Kindle Daily Deals 4/26

Today's the last day for Audible's Semi-Annual $9.95 or Less Sale; You still have four more days, though, on the Listening Rewards Deal.

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Hey, That's My Fish!. It looks like it's a cute game, supports up to four players and usually sells for $3.

Amazon has price matched the Nook Daily Find: All the Pretty Hearses ($1.99), the 26th in the Bed-and-Breakfast series by Mary Daheim.

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is Undertakers: The Rise of the Corpses ($1.99), by Ty Drago [Sourcebooks Jabberwocky]. It's apocalyptic and there are zombies - need I say more?

Book Description
"On a sunny Wednesday morning in October, a day that would mark the end of one life and the beginning of another, I found out my grouchy next door neighbor was the walking dead. When you turn around expecting to see something familiar, and instead see something else altogether, it takes a little while for your brain to catch up with your eyes. I call it the 'Holy Crap Factor.'"

Forced to flee his home and family, twelve-year-old Will Ritter falls in with the Undertakers-a rag-tag army of teenage resistance fighters who've banded together to battle the Corpses.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Die for Me ($1.99), by Cynthia Eden [Montlake Romance], with the companion audiobook also $1.99. I just checked my library and I have three books by this name ... none are by this author, although I do have three of her novels, as well!

Book Description
She thought her fiancé was the perfect man—until he turned out to be the perfect killer…

Katherine Cole is running for her life, desperate to escape the Valentine Killer—so-called because he stabs his victims through the heart and leaves them holding a telltale single red rose. Still he tracks her to New Orleans and begins carving a bloody path to her door. But this time, Katherine refuses to run any farther. This time, she’ll do anything to stop the madman she once loved, even trust the sexy cop promising to keep her safe…

Detective Dane Black never lets his emotions interfere with his job, even as the Valentine Killer surfaces in New Orleans to stalk his prey. But when Dane agrees to protect the killer’s ex-fiancée, Katherine Cole, he can’t ignore the passion kindling between them. After a single unforgettable night binds them body and soul, Dane knows he won’t rest until Katherine is safe in his arms—and the Valentine Killer is dead. Dark and intensely sexy, this romantic suspense novel from USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Eden is sure to leave readers breathless.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Dating The Devil ($1.99), by Lia Romeo [Bell Bridge Books].

Book Description
Lucy O’Neill is a plain-Jane New York PR assistant with a tiny apartment, a dead-end job, and a pair of annoyingly perfect roommates. Nothing exciting ever happens to her, until one night at a neighborhood pub . . .

Lewis Mephisto is tall, handsome, and hot. Very hot. He meets her gaze through the crowd, a wicked grin on his lips, an irresistible invitation in his eyes.

He’s Mr. Right Times Ten. Sophisticated, wealthy, sexy, and completely devoted to her, body and soul. So what’s her problem?

Can’t she handle dating the Devil?

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is StarFire ($0.99), by Mike Lee [indie/Breakwater Harbor Books]. This is Military SciFi/Space Opera (which more than one on our account reads) and at under a buck, I'll buy it on the chance it has a decent story (Amazon usually only invites indie authors with significant sales to be on the daily deals, so it seems a safe bet).

Book Description
Captain Vince Lombard, G-Marine company commander, is tasked with tracking down a stray ship. The Alliance Military Ship StarFire has gone silent, and previous attempts to locate her have resulted in the loss of more ships. After two previous wars with xenospecies humanity bumped into while expanding into space, no one knows what might be the cause of StarFire's missing in action status. And internal politics between Fleet command and the Galactic Marine Corps might mean that, unless something is done, humanity may get the news it's at war with yet another new race about the time they show up to attack one of the human systems in the sector.

A prequel to the book "Fey," this story is a novelization of the story Vince related to Blondie in the previous book, which many readers requested. I'm happy to accomodate my readers by providing this novel-length version of that story

UK Kindle Daily Deal 4/26

This Is Where I Am (£1.39 UK), by Karen Campbell, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
So we walked in the freezing night air, my daughter weeping into my neck, and me trying to shelter her inside my own thin coat. I could accept the sun had left us, but I struggled to understand where the moon was. At home, the moon and stars are so big, you can see by them, work by them through the night. Only thin glimmers here, cold specks in the muddy sky.Glasgow. A city of colour and contrast. A place where two worlds collide - and are changed forever.When the Scottish Refugee Council assigns Deborah Maxwell to act as Somali refugee Abdi's new mentor, the two are drawn into an awkward friendship. They must spend a year together, meeting once a month in a different part of Glasgow. As recently-widowed Deborah opens Abdi's eyes to her beloved city and its people, he teaches her about the importance of family - and of laying your ghosts to rest. All Abdi has brought with him is his four-year-old daughter, Rebecca, who lives in a silence no one can reach. Until, one day, little Rebecca starts talking. And they realise why she stopped.Heartbreaking, uplifting and unforgettable, This is Where I Am is a novel of loss and guilt, friendship and hope, and of what we can grow from the ashes of the past.

Nook Daily Find 4/26

All the Pretty Hearses ($6.83 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the 26th in the Bed-and-Breakfast series by Mary Daheim, is the Nook Daily Find; should be price matched on Kindle later this morning.

Book Description
Cormac McCarthy has nothing on Mary Daheim—whose fabulous Bed-and-Breakfast mysteries win hands down when it comes to outrageous zaniness. In All the Pretty Hearses, Daheim,“the reigning queen of the cozies” (Portland Oregonian), embroils Hillside Manor hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn in a lethal case of insurance fraud and mystery meat gone bad, in the twenty-sixth installment of the hilarious, New York Times bestselling cozy mystery series that remains as fresh and funny as the very first.

Spring Fever Bargain Books, Part II

OK, now that you have books on hand to get your vegetable garden growing this year (or maybe joined a local CSA), you may want to pick up one or two cookbooks (is it possible to have too many good cookbooks?) for inspiration on how to consume all that produce this summer. Even if you aren't gardening yourself, there should be at least one title below that appeals, whether you want to eat more locally produced foods, try an exotic new recipe or just lose a little weight without resorting to processed, frozen dinners for every meal.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Barbara Kingsolver [HarperCollins], is practically the bible of the local food movement.

Book Description
Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

"As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.

"Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel. . . ."

Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Hannah Nordhaus [HarperCollins], is one I'd recommend to anyone that eats and is concerned both about the cost of food (everything from squash to almonds) and getting food locally. I know that our bees declined at the same time and for seemingly no reason (and that continues - we don't have bees at all after the winter, some years).

Book Description
Award-winning journalist Hannah Nordhaus tells the remarkable story of John Miller, one of America’s foremost migratory beekeepers, and the myriad and mysterious epidemics threatening American honeybee populations. In luminous, razor-sharp prose, Nordhaus explores the vital role that honeybees play in American agribusiness, the maintenance of our food chain, and the very future of the nation. With an intimate focus and incisive reporting, in a book perfect for fans of Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire,and John McPhee’s Oranges, Nordhaus’s stunning exposé illuminates one the most critical issues facing the world today,offering insight, information, and, ultimately, hope.

Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook: Creating Big Flavors from the Freshest Produce ($4.99 Kindle), by Mary Beth Burner Shaddix and the Editors of Cooking Light Magazine [Oxmoor House]

Book Description
Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook shares the secrets to buying, growing, and cooking your favorite fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Bursting with beautiful color photographs, this book is an invaluable resource for home cooks, novice gardeners, and food lovers alike. Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook includes:

• More than 200 full-color photos
• Organized by fruits, vegetables, and herbs makes it easy to find recipes and information for the fresh produce you have right now
• 150+ recipes that utilize the fresh taste of the season's best produce in main dishes, sides, salads, dessert, and more
• Easy getting-started gardening tips from Mary Beth Shaddix, Cooking Light's expert gardener, for growing your own fruits and vegetables, whether it's in your backyard or on your windowsill
• A complete nutritional analysis for each recipe

How To Eat ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Nigella Lawson [Hyperion]; I bought this a couple of years ago, on sale, but you can now get it for half what I paid.

Book Description
Through her wildly popular television shows, her five bestselling cookbooks, her line of kitchenware, and her frequent media appearances, Nigella Lawson has emerged as one of the food world's most seductive personalities. How to Eat is the book that started it all--Nigella's signature, all-purposed cookbook, brimming with easygoing mealtime strategies and 350 mouthwatering recipes, from a truly sublime Tarragon French Roast Chicken to a totally decadent Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake. Here is Nigella's total (and totally irresistible) approach to food--the book that lays bare her secrets for finding pleasure in the simple things that we cook and eat every day.

The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home: Easy Techniques for the Freshest Flavors in Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Relishes, Salsas, Sauces, and Frozen and Dried Fruits and Vegetables ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Janet Chadwick [Storey Publishing]

Book Description
A wonderful thing is happening in home kitchens. People are rediscovering the joys of locally produced foods and reducing the amount of the grocery budget that's spent on packaged items, out-of-season produce, and heavily processed foods. But fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables don't stay fresh and delicious forever - they must be eaten now . . . or preserved for later.

For all the vegetable gardeners facing baskets overflowing with bright tomatoes, and for all the dedicated farmers' market fans and CSA members, The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home has the simple solutions that turn overwhelming bounty into neatly canned tomatoes, jars of jams and jellies, and crispy-tart relishes and pickles.

Organized in a friendly, food-by-food format, readers will find freezing, drying, canning, and storing instructions for each vegetable, fruit, and herb. In many cases, several ways to freeze or can a food are described, and there are often other preserving suggestions as well, such as making juice or fruit leather.

Everything is written with busy people in mind: these are the quickest, most efficient methods for preserving summer's bounty. Up-to-date information and clear, step-by-step instructions show even absolute beginners the way to a fully stocked pantry.

Sweet on Texas: Lovable Confections from the Lone Star State ($3.03 Kindle, B&N, $3.49 Kobo), by Robert M. Peacock and Denise Gee [Chronicle Book]

Book Description
This tantalizing tome features a hearty helping of must-eat recipes and must-meet dessert devotees, garnished with their fascinating stories. Learn about local Texan bakeries, the youngest pastry chef in the state, and the proper way to organize a Southern cookie swap. Divided into four tasty Texas regions, this cookbook features the big flavors of sweet treats like Deep Chocolate Meringue Pie, Citrus-Kissed Fig Ice Cream, Deep-Fried Coca-Cola, and Sweet Pineapple Tamales. With more than 60 classic and brand spankin' new recipes for cakes, cookies, puddings, cobblers, ice cream, pies, and pastries, Sweet on Texas is a sugar-coated tour through the culinary wonderland of the Lone Star State.

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Stephanie O'Dea [Hyperion], is another one I bought at twice the current price! This cookbook does double duty: not only can you find recipes to use up your garden produce, you can use them to cook your meals while you are out gardening! Also of note: all the recipes are gluten free!

Book Description
Make It Fast, Cook It Slow is the first cookbook from Stephanie O'Dea, the extremely popular slow cooking blogger: affordable, delicious, nutritious, and gluten-free recipes to delight the entire family.

In December 2007, Stephanie O'Dea made a New Year's resolution: she'd use her slow cooker every single day for an entire year, and write about it on her very popular blog. The result: more than three million visitors, and more than 300 fabulous, easy-to-make, family-pleasing recipes, including:

• Breakfast Risotto
• Vietnamese Roast Chicken
• Tomatoes and Goat Cheese with Balsamic Cranberry Syrup
• Falafel
• Philly Cheesesteaks
• CrÈme Brulee

--and much more. Make It Fast, Cook It Slow is the perfect cookbook for easy, quick prep, inexpensive ingredients, and meals that taste like you spent hours at the stove.

In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories About the Food You Love ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Melissa Clark [Hyperion], I also bought last year (but at only a dollar more than this year's sale price). Even if you don't buy the entire book, be sure to check out the Amazon page, where you'll find a complete recipe for Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potatoes.

Book Description
“A Good Appetite,” Melissa Clark’s weekly feature in the New York Times Dining Section, is about dishes that are easy to cook and that speak to everyone, either stirring a memory or creating one. Now, Clark takes the same freewheeling yet well-informed approach that has won her countless fans and applies it to one hundred and fifty delicious, simply sophisticated recipes.

Clark prefaces each recipe with the story of its creation—the missteps as well as the strokes of genius—to inspire improvisation in her readers. So when discussing her recipe for Crisp Chicken Schnitzel, she offers plenty of tried-and-true tips learned from an Austrian chef; and in My Mother’s Lemon Pot Roast, she gives the same high-quality advice, but culled from her own family’s kitchen.

Memorable chapters reflect the way so many of us like to eat: Things with Cheese (think Baked Camembert with Walnut Crumble and Ginger Marmalade), The Farmers’ Market and Me (Roasted Spiced Cauliflower and Almonds), It Tastes Like Chicken (Garlic and Thyme–Roasted Chicken with Crispy Drippings Croutons), and many more delectable but not overly complicated dishes.

In addition, Clark writes with Laurie Colwin–esque warmth and humor about the relationship that we have with our favorite foods, about the satisfaction of cooking a meal where everyone wants seconds, and about the pleasures of eating. From stories of trips to France with her parents, growing up (where she and her sister were required to sit on unwieldy tuna Nicoise sandwiches to make them more manageable), to bribing a fellow customer for the last piece of dessert at the farmers’ market, Melissa’s stories will delight any reader who starts thinking about what’s for dinner as soon as breakfast is cleared away. This is a cookbook to read, to savor, and most important, to cook delicious, rewarding meals from.

