“Malone writes with such quiet authority and clear understanding of the world his characters inhabit that the story strikes deep emotional chords." - Washington Post Book World

Readers loved our previous Michael Malone Free Friday’s selection, The Four Corners of the Sky. So I’m incredibly excited to announce that today's Free Fridays selection is Malone’s touching Christmas tale, The Last Noel.

Now that Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, it’s time to turn our thoughts towards celebrating the spirit of Christmas. Malone’s book begins on Christmas Day, 1956, as two babies—one white and one black—are born in a small Southern town. Those babies, Noni and Kaye, cross paths eight years later, and form a lifelong friendship and romance. Through this unlikely pairing, Malone explores a changing American South, but more importantly, presents a deep love that transcends all barriers and survives against all odds.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Michael recommends:

Ciji Ware makes fascinating cities central characters in her fiction. In Midnight on Julia Street she invites us to come with her to New Orleans, a city whose famous charms, grit, sexiness and past-haunted social world Ware knows with affectionate particularity--from its old houses and high society to its new money and nouvelle cuisine. 

The Big Easy feels like the perfect place for a time-slip novel (they do it all the time there). The 19th-century mystery blends easily with the modern romance. Best of all, like the land of dreamy dreams itself, Ware's heroine, reporter Corlis McCullough, is smart, eccentric, seductive, wry and resilient. Also like New Orleans--she is practically irresistible.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Michael Malone” to download his compelling novels.

I’ll admit that I adore children’s animated movies. They offer hours of family friendly fun and, don’t tell my single friends, but my husband and I actually prefer them to other movie genres these days. Seriously, where else can you get humor, action, drama, and gorgeous scenes all rolled into one family friendly package? As a book lover however, the very best thing about these movies are the accompanying storybook apps that help foster a life-long love of reading in children.

Needless to say, I’m really looking forward to the newest holiday animation by DreamWorks called the Rise of the Guardians. My family and I have been exploring the fantastic Rise of the Guardians Movie Storybook app, now available on NOOK, and it’s gotten us really excited for the movie. This is a captivating adventure story of the Guardians, Jack Frost, Toothfairy, North, Bunnymund and Sandman banding together to protect the children of the world from Pitch who attempts to thwart belief in magic by spreading fear and nightmares.It is an amazing story of hope and perseverance that is sure to get the whole family in the holiday spirit.

Discover the legendary mythology of each character including the exclusive content on Yetis & Elves only available on NOOK. Ignite your child’s imagination and get the app today!

As most of the country settles into a winter chill, the time is right for our newest $0.99 Spotlight Offer—the red-hot romance, The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Lori Wilde.

In this fish-out-of-water tale, recently unemployed wedding planner Mariah is lured to Jubliee, Texas, where she’s just inherited a small ranch from her estranged father. While her initial plan is to dump the ranch for cash, she soon finds that it comes with an intriguing ‘extra’—handsome cowboy Joe Daniels.

Will the city girl and the ex-bull rider overcome their obvious differences and give in to their mutual attraction? 

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Lori Wilde” to download her bestselling romances.

"I literally lie awake at night, thinking of new, meaner things to do to him."

Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden is one of the most compelling characters in contemporary fiction. He's one of those guys you'd love to meet in real life, but at the same time would be a bit scared to encounter. In honor of the newest book in Butcher's mega-bestselling Dresden Files series, Cold Days, we asked the author to list three reasons he's jealous of his protagonist:

This is a hell of an article to write, because come on.  Who would WANT Harry Dresden's life?  I mean, seriously. The poor guy, the things I put him through.  If he ever met me, he'd slug me right in the face. He rarely, if ever, gets the girl.  His victories are sometimes more painful than defeat. His life is haunted by an omniscient, jaded, sadistic fiend--me. I literally lie awake at night, thinking of new, meaner things to do to him. 

But that said, there are still a few things Harry has that I don't.

1)  Harry has a brother. I've got two older sisters, who have always loved me and gave me worlds of attention when I was a kid--they're a huge reason why I'm a fantasy writer in the first place. But I've seen other guys who had brothers, and that kind of bond is something different--someone who drives you insane a lot of the time, but who you know will have your back when you need him. I've often wished that I had someone like that in my life.

