Books for a Buck

I'm only posting links for Amazon, but you may find these on sale at Barnes & Noble, Kobo or Sony. Sony, by-the-way, has another coupon code good for all non-Agency tiles: 40JUNE13 for 40% off coupon, thru June 19th.

These are all titles from HarperCollins, who is having a 99 cent sale with 700 titles included. Obviously, I can't list them all here, so I've just listed some that look especially interesting. Click thru to the sale page to explore by category, where you'll find 20 cookbooks on sale, for example.

Please, leave a comment if you see one that we shouldn't miss while it is on sale. Also, don't forget that you can use a gift certificate to reduce the number of small charges you see on your credit or debit cards.

Mariel's Kitchen by Mariel Hemingway

Book Description
How do you cook nutritious and delicious meals when life is busy and time is short? How can you make fresh, organic food a part of your and your family's way of life—simply and affordably? These are the questions that Mariel Hemingway answers by sharing tried-and-tested recipes, straight from her kitchen to yours.

Filled with exciting, beautiful photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, Mariel's Kitchen includes seventy-five sensational recipes that can be mastered by anyone, regardless of cooking experience. Arranged according to the seasons, these recipes show how simple it can be to put locally grown, seasonal produce on your table in place of packaged and processed foods. From sublime summer breakfasts to delectable desserts and heartwarming winter dinners, these tasty dishes, snacks, salad dressings, marinades, and drink recipes put homemade eating back into easy reach.

Mariel also shares her secrets that make it possible to eat well all week long, even with a full schedule. She reveals what staples are necessary for any pantry and how to prepare core recipes that become the foundation for multiple dishes. She offers shopping tips for navigating the world of organic and sustainable foods. And as she reveals what makes her kitchen “the heart of her home,” she peppers recipes with stories about her own lifelong love affair with food.

Combining Mariel's no-nonsense attitude with wholesome recipes for every occasion, Mariel's Kitchen is a new kind of American cookbook designed to help you—and all those you cook for—eat better, fresher, and more delicious foods, day in and day out.

Healthy Life Kitchen by Marilu Henner

Book Description
If you're like most people, 70 percent of what's in your kitchen right now is unhealthy and has to go. Now the good news ...

This book will show you that there are healthy and tasty alternatives to everything in your refrigerator and pantry, and the transition is easier than you think.

When it comes to food, most of us go through a constant tug-of-war between the foods we love and the foods we feel we should be eating. But what if we didn't have to give up our favourite foods? What if we could take recipes from our childhood or our favourite cookbooks and find healthier ways to enjoy them?

Marilu Henner's Healthy Life Kitchen shows you a new way, a better way, to create a "health factory" in your home. Out go the red meat, dairy, and refined sugar products, and in come the freshest fruits, vegetables, grains, soy, seafood, poultry, and seasonings imaginable-and, in a few easy steps, you've created a Healthy Life you!

After inspiring legions of readers with Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover and The 30-Day Total Health Makeover, Marilu presents the first cookbook in her bestselling series.

The Dumpling by Wai Hon Chu and Connie Lovatt (>400 pages!)

Book Description
The Dumpling is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging anthology of traditional recipes available for those who love dumplings in every shape, size, and variety. Wai Hon Chu—who has worked in the in the kitchens of March, Clementine, and The Russian Tea Room, and is creator of El Eden Chocolates, named Best Gourmet Chocolate by New York Press—and Connie Lovett take dumpling aficionados on a culinary tour around the globe, offering more than 100 mouthwatering recipes that cover the full range of dumpling possibilities.

365 Easy One Dish Meals by Natalie Haughton

Book Description
For today's families, time is so short and so precious the lovingly prepared home-cooked meal is rapidly becoming just a nostalgic memory. But, with this reprint of the wildly popular best-seller 365 Easy One-Dish Meals, you can have your home cooking and eat it, too. Here, in one volume, is a year's worth of simple, sumptuous recipes that are also hassle-free. Hassle-free because in every case one dish equals one pot. That's one pot to cook in and only one pot to clean. Whether your pot of choice is a casserole, a kettle, a slow-cooker, or a wok, and whether your specific cooking need is a speedy weekday supper or a savory, slow-simmering weekend stew, you-ll find plenty of healthy, nutritious recipes to choose from. Enjoy the easy comfort of stews and soups, with one-dish recipes for Vegetable Chili, Quick Clam Chowder, and Hearty Beef Borscht. Toss together a plate of Spicy Thai Chicken Noodles or Curried Penne with Shrimp, or a big bowl of main-course salad, such as Chicken-Papaya Salsa Salad or Turkey and Black Bean Salad. Whatever your family's needs, whichever pot you reach for, here are 365 Easy One-Dish Meals designed to make suppertime a snap.

Fatally Flaky, a Culinary Mysteries novel by Diane Mott Davidson; also, although a dollar more, Dark Tort is also on sale.

Fatally Flaky

Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz encounters Bridezilla—and murder—in Fatally Flaky, another delectable mystery by Diane Mott Davidson. The USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of Double Shot, Dark Tort, and Sweet Revenge whom the Baltimore Sun describes as, “a cross between Mary Higgins Clark and Betty Crocker” is “today’s foremost practitioner of the culinary whodunit” according to Entertainment Weekly. Fatally Flaky is Diane Mott Davidson at her mysterious and mouth-watering best.

Dark Tort

Caterer Goldy Schulz's lucrative new gig, preparing breakfasts and conference room snacks for a local law firm, is time-consuming, but she's enjoying it . . . until the night she arrives to find Dusty, the firm's paralegal, dead. The deceased also happened to be Goldy's friend and neighbor, and now Dusty's grieving mother is begging Goldy to find out who murdered her daughter.

Just because the police are on the case doesn't mean Goldy can't do a little snooping herself. While catering a party at the home of one of the firm's lawyers, she just happens to overhear an incriminating conversation. She also discovers a few tasty clues in the kitchen. Before long, Goldy finds herself knee-deep in suspects. But one of them is incredibly dangerous . . . and very liable to cook Goldy's goose.

Dark Prince: Author's Cut Special Editionby by Christine Feehan

Book Description
An incomparable gift for Christine Feehan fans, Dark Prince returns in a new, author’s cut special edition. #1 New York Times bestseller Feehan revisits her classic tale of paranormal romance—the breathtaking story of a beautiful hunter with extraordinary telepathic abilities captivated by the powerful allure of a tormented prince of the mysterious Carpathians—expanding the beloved story by 100 never before seen pages! Here is your golden opportunity to experience the first book in Christine Feehan’s remarkable Dark saga as you never have before, whether it’s a glorious re-entrance into this writer’s mystical, unforgettable world…or your very first visit!

