A word about my sponsors (you!)

As the holiday season approaches, a commercial reminder/note for readers of this blog. As you may (or may not) know, Amazon does not pay affiliate fees for referrals on Kindle books (of course, any percentage of zero would still be zero, for free books). They do, however, pay referral fees on other purchases, such as the Kindle itself and Gift Certificates (even if used to later buy Kindle books). Using the links on this blog helps support it, as does using the Amazon search box on the side menu when making non-Kindle book purchases at Amazon. I also make a tiny amount from referrals to some other ebookstores (at last count, I was up to $9 at Smashwords, so might even get a check from them in the next four or five years). I think Harlequin said I'd make a few pennies there, as well (again, most of these affiliate sites only pay after meeting a minimum level, so perhaps I'll get a few dollars from them, some day). Many of the other bargains I post are not affiliate linked - PDF files, free books at Sony, Christian audio, etc., deals at Fictionwise and so on. I post the bargains as I find them (or as you send in tips; thanks to those of you that do), regardless of where they are located.

I've had a few people ask if I've read every bargain book I post. No, I don't - there is now way I physically could do so (I haven't even read thru all the free books Amazon has given us), even if I could afford to do so. I do purchase and read some (which reminds me, I need to update my Book Budget postings, which show the Amazon purchases, although not purchases from other stores), with more being bought than I manage to read. I do post some reviews (although not for every book I read). Some of those books were provided by the publisher or author and some of them are books I've purchased myself. I have quite a stack of both and limited reading time, so make no promises on reviews for those who send them (and never guarantee a favorable review ... although if a book is one I can't get thru, I'll just let them know and pass on a review, as the problem may be that my tastes simply don't run to the genre or a book rubs me the wrong way, rather than it's a poorly written attempt). If you are an author or publisher and wish to send me a book for review, you can contact me on my gmail account (use the name of this blog, with no spaces). I prefer mobi formatted ebooks, but do review paper copies and other ebooks that I can reformat to read on the Kindle or Kindle DX (so, some PDF's will work fine). Just check with me first, as there are some genres that I simply don't read.

Feel free to use (or not) the links in my posts or on the blog menus when making Amazon purchases; these do help support my efforts (at no additional cost to you) and are greatly appreciated. A few of you have also sent direct PayPal donations (the link is on the menu to the left). These are also very much appreciated (and were immediately spent on more books, usually at Smashwords). Thank you to all that read the blog, whether it's on the web site, the RSS or Kindle feed or following on twitter. I hope you have a great holiday season and promise that I'll keep posting the bargains I find, to help you stretch the holiday budget. I suspect the free reads and big discounts will continue so long as there is hot competition amongst ereader devices (just as there was in the BluRay/HD war a few years back).

Books on the Knob is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com or endless.com.