2)  Harry is tall. I always wanted that when I was a kid. I mean, my dad was 5'7, my mom about 5'2, so I knew I wasn't going to be a giant. But I did not feel that 5'11 was too much to ask for. It wasn't even six feet. All in all, I thought that was not an unreasonable height to want to be. But, my genes decided that 5'9 was enough. In retrospect, 5'9 is a very practical height to be. It's the median, so you're that much harder to pick out of a lineup, and you rarely feel terribly cramped on buses, in cars, or in airplanes.  And there's always lots of clothes and shoes available in your size. On the other hand, for every inch you are above the median height, statistically speaking you make an extra thousand dollars per year.  Plus, you never get stuck behind someone taller than you who blocks your view in a stadium-seating movie theater.

3) Harry can do freaking magic. I'm not sure I'd be willing to trade away my video games for the mere ability to manipulate the creative energies of the cosmos to my will, but I gotta say that sometimes it would be enormously emotionally satisfying to blow the wheels off of some moron's car, or to zap somebody's too-loud stereo into smoking ruin. I mean, I think all of us can relate to that. I'm not so sure it would be worth it, though. If I had Dresden's super cool magic powers, I'm not at all sure I'd handle it as well as Harry does. I think it's far more likely I'd wind up some giggling black hat, using his powers for petty impulse gratification until the Wardens caught up with me. Still.  It would probably be fun while it lasted...


But all in all, you'd have to be insane to want Harry Dresden's life.  Mwoo hah hah. >

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Jim Butcher ” to download his bestselling paranormal adventures.

“The Tarot has always held a fascination for me, and I started thinking, what if the 22 Major Arcana, which are the trump cards of the Tarot, were real kids?”

Bestselling romance writer Kresley Cole has two new books for fans to dip into. For adult readers, there’s Shadow’s Claim, the first book in a new paranormal vampire series. But she’s also moving into the world of Young Adult fiction with the fascinating Tarot-inspired Arcana Chronicles Series, starting with Poison Princess.

We asked Kresley to tell NOOK Blog readers why she decided to make the leap into YA fiction, and here’s what she had to say:

I’ve been writing adult romance for years, and creating my first series for teens began the same way I write any novel, with an idea I couldn’t get out of my head. The Tarot has always held a fascination for me, and I started thinking, what if the 22 Major Arcana, which are the trump cards of the Tarot, were real kids? Like the Empress, Death, the Fool, the Magician—such interesting characters to play with! And what kind of abilities and powers would they have based on their cards? What would a world run by these kids look like?

Having the characters be teenagers felt important to me. Teenagers are at this great point in life where they have the ability to do some very adult things, but retain a sense of wonder about the world around them. They are still experiencing many firsts (for example, first love in the case of Evie and Jack in Poison Princess!), and they are in the process of figuring out what kind of person they want to be. What better way to challenge them than to give them the responsibility of superhuman powers? And when I learned that Tarot cards were once used as playing cards, I thought maybe these kids would be playing against each other, using their powers to trump each other. 

In Poison Princess, the teenage characters are up against some truly frightening obstacles. Their friends and family have been killed, the world is decimated, and the only people around them can’t really be trusted. If you were given powers in that world, could you stay true to your values? How far would you go to survive? I had a lot of fun contemplating these questions for Evie, Jack, and the rest of the characters. May the best hand live!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for ‘Kresley Cole’ to download her bestselling books for adults and young readers.

Today’s Free Fridays selection is Stuart MacBride’s brooding serial killer mystery, Cold Granite.

The Scotland that MacBride creates is a perfectly cold and damp backdrop for the first book in his bestselling series. The forbidding elements set the stage for a string of child murders, and a town that demands justice at any cost.

The man who bears the burden of tracking the relentless serial killer is Detective Logan McRae, recently back from a year of convalescence after he was brutally attacked on the job. Returning to a trial-by-fire, McRae must focus on the task at hand, reassure the understandably-irate public, and plug a press leak on his own force. A formidable task for anyone even at the top of their game, and an even harder challenge for the still-rusty detective.

