Showing posts with label Children's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children's. Show all posts

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Amazon Fire Free App of the Day: Count Up to 10: Learn Numbers with Montessori and a bonus app!

Today's Free App of the Day is Count up to 10: Learn Numbers with Montessori
Originally $2.99


This appears to be an interactive book to help very young children learn numbers. The bad reviews tend to be about the cost vs the scope of the book (numbers 1-10?) If this interests you, I recommend that you read the reviews to see the issues and comments. We have a bonus app today for those who aren't interested in games for a very young child or who are concerned about the issues raised by the reviewer.

3 of 11 reviews are four stars and above.

So we have a bonus pick: aa.


This is a game where you try to "throw" dots at a spinning dot, avoiding the dots already attached to the spinning dot. It's challenging and attractive. 203 of 240 reviews are four stars and above.


Compatibility of apps varies. To tell if an app works for your Fire tablet or other Android device registered to your Amazon account, click on the above link and look on the right side of the web page for the "compatible devices" link.

Have fun!

Also check out the other digital deals from Amazon, including great deals on MP3s and videos:
 

Friday, January 9, 2015

Kindle Daily Deals: A love story set in World War II, romance, a romantic memoir, horror, and a fun book for ages 8-12



Here's today's Kindle Daily Deal, available for $1.99!

To Find a Mountain, by Dani Amore.


Benedetta Carlessimo is no stranger to hardship. Ever since her mother died, the sixteen-year-old Italian girl has cared for her rambunctious younger siblings without complaint. Then World War II arrives on her doorstep, leaving her face-to-face with the most terrible evil she has ever witnessed.

With the Germans and Americans fighting furiously to control a strategic swath of Italy, Nazi forces seize Benedetta’s village, turning her home into a command center—and forcing her beloved father to choose between fleeing or fighting on the front lines.

In the midst of great deprivation, Benedetta struggles to feed both her family and the Nazis, all the while keeping her father’s whereabouts secret. Yet her blossoming love for a handsome young Italian man hiding in the mountains brings a sliver of joy to her life. But with the Americans advancing and the Germans growing increasingly desperate and cruel, Benedetta knows that one misstep could bring horrible repercussions…and only an extraordinary act of courage can save her family.

Revised edition: This edition of To Find a Mountain includes editorial revisions.

226 pages, with a 4.3-star rating from 203 reviews



Here's today's Daily Romance Deal, available for $1.99!

More to Give (An Anchor Island Novel), by Terri Osburn.

Callie Henderson had to fight to put her tragic past behind her, but now the up-and-coming player in the hospitality industry is well on her way to happiness. She has her sights set on the lead renovation position at the Sunset Harbor Inn—an inn that just happens to be owned by Sam Edwards, the man who comforted her in her grief and gave her one night of passion before walking away.

Sam is searching for someone who can turn his quaint inn into a premier boutique hotel. He just never expected that someone to be the one woman who knows his deepest secrets. But he needs Callie, and Callie needs the job. Throw in a talking parrot with a cracker addiction, some uncooperative islanders, and enough sexual sparks to light a beachside bonfire, and they’ve got their work cut out for them…

More to Give is a story of heartbreak and healing, of facing the past…and having the courage to believe in a future.

306 pages, with a 4.7-star rating from 77 reviews



Here's today's Daily Non-Fiction Deal, available for $1.99!

Seven Letters from Paris: A Memoir, by Samantha Vérant.

Twenty years, seven letters, and one long-lost love of a lifetime

At age 40, Samantha Verant's life is falling apart-she's jobless, in debt, and feeling stuck... until she stumbles upon seven old love letters from Jean-Luc, the sexy Frenchman she'd met in Paris when she was 19. With a quick Google search, she finds him, and both are quick to realize that the passion they felt 20 years prior hasn't faded with time and distance.

Samantha knows that jetting off to France to reconnect with a man that she only knew for one sun-drenched, passion-filled day is crazy-but it's the kind of crazy she's been waiting for her whole life.

269 pages, with a 4.5-star rating from 73 reviews



Here's today's Daily Science Fiction/Fantasy Deal, available for $1.99!

Seed, by Ania Ahlborn.

With nothing but the clothes on his back—and something horrific snapping at his heels—Jack Winter fled his rural Georgia home when he was still just a boy. Watching the world he knew vanish in a trucker’s rearview mirror, he thought he was leaving an unspeakable nightmare behind forever. But years later, the bright new future he’s built suddenly turns pitch black, as something fiendishly familiar looms dead ahead.

When Jack, his wife Aimee, and their two small children survive a violent car crash, it seems like a miracle. But Jack knows what he saw on the road that night, and it wasn’t divine intervention. The profound evil from his past won’t let them die…at least not quickly. It’s back, and it’s hungry; ready to make Jack pay for running, to work its malignant magic on his angelic youngest daughter, and to whisper a chilling promise: I’ve always been here, and I’ll never leave.

Country comfort is no match for spine-tingling Southern gothic suspense in Ania Ahlborn’s tale of an ordinary man with a demon on his back. Seed plants its page-turning terror deep in your soul, and lets it grow wild.


246 pages, with a 3.9-star rating from 871 reviews



Here's today's Daily Youth Deal, available for $1.99!

Katie and the Cupcake Cure (Cupcake Diaries), by Coco Simon.

