Special Pages - Reports

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

9 Free Kindle Books (8/31 Late Evening update) + Newly Discounted Books Found by Forumners + Amzn Deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Wednesday, 8/31 - Updated to correct two book links and add a second batch of books (7 more)


Nearly Departed in Deadwood
, by Ann Charles (author) and C.S. Kunkle (Illustrator), 80 customer reviews, 4.8 stars, $0.99

  Winner of the 2010 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.



Kindle Daily Deal
  (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)
  Wednesday, 8/31
  Poke the Box, by Seth Godin, 186 customer reviews, 4.2 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Wednesday, 8/31:
      Tuesday's Price: $6.64
      Wednesday's Discount: $5.15
      Wednesday's Daily Deal Price: $1.49 (78% off)



Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a separate sorting
by Low-to-High pricing.
Unusual Publisher Sale for August
Publisher Harper Perennial sale: 20 titles for $20, or $0.99 each, through this last day of August


Other ongoing forum threads that might interest some
  . Discussing books posted on discount threads (New)
  . What have been your favorite public domain books not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles



LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution that it's not a book promotion thread for authors or for posts about indies or free books either.  "The thread is for discounts and price drops that readers find for books from publishers."

  Today's includes some finds by Emily Bronte: HarperCollins Pre-orders for Sept. at $1.99 and a top-rated Kindle Store book from Corvallis Press discounted to $0.99, which I've highlighted at the top.
  8/30-31



TEMPORARILY Free-Book alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the amazing "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is constantly on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts below are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of newly and mostly temporarily-free books just released and are *not* books I've seen and are *not* recommendations by this blog -- this is just a daily report of very popular forum alerts.   The eBooks will become no longer free within days, usually - sometimes, hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing all these for us.

Aug 31 - morning, 2 books; Aug 31 - late evening, 7 books

If, on the Home page listing, you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of the long listing of free books *


' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

 I Shall Not Want : Psalm 23 Mysteries Book Two (The Psalm 23 Mysteries)
Author: Debbie Vigiue
Genre: Religious - Spiritual - Contemporary Fiction

DESCRIPTION: Charity work can be murder! It's Thanksgiving and Joseph Tyler, one of the members of Cindy's church, has organized a new charity that provides homeless people with rescue dogs to love and care for. But one by one, the homeless recipients are being murdered and their dogs stolen. Could an overly competitive millionaire with his prize-winning pooches and a grudge be behind the crimes? Or could it be someone much closer to Joseph who has something sinister to hide? Cindy and Jeremiah must rush to find a killer before he strikes again.

*****

Always the Baker, Never the Bride
Author: Sandra D. Bricker
Genre: Religious - Spiritial - Contemporary Fiction

** Previously offered on January 7, 2011 **
DESCRIPTION: Thirty-six-year-old Emma Rae Travis has been baking specialty cakes and melt-in-your-mouth pastries at The Backstreet Bakery in historic Roswell, just outside of Atlanta, for the last six years. But here's the rub about her job as a baker ... Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning crème brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she's never even had one full slice of it.When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It's going to be a really rotten day. Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs?

*** [Second batch added "Late Evening" Wed., Aug 31 and placed here]

Throwaway
Author: Heather Huffman
Genre: Romance - Suspense

DESCRIPTION: Jessie Jones is living the life--except for the fact that she earns it by working the streets. She's been under pimp Spence's thumb for fourteen years, and she isn't looking to change it. That is, until undercover cop Gabe walks into her life and offers her something she's never had before: a love, a future, a home. But even if Jessie could walk away from Spence, there are darker forces of evil who want her to stay put, or worse, dead. In this romantic suspense, author Heather Huffman delivers an adventure from the vibrant streets of St. Louis to the caves of the Ozarks as Jessie discovers whether she can love another, whether she can love herself, and whether any of it is enough.

  MORE... ( 6 more books: Click just below on "MORE")
*****

Free Jigsaw Words game released + 99c sale on some Kindle Games

NEW GAME AND A SALE THRU' SEPT. 12, 2011

Jigsaw Words, released August 23, is by Amazon Digital Services at a pretty good price -- $0.00.  It has 19 customer reviews, with an average rating of 4.5 stars.

  Games are still not available internationally, and for that reason I've not featured them as much.  Although Amazon has said on the forums that they intend to distribute them internationally, there's been no word at all on when.

  The following is from the product description:
'...you start with a set of 10 clues.  You also have a set of randomly arranged puzzle pieces with letters on them.  Your goal is to solve the clues in the puzzle by arranging the puzzle pieces so that the letters form the word that matches each clue. Start with the easiest clues first.  As you use each puzzle piece, it is removed from play, making it easier to find the more difficult matches.  You can also shuffle the grid of puzzle pieces at any time for a different perspective.

  Jigsaw Words has 100 puzzles and each puzzle has 10 clues to solve.  The puzzles are organized into 10 themed categories like Holidays and Animals, and you can use the theme to help you solve the clues. '

Kindle Games Sale - $0.99 Ending Sept. 12, 2011
Go to the Games and Active Content page to see the special $0.99 Kindle Games Sale.
 There are 4 "pages" showing 3 games per page. I may as well just list them here :-)
  Doodle, Word Quest; Slingo; KenKen; Triple Town; Panda Poet; EA Soduku;
  Yahtzee; Scrabble; Hearts, Spades and More; Cryptograms; KeeKo's Quest


Popular Kindle Active Content Titles
There are also "Popular $0.99 Kindle Active Content Titles" featured (6 of them) -- and, in the footer of this blog article, I list some of my favorite tools that are 99c also (Notepad, Calendar, Calculator, Converter).



