Free Books From Silver Birch Press!

Silver Birch Press is offering two of their novels, and their Summer anthology as free Kindle downloads, through July 31. This is a great deal for you Kindle readers! Check ’em out!

Debt: A Novel

Phoenix: A Memoir

Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose (Silver Birch Press Anthologies)

Free Books for Kindle Users

I was just thinking this afternoon that some of you who are Kindle users might not know how many free books there are available on amazon. I knew there were some, yes, but until this weekend, I had no idea just how many there were. There are books of every genre. Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, romance, paranormal romance, classics, even things like cookbooks and almanacs. The list is amazing.

I won’t say you will find current best sellers on there every day, but I did come across many familiar authors who were offering older books free, and longish samples of current works, as well. James Patterson, for instance, had several titles available as free samples of the first eight to ten chapters. (That’s a pretty good sample, and would definitely let you know if you wanted to pay for the full book.)

Sometimes newly released books will be free for an introductory period, while the author tries to build a reader base (via reviews) for the books. It is well worth looking through the list if you are on a budget, believe me. And it’s a good place to find work by new authors, looking to be discovered.

To find Free books, do a search on amazon. Use the term “Free Books in the Kindle Store” to find the longest list. Lots of shorter lists are there, but the long one is . . . ready? . . . 400 pages of titles! I’m just on page 15, and I’ve already downloaded over 40 books! 

If you download a free book and you enjoy it, be sure to leave a review on amazon. The author is counting on getting enough good reviews to increase sales, and it’s the best way to say thank you for the freebie.

Happy reading!

Reverence by Julie Cadwallader-Staub

 

Reverence

The air vibrated
with the sound of cicadas
on those hot Missouri nights after sundown
when the grown-ups gathered on the wide back lawn,
sank into their slung-back canvas chairs
tall glasses of iced tea beading in the heat

and we sisters chased fireflies
reaching for them in the dark
admiring their compact black bodies
their orange stripes and seeking antennas
as they crawled to our fingertips
and clicked open into the night air.

In all the days and years that have followed,
I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced
that same utter certainty of the goodness of life
that was as palpable
as the sound of the cicadas on those nights:

my sisters running around with me in the dark,
the murmur of the grown-ups’ voices,
the way reverence mixes with amazement
to see such a small body
emit so much light.

To read more by Julie Cadwallader-Staub and other poets and authors, check out Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose, published by Silver Birch Press.

Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz

My Rating 4 of 5 Stars

I have always enjoyed Dean Koontz more than any other writer of modern horror, bar none. In addition to his ability to scare the bejeebers out of me, he always writes with compassion, and with a great respect and love for the women in his stories. It never fails to convince me that Koontz is a man who actually understands both love and grace. The entire Odd Thomas series

Strawberries by Tamara Madison

Strawberries

Fragole, fresas, klubniki, fraises—
is there a term that names them better
than strawberry? I think of sunshine
and straw hats, picnics, boating parties,
a barber shop quartet, homemade
ice cream, grainy and sweet, everything

warm, wholesome, innocent, old fashioned.
Near my house there’s a strawberry field
that begins its work in spring, the stray seeds
emerging unbidden in neighboring gardens,
on walkways, from cracks in the sidewalk,
the clean white petals yielding pale-green

hearts that swell, redden, and fill
with so much happiness to give in their sweet-tart
flesh, the fertile seeds that linger in your teeth
and remind you of a gentle time only moments
ago when you tasted the essence of summer
on your grateful tongue.

NOTE: Have you ever read anything that TASTED so good? I love this yummy, summery poem. To read more by Tamara Madison and other poets and authors, check out Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose, published by Silver Birch Press.

Summer Night, Riverside by Sara Teasdale

Summer Night, Riverside

In the wild soft summer darkness
How many and many a night we two together
Sat in the park and watched the Hudson
Wearing her lights like golden spangles
Glinting on black satin.
The rail along the curving pathway
Was low in a happy place to let us cross,
And down the hill a tree that dripped with bloom
Sheltered us,
While your kisses and the flowers,
Falling, falling,
Tangled in my hair….

The frail white stars moved slowly over the sky.

And now, far off

In the fragrant darkness
The tree is tremulous again with bloom
For June comes back.

To-night what girl
Dreamily before her mirror shakes from her hair
This year’s blossoms, clinging to its coils?

     –Sara Teasdale

The Literary Cat#6

“Hubert T. Hairball alias Huey”

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.

     –Albert Schweitzer

NOTE: Our Huey was a most admirable cat. Big, soft, loving, and gentle. He went to that Great Comfy Basket in the Sky at the age of 16, and we still miss him after all these years. 

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

I hardly know what to say about this magical, yet creepy, little book. In some ways, it was everything I hoped it would be. For certain, I couldn’t put it down once I started reading. In other ways, I found it disturbing and, in part, a bit unsatisfactory. NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Blood Trade by Faith Hunter

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

I have been reading Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series from the beginning, and for the most part, it has been a fun ride. There are things I don’t like a lot, but generally, they don’t take away from the adventures Jane gets up to, and the interesting

The Literary Cat #5

“Snickers”

“I meant,” said Ipslore bitterly, “what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?”
Death thought about it.
“CATS,” he said eventually. “CATS ARE NICE.”

          –Terry Pratchett, “Sourcery”

NOTE: Our Snickers was a very nice cat. Death would have liked her, too. Maybe that’s why he ferried her away last summer. We sure do miss her.

It’s Friday . . . What Are You Reading?

Time for another What Are You Reading post. Inquiring minds want to know. 

After taking a break from urban fantasy to read an interesting anthology and a novel that didn’t quite do it for me, I’m now almost done with Faith Hunter’s latest Jane Yellowrock  book, Death’s Rival

Next, I’ll be starting the newest Odd Thomas book by Dean Koontz, Deeply Odd. I can’t wait to find out what the endearing Oddie has been up to.

So, what are you reading?