This first book in The Cupcake Diaries is told through the perspective of Katie Brown. We find Katie miserable on the first day of middle school. Her best friend Callie came back from camp boy-crazy and part of a whole new group of friends. When it's made clear that Callie is in the PGC (Popular Girls Club) and Katie is not invited to join, Katie suddenly feels incredibly alone. Katie realizes if she’s going to survive middle school she needs to seriously regroup and find some new friends. But how? She bites into the cupcake her mother packed her for lunch and for a second closes her eyes. The sweet treat makes her happy—finally something goes right! Looking around her table, Katie notices the other students seeming a bit lost, as well. Which gives her an idea…With three new friends Katie forms a club as a way to spread the cupcake love and earn some cupcake cash.

162 pages, with a 4.6-star rating from 43 reviews

Ages 8-12



Happy Reading!

Betsy

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Today's Fire Free App of the Day is Sweet Drmzzz

Today's Free App of the Day is Sweet Drmzzz
Originally $0.99


This is a kind of logic puzzle game directed at kids aged 6-12 but perfectly appropriate for this kid! There are three basic types of games (four if you count the opening screen where you have to line up the Zs and launch the rocket ship clock). A whack-a-mole kind of game, a direct-the-falling-star-dust game, and a Pac-Man kind of game, each with new variations on each level. (Everyone remember Pac-Man? You youngsters, Google it.) I really enjoy it--it's relaxing, kind of Zen. A nice change even for this adult. Five stars.

11 of 11 reviews are four stars and above.

Compatibility of apps varies. To tell if an app works for your Fire tablet or other Android device registered to your Amazon account, click on the above link and look on the right side of the web page for the "compatible devices" link.

Have fun!

Also check out the other digital deals from Amazon, including great deals on MP3s and videos:
 

Friday, December 19, 2014

Free Fire App of the Day: Wubbzy's The Night Before Christmas

Today's Free App of the Day is Wubbzy's The Night Before Christmas
Originally $2.99


This is an interactive book starring Wubbzy and his friends. Whoever they are. There are a lot of apps featuring them, though. :) It's slightly interactive--tapping on items makes things happen though nothing very dramatic. There are some interactive gamey-type things available through the book and also as games under "menu." You can read the book, read and play the book or have the book read to you. There's a parental area. It says "Free downloads to support more learning." But that seemed to be links to more apps. There's also a coloring book with scenes from the book, which works very well. I'd give this four stars out of five.

23 of 27 reviews are four stars and above.

These apps are compatible with the original Fire and with my Fire HD 8.9" 4G. To tell if an app works for your Fire HD or other Android device registered to your Amazon account, click on the above link and look on the right side of the web page.  Amazon will tell you if it will work with your registered device.

Have fun!

Also check out the other digital deals from Amazon, including great deals on MP3s and videos:
 

Monday, December 15, 2014

Kindle Daily Deals! Too many to list. Check them out!

Tons of books on sale for the holiday season! Find them all here.

Here's today's Kindle Daily Deal, available for $1.99!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket Book 1), by Roald Dahl.

Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, along with Roald Dahl's other tales for younger readers, make him a true star of children's literature. Dahl seems to know just how far to go with his oddball fantasies; in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, for example, nasty Violet Beauregarde blows up into a blueberry from sneaking forbidden chewing gum, and bratty Augustus Gloop is carried away on the river of chocolate he wouldn't resist. In fact, all manner of disasters can happen to the most obnoxiously deserving of children because Dahl portrays each incident with such resourcefulness and humor.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a singular delight, crammed with mad fantasy, childhood justice and revenge, and as much candy as you can eat. The book is also available in Spanish

(Charlie y la Fabrica de Chocolate). (The suggested age range for this book is 9-12, but nobody this reviewer has met can resist it, including New York City bellhops, flight attendants, and grumpy teenagers.)

180 pages, with a 4.6-star rating from 885 reviews



Here's today's Daily Romance Deal, available for $1.99!

The Remedy for Love: A Novel, by Bill Roorbach.

“One of the best novels of this or any year . . . A flat-out funny, sexy, and poignant romantic thriller.” —David Abrams, author of Fobbit
They’re calling it the “Storm of the Century,” so Eric stops at the market for provisions on his way home from work. But when the unkempt and seemingly unstable young woman in front of him in line comes up short on cash, a kind of old-school charity takes hold of his heart—twenty bucks and a ride home is the least he can do, right? Trouble is, Danielle doesn’t really have a home. She’s squatting in a cabin deep in the woods, no electricity, no heat, nothing but the nearby river to sustain her. She’ll need food, water, firewood, and that’s just to get her through the storm: there’s a whole Maine winter ahead.

So he gets her set up, departs with relief, climbs to the road, but his car has been towed with his phone inside, and the snow is coming down with historic speed and violence. There’s no choice but to return to the cabin. Danielle is terrified, then merely hostile—who is this guy with his big idea that it’s she who needs rescuing? As the snow keeps mounting, they’re forced to ride out the storm together. For better and for worse. 

The Remedy for Love is a harrowing story about the truths we reveal when there is no time or space for artifice.

The Remedy for Love is not the remedy for sleep deprivation. You’ll stay up all night . . . It is relentless and brilliant. Leave it to Roorbach to tease out the subtlest nuances in the progress of love while stoking a tale that is as gripping as any Everest expedition--and that is also tender and terrifying and funny and, in the end, so true it seems inevitable. I’m not sure there’s another American writing today who can lay down a love story, or any story, with the depth and appeal and freshness of Bill Roorbach.” —Peter Heller, author of The Dog Stars

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, October 2014: Roorbach’s previous book, Life Among Giants, was an Amazon Best of the Month “spotlight” pick and one of my favorites of 2012. In The Remedy for Love, he again creates believably damaged, oddball characters: a buttoned-up, cuckolded small-town stud (Eric), and a bruised, half-starved mystery girl (Danielle). Eric is a lawyer. He does pro bono work. He’s separated from his wife. Danielle is… well, we’re not sure who she is. She looks homeless, but we soon catch glimpses of her “retractable beauty, like a cat’s claws.” Eric feels responsible for her somehow—“a moral tug.” So after buying her groceries, and carrying them to her cabin in the woods, Eric returns to the cabin as a snowstorm begins to shut the roads and blanket the town white. In no time, the two are locked inside as the snow piles higher. Cynical readers may need to make a leap of faith here. (I found myself once asking, “Really?”) Even Danielle seems freaked out by Eric’s irrational helpfulness. 

