Beloved YA author Jodi Lynn Anderson’s Peaches is an irresistible summer read.

Three girls from very different backgrounds all converge during summer break on a Georgia peach orchard. Birdie’s dad owns the farm, her cousin Leeda is visiting for the summer, and Murphy is working on the farm as part of a public service punishment for some teenage mistakes. As the lazy southern summer passes, these three Georgia ‘peaches’ form an unlikely friendship, find themselves wading into the waters of teenage summer love, and learn life lessons along the way. Following their adventures will make you pine for those simple summers of days gone by.

This special edition of Peaches includes a sneak peek at Jodi Lynn Anderson’s upcoming novel Tiger Lily—a dark and romantic reimagining of the Peter Pan fairy tale, available now for pre-order.

Today we’re also offering a bonus Free Fridays short story, "The Rose of Fire," by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Set at the time of the Spanish Inquisition in the fifteenth century, "Rose of Fire" tells the story of the origins of the mysterious labyrinthine library, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, which lies at the heart of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's novels The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, and now The Prisoner of Heaven—available for pre-order. This special edition of “Rose of Fire” includes an excerpt of The Prisoner of Heaven.

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 Jodi Lynn Anderson recommends:

I recommend Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block. This collection of “fairy tales”—following the lives of complex and wounded young people living in L.A.—is probably what inspired me, more than anything else, to write YA fiction. These are such unique stories told in such beautiful language; even Block’s sentences are works of art. 

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Jodi Lynn Anderson” to download her delightful books.

“Why it’s a must: It’s the best kind of prose – like a friend who is telling you the wildest story over a beer. Time flies.”

—Marie Claire

Author Patrick Somerville received glowing reviews for his debut novel, The Cradle, and readers have been anxiously awaiting his new novel, This Bright River. While some authors are haunted by the dreaded sophomore slump, Somerville hit it out of the park with this ambitious, inventive and disturbing novel. A mix of family secrets, thwarted ambitions, and haunted homecomings come together in a page-turning plot that reminded me of both Joyce Carol Oates' We Were the Mulvaneys and Julian Barnes' recent Booker Prize winner, The Sense of an Ending.

In today's Guest Author post, Somerville reflects on his real-life experience in a desolate cabin in Michigan's north woods that inspired this sweeping fictional tale.  

Thunderstorm Feeling

Just last night, a friend asked where I’d gotten the idea for This Bright River, and I froze up, thinking of my Uncle Joel’s cabin, and the woods, and being there alone for a few days back in my 20s. I’m not a very good pitch-artist – I usually end up rambling whenever somebody asks me to describe a book I’ve written. But This Bright River is particularly difficult to talk about in terms of “the idea” because I spent so long kind of thinking about it before I actually sat down to write it. Maybe I just should have said, “Love,” and then all of us could have gone on drinking.

Instead I told her, after thinking for a second, “The woods around my uncle’s cabin,” as it seemed as true as anything else I might have said.

Thirty-five years ago, my Uncle Joel built a cabin in the wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and when I was twenty-four, during a difficult time in my life, I asked him for the keys and headed north to spend some time there. More than anything, I just wanted to be away. I didn’t want to think so much as be alone.

My Uncle's Cabin

(Credit: Steve Somerville)

I spent most of my time there reading, writing, and playing guitar. No phone, no internet, no electricity, no people. And for a few days it was everything I wanted: woods, quiet, and peace.

Then the thunderstorm came.

The clouds rolled in over the horizon near dusk, and I remember noting how different it was to experience the early rumblings of big weather having no idea just how big it was going to be. No predictions beforehand, no safety of analysis. Just clouds and noise. I went outside to feel the wind and smell the air, attracted to something, but I found myself afraid to go more than fifty feet from the cabin. Lightning struck pretty close. I saw the gash of light come and go, then looked back up at the sky, then looked back at the cabin, and there was the moment: for the first time in my life, I realized that a storm, in the middle of summer, could kill a person. How had I not known that before? The thought opened a door in my heart, froze me there in the woods just as the rain was coming. Never had I felt the beauty and the monstrous chaos of nature all at once. You can’t have just one or the other. The world is always both.

I ran inside. The storm raged throughout the night as I sat safe and warm within the cabin. The feeling passed and I soon found a wind-up radio in an old dusty cabinet. There was a Bob Dylan retrospective on, and I listened for an hour, and soon the rain had stopped.

