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Saturday, June 9, 2012

$30 Off a Kindle Fire + $5 Instant Video Credit

Just in time for Father's Day and while they last, Amazon has a $30 off Kindle Fire voucher that you can pick up over at AmazonLocal:
Free Voucher Worth $30 Off a Kindle Fire ($169 After Discount) Plus $5 Amazon Instant Video Credit
This isn't a credit on a refurbished unit (although I've always found these to be identical to new ones), but on a brand-spanking new Kindle Fire. First, you "buy" the voucher at AmazonLocal (at no cost), then access the Your Vouchers tab to find your deals. Click on the View Code button and use the promo code there on the checkout page, after placing a Kindle Fire into your cart (no one-clicking to use the voucher). As soon as you apply the code, you should see a $30 drop in the summary total (upper right) and can check out. That will then trigger an email for the $5 instant video credit to be added to your account (and once you have your Kindle Fire, you can sign up for a free month of Amazon Prime (with free Prime videos), if you haven't already taken advantage of a trial offer.

Some Deal Details
• Kindle Fire voucher must be redeemed by June 15, 2012
• Ships only to U.S. addresses
• Limit 1 voucher per customer. Limited quantities available
• $5 promotional code for Amazon Instant Video credit expires August 31, 2012
• Voucher is valid for $30 off the regular price of $199 for a Kindle Fire purchased only from Amazon.com...
• Within 72 hours after your purchased Kindle Fire is shipped, you will receive an email that includes a $5 promotional code for Amazon Instant Video ...
• The promotional code for $5 Amazon Instant Video may not be used for certain titles....
• The Kindle Fire voucher and the $5 promotional code for Amazon Instant Video may only be redeemed by customers who are located, and have billing addresses, in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and who have a U.S. bank-issued credit card associated with their Amazon.com account
• Kindle Fire orders are eligible for Prime and Super Saver Shipping

Today's Deals

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is 23 world-class mysteries for $1.99 apiece. These are all from publisher Open Road and are the starting titles in their series, from award-winning authors. I'll definitely be picking up any that aren't already in my library; there are way too many to list, so I'll just include Amazon's description of the deal:
Deal Description
These page-turning debuts and first books in popular series promise something for all lovers of great mysteries and thrillers. From Edward Bunker's critically-acclaimed classic, No Beast So Fierce, to book one of Loren D. Estleman's award-winning Amos Walker series, Motor City Blue, this selection features masterfully-crafted novels for all tastes.

The Curry Secret ($1.52 / £0.99 UK), by Kris Dhillon, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.08).
Book Description
There is truly no other curry book like this one. The recipes are not the traditional cuisine practised by Indians at home but the distinctive and well-loved variety served in Indian restaurants worldwide. Since its first publication nearly twenty years ago The Curry Secret has been a bestseller. It has grown, by word of mouth and reader recommendation, into a cult classic – it has even spawned internet forums where readers rave about the sauce. Following requests from those readers, Kris Dhillon has now updated the book to include a wider choice of dishes and brand new recipes for even more mouthwatering curries as well as all the established favourites. From Chicken Tikka Masala to Onion Bhajee, Aloo Gobi to Lamb Biryani, everyone’s favourite is here.Praise from readers:‘Truly an excellent book and one that any Indian restaurant fan who enjoys cooking should have’ ‘The Holy Grail of curry cook books’‘This book is so good it’s unbelievable’

The Castaways ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Elin Hilderbrand, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. This one looks like a good beach read.
Book Description
Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.

Not Norman ($6.64 Kindle, $1.49 B&N), by Kelly Bennett and Noah Z. Jones (Author, Illustrator), is the Nook Daily Find for Families (requires NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet NOOK Kids for iPad).
Book Description
Norman the goldfish isn't what this little boy had in mind. He wanted a different kind of pet -- one that could run and catch, or chase string and climb trees, a soft furry pet to sleep on his bed at night. Definitely not Norman. But when he tries to trade Norman for a "good pet," things don't go as he planned. Could it be that Norman is a better pet than he thought? With wry humor and lighthearted affection, author Kelly Bennett and illustrator Noah Z. Jones tell an unexpected -- and positively fishy -- tale about finding the good in something you didn't know you wanted.

In this NOOK Kids book, children can tap to enlarge text and pinch & stretch to zoom in on pictures.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Today's Deals

Today's free Android App from Amazon is Madagascar 3 Movie Storybook. There's apparently no interactivity in the book, but for free, you should grab it for your kids and grandkids.

Two new Kobo codes: 20june8 for 20% off any non-Agency title and bloomsbury30 for 30% off any eBook from Bloomsbury US Publishing Group and its subsidiary imprints. Also, an update on yesterday's code, koboharlequin30 is for new Harlequin releases only. Both of the new codes are valid through June 11, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST (although I've seen them expire 12 hours early, so don't wait too long).

