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Showing posts with label Magazines/Newspapers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magazines/Newspapers. Show all posts

Friday, September 28, 2012

Bargain Book and Free Magazine Roundup

Amazon is still offering a free issue for 62 magazines and several of them have updated to a newer issue that originally offered. I opened up the Manage Your Kindle page in one tab, and limited the display to just Magazines, then compared the current issue of the ones I was interested in to the ones I had purchased. You can just click to buy on any of the ones that are interesting; the worst that happens is you get a "you already bought this" page if it is the exact same issue. For those loading these to their Kindle Fires, it can take quite some time (and a lot of space) to get several of them; you don't have to get them all at once though - individual issues of magazines stay in your library forever (unlike subscriptions: you lose all your issues if you ever cancel a subscription).

Google has update their 25 cent apps for the day. Rovio's Amazing Alex program is included tonight and hopefully Amazon will match the price in the morning; also interesting: a radio tuner, passwords manager, PDF reader that allows annotations and several more games.

If you are a student, get Mom to send you a care package and you'll get $5 in MP3 credit. Not a student (or a Mom)? You too can get the same credit by purchasing any three items from the same page.

If you are a Mom (or just signed up with the Amazon Mom program, which is open to any parent or caregiver .. or anyone else, really), then check your email -- I got a 25% off coupon (up to $100 in savings) to use on select baby items.

For UK readers that use EPUB, Sony is having a big sale, with several books at £0.20.

Amazon UK customers can pick up some good deals in the Bloomsbury Reader series, with numerous titles for £2.99.

Sex and the Single Girl: The Unmarried Woman's Guide to Men ($0.99), by Helen Gurley Brown, is marked down in a price match to the Google sales this week.
Book Description
The trailblazing book that jump-started the sexual revolution

Helen Gurley Brown, the iconic editor in chief of Cosmopolitan for thirty-two years, is considered one of the most influential figures of Second Wave feminism. Her first book sold millions of copies, became a cultural phenomenon, and ushered in a whole new way of thinking about work, men, and life. Feisty, fun, and totally frank, Sex and the Single Girl offers advice to unmarried women that is as relevant today as it was when it burst onto the scene in the 1960s. This spirited manifesto puts women—and what they want—first. It captures the exuberance, optimism, and independence that have influenced the lives of so many contemporary American women.

Winter of the World ($0.32 / £0.20 UK), the latest in the Century Trilogy series by Ken Follett, is on sale in a price match to Sony, but only for those in the UK (the US edition is $19.99).
Book Description
Berlin in 1933 is in upheaval. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Into this turmoil steps her mother’s formidable friend and former British MP, Ethel Leckwith, and her student son, Lloyd, who soon learns for himself the brutal reality of Nazism. He also encounters a group of Germans resolved to oppose Hitler - but are they willing to go so far as to betray their country? Such people are closely watched by Volodya, a Russian with a bright future in Red Army Intelligence.

The international clash of military power and personal beliefs that ensues will sweep over them all as it rages from Cable Street in London’s East End to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, from Spain to Stalingrad, from Dresden to Hiroshima.

At Cambridge Lloyd is irresistibly drawn to dazzling American socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything his left-wing family despise. But Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert - amateur pilot, party lover and leading light of the British Union of Fascists.

Back in Berlin, Carla worships golden boy Werner from afar. But nothing will work out the way they expect as their lives and the hopes of the world are smashed by the greatest and cruellest war in the history of the human race.

Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett’s uniquely ambitious and deeply satisfying trilogy 'The Century'. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants, this is a magnificent, spellbinding epic of global conflict and personal drama.

The Sins of the Father ($0.32 / £0.20 UK), the latest in the Clifton Chronicles series by Jeffrey Archer, is another UK only deal, price matched to Sony (the US edition is $12.99). If you haven't started the series, UK readers can also pick up Only Time Will Tell ($3.23 / £1.99 UK) at a great price.
Book Description
New York, 1939. Tom Bradshaw is arrested for first degree murder. He stands accused of killing his brother. When Sefton Jelks, a top Manhattan lawyer, offers his services for nothing, penniless Tom has little choice but to accept his assurance of a lighter sentence. After Tom is tried, found guilty and sentenced, Jelks disappears, and the only way for him to prove his innocence would be to reveal his true identity – something that he has sworn never to do in order to protect the woman he loves. Meanwhile, the young woman in question travels to New York, leaving their son behind in England, having decided she'll do whatever it takes to find the man she was to marry – unwilling to believe that he died at sea. The only proof she has is a letter. A letter that has remained unopened on a mantelpiece in Bristol for over a year. In Jeffrey Archer's epic novel, family loyalties are stretched to their limits as secrets unravel, and the story moves from the backstreets of Bristol to the boardrooms of Manhattan. Join the great storyteller on a journey where there are no stop signs, no cul-de-sacs and no dead ends.

