Today's Deals

The publisher finally matched the $2.99 price on Marcia Clark's newest release, Guilt by Degrees, at Amazon late last night. It's still at that lower price, if you want to grab it (it's already gone back up to $12.99 at B&N).

A few new coupon codes for Kobo: LWAUG325XY (25% off select titles; exp 8/6), c2auto35 (35% off the same list; exp 8/4), Save30Aug3j9 (30% off; exp 8/6, may only work on a selected list of titles); I'd also try these on any non-Agency title, although they may actually be limited to the lists given. It also appear that ac4auto45 (45% off) is back and seems to be usable once a month, as does thankyou40 (40% off).

Kobo also has a couple of limited time promotions: 70% off Bestsellers with code GBAug04Save70, good only for those in the UK) and Get 75% off Romance with code surrender75, both of which expire 08-10-2012.

This weekend's Fictionwise coupon is 080412 and gets you 45% off (non-Samhain).

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Lucky Man ($1.99), by Michael J. Fox.

Book Description
A funny, highly personal, gorgeously written account of what it's like to be a 30-year-old man who is told he has an 80-year-old's disease.

"Life is great. Sometimes, though, you just have to put up with a little more crap." --Michael J. Fox

In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease -- a degenerative neurological condition. In fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. The worldwide response was staggering. Fortunately, he had accepted the diagnosis and by the time the public started grieving for him, he had stopped grieving for himself. Now, with the same passion, humor, and energy that Fox has invested in his dozens of performances over the last 18 years, he tells the story of his life, his career, and his campaign to find a cure for Parkinson's.

Combining his trademark ironic sensibility and keen sense of the absurd, he recounts his life -- from his childhood in a small town in western Canada to his meteoric rise in film and television which made him a worldwide celebrity. Most importantly however, he writes of the last 10 years, during which -- with the unswerving support of his wife, family, and friends -- he has dealt with his illness. He talks about what Parkinson's has given him: the chance to appreciate a wonderful life and career, and the opportunity to help search for a cure and spread public awareness of the disease. He is a very lucky man, indeed.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Michael J. Fox is donating the profits from his book to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which is dedicated to fast-forwarding the cure for Parkinson's disease. The Foundation will move aggressively to identify the most promising research and raise the funds to assure that a cure is found for the millions of people living with this disorder.

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is the Picador 40th Anniversary Edition of Eight bestselling literary novels for (£0.99 ($1.56) each. Most of these are fairly high priced in the US, except for Edward St Aubyn's novel; it's not only under $5 (pre-order), there is a great bundle deal to get the first four of his Patrick Melrose novels for under $10. I'd grab it now, if you are interested, as it will likely either disappear or go up in price when the individual titles are released.

In 2012 Picador celebrates its 40th anniversary. During that time we have published many prize-winning and bestselling authors including Bret Easton Ellis and Cormac McCarthy, Alice Sebold and Helen Fielding, Graham Swift and Alan Hollinghurst. Years later, Picador continue to bring readers the very best contemporary fiction, non-fiction and poetry from across the globe.

The Lovely Bones (Main/UK) by Alice Sebold ($9.99 US edition).

First published in 2002, The Lovely Bones became an instant worldwide bestseller. There are now over ten million copies in print. A film adaptation of the novel, directed by Peter Jackson, was released in 2010.

Susie Salmon was fourteen years old when she was murdered by a man from her neighbourhood. Now in heaven, she can have whatever she wishes for – except the one thing she wants most: to be back with the people she loved on earth. Susie watches from above as her suburban family is torn apart by grief; as her friends grow up, fall in love, and do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. In time, Susie will realise that even in death, life is not quite out of reach . . .

Room (Main/UK) by Emma Donoghue ($9.99 US edition).

A number-one bestseller, Room was published in 2010 to ecstatic reviews around the world and quickly became a word-of-mouth sensation. It has won or been shortlisted for more than a dozen awards (including shortlistings for both the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize) and has sold more than a million copies.

Room is the story of Ma and Jack. They live in a single, locked room. Five-year-old Jack loves watching TV, but he knows that nothing he sees on the screen is truly real – only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits there’s a world outside . . .

The Line of Beauty (Main/UK) by Alan Hollinghurst ($7.19 US edition).

A huge critical success on first publication in 2004, the novel went on to win that year’s Man Booker Prize. It was adapted for television and broadcast on BBC2 in 2006.

It is the summer of 1983, and young Nick Guest, an innocent in the matters of politics and money, has moved into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: Gerald, an ambitious new Tory MP, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their children Toby and Catherine. As the boom years of the mid-80s unfold, Nick becomes caught up in the Feddens’ world, while pursuing his own private obsession, with beauty – a prize as compelling to him as power and riches are to his friends.

The Sea (Main/UK) by John Banville ($9.99 US edition).

First published in 2005, The Sea was critically acclaimed as an extraordinary achievement. It went on to win that year’s Man Booker Prize, one of the most hotly contested in the history of the award.

When Max Morden returns to the seaside village where he once spent a childhood holiday, he is both escaping from a recent loss and confronting a distant trauma. Mr and Mrs Grace and their twin children Myles and Chloe appeared that long-ago summer as if from another world. He grew to know them intricately, even intimately, and what ensued would haunt him for the rest of his years and shape everything that was to follow.

Last Orders (Main/UK) by Graham Swift (no US Kindle edition).

Last Orders is a much-loved classic of English literature. It won both the 1996 Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. In 2001, it was adapted into an award-winning film starring Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins.

Four men once close to Jack Dodds, a London butcher, meet to carry out his peculiar last wish: to have his ashes scattered into the sea. For reasons best known to herself, Jack’s widow, Amy, declines to join them. On the surface the tale of a simple if increasingly bizarre day’s outing, Last Orders is Graham Swift’s most poignant exploration of the complexity and courage of ordinary lives.

All the Pretty Horses (Main/UK) by Cormac McCarthy ($11.99 US edition).

All the Pretty Horses, the first novel of the Border Trilogy, published in 1992, was an international bestseller, winning both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

It tells the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself the last bewildered survivor of generations of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he ever imagined. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood.

Mother's Milk (Main/UK) by Edward St Aubyn ($4.99 US edition pre-order, but the best deal is to get The Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother's Milk for $9.99).

First published in 2006, Mother’s Milk is the fourth novel in the critically acclaimed Patrick Melrose series. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize that year and won the 2007 Prix Femina Étranger and the 2007 South Bank Literature Award.

The once illustrious, once wealthy Melroses are in peril. Patrick Melrose, caught in the wreckage of broken promises, child-rearing and adultery, can only look on as his wife is consumed by motherhood and his mother is consumed by a New Age foundation. Only Patrick’s five-year-old son Robert understands, and far more than he ought. Acerbically witty, disarmingly tender, Mother’s Milk goes to the core of a family trapped in the remains of its ever-present past.