The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook: 105 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Lose Your Belly, Shed Excess Weight, Improve Health ($2.51 Kindle, $4.99 Kobo), by John Chatham [Rockridge University Press], is a companion to The Belly Fat Diet ($4.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), but starts out with enough of the basis of the diet before jumping into recipes that you can probably skip the second title, completely. Note that unlike some of his Paleo diet cookbooks, many of the recipes in this one are not gluten free (and if you are new to a GF diet, there is gluten hiding in the spelt and bulgar, amongst other ingredients), although many can be easily adapted (by using GF oats, for example).

Book Description
Trim away your belly fat with a healthy and delicious diet.

Achieving a flat stomach is not about doing hundreds of crunches or worrying about how much you eat; it's about what you eat. The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook provides delicious recipes and teaches you how to eat more, weigh less, and achieve a flat belly.

• Enjoy your favorite healthful dishes from breakfast to dessert, including Green Smoothies, Chicken Stir Fry, Baked Kale and Sweet Potato Chips, Almond Encrusted Salmon, and Berry Parfait.
• Learn the dangers of excess belly fat from its harmful impacts on your liver, to increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and a stroke.
• The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook offers 105 healthy recipes, tips for a successful transition to the belly fat diet, and the Belly Fat Diet Shopping Guide to help you minimize your intake of sugar and processed carbohydrates.

Lose weight and lose your belly with The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook--a sustainable path to a longer, healthier, and leaner life.

In his latest work, bestselling author John Chatham blasts the myths surrounding belly fat. The groundbreaking research in The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook reveals a science-based approach to healthy eating and looking good, and it doesn't involve starving yourself.

The Belly Fat Diet Cookbook: 105 Delicious Recipes to Lose Your Belly, Shed Excess Weight and Improve Health provides an easy-to-follow health solution that gets fast, visible, long-lasting results from the inside out.

Spring Fever Bargain Books

I've been doing a bit of gardening lately (our veggies are mostly in and the cleanup of my herb beds is complete, but the flower beds still need (a lot of) work). So, naturally, I've also been browsing thru the gardening and cookbook sections on rainy days (like yesterday). Here are a few of the finds I've turned up.

The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Jere And Emilee Gettle [Hyperion]. If you raise veggies and have done any mail order shopping for seeds, you know who Baker Creek is; if you garden now or plan to, buy this book!

Book Description
Tired of genetically modified food every day, Americans are moving more toward eating natural, locally grown food that is free of pesticides and preservatives—and there is no better way to ensure this than to grow it yourself. Anyone can start a garden, whether in a backyard or on a city rooftop; but what they need to truly succeed is The Heirloom Life Gardener, a comprehensive guide to cultivating heirloom vegetables.

In this invaluable resource, Jere and Emilee Gettle, cofounders of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, offer a wealth of knowledge to every kind of gardener—experienced pros and novices alike. In his friendly voice, complemented by gorgeous photographs, Jere gives planting, growing, harvesting, and seed saving tips. In addition, an extensive A to Z Growing Guide includes amazing heirloom varieties that many people have never even seen. From seed collecting to the history of seed varieties and name origins, Jere takes you far beyond the heirloom tomato. This is the first book of its kind that is not only a guide to growing beautiful and delicious vegetables, but also a way to join the movement of people who long for real food and a truer way of living.

The Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb: 400 Thrifty Tips for Saving Money, Time, and Resources as You Garden ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Rhonda Massingham Hart [Storey Publishing]. Storey has been a source of gardening books that I've read for many years (long before ebooks were around) and several of today's picks are from this publisher. I suspect that if you can't save at least the price of the book by using it's tips, you weren't trying very hard.

Book Description
Now gardeners don’t have to choose between frugal and fantastic! In The Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb, Rhonda Massingham Hart provides practical, time-tested solutions that will stretch your dollar farther than you ever thought possible, even as they yield beautiful, bountiful plants. From starting seeds to preserving produce, from composting to conserving water, Hart's advice ensures that you won't waste a scrap of time or money. Perfect for everyone from novices to experts, whether you are growing food, flowers, house plants, or landscape plants.

Don't Throw It, Grow It!: 68 windowsill plants from kitchen scraps ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Deborah Peterson [Storey Publishing]. If you've shopped for plants lately, you know that just saving the cost of one plant will pay for the book (not to mention: how often do you even see culinary ginger for sale?).

Book Description
Magic and wonder hide in unexpected places — a leftover piece of ginger, a wrinkled potato left too long in its bag, a humdrum kitchen spice rack. In Don't Throw It, Grow It! Deborah Peterson reveals the hidden possibilities in everyday foods.

Peterson, former president of the American Pit Gardening Society, shows how common kitchen staples — pits, nuts, beans, seeds, and tubers — can be coaxed into lush, vibrant houseplants that are as attractive as they are fascinating. With Peterson's help, a sweet potato turns into a blooming vine; chickpeas transform into cheery hanging baskets; the humble beet becomes a dramatic centerpiece; and gingerroot grows into a 3-foot, bamboo-like stalk. In some cases the transformation happens overnight!

Don't Throw It, Grow It! offers growing instructions for 68 plants in four broad categories — vegetables; fruits and nuts; herbs and spices; and more exotic plants from ethnic markets. The book is enhanced with beautiful illustrations, and its at-a-glance format makes it a quick and easy reference. Best of all, every featured plant can be grown in a kitchen, making this handy guide a must-have for avid gardeners and apartment-dwellers alike.

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit: Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Rhonda Massingham Hart [Storey Publishing]. Other than some fruit vines kept on trellises, we've never really done any vertical gardening (and I HIGHLY recommend you install a much stouter support than a clothesline, if you are growing kiwis ... and pay closer attention to the 20' recommended distance between than I did!), so I haven't decided to get this one ... yet.

Book Description
At last, an innovative solution for urbanites, apartment dwellers, and anyone who wants to grow food in small spaces — grow up!

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit shows how easy and fun small-footprint food gardening can be. Low maintenance and big harvests are just two of the benefits of using teepees, trellises, cages, hanging baskets, wall pockets, stacking pots, and multilevel raised beds to grow vegetables and fruit.

Whether your soon-to-be garden is an alley, a balcony, a rooftop, or just a windowsill, master gardener Rhonda Massingham Hart provides expert advice for constructing the site, preparing the soil, and planting and caring for vegetables and fruits to produce a hearty harvest. From beans on a tepee to tomatoes on a wire archway, melons on a slanted fence to cucumbers on a trellis, kiwis on a clothesline to strawberries in a pot, there are simple growing guidelines here to fit every gardener’s favorite tastes and site.

For experienced gardeners looking to try new techniques as well as first-time growers with tiny growing spaces, Vertical Vegetables & Fruit is the space-saving, harvest-enhancing guide to producing a bounty of fresh food in any location.

The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask ($2.51 Kindle, $2.99 B&N, Kobo), by Barbara W. Ellis [Storey Publishing], looks like the perfect starter book for beginners (and should be helpful even for "experts" ... unless you are already writing your own books on this subject).

