The Kindle Personal Document Enhancements - How it all works - Update from Customer Svc

AMAZON'S EMAIL TO "PAST USERS" OF THE PERSONAL DOCUMENTS FEATURE

Introduction
  As many now know, since Sept. 30 and with the Kindle Keyboard software update to v3.3 on Oct. 13, Amazon has made notable, long-requested improvements to the Personal Documents feature, upgrading personal documents that you send to your Kindle, from 2nd-class status to having the regular features that Kindle books have.

See Update with email from Customer Svc.

Those first-class features include sync'g your reading between devices, having them archived at the Amazon servers, and showing their titles in your Kindle's Archived Items folder when the personal document is no longer on the Kindle, for future re-downloading to any of your Kindles as needed.  (You can also disable the archiving & sync'g features.)

Personal docs are, generally, any file that is not a Kindle book and they're usually files we've personally put on our Kindle -- either by transferring them from computer to the Kindle, via the USB cable that comes with our Kindle's power cord or by using our email to send the file to our Kindle (which is given a "Kindle email address" for that purpose, in the form  [your nickname]@kindle.com .

  For example: My Kindle 3 address is andrysk3@kindle.com -- and no one can use it to send documents to my Kindle unless I approve that person's email address for doing that.  Approval for others to send docs to your Kindle  can be registered by you at your amazon.com/manageyourkindle page.

Any file that we send to our Kindle by email goes to the Amazon servers where it is converted to Amazon format before Amazon gets it ready for download to the Kindle.

  Once you've made that special nickname-email address for your Kindle, you can specify that you want to send a personal file to your Kindle email address WITHOUT using the "3G" cellphone network feature.  Why? - because there is a 15c per megabyte fee to use 3G for sending personal docs to your Kindle.  (See 'What are "3G" and "WiFi?".)

  Amazon pays for 3G cell-phone type data-access and they charge back 15c per megabyte of a file for that reason.
   Sending files via WiFi networks doesn't incur a fee, as WiFi is local to us, in our home, or at work, or at a cafe or other public place that allows access to one, and Amazon doesn't have to pay for that.

   The new Basic Kindle with No Keyboard and No TouchScreen is WiFi only, so there's no way to incur a fee with that.

When would you find yourself using 3G instead of WiFi?
The Kindle 1, Kindle 2, and larger DX models use ONLY 3G  wireless access for downloading books or for going to the web.  The Kindle 3 (UK: K3) ("Kindle Keyboard") uses both 3G and WiFi.

Making sure you send the file for free
The TWO ways you can get the file to your Kindle without using 3G are:

1. Send it to [your nickname[@free.kindle.com (note the "free" part in the link) which will let you download the converted doc file or book using a WiFi wireless network at home, office, or a place like McDonald's or Starbucks instead of using 3G wireless  OR
   
   
2. When Amazon notifies you that your converted emailed-file is ready for download but you have no WiFi network access, download it to your computer at the manageyourkindle page and then transfer the file to your Kindle by using the USB cable.  In the past we've been able to download it from the link given in the Amazon email-notice that the converted file is ready.

In both cases, you've emailed a personal document file to Amazon for conversion to Kindle format so that it can be on the Kindle.  That sending of the file:

1. makes your personal doc eligible for the regular features which include sync'g between devices, archiving on the servers, and
   
   
2. you can choose to download it to the Kindle via WiFi or to your computer via USB cable, specifically designated for your Kindle, as mentioned.

THE AMAZON EMAIL ABOUT THE NEW FEATURES
Instead of doing a PR release on the newer Personal Document features,Amazon sent an email on Oct. 14 to anyone who was "a past user of the Kindle Personal Documents Service"

'Your documents are now automatically archived in your Kindle library (you can control this from the Manage Your Kindle page at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle). '

  That means that Amazon will back it up on their servers -- and this will be on a Kindle Cloud that can hold up to 5 gigabytes of your personal documents so that you can re-download them as needed at any time.

' Archived documents can be re-downloaded from your archive to the all-new Kindle and Kindle Touch devices, as well as Kindle Keyboard (Kindle 3rd Generation--requires the latest software update v3.3 from www.amazon.com/kindlesoftwareupdates) -- you will be able to find and download your documents from any of these devices that are registered to your account. '

  I did see that a personal file I sent to my current Kindle Keyboard IS sendable from the manageyourkindle page, personal-documents section, to my Kindle 1, 2, and DX-Graphite as well as the later ones although the file doesn't show up in the "Archived Items" folder on those older Kindles nor do they seem to do sync'g (they're not said to be included for new features at this time anyway).

  It's good that we can download the personal docs to each and every Kindle though.

' Now (just as with Kindle books) Whispersync automatically synchronizes your last page read, bookmarks and annotations for your documents (with the exception of PDFs) across devices '

They did not specifically mention Kindle 1, 2, or the DX for the whispersync'g or for downloading from those Kindles' Archived-Item folders rather than doing manageyourpage-sending to those devices.

' We expect to extend these features to Kindle Fire and Kindle apps (such as Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for Android, Kindle for iPhone, Kindle for PC, and Kindle for Mac) in the coming months '

That is definitely good news.

' You can control these new features from the Manage Your Kindle page at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle where you can see a list of your archived documents, re-deliver documents to your Kindle, delete any document from archive, or even turn off archiving for your account.

Learn more about the Kindle Personal Documents Service from our help pages at www.amazon.com/kindlepersonaldocuments. '

Examples of personal documents
  I often highlight items from webpages and copy them to Word docs and then send them later to my Kindle so I can read them offline.
  These will now be archived and redownloadable as needed and sync'able with my newer Kindles.

  Also, non-DRM'd *.mobi or *.prc books that you download from various free-book sites will be considered personal documents also.

  Question I have:  Is an instapaper, sendtoreader, sendtokindle, or readability document sent to your Kindle also kept on your Amazon server area?
  I haven't tested it.  Maybe some of you have and you can add your personal findings to the Comments area.

But I read one paragraph that I don't quite know how to interpret.  It mentioned that all this does not include documents that involve automatic distribution to your Kindle. (I'll have to find the wording again later.)


PDFs
These will get the benefit of the features ONLY if a copy of a PDF is converted to an Amazon format, losing its original-layout but usually more readable if it's not a document with complex layouts.
  You can just send these to Amazon as you would any personal document BUT, for PDFs, you need to put the word "Convert" into the subject field or Amazon dosn't convert the PDF file to Amazon format but instead will let it through as is, since we often want to just have the original PDF and layout.


ANOTHER WAY TO AVOID ANY DELIVERY CHARGES FOR PERSONAL DOCUMENTS
At "Managing Your Kindle Content page's Personal Document Settings, you'll see Whispernet delivery options.