White Noise (Main/UK) by Don DeLillo ($12.99 US edition).

First published in 1985, White Noise won the National Book Award. It is now regarded as a classic of postmodern literature.

Jack Gladney is a pioneering professor in the field of Hitler Studies at the bucolic Midwestern College-on-the-Hill. Married five times, he has a brood of children and stepchildren with his current wife, Babette. Over the course of an absurd, tragic year, Jack and Babette will each be forced to confront the question that keeps them awake at night: who will die first?

Stuck With You ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Trish Jensen, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. This was briefly free in February, on Kindle only.

Book Description
Two feuding divorce lawyers. One infectious "love bug" virus. The symptoms are hard to resist . . .

Paige Hart is blessed and cursed with a large, loving and...
colorful Southern family. As the only lawyer in the clan, she can't say no when her cousin needs her help in a messy, no-holds-barred divorce. Tax attorney Paige squares off with Ross "the Snake" Bennett - one of the slickest divorce lawyers in the county. The case is going as well as an acrimonious, zinger-filled, wrangle of epic proportions can go until exposure to an infectious bug with an unusual side effect lands both lawyers in quarantine together.

Arthur's Pet Business ($6.99 paperback, 4-for-3 eligible; no Kindle edition; $1.99 B&N), by Marc Brown, is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description
Arthur starts his own petsitting business to show Mom and Dad that he can be responsible! But between a boa constrictor, an ant farm, and a group of frogs, he's got his hands full! Can Arthur still prove he can handle a dog of his own?

Grade Level: P and up

6 Months of NewsWeek for $5!

Today only, get Newsweek (6-month) [Print + Kindle] subscription for only $5! You can even subscribe without any Kindle devices (add them later or just don't bother), as this is a good discount over the print subscription price (normally $39/year). You can manage any renewal of this or any other magazine ordered thru Amazon using their Magazine Subscription Manager page. After you've placed your order, you'll need to visit that page at least once, though, to activate your digital subscription; you'll need to pick one Kindle app or device for automatic delivery (but can view the issues on any compatible device on the account).

This is just one of several Print+Digital magazine subscriptions that Amazon now has (I'm most tempted by Horticulture, where the digital subscription is a full color app for the Kindle Fire or iPad).

The Kindle subscription works on these devices:
Kindle
Kindle Touch
Kindle Fire
Kindle Keyboard
Kindle DX
Kindle (2nd Generation)
Kindle (1st Generation)
Kindle for iPad
Kindle for iPhone
Kindle for Android

Today's Deals

There are a few free tunes you can pick up on Google Play today, that look interesting. Blue Train, by John Coltrane, is free on the main Music page, there is an entire playlist from Lollapalooza, they've updated the Free Songs page, and (if you are into rap), two exclusive cuts from Busta Rhymes. Generally, their free songs do require a credit card on file, so be sure to check the total shown before confirming the "purchase" (it should be "Free" or "$0.00", which seem to alternate).

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The River Witch ($1.99), by Kimberly Brock.

Book Description
Can the river heal her?

Roslyn Byrne is twenty-four years old, broken in body, heart and soul. Her career as a professional ballet dancer ended with a car wreck and a miscarriage, leaving her lost and grieving. She needs a new path, but she doesn't have the least idea how or where to start. With some shoving from her very Southern mama, she immures herself for the summer on
Manny's Island, Georgia, one of the Sea Isles, to recover.

There Roslyn finds a ten-year-old girl, Damascus, who brings alligators, pumpkins and hoodoo into her sorry life.

Roslyn rents a house from Damascus's family, the Trezevants, a strange bunch. One of the cousins, Nonnie, who works in the family's market, sees things Roslyn is pretty sure she shouldn't, and knows things regular people don't. Between the Trezevant secrets and Damascus's blatant snooping and meddling, Roslyn finds herself caught in a mysterious stew of the past and present, the music of the river, the dead and the dying who haunt the riverbank, and a passion for living her new life.

Escape ($1.56 / £0.99 UK), by Barbara Delinsky, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.99).

Book Description
Have you ever wanted to walk out on your life?

One Friday morning, Emily realises that, somewhere in life, she has chosen the wrong path. She’s stifled by her job as a New York lawyer, she barely sees her husband, James, and their attempts to start a family have proven unsuccessful.

So Emily escapes. She walks out of the office, turns her phone off, packs a bag and leaves New York. She doesn’t even tell James she’s leaving…

But when a new path leads back to her past, and an old lover, new problems arise. As Emily begins to carve out a new life, where does that leave everything and everyone she left behind?

Guilt by Degrees ($12.99 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Marcia Clark, is the Nook Daily Find. Hachette is an Agency Price publisher, so it should be price matched on Kindle; I'm reporting the price and if enough of us do, Amazon should force them to drop the Kindle price. If they don't by late in the evening, though, remember that you can always read B&N's books on your Kindle Fire (using the nook App) or other tablet, if you don't have a NOOK reader.

Update: Finally price matched at Amazon!

Book Description
Someone has been watching D.A. Rachel Knight--someone who's Rachel's equal in brains, but with more malicious intentions. It began when a near-impossible case fell into Rachel's lap, the suspectless homicide of a homeless man. In the face of courthouse backbiting and a gauzy web of clues, Rachel is determined to deliver justice. She's got back-up: tough-as-nails Detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey stir things up, they're shocked to uncover a connection with the vicious murder of an LAPD cop a year earlier. Something tells Rachel someone knows the truth, someone who'd kill to keep it secret.

Harrowing, smart, and riotously entertaining, GUILT BY DEGREES is a thrilling ride through the world of LA courts with the unforgettable Rachel Knight.

Walk Two Moons ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the 1995 Newbery Medal winner by Sharon Creech, is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle. If you have kids (or grandkids) in this age group (8+), don't miss also picking up Absolutely Normal Chaos, Chasing Redbird, The Wanderer (a 2001 Newbery Honor book) and Ruby Holler (winner of the 2002 Carnegie Medal), all of which are also on sale for $1.99 apiece. None of these are in a series, so can be read in any order and you don't have to worry about skipping the titles that aren't on sale.

Book Description

"How about a story? Spin us a yarn."
Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned.
"Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.

Grade Level: 8 and up

Free Audiobook - Moby Dick

Update: Looks like this deal is over.

Get a free MP3 download and PDF ebook of Moby Dick ($27.95 Audible), by Herman Melville and Norman Dietz (narrator), over at Tantor media.

Book Description
On a previous voyage, a mysterious white whale had ripped off the leg of a sea captain named Ahab. Now the crew of the Pequod, on a pursuit that features constant adventure and horrendous mishaps, must follow the mad Ahab into the abyss to satisfy his unslakeable thirst for vengeance. Narrated by the cunningly observant crew member Ishmael, Moby Dick is the tale of the hunt for the elusive, omnipotent, and ultimately mystifying white whale - Moby Dick.

