The Kindle Reader

Just Out: Recent and Readable Nonfiction for the Kindle

2012-01-26T08:49:00.001-07:00

What I like about non-fiction is that it covers such a huge territory. The best non-fiction is also creative. - Tracy Kidder.

Nonfiction encompasses a wealth of reading possibilities - history, essays, memoirs, scientific research, travel guides, cookbooks - essentially everything that is based on fact, real events and real people. Recent nonfiction titles for the Kindle that you might have missed:

Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners, by Michael Erard. Free Press, 2012. Print Length: 320 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (9 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"We all learn at least one language as children. But what does it take to learn six languages, twenty...seventy? Such feats of linguistic prowess provide a glimpse into what the human brain is capable of - and hold up a mirror to our desire to live without language barriers on a shrinking planet. In Babel No More, Michael Erard, 'a monolingual with benefits,' sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like the nineteenth-century Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages and was such a legend that when he died people all over Europe vied for his skull." - Publisher.

Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now - As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It, and Long for It, by Craig Taylor. Ecco, 2012. Print Length: 448 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (10 reviews). Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"...Craig Taylor has spent years traversing every corner of the city, getting to know the most interesting Londoners, including the voice of the London Underground, a West End rickshaw driver, an East End nightclub doorperson, a mounted soldier of the Queen's Life Guard at Buckingham Palace, and a couple who fell in love at the Tower of London - and now live there. With candor and humor, this diverse cast - rich and poor, old and young, native and immigrant, men and women (and even a Sarah who used to be a George) - shares indelible tales that capture the city as never before. Together, these voices paint a vivid, epic, and wholly original portrait of twenty-first-century London in all its breadth, from Notting Hill to Brixton, from Piccadilly Circus to Canary Wharf, from an airliner flying into London Heathrow Airport to Big Ben and Tower Bridge, and down to the deepest tunnels of the London Underground." - Publisher.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. Crown, 2012. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (36 reviews). Kindle edition $13.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled 'quiet,' it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society - from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer. Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School, from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, Susan Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people...Perhaps most inspiring, she introduces us to successful introverts - from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. " - from the hardcover edition.

Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith, by Father Robert Barron. Image, 2011. Print Length: 306 p. While readable on any Kindle, this title has complex layouts and has been optimized for reading on devices with larger screens. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (28 reviews). Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"What is the Catholicism? A 2,000 living tradition? A worldview? A way of life? A relationship? A mystery? In Catholicism Father Robert Barron examines all these questions and more, seeking to capture the body, heart and mind of the Catholic faith. Starting from the essential foundation of Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, and teaching, Father Barron moves through the defining elements of Catholicism – from sacraments, worship, and prayer, to Mary, the Apostles, and Saints, to grace, salvation, heaven, and hell – using his distinct and dynamic grasp of art, literature, architecture, personal stories, Scripture, theology, philosophy, and history to present the Church to the world." - from the hardcover edition.

Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired - and Secretive - Company Really Works, by Adam Lashinsky. Business Plus, 2012. Print Length: 240 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"If Apple is Silicon Valley's answer to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides readers with a golden ticket to step inside. In this primer on leadership and innovation, the author will introduce readers to concepts like the 'DRI' (Apple's practice of assigning a Directly Responsible Individual to every task) and the Top 100 (an annual ritual in which 100 up-and-coming executives are tapped a la Skull & Bones for a secret retreat with company founder Steve Jobs). Based on numerous interviews, the book offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates, deals with its suppliers and is handling the transition into the Post Jobs Era." - Publisher.

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs. Oxford University Press, 2011. Print Length: 171 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (11 reviews). Kindle edition $9.32. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In recent years, cultural commentators have sounded the alarm about the dire state of reading in America. Americans are not reading enough, they say, or reading the right books, in the right way. In this book, Alan Jacobs argues that, contrary to the doomsayers, reading is alive and well in America. There are millions of devoted readers supporting hundreds of enormous bookstores and online booksellers. Oprah's Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobs's interactions with his students and the readers of his own books, however, suggest that many readers lack confidence; they wonder whether they are reading well, with proper focus and attentiveness, with due discretion and discernment. Many have absorbed the puritanical message that reading is, first and foremost, good for you - the intellectual equivalent of eating your Brussels sprouts. For such people, indeed for all readers, Jacobs offers some simple, powerful, and much needed advice: read at whim, read what gives you delight, and do so without shame...an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

What People Magazine is Reading This Week (Jan 23rd Issue)

2012-01-24T08:40:00.002-07:00

For those Kindle readers who, like me, read for entertainment, scanning the book reviews in People magazine is good way to check out new people-related books - celebrity bios, popular novels, absorbing nonfiction - just hitting bookstore shelves. Featured in the January 23rd issue of People:

How It All Began, by Penelope Lively. Viking, 2012. Print Length: 239 p. FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (8 reviews). People's slant: "With grace, wit and wisdom, Booker Prize winner Lively has crafted a highly readable tale about fates intersecting amid the chaos of modern life." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true; an old-guard historian tries to recapture his youthful vigor with an ill-conceived idea for a TV miniseries; and a middle-aged central European immigrant learns to speak English and reinvents his life with the assistance of some new friends. Through a richly conceived and colorful cast of characters, Penelope Lively explores the powerful role of chance in people's lives and deftly illustrates how our paths can be altered irrevocably by someone we will never even meet." - author's website.

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend, by Rachel Bertsche. Ballantine Books, 2011. Print Length: 386 p. MEMOIR. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (61 reviews). People's slant: "...charming, funny chronicle..." Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech:.

"When Rachel Bertsche first moves to Chicago, she’s thrilled to finally share a zip code, let alone an apartment, with her boyfriend. But shortly after getting married, Bertsche realizes that her new life is missing one thing: friends. Sure, she has plenty of BFFs - in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington, D.C. Still, in her adopted hometown, there’s no one to call at the last minute for girl talk over brunch or a reality-TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Taking matters into her own hands, Bertsche develops a plan: She’ll go on fifty-two friend-dates, one per week for a year, in hopes of meeting her new Best Friend Forever. In her thought-provoking, uproarious memoir, Bertsche blends the story of her girl-dates (whom she meets everywhere from improv class to friend rental websites) with the latest social research to examine how difficult - and hilariously awkward - it is to make new friends as an adult." - Publisher.

Believing the Lie, by Elizabeth George. Dutton, 2012. Print Length: 624 p. MYSTERY. Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (29 reviews). People's slant: "...once again George creates a dense, twisty plot with characters who reveal the sad spectrum of human dereliction." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Inspector Thomas Lynley is mystified when he's sent undercover to investigate the death of Ian Cresswell at the request of the man's uncle, the wealthy and influential Bernard Fairclough. The death has been ruled an accidental drowning, and nothing on the surface indicates otherwise. But when Lynley enlists the help of his friends Simon and Deborah St. James, the trio's digging soon reveals that the Fairclough clan is awash in secrets, lies, and motives." - Publisher.

A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home, by Steve Pemberton. Thomas Nelson, 2012. Print Length: 272 p. MEMOIR. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (14 reviews). People's slant: "His incredible courage inspires." Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Taken from his mother at age three, Steve Klakowicz lives a terrifying existence. Caught in the clutches of a cruel foster family and subjected to constant abuse, he finds his only refuge in a box of books gifted to him by a kind stranger. In these books, he discovers new worlds he can only imagine and gains hope that one day he might have a different life, that one day he will find his true home. Armed with just a single clue, Steve embarks on an extraordinary quest for his identity, only to find that nothing is as it appears. A Chance in the World is the unbelievable true story of a broken boy destined to become a man of resilience, determination, and vision. Through it all, Steve's story teaches us that no matter how broken our past, we have it in us to create a new beginning and to build a new place, where love awaits." - Publisher.

Mentioned Briefly:

Breaking and Entering, by Eileen Pollack. Four Way Books, 2012. Print Length: 384 p. FICTION. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $12.25. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Set against the tragic events of the Oklahoma City bombings, Breaking and Entering follows Christian/Jewish couple Louise and Richard Shapiro as they move from California to rural Michigan with their daughter Molly in an attempt to save their marriage. They find their core beliefs about life and love tested as school counselor Louise's students blame Satan for their homosexuality while Richard's new buddies gather arms to defend themselves against enemies at home and abroad. Pollack's America is divided and splintered, yet she writes with hope and humor. Breaking and Entering challenges the stereotypes we hold about our fellow Americans, reminding us of the unexpected bonds that can form across the divide between so-called Red and Blue states." - Publisher.

The Little Russian, by Susan Sherman. Counterpoint, 2012. Print Length: 354 p. HISTORICAL FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The novel tells the story of Berta Alshonsky, who revels in childhood memories of her time spent with a wealthy family in Moscow - a life filled with salons, balls and all the trappings of the upper class - very different from her current life as a grocer’s daughter in the Jewish townlet of Mosny. So when a mysterious and cultured wheat merchant walks into the grocery, Berta’s life is forever altered. She falls in love, unaware that he is a member of the Bund, The Jewish Worker’s League, smuggling arms to the shtetls to defend them against the pogroms sweeping the Little Russian countryside...Filled with heart-stopping action, richly drawn characters, and a world seeped in war and violence; The Little Russian is poised to capture readers as one of the hand-selling gems of the season." - Publisher.

The Crown, by Nancy Bilyeau. Touchstone, 2012. Print length: 418 p. HISTORICAL FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (21 reviews). Kindle edition: $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London. The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic - a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. This provocative story melds heart-stopping suspense with historical detail and brings to life the poignant dramas of women and men at a fascinating and critical moment in England’s past." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

Capturing the Lives of Others: Recent Biographies and Memoirs for the Kindle

2012-01-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

One lives in the hope of becoming a memory - Antonio Porchia.

Given the burgeoning popularity of social media on the Internet, it is not surprising that biographies and memoirs are among the most popular reading choices of Kindle readers. Whether you enjoy reading of exemplary lives or living vicariously through celebrity memoirs, now you can spend less time searching and more time reading, as I watch for new biographies and memoirs in the Kindle Store so you don't have to.

My Seinfeld Year, by Fred Stoller. Kindle Single, 2012. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (8 reviews). Kindle edition $1.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"You'd know Fred Stoller if you saw him. He has appeared on practically every great sitcom you've ever seen - Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, and Murphy Brown just to name a few. But he has never been a regular on a series, always the guest star. He longs to find a showbiz home. Instead, he is a television foster child, shuttling from show to show in the vain hope that one will finally agree to keep him. My Seinfeld Year tells the hysterical and bittersweet story of what happened when Stoller finally got a shot at the showbiz stability he'd always dreamed of - as a staff writer on one of the biggest television shows in history." - Publisher.

Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey", by Margaret Powell. St. Martin's Press, 2012. Print length: 221 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (32 reviews). Kindle edition $10.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Margaret Powell’s classic memoir of her time in service...is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high. Powell first arrived at the servants' entrance of one of those great houses in the 1920s. As a kitchen maid - the lowest of the low – she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5.30am and went on until after dark. It was a far cry from her childhood on the beaches of Hove, where money and food were scarce, but warmth and laughter never were. Yet from the gentleman with a penchant for stroking the housemaids’ curlers, to raucous tea-dances with errand boys, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlormaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress’s nephew, Margaret’s tales of her time in service are told with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye for the prejudices of her situation." - Publisher.

Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice, by David Teems. Thomas Nelson, 2012. Print length: 336 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (29 reviews). Kindle edition $8.79. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The English Bible was born in defiance. It was also born in exile, in flight, in a kind of exodus. And these are the very elements that empowered William Tyndale in his bid to bring the English Scripture to the common citizen. Being 'a stranger in a strange land,' the very homesickness he struggled with, gave life to the words of Jesus, Paul, and to the wandering Moses. Tyndale's efforts ultimately cost him his life, a price he was certain he would have to pay. But his contribution to English spirituality is measureless. Even five centuries after his death at the stake, Tyndale's presence looms wherever English is spoken. His single word innovations, such as 'Passover,' 'beautiful,' and 'atonement' allowed the common man to more fully understand God's blessings and promises. His natural lyricism shines in phrases like 'Let not your hearts be troubled,' and 'for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.' Although Tyndale has been somewhat elusive to his biographers, Teems brings wit and wisdom to the story of the man known as the 'architect of the English language,' the English Paul who defied a kingdom and a tyrannical church to introduce God to the plowboy." - Publisher.

The Rescuer, by Dara Horn. Tablet Magazine, 2012. Kindle Single. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $1.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"In 1941, a young Harvard-educated classicist named Varian Fry arrived in occupied France on a daring mission to rescue more than 2,000 of Europe's leading writers, artists, and intellectuals from the Nazis. Hounded by the Gestapo, he smuggled Marchel Duchamp, Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt and dozens of other 20th century cultural luminaries out of France and brought them to America. So why did even the people Fry saved want to forget him? In this fascinating psychological profile, acclaimed novelist Dara Horn, chosen by Granta magazine as one of the 25 best young novelists in America, follows the peculiar life and legacy of an American Oskar Schindler. In the process, she reveals the secrets of a man who risked his life when others were silent — and the unforeseen consequences, personal and cultural, of his bravery." - Publisher.

Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down, by Robert Fitzpatrick, with Jon Land. Forge Books, 2012. Print length: 336 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (7 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The Jack Nicholson film The Departed didn’t tell half of their story. A poor kid from the slums, Robert Fitzpatrick grew up to become a stellar FBI agent and challenge the country’s deadliest gangsters. Relentless in his desire to catch, prosecute, and convict Whitey Bulger, Fitzpatrick fought the nation’s most determined cop-gangster battle since Melvin Purvis hunted, confronted, and killed John Dillinger. In his crusade to bring Bulger to justice, Fitzpatrick faced not only Whitey but also corrupt FBI agents, along with political cronies and enablers from Boston to Washington who, in one way or another, blocked his efforts at every step. Even when Fitzpatrick discovered the very organization to which he had sworn allegiance was his biggest obstacle, the agent continued to pursue Whitey and his gang...knowing that they were prepared to murder anyone who got in their way." - Publisher.

William Henry Harrison, by Gail Collins. The American Presidents Series: The 9th President, 1841. Times Books, 2012. Print length: 176 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"William Henry Harrison died just thirty-one days after taking the oath of office in 1841. Today he is a curiosity in American history, but as Gail Collins shows in this entertaining and revelatory biography, he and his career are worth a closer look. The son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Harrison was a celebrated general whose exploits at the Battle of Tippecanoe and in the War of 1812 propelled him into politics, and in time he became a leader of the new Whig Party, alongside Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. But it was his presidential campaign of 1840 that made an indelible mark on American political history. Collins takes us back to that pivotal year, when Harrison's 'Log Cabin and Hard Cider campaign transformed the way candidates pursued the presidency." - Publisher.

