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book covers for
The best early Black Friday book deals:
Best overall
Buy one, get one 50% off books
Select hardcovers and paperbacks
book covers for "Broken Country," "Buckeye," and "The Nightingale"
Best hardcover book deal
"The Women" by Kristin Hannah
$12.51 (save $17.59)
book cover for "The Women" by Kristin Hannah
Best paperback deal
"Final Girls" by Riley Sager
$7.12 (save $11.88)
"Final Girls" book cover by Riley Sager
Best Kindle book deal
"All Her Fault" by Andrea Mara
$0.99 (save $4)
"All Her Fault" book cover by Andrea Mara

If you're looking to stack your TBR list for cozy season — or help someone else stack theirs — it's time to get going. Although Black Friday is technically on Nov. 28, there are plenty of book deals you can shop early.

While I'm still not overly impressed by Kindle edition and hardcover deals, there are some pretty impressive discounts on paperbacks that are already live. I compared the prices with those from Amazon's October Prime Day and only included titles that are worthy of the "Black Friday deal" stamp. I'll be keeping an eye out for new deals to drop as we get closer to Black Friday proper — particularly on some of 2025's bestsellers and BookTok favorites. But for now, I've rounded up some of the top early Black Friday book deals you can already add to your cart.

Also of note: Amazon is offering three months of Kindle Unlimited for only 99 cents (save $35.97) and three months of Audible Premium Plus for 99 cents per month plus a $20 credit (save $41.88) to new and returning subscribers. Kindle devices are also chilling at new all-time low prices (be sure to check out our e-reader expert's top picks). You can follow along with all of the best deals in Mashable's Black Friday hub.

Best early Black Friday book deal

book covers for "Broken Country," "Buckeye," and "The Nightingale"
Credit: Amazon
Buy one, get one 50% off books
Select hardcovers and paperbacks

Why we like it

Most of the books on Goodreads' and Amazon's top books of 2025 lists haven't gotten the deal treatment yet. Sure, they're slightly discounted, but I think they can do better. In the meantime, the best way you can save some money on some of this year's bestsellers and BookTok favorites is with this BOGO deal at Amazon. With over 1,000 included titles, you'll save 50% on one book when you purchase two from the list of select hardcovers and paperbacks. Some notable titles included in the list are Buckeye by Patrick Ryan, Broken County by Clare Leslie Hall, The Names by Florence Knapp, and Heart the Lover by Lily King. To secure the savings, just add any two titles from the sale page to your cart, and the offer will automatically be applied at checkout.

Paperback book deals

Hardcover book deals

Kindle book deals



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Apple Watches on display

The latest version of iOS will somewhat negatively affect Apple Watch users in the European Union.

Specifically, automatic WiFi network syncing between iPhones and Apple Watches will be toned down for EU users when iOS 26.2 launches later this year, per the French publication Numerama (via 9to5Mac). Normally, when you set up an Apple Watch by pairing it with an iPhone, it automatically gets access to all the WiFi networks stored in the phone's memory banks. When iOS 26.2 drops, users in the EU will find that this no longer happens in the same way.

SEE ALSO: How to use Apple Pay on Amazon when Black Friday shopping

Namely, the difference seems to be that an Apple Watch will only automatically connect to a WiFi network if its paired iPhone is physically nearby. If you run to the cafe with your watch but not your phone, you'll have to manually type in the WiFi password on the watch now. This really only seems like it will affect people who regularly leave the house with their Apple Watch but not their iPhone, which I imagine to be a pretty small subset of users.

You're probably wondering why Apple would do this. The answer, of course, is to avoid market regulations. The EU's Digital Markets Act mandates that companies like Apple make that sort of interoperability available to third-party devices as well as their own devices. Apple doesn't want to do that, so Europeans have to suffer a bit.

Only a bit, though.



