Free Kindle Books – Full List at Amazon

• The full list of new free kindle books at Amazon.

Free Kindle Books – Romance

1. Donovan’s Angel (The Donovans of the Delta) by Peggy Webb. Price: Free. Genre: Contemporary Romance. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 683 kb in size, or about 340 pages.
2. *Tracking Shadows (Shadows of Justice) by Regan Black. Price: Free. Genre: Paranormal Romance. Rated 4.5 stars on 14 reviews. 304 pages.
3. What the Heart Wants (Soulmate Series: Book One) by Kelli McCracken. Price: Free. Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Future & Ghost. Rated 4 stars on 29 reviews. 558 kb in size, so around 275 pages.
4. *Almost Perfect (Perfect Trilogy) by Julie Ortolon. Price: $0. Genre: Contemporary Romance. Rated 4 stars on 67 reviews. 298 pages.
5. Rules of Engagement by Ann Bruce. Price: $0. Genre: Novella, Romantic Suspense. Rated 4.5 stars on 2 reviews. Kudos to the cover photographer – Didn’t know it was possible to make a woman in handcuffs and underwear look boring. Might be just 50 to 100 pages by the size of it.
6. A Hint of Rapture by Miriam Minger. Price: $0. Genre: Romance, Raptire, Highland Romance, Historical Romance. Rated 4 stars on 29 reviews. The girl on the cover’s alright. 543 kb so perhaps 180 to 220 pages.
7. *Before the Midnight Bells (Once Upon a Romance) by Jessica Woodard. Price: $0. Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Historical Romance. Rated 5 stars on 11 reviews. 178 pages. Always wonder about the part where the Prince is checking whether Cinderella’s shoe fits – what must her shoe size be, for her to be the only girl in the Kingdom who fits her shoe?

Free Kindle Books – Thrillers & Mysteries

1. **The Lonely Mile by Allan Leverone. Price: $0. Genre: Suspense Thriller. Rated 4.5 stars on 31 reviews. 310 pages. The Author is a three-time Derringer Award finalist for excellence in short mystery fiction and a 2011 Pushcart Prize nominee.
2. Simon Said (The Professor Simon Shaw Murder Mysteries) by Sarah Shaber. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Historical. Rated 4 stars on 16 reviews. 313 kb in size, or about 150 pages.
3. *Grave Situation by Alex MacLean. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Police Procedurals. Rated 4 stars on 23 reviews. 864 kb in size, or about 430 pages. Not sure why I like the cover but it’s likable.
4. *Subculture by Charles Anthony Vilina. Price: Free. Genre: Thriller, Suspense. Rated 5 stars on 13 reviews. 341 kb in size, so around 170 pages.
5. *Beneath a Buried House: A Detective Elliot Mystery (Detective Elliot Mysteries) by Bob Avey. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Hard-Boiled, Police Procedurals. Rated 4.5 stars on 12 reviews. 364 kb in size, so around 180 pages.
6. [Repeat, Good] Dead Angler (Loon Lake Fishing Mystery) by Victoria Houston. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Series. Rated 4 stars on 20 reviews. 460 kb in size, so about 230 pages.
7. Stroganov (A Darby Stansfield Thriller) by Ty Hutchinson. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Police Procedurals. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 338 pages.
8. Key Lime Blues (A Wes Darling Mystery) by Mike Jastrzebski. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Action & Adventure. Rated 4 stars on 27 reviews. 318 pages.
9. *This is Life – a Jack Palms Novel (Jack Palms Crime) by Seth Harwood. Price: $0. Genre: Crime, Hard-Boiled Mystery. Rated 5 stars on 15 reviews. 427 kb so perhaps 150 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Religious

1. **Hope Beyond Hell The Righteous Purpose of God’s Judgment by D. Scott Reichard and Gerry Beauchemin. Price: Free. Genre: Christianity, Reference, Commentaries. Rated 4.5 stars on 56 reviews. 262 pages.
2. **Amish Prayers by Beverly Lewis. Price: $0. Genre: Amish, Religious. Rated 4.5 stars on 44 reviews. 139 pages.
3. *Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together by Jim Burns and Cathy Burns. Price: $0. Genre: Inspirational. Rated 4.5 stars on 27 reviews. 224 pages. There’s something very sweet and appropriate about a couple writing a book about devotions to draw couples together.

Free Kindle Books – Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror

1. ***Bio of a Space Tyrant Vol 1. Refugee by Piers Anthony. Price: $0. Genre: Science Fiction. 3-day promotion with the rest of the books in the series at just $1 each. This is what it’s come to – Piers Anthony for free and $1. Reminds me of The Kids Aren’t Alright by The Offspring. Just replace Kids with Authors.
   

   When we were young the future was so bright
   The old neighborhood was so alive
   And every kid on the whole damn street
   Was gonna make it big in every beat

2. **I Wish… (The Witches of Desire) by Wren Emerson. Price: Free. Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Love & Romance. Rated 4.5 stars on 26 reviews. 301 kb in size, so about 150 pages.
3. [Repeat, Very Good] Season Of The Harvest by Michael R. Hicks. Price: Free. Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure. Rated 4.5 stars on 107 reviews. 547 kb in size, or about 270 pages.
4. Dark Spells: Four Books by J. R. Rain & Scott Nicholson. Price: $0. Genre: Occult Horror, Fantasy. Rated 5 stars on 2 reviews.

