Today's Deals 12/7

Don't forget to register for the gift card giveaway on Amazon's 12 Days of Book Deals promotion page. Today's book is "a best-selling history book".

Today's Audible Daily Deal is 50% Off Books by Neil Gaiman and Neil Gaiman Presents.

At Harlequin, Buy 2, get one Harlequin Presents title FREE!

Amazon's Android spotlight app is Fantasy Town (Kindle Tablet Edition) today.

Additional formats on free books:

• Ruth's First Christmas (K/N)

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon ($1.99), by John Ferling, with the companion audiobook only $3.99.

Book Description
Perhaps the most revered American of all, George Washington has long been considered a stoic leader who held himself above the fray of political infighting. What has gone unnoticed about the much-researched life of Washington is that he was in fact a consummate politician, as historian John Ferling shows in this revealing and provocative new book. As leader of the Continental Army, Washington's keen political savvy enabled him not only to outwit superior British forces, but--even more challenging--to manage the fractious and intrusive Continental Congress. Despite dire setbacks early in the war, Washington deftly outmaneuvered rival generals and defused dissent from officers below him, ending the war with the status of a national icon. His carefully burnished reputation allowed Washington, as president, to lead the country under the guise of non-partisanship for almost all of his eight years in office. Washington, Ferling argues, was not only one of America's most adroit politicians, he was easily the most successful of all time--so successful, in fact, that he is no longer thought of as having been political.

Manhattan in Reverse ($1.59 / £0.99 UK), by Peter F. Hamilton, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99).

Book Description
A major collection of short fiction from Peter F. Hamilton, New York Times bestselling author of Pandora’s Star, The Dreaming Void, and many other epic science fiction novels—including a brand-new novella starring detective Paula Myo

Fans of the Commonwealth Saga will enjoy the return of Paula Myo, the genetically engineered police investigator whose single-minded pursuit of justice runs up against a postwar citizenry eager to forget old crimes. In the all-new novella “Manhattan in Reverse,” Paula is dispatched to the backwoods planet of Menard after a docile, supposedly nonintelligent alien species attacks peaceful human settlers. Menard may have to be evacuated—something the planet’s corporate owners and human populace are prepared to resist . . . perhaps with targeted aggression.

Violence hits closer to home in “The Demon Trap” in which Paula’s investigation of a gruesome act of terrorism leads into unexpected political, technological, and philosophical waters, threatening the course of human evolution.

Time travel has never been so tricky—or so deadly—as it is in “If at First . . .,” in which Metropolitan Police detective David Lanson finds himself matching wits with a sociopath who might very well be from the future . . . or, at least, a future.

“Blessed by an Angel” is set in the Commonwealth Universe of the Void trilogy and features an alien visitor who offers the local human population a chance at paradise. But one species’ paradise may be another’s hell.

Three other thrilling pieces round out the collection—and showcase Peter F. Hamilton’s ability to weave scientific speculation into very human storytelling.

Stand by Me ($8.79 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Neta Jackson, is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
Sometimes the person you most need is the one least like you.

Kathryn Davies is a bright young woman from a prominent Phoenix family. But after making a leap of faith at a Christian music fest, dropping out of med school, and moving to inner city Chicago, her family all but disowns her.

When Kat discovers SouledOut Community Church, she longs to become a part of the multicultural church family. But her tendency to immediately say whatever she’s thinking steps on the toes of nearly everyone she meets—especially Avis Douglass.

Avis has a strong faith, is the principal of one of Chicago’s highest performing elementary schools, and is a founding member of SouledOut. But the country’s economic downturn has thrown both her and her husband’s jobs in question. And Avis hasn’t heard from her youngest daughter in months—an estrangement that gnaws at her every day. Where is God in this?

Kat’s flamboyant zeal for living a “radical” Christian life is a stark contrast to Avis’s more reserved faith. But in God’s timing, the two women discover they need each other in ways neither of them expected.

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is Kiss & Make Up ($1.99), by Katie D. Anderson, with companion audiobook for $4.99. In addition, purchase of this (or any) Amazon Children's Publishing book or ebook will get a matching ebook donation to the Worldreader program.

Book Description
Lip gloss addict Emerson Taylor and her best friend, Trina, have declared this year the Year of the Boy and vowed to find boyfriends. But for Emerson, there’s just one problem: she can read the mind of anyone whose lips touch hers. It’s totally creepy—and at first it seems like a curse. But Emerson soon realizes there are perks to her strange talent—like the ability to steal secrets, memories, and most importantly, test answers. If Emerson doesn’t bring up her grades soon, her days at her private school will be numbered. But kissing for grades is stickier than lip gloss, and Emerson’s about to learn some lessons not found in her textbooks—lessons about true love, and real beauty. Oh, why can’t life be as simple as choosing the perfect shade of lip gloss?