As Good as She Imagined: The Redeeming Story of the Angel of Tucson, Christina-Taylor Green, by Roxanna Green, with Jerry B. Jenkins. Worthy Publishing, 2012. Print length: 265 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (15 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Christina-Taylor Green was beautiful, precocious, and popular, a member of her elementary school’s student council and the only girl on her Little League team. Born on 9/11/2001, it was perhaps no surprise that she harbored aspirations of becoming a politician - thus her presence at the political rally that fateful day in Tucson last January. Congressman Gabrielle Giffords was severely wounded in the gunman’s splay of bullets; six others were killed, including Christina, the youngest of the victims. But this inspirational book recounts far more than the events of 'the tragedy of Tucson.' Written by Christina’s mother (with New York Times best-selling biographer Jerry Jenkins), As Good as She Imagined celebrates this little girl’s life, along with the hope that has been born out of a nation’s loss and a family’s grief." - Publisher.

The Moment: Wild, Poignant, Life-Changing Stories from 125 Writers and Artists Famous & Obscure, by Larry Smith. Harper Perennial, 2012. Print length: 368 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The turning points, revelations, epiphanies, dramatic changes, the opening or closing of a door - in a life, a career, a love - can occur in a single glorious, terrible, unpredictable, serendipitous, crucial, calamitous, chaotic, amazing...Moment. The creators of the enormously popular Not Quite What I Was Planning and Six-Word Memoir series now offer stories of the Moment - the one-time chances, unexpected coincidences, and sudden catastrophes that made all the difference in the story of one life. The results are triumphant, outrageous, heartwarming, heartbreaking, embarrassing, illuminating, and inspiring - life-changing moments from contributors Dave Eggers, Diane Ackerman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Bill Ayers, Jennifer Egan, A. J. Jacobs, Judy Collins, and many more." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

A Week of Entertainment: Kindle Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly's January 20th Issue

2012-01-20T07:54:00.002-07:00

Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the January 20th issue include:

The Crown, by Nancy Bilyeau. Touchstone, 2012. Print length: 418 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "an engrossing thriller...her extensive historical research shines." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (13 reviews). Kindle edition: $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London. The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic - a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. This provocative story melds heart-stopping suspense with historical detail and brings to life the poignant dramas of women and men at a fascinating and critical moment in England’s past." - Publisher.

The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography, by Stephen Fry. Overlook, 2012. Print length: 448 p. MEMOIR. EW's slant: "...the memoir stands as proof of the author's intelligence, wit, and insight." Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition: $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is Fry's second memoir, continuing the story began in Moab Is My Washpot.

"Stephen Fry arrived at Cambridge University as a convicted fraudster and thief, an addict, liar, fantasist, and failed suicide, convinced that any moment he would be sent away. Instead, he befriended bright young things like Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie, and he emerged as one of the most promising comic talents in the world. This is the engrossing, hilarious, and utterly compelling story of how the Stephen the world knows (or thinks it knows) found his way. Tales of champagne, love, and conspicuous consumption jostle with insights into Broadway and TV stardom. A feat of trademark wit and verbal brilliance..." - Publisher.

The Obamas, by Jodi Kantor. Little, Brown and Company, 2012. Print length: 329 p. NONFICTION. EW's slant: "...making her the scapegoat for her husband's problems makes for salacious - and delicious - reading, at least at first. It's fun gulping those salted peanuts, but after too many handfuls you get thirsty - and after that, you start to feel a little sick." Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (33 reviews). Kindle edition: $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"When Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, he also won a long-running debate with his wife Michelle. Contrary to her fears, politics now seemed like a worthwhile, even noble pursuit. Together they planned a White House life that would be as normal and sane as possible. Then they moved in. In The Obamas, Jodi Kantor takes us deep inside the White House as they try to grapple with their new roles, change the country, raise children, maintain friendships, and figure out what it means to be the first black President and First Lady. Filled with riveting detail and insight into their partnership, emotions and personalities, and written with a keen eye for the ironies of public life, The Obamas is an intimate portrait that will surprise even readers who thought they knew the President and First Lady." - Publisher.

Hope: A Tragedy, by Shalom Auslander. Riverhead, 2012. Print length: 304 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "poisonously funny debut novel...like an unintentional bark of laughter at a funeral..." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (7 reviews). Kindle edition: $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

The rural town of Stockton, New York, is famous for nothing: No one was born there, no one died there, nothing of any historical import at all has ever happened there, which is why Solomon Kugel, like other urbanites fleeing their pasts and histories, decided to move his wife and young son there. To begin again. To start anew. But it isn't quite working out that way. His ailing mother stubbornly holds on to life, and won't stop reminiscing about the Nazi concentration camps she never actually suffered through. To complicate matters further, some lunatic is burning down farmhouses just like the one he bought. And when, one night, Kugel discovers history - a living, breathing, thought-to-be-dead specimen of history - hiding upstairs in his attic, bad quickly becomes worse..." - Publisher.

Girl Land, by Caitlin Flanagan. Reagan Arthur Books, 2012. Print length: 224 p. ESSAYS. EW's slant: "Ever nostalgic for things that never were..." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (8 reviews). Kindle edition: $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Caitlin Flanagan's essays about marriage, sex, and families have sparked national debates. Now she turns her attention to girls: the biological and cultural milestones for girls today, and how they shape a girl's sense of herself. The transition from girl to woman is an experience that has changed radically over the generations: everything from how a girl learns about her period to how she expects to be treated by boys and men. Girls today observe these passages very differently, and yet the landmarks themselves have remained remarkably constant - proof, Flanagan believes, of their significance. In a world where protections of girls' privacy and personal freedom seem to disappear every day, the ultimate challenge modern parents face is finding a way to defend both." - Publisher

Trade a Fave TV Show for a Great Book:

For fans of Downton Abbey:
The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomons. Penguin Publishing, 2011. Print length: 368 p. NOVEL. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (18 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"It's the spring of 1938 and no longer safe to be a Jew in Vienna. Nineteen-year-old Elise Landau is forced to leave her glittering life of parties and champagne to become a parlor maid in England. She arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay, where servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn. But war is coming, and the world is changing. When the master of Tyneford's young son, Kit, returns home, he and Elise strike up an unlikely friendship that will transform Tyneford-and Elise-forever." - Publisher.

For fans of Being Human:
A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness. Viking, 2011. Print length: 594 p. NOVEL. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (1188 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Diana Bishop is the last of the Bishops, a powerful family of witches, but she has refused her magic ever since her parents died and, instead, has turned to academia. When a new project takes her to Oxford, she is looking forward to several months in the Bodleian, investigating alchemical manuscripts. Her peace is soon interrupted when one of the books she finds in the library turns out to have been lost for 150 years and is wanted desperately by the witch, daemon, and vampire communities - so desperately that many are willing to kill for it. But the very first creature to approach her after her discovery is Matthew, a very old vampire and fellow scholar, who seems only to want to protect her. Harkness creates a compelling and sweeping tale that moves from Oxford to Paris to upstate New York and into both Diana's and Matthew’s complex families and histories. All her characters are fully fleshed and unique, which, when combined with the complex and engaging plot, results in one of the better fantasy debuts in recent months." - Jessica Moyer for Booklist.
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Please note: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Kindle Genre Watch: New in Fantasy and Science Fiction

2012-01-18T07:52:00.002-07:00

Spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Outstanding new releases in fantasy and science fiction include:

Fantasy

Hidden by Kelley Armstrong. Subterranean Press, 2011. Print Length: 193 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (10 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Hiking through the snow, holiday baking and playing board games by the fire - what's not to love about an old-fashioned family Christmas? Werewolves Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers want to give their four-year-old twins, Kate and Logan, something their parents never had: a nice, normal holiday. No Pack responsibilities, no homicidal half-demons or power-hungry sorcerers to deal with - just the four of them, alone, at a chalet outside Ontario's Algonquin Park. Then a strange werewolf shows up at their door...while the town is buzzing about a young man, back from college, found half-eaten in the woods. And there's the missing little girl..."

City of Dragons by Robin Hobb. Harper Collins, 2012. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (23 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book three of the Rain Wilds Chronicles, following Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven.

"Once, dragons ruled the Rain Wilds, tended by privileged human servants known as Elderlings. But a series of cataclysmic eruptions nearly drove these magnificent creatures to extinction. Born weak and deformed, the last of their kind had one hope for survival: to return to their ancient city of Kelsingra. Accompanied by a disparate crew of untested young keepers, the dragons embarked on a harsh journey into the unknown along the toxic Rain Wild River. Battling starvation, a hostile climate, and treacherous enemies, dragons and humans began to forge magical connections, bonds that have wrought astonishing transformations for them all. And though Kelsingra is finally near, their odyssey has only begun. Because of the swollen waters of the Rain Wild River, the lost city can be reached only by flight - a test of endurance and skill beyond the stunted dragons’ strength. The dragons must plumb the depths of their ancestral memories to help them take flight and unlock the secrets buried in Kelsingra. But enemies driven by greed and dark desires are approaching..." - Publisher.

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. Little, Brown and Company, 2012. Print Length: 497 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (8 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The body you are wearing used to be mine. So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her. She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own. In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined." - Publisher.

Empire State by Adam Christopher. Angry Robot, 2011. Print Length: 448 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (11 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The Empire State is the other New York. A parallel-universe, Prohibition-era world of mooks and shamuses that is the twisted magic mirror to our bustling Big Apple, a place where sinister characters lurk around every corner while the great superheroes that once kept the streets safe have fallen into dysfunctional rivalries and feuds. Not that its colourful residents know anything about the real New York... until detective Rad Bradley makes a discovery that will change the lives of all its inhabitants. Playing on the classic Gotham conventions of the Batman comics and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, debut author Adam Christopher has spun this smart and fast-paced superhero-noir adventure, the sort of souped-up thrill ride that will excite genre fans and general readers alike." - Publisher.

Science Fiction

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno. LucasBooks, 2012. Print Length: 401 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (41 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Darth Plagueis: one of the most brilliant Sith Lords who ever lived. Possessing power is all he desires. Losing it is the only thing he fears. As an apprentice, he embraces the ruthless ways of the Sith. And when the time is right, he destroys his Master - but vows never to suffer the same fate. Darth Sidious: Plagueis’s chosen apprentice. Under the guidance of his Master, he secretly studies the ways of the Sith, while publicly rising to power in the galactic government, first as Senator, then as Chancellor, and eventually as Emperor. Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious, Master and acolyte, target the galaxy for domination - and the Jedi Order for annihilation. But can they defy the merciless Sith tradition? Or will the desire of one to rule supreme, and the dream of the other to live forever, sow the seeds of their destruction?" - Publisher.

The Martian Emperor by Andrew Mayne. Print Length: 160 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (10 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled. This is the second book in the author's Chronological Man series, following The Monster in the Mist.

"Who is the Martian Emperor? When a giant airship descends on New York City in 1892 and threatens destruction if the world doesn’t submit to the Martian flag, it’s up to the mysterious Smith, inventor and adventurer to find out what forces are at work. From the dangerous basement fan-tan parlors of Chinatown to the top of the Statue of Liberty’s torch, Smith and his brilliant assistant, April Malone, will have to unravel the clues and avoid danger lurking behind every corner. To stop the menace they’ll need they enlist the help of Theodore Roosevelt and other early twentieth-century heroes." - Publisher.

Faith by John Love. Night Shade Books, 2012. Print Length: 387 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (4 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Faith is the name humanity has given to the unknown, seemingly invincible alien ship that has begun to harass the newly emergent Commonwealth. 300 years earlier, the same ship destroyed the Sakhran Empire, allowing the Commonwealth to expand its sphere of influence. But now Faith has returned! The ship is as devastating as before, and its attacks leave some Commonwealth solar systems in chaos. Eventually it reaches Sakhra, now an important Commonwealth possession, and it seems like history is about to repeat itself. But this time, something is waiting: an Outsider, one of the Commonwealth's ultimate warships. Slender silver ships, full of functionality and crewed by people of unusual abilities, often sociopaths or psychopaths, Outsiders were conceived in back alleys, built and launched in secret, and commissioned without ceremony. One system away from earth, the Outsider ship Charles Manson makes a stand. Commander Foord waits with his crew of miscreants and sociopaths, hoping to accomplish what no other human has been able to do - to destroy Faith!" - Publisher.

The Galactic Mage by John Daulton. Daulton Books, 2012. Print Length: 536 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (6 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Altin Meade is a sorcerer running from a curse, the curse of Six: He’s got too much magic to control, yet not enough to save himself. No Six in his planet’s history has lived beyond the age of twenty-five. Altin is twenty-two. Determined to escape that fate, Altin seeks to leave his home world and remake his destiny amongst the stars. But first he has to invent a way to get there - a process that might bring about the very doom he’s trying to avoid. Far across the galaxy, there is nothing Ensign Orli Pewter hates more than life amongst the stars. Brought aboard as a child, she has spent the last ten years on the spaceship Aspect, a life she never asked for, a life of misery. Bright, strong and beautiful, Orli is now an officer in the fleet from Earth, serving a role and a mission she did not choose. As the lumbering Earth ships hunt a mysterious race of genocidal aliens across the enormity of the galaxy, years are ticking off her life, her very sanity at stake. She’s got to get away. She’s got to get off that ship. But there is nowhere for her to go. Or is there?" - Publisher.

The Lodestone Trilogy by Mark Whiteway. Mark Whiteway, 2011. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled. Includes the first three books in the author's Lodestone series: The Sea of Storms, The World of Ice and Stars, and The Crucible of Dawn.

"On the planet Kelanni, life is cheap. With the aid of the fearsome 'Keltar' enforcers, in their flying cloaks, a ruthless invader is forcing the native people to mine the colloquially named 'lodestone' - a substance from another universe with infinitely destructive power. The only ones who can stop him are a tiny girl with fiery disposition, a former Keltar, a failed revolutionary, a musician and the mysterious creature, Boxx, who seems to speak only in riddles." - Publisher.

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Books They're Talking About: Kindle Books in the Media

2012-01-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

Media interviews are a popular way for writers to introduce new books they hope will catch the viewer's eye and generate interest in their work. Here's a selection of forthcoming Kindle books by authors scheduled for interviews on TV and radio programs. Books are arranged in chronological order by the date of the scheduled interview.

On NBC's Today Show (Jan 10, 2012):

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, by Sally Bedell Smith. Random House, 2012. Print Length: 688 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (23 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II has been the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well do we really know the world’s most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last sixty years with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace. Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the Queen’s daily routines - the 'red boxes' of documents she reviews each day, the weekly meetings she has had with twelve prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad, and the constant scrutiny of the press - as well as her personal relationships: with Prince Philip, her husband of sixty-four years and the love of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends." - Publisher.

On ABC's The View (Jan 12, 2012):

Growgirl: How My Life After The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot., by Heather Donahue. Penguin Publishing, 2012. Print Length: 304 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"At age thirty-four, Heather Donahue's life went to pot. Literally. After starring in The Blair Witch Project - the tiny indie film-turned-blockbuster that Roger Ebert named one of the ten Most Influential Movies of the Century - she became a household name. But the afterglow of the movie waned, her acting career stalled, and she feared the day her epitaph would read, Here Lies the Girl from The Blair Witch Project. Determined to start a new life, she left most remnants of the old one in the desert, meditated on things for a few days, then followed her brand-new boyfriend to her brand-new life - growing pot." - Publisher.