  CURRENTLY, I was taken to this page for "Kindle Keyboard" options because right now it was the link used for costs incurred with current models -- the Kindle Touch models aren't released yet.

  The Kindle Keyboard (Kindle 3) has 3G (as well as WiFi) and, as we've noted, there are fees for that, although this page doesn't mention that there are NO fees for WiFi use instead, and this omission has confused people who felt they could find no free method.

  On that Kindle Content page, you'll see "Whispernet Delivery Options (for 3G Kindles only)
They use "Whispernet" on that page to mean 3G wireless sending.
  There they add:

' Whispernet delivery is disabled by default.  You can change your preferred Whispernet delivery option for personal documents by clicking "Edit" under "Whispernet Delivery Options" and enter preferred settings. Click "Update" to compete[sic] complete change. '

They show an example of (un)checking the box for
  "Enable delivery to my Kindle over Whispernet.  Fees apply."
REMEMBER that, here, "Whispernet" is used for the 3G use although they often say instead, "Whispernet with 3G support" -- so it is all quite confusing as the Help pages are going through changes.

But you'll note that you can ALSO, if you enable 3G sending, LIMIT the cost to you by specifying the maximum amount to be charged for a delivery. A normal novel can cost 15c but a large Pdf could be many times the size and cost.  So, those without WiFi in their area or with older Kindles that have "only" 3G wireless can still send over the air but it will cost you unless you DISABLE 3G-sending or "Enter a maximum allowed per document delivery charge" to equal $0.00 or whatever you feel is reasonable.


Kindle Cloud storage space in addition to Amazon Cloud space
Note that while all Amazon customers are given general Amazon Cloud space of 5 gigabytes for storage (and streaming, if in the U.S.), Kindle customers get an additional 5 gigabytes for personal documents.
  Kindles are able to store anywhere from 1.5 to 3.2 gigabytes of books, but you can keep most of it on the Kindle Cloud and the performance/speed of your Kindle will be better.


Privacy
  Those who prefer privacy of their personal docs can just DISABLE personal document archiving on the manageyourkindle page.

  Personal docs that you put on your Kindle without sending them via email to Amazon will not be archived on the servers and they won't, then, be sync'd either, when you're reading them on various devices and apps.

Let me know where I've not been clear here or if you have personal experiences with sending personal docs that you'd like to share.  Many of us have long wanted to be able to sync our non-Kindle books and other personal docs and now there's free backup also, so this is all very good, although there seems a mountain of info about what's involved.

---

UPDATE - I had written Amazon that the personal doc pages were confusing and got some interesting replies - the first one saying it would take them a couple of days to look at it to do a summary and then a reply by another person who gave some clear answers that confirmed my understanding.

Commenter Joe G, was hoping the interpretation was right (so was I) so I'll include most of what Amazon's CS emailed reply said.  (BOLD facing to highlight a point is done by me, not by the writer.)

' Hello,

I'm sorry for any misunderstanding regarding how our Kindle's Personal Document Service works.

To avoid a fee, ensure your Kindle is connected via Wi-Fi.

...Download of your personal documents from Archived Items is currently only supported on Kindle Keyboard [Kindle 3], Kindle and Kindle Touch... '

  As Joe said, many regulars found that they could not tell from current Help documentation what the fee situation was, as the clarity that was there before has not been there on the new pages, re how one might avoid fees via WiFi. This customer support statement is clear though.  Caution: It's from one customer rep but Janice V was unusually clear in her statements and I've no reason to believe that there is any fee associated with WiFi accessing of personal documents.

Janice V. added the following, which I've seen on the help pages but which also may be of interest to readers here>

' Documents must be 50MB or smaller.  No more than 25 attachments can be sent in one e-mail. If you're sending multiple files, you can compress them into a single zip file.

If you choose to not archive your documents and your Kindle is not connected wirelessly, we store your document for 60 days and attempt to deliver to your Kindle once it restores wireless connectivity.  Personal documents not delivered within this time period will be deleted. '

Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

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

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Free Kindle Books (Oct 17) - 11 + high-rated, just-discounted books+Amzn deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Oct. 17: - 11 free books

The Poems of Walt Whitman:Vook Classics, by Walt Whitman, $0.00  Also, Even More Poems by Whitman
  (Kept for today, as was first posted late last night)
NOTE: Both of these are "Enhanced" (see notes below about that)

"...His influential, groundbreaking style, although considered controversial when first published in the mid-1800s, is now revered as influencing modern poetry and the free-verse approach.  This collection brings together some of his most powerful and memorable work, including his collections "Drum Taps" and "Chants Democratic." --from Product Description

I'm highlighting this, because Vook has announced they're not going to continue publishing e-books.  Teleread.com received an email from them saying:

' "...… we’re ceasing to publish content and moving instead to extend our digital publishing platform, VookMaker, as far and wide as possible.  It’s a one-stop cloud based tool that lets you create great looking digital books, distribute them to the marketplaces and track their sales." '

That doesn't mean what they've done so far won't be available but I wanted to call attention to it.

You can see by clicking here which Vook books are free at any time.  Remember that the "Enhanced" ones are with video/audio that's playable only on Apple apps and that any video/audio from Enhanced books will not be downloaded to the Kindle -- only the text.




BRAINRUSH, a Thriller (Book One), by Richard Bard, 85 customer reviews, 4.8 stars $0.99
  (Kept for today, as was first posted late last night)

This has been a popular book at its regular price as part of promo packages and is discounted to $0.99 on a limited time basis.
"..."A terrifically entertaining thriller with three finely executed set pieces strung together with nice characterization..." --Publisher's Weekly  (Kept for today, as was first posted late last night)




Kindle Daily Deal (Often U.S. only, unfortunately) (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)
MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel, by James Patterson, 128 customer reviews, 4.1 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Monday 10/16:
      Sunday's Price: $7.99
      Monday's Discount: $5.00
      Monday's Daily Deal Price: $2.99 (63% off)

"...The fifth entry in Patterson's all-ages Maximum Ride fantasy/thriller series finds the teenaged title character facing her greatest challenge yet ... Patterson doesn't spend much time on character development, opting to propel his wild story with quick action scenes, plenty of dialogue...life-and-death situations are often solved by implausible plot turns." --Publishers Weekly


Ongoing popular discussions
  . Unusual calls from Amazon because of forum posts   Newer
  . Personal docs now sendable to individual Kindles again   Newer
  . [WAS] Warning: Personal docs now sent to a Kindle will now go to all new Kindles
  . To Avoid Confusion, Please Use the Official Product Names in Forum" [entertaining]
  . Discussion of geographic restrictions on digital purchases
  . Discount-alert books discussed on separate message thread (Newer)
  . What have been your favorite public domain books that are not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles

Other current forum threads that might interest some
Public Library Lending questions at the forums, and Lendle's Kindle borrowing
  . How many e-books does your public library have?
  . Public librarians: what has been your Kindle/Overdrive experience?
  . Changes to lendle (This is Kindle owner-to-Kindle owner lending.)
      The changes include incentives for offering loaners

---

LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) -
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME cautions, "This thread is [only] for discounts and price drops that readers find from publishers."  Another main finder is Emily Bronte.
  For 10/15-17

Am carrying over some lower priced highlights from the thread that I posted only late last night. [bracketed info is from me]
(The highlighted Brainrush was an alert by S. Myers.)
Alert from Emily Bronte
  The Land of Later On by Anthony Weller for $2.99 [an AmazonEncore book with 4 high-ratings that seem to be from review-copies but it sounds interesting]
Alert from Miss Kitty In The City
  Don't Tell by Karen Rose
Price dropped to $1.99 (from $4.99) [Publisher: Hachette, with many high ratings, "gripping as a cold hand on the back of one's neck, but tempered by lovable characters and a moving romance, this assured debut bodes well for Rose's future books" --Publishers Weekly

---

TEMPORARILY-Free Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts are quoted from Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a popular, unfiltered daily set of forum release-alerts by Joyce, logged here for those who don't make it to the forums.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

If, on this Home page listing (in orange), you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of any long listing of free books *

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Innovative Business Solutions based on Design Strategy (Collection)
Author: Robert Brunner
Genre: Business - Investing

DESCRIPTION: Three remarkable eBooks take you to the cutting edge of business innovation, design strategy, and value creation! Predictable Magic: Unleash the Power of Design Strategy to Transform Your Business introduces a breakthrough process for crafting rewarding, empowering customer experiences that create deep emotional connections with your products, services, and brands. Do You Matter?: How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company shows how to build a truly design-driven company: one that can consistently create designs that drive sustainable business performance improvements. Finally, in Disrupt: Think the Unthinkable to Spark Transformation in Your Business, frog design's Luke Williams integrates powerful creativity techniques with business discipline in a five-step program for identifying disruptive opportunities and successfully executing on them!

  MORE... ( 10 more books: Click on "MORE" just below)
*****

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

[... CLICK HERE for MORE ... »]

Free Kindle Books (Oct 16) - 9 + high-rated, just-discounted books+Amzn deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Oct. 16: - 9 free books

The Poems of Walt Whitman:Vook Classics, by Walt Whitman, $0.00

"...His influential, groundbreaking style, although considered controversial when first published in the mid-1800s, is now revered as influencing modern poetry and the free-verse approach.  This collection brings together some of his most powerful and memorable work, including his collections "Drum Taps" and "Chants Democratic." --from Product Description

I'm highlighting this, because Vook has announced they're not going to continue publishing e-books.  Teleread.com received an email from them saying:

' "...… we’re ceasing to publish content and moving instead to extend our digital publishing platform, VookMaker, as far and wide as possible.  It’s a one-stop cloud based tool that lets you create great looking digital books, distribute them to the marketplaces and track their sales." '

That doesn't mean what they've done so far won't be available but I wanted to call attention to it.

You can see by clicking here which Vook books are free at any time.  Remember that the "Enhanced" ones are playable only on Apple apps and that any video/audio from Enhanced books will not be downloaded to the Kindle.




BRAINRUSH, a Thrille (Book One), by Richard Bard, 85 customer reviews, 4.8 stars $0.99

This has been a popular book at its regular price as part of promo packages and is discounted to $0.99 on a limited time basis.
"..."A terrifically entertaining thriller with three finely executed set pieces strung together with nice characterization..." --Publisher's Weekly





Kindle Daily Deal (Often U.S. only, unfortunately) (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)
Dead and Berried (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 2), by Karen MacInerney, 18 customer reviews, 4.6 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Sunday 10/16:
      Saturday's Price: $8.59
      Sunday's Discount: $6.60
      Sunday's Daily Deal Price: $1.99 (77% off)

"...a murderer is on the loose in the otherwise cozy oasis of Cranberry Island"..." --Amazon editor   "...Her book Murder on the Rocks was selected as an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel." -- from About the Author

Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos   Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.   I've added a by Low-to-High pricing. Editors' Picks: $1.99-$3.99   thru' October

Free contemporary books: subsets Filters out excerpts, chapters, previews US:  by Last 30+ days  Oct 2011    Publication Date   Late-listed    Bestselling   High-ratings UK:  by PubDate   Popular

---

LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) -
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME cautions, "This thread is [only] for discounts and price drops that readers find from publishers."  Another main finder is Emily Bronte.
  For 10/15-16

Some lower priced highlights from the thread [bracketed info is from me]
(The highlighted Brainrush was an alert by S. Myers.)
Alert from Emily Bronte
  The Land of Later On by Anthony Weller for $2.99 [an AmazonEncore book with 4 high-ratings that seem to be from review-copies but it sounds interesting]
Alert from Miss Kitty In The City
  Don't Tell by Karen Rose
Price dropped to $1.99 (from $4.99) [Publisher: Hachette, with many high ratings, "gripping as a cold hand on the back of one's neck, but tempered by lovable characters and a moving romance, this assured debut bodes well for Rose's future books" --Publishers Weekly

---

TEMPORARILY-Free Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts are quoted from Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a popular, unfiltered daily set of forum release-alerts by Joyce, logged here for those who don't make it to the forums.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

If, on this Home page listing (in orange), you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of any long listing of free books *

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Blood Red Rings (Dangerous Women & Desperate Men)
Author: Rick Mofina
Genre: Police Procedurals - Crime Anthology

DESCRIPTION: After 24 years of putting his life on the line, Officer Frank Harper sees it all tick down to one defining moment. Blood Red Rings is a soul-wrenching short story by former crime reporter and award-winning author Rick Mofina. Blood Red Rings is one of four gripping tales in his new crime anthology, DANGEROUS WOMEN & DESPERATE MEN.

***  [Many of the rest are Vook books - Note that Enhanced ones have video/audio only for Kindle Apple aps.]

Gluten-Free, Hassle-Free: Planning and Cooking Simple Gluten-Free Meals (Enhanced Version)
Author: Marlisa Brown
Genre: Gluten Free Cooking and Recipes

** Audio/Video content only available for iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch devices. **

DESCRIPTION: A gluten-free diet isn't just for people with food allergies; it's a new way of eating that can benefit everyone. Download "Gluten-Free, Hassle-Free" now and discover tasty, easy-to-make, and entirely gluten-free recipes for your busy life. This complete digital guide will focus on memorable meal ideas that you can do quickly and without much practice. You'll also get gluten-free cooking tips that will come in handy, whether you're transitioning to gluten-free for health, weight loss, or allergies. This Vook helps you prepare a gluten-free kitchen and terrific recipes from stuffed Arepas to Blackened Mahi Mahi. Tips and nutritional facts throughout support each meal idea.

