't need to use another of your limited downloads, in case there was an error with the download (if you can't open the downloaded title, you can click on the "manual download" link and try it again, so long as you didn't close the window).

In the personalization section of the book, on the second "page", it doesn't show my name (which is what I would have preferred), but instead a long username, intended only for the purpose of detecting who set their copy into the wild, in case they find it out in the torrents or being copied to others. Couldn't they have used my name on the page and buried the ID somewhere else, turning the personalization into a positive? That would make a gift copy to a child much more likely, as they could see their name on it (otherwise, why not read mom and dad's copy?).

I pulled the copy into Calibre - the metadata is only the author name, not even the series is set. Using Download Metadata corrected that quickly (I kept the supplied cover, as it seemed better than the downloaded alternatives) and I then converted to MOBI, to get a file that can be downloaded to my Kindle or even to any older MOBI eReader (and they are still out there). There were no problems and the watermarked ID is still there on the MOBI edition (not that my copy will ever be out in the wild).

My recommendation is that you use your first download to send a copy to your existing accounts at Amazon, Google and/or Nook (not Sony, as there seems to be evidence of some stores dumping their readers from the shelves and a Sony can read the DRM-free edition anyway). This will get you repeated downloads on the device of your choice and if you use more than one of these, you are more protected against any one of them going out of business. Then, use one of your downloads to get a DRM-free copy and back it up in multiple locations (your computer, an online backup, etc). Save the rest of your downloads to be used in case you have a problem in the future, but keep in mind that the eight downloads you get from Pottermore are "subject to the continued availability of the book via the Pottermore Shop."

So, if the specialty store for these books ceases in the future (or Rowling decides to pull the books from the store for any reason), those extra downloads won't be available. In the B&N store, some people have learned that if a book is pulled there, the downloads for it disappear as well (it's happened on a number of titles that have moved to the Kindle Select program, so the authors/publishers can get the five-day free downloads and Kindle Lending Library access). At Amazon, they have publicly committed to keeping your titles available "forever" (limited by the life of the company, to be sure) and pulled titles have remained in my library (the exception, though, is with magazines, all issues of which you lose when you cancel a subscription). I don't know what Google's policy will be, but I'm hedging my bets and keeping a redownloadable copy in a couple of accounts, along with my own DRM-free backups, just in case.

Here are the individual titles at Amazon (which will link you to Pottermore); once at the Pottermore Shops, you can click on EBOOKS in the menu and pick the bundle to get all seven at once, at 10% off (and you can also get the audiobooks with the ebooks, but the price is substantially higher). At least so far, there is no link at Amazon that will take you directly to the bundle (that I can find).

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ($7.99)
   

   In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry, an orphan, lives with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. One day just before his eleventh birthday, an owl tries to deliver a mysterious letter—the first of a sequence of events that end in Harry meeting a giant man named Hagrid. Hagrid explains Harry's history to him: When he was a baby, the Dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, attacked and killed his parents in an attempt to kill Harry; but the only mark on Harry was a mysterious lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. Now he has been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the headmaster is the great wizard Albus Dumbledore. Harry visits Diagon Alley to get his school supplies, especially his very own wand. To get to school, he takes the Hogwarts Express from platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station. On the train, he meets two fellow students who will become his closest friends: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry is assigned to Gryffindor House at Hogwarts, and soon becomes the youngest-ever Seeker on the House Quidditch team. He also studies Potions with Professor Severus Snape, who displays a deep and abiding dislike for Harry, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with nervous Professor Quirrell; he and his friends defeat a mountain troll, help Hagrid raise a dragon, and explore the wonderful, fascinating world of Hogwarts. But all events lead irrevocably toward a second encounter with Lord Voldemort, who seeks an object of legend known as the Sorcerer's Stone…

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ($7.99)
   

   In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the summer after Harry’s first year at Hogwarts has been his worst summer ever… the Dursleys more distant and horrible than ever before. But just as he’s packing his bags to return to school, a creature named Dobby the house-elf announces that if Harry goes back to Hogwarts, disaster will strike. And it turns out, Dobby is right. Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts Express, so they fly to school in a blue Ford Anglia, crash landing in the notorious Whomping Willow. Soon other worries accumulate: the outrageously stuck-up new professor Gilderoy Lockhart; a ghost named Moaning Myrtle, who haunts the girls' bathroom; the strange behavior of Ron's little sister, Ginny Weasley; rumors about the "Chamber of Secrets," a cavern buried deep below Hogwarts; and a magical diary owned by Tom Riddle, a Hogwarts student of long ago. Harry is also shocked to discover that he can speak Parseltongue, the language of snakes - a rare ability that Lord Voldemort also possessed - and that anti-Muggle prejudice exists in the Wizarding world, even affecting Harry's friend Hermione. But all of these seem like minor concerns when someone starts turning Hogwarts students to stone: an evildoer said to be the fearsome Heir of Salazar Slytherin, on of the founders of the school. Could it be Draco Malfoy, Harry's most poisonous rival? Could it be Hagrid whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one person everyone at Hogwarts most suspects: Harry Potter himself?