Get 25% off DecalGirl skins, ordered direct, using coupon code ILOVEDAD, valid June 7 - 18.

Additional formats on free books:

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is Stealing Trinity ($0.99), by Ward Larsen.
Book Description
In the last days of WWII, the Third Reich makes a desperate grab to retrieve its most valuable asset, Die Wespe, a spy buried deep in the Manhattan Project. The man chosen for this mission is Alexander Braun---American born, Harvard educated, and a ruthless killer.

British Intelligence learns of the Nazi plan. Unable to convince their American counterparts of the magnitude of the threat, they dispatch Major Michael Thatcher to track down Braun.

The trail leads to Rhode Island, where Lydia Cole, a young heiress, has unwittingly taken Braun back into her life. Braun is forced to run, and there is one place where he must go--Los Alamos, home of the Manhattan Project. On July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb is tested - code named Trinity. In the days that follow, four people - a tenacious British investigator, a determined young woman, a killer, and the spy who could compromise America's greatest scientific endeavor - will have a fateful rendezvous, all vying for control of the secret that will shape the world.

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is seven Books by MC Beaton ($1.52/£0.99) ... you lucky dogs!
  • Death of a Glutton (Main/UK) Hamish MacBeth #8
    Her table manners were a crime. But she didn’t deserve to die!

    There’s not a cloud in Hamish Macbeth’s sky – just plenty of warm sunshine but not quite enough of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe. But as eight hopeful members of the Checkmate Singles Club converge on Tommel Castle Hotel for a week of serious matchmaking, the clouds roll in.

    The four couples, carefully matched by dating director Maria Worth, immediately dislike one another. And the arrival of Maria’s gross, greedy business partner, Peta, kills the last vestige of romance. And as love goes out the window, murder comes in the door.

    Peta soon slurps up her last meal and Hamish is left with the baffling puzzle: Who shared the fateful outing that left Peta dead with a large rosy red apple in her mouth…
  • Death of a Travelling Man (Main/UK) Hamish MacBeth #9
    It’s springtime in the Highlands but storms are brewing for Hamish Macbeth. His life is going to pot. He has – horrors! – been promoted, his new boss is a dunce, and a sinister self-proclaimed gypsy and his girlfriend have parked their rusty eyesore of a van in the middle of the village.

    Hamish smells trouble and as usual he’s right. The doctor’s drugs have gone missing. Money vanishes. And neighbours suddenly become unneighbourly. Nobody wants to talk either, so canny Hamish faces the delicate task of worming the facts out of the villagers.

    In the process he uncovers a story so bizarre that neither he nor the locals may ever be able to forget it…
  • Death of a Macho Man (Main/UK) Hamish MacBeth #12
    The unconventional Hamish Macbeth finds that his own impetuousness places him at the center of a murder investigation. Everyone in the Scottish Highlands village of Lochdubh called Randy Duggan 'the Macho Man'. Duggan went around the village and bragged about everything he had done and said he once was a wrestler in America and an explorer in the Middle East. At first his outrageous stories drew an admiring crowd at the local pub, but soon his bullying ways lead to anger and violence. When Hamish tries to break up a fight, Duggan challenges him to a public fistfight. But on the day of the scheduled fight, Duggan is found shot to death. Of course, Macbeth's superiors get wind of the fight and suspend him during the investigation. Macbeth has some suspicions about Duggan's real background - and the mysterious banker, John Glover, who shows up at the posh Tommel Castle Hotel shortly before Duggan's death. And what about Rosie Draley, the sex-crazed romance writer, who had been having an affair with the two-timing Duggan? Once again, Macbeth is in hot water and he must find a murderer to clear his name - and to get back his job and the cushy life (fishing and mooching around the village) he leads.
  • Death of a Dustman (Main/UK) Hamish MacBeth #16
    When Fergus Macleod, Lochdubh’s abusive, drunk dustman is put in charge of the local recycling centre and is dubbed the ‘Environment Officer’, Hamish Macbeth smells trouble. Sure enough, Fergus, imbued with his new powers, becomes a bullying tyrant and when his body is found stuffed in a recycling bin, no one is sorry – including his long-suffering family. But Macbeth is surprised to find that many of the despicable dustman’s victims refuse to talk – and when violence strikes again, the lanky lawman must quickly unearth the culprit among a litter of suspects… before the killer makes a clean getaway!
  • Death of a Celebrity (Main/UK) Hamish MacBeth #17
    Lochdubh, remotely nestling in the Highlands, is perfectly anonymous… until well-known TV reporter Crystal French races into town in her bright new BMW. And PC Hamish Macbeth, dourly wed to duty rather than the fiancĂ©e who dumped him, promptly gives her a ticket for reckless driving. Outraged, Crystal makes Macbeth’s life a misery with a TV report on policing in the Highlands… but when she also rakes up old local scandals for her new hit show, Macbeth notes that someone besides himself might be dead keen to stop her. And then someone does.Now, finding out who did away with the nosy reporter will lead the laconic Macbeth down roads he never envisioned… and perhaps a crisis of the heart all his own.
  • Death of a Gentle Lady (Main/UK) Hamish MacBeth #23
    Mrs Gentle has fooled everyone into thinking she is as sweet as she sounds – Gentle by name and gentle by nature. But local constable Hamish Macbeth isn’t fooled. He believes this little old lady is actually quite sly and vicious, but he’s in a minority of one. Or is he?

