Spend $20 on Kindle books and get $5! Good through 28 January in the USA

Spend $20 on Kindle books and get $5! Good through 28 January in the USA

This one is easy to do! Start here:

Amazon offer page ( at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

Activate it there, spend the money…and that’s about it!

You need to buy $20 or more in the USA Kindle store by January 28th. A few days later, you’ll have a credit on your account which will automatically be applied when you buy Kindle books (you won’t select when to use it, from what I see). You’ll have 30 days after it’s applied to spend up to $5 on any USA Kindle store e-books.

I keep saying “USA”…it’s possible it applies outside of there, but it’s clear it needs to be from Amazon.com.

It doesn’t apply to pre-orders, but otherwise, it’s pretty much any Kindle books.

As happy

Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

members, we don’t do a lot of piece buying (paying for an individual book). However, we do love giving them as small gifts at the holidays! You can buy a book now, and delay the delivery (that’s not a pre-order, it should count) or have it sent to yourself so you can give it whenever you want.

I’d check my wish list (I’m recovering from major surgery…more reading opportunities), but it’s too close to my birthday and Valentine’s Day to risk buying from it. 🙂 I’ll likely look for gifts for other people, maybe look at their Amazon wish lists. Hm…I may also look for non-profits looking for e-book donations…that may be the best way to go for me.

I’m not sure how many of them ask for them, but you could start here:

AmazonSmile Charity Lists (at AmazonSmile*)

You may be more interested in this when you are redeeming (although saving money when you are getting to the $20 makes sense, too…it just means more books needed to get there), but here is Amazon’s

Deals in Kindle Books page (at AmazonSmile*)

Do you have any other creative suggestions? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

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

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“Cyber Monday: The biggest Kindle deal of 2018, save up to 80% on over 350 titles”

“Cyber Monday: The biggest Kindle deal of 2018, save up to 80% on over 350 titles”

Did you think yesterday’s

Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

was big?

I did! 😉

Today’s the biggest on of the year (according to Amazon), and we probably won’t see a bigger one until December 25th.

I won’t have time to look over the whole list this morning, but I’ll try to call out a few. Feel free to add suggestions for me and my readers by commenting on this post.

Remember that you can buy the books at today’s reduced price, and either delay delivery for the appropriate gift-giving occasion, or send them to yourself, print them out, and give them whenever you want.

Titles:

• Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks
• Outlander (#1) by Diana Gabaldon $1.99 (basis for the TV series)
• Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo
• The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
• Under the Sea Wind by Rachel Carson
• Grant Moves South by Bruce Catton
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Ender #1)

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

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

Today’s KDD: “Cyber Sunday: Up to 80% off top titles on Kindle”

Today’s KDD: “Cyber Sunday: Up to 80% off top titles on Kindle”

“Cyber Sunday”?

Okay by me, since it means a big sale. 😉

Moreover, the origins of “Cyber Monday” don’t really apply any more.

You see, back in the day, people had a lot faster internet at work than they did at home. That meant that it was easier to shop at work than at home, so sales went up on Monday.

The term made its debut in 2005 in a Shop.org press release, from what I know.

Now, thirteen years later, the situation is reversed for many people: my internet at work is fast, but my internet at home is as fast if not faster.

Still, people do shop on Cyber Monday…but the sales get going over the weekend (they actually start before Black Friday).

Today’s

Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

has 87 “top titles”…and there are some good ones in there.

Before I point some out, I want to speculate on one thing: what might we have tomorrow that we don’t have today?

I’m thinking there may be a deal on

Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

I haven’t heard anything yet, but it makes sense to me.