Book Description
For all of your gardening questions, The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book has the answers, gathered together in a sturdy little book for handy in-the-garden reference. You'll find helpful information on everything from planning and planting a vegetable garden to improving soil, caring for crops, organically controlling pests and diseases, and harvesting.

Starting Seeds: How to Grow Healthy, Productive Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers from Seed ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Barbara Ellis [Storey Publishing]. Despite the size of those several gallon potted tomato plants at your local Home & Garden store (which cost more, I suspect, than the tomatoes you'll get from them are worth), it's not to late to grow quite a bit of this year's garden from seed. It's a bit late for peppers, true, but just skip those sections now and read them this winter (when it is time to get those long-season plants started).

Book Description
Growing plants from seeds isn’t difficult; it just takes a little know-how. Now, gardeners of any experience level can get a jump on the growing season with this concise, straightforward guide. Expert gardener Barbara Ellis provides the basic information that you need and teaches you foolproof starting techniques for a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

Kindle Daily Deals 4/25

Celebrate National Park week with one (or all) of Chimani's National Park apps, all free this week.

Today's Nook Daily Find, Summer Rental, by Mary Kay Andrews, is now price matched on Kindle.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is on more than 60 books top-rated non-fiction books in a variety of categories, from biographies and memoirs to history and science. Many also have deals on companion audiobooks that drop the combined price down to the $7-$8 range, as well. I've heard more than once that non-fiction readers get overlooked on the Daily Deals - now is your chance to browse thru the equivalent of two months of daily deals and stock up on reading for the summer.

City was named to the Best Non-Fiction 2012 list by Kirkus Reviews and Year of Meteors offers a different perspective on the events of 1860 that played such an important role in our nations history. Also hiding in the list is Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation, which I recommended just yesterday as a companion to the free audiobook on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter. If you held off due to the price, now is the time to snag it; if you did buy at the higher price, you can do a quick return from the Manage Your Kindle page, then repurchase at the lower price today.


Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Bachelor Pact ($0.99), an omnibus of three romantic comedies by Rita Herron. All three were originally published (individually) by Love Spell (Dorchester), Ms Herron has self-published these and several other backlist titles in the Kindle store; many others you'll find are published by Harlequin (still reasonably priced, but not this low).

Book Description
Three men sworn to bachelor hood meet their matches in this trilogy about friendships, family and love!

Marry Me, Maddie
When Maddie is dumped on television, her brothers' best friend is enlisted to babysit her - but will they fall in love?

Sleepless in Savannah
A dating game show goes awry and forces Sophie to take a weekend date with a stranger instead of Maddie's brother -- the man she wants to be with.

I Love Lucy
All Lucy wants for the holidays is to be with her family and the man she loves -- instead she's hiding out from a stalker in a sixties & up community!

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Search for the Buried Bomber ($1.99), by Xu Lei and Gabriel Ascher (Translator), with the the companion audiobook also $1.99. This is an Amazon exclusive translation of one of China’s most popular and highest grossing novelists, published by their AmazonCrossing imprint.

Book Description
The X-Files meets Indiana Jones in Search for the Buried Bomber, the first in Xu Lei’s Dark Prospects series of thrillers steeped in archeological myths and government secrets.

During China’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution, the People’s Liberation Army dispatches an elite group of prospectors famous for their work uncovering rare minerals to the mountains of rural Inner Mongolia. Their assignment: to bring honor to their country by descending into a maze of dank caves to find and retrieve the remnants of a buried World War II bomber left by their Japanese enemies. How the aircraft ended up beneath thousands of feet of rock baffles the team, but they’ll soon encounter far more treacherous and equally inexplicable forces lurking in the shadows. Each step taken—and each life lost—brings them closer to a mind-bending truth that should never see the light of day. Pride sent them into the caves, but terror will drive them out.

Through the eyes of one of the prospectors, bestselling Chinese author Xu Lei leads readers on a gripping and suspenseful journey.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent ($1.99), by Laura Ripes [Amazon Children's Publishing]. This is definitely not a title I remember from my childhood, but should appeal to most young readers.

Book Description
Sammy Sanders can't sleep. He is 77 percent sure that a spaghetti-slurping serpent lives in his sewer. Sammy and his sidekicks his sister, Sally, and their slobbery dog, Stan set out to discover the truth. What Sammy finds is a surprise in this tongue twisting mystery featuring the slippery letter S. The bright, fun artwork was created in colored pencil.

Age Range: 3 - 5 years

Nook Daily Find 4/25

Summer Rental ($7.99 $3.99 Kindle, $3.99 B&N), by Mary Kay Andrews, is the Nook Daily Find. I do expect it to drop at Amazon also, later this morning (it just dropped a minute ago at B&N, nearly an hour late, and is still bouncing up and down in price; Amazon's prices generally update after 3AM Eastern Time).

Update: Now price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction…

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life. Julia--whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he's hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about.

Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?

Mary Kay Andrews' novel is the story of five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them.

Summer Rental is one of Library Journal's Best Women's Fiction Books of 2011

UK Kindle Daily Deal 4/25

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is five novels for women at £0.99 each (80% off).

All the Single Ladies (Main/UK), by Jane Costello (no US edition)

Samantha Brooks' boyfriend has made a mistake. One his friends, family, and Sam herself know he'll live to regret. Jamie has announced he's leaving, out of the blue. Jamie is loving, intelligent and, while he isn't perfect, he's perfect for her - in every way except one: he's a free spirit. And after six years in one place, doing a job he despises, he is compelled to do something that will tear apart his relationship with Sam: book a one-way flight to South America.

But Sam isn't giving up without a fight. With Jamie still totally in love with her, and torn about whether to stay or go, she has three months to persuade him to do the right thing. So with the help of her friends Ellie and Jen, she hatches a plan to make him realise what he's giving up. A plan that involves dirty tricks, plotting, and a single aim: to win him back.

But by the time the tortured Jamie finally wakes up to what he's lost, a gorgeous new pretender has entered Sam's life. Which begs the question . . . does she still want him back?

East End Angel (Main/UK), by Carol Rivers (US edition $9.99)

June 1941, Isle of Dogs, London.

In the dark days following the Blitz, happiness visits young Pearl Jenkins as she celebrates her marriage to Jim Nesbitt.

But what should be a joyful occasion is marred when a fight breaks out between Jim and Ricky Winters, an unwelcome visitor from Pearl's past. And to Pearl's horror, the new beau of her wayward younger sister Ruby.

Increasingly uneasy at staying at home when other men are off fighting for their country, Jim enlists, leaving Pearl at home - alone, pregnant, and at Ricky's mercy….

Together, Pearl and Ruby must bring up baby Cynthia while struggling to make ends meet and dodge the doodlebugs. And all the time, Pearl must hide the dark secret she harbours, one which would tear the two sisters apart as well as her marriage.