On ABC's Nightline (Jan 17, 2012):

The End of Illness, by David B. Agus. Free Press, 2012. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Can we live robustly until our last breath? Do we have to suffer from debilitating conditions and sickness? Is it possible to add more vibrant years to our lives? In The End of Illness, David B. Agus, MD, one of the world’s leading cancer doctors, researchers, and technology innovators, tackles these fundamental questions, challenging long-held wisdoms and dismantling misperceptions about what 'health' means. With a blend of storytelling, landmark research, and provocative ideas on health, Dr. Agus presents an eye-opening picture of the human body and all of the ways it works - and fails - showing us how a new perspective on our individual health will allow each of us to achieve that often elusive but now reachable goal of a long, vigorous life." - Publisher.

On PBS's Charlie Rose Show (Jan 18, 2012):

One on One: Behind the Scenes with the Greats in the Game, by John Feinstein. Little, Brown and Company, 2011. Print Length: 544 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (17 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Feinstein has interviewed some of the most enduring figures in sports - from hallowed coaches such as Bob Knight, Jim Valvano, Mike Krzyzewski, and Dean Smith to beloved athletes including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, and John McEnroe, and here we have John Feinstein at his very best. He goes behind the scenes of his reporting from The Final Four, Wimbledon, The US Open, the Army/Navy game, the Olympics, and more, opening up sport's most private, closed-door places and sharing exclusive stories... These are the coaches and athletes who know their games the best, and the legends and legendary moments that gave inherent shape to our favorite pastimes." - Publisher.

On ABC's The View (Jan 18, 2012):

Explosive Eighteen, by Janet Evanovich. Bantam, 2012. Print Length: 305 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (347 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying. Only one other person has seen the missing photo - Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back..." - Publisher.

On NPR's Fresh Air (Jan 19, 2012):

The Real Romney, by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman. Harper Collins, 2012. Print Length: 416 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he’s become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America... Who is the man behind that sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smile? In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, readers will finally discover the real Romney. The book explores Romney’s personal life, his bond with his wife and how they handled her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, and his difficult years as a Mormon missionary in France, where a fatal car crash had a profound effect on his path. It also illuminates Romney’s privileged upbringing in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; his rejection of the 1960s protest culture; and his close but complicated relationship with his father. Based on more than five years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, The Real Romney includes a probing analysis of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, where staggering profits were won through leveraged buyouts that helped create jobs but also destroyed them." - Publisher.

On ABC's 20/20 (Jan 20, 2012) and on ABC's The View (Jan 23, 2012):

Fairy Tale Interrupted, by RoseMarie Terenzio. Gallery Books, 2012. Print Length: 258 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"To everyone else, John F. Kennedy Jr. may have been American royalty, but to RoseMarie Terenzio he was an entitled nuisance - and she wasn’t afraid to let him know it. RoseMarie was his personal assistant, his publicist, and one of his closest confidantes during the last five years of his life. In this, her first memoir, she bravely recounts her own Fairy Tale Interrupted, describing the unlikely friendship between a blue-collar girl from the Bronx and John F. Kennedy Jr. Funny, moving, and fresh, her memoir is a unique account by the woman who was with him through dating, politics, the paparazzi, and his marriage to Carolyn Bessette. Her street smarts, paired with her loyalty, candor, and relentless work ethic, made her the trusted insider to America’s most famous man." - Publisher.

On MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show (Jan 21, 2012):

The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan, by Michael Hastings. Blue Rider Press, 2012. Print Length: 428 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (15 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"General Stanley McChrystal, the innovative, forward-thinking commanding general of international and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, was living large. During a spring 2010 trip across Europe to garner additional allied help for the war effort, McChrystal was accompanied by journalist Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone. For days, Hastings looked on as McChrystal and his staff let off steam, partying and openly bashing the Obama administration for what they saw as a lack of leadership. When Hastings's piece appeared a few months later, it set off a political firestorm: McChrystal was ordered to Washington, where he was fired unceremoniously. In The Operators, Hastings picks up where his Rolling Stone coup ended. He gives us a shocking behind-the-scenes portrait of our military commanders, their high-stakes maneuvers and often bitter bureaucratic infighting. Hastings takes us on patrol missions in the Afghan hinterlands, to late-night bull sessions of senior military advisors, to hotel bars where spies and expensive hookers participate in nation-building gone awry. And as he weighs the merits and failings of old-school generals and the so-called COINdinistas-the counterintelligence counterinsurgency experts-Hastings draws back the curtain on a hellish complexity and, he fears, an unwinnable war..." - Publisher.

What People Magazine is Reading This Week (Jan 16th Issue)

2012-01-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

For those Kindle readers who, like me, read for entertainment, scanning the book reviews in People magazine is good way to check out new people-related books - celebrity bios, popular novels, absorbing nonfiction - just hitting bookstore shelves. Featured in the January 16th issue of People:

Kayak Morning: Reflections on Love, Grief, and Small Boats, by Roger Rosenblatt. Ecco, 2012. Print Length: 160 p. MEMOIR. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). People's slant: "Intimate, expansive, and profoundly moving." Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In Making Toast, Roger Rosenblatt shared the story of his family in the days and months after the death of his thirty-eight-year-old daughter, Amy. Now, in Kayak Morning, he offers a personal meditation on grief itself. On a quiet Sunday morning, two and a half years after Amy’s death, Roger heads out in his kayak. He observes, 'You can’t always make your way in the world by moving up. Or down, for that matter. Boats move laterally on water, which levels everything. It is one of the two great levelers.' Part elegy, part quest, Kayak Morning explores Roger’s years as a journalist, the comforts of literature, and the value of solitude, poignantly reminding us that grief is not apart from life but encompasses it. In recalling to us what we have lost, grief by necessity resurrects what we have had." - Publisher.

The Invisible Ones, by Stef Penney. Putnam, 2012. Print Length: 416 p. FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (16 reviews). People's slant: "...pulses with film-noir-esque suspense...a moving meditation on belonging and acceptance." Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Small-time private investigator Ray Lovell veers between paralysis and delirium in a hospital bed. But before the accident that landed him there, he'd been hired to find Rose Janko, the wife of a charismatic son of a traveling Gypsy family, who went missing seven years earlier. Half Romany himself, Ray is well aware that he's been chosen more for his blood than his investigative skills. Still, he's surprised by the intense hostility he encounters from the Jankos, who haven't had an easy past. Touched by tragedy, they're either cursed or hiding a terrible secret - whose discovery Ray can't help suspecting is connected to Rose's disappearance..." - Publisher.

From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, by Alex Gilvarry. Viking, 2012. Print Length: 320 p. FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). People's slant: "In this funny debut, flashy Filipiino fashion designer Boy Hernandez sees his American dream become a nightmare..." Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Boyet Hernandez is a small man with a big American dream when he arrives in New York in 2002, fresh out of design school in Manila. With dubious financing and visions of Fashion Week runways, he sets up shop in a Brooklyn toothpick factory, pursuing his goals with monkish devotion (distractions of a voluptuous undergrad not withstanding). But mere weeks after a high-end retail order promises to catapult his (B)oy label to the big time, there's a knock on the door in the middle of the night: the flamboyant ex-Catholic Boyet is brought to Gitmo, handed a Koran, and locked away indefinitely on suspicion of being linked to a terrorist plot. Now, from his 6' x 8' cell, Boy prepares for the trial of his life..." - Publisher.

American Dervish, by Avad Akhtar. Little, Brown and Company, 2012. Print length: 369 p. NOVEL. People's slant: "Akhtar dazzles with his debut novel about a Muslim family in pre-9/11 America." Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes. Mina is Hayat's mother's oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shah's doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayat's skeptical father can't deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the family's Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Mina's side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher... American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America." - Publisher.

Kindle E-Books on the Cheap: An Eclectic Selection

2012-01-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

Once you've purchased an Amazon Kindle e-book reader, the wonderful world of public domain, Creative Commons and free e-book promotions opens up to you. This regular Kindle Reader feature points you to a few of the most interesting new free (or very cheap) e-books available for download from the web.

Free e-book selections for this week include a zany mystery narrated by a narcoleptic detective, a classic satirical fantasy, a memoir of a woman who - disguised as a man - served as a soldier, nurse, and spy for the Union forces during the Civil War, a lesser-known work by the author of Little Women and a classic whodunit by Mary Roberts Rinehart.

The Defective Detective: The Curious Case of the Kilchester Courier, by Adam Maxwell. MYSTERY SHORT STORY. Download site: Feedbooks. Format: Kindle. Price: $0.00.
"Chasing a parcel delivered to a neighbour, Clint is sucked into a remarkably civilised but mildly deranged crime scene. There he encounters almost-blackmail, not-actually prostitution, probable-sex scandals, genuine-imposters and the very real theft of something incredibly important. Twice. Will Clint be able to stay awake long enough to restore what has been stolen to its rightful owner and will he need to resort to his new book 'The Agency’s Foundation in Private Investigation : Home Study Edition' in order to solve the case? These and literally three other questions are answered in the third Defective Detective outing 'The Curious Case of the Kilchester Courier'." - Feedbooks.

Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice, by James Branch Cabell. SATIRICAL FANTASY. Download site: MobileRead. Format: Kindle (.prc). Price: $0.00.
"Rarely in this age of action figures and product tie-ins does one come across a work as boldly and unapologetically erudite, urbane, and steeped in folklore, mythology, and literature as this early fantasy classic. Written in 1919 by James Branch Cabell, Jurgen employs chivalry, philosophy, mild eroticism, humor, and high poetic prose to celebrate man's desire for the perfect mate. Think Shakespeare crossed with Philip Roth." - AudioFile.

The Adventures and Experiences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-Fields, by Sarah Emma Edmonds. MEMOIR. Download site: ManyBooks. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: $0.00.
"Nurse and Spy is simply a record of events which have transpired in the experience and under the observation of one who has been on the field and participated in numerous battles - among which are the first and second Bull Run, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the Seven days in front of Richmond, Antietam, and Fredericksburg - serving in the capacity of 'Spy' and as 'Field Nurse' for over two years." - ManyBooks.

An Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott. NOVEL. Download site: Amazon. Format: Kindle. Price: $0.00.
"Polly Milton, a 14-year-old country girl, visits her friend Fanny Shaw and her wealthy family in the city for the first time. Poor Polly is overwhelmed by the splendor at the Shaws' and their urbanized, fashionable lifestyles, expensive clothes and other habits she has never been exposed to, and, for the most part, dislikes. Fanny's friends reject her because of her different behavior and simple clothing, and Fan herself can't help considering her unusual sometimes. However, Polly's warmth, support and kindness eventually win the hearts of all the family members, and her old-fashioned ways teach them a lesson." - Wikipedia.

The Circular Staircase, by Mary Roberts Rinehart. MYSTERY. Download site: ManyBooks. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: $0.00.
"The summer occupants of Sunnyside find the dead body of Arnold Armstrong, the son of the owner, on the circular staircase. Following the murder, a bank failure is announced. Around these two events is woven a plot of absorbing interest." - ManyBooks.

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A Week of Entertainment: Kindle Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly's January 13th Issue

2012-01-10T07:59:00.001-07:00

Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the January 13th issue include:

American Dervish, by Avad Akhtar. Little, Brown and Company, 2012. Print length: 369 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "...part coming-of-age tale, part fraught family saga, part torn-between-two-worlds drama...a rich look at a nearby world that many Americans don't know nearly enough about."- Rob Brunner. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes. Mina is Hayat's mother's oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shah's doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayat's skeptical father can't deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the family's Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Mina's side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher... American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America." - Publisher.

Wild Abandon, by Joe Dunthorne. Random House, 2012. Print length: 337 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "...richly plotted and peopled..." - Jeff Giles. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"At a once vibrant communal-living property in the British countryside, back-to-basics fervor has given way to a vague discontent. A place that once buzzed with activity, from the polytunnels to the pottery shed, now functions with a skeleton crew. Founder Don Riley surveys his domain with the grim focus of someone who knows what’s best for everyone - and isn’t afraid to let them know. Don’s wife, Freya, can’t quite decide whether not liking someone anymore is enough reason to end a twenty-year marriage. Their seventeen-year-old daughter, Kate, enrolls in school for the first time in her life... In his sister’s absence, eleven-year-old Albert falls under the spell of an outlandish new visitor to the community who fills his head with strange notions of the impending end of the world. Faced with the task of rescuing his son from apocalyptic fantasies, his daughter from the clutches of suburbia, and his wife from her increasingly apparent desire to leave him, Don convinces himself that the only way to save the world he’s created is...to throw the biggest party of his life. Will anyone show up?" - from the hardcover edition.

The Street Sweeper, by Elliot Perlman. Riverhead, 2012. Print length: 647 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "...a strikingly modern literary novel that brings the ugliest moments of 20th-century history to life, and finds real beauty there." - Leah Greenblatt. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech:

"Lamont Williams is a paroled felon looking to turn his life around, working as a street sweeper at a large city hospital and searching for his estranged daughter. Adam Zignelik is a struggling, nontenured professor, paralyzed by looming failure, his life falling apart around him. He discovers a cache of recordings of previously unheard voices reaching out from a horrific past, voices that can both save his career and bring him back to the woman he loves. At the same time, Lamont forges an unlikely friendship with a dying man, who, having lived through those horrors, has a crucially important story to tell and to preserve. The worlds surrounding these two men, their families, their pasts, their potential futures, swirl in and out of history as the forces of the Holocaust, the American civil rights movement, Chicago unions, and New York City racial politics combine in a thrilling cross-generational literary symphony." - Publisher.

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. Dutton, 2012. Print length: 336 p. YA NOVEL. EW's slant: "...the gut-busting laughs that come early in the novel make the luminous final pages all the more heartbreaking." - Stephan Lee. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition 10.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love." - Publisher.

Fairy Tale Interrupted, by RoseMarie Terenzio. Gallery Books, 2012. Print length: 258 p. MEMOIR. EW's slant: "...Terenzio's unsurprising observations, gleaned from phone calls and notes, imply she hasn't learned much." - Melissa Maerz. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Working Girl meets What Remains, this is the behind-the-scenes story of an unlikely friendship between America’s favorite First Son, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his personal assistant, a blue-collar girl from the Bronx. Upon first meeting, RoseMarie was not immediately impressed with JFK, Jr. In an awkward yet comedic encounter, she walked into her office to find that John had begun dismissively boxing up her personal belongings and moving them to a smaller office, including her prized, autographed Howard Stern photo. As she gave him a piece of her mind, people stood around gaping that she would dare speak to JFK, Jr. that way. But John loved her moxie and eventually asked her to become his personal assistant and publicist... For five years RoseMarie witnessed John’s dating, politics, his marriage to Carolyn, and his untimely death. In her memoir, she blends her own story of a young woman who rose from an embattled childhood to follow her dream with amazing revelations about the man who has been the subject of unparalleled attention, sensationalism, adoration, and speculation.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

Genre Watch: New Mysteries and Thrillers for the Kindle Reader

2012-01-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Spend less time searching for good reads and more time reading as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Outstanding new releases in mystery and suspense fiction include:

Gun Games: A Decker/Lazarus Novel by Faye Kellerman. William Morrow, 2012. Print Length: 389 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep - witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools. Gregory’s mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen - evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student - a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence..." - Publisher.