Now, titles:

• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman | 4.3 stars out of 5 | 2086 customer reviews | $1.99 (this is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction classic which has inspired sequels and more…it’s military science fiction, and might make a good small gift)
• Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body by Martin Pistorius | 4.7 stars | 2222 reviews
• The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon | 4.7 stars | 163 reviews (I heard an interview about this one, and then gave it as a gift to a relative…fascinating story about a tragic incident which helped mend the relationship between Canada and the USA)
• The Moon-Spinners by Mary Stewart (also Airs Above the Ground, This Rough Magic, Nine Coaches Waiting, The Ivy Tree, Touch Not the Cat) $1.99 each…you could make a nice “bundle” by buying someone several!
• The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski | 4.6 stars | 1360 reviews
• The 7th Canon by Robert Dugoni | 4.5 stars | 1185 reviews | also available through Kindle Unlimited
• Absolute Power by David Baldacci
• No Safe Secret by Fern Michaels
• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
• The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume One: Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, and Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers | $2.99 for the three | 4.4 stars | 153 reviews
• Secondborn by Amy A. Bartol (I’ve read this…it was worth reading…#1 of 3) also available through KU
• When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning

There are books by Raymond Feist, Elisabeth Peters, Louis L’Amour, Harlan Ellison, Liz Braswell…if you want to mention any of those (or others…or other deals…or, hey, I’m not picky, I like comments) 😉 , you can do so by commenting on this post.

Enjoy!

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

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

Amazon’s Black Friday 2018…as it happens

Amazon’s Black Friday 2018…as it happens

We are in the midst of Black Friday, so I thought I’d do a little check-in while my Significant Other goes to the gym. 😉

First, as regular readers my recall, Black Friday is our favorite “date” of the year. We go into the stores specifically to buy things for Toys for Tots. We have a budget, and we have our own guidelines:

• Nothing with batteries
• Nothing with a lot of little parts (some recipients may have to move relatively often)
• We like to get some things for older kids (who tend to not to be the first ones on most people’s minds)
• I especially like to get well-known brands and characters…recipients do know who Black Panther and Wonder Woman are, for example. I think it can make people feel more “normal” if they have things they think other people have
• We get some traditional toys
• We also want to get inspirational things, something that can open the world (and imaginations)…maybe give an idea for a path in life. That, of course, includes books

After we are done shopping, we take the toys to a fire station…they love getting them!

As to the standing outside waiting to get-in? We like it! We chat with other people…this year, it was funny, somebody came up and said hi to me who we had chatted with last year. 😉

Speaking of last year…the crowds were definitely smaller!

We went to Target, and got there maybe fifteen minutes before it opened at 7:00 AM. There were only about twenty people in line. By the time it did open, there were still quite a bit under 100, I think.

Target did have a nice cart in which I could ride while my SO pushed…designed for people with disabilities (I have one). It wasn’t easy to manage because it was so long, but I couldn’t have walked around the store very well.

My SO noted that the toys seemed to be more expensive this year, speculating if it was because of the closure of Toys R Us (removing downward price competition). That’s possible…I think we got fewer items, but “bigger” ones, for the most part.

Half Price Books was the same. We got there about half an hour before it opened at 9:00…and there was one person there. I didn’t see how many people were in line when it opened, but probably under 100 again.

Half Price Books is one of those places that I think can do well with the online competition existing. People shopping there like it, and it has a good sense of discovery (they do have some new books, but they also buy used/collectible books directly from locals). They brought coffee out to people waiting in line. It’s worth noting that there were a lot of older people, and some kids…but I wouldn’t say there were a lot of millenials in line. That’s interesting, since millenials tend to be big buyers of paperbooks, from what I’ve seen.

I could see how the brick-and-mortar Black Friday shopping could become an anachronism within ten years (and I’m a former brick-and-mortar store manager). Some people would still do it, and it might be more common in certain parts of the country…but stores could go back to opening normal hours.

Now, as to that online shopping at Amazon…

While there are certainly lots of great deals on

Amazon’s Black Friday page (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*).

I wanted to start with today’s

Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

There are 161 titles listed…looks like they are all under $5, except for the

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged 3rd Revised ed. Edition, Kindle Edition (at AmazonSmile*)

which is $14.99…which is 75% off the regular digital list price of $59.95.

There are many well-known books and authors in today’s list, and many well-reviewed books (in some cases, all three).

Here are ten I’ll note…remember that you can buy these today at this discounted price, and then delay the delivery until the appropriate gift-giving occasion, or send them to yourself to print out and give whenever you want. Books like these make great gifts…big or small!