$2 Instant Amazon Instant Video Credit (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle Fire with Special Offers (KFSO):

Get $2 credit toward the purchase or rental of select digital movies in the Amazon Instant Video Store

From the home page of your KFSO, swipe the top menu to the left until you see Offers, then press/click in order to see the current offers. Click on the offer, then on the orange button to add the credit directly to your account. It's nearly instant and the next screen offers to take you to Amazon so you can spend that credit away! If you miss that screen, though, don't worry - a document about the offer will appear on your home page.

You can shop from your Kindle Fire or your PC, but you need to check for any individual product that is excluded from this (and all other) promotions, on the product detail page and I don't know if you can see that info on the mobile pages you get on the Fire itself. You must sign up by December 9 and use the credit by Dec 17.

You might as well apply this one to your account right away, since it will apply automatically to any eligible purchase.

A word about my sponsors (you!)

This message is an updated version of a post that I ran a couple of years ago and again last year. 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 few 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. So, here's the original, but updated post:

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, but not subscriptions, and other purchases, such as the Kindle itself and Gift Certificates (even if used to later buy Kindle books); of course, any percentage of zero would still be zero, for free books. Using the links on these pages won't cost you anything extra, but helps support my efforts in keeping the blog updated, as does using the Amazon search box on the side menu when making non-Kindle book purchases at Amazon (for that matter, just click any link to Amazon, in any blog post and shop as you normally do). I also make a tiny amount from referrals to some other ebookstores (Barnes & Noble, for non-ebook purchases only, Kobo, and Smashwords, mostly). Many of the other bargains I post are not affiliate linked - PDF files, free books at Sony, Christian audio, eHarlequin, deals at Books on Board 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; I will miss Fictionwise, as that was my other go-to bookstore for 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. Hopefully in the next year, we'll see the demise of most of the Agency agreements, if not all of them, and even get a bit of a refund on the purchases we made in the last few years, from these publishers.

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, amazonsupply.com or myhabit.com.

Today's Deals 12/6

Don't forget to register for the gift card giveaway on Amazon's 12 Days of Book Deals promotion page. Today's book is a Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy [Hardcover], Ken Follett for $4.99.

Today's Audible Daily Deal is Book-to-Movie Adaptations for $5.95 each (15 to choose from).

At Harlequin, get The Defender by Lindsay McKenna FREE with any non-ebook purchase, using coupon code LMDEFENDER12

Share an Amazon ad on Facebook and Amazon will give you $5 of any $25 purchase (expires 11:59 PM PST on Sunday, December 9, 2012; This promotion excludes Kindle devices, digital downloads and gift card purchases).

Publisher Moody is having a contest to win “Putting God Back in the Holidays” by Bill and Penny Thrasher (requires Twitter or Facebook).

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Stanley Goes for a Drive ($1.99), by Craig Frazier.

Book Description
One hot day, Stanley sets out for a drive with little on his mind. The road is dusty, the pond dry, the cows hot and tired -- a usual summer day...or is it? In his first book for children, renowned graphic designer Craig Frazier has combined bold, dynamic illustrations with a simple story that celebrates the imagination and the art of looking at the world in your own way.

Grade Level: P and up

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Black Diamond ($1.99), by John F. Dobbyn; the companion audiobook is $8.99.

Book Description
Michael Knight and Lex Devlin agree to defend a jockey accused of murdering a fellow jockey during a race at Boston's Suffolk Downs. Michael's expertise in the machinations of the horse racing game is expected to serve them well. But a personal attachment to the murdered jockey thrusts Michael and Lex into the midst of conflict between Boston's Irish mafia and remnants of the terrorist branch of the Irish Republican Army. Now they are in the crosshairs of both, and the brutality of these combatants knows no bounds. As Michael and Lex uncover layer after layer of deceptions involved in the seamier side of horse racing, they become more dangerous to the gangs. In action that shuttles between Ireland and Boston, the lives of the lawyers as well as those close to them are in the gravest danger and the criminals show no mercy in their quest to put an end to this threat. As their investigation hurtles forward, it could end a wonderful law partnership due to the absence of living partners.

Secret State ($1.59 / £0.99 UK), by Chris Mullin, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $5.72).

Book Description
A VERY BRITISH COUP

The taut, powerful, all-too-plausible story about a democracy attacked from within When plain-spoken, charismatic former steelworker Harry Perkins becomes prime minister in a landslide Labour Party victory, his socialist agenda horrifies the entrenched ruling class and the right-wing media. As Perkins presses ahead with plans to close down U.S. military bases, break up newspaper monopolies and dismantle British nuclear weapons, the establishment and its American allies conspire in a brutal back-room struggle to regain control. Starring Ray McAnally (A Perfect Spy, My Left Foot), this PBS Masterpiece Theatre miniseries won an International Emmy Award, three top British television awards and the Banff Television Festival grand prize.

