I've moved!

I've moved!

Thanks for stopping by, but it appears you are using a (very) old address for my blog. I've moved to a Wordpress site and you'll need to update your bookmarks for Books on the Knob

I've moved!

Custom Search

Monday, July 8, 2013

Kindle Daily Deals 7/8

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Bad Dog, Marley! ($1.99), by John Grogan and Richard Cowdrey (Author, Illustrator) [HarperCollins]. Note: This book requires Kindle Fire/HD or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android).
Book Description
Mommy, Daddy, Cassie, and Baby Louie welcome Marley, their new Labrador pup, into their family. But Marley doesn't stay a tiny puppy for long. He grows and grows, and the bigger Marley gets, the bigger trouble he gets into. Big, bad-boy trouble. Whether it's chewing Mommy's reading glasses or swallowing Daddy's paycheck, Marley is a dog like no other. He tries to be a good dog, honest he does, but everything he tries ends up bad. Then one day Marley goes too far. Will this family have to find a new home for their big, crazy, pure-hearted dog? Inspired by John Grogan's bestselling memoir, Marley & Me, this heartwarming story shows that loving someone, flaws and all, can reap huge rewards.

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Thin Red Line ($2.99), the second novel in the From Here to Eternity series by James Jones [Open Road].
Book Description
Jones’s classic novel of the battle of Guadalcanal: a portrait of American soldiers facing the horror of war in intense jungle combat

In August of 1942 the first American marines charged Guadalcanal, igniting a six-month battle for two thousand square miles of jungle and sand. In that gruesome stretch sixty thousand Americans made the jump from boat to beach, and one in nine did not return. James Jones fought in that battle, and The Thin Red Line is his haunting portrait of men and war.

The soldiers of C-for-Charlie Company are not cast from the heroic mold. The unit’s captain is too intelligent and sensitive for the job, his first sergeant is half mad, and the enlisted men begin the campaign gripped by cowardice. Jones’s moving portrayal of the Pacific combat experience stands among the great literature of World War II.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of James Jones including rare photos from the author’s estate.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Before the Larkspur Blooms ($1.99), the first novel in Caroline Fyffe's new Prairie Hearts series [Montlake Romance], with the companion audiobook only $0.99.
Book Description
Caroline Fyffe returns to the windswept prairies of Wyoming with a beautiful story of rekindled love…

Thomas Donovan spent eight long years in prison, convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Finally released, he returns home to Logan Meadows, Wyoming, to discover his parents long buried and his neighbors wanting nothing to do with him. Suddenly the fresh start Thom longed for seems downright impossible—until a spirited beauty from his past becomes his unlikely champion, and the walls around his injured heart begin to crumble…
Hannah Hoskins was brokenhearted when Thom Donovan was sent away. While the rest of the town was quick to brand him a no-count thief, Hannah always knew better. Now the boy she once loved has returned home a man—a man whom Hannah’s suitor, the town’s deputy sheriff, is determined to destroy. When a crime spree starts anew, suspicion immediately falls on Thom, and it’s up to Hannah to prove his innocence, earn him a second chance at life—and win them both a second chance at love.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Last Wish ($1.99), by Andrzej Sapkowski [Orbit/Hachette]. This is a short story collection that predates The Witcher series (rather than the more common later released prequel we usually see these days), which properly starts with Blood of Elves, which was featured here a little over a year ago.
Book Description
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin.

And a cold-blooded killer.

His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

The international hit that inspired the video game: The Witcher.

Nook Daily Find 7/8

In a Family Way ($7.69 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the third novel in James Calder's Bill Damen Silicon Valley Mysteries series [Chronicle Books], is the Nook Daily Find.
Book Description
It's a parent's nightmare: the fertility doctor who tinkers with the very essence of a child.

The Bill Damen series leaps onto a bigger and more ambitious canvas with the filmmaker-turned-sleuth's third case, one where life and death are chillingly intertwined. His cousin's young daughter, Margaret, is kidnapped and murdered. Exposing a shadowy underworld of embryo engineering, Bill finds that the circumstances of Margaret's birth have everything to do with her death. With the help of his new assistant, the dynamic and gorgeous Clementine, Bill's investigation reveals that the latest reproductive technology is a dangerous new weapon in an ageless battle.