My Favorite Bride by Christina Dodd

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd brings you "The Sound of Music meets Jane Eyre" in her refreshingly humorous addition to the Governess Brides series...

When Miss Samantha Prendregast arrives at Devil's Fell to take charge of six rebellious girls, the vibrant, outspoken governess finds she can manage the children with intelligence, guile...and a little bribery. Their widowed father, Colonel William Gregory, is not so easily charmed -- and far too easy to love.

William always cherished the orderliness of his life until this captivating troublemaker arrives. Despite the fact that they clash at every meeting, William finds himself drawn to Samantha's fire. And now he's even contemplating marriage, which would be sweet madness indeed. But before he can successfully woo her, William must discover what Samantha is hiding. But the secret the lady is preciously guarding is far too shocking and dangerous to ever reveal...

Fans of Stephanie Laurens and Julia Quinn will enjoy MY FAVORITE BRIDE!

A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England and Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages by Frances Gies and Joseph Gies

A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England

The Pastons family of Norfolk, England, has long been known to medieval scholars for its large collection of personal correspondence, which has survived five centuries. Revealing a wealth of information about manners, morals, lifestyle, and attitudes of the late Middle Ages, the letters also tell the story of three generations of the fifteenth-century Paston family that treads like a historical novel full of memorable characters: Margaret Paston, the indomitable wife and mother who fought the family's battles; her husband, John Paston I, tough, hardheaded, and thrice confined to Fleet Prison but never yielding to his enemies; daughter Margery, who scandalized family and friends by falling in love with the Paston bailiff, Richard Calle; lighthearted, chivalric Sir John; and cheerful, sensible John III, who against all odds succeeded in marrying for love.

A Medieval Family traces the Pastons history from 1420, through the stormy Wars of the Roses, to the early 1500s. The family's story, extracted from their letters and papers and told largely in their own words, shows a side of history rarely revealed: the lives and fortunes not of kings and queens but of ordinary middle-class people with problems, tragedies, and moments of happiness.

Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages

How did Western Europe, engulfed in political chaos after the fall of Rome, rise by the time of Columbus to world leadership in technology? This book tells how the "silent contribution of many hands and minds" wrought a technological revolution that was marked by such key inventions as the horse collar, the vertical waterwheel, the spinning wheel, the flying buttress, the blast furnace and the art of printing. By tracing these and other devlopments and the way they affected everyday life, the authors show how certain innovations created the Western civilization that spread around the world. Frances and Joseph Gies are the authors of "Life in a Medieval Village", "Life in a Medieval Castle" and "Women in the Middle Ages".

An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James

Book Description
Magic under the mistletoe . . .

One spectacular Christmas, Lady Perdita Selby, known to her friends and family as Poppy, met the man she thought she would love forever. The devilishly attractive Duke of Fletcher was the perfect match for the innocent, breathtakingly beautiful young Englishwoman, and theirs was the most romantic wedding she had ever seen. Four years later, Poppy and the duke have become the toast of the ton . . . but behind closed doors the spark of their love affair has burned out.

Unwilling to lose the woman he still lusts after, the duke is determined to win back his beguiling bride's delectable affections . . . and surpass the heady days of first love with a truly sinful seduction.

Reader News

If you buy books from B&N, but read on your PC, be sure to back up the programs you downloaded, as they are discontinuing Nook for PC. There will be "Nook for Web", but that sounds suspiciously like the Cloud Reader at Amazon (which is slow and clunky and only to be used for previews or emergencies, in my opinion). The iOs App remains (and, for now, so does Nook Study, but that is no doubt on borrowed time, if the Microsoft sale of the education unit at B&N goes thru). So far, the download button remains (and there are still many readers out there who download and transfer via USB, so I don't see it leaving soon), for thoae that back up their purchases offline.

In other Barnes & Noble news, you can pick up one of their NOOK HD Tablet or HD+ Tablets right now, at a substantial discount: $70 off the 6" HD ($129) and $120 off the 9" HD+ ($149)!. That's so low, that the only reason to stick with the 6" is that your purse won't fit the larger one inside. I have the larger of the two and it is a good screen and I use it to read in the B&N store. You are limited only to the Nook and Google Play stores for music, books and apps, but that covers most of what is out there (if you root the device, you can do more, but I suspect most people won't be doing that). It works well for web and email access, playing games, etc., although I mainly use it for reading and email access. The battery life seems to be better than the Kindle Fire (but nothing like the iPad, which has amazing battery life for a tablet).

If you've been hanging on to your Kindle DX for reading PDF's, then keep an eye out for the new 13.3" eInk slate device coming from Sony this year (hopefully to be released in the US and not just Japan). It's super thin, lightweight, has a 3 week battery life, comes with a stylus that not only is used for page controls, but lets you make notes on PDF's (and hopefully blank documents). The 4GB of storage on board can be expanded via the microSD slot and you can share your notes with others (miss a class, get another's notes and view them on your own copy of the textbook!).

Kindle Daily Deals 6/17

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Fighting Fantasy: Blood of the Zombies, which is usually $6!

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is California Wine ($0.99), by Casey Dawes [Crimson Romance].

Book Description
Single mother Elizabeth Ladina is done with men. From her father on down, all they want to do is control her life.

Deciding to take her life into her own hands, she ends her five-year relationship and goes to Italy to visit Liguria, her family’s original home and rediscover the thrill of being on her own. A visit to an upscale skin care boutique in Italy inspires her. Dreaming she could create an upscale lotion line that is splashed across the pages of the best glossy fashion magazines, she’s eager to get home to California and make her vision into reality.

Italian Marcos Gamari has one goal in life - to create the world’s finest wine from the best vineyards in the world. His vineyards in Italy and France are producing prime wines that are already garnering awards and he has no time or desire for romance in his life. Emotional entanglements only lead to pain. His ex-wife had proved that.

Still, when he sees the pretty American eating alone in a hotel dining room in Liguria, he’s compelled to strike up a conversation, which leads to dinner and Elizabeth’s invitation to see the vineyards of the Santa Cruz Mountains near her home in California. She claims they are equal, and cheaper, than anything he’ll find in Napa, his original destination.