    When Mrs Gentle dies under unusual circumstances the villagers of Lochdubh are shocked and outraged. Chief Detective Inspector Blair suspects that members of her family may be involved but Hamish thinks there’s much more to the story – and is willing to get rough to solve the riddle of Mrs Gentle’s mysterious demise.
  • Death of a Witch (Main/UK) Hamish MacBeth #24
    Returning from holiday Hamish becomes unaccountably worried – it’s as if he senses a dark cloud of evil hanging over Lochdubh. He soon learns that there is a newcomer to the village, a woman called Catriona Beldame, and that the villagers have decided she is a witch.

    At first Hamish is charmed by her, but is dismayed when he finds out she’s been supplying dangerous potions to certain local people. No one seems willing to listen to his warnings and when she is found murdered, poor Hamish is the prime suspect. Obviously, he must solve the murder to clear his own name and bring contentment back to his beloved Lochdubh.

Life of Pi ($8.54 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Yann Martel, is the Nook Daily Find. It isn't price matched on Kindle (yet) and if I was buying it there, I'd consider the Illustrated 2nd Edition ($7.39), which has pictures you can see best on the page for the first Illustrated Edition's page. Check your Kindle libraries, first, though - this one was free in late 2010 under a different ASIN (at least for UK customers), and you may have already purchased that edition (which no longer appears at Amazon); the Illustrated Edition was also a 99 cent Deal of the Day last December, so you might already have that one, as well.
Book Description
Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional-but is it more true?

Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.

The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe ($4.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Roland Smith, is the Nook Daily Find for Families. Your kids learn some history along with what looks like a cute story (hopefully it turns out better than the idea of hiding veggies in the meatloaf!).
Book Description
Born the runt of his litter and gambled away to a rusty old riverman, the Newfoundland pup Seaman doesn’t imagine his life will be marked by any kind of glory--beyond chasing down rats. But when he meets Captain Meriwether Lewis, Seaman finds himself on a path that will make history. Lewis is just setting off on his landmark search for the Northwest Passage, and he takes Seaman along. Sharing the curiosity and strength of spirit of his new master, Seaman proves himself a valuable companion at every turn. Part history, part science--and adventure through and through--The Captain’s Dog is the carefully researched, thrilling tale of America’s greatest journey of discovery, as seen through the keen, compassionate eyes of a remarkable dog.

Grade Level: 4 and up

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Today's Deals

There are several new coupon codes for Kobo on the list today (see sidebar at right), including one good for any new Harlequin release at 30% off and two more 50% off coupons. As always, these only work on non-Agency published books, so you may have to browse a bit to find one on your wishlist.

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is The Child in Time ($1.99), by Ian McEwan.
Book Description
The Child in Time shows us just how quickly life can change in an instant. Stephen Lewis is a successful author of children's books. It is a routine Saturday morning and while on a trip to the supermarket, Stephen gets distracted. Within moments, his daughter is kidnapped and his life is forever changed.

From that moment, Lewis spirals into bereavement that has effects on his relationship with his wife, his psyche, and with time itself: "It was a wonder there could be so much movement, so much purpose, all the time. He himself had none."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
First Love, Last Rites was McEwan's first published book and is a collection of short stories that in 1976 won the Somerset Maugham Award. A second volume of his work appeared in 1978. These stories--claustrophobic tales of childhood, deviant sexuality and disjointed family life--were remarkable for their formal experimentation and controlled narrative voice. McEwan's first novel, The Cement Garden (1978), is the story of four orphaned children living alone after the death of both parents. To avoid being taken into custody, they bury their mother in the cement of the basement and attempt to carry on life as normally as possible. Soon, an incestuous relationship develops between the two oldest children as they seek to emulate their parents roles. The Cement Garden was followed by The Comfort of Strangers (1981), set in Venice, a tale of fantasy, violence, and obsession. The Child in Time (1987) won the Whitbread Novel Award and marked a new confidence in McEwan's writing. The story revolves around the devastating effects of the loss of a child through child abduction. Readers may know McEwan's work through these and other books, or more recently through his novel, Atonement, which was made into a major motion picture.