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ($7.99)
   

   For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort, and might even have assisted in the deaths of James and Lily Potter—Harry Potter’s parents. Now Black has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard him muttering in his sleep, "He’s at Hogwarts... he’s at Hogwarts." Of course, Harry already had plenty to worry about. After inflating his nasty aunt and running away on the magical Knight Bus, he finds he’s being pursued by death omens at every turn. He receives two wonderful gifts: a top-of-the-line Firebolt broomstick, and the Marauder’s Map, a magical diagram of Hogwarts made by the mysterious “Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.” Hermione disappears frequently, burdened down by a seemingly impossible course schedule. And the soulless Dementors have come to guard Hogwarts—supposedly to protect Harry from Sirius Black, but they terrify Harry more than the fugitive ever could. To strengthen himself against them, Harry reaches out to Remus Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who was once a friend of his father’s. Lupin teaches Harry about the Patronus Charm, a defensive measure well above the level of magic generally mastered by wizards Harry’s age. But even with his broom, his map, his magic, and his loyal friends, Harry isn't safe. Because on top of everything else, there’s a traitor hidden at Hogwarts…

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ($9.99)
   

   In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry is midway through both his training as a wizard and his coming of age. He wants to get away from the malicious Dursleys and go to the Quidditch World Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about his crush, Cho Chang (and maybe do more than dream). And now that he’s gotten the hang of things at Hogwarts—he hopes—he just wants to be a normal fourteen-year-old wizard. But even by his standards, Harry's year is anything but normal. First Dumbledore announces the revival of a grand competition that hasn't taken place for one hundred years: the Triwizard Tournament, where a Hogwarts champion will compete against rivals from two other schools of magic in three highly dangerous tasks. Then someone frames Harry to participate in the tournament—which really means someone wants him dead. Harry is guided through the competition by Professor Alastor Moody, this year's Defenst Against the Dark Arts teacher, but he must also contend with a nasty reporter named Rita Skeeter, who digs up some highly unflattering secrets about Hagrid; a terrible fight with Ron, who is deeply jealous of Harry's fame; Hermione's newfound activism on behalf of house-elves; and the terrifying prospect of asking a date to the Yule Ball. Worst of all, Lord Voldemort may finally have gathered the materials necessary for his rejuvenation... and he has a faithful servant at Hogwarts waiting only for a sign. No, nothing is every normal for Harry Potter. And in his case, different can be deadly.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ($9.99)
   

   In response to his reappearance, Dumbledore reactivates the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society which works to defeat the Dark Lord's minions and protect his targets—especially Harry Potter. But Harry doesn’t want to be protected. Even as the Ministry of Magic denies his claims, The Daily Prophet discredits him, and even Dumbledore won’t look him in the eye, Harry grows more and more determined to fight his lifelong enemy Voldemort—if only he had the “weapon” the Order is guarding. In the meantime, he visits his godfather at his ghoulish London home, Grimmauld Place, and learns more about Voldemort’s deep reach into Wizarding history and the Wizarding world. Back at Hogwarts, Harry must deal with a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a surprising new member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team; the possibility of his first real romance; and the looming nightmare of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. He’s haunted by dreams of a heavy door at the end of a silent corridor, and a vision of his father and the young Severus Snape that changes everything he thought he knew about them. Even the joy of working with “Dumbledore’s Army”—a group of Soon Harry will discover the true depth and strength of his friends; their boundless loyalty and unbearable sacrifices. His fate depends on them all.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($9.99)
   

   When Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens, the war against Voldemort has begun. The Wizarding world has split down the middle, and as the casualties mount, the effects even spill over onto the Muggles. Dumbledore is away from Hogwarts for long periods, and the Order of the Phoenix has suffered grievous losses. And yet, as in all wars, life goes on. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, having passed their O.W.L. level exams, start on their specialist N.E.W.T. courses. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate, losing a few eyebrows in the process. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Harry becomes captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, while Draco Malfoy pursues his own dark ends. And classes are as fascinating and confounding as ever, as Harry receives some extraordinary help in Potions from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince. Most importantly, Dumbledore and Harry work together to uncover the full and complex story of a boy once named Tom Riddle—the boy who became Lord Voldemort. Like Harry, he was the son of one Muggle-born and one Wizarding parent, raised unloved, and a speaker of Parseltongue. But the similarities end there, as the teenaged Riddle became deeply interested in the Dark objects known as Horcruxes: objects in which a wizard can hide part of his soul, if he dares splinter that soul through murder. Harry must use all the tools at his disposal to draw a final secret out of one of Riddle’s teachers, the sly Potions professor Horace Slughorn. Finally Harry and Dumbledore hold the key to the Dark Lord’s weaknesses... until a shocking reversal exposes Dumbledore’s own vulnerabilities, and casts Harry’s—and Hogwarts’s—future in shadow.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ($9.99)
   