321 pages, with a 3.5-star rating from 71 reviews

Romance from today's monthly deals.




Here's today's Daily Non-Fiction Deal, available for $2.99!

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

This collection will entertain all who appreciate the art of masterful letter writing. The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien sheds much light on Tolkien's creative genius and grand design for the creation of a whole new world: Middle-earth. Featuring a radically expanded index, this volume provides a valuable research tool for all fans wishing to trace the evolution of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

Scholars and fans of the great mythologist will find a rich vein of information in Humphrey Carpenter's The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien was a prodigious letter writer all his life; the sheer mass of his correspondence would give pause to even the most stalwart archivist (one shudders to think what he would have done with e-mail). But with the able assistance of Tolkien's son Christopher and a healthy dose of determination, Carpenter manages find the cream of the crop--the letters that shed light on Tolkien's thoughts about his academic and literary work, as well as those that show his more private side, revealing a loving husband, a playful friend, and a doting father. The most fascinating letters are, of course, those in which he discusses Middle-Earth, and Carpenter offers plenty of those to choose from. Tolkien discussed the minutia of his legend--sometimes at great length--with friends, publishers, and even fans who wrote to him with questions. These letters offer significant insights into how he went about creating the peoples and languages of Middle-Earth.

I have long ceased to invent (though even patronizing or sneering critics on the side praise my 'inventions'): I wait till I seem to know what really happened. Or till it writes itself. Thus, though I knew for years that Frodo would run into a tree-adventure somewhere far down the Great River, I had no recollection of inventing Ents. I came at last to the point, and wrote the 'Treebeard' chapter without any recollection of any previous thought: just as it is now. And then I saw that, of course, it had not happened to Frodo at all.
This new edition of letters has an extensive index, and Carpenter has included a brief blurb at the beginning of each letter to explain who the correspondent was and what was being discussed. Still, we strongly recommend buying the companion volume, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, in order to better understand the place these correspondents had in Tolkien's life and get a better context for the letters. --Perry M. Atterberry

512 pages, with a 4.7-star rating from 66 reviews

From today's Monthly deals for $3.99 or less[/url]






Here's today's Daily Science Fiction/Fantasy Deal, available for $1.99!

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Indiana, 1818
. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."
"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.
Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.
While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation..

Take a Look Inside this Book
(Click on each image below to see a larger view)





340 pages, with a 4.2-star rating from 1416 reviews

See the full list of Sci Fi deals here.



Here's today's Daily Youth Deal, available for $1.99!

Ten-Gallon Bart, by Susan Stevens Crummel.

Ten-Gallon Bart, the sheriff of Dog City, has plans to retire . . . until he hears that Billy the Kid is headed to town. Billy is the roughest, toughest, gruffest goat in the country. If he reaches Dog City, he’ll gobble up the whole town!Ten-Gallon Bart must stop him. With the help of Miss Kitty and the other animals, he works up the courage to face the big bully. Dorothy Donohue’s illustrations rendered in textured paper bring this Wild West story about unlikely heroes to a satisfying conclusion.

32 pages, with a 4.4-star rating from 19 reviews

See the whole list here



Happy Reading!

Betsy

Monday, December 1, 2014

Today's Fire Free App of the Day: The Great Prank War

Today's Free App of the Day is The Great Prank War
Originally $2.99


Apparently this is a game based on a Cartoon Network show. The permissions push the limit a bit, and some reviewers had problems installing the game, but overall it has good reviews. From the product page: Help Mordecai, Rigby, Muscle Man and Skips take the park back from Gene and his goons with a plethora of prank-related powers! A NEW SPIN ON REGULAR SHOW! When Gene, the manager of rival park East Pines, gets his hands on a time machine, he goes back in time so he can win the prank war and take over the park. Now it's up to our heroes to take it back, but it won't be easy! The game also features awesome new character designs and animation styles for maximum prankiness. PLAY OFFENSE AND DEFENSE! In an action-packed hybrid of tower defense, you'll assault enemy towers and take them out so you can build defensive towers of your own, all while battling Gene's endless army of park rangers, animatronic bears, feral hot dogs, dancing cassette tapes, and more! UNLEASH THE PRANKS! Choose to play as Mordecai, Rigby, Muscle Man or Skips. Each one of them has trained in a specialized pranking art and developed unique powers to put the hurt on the bad guys. Even the towers are prank-themed, using eggs, glue, fart cushions and other gimmicks to defend your turf. FOUR SEASONS OF FUN! This is one long-running prank war, with levels that span the fall, winter, spring and summer. Each season brings different level designs packed with challenges that add up to mondo replay value, including four epic boss battles that will test your skills to the max.

10 of 14 reviews are four stars and above.

These apps are compatible with the original Fire and with my Fire HD 8.9" 4G. To tell if an app works for your Fire HD or other Android device registered to your Amazon account, click on the above link and look on the right side of the web page.  Amazon will tell you if it will work with your registered device.

Have fun!

Also check out the other digital deals from Amazon, including great deals on MP3s and videos:
 

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Today's Kindle Daily Deals: Suspense, romance, the value of college, Dr. Strangelove, and three turkey tales!