Tagged by Booklist as "fast-paced...with likeable good guys, nasty villains...and plenty of plot twists," the series grapples with the hard truth that science may change, but human nature does not.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/8

The Shining (£1.49 UK), by Stephen King [Hodder], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.99).
Book Description
Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

The Scarlet Contessa (£0.99 UK), by Jeanne Kalogridis [Harper], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (the US edition is $8.89).
Book Description
From Jeanne Kalogridis, critically acclaimed author of The Borgia Bride, Painting Mona Lisa and The Devil’s Queen, comes another irresistible historical novel about a countess whose passion and willfulness knew no bounds: Caterina Sforza.

Daughter of the Duke of Milan and wife of the conniving Count Girolamo Riario, Caterina Sforza was the bravest warrior Renaissance Italy ever knew. She ruled her own lands, fought her own battles, and openly took lovers whenever she pleased.

Her remarkable tale is told by her lady-in-waiting, Dea, a woman knowledgeable in reading the ‘triumph cards’ – the predecessor of modern-day Tarot. As Dea tries to unravel the truth about her husband’s murder, Caterina single-handedly holds off invaders who would steal her title and lands. However, Dea’s reading of the cards reveals that Caterina cannot withstand a third and final invader – none other than Cesare Borgia, son of the corrupt Pope Alexander VI, who has an old score to settle with Caterina. Trapped inside the Fortress at Ravaldino as Borgia’s cannons pound the walls, Dea reviews Caterina’s scandalous past and struggles to understand their joint destiny, while Caterina valiantly tries to fight off Borgia’s unconquerable army.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Bargain Book Roundup

Night Fall ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), the third thriller in the John Corey series by Nelson DeMille [Hachette]
Book Description
On a Long Island beach at dusk, Bob Mitchell and Janet Whitney conduct their illicit love affair in front of a video camera, set to record each steamy moment. Suddenly a terrible explosion lights up the sky. Grabbing the camera, the couple flees as approaching police cars speed toward the scene. Five years later, the crash of TWA Flight 800 has been attributed to a mechanical malfunction. But for John Corey and Kate Mayfield, both members of the elite Anti-terrorist Task Force, the case is not closed. Suspecting a cover-up at the highest levels and disobeying orders, they set out to find the one piece of evidence that will prove the truth about what really happened to Flight 800 - the videotape that shows a couple making love on the beach and the last moments of the doomed airliner.

He Died with His Eyes Open ($3.79 Kindle, $3.49 Kobo), the first novel in Derek Raymond's Factory series [Melville International Crime]
Book Description
As it turns out, a dead man can tell stories...

Murders are a dime a dozen in Margaret Thatcher's London, and when it comes to the brutal killing of a middle-aged alcoholic found dumped outside of town, Scotland Yard has more important cases to deal with.

Instead it's a job for the Department of Unexplained Deaths and its head Detective Sergeant. With only a box of cassette-tape diaries as evidence the rogue detective has no chouce but to listen to the haunting voice of the victim for clues to his gruesome end.

The first book in Derek Raymond's acclaimed Factory Series is an unflinching yet deeply compassionate portrait of a city plagued by poverty and perversion, and a policeman who may be the only one who cares about the "people who don't matter and who never did."

Tall, Dark, and Deadly ($2.99 Kindle), by Heather Graham [Open Road]
Book Description
When her best friend vanishes, a woman combs Florida for a killer

Few people in Florida worry when Marnie Newcastle disappears. A successful lawyer with a wild side, Marnie has been known to disappear during her passionate love affairs. But Samantha Miller, a college friend who is as sensible as Marnie is impulsive, knows better. When Marnie vanishes a few days after moving into her dream house, Samantha is the only one who doesn’t think her friend is off on another tryst. There are dark secrets in Marnie’s past, and Samantha thinks one of them may have gotten her killed.