• Being Mortal by Atul Gawande | 4.8 stars out of 5 | 7175 customer reviews | $4.99
• The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl | 4.7 stars | 4380 reviews | $1.97
• Call Me By Your Name by by André Aciman (inspiration for the recent movie)
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (2017 Newberry winner) | 4.7 stars | 171 reviews | $1.99
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho | 4.6 stars | 12114 reviews | $3.99
• A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice #1) | 4.6 stars | 9838 reviews | $2.99
• Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read | 4.6 stars | 337 reviews | $1.99
• Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly (A Ballard and Bosch Novel #1)  4.4 stars | 575 reviews
• City by Clifford D. Simak  (classic science fiction) | 4.5 stars | 277 reviews

The deals on

Amazon Devices (at AmazonSmile*)

are as expected…excellent! 😉

My top recommendations:

• Echo Spot (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping) $89.99 instead of $129.99 | 4.4 stars | 6294 reviews
• Fire TV Cube (at AmazonSmile*) $59.99 instead of $119.99 | 3.6 stars | 262 reviews
• Echo Dot 3rd gen (the newest one) (at AmazonSmile*) $24.00 instead of $49.99 | 4.4 stars | 1,458 reviews

There is a giant discount on the

Echo Look (at AmazonSmile*) | 3.4 stars | 148 reviews

That’s always seemed like an odd duck to me…but if you are interested, it’s 75% (!) off: $49.99 instead of $199.99.

That may seem like a good price for an Echo device, but it’s limited…no calling, messaging, or Bluetooth. I’m guessing this is the last hurrah for the Echo Look, but we’ll see.

Here are some non-Amazon device deals, good through midnight Pacific time on Friday:

• Instant Pot $69.99 instead of $139.95 (50% off)
• 23andMe DNA kit $99.99 (50% off)…also on sale, Wisdom Panel dog DNA kit for $49.99 (41% off)
• select Seagate hard drives starting at $39.99
• select Chromebooks (that’s what my non-techie SO uses) from $399.99
• Blue Yeti USB microphones: 30% off roughly
• Oculus Rift and Touch VR ($50 off…$349). Perhaps more interesting, even though it isn’t just Black Friday: Oculus Go 32GB ($20 off…$179)

That’s just a tiny percentage of the deals…remember that there may be even bigger deals on some things on Cyber Monday. Sales will also continue (but change) through the weekend.

Other deals you’ve seen/gotten you’d like to share with me and my readers? Feel free to do so by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

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

Amazon Prime members can now watch the ultimate cautionary tale against smart homes…like Amazon’s Alexa

Amazon Prime members can now watch the ultimate cautionary tale against smart homes…like Amazon’s Alexa

Many people are afraid of Amazon’s Alexa (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) and other smart home devices.

In some cases, they fear what human beings can do with the information (which might be obtained through intentional interaction, or observation, visual or audible). They may not be comfortable with Amazon knowing so much about them.

In others, it is concern about the technology itself. It might fail to function, malfunction…or perhaps, in some future, develop its own agenda.

The last one may seem ridiculous, but it’s been part of our pop culture consciousness for a very long time…going back at least as far as Karel Čapek’s 1924

play R.U.R. (at AmazonSmile*)

Whether they call it the “robot rebellion” or “the singularity”, the concept of human-created intelligence developing independence and using it to dominate its creators is firmly established.

This was especially true in 1970s science fiction cinema. Colossus: the Forbin Project (at AmazonSmile*) is one example (and a personal favorite). That one is available for streaming through the Hoopla public library service, as indicated by JustWatch.

Another one, which I had not seen for years, is

Demon Seed (at AmazonSmile*)

I remembered it.

Based on the

Dean Koontz novel (at AmazonSmile*)

it is about a scientist (Fritz Weaver) who creates an artificial intelligence system which takes over the smart home the scientist created…and, well, I don’t want to spoil what happens.

Julie Christie stars (arguably a more important role than Weaver’s), and Gerrit Graham has a nice small role as a computer tech (so different from the rocker Beef that Graham played in Phantom of the Paradise a few years earlier).

