Free Book (EPUB) - Flip

Random House in Australia has another free EPUB book in return for signing up for one of their newsletters: Flip ($9.59 Kindle), by Peter Sheahan. Again, this one is not Kindle compatible and when I tried to download it, they were having some technical difficulties. Last I heard, they were working on it, but with their time difference from here, I haven't had a chance to check on it again (but will later today).

Book Description
Emphasizing flexible, counterintuitive decision making, Flip calls for a new way of doing business in an economy where conventional wisdom won't get you anywhere

"Business today requires new perspectives" this is how Peter Sheahan, one of the youngest and fastest-rising stars on the international consulting and speaking circuit, begins this essential guidebook for succeeding in the twenty-first century. Sheahan reveals how the world's most effective organizations and individuals distinguish themselves from the competition, instead of running with the pack.

In Flip he uncovers what the superstars of modern business have in common: an ability to "flip" to think counterintuitively and then act boldly, with no regard for "business as usual" conventions. Sheahan explores six major flips:

• Action Creates Clarity -- to move forward you must act in spite of ambiguity. Your action will create the clarity you're looking for.
• To keep pace with rising expectations, you can't just be fast, good, or cheap. Instead you must recognize that Fast, Good, Cheap: Pick Three...Then Add Something Extra has become the new standard in every industry.
• To develop competitive advantage, you must Absolutely, Positively Sweat the Small Stuff.
• To satisfy customers' needs for engagement and contact -- spiritual, emotional, physical -- remember that it's not just business, Business Is Personal.
• To win mass-market success, Find It on the Fringe. The way to separate yourself from the competitive herd is to be courageous and create new market space.
• To Get Control, Give It Up. You cannot command and control customers or the talented staff needed to reach them. Instead you must empower others to create, dream, and believe for you.

Sheahan teaches today's decision makers how to embrace change and successfully operate in an economy that runs on new ideas. Those who take on these lessons will be in position to join other "flipstars" such as Richard Branson, Google, Toyota, Rupert Murdoch, and Apple.

Stick to what you learned in business school at your peril. . . . The small-world economy calls for a new way of doing business. It calls for Flip.

Click HERE to sign up for the free book.

Fictionwise Under a Dollar, Redux

Three more books at Fictionwise that are priced ultra low (below a dollar). Like the books from the earlier post, these are only available in DRM secured formats and are not Kindle compatible. Also, there were some problems with the earlier bargain books, but reports are that most (if not all) of the feeds have been corrected, so you should be able to redownload them and replace the public domain classics that were being downloaded in error. I haven't checked these three, so there may or may not be a similar issue with the feeds at first, but Fictionwise has been very good about fixing any such issues.

The Eternal Prison ($9.35 Paperback), by eff Somers, the third in his Avery Cates Trilogy.

Book Description
Avery Cates is a wanted man. After surviving the worst bioengineered disaster in history, Cates finds himself incarcerated - in Chengara Penitentiary. As Chengara has a survival rate of exactly zero, the system's most famous gunner must do some serious plotting. And a betrayal or so later, he achieves his goal. At a price.

All he has to do now is defeat some new personal demons, forge some unlikely alliances, and figure out why the people he's killed lately just won't stay dead.

Blood Ties ($9.99 Paperback), by Pamela Freeman, the first in the Casting Trilogy, was the one dollar book from Orbit back in November.

Book Description
A thousand years ago, the Eleven Domains were invaded and the original inhabitants forced on the road as Travelers, belonging nowhere, welcomed by no-one.

Now the Domains are governed with an iron fist by the Warlords, but there are wilder elements to the landscape which cannot be controlled and which may prove their undoing. Some are spirits of place, of water and air and fire and earth. Some are greater than these. And some are human.

Bramble: a village girl, whom no-one living can tame ... forced to flee from her home for a crime she did not commit.

Ash: apprentice to a safeguarder, forced to kill for an employer he cannot escape.

Saker: an enchanter, who will not rest until the land is returned to his people.

As their three stories unfold, along with the stories of those whose lives they touch, it becomes clear that they are bound together in ways that not even a stonecaster could foresee - bound by their past, their future, and their blood.

Full Circle ($9.35 Kindle), by Pamela Freeman, is the third in the Casting Trilogy, leaving only the middle book at full price (at least, for now).

Book Description
Saker's ghost army is slaughtering those of the new blood, fueled by an ancient wrong. But while he'd thought revenge would be simple, he's now plagued by voices foreshadowing a calamity beyond his comprehension.

Ash and Bramble raise the warrior spirit of Acton, mighty in life and powerful in death. Only he can stop Saker's rampage. But is Acton, Lord of War, murderer or savior?

And why would he help strangers protect a world he's never known?

Bramble has been marked as Saker's nemesis, but will be challenged by deeper powers than Saker can command - as well as by her own feelings for Acton. As the living fight the dead, strange forces will shape an uncertain future from pain and suffering.

Here are the links at Fictionwise; don't forget to use coupon code JK25 for the extra 25% off (which is still working, as of 2:32 AM EDT).

The Eternal Prison
Blood Ties
Full Circle

Free Book (ADE/PDF) - Tim and Tom

Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White ($9.99 Kindle), by Tim Reid, Tom Dreesen & Ron Rapoport, is can be downloaded for free this month, direct from the University of Chicago Press, although only in PDF format (DRM'd, not Kindle compatible; requires Adobe Digital Editions).

