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04.14.10Getting started with Kindle, Part IIToday, in Part 2 of a 4-part Kindle 101 series, I want to explain how to get started. If you think you have to spend hundreds of dollars to start buying and reading Kindle books, you'll be happy to know that's no longer the case. Part 2 of 4: Getting started So you've decided you want to get started, but have no idea what to do? There are two basic things you need: Let's look at these two requirements. Continue Reading...
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04.13.10Getting started with Kindle, Part IEvery week the ebook market seems to grow more confusing, so I thought it might be a good idea to provide the most basic of introductions to the Kindle -- the sort of stuff that Kindle vets take for granted but that newcomers would like to know, like how it all works and what you need to get started. I've collected it all under a new section called Kindle 101, but I'm also carving it into four easy-to-read chunks this week for greater access. Tomorrow and the day after I'll talk about how to get started with the Kindle, but today I ...
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03.23.10Confused about formats and ereaders? Here’s whyI used to go on and on about things like "lock-in," which is when a company uses a proprietary file format in order to keep their customers from buying from competitors. I don't really talk about it much these days because I decided to focus on what's good about the Kindle instead of what's not quite so consumer-friendly. That doesn't mean it's not important, though, and earlier this month Gizmodo Australia published a good overview of why everyone in digital publishing is using different formats, and how it matters to readers. One thing Gizmodo notes is that if you're waiting for ...
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03.02.10175 free woodworking booksTime to get your carpenter on: Evenfall Studios (www.evenfallstudios.com) has a collection of 175 old public domain woodworking books, mostly scanned via Google's book scanning project, that cover everything from carving, to upholstery, to using hand and machine tools. Most are rather old and might be more interesting as historical records, but here are three from the military that were published recently: Carpentry I (PDF) Carpentry II (PDF) Use and Care of Hand Tools and Measuring Tools (PDF) All of the books are in either HTML and PDF, so you might have to convert some of them before they're readable on your Kindle. Check ...
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02.25.10Do-it-yourself stand for Kindle 2I'm what you might call an "enthusiastic" crafter--you know, when someone isn't good at something but keeps doing it, so others feel compelled to say something nice so as not to ruin his fun. "Well, you're certainly enthusiastic! Good for you!" That's about all the intro I need to give before I show you my homemade stand for the Kindle 2: I reviewed a much nicer, professionally designed stand earlier this month, and it made me realize I wanted a stand of my own. Being cheap, prone to occasional insomnia, and in possession of a box of Sculpey from previous craft projects, ...
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02.23.10How to tell whether you have a U.S. or International KindleIf you bought your Kindle 2 used or received it as a gift, you might not have any idea whether it's the original U.S. wireless version or the later International wireless version. Heck, even if you bought it from Amazon you might not know. Here's how to tell. 1. Look on the back of the Kindle for the serial number. 2. If it starts with B002, it's the original U.S. model (uses Sprint's 3G network). 3. If it starts with B003, it's the newer international model (uses AT&T's 3G network, at least in the U.S.). Normally you won't need to know this, but ...
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02.02.10Best ebook library manager: CalibreSometimes something seems so obvious that you forget to mention it, and that's what keeps happening with Calibre. I've suggested it in passing in other posts, but it finally dawned on me that I've never come right out and said, "You should use this program to manage your ebook library." So... You should use Calibre to manage your ebook library. The simplest way to describe it is that it's an iTunes for ebook files--you can organize your ebooks, and then connect a device to your computer and automatically copy them over. Continue Reading...
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01.16.10Why everyone should take advantage of Kindle book previewsRemind your friends and family that you don't have to own a Kindle to make use of free Kindle store previews. I imagine people who aren't Kindle owners don't pay attention to this fact, and they're missing out on the best way to sample books for free without being in an actual brick-and-mortar bookstore. It's true that Amazon already offers previews for the physical copies it sells, so if you're near a computer you can preview books that way. That method also has the benefit of letting you see randomly selected pages from the book, as well as text on the ...
