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Monday, September 24, 2012

Today's Deals

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal:

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Mockingbird ($2.99), by Kathryn Erskine.
Book Description
Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn't know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Bewitching ($1.99), by Jill Barnett. Over the summer, the publisher gave those in the UK three of the author's books for free, while the summer before there were three other titles free in various formats. If you enjoyed any of those, you probably will want to scoop up this backlist title, also published by Bell Bridge Books.
Book Description
What's a Duke to do when a carefully selected bride rejects him rather than marry without love? He salvages his pride by marrying the next woman who falls into his arms! Joyous Fiona MacQuarrie bewitched Alec, the Duke of Belmore, the moment she appeared from nowhere and tumbled into his lap. Joy, a witch whose powers of white magic are not always well controlled, turns the life of the most serious and snobbish Duke in England upside down when he decides to marry the beautiful Scottish pixie who has aroused his desire. Even though he knows next to nothing about her or her background. Alec could have forgiven Joy for upending his life and the lives of all at Belmore Park if not for the truth she hid from him. He'd married a witch, who turns him to fire when he kisses her, charms everyone around her, and threatens to destroy both their lives as scandal looms over her. Too late, Joy discovers she's desperately in love and has no idea how to be a proper duchess, control her magic or change what may come. Passion holds them spellbound in an irresistible tale of two enchanted hearts.

The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The WWII Codebreaking Centre and the Men and Women Who Worked There ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Sinclair McKay, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99 pre-order). Those in the UK can now pre-order his new book, The Secret Listeners: How the Wartime Y Service Intercepted the Secret German Codes for Bletchley Park (Main/ UK).
Book Description
Bletchley Park was where one of the war’s most famous – and crucial – achievements was made: the cracking of Germany’s “Enigma” code in which its most important military communications were couched.

This country house in the Buckinghamshire countryside was home to Britain’s most brilliant mathematical brains, like Alan Turing, and the scene of immense advances in technology – indeed, the birth of modern computing. The military codes deciphered there were instrumental in turning both the Battle of the Atlantic and the war in North Africa.

But, though plenty has been written about the boffins, and the codebreaking, fictional and non-fiction – from Robert Harris and Ian McEwan to Andrew Hodges’ biography of Turing – what of the thousands of men and women who lived and worked there during the war? What was life like for them – an odd, secret territory between the civilian and the military?

Sinclair McKay’s book is the first history for the general reader of life at Bletchley Park, and an amazing compendium of memories from people now in their eighties – of skating on the frozen lake in the grounds (a depressed Angus Wilson, the novelist, once threw himself in) – of a youthful Roy Jenkins, useless at codebreaking, of the high jinks at nearby accommodation hostels – and of the implacable secrecy that meant girlfriend and boyfriend working in adjacent huts knew nothing about each other’s work.

The Delta Solution ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Patrick Robinson, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. The story is right out of recent headlines and I'd grab it in a second, if it weren't already in my library.
Book Description
The Delta Solution is an action-packed novel dealing with the Somali pirates operating off the southerly reaches of the lawless East African republic on the Indian Ocean.

For the past three years, these heavily armed tribal brigands have been capturing and holding for ransom massive cargo ships, especially oil tankers, and violently demanding millions of dollars for their return. Pirating out of the tiny Somalian village of Haradheere has become a very lucrative, dangerous business, so much so that the village has its own Stock Exchange with a reputed $78 million cash, all in crisp $100 bills, in the town vault. And each time an owner pays big for the return of their ship, the pirates immediately do it again, enraging the Pentagon more and more by the day.

That is, until the "Somali Marines" make a big mistake, seizing at gun point two United States ships and demanding a $15 million ransom for their return.

Hero Mack Bedford, previously encountered in Diamondhead and Intercept, is deployed to SEAL Team 10 to form The Delta Platoon. His objective: obliterate the Somali Marines in the middle of the Indian Ocean, at all costs, once and for all.

The Great Crash of 1929 ($9.52 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by John Kenneth Galbraith, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.
Book Description
Of Galbraith's classic examination of the 1929 financial collapse, the Atlantic Monthly said:"Economic writings are seldom notable for their entertainment value, but this book is. Galbraith's prose has grace and wit, and he distills a good deal of sardonic fun from the whopping errors of the nation's oracles and the wondrous antics of the financial community." Now, with the stock market riding historic highs, the celebrated economist returns with new insights on the legacy of our past and the consequences of blind optimism and power plays within the financial community.

Widely and admiringly reviewed as a bestseller in 1955, John Galbraith's "skilled chronicle and analysis of the causes of that most memorable year in our economic history, 1929, " (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) put the past in perspective. Now with a new introduction, it has become even more timely in the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Today's Deals

The Fictionwise code for this weekend is good for 55% off non-Samhain titles: 092112

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is ten books from the long-running Nathan Heller historical mystery series by award-winning author Max Allan Collins for just $1.99 each (there goes my gift card balance!). In addition, several of these have a companion audiobook available for $1.99. Although the first two titles in the series are not in this sale, both (True Detective and True Crime) can be borrowed thru the Kindle Lending Library.

Previously published by a number of the big-6 publishers' imprints (NAL, St. Martin's, Signet, Dutton), the author has apparently recovered his publishing rights and these have now been republished by AmazonEncore. Although these are all set in the 1940's, they are not the thin pulp-fiction volumes you might associate with detective stories of the genre; checking several shows that these weigh in at 300-400+ pages in print, so you should be able to get several days (or weeks) reading out of this sale (I wonder if you could gift them to someone, with each one timed to show up a week or two apart?).