Investigating Marnie’s menagerie of ex-lovers, Samantha finds a crooked contractor, a rock star, and a homicide cop—all with something to hide. A killer is stalking the Florida swamps, and Samantha must find him before he finds her—or else she may be the next to die.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Heather Graham including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

The Castaways ($2.99 Kindle), by Elin Hilderbrand [Little, Brown and Company]
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.

The Mountain of Gold ($2.51 Kindle), the second novel in the Matthew Quinton Journals series by J. D. Davies
Book Description
Set sail for Africa in this thrilling sequel to Gentleman Captain.

When a captured Barbary pirate tells a tale of a mountain of gold deep in Africa, gentleman Captain Matthew Quinton has his doubts. But King Charles II can’t resist the chance to outstrip the Dutch with a limitless source of wealth. With the devious corsair aboard, Quinton embarks on a voyage past the edge of the map and into the African unknown. As he gets closer, and as sabotage attempts pile up, he begins to wonder if there is truth in the legend after all . . .

Back in England, the king has arranged a marriage between Quinton’s elder brother and a mysterious lady rumored to have murdered her previous husbands. Will Quinton be able to find the fabled mountain of gold and return home in time to protect his family?

Devil in a Blue Dress: Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story ($1.99 Kindle), by Walter Mosley [Simon and Schuster]; the companion audiobook is $3.99.
Book Description
Los Angeles, 1948: Ezekiel "Easy Rawlins" is a black war veteran just fired from his job. Now he's drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage.

That's when De Witt Albright , a quietly vicious white man in a white linen suit, walks in and offers Easy good money if he'll just do a little job for him: find Miss Daphne Monet, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

It seems simple enough, but Easy soon discovers that Albright isn't the only one looking for the lovely Miss Monet - isn't the only one who's ready to kill anyone, including Easy, who might get in the way.

Animal Dreams ($1.99 Kindle), by Barbara Kingsolver [HarperCollins]
Book Description
From Barbara Kingsolver, the acclaimed author of Flight Behavior, The Lacuna, The Bean Trees, and other modern classics, Animal Dreams is a passionate and complex novel about love, forgiveness, and one woman’s struggle to find her place in the world.

At the end of her rope, Codi Noline returns to her Arizona home to face her ailing father, with whom she has a difficult, distant relationship. There she meets handsome Apache trainman Loyd Peregrina, who tells her, “If you want sweet dreams, you’ve got to live a sweet life.”

Filled with lyrical writing, Native American legends, a tender love story, and Codi’s quest for identity, Animal Dreams is literary fiction at it’s very best.

This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from Barbara Kingsolver, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.

Five titles in the Best American series from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are on sale for $0.99 apiece. This is a very good deal, for those who skipped getting them on the Deal of the Day earlier this year.


Cable/Deadpool Vol.1: If Looks Could Kill ($3.99 Kindle), the graphic novel/anthology by Fabian Nicieza, illustrated by Mark Brooks and Patrick Zircher (Illustrator) [Marvel]
Book Description
Collects Cable/Deadpool (2004) #1-6. Wade Wilson and Nathan Summers are back, and this time they're stuck with each other! Can two grown men armed to the teeth with deadly genetic weaponry live together without driving each other crazy?!

Walk in the Park ($1.99 Kindle), by Jill Mansell [Sourcebooks Landmark], for those that missed it when it was a Deal of the Day.
Book Description
No one could have planned for this...

Lara Carson left her family and boyfriend Flynn eighteen years ago without a word to anyone. Why has no one heard from her since? Does it mean anything that she's suddenly reappeared in Bath just in time for her ex–best friend Evie's wedding? And what about Flynn? Even the most eagle–eyed observer can't tell whether he's happy to see her, or just stunned.

While secrets pile up on secrets, and the gossip mill wings into high gear, the brand–new life Lara's searching for becomes ever more elusive. There's a lot of catching up for everyone to do, and Lara's return is going to be anything but a walk in the park.