For daily free ebooks, check the following links:
Temporarily-free books -
Non-classics
- USA: by:
NEW:  June  July  Aug 2011
   Publication Date   Late-listed
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK: PubDate   Popular
What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care
Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3
Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free
USEFUL for your Kindle (U.S. only, currently):
  99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,
  99c Calendar,   99c Converter


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite


Amazon Tablet rumors: Digitimes says 10-inch tablet STARTS mass production in 1st Qtr 2012

DIGITIMES'S LATEST ON ANDROID TABLET RUMORS FROM PARTS MAKERS

  I had mentioned conflicting information on July 27 when Digitimes had reported on July 15 that Quanta was already shipping 7" tablets to Amazon but on July 27 was saying that Quanta "will be solely responsible for assembling the tablet, the sources noted."

Digitimes' Yenting Chen and Joseph Tsai write today a headline that conflicts with earlier information from other sources (one being BYTE magazine's August 10 article on what they described as dual-screen technology on a device that was being pushed up from early 2012 to shortly after Thanksgiving this year).  Par for the course with rumors.

TODAY's Digitimes article says that
' Mass production of Amazon's 10.1-inch tablet PC reportedly will be conducted in the first quarter of 2012 with Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) to handle the orders, according to sources from upstream component suppliers. '

  The headline they used -- capitalized emphasis mine:
  "Amazon 10-inch tablet PC to START mass production in 1Q12"

According to Digitimes, the 7-inch tablet to be supplied by Quanta Computer "is expected to start shipping in October, the sources added"

  Many had hoped for an 8.9" display on the first tablet, but articles are fairly consistent that a 7-inch one is coming.

  They also put out an impossible to substantiate statement (volume-wise) that Foxconn, to which Amazon is said to outsource the production of its Kindle readers, is involved with "an estimated volume of 15-18 million units, accounting for 60-70% of global e-book reader shipments of 25-30 million units in 2011"


For a history of earlier tablet-rumor articles: see the ongoing List of stronger Amazon tablet rumors with dates, titles, and links to the Kindleworld blog articles with sources.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Free Kindle Books (8/30 Late Evening, 48 total) + Newly Discounted Books Found by Forumners + Amzn Deals

37 NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Tuesday, 8/30 - Updated "Late Evening" to add 11 more free-book listings


The Abbey, by Chris Culver, 69 customer reviews, 4.6 stars, $0.99

  This is from the 'hard-boiled mystery' genre and has good word of mouth



Kindle Daily Deal
  (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)
  Tuesday, 8/30
  Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, by William Styron, 171 customer reviews, 4.3 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Tuesday, 8/30:
      Monday's Price: $9.84
      Tuesday's Discount: $8.35
      Tuesday's Daily Deal Price: $1.49 (85% off)
From Library Journal: "Lean prose, wit, and humanizing sidebars lend credence to both plot and setting..."



Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a separate sorting
by Low-to-High pricing.
Unusual Publisher Sale for August - 8/3
Publisher Harper Perennial sale::20 titles for $20, or $0.99 each, through the month of August



Other ongoing forum threads that might interest some
  . Discussing books posted on discount threads (New)
  . What have been your favorite public domain books not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles



LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution that it's not a book promotion thread for authors or for posts about indies or free books either.  "The thread is for discounts and price drops that readers find for books from publishers."
  8/28-30



TEMPORARILY Free-Book alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the amazing "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is constantly on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts below are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of newly and mostly temporarily-free books just released and are *not* books I've seen and are *not* recommendations by this blog -- this is just a daily report of very popular forum alerts.   The eBooks will become no longer free within days, usually - sometimes, hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing all these for us.

Aug 30 - morning, 37 books; Aug 30 - late evening, 11 more (total 48 for 8/30)

If, on the Home page listing, you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of the long listing of free books *


' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Garden of Darkness by Anne Frasier
Author: Anne Frasier

***

Nannie's Moon: a children's book
Author: Janice Daugharty

***

Escaping Entry
Author: Benedict Martin

***

Dead? Three Short Stories by Joshua Scribner
Author: Joshua Scribner

  MORE... ( 33 more books: Click just below on "MORE")
*****

Amazon site redesign, accessible by a few, is more tablet-friendly, it's said

AMAZON TESTING "SLICK NEW SITE DESIGN"

TNW has a report on an apparently new, "vastly improved version of [Amazon's] massively popular shopping website" to be launched in "the near future" and which has been designed to appeal to tablet owners.

They say that "only a small number of users have been granted access to the new design" but that some of them have been describing their surprise via Twitter.  Here's a sample Twitter thread about the new redesign and the reactions of those who have access to it.   The reaction is very positive.

As TNW says,
' Gone are the blue menus and buttons, making way for a slicker white and grey interface that reduces clutter and makes navigation a lot easier.  From the screenshots that were shared with us (thanks Derek), Amazon has stopped its navigation menu from loading on page load, now displaying it when the user mouses-over the “Shop By Department” button. '

Also, there seems to a large focus on tablet-friendly products, such as "Instant Video, MP3 Store, Cloud Player, Kindle, Cloud Drive, AppStore for Android, Game and Software Downloads and Audiobooks..."

Conjecture which follows that, in the article, is what we've been reading for the last month in several articles that report industry rumors.

As for the look of the store, I don't pay enough attention because in comparing their examples of the new look vs the current one, it looks similar except that I still do have the blue tool bars and separators (which make it a bit easier for me to see categories than the new-style vanilla-looking gray/black-white version of the toolbar might).

At any rate, take a look.  It's almost September, and most estimates for the first type of tablet is 'by October' although some of the shipping of parts reported the last week seem to indicate a delay, but maybe that's because they want to produce more. Who knows?


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.


Monday, August 29, 2011

Free Kindle Books (8/29 -late afternoon, corrected ) + Newly Discounted Books Found by Forumners + Amzn Deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Monday, 8/29

Untouchable, by Scott O'Connor, 11 customer reviews, 4.9 stars, $0.00

  "O'Connor tells a wisp of a story, but in a voice so insistently stirring, you want to lean in close to catch every word." --New York Times Book Review.
  "'O'Connor's prose is as beautifully terse as his plot... It's an affecting mix, squeezing the reader's emotions..." -- Booklist



Kindle Daily Deal
  (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)
  Monday, 8/29
  Hidden in Plain View (Darryl Billups Mysteries), by Blair S. Walker, 14 customer reviews, 4.1 stars - published by AmazonEncore July 26, 2011
    Daily Deal until the end of Monday, 8/29:
      Sunday's Price: $7.99
      Monday's Discount: $7.00
      Monday's Daily Deal Price: $0.99 (88% off)
From Library Journal: "Lean prose, wit, and humanizing sidebars lend credence to both plot and setting..."



Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a separate sorting
by Low-to-High pricing.
Unusual Publisher Sale for August - 8/3
Publisher Harper Perennial sale::20 titles for $20, or $0.99 each, through the month of August



Other ongoing forum threads that might interest some
  . Discussing books posted on discount threads (New)
  . What have been your favorite public domain books not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles



LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution that it's not a book promotion thread for authors or for posts about indies or free books either.  "The thread is for discounts and price drops that readers find for books from publishers."
  8/27-29



TEMPORARILY Free-Book alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the amazing "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is constantly on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts below are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of newly and mostly temporarily-free books just released and are *not* books I've seen and are *not* recommendations by this blog -- this is just a daily report of very popular forum alerts.   The eBooks will become no longer free within days, usually - sometimes, hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing all these for us.

Aug 29 - morning - 8 books (Corrected the URL and updated list), Aug 29 - afternoon - 1 book discussed, Aug 29 - late afternoon - 1 book (Agatha Christie's The Murder at the Vicarage.

If, on the Home page listing, you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of the long listing of free books *


' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times, New and Expanded Edition
Author: Jon M. Huntsman
Genre: Business - Leadership

DESCRIPTION: Author royalties from this book go to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation "The way Jon conducts his business and lives his life will not only inspire you to be a better person, citizen, and entrepreneur, it also will give you hope that the good guys don't finish last." Glenn Beck, CNN "Jon Huntsman is a different breed. He believes business is a creative endeavor, similar to a theater production, wherein integrity must be the central character." Larry King, CNN "Jon Huntsman's own life and personal values lend credence to his words. He walks his ethical talk." Neil Cavuto, Fox News "This book could put me out of business. Nobody would be happier about it than me." Wayne Reaud, Trial Attorney. The nationwide bestseller--fully updated for today's tough times and worldwide financial crises "Everyone does it." Everyone cheats. Cuts corners. Tells lies. Maybe it was different once. Not today. If you want to succeed in thiseconomic climate, you simply have to make compromises. Right? Wrong. You can succeed at the highest levels, without sacrificing the principles that make life worth living. The proof? You're holding it. Jon M.Huntsman built a $12 billion company from scratch, the old-fashioned way: with integrity. There were short-term costs and difficult decisions. There were tough times. Times just like today. But ultimately, leading with integrity wasn't just personally right for Huntsman, it also proved to be the best business strategy. In Winners Never Cheat, Huntsman tells you how he did it, and how you can, too. This book is about remembering why you work, and why you were chosen to lead. It's about finding the bravery to act on what you know is right, no matter what you're up against. It's about winning. The right way. Think about the kind of person you want to do business with. Then, be that person--and use this book to get you there.

***

Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise
Author: Joyce Magnim
Genre: Religious - Inspirational

DESCRIPTION: Newly widowed Charlotte Figg purchases a double-wide trailer sight unseen and moves to the Paradise Trailer Park with her dog, Lucky. Unfortunately, neither the trailer nor Paradise are what Charlotte expected. Her trailer is a ramshackle old place in need of major repair, and the people of Paradise are harboring more secrets than Bayer has aspirin. Charlotte's new friend Rose Tattoo learns that Charlotte played softball and convinces her to rally the women of Paradise into a team. Reluctant at first, Charlotte warms to the notion and is soon coaching the Paradise Angels. Meanwhile, Charlotte discovers that the manager of Paradise, Fergus Wrinkel, abuses his wife, Suzy. Charlotte sets out to find a way to save Suzy from Fergus and in the process comes to a difficult realization about her own painful marriage.

***

Invitation to the Jesus Life: Experiments in Christlikeness
Author: Jan Johnson
Genre: Religious - Inspirational

DESCRIPTION: It's easy to learn a little something about Jesus, but to encounter him on a daily basis changes everything. No longer can we live with the same earthly behavior or attitude. Our focus becomes eternal. Jan Johnson helps readers experience Jesus in such a way that his love-drenched, others-focused nature shapes their character. Readers of all types will find the spiritual practices in each chapter inviting and challenging.

***

Making Sense of People: Decoding the Mysteries of Personality (FT Press Science)
Author: Samuel Barondes
Genre: Science - Personality

DESCRIPTION: Leading neuroscientist Samuel Barondes shares scientific frameworks and tools for improving your intuitions about people, and sizing them up more consciously, systematically, and successfully. He shows how to use the latest research about personality and character to get along better, choose great friends, decide whom to trust, and avoid narcissists and sociopaths.

  MORE... ( 4 more books: Click just below on "MORE")
*****

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Kindle Add-on's Recommended on Forums - Covers, Lights

ACCESSORIES RECENTLY RECOMMENDED BY KINDLE OWNERS

The rooCase Flip (Black) Leather Case for the Kindle 3 comes in other colors also, but they have their own listings, shown under the "...Also Bought" row further down the page.

Only $11.98, as opposed to almost $40 for the usual, this is for the budget-conscious who are also looking for decent-quality add-ons.  The black one has 38 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars and, while sold by PC Micro (fulfilled by Amazon), it's eligible for Amazon Prime shipping.  Many of us do like flip style cases for hand-free use when busy with something else.

