Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
No question that the “story” of the day is that it is *groan* Cyber Monday (is this shopping day the last thing, along with the *double groan* Cyber Truck to use “cyber” as a descriptor?).
Like I am sure is true with you, I have had dozens and dozens of emails this morning from companies touting their deals today, and my interests being what they are, many of them are book related. I thought I might run though a bunch of them and give a general impression of how good of deal it is. Note, some of these links might be affiliate. Not really sure how the CMS will treat them, but just so you (and the FCC) can consider yourself disclosed.
In alphabetical order:
Amazon
Amazon of course has deals across all kinds of categories, but notable for book readers are a wider-than-normal assortment of ebook deals (Pachinko for $2.99 is a slam dunk), a selection of kids’ books at 55% off, and maybe the most giftable selection is of Goodreads picks at are up to 65% off (Heaven & Earth Grocery Store in hardback for less than $10 is VERY giftable).
On the device front, Kindles seem to be $40 or so off across the line-up. The best hardware deal though, might be for the audiobook lover in your life. Apple’s Airpods Pro 2 are $100. This is a very, very good price at a very, very good all-around gift.
Verdict: Something for everyone.
Barnes & Noble
The headline deal at B&N is 50% off a selection of “the biggest books.” Not an enormous selection, but there are a few of the AAA titles of the year in there (The Women, Intermezzo, etc). Select gift editions are buy-one get-one-for-half-off too.
If you are a B&N member and/or a rewards collector, you can get a $10 gift card for every $100 in gift cards purchased. And depending on your status, you can get either 2x or 3x stamps for a limited time.
Verdict: Ok, but best for B&N loyalists.
Books-A-Million
Up to 50% off just a whole bunch of stuff. Seems like a wider range, with manga featured prominently. On the gift-forward side, some very interesting deals on autographed copies, which is not something I tend to think about when giving books, but if you know someone who would be stoked to get a signed Susan Orlean book, this is your place.
Verdict: Good selection, takes a little doing.
Bookshop.org
25% off a a very good selection of titles, plus free shipping. Also very good promos from individual publishers if you are willing to dig a little.
Verdict:
Not bargain basement prices, but you are getting pretty competitive prices on good picks. And with free shipping, the cost of buying that supports indies is pretty low.
Half-Priced Books
Verdict: Unique promotion. Used books are already of course a good value, but you can really stretch your dollar shopping this one.
Kobo
$20 off the Kobo Libra Colour, which some think is the best dedicated ereader out there. Also can get $10 gift card when you give $50, so that’s a nice 20% kickback if you have a digital reader in your life that isn’t already mobbed up with another platform. Big discounts on a range of ebooks too.
Verdict: Gotta love Kobo to love this one.
Libro.fm
Great selection of deeply discounted audiobooks (hey look, Pachinko again. $4.99 for the audiobook is a steal!). If you don’t already know about Libro.fm, they sell audiobooks and support local bookstores as they do so. Great alternative to the Audible gorilla if that is something you are interested in.
Verdict: This is probably my favorite collection of discounted titles from any of the sellers today, though digital audiobooks are not the most exciting unwrapping experience. Though if you want to, you could fill your next couple of months of audiobook time for the cost of a couple of movie tickets.
Powell’s
20% off everything with code CYBER20 and free shipping on orders over $40. Simple.
Verdict: Great for Powell’s buyers, but not particular reason to switch if you don’t already care about shopping there.
Target
Only thing vaguely interesting is $5 back when you spend $20 on kids books, but have to be a Target Circle member for that. And I guess if you REALLY want a book and movie of It Ends with Us, you can get $5 back on that too. The main event though is that Target is the only place you can get Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour book.
Verdict: Exclusive is its own pull.
Thriftbooks.com
Main promotion is in the form of tiered rewards based on spending, with up to three free book rewards if you spend more than $75, though what qualifies for a free book depends on your rewards tier. Thriftbooks always has free shipping on orders of $15 or more, so that is a plus too. Their prices are generally competitive with Amazon’s print prices.
Verdict: If you are into the Thriftbooks loyalty program or interested in it, nice perk for already well-priced books.
Wal-Mart
Strange, though sometimes compelling random selection of discounted titles, many in the half-off Walmart’s normal prices. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell for $10 in hardback is a great pick for a middle-grade into YA reader. Mostly kids and familar stuff beyond that.
Verdict: If you happen to have something in your cart already, might be worth looking. Otherwise, probably not worth a dedicated transaction.
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