Bargain Book Roundup

A reminder for those that signed up for the 90 day free trials on Kindle Magazines the last time I posted - our 90 days are up, so cancel today if you don't want to continue them. If you subscribed from inside an Android App (on your Kindle Fire, for example), be sure to check the Android Subscriptions page in addition to the Kindle Magazines page.

Against the Sun ($6.39 Kindle), the sixth title in Kat Martin's Raines of Wind Canyon series, is $1.00 over at Diesel eBooks (EPUB format), while they last. It looks like you even get a 17 cent bonus added to your account with purchase.

Book Description
It's not in bodyguard Jake Cantrell's job description to share his suspicions with his assignments. Beautiful executive Sage Dumont may be in charge, but Jake's not on her payroll. As a former special forces marine, Jake trusts his gut, and it's telling him there's something off about a shipment arriving at Marine Drilling International. His instinct is aroused…in more ways than one.

A savvy businesswoman, Sage knows better than to take some hired gun's "hunch" as gospel. And yet she is learning not to underestimate the man her grandfather hired to protect her. Determined to prove Jake wrong, Sage does some digging of her own and turns up deadly details she was never meant to see.

Drawn into a terrifying web of lies and deceit—and into feelings they can't afford to explore—what Jake and Sage uncover may be frighteningly worse than they ever imagined.

666 Park Avenue ($0.99) is the first title in the series by Gabriella Pierce

Book Description
What if your mother-in-law turned out to be an evil, cold-blooded witch . . . literally?

Ever since fabulously wealthy Malcolm Doran walked into her life and swept her off her feet, fledgling architect Jane Boyle has been living a fairy tale. When he proposes with a stunning diamond to seal the deal, Jane can't believe her incredible luck and decides to leave her Paris-based job to make a new start with Malcolm in New York.

But when Malcolm introduces Jane to the esteemed Doran clan, one of Manhattan's most feared and revered families, Jane's fairy tale takes a darker turn. Soon everything she thought she knew about the world—and herself—is upended. Now Jane must struggle with newfound magical abilities and the threat of those who will stop at nothing to get them.

The Dark Glamour ($0.99) is the second title in the 666 Park Avenue series by Gabriella Pierce

Book Description
Jane Boyle married her prince charming and moved into his upper east side castle—but she didn’t get her fairy-tale ending

It’s hard to live happily ever after when you discover your demanding and controlling mother-in-law is literally a witch, determined to steal the magical powers you didn’t even know you had. Jane narrowly avoided Lynne Doran’s clutches when she escaped on her wedding day, and has been hiding out in New York City. But she can’t hide forever.

When Jane learns of the one thing Lynne wants most, she sets out to provide it, hoping her good turn will persuade her mother-in-law to stop hunting her. Unfortunately, Jane’s daring plan will send her right back into the witches’ den—the Doran clan’s multistory town house on Park Avenue. But thanks to a tricky spell, blond architect Jane will be transformed into Ella, a dark beauty with a whole new look . . . and all of Jane’s budding powers. Though the stakes are life or death, nobody said “Ella” couldn’t have a little fun along the way, too.

Ship Breaker ($2.99), by Paolo Bacigalupi, I've mentioned before, but wanted to put in a recommendation for those on the fence, as I suspect it will go up in price soon. I read the sample on this one in Sept 2010, using it as the example in a post - I ended up buying it at full price then and it's definitely worth getting at the current price. I see the next in the series, The Drowned Cities, is now out (but I'm trying resist buying it or reading the extended sample, until it drops in price a bit more; maybe I'll put it on my "read-in-store" list for B&N visits).

Book Description
In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .

In this powerful novel, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set in a vivid and raw, uncertain future.

Murder Most Maine ($1.99), is third in the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries series by Karen MacInerney. The first in the series, Murder on the Rocks, was free early last month and the second title, Dead and Berried, was a Kindle Deal of the Day last October. For fans of the series, you'll also want to get Blueberry Blues: A Gray Whale Inn Short Story ($0.99), which includes the Gray Whale Inn recipe for Double-Berry Lemon Muffins.