Sparks fly when they meet again in Costanoa. Elizabeth and Marcos are determined to maintain their single-track focus on their businesses. But can they keep romance out of their lives forever?

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Yiddish Policemen's Union ($1.99), by Michael Chabon [HarperCollins].

Book Description
For sixty years Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. The Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. But now the District is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end.

Homicide detective Meyer Landsman of the District Police has enough problems without worrying about the upcoming Reversion. His life is a shambles, his marriage a wreck, his career a disaster. And in the cheap hotel where Landsman has washed up, someone has just committed a murder—right under his nose. When he begins to investigate the killing of his neighbor, a former chess prodigy, word comes down from on high that the case is to be dropped immediately, and Landsman finds himself contending with all the powerful forces of faith, obsession, evil, and salvation that are his heritage.

At once a gripping whodunit, a love story, and an exploration of the mysteries of exile and redemption, The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a novel only Michael Chabon could have written.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is "three children's books that transport the reader to a magical time in art history" by Joan MacPhail Knight and Melissa Sweet Chronicle Books], for $0.99 apiece. Age Range: 8 and up

Charlotte in Paris

It's 1892. Charlotte and her family have lived abroad in the famous artist colony in Giverny, France, for a year, when an exciting invitation arrives. The celebrated impressionist Mary Cassatt is having an exhibition in Paris. While in Paris, Charlotte dines at a cafe on the Champs-Elysees, watches a marionette show in the Tuileries gardens and celebrates her birthday at the Eiffel Tower. Illustrated with stunning museum reproductions of works by artists such as Monet, Degas, Cassatt, Renoir and Rodin as well as lovely watercolor collages, this sequel to Charlotte in Giverny also includes biographical sketches of the featured painters. Charlotte's charming scrapbook will leave fans of the first book, art lovers, Francophiles and readers of all ages shouting, "Vive Charlotte!"

Charlotte in London

It's 1894. Charlotte and her American family have been living in France for two years where her father has learned the new way of painting called Impressionism. Now her father's paintings are going to be featured in a show in New York and the whole family is going along. New York is a hustling, bustling city like no other in the world, and Charlotte records it all in her colorful journal.

Illustrated with striking museum reproductions, beautiful watercolor paintings, and collages, the book also includes biographical sketches of the featured painters. Charlotte's exciting journey to the city that never sleeps will make any reader shout, "I love New York!"

Charlotte in New York

It's 1895. Charlotte and her family came to France three years ago so that her father could learn to paint in the French style of Impressionism. Now they are traveling to London to see if the famous artist John Singer Sargent will paint Charlotte's mother's portrait. In London, Charlotte and her best friend, Lizzy, stay in their own room at the Savoy Hotel, attend a fancy dinner party with famous writers, watch boat races on the River Thames, learn about legendary London ghosts, and even visit a gypsy camp.

Illustrated with beautiful museum reproductions and exquisite watercolor paintings, the book also includes biographical sketches of the featured painters. This vibrant journal of Charlotte's exciting journey will make any reader long for lovely London.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Child of the Northern Spring ($1.99), by Persia Woolley [Sourcebooks Landmark]. This has a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and multiple 4&5 star reviews from readers at Amazon; I'd buy it in a heartbeat ... if I hadn't picked it up three years ago!

Book Description
The story of a queen who deserves to become a legend - a startlingly original tale of Arthur & Guinevere

Often portrayed as spoiled, in Persia Woolley's hands Guinevere comes alive as a high-spirited, passionate woman. When she is chosen by Arthur to be his wife, Guinevere's independence wars with her family loyalty. As the wedding approaches and hints of rebellion abound, she learns that the old gods are in revolt against the new Christian church, and that scattered kingdoms are stirring from their uneasy peace. This is Arthurian epic at its best, filled with romance, adventure, authentic historical detail, and a landscape alive with the mystery of Britain in the Dark Ages.

Nook Daily Find 6/17

Smart and Sexy ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the first novel in the Sky High Air series by Jill Shalvis, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
FLYING SOLO IS WAY OVERRATED

Noah Fisher has worked for months to make Sky High the most prestigious charter airline in California. He’s long overdue for a break—something involving ski slopes, cold beers, and hot ski bunny babes. The itinerary doesn’t include being hijacked by Bailey Sinclair, gorgeous widow of one of Sky High’s wealthiest (ex-) clients. But here they are, and being crammed in a cockpit with the scared, stubborn, unbelievably sexy former model could get Noah in serious trouble…

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/17

Made of Stone (£0.99 UK), the fifth Mangel novel by Charlie Williams [Thomas & Mercer], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99; companion audiobook $1.99).

Book Description
There’s bad stuff out there. Folks reckon things like vampires don't exist, but they does—Jock from the burger van told me. Plus I found an actual one of ’em, sleeping at the time in the back of a hearse I nicked that first morning. That's how me and Jock got to setting out freeing the world of ’em, using his bag o’ wooden stakes and special bottles of whisky. Course, I knowed that vampires didn’t exist, not when I stopped and done some thinking. And I knowed Jock had mental wossnames, what with his son falling off that roof and him reckoning them immigrants pushed him. It’s just that I didn't get much time for thinking, not with the coppers on our arse. Jock were off... and me with him.

The Kindle Romance Deal of the day for those in the UK is four Summer Romance Reads from Mills & Boon for £0.99 each (~80% off).

Champagne Summer (Main/UK), by India Grey

Tamsin and the Argentinean Tamsin’s ready to spend her summer relaxing and topping up her tan. Until Alejandro – the man who nearly destroyed her reputation – comes back into her life. Now his world of champagne and scandal awaits her once again…and Tamsin’s determined to make up for lost time. Sarah and the Italian Sarah’s summers are about spending time with her little girl. She never has a chance to think about herself. Then film director Lorenzo turns her life upside down. Thrust into a world of glitz, glamour and gossip pages, Sarah’s about to have the most exciting summer of her life. Enter the glittering celebrity world with two unforgettable summer stories

Summer Nights (Main/UK), by Susan Mallery (US edition $6.15)

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Susan Mallery returns to Fool’s Gold with a new story that proves that wild hearts cannot be tamed...and shouldn't need to! Shane Stryker is done with passion. He’s back in Fool's Gold to settle down with the quiet ranching life he's always wanted. The rugged rancher has been burned too many times by the kind of women who dance on bars. This time, he's searching for a sensible candidate to become Mrs. Stryker. The town librarian should fit the bill, but Shane has only seen her on the one night that Annabelle Weiss let her fiery hair down and have fun. Shane may be certain she’s too dangerous to be in the running for his life partner, but Annabelle knows that theirs could be a love that ends happily-ever-after, with a wild ride into the sunset.....

