If you think I haven’t been posting as much this week, you’re correct—in my case, the holiday aftermath included being buried under a mountain of work so massive, I still haven’t quite dug my way out. I’m typing to you now through a small emergency air vent, in fact.

And so it’s really killing me, a little bit, that there’s a huge amount of Home and Garden markdowns at Amazon right now, and I really don’t have time to go through them all. A quick scan revealed some rock-bottom prices on holiday items; ornaments, table linens, and other decorations are all on clearance. There’s probably some fabulous stuff in there. But I’ll leave it to you to ferret out the things you can’t live without, because if I start really digging through, I’m liable to lose my rather tenuous hold on this digging I’m doing.

Carry on.

I never used to like audio books—I’d try listening to one, at night, and invariably fall asleep. But ever since getting an iPod a while back, I’ve discovered the magic. It turns out that the magic is not in listening at bedtime, but in having something interesting to listen to while I sit at soccer practice or shop for groceries or sit in a tiny chair waiting to have a parent-teacher conference. And lo, I saw the light (heard the story?), and it was very good.

So here’s a nifty little thing, if you haven’t seen the light yet, or you need a gift for someone who’s hard to buy for: Right now at Barnes and Noble, you can pick up a Simply Audiobooks one-month subscription for just $6.25 (less, if you’re a member). This will allow you or the person you give it to to borrow two audio books at a time, up to as many total as you can use in a month. It also comes with a bonus story on CD.

I’m thinking I may just try this out. But I’m also thinking this would be kind of an awesome end-of-year teacher gift. (Remember, shipping is free on $25+ orders!)

I have very mixed feelings about those “spend more, save more” kinds of coupons. On the one hand, isn’t that everything that’s wrong with the American consumer-centric mindset about having more stuff? But on the other hand… oooh! Savings! Yay!!

I’m a very conflicted person. It’s hard being me, y’all.

Maybe you’ve still got some holiday money or a bit of mad money on hand, and if so, why not get yourself a good deal if you’re planning to spend it, anyway? So here you go: Right now at Macy’s, they’re giving you extra savings on all sorts of stuff. Spend $100, save $25. Spend $150, save $50. Spend $200, get $75 off! Clearance and some other items are excluded, but a quick look reveals that it applies to all kinds of things.

And if you’re going to be shopping, anyway, you might as well save some dough….

Need some cool discs for your brand-new Blu-ray? For the next ten days Amazon is running a Buy 2, Get 1 Free special on select Blu-ray discs. There are over 200 from which to choose, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding three you simply have to have.

(Me, I won’t be switching over until regular DVD is obsolete. And then you’ll find me kicking and screaming and clinging to my discs. Look, the switch from VHS was plenty traumatic and I’m just not ready to do it again. But good for you for embracing new technology. Can I come watch a movie at your place?)