May 2013 Kindle book releases

May 2013 Kindle book releases

While I don’t generally pre-order Kindle store books myself, I know many of you do.

I understand the fun of just having the book show up, but I figure I’ll order when I want it…since I could have it within a minute, usually.

May is a big month for books…it’s the unofficial start of summer, and just as we start to see the movie blockbusters, some of the books show up for that Memorial Day weekend as well.

These aren’t necessarily the most popular of the pre-orders…I’m just going to list ones that catch my eye. Since we might not agree on that, here’s a link to the 2,274 (at time of writing May releases in the USA Kindle store:

May 2013 USA Kindle store books

I won’t intentionally link to individual books which block text-to-speech. However, I’m very happy (and heartened) to tell you that this time, only one of the books I took a look at it had the access blocked. That’s a big improvement (in my opinion), and that includes books from major publishers that used to block it routinely.

Inferno: A Novel (Robert Langdon)
by Dan Brown
pre-order for May 14

Undoubtedly, this is going to be a biggie. Brown is the author of the Da Vinci Code (and others), and this features the same main character. You’d probably see this a lot on the beach…if you could see what people were reading on their devices.

Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel
by Charlaine Harris
pre-order for May 7

This is supposed to be the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse series (the inspiration for the True Blood TV series).

Deeply Odd: An Odd Thomas Novel
by Dean Koontz
pre-order for May 28

Odd Thomas has been a popular series for the horror writer.

A Delicate Truth: A Novel
by John le Carré
pre-order for May 7

Very popular writer, for decades. I liked this story on him which ran recently in the New York Times: John le Carré Has Not Mellowed With Age.

The Rithmatist
by Brandon Sanderson
pre-order for May 14

This one looks interesting! It’s the first young adult novel from Sanderson (Mistborn, co-author of the last Wheel of Time book).

Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition
by T. Colin Campbell with Howard Jacobson
pre-order for May 7

Little Green: An Easy Rawlins Mystery
by Walter Moseley
pre-order for May 14

The return of Easy Rawlins!

Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness
by Mike Johnson, illustrated by David Messina
pre-order for May 15

This is a comic book series (in one volume) (check available devices to see if you can get it for yours) which is a lead-in to the new movie…which is a sequel to a reboot to a TV series from is getting to be close to fifty years old…feelin’ it yet?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 Volume 3
pre-order for May 14

See, you can reboot something, or it can live again as a comic book series…or app…or audiobook…or…dang, you just can’t kill these old pop culture properties! Where’s a slayer when you need one? Actually, I love that pop culture is forever, although I’m still waiting for a big screen version of Herbie Popnecker (which I still think could be a big ((no pun intended)) hit).

The Man Who Seduced Hollywood: The Life and Loves of Greg Bautzer, Tinseltown’s Most Powerful Lawyer
by B. James Gladstone, with a foreword by Robert Wagner
pre-order for May 1

You need a big inside Hollywood book for the summer, right?

In Her Majesty’s Name: Steampunk Skirmish Wargaming Rules (Osprey Wargames)
by Craig Cartmell, illustrated by Fabien Lascombe
pre-order for May 21

You don’t have to actually play a war/role-playing game to enjoy reading the rules. I’ve certainly done that (although I should mention that I use to manage a game store, in addition to a bookstore…we weren’t just RPGs, though). The description of this one makes it seem as though the author is grounded in the appropriate literature…certainly might be worth a sample for you Steampunk fans (no samples until the release, usually).

A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not!” Ripley
by Neal Thompson
pre-order for May 7

Ripley was a true original, and certainly influenced pop culture. I used to see the comics, and went to the museum.

Leopard’s Prey (A LEOPARD NOVEL)
by Christine Feehan

Romance from a #1 New York Times bestselling author

Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization
by K. Eric Drexler

Well, you know…it’s the little things that count.

The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (The Liberation Trilogy)
by Rick Atkinson
pre-order for May 14

For some people, summer and a big old history (wait, can you have new history?) go hand in hand. This one is 896 pages in paper…but don’t worry, it won’t make your Kindle heavy.

