The Kindle Chronicles

News - 1) Amazon announces record Kindle sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 2) Just in time for the holidays, a $1.5 million bonus is added for Kindle Direct Publishing authors enrolled in KDP Select. 3) Click here to vote for Worldreader.org in the Chase American Giving Awards. The deadline is Tuesday, December 4. Worldreader is [...]

News - This week marked the fifth anniversary of the introduction of the first Kindle. Five years later, The Los Angeles Times reports on a prediction that the Kindle Fire HD will outsell Apple's iPad mini by a margin of two to one. Tech Tip - You won't find a Kobo app at Amazon's Apps for Android [...]

News - Is the Kindle adding $9 billion to Amazon's market valuation?  I hope so!Tech Tip - How to offer your blog to the Kindle Store for subscriptions. Thanks to Charles Hugh Smith , author of Weblogs & New Media: Marketing in Crisis, for the question.Interview - Leslie Nicoll, an author of The Amazon Kindle FAQ and a leading light at the Kindle Boards forum, answers questions everyone has about the Kindle. She also owns an editorial services business, Maine Desk. Quote - From Cash Magazine, a 2009 economic forecast from one of the rare analysts who foretold the crash.Comments - Will DeLamater, Steven Schwindt, Mary, Karen, Rebecca, Bob Cope, Paul Higginbotham, Linda Hopkins, Joe D. Clark and a really great Tweet from Coleenis.At the end of the show, I drew the name of a member of the Kindle Chronicles Email Alert List to win a $10 Amazon gift certificate. If you'd like to join the list, simply send me an email at PodChronicles@gmail.com .To make an audio comment, please call 206-666-2713.  Next week's g

News - My own exclusive scuttlebutt which leads me to believe Amazon will start shipping the new version this month, ahead of the official announcement in February. Tech Tip - Ever wonder how much further you have to read before reaching the end of a chapter?  This tip will help you find out.Interview - Mike Elgan, widely read tech blogger and columnist, who puts the Kindle's phenomenal success in perspective and looks ahead to huge profits for Amazon from the Kindle.  (Part 1 of the interview is in this podcast, and part 2 follows in a Kindle Chronicles EXTRA.)Quote - from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Downloaded from MobileReadComments - Rebecca, Nicholas Schutz,and Linda Hopkins (Amazon's Best of 2008 List)If you'd like to be on the Kindle Chronicles Email Alert List, please send me an email at PodChronicles@Gmail.com .  I'll be doing a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift certificate, to be awarded at random to someone on the list. Next week's interview: Leslie Nicoll, author of The Amazon Kindle FAQ.You c

The second half of my interview on Dec. 31, 2008 with tech blogger and columnist Mike Elgan.Part 1 is contained in episode 24 of the Kindle Chronicles.

News - New subscriptions available for the Kindle: USA Today and Narrative Magazine.  Also, new Kindle market intelligence from The New York Times.  A million Kindles sold?  Not according to Mark Mahaney in August.Tech Tip - How to put content on your Kindle in the middle of Wyoming. Click here to see a map of Whispernet coverage.Interview - Starbuck, the online name for an Army Captain, Blackhawk helicopter pilot, blogger and Kindle enthusiast serving in Irag.  Check out his Wings Over Iraq blog. What's on his Kindle: Moby Dick by Herman Melville, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max, Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence Kindle Quote - From Barack, Inc. by Barry Libert and Rick Faulk.Comments - from Dorian Nisinson, Dan Meyers, Linda Hopkins, and John B.

News - Rand McNally introduces a Road Atlas specifically designed for the Kindle. Featuring a brief telephone interview with Joel Minster, Rand McNally's senior vice president and chief cartographer. Tech Tip - Will DeLamater of EduKindle creates a sort of Kindle App - Notepad.Interview - Joshua Tallent of Kindle Formatting talks about how to format books for the Kindle, Digital Rights Management, and other e-topics. Josh will be teaching a session in February at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference.  An example of his formatting work is Lost Sonnets of Cyrano de Bergerac.  The Medialoper's encounter with Jeff Bezos is described here.Quote - from Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson.Comments - Dan Meyer, John B, and Linda Hopkins.   If you'd like to be on the Kindle Chronicles Email Alert List, please drop me an email at PodChronicles@gmail.com . You'll be the first to know when new episodes of the podcast are posted. Next week's interview, via Skype: Starbuck, the online name of an Army Captain o