A Pirate's Love ($2.81), by Johanna Lindse, is just one of many of her titles on sale by HarperCollins (I counted 39 under $4 each).
Book Description
A Pirate's Love

Sailing westward toward the Caribbean sun, young Bettina Verlaine obediently sets out to fulfill the promise made by her father--but not by her heart -- a prearranged marriage destined not to be...once the notorious Captain Tristan's pirate ship appears on the horizon.

Abducted by the bold and handsome brigand, the pale-haired beauty surrenders her innocence in the warm caress of the tropical winds -- detesting her virile captor for enslaving her. . .yet loving him for the passionate spell he casts over fragile, yearning heart.

Fanged & Fabulous ($2.99), the second title in the Immortality Bites series by Michelle Rowen, has pretty good reviews (and, hey, there's the first one in the series in my TBR list...).
Book Description
My name is Sarah Dearly, and I've got major problems. Last month, I was turned into a vampire by the world's worst blind date. Then I may have, totally by accident, started a war between the mostly peaceful bloodsuckers and a bunch of sociopathic vamp hunters who have nicknamed me the Slayer of Slayers. Now I'm being used as bait to draw out the hunters' bad-ass leader, while my gorgeous 600-year-old boyfriend Thierry seems to be blowing me off, and my sizzle-hot, fanged friend Quinn is trying to turn my self-defense lessons into make-out sessions. So you know what? I'm done. I've had it. There comes a time when a vamp has to just suck it up and go after what she wants. And as soon as I figure out what that is, that's exactly what I'll do...

World Enough, and Time ($0.99), by James Kahn, is self-published, but looks to be worth downloading a sample.
Book Description
WORLD ENOUGH, AND TIME is the first book of this spell-binding action adventure trilogy. In a post-apocalyptic world 200 years from now, humans are a dying species. When Joshua’s wife is kidnapped by a gryphon and a vampire, he and his comrades—a centaur and an android—set out to rescue her across a surreal landscape filled with seemingly mythological creatures. But the explanation for the existence of these beasts is based in science, and informed by nightmare. And the odyssey isn’t over until they confront the evil cabal whose goal is nothing less than the extinction of the human race.

About the Author:
Best-selling author, James Kahn—doctor, writer, and musician—has worked with celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Star Wars creator George Lucas, and renowned sci-fi editor Judy Lynn Del Rey. Not only do his fiction credits include Return of the Jedi (on the New York Times Best-seller List for months), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Poltergeist; he’s also written for such television shows as Star Trek: Voyager and Xena: Warrior Princess.

Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman ($2.99), by JB Lynn, is a short follow-up to Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman ($3.49), both published by HarperCollins. Pre-order it now and it'll download to your Kindle on Oct 16.
Book Description
Take three wacky aunts, two talking animals, one nervous bride, and an upcoming hit, and you've got the follow-up to JB Lynn's wickedly funny Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman.

Knocking off a drug kingpin was the last thing on Maggie Lee's to-do list, but when a tragic accident leaves her beloved niece orphaned and in the hospital, Maggie will go to desperate lengths to land the money needed for her care.

But the drug kingpin is the least of her worries. Maggie's aunts are driving her crazy, her best friend's turned into a bridezilla…and a knock on the head has given Maggie Dr. Dolittle abilities—she can talk to animals. Unfortunately, they talk back.

It's just another day in the life of this neurotic hitwoman…

Undeniably Yours ($2.99), by Shannon Stacey (Carina Press
Book Description
One-night stand + two percent condom failure rate = happily ever after?

Bar owner Kevin Kowalski is used to women throwing their phone numbers at him, but lately he's more interested in finding a woman to settle down with. A woman like Beth Hansen. If only their first meeting hadn't gone so badly...

Beth's tending bar at a wedding when she comes face-to-face with a tuxedo-clad man she never thought she'd see again. She tries to keep her distance from Kevin but, by last call, she can't say no to his too-blue eyes or the invitation back to his room. Then she slips out before breakfast without leaving a note and, despite their precautions, pregnant.

Kevin quickly warms to the idea of being a dad and to seeing where things go with Beth. After all, he's not the player she thinks he is. But she's not ready for a relationship and, given his reputation, it's going to take a lot to convince her to go on a second date with the father of her child...

The first three novels in Tasha Alexander's Emily Ashton historical suspense series are on sale for $1.99 each. The lastest in the series, Death in the Floating City, is now available for pre-order.

And Only to Deceive
From gifted new writer Tasha Alexander comes a stunning novel of historical suspense set in Victorian England, meticulously researched and with a twisty plot that involves stolen antiquities, betrayal, and murder....

