Content FREE (and bargain) books for the Kindle - September 2010

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Business/Financial nonfiction:

So, You Want to Start a Business?: 8 Steps to Take Before Making the Leap by Edward D. Hess and Charles F. Goetz

About the book:
More than 5,000,000 new businesses are started each year…but 70% of them will fail. Now, two renowned experts on entrepreneurship identify the 8 “killer mistakes” that cause most business failures–and give you the knowledge, tools, and hands-on advice to avoid them, so you can build a business that thrives.

Unlike other books on entrepreneurship, this book focuses on the crucial operational issues associated with consistent profitability. You’ll learn how to identify the right opportunities and customers; design winning products and services; set the right prices; overcome customer inertia; avoid common day-to-day management mistakes; find and keep good employees; and finally, smoothly manage growth.

Throughout, the authors draw on real life entrepreneurial experiences, case studies, and leading-edge research. There’s nothing theoretical here: This is fast-paced, 100% practical advice you can use to make your business dreams and goals come true–starting right now.

How to Make Money with Social Media: An Insider's Guide on Using New and Emerging Media to Grow Your Business, 1/e by Jamie Turner, Reshma Shah

About the book:
Want to earn big profits from social media? Now, there’s an authoritative, up-to-the-minute resource you can trust–and use.

This in-the-trenches guide is written by experts who’ve developed money-making marketing campaigns for many of the world’s largest companies. Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D., combine practical strategies and proven execution techniques to show how to avoid crucial pitfalls that other companies have encountered, how to make the most of limited resources, and how to strengthen your brand instead of placing it at risk.

Turner and Shah present realistic guidance for setting objectives, assessing competitors, crafting strategies, selecting platforms, integrating social media into broader marketing programs, and effectively measuring results. Whether you’re a marketer, executive, or entrepreneur, this book will help you drive maximum business value from social media–starting right now.

In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions...When It Counts by Jerry Weissman

About the book:
Jerry Weissman has made a career of coaching nearly 500 execs on their IPO roadshows, the most critical presentations of their lives. Now, he's written an indispensable guide to answering the toughest questions you'll ever face. Using compelling examples from Presidential debates to stock analyst meetings, Weissman teaches how to respond with perfect assurance. Discover how to avoid the defensive, evasive, or contentious answers that have destroyed political careers and ruin credibility. Learn to control your entire exchange with a hostile questioner: the question, answer, interactions with questioner and audience, timing, and above all, yourself. Whether an executive, politician, fundraiser, interviewee, teacher, student -- or even a family member at Thanksgiving dinner -- you're judged on how you handle these moments. Get this book: handle them brilliantly.

The Truth About Personal Finance (Collection) by Steve Weisman, Kay S. Bell

About the book:
Three full books of proven solutions for building wealth and safeguarding your retirement! Use IRAs and 401(k)s to save more and pay lower taxes-maximize all your legal tax deductions and credits-avoid costly retirement investing pitfalls-protect yourself against phishing, pharming, slamming, and other scams-and much more!

From world-renowned leaders and experts, including Steve Weisman and S. Kay Bell.

What's Your Strategic Heartbeat? by Jon L. Luther

About the book:
For close to 45 years, Jon Luther, a 2010 inductee into the National Restaurant Association Hall of Fame, has been running some part of the U.S. food-service industry--from managing the cafeteria at the Wurlitzer jukebox and organ company to leading Dunkin' Brands, serving three million customers a day around the world. Drawing on lessons learned in that long career, he describes how he overcame organizational inertia and reset the strategic direction of three of the companies he has led. In each case, he began by identifying the epicenter of the brand, the strategic heartbeat.

By its very definition, the word leader evokes the concept of change. Leaders take us toward or away from something, into a new reality. But change is almost always frightening, and leaders have to persuade their teams that the risks are worth taking, that the work is worth doing, and that the payoff will improve their lives. I've been through that process many times, and I'm here to tell you that it can be done--and that you can do it, too.

