Long before CDs, mp3s, and even 8-track tapes

If you are familiar with turntables, needles, 78s and 33s, and the Victrola, then you may identify with William Howland Kenney's book as he writes of the relationship between recorded music and the social, political, and economic forces in America during the rise and fall of the phonograph. The book also has the biographies of famous recording artists and is a well-researched history of the industry.

Recorded Music in American Life: The Phonograph and Popular Memory, 1890-1945 is available today for the Kindle for only $3.17.

Click here to purchase Recorded Music in American Life

Secret life now told - the guts and the glory

It's their business to know the world's business. And not tell anyone what they know.

Roland Haas was in college in 1971 when the CIA recruited him to join their forces. Haas trained and took part in the CIA covert operations of deception, double-dealing, and murder. However, the focus of his autobiography is the toll his profession took on his personal life. His constant deception, lies, and job pressures led Haas to drugs, alcohol and depression.

If you enjoy espionage, Haas reveals plenty of details of his top-secret activities in foreign countries.

Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin is on sale today for only $3.82.

Click here to purchase Enter the Past Tense

Who needs a doctor?

Physician, heal thyself! Dr. Scott Hannen says he can. Dr. Hannen explains in his book how you can use your body's built-in healing mechanisms. Ailments addressed in the book include trauma, childhood obesity, ADHD, chronic degenerative condition and many other diseases.

Healing by Design incorporates medical facts and Biblical principles and gives readers the tools to better health.

Today you can purchase the book for your Kindle for only $3.81.

Click here to purchase Healing by Design

It takes a village

It takes a village to determine how to survive in a future that might require people to learn how to live in harsh, inhospitable environments and to do so in an ecologically sound and sustainable manner. The village of Gaviotas was founded in the 1970s in Colombia as a study of how scientific and medical professionals, artists, educators and students lived together to create a sustainable and self-sufficient community.

Journalist Alan Weisman has chronicled the story of this experiement in the book Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World. Today the book can be purchased for only $2.93.

Click here to purchase Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World

A romantic comedy with a touch of intrigue

Finally! A book that tells you what a lady wants. Well, maybe not quite. Jennifer Crusie is well known for her romantic comedies with a bit of mystery. What a Lady Wants is the story of Mitch Peabody, private eye, and Mae Sullivan - a lady who turns heads and wants to find the double-crossing crooks who murdered her uncle.

Today you can purchase one of Crusie's early, well-reviewed novels for only $3.37.

Click here to purchase What the Lady Wants

It IS a wonderful life!

"Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!"

Every time I watch this movie, I tear up when George Bailey yells this out. If you are a fan of this movie, you must get this book. Featuring dozens of interviews, the book highlights behind the scenes happenings and how generations of Americans have fallen in love with Jimmy Stewart and the lovable Christmas movie. Today you can buy It's a Wonderful Life: A Memory Book for only $4.09.

Click here to purchase It's A Wonderful Life: A Memory Book

William Gibson's Spook Country

From what I can tell, the title seems to fit the book. William Gibson has written a post-9/11 thriller to follow his popular book, Pattern Recognition. Three unlikely characters get caught up together searching for a mysterious shipping container. Gibson brings in concepts made famous in his science fiction novels, so this book promises both the real and virtual.

Reviews are mixed, but Spook Country is going very cheap today for $1.31. Side note: Amazon.com interviewed Mr. Gibson about this book. A portion of the interview is available at the link below. A link to the full transcript is also on the page.

Click here to purchase Spook Country

Who isn't having a financial meltdown?

Warning: This book is not light reading, but if you have trouble sleeping over concerns for the nation's economy and your wallet in particular, this book just might put you to sleep.

Charles L. Morris is a former banker, turned financial writer, who explains in great length and description the sub-prime mortgage crisis that led to the recent and continuing slowing of the economy. Financial publications and their writers give this book high marks. Others were bored by reading it. Face facts: if you want to read about this topic, the book will be interesting.

Today Morris' book The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown is only $2.85 for the Kindle.

Click here to purchase The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown

Lots of books - all cheaper than a Jefferson!

My Dog Ate My Nobel Prize: The Fabricated Memoirs of Jeff Martin , written by Jeff Martin (Surprise!) is available for $1.65. From the book description, Jeff is a very colorful guy who may or may not be real.