Book Description
It's springtime on Cranberry Island — and love is in the air. It seems like every woman has the hots for buff trainer Dirk De Leon. He and his equally-gorgeous business partner, Vanessa Black, are leading a weight-loss retreat at the Gray Whale Inn — forcing innkeeper Natalie Barnes to lighten up her butter-laden breakfast menu.

The mood on the island darkens when two grisly discoveries are made. The first is a skeleton walled up at the island's lighthouse. The second is a corpse of the fresh variety — the handsome Dirk! Could the spirit that once embodied the skeletal remains — perhaps the lighthouse keeper who disappeared a century ago — be responsible for Dirk's death?

The police pin the blame on Natalie's boyfriend who — to her dismay — had a long-ago fling with Vanessa. To find the true killer and ease her own aching heart, Natalie must untangle the knot of jealous girlfriends and spurned admirers that once surrounded the hunky trainer.

Audubon Insects & Spiders ($0.99), by Green Mountain Digital, is an app for your Kindle Fire. Currently marked way down, as is Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North American Birds (2.99) and most of their other field guides are half-price, at $4.99. I like their guides, but they do take quite a while to download (via WiFi only) and take up quite a bit of space on the KFire, which can't be expanded via SD cards.

Book Description
Audubon Insects and Spiders is your essential interactive guide to identifying bugs in North America. The app provides an introduction to 510 of the most common species of insects and spiders found in North America. It features in-depth information on each species, including habitat, range, size, and more, along with high-quality, professional photographs. The guide does not include moths and butterflies, which can be found in Audubon Butterflies.

Features include hundreds of professional color photographs detailing each species, in-depth descriptions, and state-of-the-art search functions. You can also record your Field Experiences and create Life Lists, Sightings, Photo Albums, and more.

Burglars Can't Be Choosers ($0.99) is the first title in Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series.

Book Description
Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.)

He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer.

Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police -- a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?

The Sins of the Fathers ($0.99) is the first title in the Matthew Scudder Mysteries series by Lawrence Block (which I paid $4 for a few years ago). If you like these two, Block currently has 42 novels on Kindle that are published by HarperCollins, all under $4 (plus one at $4.99).

Book Description
The pretty young prostitute is dead. Her alleged murderer—a minister's son—hanged himself in his jail cell. The case is closed. But the dead girl's fatherhas come to Matthew Scudder for answers, sending the unlicensed private investigator in search of terrible truths about a life that was lived and lost in a sordid world of perversion and pleasures.

This Heart of Mine with a Bonus Excerpt ($1.99), by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, author of Glitter Baby (which has previously been on sale in a bonus edition).

Book Description
For a limited time and a special price, download the This Heart of Mine by New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips and receive a special sneak peek at her new novel, The Great Escape, available wherever books are sold June 10.

This Heart of Mine is the story of a children's book illustrator, the creator of Daphne Bunny, who is a bit down on her luck, and the new quarterback from the Chicago Stars who crosses her path. Throw in a search for a birth mother and you have a wonderful read from Susan Elizabeth Phillips which is both funny and sweet.

Untraceable ($0.99), by Laura Griffin, is the first title in her Tracers series. If you like romantic suspense, this one has a starred review from Publishers Weekly and you can get the related novella, Unstoppable, for $1.99.

Book Description
ALEX LOVELL MAKES PEOPLE DISAPPEAR.
TURNS OUT, SHE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE.

Private investigator Alexandra Lovell uses computer skills and cunning to help clients drop off the radar and begin new lives in safety. Melanie Bess, desperate to escape her abusive cop husband, was one of those clients. But when Melanie vanishes for real, Alex fears the worst, and sets out to discover what happened. Using every resource she can get her hands on -- including an elite team of forensic scientists known as the Tracers, and a jaded, sexy Austin PD detective -- Alex embarks on a mission to uncover the truth.

As far as homicide cop Nathan Deveraux is concerned, no body means no case. But as much as he wants to believe that Alex's hunch about Melanie's murder is wrong, his instincts -- and their visceral attraction -- won't let him walk away. As a grim picture of what really happened begins to emerge, Nathan realizes this investigation runs deeper than they could ever have guessed. And each step nearer the truth puts Alex in danger of being the next to disappear....

One Reckless Summer ($0.99) is the first title in Toni Blake Destiny series.

