It’s time again for another one of those rambling blog posts, where I have no set agenda but just bang away on the keyboard and see what happens….
Kindle Paperwhite Ships Today
The replacement to the Kindle Touch, the Kindle Paperwhite, ships today: mine should be arriving tomorrow and I am looking forward to checking it out. If you didn’t pre-order a Paperwhite, these are either really popular or they didn’t manufacture that many. Why do I say that? Well, if you didn’t pre-order one and you place an order today, it won’t ship until October 22nd and Amazon is limiting purchases to five per customer.
I blogged about many of the issues with the Kindle Touch that struck a nerve with many of you who really enjoy your Touch – here’s to hoping a lot (if not all) of those issues will be resolved with this new version. The built-in light should be a home run for most users, and I am interested to see if the battery really lasts for 8 weeks as advertised.
If you haven’t checked out the specs on the new Paperwhite, it comes with a wireless only version as well as a free 3G cellular version; each of those two versions also has different pricing if you have the Special Offers or not included with the Paperwhite. I chose the one with Special Offers as (a) it’s cheaper, and (b) the ads / offers don’t show up on the screen while you are reading and I rarely look at the screen saver at all.
You can check out the 3G version if you check this one out if you click here or type in http://bit.ly/paper3g or http://bit.ly/paperwhite3g into your web browser.
You can check out the Wi-Fi version if you click here or type in http://bit.ly/kindlepaper into your web browser. The only difference between the two is the 3G capability and $60 more for the 3G connectivity.
The Kids’ Quote Book
After a month, I thought I would update you on my children’s progress on raising money for the spring break trip to Washington, D.C.; if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can click here or type in http://bit.ly/NEzWll into your web browser to read the post about their collaborative efforts in writing their first Kindle book.
Thanks to your kind participation and a couple of donations from the blog members my daughter, whose class is actually going as a group to DC, has raised enough money for her trip. Little brother is almost halfway there but is in a quandary: he has decided he wants a new laptop computer, which is cheaper than the trip to DC, and is debating with himself and others the pros and cons of each – I think that’s great he’s trying to make the decision on his own and actually putting pencil to paper as he works it out.
My wife and I, as well as our children, appreciate each one of you!
They have both decided if they raise enough money for both of them, they will be making donations to charities with the first one they identified as the Make-A-Wish foundation. They thought of that on their own, and that makes a father’s heart swell with pride.
So, here’s another appeal: if you would like to purchase their book here’s where you can find it:
USA subscribers: click here or type in http://bit.ly/quotes2013 into your web browser.
UK subscribers: click here or type in http://bit.ly/quotes2013uk into your web browser
Alternatively, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can borrow the book for free – Amazon Prime members can borrow one book per month – and the ironic thing is even though you are borrowing the book at no cost to you, the kids will receive just as much money from Amazon as if you had bought it.
If you don’t know how to borrow a book for free from Amazon, I have a post from November of last year that explained the process: you can click here or type in http://bit.ly/QEJCkM into your web browser if you would like to read those instructions.
Kindle Books for a Buck Blog
Several people this week asked me if I was still publishing the Kindle Books for a Buck (or Less) blog – the short answer is “yes.” The longer answer is Amazon made me change the name of that blog, also, and it is now retitled “eBooks for a Buck (or Less).” You can check that blog out if you click here or point your web browser to http://ebooksforabuck.wordpress.com
Some people have the perception if a book is priced at 99 cents it is garbage: sometimes that is true, but I can also point to a lot of high-priced “bestsellers” I thought were garbage. I think the bigger point is some of the things I enjoy reading you will detest and vice versa.
About two months ago I realized I was excluding those readers in the UK and started adding links to the featured titles’ UK Amazon Kindle bookstore.
You never know what you will find and this blog has had several books I think many of you will enjoy and be surprised at what you will find, including:
An illustrated children’s book that costs all of a nickel – click here or type in http://bit.ly/SgwjJG into your web browser to see that one.
A novella by bestselling author Stephen King priced at 99 cents – click here or type in http://bit.ly/PnneIB into your web browser to see that one.
I also read some of the books that are featured on this blog – if you have been following what I have been reading lately, you will see I have been on an apocalyptic / end of the world reading kick lately – and last week I featured on called A Distant Eden by Lloyd Tackitt that is 99 cents. I thought it was pretty good and purchased and completed the sequel late last week. To see that post, you can click here or type in http://bit.ly/W8hM1a into your web browser.
If you click on any of the links above, you will be taken to that blog’s web page. You can look on the right-hand side of the page and subscribe via email (which is free) – just make sure you reply to the confirmation email to make sure I’m not spamming anyone.
Amazon also allows you to receive the blog on your e-Ink Kindle, and that costs 99 cents per month: of that amount, I receive 30 cents per month or just a penny per day per subscriber. Amazon will allow you to try out the subscription for two weeks at no cost: if you unsubscribe before that two week period is over you will not be charged. To read this blog on your e-Ink Kindle, you can click here or type in http://amzn.to/kb4abuck into your web browser: once you get to the Amazon page, click on the “Subscribe now with 1-Click” button on the right-hand side of the page.
Baseball
What does baseball have to do with the blog or a Kindle? Nothing! I will tell you I’m pretty happy the Rangers are limping into the playoffs – hopefully, they will get out of their funk and turn it back on and peak during the playoffs vs. fade. I went to my first Rangers game almost 40 years ago, and after decades of frustrating season this is exciting!
Anyway, that’s all I have for now – I hope everyone has a great week!
Michael
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