Author: John Sellars
Regularly $17.99, Today $2.99
Greek & Roman Philosophy

“Excellent . . . a lucid, easy-to-follow account of what Stoicism as a way of life amounts to and how you might start to put it into practice.” —Nigel Warburton, author of A Little History of Philosophy

To counter the daily anxieties, stress, and emotional swings caused by the barrage of stimuli that plagues modern life, many people have been finding unexpected solace in a philosophy from a very different and distant time: Stoicism. Today, more than 100,000 people are members of online communities for modern Stoics, and there are conferences, meet-ups, and workshops for those aspiring to walk the Stoic path. But what is Stoicism, and what makes it resonate so powerfully today?

As John Sellars shows in The Pocket Stoic, the popular image of the isolated and unfeeling Stoic hardly does justice to the rich vein of thought that we find in the work of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, the three great Roman Stoics. Their works are recognized classics, and for good reason—they speak to some of the perennial issues that face anyone trying to navigate their way through life. These writings, fundamentally, are about how to live—how to understand your place in the world, how to cope when things don’t go well, how to manage your emotions, how to behave toward others, and finally, how to live a good life. To be a Stoic is to recognize that much of the suffering in your life is due to the way you think about things, and that you have the ability to train your mind to look at the world in a new way—to recognize what you can and can’t control and turn adversity into opportunity. 💭

Why I’m including this: Stoicism is having a cultural moment, and Sellars provides the most accessible entry point to the philosophy. Rather than dry academic treatment, this shows practical applications for modern anxiety and stress. The 100,000+ online Stoics speak to its relevance. At $2.99, it’s an incredible value for life-changing philosophy.

Author: Kate Lord Brown
Regularly $17.99, Today $2.99
Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

High in the hills of Valencia, a forgotten house guards its secrets. Untouched since Franco’s forces tore through Spain in 1936, the whitewashed walls have crumbled, and the garden, laden with orange blossom, grows wild. Emma Temple is the first to unlock its doors in seventy years.

Emma is London’s leading perfumier, but her blessed life has taken a difficult turn. Her free-spirited mother, Liberty, who taught her the art of fragrance making, has just passed away. At the same time, she broke up with her long-time lover and business partner, Joe, whose baby she happens to be carrying.

While Joe is in New York trying to sell his majority share in their company, Emma, guided by a series of letters and a key bequeathed to her in Liberty’s will, decides to leave her job and travel to Valencia, where she will give birth in the house her mother mysteriously purchased just before her death. The villa is a perfect retreat: redolent with the exotic scents of orange blossom and neroli, dappled with light and with the rich colors of a forgotten time. Emma makes it her mission to restore the place to its former glory. But for her aging grandmother, Freya, a British nurse who stayed in Valencia during Spain’s devastating civil war, Emma’s new home evokes memories of a terrible secret, a part of her family’s past that until now has managed to stay hidden.

With two beautifully interwoven narratives and a lush, atmospheric setting, Kate Lord Brown’s The Perfume Garden is a dramatic, emotional debut that readers won’t soon forget. 🍊

What makes this special: The dual timeline structure (present-day perfumier and Spanish Civil War nurse) creates mystery and emotional depth, while the Valencia setting and perfume-making details add sensory richness. The pregnant protagonist rebuilding her mother’s secret house while uncovering family secrets is emotionally layered. A steal at $2.99 for atmospheric historical fiction.

Author: K’wan
Regularly $17.99, Today $3.99
African American Urban Fiction

Part of the Infamous Books imprint, curated by Albert “Prodigy” Johnson.

Detective James Wolf earned the nickname Lone Wolf from his inability to work with a partner. He’s a hard cop who doesn’t mind bending the rules to the point of breaking them to make a case, which is why Internal Affairs is digging in his backyard, looking for buried bones. People are starting to wonder: Which side of the law is the Lone Wolf really hunting for? His career hanging on by a thread, he needs a major show of good faith to keep employed and out of prison. That’s when he gets the call.

From the moment he arrives at the crime scene, Detective Wolf knows that he’s in over his head. He’s a narcotics detective, called in to consult on a homicide, but this is no ordinary homicide—a priest was butchered and left for dead inside his own church, with the promise of more bodies to follow. The only lead is the killer’s calling card: a black lotus flower left at the crime scene. Detective Wolf now has the opportunity to quietly track and stop the Black Lotus before the next victim is claimed, in exchange for wiping his service record clean.

Accepting this case started as Detective Wolf’s attempt to get Internal Affairs off his back. But when his hunt for the Black Lotus leads him to a cold case from his past, it becomes personal. 💀

Why I’m including this: A dirty cop hunting a serial killer who murders priests creates morally complex noir tension. The black lotus calling card adds visual signature, and K’wan’s street-level authenticity (curated by Mobb Deep’s Prodigy) promises gritty realism. When the case connects to Wolf’s past, it becomes more than just career redemption.