Summer With Love (Main/UK), by Sarah Morgan

Summer changes everything...… Love has never been easy to navigate for the Westerling triplets. Practical Katy’s on the verge of marrying a man she knows isn’t The One, free-spirited Libby refuses to be tied down and paparazzi-magnet Alex might just be in over his head. But could this summer, with sun-soaked escapes to Seville, Greece and Cornwall help them finally find the map to romance?

Summer Kisses (Main/UK), by Sarah Morgan

This summer the sun has gone to everyone’s heads… Flora and Jenna should be working busy shifts but something more fun has come up! Two new arrivals have blown into Glenmore and life at the hospital could get tricky. So it's time to set some rules. Flora’s summer is simple: Avoid kissing Connor MacNeil. (He may be gorgeous, back in town and single…but he snogged everyone except you at school, remember!) Jenna’s summer ‘Why I shouldn’t fall in love with Dr Ryan McKinley’ list is a little more complex… ? I’ve been divorced less than a year ? I’m ordinary and he is a sex god ? I have my daughter to think of ? He might break my heart… It’­s so difficult to be good with temptation on the doorstep. But rules are rules. Summer is sunshine. And, just maybe, a wish is a kiss that might just come true!

Bargain Books for Dads (and those who know one!)

The Playbook for Dads: Parenting Your Kids In the Game of Life ($2.99 Kindle), by Jim Kelly, Ted Kluck and Dan Marino[Hachette]

Book Description
On the football field NFL great Jim Kelly was a strong-armed passer, leading his team to victory after victory. In THE PLAYBOOK FOR DADS he passes principles instead of footballs, still using his talent to lead men, but now he leads them to greatness as fathers, in his view the world's most important job.

With an emphasis on preparation, hard work and perseverance, Kelly tackles such essential issues as respect, character, accountability and spiritual discipline. From commitment and courage to honesty and humility, Kelly's lessons-learned on and off the field- guide men striving to be the fathers God designed them to be ­- so their children can grow to be everything they are meant to be. Conversational and refreshingly honest, Jim challenges fathers to work hard, pray for their children often, love their wives and implement these principles. Both practical and inspirational this is Jim Kelly coaching every dad how to be the star quarterback for the home team-his family.

Six Lessons for Six Sons: An Extraordinary Father, A Simple Formula for Success ($2.99 Kindle), by Joe Massengale and David Clow [Random House]

Book Description
Joe Massengale rose above his hardscrabble roots to become a successful Beverly Hills businessman, creating a tree service from scratch and building it into an enduring and profitable enterprise. Through years of hard work, Joe achieved the prosperous life he sought but never forgot the life lessons he learned along the way, especially those his father Hugh taught him. He made sure to impart those lessons to his six sons, each of whom became a success in his own right.

What his sons learned from Joe—what it means to be a man, a father, a son, a productive member of society, a person of integrity—is brought to life in Six Lessons for Six Sons. Joe tells his story in vignettes interwoven with observations from his sons, who talk about how they’ve put these simple yet resonant values into practice. Notable contributors—including Guy Bluford, the first African-American in space; Academy Award–winning actress Anjelica Huston; and Olympic Gold Medal–winning decathlete Rafer Johnson—offer perspectives on how the messages at the core of Joe’s story have enriched their own lives and, most important, how they can enrich yours.

Six Lessons for Six Sons is a proven blueprint for personal accomplishment and fulfillment, a stirring story of one family’s journey through a century of American change, and an inspiration for anyone who wants to become a positive role model for others.

Manifest Destiny ($0.99 Kindle), by Brian Garfield [Open Road] (this one is definitely going on the TBR list)

Book Description
A rollicking adventure starring a young Theodore Roosevelt

In 1884, Teddy Roosevelt’s political career is dead in the water. A New York state assemblyman with eyes on national office, he finds his ambitions thwarted just months after his wife and infant daughter pass away. Frustrated by politics, he retires to the American West to ride, ranch, and hunt buffalo in the Dakota Badlands. Nobody tells him that the buffalo are gone.

He arrives in Dakota a greenhorn, awkward in the saddle and unused to Western clothes. But his aristocratic charm, natural intelligence, and love of nature impress the hardened frontiersmen, forming a bond that lasts the rest of their lives. When a wealthy French marquis threatens the pristine country he has fallen in love with, Roosevelt joins with the Dakotans to defend it. Before the presidency, before San Juan Hill, it was in Dakota that Theodore Roosevelt became a man.

To Serve Them All My Days ($2.99 Kindle), by R. Delderfield [Sourcebooks Landmark]

Book Description
To Serve Them All My Days is the moving saga of David Powlett-Jones, who returns from World War I injured and shell-shocked. He is hired to teach history at Bamfylde School, where he rejects the formal curriculum and teaches the causes and consequences of the Great War.

Eventually David earns the respect of his students and many of his fellow teachers, against the backdrop of a country struggling to redefine itself. As David falls in love and finds himself on track to possibly take on the headmaster role, he must search to find the strength to hold true to his beliefs as the specter of another great war looms.

To Serve Them All My Days is a brilliant picture of England between the World Wars, as the country comes to terms with the horrors of the Great War and the new forces reshaping the British government and society.

Subject of a Landmark BBC Miniseries; Includes Bonus Reading Group Guide

Cut Short ($2.57 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook), the first Geraldine Steel thriller by Leigh Russell [Oldcastle Books]; with starred reviews, this one is going to the TBR list, as well.

Book Description
In the tradition of Ruth Rendell, Lynda La Plante, Frances Fyfield, and Barbara Vine, a gripping psychological thriller introduces Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel, a woman whose past is threatening to collide with her future

D.I. Geraldine Steel relocates to the quiet town of Woolsmarsh, expecting it to be a place where nothing much happens, and she can battle her demons privately—she quickly discovers she is wrong. By day, the park is a place where children play, friends sit and gossip, and people walk their dogs or take a short cut to avoid the streets. But in the shadows a predator prowls, hunting for victims. When a woman sees the killer and comes forward as a witness, she quickly becomes the object of his murderous obsession. D.I. Geraldine Steel is locked into a race against time, needing to find the killer before he strikes again, as public pressure mounts with the growing death toll.

