Books on The Knob

Nook Daily Find 5/21

2013-05-21T00:34:00.003-04:00

Busting Vegas: The MIT Whiz Kid Who Brought the Casinos to Their Knees (~~$14.95~~ $9.78 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Ben Mezrich [HarperCollins], is the Nook Daily Find; it's likely to be price matched on Kindle later this morning.

Book Description

He played in casinos around the world with a plan to make himself richer than anyone could possibly imagine -- but it would nearly cost him his life.

Semyon Dukach was known as the Darling of Las Vegas. A legend at age twenty-one, this cocky hotshot was the biggest high roller to appear in Sin City in decades, a mathematical genius with a system the casinos had never seen before and couldn't stop -- a system that has never been revealed until now; that has nothing to do with card counting, wasn't illegal, and was more powerful than anything that had been tried before.

Las Vegas. Atlantic City. Aruba. Barcelona. London. And the jewel of the gambling crown -- Monte Carlo.

Dukach and his fellow MIT students hit them all and made millions. They came in hard, with stacks of cash; big, seemingly insane bets; women hanging on their arms; and fake identities. Although they were taking classes and studying for exams during the week, over the weekends they stormed the blackjack tables only to be harassed, banned from casinos, threatened at gunpoint, and beaten in Vegas's notorious back rooms.

The stakes were high, the dangers very real, but the players were up to the challenges, consequences be damned. There was Semyon Dukach himself, bored with school and broke; Victor Cassius, the slick, brilliant MIT grad student who galvanized the team; Owen Keller, with stunning ability but a dark past that would catch up to him; and Allie Simpson, bright, clever, and a feast for the eyes.

In the classroom, they were geeks. On the casino floor, they were unstoppable.

Busting Vega$ is Dukach's unbelievably true story; a riveting account of monumental greed, excess, hubris, sex, love, violence, fear, and statistics that is high-stakes entertainment at its best.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/21

2013-05-21T00:26:00.005-04:00

The Beach (£0.99 UK), by Alex Garland [Penguin], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $12.99).

Book Description
Late at night in a seedy hotel, Richard is drawn into a strange conversation with a fellow guest. Through a narrow strip of mosquito netting he hears for the first time of a secret beach, and island Garden of Eden hidden somewhere in the scattered islands of a Thai marine park. The next morning, Richard finds a map pinned to his door, and the man who put it there has slashed his wrists. The challenge is irresistible, and Richard sets off on a perilous journey in search of Shangri-La.

Free Book - Even You Can Learn Statistics (K/N)

2013-05-20T19:31:00.000-04:00

Even You Can Learn Statistics: A Guide for Everyone Who Has Ever Been Afraid of Statistics, Enhanced Edition, by David M. Levine and David F. Stephan, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher FT Press. Note that ONLY the Enhanced Edition is free in both stores; be careful if searching and not using the links here. You may find the text-only edition in your libraries, as it was free last November.

The Audio/Video content in the Kindle edition is only downloaded and displayed on an iThing, while the B&N edition appears to be compatible with all of their apps, tablets (and the text-only portion with the Nook, apparently, which is new for one of their Enhanced Editions). Both editions are quite large, so plan on transferring them via WiFi or using a USB cable to your PC.

Book Description
Even You Can Learn Statistics: A Guide for Everyone Who Has Ever Been Afraid of Statistics is a practical, up-to-date introduction to statistics—for everyone! Thought you couldn’t learn statistics? You can—and you will! One easy step at a time, this fully updated book teaches you all the statistical techniques you’ll need for finance, quality, marketing, the social sciences, or anything else! Simple jargon-free explanations help you understand every technique. Practical examples and worked-out problems give you hands-on practice. Special sections present detailed instructions for developing statistical answers, using spreadsheet programs or any TI-83/TI-84 compatible calculator. This edition delivers new examples, more detailed problems and sample solutions, plus an all-new chapter on powerful multiple regression techniques. Hate math? No sweat. You’ll be amazed at how little you need. Like math? Optional “Equation Blackboard” sections reveal the mathematical foundations of statistics right before your eyes! You’ll learn how to:
Construct and interpret statistical charts and tables with Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc 3
Work with mean, median, mode, standard deviation, Z scores, skewness, and other descriptive statistics
Use probability and probability distributions
Work with sampling distributions and confidence intervals
Test hypotheses with Z, t, chi-square, ANOVA, and other techniques
Perform powerful regression analysis and modeling
Use multiple regression to develop models that contain several independent variables
Master specific statistical techniques for quality and Six Sigma programs
About the Web Site
Download practice files, templates, data sets, and sample spreadsheet models—including ready-to-use solutions for your own work! www.ftpress.com/youcanlearnstatistics2e

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Free on Kindle; links on my Squidoo Lens: Today's Free Kindle Books.

Free Book - Ultimate Leadership (K/N)

2013-05-20T19:21:00.000-04:00

Ultimate Leadership: Winning Execution Strategies for Your Situation, by Russell E. Palmer, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble (repeat), courtesy of publisher Pearson Prentice Hall. The Audible companion audiobook is $4.99.