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the inside of the tesla diner

Elon Musk's Tesla Diner — the billionaire's shiny, UFO-shaped restaurant in Los Angeles — may be in the market for a new chef.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that chef and co-operator Eric Greenspan is leaving the project. The chef said that he was leaving to focus on opening his new spot, a Jewish deli, but the paper also noted he faced stark pushback for joining forces with Musk.

"I am leaving the Tesla Diner project to focus on the opening of Mish, my long-desired Jewish deli," Greenspan told the LA Times in a text message. "Projects like Mish and the Tesla Diner require a sharpness of focus and attention, and my focus and attention is now squarely on Mish."

Mashable visited the Tesla Diner back in August, which serves the classics — burgers, fries, shakes, etc. — but with Muskified names. So you get items like "electric sauce," "autopilot avocado toast," a "giga burger," and now-defunct "epic bacon." The food did earn decent reviews from Mashable editor Neal Broverman, even if it felt overpriced for the portion size.

This isn't the first big change at the Tesla Diner. Shortly after the diner's opening, patrons noticed that the menu had been scaled back — thus the goodbye to "epic bacon." The LA Times also reported that the diner was looking to move to a full-service model — for the time being, you order at a tablet and get counter service. And, of course, now the chef has left.

In short: It seems quite unclear what the future holds for Musk's futuristic restaurant.



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Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc

If fears of an AI bubble bursting were already keeping people up at night, recent comments from Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai certainly won't help.

The Google chief sat down with the BBC for an exclusive interview to talk all things AI — from energy demands to UK investment to the future of jobs. But the most striking moment came when Pichai admitted that if the AI bubble does burst, no one is safe.

"I think no company is going to be immune, including us," he told the BBC.

In the interview, Pichai said that while the AI sector has seen tremendous growth, there's also a lot of "irrationality" fueling the boom as valuations and investments rocket upward. He warned that the industry can "overshoot" during hype cycles like this, drawing a direct parallel to the dot-com boom and bust of the late 90s and early 2000s.

The dot-com era saw early internet companies skyrocket in value on pure optimism, only for the bubble to burst in 2000, wiping out hundreds of companies and countless jobs.

The concern now is that AI may follow a similar trajectory. Big Tech valuations have surged in recent months: Alphabet has reached a valuation of $3.5 trillion, OpenAI has reportedly hit a $500 billion valuation, and NVIDIA has become the first company to ever surpass the $5 trillion mark.

But cracks are beginning to show. In the past few weeks, several major investors have started offloading NVIDIA stock. On Monday, it was reported that Peter Thiel's hedge fund exited its entire $94 million position. Even more eyebrow-raising, Michael Burry — famous for predicting the 2007-08 mortgage crisis — is reportedly betting against NVIDIA and Palantir.

Despite all this, Pichai himself appears largely unfazed.

"We can look back at the internet right now. There was clearly a lot of excess investment, but none of us would question whether the internet was profound," he told the BBC. "I expect AI to be the same. So I think it's both rational and there are elements of irrationality through a moment like this."



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Apple CEO Tim Cook

The end of an era is coming in 2026 for Apple – maybe?

According to a new report from the Financial Times, Apple is currently making plans for Tim Cook to step down as CEO. And it could be happening next year.

Apple's plans are not related to performance issues or any sort of negative outlook for the company, according to the outlet's sources. In fact, Apple is expecting to break sales records this holiday season.

SEE ALSO: Apple expects record sales for the holidays

Cook has been CEO of Apple for nearly a decade and a half and led the company during one of its most trying times. He took over the position after Apple founder Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO in August 2011 due to medical reasons. Jobs died in October of that year. 

John Ternus, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineers, is considered the likely favorite to take over the reins from Cook. However, no final decision of a new Apple CEO has been made. Ternus has been with the company since 2001 and would be the same age, 50, as Cook was when he became CEO 14 years ago. 

Ternus has been more visible as of late at the Apple keynote events, potentially being prepared to eventually step in as CEO. He most recently introduced the new iPhone Air at September's Apple event.