For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly. His journals reveal him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new image of her dead husband and she immerses herself in all things ancient and begins to study Greek.

Emily's intellectual pursuits and her desire to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband's favorite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve the crime, her search leads to more surprises about Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.
A Poisoned Season
London's social season is in full swing, and Victorian aristocracy is atwitter over a certain gentleman who claims to be the direct descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Adding to their fascination with all things French, an audacious cat burglar is systematically stealing valuable items that once belonged to the ill–fated queen.

But things take a dark turn. The owner of one of the pilfered treasures is found murdered after the theft is reported in the newspapers, and the mysterious thief develops a twisted obsession with Lady Emily Ashton. It takes all of Lady Emily's wit and perseverance to unmask her stalker and ferret out the murderer, while faced with a brewing scandal that threatens both her reputation and her romance with the dashing Colin Hargreaves.
A Fatal Waltz
At her friend Ivy's behest, Emily reluctantly agrees to attend a party at the sprawling English country estate of Lord Fortescue, a man she finds as odious as he is powerful. But if Emily is expecting Lord Fortescue to be the greatest of her problems, she is wrong. Her host has also invited Kristiana von Lange, an Austrian countess who was once linked romantically with Emily's fiancé, the debonair Colin Hargreaves. What Emily believes will be a tedious evening turns deadly when Fortescue is found murdered, and his protégé, Robert Brandon—Ivy's husband—is arrested for the crime.

Determined to right this terrible wrong and clear Robert's name, Emily begins to dig for answers, a quest that will lead her from London's glittering ballrooms to Vienna's sordid backstreets. Not until she engages a notorious anarchist in a game of wits does the shocking truth begin to emerge: the price of exonerating Robert can be paid only by placing Colin in deadly peril. To save her fiancé, Emily must do the unthinkable: bargain with her nemesis, the Countess von Lange.

Raising Wrecker ($0.99), by Summer Wood
Book Description
After foster-parenting four young siblings a decade ago, Summer Wood tried to imagine a place where kids who are left alone or taken from their families would find the love and the family they deserve. For her, fiction was the tool to realize that world, and Wrecker, the central character in her second novel, is the abandoned child for whom life turns around in most unexpected ways. It's June of 1965 when Wrecker enters the world. The war is raging in Vietnam, San Francisco is tripping toward flower power, and Lisa Fay, Wrecker's birth mother, is knocked nearly sideways by life as a single parent in a city she can barely manage to navigate on her own. Three years later, she's in prison, and Wrecker is left to bounce around in the system before he's shipped off to live with distant relatives in the wilds of Humboldt County, California. When he arrives he's scared and angry, exploding at the least thing, and quick to flee. Wrecker is the story of this boy and the motley group of isolated eccentrics who come together to raise him and become a family along the way.

For readers taken with the special boy at the center of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Wrecker will be a welcome companion.

The Book of Lost Things ($3.99), by John Connolly
Book Description
New York Times bestselling author John Connolly's unique imagination takes readers through the end of innocence into adulthood and beyond in this dark and triumphantly creative novel of grief and loss, loyalty and love, and the redemptive power of stories.

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own world, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book... The Book of Lost Things.

An imaginative tribute to the journey we must all make through the loss of innocence into adulthood, John Connolly's latest novel is a book for every adult who can recall the moment when childhood began to fade, and for every adult about to face that moment. The Book of Lost Things is a story of hope for all who have lost, and for all who have yet to lose. It is an exhilarating tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

The Heart of Matter ($5.99), the second title in the Odyssey One series by Evan Currie, was on my "recommended" list at Amazon. It's published by 47North and I'm considering getting it for my Prime Lending Library choice this month.
Book Description
After an epic maiden voyage that introduced Earth to a larger universe—and a cosmos full of terrifying new enemies—Captain Eric Weston and the crew of the NAC spacecraft Odyssey have spent months cooling their heels under their admiral’s watchful eye. But when Earth’s newest ally, the Priminae, strike a defense deal with the North American Confederacy, the Odyssey finally receives her orders: return to Ranquil, the Priminae’s war-ravaged homeworld, and lend badly needed support against the invading Drasin.