Then tragedy strikes both on the home front and in the trenches and Pearl is forced to fight like never before to keep her family safe.

The Marriage Bargain (Main/UK), by Jennifer Probst (US edition $6.83)

To save her family home, impulsive bookshop owner Alexa McKenzie, casts a love spell, which conjures up an unexpected visitor - her best friend's older brother and the powerful man who once shattered her heart.

Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn't believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his father's corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister's childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he's offers Alexa an interesting proposal...

A marriage in name only, the rules? Avoid entanglement. Keep things businesslike. Do not fall in love.

The arrangement is only for a year so the rules shouldn't be that hard to follow... Except Fate has a way of upsetting the best laid plans…

Good In Bed (Main/UK), by Jennifer Weiner (US edition $9.73)

Cannie Shapiro never wanted to be famous. The smart, sharp, plus-sized reporter was perfectly happy writing about other people's lives for her local newspaper. And for the past twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her job, her friends, her dog and her life. She loves her apartment and her commodious, quilt-lined bed. She has made a tenuous peace with her body and she even felt okay about ending her relationship with her boyfriend Bruce. But now this...

'Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world,' Bruce has written in a national woman's magazine. And Cannie - who never knew that Bruce saw her as a larger woman, or thought that loving her was an act of courage - is plunged into misery, and the most amazing year of her life.

Stay Close to Me (Main/UK), by Helen Warner (US edition titled IOU, $9.99)

Amy has enjoyed a charmed life, shopping and lunching while the nanny looks after her children. Until her world is thrown into disarray when husband Ben's business collapses overnight, taking their house and savings with it. Suddenly Amy finds herself the breadwinner. Can she rise to the challenge? Will her marriage survive such an upheaval? Or is it a case of 'Till Debt Do Us Part'?

Kate has always had to struggle by, juggling her job with two children and a husband, though she wouldn't have it any other way. But her safe little world is rocked when she meets enigmatic Jack in a chance encounter. Feeling increasingly estranged from husband Miles, Kate wonders if Jack can offer her a fresh start. But there's something about Jack that Kate doesn't know. . .

Jennifer is only just beginning to recover from the death of her own husband. When Jennifer makes contact with old flame Hugh she unlocks a dangerous Pandora's box. She is desperate to find the answer to a question that has tormented her for decades. But will she be able to cope with the truth?

Free Audiobook - Letter from Birmingham Jail

Get a free download of Letter from Birmingham Jail ($5.58 Audible), by Martin Luther King Jr., narrated by Dion Graham, over at Christianaudio. There doesn't appear to be a Kindle edition containing only the letter, but civil rights buffs might enjoy reading Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation, by Jonathan Rieder, published by Bloomsbury.

Book Description
April 16th. The year is 1963. Birmingham, Alabama has had a spring of non-violent protests known as the Birmingham Campaign, seeking to draw attention to the segregation against blacks by the city government and downtown retailers. The organizers longed to create a non-violent tension so severe that the powers that be would be forced to address the rampant racism head on. Recently arrested was Martin Luther King, Jr.. It is there in that jail cell that he writes this letter; on the margins of a newspaper he pens this defense of non-violence against segregation. His accusers, though many, in this case were not the white racist leaders or retailers he protested against, but 8 black men who saw him as “other” and as too extreme. To them and to the world he defended the notion that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

Get the free audio download from Christianaudio.

After finishing your order, download a the MP3 if you want to be able to play the book on your Kindle (M4B for the iOS, iTunes or QuickTime) and copy it to the \audiobooks directory on your Kindle (not \music) in order to have audiobook controls and see it on your Kindle home page.

Kindle Daily Deals 4/24

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Dragon's Eye: Dragonology Chronicles, Volume One ($1.99), by Dugald Steer [Candlewick], with the companion audiobook for $2.99.

Book Description
Adventure! Villains! And dragons, dragons, dragons! From the creators of the best-selling Dragonology series, this first volume of the Dragonology Chronicles finds Daniel Cook and his sister, Beatrice, studying with eccentric dragonologist Dr. Ernest Drake. Soon they’re caught up in a race to find the stolen Dragon’s Eye- a jewel that has the power to reflect the true Dragon Master- before it is stolen by the evil Ignatius Crook. Working with Dr. Drake (and many friendly dragons), can these young siblings foil Ignatius and recover the Dragon’s Eye?

Age Range: 9 and up

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Extended Family ($1.99), by Patrick Kendrick [Thomas & Mercer].

Book Description
Dr. Harmon Gettys is the perfect man: tall, dark, handsome, and brilliant. He’d seemingly be a catch for any woman—especially those who desire an apparently charmed offspring. But Gettys uses his seed for murder, to create a legacy of violence.

For Fire Marshal Greymon Gift, gruesome burn-related murders are nothing new. But a sudden spike in his jurisdiction has Gift on high alert. When an FBI investigation links multiple arson scenes to the deceased Dr. Gettys, Gift is pulled even deeper into a case that’s hot enough to start a conflagration. He knows that even if Gettys were alive, such an assortment of violent crimes could never be committed by just one man. So who is spreading these horrors from coast to coast?

Gift and FBI Agent Rose Cleary partner up to stop the growing number of savagely murdered victims, but can they uncover the truth before they wind up on the list of the dead? Extended Family offers a thrilling look into the heart of darkness. Horrifying and suspenseful, the novel explores the idea that evil can be passed like a torch from one generation to the next. As Gettys proved—and Gift is about to find out—sometimes all it takes is a spark to set the family tree ablaze.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is A Rose at Midnight ($1.99), by Anne Stuart [indie backlist/Avon]. Romance fans will also want to grab Shadow Dance, also originally published by Avon and which she currently has on sale for $0.99.

Book Description
A seminal romance, finally available again. Ghislaine de Lorgny wants just one thing in this life -- revenge on the man who destroyed her life. Nicholas Blackthorne wants two things -- to keep Ghislaine from killing him and getting her into his bed. Kidnapping her and taking her, kicking and screaming, across half of Europe is only the beginning to their adventures. Nicholas has a black heart and a remorseless soul, Ghislaine has fierce determination and a score to settle. If only she wasn't falling in love with her kidnapper.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Angel's Ink ($1.99), by Jocelynn Drake [Harper Voyager]. It's a good deal for those who missed it when it was free earlier this month; don't forget, you can currently pick up the rest of her backlist for $0.99/title, a deal sure to go away once Dead Man's Deal is released early next month.

