Today Amazon offers John Gardner’s New York Times bestselling, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning metafictional novel centering on the tumultuous relationship of two elderly siblings. The title of the book is October Light. The author is John Gardner. And today’s price is $1.99.
James is a cantankerous and conservative seventy-two-year-old who has spent his life caring for the animals on his farm. His widowed older sister, Sally, has strong liberal ideals and a propensity for debate. When Sally’s bankruptcy forces her to move in with her brother, their lifelong feud quickly escalates—and Sally becomes a prisoner in her own room with nothing to survive on but apples and a trashy novel about marijuana smugglers.
As Sally becomes immersed in the book, the story envelops the narrative of the siblings’ dysfunctional relationship, and Gardner explores a wide array of themes from human autonomy to self-definition to political extremism. The result is a tour de force of Gardner’s unique literary style at the height of his protean creative powers.
This ebook features a new illustrated biography of John Gardner, including original letters, rare photos, and never-before-seen documents from the Gardner family and the University of Rochester Archives.
Some words about the Author
John Gardner (1933-1982) was born in Batavia, New York, the eldest of four children. His father was a dairy farmer and lay preacher in the Presbyterian church, his mother an English teacher in the local schools. At age 12 he accidentally killed his brother Gilbert by running him over with a heavy farm machine (this tragedy surfaced many years later in the short story “Redemption”). He went on to become one of the most provocative and successful American novelists of his generation, garnering critical praise and a popular following for his fiction. Raymond Carver was one of his many successful students. The author of many novels, plays, and transliterations of medieval texts, Gardner also composed operas and librettos, as well as being a painter, he played the French horn. He died in a motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania.
Word Shaker is a game. Today Amazon offers to get it for free.
Shake things up with Word Shaker, a challenging word search game for your Android device. Your goal is to earn the most points by finding words in a grid.
Jump from letter to adjoining letter in any direction. Each letter has a particular point value, and you earn bonuses the longer the word gets. If you get stuck, just shake your device to scramble the letters!
Word Shaker gives you lots of ways to play. Choose from board sizes ranging from 4×4 to 8×8, adjust the time limit, and use the text-to-speech capability to hear the pronunciations of the words you find.
The fast, unlimited board generator cuts down your wait, while word circling is easy and smooth. You get a full report of found and missed words after the game, so you can fully assess how you did. Compete with friends and strangers around the world on the online leader boards.