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Saturday, May 9, 2009

Monthly Kindle Book Budget: April

It's been a slow month for buying books here, what with the large to-be-read stack already on my Kindle. I did get all the free books for the month and a very few others, but overall stayed well under the Kindle budget for the month.

April

Holy Bible, GOD'S WORD Translation (GW) by Baker Publishing Group $0.00
Holy Bible, Today's New International Version, TNIV by Zondervan $0.00
Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick $0.00
The Quran - A Pure and Literal Translation by The Monotheist Group $0.95
Afraid by Jack Kilborn $1.99
Miss Fix-It by L. C. Monroe and Nicolette Derens $0.00
Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions that Will Help You See It and Seize It by John C. Maxwell $0.00
The Second Ship (The Rho Agenda : Book One) by Richard Phillips $0.99
Kindle Shortcuts and Kindle-friendly Websites by MobileReference $0.01
ReThink: Introduction by Ric Merrifield $0.00
Rethink: Key Concepts by Ric Merrifield $0.00
Rethink (Chapter 1): How the -How- Trap Is Trapping You by Ric Merrifield $0.00
Rethink: Index by Ric Merrifield $0.00
Outsmart (Intro & Chapter 1): It's a Smart, Smart, Smart, Smart World by Jim Champy $0.00
Outsmart (Epilogue) by Jim Champy $0.00
Inspire (Intro & Chapter 1): From Tired to Inspired by Jim Champy $0.00
Stories I Never Told the Speaker: The Chaotic Adventures of a Capitol Hill Aide by Marshall L. Lynam $0.80
Retirement Homes Are Murder by Mike Befeler 3.99
Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary for Kindle (KJV) (cross linked with built in Bible) (1) by matthew henry $2.39
Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary for Kindle (ASV) (cross linked with built in Bible) (1) by matthew henry $1.99
The Bounty: The Malloy Family Book 1 by Beth Williamson $0.00
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott $0.00

For the month, that's 22 books, $13.11 in total, for $0.60 per book. Sure, it includes several business chapters that are not real books, but I've left off several titles I got for free from other sources. Here's the break-down by month, for the year-to-date:

MonthNo. BooksTotal CostPer Book
January59$83.47$1.41
February43$29.97$0.70
March32$33.44$1.05
April22$13.11$0.60
Totals156$159.99$1.03

If you add in the cost of the Kindle itself, that's about $3.33 per book. Of course, we have more than one Kindle, where with paperbacks we'd be able to pass them around, but at double or more the cost per book. We also have roughly 80 pounds less paper taking up room on the shelves (estimating 8 oz per book - a bit high for paperback, low for hardbacks). We might not have purchased the exact same books, of course, but these calculations also leave out all the classics and other free books we have to read on the Kindle (such as the two recent John Hart novels).

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

New Release Tuesday (a bit late...)

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris ( $14.2712.84; Hardcover $15.57), ninth in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps—and nothing about weres. Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works—and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it. But there’s a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings—older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves—is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle.

The Kindle DX Arrives!

Kindle DX: Amazon's New Addition To The Kindle Family

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents

Beautiful Large Display: 9.7" diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images

Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages

Built-In PDF Reader: Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books In Under 60 Seconds: You get free wireless delivery of books in less than 60 seconds; no PC required


Long Battery Life: Read for days without recharging

Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable

Compare Kindle DX with Kindle

Kindle DX
Kindle DX: Amazon's 9.7" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)
Display
9.7" diagonal e-ink
Size
10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"
Storage
3,500 books
PDF Support
native PDF reader
Rotating Display
3G Wireless
Books in Under 60 Seconds
Text-to-Speech
Whispersync
Price
$489.00
Availability
Pre-order now


Kindle
Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

Display
6" diagonal e-ink
Size
8" x 5.3" x 0.36"
Storage
1,500 books
PDF Support
via conversion
Rotating Display
-
3G Wireless
Books in Under 60 Seconds
Text-to-Speech
Whispersync
Price
$359.00
Availability
Now

You'll also want to pre-order a leather cover for the Kindle DX (yes, this one ships naked as well and so far this is the only cover available) and may want to consider the 2-Year Extended Warranty for the Kindle DX (some early reports on the Kindle 2 are showing excessive stress on the hinges for the case and any new product can have problems that don't show up right away).

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Get Mom a Kindle for Mothers Day (or maybe not) Contest

If you are stumped on what to get your mother (or grandmother) for Mother's Day, you might want to consider a Kindle (yes, you can get one delivered by then, with overnight or second day delivery). Chances are, you got your love of reading from one or both of your parents, who read to you when you were young (if you don't like to read, you probably will never see this blog, so that segment of the population can safely be ignored).

