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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Nearly Free: Kindle books for $1

Amazon seems to have come up with a new way to reward Kindlers (or entice them to try new authors). In addition to free books, they have been marking books at $1.00 for a short period of time (unannounced, so you have to luck into finding these, as the advanced search facilities are somewhat poor for the Kindle catalog). Yesterday it was Nicholas Sparks' The Rescue and at least three were marked down today. The Letter of the Law by Tim Green has already gone back up to $3.99 (still a bargain price), but Missing, by Sharon Sala and Suspicious, by Heather Graham are currently $1.00 each. Make sure you double check the confirmation email you receive after the purchase - some people have seen the lower price on screen, but been charged the full price when the sale ended while they were viewing the book description (so far, this has happened on The Rescue and Flood, which went from Free to $2.95 to today's $5.59). These sales end quick - if you think you might be interested, don't read the sample first at these prices, just one-click them onto your bookshelf (you'd spend this much on gas to run to the library or bookstore).

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Kindle Bargain eBook Roundup

Here are some of the current Bargain ebooks available for the Kindle. Like most of their sale prices for the Kindle, I would not expect these to last for forever (and maybe not for more than a day), so be sure to grab any that tickle your fancy while they are marked down.

Selections from Feast: Food to Celebrate Life, by Nigella Lawson; Print Edition: $35.00 $23.10, Kindle Price: $5.99 $4.79

The first foray into a Kindle edition for Nigella, this is billed as "selections" from the print book. The original 480 pages has been trimmed to "98" and no doubt has had many pictures removed, but would also seem to be missing quite a bit of the content as well, with nearly 400 pages removed.
At $11.99, S. M. Stirling's latest in his series about life after technology and strong chemical reactions cease to function, The Scourge of God: A Novel of the Change, may not seem like much of a bargain, but this is a price reduction from it's initial $15.62 (and the hardcover price of $17.13). If you want to wait for a more paperback like price, then you can spend the time catching up on the series. Dies the Fire isn't out in a Kindle edition (yet), but the rest of them are. The Protector's War $3.67, and A Meeting at Corvallis $2.40 are both bargain priced, while The Sunrise Lands is at Amazon's typical "paperback Kindle price" of $6.39.

From the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series (the basis of True Blood on HBO), The Julius House, by Charlaine Harris; $7.99 $2.24 is #4 in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries. The first five in the series are available for the Kindle (two at bargain prices), while the next three are only available to pre-order in paper form. Kindle editions, in series order: Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery $6.39, A Bone to Pick $6.39, Three Bedrooms, One Corpse $4.43, The Julius House $2.24, Dead Over Heels $6.39. Pre-orders in paperback at $7.99 (or add to your Universal Wish List and wait for Kindle editions): A Fool and His Honey $7.99, Last Scene Alive $7.99, Poppy Done to Death $7.99.

The entire Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is available for the Kindle and several are currently marked down. In order, they are: Outlander $6.39, Dragonfly in Amber $3.75, Voyager $4.00, Drums of Autumn $6.39, The Fiery Cross $4.55 and A Breath of Snow and Ashes $6.39. The newest in the series, An Echo in the Bone, will be released sometime in 2009. Over at Kindleboards.com, an Outlander book club has started just this week and although you can follow along with a print copy, it'll be easier if you have the Kindle version, as they'll no doubt use location numbers instead of page numbers in their discussions.

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll $19.95 $3.39 chronicles the early (and rough) start of the US Navy, not during the Revolutionary War (that Navy was disbanded and only the Marine Corps can trace their formation date to that era), but from the 1790's, when the fleets of foreign powers and pirates threatened the commercial ships and foreign interests of the US.

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton; $2.58 might not seem a place to start such a long series, but this series isn't yet all available in a Kindle edition. Grab this one while it's marked down and either hold onto it until you get caught up (which may take quite a while) or just jump right in; maybe the rest of the alphabet will be available with you finish.