Book Description
To succeed, leaders must understand and apply the core principles of leadership--but that’s not enough. You need to shape your approach for any unique situation. Too many leaders don’t know how to do that--and that’s why they fail. Ultimate Leadership shows how to adapt the principles of leadership to different challenges, contexts, and organizations.

Russell E. Palmer--who has had three very different, highly successful careers as head of one of the world’s largest accounting firms, Dean of the Wharton School, and an entrepreneur--helps you identify the leadership model most appropriate for your environment, and how to lead accordingly. You’ll learn better ways to lead your equals, help an organization weather crises, transform its culture, lead entrepreneurial organizations, lead global organizations...even lead non-profit and academic institutions.

Then, drawing on interviews with an extraordinary spectrum of outstanding leaders, Palmer helps you master the attribute every leader must have: the ability to inspire your unique organization, even in the face of the most daunting challenges.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Free on Kindle; links on my Squidoo Lens: Today's Free Kindle Books.

Free Book - The Truth About Personal Performance (K/N)

2013-05-20T19:16:00.002-04:00

The Truth About Personal Performance, a collection of titles by Robert E. Gunther, James O'Rourke and Leigh L. Thompson, is free in the Kindle store (repeat, 2010) and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher FT Press.

Book Description
150+ secrets of exceptional personal performance: how to present confidently, negotiate successfully, and make smarter decisions--anywhere, anytime!

Three full books of proven solutions for supercharging personal performance! Prepare for any audience, negotiation, or decision…compel attention and motivate action…manage anxiety or anger…use nonverbal communication…negotiate with people you love (or hate)…build (or repair) trust…make decisions with imperfect data…and much more!

From world-renowned leaders and experts, including James O'Rourke, Leigh L. Thompson, and Robert E. Gunther.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Free on Kindle; links on my Squidoo Lens: Today's Free Kindle Books.

Free Book - Brain Dead (K/N)

2013-05-20T19:07:00.004-04:00

Brain Dead, by Eileen Dreyer, is free in the Kindle store (repeat) and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher ePublishing Works!.

Book Description
When forensic nurse Timmie Leary-Parker moves from LA to Puckett, Missouri to care for her ailing father, she's prepared for the slow pace, the small-town politics and the feeling that everyone knows her business.

Then, patients in the hospital's Alzheimer's Unit start dying in unprecedented numbers.

Everyone refuses to investigate the town's most lucrative business, and no one will come against the hospital's Golden Boy director.

No one, except Timmie.

Convinced a serial killer walks the Alzheimer's Unit where her father lies ill, Timmie digs up a burned-out Pulitzer-winning reporter and dives into a quagmire of corruption and greed.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Free on Kindle; links on my Squidoo Lens: Today's Free Kindle Books.

Free Book - Summit (K/N)

2013-05-20T19:06:00.003-04:00

Summit, the first novel in The Psychic Thriller series by Richard Bowker, is free in the Kindle store (repeat) and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher ePublishing Works!.

Book Description
Valentina is the most dangerous woman in the world. A powerful psychic, she's used to turn loyal American operatives into KGB double agents.

But, Valentina has one weakness—her infatuation with Daniel Fulton, the brilliant, enigmatic American pianist.

Valentina hopes her love for Fulton will free her from the KGB. Instead, she's trapped into using her powers one final time.

Success will change history. Failure will doom the only person she loves... at the Summit

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Free on Kindle; links on my Squidoo Lens: Today's Free Kindle Books.

Free Book - Name and Number (K/N)

2013-05-20T19:05:00.000-04:00

Name and Number, by John Hoskison, is free in the Kindle store (repeat) and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher ePublishing Works!.

Book Description
Art student Nick Wood risks selling a few Ecstasy tablets at a party to impress friends and ends up with a two year prison sentence.

Nick hopes to spend his sentence in an open prison, the type he's read about in the papers. The ones often referred to as 'holiday camps'. Instead, his worst nightmare comes true.

Locked up in HMP Blackthorpe, a prison known for its medieval-like squalor, Nick lives at the mercy of the drug barons and in fear of the lifers. Constantly stalked by danger he has to find a way to survive.

To earn protection money he turns to the one thing he's good at—art. But can selling pictures to visitors be enough to keep the mob at bay? Or will he be made an example of by the hard men and suffer the worst type of prison punishment?

Based on the experiences of the author.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Free on Kindle; links on my Squidoo Lens: Today's Free Kindle Books.

Daily Deal - Relentless Pursuit (E)

2013-05-20T18:30:00.001-04:00

Relentless Pursuit (~~$4.99~~ $3.82 Kindle), a contemporary romance by Sara Orwig [Harlequin Desire], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.00 (4 copies left).