On its surface, Moby Dick is a vivid documentary of life aboard a 19th-century whaler, a virtual encyclopedia of whales and whaling, replete with facts, legends, and trivia that Herman Melville had gleaned from personal experience and scores of sources. But as the quest for the whale becomes increasingly perilous, the tale works on allegorical levels, likening the whale to human greed, moral consequence, good, evil, and life itself. Who is good? The great white whale who, like Nature, asks nothing but to be left in peace? Or the bold Ahab who, like scientists, explorers, and philosophers, fearlessly probes the mysteries of the universe? Who is evil? The ferocious, man-killing sea monster? Or the revenge-obsessed madman who ignores his own better nature in his quest to kill the beast?

Get the free audiobook from Tantor media. Once you've completed the purchase and added to your library, you can download at any time, so no rush on that (like there is with Sync).

Two Free Audiobooks - Daughter of Smoke & Bone and A Tale of Two Cities

There are two new free audiobook from Sync today. First, I've linked in the info from the ebook or audiobook version of each title (Amazon has the best reviews), followed by the link to get your copies free, with directions to ensure you get the complete download.

The first free audiobook is Daughter of Smoke & Bone ($9.99 Kindle; $19.95 Audible), by Alfred C. Martino, narrated by Mark Shanahan.

Book Description
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Grade Level: 10 and up

A Tale of Two Cities ($21.95 Audible), by Charles Dickens, narrated by Simon Prebble, is the second selection for this week. As with most classics, there are many editions to choose from on Kindle, although the 60 available might be a bit too much of a good thing. In any case, you can spend anything from nothing to a few dollars and probably get an edition that will work for reading along while listening.

Book Description
Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities is a sprawling tale of London and revolutionary Paris with a complex plot portraying the results of terror and treason, love and supreme sacrifice.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." - opening line of A Tale of Two Cities

It was the time of the French Revolution, a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens' dramatic story of adventure and courage unfolds.

Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, the gentle Lucie Manette, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could now take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it, however, the two are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman, Charles Darnay, falsely accused of treason. Strangely enough, Darnay bears an uncanny resemblance to another man in the courtroom: Sydney Carton, a dissolute barrister. It is a coincidence that saves Darnay from certain doom more than once, as the two men's fates become intertwined with that of the Revolution.

And there is Madame Defarge, a female revolutionary who has an implacable grudge against the aristocratic Evrémonde dynasty and who knits as she watches the beheadings.

The storming of the Bastille, the death carts with their doomed human cargo, the swift drop of the blade of La Guillotine - this is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures. Brilliantly plotted, the novel is rich in drama, romance, and heroics that culminate in a daring prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine.

Click HERE to get the free downloads (you'll need to enter your name and an email address. You'll 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; there is a link at Sync, if you don't already have Overdrive installed).

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). Make sure your audiobook is fully downloaded before the end of the week, as once the promo period is over, you won't be able to get them 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!

Today's Deals

I've been having some computer issues, but should be back now. On the positive side, I seem to have solved the extreme overheating issue on my notebook computer, which was causing it to lock up several times a day, my keyboard is cleaner than it has been for a long time and I can now remove the keyboard in only a few minutes, after removing ONLY 10 screws, loosening another half dozen to remove two cover plates (the other 20 or so screws I had to remove to clean the fan can be ignored) and removing the hard drive. However, on the negative side, I lost bluetooth completely (apparently the modem was overheating; now it's dead). Hopefully I'll get caught back up, but I'm going to have to delay my planned bargains post until the weekend.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is the AmazonCrossing exclusive English translation of The Zurich Conspiracy ($1.99), by Bernadette Calonego and Gerald Chapple (Translator).

Book Description
Thirty-something Josefa Rehmer is as smart and ambitious as they come, qualities that have earned her the enviable position of events manager at Loyn, an exclusive Zurich leather accessories company. But when Werner Schulmann is appointed to be her new supervisor, Josefa’s professional ambitions are dealt a serious blow. After all, it was Schulmann’s sexual harassment that nearly derailed her career years earlier. Unable to stomach the thought of working for such a man, Josefa resigns, abandoning Loyn for another local firm. But when Schulmann is murdered and Loyn’s CEO commits suicide, Josefa begins to suspect that something other than sexual impropriety is plaguing her former company. She sets out to uncover the truth and soon realizes the two deaths are just the tip of the iceberg. As she digs deeper, Josefa finds herself caught in a complex and dangerous web of blackmail, corporate espionage, and murder. And if she’s not careful, she will be the next one to take the fall. This dramatic tale of corporate intrigue doubles as an intricately plotted thriller about the darkest side of office politics and the people who will do anything to come out on top.

Explorers of the Nile: The Triumph and Tragedy of a Great Victorian Adventure ($1.56 / £0.99 UK), by Tim Jeal, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $17.20).

Book Description
Between 1856 and 1876, five explorers, all British, took on the seemingly impossible task of discovering the source of the White Nile. Showing exceptional courage and extraordinary resilience, Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, Samuel Baker, David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley risked their lives and their reputations in the name of this quest. They journeyed through East and Central Africa into unmapped territory, discovered the great lakes Tanganyika and Victoria, navigated the upper Nile and the Congo, and suffered the ravages of flesh-eating ulcers, malaria and deep spear wounds. Using new research, Tim Jeal tells the story of these great expeditions, while also examining the tragic consequences which the Nile search has had on Uganda and Sudan to this day. Explorers of the Nile is a gripping adventure story with an arresting analysis of Britain's imperial past and the Scramble for Africa.

Fear ($4.61 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by L. Ron Hubbard, is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
Professor James Lowry doesn't believe in spirits, or witches, or demons. Not until one gentle spring evening when his hat disappears, along with four hours of his life. Now the quiet university town of Atworthy is changing; just slightly at first, then faster and more frighteningly each time he tries to remember. Lowry is pursued by a dark, secret evil that is turning his whole world against him while it whispers a warning from the shadows: "If you find your hat you'll find your four hours. If you find your four hours then you will die. . . ."

The Wide-Awake Princess ($7.59 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by E. D. Baker, is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description
In this stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie-blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic-can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen’s true love to kiss her awake.

But who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn’t possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father’s guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family . . . and perhaps even find a true love of her own.

Grade Level: 5 and up

Today's Deals

The new list of 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less is up. I'll get a post together later today with some good picks I've already spotted (including one or two I bought last night, when I noticed the price drops).

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Occultation ($1.99), by Laird Barron. Published by Night Shade Books, Barron's second short story collection has two starred reviews (Booklist and Publishers Weekly) and includes six reprints and three original stories.

Book Description
Laird Barron has emerged as one of the strongest voices in modern horror and dark fantasy fiction, building on the eldritch tradition pioneered by writers such as H. P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Thomas Ligotti. His stories have garnered critical acclaim and been reprinted in numerous year's best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy Awards. His debut collection, The Imago Sequence and Other Stories, was the inaugural winner of the Shirley Jackson Award.