The smart home is very much like what we have with Alexa: a voice-interface turning the lights on and off, controlling the thermostat…oh, it’s probably a bit beyond what most of us have, but not ridiculously so. It’s called “Alfred”, presumably after Batman’s butler, but interesting that “Alexa” and “Alfred” are so similar…coincidentally, I’m sure. 😉

Robert (Napoleon Solo on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) is great as the voice of “Proteus”! Interestingly, the actor is uncredited, presumably to make Proteus seem more real.

A few content warnings: there is some minor female nudity in the movie (another common thing in what I call Seventies Social Sci-Fi), violence, and sexual violence themes.

With that caution, I think you’d find it an interesting watch! It does intrigue me that Amazon chose to “go there”…I wonder how many people will watch this by asking Alexa to show it to them! You could do that with the

Fire TV Cube (at AmazonSmile*)

which is on a Black Friday sale starting today for half off ($59.99)…I listed it as one of

My favorite Amazon Black Friday sales this year

Gee, I wonder if someday Amazon will let us choose “Alfred” as the Alexa wake word…of if Proteus will allow it. 😉

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

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

My favorite Amazon Black Friday sales this year

My favorite Amazon Black Friday sales this year

Black Friday is less than a week away!

It used to be that surprise sales on that day were a really big thing…deep discounts that we might not find out about until the day before (or even “flash sales” which might sell out quickly).

That certainly may be the case this year as well. My Significant Other really likes getting the physical newspapers and going through the Black Friday ads (even though many of them are “leaked” online ahead of time…my favorite site for that is Black Friday.com), and no doubt, we’ll be keeping on eye on Amazon’s Black Friday page (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*). Well, after we have “our favorite date of the year” and go doorbuster shopping for Toys for Tots. That’s going to be a bit more of a challenge this year…I think we’ll need to bring my wheelchair**.

We also, though, have dates and prices for Amazon devices…I think these will be accurate but, of course, double-check before you buy.

Amazon put out a

press release

with prices, but saying “…the deals included below will be available on various dates and times between November 16 and November 23 (Black Friday), while supplies last…”

I have seen specific dates in diverse news stories online, which may or may not be the right ones.

Before I call out three specific deals, I want to mention Amazon’s trend towards package and bulk deals. There seems to be more of those this year, and that makes sense. For example, you’ll be able to get one

Echo Dot Kids’ Edition (at AmazonSmile*)

for $49.99 ($20 off the normal price…which is what it is at time of writing), but you’ll be able to get three of them for $99.97…about $33.32 apiece.

That’s a bulk deal: discounts for buying more than one of the same thing at the same time. You might be thinking that you only need one…but don’t forget about gifts!

Package deals (also called “bundles”) are when you get a discount for buying two different things at the same time. Here’s an example of that (available at time of writing):

3rd gen Echo Dot and an Amazon smart plug (at AmazonSmile*)

The price is $64.98, which is a $10 discount over buying them separately.

That one makes sense: the Echo Dot can use that SmartPlug to power something on or off, like a lamp (although there are also smart bulbs), but also, say, holiday decorations.

With all of these possibilities, I want to highlight three. These are devices which I really personally like, with deals that I think are significant.

Fire TV Cube (at AmazonSmile*)

It honestly surprised me how much we like this relatively new device! It’s a TV streamer (it’s just about the only way we watch TV…we pay for Netflix and Hulu and are Prime members, so we have that Prime Video option…and there is a lot more), but it can also control your TV (most of them…they give you a way to check before you buy), and it has full Alexa functionality. I like visual Alexa (visuAlexa?)…if we ask for the weather, we see a “chart” of the next several days, like you would see in a weather app.

This one should go on sale on Sunday, 11/18, but

Amazon Prime (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

should be able to order through an Alexa device on Saturday, 11/17 starting at 9:00 PM Pacific. Ask, “Alexa, what are my deals?” No guarantees, but try it. 🙂

It’s normally $119.99, but it will drop to $59.99…$60/half off. That’s cheaper than an Echo tower without a screen.