Book Description
A cool million to help a withdrawn child in time for kindergarten? Widowed teacher Ava Barton is touched that the girl's guardian, Texas billionaire Will Delaney, cares so deeply. But the job includes moving into Will's mansion for the summer. And suddenly, Ava is working nights and weekends trying—unsuccessfully—to resist the gorgeous tycoon down the hall. Will wants her in his bed for June, July and August. But come fall, he'll move on. Unless she can teach him a thing or two about opening his guarded heart to love.

Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out.

Kindle Daily Deals 5/20

2013-05-20T09:49:00.002-04:00

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Fraction Calculator Plus, which looks to be useful for checking the kid's homework.

I also see that Angry Birds Seasons has had an update, with 36 new levels and magic portals! If you have the Ad-Free Edition, which was a free daily app a couple of years ago, you should be able to update; I may use part of my $5 Amazon Coins credit to grab the Kindle Tablet Edition. I also see that the Bad Piggies Premium HD (Kindle Tablet Edition) is only 99 cents today; although it isn't marked as a sale, Rovio usually charges $2.99 for Tablet Editions and $0.99 for the Ad-Free Edition, which makes me think that it is.

Amazon's Digital Software Deal of the Week is 64% off two Quicken products: Quicken WillMaker Plus 2013 and Quicken Legal Business Pro 2013. Both come with updates thru the end of the year, plus WillMaker gives you free access to Nolo's Online Living Trust, a $79 value, while Legal Business includes the complete, searchable text of five Nolo business bestsellers plus a free download of Nolo's bestselling book Working With Independent Contractors, a $34.99 value, when you register.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Berried to the Hilt ($1.99), the fourth novel in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series by Karen MacInerney [Midnight Ink].

Book Description
When a lobsterman discovers a sunken ship, Cranberry Island is abuzz with excitement. Is the wreck the remains of the Myra Barton, the missing ship of island sea captain Jonah Selfridge? Or the elusive Black Marguerite, which belonged to one of the most notorious pirates of the 17th century and vanished without a trace—except for the ghost ship that old-timers say roams the water on fog-shrouded nights?

Soon the island is swarming with marine archaeologists and treasure hunters. It’s good news for Natalie—and for the Gray Whale Inn—until a body turns up floating near the wreck. Natalie finds herself immersed in the world of pirates and sunken treasure, both past and present. Will she solve the mystery and find the killer in time? Or will Natalie be the next to join the lost ship’s crew, down in Davy Jones’ locker?

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Beach House No. 9 ($1.99), the first Crescent Cove CA novel by Christie Ridgway [Harlequin HQN].

Book Description
USA TODAY bestselling author Christie Ridgway introduces a sizzling new series set in Crescent Cove, California, where the magic of summer can last forever…

When Jane Pearson arrives at Griffin Lowell's beach house, she expects a brooding loner. After all, his agent hired her to help the reclusive war journalist write his stalled memoir. Instead, Jane finds a tanned, ocean-blue-eyed man in a Hawaiian shirt, hosting a beach party and surrounded by beauties. Faster than he can untie a bikini top, Griffin lets Jane know he doesn't want her. But she desperately needs this job and digs her toes in the sand.

Griffin intends to spend the coming weeks at Beach House No. 9 taking refuge from his painful memories—and from the primly sexy Jane, who wants to bare his soul. But warm nights, moonlit walks and sultry kisses just may unlock both their guarded hearts….

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Secret Hour ($1.99), the first novel in the YA Midnighters Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld [HarperCollins].

Book Description
Nobody is safe in the secret hour.

Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma.

Time freezes.

Nobody moves.

For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour -- only they are free to move about the midnight time.

These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakablemidnight aura appears at Bixby High School.

Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they're determined to stop her beforeshe can use it.

A story of courage, shadowy perils, and unexpected destiny, the secret hour is the first volume of the mesmerizing Midnighters trilogy by acclaimed author Scott Westerfeld.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is A Prince among Frogs ($2.99), the seventh title in the Tales of the Frog Princess series by E. D. Baker [Bloomsbury USA Childrens].

Book Description
Princess Millie and her fiancé, Audun, are busy preparing for their wedding when trouble starts brewing in Greater Greensward. Millie's baby brother, Felix, has been kidnapped and is trapped in a swamp full of other frogs. With all the adults busy fixing problems elsewhere in the kingdom, it's up to Millie and Audun to find him-but they need all the help they can get to fight the family's oldest nemesis, the angry wizard Olebald. From the deep blue sea to the soaring skies, our two heroes will stop at nothing to get their families back together and banish all the troublemakers for good.E. D. Baker brings out all our favorite characters for this funny and ferocious finale to Tales of the Frog Princess, the best-selling series that inspired Disney's The Princess and the Frog.

Age Range: 10 and up

Romance Bargain Duo

2013-05-20T00:58:00.004-04:00

Taking Shots ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo, $2.99 B&N), the first novel in The Assassins series Toni Aleo [Loveswept/Random House]. Best of all, the remaining novels in the series are currently on sale for $2.99 apiece. These are not short novels, either - the first is nearly 500 pages and the next one I checked nearly 700!