The Million-Dollar Wound (Nathan Heller #3)
Chicago P.I. Nate Heller returns home from duty in Guadalcanal a decorated, damaged, and dangerous hero—and drops directly from one war into another: the gangland coup to topple Frank Nitti as he tries to strong-arm the Hollywood unions.
Neon Mirage (Nathan Heller #4)
When Nate Heller clears Bugsy Siegel of murder, the Chicago P.I. and brash, handsome gangster become unlikely friends...and rivals in love. Bugsy invents modern Vegas, but receives bullets as his reward and Heller becomes his avenger.
Stolen Away (Nathan Heller #6)
When an incarcerated Al Capone claims he can help find the Lindbergh baby, detective Nate Heller is sent to the scene as a Chicago liaison, never dreaming that the fate of accused kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann would one day be in his hands.
Carnal Hours (Nathan Heller #7)
When the richest man in the Bahamas is murdered by fire, Chicago P.I. Nate Heller races to clear the dead man’s playboy son-in-law—despite stray bullets, Nazi spies, and carnal distractions.
Blood and Thunder (Nathan Heller #8)
Private detective Nate Heller finds himself in the dangerous swamp of Louisiana’s mob-infested political machine when former governor-turned-presidential candidate Huey Long is assassinated.
Flying Blind (Nathan Heller #10)
For Chicago P.I. Nate Heller, guarding Amelia Earhart against death threats has its side benefits. But when Amelia goes missing in the South Pacific, Heller mounts a one-man search that will lead to success, heartbreak…and revenge.
Majic Man (Nathan Heller #11)
Chicago P.I. Nate Heller heads to D.C. to protect Secretary of Defense James Forrestal from a murder threat...but is the statesman’s worst enemy his own mental illness? The surprising, UFO-tinged truth is in Roswell, New Mexico.
Angel in Black (Nathan Heller #12)
Honeymooning in LA, private detective Nate Heller is a suspect in the LAPD’s Black Dahlia murder investigation and must rely on old friend Eliot Ness to help solve the crime before it’s too late.
Chicago Confidential (Nathan Heller #14)
Caught between the Kefauver Organized Crime investigation and his reluctant ties to the mafia, Chicago P.I. Nate Heller keeps his head down—until an honest cop and a lovely drug addict are murdered, and he decides it’s time for some rough justice.
Chicago Lightning: The Collected Nathan Heller Short Stories
Tough, cynical, and clever, Nathan Heller has been called "the perfect private eye", the best investigator that Chicago (where 'lightning' means gunfire) has to offer. In this engaging collection of thirteen stories, Heller encounters gangsters and petty crooks, noble doctors and quacks, loving wives and wanton women, and even the occasional honest cop. All of the stories are based on real cases of the 1930s and '40s, meticulously researched by award-winning writer and Road to Perdition creator Max Allan Collins. Heller's adventures feature some of the biggest names in twentieth-century American crime history: Eliot Ness, Frank Nitti, Mickey Cohen, and Jack Ruby, just to name a few. Whether he is investigating a union shooting, going toe-to-toe with the female leader of a vicious hold-up crew, or playing a homeless man to pose as bait for an insurance racket, Heller's humorous, wryly cynical tone, and knack for keen social observation make for a cracking good read.

Another Alice: An Inspiring True Story of a Young Woman's Battle to Overcome Rheumatoid Arthritis ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Alice Peterson, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $8.39).
Book Description
Love, lust, boys and shopping - the main worries of a teenage girl? Not for eighteen-year-old Alice Peterson, who, at the height of her youth and an extremely promising tennis career, was diagnoses with rheumatoid arthiritis. In the midst of shock and denial, and the enduring question, 'Isn't it what old people who get arthiritis?', Alice had to learn to live with what quickly turned from the odd ache and pain to a very aggressive form of the illness, and rediscover a new path in life.

The Power of Purpose ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Richard Leider, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.
Book Description
Your reason for getting up in the morning. Every one of us needs a reason to get up in the morning. This book is about that reason. Its purpose is to help you discover the purpose for your life. Each life has a natural reason for being. Purpose is the reason a person was born. From birth to death, each of us is on a quest to discover that reason. Many never do. Yet, our world is incomplete until each one of us discovers our purpose. Purpose is that deepest dimension within us—our central core or essence—where we have a profound sense of who we are, where we came from, and where we're going. Purpose is the quality we choose to shape our lives around. Purpose is a source of energy and direction.

Outward Bound board member and training firm founder Richard J. Leider (Repacking Your Bags) makes it his business to help people find purpose in the work they do, and to find work that gives them purpose. His dynamic and useful new book, The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work, tells the stories of those who have had to struggle for personal satisfaction on the job, and poses the practical and spiritual questions to ask oneself in the pursuit of "Esprit de Core."

Time for Outrage: Indignez-vous! ($5.99 Kindle, B&N), by Stéphane Hessel, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, price matched on Kindle.
Book Description
This controversial, impassioned call-to-arms for a return to the ideals that fueled the French Resistance has sold millions of copies worldwide since its publication in France in October 2010. Rejecting the dictatorship of world financial markets and defending the social values of modern democracy, 93-old Stéphane Hessel -- Resistance leader, concentration camp survivor, and former UN speechwriter -- reminds us that life and liberty must still be fought for, and urges us to reclaim those essential rights we have permitted our governments to erode since the end of World War II.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Cool Dog, School Dog ($1.99), by Deborah Heiligman and Tim Bowers (Illustrator).
Book Description
Tinka is a cool dog, a school dog, a breaking all the rules dog.A hall dog, a ball dog, a crash-into-the-wall dog.

Join Tinka, a dandy, sandy Golden Retriever, as she unexpectedly visits her owner at school and helps his class learn to read. Bright illustrations rendered in acrylic paint add to the excitement in this playful back-to-school story about a boy and his "loves-to-hear-a-book" dog.

Grade Level: Pre K and up

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Today's Deals

Today is Hobbit Day - Frodo and Bilbo’s birthday in Tolkien's Lord of the Ring series. Make sure you grab your free copy of the Reader and Educator Guide to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (K/N).

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Minerva ($1.99), the first title in the Six Sisters series by M C Beaton/Marion Chesney.
Book Description
Prudish, self-righteous, and incredibly beautiful, Minerva is sent to London to capture a wealthy husband....The London dandies despise her moralizing and plan a scandalizing assualt on her virtue....Minerva stumbles headlong into the trap, but the plotters have reckoned without Lord Sylvester Comfrey...

The Dummy Line ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Bobby Cole, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $2.99).
Book Description
Avid hunter Jake Crosby is thrilled that his nine-year-old daughter Katy shares his love of the outdoors. His wife, Morgan, on the other hand, does not, which means Jake and Katy enjoy an abundance of hunting, fishing, and camping trips together. So when they head off into the Alabama woods for a spring turkey hunt, Jake expects nothing out of the ordinary. But even his worst nightmares could not prepare him for what befalls them that evening, when a band of drug dealers attempts to break into their remote camp. Desperate to protect his daughter and himself, Jake makes a gut-wrenching decision. His quick thinking enables him and Katy to escape…but brings the gang of vengeful criminals hot on their trail. Gambling on his knowledge of the land and hunting skills, he leads their bloodthirsty pursuers on a perilous cat-and-mouse game deep within the Noxubee River swamp. Jake knows they all won’t come out alive—but he will do whatever is necessary to make sure Katy does. Taut and engrossing, The Dummy Line explores what happens when an ordinary man is pushed to extraordinary lengths to protect the one he loves most and those for whom he feels responsible.

Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" ($11.99 Kindle, $3.99 B&N), by Corey Olsen, is the Nook Daily Find.
Book Description
The Hobbit is one of the most widely read and best-loved books of the twentieth century. Now Corey Olsen takes readers deep within the text to uncover its secrets and delights.

Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” is a fun, thoughtful, and insightful companion volume, designed to bring a thorough and original new reading of this great work to a general audience. Professor Corey Olsen takes readers on an in-depth journey through The Hobbit chapter by chapter, revealing the stories within the story: the dark desires of dwarves and the sublime laughter of elves, the nature of evil and its hopelessness, the mystery of divine providence and human choice, and, most of all, the transformation within the life of Bilbo Baggins. Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” is a book that will make The Hobbit come alive for readers as never before.

Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen ($8.77 Kindle, $10.84 B&N), by Philip Dray, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, better than price matched on Kindle (it doesn't really look like this is more than the usual discount at B&N on this one).
Book Description
In this grand and compelling new history of Reconstruction, Philip Dray shines a light on a little known group of men: the nation's first black members of Congress. Neglected by most historians, these individuals—some of whom were former slaves—played a critical role in pushing for much-needed reforms in the wake of a traumatic civil war, including equal rights, public education, and protection from Klan violence. Most important, their example laid the foundation for future black political leaders.

Drawing on archival documents, newspaper coverage, and congressional records, he shows that P.B.S. Pinchback (who started out as a riverboat gambler), Robert Smalls (who hijacked a Confederate steamer and delivered it to Union troops), and Robert Brown Elliot (who bested the former vice president of the Confederacy in a stormy debate on the House floor) were eloquent, creative, and often quite effective—they were simply overwhelmed by the forces of Southern reaction and Northern indifference. Covering the fraught period between the Emancipation Proclamation and Jim Crow, Dray reclaims the reputations of men who, though flawed, led a valiant struggle for social justice.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is all seven volumes of Daisy Meadows's popular Rainbow Magic: The Rainbow Fairies children's chapter-book series for only $1.99 each. All are written for ages 4 and up.

Ruby the Red Fairy
Fairyland is home to seven colorful sisters. Together, they are the Rainbow Fairies! They keep Fairyland dazzling and bright. But when evil Jack Frost sends them far away, the sisters are in big trouble. If they don't return soon, Fairyland is doomed to be gray forever!

Rachel and Kirsty discover Ruby the Red Fairy in the pot at the end of the rainbow. Can they help find the rest of her Rainbow sisters...before it's too late?
Amber the Orange Fairy
Rachel & Kirsty have already found one Rainbow Fairy, but now Amber the Orange Fairy is trapped in a seashell! Can they rescue her, too?
Sunny the Yellow Fairy
A trail of sparkly yellow dust lands Rachel and Kirsty in a very sticky situation! Could Sunny the Yellow Fairy be at the bottom of it?
Fern the Green Fairy
Rachel & Kirsty are sure that the garden maze holds a special secret. If they make all the right turns, could it lead them to Fern the Green Fairy?
Sky the Blue Fairy
The beach means bubble trouble for Sky the Blue Fairy. Can a special friend help Rachel and Kirsty track her down?
Inky the Indigo Fairy
A magical book sweeps Rachel and Kirsty away to the Land of Sweets. Could Inky the Indigo Fairy be waiting there for them?
Heather the Violet Fairy
At the summer fair, a merry-go-round whisks Rachel and Kirsty away to a magical world. Could Heather the Violet Fairy have something to do with it?

Bargain Book Roundup

Another big publisher classic with free companion audiobook: Jane Eyre ($1.99 Harper Perennial Classics), by Charlotte Bronte (also linked to free edition).

Amazon has a Kid-Friendly, Parent-Approved, Fun for the Entire Family sale with 39 Kindle books at $3.99 or less (there are 44 print books in the sale, too).

Cool Dog, School Dog ($3.99), by Deborah Heiligman and Tim Bowers (Illustrator)
Book Description
Tinka is a cool dog, a school dog, a breaking all the rules dog.A hall dog, a ball dog, a crash-into-the-wall dog.

Join Tinka, a dandy, sandy Golden Retriever, as she unexpectedly visits her owner at school and helps his class learn to read. Bright illustrations rendered in acrylic paint add to the excitement in this playful back-to-school story about a boy and his "loves-to-hear-a-book" dog.

Grade Level: Pre K and up

The Thorn Birds ($2.99 Kindle; $4.99 companion audiobook), by Colleen McCullough
Book Description
Now, 25 years after it first took the world by storm, Colleen McCullough's sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback returns to enthrall a new generation. As powerful, moving, and unforgettable as when it originally appeared, it remains a monumental literary achievement—a landmark novel to be read . . . and read again!

I ran across Basic Fishing ($0.99), by Wade Bourne, when writing up the free listing for Basic Freshwater Fishing earlier today. This volume is from Skyhorse Publishing, who have also given us several free books in the past (and whose books I've bought in print over the years).
Book Description
New to fishing and have no idea how to start? With Basic Fishing, you’ll be an accomplished angler in no time at all. Expert fisherman and award winning outdoor writer Wade Bourne has created a step–by–step guide that masterfully breaks down the art of fishing with diagrams, vivid photographs, and lessons on:· Different types of fishing equipment and how to select the best tackle· Baiting techniques for artificial and natural baits· Tips for selecting the best fishing spot· Handy methods for cooking and cleaning fish· And more!

Driving Mr. Dead ($1.99 Kindle; $4.99 companion audiobook), by Molly Harper, claims to be a novella, but at 166 pages it is a fairly long one (and not much shorter than novels often were not too many years ago).
Book Description

A standalone novella introducing a new side of Half Moon Hollow—featuring a freewheeling courier and the stuffy vampire she has to transport.

Miranda Puckett has failed at every job she’s ever had. Her mother just wants her to come home, join the family law firm, and settle down with Jason, the perfect lawyer boyfriend. But when Jason turns out to be a lying cheater, Miranda seizes on a job that gets her out of town: long-distance vampire transportation. Her first assignment is to drive vampire Collin Sutherland from Washington to sleepy Half Moon Hollow without incident—no small feat for a woman whom trouble seems to follow like a faithful hound dog! And she has to do it without letting her passenger—the most persnickety, stuffy, devastatingly handsome vamp she’s ever met—drive her crazy. As she and Collin find disaster on the roads, they also find an undeniable spark between them.

Could Miranda have found the perfect job and the perfect guy for her?

Eat Free: No Gluten. No Sugar. No Guilt. ($3.93), by Rhiannon Lawrence (Cedar Fort)
Book Description
Created with the gluten-intolerant and diabetic in mind, this collection of gluten- and sugar-free recipes will leave you with delicious meals, desserts, and snacks - all made with fresh, organic, and whole ingredients - that are guaranteed to please your family's pickiest food critic. And the next time someone says, "You are what you eat," you'll take it as a compliment.

The God Engines ($2.99 Kindle; $1.99 companion audiobook), by John Scalzi and Vincent Chong (Illustrator)
Book Description
Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this -- and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given.