Book Description
It's tough to play it cool on a sultry summer night . . .

The perfect daughter. The perfect prom queen. The perfect wife. Jenny Tolliver's been the good girl all her life, and it's gotten her nowhere. Now that her marriage has been busted up by her cheating ex, she's decided it's time to regroup and rediscover herself. This summer she's headed back to her hometown of Destiny, Ohio, to the very lakeshore cottage where she grew up, to figure out what life holds in store for her next.

She never dreamed the answer would be Mick Brody, Destiny's #1 hellraiser. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks (or in his case, the lake), and he's landed in hot water more times than he can count. He's exactly the kind of guy Jenny's always kept her distance from . . . but soon the good girl and the bad boy are caught in a raw heat that's out of control. Too bad Mick's got a secret that threatens to tear them apart and ruin Jenny's perfectly, passionately reckless summer . . .

Tall, Dark and Cowboy ($1.99), by Joanne Kennedy

Book Description
She's looking for an old friend. . .

In the wake of a nasty divorce, Lacey Bradford heads for Wyoming where she's sure her old friend will take her in. But her high school pal Chase Caldwell is no longer the gangly boy who would follow her anywhere. For one thing, he's now incredibly buff and handsome, but that's not all that's changed. . .

What she finds is one hot cowboy. . .

Chase has been through tough times and is less than thrilled to see the girl who once broke his heart. But try as he might to resist her, while Lacey's putting her life back together, he's finding new ways to be part of it.

Amelia O'Donohue Is So Not a Virgin ($0.84), a YA title by Helen FitzGerald

Book Description
I Never Tell Other People's Secrets...

Amelia O'Donohue was stunning. We all knew we were in the presence of tremendous beauty, humbled by her eyes and by her expensive designer clothes. We all deferred to her, waiting for her to initiate conversation, and hanging on every word she said.

So when Amelia asked for my help, What was I to do? Did I have a choice? It's not like I could tell everyone that she sneaks off in the middle of the night in her pink silk nightie to sleep with her boyfriend. Right?

But this one favor leads to a secret so big it just might change everything-for Amelia and for me...

Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post-Traumatic Stress ($0.85), by Bob Delaney and Dave Scheiber

Book Description
We are all touched by PTSD in some way-husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, families and friends.

Too often we have questions without answers, or don't know where to turn for help. But the truth is, what we really need is each other.

Surviving the Shadows is an uplifting journey through powerful and inspiring stories-marked by perseverance and personal courage-about an array of people who have suffered directly or indirectly from Post-Traumatic Stress. Along the way, PTSD education and awareness leader Bob Delaney introduces you to medical experts who have developed groundbreaking methods in dealing with the disorder, and profiles one-of-a-kind programs around the country devoted to assisting PTSD sufferers.

The first step to healing is one person away. The stories within Surviving the Shadows will help you understand the truth about Post-Traumatic Stress, and how we can help each other overcome it every day.

Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard: A Tale of Tide & Prejudice ($1.99), by Belinda Roberts

Book Description
Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard replaces ballgowns with bikinis, country mansions with luxury yachts and the militia with a fiercely competetive squad of local lifeguards...

The Bennet family is enjoying their seaside home in Salcombe when Mrs. Bennet hears that the nearby magnificent villa Netherpollock has been taken by a young man of great fortune. She is determined that one of her daughters will go out with him, until Mr. Darcy glides into the harbour on his yacht and she decides he would be the better catch.

Death (and Further Adventures) of Silas Winterbottom: The Body Thief ($1.24), by Stephen M Giles, is aimed at young tweens/teens.

Book Description
And you thought your family was strange.

I am dying. . . I might get the chance to know you before death takes me...I would like you to be my guest at Sommerset. . .I have enclosed a check for $ 10,000. . . Should you accept my offer...

Uncle Silas has always been greedy, evil, insulting, and extremely rich! But a dying uncle with a vast fortune is definitely one worth getting to know. Even if it means spending 2 months on his secluded island home with a houseful of suspicious servants and a hungry pet crocodile.

But what is Uncle Silas really up to? Will Adele, Milo, and Isabella outlive Uncle Silas to inherit his money? And just who is that mysterious "guest" in his basement? Is it worth the money (or their lives) to stick around and find out?

