Book bonanza

Don't you love it when your inbox turns up a "you've earned a free _______" from one of your rewards cards? A while back I hit the jackpot when the same day yielded both a free coffee from Starbucks and a free breakfast sandwich from Panera. True, I probably spent more in gas to collect the items than I saved in lucre, but the lure of "free" cannot be resisted.

Today a freebie of a different sort showed up in the e-mail. Amazon settled a lawsuit with a number of publishers over the price of e-books, and the settlement included a refund to customers who may have been overcharged. According to the e-mail, I now have a $16.06 credit to be used on any print or kindle book.

The credit expires in March 2015, but it gets applied to your very next book purchase. In my case, the credit won't last out March 2014.

But what to use it on? I like to use these pennies from heaven on something special, something yearned for, rather than run-of-the-mill, "this looks vaguely interesting" purchases.

The wish list has few books on it (yes, I am an impulse buyer of books, hence the long-ish list on the kindle of books waiting to be read and the short wish list):

Year Zero: A History of 1945
I can't remember where I read the recommendation for this book, but it sounds fascinating. The world was fundamentally changed in many ways after the end of World War II.

Fast Food My Way
It's no secret I adore Jacques Pepin. I have the second cookbook from this series. But since putting this on the wish list, I realized I can watch the original series for free on Amazon Prime, and jot down any recipes I want from there. Do I really need another cookbook?

Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives
My soul is sort of crying out for this book. If I can find the time to read it.

Greek for the Rest of Us: Using Greek Tools Without Mastering Biblical Greek
Years ago, the pastor of the church I was at offered a class in Biblical Greek. We started with about twenty people; at the end of the third week, we were down to three. I've forgotten about half of what I learned and would like a refresher.

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
I also adore Thomas Sowell. But do I admire him enough to read an economics textbook?

Grammar Workbook for the SAT, ACT and More
What? I enjoy messing around with stuff like this.

That's what is on the wish list, but there are millions of books to choose from, and I suffer from decision fatigue. What would you choose of the list above? better yet, what would you recommend (my fiction tastes run to mysteries (just about every sub-genre), science fiction (the not too far in the future, not obviously alien type) and suspense)?

Let me know in the comments.