Affairs of Steak by Julie Hyzy. Berkley, 2012. Print Length: 304 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Assigned to work with her arch nemesis, Peter Everett Sargeant, the White House Sensitivity Director, Ollie must find a venue for an event to honor the Secretary of State. Instead they find one of the First Lady’s assistants and the Chief of Staff, both murdered — and Ollie and Peter may have witnessed the killer making his getaway. News reports suggest that the assistant and Chief of Staff were having an affair, but no one on the staff believes the rumor. Now, with their jobs - and their lives - in jeopardy, Ollie and Peter must depend on each other to learn who killed their colleagues and why - before they become the next victims of a merciless assassin with a secret agenda..." - Publisher.

Breakdown by Sara Paretsky. Putnam, 2012. Print Length: 450 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is the fifteenth novel in Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski series that began with Indemnity Only.

"Carmilla, Queen of the Night, is a shape-shifting raven whose fictional exploits thrill girls all over the world. When tweens in Chicago's Carmilla Club hold an initiation ritual in an abandoned cemetery, they stumble on an actual corpse, a man stabbed through the heart in a vampire-style slaying. The girls include daughters of some of Chicago's most powerful families: The grandfather of one, Chaim Salanter, is one of the world's wealthiest men; the mother of another, Sophy Durango, is the Illinois Democratic candidate for Senate. For V. I. Warshawski, the questions multiply faster than the answers. Is the killing linked to a hostile media campaign against Sophy Durango? Or to Chaim Salanter's childhood in Nazi-occupied Lithuania? As V.I. struggles for answers, she finds herself fighting enemies who are all too human." - Publisher.

The Innocent: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel by Taylor Stevens. Crown, 2011. Print Length: 353 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (31 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Eight years ago, a man walked five-year-old Hannah out the front doors of her school and spirited her over the Mexican border, taking her into the world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who’ve searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who’ve managed to make lives for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn’t trust them, and get Munroe on the inside." - Publisher.

Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke. Mulholland Books, 2011. Print Length: 388 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (57 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Dave Robicheaux was once a Louisiana homicide cop. Now he's trying to start a new life, opening up a fishing business and caring for his adopted girl, Alafair. Compared to Louisiana, Robicheaux thought Montana would be safe - until two Native American activists suddenly go missing. When Robicheaux begins investigating, he is led into the dark world of the Mafia and oil companies. At the same time, someone from his past comes back to haunt him. Someone who was responsible for Robicheaux's flight from New Orleans - someone who brutally murdered his wife - and now is after young Alafair." - Publisher.

The Confession by Charles Todd. William Morrow, 2012. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (44 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book fourteen in the Ian Rutledge series that began with A Test of Wills.

"Declaring he needs to clear his conscience, a dying man walks into Scotland Yard and confesses that he killed his cousin five years earlier during the Great War. When Inspector Ian Rutledge presses for details, the man evades his questions, revealing only that he hails from a village east of London. With little information and no body to open an official inquiry, Rutledge begins to look into the case on his own. Less than two weeks later, the alleged killer’s body is found floating in the Thames, a bullet in the back of his head. Searching for answers, Rutledge discovers that the dead man was not who he claimed to be. What was his real name - and who put a bullet in his head?" - Publisher.

Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith. Grand Central Publishing, 2012. Print Length: 481 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (12 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Leo Demidov is no longer a member of Moscow's secret police. But when his wife, Raisa, and daughters Zoya and Elena are invited on a 'Peace Tour' to New York City, he is immediately suspicious. Forbidden to travel with his family and trapped on the other side of the world, Leo watches helplessly as events in New York unfold and those closest to his heart are pulled into a web of political conspiracy and betrayal-one that will end in tragedy...haunted by the need to find out exactly what happened on that night in New York, Leo takes matters into his own hands. It is a quest that will span decades, and take Leo around the world - from Moscow, to the mountains of Soviet-controlled Afghanistan, to the backstreets of New York - in pursuit of the one man who knows the truth: Agent 6." - Publisher.

1222 by Anne Holt. Scribner, 2011. Print Length: 338 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (6 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99 Text-to-Speech: Disabled. This is book eight of the author's Hanne Wilhelmsen mystery series and the first volume of the series to be translated into English.

"A train on its way to the northern reaches of Norway derails during a massive blizzard, 1,222 meters above sea level. The passengers abandon the train for a nearby hotel, centuries-old and practically empty, except for the staff. With plenty of food and shelter from the storm, the passengers think they are safe, until one of them is found dead the next morning. With no sign of rescue, and the storm continuing to rage, retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is asked to investigate. Paralysed by a bullet lodged in her spine, Hanne has no desire to get involved. But she is slowly coaxed back into her old habits as her curiosity and natural talent for observation force her to take an interest in the passengers and their secrets. When another body turns up, Hanne realizes that time is running out. - Publisher.

The Cat Sitter's Pajamas: A Dixie Hemingway Mystery by Blaize Clement. Minotaur Books, 2012. Print Length: 273 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book seven in the author's Dixie Hemingway Mysteries series that began with Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter.

"Dixie Hemingway, no relation to you-know-who, accepts a job taking care of famous linebacker Cupcake Trillin’s cats, Elvis and Lucy, while he’s away. But what seems like an easy job turns scary when Dixie finds a celebrity fashion model in Cupcake’s house. The woman refuses to leave AND she also claims to be Cupcake’s wife. But Dixie has met Cupcake’s wife, and this woman certainly isn’t her. Soon, Dixie is spun into the world of counterfeit high fashion. When a valuable list of fake merchandise sellers goes missing, the criminals go after Dixie. Once again, what started as a simple cat-sitting job has turned into a mess that only Dixie can solve." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

Kindle Genre Watch: New in Romance & Western Fiction

2012-01-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

Spend less time searching for new fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Outstanding new releases in romance and western fiction include:

Romance

The Other Guy's Bride by Connie Brockway. Montlake Romance, 2011. Print length: 365 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (50 reviews). Kindle edition $4.99. This title is also available as a free loan from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library if you subscribe to Amazon Prime. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Determined to prove her worth as a budding archeologist, Ginesse Braxton vows to solve one of the world's greatest mysteries - to find the location of the lost city of Zerzura. Unfortunately, no man dares take the risk of escorting the resolute young scholar across the open desert. But on her way to Egypt, Ginesse engages in a daring deception - she will switch places with Mildred Whimpelhall, who is traveling to meet her fiancé. Cynical adventurer Jim Owen will do anything to escape the dark secrets of his troubled past. Betrayed by the woman he loved, scorned by proper society, he agrees to carry out a danger-fraught task: escort Mildred Whimpelhall across a lawless desert to her intended. But Jim is about to learn that 'Mildred' isn't exactly what she seems...and the dangers they face together are eclipsed only by an even greater peril: falling in love, against all reason, with another guy's bride..." - Publisher.

Taken by Barbara Freethy. First published in 2006 and now available in a Kindle edition. Print length: 377 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $3.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Kayla Sheridan had longed for love, marriage and a family. Now, after a miraculous whirlwind courtship with the man of her dreams, she is his wife. But on their wedding night, he vanishes... Nick Granville has an ingrained sense of honor and an intense desire to succeed in building the world's most challenging high-tech bridges. But when he crosses paths with a ruthless con man, he's robbed of everything he values, including his identity. With nothing left to lose, he'll risk any danger to clear his name and reclaim his life. Thrown together by fate, Kayla and Nick embark on a desperate journey toward the truth - to uncover the mysterious motives of an ingenious and seductive stranger who boasts he can't be caught...and to reveal the shocking secrets of their own shattered pasts." - Publisher.

Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis. Forever, 2011. Print length: 328 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (43 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Free-spirited Chloe lives life on the edge. Unlike her soon-to-be married sisters, she isn't ready to settle into a quiet life running their family's newly renovated inn. But soon her love of trouble - and trouble with love - draws the attention of the very stern, very sexy sheriff who'd like nothing better than to tame her wild ways. Suddenly Chloe can't take a misstep without the sheriff hot on her heels. His rugged swagger and his enigmatic smile are enough to make a girl beg to be handcuffed. For the first time, instead of avoiding the law, Chloe dreams of surrender. Can this rebel find a way to keep the peace with the straitlaced sheriff? Or will Chloe's colorful past keep her from a love that lasts...and the safe haven she truly wants in a town called Lucky Harbor?" - Publisher.

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. St. Martin's Press, 2012. Print length: 321 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Kate Appleton needs a job. Her husband has left her, she’s been fired from her position as a magazine editor, and the only place she wants to go is to her parents’ summer house, The Nutshell, in Keene’s Harbor, Michigan. Kate’s plan is to turn The Nutshell into a Bed and Breakfast. Problem is, she needs cash, and the only job she can land is less than savory.
Matt Culhane wants Kate to spy on his brewery employees. Someone has been sabotaging his company, and Kate is just new enough in town that she can insert herself into Culhane’s business and snoop around for him. If Kate finds the culprit, Matt will pay her a $20,000 bonus. Needless to say, Kate is highly motivated. But several problems present themselves. Kate despises beer. No one seems to trust her. And she is falling hard for her boss." - Publisher.

The Duke Is Mine by Eloisa James. Avon, 2011. Print length: 405 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (83 reviews). Kindle edition $6.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"For Olivia Lytton, betrothal to the Duke of Canterwick - hardly a Prince Charming - feels more like a curse than a happily-ever-after. At least his noble status will help her sister Georgiana secure an engagement with the brooding, handsome Tarquin, Duke of Sconce, a perfect match for her in every way...every way but one. Tarquin has fallen in love with Olivia. Quin never puts passion before reason. And reason says that Georgiana is his ideal bride. But the sensual, fiery, strong-willed Olivia ignites an unknown longing in him - a desire they are both powerless to resist. When a scandalous affair begins, they risk losing everything...Only one thing can save them - and it awaits in the bedroom, where a magnificent mattress holds life-changing answers to the greatest romantic riddle of all." - Publisher.

Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr. Mira, 2011. Print length: 351 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (24 reviews). Kindle edition $4.89. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Sick of running into her cheery ex-husband and his new wife, Leslie Petruso accepts a job at the Virgin River branch of Haggerty Construction and takes the high road right out of town. Now she's got Paul Haggerty's business running like a well-oiled machine. In fact, things are so busy Paul jumps at the chance to hire an extra set of hands. Just like Leslie, Conner Danson has been burned by love. But if Leslie was disappointed by her relationship going bad, Conner was decimated. He's got no time for women...although he spends an awful lot of time pretending not to notice Leslie. And she's pretty busy 'ignoring' the chemistry between them. According to Conner and Leslie, they have only one thing in common - they're done with love. But everyone in Virgin River can see that things are heating up at Haggerty Construction." - Publisher.

Westerns

Sons of Thunder by Cotton Smith. Dorchester Publishing, 2011. Print length: 319 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition $6.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"No one in the small Texas town of Clark Springs knows that their minister's real name is Rule Cordell, or that he used to be one of the most notorious outlaws the Confederacy had ever seen. He's been trying very hard to put his days as a pistol-fighter behind him, but that's getting harder to do lately. When his friends and neighbors are threatened with losing their family spreads to a cunning carpetbagger, Rule realizes it's time for his preacher's collar to be replaced by a pair of .44s. But he won't be able to do it alone. If he's going to rid the town of this ruthless evil, he'll need to call on a very special group of warriors: the Sons of Thunder!" - Publisher.

Preacher's Fury by William W. Johnstone, with J. A. Johnstone. Pinnacle Books, 2012. Print length: 353 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Montana Territory and a band of Assiniboine Indians give Preacher shelter for the winter. A beautiful woman named Raven's Wing makes the sheltering even better - once he gets things straight with a jealous brave who wants to lift Preacher's scalp. Across the border is another wanderer and another tribe. Preacher's old enemy, Willie Deaver, plies a band of Indians with the deadliest combination possible: whisky, guns and bullets - then directs them to try out their killing tools on the Assiniboine. The raid reaps a harvest of devastating death, bloodshed and helpless captives. Deaver is all the more delighted when he learns Preacher is among the fallen. But in the driving, drifting snow, with a handful of bloodied survivors by his side, Preacher is rising: a rifle in his hands, red-hot fury in his heart, and icy vengeance in his gun sight." - Publisher.

Miles to Little Ridge by Heath Lowrance. BEAT to a PULP, 2011. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (17 reviews). Kindle edition $0.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Edward A. Grainger's Gideon Miles hits the trail in this fast-clip western novella written by Heath Lowrance. The U.S. Marshal finds himself in the sleepy town of Little Ridge, Montana, on the search for a wanted man. But just as Miles enters town, he's spotted by a hard case who recognizes Miles as the lawman that killed his friend. Now Miles must face the wanted man, who claims his innocence and is raising a daughter on his own, while the hard case and a ne'er-do-well partner are gunning for him." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

Leadership and the American Presidency: Selected Books for the Kindle Reader

2012-01-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams.

As cable news channels, newspapers and Internet web news sources focus on politics and the 2012 presidential elections - who's up and who's down in the polls at the moment - maybe it would be wise to step back and reflect on what constitutes good leadership and what type of leadership style we, as voters, want in a President of the United States.

Here are a few books - on leadership in general and from a historical perspective - that may encourage the reader to go beyond partisan political squabbles to look for specific qualities that mark true leadership potential in a candidate.

The 100-Mile Walk: A Father and Son on a Quest to Find the Essence of Leadership, by Sander A. Flaum and Jonathon A. Flaum, with Mechele Flaum. Foreword by John Glenn. AMACOM, 2005. Print Length: 272 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (12 reviews). Kindle edition $14.97. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Each generation leads in its own way. But to progress together, they must find ways to bridge the divide between their perspectives. Recognizing that truth, a 65-year-old traditional CEO and his 35-year-old Zen entrepreneur son embark on a six-month-long, 100-mile walk. As they stroll the streets of New York and New Orleans, trek through the Blue Ridge Mountains, and hike along the Long Island coast, they talk about their experiences, their outlook on life and work, the achievements of leaders they have known, and how each views the nature and purpose of leadership. Ultimately, the two men agree on nine key traits and practices essential to all leaders - from principles and passion to performance and even paranoia - and on how leaders and aspiring leaders can follow them consistently. Father and son also discover a lot about each other, their relationship, and the way two generations set apart by so many differences can respect and learn from each other." - Publisher.

