Friday 15 July 2011

Great Kindle Deals Newsletter - Friday, 14th July 2011

Hi everyone, I hope you're having a great day, it's almost time for the weekend again when you can sit back and relax for a bit. There's a lot of Kindle news this week, as well as a deal on the Kindle itself and of course cheap and free books.

News:
1. Ad-supported Kindle 3G drops by $50 in US - We reported a while back that Amazon in the US has an ad supported Kindle which has ads when on the  lock screen and book listings, but not during books. The price meant that the Kindle has dropped from $189 to $164 if you bought the ad-supported kindle. Now another $25 has been shaved off due to sponsorship by US telecoms company AT&T, it now costs $139. In pounds that's a saving of £31 meaning if the deal does eventually come over across the pond, the Kindle could be available from as little as £80.


2. The Amazon Tablet - More and more rumors surrounding the Amazon Tablet have surfaced this week, including, crucially, a report from the Wall Street Journal which claims that Amazon will release a tablet before October competing with the iPad and offering a book reading ability, as the iPad does. This may mean a price drop for the Kindle (depending on the price of the tablet).  The tablet is said to have a 9-inch screen, significantly bigger than the current Kindle.

3. Guardian and The Observer - The Guardian and The Observer have made it to the Kindle store this week. You can subscribe to the newspaper directly from the Kindle store for £9.99 a month for a full 7-day a week subscription. A paper subscription for 7 days a week costs £27.60, making the Kindle version very good value for money. "The Guardian and Observer Kindle edition is available in the UK, US and more than 100 other countries, and carries the content from that day's newspaper, including all the editorial sections and supplements." The Kindle newspaper does indeed have images. You can get a 14-day free trial on the Amazon website here and it's an affordable £9.99 a month after that, about 34p a day.

An iPad and an Android app will be available "soon."

Feature - Discounted Kindle:
The Kindle is currently being offered at a discounted price of £79.99 at the moment right here on Amazon. If you cant click the link, type this into your web browser - http://goo.gl/zAht6 (it is case sensitive). There is a small catch though, the Kindle you are buying are refurbished. However at £31 off in my opinion this is worth it. There are never any discounts on the Kindle so this is a cracking deal if you want to get a Kindle for your parents, or partner, or even another for yourself to keep somewhere else. Amazon describes the item as "Factory refurbished. Package factory sealed. Ships with USB cable only.. All purchases eligible for Amazon customer service and a 30-day return policy"

Cheap books:
1. That Summer in Ischia - by Penny Feeny - 99p
Rated 5 stars average from 15 reviews
Synopsis: "In the long hot summer of 1979, best friends Helena and Liddy travel to the beautiful island of Ischia to be au pairs to the children of two wealthy Italian families: the Verduccis and the Baldinis. From the opulent hillside villas and sun-drenched beaches the girls plan their great adventure to find romance and excitement, whatever the cost, on the sleepy island. But when a little boy in their care goes missing, the spell is broken and the girls find themselves under suspicion from police. Under pressure, the cracks in their relationship begin to show and one will betray each other, changing the course of both of their lives forever. Twenty-five years later, Liddy, walking her dog on an English beach, spies a figure oddly reminiscent of her estranged friend. And so begins a startling quest to the villa where it all went so wrong for Helena and to the heart of the mystery of what really happened that summer in Ischia."

 2. Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels - 99p
 Rated 3.5 stars average from 70 reviews
Synopsis: " Benjamin Daniels is angry. He is frustrated, confused, baffled and, quite frequently, very funny. He is also a GP. These are his confessions.Benjamin Daniels is angry. He is frustrated, confused, baffled and, quite frequently, very funny. He is also a GP. These are his confessions.A woman troubled by pornographic dreams about Tom Jones. An 80-year-old man who can't remember why he's come to see the doctor. A woman with a common cold demanding (but not receiving) antibiotics. A man with a sore knee. A young woman who has been trying to conceive for a while but now finds herself pregnant and isn't sure she wants to go through with it. A 7-year-old boy with 'tummy aches' that don't really exist.These are his patients.Confessions of a GP is a witty insight into the life of a family doctor. Funny and moving in equal measure it will change the way you look at your GP next time you pop in with the sniffles."


3. Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes - 99p
Rated 5 stars average from 137 reviews
Synopsis: "Catherine has been enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous - Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell. But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later, struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything. This is an edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, and a tour de force of suspense."

Free books:
1. "The Big 5-OH!" by Sandra D. Bricker
No Reviews
Synopsis: "Olivia Wallace has a birthday curse . . . or so she thinks. It was a broken heart on her 16th, a car accident on her 21st, pneumonia on her 30th, and a fall down a flight of stairs on her 35th. There were Ohio blizzards on her 38th, 39th, and 40th; and six days before her 45th, she lost the love of her life to a heart attack. Numbing grief stole that birthday and a couple more to follow and, on the morning of her 48th birthday, she received the call she’d dreaded ever since losing her mom so many years ago…she was diagnosed with stage-3 ovarian cancer. The doctors didn’t hold out a lot of hope, but Liv survived and maintained her faith. Months of surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed. But now, as her 50th birthday creeps up the icy Ohio path toward her, her hair has grown back, her energy level is up, and she is officially cancer free. It makes her nervous. After everything she’s gone through, Liv hates the idea of driving on icy roads and returning to work as an O.R. nurse in a local Cincinnati hospital.Her best friend Hallie knows just the thing to break Liv out of the winter doldrums, while providing a safe haven of warmth, sunshine, and a time to regroup: a holiday in the Florida sunshine!"


