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Friday, October 9, 2009

Samples, Samples, Everywhere .. and now Anywhere at all!

One of the biggest complaints of those who have a Kindle and were outside of Whispernet coverage was that they could not get samples of books. For a while and for the K2 only, there was a workaround that allowed you to use your computer instead of the cellular network to access samples, but Amazon closed that avenue with one of their firmware upgrades. If you were out of the country or stuck in a remote area, though, you were pretty much out of luck. No doubt that cut down substantially on purchases for these readers, as they didn't have all those temptations littering their home pages. Now however, you can transfer samples to your Kindle via your computer, just as you can transfer books.

After you click the Send Sample Now button, you'll be taken to another page that asks which kindle it is for. This step seems a bit superfluous in most cases, unless they add DRM to samples downloaded this way, as mobi-formatted samples have been DRM free (which may not be true of samples downloaded via computer). In any event, pick a Kindle (not an iphone) and click to start the download. One thing you'll discover at this point is if the book is a Mobi (.azw) for Topaz (.tpz) formatted ebook.

The format can be important for two reasons. First, Topaz books are almost always larger in size (so fewer fit in the more limited memory of the K2). Second, the formatting of Topaz books can be quite awful, as entire lines can be jammed together, words offset or in the wrong place (as if someone cut and pasted the lines to build the books for scanning, then dropped some lines into the wrong places). I've seen books where paragraphs started with the middle of a sentence (and ended in the middle of the same one, so you had to read into the paragraph to find the beginning of it, which can be a major pain when trying to maintain story flow). The fonts can be fuzzy, especially at larger sizes, often the Kindle forgets what page it was on when you leave the book and some have reported problems using the Back key with topaz formatted books. I try to avoid them, when an alternative exists (another store and reading on the PC, a used book, etc), but there have been a few I've bought (and not all the books have such problems, but it is highly likely that they will, as they are scanned conversions and not from original electronic texts). The most common problem is the fonts - because they are not the highly readable default fonts in the Kindle, but scanned graphics, they are almost always less readable in very large and very small sizes. I'm not saying you should skip every topaz book - but you'll want to check the sample carefully (and I've found you get a lot shorter sample, as well, as the fonts take up a lot of the initial download) before committing.

So, all those who have been deprived of samples, rejoice. You too can now fill your home page with temptations to break your Kindle budget! As a bonus, you can also rename any sample that is in the .azw format and read it on your PC (I tested one this morning). Change the extension from AZW to PRC or MOBI (either one works) and then you can read it using either the MobiPocket Reader or Calibre software. Just don't let the boss catch you reading samples when you are supposed to be working (or you might have more time to read than you really wanted!).

99 Cent Game Download

Amazon's Video Game of the Day deal today is a 99 cent game download of Monarch: The Butterfly King. This is one of the games that you could download for free if you took advantage of last month's Buy One, Get One Free sale, so if you still have your credit from that sale, you'll want to first buy one of the other qualifying games. Otherwise, Amazon will give you this game for free instead, resulting in only a 99 cent discount (most of the others were in the $5-$7 range). This one has three reviews and all are 5-star; it's on my netbook for testing, so I guess that's what I'll be doing tonight (along with the others from the deal), so I can decide which one to get free and whether I want this one too for the extra dollar.

Game Description
  • An Enchanting Adventure.
  • Discover More Than 25 Exotic Butterflies
  • 150 Levels To Explore And More To Download
  • Rescue Monarch's Friends.
Journey across majestic Celtic ruins as you create potions and harness magic in this match-game of enchantment. Help Monarch, the Butterfly King, rescue his friends from the clutches of a mysterious wizard bent on freezing his kingdom in magical amber. Explore mystical glades on 150 levels, and download more levels online, playing in either Relaxed or Action play modes. Astonishing visuals and fantastical fun await those ready to answer the call...of adventure!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Free Book - The Schumann Frequency

The Schumann Frequency, by Christopher Ride, is being given away (in DRM'd EPUB format only) by Random House Australia as part of a promotion of his new book The First Boxer. Neither book appears to be in print in the US, at least, not currently, so this is probably an author most of us have not read before and there is one review in the Amazon listing for The Schumann Frequency and the audio version is available at Audible.com

Book Description
It's the adventure of a lifetime...

The Dead Sea Scrolls have revealed a stunning secret - an Overseer must cross generations to save the world. Time itself is moving too quickly, with each day becoming shorter than the last. Society is unravelling, people are violently out of control, no one is safe.

Helena Capriarty fears she is losing her mind. She's having an unexplainable psychic connection with a man she has never met - no ordinary man. To prove her sanity, she must find the elusive stranger, chasing him across the globe on a whirlwind adventure to some of the most mysterious and ancient sites on earth: monuments that hold a secret power.

All the while, the forces of opposition lie in wait. They know everything that is about to happen. One wrong move and we are all condemned to disaster.

So begins the quest to rectify the Schumann Frequency.

Zero point is approaching...