In our personal lives, if we are content with the status quo, we don't need to look for someone to carry us to a new place. Businesses don't have that luxury. They cannot stand still because their environment is in constant flux: Employees come and go, competitors adopt new strategies, technical breakthroughs transform markets. So organizations must have leaders who can plan, initiate, and execute the strategies that will deliver the required change.

The Short Put, a Worthwhile Cash Cow by Michael C. Thomsett

About the book:
How to use short puts to earn consistent profits with surprisingly limited risk.

You may know all about covered and uncovered call writing and the degrees of risk involved. But the uncovered put belongs in your arsenal as well. The short put offers great profit potential with limited risk. However, short puts are overlooked by many traders. Puts cannot be covered like short calls, but short put risks are lower because a stock's price cannot fall indefinitely....

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Elvis Takes a Backseat by Leanna Ellis (Christian Fiction)

Product Description:

Elvis Takes a Back Seat by award-winning novelist Leanna Ellis is the endearing story of Claudia, a young widow determined to fulfill her husband's last request by hauling a three-foot bust of Elvis Presley in the backseat of a vintage Cadillac from Dallas to Memphis to return it to its rightful owner. The road trip - taken with an eccentric aunt who actually knew the 'King of Rock -n- Roll' - and a temperamental teen with a suspicious mind of her own - hits some royal roadblocks and detours as these women uncover pieces of their past along with the bust's mysterious history. What they find along the way changes their lives forever, inspiring readers to also step out in faith.

[koland]

The special edition of Hour of the Hunter: With Bonus Material, by J. A. Jance, is once again available in the Kindle store. This one is supposed to have the corrected text (minus all the typos and formatting issues of the first edition). If you missed it the first time, don't dally in ordering it this time, as it will only be free "for a week" (which could mean anything, from a 7 day period to only until Friday). If you purchased it the first time, however, in order to get this version you'll either need to get customer service involved (you can talk them into sending you the new version, usually), or just do what I did: go to the Manage My Kindle page, search for Jance in Your Orders, click the + sign next to the book title and then click on the Delete This Title button. Once you've done that, you can re-order the book, using the link above. Takes only a few seconds, and is probably faster than using the Call Me option, let alone explaining the issue to a Customer Service Rep.

Book Description
The hunter is free to kill again -- and hour by hour, he draws closer . . .

The brilliant psychopath Andrew Carlisle spent only six years in prison for the brutal torture–murder of a young girl of the Tohono O'otham tribe. The testimony of Diana Ladd -- a teacher on the reservation -- put Carlisle behind bars, and now she can't ignore the dark, mystical signs that say a predator has returned to prowl the Arizona desert. Because no matter where Diana and her young son hide . . . he will find them.

[SensualPoet]

Thanks for this ... and the detailed instructions (and no-brainer links ... wow!). I had not got around to reading this yet ... so timing is perfect. Thanks again!

[GA Russell]

Yes, thanks koland! I've downloaded three of your items so far.

Now I need to learn how to get the files onto my jetBook Lite!

[badgoodDeb]

Three?? I've downloaded 60 index pages (13 per page) of books due to this demented* lady, and there's no *way* I'll ever read them all.

I sincerely appreciate all your effort - thank you!! Keep up the great work!

*(meant in the nicest of ways impossible - no offense meant!)

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Bargain book (US Store) for Andy Rooney fans:

Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit by Andy Rooney (Collection of Essays) for $1.67. (The hardcover is also discounted to just $1.86).

Product Description:
Chairs. Neat people. Ugliness. War. Over six decades of intrepid reporting and elegant essays, Andy Rooney has proven a shrewd cultural analyst-unafraid to question the sometimes ridiculous, often surprising facts of our lives. Rooney's great gift is telling it straight, without a hint of sugar coating, but with more than a grain of truth and humor. His take on America? "It's just amazing how long this country has been going to hell without ever having got there." On food? "There's more dependable mediocrity than there used to be."

About the Author:
Known to millions for his regular commentary on the television news magazine 60 Minutes, and his syndicated newspaper column, Andrew A. Rooney is the author of numerous bestselling books. He has published five previous books with PublicAffairs: My War, Sincerely, Andy Rooney, Common Nonsense, Years of Minutes, and Out of My Mind. He lives in New York.