He returns with his second collection, Occultation. Pitting ordinary men and women against a carnivorous, chaotic cosmos, Occultation's eight tales of terror (two never before published) include the Theodore Sturgeon and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated story "The Forest" and Shirley Jackson Award nominee "The Lagerstatte." Featuring an introduction by Michael Shea, Occultation brings more of the spine-chillingly sublime cosmic horror Laird Barron's fans have come to expect.

Stirred ($1.56 / £0.99 UK), a Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels/Luther Kite thriller by Blake Crouch and J.A. Konrath, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99/KLL eligible).

Book Description
This Bonus Content Edition includes an authors' introduction, afterword interview between J.A. Konrath and Blake Crouch, a linked cast of characters and storyline endnotes, and more!

Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has seen humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. She's lost loved ones. Come close to death countless times. But she always manages to triumph over evil. Luther Kite is humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. He's committed unthinkable acts. Taken human life for the sheer pleasure of it. He is a monster among monsters, and no one has ever caught him. Each is the best at what they do. Peerless. Unmatched.

Until now...

In Luther's experience, people are weak. Even the strong and fearless break too easily. He wants a challenge, and sets his depraved sights on Jack. But with a baby on the way, Jack is at her most vulnerable. She's always been a fighter, but she's never had so much to fight for. So he's built something especially for Jack. His own, private ninth circle of hell - a nightmare world in a forgotten place, from which no one has ever escaped.

It's J.A. Konrath's greatest heroine versus Blake Crouch's greatest villain in Stirred, the stunning conclusion to both Konrath's Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thriller series and Crouch's Andrew Z. Thomas series.

Only one can survive. And it won't be whom you think.

Don't Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Kimberly Witherspoon, is the Nook Daily Find. It is price matched on Kindle, but cannot currently be purchased, as it is "under review", which usually means there are serious formatting errors that are being worked on by the publisher.

Book Description
From Gabrielle Hamilton on hiring a blind line cook to Michel Richard on rescuing a wrecked cake to Eric Ripert on being the clumsiest waiter in the room, these behind-the-scenes accounts are as wildly entertaining as they are revealing. With a great, new piece by Jamie Oliver, Don’t Try This at Home is a delicious reminder that even the chefs we most admire aren’t always perfect-and a hilarious must have for anyone who’s ever burned dinner.

Warriors: Enter the Clans ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Erin Hunter, is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Contains the complete text of both Secret of the Clans and Code of the Clans.

Welcome to the world of ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and SkyClan. . . . Here, the secrets behind the Clans are revealed. Find out how apprentices learn to fight, hunt, and help their Clans. Explore the territories with an insiders-only tour. Discover the origins of the warrior code, which governs how Clan cats live side by side in times of war and peace.

Grade Level: 3 and up

Bargain Book Roundup

Quick reminder: it's the last day of the month, so the last day to take advantage of this month's 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less (although hopefully there will be a new list of these next month) and also the last day of the month for those with Amazon Prime to borrow their monthly book.

Some good MP3 deals for those who are shopping at Amazon anyway: Buy $20 or more in Kindle Accessories, Get $5 in MP3s (expires today, must use by Aug 31) and Get $5 in MP3s with the Purchase of $25 or More in Textbooks (esp 9/30)

Castles, the fourth title in Julie Garwood's Crown's Spies series, is only a penny in the Kindle store. While I would not put it in the same "must-have" category as Hamlet (also still a penny in the Penguin edition, tonight), if you read the genre, it's a must-buy at this price (and liable to go up soon). I also see her stand-alone A Girl Named Summer on sale for $3.99.

Book Description
Orphaned and besieged, Princess Alesandra knew that only a hasty marriage to an Englishman could protect her from the turmoil in her own land. To the amusement of her makeshift guardian, Colin, younger brother of the Marquess of Cainewood, the bold, raven-haired beauty instantly captivated London society. But when Alesandra was nearly abducted by her unscrupulous countrymen, the fighting instincts that won Colin a knighthood for valor were rekindled. Deceiving himself that he wanted only to protect her, Colin swept her into a union meant to be a marriage in name alone . . . yet Alesandra’s tender first kiss and hesitant caress ignited a wildfire in his soul. As the lovely princess dashed headlong into unforeseen dangers, Colin would follow, knowing he must claim her as his own forever. Now he would risk life itself before he would lose this sweet, tempestuous angel. . . .

Death in the Haight ($2.99 pre-order), by Tierney Ronald; I suspect this will end up being a novella prequel for Death in Pacific Heights: A Carly Paladino and Noah Lang Mystery, which can only be pre-ordered in paper editions, so far.

Book Description
When Michael Vanderveer goes missing in San Francisco, Private Investigator Noah Lang assumes it’s just another runaway escaping to the Haight, San Francisco’s home to the displaced… until the homicide cops pay him a visit. Fifteen-year-old Michael has been implicated in the murder of a prostitute, and the police don’t want Lang mucking up their investigation — especially Inspector Stern, who has strong opinions about Lang’s questionable past. But Lang becomes inextricably involved when he is hired by Michael’s parents: Michael is being ransomed, and they want Lang to ensure the exchange goes smoothly.

As everyone waits for the kidnappers to make their next move, Lang struggles with the Vandeveers’, impatient with waiting and far from their Michigan home; with the twisted, confusing details of the case; with the moral implications of rescuing Michael, only to have to turn him in for murder; and with Stern, who’s increasingly volatile behavior may just put Lang’s life in as grave danger as Michael’s.

The Fat Man: A Tale of North Pole Noir, by Ken Harmon, is on sale for some of you who are often skipped over: $2.82 in Australia, Asia & Pacific, India, Latin America & Carribean, $4.82 in Africa and the Middle East, but it's $17 and up for those in the US, UK and Canada (and just under $15 in Europe).

Book Description
A satire of traditional Christmas stories and noir, The Fat Man makes the perfect gift for the literary-minded.

A hardboiled elf is framed for murder in a North Pole world that plays reindeer games for keeps, and where favorite holiday characters live complex lives beyond December.

Fired from his longtime job as captain of the Coal Patrol, two-foot-three inch 1,300-year-old elf Gumdrop Coal is angry. He's one of Santa's original elves, inspired by the fat man's vision to bring joy to children on that one special day each year. But somewhere along the way things went sour for Gumdrop. Maybe it was delivering one too many lumps of coal for the Naughty List. Maybe it's the conspiracy against Christmas that he's starting to sense down every chimney. Either way, North Pole disillusionment is nothing new: Some elves brood with a bottle of nog, trying to forget their own wish list. Some get better. Some get bitter. Gumdrop Coal wants revenge. Justice is the only thing he knows, and so he decides to give a serious wakeup call to parents who can't keep their vile offspring from landing on the Naughty List. But when one parent winds up dead, his eye shot out with a Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model BB gun, Gumdrop Coal must learn who framed him and why. Along the way he'll escape the life-sucking plants of the Mistletoe Forrest, battle the infamous Tannenbomb Giant, and survive a close encounter with twelve very angry drummers and their violent friends. The horrible truth lurking behind the gingerbread doors of Kringle Town could spell the end of Christmas-and of the fat man himself. Holly Jolly!