Politics with Principle: Ten Characters with Character, by Michael J. Kerrigan. Wheatmark, 2010. Print Length: 304 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (24 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Politics with Principle: Ten Characters with Character validates the belief that it is possible for public servants to achieve success in the political arena without lying, cheating, or stealing along the way. It is the author's hope that this book will deepen the reader's appreciation for all in political life who conduct themselves honorably as well as encourage future aspirants of good character to consider public service. This book shows a rising generation the extent to which their own future will depend on the character traits they build in the present. By studying the exemplary characters showcased within, students of politics will be able to imitate their virtuous habits of life, thought, and action." - Publisher.

Leadership Without Easy Answers, by Ronald Heifetz. Harvard University Press, 1994. Print Length: 348 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (30 reviews). Kindle edition: $20.08. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Heifetz (Kennedy Sch. of Government, Harvard Univ.) presents a new theory of leadership for both public and private leaders in tackling complex contemporary problems. Central to his theory is the distinction between routine technical problems, which can be solved through expertise, and adaptive problems, such as crime, poverty, and educational reform, which require innovative approaches, including consideration of values. Four major strategies of leadership are identified: to approach problems as adaptive challenges by diagnosing the situation in light of the values involved and avoiding authoritative solutions, to regulate the level of stress caused by confronting issues, to focus on relevant issues, and to shift responsibility for problems from the leader to all the primary stakeholders..." Jane M. Kathman for Library Journal.

A Leap in the Dark : The Struggle to Create the American Republic, by John Ferling. Oxford University Press, 2003. Print Length: 577 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (22 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"It was an age of fascinating leaders and difficult choices, of grand ideas eloquently expressed and of epic conflicts bitterly fought. Now comes a brilliant portrait of the American Revolution, one that is compelling in its prose, fascinating in its details, and provocative in its fresh interpretations. In A Leap in the Dark, John Ferling offers a magisterial new history that surges from the first rumblings of colonial protest to the volcanic election of 1800. Ferling's swift-moving narrative teems with fascinating details. We see Benjamin Franklin trying to decide if his loyalty was to Great Britain or to America, and we meet George Washington when he was a shrewd planter-businessman who discovered personal economic advantages to American independence. We encounter those who supported the war against Great Britain in 1776, but opposed independence because it was a 'leap in the dark.' Following the war, we hear talk in the North of secession from the United States. The author offers a gripping account of the most dramatic events of our history, showing just how closely fought were the struggle for independence, the adoption of the Constitution, and the later battle between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Yet, without slowing the flow of events, he has also produced a landmark study of leadership and ideas." - Publisher.

Personality, Character, and Leadership In The White House: Psychologists Assess the Presidents, by Steven J. Rubenzer and Thomas R. Raschingbauer. Potomac Books, 2004. Print Length: 432 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (7 reviews). Kindle edition $13.77. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"...the first book-length work to present truly scientific personality evaluations of the American presidents. This benchmark work dramatically improves the state-of-the-art in classifying presidents and predicting performance in the White House. Dr. Steven Rubenzer and Dr. Thomas Faschingbauer asked 120 experts, including biographers, historians, presidential advisers, and other knowledgeable sources, to rate the presidents by filling out standardized personality tests. For each president that fell within their area of expertise, the evaluators completed a 592-item questionnaire regarding personality, intelligence, and behavior. From the results, the authors identify nine traits related to presidential success, examine how the presidents’ personalities affected their job performance, and list their scores on the major dimensions of personality. Rubenzer and Faschingbauer provide revealing insights about every American president and profile twenty-one of them in detail, including all post–World War II presidents and all of the 'great' presidents. In addition to revolutionizing the way we look at the presidency, the study offers entertaining and unexpected conclusions. For instance, which recent president’s personality and character most closely resembles those of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln? The answer may surprise you." - Publisher.

George Washington on Leadership, by Richard Brookhiser. Basic Books, 2009. Print Length: 290 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (18 reviews). Kindle edition $7.64. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In 1799, at the end of George Washington’s long life and illustrious career, the politician Henry Lee eulogized him as: 'First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.' Esteemed historian Richard Brookhiser now adds to this list, 'First in leadership,' examining the lessons to be learned from our first president, first commander-in-chief, and founding CEO. With wit and skill, Brookhiser expertly anatomizes true leadership with lessons from Washington’s three spectacularly successful careers as an executive: general, president, and tycoon. In every area of endeavor, Washington maximized his strengths and overcame his flaws. Brookhiser shows how one man’s struggles and successes two centuries ago can serve as a model - and an inspiration - for leaders today." - Publsher.

Presidential Leadership: 15 Decisions That Changed the Nation, by Nick Ragone. Prometheus Books, 2011. Print Length: 280 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $15.00. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Why did George Washington personally lead the militia that put down the Whiskey Rebellion? What drove Harry Truman to fire Douglas MacArthur at the height of the Korean War? Did Gerald Ford know that his pardon of Richard Nixon could very well end his political career? Why did John F. Kennedy challenge America to reach for the moon? Author Nick Ragone examines more than a dozen major decisions of the presidency - Truman dropping the Bomb; Nixon going to China; Jefferson purchasing the Louisiana Territory - and the stories behind them. Told in a crisp, narrative writing style, Ragone brings the presidency and its big decisions to life with his unique storytelling and pacing, and highlights the lessons to be learned. Some of the decisions are well known; others are not. But they're all told in a way that will keep you turning the pages to learn more. Each chapter stands as a study in leadership and decision-making." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

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Future Perfect: Self-Help Books for Kindle Readers

2012-01-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

New Year's Day... now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. - Mark Twain.

It's New Years resolution time - that time of year when we say to ourselves, "from this moment on I will indeed be perfect." Whether you've resolved to lose weight, get a better job, get organized, pay off those credit cards, exercise more, improve your mind, or simply figure out the meaning of life, there's a book to help you do it.

Six Simple Rules for a Better Life, by David J. Singer. Six Simple Rules Press, 2011. Print Length: 262 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (45 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"What it’s not: Six Simple Rules for a Better Life is not another self-help manual touting all kinds of grand changes that are meant to impress you but that instead serve to oppress you, making you feel so guilty that you avert your eyes as you walk past the shelf where it sits next to a bunch of other impulsively bought, unread books, each accusingly calling out to you, Why aren’t you following my instructions?
What it is: Six Simple Rules for a Better Life is a book filled with practical, achievable suggestions for all kinds of ways you can improve your life, along with a game plan for doing so." - Publisher.

This Year I Will...: How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True, by M. J. Ryan. Crown, 2006. Print Length: 240 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (47 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Fast forward a few months (or a few weeks) into any given new year, and most peoples' resolutions have been either forgotten or abandoned. As one of the creators of the bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series, author and life coach Ryan outlines a concrete and practical strategy for following through on a resolution while dealing with all of life's other ups and downs: 'One of the tricks about change is that we have to figure out how to do it in the midst of everything else.' In encouraging, easy-to-read chapters, Ryan tackles the obstacles that keep readers from their goals and provides helpful tools and language to quell negative, self-defeating thoughts." - Publishers Weekly.

YOU: On A Diet, by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz. Free Press, 2010. Revised edition. Print Length: 544 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (58 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Because the world has almost as many diet plans as it has e-mail spammers, you'd think that just about all of us would know everything there is to know about dieting, about fat, and about the reasons why our bellies have grown so large. YOU: On a Diet is much more than a diet plan or a series of instructions and guidelines or a faddish berries-only eating plan. It's a complete manual for waist management. It will show you how to achieve and maintain an ideal and healthy body size by providing a lexicon according to which any weight-loss system can be explained. YOU: On a Diet will serve as the operating system that facilitates future evolution in our dieting software. After you learn about the biology of your body and the biology and psychology of fat, you'll be given the YOU Diet and YOU Workout. Both are easy to learn, follow, and maintain. Following a two-week rebooting program will help you lose up to two inches from your waist right from the start." - Publisher.

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, by Allen Carr. Clarity Marketing USA, 2011. First published in 1985. Print Length: 272 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (799 reviews). Kindle edition $7.69. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Allen Carr’s innovative Easyway method - which he developed after his own 100-cigarette-a-day habit nearly drove him to despair - has helped millions kick smoking without feeling anxious and deprived. That’s because he helps smokers discover the psychological reasons behind their dependency, handle the withdrawal symptoms, avoid situations when temptation might become too strong, and stay smoke-free. Carr discusses issues such as nicotine addiction; the social “brainwashing” that encourages smoking; the false belief that a cigarette relieves stress; the role boredom plays in sabotaging efforts to quit; and the main reasons for failure." - Publisher.

Living Large in Lean Times: 250+ Ways to Buy Smarter, Spend Smarter, and Save Money, by Clark Howard, with Mark Meltzer and Thimou. Avery, 2011. Print Length: 272 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (71 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Clark Howard is a media powerhouse and penny-pincher extraordinaire who knows a thing or two about money. A lifelong entrepreneur who is now the hugely popular host of a talk radio program and television show and the bestselling author of several books, Clark consistently delivers expert financial advice to his wide and devoted fan base. Living Large in Lean Times is Clark's ultimate guide to saving money, covering everything from cell phones to student loans, coupon websites to mortgages, investing to electric bills, and beyond. In his candid and friendly next-door-neighbor manner, Clark shares the small, manageable steps everyone can follow to build a path towards independence and wealth. Chock-full of more than 250 invaluable tips, the book outlines how to: locate missing and unclaimed money in your name, lower your student loan payment, find legitimate work-at-home opportunities, get unlimited texting and e-mailing for less than $10 per month, know what personal info not to post to social media sites, determine the best mortgage rate, and much, much more..." - Publisher.

Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up, by Patricia Ryan Madson. Crown, 2010. Print Length: 162 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (39 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In an irresistible invitation to lighten up, look around, and live an unscripted life, a master of the art of improvisation explains how to adopt the attitudes and techniques used by generations of musicians and actors. Let’s face it: Life is something we all make up as we go along. No matter how carefully we formulate a 'script,' it is bound to change when we interact with people with scripts of their own. Improv Wisdom shows how to apply the maxims of improvisational theater to real-life challenges - whether it’s dealing with a demanding boss, a tired child, or one of life’s never-ending surprises. Patricia Madson distills thirty years of experience into thirteen simple strategies, including 'Say Yes,' 'Start Anywhere,' 'Face the Facts,' and 'Make Mistakes, Please,' helping readers to loosen up, think on their feet, and take on everything life has to offer with skill, chutzpah, and a sense of humor." - Publisher.

The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life, by Lorie Marrero. Reason Press, 2008. Print Length: 272 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (28 reviews). Kindle edition $4.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Applying just an ounce of the advice in this practical guide saves you enough time and money to pay for itself. You will learn: the actual scientific law of nature that helps you get organized, the cure for procrastination, ten types of 'High Calorie Clutter' to avoid, where to start and how to tackle your projects, how to successfully add new habits into your life." - Publisher.

The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, by Jack Canfield, with Janet Switzer. Harper Collins, 2009. Print Length: 512 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (371 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The Success Principles will teach you how to increase your confidence, tackle daily challenges, live with passion and purpose, and realize all your ambitions. Not merely a collection of good ideas, this book spells out the 64 timeless principles used by successful men and women throughout history. And the fundamentals are the same for all people and all professions -- even if you're currently unemployed. From learning these basics, you can then tackle the important inner work needed to transform yourself. After this inner work, you can turn to building a 'success team' and the important ways of transforming your relationships for lasting success. Filled with memorable and inspiring stories of CEO's, world-class athletes, celebrities, and everyday people..." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

What People Magazine is Reading This Week (Jan 9th Issue)

2011-12-31T07:26:00.001-07:00

For those Kindle readers who, like me, read for entertainment, scanning the book reviews in People magazine is good way to check out new people-related books - celebrity bios, popular novels, absorbing nonfiction - just hitting bookstore shelves. Featured in the January 9th issue of People:

The Leopard, by Jo Nesbo. Translated by Don Bartlett. Knopf, 2011. Print Length: 529 p. THRILLER. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (46 reviews). People's slant: "...has plot twists and creepy surprises that will keep readers on tenterhooks..." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Two young women are found murdered in Oslo, both drowned in their own blood. Media coverage quickly reaches fever pitch: Could this be the work of a serial killer? The crime scenes offer no coherent clues, the police investigation is stalled, and the one man who might be able to help doesn’t want to be found. Traumatized by his last case, Inspector Harry Hole has lost himself in the squalor of Hong Kong’s opium dens. Yet when he is compelled, at last, to return to Norway - his father is dying - Harry’s buried instincts begin to take over. After a female MP is discovered brutally murdered, nothing can keep him from the investigation." - Publisher.

The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters , by Jeffrey Zaslow. Penguin Publishing, 2011. Print Length: 304 p. NON-FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (1 review). People's slant: "...a tenderhearted portrait of a bridal store in a small Michigan town." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"You may not have heard of Fowler, Michigan, much less Becker's Bridal. But for the thousands of women who have stepped inside, Becker's is the site of some of the most important moments of their lives - moments that speak to us all. Housed in a former bank, the boutique owners transformed the vault into a magic room, with soft church lighting, a circular pedestal, and mirrors that make lifelong dreams come true. Illuminating the poignant aspects of a woman's journey to the altar, The Magic Room tells the stories of memorable women on the brink of commitment." - Publisher.

The Impossible Dead, by Ian Rankin. Reagan Arthur Books, 2011. Print length: 401 p. MYSTERY. People's slant: "Rankin's characters and plot are as layered and satisfying as always." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (13 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The Complaints: that's the name given to the Internal Affairs department who seek out dirty and compromised cops, the ones who've made deals with the devil. And sometimes The Complaints must travel. A major inquiry into a neighboring police force sees Malcolm Fox and his colleagues cast adrift, unsure of territory, protocol, or who they can trust. An entire station-house looks to have been compromised, but as Fox digs deeper he finds the trail leads him back in time to the suicide of a prominent politician and activist. There are secrets buried in the past, and reputations on the line." - Publisher.

The Journal of Best Practices, by David Finch. Scribner, 2012. Print Length: 240 p. MEMOIR. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Slated for publication on January 3, 2011. People's slant: "...a primer of sorts for all of us on how to be better partners." Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"At some point in nearly every marriage, a wife finds herself asking, What the @#!% is wrong with my husband?! In David Finch’s case, this turns out to be an apt question. Five years after he married Kristen, the love of his life, they learn that he has Asperger syndrome. The diagnosis explains David’s ever-growing list of quirks and compulsions, his lifelong propensity to quack and otherwise melt down in social exchanges, and his clinical-strength inflexibility. But it doesn’t make him any easier to live with. Determined to change, David sets out to understand Asperger syndrome and learn to be a better husband... [he] devotes himself to improving his marriage with an endearing yet hilarious zeal that involves excessive note-taking, performance reviews, and most of all, the Journal of Best Practices: a collection of hundreds of maxims and hard-won epiphanies that result from self-reflection both comic and painful. They include 'Don’t change the radio station when she’s singing along,' 'Apologies do not count when you shout them,' and 'Be her friend, first and always.' Guided by the Journal of Best Practices, David transforms himself over the course of two years from the world’s most trying husband to the husband who tries the hardest, the husband he’d always meant to be.

Briefly Mentioned

Love You Madly: The True Story of a Small-town Girl, the Young Men She Seduced, and the Murder of her Mother, by Michael Fleeman. St. Martin's True Crime, 2011. Print Length: 256 p. NON-FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"She posted it online: Just to let everyone know, my mother was murdered. But those simple words written by sixteen-year-old Rachelle Waterman couldn’t begin to describe the horror of the crime: Her mother’s body locked in a van. Doused in gasoline. Burned beyond recognition. Alaska troopers arrested two young men - both of whom had dated Rachelle and claimed to still love her. Investigators grilled Rachelle until she made shocking and apparently incriminating revelations. Was this obviously intelligent young woman really an abused child coerced by police - or a deceptive murderess?" - Publisher.

50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know: What to Do, What to Say, & How to Behave, by Kay West. Thomas Nelson, 2011. Print Length: 241 p. NON-FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (27 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"It's safe to say that young women in the 21st century are exposed to more educational opportunities than any generation of women in history. But sometimes what gets lost in between ballet and biology, AP classes and piano lessons, creative writing and cross country, are the basic rules of simple etiquette and guidelines for appropriate behavior. Progress is a good thing, but even an accomplished student, a gifted artist, or a brilliant young law clerk is at a disadvantage if she never learned to write a thank you note, understand a formal table setting, accept a compliment, make an apology, express sympathy, or respond to an invitation. This latest book in the GentleManners series was written especially for girls ages 8 to 14, to teach them the basic skills every young lady should have and every young lady's mother and grandmother want her to have." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Murder is for the Birds: Mysteries for Birdwatchers

2011-12-29T07:21:00.001-07:00

If mysteries are your genre of choice and if you are serious birder, a budding ornithologist, or just like to observe birds and their behavior, relax with one of these cozy mystery tales featuring birds and the people who watch them.

Death Shoots a Birdie, by Christine Goff. Berkley, 2007. Print Length: 224 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition: $3.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Rachel Wilder's first mistake was agreeing to dig up information on renowned birder Guy Saxby. Her second was involving her friend Dorothy MacBean. How could she have predicted the two would fall head-over-heels in love? Rachel's even more surprised when he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his protege - whose startling expose would have upstaged his mentor's research on the painted bunting's prime habitat. But working to clear his name and unravel this mess, Rachel begins to wonder if - like the painted bunting - Saxby really did kill another male who was encroaching upon his turf..." - Publisher.

Falcon Finale, by Jan Dunlap. North Star Press, 2011. Print Length: 256 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition: 256 p. $7.95. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Bob White is hoping to post a state record by sighting an elusive Gyrfalcon in Minnesota's Cottonwood County, but instead, finds himself flying to Flagstaff, Arizona, to help his sister track down her missing husband (aka Bob's best friend Alan Thunderhawk). As soon as he lands in the high mountain country, though, Bob finds more than he bargained for, including a twenty-year-old unsolved murder and a boy who claims to be Alan's son. Sifting his way through deception, land disputes, family secrets, and even an earthquake, Bob must strike a balance between suspicion and trust while he negotiates the tricky landscape of unearthing buried truths. Along the way, his birding expertise affords him close encounters with Arizona birds and possible murderers, but in order to solve the mystery and bring everyone home to Minnesota, Bob must first do something he's never done before not just find a killer, but figure out where the body is, too!" - Publisher.

A Nest in the Ashes, by Christine Goff. Berkley, 2002. Print Length: 228 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition: $4.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"National Park Service ranger Eric Linenger has been asked to oversee a 'prescribed burn' of 1,000 acres of Rocky Mountain National Park. Although he knows the controlled fire is a necessity, it threatens the habitat of Green-Tailed Towhees and Virginia Warblers. His friends at EPOCH are strongly opposed, but it's Eric's job. Once lit, the flames quickly spread beyond the intended acreage—destroying a real estate development before finally being extinguished. The body of Eric's boss, Wayne Devlin, is found near the origin of the blaze - and it appears as if he deliberately intended the fire to rage out of control. As Eric investigates, he discovers that many people had reasons for ensuring the burn went all to blazes - including some of his friends..." - Author's website.

Waiting for Godwits, by Digby Maclaughlin. Bantry Books, 2010. Print Length: 317 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition: $4.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Written with Digby Maclaughlin’s typical light-hearted style and wit, Waiting for Godwits nevertheless has its share of dark suspense as the retired American detective, Patrick McCluskey, aided by his beautiful English partner, Judith, a famous and exceptionally talented illustrator of birds, set about the task of discovering who, among the inhabitants of Chesley-Next-The-Sea on England’s windswept North Norfolk coast, hated church warden Peter Pettypaw enough to kill him in cold blood." - Publisher.

Murder on Warbler Weekend, by Jan Dunlap. North Star Press, 2009. Print Length: 193 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition: $7.95. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"For birder Bob White, May in Minnesota means three things: counseling high school students with spring fever, coaching the girls’ tenth grade softball team and finding every warbler species during spring migration. But when his mother discovers a body in the midst of a morning of birding, disturbing items get added to Bob’s seasonal list: murder, gambling addictions, shady politics, and controversial land deals, not to mention the possibility of wearing an orange jumpsuit while making license plates..." - Publisher.

The Real Macaw, by Donna Andrews. Minotaur Books, 2011. Print Length: 320 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (19 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech:

"During a 2 am feeding for her four-month-old twins, Meg Langslow hears an odd noise and goes downstairs to find her living room filled with dozens of animals - cats, dogs, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs, and a stunningly foul-mouthed macaw. She soon learns that financial woes have caused the local animal shelter to repeal its no-kill policy. Her kindhearted father, her zoologist grandfather, and other like-minded citizens have stolen all the shelter’s animals, both as a gesture of protest and to protect them until the hated policy can be repealed. But the volunteer who was to transport the animals to new homes has been murdered. Was it the victim’s tangled love life that drove someone to murder? Or the dark secrets behind local politics? And will Meg ever succeed in finding homes for all the animals that have landed in her life?" - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

Current and Choice Nonfiction for the Kindle Reader

2011-12-27T07:33:00.001-07:00

What I like about non-fiction is that it covers such a huge territory. The best non-fiction is also creative. - Tracy Kidder.

Nonfiction encompasses a wealth of reading possibilities - history, essays, memoirs, scientific research, travel guides, cookbooks - essentially everything that is based on fact, real events and real people. Recent nonfiction titles for the Kindle that you might have missed:

Beethoven's Shadow, by Jonathan Biss. RosettaBooks, 2011. Print Length: 56 p. Kindle Single. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $1.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"On April 24th, 2007, Beethoven’s Sonata Opus 109 made me lose my mind. So Jonathan Biss opens this Single. He goes on to describe the complex and by no means all positive impact of the technology of the recording process on the experience of performing and listening to music. He also describes the legacy of generations of teachers. You are there when Leon Fleisher teaches Jonathan Biss just as Artur Schnabel taught Leon Fleisher before him. You experience the growth of a talented young musician as he becomes a fully mature artist. Most compelling of all, Jonathan Biss creates an almost spiritual introduction to the making and experiencing of music. He has, in effect, invited the reader into the world of the composer and the performer." - Publisher.

Love Your Kindle Fire: The ILMK Guide to Amazon's Entertablet, by Bufo Calvin. Bufo Calvin, 2011. Print Length: 120 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (12 reviews). Kindle edition $2.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

Bufo Calvin, author of the insanely popular I Love My Kindle blog, gives you a thorough hands-on tour of the Kindle Fire and in the process answers many of the questions you may have about the device, such as how to set a password for your Kindle Fire, how to remove websites from your Carousel, how to use the Pulse app to get free blogs, and how to change your notification sound. Also includes app reviews, testing other sources for video besides Amazon, what you lose when you de-register and re-register your Kindle Fire, etc. Recently updated with about a month's worth of experience using the Kindle Fire.

Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation, by Scott Farris. Lyons Press, 2011. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"As the 2012 presidential campaign begins, Almost President profiles a dozen men who have run for the American presidency and lost - but who, even in defeat, have had a greater impact on American history than many of those who have served as president. Scott Farris tells us the stories of legendary figures from Henry Clay to Stephen Douglas, William Jennings Bryan to Thomas Dewey. He also includes mini-profiles on every major candidate nominated for president who never reached the White House but who helped ensure the success of American democracy. Farris explains how Barry Goldwater achieved the party realignment that had eluded FDR, how George McGovern paved the way for Barack Obama, and how Ross Perot changed the way all presidential candidates campaign. There is Al Smith, the first Catholic nominee for president; and Adlai Stevenson, the candidate of the 'eggheads' who remains the beau ideal of a liberal statesman. Others covered by this book include Al Gore, John Kerry, and John McCain." - Publisher.

The Story of English in 100 Words, by David Crystal. Profile Books, 2011. Print Length: 320 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech:

"In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ('roe', in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ('loaf') to cutting edge ('twittersphere') and spanning the indispensable words that shape our tongue ('and', 'what') to the more fanciful ('fopdoodle'), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language via the rude, the obscure and the downright surprising." - Publisher.

Enduring Cuba, by Zoë Brân. Lonely Planet, 2011. Print Length: 272 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $2.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Zoë Brân has always been fascinated by the gap between the ideals of the world's socialist countries and the arduous hand-to-mouth struggles of the people who live in them. Seeking to understand the reality of Cuba today, Zoë travels the length of this beautiful island. Beneath the surface of music and dancing, cockfights and animal sacrifice, she finds a land of complex ambiguities: a fertile land where many hunger; an educated country with scant knowledge of the outside world; a nation exhausted by socialism but proud of its independence and history of revolutionary struggle. From Havana to the pastoral hinterland, Zoe talks with writers and artists, with expatriates, with committed revolutionaries and those desperate to escape abroad." - Publisher.

Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine, by Eric Weiner. Twelve, 2011. Print Length: 369 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner - an agnostic by default - finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. Have you found your God yet? Face to face with his own mortality, and spurred on by the question of what spiritual principles to impart to his young daughter, he decides to correct this omission, undertaking a worldwide exploration of religions and hoping to come, if he can, to a personal understanding of the divine. The journey that results is rich in insight, humor, and heart. Willing to do anything to better understand faith, and to find the god or gods that speak to him, he travels to Nepal, where he meditates with Tibetan lamas and a guy named Wayne. He sojourns to Turkey, where he whirls (not so well, as it turns out) with Sufi dervishes. He heads to China, where he attempts to unblock his chi; to Israel, where he studies Kabbalah, sans Madonna; and to Las Vegas, where he has a close encounter with Raelians (followers of the world's largest UFO-based religion). At each stop along the way, Weiner tackles our most pressing spiritual questions: Where do we come from? What happens when we die? How should we live our lives? Where do all the missing socks go?" - Publisher.

The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska, by Colleen Mondor. Lyons Press, 2011. Print Length: 256 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Colleen Mondor spent four years running dispatch operations for a Fairbanks-based commuter and charter airline - and she knows all too well the gap between the romance and reality of small plane piloting in the wildest territory of the United States. From overloaded aircraft to wings covered in ice, from flying sled dogs and dead bodies, piloting in Alaska is about living hard and working harder. What Mondor witnessed day to day would make anyone’s hair stand on end. Ultimately, it is the pilots themselves - laced with ice and whiskey, death and camaraderie, silence and engine roar - who capture her imagination. In fine detail, Mondor reveals the technical side of flying, the history of Alaskan aviation, and a world that demands a close communion with extreme physical danger and emotional toughness." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

Kindle Genre Watch: New in Science Fiction and Fantasy

2011-12-25T08:20:00.001-07:00

Fantasy

Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan. Orbit, 2011. Print Length: 817 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (7 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book two in the Riyria Revelations series, following Theft of Swords.

"Royce and Hadrian have been called upon to aid the struggling kingdom of Melengar as it alone stands in defiance against the newly formed empire. As war approaches a desperate gamble behind enemy lines is their only chance at forming an alliance with the Nationalists to the south. But Royce has plans of his own and uses this opportunity to discover if an ancient wizard is using Riyria as pawns in his own bid for power. To find the truth, Royce must unravel Hadrian's hidden past. What he discovers will lead them to the end of the known world on a journey rife with treachery and intrigue." - Publisher.

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Roc, 2011. Print Length: 444 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (127 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"These are Butcher’s short pieces about Harry Dresden. (Previous novels featuring that character, which the author’s many fans will recall with pleasure, include Proven Guilty, 2006, and White Night, 2007). Most of these stories are reprints ('Something Borrowed,' 'It’s My Birthday, Too,' 'Day Off,' and 'Last Call' are included), but the collection offers some previously unpublished material. Butcher has not only given the genesis of each story but also indicates where each fits chronologically among the novels. Anyone who likes the Harry Dresden long works probably thinks it’s high time this collection came out. Enjoy, but be warned that there is a sequel to Changes (2010) in the collection." - Frieda Murray for Booklist.

Honor Among Thieves by David Chandler. Harper Voyager, 2011. Print Length: 553 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition: $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is the concluding volume in the Ancient Blades trilogy, following Den of Thieves (now only $0.99 in the Amazon Kindle Bookstore) and A Thief in the Night.

"Armed with one of seven Ancient Blades, Malden was chosen by Fate to act as savior...and failed dismally. And now there is no stopping the barbarian hordes from invading and pillaging the kingdom of Skrae. Suddenly friends and former supporters alike covet the young hero’s magic while seeking his destruction - from the treacherous King and leaders of the City of Ness to the rogue knight Croy, who owes Malden his life. It will take more than Malden’s makeshift army of harlots and cutpurses to preserve a realm. Luckily the sorceress Cythera fights at his side, along with the ingenious,irascible dwarf Slag. And the wily thief still has a desperate and daring plan or two up his larcenous sleeve..." - Publisher.

Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison. Harper Voyager, 2011. Print Length: 501 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (157 reviews). Kindle edition: $1.99 (special price for a limited time). Bonus material includes a sneak peek at Kim Harrison's new novel - Perfect Blood - slated for publication in February 2012. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book three in the author's The Hollows series, following Dead Witch Walking and The Good, the Bad, and the Undead.

"Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master. But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld. And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay - literally." - Publisher.

Science Fiction

Star Wars: Shadow Games by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. LucasBooks, 2011. Print Length: 368 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition: $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Javul Charn is the most famous pop star in the galaxy - and the runaway bride of a violent lieutenant in Black Sun, the crime syndicate commanded by Prince Xizor. Or so Javul says. Soon after Dash Rendar, broke and desperate, agrees to be Javul’s bodyguard, he realizes that openness is not her strong suit - and that murder is stalking her tour. Between the discovery of dead bodies in a cargo hold and an attack by an unidentified warship, Dash and co-pilot Eaden Vrill desperately try to understand who is terrorizing Javul’s tour and why. When Han Solo suddenly joins Javul’s road show, the stakes are raised even higher. Now Dash, who has a history with Han and an even worse history with Prince Xizor, follows his instincts, his discoveries, and Javul herself - straight into a world that may be too dangerous to survive." - Publisher.

Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle. First published in 1998, Starswarm is newly available in a Kindle edition. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: Kindle edition: $5.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Living with his Uncle Mike at Starswarm Station on a planet called Paradise, Kip's best friend is Gwen who answers questions and seems to know everything. But Gwen is an implant in Kip's head, connected to an Artificial Intelligence at the planet's central computer, and Kip learns some secrets that put not only his and his Uncle Mike's lives in danger, but also threaten the existence of the aliens called centaurs and the starswarms, mysterious but highly intelligent organisms living in lakes and streams." - Author's blog.

Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Tor Books, 2012. Print Length: 497 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition: $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"It is eighty-three years after the last of the thinking machines were destroyed in the Battle of Corrin, after Faykan Butler took the name of Corrino and established himself as the first Emperor of a new Imperium. The war hero Vorian Atreides has turned his back on politics and Salusa Secundus. The descendants of Abulurd Harkonnen Griffen and Valya have sworn vengeance against Vor, blaming him for the downfall of their fortunes. Raquella Berto-Anirul has formed the Bene Gesserit School on the jungle planet Rossak as the first Reverend Mother. The descendants of Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva have built Venport Holdings, using mutated, spice-saturated Navigators who fly precursors of Heighliners. Gilbertus Albans, the ward of the hated Erasmus, is teaching humans to become Mentats...and hiding an unbelievable secret. The Butlerian movement, rabidly opposed to all forms of 'dangerous technology,' is led by Manford Torondo and his devoted Swordmaster, Anari Idaho. And it is this group, so many decades after the defeat of the thinking machines, which begins to sweep across the known universe in mobs, millions strong, destroying everything in its path..."

Methuselah's Children by Robert Heinlein. One of Heinlein's early novels, this science fiction classic was first published in 1958 and is newly available in a Kindle edition. Print Length: 192 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition: $6.35. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"Lazarus Long, member of a select group bred for generations to live far beyond normal human lifespans, helps his kind escape persecution after word leaks out and angry crowds accuse them of withholding the 'secret' of longevity. Lazarus and his companions set out on an interstellar journey and face many trials and strange cultures, like a futuristic Odysseus and his crew, before returning to Earth. This classic novel, set in Robert A. Heinlein’s Future History universe, introduces the author’s most beloved and widely quoted character." - Publisher.

Return to Dakistee by Thomas DePrima. Vinnia Publishing, 2011. Print Length: 306 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (21 reviews). Kindle edition: $5.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled. This is book 8 in DePrima's A Galaxy Unknown Series that began with A Galaxy Unknown.

"The same archeological team who uncovered a secret underground bunker on Dakistee sixteen years earlier, when the planet was still named Mawcett, has discovered a new facility. They struggle for months to open the entrance, but the structure defies all their efforts. Admiral Jenetta Carver is besieged with mundane work. Although she would love to drop everything and head for Dakistee, she can't possibly get away. Fortunately, the battleship Hephaestus is in port, and the ship's third watch commander is available for a special assignment. Christa is far from thrilled with the prospect of giving up her seat on the bridge, even temporarily, but when an admiral says go, you go. It doesn't matter that the admiral is your sister. Christa expects to make a quick trip, with a speedy return to the Hephaestus, but as with Jenetta, assignments often tend to take unexpected side trips into unique and dangerous situations." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

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Humorous Christmas Stories for the Family Kindle

2011-12-23T08:20:00.001-07:00

'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; 'twas Christmas told the merriest tale; a Christmas gambol oft could cheer the poor man's heart through half the year. - Sir Walter Scott.

What to read on your shiny new Kindle reader should you find one under the tree? If you're in the Christmas spirit and are up for some humor, check out these holiday treats - some for adults and some to read to the kids in your life:

For Children:

Olivia Helps with Christmas, by Ian Falconer. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010. Print Length: 58 pages. Kindle edition only available on Kindle Fire. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (53 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Everyone's favorite Caldecott honor-winning porcine and #1 Kris Cringle enthusiast is helping to make the season brighter than ever. Christmas is coming, and Olivia is incredibly busy. She has to wait for Santa, make sure dad sets up the tree, wait for Santa, watch mom make the Christmas dinner, wait for Santa, oversee the care with which the stockings are hung and, of course, OPEN HER PRESENTS! Do you see how hard it is to be so helpful during the holidays!" - Publisher.

Stanley's Christmas Adventure, by Jeff Brown. Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan. Harper Collins, 2010. Print Length: 100 p. This title has complex layouts and has been optimized for reading on devices with larger screens. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $3.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Who will save Christmas? Santa Claus is not his usual, jolly self. In fact, he's in a terrible mood. He doesn't believe that children appreciate Christmas anymore. This year, he has decided that he is not going to deliver any Christmas presents! Luckily, his daughter, Sarah Claus, knows who to call for help. The Lambchop family! But can they convince Santa that there are still good children in the world? Just leave it up to Stanley." - Publisher.

Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas, by Jane O'Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. Harper Collins, 2011. Print Length: 32 p. Kindle edition only available on Kindle Fire. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (55 reviews). Kindle edition $10.99. Text-to-Speech: Not enabled.

"Holiday season for Fancy Nancy means a decorated house, delectable goodies, and the opportunity to finally use the angel tree topper she bought last summer with her own money. The tree topper is everything the box promised: it spins, it flashes, it changes colors. But a fight with the dog results in a knocked-over tree and a broken topper. Grandpa to the rescue, and Nancy loves her homemade tree topper as much as the fancy one, which stretches credulity a bit. However, Christmas is the perfect time for all sorts of fancy doings, which the always-fun artwork makes abundantly and amusingly clear. Preschool-Grade 1. - Ilene Cooper for Booklist.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson. Harper Collins, 2011. Print Length: 100 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (141 reviews). Kindle edition $4.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, smoke cigars, swear, and hit little kids. So no one is prepared when this outlaw family invades church one Sunday and decides to take over the annual Christmas pageant. None of the Herdmans has ever heard the Christmas story before. Their interpretation of the tale - the Wise Men are a bunch of dirty spies and Herod needs a good beating - has a lot of people up in arms. But it will make this year's pageant the most unusual anyone has seen and, just possibly, the best one ever." - Publisher.
"One of the best Christmas books ever." - Publishers Weekly.

For Adults:

A Christmas Blizzard, by Garrison Keillor. Penguin, 2011. Print Length: 191 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (27 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Snow is falling all across the Midwest as James Sparrow, a country- bumpkin-turned-energy-drink-tycoon, and his wife awaken in their sky-rise apartment overlooking Chicago. Even down with the stomach bug, Mrs. Sparrow yearns to see The Nutcracker while James yearns only to escape the faux-cheer, the bitter cold, the whole Christmas season. An urgent phone call from his hometown of Looseleaf, North Dakota, sends James into the midst of his lunatic relatives and a historic blizzard." - Publisher.

A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film, by Jean Shepherd. Broadway, 2010. Print Length: 144 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (27 reviews). Kindle edition $10.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family’s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts. This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa - or anyone else - to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, You’ll shoot your eye out, kid?" - from the hardcover edition.

Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris. Little, Brown and Company, 2009. Originally published in 1997. Print Length: 188 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (56 reviews). Kindle edition $8.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two very competitive families, are Sedaris's tales of tardy trick-or-treaters; the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French; what to do when you've been locked out in a snowstorm; the puzzling Christmas traditions of other nations; what Halloween at the medical examiner's looks like; and a barnyard secret Santa scheme gone awry." - Publisher.

The Christmas Pig, by Kinky Friedman. Simon & Schuster, 2006. Print Length: 176 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (13 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"King Jonjo Mayo the First is in a bind. Every Christmas, he commissions an artist to paint a traditional nativity scene to be dramatically revealed after midnight mass. This year, though, the date is mere weeks away, and he still has not yet found his painter. The king decides to take a chance on a peculiar, mute boy whose artistic genius and clairvoyance are rumored throughout the kingdom. He sends three valiant, if begrudging, knights to seek out the boy in the remote countryside. Finally, they find Benjamin - and he is, indeed, peculiar. Nobody knows if the child is up to the task, but the king's Christmas tradition - and Benjamin himself - might just be saved by a Christmas miracle that comes in the form of a very special pig - who is rather peculiar herself." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

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Genre Watch: New Mysteries and Thrillers for the Kindle Reader

2011-12-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

Savoring the Past: New Kindle Books for History Buffs

2011-12-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

History is a kind of introduction to more interesting people than we can possibly meet in our restricted lives; let us not neglect the opportunity. - Dexter Perkins.

The American philosopher George Santayana is quoted as saying that those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. With more than 227,000 books in the Amazon Kindle bookstore's "history" category, Kindle-owning history buffs will not run out of reading material any time soon. Outstanding among recent history titles are:

Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, The Bill of Rights, and The Election that Saved a Nation, by Chris DeRose. Regnery, 2011. Print Length: 322 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (20 reviews). Kindle edition $13.42. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In 1789, James Madison and James Monroe ran against each other for Congress - the only time that two future presidents have contested a congressional seat. But what was at stake was more than personal ambition. This was a race that determined the future of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the very definition of the United States of America. Friends and political allies for most of their lives, Madison was the Constitution’s principal author, Monroe one of its leading opponents. Monroe thought the Constitution gave the federal government too much power and failed to guarantee fundamental rights. Madison believed that without the Constitution, the United States would not survive. In Founding Rivals, DeRose, himself a political strategist who has fought campaigns in Madison and Monroe’s district, relives the campaign, retraces the candidates’ footsteps, and offers the first insightful, comprehensive history of this high-stakes political battle." - Publisher.

Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942, by Ian W. Toll. W. W. Norton, 2011. Print Length: 659 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (12 reviews). Kindle edition $15.29. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative. Ian W. Toll's dramatic narrative encompasses both the high command and the 'sailor's-eye' view from the lower deck. Relying predominantly on eyewitness accounts and primary sources, Pacific Crucible also spotlights recent scholarship that has revised our understanding of the conflict..." - Publisher.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L. Shirer. Rosetta Books, 2011. Originally published in 1960 and now available in a Kindle edition. Print Length: 1280 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (7 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled.

"When the Third Reich fell, it fell swiftly. The Nazis had little time to cover up their memos, their letters, or their diaries. William L. Shirer’s definitive book on the Third Reich uses these unique sources. Combined with his personal experience with the Nazis, living through the war as an international correspondent, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich not only earned Shirer a National Book Award but is recognized as one of the most important and authoritative books about the Third Reich and Nazi Germany ever written. The diaries of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels as well as evidence and other testimony gained at the Nuremberg Trials could not have found more artful hands. William Shirer (1904-1993) was originally a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and was the first journalist hired by Edward R. Murrow for what would become a team of journalists for CBS radio. Shirer distinguished himself and quickly became known for his broadcasts from Berlin during the rise of the Nazi dictatorship through the first year of World War II." - Publisher.

A Short History of England: The Glorious Story of a Rowdy Nation, by Simon Jenkins. Public Affairs, 2011. Print Length: 384 p. This title has complex layouts and has been optimized for reading on devices with larger screens. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $15.29. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The heroes and villains, triumphs and disasters of English history are instantly familiar - from the Norman Conquest to Henry VIII, Queen Victoria to the two world wars. But to understand their full significance we need to know the whole story. A Short History of England sheds new light on all the key individuals and events in English history by bringing them together in an enlightening account of the country’s birth, rise to global prominence, and then partial eclipse. Written with flair and authority by Guardian columnist and London Times former editor Simon Jenkins, this is the definitive narrative of how today’s England came to be. Concise but comprehensive, with more than a hundred color illustrations, this beautiful single-volume history will be the standard work for years to come." - Pulisher.

Fatal Crossroads: The Untold Story of the Malmedy Massacre at the Battle of the Bulge, by Danny S. Parker. Da Capo Press, 2011. Print Length: 437 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $11.69. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"On December 17, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, more than eighty unarmed United States soldiers were shot down after having surrendered to an SS unit near the small crossroads town of Malmédy, Belgium. Although more than thirty men lived to tell of the massacre, exactly what took place that day remains mired in controversy. Was it just a 'battlefield incident' or rather a deliberate slaughter? Who gave the orders: infamous SS leader Jochen Peiper or someone else? Fatal Crossroads vividly reconstructs the critical events leading up to the atrocity - for the first time in all their revealing detail - as well as the aftermath. Danny S. Parker spent fifteen years researching original sources and interviewing more than one hundred witnesses to uncover the truth behind the Malmédy massacre, and the result is riveting." - Publisher.

Conquered into Liberty, by Eliot A. Cohen. Free Press, 2011. Print Length: 434 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Americans often think of the Civil War as the conflict that consolidated the United States, including its military values and practices. But there was another, earlier, and more protracted struggle between 'North' and 'South,' beginning in the 1600s and lasting for more than two centuries, that shaped American geopolitics and military culture. Here, Eliot A. Cohen explains how the American way of war emerged from a lengthy struggle with an unlikely enemy: Canada. In Conquered into Liberty, Cohen describes how five peoples - the British, French, Americans, Canadians, and Indians - fought over the key to the North American continent: the corridor running from Albany to Montreal dominated by the Champlain valley and known to Native Americans as the 'Great Warpath.' He weaves together tactics and strategy, battle narratives, and statecraft, introducing readers to such fascinating but little-known figures as Justus Sherwood, loyalist spy; Jeduthan Baldwin, self-taught engineer; and La Corne St. Luc, ruthless partisan leader. And he reintroduces characters we thought we knew - an admirable Benedict Arnold, a traitorous Ethan Allen, and a devious George Washington." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

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A Week of Entertainment: Kindle Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly's December 16th Issue

2011-12-17T07:36:00.001-07:00

Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the December 16th issue include:

The Impossible Dead, by Ian Rankin. Reagan Arthur Books, 2011. Print length: 401 p. MYSTERY. EW's slant: "...expertly crafted...riveting stuff." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (6 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The Complaints: that's the name given to the Internal Affairs department who seek out dirty and compromised cops, the ones who've made deals with the devil. And sometimes The Complaints must travel. A major inquiry into a neighboring police force sees Malcolm Fox and his colleagues cast adrift, unsure of territory, protocol, or who they can trust. An entire station-house looks to have been compromised, but as Fox digs deeper he finds the trail leads him back in time to the suicide of a prominent politician and activist. There are secrets buried in the past, and reputations on the line." - Publisher.

Red Mist, by Patricia Cornwell. Putnam, 2011. Print length: 509 p. THRILLER. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (45 reviews). Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding's death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive..." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

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Kindle E-Books on the Cheap: An Eclectic Selection

2011-12-15T07:34:00.001-07:00

Once you've purchased an Amazon Kindle e-book reader, the wonderful world of public domain, Creative Commons and free e-book promotions opens up to you. This regular Kindle Reader feature points you to a few of the most interesting new free (or very cheap) e-books available for download from the web.