Free Kindle Books – Historical Fiction

1. *Winston’s War: A Novel of Conspiracy by Michael Dobbs. Price: Free. Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII. Rated 4 stars on 12 reviews. 707 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Various Genres (Fiction) including Adventure

1. *An Act of Self-Defense by Erne Lewis. Price: Free. Genre: Political, Literary Fiction. Rated 5 stars on 34 reviews. 612 kb in size, so around 300 pages.
2. The Protector by Dawn Walker. Price: Free. Genre: Family. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 482 kb in size, or about 240 pages.
3. Three Scoops is a Blast! by Alex Carrick. Price: Free. Genre: Short Stories. Rated 5 stars on 8 reviews. 201 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Non Fiction

1. **Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story by Ingrid Ricks. Price: Free. Genre: Memoir. Rated 5 stars on 46 reviews. 491 kb in size, or around 245 pages.
2. **Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Film by Richard Schickel. Price: $0. Genre: Hitchcock, Biography. 346 kb so perhaps 150 pages. 
3. **One Million Arrows by Julie Ferwerda. Price: $0. Genre: Parenting, Families. Rated 5 stars on 42 reviews. 193 pages. 
4. *100 Time Savers: Cut 10 Minutes a Day from Your Schedule to Gain 60 Hours of Free Time Per Year by Robert Plank. Price: $0. Genre: Time Management. Rated 5 stars on 7 reviews. 135 pages.
5. First Year Teacher: Wit and Wisdom from Teachers Who’ve Been There by Randy Howe. Price: $0. Genre: Teacher Advice. Rated 5 stars on 2 reviews. 268 pages.
6. *31 Delicious and Nutritious Vegetarian Appetizer Recipes (The Ultimate Guide to Vegetarian Cooking) by Shelley Lynne. Price: $0. Genre: Appetizers, Cookbook. Rated 5 stars on 7 reviews.

Today’s Deal (Not Free, just Cheap)

1. Kindle Daily Deal. Well-Offed in Vermont by Amy Patricia Meade. A Cozy Mystery. $1.99.

Free Kindle Books – Full List at Amazon

1. The full list of new free kindle books at Amazon.

Free Kindle Books – Romance

1. A very strange day as the two mainstays, Romance and Religion, are missing in action.
2. Wild Horses by Misty Jean. Price: $0. Genre: Paranormal Romance, Ghosts, Her Father, A Dead Cowboy. Rated 5 stars on 3 reviews. 262 kb in size.

Free Kindle Books – Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror

1. Raven (The Raven Saga) by Suzy Turner. Price: $0. Genre: Fantasy Novel for Children. Hard to believe it’s aimed at children given how depressing the cover is. Kids, is your life too bright and overflowing with sunshine? Here, read this and be morbid instead. Rated 4.5 stars on 28 reviews. 273 pages. The woman on the cover looks like she just saw the cover for the first time. 
2. Brainstorm (Daniel McMaster Series) by Gordon Kessler. Price: $0. Genre: Science Fiction Adventure. Rated 4.5 stars on 6 reviews. 312 pages. The cover is so bad I strongly recommend placing your left hand over the top left quadrant of the screen BEFORE you click this link. Then, no matter what happens, don’t move it away until you’ve left the page. When your body physically wants to run away from the screen – that’s what it’s like. You could make a scale – Great, Good, Bad, So Bad it’s Good, So Bad it’s Horrifying. Well, this book’s cover is at the extreme right of that scale.
3. Dawn of War (Blood War Trilogy) by Tim Marquitz. Price: $0. Genre: Epic Fantasy, Visceral. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 278 pages. 

Free Kindle Books – Religious

1. The Parrot Talks in Chocolate (The Life and Times of a Hawaiian Tiki Bar #1) by Everett Peacock. Price: $0. Genre: Inspirational, Spiritual. Rated 4.5 stars on 28 reviews. 164 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Thrillers & Mysteries

1. The Last Witness by John Matthews. Price: $0. Genre: Thriller, Legal Thriller, The Largest Crime Family in Montreal, The One Man Caught in the Middle. Rated 5 stars on 1 review.
2. Nick Aldo Mysteries (Escaping the Rain) by Jeremy Drummond. Price: $0. Genre: Short Story. 25 pages. 
3. The Talent by B. Remi Boembeke. Price: $0. Genre: Action & Adventure, An Assassin with Assassins behind him. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 227 pages. 
4. Petals of Canna by John L. Evans. Price: $0. Genre: Aviation Adventure, Story of Intrigue and Romance in the Amazon rainforest. Rated 5 stars on 3 reviews. The author’s write-up is well worth reading too. 330 kb in size.
5. CON TEST: Double Life by Rahiem Brooks. Price: $0. Genre: Thriller. Rated 4.5 stars on 15 reviews.
6. Left With the Dead (A “Gathering Dead” Novella) by Stephen Knight. Price: $0. Genre: Occult Horror, Military Thriller, The Dead. 83 pages. Rated 5 stars on 21 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Various Genres (Fiction)

