Koozie Notes

Kindle 2.0

Sweet.  Amazon just came out with Kindle 2.0, which looks cleaner and thin than my version 1.0.  Reviews can be found on sites like Engadet and Kindleboards.

--Chris

2008 Book List: Read

For 2008, I have finished reading the following books on my Kindle, which I received on 29 APR 2008. (Not including tech book, manuals)

1. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
2. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
3. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
4. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
5. The Confusion by Neal Stephenson (4 JUL 2008)
6. The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling (7 JUL 2008)
7. Final Report on Jack Thompson by Florida State Bar (13 JUL 2008)
8. My Own Kind of Freedom by Steve Brust (16 JUL 2008)
9. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (18 JUL 2008)
10. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (29 JUL 2008)
11. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (31 JUL 2008)
12. The System of the World by Neal Stephenson (23 SEP 2008)
13. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (1 OCT 2008)
14. Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (9 OCT 2008)
15. Neptune Crossing by Jeffrey A. Carver (13 OCT 2008)
16. Dauntless (The Lost Fleet) by Jack Campbell (19 OCT 2008)
17. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (22 OCT 2008)
18. Strange Attractors by Jeffrey A Carver (3 NOV 2008)
19. The FairTax Book  by Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder (9 NOV 2008)
20. Animal Farm by George Orwell (10 NOV 2008)
21. Fearless (The Lost Fleet Book 2) by Jack Campbell (14 NOV 2008)
22. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (16 NOV 2008)
23. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (24 NOV 2008)
24. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (29 NOV 2008)
25. Infinite Sea by Jeffrey A Carver (11 DEC 2008)
26. Briefer History of Time by Leonard Mlodinow and Stephen Hawking (15 DEC 2008)
27. Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (25 DEC 2008)
28. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K.Rowling (25 DEC 2008) [Dead Tree Version]

-Chris

$50 Discount for Amazon Kindle

Last Friday Oprah Winfrey unveiled her new favorite gadget, Amazon's new ebook reader, Kindle.

According to her web site, if you use the Code OPRAHWINFREY, you will receive a $50 discount on a new Amazon Kindle.  This discount offer is good through Saturday, November 1st.

--Chris

Kindle: Automatic Page Turns

Wow, while perusing through the Amazon forms I came across this cool key board shortcut for turning on automatic page turns.

• To turn on automatic page turning, press Alt-0. Then press Alt-1 to activate it. Alt-2 to stop it.

I find it a bit fast, though.

--Chris

Financial Times: Now on Kindle

Amazon bumps up their newspaper subscription offerings on the Kindle to 24 with the addition of the Financial Times , priced at $9.99 per month. 

--Chris

Ping Publishers for Kindle Versions

Today, I noticed that Amazon added a new feature to their book product subscription web page that allows one to "Ping" the publisher for a Kindle version.  Thank you Amazon.

For example, I would like a Kindle version of John Grisham's The Brethern.  So, just click on the link and if you look to the left side, below the book cover, you should see a new box that reads as follows.

Please tell the publisher: I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Let the pinging begin.

--Chris

2nd Scholastic Letter: Harry Potter and Kindle

Back in May, I received my first rejection letter from Scholastic when I asked about them selling a Kindle version of Harry Potter.  A few days ago, I received a second letter which hints at the possibility of an legal ebook for the Harry Potter series.

I have spoken with the editors about your request.  They told me that Ms. Rowling will release the Harry Potter titles in digital format when she feels the time is right.  I will, of course, forward your letter to Ms. Rowling in the United Kingdom.

Scholastic even included a nice photograph of J.K. Rowling with their response.

I hope more of us Potter fans send letters requesting digital versions of her work.  We might, just might, be able to change her mind.

--Chris

UPDATE  4 AUG 2008

Today I received a written response from The Christopher Little Literary Agency regarding my request for a Kindle version of the Harry Potter books.  A snippet of their response is below.

We are delighted to hear that you are a fan of the Harry Potter series, but are very sorry to say that the Harry Potter series is not currently available in electronic format.  While some registered organizations in part of the world make electronic versions of the text for the visually impaired, at this moment in time there are no plans for commercial license.

I learned something new today.  First, if you are visually impaired, one can find legal electronic versions of Harry Potter.  And they wrote "at this moment in time," which makes me believe that they might be still debating the issue internally with the liberal use of this clause.  Who is to say what might happen in the next moment in time?

Houston Chronicle: New Newspaper Addition for Kindle

By recently adding "Houston Chronicle", a $5.99 Kindle newspaper subscription, Amazon bumps up their newspaper subscription offerings to 21.

-Chris

LA Times: New Newspaper Addition for Kindle

By recently adding "LA Times", a $9.99 Kindle newspaper subscription, Amazon bumps up their newspaper subscription offerings to 20.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm still surprised that USA Today hasn't jumped on board with the Kindle.

-Chris

Kindle Download Guide by Feedbooks

Today, I stumbled upon a new method of getting free (as in beer) content for your Kindle.  Feedbooks has published a Kindle Download Guide, which contains book lists and the book download links.  As soon as you have the guide install, you can begin searching and downloading new content.

The instructions are pretty straightforward with the first step of storing a fresh copy of the Kindle Download Guide on your Kindle.  With Whispernet on, follow the steps below.

1. Open the web browser "Basic Web", found under experimental menu.
2. Enter the URL, "http://www.feedbooks.com/kindleguide"
3. Confirm the download message, which reads "You are about to download a file to your Kindle."
4. The guide should now be located on the home screen.

--Chris