Here's today's Kindle Daily Deal, available for $2.99!

They're Watching, by Gregg Hurwitz.

“Riveting, emotionally rich, original, and beautifully written, this book kept me up too late reading, had me sneaking in pages the next day. They’re Watching reminded me what it’s like to be in the thrall of a great story: helpless until the end, loving every minute of it.”—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Die for You

Patrick Davis is a man with troubles. First his Hollywood dreams crumble and then his storybook marriage hits a snag. Now, DVDs start being delivered to his house—DVDs which show that someone is watching him and his wife, that the two of them are being stalked and recorded by cameras hidden in their house. Then the e-mails start, and someone offers to fix everything, to take the mess his life has become and make it all right. Patrick figures it’s the offer of a lifetime.
But Patrick couldn’t be more wrong. With every step he falls deeper into a web of intrigue that threatens everything he values in this world. Before he knows it, he’s in and in deep—and his only escape is to outwit and outplay his unseen opponents at their own game.

368 pages, with a 4.2-star rating from 123 reviews



Here's today's Daily Romance Deal, available for $1.99!

Unto These Hills, by Emily Sue Harvey.

"A subtle tale deep with character and southern atmosphere to die for. Emily Sue Harvey has a sure touch and strong voice. She's a talent to watch."
– Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

"Unto These Hills is strong in its characterization and Emily Sue Harvey captures the humor and heartbreak of Southern Culture. The scenes are real and the emotions deep. A wonderfully readable novel."
– Kay Allenbaugh, bestselling author of Chocolate for a Woman's Soul

"Emily Sue Harvey creates a strong Southern voice, vibrant characters, and a story that moves us from commonplace life to the brink of emotional destruction and back to salvation."
– Gwen Hunter, author of Ashes to Ashes

Unto These Hills is an unforgettable novel of love, scandal, family, and roots by one of the most emotionally authentic authors of our time. Taking us into the deep South's Tucapau Mill Hill, it introduces us to the unforgettable Sunny Acklin. Betrayed, abandoned, and violated, Sunny faces one seemingly insurmountable challenge after another. But she never loses her spirit or the memory of the love that once so richly illuminated her world. As years go by, Sunny does everything she can to make something of her life until at last an opportunity arises, one charged with promise...and undeniable risk.


From its vivid evocation of mill hill life to its pitch perfect rendering of the complexities of family and relationships, Unto These Hills is at once epic and intensely intimate. It is the richest novel yet from a writer who fluently speaks the language of our deepest feelings.

442 pages, with a 4.0-star rating from 35 reviews



Here's today's Daily Non-Fiction Deal, available for $1.99!

College Unbound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, by Jeffrey J. Selingo.

What is the value of a college degree?
The four-year college experience is as American as apple pie. So is the belief that higher education offers a ticket to a better life. But with student-loan debt surpassing the $1 trillion mark and unemployment of college graduates at historic highs, people are beginning to question that value.

In College (Un)bound, Jeffrey J. Selingo, editor at large of the Chronicle of Higher Education, argues that America’s higher education system is broken. The great credential race has turned universities into big business and fostered an environment where middle-tier colleges can command elite university-level tuition while concealing staggeringly low graduation rates, churning out graduates with few of the skills needed for a rapidly evolving job market.

Selingo not only turns a critical eye on the current state of higher education but also predicts how technology will transform it for the better. Free massive online open courses (MOOCs) and hybrid classes, adaptive learning software, and the unbundling of traditional degree credits will increase access to high-quality education regardless of budget or location and tailor lesson plans to individual needs. One thing is certain—the Class of 2020 will have a radically different college experience than their parents.

Incisive, urgent, and controversial, College (Un)bound is a must-read for prospective students, parents, and anyone concerned with the future of American higher education.



261 pages, with a 4.3-star rating from 117 reviews



Here's today's Daily Science Fiction/Fantasy Deal, available for $1.99!

Red Alert (RosettaBooks into Film), by Peter Bryant.

Peter Bryant's 1958 novel Red Alert tells the terrifying tale of just how close to nuclear destruction the world can be. Here, we are faced with the worst possible of all worst-case scenarios in the Cold War; an American general loses his reason and orders a full-scale nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. Air Force Brigadier General Quinten is a dying man suffering from the paranoid delusion that he can make the world a better place by setting in motion this catastrophic attack with Strategic Air Command bombers armed with nuclear weapons.

Once they get wind of it, the President of the United States and his advisors work frantically in all efforts to stop the attack. They order the American bombers shot down, and they succeed - all but with one frightening exception - a lone bomber called the "Alabama Angel" escapes destruction. The crew of the Angel ignore the President's orders and continue on with their deadly mission.

This book was originally published in the U.K. under the title Two Hours to Doom (written by Peter Bryant, the penname of writer Peter George). This intricately plotted and well-thought out novel conjures the vision of apocalyptic threat of nuclear war and illustrates just how absurdly easy such an attack can be triggered.

A virtual genre of such fiction sprang up in the late 1950s, led by Nevil Shute's On the Beach, of which Red Alert was among the earliest and finest examples. Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler's later bestseller, Fail Safe, so closely resembled Red Alert in premise and tone that George sued on plagiarism charges and actually won an out-of-court settlement. Both novels would inspire very different films that were both released in 1964.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Bryant was the pen-name of author Peter George. George's reputation rests largely on his novel Red Alert and the screenplay of the film that it inspired, Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying, which George co-wrote with Stanley Kubrick and Terry Southern. A pessimistic Englishman deeply committed to the campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the 1950s, George has previously served in the Royal Air Force. He drew on this first-hand knowledge of the new age of nuclear defense and felt compelled to publish under a pseudonym. With the interest in such stories peaking around the time of Stanley Kramer's film version of On the Beach in 1959, the film rights to Red Alert were sold that same year but only to be handed off from producer to producer until Stanley Kubrick bought the rights in 1962, reportedly for as little as $3,500.