Book Description
In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating Loveswept debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past.

No matter how hard she tries, Elleanor Fisher never thinks she’s good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL’s Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what’s happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world.

A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he’s living outside of it: the women, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he feels like he’s just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli to put her insecurities aside before she misses out on a shot at love.

The Notorious Lady Anne ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo, $2.99 B&N), a historical romance by Sharon Cullen [Loveswept/Random House]. A second novel, The Infamous Lord Blythe ($2.99), is also now available to pre-order, along with her previously published works.

Book Description
From rising romance star Sharon Cullen comes a tale of the fiery passion between a noble naval officer and a female pirate that’s as tempestuous and as unpredictable as the sea.

Nicholas Addison, celebrated captain of the Blackwell Shipping Fleet, has agreed to take Mrs. Emmaline Sutherland aboard the Pride and ferry the raven-haired beauty across the Atlantic on what he imagines will be a routine trip. But when the ship is attacked by pirates, the seemingly innocent passenger is revealed to be none other than the infamous marauder Lady Anne, whose name strikes fear in the hearts of sailors everywhere—and whose seductive wiles commandeers Nicholas’s affections.

Lady Anne, a legend of the high seas, has spent the last eleven years plotting revenge against her father, the owner of Blackwell Shipping. She’s targeted the Pride in hopes of plundering its captain’s company secrets. But beneath her fierce courage and bitter determination, Anne has the delicate heart of a woman—a heart that cannot help falling for Nicholas. Now Anne must make a difficult choice: bring down Blackwell or surrender to love.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: The Reluctant Countess, Wild Rain, and Silk on the Skin.

Nook Daily Find 5/20

2013-05-20T00:38:00.001-04:00

How to Swear Around the World ($7.39 Kindle, ~~$8.39~~ $0.99 B&N), by Toby Triumph and Jason Sacher [Chronicle Books], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
This essential phrasebook collects the most colorful, explicit, and outrageous ways to tell people off in every part of the world. Featuring dozens of different languages, the sayings range from everyday swears to family curses to expressions for X-rated relations with animals. Phonetic pronunciation is provided so that readers can curse like a native, and handy illustrations provide visual guides to these foreign exclamations. Perfect for the international traveler who may need to wish an enemy a painful death, insult a person's grandmother, or accuse someone's mother of having intimate relations with bears in the forest.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/21

2013-05-20T00:17:00.001-04:00

They Were Counted (£0.99 UK), the first novel in the Transylvanian Trilogy by Miklos Banffy, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.19).

Book Description
Painting an unrivalled portrait of the vanished world of pre-1914 Hungary, this story is told through the eyes of two young Transylvanian cousins, Count Balint Abády and Count László Gyeroffy. Shooting parties in great country houses, turbulent scenes in parliament, and the luxury of life in Budapest provide the backdrop for this gripping, prescient novel, forming a chilling indictment of upper-class frivolity and political folly, in which good manners cloak indifference and brutality. Abády becomes aware of the plight of a group of Romanian mountain peasants and champions their cause, while Gyeroffy dissipates his resources at the gaming tables, mirroring the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire itself. The first book in a trilogy published before World War II, it was rediscovered after the fall of Communism in Hungary and this edition contains a new foreword.

They Were Found Wanting (£0.99 UK), the second novel in the Transylvanian Trilogy by Miklos Banffy, is the second Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.19).

Book Description
The tale of the two Transylvanian cousins, their loves, and their very different fortunes continues in this second volume of the Transylvanian trilogy. Balint Abady is forced to part from the beautiful and unhappily married Adrienne Uzdy, while Lazlo Gyeroffy is rapidly heading for self-destruction through excessive drinking and his own fecklessness. Politicians, quarreling among themselves and stubbornly ignoring their countrymen's real needs, are still pursuing their vendetta with the Habsburg rule of Hungary from Vienna. Meanwhile, they fail to notice how the Great Powers-through such events as Austria's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908-are moving ever closer to the conflagration of 1914-1918 that will destroy their world forever. Contrasting a life of privilege and corruption with the lives and problems of an expatriate Romanian peasant minority whom Balint tries to help, this portrait is an unrivalled evocation of a rich and fascinating aristocratic world oblivious of its impending demise.

They Were Divided (£0.99 UK), the concluding volume in the Transylvanian Trilogy by Miklos Banffy, is the third Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.19).

Book Description
The final part of Banffy's trilogy reflects the rapidly disintegrating course of events in Central Europe. In the foreground the lives of Balint, with his ultimately unhappy love for Adrienne, and his fatally flawed cousin, Laszlo Gyeroffy, who dies in poverty and neglect, are told with humour and a bitter-sweet nostalgia for a paradise lost through folly. The sinister and fast moving events in Montenegro, the Balkan wars, the apparent encirclement of Germany and Austria-Hungary by Britain, France and Russia, and finally the assassination of Franz Ferdinand all lead inexorably to the youth of Hungary marching off to their death and the dismemberment of their country.