I do remember thinking, though, as I finally lay down to sleep: I should write a book about that feeling.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Patrick Somerville” to download his critically-acclaimed books.

“The gaggle is the group of guys in your life who play different roles, fulfill different needs, and help you figure out who you are, what you want, and what kind of relationship you ultimately desire.” That’s the premise behind Jessica Massa’s new relationship advice guide, The Gaggle.

Massa’s argument is pretty straightforward—we are now living in a post-dating world. The days of soda shops, sock hops, and dinner-and-a-movie dates are long gone. In their place is a series of ambiguous daily interactions between the sexes that can be pretty hard to decipher.

As part of her Harvard psychology coursework, Massa employed her research skills to help decipher the complexities of the modern dating world. What she found was that women were neglecting one of their most valuable resources: their ‘gaggle.’ The gaggle is the group of eligible men, from coworkers to friends to ex-boyfriends, who play an important role in your life. Whether or not you’re actually interested in them romantically, these men offer something extremely important: the chance to decide which traits you’re looking for in a guy.

With her fresh take on dating, and sensible, actionable advice, Massa offers readers an invaluable resource for navigating the complex 21^st century dating world.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for ‘Jessica Massa’ to download her groundbreaking new book.

Philippa Gregory is best known for her sweeping historical novels, including the enchanting #1 bestseller, The Other Boleyn Girl. Now Gregory is branching out into young adult fiction, with Changeling, the first book in her Order of Darkness Series. Like her popular adult books, Changeling is set amidst the Middle Ages, and features a young couple bound together by their outsider status, who embark on a historic journey across Europe. It's a perfect book for getting young readers interested in history, and the compelling storytelling will appeal to adult readers as well.

 

Today, Philippa Gregory offers NOOK Blog readers her thoughts on why the Middle Ages are such an enthralling historical period, and such a rich setting for modern storytellers.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Philippa Gregory” to download her irresistible historical novels.

Today I’m happy to bring NOOK Comics readers some great news. We’ve just announced a partnership with DC Entertainment to bring its bestselling line-up of graphic novels featuring iconic DC Comics and Vertigo characters like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Sandman to the award-winning NOOK Tablet™ and NOOK Color™, as well as Android tablets via the NOOK for Android™ app. The new partnership brings together DC Entertainment, the comic book industry’s most prolific digital trailblazer, and NOOK Comics, the leading provider of digital graphic novels and comics with more than 4000 titles available.

With the addition of DC Entertainment content Barnes & Noble is also introducing Zoom View, an all-new NOOK Comics feature designed for NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color. Zoom View allows readers to focus in on individual panels in graphic novels and comics, allowing you to fully enjoy the stunning artwork and compelling storytelling that brings this genre to life. Zoom View will be immediately available on all DC Entertainment titles.

NOTE: Zoom View requires an update to the current NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color software. The free software update, version 1.4.3, is available for download today at www.nook.com/tablet/update or www.nookcolor.com/update. A free over-the-air (OTA) update requiring no action from customers will begin rolling out to customers via Wi-Fi starting June 27.

Are you a serious Jeopardy! fan like I am? Do you find yourself shouting out the answers to your TV set, and then end up cringing when the contestant doesn’t phrase their answer as a question? If so, I have great news for all of my fellow trivia addicts. Jeopardy! HD for NOOK Tablet is now on sale for only $0.99! Live out your fantasy and become a contestant on one of America's greatest quiz shows.

The app is one of the most captivating and interesting puzzle genre quiz games I’ve ever seen, and when I'm playing, I feel like I'm a real Jeopardy! contestant. I love designing my own avatar and signing my name (just like they do on TV!). The controls are really smooth and responsive, and the graphics look really stellar. The questions are challenging (even for a trivia buff like myself!) and I love being able to track how much money I’ve earned throughout the game.

This is a limited-time offer, so make sure you get your hands on this great app now!

Longtime mystery-reader favorite Mo Hayder recently won the prestigious Edgar Award for her gripping Jack Caffery novel Gone. Today’s Free Fridays selection, Birdman, is the first book in Hayder's impressive detective series.

Hayder brings panache to the serial killer detective thriller—pitting a haunted, unflappable London detective, Jack Caffery, against a sui generis serial killer known as the Birdman. When five women’s ritualistically-murdered bodies are discovered within steps of each other, Caffery immediately knows that this will be the case of a lifetime. But most disturbing is the fact that no one seems to be looking for the victims—they don’t fit any missing persons reports.

