10 Fiction and Non-Fiction Picks for Amazon's Kindle

Byliner; Atavist

FICTION

The Future According to Me
By Rob Kutner (Amazon Digital, 99 cents)

The Conan and former Daily Show writer offers 35 hilarious and absurd short takes on the future featuring vegan zombies, Spacemall magazine, and the Kardashian Charitable Trust for the Remaining Viable Layer of Atmosphere.

Crazy Girls
By Max Lance (Amazon Digital, 99 cents)

A twentysomething guy goes on five really bad but really funny first dates with a fresh USC film school grad. It spent more than two weeks atop Amazon's singles best-seller list and got Lance an agent.

The Junket
By Mike Albo (Amazon Digital, $1.99)

A semi-fictional and amusing account of how Albo became the "Silkwood of Swag" and lost his job with The New York Times over an ill-fated promotional junket.

Second Son
By Lee Child (Delacorte Press, $1.99)

An original prequel finds a 13-year-old Jack Reacher on Okinawa in 1974 dealing with thieves, a family crisis, and the aftermath of the Vietnam war.

No Time Left
By David Baldacci (Hachette 99 cents)

Amazon describes this original short by the bestselling author as the love child of an Agatha Christie mystery and an Isaac Asimov sci-fi story.

NONFICTION

Into the Forbidden Zone: A Trip Through Hell and High Water in Post-Earthquake Japan
By William T. Vollmann (Byliner $2.99)

A fascinating tour through the worst-hit areas of Japan by an award-winning writer. At its best it evokes John Hersey's classic Hiroshima.

The Baby Chase: An Adventure in Fertility by Holly Finn
(Byliner, $1.99)

Nearing 40, single and successful Holly Finn decided to have a baby on her own using in vitro fertilization. Three years later she's still trying. A moving, honest, and at times darkly funny account of the costs of trying — and not succeeding (yet) — at having a baby later in life.

Lifted by Evan Ratliff
(Atavist, $1.99 for Kindle, $2.99 for iPad)

A thrilling account of a famous 2009 Swedish bank heist that netted $150 million. For an extra buck the iPad version rethinks the book by including security cam footage, interactive maps, and a cool audio narration.

The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA
By Taylor Branch (Byliner, $3.99)

The civil rights historian's examination of the myth of the "student-athlete" and argument for paying college athletes was an Atlantic article in September and an e-book single in October.

Scalper: Inside the World of a Professional Ticket Broker
By Clancy Martin and Hank Chilton (Amazon Digital, $1.99)

Chilton, a TV writer (Nip/Tuck) and Martin, a philosophy professor, team up to tell about the day-in-the-life of a big-time San Francisco scalper.