Weston and his crew are hungry for action, yet once back on Ranquil, they realize not all is as it seems. Yes, the Drasin are a formidable foe, but Weston suspects a powerful unseen force is waging the war that could alter forever the face of the universe. Determined to unmask the mysterious puppet masters, Weston and his motley crew defy NAC protocol and venture into deep space…where they will discover an enemy unlike any they have ever faced. The long-awaited follow-up to the spectacular Into the Black: Odyssey One combines old-school space opera with modern storytelling to create an exhilarating new sci-fi adventure.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

90 Day Free Trial Magazines (K)

When the Kindle Fire originally released, Amazon stepped up the free trial on selected magazines to a full 90 days, rather than the 14 days you get on most Kindle subscriptions. Some of these are for Kindle Subscriptions, even though they only worked on the Kindle Fire, while others are for subscriptions using the Android App on your Kindle Fire (which might mean you could also view that magazine on any Android device, if you can get the app to load; most, however, are Kindle Fire apps only). From what I understand, today is the last day to sign up for the 90 day free trials on these, so you might want to grab as many as you are interested in today (after all, you can change your mind on them anytime in the next three months).

One that I jumped on (and that is no longer available) was for Bon Appetit magazine. It was a Kindle Subscription option, so downloaded as an AZW file to the Kindle Fire and which I luckily backed up (as you'll see in a bit). I received an email that they were discontinuing this edition and that I should resubscribe instead using the Bon Appetit Magazine Android App. In addition, if I did so by today, I'd get another 90 day free trial. So far, so good, seems like a real win (90 days before, 90 days now, means 6 months free total!). It's the same price (and even a discount if you pay by the year), so, I canceled the old subscription and started the new one. The magazine downloaded fine and I actually like it a lot better as an App, versus as a Kindle Subscription. For one thing, there are live links everywhere, you can email yourself a link to the recipes with a couple of clicks (you can't clip anything in the subscription version, just look at the pretty pictures), and the layout is designed more for the Kindle Fire screen size (instead of having to fight to get the print large enough to read). I did have to enable in-app purchases (you can turn this off after subscribing) and use my PIN to get the subscription started, even though I won't be charge for the first three months.

There was only one problem -- although all the issues that I had marked to keep are still on the Kindle Fire (and I have them backed up, at least for this one device), the five issues that I had (three free, plus two paid) are now all gone from my archives. That's right - if you cancel a subscription on the Kindle, you lose ALL the back issues (at least, with this magazine, you do). Yet another reason I hate the subscriptions at Amazon and avoid them in most cases. I'd love to keep a digital archive of several magazines, but losing them if you cancel at any time, isn't acceptable. Zinio doesn't lose your content (and I can read it on nearly any device), so I use it whenever it's a choice. I'll have to wait and see if that's a problem with the Bon Appetit app, as well, but I'm starting to think it won't be. It seems that you get free access with a print subscription (just as I now do with Cooking Light - as soon as I installed the app, I had access to both of this year's issues); it turns out, it's cheaper to sign up for the print magazine (at least, currently) than to get the subscription via the App -- so after my free 90 days, I'm canceling and buying in print, which should give me the best of both worlds, at the lowest price.

The one subscription that I just started, that I don't mind having only digitally and don't care that past issues won't be retained, is TV Guide Magazine. It comes out weekly, isn't of much value after it's old and is only 99 cents a month. You can view this one on the Kindle Fire, but it's a bit tiny. I can zoom out with it in portrait mode, but have to move around the page to see anything (Why can't the landscape view to a zoomed 1/2 page, like Kindle books, instead of 2 pages side-by-side? If it did, it would be large enough to read!). However, this particular subscription allows you to view it on the iPad, as well, with the latest Kindle iPad app. There, it's large enough to read. It's also eligible for the 90-day free trial, so you'll get three months of it to decide, rather than just a couple of weeks. The only problem getting the longer free trial might be if you don't have a Kindle Fire, as one page at Amazon implies you need one to get the 90 days free, but I signed up for this one with an iPad as the primary device and got the 90 day free confirmation email (however, I do have a Fire on my account). Best of all? Since the subscriptions now show up in the archives, I can have it on the iPad and KFire (and Mom can view it on her iPad, as well).

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Kindle Fire - Email, Magazines and Non-Amazon Apps

Although there is a generic Email app that ships with the Kindle Fire, you'll want to run over today and grab Enhanced Email, by Quantum Solutions, while it is free (normally $10). This app lets you integrate free and corporate email accounts, yet still keep them separate (so you don't accidentally reply to your work emails with a hotmail account). Since I make extensive use of folders, it wins over the included app hands-down (the included app shows my folders, but won't show any email inside the folders).
Book Description
You go through a ton of e-mail every day. You need an e-mail client that can handle your needs, and an app that can bring it all together and make your life easier. Grab the Enhanced Email app, and get your inbox under control.

Enhanced Email is a fully featured, lightweight e-mail client, offering support for multiple Exchange/POP/IMAP accounts in a single app. No more switching between programs--get all your e-mail accounts in one place. Plus, the Enhanced Email app integrates with your existing native contacts and calendar apps.