Centrifugal Pumps, by Johann Friedrich Gülich, which is selling for around $200 in most countries, is inexplicably only a penny for those who are in Canada. It's of limited interest, to be sure, but if you are an engineer in Canada, this is a great deal on a Springer text.

Book Description
This book gives an unparalleled, up-to-date, in-depth treatment of all kinds of flow phenomena encountered in centrifugal pumps including the complex interactions of fluid flow with vibrations and wear of materials.

The scope includes all aspects of hydraulic design, 3D-flow phenomena and partload operation, cavitation, numerical flow calculations, hydraulic forces, pressure pulsations, noise, pump vibrations (notably bearing housing vibration diagnostics and remedies), pipe vibrations, pump characteristics and pump operation, design of intake structures, the effects of highly viscous flows, pumping of gas-liquid mixtures, hydraulic transport of solids, fatigue damage to impellers or diffusers, material selection under the aspects of fatigue, corrosion, erosion-corrosion or hydro-abrasive wear, pump selection, and hydraulic quality criteria.

The 2nd ed. has been enhanced by hydraulic design information on axial pumps and sewage pumps, turbine performance curve prediction, torsional rotor vibrations and recent research results on partload flow and hydraulic excitation forces.

To ease the use of the information, the methods and procedures for the various calculations and failure diagnostics discussed in the text are gathered in about 150 pages of tables which may be considered as almost unique in the open literature. The text focuses on practical application in the industry and is free of mathematical or theoretical ballast. In order to find viable solutions in practice, the physical mechanisms involved should be thoroughly understood. The book is focused on fostering this understanding which will benefit the pump engineer in industry as well as academia and students.

Dragon Slippers ($1.99), by Jessica Day George

Book Description
Many stories tell of damsels in distress, who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor, and swept off to live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, this is not one of those stories.

True, when Creel's aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that the knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it's Creel who talks her way out of the dragon's clutches. And it's Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king's city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession.

But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom…or destroy it.

And, for those looking specifically for children's books, these two might be worth taking a chance on (one appears self-published, the other is a small publisher): Will Allen and the Great Monster Detective ($0.05), by Jason Edwards and Jeffrey Friedman (Illustrator), and Casey and Bella Face Their First Bully ($0.01), by Jane Lovascio and Aija Jasuna (Illustrator).

Today's Deals

It's the last day of the month, so it's your last chance to pick up one of this month's 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less, although there will hopefully be a new batch tomorrow. I found several nice cookbooks in this month's selection, including two on using the farm fresh produce that is starting to come in, both in the local Farmer's Market and our garden: Fast, Fresh, and Green and Fresh from the Farmers' Market: Year-Round Recipes for the Pick of the Crop. The first is from a former editor of Fine Cooking magazine and the second from Alice Waters (of Chez Panisse), so you can't really go wrong with either one. There's also a nice Rice & Curry cookbook from Hippocrene, who gave us a large number of free cookbooks last summer (it's also mostly dairy free, using coconut milk rather than the ghee/dairy milk of Indian cooking). Another that looks interesting is The Pharaohs Kitchen: Recipes from Ancient Egypts Enduring Food Traditions, which presents 100 recipes for modern cooks, each accompanied by text and photos showing how that dish played a part in ancient tradition and/or daily life.

There are two new coupon codes at Kobo, each for 25% off one non-Agency title, only valid today: 4825AUoff and 4825CAoff. I've updated the list on the right a bit and you'll find codes ranging from 25% to 50% off that can be used.

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal:

• Get $30 off Dress Shoes

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The Naming ($1.99), the first title in the YA Pellinor series by Australian poet Alison Croggon. It has a starred review from Library Journal and predominately positive reader reviews, so I may glance thru the sampler this afternoon.

Book Description
In the classic spirit of epic fantasy comes this glittering saga of a young girl who learns she possesses an uncanny gift - and is destined to use it to save her world from a terrifying evil. Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. She doesn't yet know she has inherited a powerful gift, one that marks her as a member of the noble School of Pellinor and enables her to see the world as no other can. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true identity and extraordinary destiny unfold. Now, she and her mysterious teacher must embark on a treacherous, uncertain journey through a time and place where the forces of darkness wield an otherworldly terror.

