Books They're Talking About: Kindle Books in the Media (30 Nov 09)

Media interviews are a popular way for writers to introduce new books they hope will catch the viewer's eye and open their pocketbooks. 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 ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA (30 NOV 09):

YOU: Having a Baby. The Owner's Manual to a Happy and Healthy Pregnancy, by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz. Free Press. Kindle edition $14.84. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Can I get a cavity filled while pregnant? Will avoiding spicy foods make my kid a picky eater? Can I really increase my baby's IQ while she's in utero? In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz act as mythbusters for the hundreds of questions surrounding pregnancy in the same scientific, informative, and entertaining ways that have made them America's Doctors. In these pages, you'll learn everything you need to know about the miracles of fetal development, your health throughout the pregnancy, and providing the best possible environment for your growing child." - books.simonandschuster.com.

ON MSNBC'S MORNING JOE (30 NOV 09):


The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War, by James Bradley. Little, Brown & Company. Kindle edition $12.95. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Howard Taft on the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in history to Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea. In 1905, Roosevelt was bully-confident and made secret agreements that he though would secure America's westward push into the Pacific. Instead, he lit the long fuse on the Asian firecrackers that would singe America's hands for a century. In 2005, a century later, James Bradley traveled in the wake of Roosevelt's mission and discovered what had transpired in Honolulu, Tokyo, Manila, Beijing and Seoul." - Amazon.

ON ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA (01 DEC 09):

Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, by David Bianculli. Touchstone. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly anti-authoritarian point of view. In this first-ever all-access history of the show, veteran entertainment journalist David Bianculli tells the fascinating story of its three-year network run - and the cultural impact that's still being felt today. Before it was suddenly removed from the CBS lineup (reportedly under pressure from the Nixon administration), The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a ratings powerhouse. It helped launch the careers of comedy legends such as Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, featured groundbreaking musical acts like the Beatles and the Who, and served as a cultural touchstone for the antiwar movement of the late 1960s. Drawing on extensive original interviews with Tom and Dick Smothers and dozens of other key players - as well as more than a decade's worth of original research - Dangerously Funny brings readers behind the scenes for all the battles over censorship, mind-blowing musical performances, and unforgettable sketches that defined the show and its era." - Amazon.

ON ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA (01 DEC 09):

Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me, by Howie Mandel. Bantam. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Howie Mandel is one of the most recognizable names in entertainment - respected by his peers and beloved by audiences as the host of the enormously popular prime-time game show Deal or No Deal... Eleven years ago, Mandel first told the world about his 'germophobia.' He’s recently started discussing his adult ADHD as well. Now, for the first time, he reveals the details of his struggle with these challenging disorders. He catalogs his numerous fears and neuroses and shares entertaining stories about how he has tried to integrate them into his act... And he speaks frankly and honestly about the ways his condition has affected his personal life–as a son, husband, and father of three.
Fans who’ve been dying to know 'the deal' behind Mandel’s remarkable rise through the show-business ranks will be rewarded with many never-before-told anecdotes, each one generously leavened with Mandel’s trademark humor..." - from the hardcover edition.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (01 DEC 09):

Highest Duty, by Chesley B. Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow. HarperCollins. Kindle edition $14.29. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
""In this inspirational autobiography, Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger, the airline pilot whose emergency landing on the Hudson River earned the world's admiration, tells his life story and talks about the essential qualities that he believes have been so vital to his success. In January 2009, the world witnessed one of the most remarkable emergency landings in history when Captain Sullenberger brought a crippled US Airways flight onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all of the passengers and crew aboard. The successful outcome was the result of effective teamwork, Sully's dedication to airline safety, his belief that a pilot's judgment must go hand-in-hand with - and can never be replaced by - technology, and forty years of careful practice and training. From his earliest memories of learning to fly as a teenager in a crop duster's single-engine plane in the skies above rural Texas to his years in the United States Air Force at the controls of a powerful F-4 Phantom, Sully describes the experiences that have helped make him a better leader, particularly the importance of taking responsibility for everyone in his care. And he talks about what he believes is at the heart of America's 'can do' spirit: the very human drive to prepare for the unexpected and to meet it with optimism and courage..." - www.harpercollins.com.

ON ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA (02 DEC 09):

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, by Julie Powell. Little, Brown and Company. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she'd ever do - until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir. Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer's, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs - tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts. The camaraderie at Fleischer's leads Julie to search out fellow butchers around the world - from South America to Europe to Africa. At the end of her odyssey, she has learned a new art and perhaps even mastered her unruly heart." - Amazon.

Kindle Genre Watch (28 Nov 09)

Genre fiction - as opposed to nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books - lends itself to enjoyable Kindle reading because when you pick up a book of fiction you don't necessarily expect it to be illustrated. Authors of mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, romance novels and westerns paint word pictures and their readers use their own imagination to picture the scene of the crime or the stare of a vampire or the track of an alien space craft hurtling towards earth.

Now you can spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Storeso you don't have to. Recent genre fiction releases include:

FANTASY

The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay. Pocket. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash." -books.simonandschuster.com/
"... Intricate world-building and richly complex characters mix with a fast-paced plot to create a standout start to a new series." - Publishers Weekly.

First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher. Ace. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is the 6th and final book in the Codex Alera series that began with The Furies of Calderon.
"For years he has endured the endless trials and triumphs of a man whose skill and power could not be restrained. Battling ancient enemies, forging new alliances, and confronting the corruption within his own land, Gaius Octavian became a legendary man of war - and the rightful First Lord of Alera. But now, the savage Vord are on the march, and Gaius must lead his legions to the Calderon Valley to stand against them - using all of his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness." - us.penguingroup.com.

Mercury Falls by Robert Kroese. St. Culain Press. Kindle edition $1.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Years of covering the antics of End Times cults for The Banner, a religious news magazine, have left Christine Temetri not only jaded but seriously questioning her career choice. That is, until she meets Mercury, an anti-establishment angel who’s frittering his time away whipping up batches of Rice Krispy Treats and perfecting his ping-pong backhand instead of doing his job: helping to orchestrate Armageddon. With the end near and angels and demons debating the finer political points of the Apocalypse, Christine and Mercury accidentally foil an attempt to assassinate one Karl Grissom, a thirty-seven-year-old film school dropout about to make his big break as the Antichrist. ...a humorous novel in the vein of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Terry Pratchett's Discworld series..." - Amazon.

MYSTERIES/THRILLERS

Village of the Ghost Bears by Stan Jones. Soho Crime. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is the 4th mystery novel featuring Inupiat Eskimo and Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active, who first appeared in White Sky, Black Ice.
"Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active must figure out what connects a dead hunter on a remote Arctic lake with a year-old fatal plane crash in the Brooks Range and a fire at the Chukchi Recreation Center that killed eight people, including the town's basketball star. The case turns out to involve a lucrative polar bear poaching operation and the intense bond between a brother and sister from the village of Cape Goodwin, famous in the Arctic for twins, polar bears, and schizophrenia." - www.sohocrime.com.

A Catered Birthday Party by Isis Crawford. Kensington Books. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Blank.
"When sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons sign on to cater a prize pooch's birthday bash, they think they're ready for anything. But they haven't bargained for a killer with a bone to pick. A Little Taste of Heaven catering certainly knows how to feed people. Dogs, however...? Bernie and Libby will have their chance to impress guests of the four-legged variety when they lay out the spread for Trudy the Pug's birthday luncheon. But this isn't just any doggie 'do. Trudy's owner, Annabel Colbert, is one of the richest women in town - and as mascot of the Colbert toy company, Trudy herself is a bona fide celebrity. When the big day arrives, Trudy and her canine cohorts are ready to dig in to the delicacies - but the first to dip her fangs into the wine is Annabel. Mere moments later, the hostess is shrieking she's been poisoned." - Amazon.