  MORE... ( 7 more books: Click on "MORE" just below)
*****

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

[... CLICK HERE for MORE ... »]

Free Kindle Books (Oct 15) - 2 + forum-alerts on just-discounted books+Amzn deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Oct. 15: - 2 books Saturday morning

Saturday's Kindle Deal of the Day
Kindle Daily Deal (Often U.S. only, unfortunately) (The Daily Deal link above changes at MIDNIGHT each day.
      Click it to see what the daily deal book is, at any time.)

Dove Season, by Johnny Shaw, 24 customer reviews, 4.2 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Saturday 10/15:
      Friday's Price: 7.99
      Saturday's Discount: $6.00
      Saturday's Daily Deal Price: $1.99 (75% off)

" ...a finalist for the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award... Aficionados of crime stories will enjoy it thoroughly." --David Keymer, Library Journal   "...a riotous mix of thrills and comedy, slapdash all the way," --Bill Ott, Booklist


Ongoing popular discussions
  . Unusual calls from Amazon because of forum posts   Newer
  . Personal docs now sendable to individual Kindles again   Newer
  . [WAS] Warning: Personal docs now sent to a Kindle will now go to all new Kindles
  . To Avoid Confusion, Please Use the Official Product Names in Forum" [entertaining]
  . Discussion of geographic restrictions on digital purchases
  . Discount-alert books discussed on separate message thread (Newer)
  . What have been your favorite public domain books that are not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles

Other current forum threads that might interest some
Public Library Lending questions at the forums, and Lendle's Kindle borrowing
  . How many e-books does your public library have?
  . Public librarians: what has been your Kindle/Overdrive experience?
  . Changes to lendle (This is Kindle owner-to-Kindle owner lending.)
      The changes include incentives for offering loaners

Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos   Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.   I've added a by Low-to-High pricing. Editors' Picks: $1.99-$3.99   thru' October

Free contemporary books: subsets Filters out excerpts, chapters, previews US:  by Last 30+ days  Oct 2011    Publication Date   Late-listed    Bestselling   High-ratings UK:  by PubDate   Popular

---

LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) - an ongoing forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME cautions, "This thread is [only] for discounts and price drops that readers find from publishers."  Another main finder is Emily Bronte.
  For 10/14-15

  Included today is one popular book at a lower price:
Alert by T. Ramsey
Sanctuary of Roses (The Medieval Herb Garden Series) was 3.99 now $0.99
  by Colleen Gleason, AKA Joss Ware (Harper Collins)

---

TEMPORARILY-Free Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts are quoted from Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a popular, unfiltered daily set of forum release-alerts by Joyce, logged for those who don't make it to the forums.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Nine-Tenths of the Law
Author: L.A. Witt
Genre: Gay - Lesbian

**Warning: Contains explicit male/male revenge sex, sweet sex, angry sex, and make-up sex. Author is not responsible for clothing damage that may result from reading this book **

DESCRIPTION: Without trust, common ground can get pretty shaky. "I believe you have something of mine, Zach." Zach Owens doesn't even know who this angry stranger is, let alone what the man is talking about-until he learns what they have in common. Their boyfriend, Jake. Once Jake's out of the picture, Zach's apology to Nathan Forrester leads to a long conversation, a kiss, and a chemistry that goes far beyond revenge sex. Nathan can't help but fall for the sexy movie theater owner, but it's a long way from sheet-tearing sex to mutual trust. And a series of "coincidences" that throws Zach into Jake's company leaves him unconvinced Zach was the complete innocent in their previous love triangle. Zach can't seem to make Nathan believe that Jake is up to something. But protesting his innocence isn't working, and Jake's carefully orchestrated campaign to destroy their love could leave them both with nothing.

*****

Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues (Cape Island Mystery)
Author: Randall Peffer
Genre: Mystery - Thriller

DESCRIPTION: Peffer (Killing Neptune's Daughter) explores sexual ambiguity in this offbeat legal procedural/whodunit. Callow public defender Michael DeCastro undergoes a baptism of fire with his first murder case: the defendant, Tuki Aparecio, is a Provincetown drag queen from Thailand (via Vietnam) accused of killing her lover, Alby Costelano, before setting a fire to cover her traces. Despite himself-and his imminent wedding to an increasingly annoyed fiancée-DeCastro finds his feelings toward his client evolving into romantic ones, which lands him in some compromising positions. The narrative alternates between Michael's sexually confused point-of-view and Tuki's flashbacks to her dark past in Bangkok and to the events leading up to the crime. Some readers may have difficulty sympathizing with Tuki's melodrama (e.g., suicide attempts, lovers' tantrums) and Michael's naïveté, but fans of Jonathan Ames's The Extra Man and other gender-bending fiction should be intrigued. '


[These are from Joyce's free-books alerts Saturday in the forums, 10/15 - morning, 2 books

Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

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. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Free Kindle Books (Oct 14) - 3 + forum-alerts on just-discounted books+Amzn deals

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Oct. 14: - 3 free books

Milking the Rhino: Dangerously Funny Lists, by Chris Rush, 1 customer review, 5 stars $0.00,

From the Product Descriptions:
"Chris Rush combines the stream-of-consciousness of a Lenny Bruce, a Monty-Pythonesque appreciation of the surreally absurd, and the mental energy of a Robin Williams." --New York Times  "I first saw Chris Rush thirty years ago, and he killed me. He has a bizarre, funny way of looking at things, and this book is proof of that." --Jay Leno

    Update: Readers have since lambasted the book as not funny.


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

Gone to Green, by Judy Christie, 44 customer reviews, 4.0 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Friday 10/13:
      Friday's Price: $8.60
      Friday's Discount: $6.61
      Friday's Daily Deal Price: $1.99 (77% off)

"Lois Barker, a successful big-city journalist, never imagined ending up in the tiny town of Green, La. ... Refreshingly realistic religious fiction, this novel is unafraid to address the injustices of sexism, racism and corruption as well as the spiritual devastation that often accompanies the loss of loved ones." --Publishers Weekley

Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos   Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.   I've added a by Low-to-High pricing. Editors' Picks: $1.99-$3.99   thru' October

Free contemporary books: subsets Filters out excerpts, chapters, previews US:  by Last 30+ days  Oct 2011    Publication Date   Late-listed    Bestselling   High-ratings UK:  by PubDate   Popular

---

LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) -
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME cautions, "This thread is [only] for discounts and price drops that readers find from publishers."  Another main finder is Emily Bronte.

