Free Book - 2012 and Beyond (K/N)

Update: 3/7/12 Now free in Spanish from Amazon and B&N.
Update: 12/7/11 Now free from Barnes & Noble.

2012 and Beyond (English/Spanish), by Yehuda Berg, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Drawing wisdom from the Zohar, this short kabbalistic text redefines this legendary period of time as a window for individuals and communities to reach “messiah consciousness.” That means it’s up to people, not some celestial savior, to ignite global change. All the natural disasters poverty, revolutions, anarchy, are wake-up calls to a fragmented humanity. The end is near, but as Yehuda explains this really means “the end of dominance of the human ego. In its place we will experience the unleashing of our true selves – the illuminated human soul.” There must be a critical mass, a certain threshold of transformation to capitalize on this window, and when that occurs, the peoples of the world will function as one body while still appreciating our differences. Our collective minds have the power to bring an end to negative consciousness and birth a new existence right now.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble (English/Spanish).

A word about my sponsors (you!)

This message is an updated version of a post that I ran a couple of years ago (has it been that long? Really?). Since the original post, Amazon has added Kindle eBooks to their list of referral eligible products (instead, Android Apps are now excluded) and I've actually made enough referrals from some of the non-Amazon affiliate programs to buy dinner now and then. So, I've edited the original post a bit(and fixed a couple of typos), but it mostly still applies as well today as it did then. I gave up posting my Book Budget some time back, as the ones I purchased were being swamped by the free books on Kindle. I still buy more books than I manage to read, what with free books, $1 KSO books and books bought for others in the household.

As the holiday season approaches, a commercial reminder/note for readers of this blog. As you may (or may not) know, Amazon pays what they now call advertising fees for referrals on Kindle books (of course, any percentage of zero would still be zero, for free books) and 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 (Barnes & Noble, Kobo, eHarlequin and Smashwords, mostly). 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 no 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, with more being bought than I manage to read (just like with my paper library). I do post some reviews (although not for every book I read). Some of these books are 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 usually just let the author know and pass on writing a review).

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 right sidebar); these are also very much appreciated (and are usually immediately spent on more books, especially now that Kobo takes PayPal).

Thank you to all that read the blog, whether it's on the web site, on Kindle, the RSS feed or following on Facebook or 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 competition amongst ereader devices (just as there was in the BluRay/HD war a few years back), even though the Apple and Agency publishers have taken a number of steps to eliminate that competition. Even as the Agency publishers have stifled competition amongst ebookstores (and withdrawn from libraries, in some instances), they have found they still have to compete for readers and for your money, both against other entertainment options (television, movies, video games, etc) and against the proliferation of other reading choices that we now have. More open e-publishing also has benefited readers and the many authors who have been able to bring their backlists in to "print", either directly or thru a number of small publishers that have sprung up in the last few years.

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, endless.com, smallparts.com or myhabit.com.

Today's Deals

I've added the Free Android App of the Day on the right sidebar, along with the Free MP3 of the Day. Today's app is a calendar and task manager that syncs with Google Calendar and Tasks (although apparently a few reviewers could not figure out how to do so, others report success). The App changes every day and I know it's easy to forget to check to see what it is (I have too, once or twice).

Unraveling Anne ($1.99), by Laurel Saville, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
“After all, this is my mother we’re talking about. As her daughter, I belonged to her; as my mother, she also belongs to me. I don’t have her anymore, but I still have her story.”

In 1950s Los Angeles, Anne Ford was the epitome of the California golden girl, a former beauty queen and model-turned-fashion designer whose success and charm were legendary. So how is it possible that such a woman could die in squalor, an alcoholic street person brutally murdered in a burnt-out West Hollywood building?

In searching for answers to the heartbreaking trajectory of her mother’s life, writer Laurel Saville plumbed the depths of Anne’s troubled past and her own eccentric childhood to untangle the truth of an exceptional, yet tragic, existence. What she discovered was a woman who was beautiful, well-educated, and talented—yet tormented by internal demons and no match for the hedonistic culture of Southern California in the 1960s and 70s.

With unflinching honesty and stirring compassion, Saville struggles to reconcile the two faces her mother presented the world: the glamour-girl-about-town the public saw and the unpredictable, bitter alcoholic her children knew. Most importantly, Saville explores how what we bring forward from previous generations can shape our own lives, and how compassion and love for a difficult parent can be a person’s bridge to a better life.

Breakfast with Socrates ($1.54 / £0.99 UK), by Robert Rowland Smith, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99).

Book Description
What does it mean to be awake? What exactly is therapeutic about retail therapy? And what are you really working on when you're at your desk, in the gym, or having dinner? From getting ready in the morning, through heading to work, going to a party, having sex and falling back to sleep, Breakfast with Socrates provides an hour-by-hour commentary on what history's greatest philosophers have said about the meaning behind everything we do. A fascinating exploration of our daily lives, Breakfast with Socrates also draws on literature, art, politics and psychology to offer an informal introduction to the history of ideas that will help anyone to think more healthily. Breakfast will never be the same again...

The Pacific War: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima ($3.95 Kindle, B&N), by Daniel Marston, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
A new ... edition of one of the bestselling World War II Osprey titles, The Pacific War Companion brings together the perspectives and insights of world-renowned military historians. From the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor through the release of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the conflict in the Pacific was marked by amazing tactical innovations, such as those in amphibious warfare, and horrific battles that raged in the unforgiving climate of the island jungles. Each chapter in this book focuses on a different aspect of this conflict, from the planning of operations to the experiences of the men who were there.

Free Book (Kindle) - Dead Air

Dead Air: A Sammy Greene Thriller, by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Talk is cheap, but when this radio host takes action, she may pay the ultimate price.An outspoken, brash, native New Yorker, Sammy Greene isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers at Ellsford University, her ultraconservative New England college. Host of The Hot Line, a talk-radio show on campus station WELL, Sammy tackles the toughest, most controversial issues facing Ellsford's students.

When Sammy discovers the body of Dr. Burton Conrad, one of Ellsford's most esteemed professors, her journalistic drive kicks in and she sets out to discover what happened to the beloved professor. But when several Ellsford students mysteriously disappear, Sammy realizes she's uncovered the seamy, terrifying underbellyof this prestigious institute of higher education.

With the entire campus in peril, and demons from her past close behind, Sammy Greene must race to find answers. Along the way, she'll discover some unlikely allies-and even more unlikely enemies.

If Sammy isn't careful, someone is going to make sure that she signs off-for good.

Free Book (Kindle) - The Fallen

The Fallen, the third in the Derek Stillwater series by Mark Terry, is free in the Kindle store.

Book Description
Twenty world leaders meet for the G8 Summit at the beautiful Cheyenne Resort in Colorado Springs. But an ugly plot lurks beneath the surface: a terrorist group, The Fallen Angels, plans to wreak havoc on the Summit.

With the Secret Service, the FBI, Homeland Security, the military, and security from twenty different governments on-hand, shouldn't the resort be the safest place in the world?

It seems impossible that a terrorist group could infiltrate the Summit. And yet they do. Within minutes, twenty world leaders are taken hostage, and Richard Coffee, the group's leader, makes his first demand: release twenty detainees from Guantanamo Bay, or he'll execute one leader each hour until his demands are met.

Only one man can disrupt this plot. Derek Stillwater is that man.Working undercover as a maintenance man at the resort, Stillwater will wage war on the world's deadliest, most sophisticated terrorist organization, picking off the terrorists one by one-until he comes face-to-face with an evil force from his past, Richard Coffee, The Fallen Angel himself.