The Art of Thinking Clearly
by Rolf Dobelli
pre-order for May 14

I love this kind of stuff! Eventually, we might even get thinking figured out…

Well, there’s enough to get you started. Are you excited for any of these? Do you have another book coming out in May you’d like to recommend? Do you read a lot over Memorial Day, or is that more for movies and outdoor pursuits? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

October 2012 Kindle book releases

October 2012 Kindle book releases

While I don’t generally pre-order Kindle store books myself, I know many of you do.

I understand the fun of just having the book show up, but I figure I’ll order when I want it…since I could have it within a minute, usually. Unlike with paperbooks, your pre-order prices for five of the six biggest US trade publishers aren’t guaranteed by Amazon…they can’t be. Under what’s called the Agency Model, Amazon can’t set the prices for those e-books: hypothetically, if the publisher raised the price between the time you pre-ordered it and the time it was released Amazon couldn’t do anything about it.

I don’t think that tends to happen, though. Publishers don’t tend to raise the price between the pre-order and the release, and I’ve also heard of Amazon canceling pre-orders. I don’t think there is any significant risk that you’ll pay a different price than the one at which you pre-ordered…unless the pre-order is canceled and you decide to re-order it.

This time, also, we have the interesting situation of three publishers (HarperCollins, and Hachette and Simon & Schuster…HC and Amazon have already worked out the new contract, which is why it is five of six above…it will be three of six before the end of the year) having settled on the Agency Model. That means that the price I’m seeing now is set by the publisher, but may not be by the time the book is released. I think it’s likely that we may see prices drop dramatically on some of these…the result of price wars, which become possible again after the Agency Model contracts end. If that happens, I would expect that Amazon would give you the lowest price…after all, they would again become the seller of record.

I’m looking at the list sorted by popularity:

October 2012 Kindle book releases

but I’m not just going to list the most popular out of the 2,426. I’ll hit some of the big names that I think might interest you, but if something else catches my eye, I’ll list that, too.  If the book blocks text-to-speech access, I won’t list it.

The Racketeer
by John Grisham
pre-order for October 23

Grisham is the best-selling brand name author of (usually) legal thrillers.

Partners
by Nora Roberts
pre-order for October 9

Another brand name author, but of a rather different type.

Mercury Rests
by Robert Kroese
pre-order for October 23

The first book in this series, Mercury Falls, can be read for free by eligible Prime members.

The Essential Novels: Star Wars Reads Day Special Edition: 4-Book Bundle: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron; Heir to the Empire; New Jedi Order: Vector Prime; Legacy of the Force: Betrayal
by Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, R.A. Salvatore, Aaron Allston
pre-order for October 2

Four books for (at time of writing) $7.99…not enough for you? How about The Essential Novels: Star Wars 10-Book Bundle for $62.99?

Dr. Bloodmoney
by Philip K. Dick
pre-order for October 23

I’ve got this one in paper.

The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis: The Secret White House Tapes
by David G. Coleman
pre-order for October 1

Nonfiction

We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy
by Yael Kohen
pre-order for October 16

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
by Mark Forsyth
pre-order for October 2

The 50 Movie Starter Kit: What You Need to Know if You Want to Know What You’re Talking About
by Ty Burr
pre-order for October 2

Boston Globe critic tells you about fifty movies you should know.

The Winner Effect: The Neuroscience of Success and Failure
by Ian H. Robertson
pre-order for October 16

Son
Lois Lowry
pre-order for October 2

This is the end of the young adult series that began with The Giver (Newbery Medal Book)

The Sins of the Mother: A Novel
by Danielle Steel
pre-order for October 30

Mars Attacks
by Len Brown, The Topps Company, Zina Saunders
pre-order for October 1

A comprehensive look at the trading cards on their 50th anniversary…I’m guessing this will look great on a Kindle Fire, and be a great geek gift. I don’t think you can pre-order a gift, though.

Who I Am: A Memoir
by Pete Townshend
pre-order for October 8

Well, there’s an interesting group for you!

I do expect pricing may be wild this year.

One disappointment: there were a couple of books I would have listed, but they had text-to-speech access blocked. I really thought we were getting done with that. I wonder if that might be, in some way, a response to the end of the Agency Model. They might reflexively re-assert control…and then, I can only hope, they relax it again.