The World Without You ($1.99 Kindle), by Joshua Henkin [Vintage/Random House], with the companion audiobook for $3.99.
Book Description
National Jewish Book Awards 2012, Finalist and JJ Greenberg Memorial Award for Fiction

From the author of the New York Times Notable Book Matrimony ["Beautiful . . . Brilliant."—Michael Cunningham], a moving, mesmerizing new novel about love, loss, and the aftermath of a family tragedy.

It’s July 4, 2005, and the Frankel family is descending upon their beloved summer home in the Berkshires. But this is no ordinary holiday. The family has gathered to memorialize Leo, the youngest of the four siblings, an intrepid journalist and adventurer who was killed on that day in 2004, while on assignment in Iraq.

The parents, Marilyn and David, are adrift in grief. Their forty-year marriage is falling apart. Clarissa, the eldest sibling and a former cello prodigy, has settled into an ambivalent domesticity and is struggling at age thirty-nine to become pregnant. Lily, a fiery-tempered lawyer and the family contrarian, is angry at everyone. And Noelle, whose teenage years were shadowed by promiscuity and school expulsions, has moved to Jerusalem and become a born-again Orthodox Jew. The last person to see Leo alive, Noelle has flown back for the memorial with her husband and four children, but she feels entirely out of place. And Thisbe —Leo’s widow and mother of their three-year-old son—has come from California bearing her own secret.

Set against the backdrop of Independence Day and the Iraq War, The World Without You is a novel about sibling rivalries and marital feuds, about volatile women and silent men, and, ultimately, about the true meaning of family.

Ella Enchanted ($2.49 Kindle), the Newbery Honor book by Gail Carson Levine [HarperCollins]
Book Description
How can a fairy's blessing be such a curse?

At her birth, Ella of Frell was the unfortunate recipient of a foolish fairy's gift -- the "gift' of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it's hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse -- once and for all.

In this incredible debut novel comes the richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell, who at birth was given the gift of obedience by a fairy. Ella soon realizes that this gift is little better than a curse, for how can she truly be herself if at anytime anyone can order her to hop on one foot, or cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom'and she'll have to obey? Against a bold tapestry of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella's quest to break the curse once and for all and discover who she really is is as sharply funny as Catherine, Called Birdy and as richly poignant as Beauty, and has all the marks of a classic in the making.

Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul: Stories of Adventure, Inspiration and Insight to Celebrate the Spirit of Travel ($1.99 Kindle), by Mark Victor Hansen, Steve Zikman and Jack Canfield
Book Description
Whether your idea of travel at its finest is trekking through Europe with a backpack, a map and a foreign-language dictionary; road-tripping across America in a fully loaded RV; or cruising the Caribbean aboard a luxury liner, Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul celebrates the people you’ll meet, the lands you’ll discover and the lessons you’ll learn.

Like traveling itself, the stories in this book will take you on a journey of adventure, insight, and discovery. Through the real-life experiences of others, you’ll see that regardless of the destination, it is the journey that provides the fondest memories. You’ll be inspired by these treasured tales of fellow travelers who formed lasting friendships, fell in love, challenged themselves, and cherished the hospitality of others. These stories show that when traveling—as in life—sometimes it’s the unplanned adventures that provide us with the most opportunities for growth; that a twist in the road or a change in our itinerary teaches us not to fear the unknown, but to welcome and savor its surprises.

With chapters including Living Your Dream, Getting There, Our Common Bond, Making a Difference, On Healing, On Love, A Matter of Perspective, The Kindness of Strangers, and Wisdom Along the Way, this book will guide you to where you want to go and celebrate the places you’ve already been.

Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul will rekindle the spirit of every traveler, offer a deeper connection to people across the globe and provide you with a richer appreciation of the journey.

A Spear of Summer Grass ($2.99 Kindle), by Deanna Raybourn [Harlequin MIRA], with the companion audiobook for $3.99.
Book Description
Paris, 1923

The daughter of a scandalous mother, Delilah Drummond is already notorious, even among Paris society. But her latest scandal is big enough to make even her oft-married mother blanch. Delilah is exiled to Kenya and her favorite stepfather's savanna manor house until gossip subsides.