  For 10/13-14

---

TEMPORARILY-Free Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts are quoted from Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a popular, unfiltered daily set of forum release-alerts by Joyce, logged here for those who don't make it to the forums.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Death Wishing
Author: Laura Ellen Scott
Genre: Literary Fiction

DESCRIPTION: In post-Katrina New Orleans, dying wishes can cure cancer, eliminate cats, bring back Elvis (1968 vintage), and turn the clouds orange. Divorced and disgraced up north, Victor hopes to live a carefree, drunken existence in the French Quarter, making capes and corsets and lusting for the girl who lives across the street-until the hysteria surrounding "death wishing" changes his world in ways he never imagined.

*****

Milking the Rhino: Dangerously Funny Lists
Author: Chris Rush
Genre: Humor

DESCRIPTION: Chris Rush promised that if I gave him a favorable blurb, he would agree to be placed in a secure, isolated neuropsychiatric facility, away from the rest of us. Here goes: 'Chris's book is crammed with good, big, sick belly laughs. Lists include:
* Seven Examples of Truth in Advertising You Will Never See
* Twenty-Five Really Lousy Jobs
* The Ten Worst Pickup Lines
* Ten Bizarre Hobbies
* Fourteen Novelty Items That Never Took Off
* Four Things You Shouldn't Do in Zero-Gravity Conditions
* Four UFO Incidents That Are Weirder Than Usual

*****

Until Again: Prequel Novella to BLUE
Author: Lou Aronica
Genre: Cotemporary Fiction

DESCRIPTION: Reviewers have called Lou Aronica's novel BLUE "compelling," "beautifully written," "a story to remember and cherish," and "one of those books that everyone should find a moment to read." Readers have said it was "a great inspiration," "I've never been more moved or inspired," and "one of the best books I've read." Now comes this prequel novella, a short work that provides the essential story behind the story. UNTIL AGAIN tells of a decidedly real-world event: the final weekend in the breakup of a marriage. For Chris Astor, the divorce is not something he wants, primarily because of the distance it will put between his ten-year-old daughter Becky and himself. Juxtaposed against this is a critical event in Tamarisk, the bedtime-story fantasy world that Chris and Becky created when Becky was much younger. Miea, the university-age princess of Tamarisk fears that her world has become a terribly dangerous place...but she could not possibly have imagined where that danger will lead her and the people she loves. These parallel stories converge, in a most unusual way, in a tale of change and new tomorrows. A powerful revelation for those who have read BLUE, and an emotionally charged introduction to these deeply relatable characters for those who haven't, UNTIL AGAIN is a warm, engaging, and bittersweet work that promises to speak to your heart. '


[These are from Joyce's free-books alerts Friday in the forums, 10/14 - morning, 3 books

Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

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. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Free Kindle Books (Oct 13) - 9 + forum-alerts on just-discounted books+Kindle discussions +Amazon deals - Updated

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Oct. 13: - 9 free books

Harriet Tubman - The Moses of her People [Illustrated], by Sarah H. Bradford, forewords by Oliver Johnson and Professor Hopkins, 9 customer reviews, 4.3 stars $0.00,

From the Product Descriptions:
"Harriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the U.S. Civil War.  After escaping from captivity, she made thirteen missions to rescue over seventy slaves using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad."

Sarah Bradford, historian and biographer, "is the bestselling author of several biographies, including Disraeli, selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the year; George VI; Princess Grace; and The New York Times bestseller Elizabeth."




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

October Fest, by Jenny Gardiner, 28 customer reviews, 4.4 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Thursday 10/13:
      Wednesday's Price: $9.99
      Thursday's Discount: $8.00
      Thursday's Daily Deal Price: $1.99 (80% off)

"...an entertaining murder mystery with the most unlikely murder accomplice ever.  Her latest is loaded with humor, and many of the descriptions are downright poetic." -- Booklist  "The classic romance setup and her effective handling of eldercare issues enhance a clever plot"-- Library Journal  "funny, ribald and brimming with small-town eccentrics." -- Kirkus Reviews

---

Ongoing popular discussions
  . Personal docs now sendable to individual Kindles again
  . [WAS] Warning: Personal docs now sent to a Kindle will now go to all new Kindles
  . To Avoid Confusion, Please Use the Official Product Names in Forum" [entertaining] Newer
  . Discussion of geographic restrictions on digital purchases
  . Discount-alert books discussed on separate message thread (Newer)
  . What have been your favorite public domain books that are not so well known?
  . Best "Free" books you've read (many are no longer free, however).
  . Highly recommended Indie authors
  . Unique Uses of Kindles

Other current forum threads that might interest some
Public Library Lending questions at the forums, and Lendle's Kindle borrowing
  . How many e-books does your public library have?
  . Public librarians: what has been your Kindle/Overdrive experience?
  . Changes to lendle (This is Kindle owner-to-Kindle owner lending.)
      The changes include incentives for offering loaners.

Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos   Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.   I've added a by Low-to-High pricing. Editors' Picks: $1.99-$3.99   thru' October

Free contemporary books: subsets Filters out excerpts, chapters, previews US:  by Last 30+ days  Oct 2011    Publication Date   Late-listed    Bestselling   High-ratings UK:  by PubDate   Popular

---

LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) -
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME cautions, "This thread is [only] for discounts and price drops that readers find from publishers."  Another main finder is Emily Bronte.
  For 10/11-13

---

TEMPORARILY-Free Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts are quoted from Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a popular, unfiltered daily set of forum release-alerts by Joyce, logged here for those who don't make it to the forums.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

If, on this Home page listing (in orange), you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of any long listing of free books *

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

Tomorrow Is Today: A Tempest Series Bonus Short Story
Author: Julie Cross
Genre: Children's Fiction
* Pre-Order for December 6, 2011 *

DESCRIPTION: The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy... he's in college, throws lots of parties, is interested in a girl he can't have, and oh yeah, he can travel back through time. But it's not like the movies - nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there's no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors - it's just harmless fun.

***

Prevention Healthy Favorites: Chicken Recipes: 48 Easy and Delicious Meals!
Editors of Prevention Magazine
Genre: Chicken - Healthy Recipes

DESCRIPTION: Like good cooks everywhere, the editors of Prevention magazine love nothing more than sharing their favorite healthy and delicious dishes. That�s the whole idea behind the Prevention Healthy Favorites series of essential cookbooks, each one gathering 48 of the best Prevention-tested recipes that make it easy to enjoy wonderful homemade food fast. Chicken is versatile and tasty, making it the centerpiece of many family dinner. The challenge is making it flavorful and satisfying, not boring or packed with unhealthy ingredients. No home cook wants to hear Chicken again? At Prevention magazine, we do love rising to meet a challenge! So we focused this recipe collection on taking dinner from dull to delightful with fabulous flavor. You�ll find a delicious variety of tastes and textures, from Chicken and Portobello Mushroom Pasta Bake to Lime-Marinated

  MORE... ( the rest of this + 7 more books: Click on "MORE" just below)
*****

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

[... CLICK HERE for MORE ... »]

Kindle Keyboard (Kindle 3) Software Update v3.3 ready for archiving, viewing, downloading and WhisperSYNC'g of Personal Documents; Voice Guide Shortcut; AmazonLocal deals on Special-Offers-Kindles

SOFTWARE VERSION v3.3 IS READY for delivery to all Kindle Keyboard / Kindle 3 models.