Wildest Dreams ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Rosanne Bittner, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
With more than 7 million books in print, RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award-winning author Roseanne Bittner is beloved by fans for her powerful, epic historical romances.

Lettie MacBride knew that joining a wagon train heading West was her chance to begin anew, far from the devastating memories of the night that had changed her forever. She didn't believe she could escape the pain of innocence lost or feel desire for any man...until she meets Luke Fontaine.

Haunted by his own secrets, Luke could never blame Lettie for what had happened in the past. One glance at the pretty red-haired lass was enough to fill the handsome, hard-driving pioneer with a savage hunger.

Against relentless snows, murderous desperadoes, and raiding Sioux, Luke and Lettie will face a heartrending choice: abandon a lawless land before it destroys them, or fight for their...Wildest Dreams.

Today's Deals 12/5

Don't forget to register for the gift card giveaway on Amazon's 12 Days of Book Deals promotion page. Today's book is a "best-selling cookbook (hardcover edition)".

Today's Audible Daily Deal is a The Round House, by Louise Erdrich, for $7.95. Members with a subscription and credits get a bonus today, the Award Winners 3-for-2 Sale. For those in the UK, you can get Tom Baker Reads 'A Christmas Carol', by Charles Dickens, £0.99.

At Harlequin, get a free recipe from Sheila Roberts!

At BooksonBoard, get 50% off (plus 8% rewards, where eligible) on no-Agency titles using coupon code sugarplums.

Over at Kobo, Bargainmoose40 is still working for 40% off any non-Agency title (may be used multiple times).

If you have a PeiWei restaurant in your area, you can get a coupon for Buy One, Get One Free by watching a video and entering your email address (the coupon comes via email).

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Gathering of Waters ($1.99), by Bernice L. McFadden.

Book Description
Gathering of Waters is a deeply engrossing tale narrated by the town of Money, Mississippi--a site both significant and infamous in our collective story as a nation. Money is personified in this haunting story, which chronicles its troubled history following the arrival of the Hilson and Bryant families.

Tass Hilson and Emmett Till were young and in love when Emmett was brutally murdered in 1955. Anxious to escape the town, Tass marries Maximillian May and relocates to Detroit.

Forty years later, after the death of her husband, Tass returns to Money and fantasy takes flesh when Emmett Till's spirit is finally released from the dank, dark waters of the Tallahatchie River. The two lovers are reunited, bringing the story to an enchanting and profound conclusion.

Gathering of Waters mines the truth about Money, Mississippi, as well as the town's families, and threads their history over decades. The bare-bones realism--both disturbing and riveting--combined with a magical realm in which ghosts have the final say, is reminiscent of Toni Morrison's Beloved.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (£0.99 UK), by Marina Lewycka, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $12.99).

Book Description
Winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and shortlisted for The Orange Prize for Fiction 2005.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is bestselling author Marina Lewycka's hilarious and award winning debut novel.

'Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamorous blonde Ukrainian divorcee. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade, churning up the murky water, bringing to the surface a sludge of sloughed-off memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside.'

Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must aside a lifetime of feuding to save their emigre engineer father from voluptuous gold-digger Valentina. With her proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine, she will stop at nothing in her pursuit of Western wealth.

But the sisters' campaign to oust Valentina unearths family secrets, uncovers fifty years of Europe's darkest history and sends them back to roots they'd much rather forget . . .

Night Game ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the second novel in Kirk Russell's John Marquez series, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
The discovery of thousands of empty abalone shells and two murdered divers sends Lieutenant John Marquez's poaching investigation in a new-and very risky-direction. Former DEA agent and now head of a special operations unit of the California Department of Fish and Game, Marquez learns he himself has been targeted as the next victim. Stalking him is Kline, a vicious drug smuggler turned abalone smuggler who has a vendetta against Marquez.

John Marquez is supposed to protect wildlife, not solve murders, but the only way he can break the multi-million-dollar abalone-smuggling ring, as well as save his own life, is to find and stop Kline. A fast-paced crime novel set along the majestic Northern California coastline, Shell Games introduces a tough, complex, and appealing hero.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Animal Fair ($1.99), by Ponder Goembel.

Book Description
In this adaptation of the popular children’s song “Animal Fair,” there are all kinds of animals doing silly things! The big baboon is combing his hair, the kangaroos are rattling spoons, the bears are juggling pears, and the chimps are swinging on the trapeze. Can you guess what happens to the mischievous monk . . . the monk, the monk, the monk? Cheerful illustrations bring this lively rendition to life.

Grade Level: Pre-K and up