1. The Grimm Curse (Once Upon a Time is Now) by Stephen Carpenter. Price: $0. Genre: Children’s Books, Mythology, Action & Adventure, A living descendant of the brothers Grimm. Rated 4 stars on 23 reviews. 83 pages.
2. The Protector by Dawn Walker. Price: $0. Genre: Drama, Love, A Woman and Her Niece, A Handsome Doctor. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 397 kb in size.
3. Scorpio Rising (The Scorpio Series) by Monique Domovitch. Price: $0. Genre: Family Saga, Literary Fiction, An American Saga. Rated 4.5 stars on 14 reviews. 290 kb in size.
4. Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula (Cassidy Jones Adventures, Book One) by Elise Stokes. Price: $0. Genre: Action & Adventure. 325 pages. Rated 5 stars on 53 reviews.
5. Blogging: It’s a “Woman” Thing by Cindy Adkins. Price: $0. Genre: Blogging Advice. Rated 5 stars on 14 reviews. 137 kb in size.
6. The Brit by Matt Cairone. Price: $0. Genre: An Existential Work of Literary Fiction (yes, apparently that’s supposed to impress us). Rated 5 stars on 21 reviews. 197 pages.
7. Dear Air 2000 by Terry Ravencroft. Price: $0. Genre: Humor, Letters to Airlines. Rated 5 stars on 3 reviews.
8. Beyond All Price by Carolyn Poling Schriber. Price: $0. Genre: Historical Fiction, Civil War. Rated 4.5 stars on 21 reviews. 358 pages.
9. Stumbling Forward (The Perpetual Campaign; Book 1) by Christopher Truscott. Price: $0. Genre: Political, Drama, A Congressional Race. Rated 4.5 stars on 8 reviews. 340 pages.
10. Alias Dragonfly by Jane Singer. Price: $0. Genre: Children’s Books, Spies, Intrigue. Rated 4 stars on 9 reviews. 178 pages. Bell Bridge.
11. Sophie and the Rising Sun by Augusta Trobaugh. Price: $0. Genre: Literary Fiction. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 202 pages. Bell Bridge.

Free Kindle Books – Non Fiction

1. The Cheapskate’s Guide to Grocery Savings – How to Save a Bundle at Supermarkets by Daniel Mathews. Genre: Money Management, Budgeting. Rated 3 stars on 8 reviews. 23 pages.
2. Go to College without Going Broke by Grigory Lukin. Price: $0. Genre: College Money & Time Guide. Rated 5 stars on 6 reviews. 25 pages.
3. eBay 101: Selling on eBay for Part-time or Full-Time Income by Steve Weber. Price: $0. Genre: EBay, Small Business, Entrepreneurship. Rated 4 stars on 38 reviews. 272 pages.
4. [Gone!] Instant Confidence: 92 Tips On How to Build Confidence To Develop Self-Confidence and Self Esteem by Gary Vurnum. Price: $0. Genre: Instant Confidence – Just Add Water. 100 pages. Rated 4 stars on 4 reviews. This title is like a stand-up comic’s dream. Instant Confidence – Just follow these 92 steps. How to Build Confidence … So you can develop Self-Confidence.
5. Gone!
6. Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum by Mark Stevens. Price: $0. Genre: True, Murder & Mayhem. Rated 4.5 stars on 13 reviews. 118 pages.
7. Gone!
8. What’s Next … For You? by Patricia Gussin and Robert Gussin. Price: $0. Genre: Self-Help, Happiness. Rated 4 stars on 5 reviews. 146 pages.

Today’s Deal (Not Free, just Cheap)

1. Kindle Daily Deal. Today it’s Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater. That confused me a lot – Deadly Groundwater … No Deadly Waters … No Deadly Currents. It’s an action-packed outdoor adventure cozy mystery with some family angles thrown in. Wow - talk about having a multiple personality disorder.

In no aspect is this more true than for eBooks. Finding quality should not be this difficult, nor does it have to be. The reliable resources that our technological world has afforded us are invaluable. Compiling a list of these resources and using them in optimal order will help you to find books and eBooks that suit your personal taste. The following is a list that I have composed in order to do just that.

STEP ONE: Consulting Algorithms

Some available algorithms make book recommendations based on previous book choices. They do this by searching a database of books that have been gathered by author, genre, style, and so forth.

This is the first place that you should look for a new read that suits you. The process is simple: you enter the title of a book that you enjoy and then the website will provide you with several suggestions.

Because they are so specific and personal, sometimes I find that these algorithms will lead in circles, recommending the same books and authors as you search. If you find this happening, it is time to move onto step two.

Examples:

What Should I Read Next - This basic website recommends and makes available hundreds of books based on your search.
Your Next Read - This stylish website shows 8 recommendations at a time for each book while allowing you to peruse further suggestions.

STEP TWO: Discuss with Friends or within Online Communities

I find this method provides extremely unique recommendations because human opinion can be so much more abstract than computer algorithms. If you ask someone who truly knows and understands you to suggest a book, they will probably offer something unexpected, but tailored to your specific tastes.

Online communities provide a similar service. Real people with a deep interest in literature make recommendations and if you are descriptive enough when you post, they will be able to offer excellent advice.

If you are interested in reading or writing, an active membership within these communities can be very beneficial. Not only will you help to inform other readers, but they will work to keep you informed as well.

Examples:

Good Reads - A social network oriented around reading and recommendations.
Library Thing - A community focused website on which writers and readers converge and communicate.
Nothing Binding - An independent literature focused community with unique recommendations.
Shelfari – A social media oriented website full of recommendations based on other choices.
Kindle Community – Amazon’s eBook and Kindle discussion forum.
Amazon’s Popular Highlights – A place to find the most popular passages within eBooks on the Kindle.

STEP THREE: Peruse Recommended Purchases

Like algorithms, recommended purchases from stores make personal suggestions based on book choices. The purchases of other users who bought the book you view will influence the recommendations.

