Surprise Amazon Announcement: “Early Black Friday” Sales!


Amazon early Black Friday deals
Amazon announces early Black Friday sales on TVs and laptops
“Black Friday isn’t until the day after Thanksgiving,” Amazon explains on a special web page, “but since you’re here already…we got the deals going a little early!

“We’re counting down to Black Friday Deals Week with, yes, even more deals, all day, every day. Black Friday sales, Amazon’s best deals–you’ll find them right here.”

I’ve been hoping that Amazon will announce a discount on the Kindle HD or the Kindle Paperwhite on Black Friday, but there’s already some other great deals that are available now. For a shortcut to their special page, point your web browser to http://tinyurl.com/AdvanceBlackFriday . “The deals destination will feature a Deal of the Day, along with limited-time, doorbuster-style Lightning Deals,” Amazon explains in a press release, “and other huge savings on the hottest electronics, toys, clothing and more, now through Black Friday weekend.”

So what exactly is Amazon giving away? There’s laptops, cameras, and plasma (and LED) TVs. Here’s some of the specific details that Amazon’s released about deals they’ll have this November.

– up to 60% off on popular TV series, including the first two season of The Walking Dead

– up to 60% off on children’s books (including Disney Bedtime Favorites)

– up to 50% off on winter clothing (including accessories and outerwear)

– discounts on both men’s and women’s watches

– a special sale on the Xbox 360 (250 gigabytes, with Kinect)

They’ll also be discounting expensive consumer electronics, including the Panasonic Plasma and LED television sets, and the Samsung Premium Ultrabook (series 9). In fact, Amazon’s vice president of Consumer Electronics specifically promised that for the next 21 days, their page would be featuring “a large selection of the most anticipated products of the season, all for a great price.” But if you visit the page today, Amazon will give you a peek of the “lightning deals” which are coming up later today. If you move fast, you’ll be able to get a great price on a Canon camera, an HP Pavillion laptop, and a giant 72% discount on a paper shredder.

To make it easier to find gifts, Amazon’s even created their own “curated” list of the top-rated and newest items available this shopping season. That’s a screenshot of its logo at the top of this post.

And yes, their newest Kindles are both featured prominently…

Amazon Kindle and Black Friday sales


Check out Amazon’s special “early Black Friday” page at http://tinyurl.com/AdvanceBlackFriday

100 eBooks for October for $3.99 (or Less!)

Amazon Kindle 399 ebook sale

Amazon’s done it again! They’ve picked 100 ebooks and then slashed the prices in a special sale for October. You can find all 100 ebooks at tinyurl.com/399books This time I recognized at least one or two bargain books that were written by my favorite authors!

Amazon’s discounting books from seven different genres, too, so there’s a really nice variety to choose from. There’s mysteries, thrillers, romance, literature, memoirs and general nonfiction — and even some science fiction titles. Be sure to check the bottom of each of these page, because Amazon seems to have some grouped some more ebooks together in extra categories, like “Top-Rated Reads, Just $2.99”. And there’s even a new category, called “Popular Thrillers with Leading Ladies, $3.99 or Less”

Here’s some of the most interesting titles.


When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories by Molly Ringwald ($3.99)

This author was a movie star in the 1980s (starring in a string of iconic teen comedies directed by John Hughes, like Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club.) But now that she’s 44, Molly Ringwald “mines the complexities of modern relationships,” according to the book’s description at Amazon, “in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories.” In this 237-page novel, Ringwald describes a Los Angeles family and their friends, “revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all….” revealing “a startling eye for the universality of loss, love, and the search for connection.” It’s only been available since August, and it’s already racked up 24 five-star reviews.

Beer-Can Chicken by Steven Raichlen ($2.51)

Wait, what? According to this book’s description at Amazon, the author reveals “everything one should ever need to know about roasting a chicken upright on top of a can of beer.” But that’s not all. If you use a 32-ounce can of Foster’s beer, you can actually cook a whole turkey. If you slap on some welder’s gloves, you can even reach right into the flames to turn a stewing hen yourself, and there’s also a receipe for basting a chicken using black-cherry soda. “Raichlen’s goal is to encourage grillers to have fun and use their imagination,” Amazon’s description promises, “and he presents 74 ‘offbeat recipes’ as starting points…” Even if a recipe doesn’t turn out the way you’d hoped, “A chicken straddling a beer can, at the very least, makes a great conversation piece at an outdoor beer bash.”

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk: a Novel by Ben Fountain ($2.99)

Amazon’s editors picked this novel as one of the best new books of May, so it’s a real treat that it’s now been discounted to just $2.99. In his first novel, author Ben Fountain describes eight American soldiers who survive an intense firefight in Iraq, only to be honored with a guest appearance beside the Dallas Cowboys during a Thanksgiving halftime show. There they meet a wild cast of characters, according to the book’s description on Amazon, and “Over the course of this day, Billy will begin to understand difficult truths about himself, his country, his struggling family, and his brothers-in-arms – soldiers both dead and alive. In the final few hours before returning to Iraq, Billy will drink and brawl, yearn for home and mourn those missing, face a heart-wrenching decision, and discover pure love and a bitter wisdom far beyond his years.”

Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates ($1.99)

She’s been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize three separate times, and won the National Book Award in 1969. But in 2009, at the age of 72, Joyce Carol Oates wrote a novel about “the most believable and thoroughly terrifying sexual psychopath and killer ever to be brought to life in fiction,” according to Amazon’s description of Zombie. Oates has already written more than 50 novels, but at the age of 72 she sat down to create “a dazzling work of art that extends the borders of the novel into the darkest heart of truth.” Two years later, it’s still one of Amazon’s top 5 best-selling psychological thrillers. Amazon calls it “her boldest and most brilliant triumph yet,” and on the book’s page it’s already racked up 36 different five-star reviews.


Remember, you can find all 100 ebooks at
tinyurl.com/399books

Friday only! Amazon Discounts 25 MORE eBooks!

When Parents Text and Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential book covers

I’ve always enjoyed checking Amazon’s “Daily Deal” page to see what ebook they’re selling at a special discount. But there was a big surprise on the web page this morning. Amazon wasn’t just selling one ebook at a discount. They’ve discounted 25 of them!

Check out the selection at
tinyurl.com/DailyKindleDeal

It’s a one-day only sale — and it’s marking a very special occasion. “It’s the first anniversary of the Kindle Daily Deal,” the web page explains. “In celebration, we’re discounting 25 of our most popular Daily Deals from the past year — each of which reached #1 on the Kindle Books best-seller list–to just $1.99 each…” In some cases, that’s more than an 80% discount!

There’s a great selection to choose from, including several mysteries, some historical fiction, romances, and even a tell-all memoir by chef Anthony Bourdain. I was delighted to see a Kurt Vonnegut novel — Breakfast of Champions — was discounted to just $1.99. And there’s also some intriguing non-fiction books in the mix, including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

But the ebook that looks most interesting to me is When Parents Text: So Much Said… So Little Understood. It’s drawn from a web site (called WhenParentsText.com ), which at one point was drawing over half a million pageviews a day, according to the book’s description at Amazon.com. The two recent college graduates who created this collection “have an unerring editorial instinct to select the funniest, sweetest, quirkiest, most-telling exchanges,” promises the book’s web page. And one of Amazon’s customers left an especially funny comment in their review of the book. “I have to admit that I am afraid to check out the website in case any of my texts are there!”

Here’s a complete list of the 25 popular ebooks that Amazon’s selling at a big discount on Friday…

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Brain Rules by John Medina

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano

High Heels Mysteries Boxed Set (Books 1-5) by Gemma Halliday

All She Ever Wanted by Barbara Freethy

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale

The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna

The Detachment (A John Rain Thriller) by Barry Eisler

The Fifth Woman: A Kurt Wallander Mystery by Henning Mankell

Pearl of China: A Novel by Anchee Min

Dead and Berried (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 2) by Karen MacInerney

Slim to None by Jenny Gardiner

Death and the Lit Chick (A St. Just Mystery) by G.M. Malliet

The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson

The Phoenix Apostles (A Seneca Hunt Mystery) by Lynn Sholes

The Grail Conspiracy (A Cotten Stone Mystery) by Lynn Sholes

When Parents Text: So Much Said…So Little Understood by Sophia Fraioli

Deeply Devoted: A Novel (The Blue Willow Brides) by Maggie Brendan

Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith

Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini (A Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery) by Sue Ann Jaffarian


You can find these books – and all Amazon’s daily deals – at
tinyurl.com/DailyKindleDeal

Amazon Discounts 500 eBooks!

