Today's Deals

In Celebration of Day Against DRM, O'Reilly Books is having a one day 50% deal on all ebooks and videos. Use code DRMFREE at checkout.

Angry Robot Books is having a one day sale today, 50% off anything in their catalog, until noon on Saturday, May 5th (UK time). Again, use discount code DRMFREE at checkout! Their books are in EPUB format, but DRM-free, so are easily converted via Calibre. You'll want to double check prices against Amazon and Kobo (where coupons work), but for authors that aren't discounted in either store, this direct sale is a good deal. You can pay via PayPal, which will take care of any currency conversion.

There's no particular sale, but all books purchased direct from Baen Books are always DRM-free (and you can download any format, so you don't have to worry about conversion). Not sure if you'd like a particular author? Check out the Baen Free Library, which offers dozens of SciFi and Fantasy books entirely free (mostly early works by authors or in series).

Over at Amazon, you can tell if a book is DRM-Free by looking for the label Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited in the Product Details section. If a book is DRM-free, then you can back up on your own, in case Amazon's library feature fails or disappears, in addition to being able to easily convert the book for any reader you might happen to own (now or in the future). Sadly, it seems more and more indie authors adding their backlist thru the Amazon KDP program are opting NOT to make their books DRM-free, in fear that they'll be pirated (I have news for them - the pirates already "have" their books, not that they read them, they mostly just collect hoards of "stuff"). If being able to back up your books is important to you, drop a note to an indie author you've read, if you see that the author is using DRM on their books.

Additional formats on free books:

• The Billionaire's Curse (K/N/E)
• Already Home (K/N/E/I)
• Huff and Puff (K/N)

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The Perfect Assassin ($0.99), by Ward Larsen. I bought this one last year, on sale, but at three times the price.

Book Description
One perfect shot will change the course of history. Christine Palmer, a young American doctor sailing solo across the Atlantic, makes an incredible discovery - a man narrowly clinging to his life in the frigid waters. But there is much more to this desperate survivor than meets the eye.David Slaton is a Kidon - a highly-trained, highly-precise, and highly-dangerous assassin. The Kidon is both the hunter and the hunted, and he and Christine are in grave danger. Will they win in this race against time?With the precision of a sharpshooter, author Ward Larsen weaves an intricate tale of espionage and intrigue.

50 Facts That Should Change the World ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Jessica Williams , is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $1.84, but appears to be a "2.0" edition and the description is entirely different).

Book Description
Why is marriage worth £200,000 a year? Why will having children make you unhappy? Why does happiness from winning the lottery take two years to arrive? Why does time heal the pain of divorce of the death of a loved one - but not unemployment? Everybody wants to be happy. But how much happiness - precisely - will each life choice bring? Should I get married? Am I really going to feel happy about the career that I picked? How can we decide not only which choice is better for us, but how much better it is for us? The Happiness Equation descibes how we can measure emotional reactions to different life experiences and presents them in ways to which we can relate. How, for instance, monetary values can be put on things that can't be bought or sold in the marketplace - such as marriage, friendship, even death - so that we can objectively rank them in order of preference. It also explains why some things matter more to our happiness than others (e.g. why seeing friends is worth more than a Ferrari) while others are worth almost nothing (like sunny weather). Nick Powdthavee - whose work on happiness has been discussed on both the Undercover Economist and Freakanomics blogs - brings the reader cutting-edge research on how we value our happiness in a witty and engaging style.

Star Wars The Old Republic Comics, Volume 1 ($10.87 paperback, $4.99 B&N; no Kindle edition), by Alexander Freed, is the Nook Daily Find (requires NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet or NOOK for Android-Tablet).

Book Description
Set in the newest corner of the Star Wars galaxy!

After hundreds of years, the Sith Empire has returned to the galaxy, determined to crush the Republic that sent them into exile. For young Sith Teneb Kel, it is his only chance to rise above his lowly beginnings as a slave and prove his worth to the Dark Council. Yet their mission for him is unexpected. He will not hunt Jedi, but rather a fellow Sith - the Emperor's apprentice!

The release of The Old Republic promises to be a Star Wars event of the highest order, a game-changing moment that will mobilize legions of fans to explore a never-before-seen piece of the Star Wars mythology!

Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye ($5.38 Kindle,$1.99 B&N), by Geronimo Stilton, is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description
Enter the world of Geronimo Stilton, where another funny adventure is always right around the corner. Each book is a fast-paced adventure with lively art and a unique format kids 7-10 will love

Who Is Geronimo Stilton?
That's me! I run a newspaper, but my true passion is writing tales of adventure. Here on Mouse Island, my books are all best-sellers! What's that? You've never read one? Well, my books are full of fun. They are whisker-licking good stories, and that's a promise!

Book 1
It all started when my sister, Thea, discovered a mysterious map. It showed a secret treasure on a faraway island. And before I could let out a squeak of protest, Thea dragged me into her treasure hunt! In no time at all, we'd set sail for the island. It was an adventure I'd never forget....

About the Author
Geronimo Stilton was born in New Mouse City, Mouse Island. He is Rattus Emeritus of Mousomorphic Literature and Neo-Ratonic Comparative Philosophy. In his spare time, Mr. Stilton collects antique cheese rinds and plays golf. But what he most enjoys is telling stories to his nephew Benjamin.

Today's Deals

Over at O'Reilly Books, you can get 50% off Microsoft Windows 7 books, thru May 9. "Ebooks from oreilly.com are DRM-free. You get free lifetime access, multiple file formats, free updates."

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is A Single Thread ($1.99), by Marie Bostwick.

Book Description
Marie Bostwick weaves the unforgettable story of four very different women whose paths cross, changing their lives forever. . .

It's a long way from Fort Worth, Texas, to New Bern, Connecticut, yet it only takes a day in the charming Yankee town to make Evelyn Dixon realize she's found her new home. The abrupt end of her marriage was Evelyn's wake-up call to get busy chasing her dream of opening a quilt shop. Finding a storefront is easy enough; starting a new life isn't. Little does Evelyn imagine it will bring a trio like Abigail Burgess, her niece Liza, and Margot Matthews through her door. . .

Troubled and angry after her mother's death, Liza threatens to embarrass her Aunt Abigail all over town unless she joins her for quilting classes. A victim of downsizing at the peak of her career, Margot hopes an event hosted by the quilt shop could be a great chance to network--and keep from dying of boredom. . .

As they stitch their unique creations, Evelyn, Abigail, Liza, and Margot form a sisterhood they never sought--but one that they'll be grateful for when the unexpected provides a poignant reminder of the single thread that binds us all. . .

Never Mind ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Edward St Aubyn, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK. There is no US edition for this first novel in the Melrose series, but US customers instead get a bargain deal on The Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother's Milk ($9.99), while those in the UK pay about $6.50 apiece for the last three in the omnibus edition. the only one in the series then missing is At Last ($11.99 US / $6.65 UK), which released this past January.

Never Mind
THE FIRST PATRICK MELROSE NOVEL At his mother’s family house in the south of France, Patrick Melrose has the run of a magical garden. Bravely imaginative and self-sufficient, five-year-old Patrick encounters the volatile lives of adults with care. His father, David, rules with considered cruelty, and Eleanor, his mother, has retreated into drink. They are expecting guests for dinner. But this afternoon is unlike the chain of summer days before, and the shocking events that precede the guests’ arrival tear Patrick’s world in two.

The Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother's Milk
For more than twenty years, acclaimed author Edward St. Aubyn has chronicled the life of Patrick Melrose, painting an extraordinary portrait of the beleaguered and self-loathing world of privilege. This single volume collects the first four novels---Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother’s Milk, a Man Booker finalist---to coincide with the publication of At Last, the final installment of this unique novel cycle.

By turns harrowing and hilarious, these beautifully written novels dissect the English upper class as we follow Patrick Melrose’s story from child abuse to heroin addiction and recovery. Never Mind, the first novel, unfolds over a day and an evening at the family’s chateaux in the south of France, where the sadistic and terrifying figure of David Melrose dominates the lives of his five-year-old son, Patrick, and his rich and unhappy American mother, Eleanor. From abuse to addiction, the second novel, Bad News opens as the twenty-two-year-old Patrick sets off to collect his father’s ashes from New York, where he will spend a drug-crazed twenty-four hours. And back in England, the third novel, Some Hope, offers a sober and clean Patrick the possibility of recovery. The fourth novel, the Booker-shortlisted Mother’s Milk, returns to the family chateau, where Patrick, now married and a father himself, struggles with child rearing, adultery, his mother’s desire for assisted suicide, and the loss of the family home to a New Age foundation.