  This is for the physical-keyboard model (Kindle 3 U.S.  [UK: K3]) first released August 2010 and not for the coming Kindle Touch devices nor for the new $79/$109 Kindle Basic (which recently got its own update)

  This update for Kindle Keyboard models includes the following changes, which I'll quote from the Amazon page.   Here's Amazon's info page for the v3.3 software update.

Kindle Keyboard Version 3.3 Overview

Some of the features included in this update are:

• Download your archived Personal Documents on Kindle Keyboard: You can now view and download your archived personal documents to your Kindle Keyboard conveniently anywhere at any time. Your personal documents will be stored in your Kindle library until you delete them from Manage Your Kindle.
• Whispersync for Personal Documents on Kindle Keyboard: Just as with Kindle books, Whispersync automatically synchronizes your last page read, bookmarks and annotations for personal documents (with the exception of PDFs) across the Kindle devices. Learn more about Kindle Personal Document Service on www.amazon.com/kindlepersonaldocuments
• AmazonLocal deals on Kindle Keyboard with Special Offers: Kindle Keyboard with Special Offers users in many regions can now view, purchase, and redeem AmazonLocal deals directly from Kindle Keyboard -- no computer, no printer, no hassle. AmazonLocal offers savings up to 75% off products and services from businesses in your city, national chains and online merchants. Learn more about AmazonLocal on www.amazonlocal.com.  

• Voice Guide Shortcut: Kindle Keyboard users can now quickly turn the Voice Guide feature on and off by holding the Shift key and pressing Spacebar.  Voice Guide reads aloud menu options, content listings and item descriptions. To learn more about using Voice Guide on Kindle Keyboard, visit Customize Your Reading on Kindle.

More from the Kindle Keyboard software update page - Downloading Version 3.3
You can download the update at the update page.  All Kindle Keyboard users will receive this software update automatically via Wi-Fi.

To see if your Kindle Keyboard has already been updated, from the Home screen press the Menu button and use the 5-way controller to select "Settings."

  If the Settings screen displays "Version: Kindle 3.3" (or later) at the bottom of the screen, your Kindle Keyboard already has the latest software installed.

  To update your Kindle Keyboard software, turn your wireless on and connect to an available Wi-Fi network.  (For those new to the Kindle: Learn how to set up Wi-Fi on your Kindle).

  From the Home screen, press Menu and select "Sync and Check for Items."  The software update will automatically download in the background and install when your Kindle Keyboard goes into sleep mode.

  Here's how to manually download the v3.3 update to your Kindle and transfer it to your Kindle Keyboard via USB -- click on the link (Computer Link: bit.ly/kv3-3#download ) to see the steps described at the v3.3 download page via that link.

I haven't been been able to be here enough to respond to questions lately but am catching up now, so please feel free to ask or give your own personal experiences or info learned that will help (as usual - and thanks for the valuable input).

BIG thanks to K.Hugh Acton for the heads-up



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

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. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle Touch models and the X-Ray reference tool - what it does

THE X-RAY FEATURE AT WORK

Video
Laptop Magazine's Kenneth Butler describes the X-Ray feature and shows the video demo Jeff Bezos used to demonstrate how this works.  Those who watched the entire 52 minute presentation will have seen this in very low resolution.  Here's the YouTube video (Link: bit.ly/xraydemo ) which is taken from the audience and is in HD with very good sound.  It fills my 24" monitor with extreme clarity (at least starting at 50 seconds in) if I choose '720p' at bottom right of the YouTube screen, which means I can read the Kindle text easily, sitting way back).

  Fixed a bad link Thursday morning
  There's also another video (Link: bit.ly/xraydemo2 ), which shows the close-up video-demo along with Jeff Bezos at the podium although the contrasts in light can't be picked up well and the sound is so low it's hard to hear.  I liked seeing the full scene though.

Note to Kindle-Edition subscribers re the video links
  Those reading this on a Kindle-Edition subscription can type those two links into the browser when at a computer.  I have to say this because the Kindle blog dept regularly sends me demands to remove video links from the Kindle editions to meet quality requirements, which I can't do without removing them from this webpage blog itself (!), but I think it's better to let Kindle subscribers know how they can see a demo or tutorial if they want.

The added information shown by X-ray
  The X-Ray feature comes with the Kindle Touch models.  When you highlight a word to get more information on it (dictionary definition, or choosing to go to Wikipedia or Google), it won't need to connect you to the Internet to get information external to the book (unless you want it to) -- Amazon will (in late November) include with every book purchase "a small file pre-loaded with relevant Wikipedia content (and other information)."  As you can see in the video, some of that information can be descriptions of characters as seen on Amazon's Shelfari (Link: bit.ly/shelfari-wiki ), and when users request outside information, this additional file is accessed rather than the Internet.

Instances of word or character in sequence with links to pages
  While one of the features (pointed out by Consumer Reports) is that pressing to highlight a word lets you see, sequentially, all mentions of a character or phrase within a book, the Kindle has always done that and is one reason I like it.  Here's an example from Oct. 2009 as to how that works in all models currently.  Consumer Reports did not look at or report on features like this when doing e-reader comparisons in the last two years.  Nor did they mention these were presented by-book, in sequence and printable, on a private, password-protected annotations page given to Kindle customers in our Amazon areas.

X-Ray's new statistical information
  Amazon has mentioned that it can display statistics that include the frequency of appearance of a word or character in a book, or even in a chapter or on one page.  You'll see this in the video.   (I guess one can wonder if a character will show up again or is particularly important in the scheme of things).

What's involved in gathering the added information for the file
  Whatever algorithms Amazon uses to choose which words or phrases get the added information in the side-file, Amazon points out that the process of choosing and including this external information uses "its expertise in language processing and machine learning, access to significant storage and computing resources...and a deep library of book and character information."



Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

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. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Free Kindle Books (10/12) - 5 + Kindleworld Kindle-Edition blog download problem (Fixed) - Update

ADDING books that were released during the Evening on Wednesday, 10/12, 5 books.

Interim post - Wednesday, Oct. 12
Update - I received word this morning (early!) that the blog folks at Amazon "identified the issue" with the A Kindle world blog not downloading for subscribers for 10/11 ... and their blog "technical team fixed the download problem" for the blog subscription before 8am this morning.  That's amazing response time.  And fixed my Kindle mgmt page too.  Let me know if you have any problems after today.  Thanks.  [End of consolidated update]


Note that there were 37 newly-free Kindle books Tuesday, because of late-night releases.