   In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the epic tale of Harry Potter, Harry and Lord Voldemort each prepare for their ultimate encounter. Voldemort takes control of the Ministry of Magic, installs Severus Snape as headmaster at Hogwarts, and sends his Death Eaters across the country to wreak havoc and find Harry. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione embark on a desperate quest the length and breadth of Britain, trying to locate and destroy Voldemort’s four remaining Horcruxes, the magical objects in which he has hidden parts of his broken soul. They visit the Burrow, Grimmauld Place, the Ministry, Godric’s Hollow, Malfoy Manor, Diagon Alley…But every time they solve one mystery, three more evolve—and not just about Voldemort, but about Dumbledore, and Harry’s own past, and three mysterious objects called the Deathly Hallows. The Hallows are literally things out of a children’s tale, which, if real, promise to make their possessor the “Master of Death;” and they ensnare Harry with their tantalizing claim of invulnerability. It is only after a nigh-unbearable loss that he is brought back to his true purpose, and the trio returns to Hogwarts for the final breathtaking battle between the forces of good and evil. They fight the Death Eaters alongside members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s Army, the Weasley clan, and the full array of Hogwarts teachers and students. Yet everything turns upon the moment the entire series has been building up to, the same meeting with which our story began: the moment when Harry and Voldemort face each other at last.

Free Book - Seven Ways to Die (K)

Seven Ways to Die, by William Diehl and Kenneth Atchity, courtesy of small press Story Merchant Books.

Book Description
From the Nez Perce Indian reservation in Idaho to New York’s Central Park is a straight line right through Bill Diehl’s last and most intriguing lead character, Micah Cody.

There are seven basic ways to die. In 1969 Dr. John C. Cavanaugh catalogued them all in his Primer of Forensic Pathology-Cast Studies for the Novice M.E.

Micah Cody is a 30-something NYPD captain of homicide, who’s founded a special unit known as TAZ with city-wide license to take over any investigation at all, with special focus on serial killers. Now its ultimate challenge is on the loose in Manhattan, with three victims already whose causes of death seem like intentional defiance of TAZ’s existence—and four to go in four deadly days leading up to Halloween. Chronicling it all with great amusement is the Capote-like award-winning crime writer Ward Hamilton who, egged on by his sexually voracious socialite bedmate, is determined to bring TAZ to its knees journalistically.

Captain Micah Cody's Nez Perce name is “Youngest Wolf” from his ability to communicate with the animals and read nature's signs. As all hell is breaking loose in Manhattan, the wolves in Central Park howl, the peregrine falcons shriek their warnings—and Micah is listening.

Seven Ways to Die is a non-stop, sexy read with Diehl doing to the end what he did best throughout his bestselling career.

About the Author
The late William Diehl is the author of numerous fast-paced New York Times bestsellers, including two, Primal Fear and Sharky’s Machine that were made into major motion pictures. Prior to his death in 2006, Diehl had written over 400 pages of manuscript for Seven Ways to Die, and left behind a working outline, notes and chapter drafts. Ken Atchity worked personally with Bill’s widow, Virginia Gunn Diehl, along with his screenwriting partner Michael A. Simpson, to bring this novel to completion. William Diehl was an extraordinarily gifted storyteller who enjoyed an unbroken string of bestselling novels including 27 aka The Hunt, Thai Horse, Hooligans, Chameleon, Show of Evil, Primal Fear (Richard Gere and Edward Norton) and Sharkey's Machine. Seven Ways to Die is more than a worthy final addition to the Diehl canon. For twenty years he lived on Georgia's St. Simons Island with his wife Virginia Gunn, a former Atlanta TV reporter. Diehl, who began writing novels at the age of 50, was strongly influenced by his experiences as a ball turret gunner on a B-24 in World War II--for which he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Air Medal.He met Martin Luther King and took part in the Civil Right movement. He became a staff reporter at The Atlanta Constitution, then the first managing editor of Atlanta magazine. Kenneth Atchity, author of fifteen previous books, is a prolific producer of motion pictures for television and theater, as well as former professor of comparative literature and Fulbright professor of American studies. Atchity, author of fifteen books, has been an editor and manager of bestselling authors for twenty-five years, and responsible for twenty bestselling novels.

Today's Deals

Additional formats on free books:

• Solitary (K/N/E)
  (pricing error on Temptation, in same series, corrected on Kindle)

A Dangerous Talent ($0.99), an Alix London Mystery by Aaron Elkins and Charlotte Elkins, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
Alix London has a promising career as an art consultant, a sumptuous condo in Seattle’s toniest neighborhood, a gorgeous figure, and a presence that exudes Ivy League breeding and old money. She has it all…or does she? Only Alix knows that the image she presents to the world is a carefully constructed mirage that veils an embarrassing truth. A brilliant, once-promising art student, the daughter of a prominent New York art conservator, her world was left in ruins when her father went to prison for art forgery. Now a Harvard dropout with an emptied bank account, she is languishing in a career that has produced little more than a lucky house-sitting gig. But all of that changes when Alix meets Christine Lemay, a novice art collector with money to burn and a hot tip on a recently discovered painting by American master Georgia O’Keeffe. Chris hires Alix to perform the authentication, an assignment that finally could launch Alix into the big leagues. But soon after her arrival in Santa Fe, she finds herself tangled up in a web of forgery, deceit—and murder. Anxious to avoid becoming the next victim, she teams up with FBI Special Agent Ted Ellesworth—and gets a little unlikely help from her roguish father—to uncover the truth behind the painting and those who would kill to have it. Sharp, witty, and devilishly fun, A Dangerous Talent offers an insider’s look into the surprisingly treacherous contemporary art world.

