I am not a huge fan of shopping, I look on the task as one of life's distasteful necessities, like kissing old relatives who smell like moth balls, Windex, and rose water (heavy on the rose water); it's just something you've got to do.

In the case of the smelly old relatives, well, they only come around every once in a while, and, once you get past the hugs and kisses, they can actually be kind of fun. Shopping, on the other hand, is a necessity that keeps on needing, and stores are designed to take advantage of people like me. They put items that they want us to be sure and see right there at the store's entrance or at the ends of aisles along major walkways, stuff that we might buy on impulse. (OOOOoo, a Nintendo Wii! Cool, spicy Spam! Sweet, a Bose SoundDock! Wow-wee, shitake mushrooms! Gimme, gimme, gimme!)

Sometimes the items on prominent display have sale signs plastered all over them to make us think we are really getting a good deal. Sometimes you do get a good deal, sometimes you don't, but you can be sure that if you buy it, the store profits nicely (which is fine in my book, but I don't want to fund some store execs divorce with my purchase of shitake mushrooms).

Those of you who like to shop however, know that if we look past the glitzy displays we can often find some real bargain hidden away in some dusty back corner. You have to be careful here too, because the store has deeply discounted those "bargains" for a reason. (Do you honestly need to have a FM shower radio shaped like the state of Wisconsin?)

Shopping at the iTunes Music store can be equally adventurous. Apple displays all of its cool new wares prominently at the online entrance, but just like its brick and mortar counterparts, if you poke around in the iTunes Store you can find some real bargains. In fact, calling your attention to the iTunes Store's equivalent of K-Mart's Blue Light Specials is what this 'Free on iTunes' series is all about, but I have to admit, until now I've taken the lazy way out and have been pointing out the easy stuff. This week, mainly because there really isn't a lot of easy stuff to point out, I've dug a little deeper to call your attention to some of the free bargains buried in the back aisles of the iTunes Store.

Kara's Free Audiobooks

Ms. Shallenberg does a wonderful job reading the stories, but be mindful that the vocabulary used in the stories is very dated, and you may wind up explaining what a sexton is (the groundskeeper of a church), or a hamlet (a small village), and other odd words and phrases to younger children.

I would also suggest that you stick to the shorter stories, or dole out the longer ones in small pieces; children today have shorter attention spans, and the stories can take a while to build momentum.

If you are looking for something with a bit more bite, may I suggest Forever Fifteen, a story about a girl who is a vampire and will never physically age past fifteen. The story is written by Kimberly Steele, who offers the audio version for free.

Forever Fifteen

I didn't get too far into the story before realizing that it is not for me, but then, I'm not a huge fan of the Nancy Drew mysteries either. I did get far enough to be able to report that Forever Fifteen should be a welcomed addition to any young girl's iTunes library, and you really can't argue about the price.

Please note that both of these recommendations are found in the Podcast section of the iTunes Store.

So, shopping around can yield treasures if you are of the disposition to do so. I'm not, but those of you who don't mind poking and prodding can walk away with some really nice stuff.

This week's free offerings on iTunes (With direct links)