Free Book - Skinny Grilling (N)

2013-05-19T10:27:00.002-04:00

Skinny Grilling: Over 100 inventive low-fat recipes for meats, fish, poultry, vegetables & desserts, by Barbara Grunes, is free from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher Agate Digital. This is likely to be free on Kindle tomorrow (I'll update the Squidoo Lens if it is). I bought this last fall when it was on sale (on Kindle), after reading thru the sample and expect you'll find at least a recipe or two worth trying out; now I'll have it on all my devices, as I grabbed the nook edition today.

Book Description
The barbecue grill is an American icon. In suburbia it's a backyard fixture. In cities it appears on tiny balconies. At picnics and beach parties it's indispensable. Yet the food we usually grill has a fatty sameness that does justice neither to the cook's skill or the diners' good health.

Barbara Grunes, author of over 50 cookbooks and maven of grill cookery, puts an end to routine, fat-laden barbecues once and for all with Skinny Grilling's 100 exciting new recipes. This unique collection establishes grill cooking as a versatile culinary technique in its own right, no longer limited to chicken, ribs, and hamburgers.

Now home cooks can grill--easily and without fuss--delicious roasts, succulent seafood, smoked turkeys, bubbling pizzas, and dozens more main dishes. But that's just the beginning. Over the same coals, readers can quickly turn out juicy vegetables, creative salads, unforgettable smoked meats, oriental stir-fries in the wok--even fabulous desserts! Also included is a wonderful red-white-and-blue 5-course 4th of July feast.

Families and friends love the festivity and fun of cookouts, and Skinny Grilling will provide an inventive recipe collection to vastly extend any cook's grilling repertory. Even better, the food prepared from this book will be low in fat, high in flavor, and anything but routine.

Appetizers: Smoked pizza, chicken satay, turkey mini-burgers, and more.
Vegetables: Sweet pepers salad, eggplant steaks, double-baked potatoes, vegetable kabobs, and more.
Seafood: Teriyaki salmon, mahimahi in corn husks, smoky scallops, seafood paella, and more.
Poultry: Smoked chicken, blackened chicken breasts, jerk chicken, mixed grill, and more.
Meats: Steak kabobs, pork loin barbecue, grilled lamb, buffalo burgers, and more.
Wok Grilling: Hot and spicy chicken, beef & vegetable stir fries.
Desserts: Angel cake with berries, bananas Foster, grilled figs, and more.

All recipes include nutritional data, diabetic exchanges, and follow American Heart Association guidelines regarding calories from fat.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Plancha (N)

2013-05-19T10:20:00.000-04:00

Plancha: 150 Great Recipes for Spanish-Style Grilling ($9.99 Kindle), by Liliane Otal, Pierre Bordet (Photographer) and Danielle McCumber (Translator), is free from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher Agate Surrey. This is likely to be free on Kindle tomorrow (I'll update the Squidoo Lens if it is), but most of you are likely to already have this one in your libraries, as it was free last Fall in both stores.

Book Description
"Plancha" is a Spanish word that literally translates as “plate,” and refers to both a style and a method of cooking, using a metal slab heated over a gas flame. In Spain, planchas are widely used in tapas bars and restaurants to cook an incredible assortment of foods, from mussels to mushrooms and even desserts. In private homes, planchas are often installed in the middle of round tables, so that both the hosts and their guests can share in the cooking experience and no one is stuck in the kitchen. Prepared both indoors and out, plancha cooking is as delicious and suitable on a warm sunny day as it is on a chilly night.

The popularity of plancha has even crossed the Spanish border into France, where many noted chefs, such as Alain Ducasse and Paul Bocuse, have adopted this way of cooking in their Paris restaurants. It’s not just for the gourmet restaurants, however: planchas are incredibly easy to use over grills and stoves, with little mess. And--unlike with other methods of grilling--there is no chance of watching your meal go up in flames.

In Plancha, Liliane Otal shows how to buy and maintain a plancha as well has how to make more than 150 delicious recipes that are so simple and fast anyone can do them. The cooking time for nearly all of these recipes is under 20 minutes. Her recipes will show you how to prepare delicious and flavorful meals that are also low in fat.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Kindle Daily Deals 5/19

2013-05-19T09:15:00.000-04:00

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Hugh Howey's Silo Saga, two omnibus editions for $1.99 apiece. These are self-published, multi-million sellers, so popular that Howey was able to force a print-only deal from traditional publishers (and has both print and movie deals worldwide). I bought the Wool Omnibus the last time it was on sale, but put off reading it for quite a while, thinking that the hype was just that; don't make the same mistake: add this to the top of your reading list. I bought the Shift Omnibus as soon as I finished Wool and paid more than today's sale, so save a few bucks and pick them both up. I've blurred the description on the second volume, though - you don't want to read anything that will give away the plot or ending of the first before you've read it. I can only hope that this sale is signaling that the third series, Dust, is nearing publication.

Wool Omnibus Edition (companion audiobook $0.99)

This Omnibus Edition collects the five Wool books into a single volume. It is for those who arrived late to the party and who wish to save a dollar or two while picking up the same stories in a single package.