News - Publisher's Weekly puts Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos on its cover as "Person of the Year."Tech Tip - No worries, yet, about ever being charged 10 cents when you convert a .pdf or other document to Kindle format for your Kindle via email.Interview - Steve Shaw, creator of the Kindlelicious blog . What's on his Kindle: Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengetsu, Spin Control by Chris Moriarty, The Red and the Black by Stendhal, The Prince by Machiavelli.Quote - words of love from The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy. From the MobileReference Classic Books Collection. Comments - Donna Smith via Linda Hopkins, Tali from Israel, Dan Meyers, Greg Keck, a Twitterer named Jason Packham, and a blogger named Munsey.Music by "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording, courtesy of IODA Promonet.

News - Via Mike Elgan and HotelChatter.com , we learn that the famed Algonquin Hotel in New York City is loaning Kindles to guests.  Jan Zlendich of The Kindle Reader blog notes that 46 of the 50 titles on Bookmarks Magazine's list of the 50 best books of 2008 are available for the Kindle.Tech Tip - Amazon Mobile on the iPhone/iPod Touch is pretty neat, but you can't use it yet to order a Kindle book.  For the adventurous - how to update your customized photo screensavers on the Kindle. (Thanks to MobileRead forum member Phuocle for the steps.)Interview - Will DeLamater, creater of the EduKindle blog, has evidence that the Kindle is making inroads in schools.  Plus interesting educational developments for the Kindle in Utah and at the Harvard Medical School.Quote - The beginning of The Dip by Seth Godin.  How to be a successful quitter.Comments - Karen, Linda Hopkins, and Dan.Upcoming interviews: Steve Shaw, creator of the Kindlelicious blog; Joshua Tallent of Kindle Formatting, and Capt. Crispin J. Burke, wh

News: The Kindle is sold out just in time for Christmas.  Will the one I ordered today turn out to be a Kindle 2.0? Should Amazon say so? Also, a secret New York Times memo reports more than 10,000 Kindle NYT subscriptions (thanks to Abhi for the tip), and Kindle NowNow is GoneGone.  Tech Tip: Try pdfdownload.org for a one-click way to move web content to your Kindle.  The results won't always look as good as this, though.Interview: Linda Hopkins, an engaged and engaging listener of the podcast from southern California. Her first Kindle read was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She subscribes to the following blogs: Amazon Daily (free), Reuters Health (99 cents a month) and Reuters Top Stories ($1.99). Quote: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.Comments: Karen Hagglund and Dan.

News - In a TechFlash Q&A, Ian Freed says no to video on the Kindle. Tech Tip -Igor Skochinsky's motherload of Kindle tech stuff.Interview - Sriram K. Peruvemba, Vice President of Marketing at E Ink Corporation, interviewed at the company's headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.  The audio podcast contains excerpts of our conversation, and this video has the full interview. Quote - "Senior Moment" by Dana Milbank of The Washington Post.Comments - Audio from Peggy, text from Julie Booth.

News: Thanks to listener Linda Hopkins, we learn from Amazon that Kindle samples are NOT designed to timeout.Tech Tip: How to put [20,000] 2,000 classics on your Kindle using MobileReference (thanks to Nick for suggesting this one) - 1.    Connect your Kindle to your computer with USB cable.2.    In your computer’s web browser, go to MobileReference3.    In the main area of the web site, not the column on the left, scroll down to the section titled “Fiction Books.” 4.    In the last subcategory of that section, titled “Collection:”, click on “Classic Books Collection. Over 2,000 complete works. Only $19.99.”5.    For use on the Kindle, it doesn’t seem to matter which platform you choose; I’ve just tested the “Desktop/Notebook/Tablet PC” platform, and that worked fine.  So in the row for “Desktop/Notebook/Tablet PC” platform, go over one column to the “Trial Version” column and click “Download Now.”6.    You will be asked to enter your email address, so do that and then click on the green “Download Application

