Affiliate Links for "arcadata"- August 2012

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The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus from HarperCollins is $2.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description
Age Level: 14 and up | Grade Level: 9 and up

The bestselling authors of The Nanny Diaries introduce a new heroine to root for: Jesse O'Rourke, coffee barista, high school senior, and unwitting reality TV star.

Imagine there was never a Laguna Beach, a Newport Harbor, the shimmering Hills. Imagine that your hometown—your school—is the first place XTV descends to set up cameras.

Now imagine they've trained them on you.

When Jesse O'Rourke gets picked for a "documentary" being filmed at her school in the Hamptons she's tempted to turn down the offer. But there's a tuition check attached to being on the show, and Jesse needs the cash so she can be the first in her family to attend college. All she has to do is trade her best friend for the glam clique she's studiously avoided, her privacy for a 24/7 mike, and her sense of right and wrong for "what sells on camera." . . . At least there's one bright spot in the train wreck that is her suddenly public senior year: Jesse's crush has also made the cast.

As the producers manipulate the lives of their "characters" to heighten the drama, and Us Weekly covers become a regular occurrence for Jesse, she must struggle to remember one thing: the difference between real and the real real.

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Power & Beauty by Tip "T.I." Harris with David Ritz from William Morrow is $2.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

Hip-hop artist Tip "T.I." Harris has received every acclaim the music world has to offer. Now, working with bestselling celebrity collaborator David Ritz, T.I. applies all his talent and experience to the world of fiction by creating the epic love story of Power and Beauty.

After the death of his mother, Charlotte, Paul “Power” Clay allows himself to be guided by Slim, a local businessman. Slim always has the best of everything, and Power is sure that if he learns Slim's ways, he'll make something of himself--and perhaps be worthy of Tanya “Beauty” Long. From Chicago to Miami to New York, through drugs, women, and violence, Power makes the difficult transition from boy to man and, in doing so, begins to question if those who have taught him--including Slim--truly have his best interests at heart.

Beauty has always known that the only person she can rely on is herself. After her mother died when she was eleven years old, she was adopted by close family friend Charlotte Clay. But with Charlotte's death, Beauty knows she's no longer safe and protected--especially as Power gets sucked into a new kind of life. As soon as she can, she turns her back on Atlanta--and the growing love she feels for Power--for a chance to make it in the Big Apple. With a successful fashion career on the horizon, Beauty takes New York by storm with her wit, business savvy, and breathtaking good looks. But she's never forgotten those she left behind. And when it becomes clear that Power needs her, Beauty will risk everything to save the man she loves.

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More Than Words Can Say by Robert Barclay from William Morrow Paperbacks is $0.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

From the author of If Wishes Were Horses comes a novel of long-buried secrets and self-discovery, showing us that sometimes what goes unsaid is more powerful than words. . . .

Chelsea Enright never expected to inherit her grandmother's lakeside cottage deep in the Adirondacks—a serene getaway that had been mysteriously closed up decades ago. This is no simple bequest, however, because when Chelsea finds her grandmother's WWII diaries, she's stunned to discover that they hold secrets she never suspected . . . and they have the power to turn her own life upside down.

Even more surprising is the compelling presence of local doctor Brandon "Yale, and Chelsea soon finds her "short stay" has stretched into the entire summer. She cannot put this cottage and her family's past behind her easily—and the more she learns about the woman her grandmother truly was, the more Chelsea's own life begins to change . . . and nothing will ever be the same again.

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The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell from Open Road Iconic Ebooks is $2.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

Lawrence Durrell’s complete Alexandria Quartet—a story of passion and betrayal that stands as one of the most acclaimed and beloved works of twentieth-century fiction

The Alexandria Quartetis a striking and sensuous masterpiece, breathing vivid life into each of its unforgettable characters and the dusty Mediterranean city in which they live. Set in Alexandria, Egypt, in the years before, during, and after World War II, the books follow the lives of a circle of friends and lovers, including sensitive Darley, passionate Justine, philosophical Balthazar, and elegant Clea. Written in Durrell’s trademark evocative prose, these four novels explore the central theme of modern love, building into a remarkable whole that the New York Times hailedas “one of the most important works of our time.”

This ebook features a new introduction by Jan Morris.

The Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous Project: Three Months to a New You by Esther Blum and James Dignan from Chronicle Books is $1.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

Have your cosmopolitan and drink it, too. In Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous, Esther Blum, a nutritionist at the famed Dr. Perricone, MD flagship store in Manhattan, outlines everything a girl needs to know to live it up yet maintain her youthful beauty. There are no diets, no gimmicks, just real solutions. It's all about balance. It is about indulging to satiate, not saturate. She provides pointers on how to nip a hangover in the bud, how to dine out without packing on the pounds, what to eat to rev up the sex drive, what to eat to prevent wrinkles and acne, what to take to combat out-of-control hormones, and much, much more.

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Half Baked: The Story of My Nerves, My Newborn, and How We Both Learned to Breathe by Alexa Stevenson from Running Press is $1.88 (US Kindle)

Book Description

Author Alexa Stevenson had spent most of her life preparing for the wrong disasters. When her daughter is born 15 weeks early, she is plunged into the strange half-light of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, where she learns the Zen of medical uncertainty and makes the surprising discovery that a worst-case scenario may just be the best thing that’s ever happened to her. The absurdities of the medical system, grappling with mortality, and coming into one’s own are all explored in this wryly heartfelt memoir.

From the indignities of infertility treatments to managing bedrest and parenting a preemie (how does one wrangle an oxygen tank while changing a diaper?), Alexa recounts her rocky road to motherhood with a uniquely sharp, funny, yet poignant voice.

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Taliban: The Unknown Enemy by James Fergusson from Transworld Digital is $2.64

Book Description

From a small group of religious students formed in 1994, the Taliban quickly grew into a national movement that occupied all of Afghanistan. Led by the mysterious Mullah Omar, the group established a theocracy based on strict observance of Sharia law. When the Americans overthrew the Taliban in 2001, the United States thought the regime had been defeated. Yet today, nine years later, the Taliban continue to wage a bloody insurgency.

In this extraordinary and compelling account of the rise, fall, and return of the Taliban, author James Fergusson, who has unique access to its shadowy leaders, presents the reality of themovement so often mischaracterized in the press. His surprising and, perhaps, uncomfortable conclusions about our current strategy in Afghanistan should be required reading for anyone who wishes to understand this intractable conflict.

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Into The Arena : The World of the Spanish Bullfight by Alexander Fiske-Harrison from Profile Books (£1.59) is the Amazon UK Kindle Deal of the Day (Aug 8) *Wait for price to reflect discount before 1-clicking

Product Description

Into the Arena is an account of the author's year spent travelling with bullfighters throughout Spain. Along the way he enters the ring, runs with the bulls in Pamplona and trains with a world famous matador. His ultimate quest, and the climax of the book, is to fight in the ring with the aim of winning.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon from HarperCollins ($2.99) is the NOOK Daily Find (Aug 8)

Product Description

From bestselling author Michael Chabon comes this award-winning alternative history of an Alaska settled by Jewish refugees and washed-up homicide detective Meyer Landsman who has to solve a murder committed a murder right under his nose. Fascinating amd imaginative, The Yiddish Policemen's Union is compelling reading you won't be able to put down.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo from Candlewick ($2.99) is the NOOK Daily Find for Families (Aug 8)

Product Description

From award winning author Kate DiCamillo comes a tale about love and loss. In the house on Egypt Street there lived an elegant china rabbit named Edward Tulane. One day the rabbit is lost and begins a long journey where he encounters people from all walks of life and learns that life is not measured in how much someone is loved, but in how much they love in return.

Random Harvest: A Novel by James Hilton from Open Road ($1.99) is the Kindle Deal of the Day (Aug 8) *Wait for price to reflect discount before 1-clicking

Product Description

Two years after going missing in the trenches of World War I, Charles Rainier appears in a Liverpool hospital. His memories of the war and its aftermath stay hidden, until World War II begins: the flashbacks of battlefield violence, a German prison, and a passionate affair threaten his peaceful life.

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FYI, new Kindle apps:

The Hardest Game (A Number Puzzle for Kindle) by Nice Games ($0.99)

Mystery Castle: Web of Confusion (A Game for Kindle) by Runestone Games Limited ($1.99)

infix: The Awakening (Interactive Fiction for Kindle) by black belt games ($1.99)

infix: Fail-Safe (An Interactive Fiction Title for Kindle) by black belt games ($1.99)

Messages from the Future Part 1 (An Interactive Fiction Series for Kindle) by brainy4fun ($2.99)

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FYI, Amazon matched the Nook family deal the other day:

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt is $1.99 for US Kindle

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New US Kindle promo:

This summer, travel to another time with Kindle books - Up to 75% Off

From the dirt streets of ancient Jerusalem to Manhattan's concrete jungle in the 1990s, this diverse selection of 50 books contains the time-traveling keys to some of the most exciting periods and events in human history.