The Pirates! In an Adventure With Moby Dick ($1.55 / £0.99 UK), the second title in the series by Gideon Defoe, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK. This was originally released under the title In an Adventure with Whaling and later as In an Adventure with Whaling, which is the title for the US edition ($9.99). If you have kids, you probably know this one from the current movie and will definitely recognize the cover on the The Pirates!: An Adventure with Scientists & An Adventure with Ahab, an omnibus of the first and second titles for $8.99 (US only).

Book Description
It’s come to my attention that the old girl’s a little bit past her best. And I can hardly maintain my reputation as a terror of the high seas with bits falling off the boat all the time, can I?

The Pirate Captain is in trouble. Eager to appease his crew with a boat that has a functioning mast, fewer holes and cannons that actually fire, he splashes out on the fancy new Lovely Emma, spending six thousand doubloons he doesn’t have. Finding themselves in debt to the beautiful but deadly Cutlass Liz - or the butcher of Barbados, as she’s otherwise known - the pirates need to raise some money fast.

In a desperate race against time our heroes embark on an adventure that will take them from the shores of Nantucket to the bright lights of Las Vegas, to the ends of the earth in search of a mythical white whale, and even, perhaps, into the dark depths of madness. But hopefully they’ll be home in time for tea.

Disturbed ($5.23 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Kevin O'Brien, is the Nook Daily Find. It isn't price matched on Kindle (at least, not yet), but Amazon has a bundle containing Disturbed, The Last Victim, Watch Them Die for $9.39, which is just as good a deal. Two more good bargains are The Next To Die ($3.29) and Make Them Cry ($3.03), his second and third novels. All of these are stand-alone and there are currently eleven novels under $5.

Book Description
Deceptive
The houses in Willow Tree Court are sleek and modern--the kind designed to harbor happy families and laughing children. No one would guess the secrets that lurk beyond the neat lawns and beautiful facades.

Depraved
Molly Dennehy is trying to fit in to her new surroundings, though her neighbors are clearly loyal to her husband's ex-wife. But that's the least of Molly's worries. Her stepson's school has been rocked by a brutal slaying, and a psychopath known as the Cul-de-Sac Killer is murdering families in Seattle homes. Homes just like Molly's.

Disturbed
With each passing day, Molly grows more convinced that someone is watching her family, someone consumed with rage and vengeance. On this quiet road, a nightmare has been unleashed, and the trail of terror will lead right to her door. . .

The Eye of the Fry Cook: A Story About Getting Glasses ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), a Spongebob Squarepants story by Erica David, is the Nook Daily Find for Families (requires NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet or NOOK Kids for iPad), price matched on Kindle (requires Kindle Fire or Kindle for Android).

Book Description
SpongeBob is thrilled to try out for Bikini Bottom’s very first gourmet fry cook academy. Patrick tries to help him prepare for the audition, but SpongeBob can’t seem to read any of the index cards that Patrick holds up. Finally, SpongeBob visits the eye doctor—and winds up leaving the office with a brand-new pair of glasses. But then he has a bad dream and is too afraid to wear them to his audition! Will SpongeBob overcome his fear of glasses and reach his potential as a chef? Kids with glasses will laugh out loud as their favorite sponge shows them how snazzy glasses can be!

Pray for Silence: A Thriller ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), the second title in Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder series, is my pick Today's Deal at Kobo (since they seem to have stopped picking one altogether), price matched on Kindle. The first in the series, Sworn to Silence, was on sale for $2.99 last June, so you may find that it's already in your library. In addition, Ms. Castillo has several of her backlist novels in the Kindle store at $2.99 apiece.

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo delivers an electrifying thriller in which Chief of Police Kate Burkholder must confront a dark evil to solve the mysterious murders of an entire Amish family.

The Plank family moved from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to join the small Amish community of Painters Mill less than a year ago and seemed the model of the Plain Life—until on a cold October night, the entire family of seven was found slaughtered on their farm. Police Chief Kate Burkholder and her small force have few clues, no motive, and no suspect. Formerly Amish herself, Kate is no stranger to the secrets the Amish keep from the English—and each other—but this crime is horribly out of the ordinary.