How is the Birdman choosing these nameless victims? And what must Caffery do to put an end to his unprecedented reign of terror?

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 Mo recommends:

Hannibal Lecter is sunk so deep in our collective psyche it’s easy to forget there was ever a world without him. Easy, likewise, to think of Red Dragon as just Lecter’s introduction to the world and little more than a clever thriller. Yet this is far far greater than its subject matter and by rights should be read as a piece of classic literature. By all means enjoy the chills, thrills and twists if you’re a dedicated thriller fan, but if you’re a highbrow lit fan don’t be put off by its reputation. Try it. Look past the subject matter and revel in Harris’ style which is top notch.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Mo Hayder” to download the award-winning author’s books.

Can you believe that Superman is almost 75 years old? I hope I’m still able to leap tall buildings in a single bound at that age! As befits any cultural icon of his stature, the quintessential superhero has now been given the full-fledged biography treatment. In Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero, Larry Tye explores this one-of-a-kind character in impressive and fascinating detail.

Tye, best known for his popular biography of Satchel Paige, turns his impeccable research skills to an imaginary hero—but one who emerged at a time when America needed a larger-than-life savior to believe in. This book explores the Superman phenomenon from every angle—starting with the unlikely creators who brought him to life, and continuing along the path that led to countless appearances in comics, radio, television and film. This 360 degree treatment offers a fascinating account for comics fans and cultural historians alike.

If Tye’s impressive book is the type of thing that floats your boat, you’ll likely want to explore our full collection of NOOK Comics as well. With thousands of books to choose from, there's a NOOK Comics title for every fanboy or fangirl's tastes.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Larry Tye” to download his impressive biographies.

Our newest Spotlight title is the perfect summer read: Eloisa James’ enchanting A Kiss at Midnight.

Long time fans and readers of Eloisa’s Barnes & Noble review Reading Romance column know that she’s one of the most inventive and captivating romance writers around. A Kiss at Midnight is the first book in her Fairy Tale romance series—inspired by favorite classic stories—and takes a page from Cinderella’s adventures.

When her stepmother forces a reluctant Kate to attend a local ball, little does she know her life is about to take an unexpected turn. When she crosses paths with the charming, unavailable Gabriel, a complicated flirtation ensues. The attraction is immediate and mutual, but Gabriel is already committed to a princess who can make his ambitious dreams come true.

This fun and witty romance is the ideal poolside book—tailor-made for summer reading—and a fantastic introduction to a wonderfully talented writer.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for ‘Eloisa James’ to download this Spotlight title.

With legions of fans for her 21-book Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, Laurell K. Hamilton is a veritable legend in the paranormal fantasy world.

The latest Anita Blake adventure—Kiss the Dead—finds the fearless vampire hunter on the trail of an abducted 15 year-old girl. But even this seasoned professional is surprised by what she finds along the way: a group of recently-turned vampires who are railing against the discrimination of their ‘kind.’ In Hamilton’s alternate universe, vampires are beginning to fight for their rights.

But rest-assured, Kiss the Dead isn’t a civics lesson—it’s a fast-paced vampire hunting tale with enough action-packed love scenes to keep Hamilton’s superfans enthralled from start to finish.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Laurell K Hamilton” to download her bestselling series.

I am so excited to announce that the first episode of a brand new Smithsonian original is being released through the Smithsonian Channel NOOK App. “Forensic Firsts” is a docu-series on true crimes, and explains how most could not have been solved without pioneering forensics techniques.  Each episode offers dramatic reconstructions of famous crime scenes and the forensic innovation which led to the criminal’s capture, such as trajectory ballistics or DNA profiling. 

What I love most about the Smithsonian app for NOOK is how well polished it is. The video quality is absolutely stellar; the experience of watching original series, documentaries, and video clips is like watching hi-def video without any commercials. This is what all cable channel apps should be like.

Not only is the functionality and quality of the app truly great, it really is the abundance of content that keeps me coming back. For a big history and culture buff like me, this series is right up my alley.

A high quality app with amazing content, AND free to boot? This definitely deserves a place on your NOOK!