This method is ideal for paid books because oftentimes free book recommendations are other unrelated free books. With paid books, however, the suggestions are usually both relevant and of similar quality to the original book viewed. I find this to be the best method for finding a large volume of books that I will love in a short period of time because every book viewed leads to more suggestions.

Examples:

Amazon - The store has consistently relevant recommendations for each book.
Barnes and Noble – Similar to Amazon, but for Nook purchases.
Kobo Books - Similar to the above, but for Kobo purchases.

STEP FOUR: Check Best or Best-Selling Book Lists by Genre or Era

After exhausting the first three methods, you should begin conducting broader searches. Searching by genre or time period is the most specific of these methods. If you enjoy a certain genre of books, then reading lists that relate will lead to fantastic finds. If you aren’t sure what genre you prefer to read, consider how your favourite television show or movie would be classified.

If searching by genre fails you, try looking at best-sellers lists from past decades. Some modern entertainment finds its inspiration on these lists. For example, people who love Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris would enjoy books from the 1920′s. Those who prefer experimental entertainment may find perfection among the 1960′s best-sellers.

Examples:

By Genre - A list of best-selling books organized by genre.
Hugo and Nebula Award Winners – A list of winners of Science Fiction awards.
Edgar Award Winners – A list of the winners of a Mystery writing award.
RITA Award Winners – A list of the winners of a Romance writing award.
By Year – A list of the best-selling novels for each decade of the twentieth century.

STEP FIVE: Browse the Catalogues of Independent Publishers

Independent publishers tend to publish books under the same style umbrella. If you find an indie book that you love, check out some other books released by the same publisher.

If you don’t often read indie books, this search will be more difficult, but still quite helpful. Researching various publishers can help you to compile a list that relates to your taste. Remember, this is a resource that you will use frequently, so it is worth taking some time to research.

Examples:

Apex Book Company – A Sci-Fi oriented independent publishing company.
OR Books – A publisher that focuses mainly on cultural and political work.
Online Originals - An online only publisher with an extensive catalogue.
Open Road – A digital format publishing company.
Rosetta Books – A hugely popular eBook publisher.
Bell Bridge Books – A southern fiction focused small press publisher.
Baen – A Sci-Fi publisher with a large free eBook catalogue.
Samhain – An erotic novel publisher.
Ellora’s Cave – An erotic and romance novel publisher.

STEP SIX: Seek Help from Twitter

Twitter has become the ultimate resource for input from others. If you have enough followers, simply asking for a suggestion could result in a plethora of choices. Book clubs and authors’ posts often include recommendations as well. Following your favourite authors and certain book clubs will provide some relevant suggestions.

Examples:

Neil Gaiman – Author of Coraline and American Gods.
Chuck Palahniuk – Author of Fight Club and Choke.
Tom Dolby – Author of Secret Society and The Trouble Boy.
NYT Twitter – The New York Times and its employees’ various Twitter accounts.
Friday Reads – Provides weekly recommendations and other reading related tweets.
The Book Club – Make recommendations and discuss literature and literary news.

STEP SEVEN: Read Reviews in Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

Each publication will offer a different perspective. For example, newspapers and magazines may use higher language than blogs, while blogs may be more honest with opinions because they are their own publisher. In any case, there are always great book recommendations.

The best way to find out if a reviewer has similar taste to you is to seek a positive review of a book that you love or a negative review of a book that you hate. These writers will provide the most relevant reviews for your library.

Again, this method is slightly more broad than those that come before it. It is always a good idea to refer back to earlier methods before moving forward with the process.

Examples:

A Work in Progress – Reviews an array of books, including biographies and mysteries.
Books I Done Read – A cleverly written blog that reviews multiple genres.
The New York Times – The go-to newspaper for literary news and information.

STEP EIGHT: Visit Libraries and Independent Bookstores

This method, like step two, provides the unique perspective of an individual. It is far down on this list because seeking eBooks is best done online. Still, librarians and the employees of independent bookstores are usually quite knowledgable and can provide the best recommendations if you are descriptive enough about your taste.

Rare and unique books may be suggested at these locations because of their penchant for housing quality. You may sometimes be disappointed to find that these books are not yet available in eBook format. In those cases, consider buying the hard copy or searching for available eBooks by the same author.

Examples:

Libraries – A list of libraries in the USA.
Bookstores – A list of independent bookstores by state.
More Bookstores – A search engine for local independent stores.

STEP NINE: Peruse General Best Books and Best-Sellers Lists

If you haven’t found anything satisfactory to read at this point of the process, it is probably time for you to open your mind to even broader searches. Best books and best-sellers lists are always made up of high quality or hugely popular books. Perusing these lists can help you to find new favourite genres, authors, and so on.

Examples:

100 Best Novels – Modern Library’s list of the top one hundred novels.
The Greatest Books – Several lists featuring the greatest books by multiple categories.
New York Times Best-Sellers – The current list of best-selling books.
Kindle Store Best-Sellers – The current list of best-selling eBooks on Amazon.
Kobo Top 50 - The daily list of best-selling eBooks on Kobo.
Barnes and Noble Best-Sellers – The up-to-date list of best-sellers on Barnes and Noble.
Top 100 Nook Books – The current best-selling eBooks for the Nook.

STEP TEN: Browse Free Book Catalogues
This, the final step, requires reverting to search methods similar to the old. If you have gotten here, using the search functions available is probably useless because you have already accessed most eBooks relating to your interests.

