Books on The Knob

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Updated Free ebook: Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan

Suze Orman will be on Oprah tomorrow. She is giving away a free download of her 2009 Action Plan with that (it currently sells for 7.99 on the Kindle). This will be free on January 8th, for a period of one week, in English and Spanish. It has been rumored that this will include the Kindle version and the offer is definitely for an ebook download in conjunction with an appearance on Oprah, but that doesn't mean it won't end up being a PDF instead. This is a PDF download only, which formats decently on the Kindle (just email it to your Kindle address). This is from the Oprah web site:

Suze will launch the book on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Thursday, January 8, 2009, during Oprah's Best Life Week. The show will offer Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan as a free ebook download in English and Spanish on Oprah.com for one week, culminating in a live webcast on Thursday, January 15, 2009, at 9 p.m. EST/6p.m. PST.

Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan by Suze Orman
Kindle Price $7.99

Free Download at Oprah.com

Reading Challenges

I'm signing up for J.Kaye's Book Blog's 1st in a Series challenge. Challenge rules are pretty simple:

Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
Read 12 books that are the first in any series. You may read & list your chosen books any time during the year.
Challenge runs January thru December, 2009.
You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.
You do not have to decide your books ahead of time. You can add or subtract from your list during the year.

I'll be updating this post with books as I read them. I admit that the Ebook Challenge is something of a gimme, since most of the books I read these days are ebooks. I'll update this post thru the year as I make progress or join other challenges.

1. Twilight ~ Stephenie Meyer - Read
2. One for the Money ~ Janet Evanovich
3. Whiskey Sour - J.A. Konrath (Jack Daniels series)
4. Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong - Read
5. Beekeeper's Apprentice - Laurie King
6. Nightlife - Rob Thurman
7. Weapons of Choice - John Birmingham
8. Elric: The Stealer of Souls - Michael Moorcock
9. Kiss of Midnight - Lara Adrian
10. Blood Engines - T. A. Pratt
11. His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik - Read
12. Star Wars: Lost Tribe of The Sith: Precipice - John Jackson Miller

Update: Thanks to Suvudu, most of these first in series books were free. The hardest part was deciding which of their titles to add to the challenge.

The 2009 EBook Challenge - Done!
1. Twilight ~ Stephenie Meyer - Read
2. His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik - Read
3. Small Favor - Jim Butcher - Read
4. Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan - Suze Orman - Read
5. The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows, Book 6) - Kim Harrison - Read
6. The Scourge of God - S.M. Stirling - Read
7. The Clutter Diet - Lorie Marrero - Read
8. Princeps' Fury (Codex Alera, Book 5) - Jim Butcher - Read
9. The Core Program - Peggy Brill and Gerald Secor Couzens - Read
10. Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld, Book 8) - Kelley Armstrong - Read

The 2009 ARC Reading Challenge
1. The Noticer by Andy Andrews - Read/Reviewed
2. Stonecypher Road - Warren Longwell and Nancy Longwell
3. Until the Skies Fall - Liza Granville
4. Dark Rain - Tony Richards - Read
5. Spiral Hunt - Margaret Ronald - Read
6. The Truth About You - Marcus Buckingham - Read/Reviewed
7. The Red Rubber Ball at Work - Kevin Carroll
8. Joker One - Donovan Campbell
9. Paul of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
10. The Saga of Beowulf - R. Scot Johns
11. Certain Jeopardy - Jeff Struecker
12. How To Train A Rock - Paul Steven Stone

Sookie Stackhouse Challenge at Beth Fish and GalleySmith, runs July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010 - read the entire series by Charlaine Harris.
1. Dead Until Dark - Read
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead to the World
5. Dead as a Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead to Worse
9. Dead and Gone

(Almost) free on Kindle: Friends for Life

Friends for Life by Carol Smith $1.00

Originally released in the UK under the title of "Darkening Echoes", this book tells the tale of five women from vastly different social spheres (who) meet by chance in a London hospital: Catherine, a timid young British receptionist in a veterinarian's office; Georgy, an aggressive American photographer who traveled to London to make her career; Vivienne, a jaded British socialite in an unhappy marriage; Sally, an Australian free spirit whose travels have led her to London for the time being; and Beth, a divorcee, successful London caterer, and mother of a young girl. Despite the random nature of their meeting, in the intimacy of the hospital these women share bits and pieces of their lives, and we learn that Georgy is pursuing Beth's ex-husband, Beth is seeing Vivienne's husband on the side, and Vivienne has designs on Catherine's employer. In spite of these overlaps, the women are fond of one another and keep in touch after they are discharged. However, it is the tragic death of young Catherine that really brings the remaining four together. And when an attempt is made on Georgy's life, the group grows closer still. As they try to uncover the would-be assassin, everyone's lives are in danger until the stunning climax, in which they discover the murderer comes from the place they least expect... from within.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Kindle Dollar Days

Two new books have been marked down to that one dollar impulse buy point this week. The first, The Way of Shadows, is the first in a trilogy, all of which is available on the Kindle, and should be marked at one dollar for the rest of the month, as part of a special promotion from Orbit Books. The second, however, is one of the mystery price drops happening so often at Amazon. It's been marked down for at least a couple of days now, but could go back to it's regular price at any moment.

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

River Rising by Dorothy Garlock

Sharon Sala Sale

Amazon had Missing from Sharon Sala for a dollar last week, which quite a few of us were quick to buy. Now that we've had time to decide if we like the author, they are trying to entice us back to sample more of her catalog, as quite a few of have been marked down below $5.