Bargain Book: Today Only: A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz

A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz is the Amazon Deal of the Day today for $.99. The price will go back up at midnight PST. Schlitz wrote the Newbery Medal winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village.

Book description:

Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence. So when the charming Miss Hyacinth chooses her to take home, the girl is pleased but baffled, until she learns of her new role: helping to stage elaborate séances for bereaved patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing the "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience. It takes a shocking betrayal to make clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with fascinating details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this novel from Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz features a feisty heroine whom readers will not soon forget.

No, this isn't directly folklore related, but is on the slant with the subject matter--and cool title--and so I thought it crossed over well in interests for many of you dear readers.

$10 off Ebook Textbook Extended Through 1/23

   

I posted about Amazon's $10 off the purchase or rental of an ebook textbook late in December but wanted to repost since the offer has been reopened and extended to tomorrow night if you didn't use it before. I did so I don't qualify for it again this year--I bought the Princess Peacock collection of Chinese folklore pictured above since I already owned the titles that I recommend the most. And my library of Chinese folklore is rather slim in comparison to other areas in my collection.

You can read about the deal here and enter the promo code into your account--remember you have to enter the code before you buy or rent a book--and here are links to textbook searches for Fairy Tales and Folklore since they can be tricky to generate if you're no on the right page. "If you received a confirmation that your code has been entered successfully, your $10 credit is now in your account and will remain there until it has been applied towards the purchase or rental of eligible Kindle e-textbooks or until it expires at 11:59 p.m PST on January 23, 2012."

There are other subject areas where you can find textbooks for under$10, so you'd get it for free. But this is a folklore blog, so that's what I am featuring here.

   

  

Bargain Book: The Thief (Attolia) by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief (Attolia) by Megan Whalen Turner is temporarily marked down to $1.99 in ebook format.

When this series first became available for my Kindle, I bought the entire set immediately despite owning multiple copies of all the titles in paper editions--extras for lending, you understand. I adore this series. Love. If it had been around when I was a teen, it would have been on my ultimate list along with Madeleine L'Engle, Robin McKinley, L. M. Montgomery, etc.--you get the drift.

So if you have never read this book and its series, do so soon. My favorite is actually King of Attolia, but they are all wonderfully amazing and you are best off starting at the beginning.

And for $1.99 you are supporting Turner and getting a deal over a used book price.

And it was a Newbery Honor Book. So I am not alone in my enthusiasm.

More than one friend who has followed this recommendation regularly asks me if Turner has a new book coming soon. And more than one has described book depression after finishing the series. You know, that elated/depressed manic feeling when you finish a book you loved and enjoyed because nothing else you read for a while will be as good, perhaps even disappointing, until the memory fades a little.

Bargain eBook: American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman is temporarily marked down to $1.99 on Amazon in ebook edition.

Book description:

First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic—an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the author’s preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman.

A storm is coming . . .

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.

But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined—it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and that he is standing squarely in its path.

Relevant and prescient, American Gods has been lauded for its brilliant synthesis of “mystery, satire, sex, horror, and poetic prose” (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World) and as a modern phantasmagoria that “distills the essence of America” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is, quite simply, an outstanding work of literary imagination that will endure for generations.

Dust City by Robert Paul Weston

 

Dust City by Robert Paul Weston was released in September 2010 but I only recently became aware of it. This one uses the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood in an unusual way. The hardcover copy is bargain priced right now, too, for less than the paperback or ebook. This one definitely appeal to those looking for gritty fairy tale inspired books.

This is another case in which you get to play pick your favorite cover, the hardcover on the left or the paperback on the right? I pick the paperback myself. It's less generic and conveys the story a little better.

Book description:

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

His son, that's who.

Ever since his father's arrest for the murder of Little Red Riding Hood, teen wolf Henry Whelp has kept a low profile in a Home for Wayward Wolves . . . until a murder at the Home leads Henry to believe his father may have been framed.

Now, with the help of his kleptomaniac roommate, Jack, and a daring she-wolf named Fiona, Henry will have to venture deep into the heart of Dust City: a rundown, gritty metropolis where fairydust is craved by everyone-and controlled by a dangerous mob of Water Nixies and their crime boss leader, Skinner.

Can Henry solve the mystery of his family's sinister past? Or, like his father before him, is he destined for life as a big bad wolf?

Bargain Books by Alex Flinn

 

Cloaked with Bonus Materials by Alex Flinn is available for 99 cents as a special preorder. It is the full book, released last year, and Flinn's most recent fairy tale exploration. She kicks off a new series soon--Bewitching (The Kendra Chronicles)--which is why this book is being offered at a deal price to promote the new one.

Unfortunately, the bargain edition currenly doesn't have a cover image, so I am using the regular ebook link for the image but it is priced $9.99 so beware of clicking on it. Be sure to click on this link--Cloaked with Bonus Materials by Alex Flinn--to find the bargain priced one.

Flinn also has a new novella--Beastly: Lindy's Diary--a companion to her Beastly (the one made into the movie), which also doesn't have a cover yet. It is $3.99.