I recommend free catalogues because you can download without consequences or cost if you dislike your choice. Thousands of books are available, so remember to be patient and keep an open mind.

Examples:

Project Gutenberg – The figurehead for free books with a massive catalogue to peruse.
Many Books - Similar to Gutenburg and has multiple search options.
Public Domain Books – Many free, public domain books from Amazon.
See this article for many more.

After using each method, your library should be chock-full of books and eBooks tailored to your preferences. You should also have a great list of resources which can be checked frequently as new books are released. Feel free to modify this method to suit your personal needs and to repeat it as often as you like. Remember, you are only trying to satisfy yourself with these choices. Search for what you love and you’ll have the perfect library.

1. You can go to this Kindle Fire Cover Sale page at MyHabit.
2. The cover works for both Kindle Fire and Kindle Keyboard. Not sure about the sleeve.
3. There’s free shipping within the US.
4. Kindle Fire Cover from Graphic Image is on sale for $55 (Original Price: $105). It’s leather, has 4 straps at the edges to hold the Kindle firmly, has a strap on the outside for security, and has a pocket on the left side if you want to keep something else. It works with both Kindle Fire and Kindle Keyboard.
5. Colors are: Black Calfskin, Blue Goatskin, Cognac Saffiano, Cranberry Calfskin, Hunter Saffiano, Mustard Calfskin, Navy Pebble, and Platino Gold Goatskin. I like the red and also the white (which Graphic Image likes to call ‘platino gold’).
6. Kindle Sleeve from Graphic Image is on sale for $44 (Original Price: $95). It has a button closure so you can slide in your Kindle and then snap it shut.
7. Colors are: Black Calfskin, Cognac Saffiano, Dark Blue Saffiano, Hunter Saffiano, Platino Gold Goatskin.

The sleeves look decent (blue and white). The covers look really good (white, red, and a few of the others). $45 to $55 is not a bad price for a leather cover. Not sure where Graphic Image stands on the quality and value for money scale. Also, don’t think there are any MyHabit coupon codes at the moment. They used to have HOLIDAY and MEMBER15 but those are gone. Perhaps they have something for new members if you aren’t already a member.

Race to $100 – Part 2

The Kindle predictions here were: 

1. Kindle WiFi will hit $100 by March 2011, and $75 by July 2011. Somewhat Accurate. We did see the $100 price fairly early, and got Kindle 4 for $79 in the second part of the year. 
2. Nook 2 will further lower prices by coming in at $150. Got this mostly right. Nook Touch came in at $139.
3. Kindle 3 will hit $125 by July and might even go lower. Not sure how to evaluate this since there are models with Ads to consider. Let’s skip this one.
4. eReader Market Fragmentation will continue with 5 eReader segments ($75 to $100, $125 to $150, Tablets at $200 to $250, color Kindles at $300, DX at $300). Partially correct. There are no Color Kindles – the other segments do exist.

While most of the predictions here were correct or close, none of them are impressive. Anyone could have guessed these.

New Kindles and new eReaders in 2011

The Kindle predictions here were:

1. Amazon will release a Kindle Tablet. Everyone saw this coming. 
2. Amazon will release a color eInk based Kindle 4. Totally wrong on this one.
3. B&N will release a Nook 2 and a Nook Color 2. Easy prediction to make. 
4. Sony will push the technology bar – and will fail to make headway. Wrong on the first and Right on the second. 
5. Smaller eReader companies will announce lots of eReaders and not release them. Wrong – nearly all small eReader companies folded up or left (at least in the US).

A mixed bag here. Got the Color Kindle prediction completely wrong.

Kindle, eReader sales will grow to tens of millions of eReaders

1. Kindle to 10 million in annual sales, Nook to 3 million in annual sales. Perhaps correct (we don’t know figures). Perhaps actual sales are 50% to 70% of the prediction (especially with Kindle Fire and Nook Color and Nook Tablet seducing away casual readers). 
2. Nook Color to 10 million annual sales, Kindle Tablet to 2 million in annual sales. This is more like: 5 million sales for Nook Color and Nook Tablet, 5 million sales for Kindle Tablet. Again, the lack of hard numbers makes it difficult to evaluate this prediction. I did severely underestimate how well Kindle Fire would do.

Probably right on Kindle and Nook. Wrong on Nook Color and Kindle Tablet.

Color eReaders, Reading Tablets, and Tablets

Nearly all of these are wrong:

1. Color eReaders will arrive and will fail. Actually, they merely failed to arrive.
2. Color Kindle will arrive. As Borat would say – NOT.
3. Reading Tablets will become very popular. Right on this one.
4. Tablets will be stealing away casual readers – just not very many. Wrong on this one – lots of casual readers are choosing Tablets.

Reading Tablets became hugely important in 2011. Let’s call them high-value tablets from this point on.

Extra Predictions for 2011

1. eReader sales will spur eBook sales to 21.5% market share. Will have to wait to see the tallies for Q4 of 2011. Suspect I got this one right.
2. One of the Big 6 Publishers will go bankrupt. Not.
3. One of the eReader App Stores will explode in popularity and importance. With Kindle App Store at around 100 to 200 apps and Nook App Store (only for Tablets) at around 1,900 apps – neither has really exploded in popularity.
4. At least a few indie authors will spurn book deals. This has happened. Please Note: A lot more indie authors have signed book deals than have spurned them (at least that’s what my data tells me).
5. Authors will become a bigger market than Readers, and companies will rise up to serve them. Hasn’t really happened. A few intelligent people are putting this into place though. We do have a handful of companies building up distribution networks and at least two of them will end up becoming very big.