This series debut is the start of a long string of critically-acclaimed detective novels by a deftly-assured writer.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Stuart recommends:

For some strange reason lot of people have never read a book by an Australian writer, and this Free Friday I’m on a mission to change that. Forget Sydney Opera House, wrinkly old Crocodile Dundee, and Nicole Kidman's frozen face, and get your delicious brain ready for the wonder that is Adrian Hyland’s brilliant debut, Moonlight Downs.

Moonlight Downs is one of those rare books that really takes you somewhere new - in this case the Australian outback as seen through the eyes of Emily Tempest, a young aboriginal woman, as she tries to return to her mob's traditional home of Moonlight Downs. This is a book that has it all: Murder, intrigue and some truly stunning dialogue.

It won the 2007 Ned Kelly Award for best first novel and it thoroughly deserved it too. Excellent book.

I liked it so much I tracked the author down and subjected him to what was probably one of the most unprofessional interviews you're ever likely to come across). Then tracked him down in real life when I was over there on a book tour a couple of years ago. And you’ll be happy to know that he’s every bit as lovely a person as you’d hope from his writing.

Read Moonlight Downs. Read it now. Go on: click on the link and treat yourself to a damn fine book.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for "Stuart MacBride" to download his atmospheric mysteries.

“FACT: Every time you make a front desk agent smile 10 angels get new strings for their harps!”

In his new memoir, Heads in Beds, author Jacob Tomsky does for the hotel industry what Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential did for restaurants. The veteran hospitality worker pulls back the curtain, revealing the behind-the-scenes madness that makes the multi-billion dollar industry tick. Today he gives NOOK Blog readers some invaluable advice for the next time they’re on the road - perfect timing for intrepid Thanksgiving travelers.

In a hotel everything can go wrong!  Accepting that, here are two simple pieces of advice, should something happen, and one tip to keep it from happening:

1. ADVICE: Always Remember: It Ain’t Personal!

Seriously.  It never is.  Imagine a hotel’s endless cycle of guests. Imagine how many people have occupied that room before you (whoops, mistake. Do not imagine how many people have occupied that room before you). And with that kind of guest turnover how could it be personal?  But if a bellman mistakenly places your bag in the wrong room, or housekeeping throws away the sandwich you planned to finish, or your keys deactivate in the middle of your stay; it’s important to remember that it was not personal. Those travesties may happen at any time and they can even happen to the same poor guest.  And we are sorry, believe me. But if the hotel deities smite you, it is we who must pick up the pieces and solve the problems; give you new keys, order you a comp sandwich, or find your bag before another guest does (because walking into your room and finding another guest’s items isn’t a pleasant feeling either (bedbugs! Just kidding don’t think about that either)). When the world dispenses punishments upon you please remember that the person wearing both a nametag and a look of concern probably had nothing to do with it. They are on your side!  It’s not personal!

2. ADVICE: Follow up with kindness.

Anyone ever been to a bar and tried a pickle back? It’s where you chase a shot of whiskey with a shot of pickle juice because immediately the burn of the whiskey is gone and… you know what, forget I mentioned it. In a hotel bad things can and will happen. And you’ll have to relate those incidents to someone whose job it is to listen. And you might do so in a way that burns. Because you are upset.  And we understand. A guest needing to vent is as normal as a guest needing to answer the door naked (which apparently is considered sort of normal in a hotel.) That’s fine, but I would suggest following it up with a quick shot of kindness. Just a little phrase like this: “Sorry, I know it wasn’t your fault and I apologize for being so upset. Thank you for your help.” That is so soothing. I could kiss people for such kindness. (If kissing guests were also considered normal behavior. Which it isn’t. I’ve tried it.) That little dose of understanding, as well as taking the time to thank the person for being there to help, makes us 10 times more likely to be truly helpful. Sometimes your anger will slip out and that is ok. As long as you offer us a spoonful of humanity to wash it down.