Monopoly man gets bank error in his favor cash

I just noticed that Amazon’s slashed the price on more than 500 ebooks, in a special sale that they’re calling “The Big Deal”. Some of the ebooks have been priced as low as 99 cents, with others at $1.99 or $2.99. And every one of the 500 ebooks are selling for less than $3.99. (For a shortcut to the sale, just point your browser to tinyurl.com/EbookBigDeal .)

“But hurry…” Amazon warns on the sale’s web site. “These deals expire on August 23, 2012.” (That’s Thursday!) And it’s really a big event. The last time Amazon ran a “big deal” sale, it was for just 200 ebooks. But this time, there’s 500 different ebooks that have all been reduced in price.

So what kind of books are on sale? Amazon lists seven categories on the book’s main page: Nonfiction, Fiction and Literature, Romance, Memoirs and Biographies, Health, Children’s Books, and books for teenagers. I enjoyed browsing through all the different categories, and discovered a wide variety of books (many from publishers I’ve never heard of). Here’s some of the titles that looked intriguing…


The Toaster Project: Or A Heroic Attempt to Build a Simple Electric Appliance from Scratch

It turns out that there’s 404 separate parts in an electric toaster, and British author Thomas Thwaites tried to build each one on his own. He had to construct his own home-made foundry in his mother’s back yard, and then used it to smelt the metal he’d try to mold into his toaster’s components. Along the way Thwaites learned many unexpected lessons, according to the book’s description on Amazon, including the fact that “plastic is almost impossible to make from scratch.” One reviewer described the book as both thoughtful and funny — and I have to admit that it’s a very intriguing premise.


Doctor Who: Series Two – Vol. 1

Geeks love the long-running (and low-budget) science fiction series, Doctor Who. It’s characters are now continuing their adventures in a series of comic books, and the first four issues have now been bound together into a classy color graphic novel by IDW Publishing. (It’ll look great on your Kindle Fire!) It’s written by science fiction author Tony Lee, and the book’s page at Amazon announces that “The Eleventh Doctor era begins here! Join the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor and his latest companions, Amy Pond and her husband Rory Williams, as they travel to the far reaches of space – a planet populated by holograms – and the distant past – where they become embroiled in the Jack the Ripper murders in Victorian London!”


Mitt Romney: A Politician’s Journey and Barack Obama: A Politician’s Journey

Who are these men who would be president? With the U.S. election just 11 weeks away, it’s nice to get a little context. Both these books are less than 40 pages long (and both were published over a year ago), and there’s currently only one review, so it’s hard to get a sense of how comprehensive they are. But I was intrigued because their publisher is Vook, and they’ve published some other ebooks which had contained audio and video clips. It looks like these books just include photographs — but I admit that there’s things I don’t know about both candidates, and it’s always interesting to see how their different careers led them both to the ultimate contest.


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After

Author Steve Hockensmith has already sold more than 1.3 million copies of his original novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and its prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, both of which became New York Times best-sellers. “Now the PPZ trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion,” crows the book’s description at Amazon, promising yet another romp through the author’s alternate universe where characters from classical literature have to confront ravaging hoardes of the “unmentionables”. He’s long since exhuasted the plotlines from Jane Austen’s original novel, but he still retains hints of their romantic 19th-century themes, and includes love, redemption, and sensibility in the new adventures he’s imagining for her characters. In this novel, Elizabeth Darcy “learns of a miracle antidote under development in London,” according to the book’s description, and “realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love – and for everyone to live happily ever after.”


And if you’re looking for children’s books, there also a lot of familiar names among Amazon’s discounted ebooks, including SpongeBob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer, and the Berenstain Bears.


Remember, the sale ends Thursday.

If you’re interested in browsing Amazon’s discounted ebooks, just point your browser to tinyurl.com/EbookBigDeal

Surprise Amazon Sale on Kindles and Accessories!


Today Amazon announced a $110 discount on a Kindle DX tablet.It’s on their “Deal of the Day” page — so it’s one of their special one-day-only sales. (“Or until they’re all gone,” Amazon warns on the web page.) But it’s not the only Kindle-related discount that Amazon’s offering today. The page also includes a different “Lightning Deal” every hour — and every single one features a Kindle or a Kindle accessory!

You can find all Amazon’s deals at this URL:
tinyurl.com/Kindle1DaySale

Remember, each “lightning deal” lasts for only an hour — or until Amazon’s sold out of the discounted product! Below is a complete list of the deals for today, and a schedule for when they’ll be available.
(All times our PDT….)

10 a.m. Discounts on a leather Kindle Fire case.
11 a.m. A Kindle/Kindle Touch sleeve by BUILT
12 p.m. A Kindle Fire sleeve by BUILT
1 p.m. Kindle Fire speakers that are portable and re-chargeable
2 p.m. Power Adapters (for all Kindles)
3 p.m. “Dress up your Kindle Touch”
4 p.m. A lighted cover for your old Kindle Keyboard
5 p.m. Anti-glare screen protectors for Kindle Fire. (Three-pack)
6 p.m. A Kindle Fire desk stand by Kensington
7 p.m. A Kindle/Kindle Touch sleeve by BUILT
8 p.m. Kindle covers by Belkin (not for Kindle Touch)
9 p.m. More discounts on a leather Kindle Fire case.

Amazon’s blow-out sale is causing some extra excitement, because it might be a sign that they’re about to release new Kindles. “It’s the kind of deal you offer when you want to clear out inventory, fast,” posted reporter Brian Barrett at the technology blog Gizmodo. And he seems to have discovered another tantalizing clue. This morning Amazon was listing the current version of their Kindle Touch reader as out of stock!

I’ve since checked that web page, and Amazon’s now saying that the Kindle Touch will be available “in 4 to 7 days.” Brian sees this as a sign that all of Amazon’s newest Kindles are going to be released by next week. From a sales perspective, it’s just common sense, he concludes, writing that with an experienced seller like Amazon, there’s “no way it stays out of stock of some of its most popular products for more than a few days. And he remembers that the Kindle 2 “showed up as sold out the morning of July 28, 2010. That same afternoon, Amazon introduced Kindle 3 to the world.” Plus, the back-to-school shopping season is coming up soon, so Brian feels like the time is right for Amazon to make their big announcement. His conclusion?

“We’re going to see new Kindles of every stripe next week.”

Amazon Offers a New 40% Discount on Kindles and Accessories

Dog licking a Kindle from Amazon TV ad

C|Net‘s reporting on a big 40% discount that Amazon’s now offering on their $79 Kindles, and also on most Kindle accessories. It lowers the price of a new Kindle to just $47, and the 40% discount also applies to covers, cases, and even chargers. The catch is you have to use an Amazon “Rewards” Visa card to make the purchase – but you can apply for one online. For a shortcut to the offer, just point your web browser to tinyurl.com/Kindle47. C|Net speculates that this big sale is a sign that Amazon is clearing out their inventory, because they expect to start shipping new Kindles soon!

The offer is only available through August 15, “or while supplies last,” but the discount applies to nearly every kind of Kindle accessory that’s available. “You can read what you want into this special sale,” write C|Net reporter David Carnoy, “but discounting certain e-ink Kindles to as low as $47 would seem to indicate that Amazon is starting to clear stock to make room for new models.” But whatever Amazon is thinking, it’s a great way for shoppers to save some money, especially on some “high-end” Kindle accessories which would normally be too expensive. “If you had your eye on one of those pricey Kindle Lighted Leather covers (for any Kindle model), this might be the time to put it in the cart, because you can pick one up for $36 instead of $59.99.”

But even without an Amazon Visa card, there may be another way to save money. C|Net reports that “it’s quite possible” that Amazon will also slash prices soon on refurbished Kindles, “as it has in the past.” It’s widely believed that Amazon will be launching a newer version of these Kindles very soon, which will then make it harder for them to sell these “previous-generation” models. I’m always delighted by how many ways there seem to be to save money on the purchase of a new Kindle.

And apparently I’m not the only one, at least judging by the comments on C|Net‘s story. “Thank goodness I got an Amazon.com credit card yesterday,” posted one user.

“Hellooooo Christmas presents!”

Amazon Announces “Most Intriguing” New Releases

JK Rowlings, Stephen Colbert, and Tom Wolfe will release new books in 2012

The editors at Amazon see a lot of Kindle ebooks, and they’re really excited about some new upcoming releases. They’ve created a special web page for their “big fall books preview” for 2012, which includes books from seven different categories, plus their big final list of The 10 Most Intriguing Books of Fall! And best of all, the most of the books are being pre-sold at discounts of up to 46%

To see the list, point your web browser to tinyurl.com/AmazonFallBooks

“There’s plenty of great reading to go around,” announced Amazon’s Editorial Director of Books and Kindle, noting that the approach of autumn “tends to bring readers some of the best, most-sure-to-be-talked-about books…”

“This year’s lineup looks especially impressive.”