Book Description
As the heady promise of the 1960s sagged under the weight of widespread violence, rioting, and racial unrest, two young men--one black and one white--took to stages across the nation to help Americans confront their racial divide: by laughing at it.

Tim and Tom tells the story of that pioneering duo, the first interracial comedy team in the history of show business--and the last. Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen polished their act in the nightclubs of Chicago, then took it on the road, not only in the North, but in the still-simmering South as well, developing routines that even today remain surprisingly frank--and remarkably funny--about race. Most nights, the shock of seeing an integrated comedy team quickly dissipated in uproarious laughter, but on some occasions the audience’s confusion and discomfort led to racist heckling, threats, and even violence. Though Tim and Tom perpetually seemed on the verge of making it big throughout their five years together, they grudgingly came to realize that they were ahead of their time: America was not yet ready to laugh at its own failed promise.

Eventually, the grind of the road took its toll, as bitter arguments led to an acrimonious breakup. But the underlying bond of friendship Reid and Dreesen had forged with each groundbreaking joke has endured for decades, while their solo careers delivered the success that had eluded them as a team. By turns revealing, shocking, and riotously funny, Tim and Tom unearths a largely forgotten chapter in the history of comedy.

Click HERE to sign up for the free download.

Game Download - Port Royale 2

Looks like the discounts on the less expensive game downloads may not be as high this year as they were last year. This one has been $4.99 and is only discounted to $2.99 as the Game Download of the Day. Also, this is the first game download I've seen that doesn't offer a free trial, only a buy and download button. I looked at the Game Downloads main page and they no longer claim you get a free trial on all games, but only on "over 1,000 games". There are no comments on the game download, but I did find quite a few on the boxed version HERE and HERE.

Port Royale 2 ($2.99)

Game Description

• Huge Game World With 4 Nations And 60 Towns.
• 8 Special Scenarios For A Quick And Easy Start.
• 16 Different Ship-Types.
• Open Ended Game With Endless Detail And Game Depth.

The Caribbean in the 17th Century - You will trade with over 60 towns and create your own production facilities. Escort ships for your convoys are needed, or you can turn the tides and hunt for pirates or capture the military ships. You can also take on missions for merchants, diplomats and other characters.

Free Audiobook - Jesus Calling

ChristianAudio's free download this month is Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, narrated by Grover Gardner ($9.99 Kindle). After adding the audiobook to your cart, enter the coupon code JAN2010 during checkout.

Jesus Calling is a devotional filled with uniquely inspired treasures from heaven for every day of the year. After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her. It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue. She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but journaling helped her grow closer to God. Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages. They are written from Jesus' point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling. It is Sarah's fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.

Get your free audio download HERE (be sure to use the coupon code shown, so you won't get charged). After you finishing checking out, you will be asked which format you prefer - select MP3 if you want to be able to play the book on your Kindle.

Winners - The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle

Thanks to all who entered the contest for a paperback copy of The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle and to those who have left comments over the last few days. I've consulted random.org and these are the winners of the four copies of the book that I have.

#5 Linda
#13 susan
#3 Arlene
#16 Deedles

However, I could not find an email address for all four of you. So would Linda the Librarian and Susan, please leave a comment here with an email address. I'll then send you a private message and get your mailing address.

Congratulations, again!

Video Game Deal at Amazon

I know several people picked up new video game controllers over the holidays (my brother finally got a PS3, for example), so I wanted to let you know about this deal at Amazon, as well as an updated version of one of my favorite WII games, Rabbids Go Home ($27.99), which is today's game of the day (so the price is only good thru midnight PDT).

Game Description

• In true Raving Rabbids fashion, soup up your shopping cart with a Jet Ski, an airplane reactor, or a hospital Bubble Bed to wreak endless havoc everywhere.
• In the Rabbid's first comedy adventure control two Raving Rabbids and their shopping cart as you collect everything is sight to build a junk pile high enough to reach the moon.
• Make a huge mess and provoke hilarious situations in over 15 striking game environments. The greater the mess the more in-game opportunities you will have.
• Race, chase, boost through 40+ missions while scaring the Humans right down to their undies, literally! Ridicule reams of relentless enemies and their nasty pooches in an increasingly paranoid world of Rabbid-haters.
• Encounter a cast of colorful, oddball characters and explore a remarkable parody of the modern world as if you were living inside an interactive cartoon.

The rest of the Video Games they are running isn't one that runs out today (but soon - tomorrow) and can be combined with today's Game of the Day if you want. If you spend $80 or more on video games, in a single purchase, you'll get a $20 promotional credit to use for a later purchase. There is a link for qualifying games, but there seem to be hundreds and choices for every gaming console out there. There are a few restrictions, the biggest of which is that only purchases from Amazon.com as the seller and made between 3:30pm Pacific time December 28, 2009 and 11:59pm Pacific time January 2, 2010 will qualify for this promotion. Accessories don't qualify, but it seems you can mix and match games for different consoles, so long as you get to the magical $80 total and once you get the credit, you can use it on any video game, not just a restricted list.

Looking through the lists, it seems that most games have at least a small discount, some more than others. I saw a great deal on Your Shape at $49.99 ($20 off) and The Biggest Loser is $34.99. I've played both recently and you can get a good workout with either one (the former is a bit more intense, but also seems to require more room, as your entire body must be seen by the camera for it to register movements. I actually have EA Sports Active: More Workouts $35.99 on order right now, or I'd add that to my order so that I can get the credit. I am considering Active Life: Extreme Challenge at $46.98, but that still leaves me about $10 short ... excuse me while I go shopping for a while....