The Possessions of Doctor Forrest ($1.57 / £0.99 UK), by Richard T. Kelly and Urh Sobocan (Illustrator), is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.09).

Book Description
Three respected Scottish doctors - psychiatrist Steve Hartford, paediatric surgeon Grey Lochran and cosmetic surgeon Robert Forrest - have been close friends since their Edinburgh boyhoods, and now live handsomely in suburban London. But for each, midlife has brought certain discontents, especially for Forrest, a reformed womaniser who broods over his fading looks and the departure of his beautiful younger girlfriend.

When Dr Forrest goes missing one summer evening and fails to return, Lochran and Hartford are alarmed by the thought of what might have befallen their friend. The police can find no evidence of foul play, but the two doctors resolve to conduct their own investigation.

Soon, however, Lochran and Hartford find themselves bedevilled by bizarre, unnerving events, and the attentions of menacing strangers. Robert Forrest, they come to realise, has remained closer than they could ever have imagined...

Embrace ($6.99 Kindle, B&N), a YA paranormal romance by Jessica Shirvington, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
It starts with a whisper: "It's time for you to know who you are..."

On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It's a battle Violet doesn't want, but she lives her life by two rules: don't run and don't quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.

LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he's Grigori—part human, part angel—and that he was training her for an ancient battle between Angels and Exiles.

PHOENIX: No one knows where his loyalties lie, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's lies. In a world of dark and light, he is all shades of gray.

Two sides: Angel or Exile.
Two guys: Lincoln or Phoenix.
The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity...

The Sisters Club ($4.61 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the first in the series by Megan McDonald, is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description
Meet the Sisters Club: twelve-year-old Alex, aspiring actress and born drama queen; eight-year-old Joey, homework lover and pioneer wannabe; and smack in the middle, ten-year-old Stevie, the glue that holds them together — through dinner disasters, disputes over stolen lucky sweaters, and Alex’s going gaga over her leading man. Playfully weaving Stevie’s narration with Alex’s scripts, Joey’s notebook entries, and hilarious elements such as "How to Swear in Shakespeare" and "Dear Sock Monkey" letters, this hugely engaging novel showcases Megan McDonald’s ear for dialogue, comic timing, and insight into the ever-changing dynamics of sisterhood.

Free Book - Dare to Die (K/N/E/I)

Update: 4/4/12 Now free from iTunes (may be Canada only), but no longer free on Kindle or from B&N.

Dare to Die, the nineteenth novel in the Death on Demand Mysteries series by Carolyn G. Hart, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Book Description
She came in the rain. Alone. On a bicycle.

Annie and Max Darling are completely unprepared when the arrival of a mysterious young woman shocks their sea island and stirs up more than just gossip.

It turns out that Iris, the beautiful stranger, is a former resident of Broward's Rock. Her arrival throws the normally happy town into a downward spiral that pits neighbor against neighbor.

Things take a turn for the worse when Annie befriends Iris and invites her to attend the Darlings' party at the pavilion where Death is the uninvited guest. Suddenly, Max and Annie find themselves in the middle of a fight they don't understand and at the mercy of an unknown assailant who's trying to kill them—and all they know is that it is one of their friends.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Kobo.
Get the free ebook from iTunes.

Free Audiobook - Letters of a Woman Homesteader

Celebrate Women’s History Month with a free audiobook (and ebook) edition of Elinore Pruitt Stewart's Letters of a Woman Homesteader (free Kindle; $13.99/$8.25 Audible), narrated by Rebecca Burns, free from Tantor Audio. Tantor is also throwing in a companion PDF eBook, but you might want to grab the mobi edition at Amazon if you'd rather read along on your Kindle; I haven't checked it for formatting, though, but tracked down another version at Mobilereads, that looks pretty good.

Book Description
Told with vivid gusto by a young, fiercely determined widow, this towering classic of American frontier life paints a candid portrait of her work, travels, neighbors, and harsh existence on a Wyoming ranch in the early 1900s.

About the Author
Elinore Pruitt Stewart (1876 - 1933) was orphaned early in life. She and her brothers and sisters made their own way in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, and in the absence of schools, she taught herself to read and write. After losing her husband in a railroad accident, she went to Denver, where she worked as a laundress, housekeeper, and furnace tender to support herself and her daughter. She heard about Wyoming from a friend while recovering from an illness. Two days later, she was on her way there. An ad placed in a newspaper quickly gained her empoyment as housekeeper for Clyde Stewart, a rancher, whom she later married.