In the beginning, George collaborated with Kubrick on writing the film's script; Terry Southern's involvement and satirical overhaul would come later. Apparently, George disliked the ironic tone of Kubrick's film, though he wrote a new novelization of it that he directed to the director.

For the rest of his life, the threat of nuclear catastrophe continued to haunt George. He later wrote about life after nuclear war in a book entitled Commander-I and was at work on a novel entitled Nuclear Survivors when he ultimately committed suicide in 1966.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

From classic book to classic film, RosettaBooks has gathered some of most memorable books into film available. The selection is broad ranging and far reaching, with books from classic genre to cult classic to science fiction and horror and a blend of the two creating whole new genres like Richard Matheson's The Shrinking Man. Classic works from Vonnegut, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, meet with E.M. Forster's A Passage to India. Whether the work is centered in the here and now, in the past, or in some distant and almost unimaginable future, each work is lasting and memorable and award-winning.

166 pages, with a 4.4-star rating from 46 reviews



Here's today's Daily Youth Deal, available for $1.99!

Turkey Trouble, by Wendi Silvano.

Turkey is in trouble. Bad trouble. The kind of trouble where it's almost Thanksgiving . . . and you're the maincourse. But Turkey has an idea--what if he doesn't look like a turkey? What if he looks like another animal instead?
After many hilarious attempts, Turkey comes up with the perfect disguise to make this Thanksgiving the best ever!
Wendi Silvano's comical story is perfectly matched by Lee Harper's watercolors.

40 pages, with a 4.8-star rating from 149 reviews






Happy Reading!

Betsy

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Kindle Daily Deals: A memoir of Vietnam, romance, romance, business by Steven Covey, a pranormal novel and a fun book for kids!



Here's today's Kindle Daily Deal, available for $1.99!

What It Is Like to Go to War, by Karl Marlantes.

From the author of the award-winning, best-selling novel Matterhorn, comes a brilliant nonfiction book about war

In 1968, at the age of twenty-three, Karl Marlantes was dropped into the highland jungle of Vietnam, an inexperienced lieutenant in command of a platoon of forty Marines who would live or die by his decisions. Marlantes survived, but like many of his brothers in arms, he has spent the last forty years dealing with his war experience. In What It Is Like to Go to War, Marlantes takes a deeply personal and candid look at what it is like to experience the ordeal of combat, critically examining how we might better prepare our soldiers for war. Marlantes weaves riveting accounts of his combat experiences with thoughtful analysis, self-examination, and his readings—from Homer to The Mahabharata to Jung. He makes it clear just how poorly prepared our nineteen-year-old warriors are for the psychological and spiritual aspects of the journey.

Just as Matterhorn is already being acclaimed as acclaimed as a classic of war literature, What It Is Like to Go to War is set to become required reading for anyone—soldier or civilian—interested in this visceral and all too essential part of the human experience.

Amazon Best Books of the Month, September 2011: With unflinching honesty, bestselling author Karl Marlantes captures What It Is Like to Go to War in his compassionate, powerful narrative on Vietnam. Marlantes does not shy away from recounting experiences that, outside the arena of war, are horrifying or embarrassing and addresses a soldier’s self-imposed “code of silence” as an attempt to fit back in to a society that “simply wants us to shut up about all of this.” While American pop culture celebrates the warrior spirit and winning the battle, “reconciling the moral conduct we are taught…with the brutal acts we do in war has been a problem for warriors of good conscience for centuries.” Marlantes tempers the brutal truths of fear, power games, and courage with a thoughtful prescription for our soldiers’ well-being; caring for our soldiers and their families differently will benefit society as a whole. In What It Is Like to Go to War, Marlantes sets a new standard for understanding the experience of war. --Seira Wilson

273 pages, with a 4.3-star rating from 337 reviews



Here's today's Daily Romance Deal, available for $1.99!

The Scarlet Letter Society, by Mary T. McCarthy.

Every fairy tale seems to end with a woman finding love after years of pining away for the Man of Her Dreams. They then settle down, buy a house with a white picket fence, have 2.4 children and live happily ever after. Well buckle up, because this is what really happens after ‘I Do’.

Meet Maggie, Eva and Lisa, founders of The Scarlet Letter Society. Named as such due to their various infidelities, both physical and emotional, the ‘SLS’ is these womens’ refusal to be shamed like Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic tale of forbidden longing. Maggie is twice-divorced and juggling three lovers—one of whom is her first ex-husband. Eva is trapped in a loveless marriage and has turned to her young intern and a seductive French chef for satisfaction. Lisa dreams of one day becoming a mother, but her husband has more romantic interest in her footwear than he does in her.

Once a month, these women meet at their local bookstore to discuss love, life and literature. Through their friendships and liasons, they attempt to gain insight into the curveballs life has thrown their way, and how each of them can find emotional and sexual fulfillment. Over the course of a year these women, plus several others who look to the Scarlet Letter Society for help with their own romantic dilemmas, will find lust and love, happiness and heartbreak, in the most unexpected places.

A witty, insightful and steamy novel about a group of women who have chosen to forge their own paths, and must deal with the ramifications of their past and present choices, The Scarlet Letter Society will appeal to anyone who’s found their fairy tale isn’t quite what Disney had in mind.