This e-mail app will replace all others on your Android-powered device. Enhanced Email supports: Exchange 2000/2003/2007/2010 SP1/2012, Zimbra Collaboration Server, and just about every POP/IMAP server. Key features include: Combined inbox view aggregates mail for all mailboxes into a single location, international Yahoo Plus! provider support, auto-BCC support, and HTML inbound/outbound support for POP/IMAP accounts only.

One of the most hyped promos for the Kindle Fire seems to be teh 90 day free trials on "selected" magazines. So far, there are seventeen of these, including Bon Appetit ($1.99/month), which is a normal Kindle magazine subscription (but it only can be purchased/read if you have a Kindle Fire), and SELF Magazine ($1.99/month or $19.99/year), which is actually an Android App that contains the magazine. The app is free and if you already subscribe, you should be able to connect it to your current subscription at no extra charge (I couldn't tell if that was paper or electronic, though). Since it is an app, you don't see if in the same part of the Fire, it isn't really "Kindle" content (if you subscribe, you should be able to set up the subscription to work with any Android device) and they are able to offer an annual subscription discount, which you don't see on normal Kindle subscriptions. I don't know when the 90 day offers will end, but suspect it won't be before the end of the year, so feel free to try one or two now and others next month. Don't count on holding too many magazines on the Fire on the same time, though, as some are 200 MB/issue (Self, current issue). With the app based magazines, also, it looks like Amazon sets up an annual subscription by default (to be billed after your 90 day trial) and each magazine has to "install" after downloading (like any Android app). Bon Appetit, on the other hand, I downloaded like any magazine/subscription in the Kindle store and moving it to my Favorites bar automatically marked it to "keep" on the Kindle and you can manage sending back issues to additional devices on the Manage My Kindle page.

There are a number of other exclusive Kindle Fire magazines available, that only come with the standard 14-day trial, including O, The Oprah Magazine.

One cool thing with Self magazine - each article is a scrollable page, so one swipe moves off that article (left/right) or to the next/prev page (down/up). The cover had an embedded video (happy holidays!), you can click on pictures on a page to get more information and no doubt there are more cool features I haven't discovered. I'll be signing up for WIRED, Conde Nast Traveler and The New Yorker Magazine, to see how they work in this format, but so far, all have been very readable (Bon Appetit recipes have required some zooming to increase font size, though). You'll have to dig thru reviews to make any sense of them, though, as there are a ton of folk without a Kindle Fire leaving one star reviews to protest that they can't get these.

If you still prefer paper magazines (or want to send a subscription to someone this Christmas), be sure to check out the $5 Off Magazine Sale, which includes annual subscriptions to Reader's Digest for $5, Vegetarian Times for $7 and Taste of Home under $8. A lot of the choices are "auto-renewing", but this only means you can manage your subscription at Amazon, just as you do Subscribe and Save items: you'll gen an email when it is time to renew, can cancel at any time, etc.

If you want to watch movies, you have a couple of choices in addition to streaming Amazon Prime videos. Netflix and Hulu Plus are, of course, the two biggies and both are in the Amazon Appstore (although if you search for "Netflix" you won't find the app). I've tried both Netflix and Amazon Prime videos and both look great, both let you resume a video on another device, but Netflix beats Amazon hands down, as it prompts you on screen with what you left off watching and lets you build a queue of shows to watch. It's great when watching a TV series, as you are prompted with the next episode (even if it is a new season) as soon as you finish watching the current one. If you want some help picking out a movie, there is the built-in IMDB app or you can pick up Movies, by Flixster, in the Appstore.

There are a lot more free apps in the Amazon Appstore, such as Pandora Internet Radio, Rhapsody (which has bought out Napster), AccuWeather, The Weather Channel, MapQuest or Words With Friends, that you'll want to explore (and don't forget that there is a new free app every day, free for one day only). Sometimes it's a game and sometimes it's an office productivity app, but I've managed to snag quite a few good ones over the last few months (and missed a few, as well).

The question, though, is what do you do if you want to run an Android app that either is in the Amazon Appstore, but Amazon won't let you you have for the Kindle Fire (such as Aldiko or Kobo Reader) or that Amazon can't or won't sell in the Appstore, such as the NOOK for Android app? Amazon lets you run some outside content, such as with Netflix or Comics, but with others they seem to be trying to lock out the competition.

You could root your Kindle Fire (which has already been done, apparently), giving you access to Google's Android Marketplace. But that will also open your Kindle up to possible problems with updates and you are on your own if you have a problem (including bricking the device if you do it wrong). So, I don't recommend this as a solution for any but the most technical of readers. Instead, you can do what I did: use a setting on the Fire's menu to allow running apk files (app installation files) that are not from the Amazon Appstore. To find this setting, press (click) the top menu area (where the config icon and battery status are), then choose More. Scroll down to find Device, click and then scroll down to find "Allow Installation of Applications from Unknown Sources". Click to toggle the setting to On and then confirm in the dialog box that this could cause issues (when you are done installing apps, I recommend you set this back to Off).