Tephe knows from that the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It’s what he doesn’t know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put -- and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely...

Author John Scalzi has ascended to the top ranks of modern science fiction with the best-selling, Hugo-nominated novels Old Man’s War and Zoe’s Tale. Now he tries his hand at fantasy, with a dark and different novella that takes your expectations of what fantasy is and does, and sends them tumbling.

Say your prayers... and behold The God Engines

The Rancher and the Rock Star ($0.99), by Lizbeth Selvig
Book Description
To the world, Gray Covey is a rock superstar. But to his runaway son, he's simply the father who never has any time for him. To prove that he's more than his rock star lifestyle, for the next few weeks Gray must put aside his fame and become...a farmhand?

Abby Stadtler has built the perfect, quiet life for herself. Neat and orderly is the name of the game for her and her beloved farm. When Gray shows up on her doorstep, looking like he stepped straight off the front cover of a magazine, she is determined that he won't upset her routine.

But what neither counts on is the love that springs up between them. Abby knows that life on a ranch in Minnesota can never compete with an exciting world tour. But for Gray, it's time to decide what's really important. With Abby's help, will he be able to decide, once and for all, that love and family are the answer?

Any Given Christmas: A Sugar Shack Novel ($0.99), by Candis Terry
Book Description
Dean Silverthorne’s mother may be dead, but she still has matchmaking to do.

When an injury dashes NFL Quarterback Dean Silverthorne's Super Bowl dreams, he heads back to Deer Lick, Montana with a chip on his wounded shoulder, more determined than ever to get back in the game. He loves his kooky family, but this trip home is going to be a very brief Christmas visit.

His game plan doesn't include an instant attraction to Emma Hart, a feisty kindergarten teacher who seems to be the only person in Deer Lick not interested in the hometown hero. Or his dearly departed mom popping up with mistletoe in hand and meddling on the mind. Now Dean can't help but wonder if there’s more to love than life between the goal posts.

Flat-Out Love ($3.19), by Jessica Park (Amazon Children's Publishing)
Book Description
He was tall, at least six feet, with dirty blond hair that hung over his eyes. His T-shirt read Nietzsche Is My Homeboy.

So, that was Matt. Who Julie Seagle likes. A lot. But there is also Finn. Who she flat out loves.

Complicated? Awkward? Completely.

But really, how was this freshly-minted Boston transplant and newbie college freshman supposed to know that she would end up living with the family of an old friend of her mother's? This was all supposed to be temporary. Julie wasn't supposed to be important to the Watkins family, or to fall in love with one of the brothers. Especially the one she's never quite met. But what does that really matter? Finn gets her, like no one ever has before. They have connection.

But here's the thing about love, in all its twisty, bumpy permutations—it always throws you a few curves. And no one ever escapes unscathed.

New York Times Best-selling author Jessica Park mines the territory of love’s growing pains with wit, sharp insights, and a discernible heat and heartbeat. Her previous novels include Relatively Famous and she authored the e-shorts What the Kid Says (Parts 1 and 2) and Facebooking Rick Springfield.

Bedbugs ($2.79), by Ben H. Winters
Book Description
FOR RENT: Top two floors of beautifully renovated brownstone, 1300 sq. ft., 2BR 2BA, eat-in kitchen, one block to parks and playgrounds. No broker’s fee.

Susan and Alex Wendt have found their dream apartment.

Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric. And the elderly handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the basement. But the rent is so low, it’s too good to pass up.

Big mistake. Susan soon discovers that her new home is crawling with bedbugs . . . or is it? She awakens every morning with fresh bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter Emma has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists her building is clean. Susan fears she’s going mad—until a more sinister explanation presents itself: she may literally be confronting the bedbug problem from Hell.

Susanna's Choice and Claiming the Heart, by Sara Luck, $2.99 apiece (Simon and Schuster).

Susanna's Choice
Set in the tumultuous frontier days of the American West, this thrillingly authentic debut novel illuminates the passionate choices of one woman’s heart.

A chance encounter . . .

Wealthy entrepreneur Rab Trudeau is seething mad. A Nevada newspaper is printing fraudulent stock prices that could force his silver mine to close. Posing as an investigator from San Francisco’s Great Western Detective Agency, which he happens to own, Rab travels to Nevada to uncover who’s behind the false claims. Soon after stepping off the train, he rescues a beautiful woman from an oncoming carriage—and in one blinding moment, both are consumed by the powerful strength and seduction of their embrace.

An uncertain destiny . . .

An aspiring writer for The Pioneer, Susanna agrees to interview the stranger whom everyone is talking about, and is shocked to discover he’s Rab Trudeau—the gentleman who saved her life. Promised in marriage to the wayward son of the couple who raised her after her parents died on a westward-bound wagon train, Susanna fights her overwhelming desire for Rab. But as the mine scandal heats up and turns violent, Susanna must make an impossible choice—one that could bind her to Rab forever or destroy any hope of their future happiness.

Claiming the Heart
As the Texas and Pacific Railroad expands across the wide-open frontier, a spirited young woman finds a triumphant love amidst the tracks and tumult.

History in the making . . .

July 1876: Building a railroad that reaches Fort Worth city limits by a midnight deadline is an all-consuming obsession for track supervisor Gabriel Corrigan—while his socialite wife, Marthalee, daughter of a powerful Louisiana politician, heads home to arrange a marriage annulment. But when Gabe crosses paths with Josie Laclede, a vivacious businesswoman from St. Louis, he sees a sassy lady bold enough to stake her claim in the wild Texas plains—yet soft and sweet enough to win his heart.

Love for the keeping . . .

Though her past is a mystery—Josie was a foundling, raised by a kind widower who now runs a shop and hotel with her—Gabe dreams of a bright future with Josie by his side. Tantalized by his gentle kisses, and swept up in the thrilling track-laying race that has all of Fort Worth pitching in, Josie is tempted to fall hard for Gabe. But Marthalee returns, vying for the T&P fortune he stands to make. And when her father offers Gabe a senate seat and a chance to get back into his well-connected family, a heartbroken Josie vanishes with the prairie breeze. Will their dream of a once-in-a-lifetime love go up in smoke?

Friday, September 21, 2012

Free Audiobook & Ebook - Varieties of Religious Experience

The ebook and audiobook edition of Varieties of Religious Experience, a Study in Human Nature (free to $12.99 Kindle; $27.99 Audible), by William James, narrated by John Pruden, is free direct from Tantor Media, thru the end of September.
Book Description
Using the language of psychology, William James explains religious phenomena—including conversion, repentance, mysticism, and saintliness—as psychic energy that arises from the unconscious mind in times of trouble.