ROMANCE

A Highlander Christmas by Janet Chapman. Pocket. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Camry MacKeage has absolutely no intention of telling her parents that she left her job as a NASA physicist for the small-town life of a dog-sitter - which is why she's spending the holidays alone in coastal Maine with her furry friends Tigger and Max. Unfortunately, her irresistibly handsome rival, scientist Luke Pascal, accidentally spilled the beans. Now he's on a mission from her mother to tempt Camry home for the family's annual winter solstice celebration. But Luke is hiding his own secret, and he'll need a little bit of magic to earn Camry's trust...and a whole lot of mistletoe to seduce his way into her heart." - Amazon.

The Lost: 4 All-New Stories of Paranormal Desire and Suspense by J. D. Robb, Patricia Gaffney, Mary Blayney, and Ruth Ryan Langan. Jove. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"J. D. Robb's Missing in Death investigates a female tourist's disappearance during a ferry ride. In Patricia Gaffney's The Dog Days of Laurie Summer, a woman awakens to a familiar yet unsettling world. In Mary Blayney's Lost in Paradise, a man locked in an island fortress finds hope for freedom in an enigmatic nurse. And Ruth Ryan Langan's Legacy belongs to a young woman who unearths a family secret buried on the grounds of a magnificent but imposing Irish castle." - berkleyjoveauthors.com.

Dying Scream by Mary Burton. Zebra Books. Kindle edition $4.47. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"An aspiring artist. A high-school senior. A stripper. Three women who seemed to have nothing in common except their sudden disappearance. But one man knew them all. Wealthy, privileged Craig Thornton even claimed to love them. And for that, they paid the ultimate price. When Adrianna Barrington receives an anniversary card from her husband Craig, she assumes it's some crackpot's idea of a joke. After all, Craig is dead. But then come phone calls, flowers, messages...all reminding her how much Craig misses her. While Adrianna begins to doubt her sanity, grisly remains are found on the Thornton estate. Detective Gage Hudson is convinced the bodies are linked to Craig. But the biggest shocks are yet to come." - Amazon.

A Precious Jewel by Mary Balogh. Random House. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"She was unlike any woman he’d ever met in the ton or the demimonde. But Sir Gerald Stapleton frequented Mrs. Blyth’s euphemistically dubbed 'finishing school' for pure, uncomplicated pleasure - and nothing else. So why was this confirmed bachelor so thoroughly captivated by one woman in particular? Why did he find himself wondering how such a rare jewel of grace, beauty, and refinement as Priss had ended up a courtesan? And when she needed protection, why did Gerald, who’d sworn he’d never get entangled in affairs of the heart, hasten to set her up as his own pampered mistress to ensure her safety - and have her all to himself?" - Amazon.

Immortal by V. K. Forrest. This is book 3 in the Clare Point series following Eternal and Undying. Kensington. Kindle edition $9.60. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"For centuries, the Kahill vampire clan has lived quietly among locals and tourists in the tranquil beachfront village of Clare Point. Magnetic, fearless Fin Kahill has dedicated his life to ridding the world of its most vicious serial killers. Fin is used to roaming the earth freely - not getting stuck in sleepy Clare Point. But when the clan needs him close by, Fin agrees to take a summer job on the town's tiny police force. He expects little excitement - until he meets Elena, an ethereal Italian beauty...As Fin struggles against his feelings for Elena, the peace in Clare Point is shattered by the inexplicable murder of a tourist. When the killer strikes again, Fin wonders if a member of his own clan is responsible. The only one he can turn to is Elena, but he knows that falling in love with a human can be a deadly mistake. Yet just as Fin edges closer to solving the murders, he discovers Elena may not be exactly who, or what, she appears." - Amazon.

SCIENCE FICTION

The Battle of Devastation Reef by Graham Sharp Paul. Book 3 of the Helfort's War series, following The Battle at the Moons of Hell and The Battle of the Hammer Worlds. Del Rey. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"The savage Hammer Worlds are not only near invincible but almost certain to win their war to crush the Federated Worlds and control humanspace - unless the Feds can find and destroy their secret antimatter warhead facility. Only dreadnoughts, the lone Federated ships able to withstand antimatter missile attacks, can do the job, and only Lieutenant Michael Helfort has the skill to lead them. But skill may not be enough, because Helfort is more than the newly appointed captain: He’s a hero, and this means that his own senior officers want him to fail - and that the enemy’s kingpin wants him dead." - Amazon.

Halo: Evolutions by Tobias S. Buckell et al. Tor. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"When humanity expanded beyond the safety of Earth to new stars and horizons, they never dreamed what dangers they would encounter there. When the alien juggernaut known as the Covenant declared holy war upon the fragile human empire, millions of lives were lost, but millions of heroes rose to the challenge. In such a far-reaching conflict, not many of the stories of these heroes, both human and alien, have a chance to become legend. This collection holds eleven stories that dive into the depths of the vast Halo universe, not only from the perspective of those who fought and died to save humanity, but also those who vowed to wipe humanity out of existence. Included in this collection are all-new, never-before-told stories by: Tobias S. Buckell, B.K. Evenson, Jonathan Goff, Kevin Grace, Tessa Kum and Jeff Vandermeer, Robt McLees, Eric Nylund, Frank O'Connor, Eric Raab, Karen Traviss, and Fred Van Lente.

Star Trek: Vanguard: Precipice by David Mack. Pocket. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"On a post-apocalyptic world in the Taurus Reach, undercover Starfleet Intelligence agent Cervantes Quinn finds an ancient Shedai conduit. Unfortunately, the Klingons have found it first and sent an army to claim it. Light-years away on Vulcan, reporter Tim Pennington answers a cryptic call for help and ends up stalking interstellar criminals with an unlikely partner: T'Prynn, the woman who sabotaged his career and is now a fugitive from justice..." -books.simonandschuster.com.

WESTERNS

The Tears of God by David Thompson. (Wilderness, 62). Leisure. Kindle edition $3.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Mountain man Nate King would never leave anyone in need, but he has his hands full this time trying to protect both a freight train and a colony of Shakers from a band of Pawnees on a personal vendetta." - Amazon.

Circle Star by Tatiana March. Resplendence Publishing. Kindle edition $6.50. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"After thirteen years in the East, Susanna Talbot stands to inherit the Arizona ranch she grew up on, but only provided she marries Connor McGregor, the young drifter who once forged a bond with her father. Susanna will do whatever it takes to claim her right to land - even seek a union with a man who believes she ruined his life. But first she must find him. Connor McGregor rode into the desert without a backward glance thirteen years ago, believing Susanna had banished him from Circle Star. Now a man of twenty-eight, he has no interest in coming to her aid. Will he bury his bitterness, or leave Susanna on the mercy of the ruthless neighbor Burt Hartman, who covets the ranch and will stop at nothing - including rape and murder."

Bad Business by J. R. Roberts. (The Gunsmith, 336). Jove. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Widow Lillian Kingsforth desperately needs Clint Adams's help. She's being pressured to sell her hotel by several gambling entrepreneurs who believe the property could be put to better use - and whose business practices include attempting to murder her." - Amazon.