3. TIP:  Call ahead if you’re going to be late:

Hold on, though. I’m not suggesting you call if you’re arriving at seven p.m. in order to ensure we don’t cancel your reservation. That’s silly! We will hold that res until way after midnight. But if you are arriving, say, after ten p.m. then, most likely, even if you had a room assigned, it’s probably gone by then and the remaining options are going to be severely limited. (Want a smoking room? Didn’t think so. There are even smokers out there who don’t want smoking rooms. How funny is that?) Therefore if you want to avoid getting the hotel’s leftovers, throw the front desk a quick call, mid-day, and ask to be “pre-assigned into a room.” In the early afternoon there is a sweet spot where housekeeping managers are punching in all the completed rooms, flipping them to “clean” in the system, and the pickings are plentiful. Call the desk near mid-afternoon and you’ll have something decent waiting for you. Not the rotten apples left unpicked on the ground at 10 p.m. And if the desk agent is kind enough to do this for you then get their name and write it down. Then find them later and thank them for the help. That’s a nice thing to do!  FACT: Every time you make a front desk agent smile 10 angels get new strings for their harps!  

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Jacob Tomsky ” to download his no-holds-barred memoir.

“Thanksgiving is a holiday of sides and more sides. If there is no turkey, I can live with that."

Like a lot of Top Chef fans, I fell in love with the down-to-earth and fun-loving Carla Hall in Season 5. Carla has parlayed her comfort food-focused persona into a gig as co-host of ABC’s The Chew, and just released a new cookbook: Cooking with Love.

Since Thanksgiving is all about cooking with love, we asked Carla to reminisce about some of her favorite Thanksgiving comfort foods. Warning: don’t read her post on an empty stomach!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It feels like all the Sunday Suppers from my childhood rolled up into one -- family, good conversation, and great food!

This, of course, is the holiday to celebrate and give thanks for our bounty, and bounty it is. The table overflows with all of my favorites. Even though much care and attention is paid to the roasted or smoked turkey and the new addition of fish (my sister insists on it, since she and my mom have high cholesterol), it's the side dishes that make my heart skip a beat.  

Here are my top 5 comfort foods and why Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without them.

Cornbread Dressing reminds me of a denser corn pudding, studded with onions, celery, herbs, and sometimes sausage and cranberries. 

Southern-style Collard Greens with Chow Chow pickle on top and enough pot liquor to run into the dressing. Be still my heart! The greens are slightly spicy with a hint of vinegar, and the chow chow adds that perfect crunch, added tartness and spice.

Cranberry Sauce.  I'm not too proud to admit that I still like the canned stuff, although I realize that my love for it is more of a food memory than the taste itself. A homemade version is also prepared every year, but it sits proudly next to the ridged, round mold, thinly sliced.

Macaroni & Cheese and Glazed Sweet Potatoes are running neck and neck. The mac & cheese torch has been passed to my niece and I'm so proud to say that she does a wonderful job. My Granny would be proud. However, roasted and sliced sweet potatoes finished with a buttery brown sugar glaze until they're slight caramelized is a really good time. They're not as sweet as they sound, so they're the perfect balance with the other savories on my plate. 

GRAVY!! I simply cannot have Thanksgiving without it. Even if all of my favorites above are on my plate, I'd turn them down if the gravy were missing. The gravy is the thread that ties them all together, the yin to the yang, the OM in OMPAH... You get my drift. It's a must for me.

As you can see, there is no meat on this list. Thanksgiving is a holiday of sides and more sides. If there is no turkey, I can live with that. If there are no gravy and sides...well, Thanksgiving Day must have been moved without my knowing.  

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for ‘Carla Hall’ to add this instant-classic to your NOOK cookbook shelf.

Thanksgiving Fun with Apps for Everyone

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and I’m sure we’re all gearing up for different ways to spend the holiday. I’m getting ready to entertain my family with a traditional Thanksgiving meal while others are traveling or planning for some R&R around town. Here’s a short list of must-have apps to keep everyone entertained during the holiday weekend.

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots: The whole family will love this new twist on the classic game especially the new customizable content, including new backgrounds and blades and never-before-seen fruit frenzy adventures.