154 pages, with a 4.6-star rating from 27 reviews



Here's today's Daily Non-Fiction Deal, available for $1.99!

Principle-Centered Leadership, by Stephen R. Covey.

This book asks the fundamental question, how do we as individuals (and organizations), not only survive but thrive amid tremendous change? More, why are our efforts to improve continuing to fail despite the millions of dollars we spend in time, capital, and human effort every year? How do we combat all of this by unleashing the full measure of our creativity, talent, and energy in the midst of this pressure? Is it realistic to believe that we can find balance in our personal life, family life, and professional life?

Author Stephen R. Covey shows that the answer to these concerns is Principle-Centered Leadership; a long-term, inside-out approach to developing people and organizations. Covey tells that the key to dealing with the challenges that we face today is the recognition of a principle-centered core within not only each of us, but within our organizations. Covey offers insights and guidelines that demonstrate how we can apply these principles both at work and at home which will lead not only to an increase in our productivity and the quality of our work, but also to a new appreciation of the importance of establishing more personal and professional relationships as we strive to enjoy a more balance, more rewarding and ultimately more effective life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Stephen R. Covey is a renowned authority on leadership, a family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and vice chairman of FranklinCovey Co. He has a B.S. from the University of Utah, an M.B.A. from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. from Brigham Young University.

Dr. Covey's insightful advice has helped millions. His book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has sold millions of copies and was named one of the most influential business books by Forbes magazine. Covey has authored numerous other works. He has been named one of Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Americans and has been awarded eight honorary degrees.

340 pages, with a 4.1-star rating from 101 reviews



Here's today's Daily Science Fiction/Fantasy Deal, available for $1.99!

The Light Who Shines (Bluebell Kildare Series Book 1), by Lilo Abernathy.

When Supernatural Investigation Bureau agent Bluebell Kildare (a.k.a. Blue) arrives at the scene of the crime, it's obvious the grotesquely damaged body of the deceased teenage boy was caused by far more than a simple hit and run. Using her innate sixth sense, Blue uncovers a powerful magical artifact nearby. She soon discovers it acts as a key to an ancient Grimoire that was instrumental in the creation of the Vampire breed and still holds the power to unravel the boundaries between Earth and the Plane of Fire.


Blue and her clever wolf Varg follow a trail that starts at the Cock and Bull Tap and leads all through the town of Crimson Hollow. Between being sidelined by a stalker who sticks to the shadows and chasing a suspect who vanishes in thin air, the case is getting complicated. If that isn't enough, Dark Vampire activity hits a record high, and hate crimes are increasing. However, it's Blue's growing feelings for Jack Tanner, her magnetic Daylight Vampire boss, that just might undo her.

While Blue searches for clues to nail the perpetrator, it seems someone else is conducting a search of their own. Who will find whom first?

Danger lurks in every corner, and Blue needs all her focus in this increasingly dangerous game or she risks ending up the next victim.


372 pages, with a 4.7-star rating from 154 reviews



Here's today's Daily Youth Deal, available for $1.99!

Chick 'n' Pug, by Jennifer Sattler.

Chick lives for adventures. Pug lives for, well, sleep. In Chick's eyes, however, Pug can do no wrong. In fact, he is WONDERPUG! But with danger around every corner and a hero who's a little low on energy, it may be up to Chick to save the day and earn the prized role of sidechick (er, sidekick . . .) From an exceptional new talent, this is a funny, heartwarming story of misplaced hero worship as well as the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

30 pages, with a 4.4-star rating from 29 reviews

Ages 3-6



Happy Reading!

Betsy

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Today's Kindle Daily Deals: An extraordinary first novel, three western romances, celebrity deaths, scary suspense, and a fun picture book!



Here's today's Kindle Daily Deal, available for $1.99!

The Assembler of Parts: A Novel, by Raoul Wientzen.

From the start of this extraordinary first novel, eight-year-old Jess finds herself in heaven reviewing her short life. She is guided in this by a being she calls the Assembler of Parts, and her task, as she understands it, is to glean her life’s meaning. From birth, it was obvious that she was unlike other children: she was born without thumbs. The Assembler left out other parts too, for she suffers from a syndrome of birth defects that leaves her flawed. But soon it becomes apparent that by her very imperfections she has a unique ability to draw love from—and heal—those around her, from the team of doctors who rally to her care, to the parents who come together over her, to the grandmother whose guilt she assuages, to the family friend whom she helps reconcile with an angry past. With a voice full of wisdom and humor, she tells their stories too. Yet, only when she dies suddenly and her parents are suspected of neglect, unleashing a chain of events beyond her healing, does the meaning of her life come into full focus. And only then does the Assembler’s purpose become clear.

With prose that is rich in emotion—from laughter to tears to outrage to joyful relief—and an eloquence that distills poetry from the language of medicine and the words for ordinary things, Raoul Wientzen has delivered a novel of rare beauty that speaks to subjects as profound as faith, what makes us human, and the value of a life.

336 pages, with a 4.9-star rating from 56 reviews




Here's today's Daily Romance Deal, available for $0.99!

Doctor in Petticoats (Sophie's Daughters Book 1), by Mary Connealy.

What happens when an idealistic student nurse encounters an embittered army doctor in a stagecoach accident? How will she react when she learns her training didn’t prepare her for tragic reality? How will he, an army deserter, respond to needs when he vowed to never touch another patient? Can these two stubborn mules find common ground on which to work and bring healing to West Texas?

322 pages, with a 4.7-star rating from 63 reviews

Three books in the Sophie's Daughter series, at $0.99 each.






Here's today's Daily Non-Fiction Deal, available for $2.99!

