Santa will be delivering shed-loads of iPads and Kindles this Christmas, and it could be the moment when the whole e-book thing really takes off. Getting into the spirit of the thing, I'm offering readers a free e-book of Randi's Prize.
(Randi's Prize is my recently published book looking at a variety of psychic phenomena, with particular focus on explanations put forward by sceptics like James Randi, Richard Wiseman, Ray Hyman and others. More at www.randisprize.net and www.amazon.com.)
Just send me an email with 'e-book' in the subject heading, then your name, your country, and whether it's for reading on a Kindle or iPad or whatever, and I'll attach the appropriate file (robertmcluhan@gmail.com).
If you don't have a physical e-reader, you can read it on a PC or Mac via Adobe Digital Editions. This is free to download and takes about a minute. ADE reads the epub format. Just click on the file and it should open automatically.
Why am I giving away books? That's something I've been asking myself recently. If people who would have bought it anyway get it for free, then surely I'm robbing myself.
Not necessarily. Authors and publishers have been doing it for a while. The consensus is that distributing digital content for free boosts sales of the print version. E-readers are great - they are convenient, and e-books are lightning quick to get hold of - but a lot of people still prefer to read paper books, including me.
Intuitively I feel this is the way to go. I'm pleased with the book, and I think it says something important. Psychic functioning is an aspect of consciousness, part of the human condition. We need to face up to that and move on. But instead, we are persuaded to ignore it. Sometimes through reasoned arguments, sure enough, but more often by means of heated denunciation, sly evasion and pseudo-explanations.
Nothing new here for Paranormalia readers, although I hope they will find something of interest in the way my arguments are put together. My real ambition is to reach those people - agnostics, for the most part - who haven't thought much about these things at all. I'd like to start a conversation, and I hope that getting the material out there will help get it going.
The offer will be open until demand picks up, which I expect will take a while. If you like the book, then please talk it up, mention it on Facebook, etc. If you feel moved to write a short review for Amazon, then even better!
If you think you might write a review for your blog or other publication, let me know, and I'll send a print copy.
If you decide to purchase a print copy, then great! It's easily available through Amazon in the UK and through UK bookshops. See here for options for buying from the US and elsewhere.
Enjoy!
Tsh - I buy the book, go to find the author's website and see it's being given away for free!
Ah well, thus far it's been richly worth the cash.
Posted by: BenSix | December 27, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Praise indeed :)
Posted by: Paul | December 27, 2010 at 10:54 PM
As with Ebenezer, I'm as "good as his (my) word" (on Michael Prescott's blog), and have ordered your book through Amazon's UK site. Knowing that shepherding a book from outline to printed distribution is an arduous slog, I want to do what little I can to contribute to the profit your efforts deserve. What excerpts I've read (thanks to the Daily Grail) indicate that the wait for a thawed flight from Heathrow to upstate New York will be worth it. Once again, congratulations and thanks for your perseverence.
Posted by: Kevin W. | December 30, 2010 at 06:21 PM
Great, thanks for that!
Posted by: Robert McLuhan | December 30, 2010 at 06:47 PM
Certainly this book will be reviewed on my blog, I am up to chapter ten and thoroughly enjoying it :)
Wishing you every success with the 'conversation' and getting the books out there,
Best wishes,
Den.
Posted by: Bohemian Blogger | January 27, 2011 at 02:10 PM