“Virtually every character is memorable, and the chemistry between Shake and Gina is brilliant. The plot turns are constant, and the dialogue is sharp. The bad guys are wonderfully scary, and the locales are vividly drawn. Elmore Leonard might be very pleased to call GUTSHOT STRAIGHT his own.”

-Booklist

There’s certainly not one type of book that absolutely every father would like to read, but today’s Free Fridays selection was chosen with Father’s Day in mind. Gutshot Straight by Lou Berney is the perfect read for fans of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen.

With its irresistible cast of characters—a two-bit criminal in over his head, crime bosses with hair-trigger tempers, a wholesome damsel in distress— Lou Berney’s crime caper is reminiscent of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. The action begins as Charles "Shake" Bouchon leaves prison, without much of a plan for life on the outside. Soon he’s made the classic mistake of taking ‘one last job,’ delivering a prized package for a notorious crime boss.

Imagine Shakes’ surprise when that package is a living, breathing, irresistibly charming housewife whose husband is in trouble with a notorious Vegas kingpin. Now he’s having second thoughts about making good on his offer, since it’s pretty clear that she’ll meet an unsavory fate if she’s delivered as promised.

Full of blindsided double-crosses and hard shots to the head, Gutshot Straight is a tale of love, luck, and larceny against the odds. And another Shakes adventure is just around the corner—this special edition of Gutshot Straight features an excerpt of Whiplash River, available for preorder now.

As a special Father’s Day bonus, PGA fans and weekend duffers will want to download Arnold Palmer’s poignant essay Reflections on the Game now. This free essay is included in the fascinating and intimate biography Arnold Palmer: A Personal History by Thomas Hauser.

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 Lou recommends:

I re-read Case Histories by Kate Atkinson about once a year. She's so good that she makes me feel bad about myself as a writer -- but in a good way. Her Jackson Brodie novels are funny, harrowing, moving, evocative, and always, always deeply human.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Lou Berney” to download this crime caper now.

With the first book in her Fallen series, Lauren Kate instantly captured readers’ imaginations with her breathtaking tale of earthbound angels at a one-of-a-kind boarding school. Now her #1 bestselling series is coming to an end, with the publication of Rapture.

We know that fans will mourn the conclusion of this beloved series, so we asked Lauren to reflect on the series that she had a hard time saying goodbye to.

When a series takes hold of us, its story becomes emblematic of an era in our lives. Beloved series are years-long obsessions, which means that series know us. They spend as much intense time with us during our evolutions as we spend reading or watching theirs. These series remind me of who I was when I fell in love with them—and how much I changed by the time I said goodbye:

Book—His Dark Materials: Lyra’s story rocked me to my foundation. I deeply admire the scope and the grandeur of its narrative, the poise and poignancy of its prose. My husband and I listened to The Golden Compass on a road trip from California to Arkansas for our engagement party. We loved the audio book so much, it inspired us to take the same giant road trip in the following Christmas so we could listen to the Subtle Knife—and yet another for the Amber Spyglass, which we just finished on the drive home on New Years Day last year. Lyra’s transition through adolescence into young adulthood is so graceful, so subtle that it felt right to take a few years to experience her metamorphosis.

TV—Sex and the City: I was in college during the SAtC’s heyday. On Sunday nights, my friends and I would gather in some HBO-possessing upperclassman’s dorm room. We all knew which character we were. (Was there ever any writer who wasn’t Carrie?) We had heated fights over the girls’ dynamics, though of course we were really fighting about our own dynamics. By the show’s last season, I’d moved to New York to try to experience something like those characters. I think I almost found it.

Film—Lord of the Rings: My brother was a big LotR fan growing up, so when the movies came out we made a point to see each one on opening day—Christmas Day—no matter where we were. One year we were in Paris (he’d come to visit me while I was studying at the Sorbonne). The next year we were in New York (I’d moved there after college in hopes of becoming a “real” writer…like Carrie Bradshaw!). For The Return of the King we were in Dallas, where my brother lives, and he’d invited someone special: my future sister in law. We left the theatre satisfied—but the following Christmas, when we had to think about what to see, we felt nostalgic for the loss of our tradition.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Lauren Kate” to download her enthralling bestselling series.

Father’s day is rapidly approaching, and since my dad already has a NOOK Tablet (which he absolutely loves) I thought, why not give him something that he can use on his device?