Then, open the web browser and go to m.getjar.com. Choose any app (Nook for Android is here, for example) and click to download. The first time you try this, you'll be prompted to load the GetJar app first (I had to install it, then search again for the Nook app). The GetJar app downloads quickly, so you can slide down the notification bar almost instantly to click and install it (I stuck GetJar on my favorites, for now, but you can just let it hide in your Apps folder after it is installed). Click Open after it installs, search for apps and install away. If you have problems with the search inside GetJar, try the search on the web (don't set the Kindle Fire as your device, as that can limit the search results) and when you click to download, you'll be prompted for where to send the APK - choose GetJar.

One app I really wanted was DropBox. I use it a lot and it isn't in the Appstore. Box, from box.net, is though and I used it to get the APK onto the Fire to run it. Just install Box and create an account there. From your computer, download the Dropbox APK and copy it to your box.net directory. From the Fire, open up Box and click on the APK file - it will download and you'll be prompted to install it. So far, it works great here. Now I can access all my Dropbox files, including books that are in Adobe ADE formats. To view these, you need a reader app such as Aldiko. It's in the Amazon store, but they won't let you load it onto the Fire. It's on GetJar, but every time I tried to get it, there was an error message. I had a copy of the Aldiko APK on my computer, but could not tell you where I found it; a search of Google, turned up a number of possible places to get a version, including one on the Aldiko site, itself. Again, I stuffed the APK over onto Box.net (or Dropbox, once you have it installed), clicked and once the download was complete, just installed and ran. I've already tested it on a review copy of a cookbook - looks pretty good, if considerably smaller than on the iPad.

So, there you have it - no rooting required, no alternate boot-up (as the NookColor requires), but I have the Nook App, Aldiko and DropBox all running without any problems at all. I haven't bother with Kobo (Aldiko works for most Kobo books; in fact, it will even read most nook books, with a bit of finagling), but I will probably try to get the official Google apps next, so I can get Google Maps and the native Gmail app that I am used to on my phone. And the time it took you to read about how to do it yourself is probably longer than how long it will take to get the apps installed (even if you have to create an account on Box.Net).

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Free Kindle Subscription - Fantasy & Science Fiction Digest

There is a new edition of Fantasy & Science Fiction ($0.99/month), a Digest Edition that contains one story from that issue's full edition (which has now been renamed as an Extended Edition), plus the non-fiction portion of the magazine - editorials, book reviews, etc. The Digest Edition is free to subscribe to (and will remain so, after the first 14 day trial, just like the Amazon Daily is free).

Book Description
Amazon is thrilled to offer Kindle fantasy and science-fiction fans an exclusive free digest to the magazine that Stephen King calls "the best fiction magazine in America." Founded in 1949, Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine is the award-winning original publisher of such classics as Stephen King's Dark Tower, Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon, and Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz. This free exclusive digest includes:
  • All nonfiction content: editor's recommendations, "Curiosities" (odd books of enduring interest), film reviews, book reviews, cartoons and humor, and "Coming Attractions" (highlights of each issue).
  • One full story from the current full issue of the magazine.
  • Short descriptions of the extended issue's remaining stories and "novelets."
If you are interested in reading the remainder of the stories and "novelets," subscribe to the extended edition.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Free Music and Magazine Deals

The free song of the day at Amazon is Seven Seas Of Rhye, by Queen, a cut off their newly remastered album, Queen II (Deluxe Version), which comes with the extra 5-song EP in the MP3 download edition. At $9.49, it's a worthy candidate for the $8 MP3 credit I have from my Kindle Wi-Fi with Special Offers.

More free music:
Amazon is also running a 50% Off Outdoors & Nature Magazines sale, with some one-year and some two-year subscriptions.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

SmartMoney Magazine - $5

Looks like Amazon is running a $5/year special on SmartMoney magazine. Most of these have been one-day specials, so I expect the price to increase tomorrow (back to $10/year, most likely).

Book Description
SmartMoney comes to you straight from the editors of the Wall Street Journal, the best financial reporters in the business. Every issue brings you the information you need to know to deal with markets and protecting your wealth. Turn to SmartMoney for no-nonsense advice you can put into action.

Who Reads SmartMoney?
SmartMoney is a magazine for professional and managerial people who, while affluent and sophisticated, are overworked and overwhelmed. SmartMoney provides all the answers to the tough questions of those seeking clarity in today's confused economy, setting a new standard in personal finance publishing and redefining upscale journalism.

