Two new Kindle Magazines

There are two new weekly magazines out for the Kindle - one to teach you how to manage your money, while the other seems to concentrate on ways to spend it!

Cash: Personal Finance for Real People has as it's goal to help American consumers evaluate their options for spending, saving and investing across the broad range of decisions they confront every day. More than ever in this country’s history, people are looking for tested, authoritative and practical help managing their money. To meet this need, CASH pulls the best advice and information from the dozens of different sources available to Tribune Media Services to tailor a continually-updated handbook to being a smart consumer. In addition to traditional investing and saving advice by experts like Andrew Leckey, Humberto Cruz and Kiplinger’s, CASH helps readers with questions like: Should you pay your kids to bring home good grades? Is it still a good idea to lease rather than purchase a car? Can you really save money by flying to India, staying in a luxury hotel and having local surgeons perform your coronary bypass?” CASH draws its material from experts and publications syndicated by TMS, providing a depth and breadth of resources unparalleled in a consumer publication. Among its many contributors are U.S. News and World Report, Kiplinger’s Money Power and Consumer News Service, Andrew Leckey’s Successful Investing, the Los Angeles’ Times’ premier financial columnist Kathy Kristof, health advice from the Mayo Clinic, Retire Smart by Mark Miller, Kids and Money by Steve Rosen, Ask the Builder by home repair guru TIM Carter, automotive advice and reviews from Jim Mateja, Travel advice from Rick Steves and Christopher Elliott, and many more. CASH features the following sections: Savvy Investing; Managing Your Money; Managing Your Career; Kids and Money; Retire Smart; Home, Family and Health; and Travel Smart .

The Escapist covers digital entertainment culture with a progressive editorial style for a mature audience of entertainment enthusiasts, industry insiders and other readers. Weekly magazine-style updates offer several perspectives on a single editorial focus, while daily features and staff editorials provide a look at a broader variety of topics.

You can get a two week trial for either or both magazines or buy a single issue at a time. With Cash, the current single issue price is actually less than the subscription (49 cents vs 2.99 2.49 now 1.49), while you save with the subscription on The Escapist (99 cents vs the same 2.99). The best deal, of course, is that first two weeks - you should get at least two and perhaps three issues at no charge whatsoever, which should be enough to decide if you really like them well enough to keep paying and whether you find the time to read them regularly.

(Formerly) Free Ebook on Kindle: Flood

In anticipation of the release of Andrew Vachss' 18th and final Burke thriller, Another Life, you can download the first book in the series, Flood, for FREE until January 3rd, 2009. you can can get Flood for $2.95. Although previously announced as a free download until January 3rd, over on the Kindle blog (and despite my snagging it for free when it was listed earlier today), the price has inexplicably been raised to $2.95 and the earlier interview and details have disappeared from the Kindle blog completely. Perhaps they were just loaded up early, but whatever the problem was, this book is still a bargain. Note that all of Vachss' books contain scenes of explicit violence, sex and child abuse (he is a child abuse advocate).

Amazon.com: There has been some discussion that Another Life might be the last novel in the Burke series. Do you see it that way? And if so, why?

Andrew Vachss: I don't just "see" it that way, I *wrote* it that way. Another Life is the coda to the Burke novels, the final chapter in a series that has been running since 1985.

Read the rest of the interview here. This is now missing from the Kindle blog, along with details on the free download.

Others in the Series at bargain prices:

Blue Belle $0.99
Strega $3.99
Safe House $3.99
Footsteps of the Hawk $3.99
Everybody Pays $4.05
Dead and Gone $4.16
Hard Candy $4.95
Sacrifice $4.99
False Allegations $4.99

And one other freebie, this one actually predates Flood: A Bomb Built in Hell. PDF format only, it and a few other downloads are available on the author's web site.

Finding Fantasy and Science Fiction Reviews

Over on Grasping the Wind, John Ottinger is putting out a roll call for all sites Fantasy and Science Fiction. Visit this post for a more up to date list, but here are the ones he has linked in so far:

The Accidental Bard
A Dribble Of Ink
Adventures in Reading
The Agony Column
The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.
Barbara Martin
Bees (and Books) on The Knob
Bibliophile Stalker
Bibliosnark
BillWardWriter.com
Blog, Jvstin Style
Blood of the Muse
Bookgeeks
Bookslut
The Book Smugglers
Bookspotcentral
The Book Swede
Bookrastination
Breeni Books
Cheaper Ironies [pro columnist]
Cheryl's Musings
Critical Mass
Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews
Darque Reviews
Dave Brendon's Fantasy and Sci-Fi Weblog
The Deckled Edge
Dragons, Heroes and Wizards
Dusk Before the Dawn
Enter the Octopus
Eve's Alexandria
Fantasy Book Critic
Fantasy Cafe
Fantasy Debut
Fantasy Book Reviews and News
Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin' Blog
The Fix
The Foghorn Review
From a Sci-Fi Standpoint
The Galaxy Express
Galleycat
Genre Reviews
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Grasping for the Wind
The Green Man Review
Hasenpfeffer
Highlander's Book Reviews
io9
Jumpdrives and Cantrips
Literary Escapism
Michele Lee's Book Love
Monster Librarian
Mostly Harmless Books
My Favourite Books
Neth Space
NextRead
OF Blog of the Fallen
The Old Bat's Belfry
Outside of a Dog
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Piaw's Blog
Post-Weird Thoughts
Publisher's Weekly
Reading the Leaves
Realms of Speculative Fiction
Rob's Blog o' Stuff
Robots and Vamps
ScifiChick
SF Diplomat
SciFiGuy
Sci-Fi Songs [Musical Reviews]
Severian's Fantastic Worlds
SF Gospel
SF Reviews.net
SF Revu
SF Signal
SF Site
SFF World's Book Reviews
Silver Reviews
Speculative Fiction
Speculative Fiction Junkie
Speculative Horizons
Spontaneous Derivation
Sporadic Book Reviews
Stella Matutina
The Sword Review
Tangent Online
Temple Library Reviews
Tor.com [also a publisher]
The Road Not Taken
Un:Bound
Urban Fantasy Land
Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic
Variety SF
Walker of Worlds
Wands and Worlds
The Wertzone
WJ Fantasy Reviews
The World in a Satin Bag
WriteBlack

Foreign Language (other than English)

Cititor SF [Romanian, but with English Translation]

Elbakin.net [French]

Refurbished Kindles surface again

For those who are still searching for an Amazon Kindle (and who were not lucky enough to be at today's taping of Ellen, where the entire audience received a free Kindle and basket of other goodies from Amazon), the refurbished Kindles keep coming back in stock at Amazon. There were several up this morning at 11 am EST (this isn't the first time this was a good time to check - remember that 11 am EST is 8 am PST) and didn't sell out until after 11:30. From the comments on who grabbed one, there must have been at least dozen in stock today.

Be sure to read my earlier post about playing Kindle Lotto, or just remember to check www.tinyurl.com/RefurbKindle on a regular basis throughout the day.

Update, 5:35PM EST - They are back in stock again today. I've checked for the last 10 minutes and there has been at least one available.

New free ebook for Kindle: Secret Vampire

Secret Vampire by L. J. Smith

This is book 1 of the Night World No. 1 trilogy (Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder) (which sells for $7.19). Rather than just a small sample, you can (for a limited time) get the entire first book for free!

So far, the second two trilogies are only available in paperback:
Night World No. 2: Dark Angel; The Chosen; Soulmate
Night World No. 3: Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

Kindle Exclusive: Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President

Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President, edited by Mark Green and Michele Jolin, is now available for the Kindle and priced at $9.99. It is coming out in paperback, but there is no release date indicated yet and the price will be $16.47.

Amazon Product Description:

The result of a collaboration between the Center for American Progress Action Fund (the advocacy arm of Washington’s leading-edge progressive think-tank led) and the New Democracy Project's Mark Green, this comprehensive volume is written by over sixty leading policymakers, scholars and advocates.

Based on four core values—of democracy, security through diplomacy, opportunity and a greener world—Change for America offers scores of solutions how to repair our broken government and create an enduring progressive era.

About the Editors:

Mark Green is president of the New Democracy Project and also president of Air America Media. The author of numerous books—including the best-sellers Who Runs Congress? and The Book on Bush—he was the elected Public Advocate (1994-2001) for New York City. Michele Jolin is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and previously served for four years at the White House as Chief of Staff for President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers.

Endorsements:
“Mark Green and Michele Jolin look to 2009 as the beginning of an era of renewal and progressive governance in America. Change for America presciently and insightfully offers specific ideas for what our next President can do to revitalize our nation and restore our standing abroad."—President Bill Clinton

“The Center for American Progress Action Fund and Mark Green have assembled some of our nation's best minds, and their best ideas, into a book is packed with innovative, practical, and progressive solutions that will help take America in a New Direction."—Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“These thoughtful essays offer a progressive way forward for the vast majority of Americans who hope their government works for the many, not just the few.”—Senator Ted Kennedy

“We don't just need a transition -- we need a transformation. Mark Green and Michele Jolin's encyclopedia of change offers a brilliant roadmap for the 44th President.”—Senator John Kerry

“This is one of the most important books to be published this year. It's a handbook for restoring the New Deal's social compact with our citizens over the first '100 Days' and the next 1360.”—James Roosevelt, Jr.

“Change for America is brilliant, timely and practical and teems with hard earned wisdom and common sense.”—Michael Eric Dyson

Three books in One

One of the places where the Kindle truly shines is in comparison to the weight and inconvenience of reading very large books. Although there are a number of combined series or trilogy releases out in hardback and paperback, most of them can be a strain on the wrists to read, due to the physical size and weight. On the Kindle, however, one, three or a thousand books all weigh the same 10.4 ounces, the weight of small paperback. Often, another advantage of the Kindle is the pricing on these combined volume books. There are several currently in the Amazon store listed for the same or less than the cost of one volume of the series.