The SimpleLight for Kindle3 attaches to the Kindle, NO Batteries are needed.
  I first saw this one mentioned on the forums also, and that was probably less than a month ago.
  So far it has 29 customer reviews, with an average rating of 4.8 stars, which is quite unusual for any light.  It's $22.99, is sold by Grantwood Technology, fulfilled by Amazon, and is eligible for Amazon Prime shipping.
While I'm recomending the above newer popular items, I'll repeat my older recommendation for the very separate lighting I use, worn around my neck all the time when home, and include an older post with information that still holds true for different needs.


VIDEO OF LIGHTED COVER
On the left is an excellent video on the Amazon cover with light.

BEAM N READ 3-Led light, made by ASF Lightware Solutions.


  I'm including a couple of photos below to show light coverage on my Kindle 3 with the Amazon cover with built-in light and when using my new favorite light for the Kindle, by BEAM N READ.

This is worn around the neck and has a light, adjustable strap.  The light is said to last about 120 hours, and I've been using it for weeks and it's still going.  The 3 leds are the type that will likely go for forever, as long as there are batteries powering them.

  It comes with 4 standard alkaline AA batteries and a clip-on red filter to minimize night blindness and soften the light if needed, they say (I've never needed that).  Really lightweight and flexible with a patented flip-up design, reflector, and the adjustable strap, I now usually have it on when I'm home.  Going downstairs at night or to a darkened room, or when I just can't see something well enough, I can save on lights by just turning this on, which is done by flipping up the hood/reflector.

For reading a book or an e-book reader, you can also reverse it if you prefer (as I do) to hold the book higher than on your lap, and then flip the reflector down instead, so that the light angles up.  But if someone is sitting across from you that may not be very comfortable for that person, as the Led lamps would be directed at their eyes too.

 I love that it's always available when I need extra light.  No, I'm not associated with the company that makes them.  I was just tired of clipping on a light and adjusting it, as much as I love the ease of the Mighty Bright Xtraflex 2 which has the little foam pad where the clip-on meets the top of the Kindle's bezel.  The Beam N Read is pretty good at keeping the light from reaching the other person for night reading in bed.  There are times that I would like a somewhat brighter light, and when I do:

The 6-led version
 They also have a 6-led version that is VERY bright and probably overkill for reading a Kindle 6" reader, though I sometimes use it for situations where the light is just dim.  I am trying one for other uses, and for my DX in Landscape mode.  The batteries for this will last, they say, about 48 hours.  This one doesn't come with batteries included but has a magnifier for short-session, detailed craft work, but I found the texture quite hard to see through and I don't do crafts and probably wouldn't use the magnifier.

  I DO use both Beam N Read units for piano music though.

  I had bought a head lamp for a trip I took October 2009, since we needed to go into some unlit places, but I don't like wearing something around my head just to read so I wondered if there was anything like this.  Amazon doesn't make this easy to find, but it is extremely useful, in my view, for any e-reader.

Clip-on lights
My favorite Kindle clip-on light (I now prefer the separate light) the Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip-On (Black, Kindle Version) for which they added a foam pad where the top clamp meets the Kindle's bezel and protects it from scratches from that clamp.  That's been $20 at Amazon (you might be able to get it elsewhere at $13), and I like that I can clip it right onto the Kindle instead of having to use the cover while reading, and the neck is very flexible so that I can bend it to avoid glare on the screen.  Some find it too bright for those sharing a bed at night although there is a 2nd, lower setting which is bright enough and maybe not as bothersome for another person nearby.  I did use it on a 10-hour airplane flight and needed to be careful it wasn't shining onto other people's areas.  It requires 3 AAA batteries,

A year ago, I actually bought also the "Travelflex" by Mighty Bright because it uses only one Led lamp and one AAA battery (vs the XtraFlex2's 3 AAA batteries), is extremely light and clips onto a pocket in my purse for use with the cover for the Kindle if needed, when I'm out, and I sometimes keep it in my car.
  That was before I got the Amazon case with light, but I've loaned that to someone who really likes it.  It of course is less bright than the XtraFlex2, preferred by some for that reason, but the Travelflex takes very little room in a purse or briefcase (or in the glove compartment of a car).

Screen coverage
Here are some pictures of the effect of some of these lights on my Kindles.

Lit by the Amazon cover with light, the upper right hand corner is lit more than the lower-left of course, and the light isn't as bright as I like but it's useful if you're out and need a light for reading.  The light needs no batteries but runs off the Kindle's own battery, and it shuts off automatically if the Kindle goes into sleep mode after about 10 minutes.

Lit by the Beam N Read (at the right), the lighting is very even and brighter overall than the one built into the cover, but one would seldom wear the Beam N Read when out, probably, though I've done it :-).

It's worth remembering that the Amazon case without a ligh is $35 and the one with the built-in light costs an additional $25.  Clamp-ons usually run $10 to $20+.


This is an older shot of a silver Mighty Bright Xtraflex2 used on my Kindle DX (the latest DX is only in Graphite color and has the new Pearl screen also used in the Kindle 3  (UK: K3).

Click on any of these three images to get the larger versions.

I hope that helps some who are looking for good add-ons to use with the Kindle.  The choice of a light is one of the most asked questions on the Kindle forums.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Free Kindle Books (8/28 ) + Newly Discounted Books Found by Forumners + Amzn Deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS
Sunday, 8/28

You've Gone Too Far This Time, Sir!, by Danny Bent, 38 customer reviews, 4.7 stars, $0.00
  From the Product Description: Danny Bent bicycled 9,320 miles (15,000 kilometres) from the UK to India to raise money for ActionAid.  "...a real and compelling blow-by-blow account of Danny's trip across Europe, the former Soviet Republic, Russia, China, Pakistan and India."