What You Can Expect in Each Issue: Within the pages of SmartMoney, you will find the most diverse editorial mix, focusing on all the topics that readers need to know about: Personal Finance, Lifestyle, Business, Technology, and Travel, among other things.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Daily Deal on Magazines - Hobby Farm Home $5

Each day in April, Amazon is discounting the price of a (paper) magazine subscription on their April Daily Deals page.

Today's deal is a one-year subscription to Hobby Farm Home for $5. This one caught my eye due to the cover image for (presumably) the current month. One of the topics: Start Your Own Book Club!

You do have to pick the auto-renewal subscription, but you can cancel the renewal at any time, with no penalty. If you already subscribe, taking advantage of this deal will extend your current subscription.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Daily Deal on Magazines - Backpacker for $5

I just found this deal over at Amazon: Each day in April, they will discount the price of a (paper) magazine subscription on their April Daily Deals page.

Today's deal is a one-year subscription to Backpacker for $5. You do have to pick the auto-renewal subscription, but you can cancel the renewal at any time, with no penalty. This is one I already subscribe to, so I'm adding a year to my subscription while it is at this great price.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Organic Gardening Magazine - Half Price

Today only, you can get a 2-year subscription to the print edition of Organic Gardening for $11.97 at Amazon. This price is good with or without the auto-renewal option (which you can cancel at any time, but I find it helpful to remind me when I have a magazine that I want to renew, since they all send renewal cards in the mail for many months ahead of time, which I generally toss without opening). This has been one of my go-to magazines for many years (thru many format changes and editors), so it's great to be able to add two years to my current subscription at this price.

Book Description
Since 1942, Organic Gardening has been delivering well-researched, practical and timely information and useful products and services. As the essential resource for any gardener, it provides current and authoritative information, with a focus on making the process of gardening fun and easy.
Who Reads Organic Gardening Magazine?
Organic Gardening readers are women and men who enjoy growing and eating the freshest food, want a yard that is beautiful year-round yet safe for people, pets and wildlife, and take deep satisfaction from working in harmony with nature. They rely on Organic Gardening for well-researched, in-depth reporting on the best plants to grow in their conditions, the most effective pest and weed control strategies, tips and techniques for keeping plants healthy, plus ideas for sustainable living indoors and out.

What You Can Expect in Each Issue:
  • Food: We evaluate new and heirloom varieties of tomatoes and all your favorite vegetables in our nationwide network of test gardens. And we bring you the latest research on how to grow them to the peak of flavor. Each issue also includes hints on serving them simply to show off their homegrown goodness.
  • Landscaping: A well-maintained property enhances your home’s value and gives you a comfortable space where you can relax with family and friends. We show you how to create a yard that is filled with color and interest in all four seasons, with details on the flowers, shrubs and trees that demand little care and deliver big impact. And we offer expert suggestions for giving your yard that “designed by a pro” look.
  • Pest and Weed Control: Toxic pesticides and weedkillers not only harm wildlife and poison our fresh water supply, they threaten the health of people and pets. Organic Gardening readers get solutions that are proven to work, but safe for all living things.
  • Soil: The secret to success in gardening is right below your feet. Organic Gardening is the only magazine that gives its readers information they can use to build the most fertile, well-balanced and healthy soil possible. Plus, find out how easy and rewarding composting can be.
Feature Articles:
  • Test Garden Report: Each season, we grow the newest varieties in 12 locations around the country and name those that deserve space in your vegetable beds this year. We also try out tools and other gear, and highlight the products worth your money.
  • Complete Beginner’s Guide: Everything you need to know to succeed in your first season. From how to set up your first bed to what to plant to where to shop, we take you by the hand and help you make the smartest choices. Even old hands will learn a new trick or two.
  • Kitchen Garden Plan: Transform an ordinary vegetable bed into a practical yet attractive potager. Includes recommendations on the best crops to grow and how to plant them to help you enjoy fresh, homegrown food every day, all season long.
  • The Time-Strapped Gardener: Hundreds of tested tips on how to get more food, beauty and pleasure from your garden, in just minutes a day.
  • Tomatoes for Every Space: No matter how big or small your plot, we give you the varieties and strategies for growing your biggest and best harvest of tomatoes ever.
  • Best Tasting Harvest: Get the most flavor from everything you grow with small but significant changes that make all the difference between “ah” and “blah.”
  • Organic Roses: Yes, you can enjoy these most beautiful and fragrant of flowers without relying on noxious chemicals to protect them. An expert shares his most dependable varieties and his hints for keeping them healthy in even the worst conditions.
  • Plant Now, Eat in Fall: Keep enjoying homegrown food even as the weather changes with this plan for summer planting and autumn harvesting.
  • Drought Busters: Meet the tough flowers that thrive when the heat is on and the soil is parched.
  • Four-Season Sensations: Trees and shrubs that are attractive and low-maintenance year-round and that attract colorful birds to your yard.