First published in 1905, The Varieties of Religious Experience is a collection of lectures given at the University of Edinburgh in 1901 and 1902. William James was a psychologist and, as such, his interest in religion was not that of a theologian but of a scientist. In these twenty lectures, he discusses the nature and origin of religious belief.

The average believer is one who has inherited his religion, but this will not do for James's inquiry. He must find those believers who have a voracious religious faith because these people have also often experienced a number of peculiar psychological episodes, including having visions, hearing voices, and falling into trances.

Students of psychology and those interested in the mental process of belief will find these lectures informative.
Get the free ebook from Tantor Media. This audiobook edition is in MP3 format, so will work on most Kindles and MP3 players. You'll also get the PDF edition of the ebook (download the complete ZIP file).

Free Audiobook - Unlocked

The audiobook edition of Unlocked ($9.99 Kindle; $19.93 Audible), by Karen Kingsbury, narrated by Roxanne Hernandez, is free from BooksonBoard, courtesy of Christian publisher Zondervan.
Book Description
Before You Take a Stand ... You Got to Take a Chance.

Holden Harris is an eighteen-year-old locked in a prison of autism. Despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal---on the inside, in a private world all his own. In reality, he is bullied at school by kids who only see that he is very different. Ella Reynolds is part of the 'in' crowd. A cheerleader and star of the high school drama production, her life seems perfect. When she catches Holden listening to her rehearse for the school play, she is drawn to him ... the way he is drawn to the music. Then, Ella makes a dramatic discovery---she and Holden were best friends as children.

Frustrated by the way Holden is bullied, and horrified at the indifference of her peers, Ella decides to take a stand against the most privileged and popular kids at school. Including her boyfriend, Jake. Ella believes miracles can happen in the unlikeliest places, and that just maybe an entire community might celebrate from the sidelines. But will Holden's praying mother and the efforts of Ella and a cast of theater kids be enough to unlock the prison that contains Holden? This time, friendship, faith, and the power of a song must be strong enough to open the doors to the miracle Holden needs.
Get the free ebook from BooksonBoard (plus 23 cents in rewards added to your account!). This audiobook edition is in MP3 format, so will work on most Kindles and MP3 players.

Free Audiobook - Hostage in Havana

The audiobook edition of Hostage in Havana ($9.99 Kindle; $10.49 Audible), by Noel Hynd, is free from GoBible, courtesy of Christian publisher Zondervan. The ebook edition was offered for free last summer, so you may find it in your library; this audiobook edition is in MP3 format, so will work on most Kindles and MP3 players (but is a large download at 700 MB).
Book Description
From bestselling ABA author Noel Hynd comes this new series set against the backdrop of Havana, an explosive capital city of faded charm locked in the past and torn by political intrigue. U.S. Treasury Agent Alexandra LaDuca leaves her Manhattan home on an illegal mission to Cuba that could cost her everything. Accompanying her is the attractive but dangerous Paul Guarneri, a Cuban-born exile who lives in the gray areas of the law. Together, they plunge into subterfuge and danger. Without the support of the United States, Alex must navigate Cuban police, saboteurs, pro-Castro security forces, and an assassin who follows her from New York. Bullets fly as allies become traitors and enemies become unexpected friends. Alex, recovering from the tragic loss of her fiance a year before, reexamines faith and new love while taking readers on a fast-paced adventure. Readers of general market thrillers, such as John le Carre, David Baldacci, and Joel Rosenberg, will eagerly anticipate this first installment.
Get the free ebook from GoBible. You will need to set up an account (complete with address and phone number) and don't forget to click on the No Payment Information Required button at the upper left of the checkout page (or you can't get past it). Once ordered, go to My Account (menu at top) and click on My Downloadable Products on the left sidebar menu to get to your audiobooks.

Today's Deals

A new Kobo coupon code for 30% off: win_g7om1n1 (Exp 9/27), plus all book purchases thru 9/27 qualify you to win a new Kobo Glo or Mini. I also got a "come back" code for 25% off - this one may only work for one person, but I'm not going to use it: 56b6c125 (exp 9/25). For those who are also bloggers, Kobo is having a sale on blogging guides thru Sept 26 - 25% off and no coupon necessary!

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Valeria's Last Stand ($1.99), by Marc Fitten, Amazon's Best of the Month, May 2009. His latest novel, Elza's Kitchen, was released this summer.
Book Description
When it comes to the sizes of fishes and ponds, Valeria is a whale in a thimble. She harrumphs her daily way through her backwater Hungarian village, finding equal fault with the new, the old, the foreign and the familiar. Her decades of universal contempt have turned her into a touchstone of her little community - whatever she scorns the least must be the best, after all. But, on a day like any other, her spinster's heart is struck by an unlikely arrow: the village potter, long-known and little-noticed, captures her fancy, and Valeria finds herself suddenly cast in a new role she never expected to play. This one deviation from character, this one loose thread, is all it takes for the delicately woven fabric of village life to unravel. And, for the first time in a long time, Valeria couldn't care less.

Valeria's Last Stand is a joyfully wise small-town satire that takes an hilariously honest look at later-in-life romance and the notion that it's never too late to start anew.

The Heat of the Sun ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by David Rain, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $12.99).
Book Description
When recently orphaned Woodley Sharpless encounters Ben Pinkerton -- known to all as 'Trouble' -- for the first time at the exclusive Blaze Academy, he is instantly enraptured. They are polar opposites; Ben is exotic and daring; Woodley is bookish and frail, yet their lives quickly become inextricable intertwined. First at school, then in the staccato days of twenties New York, Woodley sees flashes of another person in his friend and slowly discovers a side of Ben's nature that belies a dark and hidden history.

As the curtain falls on the frivolity of the twenties and rises to reveal the cruelty of a new decade, Woodley and Ben's friendship begins to fragment. Over the coming years the two men meet intermittently; in Japan before the outbreak of the Second World War and then in the midst of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Change in both their lives, their relationship and their suffering, stand for a generation; one dispersed by depression and upheaval, brutality and confusion.

David Rain's novel, The Heat of the Sun, is an ambitious and assured debut that captures perfectly two friends, two loves: two lives.

Identity: Your Passport to Success ($9.43 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Stedman Graham, is the Nook Daily Find. At Amazon, there is a link for a bonus PDF from the author.
Book Description
Features a foreword by John Maxwell and afterword from Steven R. Covey.

Have you ever thought about the connection between knowing who you are and success? Identity can serve as your greatest asset. Enduringly successful people know who they are, are clear about what matters to them, have established powerful identities, and create value in the world.

In this book, the process for discovering and understanding your identity is brought to life through Stedman Graham's personal experiences and the stories of individuals who've resolved their questions of identity, building a life that matters to themselves and those around them.

Take control of who you are. Take control of your life. Achieve lasting success.

Now a Wall Street Journal bestseller!

Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change ($9.39 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Elizabeth Kolbert, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012. This one has a very good review from Scientific American on the Amazon page that is worth reading (and I've reported the lower price there, in hopes it will drop on Kindle).
Book Description
Long known for her insightful and thought-provoking political journalism, author Elizabeth Kolbert now tackles the controversial and increasingly urgent subject of global warming. In what began as groundbreaking three-part series in the New Yorker, for which she won a National Magazine Award in 2006, Kolbert cuts through the competing rhetoric and political agendas to elucidate for Americans what is really going on with the global environment and asks what, if anything, can be done to save our planet. Now updated and with a new afterword, Field Notes from a Catastrophe is the book to read on the defining issue and greatest challenge of our times.

About the author
Elizabeth Kolbert was a reporter for the New York Times for fourteen years before becoming a staff writer covering politics for the New Yorker. She and her husband, John Kleiner, have three sons. They live in Williamstown, MA.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog ($1.99), by Ysabeau S. Wilce, has one of the longer titles I've recently seen on a book. Lots of good review and you'll get your money's worth at 431 pages in print.
Book Description
Flora knows better than to take shortcuts in her family home, Crackpot Hall--the house has eleven thousand rooms, and ever since her mother banished the magickal butler, those rooms move around at random. But Flora is late for school, so she takes the unpredictable elevator anyway. Huge mistake. Lost in her own house, she stumbles upon the long-banished butler--and into a mind-blowing muddle of intrigue and betrayal that changes her world forever.

Full of wildly clever plot twists, this extraordinary first novel establishes Ysabeau Wilce as a compelling new voice in teen fantasy.

Grade Level: 7 and up

Thursday, September 20, 2012

$3.99+ MP3 Sale at Amazon

Today only (thru Midnight, PST), Amazon is running a sale on a 20 MP3 albums, with prices at $3.99 or $4.99 apiece. Which means a free album if you haven't used up that $5 KSO MP3 credit or if you have some of the $5 Coinstar MP3 credits!

Free Companion Book? Dick Francis's Gamble

The companion audiobook for Dick Francis's Gamble ($9.99 Kindle), by Felix Francis, is supposed to be free at Audible if you have first purchased the Kindle edition, at least, according to the Kindle edition page. The Audible page has a different price, tho, and I'm not sure which you'd end up paying; however, if you own the ebook and want the audiobook, it's worth giving it a shot (and contacting support if it tries to charge you, as they will often make good on the advertised price). If you do, you might want to make your own screenshot of the page to show support (include the date/time in your pic, if possible).
Book Description
One of the youngest winners of the Grand National, Nick “Foxy” Foxton suffered a near-fatal injury that cut short his career. Years later, he’s out for a day at the Grand National races when his colleague, Herb Kovack, is shot at point-blank range right in front of him. Like the police, Nick is baffled: Why would anyone kill such an apparently gentle soul?

Then Nick finds a threatening note in the dead man’s coat, and he begins to doubt how well he really knew his friend. And on discovering that Herb named him beneficiary in his will, Nick wonders why he’s been entrusted with the legacy. Is this a generous gift from a friend, or is it, in fact, a poisoned chalice?
Get the companion audiobook from Audible.

Today's Deals

BooksOnBoard will be discounting all eligible books 35% plus 8% back in rewards, for a net 43% off, thru midnight (CST) tonight (9/20/2012). The sale includes audio books and non-Agency titles (some publishers still haven't dropped it, such as Penguin).

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 ($1.99), by Joseph Balkoski.
Book Description
In this unforgettable narrative of D-Day, Joseph Balkoski describes the minute-by-minute combat as it unfolded on Omaha Beach, allowing soldiers to speak for themselves as they recall their attempts to maneuver bombers through heavy cloud cover, the claustrophobic terror aboard transports, and the relentless fire that greeted them on the beach. Equal parts oral history and meticulous reconstruction, Omaha Beach is the closest the modern reader can get to experiencing the Normandy landings firsthand.

The Joy of Sin: The Psychology of the Seven Deadly Sins ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Simon Laham, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99 and has been retitled The Science of Sin: The Psychology of the Seven Deadlies (and Why They Are So Good For You)).
Book Description
Using modern psychological science, a great deal of research, historical anecdotes and an eloquent turn of phrase, the author contends that the 'seven deadly sins' not only feel good, but are also good for you.

From gluttony to greed, to envy and lust, even the deadliest of sins can make you smart, successful and happy. For example, anger can breed perseverance, sloth: hopefulness, greed: happiness and envy can actually bolster one's self-esteem. Based on many studies, the author tells us why the greedy are happy, the slothful are smart, gluttons are social butterflies and how anger can make you a fearsome negotiator.

The simplistic labelling of the seven deadly sins as 'sins' or as uniformly wrong does nothing but breed contempt for 'sinners' and stifle sophisticated discussion. Sin rails against this simplicity. Each chapter will cover an array of fascinating psychological research that demonstrates just how interesting and complex the seven deadly sins are. So the basic message of Sin: relax, spend, eat, drink and generally covet - you'll be better off for it.

A Little Death In Dixie ($9.39 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Lisa Turner, is the Nook Daily Find. No price matched on Kindle, but you can borrow it in the Kindle Lending Library. Long-time readers will find this one in their Kindle Library already, as it was offered free in Aug '10.
Book Description
The Blues were born out of need, anger and pride. Murder comes from those same dark places. Memphis has both. One of Memphis' most seductive and notorious socialites has vanished. Either she's off on another drunken escapade or the disappearance is something much more frightening. What begins as an ordinary day's work for Detective Billy Able quickly grows into a complex spider's web of tragedy, mystery, suspicion, and sordid secrets including a few of Billy's own. With the help of Mercy Snow, the estranged sister of the missing socialite, Billy follows a twisted trail of human frailty and corruption to disturbing truths that undermine everything he thought he knew about himself and the people he loves.

The Big Con: Crackpot Economics and the Fleecing of America ($9.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Jonathan Chait, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.
Book Description
American politics has been hijacked. Over the past three decades, a fringe group of economic hucksters has corrupted and perverted our nation’s policies. With dark, engaging wit, Jonathan Chait reveals how these canny zealots first took over the Republican Party and then gamed the political system and the media so that once unthinkable policies—without a shred of academic, expert, or even popular support—now drive the political agenda, regardless of which party is in power.

Why have these ideas succeeded in Washington? How did a clique of extremists gain control of American economic policy and sell short the country’s future? And why do their outlandish ideas still determine policy despite repeated electoral setbacks? Chait tells the outrageous and eye-opening story, expertly explaining just how politics and economics work in Washington. He has produced a riveting drama of greed and deceit that should be read by every concerned citizen, especially in an election year.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Gossie ($1.99), by Olivier Dunrea.
Book Description
Meet Gossie, a small yellow gosling who loves to wear bright red boots—every day. One morning Gossie can’t find her beloved boots. She looks everywhere for them: under the bed, over the wall, even in the barn. Preschoolers will enjoy helping Gossie find her red boots and delight in where Gossie finally finds them.