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01.06.10Let other Kindle customers help you find cheap booksIt can be frustrating to look for good free books on the Amazon Kindle store, because there's no way to filter out all the useless stuff. I'm talking about the public domain freebies, which you can get more easily and permanently via Feedbooks, as well as those "dollar dreadfuls"--those books that are in public domain but have been repackaged for profit, in varying degrees of quality, by some opportunist. One way to bypass this morass is to look to the Listmania! lists that other Amazon Kindle customers assemble. One such person is Rachel M. Suffill, who maintains two useful lists ...
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11.17.09How to save excerpts from Kindle ebooks using your iPhoneEarlier tonight I figured out how to use my iPhone and a couple of free online services to take notes while reading, and then I realized that it was exactly the sort of thing Kindle readers with iPhones could take advantage of. Why? Because the iPhone Kindle app doesn't let you make annotations, or highlight sections, or save passages for later review. My solution isn't perfect, but it will at least help you save pages of text so that you can turn them into useful notes later. I imagine students and writers in particular will find it helpful. Two notes: 1. Pixelpipe ...
Wednesday, July 28th
“Face of Betrayal” by Lis Wiehl
Price: $0.00
“While home on Christmas break, a seventeen-year-old Senate page takes her dog out for a walk and never returns. Reporter Cassidy Shaw is the first to break the story. The resulting media firestorm quickly ensnares Federal Prosecutor Allison Pierce and FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges. These three unique women, life-long friends, call themselves The Triple Threat–a nickname derived from both their favorite dessert and their uncanny ability to crack cases using their three positions of power.”
Tuesday, July 27th
“Curious Folks Ask” by Sherry Seethaler
Price: $0.00
“Top science writer and San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Sherry Seethaler brings together 162 of her best answers to science and health questions. Want to know how canned air works… or nuclear bombs? What causes goose bumps, earwax, dandruff, headaches? Whether it’s healthy to crack your knuckles, drink decaf, eat chocolate? What it costs to run all those LED lights around your house? It’s all here–and a whole lot more!”
Monday, July 26th
“Your Credit Score” by Liz Pulliam Weston
Price: $0.00
“MSN Money/L.A. Times personal finance columnist Liz Pulliam Weston has updated her best-selling book on credit scores to show how you can maximize your score right now—and save yourself a fortune! Weston reveals the tough new realities of borrowing and credit scoring, and shows why they aren’t going to change any time soon. She rips away the mystery surrounding credit scoring, including the FICO 08 overhaul, and tells you exactly how to use the new system to maximize your score.”
Sunday, July 25th
“The Skull Ring” by Scott Nicholson
Price: $2.39
“With the help of a therapist, Julia is finally piecing together childhood memories of the night her father vanished. But when Julia finds a silver ring that bears the name ‘Judas Stone,’ the past comes creeping back. Someone is leaving strange messages inside her house, even though the door is locked. Her lawyer boyfriend turns violent. And the cop who investigated her father’s disappearance has followed her to the small mountain town of Elkwood.”
Saturday, July 24th
Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon
Price: $0.00
In a corporate-controlled near future, career pilot Titus Quinn and his family disappear during a flight. When Quinn returns months later, his memory is gone and his wife and child are missing, and he must return to an alternate universe called the Entire to free them. The first of four books, it’s being compared to high-SF sagas like Hyperion, Riverworld, and Amber Chronicles.
Friday, July 23rd
GONE by Karen Fenech
Price: $2.99
“FBI Special Agent Clare Marshall was separated from her sister Beth in childhood when their mother tried to kill them. Now Clare learns that Beth lives in the small town of Farley, South Carolina, but when she goes there to reunite with Beth, Clare discovers her sister is missing and that someone in the town is responsible for her disappearance.”
Thursday, July 22nd
Out of Water by Colin Chartres and Samyuktha Varma
Price: $0.00
“Out of Water doesn’t just illuminate the coming global water crisis: it presents innovative solutions in agriculture, engineering, governance, and beyond, including state-of-the art techniques for integrated water management. This book will help raise the level of debate about water to the highest levels of government, and identify workable reforms and incentives to help water users utilize this crucial resource far more efficiently.”
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