Apart from the big miss of assuming that one of the Big 6 Publishers would go bankrupt in 2011, the rest went well for the most part.

Thoughts on Kindle Predictions for 2011

1. Pretty sad to see no color Kindle.
2. Big surprise that Kindle Fire is probably going to sell 5 million Kindles. Good to see two high-value Tablets become so strong (Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire).
3. B&N is delivering.
4. Kobo is suddenly a player. It wasn’t really on the scene last year – at least not much. This year it’s in the ‘best eReader’ conversation.
5. Sony has slipped even more. In trying to compete on price it’s mostly lost its ‘best eReader when store and infrastructure are not considered’ status.
6. The race to zero in books is brutal. That might end up impacting everything else in eReader Land and Kindle Land.
7. I’d give myself a B grade. But most of the predictions were very safe. Even the Color Kindle prediction was a safe one, if not for Amazon delaying things when it had the chance to take a huge lead in the eReader market.

I really don’t know what to predict for 2012. Perhaps things like a smaller iPad that takes on Kindle Fire, a color Kindle, the rise of Kobo, the profitability of B&N, and the decline of authors’ livelihoods. Perhaps will write something later.

1. It’s pretty remarkable that ’1 million Kindle devices are being sold every week’. 
2. Kindle Fire is diluting the Kindle brand. In these senses: Forums are now taken over by Kindle Fire owners, People have begun to associate Kindle with ‘Tablet’ (as opposed to eReader), the concept of ‘eInk Kindle as the best reading experience’ is slowly being eroded, the visibility of eInk Kindles is diminishing. iPad wasn’t the Kindle Killer but Kindle Fire might be.
3. Kindle Fire is surviving despite being the anti-iPad. Is it polished so much it shines and glitters? No. Does it have 100,000 apps for it? Not even close. Does it convey status? Not exactly. Does it meet some unknown bar of ‘feels right and scrolls magically’? Probably not since no one knows what the bar is. While every company was trying to win by cloning the iPad, Amazon has taken the route B&N did and won by anti-cloning the iPad.
4. Kindle Fire has shown the power of the Amazon and Kindle brands. Any other company which released a Beta Stage Tablet (which, quite frankly, is what Kindle Fire is), would have been skewered over an open flame with an extra dose of not-iPad barbecue sauce. Kindle Fire owners are almost universally willing to wait for software upgrades.
5. Amazon has really messed up on the eInk Kindle front. If there are serious doubts whether Kindle 4 and Kindle Touch are even as good as Kindle 3 (they aren’t, if you’re wondering) – then there’s a problem. If Nook Touch and Kobo Touch cannot be ignored in any ‘Best Touch eReader’ conversation, and are even being picked as the winner in some conversations - then Kindle Touch isn’t good enough.
6. It’s an unknown whether Amazon will focus as much (or even much) on Kindles. A part of me still thinks Amazon approached books because there was no other company seriously making a device for readers. That eInk Kindle was just a dry run and the ultimate aim was to make a mini-Amazon store. Kindle Fire is much closer to that. Amazon is focused on gaining Amazon.com customers and getting them to make Amazon.com purchases. Kindle Fire becomes much more important when you view things in that context. 
7. Books are almost destroyed in terms of value. There are 300+ indie authors each day making their books free. There are hundreds of books on sale for $1 and $2 every month. The price pressure is incredible. Instead of being the preserve of gatekeeper Publishers, books are turning into the preserve of Supermarkets that use books as loss leaders.
8. Bestseller Lists and Kindle Daily Deal are turning into the ONLY channels (B&N also has equivalents). These 2 sources are becoming the only sources that hold any power. There’s not really any other way that you can reach a large number of Kindle owners.
9. Publishers still don’t get it. However, they are beginning to get it. Can’t really expound much on this without it taking over the post. In Summary: Publishers are now beginning to do what they should have ideally done 10 to 20 years ago to safeguard against what Amazon has done (reduced books to loss leaders). It’s amazing that they did not understand this even after Kindle was released. It’s almost as if they’re in a time-warp and realize things 3 to 5 years too late.
10. Readers now need Publishers. We’ve gone through the Golden Period and now we’re in the muck. Who’s going to pick out the quality books? Not Amazon. It benefits from users coming to Amazon, getting frustrated with the slushpile, and buying something else instead. Think about what Amazon has done – it’s randomized free book offers and turned the Kindle Store into slot machines. You don’t know whether you’ll get rewarded or not. You do know that you’ll go to Amazon.com.
11. Amazon’s 10 year plan might have NOTHING to do with books. All along the belief everyone was laboring under was – What is Amazon going to do with all this power? Is it going to take over Publishing? Perhaps the question should have been – What is Amazon going to do with this gigantic pile of loss leaders? Is it going to reduce books to complimentary glasses of lemonade that get customers in and get them to pay for a 4-course dinner?