As the Financial Times points out, Cook has previously shared that Apple has “very detailed succession plans." Apple has lost some key executives this year as both Apple's chief financial officer Luca Maestri and Apple's chief operating officer Jeff Williams left the company. Both were considered close to Cook.

Bloomberg's Apple insider Mark Gurman previously reported that Ternus was being looked at as Tim Cook's successor. However, in response to the Financial Times report, Gurman shared that there is nothing on his radar pointing to Cook stepping down anytime soon.

But, if Cook was to step down as Apple CEO next year, don't expect him to do so before the earnings report in January 2026, which would cover how the company did during the holiday season, according to the Financial Times. However, anytime after the earnings report appears to be fair game and an early transition would get the CEO comfortable before Apple's big keynote events, starting with the WWDC in June.



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Hurdle game on a smartphone

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers

Hurdle Word 1 hint

To tease.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

TAUNT

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A large boar.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for November 17, 2025

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

YACHT

Hurdle Word 3 hint

To swell.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for November 17
SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for November 17, 2025

Hurdle Word 3 answer

BLOAT

Hurdle Word 4 hint

An Italian game.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for November 17

Hurdle Word 4 answer

BOCCE

Final Hurdle hint

To speak.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable

Hurdle Word 5 answer

ORATE

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.



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Rhea Seehorn in

Dreams really can come true. In some cases, that looks like landing the job you've always wanted, or finding the love of your life. In my case, that looks like reading an excerpt of a made-up romantasy novel from a TV show.

That show is Vince Gilligan and Apple TV's sci-fi series, Pluribus, and that novel is none other than Bloodsong of Wycaro by Carol Sturka (played by Rhea Seehorn).

SEE ALSO: 'Pluribus' review: I can't tell you much about Vince Gilligan's sci-fi series, but what I can say is glowing

As viewers learn in the Pluribus premiere, Bloodsong of Wycaro is "the fourth book in [Carol's] Winds of Wycaro trilogy." The series as a whole is a bestselling phenomenon, with diehard fans eager to see how the high-stakes romance between Captain Lucasia and corsair Raban unfolds. Carol hates the fans and her work, but that didn't stop me from hoping the Wycaro books could somehow become a reality.

And now they have! Kind of.

Apple Books has released a free chapter from Bloodsong of Wycaro, one that reunites Lucasia with Raban in an island cave. The entire excerpt is a spot-on pastiche of historical fantasy, complete with otherworldly jargon and overly descriptive passages. You can imagine Carol rolling her eyes at herself as she writes about sandy cyclocanes and painful moonsburn. Still, though, it's tough not to get sucked into Lucasia and Raban's story, even without the context of three other books to guide us.

SEE ALSO: Carol's books in 'Pluribus' aren't real, but I need them to be

However, the most fascinating part of the Bloodsong of Wycaro excerpt is the letter from Carol at the beginning. In the letter, Carol reveals that she's releasing this excerpt to appease the hordes of "Rabasia" shippers who are angry that Raban (presumed dead after walking the plank) is not on the cover.

"You know I am on record for despising 'spoilers' in any form, that my preference would be to let events unfold in their own time through Lucasia’s anguished eyes. But I also understand that’s not everyone’s preference," Carol writes in the letter. "Different strokes for different folks. How hellish would the world be if we all thought exactly the same?!"

Of course, the entire world thinking the same is precisely the hell that awaits Carol in Pluribus, where she is one of the sole humans unaffected by the happiness hive mind. That line is a darkly tongue-in-cheek reminder of what's to come for her. The same goes for the beginning of the letter, which reveals that Carol is finishing up the final leg of the Bloodsong of Wycaro tour. In Pluribus, the worldwide joining of the hive mind happens right after finishing the tour, which means that as of writing this letter and publishing the excerpt, Carol only has a short amount of time left before the world as she knows it vanishes.

For more foreshadowing and excellent fantasy parody, check out the full excerpt from Bloodsong of Wycaro.

Bloodsong of Wycaro is free to download on Apple Books. Pluribus is now streaming on Apple TV, with a new episode every Friday.



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