Edward St. Aubyn offers a window into a world of utter decadence, amorality, greed, snobbery, and cruelty---welcome to the declining British aristocracy.

Mission Earth, Volume 1 ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by L. Ron Hubbard, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. I'm definitely grabbing this one and just noticed that the entire series is priced under $5/volume.

Book Description
From Lord Invay, Royal Historian, Chairman, Board of Censors, Royal Palace, Voltar Confederacy: "Let me state it boldly and baldly:

There is no such planet as 'Earth.'

"If it ever existed at all, it certainly does not exist today or even within living memory.

"So, away with this delusion.

"On the authority of every highly placed official in the land I can assure you utterly and finally, THERE IS NO PLANET EARTH! And that is final!"

With this emphatic disclaimer, we are introduced to MISSION EARTH, an epic told entirely and uniquely by the aliens that already walk among us. Earth is to be invaded and a royal combat engineer must cross 22 light-years to secretly infiltrate the planet. He is also crossing a scheme to use the resources of Earth's most powerful figure to overthrow the confederacy.

With a convicted murderess who trains giant catlike animals, a doctor who creates human biological freaks, a madman who controls Voltar's secret police and a clandestine Earth base in Turkey, a bizarre stage is set and narrated by an alien killer assigned to sabotage the mission and Earth-the planet that doesn't exist.

An advanced species of aliens discovers Earth and fears that its developing technology can someday endanger their empire. Thus begins Mission Earth a spectacular series following the aliens' intricate infiltration of Earth society to bring about its downfall. The Invaders Plan begins the paperback publication of this blockbuster series.

Switched ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in Sienna Mercer's My Sister the Vampire series, is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
When Olivia Abbott moves to town, she's excited to join the cheerleading team and make new friends. Then she meets Ivy Vega. At first, Ivy, pale and dressed all in black, looks like Olivia's opposite. Then the girls look beyond the glittery pink blush and thick black eyeliner to discover they're identical—identical twins! Olivia and Ivy are brimming with plans to switch places and pull every twin trick in the book. But Olivia soon discovers that she and Ivy aren't exactly the same. Ivy's a vampire. And she's not the only one in town.

Psych Yourself Rich: Get the Mindset and Discipline You Need to Build Your Financial Life ($8.55 Kindle, $1.99 Kobo), by Farnoosh Torabi, is Today's Deal at Kobo.

Book Description
In Psych Yourself Rich, TV’s newest personal finance star shows how to develop the mindset, discipline, and spirit you need to build a strong financial foundation so you can grow wealth on your own terms, without fear, anxiety, misery, boredom, or even advanced math!? Farnoosh Torabi (as seen on NBC’s Today Show, Yahoo! Finance, and SoapNet’s Bank of Mom & Dad) combines the latest behavioral psychology with real attitude, without lectures! Psych Yourself Rich shows young professionals how to build a healthy view of money, investing, wealth, and aspirations. Torabi discusses how to get beyond "lend-and-spend" to a deeper, more holistic view of money, how to map out a plan of action that matches your needs and goals, and how to put that plan into action! You’ll learn how to stop agonizing and start organizing; become your own biggest "money advocate;" assert yourself to stop getting ripped off by financial institutions; make your money count; build momentum; embrace an entrepreneurial spirit; and get where you want to go, while others spend decades running in place.

Kindle Fire $139

Just in time for Mother's Day and while they last, Amazon has Refurbished Kindle Fires at $139, as today's Gold Box Deal. This was a very popular sale a couple of months ago and Amazon sold out before the end of the day.

In addition, there are Kindle Fire accessories all day as part of the Lightning Deals, so you'll want to check back thru the day to see what other bargains there are. The Marware cover that was $5 off is the exact type of cover I have mine in, so I can prop it up in landscape mode. That offer has expired, but I see another "standing cover" coming up later today, along with a number of other cases and a "desk stand" by Kensington (not on the lightning deals, but very interesting, is this desk stand that lets you keep the charging cord plugged in while using your fire).