That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter ($1.99 Kindle), by Rick Johnson [Revell]

Book Description
A father impacts every aspect of his daughter's life--for her entire life. Fathers model for their daughters how women should be treated, how men should act, and how a man shows healthy love and affection toward a woman. And, perhaps most importantly, he sets the standard for how his daughter feels she deserves to be treated by men. It's plain to see that this is a big responsibility and one that is not always easy to carry out.

In That's My Girl, parenting expert Rick Johnson shows men how to develop the close relationships with their daughters that they both crave. Rick's plainspoken common sense, wisdom, and humor meets dads right where they are with stories and advice that will change their relationships with their daughters for life.

Any man who wants to be the best dad possible to his daughter, as well as mothers and adult daughters seeking to understand the men in their lives, will love this hope-filled book.

Scorched ($3.79 Kindle), the sixth (and latest) in the Tracers suspense/thriller series by Laura Griffin [Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster]

Book Description
Kelsey Quinn set out to trace a murder victim. Now she may become one.

The dead don’t speak, but Kelsey knows their secrets. As a forensic anthropologist at the Delphi Center crime lab, Kelsey makes it her mission to identify bodies using no more than shards of bone, and her find at a remote Philippines dig hints at a sinister story. When Kelsey’s search for answers puts her at the scene of her ex-fiancé’s murder, only one man can help her. The same man who broke her heart just months before, and who is also a prime suspect. Faced with an ultimatum— Kelsey or his job—Gage Brewer did the only thing a Navy SEAL could . . . but that doesn’t mean he stopped wanting Kelsey. Now Kelsey is running for her life and Gage is her last line of defense. As the threats escalate, Kelsey realizes this conspiracy goes deeper and higher than they could have guessed. With the clock ticking down on a madman’s plot, the slightest misstep will have unthinkable consequences. . . .

Evan Angler's Swipe series isn't so much for dad as it is for their tween and teen sons and daughters [Thomas Nelson]. Two of the three novels are on sale and all have bargain audiobooks.

Swipe ($7.69 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook)

Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?

Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship.

The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.

When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers? Find out in the first book of this exciting series that is Left Behind meets Matched for middle-grade readers.

Sneak ($1.99 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook)

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—but without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Now he’s on the run from government agents who will stop at nothing to capture him. But Logan is on a mission to find and save his sister, Lily, who disappeared five years ago on her thirteenth birthday, the day she was supposed to receive her Mark.

Logan and his friends, a group of dissenters called the Dust, discover a vast network of the Unmarked, who help them travel safely to the capital city where Lily is imprisoned. Along the way, the Dust receives some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

When the Dust finally arrives in the capital, it seems that all their careful planning is useless against a government that will do anything to bend its citizens to its will. Can the gentle words Logan has found in a tattered, banned Bible really stand against the most powerful military the world has ever known? Can Logan even sacrifice his own freedom, choosing to act through faith alone?

Storm ($1.99 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook)

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he’s been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

In Storm, Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis’ army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it's difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren't sure if Logan's sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis' army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation—and the world—the weather has become less stable and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined.

Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood ($2.99 Kindle; $3.99 companion audiobook), by Michael Lewis [W. W. Norton & Company]

Book Description
The New York Times bestseller: “Hilarious. No mushy tribute to the joys of fatherhood, Lewis’ book addresses the good, the bad, and the merely baffling about having kids.”—Boston Globe

When Michael Lewis became a father, he decided to keep a written record of what actually happened immediately after the birth of each of his three children. This book is that record. But it is also something else: maybe the funniest, most unsparing account of ordinary daily household life ever recorded, from the point of view of the man inside. The remarkable thing about this story isn’t that Lewis is so unusual. It’s that he is so typical. The only wonder is that his wife has allowed him to publish it.

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex ($2.99 Kindle; $3.99 companion audiobook), by Mary Roach [W. W. Norton & Company]

Book Description
The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and insight on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex.

The study of sexual physiology—what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better—has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey’s attic. Mary Roach, “the funniest science writer in the country” (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn’t Viagra help women—or, for that matter, pandas? In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm, two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth, can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell ($2.99 Kindle), by Tucker Max [Citadel]

Book Description
The Book That Inspired The Movie

Tucker Max drinks to excess at inappropriate times, disregards social norms, indulges every whim, takes no responsibility for his actions, rebels against any authority, mocks idiots and posers, sleeps with more women than is safe or reasonable and generally just acts like an asshole. "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell" contains everything the modern-day bounder that is Tucker Max has written since he started sharing his depraved reality with an audience of millions.

A Confederacy of Dunces ($2.99 Kindle; $3.99 companion audiobook), the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Kennedy Toole [Grove Press]

Book Description
The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with.

I'll close out with one for Dads to read with their kids. Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore ($1.99 Kindle), by William Joyce (Author, Illustrator) and Joe Bluhm (Illustrator) [Atheneum Books for Young Readers]. This book features Kindle Text Pop-Up for reading text over vivid, full-color images when using Kindle Fire/HD or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android, Kindle for Windows 8); unlike some other Text Popup books, this one won't work on any of the eInk Kindles.

Book Description
The book that inspired the Academy Award–winning short film, from New York Times bestselling author and beloved visionary William Joyce. Includes audio!

Morris Lessmore loved words.

He loved stories.

He loved books.

But every story has its upsets.

Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.

But the power of story will save the day.

Stunningly brought to life by William Joyce, one of the preeminent creators in children’s literature, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a modern masterpiece, showing that in today’s world of traditional books, eBooks, and apps, it’s story that we truly celebrate—and this story, no matter how you tell it, begs to be read—and listened to—again and again.

Age Level: 4 and up

Kindle Daily Deals 6/16

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Michael Connelly's "Lincoln Lawyer" (Mickey Haller) legal thrillers for $2.99 apiece [Hachette]. Besides making a great (and not quite late) Father's Day gift, if you start reading now, you'll be ready when The Gods of Guilt is released at the start of December.

Today Only, you can add the audiobook of each of these for $4.99 after purchasing the Kindle edition. Prime members can also stream The Lincoln Lawyer movie for free.

The Lincoln Lawyer (companion audiobook)

This #1 bestselling legal thriller from Michael Connelly is a stunning display of novelistic mastery - as human, as gripping, and as whiplash-surprising as any novel yet from the writer Publishers Weekly has called "today's Dostoevsky of crime literature."

Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers - they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal - this time to save his own life.

The Brass Verdict (companion audiobook)

Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.

Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.

Bringing together Michael Connelly's two most popular characters, The Brass Verdict is sure to be his biggest book yet.

The Reversal (companion audiobook)

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.

With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

The Fifth Witness (companion audiobook)

Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home.

Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too--and he's certain he's on the right trail.

Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in. Connelly proves again why he "may very well be the best novelist working in the United States today" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Confession ($0.99), by Erin McCauley [Crimson Romance].

Book Description
A confession turns successful handbag designer Aimee Morrison’s world upside down and lands her on the doorstep of Emily Sinclair, the woman who could possibly be her birth mother. In a case of mistaken identity, Aimee impulsively accepts a job as Emily’s personal assistant. To complicate matters, Aimee falls in love with Marcus Lee, a sexy, moody, damaged man who is highly suspicious of her.

Marcus Lee has spent most of his life on the Sinclair estate, having lived there with his mother as a child, and returning after college to pursue his dream of becoming a writer and assume the role of estate caretaker. Growing up with the memory of his father’s betrayal, and his mother’s emotional isolation, he’s learned to trust no one. Watching woman after woman claim to be Emily’s long-lost daughter in an effort to be her sole heir, he also believes everyone has a hidden agenda. Upon meeting Aimee, he is surprised by his strong physical attraction to her, and even as he begins to fall in love, he knows she’s keeping secrets.

Tangled in her own deceptions, will Aimee lose everything she loves once the truth is revealed?

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Into the Black: Odyssey One ($1.99), a thriller by Evan Currie [47North].

Book Description
Beyond the confines of our small world, far from the glow of our star, lies a galaxy and universe much larger and more varied than anyone on Earth can possibly imagine. For the new NAC spacecraft Odyssey and her crew, the unimaginable facets of this untouched world are about to become reality.

The Odyssey’s maiden voyage is an epic adventure destined to make history. Captain Eric Weston and his crew, pushing past the boundaries of security, encounter horrors, wonders, monsters, and people, all of which will test their resolve, challenge their abilities, and put in sharp relief what is necessary to be a hero.

A first-rate military science fiction epic that combines old-school space opera and modern storytelling, Into the Black: Odyssey One is a riveting, exhilarating adventure with vivid details, rich mythology, and relentless pacing that will leave you breathlessly awaiting book two.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Cool Dog, School Dog ($0.99), Deborah Heiligman [Two Lions].

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.

The author and illustrator of Cool Dog, School Dog have donated this book to the Worldreader program

Age Level: 3 and up

Nook Daily Find 6/16

Manhood for Amateurs ($9.78 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Michael Chabon [HarperCollins], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author— "an immensely gifted writer and a magical prose stylist" (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times)—offers his first major work of nonfiction, an autobiographical narrative as inventive, beautiful, and powerful as his acclaimed, award-winning fiction.

A shy manifesto, an impractical handbook, the true story of a fabulist, an entire life in parts and pieces, Manhood for Amateurs is the first sustained work of personal writing from Michael Chabon. In these insightful, provocative, slyly interlinked essays, one of our most brilliant and humane writers presents his autobiography and his vision of life in the way so many of us experience our own lives: as a series of reflections, regrets, and reexaminations, each sparked by an encounter, in the present, that holds some legacy of the past.

What does it mean to be a man today? Chabon invokes and interprets and struggles to reinvent for us, with characteristic warmth and lyric wit, the personal and family history that haunts him even as—simply because—it goes on being written every day. As a devoted son, as a passionate husband, and above all as the father of four young Americans, Chabon presents his memories of childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce, of moments of painful adolescent comedy and giddy encounters with the popular art and literature of his own youth, as a theme played—on different instruments, with a fresh tempo and in a new key—by the mad quartet of which he now finds himself co-conductor.

At once dazzling, hilarious, and moving, Manhood for Amateurs is destined to become a classic.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/16

Pharmakon (£0.99 UK), by Dirk Wittenborn [Bloomsbury], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
It is 1950s America and madness is in the air. In a world where the ‘cures' for craziness include coma therapy, cyanide treatment and full-frontal lobotomies, Dr. William T. Friedrich, a young and ambitious psychology professor at Yale, stumbles upon a tropical plant that seems to possess the secret ingredient of happiness. In Casper Gedsic, a fiercely intelligent, socially inept, near-suicidal maths student, he seems to have found the perfect guinea pig. But when his experiments goes awry, Casper's thirst for revenge turns murderous and his actions have consequences that will haunt Friedrich and his family forever...

Dark Eden (£0.99 UK), the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2013 winning novel by Chris Beckett [Atlantic Books], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Science Fiction & Fantasy Fans in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
A marooned outpost of humanity struggles to survive on a startlingly alien world: science fiction as it ought to be from British science fiction's great white hope.

You live in Eden. You are a member of the Family, one of 532 descendants of Angela and Tommy. You shelter beneath the light and warmth of the Forest's lantern trees, hunting woollybuck and harvesting tree candy. Beyond the forest lie the treeless mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it. The Oldest among you recount legends of a world where light came from the sky, where men and women made boats that could cross between worlds. One day, the Oldest say, they will come back for you.

You live in Eden. You are a member of the Family, one of 532 descendants of two marooned explorers. You huddle, slowly starving, beneath the light and warmth of geothermal trees, confined to one barely habitable valley of a startlingly alien, sunless world. After 163 years and six generations of incestuous inbreeding, the Family is riddled with deformity and feeblemindedness. Your culture is a infantile stew of half-remembered fact and devolved ritual that stifles innovation and punishes independent thought.

You are John Redlantern. You will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. You will be the first to abandon hope, the first to abandon the old ways, the first to kill another, the first to venture in to the Dark, and the first to discover the truth about Eden.

Bargain Book Roundup

Hope you guys are having a great Father's Day Weekend! I'm about to run out and enjoy the nice weather (before the rain starts again tomorrow), but wanted to point out that I have a few posts on Zondervan's Bible and Bible Texts sale this weekend over at Christian Books on The Knob.

Sony has a coupon code for 40% off one non-Agency book this weekend: 40JUNE13 (apply it to your account first, then shop; valid thru Monday).