So what’s on the list? At the very top is a new novel by Michael Chabon (the author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay). He’s releasing a new novel called Telegraph Avenue which, according to Amazon’s editors, offers a “knowing” look at life “in politically correct northern California. And their #2 most-intriguing fall book is by Stephen Colbert, a parody of political books which he’s titled America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t But they also note that this fall will see the release of a new novel by Harry Potter author J. K. Rowlings — her first book for adults — a “blackly comic tale of a town in trouble,” titled The Casual Vacancy.

And Salman Rushdie is releasing a remarkable memoir about his life in hiding for nearly 10 years after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death. He was “forced underground,”
according to the book’s description at Amazon, “moving from house to house, with the constant presence of an armed police protection team.” And when the police asked him to choose an alias, “he thought of writers he loved and combinations of their names,” eventually thinking of Conrad and Chekhov. He became Joseph Anton, and nearly 25 years later he’s finally telling the story of his experience, which he’s wryly titled Joseph Anton: A Memoir.

Other books on Amazon’s “Most Intriguing” list

The Twelve by Justin Cronin
“In a world ravaged by vampire apocalypse that began in The Passage, survivors band together to eradicate the origins of the virus.

Winter of the World by Ken Follett
“Follet’s Fall of Giants follow-up is doorstop of a tale of WWII and the nuclear age.”

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
“The effects of global warming have never been so fascinating–or beautiful–as in this novel by the beloved.”

NW by Zadie Smith
“A characteristically brilliant comic novel about four young people making their way in complicated London.”

The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin
“A surprising look at how two branches of government do–and don’t–get along.”

Back to Blood by Tom Wolfe
“Think The Bonfire of the Vanities goes to Miami. Class, race, politics–it’s all there, in Wolfe’s typically audacious style.”


In addition to these books, six different Amazon’s book editors have each announced their own personal most-anticipated books for this fall. They include Neil Young’s memoir, Waging Heavy Peace, plus a sequel to the children’s classic The Wind in the Willows by Jacqueline Kelly (complete with lavish new illustrations). And Amazon’s also previewing even more fall releases, with lists of intriguing books in seven different categories, including fiction, biographies, mysteries, cookbooks, children’s books, young adult books, and general nonfiction.

Remember, you can check out all of the exciting new books coming up this fall at tinyurl.com/AmazonFallBooks

100 eBooks for July for $3.99 (or Less!)

Amazon Kindle 399 ebook sale

Hurry! There’s only two more days to snatch up some great ebooks in Amazon’s special sale for July. They’re offering 100 Kindle ebooks for just $3.99 or less. And because it’s the last week of the month, this really means you’ll get 200 bargain ebooks to choose from — because there’s the 100 discounted “July” ebooks, and then 100 more different ebooks, starting on Wednesday!

Both sales will appear at this URL — tinyurl.com/399books.

Amazon’s discounting books from eight different genres, so there’s a nice variety to choose from. There’s romance, literature, mysteries, and even fiction for kids and teens — plus history, cookbooks, travel books, and more! I’ve taken a good look, and decided to highlight some of the more interesting titles (below). And there’s a few cases where some great ebooks aren’t in the category that you’d expect!


P.S. I Hate It Here: Kids’ Letters from Camp
Amazon stuck this book in their “general non-fiction” category, though it’s description notes that it’s “hilarious and heart-warming.” They’re real letters, written by children between the ages of 8 and 16, and they were all carefully collected together by a real mother who, yes, sent her children away to summer camp. “These letters reveal that kids are wittier and more sophisticated than we might assume,” according to the book’s page at Amazon, “and that the experience of being away from home for the first time creates hilarious and lasting memories.”


In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero
Amazon’s tucked this ebook into their mystery section, though it’s really a loving appreciation of a favorite mystery author. Robert B. Parker wrote 40 detective novels starring Spenser the detective — starting in 1973, and continuing for the next 38 years! But for this book, the best-selling mystery authors of today explain how he influenced the way mysteries are written. Publisher’s Weekly notes that Parker is “widely credited with reviving the hardboiled private investigator genre,” according to the book’s page on Amazon. And Amazon’s also cites another reviewer who calls it “a fun read that brings back wonderful memories of the man who created Spenser and so many other characters.”


Garbage Pail Kids
Art Spiegelman won a Pulitzer Prize for his graphic novel, Maus, but he started his career drawing parodies for bubble gum cards! In 1985, Topps launched a new series of cards parodying the Cabbage Patch dolls (which were that year’s hottest Christmas gift). But instead of cute children, these cards featured funny freaks! Spiegelman was one of the editors for the series, and this ebook collects all the dark fun together for the first time – including four previously unreleased cards. There’s a good introduction by Spiegelman himself – and the 206 color images will definitely bring some rowdy retro fun to your Kindle Fire!


Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century
A British journalist formed real connections with the people he met playing games in an online world. But exploring the topic much more deeply, he discovered that games really can tap into our deepest human needs – and concludes that they’ll become a bigger part of our lives in the years to come. Newsweek argued recently that the internet may literally drive some people crazy – though there’s also a positive side, too. A reviewer at the Irish Times called this book “A lively, thought-provoking and thoughtful read on an entertainment juggernaut many of us have failed to properly recognize…”


We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
You may remember a fascinating 2011 best-seller called Poke the Box, urging initiative and risk-taking as the keys to success. But its author also wrote this fascinating follow-up which, according to its description on Amazon, argues that “new era of weirdness is upon us.” In an era of mass production and conformity, Godin applauds the new breed of consumers who are “stepping forward and insisting that the world work in a different way.” Godin has an MBA, and once worked as a brand manager – yet he’s against the idea of a one-size-fits-all corporate solution, suggesting it’s more important to offer choices, to “allow people to survive and thrive.”


Remember, there’ll be ANOTHER 100 ebooks on sale starting on Wednesday. And both sales will appear at this URL…

tinyurl.com/399books.

Amazon Discounts Their Kindles!

Father's Day Kindle discounts

I just noticed that Amazon’s offering some great new prices on many of their Kindles. For example, there’s now a $20 discount that’s available for the Kindle Touch. Normally it costs $99, but now Amazon’s selling refurbished (previously-owned) models for just $79! And doing some more checking, I found lower prices on some of Amazon’s other Kindle models too…

You can find all the discounted Kindles at tinyurl.com/FathersDayKindles. And it turns out that Amazon’s also offering the same discount for a Kindle Touch that has built-in 3G connectivity. Though it normally costs $149, the refurbished model is just $129. But remember, the 3G connection only works for the Kindle Store and Wikipedia. For surfing the web, you’d still need to provide your own WiFi connection.

And I was really surprised by the lower prices on some of Amazon’s other Kindle models. The Kindle Keyboard page doesn’t show any refurbished models for sale — but they’re advertising used Kindle Keyboards starting as low as $109. (Normally, they’ll cost you $139.) And there’s some even better deals on a large-screen, Kindle DX. Normally they cost $379, but there’s several used Kindle DXs available starting as low as $250!

If you’re interested in a Kindle DX, Amazon’s also offering a terrific price as part of a special Father’s Day promotion. Through this Sunday, June 17, Amazon will let you purchase a Kindle DX and a black cover to go with it for just $262! This is a brand new Kindle DX, and to get one with the cover would normally cost $419. But through this Sunday, Amazon’s selling them together for just $299!

I’m guess that at least a few lucky shoppers will place their order on Friday, pay Amazon for overnight shipping, and end up with a great Father’s Day gift — at a great discount!

100 Discounted eBooks for June – $3.99 or Less!

Mastering the Grill book cover

I love it when Amazon discounts ebooks for the Kindle — especially when there’s one hundred ebooks. I finally took a good look at Amazon’s big selection of discounted ebooks for June. They’re broken into five categories — Literature and Fiction, Nonfiction, Kids & Teens, Biographies & Memoirs, and “More Great Deals”. You can browse through them all at tinyurl.com/399books — and this month’s selection seems even more eclectic, with a nice variety of discounted books.


Whistle by James Jones

From Here to Eternity was only the first in a trilogy of World War II novels by James Jones (which also included The Thin Red Line). Jones actually witnessed the Pearl Harbor attacks at the age of 20, according to Wikipedia, and later based all three books on his war-time experiences. Whistle was his final novel – he was still working on it before his death in 1977, promising “Just about everything I have ever had to say, or will ever have to say, on the human condition of war.” And this fascinating book’s final three chapters were completed by a friend and fellow author named Willie Morris.


Coders at Work: Reflections on the Craft of Programming by Peter Seibel

Geeks writing computer programs share their most interesting insights in an intriguing 2009 collection. The book’s description promises that the author tracked down “15 of the most interesting computer programmers alive today,” including the creator of Unix, Ken Thompson, and Jamie Zawinski, an early coder at Netscape and the author of XEmacs. It’s both entertaining and inspiring, according to one reviewer at Amazon, who writes that “If you are a person who cares at all about the art, craft, or science of software development, you will not be able to put this book down!”



Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History by Ross Halfin

This 1980s metal band sold more than 65 million records, offering up their iconic “anthem rock” in albums like Pyromania and Hysteria. But rock photographer Ross Halfin has been photographing them since 1978, and according to the book’s description at Amazon, delivers “candid and definitive pictures” of the hard-hitting band in action, along with his own up-close recollections, ultimately creating a “fully authorized visual history.” The print edition of this book normally costs $35.00 – but in June, it’s Kindle edition is just $3.99!


Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin by Leon Uris

In Berlin after World War II, “an American Army officer bears witness to the aftermath of one historic tragedy and the rise of another,” according to this novel’s description on Amazon. Soviet forces blockade the city, the historic airlift begins, and Leon Uris’s compelling military commander watches helplessly as an “Iron Curtain” rises which would divide Europe for the next 46 years.


Mastering the Grill by Alison Miksch

Summer’s almost here – it sure feels like summer already – and I like how this book’s description at Amazon promises it’ll become “a sauce-stained, well-thumbed classic.” It notes that the authors dig into the key facts of the grilling process, offering a “master class” in cooking. “In addition to hundreds of tips and techniques, this ultimate guide is packed with how-to illustrations and mouthwatering photographs plus 350 surefire recipes – everything from rubs and marinades to appetizers, entrees, side dishes, and desserts!”

Hot desserts from the grill? I can’t wait!

Free Magazines for your Kindle!

Kindle Magazines

This is pretty exciting. There’s more than 18 different magazines that are now available for your Kindle for a free 90-day trial! I got the news in an e-mail from Amazon, which also highlighted some discounts on ebooks. Seven thriller novels are now on sale for $2.99 or less — and there’s also eight different children’s picture books available for just $1.99 each.

“May is proving to be a great month for readers of all tastes,” Amazon bragged in an e-mail that touted all the special offers. And I have to admit that I’m impressed by how many magazines are available for the
free 90-day subscriptions. Most of them are big-name publications that have been around for decades. To browse the selection, visit tinyurl.com/FreeKindleMagazines. Here’s a list of the 18 magazines that you can read for free for 90 days on your Kindle!

   Field & Stream
   Ladies’ Home Journal
   TV Guide
   ESPN The Magazine
   Family Circle
   The American Scholar
   Outdoor Life
   More
   Every Day with Rachael Ray
   Country Woman
   Healthy Cooking
   Do It Yourself
   Simple & Delicious
   EatingWell
   Traditional Home
   Midwest Living
   Siempre Mujer
   Diabetic Living

And as an added bonus, that page also lists six more magazines that are available as free color apps for your Kindle Fire tablet (or any other Android-connected device).

   Readers’ Digest
   Vogue Magazine
   Bon Appetit
   Better Homes and Gardens
   Parents Magazine
   Fitness Magzine

It’s a great reminder that a Kindle can read magazines as well as ebooks. (Even after the 90-day trial ends, you can continue your subscription to most of these magazines for just $1.00 a month.)
This is a limited-time offer, so sign up this week if you’re interested in a free trial subscription. This offer ends on Thursday, May 31.

In the same e-mail, Amazon also called attention to a nice selection of discounted thriller novels. (For an easy-to-remember short-cut, just go to tinyurl.com/CheapKindleThrills. They’re all available for $2.99 or less. Here’s a list of the discounted thriller novels.

   Already Gone by John Rector
   The Shop by J. Carson Black
   Vaccine Nation by David Lender
   The Immortalists by Kyle Mills
   Liquid Fear by Scott Nicholson
   Resuscitation by D.M. Annechino
   A Small Fortune by Audrey Braun

And finally, Amazon’s also discounted some children’s picture books. (Each one available for just $1.99!) Just point your web browser to tinyurl.com/199KindleKidsBooks. I have to admit that I smiled at some of the silly titles. Here’s a complete list.

   There Was an Old Monkey Who Swallowed a Frog
   The Hiccupotamus
   What If Everybody Did That?
   Too Many Fairies: A Celtic Tale
   If Beaver Had A Fever
   Sneeze, Big Bear, Sneeze!
   Stars! Stars! Stars!
   Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
   Jack and the Giant Barbecue

100 More Books For Just $3.99 or Less!


America’s getting ready to enjoy a relaxing three-day weekend — and I’ve saved up a few announcements about some special ebooks to keep everyone entertained! You probably remember that every month, Amazon offers 100 ebooks for just $3.99 or less. You can browse them all at tinyurl.com/399books — and the selections for the month of May look unusually good!


All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Heriot

“Veterinarian James Herriot recalls life in England during World War II,” reads the book’s description on Amazon, “when the great forces of the modern world came even to his sleepy Yorkshire hamlet.” This heart-warming classic about the people in his village — and the animals that they love — normally costs $14.99, but for the month of May Amazon’s reduced the price to just $3.99. (It’s quite a deal, since the print edition was nearly 500 pages long!)


The Year the Music Changed by Diane Thomas

I’ve always been fascinated by the life of Elvis Presley, but it’s also inspired some very imaginative novels!. The Year the Music changed invents a new story, told with imaginary letters between a 14-year-old fan and the 20-year-old singer who was about to change the world forever. A review from Publisher’s Weekly reports that author Diane Thomas “delved into Presley biographies, communed with his fans on the Internet and produced a warm, lively and immensely readable novel that will especially touch fans of ‘the King. ‘” One Georgia newspaper even wrote that the novel “may engrave itself into the memories of more readers than “To Kill a Mockingbird.” . . . [It’s] the most satisfying novel I’ve read in many years.”


Drawn with the Sword : Reflections on the American Civil War by James M. McPherson

I was surprised to learn that the author of this book had already won a Pulitzer Prize for an earlier book about the Civil War — and, according to Wikipedia, that he’s even on the editorial board for Encyclopedia Britannica. James McPherson is considered a real authority, and when this book was first released in 1996, Publisher’s Weekly applauded its four themes — how the war started, why it ended the way it did, Abraham Lincoln’s role, and how it ultimately affected America. Plus, it ends with a rousing and thought-provoking essay about what wrong with modern historians!


What Color is My World by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

This March saw the release of a unique new book by a famous basketball player. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar still holds the all-time record for points scored during his 20-year career in the NBA — 38,387 points!) But at the age of 65, he turned his attention to a book for children about overlooked African-American inventors, both past and present. “I was surprised at how many inventors that affected our everyday life had been left out of what we learned in school…” he revealed in an exclusive interview that appears on the book’s page at Amazon.com. “I’ve said many times that if I hadn’t become a professional basketball player, I would have become a history teacher. There’s so much to learn from history.”


There’s also several cookbooks that Amazon’s offering at a big discount, including Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking and The Pharsoh’s Kitchen: Recipes from Ancient Egypt’s Enduring Food Traditions. Maybe Amazon is celebrating the arrival of spring, since they’ve also discounted an ebook called Fast, Fresh and Green, and there’s even an advice book about vegetable gardens. But of course, the book I was most intrigued by was Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations.

Maybe I should buy a copy of that for my girlfriend, since for my birthday this year, she’s promised to bake me a tasty cake!

20 eBooks for just 99 cents!

20 books that were made into FILMS

Every day Amazon offers a big one-day discount on one special ebook. It’s on a special web page called “the Kindle Daily Deal” (available at this shortcut: tinyurl.com/DailyKindleDeal ) But today’s deal is even better than usual. Because on Sunday — for one day only — Amazon is discounting twenty different ebooks!

“Today only, 20 great novels that inspired movies are just $0.99 each on Kindle,” Amazon explains at the top of the page. It’s a series of books from a publishing house named Rosetta (titled — what else? — “Books into Film”.) “Individual Daily Deal titles may have additional territory restrictions, and not all deals are available in all territories,” Amazon warns at the top of the web page. But if you’re lucky enough to be in the right country — and you can make it to the web page before midnight — there’s some very intriguing titles on the list!

For example, they’re offering a 99-cent version of the book Shoeless Joe, which was the basis for Kevin Costner’s baseball movie, Field of Dreams. There’s also a discounted version of I am Legend, which was made into a movie starring Will Smith, and even the original book version for Village of the Damned. But they’ve also discounted books that inspired some of the great classic movies, like In the Heat of the Night, and even Marilyn Monroe’s first movie, the noir classic Asphalt Jungle. I was surprised to see the books behind some of the ground-breaking films from the 1960s, including Midnight Cowboy and even Dr. Strangelove. And Slaughterhouse-Five, the great anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut, also made it onto the list too — available all day Sunday for just 99 cents.

Here’s the complete list of all the “Books into Film” Kindle ebooks that on sale Sunday for just 99 cents.


     Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
     I Am Legend
     Wizard’s First Rule (the basis for “Legend of the Seeker”)
     The Day of the Triffids
     To Dance with the White Dog: A Novel of Life, Loss, Mystery, and Hope
     Who Goes There (the basis for “The Thing”)
     Shoeless Joe (the basis for “Field of Dreams”)
     Girl in Hyacinth Blue
     Midwich Cuckoos (basis for “Village of the Damned”)
     Red Alert (The basis for “Dr. Strangelove”)
     Make Room! Make Room! (The basis for “Soylent Green”)
     In the Heat of the Night
     Midnight Cowboy
     Friday the Rabbi Slept Late
     The Sand Pebbles
     Fuzz
     Bang the Drum Slowly
     The Asphalt Jungle
     An American Tragedy (the basis for “A Place in the Sun”)
     The Brave Cowboy (the basis for “Lonely are the Brave”)

I just want to add that this is a deal so big, it took two different Amazon services to bring it to the web. The Kindle Daily Deal page combined forces with Amazon’s special Gold Box page (which offers their own “Deal of the Day”, plus other big discounts throughout the day which sometimes last for only a few hours.) It’s another page worth watching, and I’ve created a shorter URL so it’s easier to get there: tinyurl.com/GoldBoxPage

I think the only thing better than a good ebook is a good ebook that costs 99 cents!

30% discount on Kindle Covers!

An Amazon Kindle cover with zipper

Amazon’s always offering special deals — but now they’re finally discounting something besides a Kindle. For the next seven days — through May 13th — they’re offering a 30% discount on a big selection of Amazon’s covers when you buy a new Kindle. There’s at least 23 different covers on sale, for both the new $79 Kindle and even for the color, Kindle Fire tablets. It’s got me wondering if Amazon is also quietly preparing to launch an even larger kind of tablets…

Amazon’s touting the special as a way to pick up the perfect gift for Mother’s Day. The idea is that after you’ve bought a nice new Kindle, you can also pick up a nice cover to go with it! (Amazon’s promoting the special in a pink band that appears at the top of their pages for the Kindle Fire tablet and the new $79 Kindle.) I’ve created a shorter URL that makes it easier to find the covers — just go to tinyurl.com/KindleCovers4Mom ! Even if you’re just shopping for yourself, it’s a nice way to “window shop”.

But here’s why I think this is significant. Last week Amazon was offering discounts on Kindle Fire tablets, and now they’re offering a discount on Kindle Fire covers. There’s been rumors that Amazon’s planning a larger touchscreen tablet computer — sort of a bigger, 2.0 version of their original Kindle Fire tablets. I’m wondering if Amazon’s trying to unload all their tablet-sized covers now, so they can then launch a new line of larger tablets…which, of course, would need larger covers!

Whatever Amazon’s doing, it’s your chance to buy a nice cover for your new Kindle, and at a pretty good price. (Amazon’s lighted, leather cover normally sells for $60, for example, but with this discount it’s now available for just $42.) I’m a little disappointed that Amazon’s not offering the same discount for every type of cover, and that you can’t get the discount without also buying a new Kindle. But there’s still a lot to choose from – and I think many new Kindle owners underestimate the benefit of having a nice cover.

Just for example, I bought a cover for my Kindle DX, and I love how it brought even more simplicity to the way I read ebooks. It’s made it possible to prop up the Kindle, so I could give my hands a break from holding it while I’m reading! For some reason, that makes it even more relaxing to curl up with a good ebook.

Amazon’s sale includes a discount on 10 different covers for the Kindle Fire, and another 13 covers for the new $79 Kindle. (And some of those even have a built-in light!) There’s covers that zip up, or covers that are made out of genuine leather, and they’re available in lots of different colors. (Pink, blue, green, graphite…)

But best of all, they’re all available at a 30% discount!

Wednesday’s Deal: Get a Kindle Fire tablet for just $139

Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet

For Wednesday only — while supplies last — you can get a refurbished Kindle Fire for just $139!

They were previously owned, but just like with past deals, they’ve all since been tested by Amazon, so they’ll still come with a full one-year warranty, just like a new Kindle Fire tablet! (And since the Kindle Fire was only released on November 15th, none of them are more than five and a half months old!) Normally the Kindle Fire tablets cost $199, so it’s a really nice way to save some money.

There’s a couple of ways to get to the page with the special offer. The easiest is just to go to point your browser to tinyurl.com/KindleFireThursday . That’s the easy-to-remember URL I made last time Amazon had a special price on Kinde Fire tablets – and even though today the sale is on Wednesday, the URL still works! Amazon is also offering the special price through their “Gold Box Deals” page. (“New Deals, Every Day.”) If you go to the same URL on Thursday, there’ll be a different deal — and another one the next day — and there’s also “Lightning Deals” on the same page which last only for an hour or two.

And right now they’re also offering a discount on a sleeve for your new Kindle Fire Tablet…

Remember, all of these deals are “While Supplies Last,” so if there’s something you’re interested in, hurry up and grab it! (That’s part of the fun…) I still haven’t bought a Kindle Fire tablet — but at prices this low, it’s going to be hard to resist!

100 New ebooks on Sale!


Every month Amazon picks 100 Kindle ebooks to feature at a discounted price — between 99 cents and $3.99. You can browse them all at tinyurl.com/399books – and April’s selection seems especially appropriate for this time of year. There’s lots of fun ebooks in the mix, but there’s also several books each on a couple of springtime-specific topics. This month, Amazon is featuring discounts on some good ebooks about history, cooking, sports, and the environment.


History eBooks
Amazon has discounted several books about World War II this month, including The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and The Nuremberg Trial. And there’s also a biography of the man who invented the atomic bomb which ended the war, titled simply J. Robert Oppenheimer : A Life. Other discounted history ebooks offer a look at America’s conflicts in the 1960s, including Kennedy’s Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam. and Friendly Fire : American Images of the Vietnam War.

Plus, there’s also a new biography about the life of Beethoven in the 19th century


Food and Cooking ebooks
Amazon’s discounted a lot of cookbooks for the Kindle this month — plus some other ebooks that offer an interesting perspective on food. For example, there’s Don’t Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World’s Greatest Chefs, which shares 40 horror stories from professionals like Anthony Bourdain. And Teresa Giudice – from The Real Housewives of New Jersey — has co-authored a special cookbook called Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It – Live La Bella Vita and Look Great, Too! Also discounted this month is Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking (plus its sequel, which promises “200 Brand-New, Budget-Friendly, Slow-Cooker Recipes.”) And if you’re a parent, there’s even Toddler Cafe, which promises simple, fun recipes, along with tips for how to engage your children in healthy eating! And there’s at least three other cookbooks that have been discounted this month.

In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories About the Food You Love

Cook Yourself Thin Faster: Have Your Cake and Eat It Too with Over 75 New Recipes You Can Make in a Flash!

Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make


Sports eBooks
Baseball season has officially begun, and Amazon’s celebrating with a selection of discounted baseball ebooks. There’s Working at the Ballpark, a fun collection of interviews with 51 different people you’d find working in a stadium, from the players and managers down to the umpires, ballboys, and even the food vendors (with an introduction by Nolan Ryan). Amazon’s also discounted The Gigantic Book of Baseball Quotations, plus a memoir of a childhood baseball fanatic called Once Removed: When Baseball Was All the World to Me. One author even uncovers the story that’s hiding in the new “sabermetric” statistics about baseball — made famous by the movie Moneyball — by using them for a cutting-edge review of the entire history of professional baseball. (See Wizardry: Baseball’s All-Time Greatest Fielders Revealed. )

But if you’re more interested in golf, there’s also a biography of Payne Stewart by his wife Tracey. And Dream On offers “the hilarious and inspiring ” true story of a weekend golfer’s quest to complete the local course in less than 100 strokes – within one year!


Environment eBooks
Earth Day will be celebrated next Sunday, on April 22nd. And it looks like Amazon had that in mind when they discounted a few ebooks this month with an environmental theme. Rachel Carson’s first book, ‘Under the Sea Wind,” was about the animals that live in the ocean, and “one of the reasons why I became so conscious of the environment and so involved with environmental issues,” according to a review by Al Gore. And there’s even a funny novel about radicals who try to defend their beloved desert from developers, called The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey (plus a biography he wrote about his own time in Utah, called Desert Solitaire.)

You can find all these ebooks – -and browse all of Amazon’s other discounted ebooks for April — at tinyurl.com/399books

Get a Kindle Fire for Only $169!

Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet

It’s true! Amazon’s selling Kindle Fire tablets today in the U.S. for just $169. Just point your browser to tinyurl.com/169KindleFire. (Click on the link in the “Save $30” section…)

They’re refurbished Kindle Fire tablets – meaning they were previously owned, but they’ve all since been tested by Amazon, so they’ll still come with a full one-year warranty, just like a new Kindle Fire tablet! And remember, the Kindle Fire was only released on November 15th, so none of them are more than four and a half months old!

Normally the Kindle Fire tablets cost $199, so it’s a nice way to save some money. And if that’s still too much money, Amazon’s giving away 10 more Kindle Fire tablets in a special contest. I normally don’t enter sweepstakes, but this one was actually a lot of fun. Amazon’s helping to pick the best magazine covers of 2011, so they’re displaying photos of the very best magazine covers, and asking us to vote on which ones we like best. There’s nearly 50 great covers each in 10 different categories, including “Technology & Business” and “Entertainment and Celebrities.” There’s even a “Most Delicious” category!

To check out the covers — and to enter yourself for a chance at a free Kindle Fire tablet — go to tinyurl.com/KindleFireSweepstakes. For every category that you vote in, Amazon will credit you with another entry in their sweepstakes. It’s all courtesy of Amazon’s magazine team, and apparently there’s even more fun ahead. On April 22nd, the best covers in each category will finally be revealed — after which there’s a final round where the very best cover “overall” will be chosen from those 10 finalists! Amazon’s promising that if you also vote in that final round, it will count as another entry in the contest.

It’s all a subtle reminder that you can read magazines on a Kindle Fire tablet — in full color, flicking the pages just like a real magazine by using your finger on their touchscreen. Of course, you can also watch movies and TV shows — or listen to music. Maybe Amazon’s that these magazines will be the last incentive customers need to rush out and buy a Kindle Fire!

Harry Potter Comes to the Kindle!

Harry Potter as a Kindle ebook

It’s finally happened! All seven of the original Harry Potter books are now available for the Kindle. (You can find them at tinyurl.com/HarryPotterKindle ) “We’re excited that Harry Potter fans worldwide are now able to read J.K. Rowling’s fantastic books on their Kindles and free Kindle reading apps,” announced Amazon’s vice president of Kindle Content. “For years our customers have loved reading Harry Potter books…” he added, noting that it’s the all-time best-selling series on Amazon.com.

They’re available in every country, and they’re priced at just $7.99 — or $9.99 for the last three books in the series — so the discounts should make these ebooks even more popular. In the weeks to come, there’ll even be versions of the ebooks in foreign languages. (Maybe they’ll release an edition in Parseltongue?) But J.K. Rowlings has already sold over 400 million print editions of her Harry Potter novels, and in fact, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — the last book in the series — was the all-time best-selling item on Amazon when it was released in 2007.

Of course, Amazon was selling its print edition for $7.99 — a 50% discount — to attract new customers, and they once claimed they weren’t earning any profits from those sales. Today Amazon is still selling the print edition at a 42% discount — but as of Tuesday morning, there are now also ebook editions available for every book in the series with nearly the same discount! “Muggles rejoice!” Amazon gushed Tuesday in a post on the Kindle’s page on Facebook — and within two hours, more than 2,300 people clicked its “Like” icon. 589 more people re-posted the news on their own Facebook pages, and another 156 left enthusiastic comments.

“Let me just say, I feel $57 for the entire set ($8.14 per book) is very reasonable,” posted one fan. One mother had some trouble online with the new “Pottermore” ebook site where the books are being sold, but was still excited about the big news because “I’ve been waiting to read them to my son from my Kindle.” Another post was directed to the author of the series — “Thank you J.K.Rowling for listening to us fans and providing the Harry Potter series on the Kindle.” And one Kindle fan claimed he’d avoided the series when it was in print, but “I may read them now…”

J.K. Rowling may also publish new material on her Pottermore site – and there’s another reason why this news is significant. According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter books are one of the more frequent targets for censorship campaigns. But magically, now that they’re available in digital editions, it’ll be much harder to stop them from reaching young readers.

And there’s one more reason why this is a perfect match. Last year Amazon announced that there was one new product which had finally become even more popular than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The Kindle!

More Book Deals from Amazon

Monopoly man gets bank error in his favor cash

I knew Amazon featured 100 new ebooks for $3.99 or less at the beginning of each month. But it turns out they’re also running a second concurrent sale on ebooks — called “The Big Deal!” Amazon’s slashed the price on 200 more Kindle ebooks, to just $0.99, $1.99, $2.99, or $3.99. But if you’re interested, you better hurry — because this sale only runs through Sunday (March 25th)

Check out all the ebook discounts at
tinyurl.com/EbookBigDeal

So what ebooks have been discounted? There’s fiction, mysteries, children’s books, science fiction, history, nonfiction, some health/mind/body books, and even some choices from Amazon’s “religion & spirituality” category. 28 of the bargain-priced books are in the fiction section, including some classics that you might not expect. Four of Kurt Vonnegut’s books are on sale for only $2.99 — Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, and Welcome to the Monkey House. Also available is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley — as well as Brave New World Revisited, a set of essays written 26 years after his original novel, “in which he meditates on how his fantasy seemed to be becoming a reality and far more quickly than he ever imagined.” And there’s even a collection of Ziggy cartoons — a 35th-anniversary special featuring over 200 cartoons — for just 99 cents!

But in another section, Amazon’s also offering 18 more mystery and thriller ebooks at a discount. There’s Hello Kitty Must Die, a tale of intrigue with a fascinating cultural subtext — and Heaven Preserve Us: A Home Crafting Mystery. (“Sophie Mae Reynolds makes preserves by day and answers a crisis center help referral line by night… But on her very first night, she gets a call from a man who is threatening suicide . . . and her!”) In another section, there’s nine discounted children’s ebooks — including The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (“From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory–More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards”). And the science fiction section has 11 more books at a discount, including the original I am Legend.

Of course, there’s also non-fiction titles available at a discount — 12 of them — plus another 9 discounted ebooks in a separate history section. (And there’s another 10 books in the Health/Body/Mind section.) But surprisingly, the biggest selection of discounted books appears to be in Amazon’s “Religion & Spirituality” section, where there’s over 53 titles available at a discount. “Shop for yourself, or give Kindle books — delivered when you want — to anyone with an email address,” Amazon suggests at the top of the page. “No Kindle required. Books can be read on Kindle or one of our free reading apps.”

There may be “territorial restrictions” — so I can’t guarantee these deals are available outside the U.S. But it’s still an interesting selection of titles! And if that’s not enough, there’s also another way to find cheap ebooks that I’ve just discovered. Every day Amazon offers a “Daily Deal” on one ebook — dropping its price for just 24 hours to as low as 25 cents! My problem was I kept missing the good deals, because I’d forget to check Amazon’s page. But they’ve introduced a new service where you can sign for e-mail reminders about the ebooks — so you’ll never miss a sale! For an easy-to-remember shortcut, point your web browser to tinyurl.com/DailyEmailDeal

And remember, you can check out all the ebook discounts at
tinyurl.com/EbookBigDeal

There’s so many ways to find cheap ebooks on Amazon, sometimes it’s hard to keep track of them all!

Buy “Fight Club” for 25 cents – and more!

Ty Cobb

Amazon’s offered some great “Daily Deals” in the past — but I’m really excited about today’s. Usually they’ll lower the price of an ebook to just 99 cents, but for Thursday they’ve slashed the price even further for the modern radical novel, “Fight Club” — to just 25 cents!

You can always find the “daily deal” at tinyurl.com/DailyKindleDeal. But Amazon’s also slashed the price on over 100 more ebooks to just $3.99 or less for the month of March. (Browse the selection at tinyurl.com/399books, or — if you’re in England — at tinyurl.com/399booksEngland ) There’s always a new selection on the first day of the month, and I’m really excited about some of these discounted books, too. It looks like Amazon’s really put some thought into what’s happening that’s special this month.


Under the March Sun – the Story of Spring Training – $1.99
Baseball season starts at the end of March — but this is a fascinating story about that crazy other tradition that pumps money into forgotten cities where the superstars hide for their pre-season spring training. One newspaper called it “that rare baseball book that also serves as a cultural history,” even as it’s capturing the happy atmosphere of today’s super fans travelling to out-of-the-way stadiums to catch their favorite players in relaxed moments. The author, Charles Fountain, is a journalism professor, and presumably a baseball fan, and the president of the L.A. Dodgers even commended his book in a blurb, saying it “brings to life this most enjoyable time of year for every baseball fan.”


Ty Cobb – $1.99
Baseball seems to cherish its memories of past “greats,” which adds even more intrigue to this biography of Ty Cobb. (One reviewer called him simply “the most interesting baseball player of all time.”) Cobb maintained a ridiculously high batting average of .366 for over 22 years, playing mostly for the Detroit Tigers (and the Athletics, back when they were still in Philadelphia). and though he retired in 1928, that record has never been broken. But this book puts Cobb’s life into the context of the time in which he lived — and his own complicated personality, driven by an intense rivalry with Babe Ruth as well as external pressures, like the hazing he took from the Yankees over his southern upbringing. “Three weeks after his mother killed his father, Cobb debuted in center field for the Detroit Tigers,” Wikipedia notes — so his biography should be pretty interesting!