Kindle Daily Deal
  (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
   Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)

  Sunday, 8/28
  The Lincoln Lawyer, by Michael Connelly, 514 customer reviews, 4.6 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Sunday, 8/28:
      Saturday's Price: $7.99
      Sunday's Discount: $5.00
      Sunday's Daily Deal Price: $2.99 (63% off)



Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a separate sorting
by Low-to-High pricing.
Unusual Publisher Sale for August - 8/3
Publisher Harper Perennial sale::20 titles for $20, or $0.99 each, through the month of August


Other ongoing forum threads that might interest some
  . What have been your favorite public domain books not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . In the Kindle Kitchen with Annie and Joyce (popular recipes thread)



LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution that it's not a book promotion thread for authors or for posts about indies or free books either.)  "The thread is for discounts and price drops that readers find for books from publishers."
  8/27-28
  These include many Marion Chesney/MC Beaton books discounted 20% to $5.59 and a discussion of the Audible books program.



TEMPORARILY Free-Book alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the amazing "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is constantly on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

NOTE: The alerts below are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of newly and mostly temporarily-free books just released and are *not* books I've seen and are *not* recommendations by me -- this is just a daily report of very popular forum alerts.   The eBooks will become no longer free within days, usually - sometimes, hours.

Aug 28 - morning - 3 books

If on the Home Page and you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of the long listing of free books *


' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen: A Dix Dodd Mystery (Dix Dodd Mysteries)
Author: Norah Wilson
Genre: Fiction - Mystery - Humor

DESCRIPTION: Tired of getting no respect at the big P.I. firm where she's worked for years, Dix Dodd has hung out her own shingle at the ripe age of 40. There are plenty of cheating husbands to go around, and Dix has a knack for busting them. Problem is, it doesn't always pay so well. Conscious that the guys back at the old firm are laying bets about how soon she'll come crawling back, she figures she's got six months to make a go of it. The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm's interests, she hired him on the spot. In addition to being smart, he's gorgeous enough to remind her she's a woman. And at 28, young enough to make her feel like a total cougar. Things start looking up when Dix gets hired by millionaire businessman Ned Weatherby's wife Jennifer Weatherby, to tail Ned 24/7 for a week, for a cool ten grand. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong! The job lands Dix in the middle of a murder investigation - with her as the prime suspect and her arch-enemy Detective Richard Head (one of the cheating husbands she'd nailed) gunning for her. Dix will need all her ingenuity, as well as the help of Dylan and her oddball cast of supporters to extricate herself from this one.

*****

The Oak Leaves
Author: Maureen Lang
Genre: Religious - Inspirational

DESCRIPTION: After Talie Ingram finds an old family journal while helping clean her mother's house, she enthusiastically settles down to read about the life of her ancestress Cosima Escott Hamilton, whose diary dates as far back as 1849. From the very beginning, Lang, a romance novelist and author of Pieces of Silver, deftly navigates back and forth in history between Cosima's 19th-century confessions about the strange circumstances surrounding her family and betrothal to Sir Reginald Hale and Talie's growing, present-day fears about her heritage and its potential impact on her beloved son, Ben. With each passing day, Ben shows more signs of struggle with tasks that even the smallest toddlers usually have mastered; waving goodbye, chewing food, and crawling are beyond his grasp. This causes Talie to wonder if the family "curse" Cosima writes about-that the women on her father's side only produce "slow-witted children"-is more than mere legend. The bulk of this tale is really Cosima's, centering on the complications that ensue regarding her postponed marriage to Sir Reginald and the deep feelings she develops for another man. And it's Cosima's lingering voice-her determination and faith-that inspires Talie to reconcile her son's diagnosis of fragile X syndrome (a disability Lang's own son suffers from) with her belief that God is merciful.

*****

Soon (Underground Zealot Series #1)
Author: Jerry B. Jenkins
Genre: Religious - Inspirational

DESCRIPTION: Paul Stepola, an agent working for the National Peacekeeping Organization (NPO), has been assigned to enforce compliance with the world government's prohibition on religion. Paul relishes his job and is good at it. He is determined to expose underground religion--flush it out, expose it, and kill it--until his life is turned upside down and he is forced to look at life in a different way. As Paul begins to unravel the truth about what he has found, events taking place around the world start to make sense. Something big is coming--something that can't be stopped. And it is coming soon. '


Kindle-edition blog subscribers can access these by
clicking on any forum-alert link above, with Wireless 'On'...
  (the daily updates of forum alerts/discussions are readable on the Kindle-edition -
    press the Kindle's "Aa"-key to Zoom a page of text 200% if on Kindle 3
    or to increase font size on Kindle 2)
    The Aa key gives a Landscape-view option also.)



For daily free ebooks, check the following links:

Temporarily-free books -
Non-classics
- USA: by:
NEW:  June  July  Aug 2011
   Publication Date   Late-listed
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK: PubDate   Popular
What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care
Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3
Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free
USEFUL for your Kindle (U.S. only, currently):
  99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,
  99c Calendar,   99c Converter


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Kindle Daily Deal for Saturday, August 27

An interim post


Kindle Daily Deal
  (This Daily Deal link changes at MIDNIGHT each day,
   so will not point to the current book, when seen the next day.
   Click it to see what the daily deal book is at any time.)

Saturday, 8/27
Food Inc, by Karl Weber, Participant Media, 60 customer reviews, 4.6 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Saturday, 8/27:
      Friday's Price: $8.52
      Saturday's Discount: $7.03
      Saturday's Daily Deal Price: $1.49  (83% off)

Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It



Friday, August 26, 2011

4 Free Kindle Books (8/26 ) + Newly Discounted Ones Found by Forumners + Amzn Deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS
Friday, 8/26


The Man of Their Lives, by Françoise Bourdin, 4 customer reviews, 4.5 stars, $0.00
"...explores two very timely themes: the difficulties of starting over at age forty and the day-to-day worries that arise from joining two separate families."


Kindle Daily Deal
  (This Daily Deal link changes at MIDNIGHT each day,
   so will not point to the current book, when seen the next day.
   Click it to see what the daily deal book is at any time.)