Regardless, happy reading!

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

June 2012 Kindle book releases

June 2012 Kindle book releases

While I don’t generally pre-order Kindle store books myself, I know many of you do.

I understand the fun of just having the book show up, but I figure I’ll order when I want it…since I could have it within a minute, usually. Unlike with paperbooks, your pre-order prices for the six biggest US trade publishers aren’t guaranteed by Amazon…they can’t be. Under what’s called the Agency Model, Amazon can’t set the prices for those e-books: hypothetically, if the publisher raised the price between the time you pre-ordered it and the time it was released Amazon couldn’t do anything about it.

I don’t think that tends to happen, though. Publishers don’t tend to raise the price between the pre-order and the release, and I’ve also heard of Amazon canceling pre-orders. I don’t think there is any significant risk that you’ll pay a different price than the one at which you pre-ordered…unless the pre-order is canceled and you decide to re-order it.

I’m looking at the list sorted by popularity:

June 2012 Kindle store pre-orders

but I’m not just going to list the most popular out of the 2,426. I’ll hit some of the big names that I think might interest you, but if something else catches my eye, I’ll list that, too.  If the book blocks text-to-speech access, I won’t list it.

Robert Ludlum’s (TM) The Bourne Imperative
by Eric Van Lustbader
pre-order for June 5

Van Lustbader is a bestselling author, here continuing Ludlum’s Bourne series.

Pretty Little Liars #11: Stunning
by Sara Shepard
pre-order for June 5

From the popular young adult series (and basis of the TV show).

Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas
by John Scalzi
pre-order for June 5

Yes, Star Trek fans, the title is a reference to the traditionally doomed members of a landing party…it may aspire to be the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Trek novels. Might be a good gift for the geek on your list.

Mortal (The Books of Mortals)
by Ted Dekker, Tosca Lee
pre-order for June 5

Dekker writes Christian thrillers…I haven’t read one, but I’ve head them recommended to me.

The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
pre-order for June 5

A Gordianus the Finder novel, set in 92 B.C.

Kiss the Dead
by Laurell K. Hamilton
pre-order for June 5

An Anita Blake, vampire hunter novel.

We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency
by Parmy Olson
pre-order for June 5

Non-fiction

Mission to Paris: A Novel
by Alan Furst
pre-order for June 12

A spy story by a popular writer in the genre, set in 1938.

The Third Gate: A Novel
by Lincoln Child
pre-order for June 12

Historical horror fantasy from the popular author.

Wicked Business: A Lizzy and Diesel Novel
by Janet Evanovitch
pre-order for June 19

Evanovitch is, of course, best known for the Stephanie Plum series, but this is a separate fantasy series.

Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark)
by Gena Showalter
pre-order for June 26

Romance

Tuesday’s Child
by Fern Michaels
pre-order for June 26

From the New York Times bestselling fiction author…

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

April 2012 Kindle book releases

April 2012 Kindle book releases

While I don’t generally pre-order Kindle store books myself, I know many of you do.

I understand the fun of just having the book show up, but I figure I’ll order when I want it…since I could have it within a minute, usually. Unlike with paperbooks, your pre-order prices for the six biggest US trade publishers aren’t guaranteed by Amazon…they can’t be. Under what’s called the Agency Model, Amazon can’t set the prices for those e-books: hypothetically, if the publisher raised the price between the time you pre-ordered it and the time it was released Amazon couldn’t do anything about it.

I don’t think that tends to happen, though. Publishers don’t tend to raise the price between the pre-order and the release, and I’ve also heard of Amazon canceling pre-orders. I don’t think there is any significant risk that you’ll pay a different price than the one at which you pre-ordered…unless the pre-order is canceled and you decide to re-order it.

I’m looking at the list sorted by popularity:

April Kindle store pre-orders

but I’m not just going to list the most popular out of the 2,403. I’ll hit some of the big names that I think might interest you, but if something else catches my eye, I’ll list that, too. If the book blocks text-to-speech access, I won’t list it.