[koland]

Deb,

I sincerely apologize ..... not! Want to know what happens when your original Kindle goes over 100 pages with the free books? You can't get to the last pages using the shortcut of just pressing the number keys any more .... ah well, the K3 won't do that trick (and neither would the K2). Luckily, I can now stash all the freebies into collections now, so it doesn't look like it is so full.

For Hour of the Hunter, though, I have just put up another blog post on making sure you get the new edition (mine got "stuck" and the new one would not download). I posted the full text over in the main deals forum, but rather than clutter up this thread even more, I'll just post a link to my post:

http://booksontheknob.blogspot.com/2...f-hour-of.html

[lunixer]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Three?? I've downloaded 60 index pages (13 per page) of books due to this demented* lady, and there's no *way* I'll ever read them all.

I sincerely appreciate all your effort - thank you!! Keep up the great work!

*(meant in the nicest of ways impossible - no offense meant!)

Ditto for me. I have "bought" every single item that I have seen on this thread that is not self-published. (Not that self-published content is bad, I just prefer the gatekeepers of the publishers.) So far my archive is over 75 items, with no purchases so far. I only got my kindle a few weeks ago but installed Kindle 4 PC as soon as I preordered it. So I had quite a while to accumulate books. Thanks Koland!

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Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig (Christian Fiction/Thriller)

Product Description:
Underwater archeologist Shiloh Blake is consumed with passion for the water and inflamed at the injustices of life. When her first large-scale dig traps her in the middle of an international nuclear arms clash, she flees for her life. When she spots a man trailing her, the questions are, Who is he? and How is he always one step ahead?

Reece Jaxon is a former Navy SEAL and now serves his country as a spy. His life is entangled by the beguiling Shiloh Blake as he hunts down the sources to a nuclear dead drop in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai, India. The only way to end this nightmare and prevent a nuclear meltdown is to join forces with Reece. Will Shiloh violate her vow to never become a spy?

About the Author:
Ronie Kendig holds a B.S. Degree in Psychology and is a wife, mother of four, and an avid writer. An active member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Ronie is the Book of the Year coordinator. She also serves on the ACFW Think-Tank committee for the national conference, and as the assistant to the conference appointment coordinator. Ronie is co-owner of Double Crit Editorial Services and a monthly columnist with the widely recognized blog Novel Journey. She currently lives in Dallas, Texas. This is her debut novel. Find Ronie on the web at roniekendig.com

[koland]

On Gratitude (Alicia Keys), by Todd Aaron Jensen, is a single chapter excerpt from the full book On Gratitude) ($9.66). The product page shows the full book's cover, has no indication that it is just a short preview and there is no description. What you get is a cover-free single chapter of 72 locations.

Book Description
In this enlightening and engaging collection, celebrities from Seth Rogen and Sheryl Crowe to Joyce Carol Oates and B.B. King share the people, places, and things for which they are most grateful. Alternately sentimental and surprising, wise and wacky, these heartfelt "gratitude bucket lists" as described by some of our most beloved artists are sure to inspire readers everywhere to make their own lists--and live their own lives with more love, affection, and thanksgiving.

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Bargain Book (US Store) - 90% discount

The Dark Streets: A Jack Liffey Mystery Book #9 by John Shannon for $1.43

Product Description:
The latest mystery in the critically acclaimed Los Angeles Times best-selling series takes private investigator Jack Liffey to Los Angeles' exotic Koreatown, where a young film student, Soon-Lin Kim, has apparently gone missing. But Jack is not the only one looking for Soon-Lin. Her association with a sinister militant group of radical Asians has also set Homeland Security in her pursuit.

Again, bizarre details and compounding mysteries envelop Jack, and ultimately he finds himself under torturously intense interrogation at a secret compound in the desert - and ill-prepared for a climax as explosive as the violent lightning storm approaching on the horizon.