Kindle Paperwhite (at AmazonSmile*)

This has been my favorite Kindle EBR (E-Book Reader) since its release. This is the new version, which is waterproof. Amazon doesn’t list this in that press release, but it will reportedly go on sale for $79.99 ($40 off the current price of $129.99). If this happens, it’s a great deal! That doesn’t have to be you upgrading: it could be a gift, or you could use it as your “guest Kindle” (I think I first wrote about my concept for that here: A Kindle for the guest room).

The sale will reportedly start on Thanksgiving…but again, Prime members will likely get that three-hour headstart. Also, right now, buyers get six months of

Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

included in the purchase…that “all you can read” subser (subscription service) would make this an even better deal.

The

Echo Spot (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping)

is what I have at work, and is part of every workday. It’s about the size of a Magic 8 Ball, and has a screen. I use it for typical Alexa functions (timers, weather), but also play Jeopardy while my work computer boots up. Being able to see the text of the questions is really helpful!

Amazon says it will be $89.99 for one ($40 off)…but $159.98 for two! This is an item where having two can definitely make sense, since you can use it for videocalls. That could be one for you and one for grandparents in another state. You give them a gift they’ll really like (it can work out to more time with the family)…and you get a gift for yourself, too. 😉

You can get the two-pack at time of writing, and the single-price sale is supposed to happen on Thanksgiving.

Amazon has a little making up to do with some of the public right now…they’ve gotten some pushback on the way they handled the HQ2 decision, and the investors could have been happier. That may mean we see even more (slightly more) good news for customers this holiday season.

This isn’t the only time of year to get deals from Amazon…we also have Prime Day (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) in the middle of the year, but it is a good time!

Is there something else you are especially looking to see this year? You can let me and my readers now by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

** I now have a surgery date scheduled for my hip replacement for January 17, 2019. If all goes well, that could mean that I end up not even needing the cane I’ve used for years. It’s a relatively safe operation, but I’m also using it as an impetus to “get my affairs in order”, as they say. Not quite sure yet how it will affect the blog in the immediate aftermath…it actually sounds like I should be able to write within a few days of the procedure

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

Today’s Kindle Daily Deal: “$0.99 & up, Start a new series on Kindle”

Today’s Kindle Daily Deal: “$0.99 & up, Start a new series on Kindle”

There is something different about a series of books.

As I started to write this post, I wanted to consider: what is it that can make a series more impactful in our lives, more memorable, than a stand-alone title?

Can stand-alone titles affect us deeply? Of course. For more than half a century

To Kill a Mockingbird (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

was a single novel, and changed the lives of many people. Yes, there was also a movie which was iconic and popular…that may be a discussion for another post. I do believe, though, that the book would be as important if the movie didn’t exist.

However, when I think of someone who has been shaped in part in the image of literature, I think of a series. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, the Oz books…if I think of someone who quotes from literature, who perhaps wears something that relates to literature (a character pin, for example), who has home decorations from literature, it’s series.

I think, in a sense, it’s like people you know over time as opposed to someone you meet once at a party. The latter may certainly leave a lasting impression, but we are more shaped by our long-time friends.

When you read later novels in a series, there doesn’t have to be as much exposition…we already know a lot. We also get to be right about what we think might happen, because we know the characters and what we think they might do. I don’t know the actual neurochemistry, but my guess is that dogs have a specific dopamine-type response for when they’ve correctly predicted something. I think humans do, too…although I think it’s not as likely for cats. 😉

The selections in today’s KDD are all series starters. Some are certainly well-known, and there are lots of highly-rated books as well.

As always, you can buy the books today at these discounted prices, and then delay delivery for the appropriate gift-giving occasion. You can also print them out to give them whenever you want.

Check the prices before you click/tap/eye gaze those Buy Buttons: these prices may not apply in your market, and you may see this after a book has left the sale.