  Friday, 8/26
  Elizabeth Street, by Laurie Fabiano, 173 customer reviews, 4.5 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Friday, 8/26:
      Thursday's Price: $7.99
      Friday's's Discount: $6.00
      Friday's Daily Deal Price: $1.99 (75% off)


Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a separate sorting by Low-to-High pricing.
Unusual Publisher Sale for August - 8/3
Publisher Harper Perennial sale::20 titles for $20, or $0.99 each, through the month of August


Other ongoing forum threads that might interest some
  . What have been your favorite public domain books not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . In the Kindle Kitchen with Annie and Joyce (popular recipes thread)



LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution that it's not a book promotion thread for authors or for posts about indies or free books either.)  "The thread is for discounts and price drops that readers find for books from publishers."
  8/25-27
(Last week, some lucked out and got a $43 non-fiction book for $.01 but it went back up to $43 within minutes.


TEMPORARILY Free-Book alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the amazing "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is constantly on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

NOTE: The alerts below are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of newly and mostly temporarily-free books just released and are *not* books I've seen and are *not* recommendations by me -- this is just a daily report of very popular forum alerts.   The eBooks will become no longer free within days, usually.


Aug 26 - 4 books

If on the Home Page,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of the long listing of free books *


' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

** Pre-Order for September 27 **
The Leak
Author: K'wan
Offered by: MacMillan

DESCRIPTION: The Leak is a complimentary short prequel story that leads into K'wan's hit novel, Welfare Wifeys.

*****

** Pre-Order for October 12 **
Between the Panels: An Inside Look at the Making of Eleven Exciting New Graphic Novels
Author: Various
Offered by: MacMillan

DESCRIPTION: Have you ever asked yourself what goes on in comics between the panels and behind the scenes? Now, you can get an inside look at the making of eleven exciting new graphic novels and learn more about how they're put together.

*****

The Do's and Don'ts of Holiday Parties: From International Etiquette Expert Jacqueline Whitmore
Author: Jacqueline Whitmore

DESCRIPTION: This special digital e-book contains an excerpt from Jacqueline Whitmore's forthcoming book POISED FOR SUCCESS: MASTERING THE FOUR QUALITIES THAT DISTINGUISH OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONALS, on sale November 8, 2011. How To Entertain With Elegance And Ease. Rest assured: in today's fast-paced world, where most of us are short on time and resources, there are no absolute rules about parties. But the best rule to keep in mind is the five Ps: prior planning prevents poor performance. After all, the purpose of entertaining for business or pleasure is to show your guests a good time without getting too stressed out. In The Do's and Don't of Holiday Parties, Jacqueline Whitmore serves up ten tips to help you get started. How To Be The World's Best Guest. To ensure that you stay in the good graces of others this holiday season, Jacqueline Whitmore gives you a few simple yet often forgotten tips, covering everything from when to show up, how to ask permission to bring an uninvited guest, to what to bring, how to dress, what to discuss, and how to thank your host. Whitmore, using her 15 years of experience as a protocol and etiquette expert, will arm you with the skills to become more self-aware, more confident and comfortable in your own skin, and better able to communicate with others in a credible, authentic manner.

*** EDIT TO ADD: 4:00 p.m. CST

Mutiny
Author: Artist Arthur

DESCRIPTION: One minute Franklin Bryant is a normal teenager in school with his girlfriend, Krystal. The next, a reaper leaves him in Trance, the place between worlds where his destiny will be decided. Franklin has been summoned by the demon Charon to help destroy the Mystyx, a group of classmates including Krystal, with supernatural powers that can defeat Charon. Franklin loves Krystal, but he faces an impossible choice: join Charon and be rewarded with powers beyond his dreams, or refuse and die. A Mystyx series novella. '


Kindle-edition blog subscribers can access these by
clicking on any forum-alert link above, with Wireless 'On'...
  (the daily updates of forum alerts/discussions are readable on the Kindle-edition -
    press the Kindle's "Aa"-key to Zoom a page of text 200% if on Kindle 3
    or to increase font size on Kindle 2)
    The Aa key gives a Landscape-view option also.)



For daily free ebooks, check the following links:
Temporarily-free books -
Non-classics
- USA: by:
NEW:  June  July  Aug 2011
   Publication Date   Late-listed
   Bestselling   High-ratings

UK: PubDate   Popular
What is 3G? and "WiFi"?       Battery Care
Highly-rated under $1,  Newest: $1-$2, $2-$3
Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
   Top 100 free
UK-Only:
   Top 100 free
USEFUL for your Kindle (U.S. only, currently):
  99c Notepad 1.1,   99c Calculator,
  99c Calendar,   99c Converter


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

More Kindle rumors: New Kindle-domain names - Do we have a pattern here?

A Wave of Kindle-Domain Names

Well, yes, we just had KindleScribe.com, Kindle Wave.com -- and although these two were recently expired domain names that Amazon scooped up, possibly to protect the trademark name or in case they might prove useful someday, we know they also registered KindleAir.com two weeks earlier.

Now, Geeky Gadgets' Roland Hutchinson reports that "according to the guys over at Fusible, Amazon has also registered some other new Kindle domain names which include KindleEarth.com and KindleWater.com."

 Air, Earth, Water ...

One more to go for The Basic Elements (nice concept).  However, kindlefire.com was registered under "Domain Discreet" in Funchai, Madeira, where it was created February 21, 2000, and is due to expire on February 21, 2012 (not long from now unless the owner renews).  It's not an active domain on the Web.

Definitely intriguing.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.


26 Free Kindle Books (8/25 - very late evening ) + Newly Discounted Ones Found by Forumners + Amzn Deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS
Thursday, 8/25



The Mill River Recluse, by Darcie Chan, 79 customer reviews, 4.4 stars, $0.99

  Good reviews from Kirkus Reviews and IndieReader.com, and
a NY Times and USA Today bestseller







NEW - Kindle Daily Deal - Thursday, 8/25

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, 3,231 customer reviews, 4.3 stars

  Daily Deal until the end of Thursday, 8/24: Yesterday's Price: $6.99
    Today's Discount: $4.00
    Today's Daily Deal Price: $2.99 (57% off)




Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a separate sorting by Low-to-High pricing.