2. Harry Potter Collector's Handbook by William Silverton
No Reviews
Synopsis: "Harry Potter Casts His Spell On Collectors!
Welcome, Muggles, to the magic, mystery, and merchandise of the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter!
Harry Potter Collector's Handbook will bewitch you with colorful images and current values of licensed products based on the famous boy wizard and his charming chums and nefarious foes. Just for you, we've conjured:

1,000+ spellbinding listings, pictures, and secondary market values.

Information arranged-magically!-in alphabetical order to make it easy to find what you're looking for.

A diverse array of collectibles from rare first editions of books worth thousands of dollars to items worth slightly fewer galleons.

If you're mesmerized by "Pottermania," you'll never want to depart the enchanting world of witchcraft and wizardry presented in Harry Potter Collector's Handbook."

3. Syndrome by Thomas Hoover
4.5 stars average from 4 review
Synopsis: "Alexa Hampton runs her own interior design firm in New York’s Soho but now a heart mishap threatens her life. Her black-sheep younger brother insists she go to a New Jersey clinic owned by his eccentric boss for stem cell experiments. There she and her long-ago lover, a medical reporter, uncover a bizarre experiment to reverse the aging process.

Idea points: Medical Thriller, Heart disease, Stem Cells, Aortic Stenosis, Aging, Fountain of Youth,"


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With Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows: Part 2 out today, I think the collectors handbook in the free books section should be enjoyed by some of you. See you next week.

Saturday 9 July 2011

Great Kindle Deals Newsletter - Saturday, 9th July 2011

Hello everyone, welcome to this week's edition of Great Kindle Deals. I know some of you subscribe to the New York Times so there's some exciting news in this week's newsletter, this week I've substituted the "Cheap books" section for a "Highest rated books" section as a one-off, however looking at the prices these books are still all very cheap and mostly under £5. Let's get straight into the content:

News:
1. NYT on Kindle - Businessweek reports "People who subscribe to The New York Times on the Kindle and Nook electronic readers are now getting unlimited access to the newspaper's website at no extra cost. The additional option became available Thursday, slightly more than three months after The New York Times began charging $15 every four weeks, or nearly $200 per year, to read more than 20 articles a month on its website." The New York Times costs £17.98 per month.

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Bestselling books:
1. Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Be a Happy Non-smokerfor the Rest of Your Life (Allen Carrs Easy Way) - £4.49
Rated 5 stars average from 779 reviews
Synopsis: "The revolutionary international bestseller that will stop you smoking - for good. 'If you follow my instructions you will be a happy non-smoker for the rest of your life.' That's a strong claim from Allen Carr, but as the world's leading and most successful quit smoking expert, Allen was right to boast! Reading this book is all you need to give up smoking. You can even smoke while you read. There are no scare tactics, you will not gain weight and stopping will not feel like deprivation. If you want to kick the habit then go for it. Allen Carr has helped millions of people become happy non-smokers. His unique method removes your psychological dependence on cigarettes and literally sets you free. Accept no substitute. Five million people can't be wrong. " 

2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - £3.99
Rated 5 stars average from 621 reviews
Synopsis: "Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver. Some lines will never be crossed.

The Help is a deeply moving, timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we won't. Itis about how women, whether mothers or daughters, the help or the boss, relate to each other - and that terrible feeling that those who look after your children may understand them, even love them, better than you . . ."

3. Holes by Louis Sachar - £0.99 
Rated 4.5 stars average from 517 reviews
Synopsis: "A complex story, riddled with the harsh imagery and barren despair, Holes is a perceptive and intricate homage to family and friendship which never shies away from the harshest of realities yet injects the story of a seemingly hopeless boy with a sly, sideways humour that crackles against the backdrop of the arid wastelands of the desert. An absolute must for anyone, young or old, who relishes an intelligent, courageous and dynamic read. (Age 11 and over)"



4. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman - £3.59
Rated 4.5 stars average from 332 reviews
Synopsis: "Sephy and Callum have been best friends since childhood, and now they are older and they realise they want more from each other. But the harsh realities of lives lived in a segregated society are beginning to take their toll: Callum is a nought--a second-class citizen in a world dominated by the Crosses--and Sephy is a Cross, and the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country. The barriers they would have to cross to be together at first seem little more than minor obstacles to the two idealistic teenagers, but soon those barriers threaten not only their friendship but their lives."

Cheap books: 
1. Fire Lord's Lover by Kathryne Kennedy
Rated 4.5 stars average from 5 reviews
Synopsis: "If his powers are discovered, his father will destroy him...
In a magical land ruled by ruthless Elven lords, the Fire Lord's son Dominic Raikes plays a deadly game to conceal his growing might from his malevolent father-until his arranged bride awakens in him passions he thought he had buried forever...
Unless his fiancée kills him first..."




2. Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand
Rated 5 stars average from 3 reviews
Synopsis: "Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out. But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.

With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives."

3.  Concrete Underground  by Moxie Mezcal
Rated 5 stars average from 1 review
Synopsis: "An idealistic journalist sets out to expose corruption among the city's elite and soon finds himself immersed in a conspiracy of murder, blackmail, espionage, and human trafficking. Pitted against the enigmatic CEO of one of the world's largest tech companies, he must play a deadly game that threatens to unearth its players' darkest secrets.

CONCRETE UNDERGROUND is postmodern pulp fiction - a gritty, labyrinthine murder mystery about identity and alienation in the digital age."

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See you next week with more great kindle deals.