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

The Harry Bosch Novels by Michael Connelly; $7.96. Contains The Black Echo, The Black Ice and The Concrete Blonde.

The Harry Bosch Novels, Vol 2 by Michael Connelly; $7.96. Contains The Last Coyote, Trunk Music and Angels Flight.

The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker; $9.99.Contains Black, Red and White.

Fantasy/SF

Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks; $7.96. Contains The Sword of Shannara, The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. This one weighs in at 1,200 pages when in print.

The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton; $7.99. Contains The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God. This is another huge trilogy - over 4,000 pages in paperback.

Romance

Lone Star Rising by Elmer Kelton; $9.99. Contains The Buckskin Line, Badger Boy and The Way of the Coyote.

The Secret Trilogy by Francine St. Marie; $9.99. Contains The Secret Keeping, Fortune Is a Woman (Keeping Mr. Right) and The Stolen Kiss.

Royal Brides Trilogy by Lucy Monroe; $7.96. Contains The Prince's Virgin Wife, His Royal Love-Child and The Scorsolini Marriage Bargain.

Heather Graham Bundle by Heather Graham; $9.99. This one isn't a trilogy and instead contains four novels: The Island, Ghost Walk, Killing Kelly and The Vision.

Classics

These can be had for free from other sources, but for less than a dollar you can get them combined into one volume and wirelessly downloaded.

Queen's Own FBI Trilogy by Mark Phillips; $0.80. Contains Brain Twister (That Sweet Little Old Lady), The Impossibles (Out Like a Light) and Supermind (Occasion for Disaster).

The Caspak Trilogy by Edgar Rice Burroughs; $0.80. Contains The Land that Time Forgot, The People that Time Forgot and Out of Time's Abyss.

More Kindle Bargain Books

Amazon has been wildly varying the prices on Kindle books over the last few days. Some bargain books have already been repriced to the 7.99 or 9.99 presale price. However, there are also new books going on unannounced sale every day. Here is a selection of some of the current books being sold at bargain rates.

$1 and under

The Hoods by Harry Grey. The basis of the movie Once Upon A Time In America, This can be found for free at Munseys, but it's probably worth 50 cents to get the wireless download, online backup, a cover and good formatting. The Guide by R. K. Narayan. Several Ed McBain 87th Precint books are now under $1: Killer's Payoff, The Pusher, Fuzz and The Heckler ($1.25). With over 50 books in the series, in can be difficult to remember the order; luckily this site keeps track for you.

$2 and under

A Stone for Danny Fisher by Harold Robbins. This one is an old classic and considered by some to be Harold Robbin's finest work. The Merchant of Death is the first in the young adult Pendragon series. Metzger's Dog by Thomas Perry.

$3 and under

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. This one is just being released in paperback, so the low pricing probably won't last. It's currently a steal at 2.85 vs. the hardback price. Paranoia by Joseph Finder. Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. The Winds of War by Herman Wouk.

$4 and under

The Heart of Christmas by Max Lucado, et al. This one is very much in season and from a very popular christian author. Several from James Patterson: 1st to Die, Jack & Jill, Along Came a Spider, The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1) and Maximum Ride: Saving the World (Maximum Ride Book #3) (the 2nd in the trilogy is still full price). Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child. The Woods by Harlan Coben. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

$5 and under

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? by New Scientist magazine. Another from James Patterson, Black Market depicts "a national state of economic disaster after terrorists bomb strategic Wall Street sites. It also alludes to the sale of billions of dollars' worth of stolen securities, a scheme intended to cripple the United States financially." The plot may sound similar to some of the consequences of 9/11, but predates the event by a decade (who says terrorists can't read?). The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara, Kingsolver.

And finally, there are many, many books by Piers Anthony that are currently on sale. For a very small investment, you can keep a new Kindle owner in stitches for months. These are just the ones under $5: Castle Roogna, Source of Magic, A Spell for Chameleon, Centaur Aisle, Night Mare, Dragon on a Pedestal, Ogre, Ogre, Crewel Lye, Orn, Omnivore, Cube Route, Key to Chroma, Macroscope, The Magic Fart, Pornucopia, Relationships, Key to Havoc and Key to Liberty.

Ten Free Ebooks on Kindle

These eight are from Random House and are the same ones being offered by Stanza for the iPhone. In addition, the Charlie Huston books have been made available, one at a time, in PDF format over the last few months:

Free-Range Chickens by Simon Rich
The Foreign Correspondent by Alan Furst
Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston
A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston
Six Bad Things by Charlie Huston
Murder List by Julie Garwood
The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Deathby Laurie Notaro
The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss

The odd one out is from Samhain Publishing. Be warned, it has a content warning and is for an adult audience:

Love Me, Still by Maya Banks

Update: Another book has been added as a freebie today:

Prague by Arthur Phillips