Notes on refurbs from Amazon:

These units are usually impossible to tell from brand new (although the Keyboard unit often doesn't ship with the wall charger, buy you can pick one up for under $10 or just charge via your computer) and come with the same warranty from Amazon. You generally can't get the Amazon extended warranty on their refurbished units, but Square Trade has traditionally let buy their extended warranty for refurbs (although I generally recommend against getting a warranty on items like these that are relatively inexpensive and often end up getting replaced by newer technology after a couple of years).

Deal Description
Just in time for Mother's Day, save $30 on a Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire is the most-wished-for, most-gifted, #1 best-selling product on Amazon. Each Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire is a pre-owned Kindle Fire that has been refurbished, tested, and is certified to look and work like new. They come with the same one-year limited warranty as a brand-new Kindle Fire.

This offer is valid today only, May 2, 2012, when sold by Warehouse Deals. Offer good while supplies last.

Limit 5 per customer.

$3 Instant Amazon Video Credit (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers (including any Kindle Touch or Kindle Keyboard that opts in to Special Offers, which means you can add the offers, grab this one, then turn them back off!):

Get $3 off at Amazon Instant Video

Click on the offer, then click on the link on the offer page sign up and you'll get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires May 6, 2012.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Instant Video page, a promotion code and a link to the redemption page. This one works like a gift card and you need to apply the credit to your account first, before going shopping. Once you have entered the promotional code(s), you have until June 6, 2012 to complete your purchases. I'd recommend that you apply the credit right away, since it works on any video purchase - then you can shop on the web, from your Kindle Fire or your Roku and it will be used automatically.

You can use this credit on a rental or to purchase single items or entire television seasons. I'll probably use mine for the occasional 99 cent movie rental; if you have multiple KSO's, be sure you have them registered to different accounts before you try to claim this one or they'll all end up with the same code. With different accounts, each KSO can claim and use the code (three $1 rentals each should be enough to keep you in movies for the month, if you have 2 or 3 KSO's!).

Bargain Book Roundup - Paulo Coelho

HarperCollins has an even dozen of Paulo Coelho's novels on sale for $0.99 apiece. The sale doesn't include The Alchemist, but instead some of his works with which you may not yet be acquainted.

Warrior of the Light ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
Warrior of the Light: A Manual is an inspirational companion to The Alchemist, an international bestseller that has beguiled millions of readers around the world. Every short passage invites us to live out our dreams, to embrace the uncertainty of life, and to rise to our own unique destiny. In his inimitable style, Paulo Coelho helps bring out the Warrior of the Light within each of us. He also shows readers how to embark upon the way of the Warrior: the one who appreciates the miracle of being alive, the one who accepts failure, and the one whose quest leads him to become the person he wants to be.

Paulo Coelho is one of the most beloved storytellers of our time. Now, in the long-awaited companion to his first novel, Coelho presents a collection of philosophical stories that will delight and guide seekers everywhere.

The Winner Stands Alone ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
The beloved, bestselling international author of The Alchemist returns with another haunting novel—a thrilling journey into our constant fascination with the worlds of fame, fortune, and celebrity.

A profound meditation on personal power and innocent dreams that are manipulated or undone by success, The Winner Stands Alone is set in the exciting worlds of fashion and cinema. Taking place over the course of twenty-four hours during the Cannes Film Festival, it is the story of Igor, a successful, driven Russian entrepreneur who will go to the darkest lengths to reclaim a lost love—his ex-wife, Ewa. Believing that his life with Ewa was divinely ordained, Igor once told her that he would destroy whole worlds to get her back. The conflict between an individual evil force and society emerges, and as the novel unfolds, morality is derailed.

Meet the players and poseurs behind the scenes at Cannes—the "Superclass" of producers, actors, designers, and supermodels, as well as the aspiring starlets, has-been stars, and jaded hangers-on. Adroitly interweaving the characters' stories, Paulo Coelho uses his twelfth novel to paint an engrossing picture of a world overrun by glamour and excess, and shows us the possibly dire consequences of our obsession with fame.