Where Are They Buried?: How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy (Revised & Updated), by Tod Benoit.

The perennially best-selling guide to the lives, deaths, and final resting places of our most enduring cultural icons, now revised and completely updated to include 25 entries of the newly dead.
Where Are They Buried? has directed legions of fervent fans and multitudes of the morbidly curious to the gravesides, monuments, memorials, and tombstones of the nearly 500 celebrities and antiheros included in the book. By far the most complete and well-organized guide on the subject, every entry features an entertaining capsule biography full of little-known facts; a detailed description of the death; and step-by-step directions to the site of the grave, including not only the name of the cemetery but the specific roads and trails to take within the cemetery to reach the gravesite. The book also provides a handy index of grave locations organized by state, province, and country to make planning a grave-hopping road trip easy and efficient.

New entries include Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston, Neil Armstrong, Elizabeth Taylor, Dick Clark and twenty more.

641 pages, with a 4.3-star rating from 101 reviews






Here's today's Daily Science Fiction/Fantasy Deal, available for $1.99!

The Harrowing (A Ghost Story), by Alexandra Sokoloff.

---- Bram Stoker and Anthony Award Nominee for Best First Novel ----

Baird College's Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of the last home-bound students heading off for Thanksgiving break, and Robin Stone swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. Or perhaps it's only gathering itself for the coming weekend.

As a massive storm dumps rain on the isolated campus, four other lonely students reveal themselves: Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and finally Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons.

The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of a sixth presence disturbing the ominous silence that pervades the building. Are they the victims of a simple college prank taken way too far, or is the unusual energy evidence of something genuine---and intent on using the five students for its own terrifying ends? It's only Thursday afternoon, and they have three long days and dark nights before the rest of the world returns to find out what's become of them. But for now it's just the darkness keeping company with five students nobody wants and no one will miss.

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Reviews:

"Poltergeist meets The Breakfast Club as five college students tangle with an ancient evil presence. Plenty of sexual tension... quick pace and engaging plot."
--- Kirkus Reviews

'Absolutely gripping...It is easy to imagine this as a film...Once started, you won't want to stop reading'
---London Times

'Sokoloff's debut novel is an eerie ghost story that captivates readers from page one. The author creates an element of suspense that builds until the chillingly believable conclusion."'
--Romantic Times

What better thing could strangers isolated in a big, near-deserted building while a raging storm takes out the electricity and compels the use of flickering candles possibly discover than an ancient, charred Ouija board? The previously unacquainted in question are five students sitting out Thanksgiving weekend in a 100-year-old residence hall. And that Ouija board turns wicked, of course, when it manifests a ghost named Zachary, who turns the place into a chaotic battleground for the forces of evil versus cosmic goodness and light. What seemed a sick joke one of the five was playing on the others has morphed into a situation in which no one can be trusted. Sokoloff sustains pace and suspense while encouraging the reader to identify with Robin, a young woman from a poor, alcohol-ravaged family, who yearns for acceptance. Will she get it from the all-American jock she lusts for; the slutty tease; the quiet, intellectual rabbi's son; and the brooding musician who are her companions for this scary ordeal? Good, engrossing fun.

--- Booklist, Whitney Scott (© American Library Association)

"The Harrowing is a real page-turner, a first novel of unusual promise."
---Ira Levin

"The Harrowing is a find: fast, original, and genuinely creepy."
---F. Paul Wilson

"Alexandra Sokoloff conjures up a demon older than time and humanity and yet rooted in modern psychology. She brings all her skills as a screenwriter to a tale of supernatural terror as swift as a film."
---Ramsey Campbell

"Sokoloff's debut novel is a furiously paced, deftly plotted joy, bursting at the seams with disquieting imagery and carrying a disturbingly dark undercurrent. It gave me a nightmare…and that's rare."
---Tim Lebbon

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About the Author

ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF is the Thriller Award-winning author of THE UNSEEN, THE PRICE, THE SHIFTERS, THE SPACE BETWEEN, THE HARROWING and the Huntress FBI series (HUNTRESS MOON). She is a produced screenwriter and the author of the writing workbooks SCREENWRITING TRICK

245 pages, with a 4.0-star rating from 108 reviews



Here's today's Daily Youth Deal, available for $1.99!

1-2-3 Va-Va-Vroom!, by Sarah Lynn.

Lap One! Checkered flag. Seatbelt strapped! Helmet snapped! Screeching down the lane! Three kids imagine themselves driving on a racetrack in superfast cars. They zoom around 10 laps, counting toward the finish. Along the way, they Smash! Crash! and Splash! . . . until they scream down the lanes for their final lap. Who will reach the finish line first? The rhyming text and bright digital illustrations bright to life this exciting race. Get in your car, and let’s race! Va-va-vroom!

32 pages, with a 3.9-star rating from 55 reviews

For ages 3-6






Happy Reading!

Betsy

Monday, November 17, 2014

Today's Fire Free App of the Day: Alphabet Aquarium Vol 1: Animated Puzzle Games with Letters and Animals

Today's Free App of the Day is Alphabet Aquarium Vol 1: Animated Puzzle Games with Letters and Animals

Originally $1.99


This is an extremely well reviewed educational app for young kids. From the product page: Four great interactive educational puzzle games with letters and animated animals to develop your child's skills. Customizable Settings. Select which games your child plays allowing you to focus on a single task. Curriculum developed and reviewed by preschool education expert Numerous adorable hand-drawn animations and illustrations for each letters All pronunciation by professional voice-over artists

270 of 284 reviews are four stars and above.

These apps are compatible with the original Fire and with my Fire HDXs. To tell if an app works for your Fire HD or other Android device registered to your Amazon account, click on the above link and look on the right side of the web page.  Amazon will tell you if it will work with your registered device.