A Week of Entertainment: Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly 27 Nov 09

Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. I guess the folks at ET weren't doing much reading this week. A seven-page spread on New Moon, the Twilight sequel, seemingly left them only room for two book reviews. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the November 27th issue include:


Pirate Latitudes, by Michael Crichton. HarperCollins. NOVEL. EW's slant: "Crichton's great talent was writing books that were virtually impossible to put down, even when they were bad. Pirate Latitudes is no exception." Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (8 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English Crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. In this steamy climate there's a living to be made, a living that can end swiftly by disease-or by dagger. For Captain Charles Hunter, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking, and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it. Word in port is that the galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in a nearby harbor. Heavily fortified, the impregnable harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of the Spanish king himself. With backing from a powerful ally, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy outpost and commandeer El Trinidad, along with its fortune in Spanish gold." - Amazon.

Going Rogue: An American Life, by Sarah Palin. HarperCollins. MEMOIR. EW's slant: "...a standard bit of political posturing from someone still eyeing higher office." Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (392 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"One year ago, Sarah Palin burst onto the national political stage like a comet. On September 3, 2008 Alaska Governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention that electrified the nation and instantly made her one of the most recognizable women in the world. As chief executive of America's largest state, she had built a record as a reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual and pushed through changes other politicians only talked about: Energy independence. Ethics reform. And the biggest private sector infrastructure project in U.S. history. ...a Main Street American woman: a working mom, wife of a blue collar union man, and mother of five children, the eldest of whom was serving his country in a yearlong deployment in Iraq and the youngest, an infant with special needs, Palin's hometown story touched a populist nerve, rallying hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to the GOP ticket. But as the campaign unfolded, Palin became a lightning rod for both praise and criticism. Supporters called her 'refreshing' and 'honest,' a kitchen-table public servant they felt would fight for their interests. Opponents derided her as a wide-eyed Pollyanna unprepared for national leadership. In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother..." - Amazon.

Knit One, Kindle Too: Kindle Books for Knitters and Kindred Spirits

When I'm not reading, you will usually find me playing with string - knitting, crocheting or spinning yarn on a handspindle similar to the one on the right.

When I purchased my first Kindle, I was very excited about putting knitting patterns and books on the device. Then reality set in. Color illustrations, schematics and charts are a very important component of all practical knitting books and the current Kindle sans color doesn't handle them gracefully. That said, there are a number of knitting-related books available for the Kindle that will interest folks who knit, crochet or spin.

MEMOIRS
Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Somethng Who Learned to Knit After He Split, by Laurie Perry. Health Communications. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (51 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Perry, a 33-year-old, Southern-born transplant to L.A., was shocked when her husband announced he was leaving her. Granted, he was more a safe sedan than a sports car, but she wasn't ready to be single. Perry started avoiding people for fear of crying in front of them and put on pounds with her divorce diet, 60% wine and 40% jalapeño potato chips and French fries. Fortunately, a friend insisted she try knitting..." - Publishers Weekly. Perry also maintains the Crazy Aunt Purl blog.

Yarn: Remembering the Way Home, by Kyoko Mori. GemmaMedia. Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $10.95. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Sit with Kyoko Mori as she artfully takes in hand needles and fiber, and also the realities of her life story, to knit this gorgeous memoir of loss, emigration, grief, identity and the work of her hands. The perfectly titled 'Yarn' recounts the author’s most formative experiences, including losing her mother through suicide; emigrating from Japan; finding a life and a love in America’s frigid Midwest; discovering joy as a single person; and leaning on the healing power of creating both stories and knitted garments..." - Suzanne Strempek Shea, author of Sundays in America.

Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter, by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Andrews McMeel Publishing. Amazon customer rating: Kindle edition $8.29. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Over 50 million people in America knit. The average knitter spends between $500 and $1,700 a year on yarn, patterns, needles, and books. No longer just a fad or a hobby, knitting has advanced to a lifestyle. Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter moves beyond instructions and patterns into the purest elements of knitting: obsession, frustration, reflection, and fun. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's humorous and poignant essays find humor in knitting an enormous afghan that requires a whopping 30 balls of wool, having a husband with size 13 feet who loves to wear hand-knit socks, and earns her 'yarn harlot' title with her love of any new yarn - she'll quickly drop an old project for the fresh saucy look of a new interesting yarn..." - Amazon.

FICTION, WHODUNITS AND THE LIKE
While My Pretty One Knits, by Anne Canadeo. Pocket. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (10 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Maggie Messina, beloved owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, is thrilled to be hosting a workshop for one of her former students, now a celebrity in the knitting world. But the celebration is upstaged when Amanda Goran, the owner of the rival Knitting Nest, is found dead in her shop on the other side of town. Maggie had reasons to dislike Amanda, a thorn in her side ever since Maggie's shop surpassed Amanda's in popularity. Then again, it wasn't hard to dislike Amanda - the contentious woman, whose marriage was on the rocks, seemed to specialize in causing misery all over town. But the pointed evidence has a detective casting a suspicious eye on Maggie. She may be a whiz at knitting, but can she keep the police from needling her before her shop, her reputation, and her circle of friends become unraveled?" - Amazon.

The Beach Street Society and Yarn Club, by Gil McNeil. HarperCollins. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (49 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"When her husband dies in a car crash - not long after announcing he wants a divorce - Jo Mackenzie packs up her two rowdy boys and moves from London to a dilapidated villa in her seaside hometown. There, she takes over her beloved Gran's knitting shop - a quaint but out-of-date store in desperate need of a facelift. After a rough beginning, Jo soon finds comfort in a Stitch and Bitch group; a collection of quirky, lively women who share their stories, and their addiction to cake, with warmth and humor. As Jo starts to get the hang of single-parent life in a small town, she relies on her knitting group for support. The women meet every week at the shop on Beach Street and trade gossip and advice as freely as they do a new stitch. But when a new man enters Jo's life, and an A-list actress moves into the local mansion, the knitting club has even more trouble confining the conversation to knit one, purl two..." - Amazon.

The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love, by Beth Pattillo. Publisher. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (15 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Once a month, the six women of the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society gather to discuss books and share their knitting projects. Inspired by her recently-wedded bliss, group leader Eugenie chooses 'Great Love Stories in Literature' as the theme for the year’s reading list - a risky selection for a group whose members span the spectrum of age and relationship status. As the Knit Lit ladies read and discuss classic romances like Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and Pride and Prejudice, each member is confronted with her own perception about love..." - Amazon.

By Hook or By Crook, by Betty Hechtman. Berkley Prime Crime. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (10 reviews). Kindle edition $5.59. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Molly Pink's crochet group has a new mystery on their hands when they find a paper bag that contains a note that speaks of remorse, a diary entry of the sorrow of parting, and a complicated piece of filet crochet that offers an obscure clue in pictures. Things get even more complicated when they find the talented crocheter - murdered by a box of poisoned marzipan apples." - Amazon.

HUMOR
The Secret Language of Knitters, by Mary Beth Temple. Andrews McMeel Publishing. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (6 reviews). Kindle edition $7.96. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"For the yarn-obsessed, Mary Beth Temple offers a glossary of knitting jargon and terminology... with entries like: Mistakes. As in 'The fact that one sleeve is five inches longer than the other is not a mistake, it is a design element.' With a universal affinity for cashmere and an absolute abhorrence of moths, veteran and beginning knitters alike will be certain not to cast off this humorous lexicon compendium." - Amazon.