America's most famous woman homesteader, Elinore is the author of the classic Letters of a Woman Homesteader, which was the inspiration for the critically acclaimed movie Heartland, and Letters on an Elk Hunt.

Get the free Audio Download from Tantor Audio.

Free Book - ETF Trading and Investing Strategies (K/N)

ETF Trading and Investing Strategies (Main/UK), a collection of titles by Tom Lydon, Leslie N. Masonson and Marvin N. Appel, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of FT Press.

Book Description
Breakthrough ETF trading and investing strategies: 3 eBooks packed with techniques for reducing your risks and costs—and supercharging your returns!

Three remarkable eBooks help you use the latest ETF strategies to cut your investing costs, control your risks, and improve your returns! In The ETF Trend Following Playbook, Tom Lydon helps you drive superior performance by combining proven trend following strategies, low-cost ETFs, and fully-proven technical analysis methods. You'll discover how to quickly identify markets that are about to plummet, so you can get out of the way... and how to identify markets that are headed up, so you can capture all of their profits. In Buy—Don't Hold, Leslie Masonson shows how to avoid the massive stock-market drops that destroy "buy and hold" investors, and offers specific, easy-to-use investing strategies for investors with each risk profile: conservative, moderate and aggressive. Finally, in Investing with Exchange Traded Funds Made Easy, Marvin Appel cuts through today's ETF marketing hype, helping you choose the right ETFs from the hundreds now available. Drawing on objective data and proven, backtested strategies, Appel reveals what ETFs can and can't do, and shows exactly how to use them to consistently beat the market.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Curious Folks Ask (K/N)

Curious Folks Ask: 162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions, Fascinating Products, and Medical Mysteries (Main/UK), by Sherry Seethaler, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description

• Why does the flu change every year?
• What makes glue sticky?
• What causes out-of-body experiences?
• Are all brands of gas the same?
• Will adult stem cells work as well as embryonic stem cells?
• Is one “horsepower” really equal to the power of one horse?
• Why can’t you sneeze with your eyes open?
• How much does a cremated body weigh?

These are just a few of the fascinating science and health questions real people have asked top science writer and San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Sherry Seethaler. Curious Folks Ask brings together 162 of her best answers–all crystal-clear, accurate, quick, and a pleasure to read. Seethaler is one of this generation’s best science explainers, and it shows: Every answer is accurate, fun to read, and distilled to a single page or less! Want to know how canned air works…or nuclear bombs? What causes goose bumps, earwax, dandruff, headaches? Whether it’s healthy to crack your knuckles, drink decaf, eat chocolate? What it costs to run all those LED lights around your house? It’s all here–and a whole lot more!

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Even You Can Learn Statistics (K/N)

Even You Can Learn Statistics: A Guide for Everyone Who Has Ever Been Afraid of Statistics (Main/UK), by David M. Levine and David F. Stephan, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
The easy, practical, up-to-date introduction to statistics–for everyone! Thought you couldn’t learn statistics? You can–and you will! One easy step at a time, this fully updated book teaches you all the statistical techniques you’ll need for finance, quality, marketing, the social sciences, or anything else! Simple jargon-free explanations help you understand every technique. Practical examples and worked-out problems give you hands-on practice. Special sections present detailed instructions for developing statistical answers, using spreadsheet programs or any TI-83/TI-84 compatible calculator. This edition delivers new examples, more detailed problems and sample solutions, plus an all-new chapter on powerful multiple regression techniques. Hate math? No sweat. You’ll be amazed at how little you need. Like math? Optional “Equation Blackboard” sections reveal the mathematical foundations of statistics right before your eyes!

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Helping People Win at Work (K/N)

Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called "Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A" (Main/UK), by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Ken Blanchard’s Leading at a Higher Level techniques are inspiring thousands of leaders to build high-performing organizations that make life better for everyone. Now, Blanchard and WD-40 Company leader Garry Ridge reveal how WD-40 has used Blanchard’s techniques of Partnering for Performance with every employee--achieving levels of engagement and commitment that have fortified the bottom line.

Ridge introduces WD-40 Company’s year-round performance review system, explaining its goals, features, and the cultural changes it requires. Next, he shares his leadership point of view: what he expects of people, what they can expect of him, and where his beliefs about leadership and motivation come from. Finally, Ken Blanchard explains why WD-40 Company’s Partnering for Performance system works so well--and how to leverage its high-value techniques in your organization.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - The Addicted Brain (K/N)

The Addicted Brain: Why We Abuse Drugs, Alcohol, and Nicotine (Main/UK), by Michael Kuhar, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Addiction destroys lives. In The Addicted Brain, a leading neuroscientist explains how and why this happens–and presents advances in treatment and prevention. Using breathtaking brain imagery and other research, Michael Kuhar, Ph.D., shows the powerful, long-term brain changes that drugs can cause, revealing why it can be so difficult for addicts to escape their grip.