Daddy's Little Girl ($1.99 Kindle), by Gregory E. Lang [HarperCollins]

Book Description
In this heartwarming celebration of father-daughter relationships, the New York Times bestselling author of Why a Daughter Needs a Dad captures the important roles fathers and daughters play in each other's lives. From the protectiveness and strength a dad provides to the unfettered adoration that can be found only in a daughter, the unique qualities of this special bond are illustrated through real-life stories of daughters and dads and accompanied by beautiful photographs. It's for every dad who longs to return to the days when his daughter anxiously awaited his coming home from work. And it's for every daughter who misses the days when her father carried her up to bed or taught her how to dance on the top of his shoes. This book reminds us all that no matter what, there is and always will be a place for daddy's little girl

Daddy Hugs ($1.99 Kindle), by Karen Katz [Simon and Schuster]

Book Description
How many daddy hugs does it take to say I love you?

Cuddle and count with this hug & read book!

Age Level: 1 and up

John Dies at the End ($2.99 Kindle), by David Wong [Thomas Dunne Books/Macmillan], is something of a cult classic. Since this is a movie tie-in edition, I look forward to seeing how this works on the big screen. The companion audiobook is $3.99.

Book Description
STOP. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. NO, don't put it down. It's too late. They're watching you. My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you'll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it's too late. You touched the book. You're in the game. You're under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.

The important thing is this: The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I'm sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault.

The Wurst Is Yet to Come ($1.99 Kindle; $2.99 companion audiobook), the 27th (and latest) Bed-And-Breakfast Mystery by Mary Daheim [HarperCollins]

Book Description
The Wurst is Yet to Come: The wacky title alone tells you that you are once again in the uproarious realm of “the reigning queen of the cozies” (Portland Oregonian), the inimitable Mary Daheim! In this, the twenty-seventh glorious installment of Daheim’s Bed-and-Breakfast mystery series, harried hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn and her irrepressible Cousin Renie find themselves in Little Bavaria, where the inconvenient discovery of a nonagenarian corpse threatens to put the kibosh on the local Oktoberfest. No one does cozy mystery better than the delightful Daheim—and if you’re a fan of Lillian Jackson Braun, Diane Mott Davidson, or Jill Churchill, you’ll definitely want to take a big bite out of this mouth-watering Wurst.

When Lightning Strikes ($1.99 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook), the first novel in the Whiskey Creek series by Brenda Novak [Harlequin MIRA]

Book Description
Simon O'Neal's causing trouble again. And it's up to Gail DeMarco to stop him.

Gail DeMarco left Whiskey Creek, California, to make a name for herself in Los Angeles. Her PR firm has accumulated a roster of A-list clients, including the biggest box office hit of all—sexy and unpredictable Simon O'Neal. But Simon, who's just been through a turbulent divorce, is so busy self-destructing he won't listen to anything she says. She drops him from her list—and he retaliates by taking the rest of her clients with him.

Desperate to save her company, Gail has to humble herself by making a deal with Simon. The one thing he wants is custody of his son, but that's going to require a whole new image. He needs to marry some squeaky-clean girl who'll drag him off to some small, obscure place like Whiskey Creek….

Gail's the only one he can trust. She agrees to become his wife—reluctantly. But she isn't reluctant because he's too hard to like. It's because he's too hard not to love!

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know ($4.99 Kindle), by Alexandra Horowitz [Scribner]

Book Description
The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human.

Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog. What’s it like to be able to smell not just every bit of open food in the house but also to smell sadness in humans, or even the passage of time? How does a tiny dog manage to play successfully with a Great Dane? What is it like to hear the bodily vibrations of insects or the hum of a fluorescent light? Why must a person on a bicycle be chased? What’s it like to use your mouth as a hand? In short, what is it like for a dog to experience life from two feet off the ground, amidst the smells of the sidewalk, gazing at our ankles or knees?

Inside of a Dog explains these things and much more. The answers can be surprising—once we set aside our natural inclination to anthropomorphize dogs. Inside of a Dog also contains up-to-the-minute research—on dogs’ detection of disease, the secrets of their tails, and their skill at reading our attention—that Horowitz puts into useful context. Although not a formal training guide, Inside of a Dog has practical application for dog lovers interested in understanding why their dogs do what they do. With a light touch and the weight of science behind her, Alexandra Horowitz examines the animal we think we know best but may actually understand the least. This book is as close as you can get to knowing about dogs without being a dog yourself.

Leave the Grave Green ($1.99 Kindle; $1.99 companion audiobook), by Deborah Crombie [Simon and Schuster]. If you missed the sale last year, now you get another chance, at half the price.

Book Description
When Connor Swann, the dissolute son-in-law of renowned and influential Sir Gerald and Dame Caroline Asherton, is found floating in a Thames River lock, the circumstances eerily recall a strangely similar tragedy. Twenty years ago, the Ashertons' young son, Matthew, a musical prodigy, drowned in a swollen stream while in the company of his sister Julia -- Connor Swann's wife.

Police Superintendant Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James quickly discover that Connor's death was no accident, and that nothing in the Asherton family is as it seems. Connor, though estranged from Julia for more than a year, still lives in her London apartment, where his exploits with women and gambling suggest plenty of motives. The Ashertons are far more attached to Connor than to their own daughter, and these are only the first of the secrets that haunt the suspects. New lies cover older lies, as Kincaid finds himself dangerously drawn to Julia Swann, and Gemma must confront her own troubling feelings for Kincaid.

56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports ($1.99 Kindle), by Kostya Kennedy [Sports Illustrated]

Book Description
Seventy baseball seasons ago, on a May afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio lined a hard single to left field. It was the quiet beginning to the most resonant baseball achievement of all time. Starting that day, the vaunted Yankee center fielder kept on hitting-at least one hit in game after game after game.

In the summer of 1941, as Nazi forces moved relentlessly across Europe and young American men were drafted by the millions, it seemed only a matter of time before the U.S. went to war. The nation was apprehensive. Yet for two months in that tense summer, America was captivated by DiMaggio's astonishing hitting streak. In 56, Kostya Kennedy tells the remarkable story of how the streak found its way into countless lives, from the Italian kitchens of Newark to the playgrounds of Queens to the San Francisco streets of North Beach; from the Oval Office of FDR to the Upper West Side apartment where Joe's first wife, Dorothy, the movie starlet, was expecting a child. In this crisp, evocative narrative Joe DiMaggio emerges in a previously unseen light, a 26-year-old on the cusp of becoming an icon. He comes alive-a driven ballplayer, a mercurial star and a conflicted husband-as the tension and the scrutiny upon him build with each passing day.