It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons, by Franklin Habit. Interweave Press. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (19 reviews). Kindle edition $7.96. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. A fun read. The simple line-drawing cartoons translate well to the Kindle and the publisher had the smarts to include a good selection of cartoons in the sample.
"An affectionate and humorous celebration of every aspect of the craft of knitting, from buying - and hiding - massive quantities of yarn to wrestling with projects that go seriously awry to prescriptions for alleviating the stress brought on by holiday knitting. This witty collection represents a pitch-perfect send up of one of the most rapidly growing hobbies today. Including 75 cartoons, deftly rendered in pen and ink with watercolor wash, and several humorous short essays, every knitter is sure to find elements of themselves in this collection." - Amazon.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

New Nonfiction Picks for the Kindle (22 Nov 09)

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:

Anonyponymous: The Forgotten People Behind Everyday Words, by John Marciano. Bloomsbury. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Optimized for larger screens.
"The Earl of Sandwich, fond of salted beef and paired slices of toast, found a novel way to eat them all together. Etienne de Silhouette, a former French finance minister, was so notoriously cheap that his name became a byword for chintzy practices - such as substituting a darkened outline for a proper painted portrait. Both bequeathed their names to the language, but neither man is remembered. In this clever and funny book, John Bemelmans Marciano illuminates the lives of these anonyponymous persons. A kind of encyclopedia of linguistic biographies, the book is arranged alphabetically, giving the stories of everyone from Abu -algorithm- Al-Khwarizmi to Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Along with them you'll find the likes of Harry Shrapnel, Joseph-Ignace Guillotine, and many other people whose vernacular legacies have long outlived their memory... Carefully curated and unfailingly witty, this book is both a fantastic gift for language lovers and a true pleasure to read." - Amazon.

Confessions of a Public Speaker, by Berkun Scott. O'Reilly. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (6 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In this hilarious and highly practical book, author and professional speaker Scott Berkun reveals the techniques behind what great communicators do, and shows how anyone can learn to use them well. For managers and teachers - and anyone else who talks and expects someone to listen - Confessions of a Public Speaker provides an insider's perspective on how to effectively present ideas to anyone. It's a unique, entertaining, and instructional romp through the embarrassments and triumphs Scott has experienced over 15 years of speaking to crowds of all sizes." - oreilly.com. Scott Berkun worked on the Internet Explorer team at Microsoft from 1994-1999 and left the company in 2003 with the goal of writing enough books to fill a shelf.

Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, by Jake Adelstein. Pantheon. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (12 reviews) Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"A young Japanese-schooled Jewish-American who worked as a journalist at Tokyo newspaper Yomiuri Shinbun during the 1990s, debut author Adelstein began with a routine, but never dull, police beat; before long, he was notorious worldwide for engaging the dirtiest, top-most villains of Japan's organized criminal underworld, the yakuza. A pragmatic but sensitive character, Adelstein's worldview takes quite a beating during his tour of duty; thanks to his immersive reporting, readers suffer with him through the choice between personal safety and a chance to confront the evil inhabiting his city...a deeply thought-provoking book: equal parts cultural exposé, true crime, and hard-boiled noir." - Publishers Weekly.

The Search for God and Guinness, by Stephen Mansfield. Thomas Nelson. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (89 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"It began in Ireland in the late 1700s. The water in Ireland, indeed throughout Europe, was famously undrinkable, and the gin and whiskey that took its place was devastating civil society. It was a disease ridden, starvation plagued, alcoholic age, and Christians like Arthur Guinness - as well as monks and even evangelical churches - brewed beer that provided a healthier alternative to the poisonous waters and liquors of the times. This is where the Guinness tale began. Now, 246 years and 150 countries later, Guinness is a global brand, one of the most consumed beverages in the world. The tale that unfolds during those two and a half centuries has power to thrill audiences today: the generational drama, business adventure, industrial and social reforms, deep-felt faith, and the beer itself." - Amazon.

Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service - A Year Spent Riding across America, by James McCommons. Chelsea Green Publishing. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"During the tumultuous year of 2008 - when gas prices reached $4 a gallon, Amtrak set ridership records, and a commuter train collided with a freight train in California - journalist James McCommons spent a year on America’s trains, talking to the people who ride and work the rails throughout much of the Amtrak system. Organized around these rail journeys, Waiting on a Train is equal parts travel narrative, personal memoir, and investigative journalism. Readers meet the historians, railroad executives, transportation officials, politicians, government regulators, railroad lobbyists, and passenger - rail advocates who are rallying around a simple question: Why has the greatest railroad nation in the world turned its back on the very form of transportation that made modern life and mobility possible? ...Against the backdrop of the nation’s stimulus program, he explores what it will take to build high-speed trains and transportation networks, and when the promise of rail will be realized in America." - Amazon.

The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs, by Michael Belfiore. Publisher. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The first-ever inside look at DARPA - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency... America's greatest idea factory isn't Bell Labs, Silicon Valley, or MIT's Media Lab. It's the secretive, Pentagon-led agency known as DARPA. Founded by Eisenhower in response to Sputnik and the Soviet space program, DARPA mixes military officers with sneaker-wearing scientists, seeking paradigm-shifting ideas in varied fields-from energy, robotics, and rockets to peopleless operating rooms, driverless cars, and planes that can fly halfway around the world in just hours. DARPA gave birth to the Internet, GPS, and mind-controlled robotic arms. Its geniuses define future technology for the military and the rest of us. Michael Belfiore was given unprecedented access to write this first-ever popular account of DARPA. Visiting research sites across the country, he watched scientists in action and talked to the creative, fearlessly ambitious visionaries working for and with DARPA. Much of DARPA's work is classified, and this book is full of material that has barely been reported in the general media." - Amazon.

The Man Who Lives with Wolves, by Shaun Ellis, with Penny Junor. Harmony. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (30 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"What would compel a man to place himself in constant danger in order to become a member of a wolf pack? To eat with them, putting his head into a carcass alongside the wolves' gnashing teeth? To play, hunt, and spar with them, suffering bruises and bites? To learn their language so his howl is indistinguishable from theirs? To give up a normal life of relationships and family so that he can devote himself completely to the protection of these wild animals? In The Man Who Lives with Wolves, Shaun Ellis reveals how his life irrevocably changed the first time he set eyes on a wolf. In exhilarating prose, he takes us from his upbringing in the wilds of Norfolk, England, to his survival training with British Army Special Forces to the Nez Percé Indian lands in Idaho, where he first ran with a wolf pack for nearly two years. ...an extraordinary look into the lives of these threatened, misunderstood creatures" - Amazon.

The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man, by Brett McKay and Kate McKay. How. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (34 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Generation X and Y is a generation of Lost Boys. We live in a Never-Never-Land where boys stay boys and never become men. More and more males today are putting off college, family, and adult responsibilities in order to play video games and do keg stands. The Art of Manliness is dedicated to helping men uncover what manliness means in the 21st century. What skills and knowledge should a 21st century man acquire? What traits should they develop? This book will have the answers." - Amazon. The authors also maintain the popular Art of Manliness website.

A Week of Entertainment: Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly 20 Nov 09

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


Last Words, by George Carlin with Tony Hendra. Free Press. MEMOIR. EW's slant: "...at turns biting and touching and often both". Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (6 reviews). Kindle edition $12.95. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"As one of America's most pre-eminent comedians, with 50 years worth of material and appearances on the international comedy circuit, George Carlin saw it all and made fun of most of it. Blending his signature acerbic humor with never before told stories from his own life, Last Words is part comedy routine, part reflection, and all original. Carlin's journey to stardom began in the rough and tumble neighborhoods of New York in the 1940s and '50s, where class and culture wars planted the seeds for some of his earliest material. Carlin describes his major influences as an up and coming comic, talking about the origins of some of his most famous stand up routines including the notorious Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television. Sparing no detail, Carlin describes his life and career, discussing his own battle with substance abuse, his turbulent relationships with his family, and the unique worldview that informed so much of his stand up." - books.simonandschuster.com.
$9.99 or less alternative: Another revealing (and entertaining) celebrity autobiography, American on Purpose, by Craig Ferguson.