In plain English, Kuhar describes why some people are far more susceptible to addiction than others. He illuminates striking neural similarities between drugs and other pleasures potentially capable of causing abuse or addiction–including alcohol, gambling, sex, caffeine, and even Internet overuse. Finally, he outlines the 12 characteristics most often associated with successful treatment.

Authoritative and easy to understand, The Addicted Brain offers today’s most up-to-date scientific explanation of addiction–and what addicts, their families, and society can do about it.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Valeria's Cross (K/N)

Valeria's Cross, by Kathi Macias and Susan Wales, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
In the 3rd century, pampered Roman princess Valeria falls in love with Mauritius, captain of the Theban Legion. She sends him off to battle, where he suffers under the schemes of a notorious pagan general with an ambition for power and a lust for Valeria. In a scene based on true events, the evil Galerius kills Mauritius and his entire legion for their Christian faith. And in a shocking turn of events, the grieving Valeria is forced to become Galerius' wife against her will. Never has a marriage been set up for such failure. Valeria loathes her new husband, but he seems to undergo a change of heart, adopting a child for her and giving her power and authority, and even love. She struggles with the commitment she knows she must keep, and the love she knows she will never find again.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - A Time to Love (K/N/E)

A Time to Love, the first title in the Quilts of Lancaster County series by Barbara Cameron, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
War correspondent Jennie King thinks she's just a temporary guest in her grandmother's Amish community while she recuperates from the devastating injuries sustained in a car bomb attack that changed her world. But when she meets Matthew Bontrager, the man she had a crush on as a teenager, she wonders if God has a new plan for her. Jennie has emotional and physical scars and though she feels she has come home to this man and this place, she's not sure she can bridge the difference between their worlds.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Free Book - Long Time Coming (K/N)

Long Time Coming, by Vanessa Miller, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
Faithful Christian Deidre Clark-Morris is a professional career-minded woman with a loving husband and beautiful home, but no children. Kenisha Smalls has lived in poverty her entire life and has three children by three different men. After learning that Kenisha has inoperable cervical cancer, the relationship between these two women becomes a catalyst of hope, leading them both to a place of redemption and healing.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride (K/N/E)

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride, by Sandra D. Bricker, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
As a wedding planner, you'd think she would have the perfect wedding experience...

Sherilyn Caine has left Chicago behind to marry Andrew Drummond IV, an Atlanta native with a family name that tops all the social registers. Landing the job as The Tanglewood's wedding planner is a piece of cake for someone with a Type A personality; she's the perfect fit for a wedding destination hotel known for its attention to even the tiniest details.

But when everything else is going along swimmingly, why are her own wedding plans drowning right before her eyes? One way or the other, Sherilyn is determined to make this wedding work-until the latest development threatens to call the whole thing off. Is it possible that Sherilyn is allergic to her fiance?

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Free Book - The Everything Songwriting Book (K)

The Everything Songwriting Book: All You Need to Create and Market Hit Songs, by C. J. Watson, is free in the Kindle store, courtesy of Adams Media (sponsor of yesterday's Kindle Deal of the Day).

Book Description
The Everything Songwriting Book provides you with all the tools you need to create, perform, and sell hit songs. In easy-to-follow language, professional songwriter and consultant C.J. Watson gives you tried-and-tested instruction on choosing a song style, getting your story across, and finding the right music to match the words. From developing an idea and creating a hook to recording your songs and getting heard, The Everything Songwriting Book contains all you need to bring your talent to the next level. Features professional advice on how to: find and develop song ideas; formulate a catchy rhyme scheme; incorporate unique phrasing; create colorful imagery and word play; get compositions into the right hands; and much more. Whether you're just starting out or are looking for inspiration, The Everything Songwriting Book is your first step toward achieving songwriting success.

Today's Deals

You can get Lady Antebellum's hit-single I Run To You, free over on Google Play this morning. Now replaced with Earthquake by Labrinth.

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal (and there are two choices that end up free with the discount):

• Get $2 off an award-nominated film

Rena's Promise ($1.99), by Rena Kornreich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
"I do not hate. To hate is to let Hitler win." Rena Kornreich Gelissen

"The most important book of the modern age!" Neal Lavon, Voice of America

"The most historically accurate book ever written of the first transport of women into Auschwitz--the only book ever written by a survivor of that transport, who survived 3 years and 41 days in the camps." Irena Strezlecka, Director of the Museum of Women at Auschwitz

On March 26, 1942, the first transport of women arrived in Auschwitz. Among the 999 young Jewish women was Rena Kornreich, the 716th woman numbered in camp. A few days later, her sister Danka arrives and so begins a trial of love and courage that will last 3 years and 41 days, from the beginning Auschwitz death camp to the end of the war.