Tiger (New Species, Book Seven)
by Laurann Dohner
published by Ellora’s Cave
April 10, 2012

Okay, I said I wasn’t going to go just with most popular, but the fact that this one is the most popular right now says something. Ellora’s Cave does racy romance, and the book description seems to put this solidly in that camp.  Interesting to me that it beats those mainstream, brand name authors…

The Innocent
by David Baldacci
April 17, 2012

Speaking of brand name authors…

Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d’Art
by Christopher Moore
April 3, 2012

Moore is a comic fantasist with q real following…sounds like an interesting premise this time.

Calico Joe
by John Grisham
April 10, 2012

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)
by Jenny Lawson
April 17, 2012

I think the old-style description might have been “a wit”. Snarky Lawson has some really big name endorsers.

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection: No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (13)
by Alexander McCall Smith
April 3, 2012

I’d stopped reading these gentle mysteries when Random House was blocking text-to-speech access on everything, but I see they aren’t on this one…might be time for a return visit!

Ascend (A Trylle Novel)
by Amanda Hocking
April 24, 2012

Hocking was a groundbreaker in success as an independent author, and then signed with a major publisher. This one is from Macmillan.

The Beginner’s Goodbye
by Anne Tyler
April 3, 2012

The author of The Accidental Tourist…

Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope
by Erin Hunter
April 3, 2012

This is a very popular fantasy series, and people have been waiting for this one. I have to say, I did find the reviews interesting…

Beauty: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Story
by Laurell K. Hamilton
August 24, 2012

Another popular fantasy series…but not quite for the same audience as Warriors. These are more adult-focused.

Deadline (Godmothers 4)
by Fern Michaels
April 10, 2012

The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
by Jonathan Gottschall
April 10, 2012

A topic near and dear to my heart. There was this one time when…oh, wait, sorry: got distracted by a story. Seriously, businesses have lately been pushing the idea of using stories to modify behavior, although I have to say, they don’t always seem to understand the process of what makes a story work. You can’t just ask people to submit stories to a website, unless they are writers, generally. However, you can put them in a room and have them one-up each other on a topic…that works.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

January 2011 Kindle book releases

January 2011 Kindle book releases

I thought I’d list a few of the upcoming January releases that caught my eye.

You can pre-order them, if you like, or wait for the day (given that you can usually get them in under a minute). If the books come from an Agency Model publisher, Amazon is unable to guarantee the price…but I wouldn’t expect the prices to change in-between your order and the delivery.

There is a certain magic feeling in having them just show up on that day. You will have to have your wireless on, of course. People sometimes ask about when they will deliver. I’m not sure that there is an exact time…I’ve heard people say different things about when they get them. It may be at midnight Pacific time, but I’m not convinced that they can deliver all of them at exactly the same time.

My guess is that you can find something you like here. Whether it’s worth the price or not will be up to you.

By the way, when I sorted this by popularity, the top books were largely independently published books through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. I don’t know much about some of those…they may be great, but I’m more likely to notice books and/or authors I know.

The books do not block text-to-speech access.

Private: #1 Suspect (Jack Morgan)
by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
published by Little, Brown
size: 432 pages (515KB)
categories: thrillers
publication date: January 2, 2012

Blue Nights
by Joan Didion
published by Random House (Knopf)
size: 208 pages
categories: biographies and memoirs
publication date: January 17, 2012

Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel
by Jayne Ann Krentz
published by Penguin (Putnam)
size: 535KB
categories: romance
publication date: January 10, 2012

Love in a Nutshell
by Janet Evanovich, Dorien Kelly
publisher: St. Martin’s Press
size: 321 pages (491KB)
categories: romance
publication date: January 3, 2012

American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
by Jim DeFelice, Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen
published by Harper Collins (William Morrow)
size: 400 pages (1843KB)
categories: biographies & memoirs
publication date: January 3, 2012

The Devil’s Star: A Novel (Harry Hole)
by Jo Nesbo
published by HarperCollins
size: 468 pages (1520KB)
categories: thrillers
publication date: January 3, 2012

Breakdown
by Sara Paretsky
published by Penguin
size: 743KB
categories: thriller
publication date: January 3, 2012