Book Description
The superstars of urban fantasy agree—Angel’s Ink, the first book in Jocelyn Drake’s Asylum Tales is a winner! Genre fans who know—and love—Drake’s phenomenal, New York Times bestselling Dark Days novels will be blown away by this dark and seductive new series. Meet Gage, a magical tattoo artist trying to remain hidden and alive in a world where elves, faeries, trolls, werewolves, and vampires mingle freely with humans, and warlocks and witches rule the roost with merciless cruelty. Angel’s Ink indelibly marks the beginning of something phenomenal and every reader whose tastes run to the supernatural—those who can’t wait to sink their teeth into the latest Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, Kelley Armstrong, or Jim Butcher—will want to fly with this Angel.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 4/24

Omega (£0.99 UK), the third novel in the Penton Vampire Legacy series by Susannah Sandlin [Montlake Romance], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99; companion audiobook $1.99).

Book Description
The bloody war between the Vampire Tribunal and the defiant scathe of Penton, Alabama, rages on, forcing its residents and their bonded humans to retreat into the underground fortress of last resort: Omega. There, Will Ludlam is charged with the care of Penton’s humans, though he longs to fight alongside his vampire brethren. He knows the risks: as the renegade son of the Tribunal’s vicious leader, Will’s capture could doom the resistance. Yet he is determined to prove his worth to his adopted scathe, to his vengeful father—and to former US Army officer Randa Thomas, his beautiful, reluctant partner. Randa has little faith that a former member of the vampire elite has what it takes to fight a war. But as their enemies descend upon Omega, Will’s polished charm—and Randa’s guarded heart—finally give way to the warrior within. Fans of Susannah Sandlin’s Penton Legacy are sure to devour this long-awaited third installment of the steamy paranormal series.

Nook Daily Find 4/24

Tangled Ashes ($9.09 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Michele Phoenix [Tyndale House], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
When Marshall Becker arrives in Lamorlaye, France, to begin the massive renovation of a Renaissance-era castle, he unearths a dark World War II history few in the village remember. The project that was meant to provide an escape for Becker instead becomes a gripping glimpse into the human drama that unfolded during the Nazi occupation and seems to live on in midnight disturbances and bizarre acts of vandalism.

Kindle Daily Deals 4/23

It's video game day in the Amazon Gold Box and Lightning Deals today - Up to 33% Off "God of War: Ascension" and Legacy Bundle all day (or until sold out) and the current Lightning deal is on Halo 4 and there look to be more games all day long. Also, Select Disney Video Games are on sale (but not necessarily a today-only deal), with versions for WII, PS3 and XBOX included.

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is The Namesake ($1.99), by Steven Parlato [Merit Press].

Book Description
Gifted artist? Standout student? All his teachers are sure certain that Evan Galloway can be the graduate who brings glory to small, ordinary St. Sebastian's School. As for Evan, however, he can't be bothered anymore. Since the shock of his young father's suicide last spring, Evan no longer cares about the future. In fact, he believes that he spent the first fifteen years of his life living a lie. Despite his mother's encouragement and the steadfast companionship of his best friend, Alexis, Evan is mired in rage and bitterness. Good memories seem ludicrous when the present holds no hope. Then Evan's grandmother hands him the key--literally, a key--to a locked trunk that his father hid when he was the same age as Evan is now. Digging into the trunk and the small-town secrets it uncovers, Evan can begin to face who his father really was, and why even the love of his son could not save him.

In a voice that resonates with the authenticity of grief, Steven Parlato tells a different kind of coming-of-age story, about a boy thrust into adulthood too soon, through the corridor of shame, disbelief, and finally...compassion.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Pretty Little Liars ($2.99), the first in the YA series by Sara Shepard [HarperCollins], the companion audiobook for $3.95. Pretty Little Liars #3: Perfect, is also on sale at $4.99 (50% off).

Book Description
Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors spencer, aria, emily, and hanna.

Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.

But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.

How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is No Foolin' ($1.99), by Lisa Scott [Bell Bridge Books].

Book Description
Welcome to Willowdale, North Carolina, a small town where the folks are friendly, the romances are as sweet as the tea, and the biddies at the diner gobble up gossip like it’s peach cobbler. This may be their biggest scoop ever.

When sexy Hollywood bad-boy Teague “T-Rex” Reynolds comes to this quiet Southern town, he needs a fake girlfriend to hide the secret that brought him there. School nurse Kate Riley takes the job, but she won’t fall for a movie star, no ma’am. That’s fine with Teague. He hung a closed sign on his heart years ago.

Convincing the press they’re in love is one thing. Fooling each other they’re not is getting harder each day. Despite scandal, heartache, and misunderstandings galore, they might just find the sweet thrill of true love. Book one of The Willowdale Romances.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Hunt ($2.99), the first novel in The Hunt Trilogy by Andrew Fukuda [St. Martin's Griffin/Macmillan].

Book Description
Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

UK Kindle Daily Deal 4/23

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is 10 Books to Celebrate World Book Night from £0.99 each (> 72% off).

Secrecy (£1.49 UK), by Rupert Thomson (no US edition)

It is Florence, 1691. The Renaissance is long gone, and the city is a dark, repressive place, where everything is forbidden and anything is possible. The Enlightenment may be just around the corner, but knowledge is still the property of the few, and they guard it fiercely. Art, sex and power - these, as always, are the obsessions.
Facing serious criminal charges, Gaetano Zummo is forced to flee his native Siracusa at the age of twenty, first to Palermo, then Naples, but always has the feeling that he is being pursued by his past, and that he will never be free of it. Zummo works an artist in wax. He is fascinated by the plague, and makes small wooden cabinets in which he places graphic, tortured models of the dead and dying. But Cosimo III, Tuscany's penultimate Medici ruler, gives Zummo his most challenging commission yet, and as he tackles it his path entwines with that of the apothecary's daughter Faustina, whose secret is even more explosive than his.

Poignant but paranoid, sensual yet chilling, Secrecy is a novel that buzzes with intrigue and ideas. It is a love story, a murder mystery, a portrait of a famous city in an age of austerity, an exercise in concealment and revelation, but above all it is a trapdoor narrative, one story dropping unexpectedly into another, the ground always slippery, uncertain...

Reef (£0.99 UK), by Romesh Gunesekera (no US edition)

A single lighted match banishes Triton from his father's home to the employ of Mister Salgado, a marine biologist obsessed by swamps, sea movements and a Sri Lankan island's disappearing reef. Stranded in London years later, Triton plumbs the depths of his childhood memories - a period of brewing political, ethical and religious turmoil - and brings us to understand how he has navigated this brave new world, which once lost will haunt him forever.

Gunesekera's debut novel, short-listed for the Booker Prize, is a haunting and elegiac love-story set in a spoiled paradise, which continues to be as vital and relevant as ever. Re-printed by Granta in a beautiful new edition.