Grade Level: P and up

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Today's Deals

Additional formats on free books:

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Goodbye To All That ($1.99), by Judith Arnold. Looks like this was free this past June, but this is a good price for those that missed it, since BellBridge doesn't repeat as much as some of the publishers.
Book Description
Redefining who we are in our family takes courage and an indestructible sense of humor.

Being the middle child is never easy, but thirty-six-year-old Jill Bendel is about to find out just how hard that job is when her mother throws away her sensible pumps, packs up her collection of classical music and runs away from home.

Longtime wife and mother Ruth Bendel loves her family but hates her life. Husband Richard doesn't even know how the steam iron works, let alone how a woman works. When Ruth's last nerve snaps, she finally does what she's wanted to do so many times before-she gets an apartment, a job, a new life and new friends. How will her pampered family survive ? Who will take care of her son Doug's daughters when he flies off for a romantic week with his wife? How can youngest daughter Melissa contemplate getting pregnant now that she's the child of a broken home? How is Jill going to juggle the demands of her own marriage, her kids, her siblings and her career while simultaneously trying to get her parents to reconcile?

Why is it that when things fall apart, everyone expects Jill to put them back together? Maybe she ought to run away from home, too.

Judith Arnold is a bestselling and award winning author with more than ten million copies of her novels in print. Before turning to fiction writing, she was a working playwright with plays staged in California, Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and off-Broadway in New York City, as well as in Calgary, Canada. A native New Yorker, Judith lives in a small town near Boston.

VIII ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by H.M. Castor, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.89).
Book Description
Destined for greatness - tormented by demons. VIII (Eight) is the untold story of Henry VIII, a gripping examination of why he turned from a charismatic teenager to the cruel tyrant he became in later life. Hal is a young, handsome and gifted warrior, who believes he has been divinely chosen to lead his people. But throughout his life, he is haunted by a ghostly apparition, and, once he rises to power, he turns to murder and rapacious cruelty.

Mogworld ($7.99 paperback, no Kindle edition $2.99 B&N), by Yahtzee Croshaw, is the Nook Daily Find.
Book Description
In a world full to bursting with would-be heroes, Jim couldn't be less interested in saving the day. His fireballs fizzle. He's awfully grumpy. Plus, he's been dead for about sixty years. When a renegade necromancer wrenches him from eternal slumber and into a world gone terribly, bizarrely wrong, all Jim wants is to find a way to die properly, once and for all.

On his side, he's got a few shambling corpses, an inept thief, and a powerful death wish. But he's up against tough odds: angry mobs of adventurers, a body falling apart at the seams and a team of programmers racing a deadline to hammer out the last few bugs in their AI.

Mogworld is the debut novel from video-game icon Yahtzee Croshaw (Zero Punctuation). Mogworld is a comic fantasy novel in the tradition of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, with a video-game twist: the main character is a minor character in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

The Faith of Barack Obama ($8.79 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Stephen Mansfield, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.
Book Description
Get inside the mind and soul of Barack Obama

In The Faith of Barack Obama, New York Times bestselling author Stephen Mansfield takes readers inside the mind, heart, and soul of presidential hopeful Barack Obama—as a person of faith, as a man, as an American, and possibly as our future commander in chief.

America faces looming inflation, climate change, a national credit crisis, war in the Middle East, threats to security and liberty at home, and skyrocketing oil and gas prices.

With all of these threats to our security, prosperity and freedom on the horizon, it has never been more important to choose the right leader for America.

“If a man’s faith is sincere, it is the most important thing about him, and it is impossible to understand who he is and how he will lead without first understanding the religious vision that informs his life,” writes Mansfield.

In The Faith of Barack Obama, Mansfield holds back nothing to share that vision and explain its roots, including:
  • Obama’s upbringing in a non-Christian home
  • the influence on his life from his agnostic mother and Muslim father
  • his remarkable turn to Christianity after working in the inner cities of Chicago
  • his years at the controversial Trinity United Church of Christ
  • his association to the radical teachings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright
  • the source of Obama’s relentless optimism and hope for America
Every American voter concerned to know more about Obama’s beliefs, both religious and political, and how the two intertwine should read this book, as should every thinking person who continues to shape and evolve his or her religious beliefs.

Barack Obama, according to Mansfield, is “raising the banner of what he hopes will be the faith-based politics of a new generation . . . and he will carry that banner to whatever heights of power his God and the American people allow.”

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Pie-Rits: A Pirate Adventure ($0.99), by Julia Dweck and Fian Arroyo (Illustrator). All I can say is ARRRRGH! Why didn't we adults get a Talk Like a Pirate Day selection?
Book Description
Set sail for a daring pirate adventure like no other. Can a cherry cupcake, a French bread and a flaky croissant battle a crew of assorted pie-rits? Children will delight in the humor, word play, and action of this rhyming pirate adventure that will keep readers laughing from beginning to end. Pirates have never been so deliciously nasty.

Note: Vivid, Full-Color Children's Books with Kindle Text Pop-Up; requires Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire, Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

$5 Instant Amazon Instant Video Credit (KSO)

This offer for those with a Kindle Fire with Special Offers only. On your Kindle Fire with Special Offers (and presumably on the HD, which I don't have yet, since I ordered the large memory size), swipe the top menu to the left until you see Offers, then press/click in order to see the current offers. At the bottom, you should see the offer to Get $5 to spend on Select Titles. Click on the offer, then on the orange button to add the credit directly to your account. It's nearly instant and the next screen offers to take you to Amazon so you can spend that credit away! If you miss that screen, though, don't worry - a document about the offer will appear on your home page.

It looks like you can shop the entire Instant Video Store (rentals and purchases) and just check for any individual product that is excluded from this (and all other) promotions, on the product detail page (not that I saw any that were excluded and I checked a couple of dozen pages). The credit expires Sept 29, so be sure to use it quickly.

I'm half-tempted by The Pirates!, especially with the ebook being featured at Amazon today (but only a super-deal for those in the UK) and with tomorrow being Talk Like a Pirate Day (a local donut chain is giving them away to all those dress up or just talk like a pirate in the store.

Don't forget to use your $5 MP3 credit - it expires Sept 24!

Today's Deals

If you are trying to take advantage of the Pour $20 for any Amazon.com Gift Card at Coinstar, get $5 in MP3s deal going on, be aware that you don't want to feed too many pennies into the machine - it will shut off around $15 or so and you won't get a chance to get your bonus MP3 code. Just mix in some larger change and you should be fine (yes, I had this happen, as we were cleaning out some penny jars).