---

LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) - an ongoing forum thread:
  Forum-thread starter RandomizeME cautions, "This thread is [only] for discounts and price drops that readers find from publishers."  Another main finder is Emily Bronte.
  For 10/11-12
  Included today are a few highly-rated or popular books at lower prices:

Alerts by Miss Kitty in the City (Canadian Kindler)
Phantom in the River by Foster Gary Wayne Price dropped to $2.99 (from $14.95)
On May 14, 1967, a US Navy F-4B Phantom II jet, flown by Ev Southwick and Jack Rollins, launched from the USS Kitty Hawk. Their F-4 was rendered disabled while flying a mission against the formidable air defenses of the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. They did not return to their carrier...
Decision at Sea : Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History by Craig L. Symonds Price dropped to $1.99 (from $12.95)
A distinguished specialist in naval history and the Civil War studies five decisive moments in American naval history
Shoeless Joe (RosettaBooks Into Film Series) by W.P. Kinsella Price dropped to $2.99 (from $6.99)
W. P. Kinsella plays with both myth and fantasy in his lyrical novel, which was adapted into the enormously popular movie, Field of Dreams...

Alert by Nascar Runner
Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again $1.79

Alerts by Emily Bronte
Hyperion:
The World According to Mr. Rogers by Fred Rogers for $2.99
Home by Julie Andrews for $2.99
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt::
The Power of Half by Hannah Salwen for $1.18
Disney:
The Match by Mark Frost for $2.99
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer for $2.99
Words That Work by Frank I. Luntz for $2.99

---

TEMPORARILY-Free Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts are quoted from Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a popular, unfiltered daily set of forum release-alerts by Joyce, logged for those who don't make it to the forums.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

If, on this Home page listing (in orange), you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of any long listing of free books *

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

848 (Dark Bites)
Author: Robert Ropars
Genre: Horror - Short Story

DESCRIPTION: "848" is part 4 of "Dark Bites: Four Tales of Horror" - In 1979 the worst blizzard in history dumped 19" of snow on Chicago. A canceled flight leads Marie to seek shelter in the city. As the city is buried, she is trapped with a sexual predator in a fight for her life-she doesn't stand a ghost of a chance.

***

Shattered Earth: an alternate history science fiction novel
Author: Cliff Ball
Genre: Fiction

DESCRIPTION: Advanced humans, called Terrans, leave Earth when its threatened by a massive meteor. The remaining humans on Earth fall back into primitiveness. The advanced humans, and a group of aliens, the Ragnor, involve Earth in an interstellar war. Thousands of years later, the humans of Earth decide to do something about this. Interstellar politics will never be the same again once Earth is done with their revenge. These Terrans involve themselves throughout human history. Some play as King Arthur and Merlin. Another is a scientist, whose name is Galileo, and he gets into all sorts of trouble for challenging official orthodoxy about the sun, the Earth, and which one is revolving around the other. Then, we have Amelia Earhart, who has a very valid reason for disappearing.

  MORE... ( 2 more books: Click on "MORE" just below)
*****

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

[... CLICK HERE for MORE ... »]

Free Kindle Books (Oct 11) - 37 + forum-alerts on just-discounted books+Kindle discussions +Amazon deals - Updated

NEWLY FREE AND DISCOUNTED KINDLE BOOKS DISCOVERED BY FORUM MEMBERS

Oct. 11: - 37 newly-released Kindle books on Tuesday morning

I Surrender All: Rebuilding a Marriage Broken by Pornography, by Clay Crosse and Mark A. Tabb, $0.00 ("Digital List: $9.99"), 16 customer reviews, 4.6 stars

This one is definitely different from the usual free e-book releases.   "Many Christian readers will appreciate the candor of the Crosses' story..." -- Publishers Weekly



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

Eyewall, by H.W. "Buzz" Bernard, 125 customer reviews, 4.5 stars
    Daily Deal until the end of Tuesday 10/11:
      Monday's Price: 8.99
      Tuesday's Discount: $8.00
      Tuesday's Daily Deal Price: $0.99 (89% off)

From Product Description "...A crippled Air Force recon plane, trapped in the eye of a violent hurricane. An outspoken tropical weather forecaster, fired from his network TV job before he can issue a warning: the storm is changing course and intensifying."
"H.W. "Buzz" Bernard is a retired meteorologist who worked for thirteen years at the Atlanta-based Weather Channel."

Amazon's own ongoing listing of LIMITED-TIME OFFERS - Promos   Amazon sorts these by Bestsellers first.   I've added a by Low-to-High pricing. Editors' Picks: $1.99-$3.99   thru' October

Free contemporary books: subsets Filters out excerpts, chapters, previews US:  by Last 30+ days  Oct 2011    Publication Date   Late-listed    Bestselling   High-ratings UK:  by PubDate   Popular

---

LATEST DISCOUNTED Kindle books (some temporarily) - an ongoing 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.  "This thread is for discounts and price drops that readers [esp. Emily Bronte] find from publishers."
  10/10-11
  Included today are many highly-rated or popular books:
Alerts by Emily Bronte
Hyperion:
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson for $2.99
Shopgirl by Steve Martin for $2.99
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? by George Carlin for $2.99
Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz for $2.99
Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge for $2.99
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff for $2.99
How To Eat by Nigella Lawson for $2.99
The Eleventh Victim by Nancy Grace for $2.99
Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities by Alexandra Robbins for $2.99
100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know by Cindi Leive for $2.99
The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam for $2.69

HarperCollins:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel (P.S.) by Tom Franklin for $2.99  <["A steal"]
Waiter Rant (P.S.) by Steve Dublanica for $2.99
Slash by Slash and and Anthony Bozza for $1.99
Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt for $1.99

Hachette Book Group:
Brownsville: Stories by Oscar Casares for $1.99 

Alerts by Concerned reader
Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight by Linda Bacon for $1.79
Commit to Sit by Joan Duncan Oliver for $0.89

---

TEMPORARILY-Free Books:  Alerts from the Amazon Kindle forums - via the tireless "Happy Reader" Joyce, who is ever on the lookout on behalf of forum members.

  NOTE: The alerts are quoted as they appear in Joyce's collecting of mostly temporarily-free books.  They're *not* recommendations by anyone but are a very popular, unfiltered daily set of release-alerts by Joyce.  The eBooks can become no longer free within days, sometimes, within hours.  Thanks to Joyce for gathering and organizing them for us.