The first Wool story was released as a standalone short in July of 2011. Due to reviewer demand, the rest of the story was released over the next six months. My thanks go out to those reviewers who clamored for more. Without you, none of this would exist. Your demand created this as much as I did.

This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.

Shift Omnibus Edition

This is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling WOOL series. It combines the three Shift books (First Shift, Second Shift, and Third Shift) into a single e-book in order to save the reader a few bucks. The saga concludes with DUST, which will be available in late 2013.

In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate.

In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event.

At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Our Husband ($0.99), by Stephanie Bond [backlist/NeedtoRead]. Originally published by St. Martin's Press.

Book Description
OUR HUSBAND is a laugh-out-loud romantic mystery!

Hell hath no fury like three women scorned... Three women from different walks of life--a doctor, a socialite, and a stripper--find out they have one thing in common: a husband! When the magnanimous hubby winds up dead, the unlikely trio band together to track down a killer, and along the way, discover a lot more than they bargained for.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Dead Witch Walking ($1.99), the first novel in The Hollows series by Kim Harrison [HarperCollins, with the companion audiobook for $3.49]. I love this series and originally read them all in paper; if you read urban fantasy at all, you should definitely pick this up; check your libraries, though, as there was a free Bonus Edition a while back.

Book Description
The underground population of witches, vampires, werewolves—creatures of dreams and nightmares—has lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But after a genetically engineered virus wipes out a large part of humanity, many of the "Inderlanders" reveal themselves, changing everything.

Rachel Morgan, witch and bounty hunter with the Inderland Runner Services, is one of the best at apprehending supernatural lawbreakers throughout Cincinnati, but when it comes to following the rules, she falls desperately short. Determined to buck the system, she quits and takes off on the run with an I.S. contract on her head and is reluctantly forced to team up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner . . . and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful businessman/crime lord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death . . . not to mention her own roommate.

Today's Kindle Kid's Daily Deal is Seeds of America: Forge ($0.99), by Laurie Halse Anderson [Simon and Schuster], with the companion audiobook for $3.49.

Book Description
In this compelling sequel to Chains, a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson shifts perspective from Isabel to Curzon and brings to the page the tale of what it takes for runaway slaves to forge their own paths in a world of obstacles—and in the midst of the American Revolution. The Patriot Army was shaped and strengthened by the desperate circumstances of the Valley Forge winter. This is where Curzon the boy becomes Curzon the young man. In addition to the hardships of soldiering, he lives with the fear of discovery, for he is an escaped slave passing for free. And then there is Isabel, who is also at Valley Forge—against her will. She and Curzon have to sort out the tangled threads of their friendship while figuring out what stands between the two of them and true freedom.

Age Level: 10 and up

Nook Daily Find 5/19

2013-05-19T00:53:00.000-04:00

Dial C for Chihuahua ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Sony), by Waverly Curtis [Kensington Books], is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle and at Sony. This was free in all the major stores two months ago, so you probably already have it in your libraries.

Book Description
"I am Pepe. But you can call me el Jefe."

Pepe may have soft white fur, big brown eyes, and mucho attitude--but he's no furry fashion fad. Pepe can talk--even if his new owner, Geri Sullivan, seems to be the only person who can understand him.

When Geri takes on her first assignment for a quirky investigator named Jimmy G and stumbles over a Seattle millionaire's corpse, Pepe proves to be worth his weight in liver treats. Suspicion falls on the not-so-grieving widow, who wants to finance a reality TV show, Dancing With Dogs.

Normally, Pepe wouldn't be caught muerte in a sparkly costume. However, he has to sniff out the real killer and keep Geri safe. Lesser dogs might flinch. But Pepe isn't the kind to turn tail and run....

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/19

2013-05-19T00:49:00.000-04:00

I Am The Secret Footballer (£0.99 UK), by The Secret Footballer, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.39).

Book Description
"It is often said that 95% of what happens in football goes on behind closed doors. Many of these stories I shouldn't be telling you about. But I will."

Who is The Secret Footballer? Only a few people know the true identity of the man inside the game. But whoever he is - and whoever he plays for - he is always honest, always fearless and always opinionated.

Now, for the first time, he reveals everything you need to know about the hidden world of professional football - the extraordinary highs, the desperate lows, and what it's really like to do the job most of us can only dream of.

Free Book - Crogian (K/DF)

2013-05-18T11:14:00.001-04:00

Crogian, by John Leahy, is free in the Kindle store and from Kobo, courtesy of small publisher Necro Publications.

Book Description
Alaska, 2010
In a remote Alaskan creek the U.S. Air Force unearth the find of the millennium. Little do they know that the mysterious discovery will lead them to something that will unleash a terrifying nightmare upon Earth…

Texas, 2017
The military is moving into the abandoned chemical plant next to Ken Forde’s farm. But the military isn’t the only new arrival in Speaker. A weird, frazzled stranger is keeping a close eye on the plant, as well.