Book description for Cloaked:

I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.

Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked.

Book description for Beastly: Lindy's Diary:

See the #1 New York Times bestselling story Beastly through Lindy's eyes! This is her diary, kept while living in captivity with the beast. Lindy's Diary captures all the romance and edgy mystery of the original!

Diary,

I am locked away . . . with no one to confide in but you . . . and him. His fur, those claws—they caught me off guard at first, but now I'm noticing something else about him—something deeper. It's the look in his eye. It tells me he's got a secret to keep. That's okay—I've got one, too. I think I'm falling in love with him. . . .

Lindy

Free eBook: Don't Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis

Don't Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis is currently free in ebook format, for a short time only. Publishers Weekly gave this one a starred review so it is worth picking up for FREE, I think. I'm not sure how long the discount will last, so snap it up quick! I did since I didn't own it and hope to have time to peruse it someday....

Book description:

The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Don't Know Much About® series -- a magical journey into the timeless world of mythologyIt has been fifteen years since Kenneth C. Davis first dazzled audiences with his instant classic Don't Know Much About® History, vividly bringing the past to life and proving that Americans don't hate history, they just hate the dull, textbook version they were fed in school. With humor, wit, and a knack for storytelling, Davis has been bringing readers of all ages up to speed on history, geography, and science ever since. Now, in the classic traditions of Edith Hamilton and Joseph Campbell, he turns his talents to the world of myth.Where do we come from? Why do stars shine and the seasons change? What is evil? Since the beginning of time, people have answered such questions by crafting imaginative stories that have served as religion, science, philosophy, and popular literature. In his irreverent and popular question-and-answer style, Davis introduces and explains the great myths of the world, as well as the works of literature that have made them famous. In a single volume, he tackles Mesopotamia's Gilgamesh, the first hero in world mythology; Achilles and the Trojan War; Stonehenge and the Druids; Thor, the Nordic god of thunder; Chinese oracle bones; the use of peyote in ancient Native American rites; and the dramatic life and times of the man who would be Buddha.Ever familiar and instructive, Davis shows why the ancient tales of gods and heroes -- from Mount Olympus to Machu Picchu, from ancient Rome to the icy land of the Norse -- continue to speak to us today, in our movies, art, language, and music. For mythology novices and buffs alike, and for anyone who loves a good story, Don't Know Much About® Mythology is a lively and insightful look into the greatest stories ever told.

Bargain Ebooks: Gregory Maguire Titles

Here are a few bargain ebooks by Gregory Maguire. I wish they were the fairy tale ones, but I know some readers here love Wicked with Bonus Material: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years), which is $1.99 for a limited time, down from $9.99

Son of a Witch (The Wicked Years) is $3.99, down from $7.99, also for a limited time, I imagine.

What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy is $1.99. This one fluctuates to lower prices while the others are usually higher, but I thought I would include it while I was here...

Bargain Ebook: Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

I was browsing through the new January bargain book deals and feeling rather discouraged by them when I found this gem that made me smile and welcome the new list.  Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George is a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling released originally in 2009 is marked down to $2.99 for the month of January in Amazon's 100 Books Deal. So if you don't have it, here's your chance for an inexpensive copy that still supports the author!

Book description:

Rose is one of twelve princesses forced to dance through the night in an underground palace. The key to breaking the spell lies in magic knitting needles, an invisibility cloak, and-of course-true love. Inspired by "The Twelve Dancing Princesses,"this novel is as captivating as it is fresh. Enchanted readers are sure to clamor for the new companion, Princess of Glass, also published.

After writing a few fairy tale inspired novels, including Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, George most recently had a successful release of Tuesdays at the Castle this past October and it will be a January birthday gift to my niece so I plan to read it myself in the coming weeks.

  

Save $10 on Kindle e-Textbooks with code ETXTBOOK

   

Save $10 on Kindle e-Textbooks with code ETXTBOOK, applicable to either a purchase or rental.


This deal is open to anyone, one time only, and expires on January 9, 2012. All of the other fine print is on the deal page. You don't have to own a Kindle, just have a device that can run one of the free Kindle apps.
 
There are several fairy tale and folklore titles--those are direct links to searches--several of which I own in paper and am debating an ebook edition if the price is right. I pictured a few above. If you don't already own it and like fairy tales and mythology, Fairytale in the Ancient World would be my top pick, pictured above.

Bargain Book Round Up for end of December

Amazon's Deal of the Day in ebooks is The Giver by Lois Lowry for $.99. This one is today only, so fair warning. Again, not a folklore book, but of high interest to many readers here.

It also gives me the opportunity to remind you that if you want any of the discounted folklore and fairy tale themed books I have featured this month, those that are still discounted will return to their higher pricing come the new year. You can also browse 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less which will definitely end on the 31st because that is how Amazon does things. But there will be new bargains in the new year, so that makes for happy thoughts, too. Here's some that are still discounted pictured below. Many of these are also top picks for the year.