This is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity – $2.99
Susan Moon, the aging editor of a Buddhist magazine, offers an “intimate and funny collection of essays on the sometimes confusing, sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious condition of being a woman over sixty,” according to the book’s description on Amazon, adding that the author “keeps her sense of humor and…keeps her reader fully engaged.” It’s a serious topic handled lightly but skillfully, and “Her best writing occurs when memory, emotion, and spirit coalesce,” according to Publisher’s Weekly, “as she recovers parts of herself left behind in childhood or comes to terms with solitude.” Or, as the New York Review of Books put it, “Moon is like a Buddhist Anne Lamott–confronting her life bravely and unapologetically.”


Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance – $2.99
Of all 100 ebooks that are on sale in March, this one has my favorite title. It’s about “a zombie’s big break in showbiz,” according to Publisher’s Weekly., and it’s written by an animator for Nickeloden named Keith Graves. It’s a children’s book with an adult twist, since as Frank starts to dance, his zombie-fied body parts absolutely horrify the audience. I bet its color pictures look absolutely amazing on the Kindle Fire tablet, and it looks like good, silly fun. “Frank was a monster who wanted to dance. So he put on his hat, and his shoes made in France… and opened a jar and put ants in his pants…”


Hey Buddy: In Pursuit of Buddy Holly, My New Buddy John, and My Lost Decade of Music – $1.99
Don McLean sang of “The Day the Music Died” — the infamous 1959 plane crash that killed the rock and roll pioneer (along with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper) at the age of 22. But author Gary W. Moore says that Buddy Holly reached out to him from a stage, according to he book’s description on Amazon, seizing his heart and his soul “through a song. Not a song written or performed by Buddy, but a song about Buddy performed by musician extraordinaire John Mueller. Even Buddy’s closest friends say John is Buddy reincarnated, and his resemblance and music will take your breath away.”

In this book, the author tries to understand Buddy Holly’s world, interviewing people who’d known the singer, and “Their unique and intimate stories will make you laugh, smile, cry, and think, all the while wondering ‘what if.’ What if Buddy had lived instead of perished in that terrible plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, on that winter night in 1959? What if Buddy had continued to write music into the 1960s and 70s? What if…”


Find all these books at tinyurl.com/399books

And don’t forget, for today only, you can also get Fight Club for just 25 cents at tinyurl.com/DailyKindleDeal

100 More eBooks for $3.99 or Less!

Amazon Kindle 399 ebook sale

It’s a special tradition. Every month, Amazon picks 100 ebooks to offer at a discount of $3.99 or less. There’s always a new selection on the first day of the month, and I’m pretty excited about the discounted ebooks for February. To see the selection, point your computer’s web browser to tinyurl.com/399books

So which 100 ebooks did Amazon choose for their big discount this month??


God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut ($2.99)

One of Vonnegut’s favorite novels tells the story of a U.S. Senator’s eccentric son, a millionaire who becomes a wandering philanthropist. Vonnegut’s next novel was Slaughter-house Five, and the New York Times Book Review says this book shows the author “at his wildest best.” But in researching this story, I discovered there’s also two free Vonnegut ebooks in the Kindle Store — both short stories. (There’s “The Big Trip Up Yonder” and “2 B R 0 2 B”). And according to Wikipedia, that second story is actually referenced in the novel “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” attributed to Vonnegut’s own fictitious character, a science-fiction author named Kilgore Trout.


The Borrowers by Mary Norton ($1.99)

It was one of the 10 most important children’s novels of the last 70 years, according to the judges of a Carnegie Medal awards program. In a grand English manor, a tiny family is secretly living in the floorboards of the kitchen. They “borrow” what they need for their homestead, until one day disaster strikes, and the father is seen by a little boy. The culture of the “big people” confronts the question of the existence of the little people, and the change in perspective makes this story unforgettable. “Like all great books for the young, The Borrowers can be read as an enthralling story of adventure,” writes one reviewer on Amazon, “but also contains many layers of meaning…”


The Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein ($2.99)

The master of science fiction wrote this novel in 1957 — in which a hard-drinking inventor travels forward through time to the year…2000. There he discovers that the robots he’d been building in the 1950s have become a popular fixture in society — and tracks down a relative of the business partner who’d double-crossed him. It’s often been voted one of the 50 best science fiction novels of all time — and I love this explanation of the book’s title. According to Wikipedia, it came from a joke by the author’s wife about a cat that was refusing to leave its house through any of numerous doors, because it saw snow on the ground. “He is looking for The Door into Summer….”


What Would Keith Richards Do?: Daily Affirmations from a Rock and Roll Survivor by Jessica Pallington West ($1.99)

“To me, the main thing about living on this planet is to know who the hell you are and to be real about it…” So says the hard-living guitarist for the Rolling Stones, who became both a legend and a punchline after surviving a wild life of rock and roll. This 256-page collection offers a fun alternative to other self-help advice books, with quotes and analysis about what we all can learned from the life of Keith Richards himself. “I’m here because I’ve taken the trouble to find out who I am,” Richards says at one point — echoing the advice he gave to Captain Jack Sparrow in that Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (“It’s not whether you can live forever. It’s whether you can live with yourself.”) And I enjoyed how the advice was grouped into chapters with clever titles, like “Keith and Nietzsche” or “Keithisms: The 26 Ten Commandments of Keith Richards.”


Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded by Ann VanderMeer ($2.99)

This 431-page anthology offers some of the best “steampunk” science fiction around – including a short story by William Gibson, and another by “original” steampunk author, H.G. Wells. “Steampunk” is a trendy fiction genre that a lot of my friends love, a kind of reaction to our technology-saturated times (and the popularity of edgy “cyberpunk” science fiction stories.) Steampunk science fiction is often set in the Victorian era, where the most powerful technology available is a steam-powered engine!

Amazon Announces Last-Minute Christmas Specials

Amazon offers free shipping on Kindles for Christmas

There was some real excitement right around Christmas time. It’s easy to buy a new Kindle, now that the cheapest Kindles cost just $79. And on December 21st, until 8 p.m. (in Seattle), Amazon offered free two-day shipping on any Kindle, so it’d arrive just in time for the holidays!

“[W]e’re making it even easier to give a new Kindle this Christmas with free two-day shipping,” an executive in Amazon’s Kindle department bragged (adding “The new Kindles are hands down the best gifts you can give this holiday season…”) They offered the free two-day shipping to any address in the (continental) United States for any of the new Kindle models — including the color touchscreen Kindle Fire tablets, the Kindle Touch, and the new $79 Kindle. And of course, Amazon’s announcement also reminded you that you can “gift” an e-book, and schedule it’s delivery for a specific day — like Christmas. And they offered one more helpful suggestion for how to spend money at Amazon. “For $79, customers are buying multiple Kindles to use as stocking stuffers!”

But there’s also some deals that lasted even after Christmas at Amazon. I see some of the best games for the Kindle have gone on sale now for the ultra-cheap price of just 99 cents! For example, last week Electronic Arts released a slick new Kindle version of the classic game, Battleship. They’d originally priced it at $4.99 — but right now, it’s available for just 99 cents! (Just point your computer’s web browser to tinyurl.com/KindleBattleship

And it’s not the only great game that’s suddenly lowered its price. In fact, every game from Electronic Arts is now specially priced at just 99 cents. (Point your browser to tinyurl.com/MoreEAGames .) There’s even a master game pack that’s called “POGO Hearts, Spades, and More” which also includes Euchre, Gin, and Canasta in a single download. Here’s a list of the other EA games which are currently on sale for just 99 cents.

    Yahtzee
    Scrabble
    Solitaire
    Monopoly
    Trivial Pursuit
    Texas Hold’em
    Sudoku

But it gets better, because Amazon’s announced their list of the best games for all of 2011 — and all of those 25 games are on sale now for just 99 cents! That includes Mobigloo’s version of Mahjong Solitaire — which normally costs $3.99, and which Amazon named the #5 best game of the year. (Mobigloo’s Jewels — normally $1.99 — also grabbed the #3 on Amazon’s “best games of the year” list.) But it was EA Games that took four of the top ten slots on the list, including the #1 spot (for Yahtzee) and the #2 spot (for Scrabble).

To see the complete list, just point your computer’s web browser to tinyurl.com/Best2011Games. There’s New York Times crossword puzzles, many variations on Sudoku, and several apps with calendars, calculators, or Yoga poses.