What could possibly be going in there?

Unfortunatly, Ken and the rest of world will soon find out…

CROGIAN: a highly secret military project that has gone horribly wrong unleashing an apocalyptic blight on the world.

Ken and all the residents of Speaker awake to a nightmarish landscape. Cut off from civilazation and any help, they must make their way to Houston and sanctuary — a journey through stifling heat, and a route filled with giant abominable creatures.

Who will make it to Houston?

Who will survive the horror that is…

CROGIAN

Get the free ebook from Kobo (DRM-Free EPUB).
Free on Kindle; links on my Squidoo Lens: Today's Free Kindle Books.

Kindle Daily Deals 5/18

2013-05-18T10:02:00.003-04:00

Today's Gold Box at Amazon is Up to 60% Off Select Kensington Laptop and Tablet Accessories.

Amazon price matched today's Nook Daily Find: The Island (~~$5.24~~ $2.99), by Elin Hilderbrand [Hachette].

If you signed up for the free copy of Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs from Sony, check your emails for both the code and instructions (redeem first, then add the book to your cart; verify zero total before checkout).

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is A Series of Unfortunate Events Collection Books 1-3 with bonus material: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window ($2.99), by Lemony Snicket [HarperCollins]. This is a pretty good deal, especially if you missed the big pricing snafu in 2010, which resulted in nearly all the books being listed as free for a few hours. If you have kids (or grandkids) in the right age range, you'll probably end up getting the entire series at some point, as it is a fun read. The collections work out to about the same $5-$6/title that you pay individually, with the current sale (usually closer to the $8-$10 range), including the massive omnibus of the entire series, A Series of Unfortunate Events Collection: Books 1-13 with Bonus Material, which is currently marked down 52%, to $79.99 (that's $6.15/title). Of course, this last title is so huge, you actually get the entire first book in the sample, from what I can see in checking it out in the online preview.

Book Description
Lemony Snicket’s unhappy tale of the unlucky Baudelaire siblings begins with The Bad Beginning. In this short bothersome book alone, the three orphans encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

Should you not mind deadly serpents, slippery salamanders, lumpy beds, large brass reading lamps, long knives, and terrible odors, then proceed with caution to the second book in the miserable series, The Reptile Room.

Readers unbothered by inclement weather, hungry leeches, and cold cucumber soup will want to continue with the third installment, The Wide Window. Others will not.

If you’ve got the stomach to wade through the first three tragic tales in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, then this troubling collection might be the one for you. Several loathsome extras, including a compilation of unsettling quotations and a very disturbing portrait, await those who successfully complete the wretched journey. You’ve been warned!

Age Level: 8 and up

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Five Little Pigs ($1.99), by Agatha Christie (HarperCollins).

Book Description
Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, yet there were five other suspects: Philip Blake (the stockbroker) who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist) who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcee) who had roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess) who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister) who cried 'wee wee wee' all the way home.

It is sixteen years later, but Hercule Poirot just can't get that nursery rhyme out of his mind…

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Guardians of Stone ($1.99), by Anita Clenney [Montlake Romance].

Book Description
In the tradition of Indiana Jones, a feisty heroine with a sixth sense, and two sexy heroes, a dark, reclusive billionaire and a mercenary bodyguard are on a hunt for four powerful relics that could change their lives…and the course of history. But relics aren’t Kendall’s only quest. Eventually, she’ll have to choose between her sexy boss and her badass bodyguard.

Kendall Morgan is a human bloodhound. Spending her childhood hunting relics with her ambitious archeologist father, she knew the two of them shared a sixth sense for the history and location of objects—sometimes even people. What she didn’t know was that their paranormal gift could ultimately be their undoing.

After the tragic plane crash that killed her father as well as her childhood best friend, Kendall dedicated her life to finding and protecting relics. When mysterious, sexy billionaire Nathan Larraby hires her for his latest expedition—the search for four powerful relics—she’s thrown into a world of high-octane danger. He sends brooding mercenary Jake Stone to watch Kendall’s back, but he may have created danger of a different kind.

As the team chases down clues, a man called the Reaper makes a play for the artifacts and will stop at nothing to put them to his own sinister use. What’s worse is that Nathan hasn’t told the whole story, and the dark secrets he’s keeping could cost them the mission…and their lives.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Some Girls Bite ($2.99), the first novel in the Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill [Penguin], with the companion audiobook for $4.49. I originally bought this in paper, then replaced it during a sale at Fictionwise (along with the rest of the series that was available then). It looks like a new novel is coming out this year and can now be pre-ordered for delivery in August: Biting Bad.

Book Description
First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student's introduction into a society of vampires.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was Merit's. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she?s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan Lord o the Manor Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries? worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude? and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan?s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone's still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war and there will be blood.