King of the Damned, the second title in the League of Guardians series by Juliana Stone, is a $4.99 pre-order. The first in her Jaguar Warrior series, His Darkest Hunger, is still 99 cents (although I suspect not for long).

Book Description
For millennia the struggle between light and dark, between the upper and lower realms, has been policed by a secret group of warriors culled from every fabric of existence. They are both otherworld and human, male and female. They are light and dark themselves and known to each other as the League of Guardians. Their pledge, to protect the line between dominions and make sure neither side grows too powerful. If they fall, so shall the earth, the heavens and hell. And there will be no more.

With darkness all around him, The League of Guardians is his only means of redemption...

Azaiel, the fallen, has been given a second chance to atone for the sins of his past. With demons gathering and threatening the league, he must find out if their circle has been breached. What he doesn't foresee is a woman--a fierce warrior--who will turn his world upside down and awaken his tortured soul.

Rowan James is a powerful witch out to avenge the death of her beloved grandmother, but she needs an ally. Will she be able to trust a man with secrets as dark as the sorrow in his eyes? Loving Rowan means risking salvation and yet Azaiel cannot ignore the hunger burning hot between them--his one last chance at happiness. With danger all around them, will these two desperate souls finally find love in each other? Or be forever damned...

Secrets of a Proper Countess ($0.99), by Lecia Cornwall

Book Description
Some secrets we take to the grave. Others we just take to bed . . .

Lady Isobel Maitland cannot afford to be caught doing anything even remotely scandalous, or she risks losing everything she holds dear. But one night, in a dark garden at a masquerade ball, Isobel gives in to temptation and lets an innocent flirtation with the notorious Marquess of Blackwood turn into passion.

The Marquess is no stranger to seduction or intrigue, and his rake's reputation disguises a deadly mission. When his mystery lover flees before he can learn her name, he knows he must find her. But all clues lead toward the prim and dowdy Isobel Maitland. It appears the lady has secrets of her own, secrets that Blackwood would dearly love to uncover . . .

Star Strike ($0.99) is the first novel of the Inheritance Trilogy by Ian Douglas. I've picked this one up, but haven't had a chance to read it, yet. I have read his Semper Mars/Heritage Trilogy series though and greatly recommend the author.

Book Description
Planet by planet, galaxy by galaxy, the inhabited universe has fallen to the alien Xul.

Now only one obstacle stands between them and total domination: the warriors of a resilient race the world-devourers nearly annihilated centuries ago . . .

A power vast, ancient, and terrifying, the mighty Xul have lost track of the insignificant humans hundreds of years after devastating their home world—which has enabled the United Star Marines to operate unnoticed and unhindered. A near-autonomous intergalactic policing force, they battle in defense of an Earth they may not live to see again. Now, following the trail of a vanished twenty-fourth-century transport, they are journeying through an unexplored stargate to the edge of an unknown galaxy many light years from their sun. For the last, best, and only chance to defeat the tyrants of the universe may at long last be at hand . . .

The Cake Mix Doctor Returns!: With 160 All-New Recipes ($2.99), by Anne Byrn

Book Description
What could be better than a phenomenon? The return of a phenomenon. Ten years ago Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor began its extraordinary run as one of the most popular baking books of all time. Now Anne Byrn is back with the all-new Cake Mix Doctor Returns! From the beloved author who showed home bakers how adding a touch of sweet butter or a dusting of cocoa powder, a dollop of vanilla yogurt or flurry of grated lemon zest could transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Here are 160 brand-new recipes—that’s right, 160 amazing cake mix recipes—for luscious layer cakes, sheet cakes, brownies, bars, cookies, and more.

And the book is needed more than ever. Today 90 percent of home cooks use prepackaged mixes, while the economy is creating a perfect excuse to let them eat cake—cake equals happiness. And what cakes! 40 layer cakes, from Tiramisu Cake to The Best Red Velvet Cake, Strawberry Refrigerator Cake to Chocolate Swirled Cannoli Cake. 35 sheet cakes. 38 bundt and pound cakes. 16 cupcakes and muffins, plus the cult classic Whoopie Pie. And brownies, bars, and cookies, including Spice Drop Cookies, Angel Food Macaroons, and Chocolate Espresso Biscotti. There's even a wedding cake, a frequent request from the author's passionate online community.

The Cake Mix Doctor is back—just say ahhhhh!

Razor's Edge (#3), End Game (#8) and Retribution (#9), by Jim DeFelice and Dale Brown, are just three of the titles in the Dreamland series that are on sale. These are 99 cents apiece, with some others in the series at $1.99 (and Raven Strike (#14) is still free).

Razor's Edge (#3)

The weapon is codenamed "Razor"—the brainchild of the brilliant minds at Dreamland—a mobile chemical laser system with a range of 600 kilometers capable of downing anything that flies. The destruction of an American aircraft over northern Iraq suggests the inexplicable and unthinkable: a vengeful foe now possesses the lethal technology. It is fear that draws a retired warrior back to the battlefield, and sends Dreamland's best pilots to the skies to determine what the enemy has and to help take it away from him. But politics threatens to crush a covert engagement that must be won in the air and on the ground, unleashing a devastating rain of friendly fire that could ultimately annihilate a nation's champions ... and perhaps Dreamland itself.

End Game (#8)

A volatile U.S. ally has fallen prey to the terrorist beast. India is the target of radical Islamic jihadists, and the world watches breathlessly as tensions escalate between the uneasy giant and its longtime nemesis Pakistan—with China waiting in the wings, eager to flex its military might. A nuclear showdown seems inevitable, unless the masterminds at Dreamland can get to the mysterious source of the terror and end it, swiftly and permanently. Every technological wonder the military possesses must be employed to avert an all-out Apocalypse—from an awesome new hybrid Navy destroyer to robot Flighthawks. But the fate of the region and the world will depend on the newest brainchild of the Dreamland team: an unproven instrument of ultimate power code-named End Game.

Retribution (#9)

In the Nevada desert, the high-tech future of warfare is being conceived and constructed at a top-secret military facility. America’s best defense, they keep the nightmare at bay with astonishing technology.

But now the terror is aimed directly at the heart of Dreamland.

The Dreamland team has used stealth, raw nerve, and technology to defuse nightmares all across the globe. But now the darkness is racing toward America at blinding speed. With more than two dozen nuclear devices unaccounted for, the global masters of terror have set a catastrophe in motion: a surprise attack more deadly than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 combined.