Unusual Publisher Sale for August - 8/3
Publisher Harper Perennial: sale of 20 titles for $20, or $0.99 each, through the month of August


Other ongoing forum threads that might interest some
  . What have been your favorite public domain books not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . In the Kindle Kitchen with Annie and Joyce (popular recipes thread)



LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution for authors:
    " This thread is NOT a book promotion thread for authors, or for people to post about indies.  (And it's not for posting freebies either.)  This thread is to post discounts and price drops that readers find for books from publishers."
  8/24-25
(Some lucked out and got a $43 non-fiction book for $.01 but it's gone back up to $43 within minutes.


TEMPORARILY Free-Book alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the amazing "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is constantly on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

NOTE: The alerts below are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of newly and mostly temporarily-free books just released and are *not* books I've seen and are *not* recommendations by me -- this is just a daily report of very popular forum alerts.   The eBooks will become no longer free within days, usually.


Aug 25 - 2 books, Aug 25 - evening - 4 more, Aug 25 - late evening, part 1 - 10 more, Aug 25 - late evening, part 2 - 10 more (total 26)

If on the Home Page,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of the long listing of free books *


' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:
The Nemesis Worm
Author: Guy Haley
Genre: Action - Adventure

DESCRIPTION: A standalone novella featuring the 22nd century's greatest detectives, The Nemesis Worm sees Richards & Klein involved in another high stakes investigation. Corpses are showing up all over Old London, and the finger of suspicion points right at Richards himself. Forced to clear his name, Richards and Otto uncover a fanatical group whose actions threaten the relationship between human and AI with destruction.

*****

Individual Preparedness and Response to Chemical, Radiological, Nuclear, and Biological Terrorist Attacks: The Reference Guide
Author: Lynn E. Davis
Genre: Political - Current Events

DESCRIPTION: The guide focuses on simple steps individuals can take to prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks with chemical, biological, radiological ("dirty bomb") and nuclear weapons. The guides contain both preparatory steps and specific response guidance. This includes what individuals will experience, what their goals should be, and what they should do during each type of attack.

*****

What Is Node?
Author: Brett McLaughlin
Genre: Computers ad Internet

DESCRIPTION: Node.js. It's the latest in a long line of "Are you cool enough to use me?" programminglanguages, APIs, and toolkits. In that sense, it lands squarely in the tradition of Rails,and Ajax, and Hadoop, and even to some degree iPhone programming and HTML5. Dig a little deeper, and you'll hear that Node.js (or, as it's more briefly called by many,simply "Node") is a server-side solution for JavaScript, and in particular, for receivingand responding to HTTP requests. If that doesn't completely boggle your mind, by thetime the conversation heats up with discussion of ports, sockets, and threads, you'lltend to glaze over. Is this really JavaScript? In fact, why in the world would anyonewant to run JavaScript outside of a browser, let alone the server? The good news is that you're hearing (and thinking) about the right things. Node reallyis concerned with network programming and server-side request/response processing.The bad news is that like Rails, Ajax, and Hadoop before it, there's precious little clearinformation available. There will be, in time - as there now is for these other "cool"frameworks that have matured - but why wait for a book or tutorial when you mightbe able to use Node today, and dramatically improve the maintainability.

*****

What Is HTML5?
Author: Brett McLaughlin
Genre: Computers and Internet

DESCRIPTION: HTML5: Everyone's using it, nobody knows what it is. I realize that sounds more like a line out of an existential movie - maybe Waiting for Godot or a screenplay by Sartre - than a statement about HTML5. But it's really the truth: most of the people using HTML5 are treating it as HTML4+, or even worse, HTML4 (and some stuff they don't use). The result? A real delay in the paradigm shift that HTML5 is almost certain to bring. It's certainly not time to look away, because by the time you look back, you may have missed something really important: a subtle but important transition centered around HTML5.


  MORE... ( 26 more books: Click just below on "MORE")
*****

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Kindle Rumors - 8/25/11: New Amazon domain names not meaningful? Digitimes says Amazon adds third 7-inch touch panel supplier. Shipments late?


A Wave of Kindle-Domain Names

KindleZen alerted us to Domain Name Wire's article on Amazon registering the KindleWave.com domain name, soon after Amazon had claimed "KindleScribe.com."

CAVEAT TO ALL THE SPECULATION ABOUT DOMAIN NAMES
DomainNameWire adds this (emphases mine):
' To be fair, both the Kindle Scribe domain names and Kindle Wave domain names could be merely defensive registrations by the company.  KindleScribe.com and KindleWave.com recently expired and Amazon picked them up after they were deleted.  KindleScribe.com was registered to a Los Angeles company; KindleWave.com was registered by a Tennessee company. '

DIGITIMES ON THIRD SUPPLIER FOR 7" TOUCH PANELS
Digitimes' Yenting Chen and Adam Hwang report that Amazon has added TPK Holding as a third supplier of 7-inch touch panels, the other two, Wintek and J Touch, having been mentioned earlier.

HOWEVER, on July 1, Digitimes reported, per an earlier Kindleworld blog article, that Amazon had "held talks with TPK Holdings" and others for the supply of touch panels."  That doesn't mean they contracted to do this at the time, but these talks were almost two months ago.

  Digitimes adds that the other two suppliers "clarified" that they'd not lost orders but that it's reasonable that clients select additional suppliers when supply is tight.  The Taiwan industry newspaper also reports that "Wintek stressed that it will start production of touch panels for Amazon as originally scheduled, with shipments to begin in September."

  That would mean shipments to whatever entity would be assembling these, so any devices with Wintek-supplied 7-inch touch panels would likely not be seen that soon.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.


Kindle News, 8/25/11 - Kindles in Libraries, Steve Jobs Steps Down - reactions

More and more libraries are loaning out e-readers, and in the case of a local library in Idaho, The Snake River School Community Library, they've ordered 15 Amazon Kindles (UK: K3) for use by the general public or students.  There's a newsclip on this at the article.