DecalGirl is having a Buy One, Get one 50% off sale, thru Sept. 19, using coupon code BOGO50.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is the AmazonCrossing edition of Chaperoned ($1.99), by Dora Heldt and Jamie Lee Searle (Translator), with a companion audiobook for $4.99.
Book Description
When an old friend invites her to help renovate a bar in a posh resort town, single gal Christine immediately agrees, anticipating two blissful weeks of sun, cocktails, and gorgeous men. Her excitement is short-lived, however, thanks in no small part to her overbearing mother and one heavy-handed guilt trip. Now, for the first time in nearly thirty years, Christine and her best friend Dorothea find themselves saddled with an unexpected chaperone: Christine’s father, Heinz.

The trip is a catastrophe from the get-go. For starters, Heinz insists on taking charge of the bar’s overhaul. And when he learns that the locals are hunting for an escaped con artist, he promptly joins the investigation. At the top of his suspect list? Johann, the handsome, mysterious traveler who makes Christine go weak at the knees. But just when she thinks she can’t take one more day of his “father knows best” routine, Christine makes a poignant realization that will forever change the way she looks at Heinz.

Sparkling with humor, this delightful novel, which spent over one hundred weeks on Germany’s bestseller list, captures the unique—and occasionally exasperating—bond between fathers and daughters.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists ($2.09 / £1.29 UK), the first title in the Pirates! series by Gideon Defoe, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (there's no equivalent US edition, but the dual-title omnibus The Pirates!: An Adventure with Scientists & An Adventure with Ahab is $8.99).
Book Description
1837: the Victorian Era approaches and the golden age of piracy draws to a close. Worried that his pirates are growing bored of roaring, running people through, and sitting about on tropical beaches, the Pirate Captain decides it's time they had an adventure. A chance encounter with the young Charles Darwin leads the Captain and his crew to the fog-filled streets of London, a grisly murder and a diabolical Bishop...

The Scorpio Races ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), by Maggie Stiefvater, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. The Scorpio Races is a 2012 Michael L. Printz award honor book for excellence in young adult literature.
Book Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shiver and Linger comes a brand new, heartstopping novel.Some race to win. Others race to survive. It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die. At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen. As she did in her bestselling Shiver trilogy, author Maggie Stiefvater takes us to the breaking point, where both love and life meet their greatest obstacles, and only the strong of heart can survive. The Scorpio Races is an unforgettable reading experience.

The Mormon Way of Doing Business: How Nine Western Boys Reached the Top of Corporate America ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), by Jeff Benedict, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, price matched on Kindle.
Book Description
The Founder of JetBlue. The former CEO of Dell Computers. The CEO of Deloitte & Touche. The former Dean of the Harvard Business School. They all have one thing in common. They are devout Mormons who spend their Sundays exclusively with their families, never work long hours, and always put their spouses and children first. How do they do it?

Critically acclaimed author and investigative journalist Jeff Benedict (a Mormon himself) examines these highly successful business execs and discovers how their beliefs have influenced them, and enabled them to achieve incredible success.With original interviews and unparalleled access, Benedict shares what truly drives these individuals, and the invaluable life lessons from which anyone can benefit.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Feed ($1.99), by M. T. Anderson. I bought this last September, when it was on a similar sale.
Book Description
For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Following in the footsteps of George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world — and a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.

Grade Level: 9 and up

Audible BOGO Classic and Free Companion Editions


Thru the end of the month, you can double the value of your credits at Audible's Buy One Get One Free Classics sale. If you are short of credits, you can get three at a discount on the Extra Credits page (if you don't have a membership that uses credits or you have more than 3 on your account, you'll get an error page).

Amazon and Audible have been changing the free companion editions that are available (5 that were free the first day are already changed and now link with other, often non-free editions, such as Treasure Island and Little Women). There are a few new ones, though, linked to free or low-cost Kindle editions, along with a few low-cost companion editions that are linked to free books. On interesting looking one is the self-published Haunted on Bourbon Street (Main/UK), the first title in the Jade Calhoun series by Deanna Chase, with a $1.99 companion audiobook, narrated by Traci Odom.
Book Description
Jade loves her new apartment--until a ghost joins her in the shower.

When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn't count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord.

Being an empath has never been easy on Jade's relationships. It's no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it's up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she'll need Kane's help--and he's betrayed her with a secret of his own--to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?

Here are few others I've turned up, including some large publisher classic editions that are now also linked to the free audiobooks.

eBook at Amazon Companion Audiobook
Heart of Darkness (free), by Joseph Conrad narration by Kenneth Branagh (free)
Second Star, Star Svensdotter #1 (free), by Dana Stabenow narration by Marguerite Gavin ($1.99)
The List ($2.99; previously free), by J.A. Konrath/Jack Kilborn narration by Benjamin L. Darcie ($1.99)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (free), Collins Classics ($0.99) or Penguin Classics ($0.99), by Oscar Wilde narration by Simon Prebble (free)
Black Beauty (free) and Puffin Classics ($2.38), by Anna Sewell narration by Nathaniel Parker (free)
White Fang (free), Vook Classics ($1.74; previously free), Aladdin Classics ($4.99) or Puffin Classics ($4.99), by Jack London narration by Bob Thomley (free)
Dracula (free) and Bantam Classics ($1.99), by Bram Stoker narration by Alan Cumming, Tim Curry & full cast (free)
Wuthering Heights (free) and Collins Classics ($1.99), by Emily Brontë narration by Anne Flosnik (free)
Treasure Island ($0.99, annotated), Vintage Classics ($1.90), Collins Classics ($1.90) or Vintage Classics ($4.99), by Robert Louis Stevenson narration by Michael Page ($1.99)
A Tale of Two Cities (free), Bantam Classics ($1.99), Modern Library ($1.99), Collins Classics ($1.99) and 200th Anniversary Edition Penguin Classics ($4.99), by Charles Dickens narration by Simon Vance (free)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by (free), Bank Street Ready-To-Read ($1.99) and Modern Library ($1.99),by James Joyce narration by John Lee (free)
Free: The Future of a Radical Price ($9.99; previously free), by Chris Anderson narration by Chris Anderson (free)
Deaf Sentence ($12.99 US; <$10 other markets), by David Lodge narration by Steven Crossley ($4.95 US; appears to be free for Asia & Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean and Middle East)

Keep in mind, that except for the titles "sold by" one of the big publishers, those adding low-cost editions via KDP can lie about the publisher - always check the sample to make sure you are really getting what you are paying for (a Penguin Classic, for example); if it is just a scanned edition, you can return it for a refund anytime in the first seven days after purchase.