About the Author:
John Shannon grew up in San Pedro, L.A.'s harbor area. He has worked in newspapers, in television, and taught in the Peace Corps in Africa. He published four novels before starting the Jack Liffey mystery series, which Library Journal calls "a fabulous hard-boiled series." The Dark Streets is the ninth Liffey novel. John lives in Los Angeles.

[koland]

Who Is Mark Twain?, by Mark Twain, is free in the Kindle store, down from $9.99 last month. No doubt the individual stories are in the public domain, but this collection from Harper-Collins should be well done.

Book Description
Who Is Mark Twain? is a collection of twenty six wickedly funny, thought-provoking essays by Samuel Langhorne Clemens—aka Mark Twain—none of which have ever been published before, and all of which are completely contemporary, amazingly relevant, and gut-bustingly hilarious.

Also free in the Sony store.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by koland

No doubt the individual stories are in the public domain, but this collection from Harper-Collins should be well done.

I read this one, and it's not old stories being re-packaged, but completely new essays which they found in his papers, that hadn't been published before.

So, well worth picking up for that alone, although some of the essays aren't exactly high-quality material that would have been printed earlier (others were apparently too "scandalous" for the times or whatever).

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Bargain Books (US Store) - I've been looking for <$2.00 bargains.

A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron for $1.84 (Mystery)

Product Description:
The acclaimed author of the bestselling Jane Austen mysteries brings rich historical immediacy to an enthralling new suspense novel centered around Queen Victoria’s troubled court…and a secret so dangerous, it could topple thrones.

Windsor Castle, 1861. For the second time in over twenty years, Irish barrister Patrick Fitzgerald has been summoned by the Queen. The first time, he’d been a zealous young legal clerk, investigating what appeared to be a murderous conspiracy against her. Now he is a distinguished gentleman at the top of his profession. And the Queen is a woman in the grip of fear. For on this chilly night, her beloved husband, Prince Albert, lies dying.

With her future clouded by grief, Fitzgerald can’t help but notice the Queen is curiously preoccupied with the past. Yet why, and how he can help, is unclear. His bewilderment deepens when the royal coach is violently overturned, nearly killing him and his brilliant young ward, Dr. Georgiana Armistead, niece of the late Dr. Snow, a famed physician who’d attended none other than Her Majesty.

Fitzgerald is sure of one thing: the Queen’s carriage was not attacked at random—it was a carefully chosen target. But was it because he rode in it? Fitzgerald won’t risk dying in order to find out. He’ll leave London and take Georgiana with him—if they can get out alive. For soon the pair find themselves hunted. Little do they know they each carry within their past hidden clues to a devastating royal secret…one they must untangle if they are to survive.

From the streets of London to the lush hills of Cannes, from the slums of St. Giles to the gilded halls of Windsor Castle, A Flaw in the Blood delivers a fascinating tale of pursuit, and the artful blend of period detail and electrifying intrigue that only the remarkable Stephanie Barron can devise.

Red Helmet by Homer Hickam ('October Sky' was based on his book Rocket Boys) for $1.35 (Romance)

Product Description:
Song Hawkins is a beautiful, tough, but lonely New York City businesswoman who thinks she's met the man of her dreams in Cable Jordan, the superintendent of a West Virginia coal mine. But soon after they impulsively marry, Song realizes they're in big trouble. She can't imagine life outside of New York, and Cable has no intention of leaving his beloved town of Highcoal.

Song's visit to the little mining community only makes things worse. It looks like the marriage is over. But in a shocking turn of events, Song realizes it's up to her to put on the red helmet of the new coal miner and descend into the deep darkness. There she faces her greatest challenge with choices and courage that will forever impact the life of Cable and the entire town.

About the Author:
Homer Hickam is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rocket Boys, which was made into the movie October Sky. He is also the author of The Coalwood Way, Sky of Stone, and We Are Not Afraid (all set in his beloved hometown of Coalwood, West Virginia), plus Torpedo Junction, Back to the Moon, and his popular "Josh Thurlow" World War II series. He is a former coal miner, a Vietnam combat veteran, a scuba instructor, a retired rocket scientist, and, recently, an avid field paleontologist.