The library's director, Sherrilynn Bair, explains that students will be using electronic devices in their classrooms and this will give them a jump start on that.

As with other libraries that have been loaning Kindles, most students are on waiting lists, as they're a big hit, Bair says.

  Moreover, "The Idaho Falls Library is in contract discussions with digital book distributor Overdrive to provide free online checkouts, compatible with any and all devices."  The library hopes to have something in place by Oct-Nov.

  We've been waiting for the Kindle to be involved with public library lending.  Amazon and Overdrive have been working together to make it possible for Kindle books to be loaned, soon, from public libraries, with Amazon delivering the e-books after check-out and making it possible for borrowers to make highlights and notes which will be backed-up (as is done for Kindle owners who don't opt out of the feature) to their private, password-protected annotation webpages on the Amazon servers (not visible to other borrowers, of course).  Here's an example.

  While public-library Kindle-book lending was promised by the "end of the year," there have been hints that the Overdrive/Amazon Kindle-book public library loan program may be ready to go by September-October but there's no hard info to go on.  What has been definite is that the deliveries will be what Kindle users are accustomed to -- wireless downloads with no need for a computer.


Steve Jobs steps down as CEO of Apple
This was, of course, big in the news last night, despite the fact he's officially been on medical leave the last half-year but showing up for work and presentation as the need arises.  Tim Cook has been the Chief Operating Officer and running things while the company continued to do very well, but Jobs's definite presence would have a lot to do with that and it'll continue to, as he will remain on, elected to the position of Chairman of the Board, although, as the NY Times notes, that position didn't exist before.

While I'm not admiring of some of Apple's recent actions, I do admire what Jobs has done with that company, and it has a lot to do with his intense focus on quality, high standards, and understanding what consumers want and are comfortable with.  His fighting spirit against an aggressive, consuming cancer has been inspiring, and I hope that his stepping back will somehow help him beat it, despite indications it is important for him to be in control and active.  It did make me sad that he felt bad enough to say, in his resignation letter, that he is no longer able to meet his "duties and expectations as Apple's CEO."

I've seen relatives and friends try to fight pancreatic cancer and also the spread of it to the liver, but Jobs has held it at bay 10 times longer than most are able to, and here's wishing the best to him on this personal battle.

As Biographer Glenn Fleishman said last night:
' There's something that pulls at you inside.  I feel sad for him as a person.  This guy, an adopted child who had difficulty learning, no college degree, rose to create the largest company in the world, and now at the peak, steps down.  Perfect time to step down, it's part of that epic story arc and there's something mythic and beautiful and sad about it. '

How will Apple fare after Jobs? Two brief assessments:
' Cult of Mac writer Leander Kahney reckons Steve's personality traits have basically become Apple's business model, and are ingrained in the company itself. With Jobs out of the equation, the company may continue to function as if he were still there, barking orders.

"Jobs' perfectionism, for example, has created a system at Apple for exhaustively prototyping everything the company does," Kahney wrote.

Not everyone is so optimistic.  New York Times tech columnist David Pogue tweeted: "I agree with you all that Apple is teeming with geniuses.  But Jobs added a single, pure vision that will be tough to maintain by committee." '

Here is The NY Times article.

It has to be odd for him, the new Chairman of the Board of Apple, to get online and read so many eulogy-style articles.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's)   K3 Special ($114)   K3-3G Special ($139)   DX Graphite

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

32 Free Kindle Books (8/23-8/24 late evening) + Newly Discounted Ones Found by Forumners + Amzn Deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS
(23 more added Wednesday - late evening)



5 of the USA's Best Trips, by Lonely Planet, 6 customer reviews, 4.2 stars


Wednesday, 8/24
First, here are the current specials always noted at the top of this regular blog entry:




NEW - Kindle Daily Deal

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Newberry award-winning author Kate DiCamillo, 332 customer reviews, 4.5 stars

  Daily Deal until the end of Wednesday, 8/24: Yesterday's Price: $5.59
    Today's Discount: $4.20
    Today's Daily Deal Price: $1.39 (75% off)



Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos
  Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.
  I've added a separate sorting by Low-to-High pricing.


Unusual Publisher Sale for August - 8/3
Publisher Harper Perennial: sale of 20 titles for $20, or $0.99 each, through the month of August


Other ongoing forum threads that might interest some
  . What have been your favorite public domain books not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . In the Kindle Kitchen with Annie and Joyce (popular recipes thread)



NEWLY and TEMPORARILY DISCOUNTED books forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME includes a caution for authors:
  ' This thread is NOT a book promotion thread for authors, or for people to post about indies.  (And it's not for posting freebies either.)  This thread is to post discounts and price drops that readers find for books from publishers." '
  8/22-24
  Includes 14 books by Kurt Vonnegut for $3.99



NEWLY and TEMPORARILY Free Book alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via "Happy Reader" Joyce

NOTE: The alerts below are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of newly and mostly temporarily-free books just released and are *not* books I've seen and are definitely *not* recommendations by me -- this is just a daily report of popular forum alerts.   The eBooks will become no longer free within days, usually.

Aug 23, 1 book Aug 23 - late evening, 2 more,
Aug 24, 6 books, Aug 24 - late evening, 23 books (total 32)

If on the Home Page,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of the long listing of free books *


' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:
Zarrella's Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design, and Engineering of Contagious Ideas
Author: Dan Zarella
Genre: Social Media Marketing - Short Read

DESCRIPTION: Want to learn how to maximize social media? When to do it, what words to use, who to tweet at? Look no further than Zarrella's Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design and Engineering of Contagious Ideas. Social media master Dan Zarrella has amassed years of experience helping people negotiate the often mystical place of social media marketing. Now, he has condensed those well-tried ideas into this concise and conversational book. Zarrella's Hierarchy of Contagiousness demystifies and deconstructs how social media works, who it benefits and why we all depend upon it to help our good ideas spread.

  MORE... (31 more books: CLICK just below on "MORE")

*****