Have fun!

Also check out the other digital deals from Amazon, including great deals on MP3s and videos:
 

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Today's Kindle Daily Deals include a novel based on a true-life story, western historical romance, Jimmy Stewart, post-apocolyptic New York and a fun kid's book



Here's today's Kindle Daily Deal, available for $0.99!

The Boy Who Said No, by Patti Sheehy.

As a boy Frank Mederos' grandfather teaches him to fish, to navigate the seas, and to think for himself, much needed skills under the new Castro regime.

342 pages, with a 4.8-star rating from 188 reviews






Here's today's Daily Romance Deal, available for $1.99!

Sourdough Creek, by Caroline Fyffe.

SOURDOUGH CREEK - (Western Historical Romance) Cassie Angel is used to taking care of herself. With a spirit of adventure, and a need to stay out of harm's way, she departs a dying Nevada town for the golden opportunities that await in California--along with a new life. When charming Sam Ridgeway shows up, claiming to know her uncle, and offers her protection in her travels, she has no idea there is an ulterior motive involved.

Other Western Historical Romances by Caroline Fyffe

The McCutcheon Family Series in Order:

Book One - MONTANA DAWN
Book Two - TEXAS TWILIGHT
Book Three - MAIL-ORDER BRIDES OF THE WEST: EVIE
Book Four - MAIL-ORDER BRIDES OF THE WEST: HEATHER


"A fun romp through history, this book was as entertaining as it was romantic." ~Englishrose, Clean Romance Reviews

"I am now a fan and cannot wait to get my hands on another Caroline Fyffe novel!" ~Crystal, Books Are Sanity

363 pages, with a 4.5-star rating from 160 reviews



Here's today's Daily Non-Fiction Deal, available for $2.99!

Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot, by Starr Smith.

Of all the celebrities who served their country during World War II -and they were legion -Jimmy Stewart was unique. On December 7th, when the attack on Pearl Harbor woke so many others to the reality of war, Stewart was already in uniform - as a private on guard duty south of San Francisco at the Army Air Corps Moffet Field. Seeing war on the horizon, Jimmy Stewart, at the height of his fame after Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and his Oscar-winning turn in The Philadelphia Story in 1940, had enlisted several months earlier.

Jimmy Stewart, Bomber Pilot chronicles his long journey to become a bomber pilot in combat. Author Starr Smith, the intelligence officer assigned to the movie star, recounts how Stewart's first battles were with the Air Corps high command, who insisted on keeping the naturally talented pilot out of harm's way as an instructor pilot for B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators. By 1944, however, Stewart managed to get assigned to a Liberator squadron that was deploying to England to join the mighty Eighth Air Force. Once in the thick of it, he rose to command his own squadron and flew twenty combat missions, including one to Berlin.

“My father would feel honored by this book.” —Kelly Stewart Harcourt, daughter of Jimmy Stewart

"We would have made Jimmy a group commander [equivalent to an army regiment] if the war had lasted another month." - General Jimmy Doolittle.

"An excellent biography of a distinguished airman and fine human being." - Roger Freeman, author of The Mighty Eighth: A History of the U.S. 8th Air Force.

"How wonderful it is that Starr Smith has finally directed a literary light on the personal history of Jimmy Stewart. . . . I welcomed Starr's book. It is needed and wanted. Bravo!" - Gay Talese.

"This is a very well researched and written book. . . . It fills a place in history about no mere actor but a courageous and selfless man, Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart, USAF." - General Michael E. Ryan, former Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

“I have met a few movie stars, but of them all, I think that Jimmy Stewart was most like those modest heroes he portrayed. Now journalist Starr Smith has raised the curtain on Stewart’s gallant service as a bomber pilot and air combat commander in World War II.” —Walter Cronkite, from the Foreword

288 pages, with a 4.2-star rating from 67 reviews

I picked up this book right away--I'm a HUGE Jimmy Stewart fan.




Here's today's Daily Science Fiction/Fantasy Deal, available for $1.99!

The Artful (Shadows of the City Book 1), by Wilbert Stanton.

"Fascinating post-apocalyptic tale with plenty of action and intrigue." ~Michael Levy (Goodreads Review)

New York City, 2025: Everything is changed. The city that never sleeps is now a land of death and decay. A rampant virus has taken over and the survivors have become carriers, quarantined from the rest of the world.

Twist and Dodger grew up in the streets, the sewers and underground tunnels - their playground. They aren't heroes. They just like attention; and stealing meds from the rich and giving them to the poor is their golden ticket.

On their latest raid, they unknowingly steal a cure that puts them square between the ailing Emperor of Manhattan and the war hungry Governor of Brooklyn and forces them on a quest into the darkest shadows of their putrefying world.

215 pages, with a 4.3-star rating from 44 reviews



Here's today's Daily Youth Deal, available for $1.99!

Even Monsters Need Haircuts, by Matthew McElligott.

Just before midnight, on the night of a full moon, a young barber stays out past his bedtime to go to work. Although his customers are mostly regulars, they are anything but normal-after all, even monsters need haircuts. Business is steady all night, and this barber is prepared for anything with his scissors, rotting tonic, horn polish, and stink wax. It's a tough job, but someone's got to help these creatures maintain their ghoulish good looks.

Perfect for Halloween, this is a hilarious story about a boy who follows in his father's footsteps . . . in his own monstrously unique way.


A Look Inside Even Monsters Need Haircuts
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

Some customers are easy Some customers don’t know what they want


40 pages, with a 4.7-star rating from 34 reviews



Happy Reading!

Betsy