Rena's Promise stands out from other memoirs in mere length of time she spent in the camps. No other survivor from the first transport has ever written about her experience and what it meant to survive for so long as a peasant and a hard laborer who spent 10-12 hours a day making bricks, pushing lorries, sifting sand, performing cartwheels.... From her escape from Dr. Mengele's experiment detail to her surreal meetings with SS woman Irma Grese, Rena tells a dynamic tale of courage and compassion that reminds us of the resiliency of the human spirit, and the power of people to help one another in unimaginable circumstances, be they Gentile or Jew, German or Pole, kapo or prisoner.

Used in secondary school Holocaust programs. Recommended for Holocaust collections by the Library Journal.

Jilted Generation ($1.57 / £0.99 UK), by Ed Howker and Shiv Malik, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $6.54).

Book Description
Born after September 1979? Struggling to find a decent job, even though you're a graduate? Can't afford to buy or even rent a house? No prospects? Welcome to the jilted generation. Drawing on their own startling new research and writing with an irresistible polemical energy, twenty-something journalists Ed Howker and Shiv Malik argue that, in stark contrast to their parents' generation, millions of young Britons today face themost uncertain future since the early 1930s. Radical, angry and passionate, Jilted Generation takes a closer look at who's to blame for locking out Britain's youth - and leaving our country not just broken but broke.

The Quickening ($3.60 Kindle, B&N), by Michelle Hoover, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Enidina Current and Mary Morrow live on neighboring farms in the flat, hard country of the upper Midwest during the early 1900s. This hardscrabble life comes easily to some, like Eddie, who has never wanted more than the land she works and the animals she raises on it with her husband, Frank. But for the deeply religious Mary, farming is an awkward living and at odds with her more cosmopolitan inclinations. Still, Mary creates a clean and orderly home life for her stormy husband, Jack, and her sons, while she adapts to the isolation of a rural town through the inspiration of a local preacher. She is the first to befriend Eddie in a relationship that will prove as rugged as the ground they walk on. Despite having little in common, Eddie and Mary need one another for survival and companionship. But as the Great Depression threatens, the delicate balance of their reliance on one another tips, pitting neighbor against neighbor, exposing the dark secrets they hide from one another, and triggering a series of disquieting events that threaten to unravel not only their friendship but their families as well.

In this luminous and unforgettable debut, Michelle Hoover explores the polarization of the human soul in times of hardship and the instinctual drive for self-preservation by whatever means necessary. The Quickening stands as a novel of lyrical precision and historical consequence, reflecting the resilience and sacrifices required even now in our modern troubled times.

Cowboy Camp ($9.18 Hardcover, no Kindle edition, $2.99 B&N), by Tammi Sauer and Mike Reed (Illustrator), is the Nook Daily Find for Families (requires NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet or NOOK Kids for iPad).

Book Description
A little boy who doesn't fit in at camp finds out just how valuable his non-cowboy skills can be. Every child will relate to the message, the humor, and the deliciously playful illustrations.

Giddyup, kids, and gallop right over to read this rootin' tootin' tale of an unlikely would-be hero. Avery's at camp, trying hard to saddle up and master his lasso, but he's just not like the other cowboys. He's allergic to the horses and can't stand the grub. But when a bully threatens all the campers, Avery proves his mettle in his own unique way. Young readers will have lots of fun with the story's lively language and wildly humorous pictures.

Free Book - The Library of Forgotten Books (K)

The Library of Forgotten Books, by Rjurik Davidson, is free in the Kindle store, courtesy of small UK press PS Publishing Ltd.

Book Description
In this collection, PS Publishing presents the short works of a powerful, exciting new voice in SF and fantasy: Rjurik Davidson, whose protagonists wander dark cities of dreams, ravished by love and tormented by destiny...

Visit the fantastic metropolis of Caeli-Amur, where rival Houses of thaumaturgists - half scientist, half magician - battle one another in vendetta, espionage, and murder, ruthlessly employing philosopherassassins: killers weighed down one minute by deep thought, uplifted the next by pure ecstasy. Enter the totalitarian city of Varenis, whose librarians every week consign thousands of forbidden books to obscure shelves, in halls haunted by dead writers, half-ghost, half-demon...

Voyage to an alternate post-World War Two Australia, whose vast inland sea has made her one of the world's Great Powers; there, in a Melbourne colossal beyond conception, criminals, communists, and government agents weave shadowy conspiracies only a weary veteran private eye can hope to penetrate. And holiday in a French resort whose cinema offers patrons fugitive glimpses of their countless possible futures, torturing them with hope, exhilarating them with despair...

These are the visions of Rjurik Davidson: cogently atmospheric, psychologically profound, boundlessly imaginative.

Free Book - No Future Christmas (K/N/DF)

No Future Christmas, the first title in the Love Beyond Time series by Barbara Goodwin, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, AllRomance eBooks and directly from the publisher, Ellora's Cave.

Book Description
Blush: This is a suggestive romance (love scenes are not graphic)
Book One in the Love Beyond Time series.