Past Issues:

Friday, March 4, 2011

March Black Friday Sale: $5 Magazines

Tiger Direct has been having Black Friday every month (or week) and it looks like Amazon has decided to join them in using the phrase for any big sale, regardless of the time of year. Today thru Sunday, March 6, they are having Black Friday Magazine Madness, with a number of print magazines on sale for $5 for a year's subscription. These do include auto-renewal, but all that means is that as your subscription gets close to the end, you'll get an email from Amazon that it will auto-renew (at whatever rate is currently in force, just like most magazines subscriptions that send you letters in the mail to renew). If you don't want to renew, you follow the link and cancel the renewal.

I looked thru the selection and all of them are the type of magazine that the Kindle just doesn't handle well (at least, not yet). Gardens, wildlife, photography, aviation, boating, surfing, the Carribean, Bahamas and Florida are amongst the topics. I also saw several Science magazines that would be nice for kids as well as adults (and several on parenting and working mothers). Most of these are magazines with lots of glossy pictures that won't translate well to eInk. Although I doubt anyone pays the up to $60 list price quoted on some of them, I also don't think you'll find a better deal than the five bucks Amazon is asking. That, no doubt, doesn't even cover the postage for delivery.

A second magazine sale is also going on at Amazon, with $5 off the regular subscription price. That leaves a number under $10 (and Redbook is only $3).

Friday, December 17, 2010

Major Kindle for Android Update - Magazines and Newspapers!

The first Kindle app to be upgraded to allow viewing of Magazines and Newspapers is here and (lucky me!) it's the Android App that I run on my phone. No doubt this will drive even more speculation that a Kindle Tablet is just around the corner (of course, if you jailbreak your NOOKcolor and get the Kindle App in the Android market, you'll have a Kindle tablet before anyone else). I've added a few photos, below, so that you can both compare the layout on the K3 and the phone, as well as see an article with a color photo and the same photo, zoomed to full size. Click on any one of them for a larger view.

It's all very readable on the phone, but this would be just AWESOME on the iPad! But, what I am most excited to see? When I used SEARCH in my archives on the phone (yes, unlike the iPad, you can type in a name and get all the matches at one time), I had two weeks worth of The New York Times there to choose from. Amazon has said that they were bringing Buy Once, Read Anywhere to their apps, along with Magazines and Newspapers, and this looks to be the first indication of that. Those same issues are NOT available in the archives from the iPad or a second Kindle device on my account, only from my phone with the new Kindle for Android App. Poking around on The New York Times subscription page, I found a tiny little addition:

Which seems to indicate that having back issues in the archive is the new normal. So, in a multi-Kindle home, if the subscription is on one Kindle, you can also read it on any Android device that is on the same account!

If you have an Android device with the Kindle app, be sure to sign up for your TWO MONTH! free trial of The New York Times ($19.99 Month). The normal 14 day free trial is being extended for new subscribers, thru February 15, 2011. I haven't tried, but I suspect you can get this same free trial offer on each of your Kindle devices (but no need on Android, if you don't mind retrieving it from your archives, rather than having it pushed to the phone automatically).

I will add one warning: If you subscribe to something on your phone, you will want to have an unlimited data plan (or at least, a fairly high limit) or only use WiFi when running the Kindle app, so that it syncs with no charge. That's also true of some of the books I've looked at with Audio/Video content (one was over 100 MB), as well as some graphics intensive books (a Bible study guide I looked at was over 32MB, due to the maps).

 New Features on the Kindle for Android App

  • Read over 100 newspapers and magazines
  • Sample and purchase content using an integrated store
  • Customers can now share book reading progress
  • Double tap on images to zoom in


Read Kindle books on your Android phone

  • Get the best reading experience available on your Android phone. No Kindle required
  • Access your Kindle books even if you don't have your Kindle with you
  • Automatically synchronizes your last page read and annotations between devices with Whispersync
  • Adjust the text size, add bookmarks, and view the annotations you created on your Kindle, computer, or other Kindle-compatible device
  • Read in portrait or landscape mode
  • Tap on either side of the screen or flick to turn pages


Shop for books and magazines in the Kindle Store

  • Search and browse more than 750,000 books, including 107 of 111 New York Times bestsellers from $9.99. If you are a non-U.S. customer, book availability may vary
  • Read over 100 newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Reader's Digest with high resolution color images.
  • Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine and have each edition automatically delivered, or purchase individual issues.
  • Customers who receive newspapers and magazines on Kindle can download recent editions to their Android devices from Archived Items. Many newspapers and magazines are supported, and more are on the way.


Technical Details

  • Requires Android OS 1.6 or greater