Astraware Crossword Deluxe: My husband and I love this game as it gives us the chance to take our favorite pastime wherever we go.

Where's my Perry: This is the latest puzzler from Disney, the makers of Where’s My Water. My son spends hours trying to help Agent P! get to the headquarters for a mission briefing by using water in all its different forms, from ice to steam to liquid.

Super Why! – My daughter’s a huge fan of the PBS show and now she can continue her learning on my NOOK. She can play along with each of the main characters from the TV series: Alpha Pig, Princess Presto, Wonder Red, and, of course, Super Why, while practicing the alphabet, rhyming, spelling, writing and reading.

Goodnight Moon - 65th Anniversary Special Edition – And to round it all out – with a touch, swipe or tilt of the screen little fingers send the cow jumping over the moon, make the three little bears chatter and laugh in their chairs, and hear the old woman whispering "hush." As an added bonus, the slowly fading light helps my little ones drift off to sleep while reading this classic that every parent should own.

Anything you need during your time over the holidays – from music with Grooveshark to cooking with Pepper Plate – you can find it on NOOK … and all these great apps go perfectly with another helping of Pumpkin Pie.

After reading today’s Free Fridays selection, The Ivy by  Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur, you may actually be glad you didn’t get into Harvard.

This fun Young Adult novel, written by two friends who met at Harvard, follows the trials and travails of freshman Callie Andrews. She’s just arrived on campus, straight from California, and quickly finds that Cambridge brings a whole new set of challenges.

Anyone who’s made some school-age mistakes will sympathize with Callie’s string of bad luck—boy trouble, social miscues, getting on the wrong side of the school paper’s star reporter. But her three supportive roommates are a constant reminder that college—no matter how prestigious the school—is a time for making lifelong friends who help you forget those dumb decisions, and move on to the next challenge along the road to graduation.

Three more books in The Ivy series follow this adventure in higher learning.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Lauren recommends:

Lately, as I work on a science fiction project of my own, I've been thinking a lot about my childhood favorite, Ender's Game: the story of a young genius chosen to attend an elite military academy and defend the world against imminent destruction. This is science fiction at its most accessible, and I would urge everyone—particularly young women who think they’re not necessarily fans of the genre—to pick it up and give it a try. I actually cracked the spine of my old copy: a form of unparalleled praise that can only result from countless rereading. Obviously, I’ve found much to admire in Ender over the years, but today the read feels particularly refreshing for its third-person narration: Card conveys Ender’s interior struggles and astounding empathy while at the same time firmly holding him hostage in the machinations of the adult, military world. So, no matter your age or attitude toward science fiction—and especially to teens weary of today’s ever-popular first-person narrators and love triangles—I can’t recommend this one enough! 

NOOK owners: go to shop and search by author name to download this fun YA series.

With our NOOK First collection, we bring you a diverse offering of compelling books for every type of reader. Today I'm highlighting four new NOOK First titles, ranging from a modern re-telling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to a firefighter romance.

Deadly Bones by Terry Odell

A dog finding a bone is no big deal—until it turns out to be human.

Mapleton Police Chief Gordon Hepler and the mayor can't agree about what being a cop means. To Gordon, it's keeping his citizens safe. To the mayor, it's generating revenue by issuing speeding and parking tickets.

When two runaway dogs waylay Gordon on the way to what he hopes will be an uneventful afternoon at a backyard barbeque, more than his afternoon is interrupted. As dogs will do, these have uncovered a bone. Trouble is, it turns out to be human. When it leads to the discovery of more human remains, Gordon needs to find out why they're on the property, when they got there, and who they belonged to. After all, somebody needs to care

Birdcage Walk by Kate Riordan

A London Murder Mystery Based on a True Historical Crime

George Woolfe is a young working class East London printmaker in the early 1900’s. Frustrated by the constraints of his class and station, he sees an opportunity to escape when he by chance meets Charles Booth, author of one of the most comprehensive social surveys of London ever undertaken. But this auspicious encounter has tragic consequences for George who, within six months, is charged with the murder of a young woman. But did he do it?