Okay, books! Included in the 88 (!) titles are:

• The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) | #1 of 4 of Cormoran Strike | 4.5 stars out of 5 | 10,540 customer reviews at time of writing
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin | #1 of 6 of Earthsea | 4.1 stars | 758 reviews
• Say You’r Sorry  by Melinda Leigh | #1 of 6 of Morgan Dane | 4.5 stars | 4,193 reviews | Also available through Kindle Unlimited at no additional cost
• The Professor by Robert Bailey | #1 of 4 of McMurtrie and Drake | 4.6 stars | 3,031 reviews | KU
• Still Life by Louise Penny | #1 or 14 of Chief Inspector Gamache | 4.3 stars | 3,319 reviews
• The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne | #1 of 3 of The Naturalist | 4.3 stars | 5,222 reviews | KU
• True Fiction by Lee Goldberg | #1 of 2 of Ian Ludlow | 4.4 stars | 2,470 reviews
• Plum Island by Nelson DeMille | #1 of 6 of John Corey | 4.3 stars | 1,503 reviews
• Not Quite Dating by Catherine Bybee | #1 of 6 in  Not Quite | 4.4 stars | 2,136 reviews
• Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak | #1 of 3 of Dr. Evelyn Talbot | 4.7 stars | 337 reviews
• Accused by Lisa Scottoline | #1 of 11 of Rosato & DiNunzio | 4.2 stars | 713 reviews
• The 100 by Kass Morgan | #1 of 3 of the Hundred | 3.9 stars | 579 reviews | basis for the TV series
• Gideon’s Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child | #1 of 4 of Gideon Crew |3.4 stars | 549 reviews
• The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman | #1 of 20 of Leaphorn and Chee | 4.4 stars | 476 reviews
• Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos | #1 of 6 of Frontlines | 4.3 stars | 3,270 reviews | KU
• Wild Cards I: Expanded Edition by Wild Cards Trust and George R.R. Martin } #1 of 22 of Wild Cards | 3.8 stars | 214 reviews
• Even Now by Karen Kingsbury | #1 of 2 of Lost Love | 4.7 stars | 599 reviews
• The Quiche of Death by M.C Beaton | #1 of 27 of Agatha Raisin | 4.1 stars | 237 reviews
• Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer | #1 of 12 of Bloody Jack | 4.6 stars | 281 reviews

There you go! That’s just a few of them…if you have others in this sales you’d recommend, feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

 

Today’s KDD: “Up to 80% off select history books on kindle” [sic]

“Today’s KDD: Up to 80% off select history books on kindle [sic]”

Today’s

Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

has some really interesting (and in some cases, well-known) history books.

My Significant Other doesn’t like to read history, or non-fiction generally. I think that has to do with depth of empathy…my SO both cares very deeply for other people, but also, inversely, has those feelings right at the surface….the family story is my SO crying at Kodak commercials. 😉 For those of you who don’t remember, Kodak made film cameras, and…what’s film? Never mind. 🙂

That just makes the real too real.

As someone who has trained trainers (which is what I am), I think empathy is a big part of being a successful trainer…but so is compartmentalization. I think I do understand how people (and especially non-human animals) feel, but I can continue to think rationally while that emotion is there. I always say, I am the person you want in an emergency…I’m the one who is going to be calmly directing you to crawl to the exit while the room is filling with smoke and flames spit around our heads.

I love reading history! Of course, my sense of history might be somewhat different from the traditional one. I am much more interested in what is considered ephemera than battles and rulers. What did people do for entertainment? What was the slang? What were their folk beliefs?

It’s one reason why I do timelines, like

The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip

Great history books give you both that sense of how people lived and factual accuracy. It’s about the individual and the context…the tree and the forest.

Remember that you can buy these books at today’s discounted price, and either delay the delivery to until the appropriate gift-giving occasion,or print it out and give it whenever you want. E-books like these are great small gifts to have when you unexpectedly need one…a new relationship, or even just a thank you.

Check the price before you click/tap/eye gaze that Buy button.