The Buddha of Suburbia (£0.99 UK), by Hanif Kureishi (no US edition)

Winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award 'A wonderful novel. I doubt I will read a funnier one, or one with more heart, this year, possibly this decade.' Angela Carter, Guardian The hero of Hanif Kureishi's first novel is Karim, a dreamy teenager, desperate to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving - albeit with some rude and raucous results. 'One of the best comic novels of growing up, and one of the sharpest satires on race relations in this country that I've ever read.' Independent on Sunday 'Brilliantly funny. A fresh, anarchic and deliciously unrestrained novel.' Sunday Times 'A distinctive and talented voice, blithe, savvy, alive and kicking.' Hermione Lee, Independent

Burnt Shadows (£0.99 UK), by Kamila Shamsie (US edition $8.89)

In a prison cell in the US, a man stands trembling, naked, fearfully waiting to be shipped to Guantánamo Bay. How did it come to this? he wonders... August 9th, 1945, Nagasaki. Hiroko Tanaka steps out onto her veranda, taking in the view of the terraced slopes leading up to the sky. Wrapped in a kimono with three black cranes swooping across the back, she is twenty-one, in love with the man she is to marry, Konrad Weiss. In a split second, the world turns white. In the next, it explodes with the sound of fire and the horror of realisation. In the numbing aftermath of a bomb that obliterates everything she has known, all that remains are the bird-shaped burns on her back, an indelible reminder of the world she has lost. In search of new beginnings, she travels to Delhi two years later. There she walks into the lives of Konrad's half-sister, Elizabeth, her husband James Burton, and their employee Sajjad Ashraf, from whom she starts to learn Urdu. As the years unravel, new homes replace those left behind and old wars are seamlessly usurped by new conflicts. But the shadows of history - personal, political - are cast over the entwined worlds of the Burtons, Ashrafs and the Tanakas as they are transported from Pakistan to New York, and in the novel's astonishing climax, to Afghanistan in the immediate wake of 9/11. The ties that have bound them together over decades and generations are tested to the extreme, with unforeseeable consequences. Sweeping in its scope and mesmerising in its evocation of time and place, Burnt Shadows is an epic narrative of disasters evaded and confronted, loyalties offered and repaid, and loves rewarded and betrayed.

She Rises (£1.39 UK), by Kate Worsley (US edition $14.29)

It is 1740 and Louise Fletcher, a young dairymaid on an Essex farm, has been warned of the lure of the sea for as long as she can remember - after all, it stole away her father and brother. But when she is offered work in the bustling naval port of Harwich, as maid to a wealthy captain's daughter, she leaps at the chance to see more of the world. There she meets Rebecca, her haughty young mistress, who is unlike anyone Louise has encountered before: as unexpected as she is fascinating. 15-year old Luke is drinking in a Harwich tavern when it is raided by His Majesty's Navy. Unable to escape, Luke is beaten and press ganged and sent to sea on board the warship Essex. He must learn fast and choose his friends well if he is to survive the brutal hardships of a sailor's life and its many dangers, both up high in the rigging and in the dark below decks. Louise navigates her new life among the streets and crooked alleys of Harwich, where fine houses concealing smugglers' tunnels are flooded by the Spring tides, and love burns brightly in the shadows. And Luke, aching for the girl he left behind and determined to one day find his way back to her, embarks on a long and perilous journey across the ocean.The worlds they find are more dangerous and more exciting than they could ever have imagined, and when they collide the consequences are astonishing and irrevocable. A breathtakingly accomplished love story and a gripping search for identity and survival, She Rises is a bold, brilliant and utterly original novel.

Beacons: Stories for our not so distant future (£1.19 UK), by Gregory Norminton, Tom Bullough, David Constantine, Clare Dudman, et al (US edition $9.99)

Beacons throws down the gauntlet, challenging well-known authors to imagine our worst and best possible futures and, in imagining them, to help us change things for the better. From Joanne Harris’ powerful vision of a near future where ‘outside’ has become a thing of history to Nick Hayes’ beautifully illustrated tale of the bond between man and nature, this is where dystopian satire meets speculative and historical fiction, metaphorical flights of fancy, quiet tragedy, and farcical comedy, crafting stories that are as various as our possible futures.

Provocative, encouraging, and deeply moving, Beacons represents the best of British writing – and collectively illuminates the immediacy of the ecological problems at hand.

All author royalties will go to the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, the UK’s largest group of people dedicated to action on climate change and limiting its impact on the world’s poorest people.

Orkney (£1.39 UK), by Amy Sackville (US edition $11.99)

On a remote island in Orkney, a curiously matched couple arrive on their honeymoon. He is an eminent literature professor; she was his pale, enigmatic star pupil. Alone beneath the shifting skies of this untethered landscape, the professor realises how little he knows about his new bride and yet, as the days go by and his mind turns obsessively upon the creature who has so beguiled him, she seems to slip ever further from his yearning grasp. Where does she come from? Why did she ask him to bring her north? What is it that constantly draws her to the sea?

The Soldier's Song (£0.99 UK), by Alan Monaghan (no US edition)

Dublin, 1914. As Ireland stands on the brink of political crisis, Europe plunges headlong into war. Among the thousands of Irishmen who volunteer to fight for the British Army is Stephen Ryan, a gifted young maths scholar whose working class background has marked him out as a misfit among his wealthy fellow students. Sent to fight in Turkey, he looks forward to the great adventure, unaware of the growing unrest back home in Ireland. His romantic notions of war are soon shattered and he is forced to wonder where his loyalties lie, on his return to a Dublin poised for rebellion in 1916 and a brother fighting for the rebels. Everything has changed utterly, and in a world gone mad his only hope is his growing friendship with the brilliant and enigmatic Lillian Bryce. The Soldier's Song is a poignant and deeply moving novel, a tribute to the durability of the human soul.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volumes 1-4 (The Heirloom Collection) (£0.99 UK), by Arthur Conan Doyle (US edition $2.99) [Thomas & Mercer; Deluxe ed edition]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales are rightly ranked among the seminal works of mystery and detective fiction. The splendid illustrations in this collection more than befit that classic status. Included are all four full-length Holmes novels and more than forty short masterpieces—from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes and more. At the center of each stands the iconic figure of Holmes—brilliant, eccentric, and capable of amazing feats of deductive reasoning. By his side is Dr. John Watson, his steadfast assistant and our trusty narrator. This set is a must-have for every discriminating bibliophile and Sherlock Holmes fan.

The Sandglass (£0.99 UK), by Romesh Gunesekera (no US edition)

The Sandglass tells the story of two feuding families whose lives are interlinked by the changing fortunes of postcolonial Sri Lanka. Moving back and forth between London and Sri Lanka, the novel brings to life Prins Ducal and his search for answers about his family's past, including his father's rise to wealth, rivalry with the Vatunas family, and a suspicious death - a mystery that further unfolds upon Prins's arrival in London for his mother's funeral. Re-printed by Granta in a beautiful new edition.

Nook Daily Find 4/23

Big Stone Gap ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Adriana Trigiani [Random House], is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old pharmacist with a "mountain girl's body and a flat behind." She lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in 1978 when she suddenly discovers that she's not who she always thought she was. Before she can blink, Ave's fielding marriage proposals, fighting off greedy family members, organizing a celebration for visiting celebrities, and planning the trip of a lifetime—a trip that could change her view of the world and her own place in it forever. Brimming with humor and wise notions of small-town life, Big Stone Gap is a gem of a book with a giant heart. . . .