Set at the dawning of a new century, when the rigid class and gender boundaries of the Victorian age were soon to shift and realign, Birdcage Walk is a historical novel that vividly brings to life a real-life Edwardian murder and the possible miscarriage of justice that followed it.

It Had to Be You by Katherine Shay

Author Kathryn Shay spent five years riding fire trucks with a large city fire department, eating in their firehouses and interviewing hundreds of America’s Bravest. It Had to Be You is one of the novels that resulted from her experiences.

Army veteran Beckett Sloan is just trying to make it through the day.

After having spent twenty years in the service, he was given an opportunity to join the fire department in Hidden Cove, NY, on an elite crew called the Rescue Squad. There’s one catch. He has to attend a support group for firefighters, police officers and veterans with PTSD, a malady which caused the breakup of his marriage and the estrangement of his son.

At the first session, he meets Lela Allen, a former army medic, who’s divorcing her army husband because of his inability to manage his own post traumatic syndrome. Though Lela and Beck are attracted to each other, they resist it. When both their children show symptoms of PTSD, common in kids of sufferers, a lasting relationship between Lela and Beck seems doomed. But fate has other things in mind for them.

Alice in Wonderland by Elle Lothlorien

There's an ace in the (rabbit) hole in this fun reimagining of Lewis Carroll's classic.

When high school math teacher Alice Faye Dahl attends a Texas Hold'em poker tournament in Ft. Collins, Colorado, she doesn't know a royal flush from a toilet flush. Four months and dozens of "wins" later, she's one of the Final Nine--the championship table at the International Poker Tour in Surfer's Paradise, Australia--and way out of her depth. When a fluke shark attack throws her and sports reporter Rabbit Montgomery together in this modern-day twist on Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," it seems to challenge the saying “lucky at cards, unlucky at love.” A veteran of the poker scene (and gorgeous to boot), he offers to help her go all the way to win the multi-million dollar prize, a deal she readily accepts. Unfortunately, Alice may find out too late that when it comes to poker (and love), sometimes you win, sometimes you lose—and sometimes it's both.

Explore the entire NOOK First collection here.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search by author name to be among the first to download these great NOOK Books.

“I always say that, like your first kiss, you never forget your first dystopian novel”

If you’re plugged-in to literary trends, you’re well aware that dystopian fiction is red-hot. One of the most popular dystopian series is Ally Condie’s #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched Trilogy, which comes to a conclusion with the just-released third book, Reached.

As Condie’s series comes to a close, we asked her to tell us what her top 5 pop culture dystopias are. She jumped to the challenge, and her list is diverse and surprising:

I was thrilled when NOOK asked me to compile this list! I admit to playing a bit fast and loose with the definition of dystopia…for my purposes, I’m taking my cue from Webster’s Dictionary and defining it as any “imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives.” This was quite a fun list to make because I love these five dystopic works so much:

Favorite Dystopian Short Story. “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury. This is an absolutely haunting, original story, and when I read it as a teenager I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Bradbury does a wonderful job creating his world and using Sara Teasdale’s poem by the same title as a linchpin. I tried to do something similar in the Matched Trilogy (using poetry by others as an important part of the plot) and I know I was inspired by Bradbury’s doing this so perfectly.

Favorite Dystopian Movie. Gattaca. I had just graduated from high school when this movie, starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law, was released. It received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction and I think the world is simply stunning. I also loved the characters. Without ruining the plot, I’ll just say that it involves genetic engineering, a controlling society, and some very good-looking people.

Favorite Dystopian Television Series. Firefly. The mixture of cultures, the humor and intelligence of the storylines, the creepiness of the Reavers, and the handsomeness of Nathan Fillion…is there anything else one needs?

Favorite Dystopian Song. I like to compile playlists for my books, and I think any dystopian novel could use some of Regina Spektor’s songs as part of the soundtrack. Her song “Machine” is particularly excellent, both because of the sound of the song and the lyrics themselves. I’m also a big fan of The Killers and I think their songs, particularly from the Hot Fuss album, have a nice dystopic, end-of-days feel to them.