If the nation is to survive, Lieutenant Colonel Tecumseh “Dog” Bastian and his crew will have to reach deep into their cutting-edge arsenal. And they’ll have to do it short-handed—because two of Dreamland’s best and bravest have been lost at sea . . .

All These Things I've Done ($2.99) is the first title in Gabrielle Zevin's Birthright series.

Book Description
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Guilt by Association ($2.99), by former prosecutor Marcia Clark, has a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Book Description
Los Angeles D.A. Rachel Knight is a tenacious, wise-cracking, and fiercely intelligent prosecutor in the city's most elite division. When her colleague, Jake, is found dead at a grisly crime scene, Rachel is shaken to the core. She must take over his toughest case: the assault of a young woman from a prominent family.

But she can't stop herself from digging deeper into Jake's death, a decision that exposes a world of power and violence and will have her risking her reputation--and her life--to find the truth.

With her tremendous expertise in the nuances of L.A. courts and crime, and with a vibrant ensemble cast of characters, Marcia Clark combines intimate detail, riotous humor, and visceral action in a debut thriller that marks the launch of a major new figure on the crime-writing scene.

Silence of the Grave ($2.99), a thriller by Arnaldur Indridason and Bernard Scudder (Translator).

Book Description
Last year Jar City introduced international crime-writing sensation Arnaldur Indridason to rave reviews and a rousing welcome from American thriller fans. And now, Silence of the Grave, the next in this stunning series has won the coveted Golden Dagger Award. Presented by the British Crime Writers' Association, previous winners of this award include John Le Carre, Minette Walters, Henning Mankell, and James Lee Burke.

In Silence of the Grave, a corpse is found on a hill outside the city, and Detective Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson and his team think the body may have been buried for some years.

While Erlendur struggles to hold together the crumbling fragments of his own family, slowly but surely he finds out the truth about another unhappy family. Few people are still alive who can tell the tale, but even secrets taken to the grave cannot remain hidden forever.

Destined to be a classic in the world of crime fiction, Silence of the Grave is one of the most accomplished thrillers in recent years.

Venus Guy Trap, by Shannon McKelden, is on sale for $1.24 for those in Australia.

Book Description
Haydee Miller is on the brink of panic. When she was sixteen, she swore that she’d be married by her thirty-third birthday. It’s part of Haydee’s grand Plan, which saved her sanity when her mother died and her father was too overcome by grief to remember he had a teenage daughter. The Plan has guided Haydee for half her life and never failed her. Until now.

With her birthday looming and no Prince Charming in sight, Haydee is surprised to discover that her bookstore’s newest employee is the gorgeous Goddess of Love, Venus herself.

Venus is certain that Haydee’s One True Love is the darkly handsome Derek, a world-renowned photographer who has returned to his hometown to settle down. The only problem? Derek and Haydee fell in love ten years ago—before he abandoned her without a word of farewell, leaving her with a broken heart and a secret she has never revealed.

Somehow Venus must heal this damaged woman and reunite her with her True Love. It won’t be easy. Every man in town, married or not, is pursuing Venus, even when she makes herself over into the ugliest woman on earth. Are her goddess powers malfunctioning? Can she make a Love Match without them?

The Quantum Thief ($2.99), the first title in the series by Hannu Rajaniemi, is one of Kirkus Reviews Best of 2011 Science Fiction & Fantasy titles and Library Journal's Best SF/Fantasy Books of 2011. Space opera and chocolate ... what could be better?

Book Description
Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist, and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy— from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. Now he’s confined inside the Dilemma Prison, where every day he has to get up and kill himself before his other self can kill him.

Rescued by the mysterious Mieli and her flirtatious spacecraft, Jean is taken to the Oubliette, the Moving City of Mars, where time is currency, memories are treasures, and a moon-turnedsingularity lights the night. What Mieli offers is the chance to win back his freedom and the powers of his old self—in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed.

As Jean undertakes a series of capers on behalf of Mieli and her mysterious masters, elsewhere in the Oubliette investigator Isidore Beautrelet is called in to investigate the murder of a chocolatier, and finds himself on the trail of an arch-criminal, a man named le Flambeur….

The Quantum Thief is a crazy joyride through the solar system several centuries hence, a world of marching cities, ubiquitous public-key encryption, people communicating by sharing memories, and a race of hyper-advanced humans who originated as MMORPG guild members. But for all its wonders, it is also a story powered by very human motives of betrayal, revenge, and jealousy. It is a stunning debut.

Silenced ($2.99) is the fourth title in Allison Brennan's Lucy Kincaid series.

Book Description
Lucy Kincaid is back—with a vengeance.

A Washington Sex Scandal

It has been seven years since Lucy was attacked—and almost killed—by an online predator. Today, she is well on her way toward a new life.

While waiting to begin her training at the FBI Academy, Lucy’s is tireless in her fight against cyber sex crime. Her current mission: to find out who killed a high-priced call girl linked to a powerful Congressman.

A Cold-Blooded Killer

A number of known prostitutes—with scores of high profile clients—are turning up dead all over D.C. Is this the work of a depraved killer? Or the result of an inside job? Lucy’s investigation will take her into an underground network of prostitutes, the chambers of the country’s most powerful players, and her own dark past to confront an unknown enemy who’s always one step ahead of her. With the help of her P.I. boyfriend Sean Rogan, Lucy must find and protect the only witness who can identify the killer and end the conspiracy, but can the witness be trusted? Lucy will risk everything to expose the truth and ensure justice is served, even if that means putting herself in the line of fire…

Today's Deals

According to the comments on my earlier post, the 40% discount on Kindles is working (for some people) even if you don't have an Amazon Rewards Visa! You can get two Kindles and two chargers (links in that post) for under $100! Also, some classrooms are now wanting kids to have a Kindle for books in the class, so it's an especially good deal for those that were having to pick one up in this year's school supplies list.

For those that don't do pre-orders, Forty Stories is now available and still free on Kindle.

On B&N's Facebook page, you can now vote for this weekend's $3.99 deal: False Pretenses by Kathy Herman vs. Roseflower Creek by Jackie Lee Miles.

Summer at Tiffany ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), a memoir by professional cellist Marjorie Hart, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Do you remember the best summer of your life?

New York City, 1945. Marjorie Jacobson and her best friend, Marty Garrett, arrive fresh from the Kappa house at the University of Iowa hoping to find summer positions as shopgirls. Turned away from the top department stores, they miraculously find jobs as pages at Tiffany & Co., becoming the first women to ever work on the sales floor—a diamond-filled day job replete with Tiffany blue shirtwaist dresses from Bonwit Teller's—and the envy of all their friends.

Hart takes us back to the magical time when she and Marty rubbed elbows with the rich and famous; pinched pennies to eat at the Automat; experienced nightlife at La Martinique; and danced away their weekends with dashing midshipmen. Between being dazzled by Judy Garland's honeymoon visit to Tiffany, celebrating VJ Day in Times Square, and mingling with CafÉ society, she fell in love, learned unforgettable lessons, made important decisions that would change her future, and created the remarkable memories she now shares with all of us.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The Physician ($1.99), by Noah Gordon (a discount of $10 off yesterday's price).