Through August 13, this entertaining collection is available for up to 75% off.

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FYI, Amazon has matched the Nook deal today:

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon also $2.99

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The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is $2.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

“Do you know what it took for Socrates’ enemies to make him stop pursuing the truth?”
“Hemlock.”

Storied, fiercely competitive Mariana Academy was founded with a serious honor code; its reputation has been unsullied for decades. Now a long-dormant secret society, Prisom's Party, threatens its placid halls with vigilante justice, exposing students and teachers alike for even the most minor infraction.

Iris Dupont, a budding journalist whose only confidant is the chain-smoking specter of Edward R. Murrow, feels sure she can break into the ranks of The Devil’s Advocate, the Party’s underground newspaper, and there uncover the source of its blackmail schemes and vilifying rumors. Some involve the school’s new science teacher, who also seems to be investigating the Party. Others point to an albino student who left school abruptly ten years before, never to return. And everything connects to a rare book called Marvelous Species. But the truth comes with its own dangers, and Iris is torn between her allegiances, her reporter's instinct, and her own troubled past.

The Year of the Gadfly is an exhilarating journey of double-crosses, deeply buried secrets, and the lifelong reverberations of losing someone you love. Following in the tradition of classic school novels such as A Separate Peace, Prep, and The Secret History, it reminds us how these years haunt our lives forever.

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Across a Hundred Mountains by Reyna Grande from Atria Books is $2.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

Across a Hundred Mountains is a stunning and poignant story of migration, loss, and discovery as two women -- one born in Mexico, one in the United States -- find their lives joined in the most unlikely way.

After a tragedy separates her from her mother, Juana García leaves her small town in Mexico to find her father, who left his home and family two years before to find work in America, el otro lado, and rise above the oppressive poverty so many of his countrymen endure.

Out of money and in need of someone to help her across the border, Juana meets Adelina Vasquez, a young woman who left her family in California to follow her lover to Mexico. Finding each other -- in a Tijuana jail -- in desperate circumstances, they offer each other much needed material and spiritual support and ultimately become linked forever in the most unexpected way.

The phenomenon of Mexican immigration to the United States is one of the most controversial issues of our time. While it is often discussed in terms of the political and economic implications, Grande, with this brilliant debut novel and her own profound insider's perspective, puts a human face on the subject. Who are the men, women, and children whose lives are affected by the forces that propel so many to risk life and limb, crossing the border in pursuit of a better life?

Take the journey Across a Hundred Mountains and see.

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A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas from Houghton Mifflin is $1.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

"The best memoir I have ever read. This book is a punch to the heart. Read it." --- Stephen King

When Abigail Thomas's husband, Rich, was hit by a car, his brain shattered. Subject to rages, terrors, and hallucinations, he must live the rest of his life in an institution. He has no memory of what he did the hour, the day, the year before.

This tragedy is the ground on which Abigail had to build a new life. How she built that life is a story of great courage and great change, of moving to a small country town, of a new family composed of three dogs, knitting, and friendship, of facing down guilt and discovering gratitude. It is also about her relationship with Rich, a man who lives in the eternal present, and the eerie poetry of his often uncanny perceptions. This wise, plainspoken, beautiful book enacts the truth Abigail discovered in the five years since the accident: You might not find meaning in disaster, but you might, with effort, make something useful of it.

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Accidents of Providence by Stacia Brown from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is $2.99 (US Kindle)

Book Description

Rachel Lockyer is under investigation for murder.

It is 1649. King Charles has been beheaded for treason. Amid civil war, Cromwell's army is running the country. The Levellers, a small faction of political agitators, are calling for rights to the people. And a new law targeting unwed mothers and “lewd women” presumes anyone who conceals the death of her illegitimate child is guilty of murder.

Rachel Lockyer, unmarried glove maker, and William Walwyn, Leveller hero, are locked in a secret affair. But while William is imprisoned in the Tower, a child is found buried in the woods and Rachel is arrested.

So comes an investigation, public trial, and a cast of extraordinary characters made up of ordinary Londoners: gouty investigator Thomas Bartwain, fiery Elizabeth Lilburne and her revolution-chasing husband, Huguenot glover Mary Du Gard, a lawyer for the prosecution hell-bent on making an example of Rachel, and others. Spinning within are Rachel and William, their remarkable love story, and the miracles that come to even the commonest lives.

Accidents of Providence is absorbing historical fiction for fans of Fingersmith and The Dress Lodger. And Rachel Lockyer, a woman wronged by her time, is a character neither history, nor we, will ever again forget.