FREE/BARGAIN — Fiction (everything else)

[GtrsRGr8]

Get a very highly rated (4.6 stars (38) at Amazon) novel, free, via Open Access.

It's Rosehead by Ksenia Anske.

Here is the blurb, from the Open Access site unglue.it:
Misunderstood and overmedicated, twelve-year-old Lilith Bloom finds the prospect of a grand family reunion decidedly dull... That is, until she discovers that the rose garden surrounding her grandfather's Berlin mansion is, well, completely and utterly carnivorous. Armed with Panther, her talking pet whippet, and the help of the mute boy next door, Lilith must unravel the secrets behind the mysterious estate, all while her family remains gloriously unaware that they are about to be devoured.

This particular freebie is available in several flavors: mobi, PDF, and ePub. To download it, click on the "Read It Now" button, underneath the thumbnail image of the novel's cover, at unglue.it. You will find directions for sending the ebook to your Kindle there, too.

Wondering how much the ebook (mobi) is at Amazon? I'll save you the trouble of checking; it's $3.99.

J'aime Open Access.

[GA Russell]

The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank - Erma Bombeck - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/Grass-Always-...dp/B00ARQXXEC/

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank - Erma Bombeck - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/Grass-Always-...dp/B00ARQXXEC/

This book definitely qualifies as fiction. The grass often is greener over the field lines leading away from the septic tank, but the grass is not always greener over the septic tank.

Erma Bombeck was a real treasure. It is so unfortunate that she left us so soon--at only age 69.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

This book definitely qualifies as fiction. The grass often is greener over the field lines leading away from the septic tank, but the grass is not always greener over the septic tank.

Erma Bombeck was a real treasure. It is so unfortunate that she left us so soon--at only age 69.

Time for my morning coffee.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

This book definitely qualifies as fiction. The grass often is greener over the field lines leading away from the septic tank, but the grass is not always greener over the septic tank.

Erma Bombeck was a real treasure. It is so unfortunate that she left us so soon--at only age 69.

Do you think finding out that the grass is NOT always greener over the septic tank had anything to do with her death? I've found the embarrassment due to incomplete research can sap one's will to live.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Do you think finding out that the grass is NOT always greener over the septic tank had anything to do with her death? I've found the embarrassment due to incomplete research can sap one's will to live.

I know (I think) that you're joking, but given her upbeat personality, I think that it wouldn't have fazed her a bit.

Besides, she probably knew that the grass doesn't grow greener over the septic tank. If she had anything to do with giving the title to the book (and, I assume, a chapter in the book by that name), she knew that "over the septic tank" would have better euphony than having "over the field lines over the septic tank."

I think that I have all of Bombeck's books. I haven't--yet--done much reading in them. I do know that not all of what she wrote was humorous. There was this one piece that she wrote with the frequent lines, "and they will." It's about how a parent tells their children to be quiet, don't dirty up things, etc. The last part of the piece ends with "and they will"--they will do quit doing those things around the house that annoyed the parent, after they've grown up and left the home, but the parent will miss those days. A really emotionally-moving piece; every young parent ought to read it. Unfortunately, I don't know/remember which one of her many books that that piece is in, and her books are scattered all over my house (bought in dead-tree form before the ebook days), in unbeknownst places, to where I can't easily find them.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I know (I think) that you're joking, but given her upbeat personality, I think that it wouldn't have fazed her a bit.

I never joke about death, research, or septic tanks. Otherwise, I'm quite the cut-up.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I never joke about death, research, or septic tanks. Otherwise, I'm quite the cut-up.

Whew! I almost messed up. There were a couple of good septic tank quips that I wanted to make.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Whew! I almost messed up. There were a couple of good septic tank quips that I wanted to make.

Yes, the topic seems to be the trifecta of tragedy.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I know (I think) that you're joking, but given her upbeat personality, I think that it wouldn't have fazed her a bit.

Besides, she probably knew that the grass doesn't grow greener over the septic tank. If she had anything to do with giving the title to the book (and, I assume, a chapter in the book by that name), she knew that "over the septic tank" would have better euphony than having "over the field lines over the septic tank."

I think that I have all of Bombeck's books. I haven't--yet--done much reading in them. I do know that not all of what she wrote was humorous. There was this one piece that she wrote with the frequent lines, "and they will." It's about how a parent tells their children to be quiet, don't dirty up things, etc. The last part of the piece ends with "and they will"--they will do quit doing those things around the house that annoyed the parent, after they've grown up and left the home, but the parent will miss those days. A really emotionally-moving piece; every young parent ought to read it. Unfortunately, I don't know/remember which one of her many books that that piece is in, and her books are scattered all over my house (bought in dead-tree form before the ebook days), in unbeknownst places, to where I can't easily find them.

A quick google of Bombeck and "and they will" turned up numerous references to and copies of "Oatmeal Kisses" - here's one site where you can read it (it's toward the bottom of the page) http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b...k-forever.html

As I recall, the grass was NOT greener over the septic tank at my childhood home.

[GtrsRGr8]

Thanks for the info on Bombeck's article/chapter. I think that she was a newspaper columnist. If so, that piece may never have appeared in any of her books (which seems to contain material written specifically for the book, or a book at any rate), but only in an inspired newspaper column one time. I'm sure that Googling would reveal the facts about that, too. In fact, back in my buying-used-books-in-thrift-stores days, when I came across a Bombeck book, I would flip through it looking for a chapter that could possibly contain the "and they will" piece, and never did.

I don't remember seeing greener grass over field lines much, either. Nowadays, local building codes probably are more conservative about that than they used to be. Years ago, someone could probably get by by just burying them a few inches below the top of the ground--it seems that that would make the grass above them greener! Of course, you can't do that anymore in a developed country like the U.S. There's probably a minimum of 3 feet or more that you've got to sink them, because of health concerns. I'd be surprised if the grass above field lines set 3 feet below the surface would look any different than the grass anywhere else in the yard.

[bfisher]

Pat Conroy's The Great Santini is on sale today at Amazon.ca for $CDN 1.99
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003Y3BCRU

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by bfisher

Pat Conroy's The Great Santini is on sale today at Amazon.ca for $CDN 1.99
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003Y3BCRU

It's old (very early 1980's-ish), but very good.

[AnemicOak]

Been a long time since I've read this, but I remember liking it...


The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield -- $2.99
Amazon | Kobo | Google | B&N | eBooks.com

A wonderfully atmospheric and haunting New York Times bestselling novel that is reminiscent of classics such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Rebecca.

When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny.

All children mythologize their birth...So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

[GA Russell]

Pink Slips and Parting Gifts - free
https://www.amazon.com/Slips-Parting...dp/B003Z9K9SQ/