Every month, Amazon sells books for $3.99 or less that typically cost more. I have been able to purchase some really great books from these sales, and always check on the first of the month. I also check their daily deals as often as I can remember.
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin ($2.99 - 82% off print list price)
“This shit would be really interesting if we weren’t in the middle of it.”—Barack Obama, September 2008
In 2008, the presidential election became blockbuster entertainment. Everyone was watching as the race for the White House unfolded like something from the realm of fiction. The meteoric rise and historic triumph of Barack Obama. The shocking fall of the House of Clinton—and the improbable resurrection of Hillary as Obama’s partner and America’s face to the world. The mercurial performance of John McCain and the mesmerizing emergence of Sarah Palin. But despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of this spellbinding drama, remarkably little of the real story behind the headlines has yet been told.
In Game Change, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, two of the country’s leading political reporters, use their unrivaled access to pull back the curtain on the Obama, Clinton, McCain, and Palin campaigns. How did Obama convince himself that, despite the thinness of his résumé, he could somehow beat the odds to become the nation’s first African American president? How did the tumultuous relationship between the Clintons shape—and warp—Hillary’s supposedly unstoppable bid? What was behind her husband’s furious outbursts and devastating political miscalculations? Why did McCain make the novice governor of Alaska his running mate? And was Palin merely painfully out of her depth—or troubled in more serious ways?
Game Change answers those questions and more, laying bare the secret history of the 2008 campaign. Heilemann and Halperin take us inside the Obama machine, where staffers referred to the candidate as “Black Jesus.” They unearth the quiet conspiracy in the U.S. Senate to prod Obama into the race, driven in part by the fears of senior Democrats that Bill Clinton’s personal life might cripple Hillary’s presidential prospects. They expose the twisted tale of John Edwards’s affair with Rielle Hunter, the truth behind the downfall of Rudy Giuliani, and the doubts of those responsible for vetting Palin about her readiness for the Republican ticket—along with the McCain campaign staff’s worries about her fitness for office. And they reveal how, in an emotional late-night phone call, Obama succeeded in wooing Clinton, despite her staunch resistance, to become his secretary of state.
Based on hundreds of interviews with the people who lived the story,Game Change is a reportorial tour de force that reads like a fast-paced novel. Character driven and dialogue rich, replete with extravagantly detailed scenes, this is the occasionally shocking, often hilarious, ultimately definitive account of the campaign of a lifetime.
Why I'm recommending it: I read this book, and saw the HBO movie based on it, and I really enjoyed it. As someone that was completely fascinated with the 2008 election, it really gave a unique perspective! It is more liberally biased, but I thought presented a pretty clear picture of what was going on behind the scenes. I know Sarah Palin has spoken out publicly about the book and her portrayal in it, but I wouldn't be too happy if I had read the things written about myself, either.
I think if you were equally as enthralled with the 2008 election, you would enjoy this.
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane ($2.99 - 79% off print list price)
When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened --- something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever.
Now, years later, murder has tied their lives together again ...
Why I'm recommending it: I've never seen this movie or read the book myself, but I've heard both are great. Now reading through his works, it seems like a lot of them get great reviews, and I might need to check out some (including this one!) myself.
Burned by Ellen Hopkins ($1.99 - 83% off print list price)
I do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.
It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.
This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better life? For the first time Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers -- about God, a woman's role, sex, love -- mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it?
It's with a real boy that Pattyn gets into real trouble. After Pattyn's father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control until Pattyn ends up suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know.
Pattyn is supposed to find salvation and redemption during her exile to the wilds of rural Nevada. Yet what she finds instead is love and acceptance. And for the first time she feels worthy of both -- until she realizes her old demons will not let her go. Pattyn begins down a path that will lead her to a hell -- a hell that may not be the one she learned about in sacrament meetings, but it is hell all the same.
In this riveting and masterful novel told in verse, Ellen Hopkins takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From the highs of true love to the lows of abuse, Pattyn's story will have readers engrossed until the very last word.
Why I'm recommending it: I really, really liked Crank. I think I read it right after high school. And this book seems just as interesting as the premise for Crank sounded at the time I decided to read it.
Fireproof by Eric Wilson ($1.99 - 80% off print list price)
INSIDE BURNING BUILDINGS, Captain Caleb Holt lives by the firefighter's adage: NEVER LEAVE YOUR PARTNER. Yet at home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.
Growing up, his wife Catherine always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter . . . just like her father. Now, after seven years of marriage, she wonders when she stopped being "good enough." Countless arguments and anger have them wanting to move on to something with more sparks.
As they prepare for divorce, Caleb's father challenges him to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb reluctantly agrees, not realizing how it will change his world forever.
Surprised by what he discovers about the meaning of love, Caleb begins to see his wife and marriage as worth fighting for. But is it too late? His job is to rescue others. Now Captain Holt must face his toughest job ever . . . rescuing his wife's heart.
Growing up, his wife Catherine always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter . . . just like her father. Now, after seven years of marriage, she wonders when she stopped being "good enough." Countless arguments and anger have them wanting to move on to something with more sparks.
As they prepare for divorce, Caleb's father challenges him to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb reluctantly agrees, not realizing how it will change his world forever.
Surprised by what he discovers about the meaning of love, Caleb begins to see his wife and marriage as worth fighting for. But is it too late? His job is to rescue others. Now Captain Holt must face his toughest job ever . . . rescuing his wife's heart.
The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan ($2.99 - 83% off print list price)
Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.
Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their love.
Why I'm recommending it: I heard about this book shortly after I finished The Fault in Our Stars, but I forgot to add it to my Good Reads list. Now that I remember it was recommended to me, based on the fact that I loved that book so much, I will definitely be checking this out again.
There are 112 other books available, and all of them will be available at the above reduced prices until the end of November
FTC: All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links to amazon.com. You can read more about the amazon affiliate program in my disclosure policy.
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