Click here to purchase My Dog Ate My Nobel Prize

See You Down the Road: A Novel was written by Kim Ablon Whitney. The book is written for young adults and follows the adventures of Bridget, a 16-year-old Gypsy, as she learns the craft of her family. One reviewer warns of the "constant use of profanity." Today the book is only $1.39.

Click here to purchase See You Down the Road: A Novel

The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown is the story of two sisters who go to the beach with one sister's daughter and one sister's grandson. The entire novel takes place in one day. Today the book is $1.30.

Click here to purchase The Sand Castle

When you want a shorter story - cheaper than a Jefferson

This little gem is a cache of 12 short stories of mystery, suspense, and fantasy. Chock full of famous folks, there's a Sookie Stackhouse tale, a resurrected Humphrey Bogart, and Santa Claus.

The authors include Simon Green, Charlaine Harris, Laurie King, Sharon Shinn, Carole Nelson Douglas, and John Straley. The anthology, Unusual Suspects , is available for Kindle today for only $1.82.

Price reduction! As of April 26, $1.57.

Click here to purchase Unusual Suspects

How to get rich - from a guy who knows

Here's the book you have been waiting for: How to Get Rich. Felix Dennis has gotten rich, so his advice might help you get there. Dennis gives humorous examples from his own life to support his straight-talking advice.

How to Get Rich is available for the paltry price of $2.13 - a cheap step on the road to getting rich.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $1.78.

Click here to purchase How to Get Rich

Romantic chiller by Nora Roberts is cheap

Nora Roberts is a popular contemporary romance author who writes gripping, suspenseful stories. Roberts' novel, Angels Fall, is a book that will keep the reader enthralled as they follow the heroine, Reece Gilmore, into the small town of Angel's Fist, Wyoming. Reece is recovering from the emotional and physical trauma of surviving a mass murder in Boston. When Reece becomes the target of a killer, the plot becomes more chilling.

Today, you can get this book for your Kindle for $3.29. That's a cheap price for a Nora Roberts novel.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $2.76.

Click here to purchase Angels Fall

Poignant first novel - The Kept Man

Jami Attenberg has written her first novel of a pretty, young woman in Brooklyn who has watched her artist husband as he has lain in a coma for six years. Through his illness, the women learns many things, including that her marriage was not as perfect as she thought. Her husband was a kept man as she supported his artist lifestyle.

The reviewers spoke highly of the book and its poignant message. The Kept Man is available today for $2.93 for your Kindle.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $2.20.

Click here to purchase The Kept Man

Inspiration from the Battlefield - Cheaper than a Jefferson

Former military officers Marsha Hansen and Peter Huchthausen have compiled stories of courage, strength, and inspiration from the men and women who have served in our nation's military. The stories incorporate parallel stories from the Bible. Each chapter of the book includes questions for reflection and teaching.

Today you may purchase Finding God in the Shadows: Stories from the Battlefield of Life for $1.60.

Click here to purchase Finding God in the Shadows: Stories from the Battlefield of Life

Move right on into the corner office

Success is about strategy and this book sets forth the premise that you don't have to be a barracuda to succeed in the business world. Written by three authors (although Amazon only mentions Charles Manz), this book lists the Nice Guys Bill of Rights and the eight corresponding strategies to lead nice guys (and I'm assuming gals, too) into the corner office.

You might need to prove your financial acumen to get that corner office and buying the book Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office today for only $2.89 is an example of your savvy.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $2.05.

Click here to purchase Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office

Cheaper than a hammer, a 2x4, or ibuprofen

Boy, can I identify with this guy! I have an old home; I have a money pit. I also have a husband who knows how to do all the home improvement projects my little heart desires.

If you have the house and the money pit, but not the skill or know-how, this book written by Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete will provide the guidance you need. Today for only $2.52 you can purchase My Home, My Money Pit: Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure .

BTW - if you do your own home improvement projects, when you get done you probably won't look as clean as either Tom or Leslie are on the front cover.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $1.56.

Click here to purchase My Home, My Money Pit

Oh, the Glory of It All - and cheap, too!

Few of us have the opportunity to grow up rich. However, some of us can identify with a dysfunctional family. Sean Wilsey has written his story of growing up rich and dysfunctional. Wilsey tells the story with humor and bittersweet truth.

Oh the Glory Of It All is available today for $1.30. The price is well worth it to read how you identify with the author's experience.

Click here to purchase Oh the Glory Of It All

Calling all cat lovers, please

A chicken soup book for cat lovers! Doesn't that just make you want to curl up in the sunshine and take a nap? A fun, perhaps inspirational, perhaps whimsical book of cat tales is available today for only $4.21. Get Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrates Cats and the people who love them while it is available.

Click here to purchase Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrates Cats and the people who love them

Candid memoir of time in the Bush White House

Ron Christie, black and conservative, worked for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Christie has written his memoir in a candid and positive manner to give insight into the Bush presidency from his perspective.

Today, the book Black in the White House is available for $2.61.

Click here to purchase Black in the White House

Hitler and the Catholic Church

Historian Dan Kurzman has written the story of how Hitler and Himmler's order to kidnap the pope and seize the Vatican's files and treasures was delayed and then undermined by high German officers and officials in Rome. This exciting telling of history gives a balanced overview of the Catholic church and the Nazi threat in World War II.

Here is a chance to learn a suspenseful and intriguing plot in recent history. A Special Mission: Hitler's Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius the XII is available today for $4.36.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $2.54.

Click here to purchase A Special Mission

Bill and Hillary - good for a laugh

You just can't make this kind of stuff up! Julia Goran has compiled some of the best quotes by Bill and Hillary Clinton. You will either be scratching your head thinking, "This guy was a Rhodes scholar?" or you will be shaking your head thinking, "Huh?"

But whatever you think, the book, Clintonisms: The Amusing, Confusing, and Even Suspect Musing, of Billary, is cheap today for only $3.76.

Notice, the book graphic is on the left side of the blog entry. You might even say it is left leaning.

Click here to purchase Clintonisms: The Amusing, Confusing, and Even Suspect Musing, of Billary

Oh, the glitz, the glamour, the murder!

Southern California, the 1940s, glamour, pin-up girls. Or perhaps the atmosphere is more blacklists and the end of studios owning the stars. Stuart Woods' book Beverly Hills Dead is the story of the blacklist and the untimely disappearance of the star - a familiar theme for Woods' novels.

Today the novel is a very cheap read for only $1.85.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $1.31.

Click here to purchase Beverly Hills Dead

Chemically-induced memory loss thriller

This thriller stars a forensic psychiatrist and an airline passenger who goes just a bit berserk during a routine flight. The psychiatrist discovers that the passenger has been subjected to a cutting-edge drug known as Slick, which causes the brain to be unable to form new memories. It is a race against time to save the patient.

The Memory Collector, written by Meg Gardiner, is available today for $4.01.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $2.42.

Click here to purchase The Memory Collector

Shakespearean mystery

This mystery has a mixed bag of reviews - some folks loved it and some folks just didn't like it. All seem to agree that there are conspiracies galore in this tale of a lost Shakespearean play. If you love Shakespeare, this book will delight you with similar innuendo and debate that filled Old William's plays that we studied during our British literature classes way back in our school days.

Dr. Jennifer Lee Carrell knows Shakespeare. She has a Ph.D. English and American literature from Harvard. Her first novel, Interred with Their Bones, is available today for $3.81.

Click here to purchase Interred with their Bones

An Easter Special

Garry Wills is quite well known for his scholarly works of the New Testament, previously writing about Jesus and Paul. In this book, he examines the four Gospels, some of the best known Scripture among Christians. Wills draws on his knowledge of Greek to interpret the Gospels' meaning.

Wills' book, What the Gospels Meant, is available today for $4.01. The book has received strong, positive reviews.

Price reduction: As of April 26, only $2.29.

Click here to purchase What the Gospels Meant

Just to be sure, get a second opinion

If the government takeover of the United States medical industry didn't scare you, Michael Palmer's The Second Opinion just might. In this medical thriller a doctor's father is the victim of a hit-and-run and communicates only by moving one of his eyes. Through this, the doctor pieces together the truth regarding his accident and a series of deaths. Solving the crimes puts the good doctor in grave danger.

Get your copy of The Second Opinion - available today for only $4.57. If you are unable to read this novel in one sitting, take two aspirin and call in sick tomorrow.

Click here to purchase Second Opinion

Two in one - historical paranormal romances cheap!

Spring is here and the thoughts of young men are turning to love. Some of us enjoy a good romance and think about love year-round. Today's cheap read is of the romantic nature.

Amanda McCabe has set One Touch of Magic and A Loving Spirit during the Regency period. Ghosts, spirits, aristocracy, romance - these stories have it all. The book, Spirited Brides, is available now for $3.32.

One reviewer noted that these stories overflow with ghosts as well as romance and fun.

Click here to purchase Spirited Brides