Strangely enough, all this writing has brought on a few more thoughts:

1. In a perfect market for books, there would be very little money left for 99% of Authors. The average author want to be read much more than the average reader wants to read.
2. Amazon cares far more about bringing users into the Amazon eco-system than what happens to the future of paid books. Nothing wrong with that. Unless you’re an Author or Publisher who needs for there to be a future for paid books.
3. Some readers want prices to go down from $10 to $1. Yet they still want Stephen King and Pat Conroy level books. This is the second biggest threat to the future of books.
4. The biggest threat to the future of books is that the market is going to be controlled by a few stores/platforms. These few stores/platforms will have so much power they can do anything they wish.
5. There’s not really a way back to a sustainable system. Amazon pays authors 35 cents for a $1 book, or it pays a few cents for the download costs of a free book. It then gets $X via other purchases by the customer who came in for the free/cheap book. Why would Amazon ever go back from this system? Ask any store whether it’d be willing to pay 2 cents per customer visit.
6. All the eReaders and Tablets create an opportunity for a new platform to rise that goes direct from readers to authors. We need someone crazy like Craig Newmark or Jimmy Wales to say: Let’s just get authors 90% or 100% of what readers pay. What Louis C. K. is doing – except with a platform that lets any author do it.
7. Books are in danger of going the way of content on the Internet. A large platform/search engine does Divide & Conquer and just uses content/books as free material to run ads against or as a lure to attract users.
8. Author should be asking themselves why they are getting only 35% from books that are below $3. Why isn’t Amazon factoring in the money it makes from other things users buy? The 70% cut should be across all book prices. It’s a bit of a joke that an indie author strengthening Kindle sales and the Kindle Store and Amazon.com by selling his book for $1 gets only 35%.

This year has shown me a few things (which might be wrong assumptions or might be right ones) -

1. Amazon understands what it is doing.
2. Hardly anyone else understands what Amazon is doing. Perhaps no one at all.
3. The same thing that Amazon has used to kill Publishers can be used to remove Amazon from the equation.
4. Readers’ loyalties only lie with themselves. And to an extent with Authors. Amazon’s move to lock-in Kindle Store purchases now seems necessary and hardly evil.
5. B&N will survive. If Amazon tries to buy it, there will be FTC and Justice Department interventions. Amazon should have bought it when it had the chance.
6. Kobo is far, far more dangerous than anyone realizes. We’re talking about a company that is surviving amongst monsters. It’s evolving very, very fast. Kobo 1 was so bad it almost seemed a practical joke. Kobo Touch cannot be ignored. Kobo might be beating Amazon handily in eInk readers by mid 2012 (if it keeps improving at this rate).
7. Authors are royally done for. The iron-handed but somewhat benevolent dictators/gatekeepers are being replaced by an unthinking, uncaring platform.
8. The Book Revolution is almost certainly going to turn into the Book Apocalypse. Unless something or some company stops it in 2012 and 2013. We have just a few years to stop the ongoing destruction.

2011 has seen such rapid developments, especially in terms of the devaluation of books, that it’s very tough to figure out where we’ll be headed next. Unfortunately, 95% of the possibilities are dark and disquieting.

• Disclaimer #1: Although cases are discounted from $90 to $42, and there’s a 20% off coupon to get to $34, they are still $34. Not exactly cheap.
• Disclaimer #2: As an Amazon Associate site, this blog makes commissions from purchases made at Amazon and Amazon owned companies like MyHabit.

Anyways, there’s a MyHabit Kindle Keyboard Case sale on Envelope Cases from Graphic Image. They look good and they’re leather.

1. Price: $42. Down from $90. With 20% off coupon it’ll be $34. Coupon Code: HOLIDAYS. MyHabit Coupon Code ends December 15th. They do have 10% to 20% off coupons pretty regularly so don’t buy anything unless you see the coupon.
2. Type of Case: Envelope Case. Secure Snap Closure
3. Material: Leather.
4. Colors: Berry Calfskin, Black Calfskin, Blue Goatskin, Bright Orange, Cognac Saffiano, Cranberry Calfskin, Dark Blue Saffiano, Fern Green, Mustad Calfskin, Platino Gold Calfskin, Sterling, Tennis Ball (which is almost exactly the color of a tennis ball and wildly incongruent amongst shades like Cognac Saffiano and Platino Gold Calfskin).
5. My Thoughts: If not for the international shipping and import fees I’d buy this. Still might. $34 after discount is a bit expensive. Leather case is nice and it looks pretty.
6. Warning: This site is addictive. Avoid if you are on a strict budget.

MyHabit had one more sale on Kindle Cases in the past. Will let you know if there are any other Kindle accessory sales at MyHabit.

1. Notepad for Kindle. Not for Kindle Touch (working on it) or Kindle Fire (completely different development ecosystem, not working on it).
2. Calendar for Kindle. Same as above.
3. Other Kindle Apps like Calculator and Address Book.
4. This Blog (hopefully, it’s well done and not medium rare).
5. Kindle App Review Blog. Maurine is doing a great job here and she has nearly every single Kindle App reviewed.

We also just released a Kindle Game based on Alice on Wonderland. It’s called Alice in Crossed Up Land. You have to match objects from Alice’s World and you can play Match-3 or Match-4 or Match-5 (match either 3 objects or 4 objects or 5 objects).

We also have lots of things that are at various stages of completion i.e.

1. Book Summit. A Social Network for Kindle Owners (lots of authors for some reason).
2. Book Monk. A Kindle Book Search Tool. It’s fallen into a bit of disarray at the moment. However, it’s something I’d be interested in working on if there’s interest from all of you.
3. The Kindle Start Page Maker. Which lets you create a ‘book of links/favorites’ that you can keep on your Kindle Home Page.
4. Kindle Page Number Tool. A tool that lets you convert (approximately) from page numbers to locations.
5. Various projects that haven’t seen the light of day.