Too Much Happiness, by Alice Munro. Knopf. SHORT STORIES. EW's slant: "Too Much Happiness doesn't disappoint. It dazzles". Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $14.27. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Ten superb new stories by the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize. In the first story a young wife and mother receives release from the unbearable pain of losing her three children from a most surprising source. In another, a young woman, in the aftermath of an unusual and humiliating seduction, reacts in a clever if less-than-admirable fashion. Other stories uncover the 'deep-holes' in a marriage, the unsuspected cruelty of children, and how a boy’s disfigured face provides both the good things in his life and the bad... With clarity and ease, Alice Munro once again renders complex, difficult events and emotions into stories that shed light on the unpredictable ways in which men and women accommodate and often transcend what happens in their lives." - from the hardcover edition.
$9.99 or less alternative: Runaway, Munro's earlier short story collection.

Changing My Mind, by Zadie Smith. Penguin. ESSAYS. EW's slant: "... essays on literature [that] reflect smart close readings and a refreshing willingness to grapple with subjectivity..." Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $12.94. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Zadie Smith brings to her essays all of the curiosity, intellectual rigor, and sharp humor that have attracted so many readers to her fiction... Split into four sections - Reading, Being, Seeing, and Feeling - Changing My Mind invites readers to witness the world from Zadie Smith's unique vantage. Smith casts her acute eye over material both personal and cultural, with wonderfully engaging essays - some published here for the first time - on diverse topics including literature, movies, going to the Oscars, British comedy, family, feminism, Obama, Katharine Hepburn, and Anna Magnani." - Amazon.
$9.99 or less alternative: Smith's debut novel White Teeth.

Top Secret Recipes Unlocked, by Todd Wilbur. Plume. NOVEL. EW's slant: "[Wilbur's] problem isn't that the recipes aren't good enough, it's that they're too good." Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.Optimized for larger screens.
"The kitchen clone recipe king is back... Wilbur takes readers behind the scenes, revealing the key ingredients in some of our favorite foods such as Starbucks' Peppermint Brownie, Krispy Kreme's original glazed donuts, Panera Bread's cranberry walnut bagel and Wendy's Garden Sensations Manadarin Chicken Salad. Forget takeout-with these fun recipes and blueprints, all using ingredients you can buy at your local supermarket, you can re-create your favorite restaurant signature dishes right in your own kitchen for a lot less!" - Amazon.


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Kindle Genre Watch (17 Nov 09)

Genre fiction - as opposed to nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books - lends itself to enjoyable Kindle reading because when you pick up a book of fiction you don't necessarily expect it to be illustrated. Authors of mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, romance novels and westerns paint word pictures and their readers use their own imagination to picture the scene of the crime or the stare of a vampire or the track of an alien space craft hurtling towards earth.

Now you can spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Storeso you don't have to. Recent genre fiction releases include:

MYSTERIES

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson. Hachette. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Detective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the awful news that a beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Alex vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington's wildest scenes. And she was not this killer's only victim. The hunt for her murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to a place where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in. Alex and Bree are soon facing down some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain - they will do anything to keep their secrets safe..." - Amazon.

Kindred in Death by J. D. Robb. Putnam. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind. Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena's body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops; including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.'When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest their perpetrator; little do they know yet that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them..." - Amazon.

Blood Revenge by David Thor. Cosacinco Press. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"James Bali was just beginning a twelve-hour shift when the call came in. The local coast guard base has radioed ahead that a cutter had rescued victims from an unknown tragedy. They reported that one survivor was recovered from an oil platform in the Gulf... Dr. Bali and a hospital nurse moved quickly to the helicopter. Bali briefly consulted with one of the coast guard pilots. With the help of the pilot, the doctor climbed into the aircraft to check on the patient. His first thought was that he was staring at some kind of rubber corpse and that this was all some kind of joke, or possibly a coast guard training scenario. But he quickly discarded that idea. Dr. Bali stood silently and shook off a confused stare..." - book jacket.

FANTASY

Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Minotaur Books. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In a universe where assassins make the law, everyone lives in fear - except for Syn. Born of an illicit scandal that once rocked a dynasty, he always knew how to survive on the bloodthirsty streets. But that was then, and the future is now - Syn was raised as a tech-thief until his livelihood uncovered a truth that could end his life. He tried to destroy the evidence, and has been on the run ever since. Now trained as an assassin, he allows no one to threaten him. Ever. Shahara Dagan is the best bounty hunter in the universe. When Syn comes back on the radar, she's the only one who can bring him to justice. There's only one problem: Syn is a close family friend who's helped out the Dagans countless times. But if she saves him, both of their lives will be on the line..." - Amazon.

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan. Tor. Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book two in Jordan's Wheel of Time series.
"Chosen by fate to become the Dragon Reborn - savior and destroyer of his world - young Rand al'Thor attempts to outrun his destiny by joining in a mad search for the lost Horn of Valere. Continuing the story begun in The Eye of the World, Jordan creates a lush, sprawling tapestry of a novel in the tradition of Tolkien and Eddings." - Library Journal.

ROMANCE

Big Bad Wolf by Christine Warren. St. Martin's. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Missy Roper's fantasies have revolved around Graham Winters since the moment they met. But the imposing leader of the Silverback werewolf clan always seemed oblivious to Missy's existence. At least he was, until Missy collides with him at a party and then abruptly runs away - arousing Graham's interest - and wild desires. Lupine law decrees that every Alpha must have a mate, and all Graham's instincts tell him that the sensual, beguiling Missy is his. Trouble is, Missy is human..." - Amazon.

To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt. Vision. Kindle edition $5.59. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl's heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago? Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle's home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed. Ebook bonus content: learn about the early travels-and trials-in hero Reynaud St. Aubyn's life in these new vignettes written by the author." - Amazon.

All Jacked Up by Lorelei James. (Rough Riders, 8). Samhain Publishing. Kindle edition $4.40. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Keely McKay knows Jack and Jack Donohue is a certified pain in her Wranglers. The lone girl in the prolific McKay family, Keely needs another man giving her orders like she needs a hole in her boot. What she does need is a restoration specialist so she can open her physical therapy clinic and prove she's left her wild-child days behind. That means dealing with buttoned-down, uptight Jack. Jack is this close to securing a career make-or-break project, until he learns his lack of marital status puts him out of contention. When the notoriously hot-tempered and hot-bodied Keely begs him for help, he proposes a crazy idea. He'll oversee her project if she acts the part of his loving fiancé." - Amazon.

A Creed Country Christmas by Linda Lael Miller. HQN. Kindle edition $9.15. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In the unforgiving Montana wilderness of 1910, widowed rancher Lincoln Creed is up against more than rustlers, wolves and the coming winter storms. His young daughter has needs beyond the beans and bacon he can barely cook. Lincoln must find little Gracie a governess, a lady who can teach and cook - yet won't set her sights on him. Disowned for her refusal to marry, twenty-five-year-old Juliana Mitchell shares the love in her heart with her young students at the underfunded Indian school. When she meets Lincoln and Gracie, her response to the handsome rancher makes her realize she's not against marriage after all." - Amazon.

Me and My Shadow by Katie Macalister. Signet. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"May Northcott is at the end of her tether. Her demon boss has moved in and is making life hell. Her scorching hot dragon lover seems to think everything can be solved with a fiery kiss. And worse still, she's being shadowed by her ditsy twin sister - a naiad who simply can't seem to stay out of trouble. The arrival of a nearly-dead man on May's doorstep could be the final spark that sets light to their tinder-box world. And with dragon war imminent, it's looking increasingly like it will be up to May (and her watery shadow) to stop it before the fire consumes them all, and their lives end up in smoke." - Amazon.