My dad needs to always be connected to work; he cannot live without his laptop and a lot of the time he has to access files remotely.That's why I am so excited that the app QuickOffice Pro is on sale at 50% off. With QuickOffice Pro, my dad can edit Microsoft® Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, both online and offline. He'll be able to do some work when he needs to from his favorite reading device. And with the Instant Gifting feature on BN.com, sending him the app is easy as 1,2,3. 

But wait! No gift is complete without a special card and a sweet message. If you are like me, you absolutely hate shuffling through hundreds of generic Hallmark cards at the grocery store. That’s why justWink is the perfect free NOOK App for sending an amazing, personalized greeting e-card to your dad on this special day. I love that I can drop in a photo of the two of us, write a special note, and even add my own signature (or finger doodle) for a truly authentic feel. Plus, all cards can be virtually opened which is a feature that I haven’t seen with other cards. You can send a justWink greeting card for just about any occasion via email or Facebook: graduations, weddings, birthdays, “just because” etc….

Be sure to grab these great two apps before time runs out, and enjoy celebrating Dads and Grads this month!

If you’re looking to stock your NOOK with worthy summer reading, look no further than our newest NOOK First collection—a chance for NOOK readers to be the first to get access to some hot new books.

Harlot’s Moon by Ed Gorman

When a priest is found brutally murdered in a motel room under incriminating circumstances, the pastor calls in ex-FBI profiler Robert Payne, an old friend, to aid in the investigation. It soon becomes clear to Payne that a subtle and devious killer is on the loose.  

The Bride Wore Chocolate by Shirley Jump

Life couldn’t be more perfect for Candice Woodrow. Her gourmet gift basket company is thriving, and she’s set to marry steady, dependable Barry. There’s just one wrench in the fairytale. Two weeks before her wedding she wakes up in the wrong man’s bed. Candace thinks she’ll be able to run out the door and forget all about Michael Vogler, but the Boston millionaire has other plans for the jittery bride. 

Summers at Blue Lake by Jill Althouse-Wood

Summers spent with her grandmothers on Blue Lake were always special for BJ. Now, years later, BJ seeks refuge in her late grandmothers' house in the wake of her husband's affair. As she relives the languid summer days of her youth and prepares the house for sale, she struggles to come to terms not only with the looming threat of divorce, but also with the Pandora's Box of family revelations she uncovers in Grandma's hidden notebooks. 

Gabriella by Brenda Hiatt

After a losing wager, the Duke of Ravenham is obliged to bring a pretty little nobody from the country into fashion among London society. The girl chosen is Gabriella Gordon, and what starts as an act of common chance blossoms into unexpected romance.  

I, Judas The 5th Gospel by Bob Mayer

What if Judas is still alive, hidden away in the jungles of the Amazon, waiting for the Second Coming? 

As a massive object appears in space heading directly toward Earth, the Brotherhood heralds it as Wormwood, one of the signs the Rapture and it’s just three days away. They have been preparing to implement the Great Commission as designated by Jesus—where everyone on the planet must hear the word of God before the end in order to be saved. They will use advanced technology to send that message directly into the minds of every human on the planet.  The question is:  will the message kill everyone who gets it or save them?

Believing him to be the anti-Christ, they also send a team of assassins up the Amazon to find the Great Betrayer and kill him before Armageddon. 

Opposing the Brotherhood is the Triumvirate of the Illuminati.  They believe they must stop the Great Commission and the assassination team.  At the same time they rush to gather nuclear weapons and launch missiles into space to divert the Intruder, as they call the object, believing it to be a natural phenomenon over which technology will prevail.

Three survivors do finally make it to Judas, and he tells them a story, the true story of what happened over two millennia ago.  And what is approaching…

Better Than Before  by Kathryn Shay

In a bet with his younger brother, Spence Wickham joins an online dating service to prove all people lie on these websites. After a series of disastrous relationships, Spence doesn’t believe in true love, either virtual or in real life.

Pretending to be an average guy, instead of the rich venture capitalist that he is, Spence connects with six women. He finds himself drawn to the last—Annie Hopkins. Not only is she interesting, sweet, generous and kind, but she’s looking for the type of man he’s pretending to be. 

Against the rules of the bet, Spence can’t resist meeting Annie in person. After only a few weeks, he begins to care deeply for her, and she returns his feelings. But the threat of his deceit hangs over them. When the truth comes out, Spence is left to find a way to make Annie love him for the man he is.

