Sat., May 5, is Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Book Day is exactly what it sounds like — a day where you can waltz into a participating comics store and pick up a free comic book! Find a location near you and plan a visit for tomorrow.

Get 18 Harlequin e-books for free.

Here's a way to make your e-reader blush: 18 free Harlequin e-books! It's quite the sampler, ranging from paranormal to historical to Spanish- and French-language romances. My favorite title may be The Italian's Inexperienced Mistress — the name alone justifies a download, no?

When you click to download, there's a short survey, but you can scroll to the bottom and choose to skip it and just download the book if you prefer. Get ready for some ripped bodices and heaving mistresses!

Barnes & Noble: 40% off one gift item.

I'm not exactly sure what "gift item" means — that could be just about anything at this time of year, as past holidays have taught me. But you can get 40% off one gift item, whatever that is, at Barnes & Noble now through Dec. 24.

6-pack of pom-pom ankle socks? Power drill bits with no drill? What will YOU pick?

Barnes & Noble: 30% off one item.

Last-minute shoppers, all is not lost! Barnes & Noble has a 30% off one item coupon that's good through Dec. 24. There's a bit of fine print, but it mostly applies to everything, so shop away!

And if your holiday shopping is already done, feel free to breathe a sigh of relief and use this for yourself.

Barnes & Noble: 20% off one item, 50% off cookbooks.

This isn't THAT great of a deal, but maybe I'm just posting it because I'm nostalgic for the glory days of Borders coupons. Now through Dec. 8, you can get 20% off one item at Barnes & Noble's online store using promo code T3N9N3L.

Of course, that doesn't really make up for having to pay shipping unless you hit the $25 free shipping mark, so it's probably best used on a bigger-ticket item. Sadly, the Nook e-reader is excluded from this deal, but it looks like just about everything else is fair game.



Oh, and all cookbooks are 50% off at B&N.com today, too!

Barnes & Noble: 50% off list price on kids' picture books.

Well, it's official: Barnes & Noble is ready to step up and take Borders' discarded tiara as the king of coupons! (Maybe a tiara isn't sufficiently kingly?) Last week's 50% off coupon worked flawlessly at the store for me, so this coupon for 50% off kids' picture books should be equally smooth. (The printable coupon link is in the comments section.)

There's no stated limit for the number of books you can buy, so I think everybody on my list is getting a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar for Xmas this year. Don't tell!

Barnes & Noble: 50% off list price of one book.

What's this? Is Barnes & Noble stepping into the coupon-parade shoes of the now-defunct Borders? Today they've got a fans-only promotion: click "Claim Coupon" to get your personalized coupon for 50% off the list price of one book.

Coupon expires Nov. 6, so use it fast if you're going to!

Zombie Borders: 33% off your entire purchase.

Well, how about that! Just the other day I was lamenting how the steady stream of Borders coupons always gave me things to post, and how I was going to miss them. And now we have a hauntingly similar promo code out from Zombie Borders! (The walking corpse of Borders.com is now being run by Barnes & Noble - you may have received an email this week notifying you that B&N was taking over Borders' email lists.)

Use promo code BNJ9464R to get 33% off your entire order. Good through 12/6/11 - maybe to get rid of the last bits of inventory? That's even better than the single-item discount we used to get with the coupons! I already like Zombie Borders.

Borders closing sale: Everything now 70-90% off.

The Borders sale is taking its final tottering steps toward death's door this week... everything is now at least 70% off. I haven't been by for a while because it was just too depressing, but maybe I can find the inner strength to go peek at it one last time.

Who will give us 40% off coupons now? I guess we'll just have to order everything from Amazon.

Borders closing sale: Everything now 60-80% off.

It's time for the next round of markdowns in the Borders closing sale: everything is now 60-80% off. (As I walked past the downtown Seattle store this morning, the signs still said 50-70% off, but maybe they're changing the signage today.)

I have to tell you, it's getting pretty depressing in there, between the picked-over shelves and the sorry-looking new merchandise that the liquidators brought in to make the shelves look fuller. But if you're on the hunt for bargains, it's finally getting to steal-of-a-deal markdown levels, so good luck...

Borders closing sale: everything now 40-60% off.

Time for the next round of Borders markdowns... everything is now 40-60% off! That includes 40% off board games and 50% off general fiction, which is relevant to my interests.

They claim that new inventory is arriving in stores from their warehouses, but I wouldn't delay if there's something in particular that you're after - it was starting to look picked over the last time I was in there, about a week ago. Good luck!