News: Case of the disappearing Kindle Store sample, from Joe Wikert's Kindleville blog. Tech Tip: From David Emberson's Kindle Cookbook, a clever keyboard shortcut that zooms you through books 1/20th at a time.Interview: My wife's opinion of her Kindle improves during her first month of use, despite her biggest fear coming true.  NOTE: If you know some great sources for contemporary mystery writers for the Kindle, please let me know, so I can pass them along to Darlene.Quote: from a book about Afghanistan being read this week by the President-Elect, Ghost Wars by Steve Coll.Comments: Do you read YOUR Kindle during takeoff and landing?  And, good news on book sales from David Emberson.Please feel free to leave me a voice comment by calling 206-666-2713 or a text comment at PodChronicles@gmail.com or as a comment here on the show notes page.

News: The Motley Fool asserts that Oprah has saved Amazon.Tech Tip: What are those white boxes to the right of some items on the home screen?Interview: Dave Emberson, author of The Kindle Cookbook: How to Do Everything the Manual Doesn't Tell You.Quote: Technology Review's editor Jason Pontin has some advice for the next president.Comments: Stephen Windwalker, Kesler Woodward, and Linda Hopkins.You can leave a voice comment by calling 206-666-2713 or by emailing me an .mp3 audio file at PodChronicles@gmail.com .  You can leave text comments at that email address or here on the show notes page. I'd love to hear from you!Music for my podcast is “Ra-Monk” by Eval Manigat on the “Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective” CD by Public Transit Recording, courtesy of IODA Promonet.

Kindle News: Oprah gets behind the Kindle in a big way, including a $50-off coupon good till November 1st. Also, Amazon reports that 10 percent of its total book titles sold are in Kindle format. Tech Tip: From The Kindle Cookbook by David Emberson, how to put the MobileRead guide on your Kindle for free book downloads.  (Other good Kindle guides mentioned: Decoding the Kindle by Jim Cheshire and Complete User's Guide to the Amazing Amazon Kindle by Stephen Windwalker.Interview: Evan Schnittman, vice president of business development at Oxford University Press, speculates on why November 19, 2008 may be another big day in the history of the Kindle.Kindle Quote: Don Juan by Lord Byron, in French.Comment: Linda Hopkins finds the most expensive book available at the Kindle Store.  Be careful before you click on "purchase".....I'd love to hear your comments. You can leave a voice message at 206-666-2713 or email me at PodChronicles@gmail.com .

Interview: Abhi, creator of the Amazon Kindle, Books and Amazon News Blog and the Kindle Social Network for Book Lovers, talks to me from London and details how you can win a free Kindle if you join and participate in his social network before the end of October. Kindle Quote: The Nigger of Narcissus by Joseph Conrad.Kindle Comment: A promising overture from someone at Amazon...

Kindle News: Faked Photos or a real look at the Kindle 2?Tech Tip: A recent newbie (me) walks you around the Kindle Korner Yahoo group.Interview: Laurel Hicks, a moderator of Kindle Korner. On her Kindle: War and Peace by Tolstoy, Works of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov from MobileReference and the blogs Opinionated and An Unamplified Voice, an opera blog. Kindle Quote: Mmm-good: Campbell Soup fares pretty well in the financial debacle.  An article in Investor's Business Daily.Comments: Linda Hopkins, Jimmy Buffet video, and a good correction from Greg. 

Kindle News: Forbes gets it wrong on the iPhone v. the Kindle.Tech Tip: How to find out there's no Whispernet in Missoula, Montana. Click here for Sprint coverage map.Interview: My wife, Darlene, opens her Kindle and starts using it.Quote: The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield.Comments: Bob Boyken, Sang-Won Kim, Heather Hollick, and Linda.

Kindle News: Amazon passes a milestone with 180,000 titles available in the Kindle Store.Tech Tip: A light for reading your Kindle in bed when your spouse is trying to sleep.Interview: Jim Cheshire, author of Decoding the Kindle.Kindle Quote: from Spirit House, a Vincent Calvino Novel by Christopher G. Moore.Kindle Comments: audio from Bryan Person, comments on the show notes page from Greg Pyles and Paul.