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks; $1.00 $3.99 already has risen from it's lowest price of the day. Another about the struggles of love, this is Sparks' fourth novel.

The first and the seventh in Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder series, The Sins of the Fathers, The ($4.00) and Out on the Cutting Edge $2.00 are exceptional bargains in a bargain priced ($6) series: In the Midst of Death, Time to Murder and Create, A Stab in the Dark, Eight Million Ways to Die, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes are the ones between the two, followed by A Ticket to the Boneyard, A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, A Walk Among the Tombstones, The Devil Knows You're Dead, A Long Line of Dead Men, Even the Wicked, Everybody Dies $5.59, Hope to Die $6.39 and All the Flowers are Dying $6.39.

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown; $17.95 $2.98, print edition: $24.95 $11.20.

Darwin's Radio/Darwin's Children by Greg Bear; $5.59. This is another in the 2 for the price of 1 books that have started showing up for the Kindle (each book is $5.59 alone).

The Savage Stories of Conan (Eighteen books in one volume!) $0.80. Although you can pick up a number of these for free from FeedBooks, they'll take up one line per story in your table of contents, rather than one, and may not be as nicely formatted.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Free ebook for Kindle: Oleander House

Here's a new free download (as of tonight) for the Kindle, but make sure you read the content warning before buying:

Oleander House: Bay City Paranormal Investigation Book 1, by Ally Blue

Warning: this title contains explicit male/male sex, intense violence, and graphic language

When Sam Raintree goes to work for Bay City Paranormal Investigations, he expects his quiet life to change--he doesn't expect to put his life and sanity on the line, or to fall for a man he can never have.

Book One in the Bay City Paranormal Investigation series.

Sam Raintree has never been normal. All his life, he's experienced things he can't explain. Things that have colored his view of the world and of himself. So taking a job as a paranormal investigator seems like a perfect fit. His new co-workers, he figures, don't have to know he's gay.

When Sam arrives at Oleander House, the site of his first assignment with Bay City Paranormal Investigations, nothing is what he expected. The repetitive yet exciting work, the unusual and violent history of the house, the intensely erotic and terrifying dreams which plague his sleep. But the most unexpected thing is Dr. Bo Broussard, the group's leader.

From the moment they meet, Sam is strongly attracted to his intelligent, alluring boss. It doesn't take Sam long to figure out that although Bo has led a heterosexual life, he is very much in the closet, and wants Sam as badly as Sam wants him.

As the investigation of Oleander House progresses and paranormal events in the house escalate, Sam and Bo circle warily around their mutual attraction, until a single night of bloodshed and revelation changes their lives forever.

Warning: this title contains explicit male/male sex, intense violence, and graphic language

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Kindle Bargains: David Morrell



Scavenger, by David Morrell $3.91

This is a sequel to the award-winning Creepers, $6.39, in his Frank Balenger series.

Several of his other novels are also bargain priced (sorry, no Rambo yet):

Burnt Sienna $3.99
Assumed Identity $3.99
Double Image $3.99

His most recent, The Spy Who Came For Christmas, isn't a "bargain" at $9.99, but is in the theme of the season.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Kindle backlog clearing

The backlog on new Amazon Kindles is slowly clearing. New orders placed today have "only" an 8 to 10 week wait, down from the 11 to 13 week estimate of last week. In truth, though, some people have gotten an early Christmas present from Amazon: Kindles estimated for delivery in February have already started arriving.

Prices from third parties also reflect the shorter wait times. There is one used Kindle for $380 on Amazon (opened, no box) and "new" Kindles are starting at $459, rather than the $750 of a few weeks ago.

Perhaps the best bet at this point is to reserve you place in line by ordering a new Kindle, then create a "gift certificate" to place under the tree (cut and paste the Kindle' pic into a greeting card format and add your own text, then print and fold). You could even print out a real Amazon gift certificate for the recipient to use for shopping the Kindle Store while waiting for it to arrive.