Free Oprah's Lifeclass Journal & a sweepstakes.

This is more of a contest, I suppose, but there is a freebie attached to it, so I think it counts enough to post. Sign up to get a copy of Oprah's Lifeclass Journal - I can't tell if it's a blank book embellished with quotes or a "journal" that Oprah has supposedly "filled" with her life lessons. But either way, there are a million of 'em, so hurry and get yours. You can also enter to win a fabulous trip for two to Atlanta to be part of Oprah's first life class event thing, all expenses paid!

I say go for it. In fact, let's make a deal - if you win, you take me, and if I win, I'll take you. Sound fair?

Borders closing sale: Everything now 30-50% off + extra 10-15% off.

Borders has some new discounts this week to encourage everyone to buy more... everything in the store is still 30-50% off, but now you can get an extra 10% off when you buy 6 items, or an extra 15% off when you buy 8 items. It says "off the sale price," meaning they'll first take the 30-50% off and then reduce it from there, so it's not quite the same as tacking on 10-15% off, but it's still a little something.

No? OK, let's all just keep ordering from Amazon, then, where the prices have been this low all along.

Borders closing sale: Everything now 30-50% off.

Just got another update from Borders on its liquidation sale markdowns. Now everything in the store is 30-50% off, including:

• 30% off children's books, toys, games, mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, cooking, travel, music, and more
• 40% off biography, health, pets, general reference, literary fiction, self-help, and more
• 50% off politics and law, culture, crime, romance, philosophy, business, performing arts, Blu-ray, and more

Now that's what I'm talking about. Finally the discounts are starting to look like, you know, an actual sale. I'll be heading over there today!

Borders: More closing sale markdowns.

It's a new week and new markdowns for the Borders closing sale, Mon-Wed only. Check out some of the discounts:

• 30% off all music
• 40% off romance, politics, government, law and business
• 40% off the Hunger Games trilogy and The Help
• Extra 10% off sale prices

If those appeal to you, head on down to your local Borders... time is running out.

Borders closing sale: New markdowns, up to 40%.

For those who are keeping a death watch on Borders' closing sale, I just got an email with this update about new markdowns:

• Audiobooks, e-readers, DVDs, thrillers, cooking, sci-fi, history, religion, and more are 25% off
• Diet, nutrition, biography, self-help, reference, humor, and more are 30% off
• Crime, business, philosophy, performing arts, romance, and more are 40% off
• Blu-ray now 50% off

Looks like everything in the store is now at least 25% off. Liquidation sales are a delicate dance - you want to wait until the discounts are good enough to be worth it, but not wait so long that everything is picked clean and the good stuff is gone. I might wander over there today just to see how things are looking - have you scored any bargains at the sale?

Borders closing sale: everything now 20-40% off.

If you've been waiting for Round 2 of the Borders closing sale markdowns, like me, then check this out: the entire store is now 20-40% off. Highlights:

• 20% off cookbooks, e-readers, travel, and fitness books
• 30% off bestsellers, romance, business, calendars, and music
• 40% off Blu-Ray, video games, greeting cards, and newsstand magazines

Remember, as the discounts get better, the selection gets worse, so if there's something in particular you have your eye on, don't wait too long. And if you have Borders Bucks or gift cards to spend, for goodness' sake GET IN THERE AND USE THEM NOW! They're only valid through July 31 and that's coming up soon.

Update: Details on the Borders closing sale.

I just went and checked out the Borders closing sale, and while I wasn't blown away, there are some deals to be had. Here are the discounts as far as I could tell - it's 10% off storewide and then some categories have additional markdowns.

• 20% off humor
• 20% off travel books
• 20% off DVDs
• 40% off Blu-Rays
• 40% off single-copy magazines
• 50% off in the clearance area - check for red tags!

Borders farewell sale.

Here's the big news we've known was coming... Borders is officially closing its doors and there will be liquidation sales for all, starting tomorrow, July 22. 

If you have Borders Bucks store credit or gift cards, use 'em while you can! You have until July 31 to use your Borders Bucks, and I wouldn't wait around if you still have gift cards to use. We should be seeing some pretty good deals, right down to the fixtures and furnishings, so get ready to pick over the corpse of one of the biggest national bookstore chains.  :P

Borders: 30% off coupon.

Yep, you guessed it, another 30% off Borders coupon. I won't be using this one, though, as I have my hands full at the moment; I'm reading this and this is waiting for me at the library!

What's on your summer reading list?