If, on this Home page listing (in orange), you see "MORE" books available,
* CLICK at the bottom to get the REST of any long listing of free books *

' Happy Reader "Joyce" says:

The Drop - Free Preview: The First 11 Chapters
Author: Michael Connelly
Genre: Suspense - Mystery
* Pre-Order for November 01, 2011 *

DESCRIPTION: Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two. DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court. Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

  MORE... ( 2 more books: Click on "MORE" just below)
*****

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

[... CLICK HERE for MORE ... »]

Misconceptions re Amazon and KindleFire - plus a few facts

In reading the e-reader and tablet news, I often see misconceptions posted to Comments sections as 'fact' and this week I replied to one, which other commenters said has been repeated in comments to several news sites.   Since I see this type of thing often, I thought I'd post a blog version as well and will also post tomorrow some excerpts with comments on a good Q&A article on the Kindle Fire, which I forgot to mention over a week ago

  For one of of the points here, we have a quite thorough response from Amazon support and that's included also.

  I'll preface each misleading statement I read (below) with 'F' for false, and 'M' for Maybe.

'

F:  Kindle Fire ...is stuck with 6 GB usable internal storage unlike Nook Color that can get up to 32 GB card in.  Kindles are made to be almost like a "dumb terminal" of the past to make sure you're tied up to Amazon's storage on the web (for which you need Wi-Fi connection to get to) and you can only store content you get from Amazon there, not other files.

Not so.  During WiFi browsing sessions you can download video to the Kindle Fire when downloading videos is allowed.

  The tablet is said to be able to hold up to 10 movies if you don't put other things on it besides 80 apps and can also, in place of limited local storage on the tablet, have many stored on the Cloud.  From that Cloud, you can re-download a file at any time if you've purchased a downloadable version; it's like having a portable hard drive with you, as long as you have WiFi available.
  You can also side-load (via USB cable) videos to the tablet.

  Just playing the videos you've already downloaded or side-loaded to the tablet doesn't require a WiFi connection.

  And whatever you don't need for the moment you can just store on the Cloud, whether or not you bought it on Amazon -- the key is whether the storage is free or not, but a video doesn't need to be from Amazon.  If a video is rights-protected by someone else, that's another matter.

  Amazon gives all customers (globally) 5 gigs of Free storage for any type of file per year, from anywhere, but has also offered 20 gigs of storage/yr for $20/yr ($1.67/month).  SOME countries are not eligible for the storage upgrade although all get the 5 free gigs.   The Amazon table at the bottom* specifies which counties are exceptions for the bonus-storage-space at this time ...   At any rate, so to speak, added storage for any of your non-Amazon content is $1 per add'l gigabyte if it's available for your country.*

  And, any video or other content that you buy from Amazon itself, however, is stored free and doesn't count against any of the Cloud storage limits.

F:   Quoting Amazon on Kindle Fire: "Free cloud storage for all Amazon content". Get it, Amazon content?

The thing to "get" there is the free part.  If it's not Amazon-content, it counts against the yearly storage limit you choose, whether it's against the free 5 gigs or 20 gigs.  You CAN, though, store content (in the Amazon Cloud) not purchased at Amazon, vs what was said above.

M:   - Kindle doesn't support eBooks in ePub format that is the most used format in the world.

We're talking Kindle Fire here rather than the Kindle e-Ink e-readers which don't read ePub.  Amazon Android Apps store does carry Aldiko and other ePub readers, which could be used on the tablet then.  Now, whether DRM'd ePub can be read on it depends on whether or not Adobe Digital Edition will be available with this or not, on the tablet. It IS used on regular Android tablets.

  Amazon will be allowing in-app buying for developers, so that will all be interesting to watch.

F:   Kindle app store contains only Amazon approved apps and it does not include (and will not include) Netflix app that iPad has and Nook Color is getting thus again you're stuck with Amazon content only.

This is wrong too - it begins to sound like a wish list of what wouldn't be allowed.  Netflix is partnering with Amazon (as are Pandora and other companies) to have apps for the Amazon Fire.  It won't be in iPad format, of course, but in format for the Amazon Fire.

M:   Amazon confirmed that you cannot download anything to Kindle Fire when traveling abroad.

You probably can't stream media from Amazon's US servers when abroad and can't download a Kindle book as a non-US resident abroad if digital rights don't allow it outside the U.S.  A traveling US resident (and residents of some other countries) can though, if they can download those in their home countries.

  Again, as with the e-Ink Kindle e-readers, you should be able to download Kindle books when traveling abroad, if the books are eligible to you in your home country.

  The Amazon "Silk" browser is different in that it uses Amazon's speedier Cloud processes on servers in the U.S.  You should be able to send a Kindle book as a U.S. resident to your Kindle Fire though.

  See the thorough Amazon response on this last question which Rob Trenckmann received in email from Amazon customer service Oct. 10** (quoted at the bottom of this post also).

M:   I'd recommend waiting for a couple of weeks as Nook Color 2 is rumored to be released by Barnes & Noble.

I'd always be interested in what BN will release.  I have a NookColor 7" and enjoy it.   The update is said to be not that different but the 2nd NC is said to have a different, larger format.

  However, B&N doesn't have the streaming-media ecosystem that Amazon does, and they have had long-time policies like not allowing refunds for e-books that are missing pages or badly formatted, while Amazon allows 7 days for a refund.   Customer service policies should be looked at also.

  AND, Nooks cannot download Nook books to even a U.S. resident who's traveling outside the U.S. (unlike with Amazon) - B&N just doesn't have the digital rights stuff in place. '

From Amazon's Cloud help pages: * The 5 GB free storage plan is available to all Amazon.com customers, however further upgrades to the storage plan are currently unavailable in the following countries:

Austria	Belgium	Bulgaria
Cyprus	Czech Republic	Denmark
Estonia	Finland	France
Germany	Greece	Hungary
Ireland	Italy	Latvia
Lithuania	Luxembourg	Malta
Netherlands	Poland	Portugal
Romania	Slovakia	Slovenia
Spain	Sweden	United Kingdom

** Amazon Kindle Customer Support answers to Rob Trenckmann:

' Hello, I see that you've written to us about seven issues. I'll do my best to provide a thorough answer to each of your inquiries in this message.

1. Using Kindle Fire in Europe:

Currently Kindle Fire can be shipped only to US customers but after purchasing it in US you can use it in Europe.

2. Regarding downloading apps:

Yes, you can use all the apps you've downloaded while in Us but you cannot download apps while you are in Europe.

3. Accessing books:

Yes, you can access all the books.

4. Using web browser and email interface:

Yes, you can use the web browser and email interface as long as your device is connected to wifi.

5. Purchasing books:

Yes, you can purchase and download books successfully while you are in Europe.

6. Using movies or TV features.

I'm sorry you cannot download movies or use TV features while you are in outside US. '

Kindle Touch 3G   Kindle Touch WiFi   Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

---

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.

Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!