Free e-book selections and/or very inexpensive selections for this week include three old-time whodunits, a science fiction classic, the diary of a WWI nurse, and a novel that that critics have praised as one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century. Enjoy!

The Murders in the Rue Morgue, by Edgar Allan Poe. MYSTERY. Download site: ManyBooks. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: Free.

"C. Auguste Dupin is a man in Paris who solves the mysterious brutal murder of two women. Numerous witnesses heard a suspect, though no one agrees on what language was spoken. At the murder scene, Dupin finds a hair that does not appear to be human...." - ManyBooks.

The Man with the Clubfoot, by Valentine Williams. THRILLER. Download site: ManyBooks. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: Free.

"The Man with the Clubfoot is one of the most ingenious and sinister secret agents in Europe. It is to him that the task is assigned of regaining possession of an indiscreet letter written by the Kaiser. Desmond Okewood, a young British officer with a genius for secret service work, sets out to thwart this man and, incidentally, discover the whereabouts of his brother." - ManyBooks.

A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. SCIENCE FICTION. Download site: Amazon. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: Free.

"...a wonderful scientific romance that perhaps can be best described as early science fiction melded with an epic dose of romantic adventure. A Princess of Mars is the first adventure of John Carter, a Civil War veteran who unexpectedly find himself transplanted to the planet Mars. Yet this red planet is far more than a dusty, barren place; it's a fantasy world populated with giant green barbarians, beautiful maidens in distress, and weird flora and monstrous fauna the likes of which could only exist in the author's boundless imagination." - Amazon.com Review.

Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915, by a World War I nurse. MEMOIR. Download site: ManyBooks. Also available in the Amazon Kindle Bookstore. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: Free.

"In August 1914, the diarist left England for Havre, on the staff of a general hospital. She gives a detailed record of her experiences, including days at Havre waiting for orders, work on ambulance trains bringing wounded from Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, and St. Eloi, and later, duty with a field ambulance, involving frequent movings and alarms, and billets in towns that were under shell-fire." - ManyBooks.

The Eye of Osiris, by R. Austin Freeman. MYSTERY. Download site: Amazon. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: $0.99.

"Before Bones, before CSI, before Quincy,M.E. there was Dr. John Thorndyke. In The Eye of Osiris, John Bellingham, noted Egyptologist vanished not once but twice in the same day. Two years later Dr, John Thorndyke must unravel the tangled claims on his estate and solve the riddle of the missing man. Is the dismembered body who's various remains start appearing at sites across the landscape that of John Bellingham? If so, how did he die, who killed him, and as important to Dr. Thorndyke's clients, when was he killed? Using the latest techniques of Edwardian forensic science, Dr. John Thorndyke must answer these questions..." - Publisher.

Middlemarch, by George Eliot. NOVEL. Download site: MobileRead. Format: Kindle (.prc). Price: Free.

"Middlemarch is considered to be George Eliot's greatest work and, in the opinion of many, is one of the greatest English novels of the 19th century. At the time it was published, in 1872, Eliot was universally acclaimed as the greatest living English novelist - the older writers of the Victorian era, such as Dickens and the Bronte sisters were dead, and the younger generation, such as Thomas Hardy, had not yet achieved fame. In Middlemarch, Eliot shows her mastery of the multi-plot novel, in which a number of different stories are interwoven. She interweaves the stories of various friends, acquaintances, and relations in the fictional town of Middlemarch in early 19th-century England." - MobileRead.

What People Magazine is Reading This Week (Dec 12th Issue)

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Kindle Genre Watch: New in Romance & Western Fiction

2011-12-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

Romance

Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber. Mira, 2011. Print length: 363 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $5.72. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. First published in 2004 as When Christmas Comes.

"Charles Brewster, history professor, curmudgeon and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether. He figures a prison town should be nice and quiet over the holidays - except he's thinking of the wrong Leavenworth! Through an internet site, Charles and Emily arrange to swap houses for the holiday. So Emily goes to Boston - and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. And Charles arrives in Leavenworth to discover that it's not the prison town - it's Santa's village! Meanwhile, Emily's friend Faith Kerrigan travels to Leavenworth to visit her and instead finds Charles the grinch. Then Charles's brother, Ray, shows up at his home in Boston to discover that he isn't there - but Emily is. Through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, amid the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge in unexpected ways." - Publisher.

It's a Waverly Life by Maria Murnane. Amazon Publishing, 2011. Print length: 277 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (24 reviews). Kindle edition $4.99. Please note: this title is also available as a free loan from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library if you subscribe to Amazon Prime. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Readers first met the irrepressible Waverly Bryson in Perfect on Paper, and now the woman dubbed by fans as 'the American Bridget Jones' is back in a sequel packed with friendship, heartache, and romance. In It’s a Waverly Life, the formerly heartbroken singleton is now happily enmeshed in a new relationship, a new job, and a new decade. Her career as an advice columnist is taking off, and the future of her fledgling greeting-card line is bright. Of course, where Waverly goes, drama is sure to follow, and this time is no exception. Her broken engagement to former fiance Aaron Vaughn has left her gun-shy when it comes to love, putting strain on her long-distance relationship with handsome Jake McIntyre. And when her best friends McKenna and Andie both make life-changing announcements, Waverly fears she is being left behind..." - Publisher.

SEAL of My Dreams by Jami Alden et al. Bell Bridge Books, 2011. Print length: 396 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (14 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99. All proceeds from sales of this book go to the Veterans Research Corporation, a non-profit fundraiser for veterans’ medical research. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Honor, duty, courage, passion...the men of the Navy SEALs are a special breed of hero, and in these novellas by eighteen top romance authors the SEALs are celebrated not only as symbols of devoted service to their country but as the kind of men every woman wants to love, and in these stories by eighteen top romance authors the SEALs are celebrated not only as symbols of devoted service to their country but as the kind of man every woman wants to love. They’ll rescue a damsel in distress and her lap dog, too. They’ll battle hometown dramas and international bad guys. When it comes to giving away their hearts, they’ll risk everything." - Publisher.

The Christmas Quilt by Patricia Davids. Love Inspired, 2011. Print length: 220 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $3.82. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Years ago, Rebecca Beachy kept her reasons for rejecting Gideon Troyer's marriage proposal a secret. Then Gideon left their Amish community. Now, Rebecca crafts quilts to raise money to cure her blindness. She's also busy guarding her heart against love. Until Gideon returns, at risk of being shunned, to make the winning bid on one of her exquisite quilts. Will the quilt - a patchwork promise of rediscovered love - bring Gideon and Rebecca back together again?" - Publisher.

The Other Guy's Bride by Connie Brockway. Montlake Romance, 2011. Print length: 386 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (29 reviews). Kindle edition $4.99. Please note: this title is also available as a free loan from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library if you subscribe to Amazon Prime. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Determined to prove her worth as a budding archeologist, Ginesse Braxton vows to solve one of the world's greatest mysteries - to find the location of the lost city of Zerzura. Unfortunately, no man dares take the risk of escorting the resolute young scholar across the open desert. But on her way to Egypt, Ginesse engages in a daring deception - she will switch places with Mildred Whimpelhall, who is traveling to meet her fiancé. Cynical adventurer Jim Owen will do anything to escape the dark secrets of his troubled past. Betrayed by the woman he loved, scorned by proper society, he agrees to carry out a danger-fraught task: escort Mildred Whimpelhall across a lawless desert to her intended. But Jim is about to learn that 'Mildred' isn't exactly what she seems..." - Publisher.

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Westerns

High Country by Willard Wyman. University of Oklahoma Press, 2011. First published in 2005 and now available in a Kindle edition. Print length: 370 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (15 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"The packer’s business is guiding mule trains into mountains where wagons can’t travel. It’s a life of danger, long days, and low pay. But for those wedded to the wilderness and inaccessible high country, it is the only life there is. During the Great Depression, young Ty Hardin is sent from his family’s failing Montana ranch to learn from the last of the great packers, Fenton Pardee, legendary in the Montana Rockies for his packing adventures across the Swan Range all the way to the Big Divide. High Country follows Ty through this apprenticeship and into World War II... Writing in the tradition of Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It, Willard Wyman shares techniques of breaking and packing and leading animals into forbidding country, hunting and tracking, and making camp. Wyman brings you so close to the packer’s life you smell the leather, sweat, and oil." - Publisher.

The Long Shooters by Daniel C. Chamberlain. Solstice Publishing, 2011. Print length: 304 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (27 reviews). Kindle edition $0.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Colorado, 1877. In the grinding death mill of the trenches of Petersburg, Virginia, in the closing days of the Civil War, a Union sharpshooter - a 'long-shooter' named Ballou - emerges as the best sniper in a war where wholesale slaughter became the norm. After the war, he disappears. Samuel Roark is a small-time rancher and part-time lawyer. When a hidden marksman of uncommon skill murders his son, the death leaves Samuel on the brink of total madness. Roark’s wife Sarah, a woman of strength, grace and startling beauty is now both emotionally and physically exhausted by the tragic circumstances that have beset her family. After discovering her husband’s quest for revenge, she does everything in her power to prevent what she fears will ultimately destroy him. Matthew Shaw is a known manhunter and soldier of fortune that people call on when they’re willing to pay someone else to deal with obstacles in their lives. Now Shaw finds himself caught between a job he truly believes in, and a very good reason to walk away..." - Publisher.

Dark Horse by Colby Jackson. The Book Place, 2011. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (3 reviews). Kindle edition $2.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"When beautiful Lizzie Payton showed up in Shooter's Cross with the magnificent black stallion Satan, Sam Blaylock's friend Duane Beatty fell for her - hard. What Duane didn't know was that Lizzie had trouble dogging her trail, trouble that would put Duane and all his friends on Rancho Diablo in danger and wind up in a blistering shootout in the streets of Shooter's Cross!" - Publisher.

Revenge of Eagles by William W. Johnstone. Pinnacle Books, 2011. First published in 2005 and now available in a Kindle edition. Print length: 292 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $4.61. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Falcon MacCallister couldn't duck his father's legacy as a shootist in the Wild West - and he's never tried to. A man who lives between two worlds, Falcon has a reputation of his own - and it's about to plunge him into a different kind of war. On a stagecoach in southern Arizona, Falcon is ambushed. But the only people who die are the shotgun guard and a beautiful young Indian woman returning from school in the East. While Falcon has a choice to walk away, a violent conflict is erupting among the natives. The dead woman was the daughter of a powerful chief with links to Geronimo and Cochise - and a tinderbox has been ignited..." - Publisher.

Murder at Thumb Butte by James D. Best. Queen Beach, 2011. Print length: 240 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (7 reviews). Kindle edition $5.95. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"In the spring of 1880, Steve Dancy travels to Prescott, Arizona to gain control of a remarkable invention. But on his first night in the territorial capital, his friend, Jeff Sharp is arrested for a midnight murder at Thumb Butte. Dancy launches a personal investigation to find the real murderer, only to discover the whole town wanted the victim dead. For help, he turns to another old friend and associate, Captain Joseph McAllen of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Can Dancy discover the true killer before his friend stretches a rope on the courthouse square?" - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

What People Magazine is Reading This Week (Dec 5th Issue)

2011-12-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

For those Kindle readers who, like me, read for entertainment, scanning the book reviews in People magazine is good way to check out new people-related books - celebrity bios, popular novels, absorbing nonfiction - just hitting bookstore shelves. Featured in the December 5th issue of People:

A Train in Winter, by Caroline Moorehead. Harper, 2011. Print Length: 611 p. NON-FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (37 reviews). People's slant: "Moorehead's reverence for the women she profiles makes an otherwise grim story an inspiring and fascinating read." Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers. Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie. A Train in Winter draws on interviews with these women and their families; German, French, and Polish archives; and documents held by World War II resistance organizations to uncover a dark chapter of history that offers an inspiring portrait of ordinary people, of bravery and survival - and of the remarkable, enduring power of female friendship." - Publisher.

Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony, by Jeff Ashton, with Liza Pulitzer. William Morrow, 2011. Print Length: 336 p. NON-FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (92 reviews). People's slant: "...behind-the-scenes details of the trial that ended in Anthony's acquittal on changes that she murdered her toddler daughter." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"It was the trial that stunned America, the verdict that shocked us all. On July 5, 2011, nearly three years after her initial arrest, Casey Anthony walked away, virtually scot-free, from one of the most sensational murder trials of all time. She'd been accused of killing her daughter, Caylee, but the trial only left behind more questions... In Imperfect Justice, prosecutor Jeff Ashton, one of the principal players in the case's drama, sheds light on those questions and much more, telling the behind-the-scenes story of the investigation, the trial, and the now-infamous verdict. Providing an inside account of the case, Ashton, a career prosecutor for the state of Florida, goes where the press and pundits have only speculated, detailing what really happened during the investigation, showing how the prosecution built their case, and explaining how a woman so shrouded in suspicion was proclaimed innocent." - Publisher.

The Prague Cemetery, by Umberto Eco. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. Print Length: 451 p. NOVEL. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (24 reviews). People's slant: "...intricate mystery...Fans who persevere through the sometimes wearying rhetoric of hate will not be disappointed." Kindle edition $9.45. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Nineteenth-century Europe - from Turin to Prague to Paris - abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Conspiracies rule history. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian republicans strangle priests with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate Black Masses at night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres. From the unification of Italy to the Paris Commune to the Dreyfus Affair to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Europe is in tumult and everyone needs a scapegoat. But what if, behind all of these conspiracies both real and imagined, lay one lone man? What if that evil genius created its most infamous document?" - Publisher.

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire. William Morrow, 2011. Print Length: 592 p. FANTASY. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (29 reviews). People's slant: "...sassy reimagining of Baum's world..." Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is the fourth and final book in the author's Wicked Years series. The first three volumes - all available in Kindle editions - include Wicked, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men.

"Once peaceful and prosperous, the spectacular Land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who’s knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes. That Dorothy. Yet amidst all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now it is up to Rain to take up her broom - and her legacy - in an Oz wracked by war...a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises - the hallmarks of the unique imagination of Gregory Maguire." - Publisher.

The Moment, by Douglas Kennedy. Atria Books, 2011. Print Length: 546 p. THRILLER. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (20 reviews). People's slant: "A passionate love-story-cum-spy-thriller..." Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.

"Thomas Nesbitt is a divorced writer in the midst of a rueful middle age. Living a very private life in Maine, in touch only with his daughter and still trying to recover from the end of a long marriage, his solitude is disrupted one wintry morning by the arrival of a box that is postmarked Berlin. The name on the box - Dussmann - unsettles him completely, for it belongs to the woman with whom he had an intense love affair twenty-six years ago in Berlin at a time when the city was cleaved in two and personal and political allegiances were frequently haunted by the deep shadows of the Cold War..." - Publisher.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.

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