Gun Games: A Decker/Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus)
by Faye Kellerman
published by HarperCollins
size: 384 pages (728KB)
categories: mystery
publication date: January 3, 2012

A Wrinkle in Time: 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet)
by Madeleine L’Engle
published by Farrar, Strous, and Giroux (Macmillan)
size: 256 pages
categories: science fiction; children’s
publication date: January 31, 2012

Raven Cursed: A Jane Yellowrock Novel
by Faith Hunter
published by Roc (Penguin)
size: 638KB
categories: fantasy
publication date: January 3, 2012

A Devil Is Waiting
by Jack Higgins
published by Penguin (Putnam)
size: 521KB
categories: thrillers
publication date: January 3, 2012

The Confession (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries)
by Charles Todd
published by HarperCollins (William Morrow)
size: 352 pages (689KB)
categories: mystery; historical
publication date: January 3, 2012

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
by James Luceno
published by Random House (LucasBooks)
size: 401 pages (1701KB)
categories: science fiction
publication date: January 10, 2012

Gideon’s Corpse
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
published by Hachette (Grand Central)
size: 368 pages (577KB)
categories: thrillers
publication date: January 10, 2012

Halo: Primordium: Book Two of the Forerunner Saga (Halo (Tor Hardcover))
by Greg Bear
published by Macmillan (Tor)
size: 384 pages (483KB)
categories: science fiction
publication date: January 3, 2012

Sisterhood of Dune
by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
published by Macmillan (Tor)
size: 497 pages (884KB)
categories: science fiction
publication date: January 3, 2012

Taking People With You: The Only Way to Make Big Things Happen
by David Novak
published by Penguin (Portfolio)
size: 748KB
categories: I’m going with business/leadership…but the product page has it as contemporary fiction
publication date: January 3, 2012

Thanks to one of my readers, Kathy, of the http://yearofreadingmybooks.wordpress.com/ blog for pointing out that I misspelled Jo Nesbo’s name as “Joe”. I try to be careful about that (people get mine wrong a lot), but made a mistake on that one. Dratted finger memory!

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Summer time…and the reading is easy (2011)

Summer time…and the reading is easy (2011)

Memorial Day is the start of the summer movie blockbuster season (which I cover in my other blog, The Measured Circle).  I figured it might be fun to look at some of the blockbuster books coming for the Kindle this summer.

I have recently decided to change my policy, and I will not list specific books that block text-to-speech access (as opposed to all books from a publisher that blocks text-to-speech access on any of their titles).

Outside of that caveat, I’m going to list some books I expect to be bestsellers (and that I found interesting) for Kindle books being released in June through August 2011.

A few other things first, though.  Since I’m looking at popular pre-orders, those are going to tend to be traditional publishers.  I don’t buy a whole lot of those any more, but we do get some.  Independents may give you more book for your buck.  Also, many of these are over $9.99, and I know some folks don’t want to spend that.  Up to you.  Finally, books that are sold under the Agency Model don’t have the pre-order price guarantee…but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a pre-order Kindle book price being raised.  Books on wish lists, yes, and I have heard about people being told the price was going up…so they could cancel the order, if they wanted.

I’m not big on pre-ordering, myself, but I understand the fun of just having the book appear…which is even more fun if you’ve forgotten you ordered it.  :)

June 2

The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture
by David Mamet

Mamet looks at politics…and regardless of what you think about politics, he can write

June 6

The Anatomy of Influence: Literature as a Way of Life
by Harold Bloom

Literary criticism…that says Summer.

June 7

Mr. Monk on the Couch
by Lee Goldberg

If you are still feeling the loss of Monk, here’s a pick-me-up (and Monk was particularly good at picking things up…non-emotional things, that is). Goldberg wrote episodes of the series and has written several official novels based on the series. Kick back and relax on the beach…you can keep your shirt buttoned all the way up.

Hit List
by Laurell K. Hamilton

This is the latest book in the Anita Hill, Vampire Hunter series.

State of Wonder
by Ann Patchett

I haven’t read anything by Patchett, but I have been on (a tributary to) the Amazon, which is where at least part of this story takes place.  It sounds interesting.