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh. Book 7 in the Psy-Changeling series which began with Slave to Sensation. Berkley. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete...until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon. Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target?" -www.nalinisingh.com.


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SCIENCE FICTION

Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt. Ace. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"When physicist Michael Shelborne mysteriously vanishes, his son Shel discovers that he had constructed a time travel device. Fearing his father may be stranded in time - or worse - Shel enlists the aid of Dave MacElroy, a linguist, to accompany him on the rescue mission. Their journey through history takes them from the enlightenment of Renaissance Italy through the American Wild West to the civil-rights upheavals of the 20th century. Along the way, they encounter a diverse cast of historical greats, sometimes in unexpected situations. Yet the elder Shelborne remains elusive. And then Shel violates his agreement with Dave not to visit the future. There he makes a devastating discovery that sends him fleeing back through the ages, and changes his life forever." - Amazon.

Rocket Boy and the Geek Girls edited by Phyllis Irene Radford. Book View Press. Kindle edition $4.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Thirteen authors got together one rainy Saturday afternoon with a big bowl of popcorn and reruns of Buck Rogers. They started comparing short stories and a new anthology took form. Rare reprints, hard-to-find favorites and new tales all combine in this one-of-a-kind story collection, available exclusively from Book View Press. With evocative stories of lost comrades, alien first contacts, and strange, often unexpected confrontations with evolving science, Rocket Boy And The Geek Girls embraces both our pulp-dream past and cutting-edge future. Stories by: Vonda N. McIntyre, Brenda W. Clough, Katharine Kerr, Judith Tarr, P.R. Frost, Pati Nagle, Madeleine Robins, Nancy Jane Moore, Sarah Zettel, Amy Sterling Casil, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, Jennifer Stevenson, Sylvia Kelso, C.L. Anderson, and Irene Radford.

Uncategorized: The ABD and Other Tales by Sue Lange. Book View Cafe. Kindle edition $1.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
A collection of Sue Lange’s previously published short stories. Lang's writing has been described by various reviewers as different, irreverent, energetic, funny, thought-provoking, delightful, sobering, quirky and electric.

So It Begins edited by Mike McPhail. Dark Quest. Kindle edition $1.59. Price note: This edition is a bargain for Kindle owners. The paperback costs $12.78. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Witness sixteen accounts of hardcore military science fiction, from planetside combat to fleet actions up among the stars. Featuring the works of David Sherman, Charles E. Gannon, John C. Wright, James Daniel Ross, Jonathan Maberry, James Chambers, Patrick Thomas, Andy Remic, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jeffrey Lyman, Jack Campbell, Mike McPhail, Bud Sparhawk, Tony Ruggiero, and C.J. Henderson. For a more detailed review of the stories in this book, be sure to check out milscifi.com.

Ariel by Steven R. Boyett. E-Reads. Kindle edition $7.19. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"At four-thirty one Saturday afternoon the laws of physics as we know them underwent a change. Electronic devices, cars, industries stopped. The lights went out. Any technology more complicated than a lever or pulley simply wouldn't work. A new set of rules took its place-laws that could only be called magic. Ninety-nine percent of humanity has simply vanished. Cities lie abandoned. Supernatural creatures wander the silenced achievements of a halted civilization. Pete Garey has survived the Change and its ensuing chaos. He wanders the southeastern United States, scavenging, lying low. Learning. One day he makes an unexpected friend: a smartassed unicorn with serious attitude. Pete names her Ariel and teaches her how to talk, how to read, and how to survive in a world in which a unicorn horn has become a highly prized commodity. When they learn that there is a price quite literally on Ariel's head, the two unlikely companions set out from Atlanta to Manhattan to confront the sorcerer who wants her horn. And so begins a haunting, epic, and surprisingly funny journey through the remnants of a halted civilization in a desolated world." - Amazon.

And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer. Hyperion. Kindle edition $14.29. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Somehow I missed the news that Eoin (pronounced "Owen") Colfer had agreed to enter the world of Douglas Adam's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to write this sixth book in the series. In this installment, "...Arthur has finally made it home to Earth, but that does not mean he has escaped his fate. Arthur's chances of getting his hands on a decent cuppa have evaporated rapidly, along with all the world's oceans. For no sooner has he touched down on the planet Earth than he finds out that it is about to be blown up ... again. And Another Thing features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favorite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer, and at least one very large slab of cheese. If you blanch at the $14.29 price, while waiting for it to go down, you might want to check out Colfer's tale of clever 12-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl - a book the author has described as "Die Hard with Fairies."

Destroyer of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner. Tor. Kindle edition $14.29. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
This is the 3rd prequel to Niven's Ringworld saga, following 2008's Juggler of Worlds. "Destroyer of Worlds opens in 2670, ten years after Juggler of Worlds closes; with refugee species fleeing in an armada of ramscoops in the direction of the Fleet of Worlds. The onrushing aliens are recognized as a threat; they have left in their trail a host of desolated worlds: some raided for supplies, some attacked to eliminate competition, and some for pure xenophobia. Only the Puppeteers might have the resources to confront this threat, but the Puppeteers are philosophical cowards... they don't confront anyone. They need sepoys to investigate the situation and take action for them. The source of the sepoys? Their newly independent former slave world, New Terra." - Amazon.

WESTERNS

Lincoln's Revenge by J. R. Roberts. (Gunsmith Giant, 14). Jove. Kindle edition $5.59. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Years ago Boston Corbett shot Lincoln's assassin, John wilkes Booth. But some legends can't be lived up to, and Corbett ended up in Topeka insane asylum - until he escaped. Now Clint Adams must find the living legend before a killer's bullet makes him history." - Amazon.

Silver Showdown by Jon Sharpe. (The Trailsman, 337). Signet. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"When Fargo hits the little town of Las Vegas, he knows that the nearby silver strikes are filling the town with opportunity. But when he signs on with an old frontier buddy to guard shipments from the mines to the town, he gets pulled into a fight not just against bandits, but against a vendetta-packing family out to end the Trailsman's lucky streak for good." - Amazon.

The Lawman: Hanging Judge by Lyle Brandt. Berkley. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"As Deputy U.S. Marshal Jack Slade watches the day's condemned men march to the ropes, a shootout takes the life of the hanging judge. A note from the judge's pocket, along with a single matchbox, is all Slade has to track the gunman. As he follows these slim leads, Slade hears ominous tales about the Son of Dixie - and a group of hooded killers he thought long gone. To release their deadly grip on the area, Slade's going to need a sure hand - and a ready gun." - Amazon.

The Collected Western Novels of Andy Adams. Halcyon Press. Kindle edition $0.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Six works of western fiction with an active table of contents. Includes The Log of a Cowboy, A Texas Matchmaker, The Outlet, Cattle Brands, Reed Anthony, Cowman and The Wells Brothers.

Weird & Esoteric Books for Your Kindle

Of the roughly 5 million books in print in the U.S., almost 377,000 are now available in Kindle editions. You might assume that these books are those that are most in demand by Kindle readers. Actually the Kindle library is just growing like topsy, based I assume on which titles publishers want to convert to Kindle format.

Here's my current top ten list of some of the weird and esoteric books you may never wish to purchase for your Kindle.