English Heiress by Patricia Rice

An Irish rogue and a duke’s daughter should have nothing in common except trouble...

Though enchanted by the selfless beauty of a duke’s granddaughter, Michael—a man of many names but none his own—has wisely kept his distance.  But two years after the disastrous fire that brought Lady Blanche Perceval into his life, he is saddled with a lost, lying Irish waif and needs a woman’s understanding aid. To his dismay, the generous lady he remembers now despises him for deserting her when she needed him most.

Blanche has inherited all the wealth and responsibility of a dukedom, even if it is her cousin who wears the title. Forced to rely on her men of business to help her make decisions since she has no experience or knowledge of her own, she is at constant odds with the new duke who wishes to marry her for the sake of the estate.

When the irresistible and unreliable Michael O’Toole materializes in her life to enlist her care for another of the abandoned orphans he’s rescued—as he once did for her—Blanche doesn’t know whether to kill him or kiss him. After terrorists blow up her carriage, it becomes apparent that running away might be the best choice of all—but can they survive the pitfalls of their impossible attraction?

Material Witness by Lisa Mondello

Crime author Cassie Alvarez had murder on her mind when she walked into Rory’s Bar under-dressed and undercover to research her latest crime novel. Researching the cool, blue-eyed and dashingly handsome man at the end of the bar stirred her senses more than she wanted to admit. But was this man of leather armor all he appeared to be?

Playing White Knight to an innocent wasn’t how Detective Jake Santos planned to spend his time under cover. But there was no way “CJ” was what she claimed to be and that nagging tightness in Jake’s chest told him he’d better take her home to safety before she got herself in trouble. Then the barroom exploded with gunfire. When the dust clears, an FBI agent is killed along with Providence’s most notorious crime boss. 

Cassie is the only material witness who can identify the shooter. But when her name is leaked to the media as his only witness to the grisly murders, the FBI wants to protect their case at all cost. Cassie insists she only trusts Jake to protect her. He gives his word he’ll protect her at all cost despite the fact that guarding the beautiful novelist is a serious distraction. But can he keep from betraying her trust?

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

I'm always incredibly excited to announce our newest B&N Recommends selection. These are the titles that our booksellers just can't stop talking about - we all read a lot of books here, and it takes something really special to earn the B&N Recommends stamp of approval.

Our newest selection is the perfect summer read: Maggie Shipstead's debut novel Seating Arrangements.

Over on her Barnes & Noble Review blog, Miwa Messer calls Seating Arrangements, "a sharp comedy of manners, a story about appearances and obligations, assumptions and expectations, avoidance and denial, with snappy dialogue that would not be out of place in a play by A. R. Gurney or Jon Robin Baitz."

Head over to the Barnes & Noble Review to read an exclusive interview with author Maggie Shipstead, and learn more about this terrific summer read.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Maggie Shipstead” to download her stunning debut.

Today’s Free Fridays title—A Time to Love by Barbara Cameron—is a beautiful story set in the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

The Amish lifestyle—with its rejection of modern convenience and an emphasis on community and family—has long captured our imagination. More recently, Amish romance has emerged as one of the hottest trends in fiction. Cameron’s touching story—about an injured war correspondent who returns to her Amish grandmother’s home to recuperate—is a wonderful introduction to this popular genre.

Whether you’re a longtime fan of Amish romance, or A Time to Love makes you a new convert, you’ll want to explore Cameron’s other popular novels, including the additional books in her Quilts of Lancaster County Series.

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 Barbara recommends:

Writers love to read and when I'm asked what my favorite book is, I always go back to Jane Eyre. I first read it as a pre-teen -- and not because it was required reading for English class! I've worn out several copies of the book because I love to re-visit it occasionally. I admired Jane for working hard and not feeling sorry for herself and I love how she speaks up for herself. The story is also the ultimate romance -- nothing better than her happy ever after ending with Mr. Rochester. You can read it right now on your NOOK and catch up on some of the stories you loved in the past -- or missed! Maybe it's time to re-read Anne of Green Gables. .

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Barbara Cameron” to download her spellbinding historical fiction.

With so many incredible authors and books available for NOOK, I know it can be hard to take a chance on something new. We all have our favorites, and limited time to read them, so branching out is easier said than done.