June 21

Smokin’ Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel
by Janet Evanovich

I never read my first Stephanie Plum until after I had my Kindle.  My Significant Other (SO) had read them, but had always passed them on to a sibling.  Since we could both read them at the same time for one download price on the Kindle, I figured, “Why not?”  I know some fans say the earlier books are better, but I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve read.  For those of you who don’t know, this is a series of humorous mysteries starring a bounty hunter.  Don’t picture Dog, Steve McQueen…or Boba Fett.  ;)  Stephanie barely gets by, with a little (or a lot, actually) of help from her friends.  The first movie is scheduled to be released on January 27 of next year, starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie, Sherri Shepherd as Lula, Daniel Sunjata as Ranger, and Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur.

June 28

Heart of Evil
by Heather Graham

This is not the actor, but a well-known romance/horror novelist (who also writes under Shannon Drake and Heather Graham Pozzessere). This one involves a bayou plantation and paranormal investigators.

Dragon’s Time: Dragonriders of Pern
by Anne McCaffrey, Todd McCaffrey

The first book in this series appeared (as a book) in 1968, and many readers have fond memories of Pern. A movie is now in development for 2013, but other movies (Avatar, How to Train Your Dragon) were likely inspired in part by it. This isn’t just “dragon-riding…whee!”…there’s a more complex society happening here.

July 5

Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy
Short story anthology, edited by Ellen Datlow

Authors contributing new stories include Jim Butcher (yes, it’s Harry Dresden), Patricia Briggs, Melissa Marr, Holly Black, and more.

July 12

Forever
by Maggie Stiefvater

Might appeal to Twilight fans…

A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five
by George R.R. Martin

Martin’s epic fantasy series started with A Game of Thrones (which is now a successful series on HBO).

A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog Named Trixie
by Dean Koontz

I love books about animals (Gerald Durrell is still one of my favorites), and it can be good when a fiction writer uses that natural empathy to tell us more about our relationships with them.

July 26

Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files
by Jim Butcher

The TV series has come and gone on this one. While Dresden is a wizard, the feel of this is much more a PI (Private Investigator) series.

It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy
by Laurie Notaro

If you want to laugh…and who doesn’t?

August 2

Home Improvement: Undead Edition
by Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Heather Graham, Toni L.P. Kelner, and more

Short stories with a home improvement/paranormal theme…including a new Sookie Stackhouse story.

August 9

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension
by Christie Golden

August 23

The Power of Six
by PIttacus Lore

The movie of I Am Number Four wasn’t the hit many people expected, but book series aren’t killed by their adaptations.

The Measure of the Magic: Legends of Shannara
by Terry Brooks

Tragic Toppings: A Donut Shop Mystery
by Jessica Beck

A donut shop mystery? I guess that’s when you want to get to the bottom of the “hole” thing.

Are there other summer books for which you are especially waiting?  Feel free to let me (and my readers) know.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Popular pre-orders #1

Popular pre-orders #1

I haven’t looked at pre-orders recently, and I don’t think I’ve done it formally like this.

I’m going to list here some popular pre-orders right now in the Kindle store.

Why pre-order?

Well, actually, it isn’t always a good idea.  As I pointed out in this earlier post, you aren’t guaranteed the price at which your pre-ordered the book for the Kindle.  Amazon does that on some products, but not e-books.  Heck, you aren’t even guaranteed the pre-order…many people got pre-orders canceled during the Penguin debate. 

They won’t charge you for it and not send it to you, of course.  However, they can (and have) simply eliminated your pre-order.  Nothing wrong with that.

I know, though, that some of you like pre-orders.  You like the surprise of the book showing up…even though you ordered it yourself.    When I was a kid I would squirrel a way a dollar bill…just for the pleasure of finding it later, after I’d forgotten I put it there.  I think it’s like that.  I mean, after all, if you decide to buy something, and you have Whispernet, you can generally have it in under a minute anyway. 

So I think it’s that “pleasant forgetting thing”. 

Kind of makes you feel sorry for people with “perfect recall”, doesn’t it? 

Here, then, are some of the most popular pre-orders in the Kindle store right now.  My normal proviso: I don’t intentionally link to books from companies that block text-to-speech.

