Updated 13 August 2008. Yipee! I received an advance reading copy of Sharon Kay Penman’s upcoming novel, Devil’s Brood, through a promotion offered on Shelf Awareness.

It’s the third book in a trilogy that includes When Christ and His Saints Slept (book 1) and Time and Chance (book 2). According to the book cover, Devil’s Brood takes place during the last days of the tempestuous marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. I’m reading it now and I really like it.

The author’s Web site now features an excerpt from the novel. It’s due out in U.S. bookstores in October 2008.

Thanks, Penguin Group and Shelf Awareness! (Click the image above to pre-order the novel from Amazon. Fuzzy History receives a small commission for the referral.

Amazon announced today it would acquire the online used books aggregator Abebooks. Abebooks will continue to operate independently. It’s Web sites will remain in operation.

LibraryThing posted a note indicating that Abebooks owns a minority share in the company. Therefore, if the deal receives approval from the shareholders and the Federal Trade Commission, Amazon will own a minority share in LT.

While LT assures customers they will see no changes, my hope is that Amazon will pay more attention to how LT handles tags. Maybe Amazon will even license LT technology for tags and improve the handling of such for those of us who also are customers of Amazon. Hint! Hint