But your favorite authors weren't always your favorite authors - you had to take a chance on them once upon a time, too. So when we realized how great the book Smitten was - a collection of novellas set in small town Vermont and written by four real-life best friends - we wanted to find a way to bring it the new readers it deserves. We decided to offer the book as four separate novellas - each currently just $1.99 - so you could experience each story on its own. NOOK is the only place you can find this unique collection in four separate books.

To help introduce these four talented writer and their stories, we asked each author to offer new readers a reason why they should take a chance on Smitten. We hope you'll be as smitten with Smitten as we are:

"If you love stories about charming small towns, filled with friendship and romance, I hope you’ll give Natalie - Birthday Wishes a read—it’s the first Smitten novella.  When the mill in Smitten, Vermont, is closed, Natalie and her friends rally to make their town a romance destination…and find love of their own along the way. It was a delight to create this series with my coauthors and real-life best friends!" - Colleen Coble

"My characters always charm with a little bit of sass, and Julia Bourne is no exception, home in Vermont with all the glamour of her NYC spa life. If you enjoy a good love story—big city girl falls for rugged hometown hero—I hope you’ll give my Smitten novella, Julia - Small Town, Big Dreams, a read." - Kristin Billerbeck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It’s always swoon-worthy when a girl discovers love is waiting right in front of her, within an acquaintance she never knew could be more. If you love to read about the tender heart that beats beneath a rough, mountain-man exterior—and the girl who discovers him as her hero—I hope you’ll give my Smitten novella, Shelby - You've Got a Friend, a read." - Diann Hunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always say a good kiss starts on page one: the building of a romantic story that makes readers cheer when the couple finally gets together. If you enjoy a beautiful love story, with the romantic tension that keeps you guessing, I hope you’ll read my Smitten novella, Reese - All Along." - Denise Hunter

NOOK owners: go to shop and search by author name to download these wondeful novellas.

Daniel H. Wilson’s Robopocalypse was a critically-acclaimed techno-fantasist’s dream come true. Now Wilson is back with a stellar new novel set in a world of human/robot hybrids: Amped. Unlike most science fiction writers—creative types with a layman’s interest in science—Wilson has a graduate degree in robotics. In today’s guest blog post, he explains why it’s so darn hard for a trained scientist to look past the unlikely ‘science’ found in most SciFi books and films.  

After a lifetime spent devouring science fiction and loving it, I made the worst mistake possible. I spent six years getting a graduate degree in that most science fictionish field of real science… robotics. I studied all my favorites: humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles, and rovers – swarms and snakes and smart houses, oh my!

And just like that, I ruined my best-loved science fiction.

Did you know that a humanoid robot designed to murder John Connor would likely have a utility function with a score inversely proportional to the distance of its prey? A Terminator would never, ever pick up Mr. Connor and throw him farther away (before stalking slowly toward him once more). With a biologically-inspired skeletal system, I have serious doubts that a synthetic like Bishop would have the dexterity to play the “knife game” at that speed without severing one of Bill Paxton’s fingers. And seriously, just how in the heck could it be that hard to detect a Cylon?

Knowing too much about anything can permanently harm your suspension of disbelief. Although I love science fiction (and I love robots most of all), there is now a small, judgmental part of my brain with the mistaken belief that real robotics has something to do with my enjoyment of sci-fi.

But there is still hope. Once in a while, something too fantastic to deny demolishes my science filter without any apologies. One of my favorite short stories of all time is “The Nine Billion Names of God,” by Arthur C. Clarke. At the end, all the stars go blinking out of the sky one by one. Sigh, another violation of basic physics: the light from those extinguished stars would need centuries to arrive. But even so, the speed of light in a vacuum couldn’t match the speed of the goosebumps that climb down my forearms every time I reach the end of that story.*

* Metaphorically speaking. Obviously, light travels faster than goosebumps. I mean, that’s just science!

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Daniel H. Wilson” to download his critically-acclaimed SciFi novels.

Our newest $0.99 Spotlight offer is The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening—the book that inspired the hit TV series.

In this first book in L.J. Smith’s bestselling series, readers enter the world of Elena—the seemingly typical beautiful and popular girl who can get any guy she wants. But unlike your average small town teenage beauty, Elena is at the crux of a love triangle with two feuding vampire brothers.

Smith’s smoldering series started long before the current Twilight-fueled vampire craze, and once you’ve entered her enthralling paranormal universe, you won’t want to leave.

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “L.J. Smith” to download her bestselling series.