DiMaggio's achievement lives on as the greatest of sports records. Alongside the story of DiMaggio's dramatic quest, Kennedy deftly examines the peculiar nature of hitting streaks and with an incisive, modern-day perspective gets inside the number itself, as its sheer improbability heightens both the math and the magic of 56 games in a row.

Troilus and Criseyde ($1.99 Kindle), by Geoffrey Chaucer and Nevill Coghill (Translator). This Penguin edition features the 1971 translation by Professor Nevill Coghill, of Oxford University; if you've tried to read the original (and are not a Middle-English scholar), you'll find this edition much easier to read.

Book Description
Set against the epic backdrop of the battle of Troy, Troilus and Criseyde is an evocative story of love and loss. When Troilus, the son of Priam, falls in love with the beautiful Criseyde, he is able to win her heart with the help of his cunning uncle Pandarus, and the lovers experience a brief period of bliss together. But the pair are soon forced apart by the inexorable tide of war and - despite their oath to remain faithful - Troilus is ultimately betrayed. Regarded by many as the greatest love poem of the Middle Ages, Troilus and Criseyde skilfully combines elements of comedy and tragedy to form an exquisite meditation on the fragility of romantic love, and the fallibility of humanity.

Witty Words from Wise Women: Quips, Quotes, and Comebacks ($2.51 Kindle), by B.J. Gallagher [Andrews McMeel Publishing]

Book Description
Where do women find inspiration? Often in the words of those who've been there. From creativity to careers, relationships to success, Witty Words from Wise Women provides a collection of quotes, one-liners, and colorful anecdotes that showcase the best and brightest female minds. Witty Words isn't just about inspiration, however. This book has attitude with a capital "A."

The gutsy, no-holds-barred tone creates a keepsake that's certain to make readers laugh, cry, and identify.

Kindle Daily Deals 6/15

This weekend, save up to 60% on select books at Kobo using promo code 48Hours (valid in the US, UK/EU, Canada and AU). They are also having a sale of $20 on the Glo (Code: EJB29) & up to $70 off the Arc (Code: RFN47), for those in Canada and the US.

If you are an Audible member and had four credits on June 11, check your email for a message about the $10 for Using 4 Credits in 4 Days promotion.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is White Cargo ($1.99), by Stuart Woods [Simon and Schuster], which is rumored to be under development as a feature film.

Book Description
From the glittering beaches of the Caribbean to a final harrowing showdown in the Amazonian rain forest comes a breakneck tale of danger, intrigue, and depravity.

Cat Catledge is a happy man. A self made multi millionaire at fifty, he has a loving wife and a beautiful teenaged daughter. And after years of hard work, he is taking his family on the ultimate dream sabbatical: a two year cruise to the South Pacific via the Panama Canal, aboard his custom built forty-three-foot yacht. He gets as far as Colombia.

Off that country's cocaine dusted shores, Cat's bliss—and his dearly loved family—are permanently shattered by an event so unexpected, so savage, and so tragically final that it leaves Cat completely devastated. Consumed by terrible guilt, he returns home alone, a broken man. Investigations by both the Colombian authorities and the U.S. State Department prove fruitless.

Then, late one night, Cat is awakened by the telephone and, from far away, over a static filled line, an achingly familiar voice utters a single, electrifying word.

Driven by a mixture of hope and anguish, Cat slips back into South America on a desperate search for the daughter he cannot bring himself to believe is dead. Aided by an Australian ex-convict, a beautiful television journalist, and a man known to him only as "Jim", Cat follows a trail of blood and graft, white powder and white slavery, and discovers in himself an unsuspected capacity for ruthlessness and cunning, and—even more surprising—a rekindled capacity for love.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Small Town Sinners ($2.99), by Melissa Walker [Bloomsbury USA Childrens]. This is also the Nook Daily Find today and it's a dollar cheaper at B&N than it is for Kindle.

Book Description
Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Breakfast of Champions ($1.99), by Kurt Vonnegut [RosettaBooks]. If you missed the sale two years ago, you'll want to get it now.

Book Description
Breakfast of Champions (1973) provides frantic, scattershot satire and a collage of Vonnegut's obsessions. His recurring cast of characters and American landscape was perhaps the most controversial of his canon; it was felt by many at the time to be a disappointing successor to Slaughterhouse-Five, which had made Vonnegut's literary reputation.

The core of the novel is Kilgore Trout, a familiar character very deliberately modeled on the science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985), a fact which Vonnegut conceded frequently in interviews and which was based upon his own occasional relationship with Sturgeon. Here Kilgore Trout is an itinerant wandering from one science fiction convention to another; he intersects with the protagonist, Dwayne Hoover (one of Vonnegut's typically boosterish, lost and stupid mid-American characters) and their intersection is the excuse for the evocation of many others, familiar and unfamiliar, dredged from Vonnegut's gallery.

The central issue is concerned with intersecting and apposite views of reality, and much of the narrative is filtered through Trout who is neither certifiably insane nor a visionary writer but can pass for either depending upon Dwayne Hoover's (and Vonnegut's) view of the situation. America, when this novel was published, was in the throes of Nixon, Watergate and the unraveling of our intervention in Vietnam; the nation was beginning to fragment ideologically and geographically, and Vonnegut sought to cram all of this dysfunction (and a goofy, desperate kind of hope, the irrational comfort given through the genre of science fiction) into a sprawling narrative whose sense, if any, is situational, not conceptual.

Reviews were polarized; the novel was celebrated for its bizarre aspects, became the basis of a Bruce Willis movie adaptation whose reviews were not nearly so polarized. (Most critics hated it.) This novel in its freewheeling and deliberately fragmented sequentiality may be the quintessential Vonnegut novel, not necessarily his best, but the work which most truly embodies the range of his talent, cartooned alienation and despair.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is My Pup ($1.99), by Tammie Lyon [Two Lions]. note: This book requires Kindle Fire/HD or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android).

Book Description
It’s puppy love! Follow a new pup and his owner as they frolic throughout the neighborhood, playing ball, taking walks, doing tricks, and snuggling. Tammie Lyon’s illustrations rendered in gouache and colored pencil add lively appeal to this endearing story of a little girl and her new dog.

Age Level: 3 and up

Nook Daily Find 6/15

Small Town Sinners ($7.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Melissa Walker [Bloomsbury USA Childrens], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.

Melissa Walker has crafted the perfect balance of engrossing, thought-provoking topics and relatable, likable characters. Set against the backdrop of extreme religion, Small Town Sinners is foremost a universal story of first love and finding yourself, and it will stay with readers long after the last page.