Twenty-first century Police Officer Mike Forrester can’t believe his eyes. A woman is standing in a glowing tangerine light in the early morning hours. He has to see if the vision is real. His hand closes around her wrist and he’s stunned by the hot, intense desire that rushes through him. The world spins and the last thing Mike remembers is the gentle touch of the woman’s hands on his face as she strokes his mouth.

Twenty-second century scientist Shauna Wentworth doesn’t intend to bring Mike Forrester to her time. But before she can send him back they find themselves in a race against time to uncover a political secret that will rock the world. Soon the global military police have them listed as number one on their worldwide most wanted list.

While fighting a corrupt world order Mike and Shauna fall deeply in love. Can their love survive between two different worlds?

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from AllRomance.
Get the free ebook from Ellora's Cave.

Free Book - The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters (K/N)

The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers, by Karl Iglesias, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Insider Secrets from Hollywood’s Top Writers

This book not only shows how to be a screenwriter, but what it's actually like to be one. An inspiration to all would-be screenwriters, this book is about living the screenwriter's life -- the habits, writing environments, creative processes, daily passions, and obsessions.

In The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, author Karl Iglesias has interviewed 14 top contemporary Hollywood screenwriters who offer their experience, insight, and advice to aspiring screenwriters everywhere.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - The Long Fall (K/N)

The Long Fall, by Lynn Kostoff, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble. Kostoff's Late Rain was free last year; both are standalone novels.

Book Description
In sun-baked Phoenix, Arizona, this never-predictable tale tosses into its antic mix a dead father, his two sons--one a small-time ex-con with a consistent genius for sabotaging his own best interests, the other a straight, uptight solid citizen with a moneymaking chain of dry-cleaning stores and a restive ex-stewardess of a wife named Evelyn.

Recently released from prison for possession of a truckload of black-market saguaro cacti-and in deep debt to an unforgiving crank dealer, Jimmy Coates returns home only to discover that his brother has cut him out of his inheritance. A not-unjustifiable desire to settle old scores and new sends Jimmy on a robbery spree that wipes out four of his brother's dry-cleaning establishments. But when he finds himself tumbling for a mutinously sexy Evelyn, the impulse to vengeance reverses itself.

Unwittingly, however, Jimmy has already set in motion a series of dangerous consequences-adultery, blackmail, love, betrayal-that culminate in a blueprint for murder. And it could be Jimmy himself who is taking the long fall.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Beauty in the Desert (K/N/E)

Beauty in the Desert: Discover Deeper Intimacy with God Through the Model of the Tabernacle, by Eddie Broussard, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Navpress.

Book Description
Deserts can be harsh, but they also are home to rare beauty. Spiritual deserts are difficult, but in God’s hands they can become life transforming.

During spiritual deserts, we can find love in God’s dwelling place, the tabernacle, because it offers a mental blueprint for intimately meeting with Him.

Author Eddie Broussard guides readers through the tabernacle, clearly explaining its meaning in light of its New Covenant fulfillment in Christ. Understanding the tabernacle can lead you to have worship that empowers, wisdom that guides, and a knowledge of God that transforms.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Free Book - Solitary (K/N/E)

Update: 3/27/12 Now free in the Kindle store.
Update: 3/26/12 Now free from Kobo.

Solitary ($7.69 Kindle), the first in the Solitary Tales series by Travis Thrasher, is free from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher David C. Cook. This was free last year on Amazon (only), but under a different ASIN, so you may already have it in your library.

Book Description
His Loneliness Will Soon Turn to Fear….

When Chris Buckley moves to Solitary, North Carolina, he faces the reality of his parents’ divorce, a school full of nameless faces—and Jocelyn Evans. Jocelyn is beautiful and mysterious enough to leave Chris speechless. But the more Jocelyn resists him, the more the two are drawn together.

Chris soon learns that Jocelyn has secrets as deep as the town itself. Secrets more terrifying than the bullies he faces in the locker room or his mother’s unexplained nightmares. He slowly begins to understand the horrific answers. The question is whether he can save Jocelyn in time.

This first book in the Solitary Tales series will take you from the cold halls of high school to the dark rooms of an abandoned cabin—and remind you what it means to believe in what you cannot see.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.
Get the free ebook from Kobo

Free Book - Temptation (K)

Update: 3/27/12 Looks like it was a pricing error and has been corrected - no longer free.

Temptation, the third in the Solitary Tales series by Travis Thrasher, is free to pre-order in the Kindle store, courtesy of Christian publisher David C. Cook. I'd grab this one quick as it looks like a pricing error at this point.

Book Description
The third book in the Solitary Tales series for young adults, Temptation follows the soul-wrenching twists of Chris Buckley’s journey as he heads deeper into a darkness that threatens all he loves best.

As a reluctant student at Harrington High’s summer school, Chris meets a fun-loving senior girl who offers a welcome diversion from Chris’s past. Soon Chris no longer searches for the truth about the town of Solitary. He no longer tries to pierce its shadows. He no longer questions his role in its mysteries. He makes a new choice: he runs. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s running the wrong way—and is very close to being beyond any choices at all.