Veronika Decides to Die ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything -- youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning, she takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up. But she does -- at a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

Inspired by events in Coelho's own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Bold and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

Eleven Minutes ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
Eleven Minutes is the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that "love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer. . . ." A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune. Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness -- sexual pleasure for its own sake -- or risking everything to find her own "inner light" and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Brida ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
This is the story of Brida, a young Irish girl, and her quest for knowledge. She has long been interested in various aspects of magic but is searching for something more. Her search leads her to people of great wisdom, who begin to teach Brida about the spiritual world. She meets a wise man who dwells in a forest, who teaches her about overcoming her fears and trusting in the goodness of the world; and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, and how to pray to the moon. As Brida seeks her destiny, she struggles to find a balance between her relationships and her desire to become a witch. This enthralling novel incorporates themes that fans of Paulo Coelho will recognize and treasure—it is a tale of love, passion, mystery, and spirituality from the master storyteller.

Fifth Mountain ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
In the ninth century b.c., the Phoenician princess Jezebel orders the execution of all the prophets who refuse to worship the pagan god Baal. Commanded by an angel of God to flee Israel, Elijah seeks safety in the land of Zarephath, where he unexpectedly finds true love with a young widow. But this newfound rapture is to be cut short, and Elijah sees all of his hopes and dreams irrevocably erased as he is swept into a whirlwind of events that threatens his very existence.

Written with the same masterful prose and clarity of vision that made The Alchemist an international phenomenon, The Fifth Mountain is a quietly moving account of a man touched by the hand of God who must triumph over his frustrations in a soul-shattering trial of faith.

The Devil and Miss Prym ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
A stranger arrives at the remote village of Viscos, carrying with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. He comes searching for the answer to a question that torments him: Are human beings, in essence, good or evil? In welcoming the mysterious foreigner, the whole village becomes an accomplice to his sophisticated plot, which will forever mark their lives.

A novel of temptation by the internationally bestselling author Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym is a thought-provoking parable of a community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear—as it struggles with the choice between good and evil.

The Valkyries: An Encounter with Angels ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
A Magical Tale About Forgiving Our Past and Believing in Our Future

The enchanting, true story of The Valkyries begins in Rio de Janeiro when author Paulo Coelho gives his mysterious master J., the only manuscript for his book The Alchemist. Haunted by a devastating curse, Coelho confesses to J., "I've seen my dreams fall apart just when I seemed about to achieve them." In response, J. gives Coelho a daunting task: He must find and speak with his guardian angel. "The curse can be broken," he replies, "if you complete the task."

Rising to the challenge, Paulo and his wife, Cristina, drop everything, pack their bags, and take off on a forty day adventure into the starkly beautiful and sometimes dangerous Mojave Desert -- where they encounter more than they bargained for. A masterful blend of the exotic locales, dramatic adventure, and magical storytelling, for which Coelho's fictional works are renowned, this true-life account is at once a modern-day adventure and a metaphysical odyssey.

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
A poignant, richly poetic story that reflects the depth of love and life.

Rarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. She has learned well how to bury her feelings . . . and he has turned to religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts.

Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life's biggest questions.

The Witch of Portobello ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves—even if we are unsure of who we are?

That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho's profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well—or hardly at all. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

The Pilgrimage ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
Here Paulo Coelho details his journey across Spain along the legendary road of San Tiago, which pilgrims have travelled since Middle Ages. On this contemporary quest, he encounters a Chaucerian variety of mysterious guides and devilish opponents and learns to understand the nature of truth through the simplicity of life. The Pilgrimage holds an important place in Paulo Coelho's literary canon. His first book, it not only paved the way for his phenomenal novel The Alchemist, but it also fully expresses his humanist philosophy and the depth of his unique search for meaning.

The Zahir ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Paulo Coelho

Book Description
The narrator of The Zahir is a bestselling novelist who lives in Paris and enjoys all the privileges money and celebrity bring. His wife of ten years, Esther, is a war correspondent who has disappeared along with a friend, Mikhail, who may or may not be her lover.

Was Esther kidnapped, murdered, or did she simply escape a marriage that left her unfulfilled? The narrator doesn't have any answers, but he has plenty of questions of his own. Then one day Mikhail finds the narrator and promises to reunite him with his wife. In his attempt to recapture a lost love, the narrator discovers something unexpected about himself.