Fairlight is the crumbling, sun-bleached skeleton of a faded African dream, a world where dissolute expats are bolstered by gin and jazz records, cigarettes and safaris. As mistress of this wasted estate, Delilah falls into the decadent pleasures of society.

Against the frivolity of her peers, Ryder White stands in sharp contrast. As foreign to Delilah as Africa, Ryder becomes her guide to the complex beauty of this unknown world. Giraffes, buffalo, lions and elephants roam the shores of Lake Wanyama amid swirls of red dust. Here, life is lush and teeming—yet fleeting and often cheap.

Amidst the wonders—and dangers—of Africa, Delilah awakes to a land out of all proportion: extremes of heat, darkness, beauty and joy that cut to her very heart. Only when this sacred place is profaned by bloodshed does Delilah discover what is truly worth fighting for—and what she can no longer live without.

Theirs Was the Kingdom ($2.99 Kindle), by R. F. Delderfield [Sourcebooks Landmark]
Book Description
The eagerly awaited reissue of the second novel in R. F. Delderfield's classic God Is an Englishman series

Theirs Was the Kingdom is a stirring saga of England in the late 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution takes hold, forever changing the landscape of England and her people.

The 1880s in England were a laissez-faire decade of national optimism and prosperity, of rampant colonialism, typhoid epidemics, and a Diamond Jubilee. This follow-up novel to God Is an Englishman continues the saga of the Victorian giant of commerce Adam Swann, his tough-minded wife Henrietta, and their five children. This prolific tale records the triumphs and tragedies of a memorable family and a nation at the height of its imperial power.

A beloved novel by a beloved author, Theirs Was the Kingdom is a luminous historical novel of a family's fortune and a nation's destiny.

$30 Off Kindle Fire (AL)

Update: Fixed links to voucher.

This is another AmazonLocal deal. Just click on Apply from the Free Voucher Worth $30 Off a Kindle Fire page, then complete the purchase on the page after that. You must have a credit card on file, make a "purchase" at zero cost, then the promo code is automatically applied to your account (no waiting for an email and dealing with a promo code). Sign-up for this offer expires July 13, 2013 or when the number of vouchers set aside by Amazon have been exhausted.

Note that this deal is for the Kindle Fire (2nd Generation), not the Kindle Fire HD, which is currently marked at $30 off (no voucher needed). You can get the tablet with or without Special offers using the $30 voucher, with a limit of one tablet per account (although nothing says that families with more than one account can't buy one per account and then register them all together, to take advantage of a Prime membership).
Deal Description
Kindle Fire is the perfect family tablet with the best in kids' entertainment, and today's deal from Amazon.com offers an excellent opportunity to acquire one at a magnificent discount. Take advantage of today's deal and of all the convenience and fun Kindle Fire has to offer.
  • Powerful processor and extra-long battery life, designed to travel with you wherever you go
  • Ultra-fast web browsing over built-in Wi-Fi -- easy-to-use email works with Gmail, Yahoo!, and others
  • Over 23 million movies, TV shows, apps, games, books, magazines, songs, and audiobooks
  • This voucher will be automatically applied to your Amazon.com account; please do not place your Kindle Fire order until you have received an e-mail from Amazon Local confirming that your voucher has been applied. The credit may not apply to orders placed on Amazon.com prior to the receipt of this confirmation
  • Voucher will expire if not used toward a qualifying purchase of Kindle Fire on Amazon.com by 11:59 P.M. PST on July 20, 2013
  • Voucher is only valid for Kindle Fire Tablet featured here and identified as "Ships from and sold by Amazon Digital Services" and does not apply to products sold by other sellers
  • Voucher is only valid for $30 off the regular price of Kindle Fire ($159 or $174) purchased only from Amazon.com. Purchaser will be responsible for payment to Amazon.com of final order total after discount, plus applicable taxes and shipping charges. Voucher is not valid for Kindle Fire HD
  • Limit 1 voucher per customer; limited quantities available
  • This promotion may not be combined with other offers, including promotional certificates