************************************************************************************************

Perhaps all of you can help me/us in deciding what would be most valuable for all of you in 2012. The things that are interesting to us as a team are:

1. Curation Engine. Enter in criteria + get a list of books that you can sort and arrange.
2. Crowd-sourced Curation Engine. Here we would give all of you some way of triggering what’s best.
3. Recommendation Engine. Enter in one or more books you like and get suggestions.
4. A site that only features indie author books.
5. Filtering Engine for Free Books. So you could say – I only want to see books that are by published authors and rated 4 stars and longer than 300 pages. The Filtering Engine would bring up all such books.
6. Something Else. 

I will be continuing the blog (and also writing about good free books to the extent possible) but it’s just not possible to manually go through 500 to 700 free books a day. The added issue of there not being any simple way to even look at today’s free books makes it all rather difficult. On top of everything we have the problem of some offers being for 1 day only.

**********************************************************************************************

Please enter your thoughts for this Poll, and I’ll let you know which 1 or 2 projects we decide to focus on in 2012.

Thank you for your time and ideas.

At 2 pm PST and 5 pm EST there’s a deal on a Kindle DX cover. You’ll have to go to the above link for it. The deal is only available through that link. It’s described as -

Sleek protection for your Kindle DX.

Update: So this deal is the Kindle DX Leather Cover for $29.99. It was already on sale for $39.99 – so not much of a deal. Please check the OCTOVO Deals listed below for other options.

At 3 pm PST and 6 pm EST there’s a deal on a Kindle Keyboard (Kindle 3) cover. Again, it’ll only be at that page. Described as -

Sleek protection for your Kindle Keyboard.

Guess the copywriter decided to take an extra-long cigarette break.

Meanwhile, there are already quite a few Kindle DX Cover Deals and Kindle Keyboard Cover Deals at Amazon.

Kindle Keyboard Cover Deals

1. CE Compass Cover for Kindle 3. Price: $5.75. Ratd 4.5 stars on 509 reviews. Note: This is not leather (in case you were expecting leather for $5.75).
2. mCover Leather Folio Cover. $10. Available in a variety of colors (aqua, pink, beige, and lots more). Rated 5 stars on 10 reviews.
3. OCTOVO Splash-proof Outdoor Case. Price: $10. Rated 4 stars on 29 reviews.

Kindle DX Cover Deals

1. OCTOVO Kindle DX Sleeves are just $10. 
2. OCTOVO Kindle DX Genuine Leather Sleeve is just $20 (down from $100).
3. Premium Genuine Leather Case by Bargaincell. Price: $15. Rated 4 stars on 16 reviews. Down from $50. Perfer the OCTOVO Leather Case.

More later. First sending this out so it reaches in time.

There is Amazon Cyber Monday Deals Week (a week long series of deals). But no Kindle deals.

Amazon

1. The Big Deal Kindle Cyber Monday Book Deals. Amazon has 300+ books on sale. Check the Cyber Monday Kindle Book Deals post for my top 14 picks. 
2. Kindle DX 2 for $259.

Best Buy does have a $10 gift card with store pick up orders of $100 or more. So you could add something small to the $99 Kindle Touch and get it for $89 (in effect). Listed next.

Best Buy

Best Buy is offering a free $10 gift card with store pickup orders of $100 or more. It’s offering (before factoring in the $10 gift card):

1. Kindle for $79.99.
2. Kindle Touch for $99.99.
3. Nook Touch for $79.99.
4. Kobo Touch for $99.99.
5. Kindle Fire for $199.

Refurbished Kindles at Amazon

Amazon has refurbished Kindle 3 with 3G for $129.99. That’s $59 less than buying it new. It doesn’t have ads.

B&N

B&N has announced a $25 gift card free with every Nook purchase if you pay with your Mastercard. It says it can’t be combined with the $25 off that members get on Nook Tablet.

1. Nook Tablet is $249. You get the $25 gift card if you use a Mastercard. At a $25 price difference, Nook Tablet is a better option than Kindle Fire in my opinion. Note: You get only 1 GB out of the 16 GB for your own documents. You can use a SD Card of up to 32 GB and some stores will increase the allocation for your own documents – but something to be aware of.
2. Nook Color is $199. $25 Gift card with it too.
3. Nook Touch is $99. Buying it gives you a free $25 gift card if you use a Mastercard.

B&N eBay Store

There is a $119 refurbished Nook Color. There’s also the option to get it for $149 if this one runs out.

B&N at Buy.com

There is a $79 Refurbished Nook Touch Reader at Buy.com and also a $149 refurbished Nook Color. Not sure why anyone would get these given the other offers.

Kobo

Kobo is offering a $20 gift card with Kobo Touch Reader – However, the Best Buy offer of a $99 Kobo Touch eReader (listed earlier) is much better.

Sony Reader

Sony is offering a $50 credit if you trade in any brand eReader. That means the Reader WiFi (which is $149.99) becomes just $99. Quite  a deal given that you get wireless library book downloads.

Target

Kindle Fire for $199. There were reports of unadvertised specials in store for Black Friday but haven’t heard anything so far for Cyber Monday.

Note: Thanks to Meaghan for helping with this post. She assembled all the links etc. and I went through them this morning to see what else had been offered.