1. How To Trapping - Build Snares, Deadfalls, Homemade Traps & More by Lee Overton. If you're an avid trapper, you may want this one, but I'd venture a guess that illustrations of the snares, deadfalls and traps would be helpful and (hopefully) they're in the Kindle version. The author recommends this work, also, for folks who want to protect their personal property with booby traps and/or those who want to build a cabin and live "off the grid". I wonder if the Unabomber had this one. But wait, the description says it includes over 180 illustrations in 300 pages as maybe this is just what the trapper ordered.

2. A System of Instruction in the Practical Use of the Blowpipe. by Anonymous. At first I thought this might be about the use of the blowgun as a weapon in South America or Southeast Asia. But then I saw the subtitle: Being a Graduated Course of Analysis for the Use of Students and All Those Engaged in the Examination of Metallic Combinations. So it looks like we're talking chemistry. Although the Kindle edition on Amazon lists the author as "Anonymous", it appears that the book may have been written by one G. W. Plympton. If you are one of the - probably - minority of Kindle readers who DO want to read this book, check it out for free at Google Books.

3. Frictional Electricity by Charles Heber Clark. No, this is not a scientific treatise on electricity. Turns out it's a humorous short story (20 pages) reprinted from The Saturday Evening Post. If you're interested, don't buy from Amazon for $3.65 when you can get it free from Manybooks.

4. Bwe Karen Dictionary: With Texts and English-Karen Word List by Eugenie J. A. Henderson and Anna J. Allott. If you have been waiting breathlessly for this Bwe-Karen dictionary, you'd do better purchasing the paperback edition for $99.95. The Kindle edition will cost you $108.05. Why the 50 cents? Your guess is as good as mine. But wait! While I was preparing this article, the Kindle price was reduced to $91.96. Maybe it wasn't selling too well. The Karen languages and Bwe are spoken in Burma (Myanmar).

5. Telling Fortunes By Tea Leaves by Cicely Kent. Hey, don't laugh, this one's free in two different Kindle editions. And believe it or not, this is only one of two different books on fortune-telling with tea leaves available on Amazon. The other one is Tea-Cup Reading and Fortune-Telling by Tea Leaves, by a "Highland Seer". Enjoy!

6. Rick & Bubba's Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage by Rick Burgess and Bill Bussey. You might actually want to read this one - it's gotten a bunch of good reviews on Amazon. I put it on the list because the title struck me as funny. It includes the ten worst ways to say "I'm Sorry" and discussions of communication in marriage (Grunting Is Not a Language), finances (I Thought You Paid the Gas Bill) and playing sports together (I Did Too Let You Win).

7. Water Baby Outfit: Child's Knitted Swim/Bathing Suit (Vintage Pattern). Knit this vintage bathing suit for your young Shirley Temple look-alike. Knitters may not want to struggle with this vintage pattern when so many others are available on the web for free. Just saying.

8. Building Bat Houses by Dale Evva Gelfand. One of the volumes in the Storey Country Wisdom series, this one would actually be indispensable for those Kindle owners planning to build their own bat houses on (hopefully) land in the country. If this is one of the country skills you hope to master, looks like you've found the perfect reference. Other titles in this series cover such practical subjects as growing and using garlic, use and maintenance of axes and chainsaws and building a small barn for your horse. All kidding aside, this is really a great series of books about all aspects of country living. I purchased another book in the series (The Knitting Problem Solver) in paperback some years ago and still refer to it on occasion.

9. Aunt Prune's Sweet, Sweet Photo Captions by Cynthia Mollanen Rakes. Who is Aunt Prune and how is she captioning photos on the Kindle? No clue, but it costs $12.95 to find out. Yummy looking cover though.

10. Violin Making by Walter H. Mayson. (The Strad Library, 9). For aspiring violin makers, the Amazon Kindle bookstore features three editions of this classic work - one of which is free. I'd venture to say, however, that you would have a better chance of making a playable violin if you purchased a modern hardcover well-illustrated book on the subject.

Kindle E-Books on the Cheap: A Weekly Selection (14 Nov 2009)

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. In this weekly Kindle Reader feature, I point 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 Joseph Altsheler's Young Trailers series in an inexpensive eight volume omnibus edition, satirical novels by Anthony Trollope and G. K. Chesterton, mysteries by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Dorothy Sayers and a Hugo nominee for best science fiction novelette.

Young Trailers Series, by Joseph Altsheler. HISTORICAL FICTION/ADVENTURE. Download site: Amazon. Format: Kindle (.AZW). Price: $0.99.
This is an omnibus edition of the classic adventure series by Joseph A. Altsheler. It includes: The Young Trailers, The Forest Runners, The Keepers of the Trail, The Eyes of the Woods, The Free Rangers, The Riflemen of Ohio, The Scouts of the Valley, and The Border Watch. According to the original publisher, in The Young Trailers Series, "Two boys, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, and three scouts are the chief characters in these books dealing with frontier life and adventures with the Indians about the time of the Revolutionary War. Each story is complete in itself, full of excitement, and historically accurate."

The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope. NOVEL. Download site: Manybooks. Format: Kindle (.AZW). Price: FREE.
"a scathing satirical novel published in London in 1875 by Anthony Trollope, after a popular serialisation. It was regarded by many of Trollope's contemporaries as his finest work. One of his longest novels (it contains a hundred chapters), The Way We Live Now is particularly rich in sub-plot. It was inspired by the financial scandals of the early 1870s, and lashes out at the pervading dishonesty of the age, commercial, political, moral, and intellectual. It is one of the last significant Victorian novels to have been published in monthly parts." - Wikipedia.

The Flying Inn, by G. K. Chesterton. NOVEL. Download site: MobileRead. Format: .PRC for Kindle. Price: FREE.
"First published in 1914, this surreal comic novel is set in the near future. The themes that Chesterton satirizes are still likely to touch a nerve today. He envisages an England where the upper classes have converted to Islam, and are attempting to ban the consumption of alcohol. The lead characters set up a peripatetic public house and exploit various legal loopholes in order to get a drink. There is a particularly delightful excoriation of cocoa; discussions on the merits of cannabis, criticism of Islamic extremists, corrupt politicians, journalists, vegetarians and exponents of 'Higher Thought' (i.e. new-age weirdoes). This means that it is surprisingly topical in places." - MobileRead.

The Window at the White Cat, by Mary Roberts Rinehart. MYSTERY. Download site: Manybooks. Format: Kindle (.AZW). Price: FREE.
"Politics and Poker...that was the occupation and the preoccupation of the members of the White Cat Club. Once on the inside, a man's business was his own and nobody gave a damn if he was the mayor of the town or the champion poolplayer of the first ward. It was a noisy, crowded, masculine kind of retreat, which explained the sign that hung proudly over the door: 'The White Cat Never Sleeps.' But murder entered the wakeful chambers of the White Cat and its victims slept the deep, long sleep of the dead." - Manybooks.net.

Busman's Honeymoon, by Dorothy L. Sayers. MYSTERY. Download site: MobileRead. Format: .PRC for Kindle. Price: FREE.
In this sequel to Sayers' Gaudy Night, Lord Peter Wimsey and the famous mystery writer Harriet Van get married, but discover a corpse while on their honeymoon.

The Lost Kafoozalum, by Pauline Ashwell. SCIENCE FICTION. Download site: Manybooks. Format: Kindle (.AZW). Price: FREE.
Hugo nominee for best novelette, 1961. One of the beautiful things about a delusion is that no matter how mad someone gets at it, he can't do it any harm. Therefore a delusion can be a fine thing for prodding angry belligerents...

A Week of Entertainment: Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly 13 Nov 09

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


The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver. HarperCollins. NOVEL. EW's slant: "I so wanted to love this sprawling, old-fashioned historical novel... but the book - told through newspaper clippings, letters, bits of memoirs, and the like - never quite comes together." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (16 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"...a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities. Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico - from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City - Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence. Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own... Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach - the lacuna - between truth and public presumption. With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist - and of art itself." - Amazon.