To get the free book, click HERE. You'll then need to sign up for their newsletter (use a throw-away email address, but one you can check, if you don't want the newsletter), then click on a link in a confirmation email that they will send you. If you don't already have Adobe Digital Editions installed, you'll need to do that first

Free Book at Smashwords - The Ancient Order of Moridura

You can pick up a free copy of The Ancient Order of Moridura ($23.50 - $25.00 paperback) over at Smashwords, thru October the 11th, courtesy of the author, Peter Curran. It looks like his book is in it's 2nd edition on paper, but there doesn't seem to be any information on whether the ebook edition has been further revised. This one isn't in the Kindle store, but you can read it on your Kindle by downloading the Mobi formatted version.

Book Description
A Scottish electronics tycoon receives a demand from the mysterious Ancient Order of Moridura to deliver a young physicist, who claims to have discovered the source of gravitational waves, to a remote monastery in Spain, or face death. Alistair Mackinnon, accompanied by his friend Corr and the enigmatic Dr. Blade, set out for the forbidding monastery of Moridura on the rocky perimeter of a meteor crater in Extremadura. What is the terrible secret of the monks of Moridura, and their alter egos, the hermandad, a secret brotherhood? What truth lies behind the legend of an ancient entity in the depths of the monastery - La Bestia? Why is the American defence industry so interested in Doctor Blade's discovery? What will be impact of the presence of a beautiful young woman in the all-male environment of the monastery? The exploration of the complex motivations and emotions of its diverse and vital characters, including the strange young monk, Mateo, the innkeeper, Manuel Ortega, the American industrialist, Red Lonnen and the aristocratic Ferdinand of Moridanza, and the dynamic between secular and spiritual objectives, violence and negotiation, are combined in a riveting action thriller with a unique denouement.

Click HERE for the free download. Enter the coupon code JG32M after placing the book into your cart, then checkout and download your book in one of several DRM-free formats.

Kindle Bargain Ebook Roundup - Sports/People/TV

Don't Hassel the Hoff ($1.87), by David Hasselhoff

Book Description
The Los Angeles Times called him a "counterculture icon" and iTV Guide dubbed him one of TV's Ten Most Powerful Stars, but true aficionados simply call him "The Hoff." Don't Hassel the Hoff follows David Hasselhoff's phenomenal career, from his earliest childhood role in Peter Pan to his latest adventure, starring in Mel Brooks' Tony award-winning musical, The Producers. There is no better time to celebrate Hasselhoff's life and a career that continues to grow and thrive. As the star of the extremely popular classic television shows, Baywatch and Knight Rider, Hasselhoff is an international mega-star, with platinum album sales and starring roles on Broadway and London's West End. As this fascinating memoir reveals, there's more to this handsome superstar than great hair, and legs that look good while running down a beach. "The Hoff" is also a smart, caring man with a huge heart. "This book is my opportunity to print something from my heart, to tell the truth about what happened to me on the long and winding road from Baltimore to Baywatch to Broadway -- and beyond. And the truth is not to be found in tabloid stories but in my actions: I am a good father and tried to be a good husband. I love people and the emotional rollercoaster that goes with human relationships. I love all the bewildering, crazy and wonderful things that life has to offer. This book is about my successes and my failures, my strengths and my weaknesses. And, above all, it is about the hope contained in the Knight Rider slogan: 'One man can make a difference.'" --David Hasselhoff

Full of behind-the-scenes looks at Hasselhoff's television series, celebrations of his proudest moments, and the truths about his struggles with relationships and alcohol, Don't Hassel the Hoff is both highly entertaining and deeply personal, making this an engrossing page-turner from start to finish. Long live "The Hoff."


Bases Loaded ($4.10), by KIRK RADOMSKI

Book Description
On a quiet street on Long Island early on a December morning in 2005, more than fifty federal agents stood outside a lovely new home waiting for the front door to be opened. When it did, there stood the central figure in one of the biggest scandals in sports history: Kirk Radomski. Radomski was a regular New York kid who, from the age of fifteen had the amazing fortune of working in the Mets clubhouse. The focus of his job was to give the players whatever they wanted or needed -- he got their uniforms ready, packed up their homes at the end of the season, cashed their checks, and helped them beat the drug tests that would have led to suspension. And at the end of the 1986 season he even led the World Champions down Broadway during their victory parade. Eventually, he graduated to helping in other ways: providing them with steroids and human growth hormones. By the time the Feds knocked on his door, he was the main clubhouse supplier of performance-enhancing drugs to almost three hundred baseball players. Under threat of a long prison sentence - and after being identified by players he'd helped - he cooperated with Senator George Mitchell to produce the Mitchell Report, providing names and dates. Now he's ready to tell the whole story to the world. Radomski made little money from these transactions, and in this stunning book he will recount what baseball knew about the problem, his life since the report came out, and who took what. This is the tale of a young man seeing his heroes turn into clay, and the degradation of a once great sport into the drug-addicted spectacle it has become. About the Author Kirk Radomski worked in the New York Mets clubhouse for a decade. In 2007, the Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball drew heavily from his testimony in revealing the names of players who took performance-enhancing drugs.