Kindle Daily Deals 4/22

Today's Earth Day and (of course) Amazon has several interesting items in their Make Every Day Earth Day Sale, from Zojirushi and Ms Bento Lunch on the Go items to Goal Zero Yeti solar generators (which are slightly cheaper at CostCo, if you have a membership, but with Amazon you may not have to pay sales tax and get free Prime shipping, straight to your door). One of the more intriguing selections is the Eton Rugged Rukus All-Terrain Portable Solar Wireless Sound System, currently available to pre-order for $30 off. This joins their Rukus Portable Bluetooth Solar Powered Wireless Speaker System as a solution for listening to your devices when you aren't in your living room and want to share the program with more than one person. Both are solar powered (or can be wall charged), can charge your USB devices in a pinch (acting as a solar charger system) and connect to your phone, tablet or Kindle via Bluetooth, while the existing devices is larger, with a carrying handle and a pocket to stash your phone and has a standard audio jack for use with any device. The new device is much more portable (1.2 lbs vs. 3.5), will be much more backpack friendly and is water resistant. If you need truly waterproof, tho, you might want to look at something like the ECOXGEAR ECOXBT, which you can clip on your pack (it's solar charger is entirely separate, also) or use at the beach, beside the pool, in the shower, or while kayaking the rapids.

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Pepi Tree, a kid's game that is very appropriate for Earth Day!

Today's Free MP3 Pick is the radio edit of Hillbilly Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, which matches the title of Cyrus' new memoir, now available on Kindle and, at $5.99, it's a bargain compared to the hardcover edition ($15 or more).

Starting today, Get a $10 or $20 Amazon.com Gift Card with Purchase of Select Paula Deen Cookware or Dinnerware (deal expires May 12).

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is King of Swords ($1.99), by Russell Blake.

Book Description
Book 1 of the Assassin series, King of Swords is an epic assassination thriller framed against a gritty backdrop of brutal drug cartel violence in modern Mexico.

The G-20 Financial Summit is planned for San Jose Del Cabo. The world's pre-eminent finance ministers will attend, along with the presidents of the U.S. and Mexico. Captain Romero Cruz of the Mexican Federal Police uncovers an assassination plot against the attendees. In a roller-coaster race against the clock, Cruz must track and stop El Rey, the "King of Swords" - a faceless super-assassin responsible for a string of the world's most spectacular killings, before he turns the G-20 into a slaughterhouse.

King of Swords is a rule-breaking rush that shatters convention to create a richly-drawn story that's sure to shock and delight even the most jaded intrigue/adventure thriller fans.

WARNING - King of Swords is controversial & contains jarring imagery & situations. It is NOT for the faint of heart. Readers interested in tame, conventional thrillers would be best advised to look elsewhere.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Tempting the Highlander ($0.99), by Janet Chapman [Simon and Schuster].

Book Description
She has the power to tempt him beyond all reason....

Catherine Daniels arrives in Pine Creek, Maine, at just the right time for Robbie MacBain. She is on the run from her ex-husband, and Robbie is a sexy, single foster parent who needs a housekeeper while he travels back in time to medieval Scotland. Unbeknownst to Catherine, Robbie's looking for a book of spells to save the future of his family...and little did he expect to find a burning passion in Catherine's arms. Can Robbie seal his family's fate while enticing Catherine to follow him and her own heart wherever love will take them?

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Stranded ($1.99), an anthology by Anne Bishop, Anthony Francis and James Alan Gardner [Bell Bridge Books], with the companion audiobook for $3.99 (and it counts towards the Listening Rewards Sale this month). This looks like it would be worth picking up for the first novella alone and I'll be checking the sample later this morning.

Book Description
Three Great Authors—Three Great Science Fiction Stories

A Strand In The Web
New York Times Bestselling Fantasy Author Anne Bishop makes her U.S. debut in Science Fiction with this engaging futuristic novella. The Restorers travel the universe fulfilling a purpose handed down through the generations. They live and die aboard city-ships, never knowing the worlds they create and save. What begins as a disastrous training exercise in creating and balancing ecosystems becomes an unexpected fight for survival. The only hope may be the secret project of an untried Restorer team.

Host Of Leeches
Award winning author James Alan Gardner pens a wonderfully imaginative tale, in which a young woman wakes to find herself the sole human on an orbiting, mechanical space station. To find a way home, she must navigate the dangerous politics of war between opposing robot leaders.

Stranded
Popular urban fantasy writer Anthony Francis (Dakota Frost, Skindancer series) explores the clash of ethics and survival when a young, genetically engineered centauress from the ultra-advanced Alliance lays claim to a rare, strategic garden planet, only to find herself captured by a band of rag-tag Frontier refugees who’ve crashed their vintage ship on her unexpectedly hostile world.

Kindle Daily Deal Celebrate Earth Day 2013 with four illustrated, "green"-themed books for young readers at $1.99 apiece.

Earth Day, Birthday!, by Maureen Wright and Violet Kim.

It's April 22, and Lion and his friends want to plant trees, recycle bottles, and have fun on Earth Day. But not Monkey. He wants to celebrate his birthday. Can he convince the other animals that it really is his birthday? Violet Kim's humorous artwork, rendered in paper, photographs, and colored pencil, highlight the sunny, friendly world of the animals.

Age Level: 3 and up

Nibbles: A Green Tale, by Charlotte Middleton.

In this companion book to Nibbles: A Green Tale, Nibbles and his new neighbor, Posie, are keeping six caterpillars as pets. They look after their caterpillars carefully, but one day, the caterpillars disappear! These gardening guinea pigs become the detectives of Dandeville. With the help of shop owner Mr. Rosetti, they solve their mystery in this green tale. Author and illustrator Charlotte Middleton uses a charming, unique style of mixed-media artwork.

Age Range: 6 - 8 years

Stuff! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, by Steven Kroll and Steve Cox.

Pinch is a packrat. He collects lots of stuff. When his friends decide to hold a tag sale, Pinch is horrified. The last thing he wants to do is recycle his things. But then he realizes that he can make money at a tag sale—enough money to buy more stuff! How Pinch changes and finds a way to beautify his town will reinforce the benefits of practicing the three R’s— reduce, reuse, and recycle!

Age Range: 6 - 8 years

Recycle Every Day!, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace.

Minna, a creative bunny, wants to win the Community Recycling Calendar Contest. She knows a lot about recycling but just can’t come up with the perfect idea for her poster. Minna’s family helps her find inspiration as they share their own recycling efforts. The book’s bright, bold cut-paper illustrations are enhanced by Wallace’s use of recycled materials such as bubble wrap, envelopes, and wallpaper. With games, activities, and recycling suggestions, this book is destined to be read again and again.

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up