Lit, by Mary Karr. HarperCollins. MEMOIR. EW's slant: "...radiant, rueful, rip-roaring..." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (16 reviews). Kindle edition $11.98. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The Liars' Club brought to vivid, indelible life Mary Karr's hardscrabble Texas childhood... Now Lit follows the self-professed blackbelt sinner's descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness - and to her astonishing resurrection. Karr's longing for a solid family seems secure when her marriage to a handsome, Shakespeare-quoting blueblood poet produces a son they adore. But she can't outrun her apocalyptic past. She drinks herself into the same numbness that nearly devoured her charismatic but troubled mother, reaching the brink of suicide. A hair-raising stint in 'The Mental Marriott,' with an oddball tribe of gurus and saviors, awakens her to the possibility of joy and leads her to an unlikely faith. Not since Saint Augustine cried, 'Give me chastity, Lord-but not yet!' has a conversion story rung with such dark hilarity. Lit is about getting drunk and getting sober; becoming a mother by letting go of a mother; learning to write by learning to live.." - Amazon.
$9.99 or less alternative: Drinking: A Love Story, by Caroline Knapp, a personal account of the late writer's 20-year battle with alcoholism.

NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND KINDLE EDITIONS

Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum, by Richard Fortey. Vintage. NONFICTION. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (11 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Fortey, senior paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London..., here turns his eye to the inner workings of a natural history museum. Though a paleontologist and an expert on trilobites, Fortey looks at all of the major departments of the museum, examining how they work, providing brief backgrounds on the sciences themselves, and telling stories of many of the museum’s scientists both past and present. Explaining how science works through his stories from the museum, Fortey tells of truffles and how they illustrate the science of taxonomy; the Piltdown Man fraud and how more modern techniques exposed the hoax; how one of the ichthyologists found a lost Mozart manuscript while searching for a sixteenth-century book’s illustration of a herring; and how the 'First Law of Museums' - never throw anything away - turned up a cast of the Koh-i-noor diamond made before it was recut... --Nancy Bent for Booklist.

Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. NOVEL. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (83 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Ghosh's best and most ambitious work yet is an adventure story set in nineteenth-century Calcutta against the backdrop of the Opium Wars. On the Ibis, a ship engaged in transporting opium across the Bay of Bengal, varied life stories converge. A fallen raja, a half-Chinese convict, a plucky American sailor, a widowed opium farmer, a transgendered religious visionary are all united by the smoky paradise of the opium seed. Ghosh writes with impeccable control, and with a vivid and sometimes surprising imagination..." - The New Yorker.

The World is What It Is, by Patrick French. Vintage. BIOGRAPHY. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (16 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"...the first authoritative biography of the controversial Nobel laureate, whose only stated ambition was greatness as a writer, in pursuit of which goal nothing else was sacred. Beginning with a richly detailed portrait of Naipaul’s childhood in colonial Trinidad, French gives us the boy born to an Indian family, the displaced soul in a displaced community, who by dint of talent and ambition finds the only imaginable way out: a scholarship to Oxford. London in the 1950s offers hope and his first literary success, but homesickness and depression almost defeat Vidia, his narrow escape aided by Patricia Hale, an Englishwoman who will devote herself to his work and well-being. She will stand by him, sometimes tenuously, for more than four decades, even as Naipaul embarks on a twenty-four-year affair, which will awaken half-dead passions and feed perhaps his greatest wave of dizzying creativity. Amid this harrowing emotional life, French traces the course of the fierce visionary impulse underlying Naipaul’s singular power, a gift to produce masterpieces of fiction and nonfiction..." - from the hardcover edition.

The White Mary, by Kira Salak. Henry Holt. NOVEL. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (89 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"A young reporter embarks on a dangerous adventure in Salak's gripping debut novel, a blend of Heart of Darkness and Tomb Raider. Like her protagonist, Marika Vecera, award-winning journalist Salak has traveled solo - and narrowly escaped death - in the world's most remote and terrifying places, including war-torn Congo and the interior of Papua New Guinea. Marika, an ambitious journalist, travels to discover the truth about war correspondent Robert Lewis, who has observed some of the modern world's greatest atrocities. He is believed to have committed suicide, but a letter from a missionary leaves Marika thinking he may still be alive in the wilds of Papua New Guinea. She sets off on her quest, and eventually malaria, ritual murder and arduous trekking through the wilderness lead Marika to some startling discoveries and a pathway out of her own past trauma..." - Publishers Weekly.

Books They're Talking About: Kindle Books in the Media (10 Nov 09)

Media interviews are a popular way for writers to introduce new books they hope will catch the viewer's eye and open their pocketbooks. 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 COMEDY CENTRAL'S THE DAILY SHOW (12 NOV 09):


Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink, by Jane Goodall with Thane Maynard and Gail Hudson. Grand Central Publishing. Kindle edition $13.16. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"At a time when animal species are becoming extinct on every continent and we are confronted with bad news about the environment nearly every day, Jane Goodall, one of the world's most renowned scientists, brings us inspiring news about the future of the animal kingdom. With the insatiable curiosity and conversational prose that have made her a bestselling author, Goodall - along with Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard - shares fascinating survival stories about the American Crocodile, the California Condor, the Black-Footed Ferret, and more; all formerly endangered species and species once on the verge of extinction whose populations are now being regenerated..." - Amazon.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (16 NOV 09):


How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture, by Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Grand Central Publishing. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Optimized for Kindle DX.
"From braving the wilds of Los Angeles to the Costa Rican jungle, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have learned a thing or two about reality ... television, that is. But while dominating the airwaves and tabloid covers every week may look like all fun and mind games, Speidi is here to tell you: becoming wildly famous requires hard work and a no-fail blueprint for success. Now, for the first time ever, Heidi and Spencer invite you behind the scenes as they reveal the ten-step plan that took them from nobodies to notorious!" - Amazon.

ON OPRAH (16 NOV 09) and on ON ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA (17 NOV 09):


Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin. HarperCollins. Kindle edition $9.00. Please note that the Kindle edition is slated for release on December 26. The hardcover edition will be released on November 16th, also for $9.00.
"One year ago, Sarah Palin burst onto the national political stage like a comet. Yet even now, few Americans know who this remarkable woman really is. On September 3, 2008 Alaska Governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention that electrified the nation and instantly made her one of the most recognizable women in the world. As chief executive of America's largest state, she had built a record as a reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual and pushed through changes other politicians only talked about: Energy independence. Ethics reform. And the biggest private sector infrastructure project in U.S. history. And while revitalizing public school funding and ensuring the state met its responsibilities to seniors and Alaska Native populations, Palin also beat the political "good ol' boys club" at their own game and brought Big Oil to heel. Like her GOP running mate, John McCain, Palin wasn't a packaged and over-produced candidate. She was a Main Street American woman: a working mom, wife of a blue collar union man, and mother of five children, the eldest of whom was serving his country in a yearlong deployment in Iraq and the youngest, an infant with special needs. Palin's hometown story touched a populist nerve, rallying hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to the GOP ticket. But as the campaign unfolded, Palin became a lightning rod for both praise and criticism. Supporters called her 'refreshing' and 'honest,' a kitchen-table public servant they felt would fight for their interests. Opponents derided her as a wide-eyed Pollyanna unprepared for national leadership. But none of them knew the real Sarah Palin. In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother. She also opens up for the first time about the 2008 presidential race..." - Amazon.

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