I’ll admit that I have a soft spot for what you could call Gladwellesque (or is it Gladwellian?) writing. You know, the kind of popular science/sociology/economics books that Malcolm Gladwell, Jonah Lehrer and the Freakonomics guys write. But I have to admit, my favorite of the bunch is Dan Ariely, the psychology and behavioral economics expert behind Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and, most recently, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty.

Through fascinating case studies, anecdotes and research, Ariely’s newest book lays bare all of those little (and big) things that people do when no one is looking. Most of us think of ourselves as decent folk, but given the right set of circumstances, a truly honest person is one in a million.

In today’s guest blog post, Ariely presents a fascinating story about how Israeli judges’ moods affected their rulings—a scary look at just how little we know about what makes us behave the way we do: 

One theory in decision making that we are beginning to understand better, Depletion Theory, holds that our ability to make any type of difficult decision is adversely affected by fatigue. In most of our day to day lives, being tired at the end of a long work day doesn’t lead to too many terrible decisions, maybe a candy bar here or there, or fast food when we should go for a salad. However, sometimes the consequences are more significant.

Consider the dramatic results of a recent study by Shai Danziger, Jonathan Levav, and Liora Avnim-Pesso, who investigated a large set of parole rulings of judges in Israeli courts. Their conclusion is striking. They discovered that judges systematically grant parole more frequently when they are most refreshed at the beginning of the day.  After that, their decisions change and the likelihood of granting parole drops as the number of decisions they make goes up.  But the effect is not the same across the whole day — after their lunch break they get some extra energy that rejuvenates them and their decisions look much more like the ones they made early in the day.

It seems that the cognitive burden of making these difficult moral decisions builds in a way that over time it becomes easier to simply accept the conservative, status quo decision not to grant parole.

A free sample excerpt from this book is available for download on the product page now!

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Dan Ariely” to download his thought-provoking bestsellers.

If you're like me, you read a lot on the internet. I have my list of blogs and news sites that I visit every day to keep up with the latest in current events and pop culture. Now, thanks to the addition of Readability to the NOOK platform, I feel like I really can read anywhere, anytime.

Using the free Readability app, any web page can be automatically saved onto my NOOK. I'm the type of person who constantly looks up information and bookmarks web pages to come back to later on. Unfortunately, when I do have the time to go back through my bookmarks, I usually no longer have a wireless connection. With the automatic save function in Readability, I'm relieved knowing that all my articles are ready to go when I am, even without WiFi (which is ideal for my 30 minute subway commute!). My favorite feature, however, is that the app puts the web page into a reader format, making it easier on my eyes (no distracting ads!). Plus, I can customize the reading view by adjusting type size, contrast and margins to exactly how I like to read. Readability performs a useful task very well, exactly as promised. And it's free. Enough said.

Today’s Free Fridays selection—Though a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen—is a classic historical novel that spent months on the New York Times bestseller list upon its initial publication.

Fans of complex storytelling filled with intrigue, betrayal and romance will love Koen’s debut novel. Rather than recount the details of this much-heralded book—and its opulent 18^th century setting—I’d rather use this space to highlight some of those effusive accolades. You don’t have to take my word for it—this week’s Free Fridays book is a must-read:

“A brilliant historical novel..." — Richmond Times Dispatch

“Greatest romance ever written" — Romance Writers Report 2001

"A heady mixture of sophistication and melodrama, elegance, decadence and homely virtues...stylishly wicked, smartly written and unabashedly bold." — Detroit Free Press

"Lives up to every expectation. It's magnificent!" — Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Koen is a graceful, natural writer and Through a Glass Darkly is a notable accomplishment, a suspenseful, romantic and vividly believable historical [novel] from a new writer who knows how to use (not abuse) her research material." — Kirkus Reviews

Once you’ve devoured Through a Glass Darkly, continue the adventures in Koen’s other lush historicals, available now for NOOK.

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 Karleen recommends:

Well, I just have to recommend Ross Poldark, a novel of Cornwall by Winston Graham, a crisply written story about a British soldier coming home from the American war to a ruined estate and an unfaithful love. Worthless servants Judd and Prudie make me laugh every time I reread now, and the novel begins to sing once Demelza comes into the plot. Best of all, it's a series. 

NOOK owners: go to shop and search for “Karleen Koen” to download her spellbinding historical fiction.