The forty titles include:

• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown | 4.7 starts out of 5 | 1,165 reviews: this is truly a classic
• Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert [Kindle in Motion] by Patrick Cornwell: I think you’d have a tough time reading this and not at least considering the Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper (also available through Kindle Unlimited…KU at no additional cost)
• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann | 4.6 stars | 3,453 reviews | There was lots of praise for this book, which came out in 2017
• A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes by Adam Rutherford
• Daughters of the Winter Queen by Nancy Goldstone
• Darkest Hour by Anthony McCarten
• The Coldest War: America and the Korean War by David Halberstram
• 50 Things You Need to Know About World History by Hugh Williams
• The Girl on the Velvet Swing by Simon Baatz
• Krakatoa by Simon Winchester
• The Lost Tribe of Coney Island by Claire Prentice
• On the Origins of Sports by Gary Belsky and Neil Fine
• Adventures of a Young Naturalist by David Attenborough
• History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time by Brian Metzer and Keith Ferrell
• Don’t Know Much About the American Presidents by Kenneth C. Davis
• Hemingway Didn’t Say That by Garson O’Toole (KU) | This comes from a site I’ve really enjoyed, which tracks the origins of quotations: Quote Investigator

Obviously, that’s not all of them…feel free to let me and my readers know if there are other titles in this group you’d recommend by commenting on this post.

By the way, I’m still riding high from something that happened yesterday: Mark Hamill liked something I wrote! The Star Wars legend tweets a lot, and like J.K. Rowling, genuinely engages with fans.

I think my line came out well Hamill tweeted about the body reality for Luke and the unrealistic, giant muscled depictions. I responded, “These are not the roids you’re looking for…”

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Today’s KDD: “$1.99 & up on select Goodreads Choice Award winners & more”

Today’s KDD: “$1.99 & up on select Goodreads Choice Award winners & more”

Today’s

Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

is really impressive!

When Amazon bought Goodreads about 5 1/2 (!) years ago, this was the kind of result we wanted. 🙂

The thirty titles include:

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn | 4.5 stars out of 5 | 5,485 customer reviews | $2.99
• Red Rising (#1) by Pierce Brown | 4 stars | 44,877 reviews | $1.99
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot | 4.6 stars | 5,937 reviews | $2.99
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed | 4.4 stars | 13,292 | $1.99
• The Paris Wife by Paula McClain | 4.3 stars | 3,076 reviews | $2.99
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green | 4.7 stars | 37,594 reviews | $2.99
• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai | 4.6 stars | 3,291 reviews | $4.99
• Bossypants by Tina Fey | 4.3 stars | 4,730 reviews | $4.99
• The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling | 4.3 stars | 34,289 reviews | $1.99 (also available through Kindle Unlimited)
• MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood | 4.3 stars | 702 reviews | $1.99
• Room by Emma Donoghue | 4.4 stars | 4,638 reviews | $3.99
• How to Be a BAWSE by Lilly Singh | 4.8 stars | 392 reviews | $2.99

When I think back to the beginning of the Kindle age, this list would have been thought…unlikely. These are tradpubbed (traditionally published), popular, well-reviewed books, several of which have been made into movies, and yet, here they are…on sale. Progress!

Check the price before you click/tap/eye gaze that Buy button…the prices may not apply in your country, and you might see this after the books are out of this sale.

Also, as always, you can buy the books at this reduced price, and either delay the delivery until the appropriate gift-giving occasion, or print them out so you can give them whenever you want.

Enjoy!

Special note: I’m writing this on my Significant Other’s Chromebook…I’ll tell you the whole story another time, but I bought a new laptop and had to return it. My big mistake? Buying it in a brick-and-mortar instead of at Amazon. 😉

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

 

Big Amazon Echo device sale for “Off to College”

Big Amazon Echo device sale for “Off to College”

This is a limited time sale, but it’s a good one!

Amazon Device Deals (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*

The framing of this as Echo devices for off to college is interesting, considering that the sale includes the kids’ model of the Echo. Some college students have kids, but it doesn’t seem like a large demographic. As for the Doogie Howser-type children who are in college, they probably don’t need the kids’ version. 😉

The new Fire TV Cube is $89.99, rather than $119.99. This is a separate class of device in my mind, combining Echo functionality with the Fire TV, but also being able to control your TV. We use ours every day.

The Echo Show is $100 off (!), so it’s available for $129.99.

The Echo Dot is $39.99, saving you $10.

The second gen Echo tower is $84.99, 15% off.

I don’t’ know how long this will last, but it’s worth a look.

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Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.