Nook Daily Find 5/18

2013-05-18T00:57:00.000-04:00

The Island (~~$5.24~~ $2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Elin Hilderbrand [Hachette], is the Nook Daily Find. Update: Now price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from the floating dance floor in her Connecticut back yard to the color of the cocktail napkins. Like any mother of a bride-to-be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy. But Birdie, a woman who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have predicted the late-night phone call from Chess, abruptly announcing that she's cancelled her engagement.

It's only the first hint of what will be a summer of upheavals and revelations. Before the dust has even begun to settle, far worse news arrives, sending Chess into a tailspin of despair. Reluctantly taking a break from the first new romance she's embarked on since the recent end of her 30-year marriage, Birdie circles the wagons and enlists the help of her younger daughter Tate and her own sister India. Soon all four are headed for beautiful, rustic Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, where their family has summered for generations. No phones, no television, no grocery store - a place without distractions where they can escape their troubles.

But throw sisters, daughters, ex-lovers, and long-kept secrets onto a remote island, and what might sound like a peaceful getaway becomes much more. Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled, and new loves make themselves known. It's a summertime story only Elin Hilderbrand can tell, filled with the heartache, laughter, and surprises that have made her page-turning, bestselling novels as much a part of summer as a long afternoon on a sunny beach.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/18

2013-05-18T00:09:00.001-04:00

Seoul Survivors (£1.09 UK), by Naomi Foyle, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
A meteor known as Lucifer's Hammer is about to wreak destruction on the earth, and with the end of the world imminent, there is only one safe place to be.

In the mountains above Seoul, American-Korean bio-engineer Dr Kim Da Mi thinks she has found the perfect solution to save the human race. But her methods are strange and her business partner, Johnny Sandman, is not exactly the type of person anyone would want to mix with.

Drawn in by their smiles and pretty promises, Sydney - a Canadian model trying to escape an unhappy past - is an integral part of their scheme, until she realises that the quest for perfection comes at an impossible price.

Free Book - Narrow Margins (N)

2013-05-17T15:49:00.001-04:00

Narrow Margins - a laugh-out-loud book about life on the waterways ($3.99 Kindle), by Marie Browne, is free from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of publisher Accent Press.

Book Description
Narrow Margins – a laugh-out-loud book which proves that lean times can sometimes be a very positive thing.

Faced with the loss of everything following the collapse of the Rover Group, Marie Browne moved her long-suffering husband Geoff, chaotic children and smelly, narcoleptic dog on to a houseboat in search of a less stressful, healthier, alternative way of life.

Strapped for cash, the family buy a decrepit 70ft barge called Happy Go lucky which had been run as a floating hotel. Outdated and in need of a complete refurbishment, Happy becomes their floating home. First they need to learn the ropes and many pitfalls beset their adventures.

As they come to terms with living on a narrow boat, readers gain a fascinating insight into life in the slow lane.

About the author
Marie Browne is a gently harrassed mother of three who, for the past fifteen years, has been desperately trying to escape the Customer Service Industry. Apart from her husband and kids, the best things in her life are real ale; barbecues; ugly mad dogs that nobody else wants and cream-covered designer coffees. She also has an obsession with shoes but her husband is threatening to get her help for that.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Daily Deal - Acceptable Risks (DF)

2013-05-17T11:24:00.001-04:00

Acceptable Risks (~~$5.99~~ $4.61 Kindle), the 2013 winner of the EPIC eBook Award for Romantic Suspense by Natalie J. Damschroder [Carina Press], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.20 (8 copies left). Since it is DRM-Free, it's easily converted (via Calibre) to read on the Kindle, but if you get the Amazon edition, you can also get the the companion audiobook for $2.99.

Book Description
When security expert Jason Templeton's team is ambushed while protecting a weapons manufacturer vital to U.S. interests, he risks his life to save the man's daughter...and loses. Unbeknownst to Jason, his mentor had been funding experimental medical procedures after losing his young wife. Using the untested drugs, Jason is brought back to life, stronger and faster than before, but also vulnerable in new ways. He's determined to find the traitor in their midst, who is after the miracle drug.

That means protecting the brilliant scientist Lark Madrassa. Their attraction and compatibility are undeniable, but Jason tries to deny his growing feelings for her, thinking he is too damaged. When Lark's father is kidnapped they have to rely on each other in a dangerous plot to uncover the double agent. Before, Jason always accepted the risks—but what about when the life of the woman he loves is on the line?

Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out.

Free Nook App - Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond

2013-05-17T10:44:00.001-04:00

Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond - Hidden Object Game ($0.99 Amazon), by SecretBuilders, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond is a wonderfully illustrated hidden object puzzle game based on the book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The game takes you through the detective mystery with high-quality AUDIO NARRATION!

Sherlock Holmes needs to uncover the mystery of how a blue diamond ended up in the throat of a goose of all places. Follow along as Holmes goes on this wild goose chase!

Based on the Oxford University Press edition of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond, this game features stunning art and stimulating puzzles designed by award winning game producer SecretBuilders. Each brain-teasing level unfolds a scene from the book with beautiful illustrations and audio excerpts.

This application is recommended for ages 5+.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.