Favorite Dystopian Novel. I always say that, like your first kiss, you never forget your first dystopian novel, and mine was 1984. I was seventeen when I read it for the first time. The riveting story of one man and one woman’s attempt to claim a little freedom while being watched over by Big Brother is, to me, the book that defines the genre.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Ally Condie ” to download her popular trilogy.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you’ll need lots of great books to dig into over the long weekend. In honor of America’s top travel holiday, we're highlighting some great value-priced books that will take you on an incredible trip. Don’t forget to grab these offers soon—they’re available only for a limited time.

Escape on a Historic Journey: Bestseller Jeffrey Archer takes readers on a journey from the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City in his complex family saga, Only Time Will Tell. ($2.99)

Journey to the Greek Isles: In Anne Zouroudi's evocative mystery The Messenger of Athens, a dark shadow falls over the picturesque ancient island of Thiminos when a woman's battered body is found at the foot of a cliff. ($2.99)

Lose yourself in Regency England: In Samantha Grace’s historical romance, Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel, the tables are turned on a debonair Lord when a headstrong heiress loves him and leaves him. ($3.99)

Or Find Love in Paris: John Baxter’s passionate love letter to the City of Light, We'll Always Have Paris, is part of HarperCollins’ low-priced memoir promotion—all available for $2.99 or less here.

Plus, don’t forget the NOOK Daily Find:Today’s great book at a great price is Angel of Darkness by Cynthia Eden for just $3.99. A fallen angel and an innocent school teacher-turned-vampire cross paths in this fiery paranormal romance.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search by author name to get these limited-time deals.

May the birds be with you! Angry Birds Star Wars now on NOOK!

Calling all Angry Birds fans and all Star Wars fans – we have a special treat for you – Angry Birds Star Wars is now available on NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet, NOOK HD and NOOK HD+!  This is my favorite version of Angry Birds so far.  Each of the birds are dressed as Star Wars characters with comparable new skills. For example, one carries a light saber so you can slice through walls of bricks without loss of inertia and fly straight through to destroy the evil Imperial Pigtroopers.

The iconic Star Wars music, sound effects, and imagery add a nostalgic layer of fun, but even more than that is the new kinds of game play that are now available because of things like using “the force.” A new challenge, laser gunfire, requires just the right timing to avoid being shot out of the sky. The intergalactic levels begin at Tatooine and progress into space. The 2D graphics are truly amazing since they are layered to make a really cool 3D feel as you scroll across the screen. It was an extra special treat for me since I got to play this game on the new NOOK HD, which was so light and offered a great overall user experience. 

Whichever NOOK you choose to play Angry Birds Star Wars on, I think you’ll agree that it’s out of this world.

Contemporary romance writer Jill Shalvis is known for tugging at the heartstrings with relatable characters, complex plots, and impeccable dialogue. In the newest book in her Animal Magnetism series, Rescue My Heart, she hits the mark once again.

When veteran Adam Connelly returns to his Idaho hometown to help run his family’s animal shelter, he’s looking to mend his body and spirit. He certainly doesn’t expect to quickly be reunited with his former flame, Holly, a woman whose heart he broke many years ago, but never forgot.

Holly’s father has gone missing, and she calls upon Adam’s tracking skills to help with the search. As the former lovers take on this harrowing search, long-buried emotions come roaring back, and they’re each confronted with a difficult decision. Shalvis fans—and new readers—will once again find themselves pulled into an unforgettable romantic adventure.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Jill Shalvis” to download her bestselling contemporary romances.

Today’s Free Fridays selection, The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer, is a captivating fantasy adventure tale.

In the city of Ninavel, people practice many kinds of magic. It’s a land beset by magicians plying their trade. But the bordering country of Alathia has outlawed all forms of magic, imposing harsh penalties on anyone who practices the craft.

The adept smuggler Dev has carved a niche for himself as a guide along the Whitefire Crossing that connects the two lands. But his guide duties prove the perfect cover for a lucrative smuggling business as well. Contraband magic charms are a valuable asset in strictly-controlled Alathia.