The Playdate ($1.52 / £0.99 UK), by Louise Millar, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99 pre-order).
Book Description
Single mother Callie has come to rely heavily on her best friend Suzy. But Callie suspects Suzy's life isn't as simple as it seems. It's time she pulled away - going back to work is just the first step towards rediscovering her old confidence. So why does she keep putting off telling Suzy about her new job? Suzy and Callie live close to each other on a typical cramped, anonymous London street. Neighbours seem to move in, and move on, before you have even learned their names. Callie's increased sense of alienation leads her to try to befriend a new resident on her street, Debs. But Debs is anxious, odd. You wouldn't trust her with your child - especially not if you knew anything about her past. A brilliant and chilling evocation of modern life, The Playdate is a real talking-point book for mothers everywhere. I started reading and couldn't stop . . . a must-read that will tap into every mother's primal fears' Sophie Hannah

Psych Yourself Rich: Get the Mindset and Discipline You Need to Build Your Financial Life ($10.35 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Farnoosh Torabi, is the Nook Daily Find; this title has previously been free on Kindle, where there is also a Video Enhanced Edition available.
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.

Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister ($5.59 Kindle, $1.49 B&N), the first title in the series by Liz Kessler, is the Nook Daily Find for Families. Although not (yet) price matched on Kindle, there is a good deal on another of Kessler's titles, The Tail of Emily Windsnap at $2.99 (and three others in the series are $4.99, currently).
Book Description
Philippa Fisher would like nothing more than to summon a fairy. Still, she is taken aback when Daisy, the new girl at school, announces that she is Philippa's fairy godmother — or godsister, since they're both the same age. Though the fairy is none too pleased with her mission, she is obliged to see it through and grant her human charge the customary three wishes. Now, if only Philippa would wish for something that makes her life better, not worse! With warmth and whimsy, the creator of Emily Windsnap whisks a traditional theme into a contemporary setting to tell a story of friendship, luck, and how we decide what we really want.

Grade Level: 3 and up

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Today's Deals

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal, which is also the only KSO deal that is active. Are KSO deals a thing of the past?

Today's Kindle Deal of the Day is A Kiss Before Dying ($1.99), by Ira Levin, winner of the 1954 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
Book Description
A modern classic, this novel set a new standard in the art of mystery and suspense in its exploration of the criminal mind

A Kiss Before Dying not only debuted the talent of best-selling novelist Ira Levin to rave reviews and an Edgar Award, it also set a new standard in the art of psychological suspense. It tells the shocking tale of a young man who will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get where he wants to go. For he has dreams, plans. He also has charm, good looks, intelligence. And he has a problem. Her name is Dorothy; she loves him, and she’s pregnant. The solution may demand desperate measures. But, then, he looks like the kind of guy who could get away with murder.

About the Author
Ira Levin is the author of The Boys from Brazil, Rosemary’s Baby, Son of Rosemary, The Stepford Wives, This Perfect Day, Sliver, and A Kiss Before Dying (for which he won the Edgar Award). Levin was also the recipient of three Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Awards.

The Graduate Student ($1.52 / £0.99 UK), by James Polster, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99/KLL eligible).
Book Description
When anthropology graduate student Blackwell James returns from a research expedition in the Amazon, he brings home a trunk full of rare hallucinogenic vines…but no research notes. Frustrated by the young man’s lack of progress on his dissertation, Blackwell’s professor finds him a job working on a primate experiment in Los Angeles to spur him along. Trouble is, Blackwell has never set foot in L.A., and he doesn’t know a whit about primates. In fact, for a guy like Blackwell James, venturing into the City of Angels soon proves to be more dangerous than the Amazon ever was. From the moment he is thrust into the bizarre culture of Hollywood, his life becomes a wild, high-octane tale of adventure, suspense, and intrigue. Caught up in the secret ambitions of his new employers, Blackwell begins a strange trip through the surreal world of movie stars, murder, and money. A secret society, a ghost town, two large chimpanzees, and several shamanistic drug-induced journeys round out this outrageous novel, which features “cameos” by Sylvester Stallone, Johnny Depp, and Steven Spielberg. Gleefully continuing the great literary tradition of comic Hollywood novels, The Graduate Student is an exuberant and riveting ride.

A Single Thread ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in Marie Bostwick's Cobbled Quilt series, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. Check your libraries on this one - it was 99 cents on Kindle a while back and free from Kobo as part of their ebook club in April.
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. . .

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread ($6.57 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Kate DiCamillo and Timothy Basil Ering (Illustrator), is the Nook Daily Find for Families.
Book Description
Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon,up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

Grades: 2 and up