Book Description
Read by millions in thirty-two countries, soon to be a major motion picture, and voted “one of the ten most-beloved books of all time,” here is the first English-language digital edition of Noah Gordon’s masterwork

In eleventh-century London, a child holds the hand of his dying mother and is terrified, aware something is taking her. Orphaned and given to an itinerant barber-surgeon, Rob Cole becomes a fast-talking swindler, peddling a worthless medicine. But as he matures, his strange gift—an acute sensitivity to impending death—never leaves him, and he yearns to become a healer.

Arab madrassas are the only authentic medical schools, and he makes his perilous way to Persia. Christians are barred from Muslim schools, but claiming he is a Jew, he studies under the world’s most renowned physician, Avicenna. How the woman who is his great love struggles against her only rival—medicine—makes a riveting modern classic.

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is Two Self-Help books for £0.99 ($1.56) each.

The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living (Main/UK), by Russ Harris ($8.61 US edition)

Popular ideas about happiness are misleading, inaccurate, and are directly contributing to our current epidemic of stress, anxiety and depresssion. And unfortunately, popular psychological approaches are making it even worse.

In this controversial, but empowering self-help book, Dr Russ Harries, reveals how millions of people are unwittingly caught in the 'The Happiness Trap', where the more they strive for happiness the more they suffer in the long term. He then provides an effective means to escape through a groundbreaking new approach based on mindfulness skills.

Mindfulness is a mental state of awareness, openess, and focus. Mindfulness skills are easy to learn and will rapidly and effectively help you to reduce stress, enhance performance, manage emotions, improve health, increase vitality, and generally change your life for the better.

Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential (Main/UK), by Carol Dweck ($10.99 US edition)

World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, has discovered a truly groundbreaking idea-the power of our mindset.

Dweck explains why it's not just our abilities and talent that bring us success-but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn't foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals-personal and professional.

Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area.

Thea Stilton and the Secret of the Old Castle ($5.99 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Thea Stilton, is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description
Geronimo's sister Thea Stilton narrates this action-packed adventure!When the Thea Sisters' good friend Bridget has to return to Scotland to help her family repair their ancient castle, the five mice offer to help their friend in whatever way they can. Little do they know that Bridget will be kidnapped, and they'll have to rush to Scotland to help find her! Along the way, the Thea Sisters encounter Celtic legends, cryptic messages, and hidden treasures on a trip that's full of mysteries and surprises!

Grade Level: 2 and up

Get a Kindle for $47.40

For those that have an Amazon Rewards Visa, you can use promo code KINDLE40 during checkout and you'll get 40% off on the purchase of a Kindle (no ads) or Kindle with Special Offers and any Amazon accessories for Kindle on the same order, up to $100 total credit. You can combine two or more Kindles on the same order and get 40% off of each, up to that $100 limit per order or just get accessories only.

The Kindle with Special Offers works out to $47.40 using the discount. If you add the Kindle US Power Adapter (which no longer ships with the Kindle) to the same order, you only pay an extra $2, as you get both the 40% off discount ($8) and a $10 discount for purchasing both at the same time as the Kindle.

Note that the discount doesn't work on the Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Touch, Kindle DX or Kindle Fire. Still, this is a great discount on the entry level Kindle, which works perfectly well for most people who only want to be able to read.

It's not a coincidence that this sale comes as everyone is preparing for heading back to school. The Kindle is now a great choice for kids, as Parental Controls (including limiting access to the store, archives and web) were added with the last firmware update. I believe it is the only Kindle that currently has this option and, although it isn't mentioned on the product page, you can find out how it works in the online help pages.

At under $50, you may find that just getting access to free classics means you pay less total versus buying the paper copies of required reading for classes this year. And if the Kindle you are buying with the discount isn't for the kids, you can get a great start on your library with the $1 books I posted earlier this morning.

Be sure to use the full checkout process, not one-click, so that you can enter the KINDLE40 promo code and switch to your Amazon Rewards Visa for payment (the discount won't apply for other payment methods). You'll see the discounts in the summary box in the upper right corner of the final preview page, before placing the order. Those that don't have the Amazon Rewards Visa yet can apply for it first, then use it for the purchase (if the instant approval process goes thru).

Since I didn't actually place an order when testing how the discount works, I can't tell you if you can make multiple purchases and get the discount each time, but most of this type of promo code have allowed multiple orders, in the past. You may be limited, though to a single order, so I'd try to maximize the savings on the first order, before trying for a second order and discount.

More Books for a Buck

More HarperCollins titles marked down to 99 cents and a word game to play on your eInk Kindle (not compatible with the Kindle Fire).

LINGO ($0.99), by Route 1 Game, a puzzle game for Kindle based on the TV show the weekly Kindle Game deal. It is compatible with all current eInk Kindles.

Book Description

LINGO, the worldwide game show phenomenon has arrived. If you watch LINGO on TV and think you can do better, now is the time to prove it.

This official game includes Over 250 word games for all the family, the same fun format you watch on TV; Three full levels plus the Bonus LINGO round for hours and hours of game play; 1 Player and 2 Player modes (the 1 Player mode is perfect for brain training fun).

Fantastic fun whether you play alone or with friends for hours of quality gaming. It's a game the whole family can enjoy and unlike anything else on Kindle.

Daughters of the North ($0.99), by Sarah Hall

Book Description
In her stunning novel, Hall imagines a new dystopia set in the not-too-distant future. England is in a state of environmental crisis and economic collapse. There has been a census, and all citizens have been herded into urban centers. Reproduction has become a lottery, with contraceptive coils fitted to every female of childbearing age. A girl who will become known only as "Sister" escapes the confines of her repressive marriage to find an isolated group of women living as "un-officials" in Carhullan, a remote northern farm, where she must find out whether she has it in herself to become a rebel fighter. Provocative and timely, Daughters of the North poses questions about the lengths women will go to resist their oppressors, and under what circumstances might an ordinary person become a terrorist.

Two for Sorrow: A New Mystery Featuring Josephine Tey ($0.99), by Nicola Upson, is the third in the series.

Book Description
They were the most horrific crimes of a new century: the murders of newborn innocents for which two British women were hanged at Holloway Prison in1903. Decades later, mystery writer Josephine Tey has decided to write a novel based on Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious “Finchley baby farmers,” unaware that her research will entangle her in the desperate hunt for a modern-day killer.

A young seamstress—an ex-convict determined to reform—has been found brutally slain in the studio of Tey’s friends, the Motley sisters, amid preparations for a star-studded charity gala. Despite initial appearances, Inspector Archie Penrose is not convinced this murder is the result of a long-standing domestic feud—and a horrific accident involving a second young woman soon after supports his convictions. Now he and his friend Josephine must unmask a sadistic killer before more blood flows—as the repercussions of unthinkable crimes of the past reach out to destroy those left behind long after justice has been served.