Now Dev's smuggling skills are being put to an even bigger test, as he’s asked to fulfill a friend’s dying wish by transporting a young apprentice who’s being hunted by a powerful mage. The young man, Kiran, posses the knowledge and skills that are forbidden in Alathia, and if he and Dev are intercepted along the way, they both face dire consequences.

Dev and Kiran’s harrowing journey awaits in this week’s Free Fridays selection, and you can continue the adventure in Schafer’s just-published sequel, The Tainted City.

Free Fridays Recommends

Each week, we ask our featured author to recommend a book or author that you may want to check out. Since authors are such passionate readers themselves, we thought you might like to find out what they love to read, too! Here’s what Courtney recommends:

I've adored Martha Wells's excellent adventure fantasy novels ever since I first stumbled across The Wizard Hunters on a library shelf many years ago - but with her recent Books of the Raksura series, she really hits it out of the park. The first novel in the series, The Cloud Roads, was one of my favorite reads last year.  It's got everything I like most in fantasy: richly realized characters, heart-pounding adventure, and some truly fascinating worldbuilding.  Wells sets the novel in a secondary world populated by a myriad of nonhuman races, all with their own cultures, appearance, and customs; and she does some very interesting things with gender roles, and the themes of loss, loneliness, and the struggle to find acceptance.  The sequel, The Serpent Sea, is just as good; and I'm salivating to get my hands on book 3, The Siren Depths, which releases this December.  If you have any taste for adventure fantasy, you simply must give the Books of the Raksura a try!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Courtney Schafer” to download her captivating fantasy adventures.

Author and renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks is best-known for his incredibly perceptive and engaging explorations of the human mind. In his upcoming book, Hallucinations, he turns his scope inwards, recounting his personal experience with hallucinogenic drugs and the effects of the migraines he suffers from. In addition to his own history, Sacks delves into the many types of commonplace hallucinogenic human experiences, such as hearing voices and waking dreams.

We asked Dr. Sacks to offer four books that he discovered during his research for Hallucinations that readers who are interested in the subject might want to explore. Here are his diverse and engaging selections:

Four Great Books I discovered (or rediscovered) while writing Hallucinations:

Ants on the Melon by Virginia Hamilton Adair

Virginia Adair’s poems appeared often in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and other journals in the 1930s and 40s, when she was a young woman—but this first collection of her poems was not published until she was 83. Toward the end of her life, Adair sent me some marvelous, poetic descriptions of the visual hallucinations she started to have when she lost her sight to glaucoma. A number of her poems were inspired by these rich visions, but I also love how she remained so vital and creative well into her nineties.

When God Talks Back by T. M. Luhrmann

A brilliant and compelling exploration of evangelical communities, and one of my favorite books of 2012. Tanya Luhrmann is a professor of anthropology at Stanford, and she has a rare ability to enter sympathetically into her subjects’ world, delving into controversial beliefs with respect and objectivity. I was particularly fascinated by her description of how American evangelicals may practice active visualization, using every sense, during prayer. When they say that they can see and feel the presence of God, this may be more literally true than not. The sort of prayer they practice shapes their brains and minds—a fascinating example of the brain’s ability to adapt and learn.

Muses, Madmen, and Prophets  by Daniel B. Smith

Many perfectly sane people hear voices in their heads, not just figuratively, but as if real. When I started to write about this, I discovered Daniel Smith’s witty and intelligent account of auditory hallucinations, which are much more common that you might suppose. “Hearing voices” is a frequently misunderstood and stigmatized subject. Where is the border between one’s internal voice and a hallucination? Where do these voices ultimately come from? These are questions that go back to antiquity, and the answers may surprise you.

Season to Taste  by Molly Birnbaum

This young chef consulted  me a few years ago when she lost her ability to smell (and taste) following a bike accident. I encouraged her to keep journals and write about the experience, but I did not fully realize at the time what a lovely writer she is. Her ability to reclaim the world of culinary delight despite her anosmia is a moving story, beautifully told.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for ‘Oliver Sacks’ to pre-order his provocative and enlightening book.