And surprisingly, you can even get a discount on SpongeBob Squarepants’ Treasure Quest – since Amazon’s declared it the #16 best game of the year!

100 Kindle eBooks Now $3.99 or Less!

Amazon discounts 100 ebooks for less than four dollars

Every month Amazon picks 100 ebooks to feature in the Kindle Store for just $3.99 or less. They’re “hand-selected” by Amazon’s editors, according to the tagline at the top of a special web page. You can always reach this month’s selection by pointing your computer’s web browser to tinyurl.com/399books . And Amazon’s finally unveiled their new collection for December.

There’s lots of names you might recognize — but also a few surprises!

Dangerous Games by Michael Prescott ($1.99)
Amazon describes this as a “psychologically complex thriller” about the hunt for a serial killer with new appearances by characters from some of Prescott’s previous mysteries. In fact, it’s the first story in a trilogy about maverick FBI agent Tess McCallum and “freelance security agent” Abby Sinclair. But there’s also apparently an interesting story behind this story, since I see Prescott listed on best-seller lists at USA Today as a self-published author using Amazon Digital Services. Dangerous Games was written in 2005, but in 2010 Prescott re-released as an ebook for the Kindle and other digital readers, and by November of 2011, it was among the top 40 best-selling books, according to USA Today.

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler ($2.99)
This book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize when it was released in 1985, and it actually won the prestigious annual award from the National Book Critics Circle. It’s the dramatic story of a man in a failing marriage who moves in with his two divorced brothers and an unmarried sister. It “chronicles his journey from lonely self-absorption to an ‘accidental” new life’…,” according to the novel’s description on Amazon. A movie adaptation was nominated for four Academy Awards when it was released in 1988, and it ultimately won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for a role played by Geena Davis.

Absolute Mayhem by Monica Mayhem ($1.99)
I wondered why this book had such a trashy cover, until I noticed its subtitle — “Secret Confessions of a Porn Star.” Apparently Monica Mayhem is an Australian “adult film actress,” and at the age of 33 she’s written a raunchy autobiography. According to the book’s description on Amazon, she jokingly writes in the first paragraph, “Here’s what a ‘busy day at the office might mean for me…” Apparently she started out as a stock broker, but her career took an unexpected turn…

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Outcast by Aaron Allston ($1.99)
This is the first in a series of nine novels “expanding” the fictional universe from the Star Wars movies. It takes place after the first Star Wars movie (which, for fans of the franchise, is referred to as “Episode IV: A New Hope”.) “In a shocking move, Chief of State Natasi Daala orders the arrest of Luke Skywalker,” according to the book’s description on Amazon, “for failing to prevent Jacen Solo’s turn to the dark side and his subsequent reign of terror as a Sith Lord. But it’s only the first blow in an anti-Jedi backlash fueled by a hostile government and suspicious public.”

Do the Work by Steven Pressfield ($1.99)
This is a new motivational/self-help “manifesto” that’s drawn some pretty good reviews on Amazon. It argues that we don’t need better ideas — we just need, well, to do the work! “There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us,” reads a quote from the book on Amazon.com. “Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is enormously powerful. It saved my life, and it will save yours…” But my favorite quote appears in one of the user-submitted reviews on Amazon. Why should we dare to actually do the work? Because “The gods, witnessing our boldness, look on in approval…”

This listing includes something I’ve never seen before. For members of Amazon’s Prime shipping service, they’ve flagged this as one of the books that can be checked out for free from the Kindle Lending Library. Of course, you can only check out one ebook a month — which seems a little wasteful, since for December they’ve cut the price by 85%. Amazon’s leaving users to select from two very appealing choices. Do you want that ebook for free for 30 days — or forever, for just $1.99?

And don’t forget — Amazon also discounts a new ebook every day. To see the special deals, just keep pointing your computer’s web browser to tinyurl.com/DailyKindleDeal

Monday Only: 900 Kindle eBooks on Sale!

Cyber Monday Kindle eBook Deals

Wow! Amazon’s slashed the price on more than 900 Kindle ebooks in a surprise one-day sale which ends at midnight. (“Time Left on Today’s Deal: 0 Days, 14 Hours, 51 Minutes, 23 Seconds…” Amazon warned this morning at the bottom of one page…) Just point your computer’s web browser to
tinyurl.com/CyberMondayEbooks
. Amazon slipped the special announcement onto their “Daily Deals” page, which usually features just one ebook at a special price.

Today’s there’s hundreds of ebooks that have been discounted up to 75% — and they’re spread across seven different categories!

     Mysteries
     Romance
     Literature and Fiction
     Science Fiction
     Biographies
     Nonfiction
     Children’s and Teens

So what kind of books are on sale? In the fiction section, there’s novels by famous authors that I’ve actually heard of, including Leon Uris, Alice Walker, William Styron, and Pat Conroy. (Plus some humorous sixties novels by Terry Christian). Other sale-priced authors include James Jones, John Gardner, and Lawrence Block. But it seems like some categories had more discount books than others.

Over 300 of the discounted books are in Amazon’s “Mysteries and Thrillers” category — but many of them are by best-selling authors. There’s mysteries by James Elroy, Carl Hiassen, and Ellery Queen —
and Amazon’s usually offering discounts on more than one of their books. There’s also mysteries on sale by Stephen Koontz, John Lutz, and Susan Isaacs — plus Patricia Wentworth, Jack Higgins, and Loren D. Estleman.

I was also surprised how many “Children and Teen” books were on sale — more than 200 — though that number is higher because it includes dozens of books from the “Boxcar Children” series. And there’s several interesting memoirs on sale, including many books by Rebecca West and five books by veterinarian James Herriot. There’s also one very unusual best-seller that’s on sale — a parody of children’s picture books called “Go the $#%% to Sleep.” But these 900 bargain-priced books may be only the beginning.

Amazon displayed today’s daily deal next to graphic which announces “Cyber Monday Deals Week”.

Is it possible that there’ll be a new crop of discounted ebooks on Tuesday?

Amazon’s Cyber Monday deal on a Kindle

Amazon's Cyber Monday deal on a Kindle

Amazon’s biggest shopping day of the year isn’t Black Friday. It’s “Cyber Monday” (according to a new announcement from Amazon.) Except it should really be called “Cyber Sunday,” since Amazon’s already announcing big savings today. And Kindles are still on sale — at least, the big Kindle DX tablet, which Amazon’s offering at a 32% discount from the usual price of $379. (Just point your computer’s web browser to TinyURL.com/BlackFridayDX !)

But there’s other big savings too – like a nearly 40% savings on a 42-inch HDTV, and a line of sale-priced ebooks. “Cyber Monday Deals Week Starts Today,” Amazon posted Sunday on a special web page, promising “low prices and sales on electronics, video games, DVDs, and more.” Last year Amazon sold more than 13.7 million things just on Monday, November 29th — which means that on average, every second they were selling 158 items. “Our customers love Cyber Monday,” Amazon said in an enthusiastic statement.

But interestingly, Amazon used that press release to tout their new line of Kindles — at the regular price — before listing the other special deals. “At just $199, Kindle Fire is already the best-selling item across all of Amazon,” reported a senior PR manager at Amazon (adding “Amazon customers have made the Kindle Fire one of their favorite holiday deals already this season.”) And the second sentence of Amazon’s press release stops to acknowledge the whole Kindle line, promising that customers “will find hundreds of great deals with free shipping on millions of eligible items…along with the new $79 Kindle, $99 Kindle Touch, $149 Kindle Touch 3G and $199 Kindle Fire.” And yes, there’s even a special line of Kindle ebooks that are on sale.

“Kindle’s Cyber Monday Deals Week features hundreds of books as low as $0.99,” announced Amazon in an e-mail today. For example, for just $3.99 you can get “Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson’s Muppets” or “Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History. There’s even a funny novel called “How I Stole Johnny Depp’s Alien Girlfriend” (for $3.99), and for $1.99, there’s an Oxford Press biography about the life of Dr. Seuss. And for $2.99, there’s also an illustrated version of Marilyn Monroe’s autobiography, and a collection of “frank” writing by 28 women that was edited by Erica Jong! Browse the whole list of bargain ebooks by pointing your computer’s web browser to /tinyurl.com/CyberMondayBooks .

Even some Kindle games are on sale now. Electronic Arts has slashed the price on all their best-selling Kindle games to just 99 cents, including:

Monopoly
Scrabble
Trivial Pursuit
Yahtzee

Of course, there’s some other non-Kindle items for sale. (For example, all the DVDs in the “Twilight” series are on sale for a special price.) And somewhere in there is a bundle of games for the Microsoft XBox that’s being offered at a $100 discount. It’s the unofficial holiday of bargain shoppers everywhere. So if you’re in the market for some online shopping fun…happy Cyber Monday!