The Lost Men ($3.29), by KELLY TYLER-LEWIS

Book Description
The untold story of the last odyssey of the heroic age of Antarctic explorationSir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic endeavor is legend, but for sheer heroism and tragic nobility, nothing compares to the saga of the Ross Sea party. This crew of explorers landed on the opposite side of Antarctica from the Endurance with a mission to build supply depots for Shackleton's planned crossing of the continent. But their ship disappeared in a gale, leaving ten inexperienced, ill-equipped men to trek 1,356 miles in the harshest environment on earth. Drawing on the men's own journals and photographs, The Lost Men is a masterpiece of historical adventure, a book destined to be a classic in the vein of Into Thin Air.

Labor of Love ($2.89), by Thomas Beatie

Book Description
Thomas Beatie electrified the world in April 2008 with his announcement that he was seven months pregnant. He recounted his amazing story on The Oprah Winfrey Show, drawing her single largest TV audience of the year. While the news reached headlines across the globe, it is only one chapter in a fascinating saga. Labor of Love chronicles Thomas Beatie's unique life experiences: his less-than-idyllic childhood in Hawaii; his transition from female to male; his marriage to his wife, Nancy; his legal battles to live as a man; his fight to conceive a child; and the birth of their daughter, Susan, in late June. Labor of Love is a groundbreaking book because it tackles social, political, and legal questions about gender, marriage, and family. Thomas and Nancy's uphill battle to have a baby is both fascinating and touching. They are a normal couple who wanted a family, and yet the circumstances surrounding their desire to get pregnant and their journey to get there are truly extraordinary. Labor of Love is much more than the story of a unique pregnancy and birth-it's a beautiful and controversial love story, a story of going against the tide, and a powerful and important statement about the evolution of family in the new millennium.

Michael Phelps: The Untold Story of a Champion ($2.54), by Bob Schaller

Book Description
Michael Phelps is an American sports hero, perhaps the greatest Olympic athlete the world has ever known. His unprecedented eight gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics have made him a superstar. But his journey to Olympic immortality is every bit as compelling as his achievements in the pool. From learning to cope with ADHD to the story of how Phelps became the greatest swimmer ever, Phelps' tale is told in full detail here for the first time.

The author, Bob Schaller, has known Phelps and his coach for more than eight years, and has extensively interviewed him, along with his mother, sisters, coach, and teammates. Filled with revelations, career statistics, photographs, and insightful analysis of how Phelps achieved the seemingly impossible, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn the complete story behind the legend.


Far Afield: A Sportswriting Odyssey ($3.30), by S. L. Price

Book Description
A Year in Provence . . . in sweats

Some people would consider writing for Sports Illustrated a dream job. Others fantasize about living idyllically in the South of France. S. L. Price got to do both. Assigned by Sports Illustrated to cover sports in Europe, Price relocated his family to a small hamlet in Provence, and then set out to uncover the soul of world athletic competition.

In an attempt to comprehend the planet's most intense and bloody sports, he immersed himself in the cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan. He spent time with Lance Armstrong as the cyclist fended off rumors of performance-enhancing drugs. He argued politics with Olympic athletes in Athens, covered Austria's beer-drenched version of the Super Bowl, and caught basketball fever in Belgrade—as he, his wife, and children tried to adjust to life in a Europe convulsed by terrorism, anti-Americanism, and George Bush's war in Iraq.

Far Afield is an extraordinary memoir of growth, family, and games people play worldwide.


The Science of Heroes ($2.84), by Yvonne Carts-Powell

Book Description
A fun, fact-filled examination of the science (or lack thereof) behind the hit television series Heroes.Ordinary people with extraordinary powers populate the world of the hit television show Heroes, where characters exhibit such abilities as flight, telepathy, tissue regeneration, prognostication, invisibility, and teleportation through space and time.The Science of Heroes explores these superpowers and many more through real-world research into the potential of human physical and mental capabilities. Citing the work of renowned scientists and engineers, Yvonne Carts-Powell reveals that even the least likely of powers has been studied-and in some cases, even developed. From the wonders found in nature and cutting-edge technological achievements to the latest discoveries in genetics and mutations, humanity might just possess the knowledge to achieve the extraordinary.

Ten Moments That Shook the Sports World: One Sportswriter's Eyewitness Accounts of the Most Incredible Sporting Events of the Past Fifty Years ($1.50), by Stan Isaacs

Book Description
Want to know what really happened? Stan Isaacs knows. He was there!

"The Shot Heard Round the World," in 1951. "The Fight of the Century," in 1971. The horror of the 1972 Munich Olympics. Secretariat's legendary win at the 1973 Belmont Stakes. Stan Isaacs saw them all live. Isaacs covered thousands of sports stories in his more than fifty years as a journalist. But ten moments stand out in his memory. Ten Moments That Shook the Sports World offers Isaacs' eyewitness accounts of the events that changed sports history. This collection offers those old enough to remember these events a chance to relive them, and younger sports lovers will get to hear this history from someone who was there. Isaacs makes sports history live again.