State agent John Tomasetti arrives on the scene to assist. He and Kate worked together on a previous case during which they began a volatile relationship. They soon realize the disturbing details of this case will test their emotional limits and force them to face demons from their own troubled pasts—and for Kate, a personal connection that is particularly hard to bear.

When she discovers a diary that belonged to one of the teenaged daughters, Kate is shocked to learn the girl kept some very dark secrets and may have been living a lurid double life. Who is the charismatic stranger who stole the young Amish girl’s heart? Could the brother—a man with a violent past, rejected and shunned by his family and the Amish community, have come to seek out revenge? As Kate’s outrage grows so does her resolve to find the killer and bring him to justice—even if it means putting herself in the line of fire.

Topping her own bestselling debut, Linda Castillo once again immerses us in the world of the Amish with a chilling story that is both a fast-paced thriller and intriguing psychological puzzle.

Today's Deals

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The Last Good Day ($1.99), by Peter Blauner. This is another selection from publisher Open Road and well worth considering.

Book Description
When a decapitated corpse washes up on the banks of the Hudson River, a New York suburb is sent into an uproar

Commuters waiting for the morning train into Manhattan in the small Hudson River town of Riverside are the first to see the body. She drifts out of the river, naked and headless, shocking the onlookers before they board their train to work.

Riverside Police Chief Harold Baltimore can’t get away from her so easily. A black chief in a white town, he’s new to his job and not at all sure he’s suited to it. At first it looks like a routine mob murder, but when one of his detectives identifies the corpse as a local woman, the news rocks quiet little Riverside—and the town won’t ever be quiet again.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Peter Blauner including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt: A Handbook for the Lady Adventurer ($1.71 / £1.09 UK), by Mick Conefrey, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $10.99).

Book Description
Whether a seasoned adventurer or a want-away office worker, How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt is the essential purchase for Christmas in 2011. From using camel fat to improve your love-life to climbing Everest without oxygen, Mick Conefrey offers a vivid insight into the often-overlooked world of female explorers. Discover who dressed up as a Tibetan peasant to explore Asia and why you shouldn't let a gorilla near your bedroom. Pairing inspiring stories of famous female explorers with hilarious tips on being an adventurer - such as what to do when attacked by a crocodile - this book is fascinating and entertaining in equal measure.

The House of Velvet and Glass ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Katherine Howe, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Katherine Howe, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, returns with an entrancing historical novel set in Boston in 1915, where a young woman stands on the cusp of a new century, torn between loss and love, driven to seek answers in the depths of a crystal ball.

Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in an elegant town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sybil flees for solace to the parlor of a table-turning medium.

But when her brother is suddenly kicked out of Harvard under mysterious circumstances and falls under the sway of a strange young woman, Sibyl turns for help to psychology professor Benton Jones, despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past. As Benton and Sibyl work together to solve a harrowing mystery, their long-simmering spark flares to life, and they realize that there may be something even more magical between them than a medium’s scrying glass.

From the opium dens of Boston’s Chinatown to the opulent salons of high society, from the back alleys of colonial Shanghai to the decks of the Titanic, The House of Velvet and Glass weaves together meticulous period detail, intoxicating romance, and a final shocking twist in a breathtaking novel that will thrill readers.

Bonus features in the eBook: Katherine Howe’s essay on scrying; Boston Daily Globe article on the Titanic from April 15, 1912; and a Reading Group Guide and Q&A with the author, Katherine Howe.

Love, Ruby Lavender ($4.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Deborah Wiles, is the Nook Daily Find for Families.

Book Description
Ruby Lavender used to have a good life. She and her grandmother, Miss Eula, were inseparable--they even drove the getaway car together for chickens rescued from the slaughterhouse! But this summer, Miss Eula will be in Hawaii, and Ruby's sure it'll be a lonely, empty, horrible season without her. What happens instead? Ruby makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her favorite (and only) grandmother . . . and finally stops blaming herself for her grandfather's death.

Gr: 4-7

Get $2 in Instant Videos for Free

If you have a Facebook account, you can claim a $2 Instant Videos credit by letting Amazon post to your wall. You enter a movie you like (or whatever you want posted to your wall) and click; the credit is then added to your account automatically (no codes to keep track of).

Some of the Fine Print

• Promotional credits must be redeemed by 11:59 PM PST on May 29, 2012. (that's today, guys and gals!)
• Limit one promotional credit per Amazon customer
• Amazon Instant Video is available to customers located and with billing addresses in the United States.

ETA: You need to sign up for the credit today and use it today, as well. However, if you purchase a video, you can watch it at any time and most rentals give you 30 days to start watching them (a few don't; you can always check in the Rights & Requirements section to see the rules for each video). I'm combining this credit with a $3 credit I had (that expires soon) to grab two rentals that I can watch anytime in the next month!

Today's Deals

For those in the UK only: The Kindle Touch Prize Draw: Amazon.UK is giving away a Kindle Touch or a £100 Amazon.co.uk gift card to ten randomly drawn fans who enter their prize draw. Simply 'Like' their Amazon Kindle UK Facebook page, and then submit your details in the form on the "Kindle Touch Prize Draw" tab for a chance to win.

The Borrowers ($1.49 Kindle, B&N), by Mary Norton, Beth Krush (Illustrator) and Joe Krush (Illustrator), is the Nook Daily Find for Families, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
The Borrowers—the Clock family: Homily, Pod, and their fourteen-year-old daughter, Arrietty, to be precise—are tiny people who live underneath the kitchen floor of an old English country manor. All their minuscule home furnishings, from postage stamp paintings to champagne cork chairs, are “borrowed” from the “human beans” who tromp around loudly above them. All is well until Pod is spotted upstairs by a human boy! Can the Clocks stay nested safely in their beloved hidden home, or will they be forced to flee? The British author Mary Norton won the Carnegie Medal for The Borrowers in 1952, the year it was first published in England.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating ($1.99), a memoir by Elisabeth Tova Bailey.

Book Description
In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her uncommon encounter with a Neohelix albolabris -a common woodland snail.

While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater under standing of her own confined place in the world.

Intrigued by the snail-s molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and mysterious courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute and amused observer, providing a candid and engaging look into the curious life of this underappreciated small animal.-

Told with wit and grace, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a remarkable journey of survival and resilience, showing us how a small part of the natural world illuminates our own human existence and provides an appreciation of what it means to be fully alive.

Wahoo Rhapsody ($1.55 / £0.99 UK), by Shaun Morey, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99/KLL Eligible).

Book Description
Take one sea-loving captain, a drug-smuggling first mate, and a novice deckhand with a secret, and you have the motley crew of the Wahoo Rhapsody, a ramshackle fishing charter plying the Pacific’s waters off the coast of Cabo San Lucas. Captain Winston Weber makes an honest, if lean, living running fishing charters between Mexico and California, with no inkling of the fact that his first mate, Weevil Ott, is smuggling marijuana inside the yellowfin tuna stacked in the boat’s hold. But when Weevil decides to skim a small fortune for himself, goons under orders from the mysterious drug lord known only as “La Cucaracha” descend upon the Wahoo Rhapsody. What ensues is a madcap romp that will catapult readers from Cabo San Lucas to Tucson and San Diego, as Winston, Weevil, and an expat American lawyer by the name of Atticus Fish try to outrun La Cucaracha’s bloody reach. Fans of Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard will relish this rollicking satirical adventure from award-winning writer Shaun Morey.

Friday Nights ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Joanna Trollope, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
From the master of literary domestic drama, a page-turning novel that dissects the complexities of female friendship and the choices that define women’s lives.

It is Eleanor who starts the Friday night get-togethers. From her window she sees two young women, with small children, separate, struggling, and plainly lonely—and decides to ask them in.

What began as a lark soon becomes a ritual, and the circle widens to include six very different women. They range in age from Jules, who is twenty-two and wants to be a DJ, to Eleanor herself, a retired professional who walks with a stick. They include one wife, three mothers, three singles, and five working women. All of them, variously, value Friday nights.

Until one of them meets a man—an enigmatic, significant man—and the whole dynamic changes. The bonds that have been so closely forged are tested—and some of them break.

With wit and warmth, Joanna Trollope explores the complexities, the sabotages, and the shifting currents of modern female friendship.