His Darkest Hunger ($0.99), is the first in the Jaguar Warrior series by Juliana Stone

Book Description
Jaxon Castille: jaguar shifter, warrior, assassin. He has long hungered for the chance to make his former lover, Libby Jamieson, pay for her deadly betrayal. After three long years he's finally found her. The hunt is over . . .

But the Libby that he finds is not what he expected. She has no memory of their tumultuous affair, of her treachery, of anything beyond her own name. A shadowy and deadly clan has marked them both for death, and in an instant, he game changes: the hunter has become the hunted.

On the run, with the ghosts of their past between them and a dark, desperate hunger quickly reclaiming their bodies and souls, Libby and Jaxon must discover the truth behind the dark forces working against them. Together, they must grab hold of a destiny that has the power to either heal them or destroy them.

But the truth is far more shattering than anyone could imagine . . .

The Ruins of Us ($0.99), by Keija Parssinen

Book Description
More than two decades after moving to Saudi Arabia and marrying powerful Abdullah Baylani, American-born Rosalie learns that her husband has taken a second wife. That discovery plunges their family into chaos as Rosalie grapples with leaving Saudi Arabia, her life, and her family behind. Meanwhile, Abdullah and Rosalie’s consuming personal entanglements blind them to the crisis approaching their sixteen-year-old son, Faisal, whose deepening resentment toward their lifestyle has led to his involvement with a controversial sheikh. When Faisal makes a choice that could destroy everything his embattled family holds dear, all must confront difficult truths as they fight to preserve what remains of their world.

The Ruins of Us is a timely story about intolerance, family, and the injustices we endure for love that heralds the arrival of an extraordinary new voice in contemporary fiction.

In the Hot Zone ($0.99), by Kevin Sites

Book Description
Kevin Sites is a man on a mission. Venturing alone into the dark heart of war, armed with just a video camera, a digital camera, a laptop, and a satellite modem, the award-winning journalist covered virtually every major global hot spot as the first Internet correspondent for Yahoo! News. Beginning his journey with the anarchic chaos of Somalia in September 2005 and ending with the Israeli-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006, Sites talks with rebels and government troops, child soldiers and child brides, and features the people on every side, including those caught in the cross fire. His honest reporting helps destroy the myths of war by putting a human face on war's inhumanity. Personally, Sites will come to discover that the greatest danger he faces may not be from bombs and bullets, but from the unsettling power of the truth.

Everything Beautiful Began After ($0.99), by Simon Van Booy

Book Description
Rebecca is young, lost, and beautiful. A gifted artist, she seeks solace and inspiration in the Mediterranean heat of Athens—trying to understand who she is and how she can love without fear.

George has come to Athens to learn ancient languages after growing up in New England boarding schools and Ivy League colleges. He has no close relationships with anyone and spends his days hunched over books or wandering the city in a drunken stupor.

Henry is in Athens to dig. An accomplished young archaeologist, he devotedly uncovers the city’s past as a way to escape his own, which holds a secret that not even his doting parents can talk about.

...And then, with a series of chance meetings, Rebecca, George, and Henry are suddenly in flight, their lives brighter and clearer than ever, as they fall headlong into a summer that will forever define them in the decades to come.

The London Train ($0.99), by Tessa Hadley

Book Description
Unsettled by the recent death of his mother, Paul sets out in search of Pia, his daughter from his first marriage, who has disappeared into the labyrinth of London. Discovering her pregnant and living illegally in a run-down council flat with a pair of Polish siblings, Paul is entranced by Pia’s excitement at living on the edge. Abandoning his second wife and their children in Wales, he joins her to begin a new life in the heart of London.

Cora, meanwhile, is running in the opposite direction, back to Cardiff, to the house she has inherited from her parents. She is escaping her marriage, and the constrictions and disappointments of her life in London. But there is a deeper reason why she cannot stay with her decent Civil Service husband—the aftershocks of which she hasn’t fully come to terms with herself.

Connecting both stories is the London train, and a chance meeting that will have immediate and far-reaching consequences for both Paul and Cora.

Everything Is Wrong with Me: A Memoir of an American Childhood Gone, Well, Wrong ($0.99), by Jason Mulgrew

Book Description
A memoir of startling insight, divine comedy, and irreversible, unconscionable stupidity

Fans of Jason Mulgrew's wildly popular blog know that everything really is wrong with him. The product of a raucous, not-just-semi-but-fully-dysfunctional Philadelphia family, Jason has seen it all—from Little League games of unspeakable horror to citywide parades ending in stab wounds; from hard-partying longshoremen fathers to feathered-hair, no-nonsense, kindhearted mothers; and from conscience-crippling Catholic dogmas to the equally confounding religion of women. With chapter titles like "My Bird: Inadequacy and Redemption" (no, he is not referring to a parakeet) and "On the Relationship Between Genetics and Hustling," Everything Is Wrong with Me proves that, as Jason puts it, "writing is a fantastical exercise in manic depression"—but he never fails to ensure that laughter is part of the routine.

With echoes of Jean Shepherd transplanted to Philly in the eighties and nineties, this book is a must-read for every person who looks back wistfully on his or her childhood and family and wonders, "What were we thinking?"

Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love ($0.99), by Andrew Shaffer

Book Description
Few people have failed at love as spectacularly as the great philosophers. Although we admire their wisdom, history is littered with the romantic failures of the most sensible men and women of every age, including:

Friedrich Nietzsche: "Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent." (Rejected by everyone he proposed to, even when he kept asking and asking.)

Jean-Paul Sartre: "There are of course ugly women, but I prefer those who are pretty." (Adopted his mistress as his daughter.)

Louis Althusser: "The trouble is there are bodies and, worse still, sexual organs." (Accidentally strangled his wife to death.)

And dozens of other great thinkers whose words we revere—but whose romantic decisions we should avoid at all costs.

The Average American Male ($0.99), by Chad Kultgen

Book Description
An offensive, in-your-face, brutally honest and completely hilarious look at male inner life and sexual fantasy—sure to be one of the most controversial books of the year.

The Great Lover ($0.99), by Jill Dawson

Book Description
In 1909, sixteen-year-old Nell Golightly is a housemaid at a popular tea garden near Cambridge University, and Rupert Brooke, a new tenant, is already causing a stir with his boyish good looks and habit of swimming naked in nearby Byron's Pool. Despite her good sense, Nell seems to be falling under the radical young poet's spell, even though Brooke apparently adores no one but himself. Could he ever love a housemaid? Is he, in fact, capable of love at all?

Jill Dawson's The Great Lover imaginatively and playfully gives new voice to Rupert Brooke through the poet's own words and through the remembrances of the spirited Nell. An extraordinary novel, it powerfully conveys the allure of charisma as it captures the mysterious and often perverse workings of the human heart.