Hungry Girl: 200 under 200 (200 recipes under 200 calories)
By Lisa Lillien
Published by Macmillan
Category: Cooking
Price at time of writing: $9.99
Due to be released December 31, 2010

Fascinating!  This is the bestselling book right now of any of the pre-orders.   I wouldn’t have guessed cookbooks were going to rank that high.  She has several books in the Kindle store right now, though.  It’s also interesting that it isn’t due until the end of the year…

The Gathering Storm

The Wheel of Time #12
by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson
Published by Macmillan
Category: science fiction and fantasy
Price at time of writing: $12.99
Due to be released September 28, 2010

When popular author Jordan (which is a pseudonym) died, he left extensive notes that would allow three more full novels in The Wheel of Time series…this is the first of those three.

Towers of Midnight
The Wheel of Time #13
by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson
Published by Macmillan
Category: science fiction and fantasy
Price at time of writing: $14.99
Due to be released October 26, 2010

And here’s the next book in that series…there should be one more after this.

No Mercy

Dark-Hunter #31
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Published by Macmillan
Category: Fantasy
Price at time of writing: $11.99
Due to be released September 7, 2010

This is a very popular contemporary fantasy series from New York Times bestselling author Kenyon.   This one stars Samia, the immortal Amazon, and Dev, the shapeshifter, and takes place in New Orleans.

Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex
Artemis Fowl #7
By Eoin Colfer
Published by Disney Hyperion
Category: Children’s books
Price at time of writing: $9.99
Due to be released August 3, 2010

The Artemis Fowl series has been very popular.  The main character is a thief, and the series involves humans and supernatural creatures.  There’s been talk of a movie for a while…

Game Over
Sisterhood: Rules of the Game #10
by Fern Michaels
Published by Zebra
Category: Suspense
Price at time of writing: $5.11
Due to be released: July 1, 2010

In this continuation of the Sisterhood series by bestseller Fern Michaels, there’s a possible Supreme Court seat involved…

The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook Ever
by John Boswell
Published by HarperCollins
Category: Cooking
Price at time of writing: $9.99
Due to be released: July 6, 2010

Huh…another cookbook.  The new protective cases for the Kindle (the m-edge Guardian and the forthcoming KlearKase) may get a workout.  The idea of a recipe book for ice cream seem odd, but there are all of those flavors in the stores, so…

A Scattered Life
by Karen McQuestion
Published by AmazonCrossing
Category: Fiction
Price at time of writing: $2.99
Due to be released on August 10, 2010

This one is an interesting story.  It was originally published through Amazon’s Digital Text Platform (DTP), and has really broken out.  It has been optioned for a movie.  It’s also part of Amazon’s rising publishing world…AmazonCrossing, that’s a different imprint.  We usually hear about AmazonEncore.  $2.99…that’s a good price, too. 

The Right Stuff
by Tom Wolfe
Published by Macmillan
Category: Non-fiction
Price at time of writing: $9.99
Due to be released December 31, 2010

This is what many people want to see…solid, well-received backlist books (in this case, also a famous movie adaptation) becoming available in the Kindle store.  I think, eventually, we’ll get the vast majority of them.  Oh, this one is about the space program (in particular, the space race)…but I figure you knew that. 

Burn
Anna Pigeon #16 (?)
Published by Macmillan
Category: Mystery
Price at time of writing: $12.99
Due to be released on August 3, 2010

This series takes place in different US national parks.  This particular one takes place in New Orleans (a popular setting, as you can tell). 

There’s a sampling for you. 

One interesting thing: books from The Hachette Group are not indicating that text-to-speech access has been blocked, although they normally.  Some other publishers that do block it do have the designation, though…I was thinking maybe it didn’t show up until later.

Does that mean Hachette is going to stop blocking text-to-speech?  I would love that!  I’ll keep my eye on it.

When I ran books published after June 2010, I got a total of 2,120.  Of those, 1,604 are priced from one penny to $9.99.  That’s about 76%…

So, you can pre-order books if you want, and that “magically” appear on your Kindle…but for the best effect, click the button and then repeat after me…

“I did not order a book.  I did not order a book.  I did not order a book…”

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.