If you've noticed that your Mother doesn't read as much anymore, it may be due to physical factors that she has to overcome. If she needs larger print, the books are both more expensive and harder to handle. Even those with regular print books find that many are now much larger in size than before, as novels are often many hundreds of pages, while trade paperbacks use both thicker paperstock and a larger than "normal" font size (though not as large as a "large print" book). That added size can be a problem as we age, especially with books that don't lay flat on their own. I've found that although I can read these massive tomes, I really don't like to (and with my Kindle, I no longer have to, for the most part). For those who have significantly deteriorated eyesight, the TTS feature (which still works on practically all Kindle books; in fact, I have yet to see a report of a book where it has actually been disabled, although Random House has said they will do so for their titles) can re-open the door to the worlds locked inside books.

I don't know about your parents, but I do know mine won't be learning braille in their 90's, just so they can get access to a restricted set of published works. I do know that my mother-in-law (who is in her 90's) is exactly the type that these features are designed for. She can still see (with extra light and a magnifying glass) enough to work the menu, but no longer well enough to read even large print books. TTS isn't perfect, but it does work and it works with anything in the Kindle store and at no extra cost, not just on a few, higher priced selections that might sell in large enough quantities to pay off for publishers. The only reason I haven't purchased a Kindle for her -- she lives in a remote area with no Whispernet and doesn't have a computer or access to get books any other way (yes, these areas still exist, in the northern mid-west, especially when you get into towns of pop. 300 or less). Since she no longer drives (and it's a two-day drive to get there for us), the only way a Kindle would work well would be to preload the books (keeping her on my account, plus loading it up with some free classics) and either fly up for a visit when she needs a refill (we could drive to a Whispernet area in about an hour or two or just use my netbook to hook up and download them from Amazon) or just ship it back and forth between us, which would let me restock it with fresh titles in only about a week's turn-around time and at very little cost.

My mother, on the other hand, already has a Kindle (the original version) and we now have four Kindles in the family (Dad got the K2, since the buttons are less prone to be accidentally pressed). Otherwise, I'd be all set in what I was getting her this year. My second choice would be a Wii game (seriously, after the Kindle and the computer, this occupies her free time much more than television). The biggest problem, though, is that the one title coming out that I think she would really like (EA Sports Active) won't be out until May 19 (that and she is likely to have already ordered it herself). She already has (and uses) My Fitness Coach, Active Life Outdoor Challenge, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (I and my nieces beat my brother soundly on this one when he came to visit last month), Dance Dance Revolution and she recently mentioned she was ordering both We Ski and Snowboard and Shaun White Snowboarding (no, she isn't Supermom, although I like to think so).

Like the Kindle, she didn't think she wanted a Wii when they came out, but I talked her into it. When Mario Kart Wii came out, we went to a midnight sales event (Sam's Club - no one thinks to go there and we had no problems getting one). The Wii Fit (with the balance board) was pre-ordered the day it was available at Amazon (good thing, as they sold out nearly immediately and stayed that way for a long time). She is past retirement age and not only enjoys many of the games, she finds that they are good exercise (except for the boxing, which tends to make her upper back ache), especially the ones that use the balance board. She also avoids some of the titles geared towards the very active younger set (cheerleader games, for example) and has a few that just don't work well (Jillian Michaels Fitness, for example, which I can't make recognize the controls, either, and strongly recommend you avoid). The cool thing about EA Sports Active, though, is that not only is it not organized around a single exercise (Gold's Gym Cardio Workout should be called Cardio Boxing Workout), but looks like it will be able to download additional content later on. More exercises will mean that the "game" will be less likely to get boring, resulting in abandoning her (or your) workouts (not that she'll quit the WII - last I heard, she had caught every single fish in Fishing Master and was starting on Fishing Master World Tour; too bad we can't get her to enter one of the local bass tournaments and win us all a new boat).

I'd just get flowers and a card, but she's already said "no flowers" this year. So, what do you think? Should I just get her a gift certificate? Or something else? Leave me a comment with your suggestion and next week I'll draw a name at random to receive a (hardback) copy of A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy.

Mom - I know you are reading this! You are not eligible (besides, you can read my other copy just as soon as I get thru it). Happy Mother's Day!

By the way, that picture on the beach? Not my mom, obviously. She'd be out swimming in the ocean and save reading for inside, when it rained in the afternoon.

Free Ebook: The Pendragon by D.J. MacHale

Download a free PDF of The Pendragon (The Merchant of Death, Book 1) ($7.99 Kindle) by D.J. MacHale for free, compliments of Barnes and Noble. In the Synopsis section of the page, there is a link for the PDF download. While you are there, be sure to pick up one (or more) of the free short-story audiobooks that B&N has until May 16.

Pendragon is a Young Adult title, with an audience target of 12-15 year olds. However, if you enjoyed the current Amazon freebie The Alchemyst, you should enjoy this one, as well.

Book Description

Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby. He is going to save the world. And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution. If Bobby wants to see his family again, he's going to have to accept his role as savior, and accept it wholeheartedly. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning....