Category Archives: Reading

September 29, 2011 · 11:31 AM

Kindle Catches Fire

Image by Dekuwa via Flickr

Amazon has finally announced it’s joining the tablet race with the color, touch-screen kindle fire. Designed to take on the iPad, it’s smaller and cheaper. And even though there’s still a lot of questions about it and it’s not available until November, the kindle fire is already a top seller on Amazon.

As I look at my “old” e-ink kindle, I’m finding I relate to those clinging to paper books much better.

I love my old kindle. Its battery lasts forever, and I can read it almost anywhere, no matter the light. I don’t surf the web on it, don’t read email, and don’t play games. But now that everyone has color tablets out, I have a feeling my black-and-white friend will end up as a speedbump on the electronic highway.

Are all our gadgets racing to the same end? I can read books on my phone, I can make phone calls on my computer, I can surf the web on my TV, and I can watch movies on my e-reader. Is it just me, or are all these things pretty much the same?

Makes me want to turn off the electricity and read a book. A paper book.

Author! Author! Blog Bounce

Click here to check out the Blog Bounce

What’s the Author! Author! Blog Bounce?? Well, it’s a fun way for readers to find new authors and for authors to connect with their readers!

Authors, all you have to do is click on the link, grab the icon, grab the link, make a blog post (don’t forget to include the link!), and enter your blog on our list. Easy peasy!

5 Comments

Filed under Reading

Tagged as Amazon Kindle, ereaders, kindle fire, tablet computer, technology

September 22, 2011 · 12:16 PM

E-Autographs

The one downside to e-readers is the autograph. Getting a personalized signature often requires having something for the author to actually sign – be it the cover of your e-reader, or an autograph book, or bookmark, for example. Now there’s a way to get an electronic signature that you can store right on your kindle (other readers coming soon).

Meet kindlegraph.com.

Kindlegraph is a free service for readers to request an e-signature. What you receive is a PDF that includes the image of the book’s cover and a personalized message and signature from the author. You may have heard about kindlegraph before, but the developer, Evan, recently upgraded the service, making it much easier for authors to create great e-signatures.

Users can have the e-sig sent directly to their kindle (that part’s not free) or you can have it emailed to a different address, whether you have a kindle or not.

If you’d like to give it a try, you can request a kindlegraph of Whirlwind HERE. I’d love to hear from you!

Author! Author! Blog Bounce

Click here to check out the Blog Bounce

What’s the Author! Author! Blog Bounce?? Well, it’s a fun way for readers to find new authors and for authors to connect with their readers!

Authors, all you have to do is click on the link, grab the icon, grab the link, make a blog post (don’t forget to include the link!), and enter your blog on our list. Easy peasy!

Readers…you have the easy job. Just follow the bounce and visit the authors. Leave a comment and let them know that you were there.

4 Comments

Filed under Reading

Tagged as Author, Autograph, kindlegraph

September 12, 2011 · 2:12 PM

Instant Feedback

Image via Wikipedia

As a continuation of my kindle saga, I bring to you Amazon’s newest feature: @author. Billed as a way to connect readers and writers, it allows kindle readers to message the author from within the book. Neat, huh?

I know some authors see it as more work, and at first, I couldn’t see that it’s really that different from someone tweeting or emailing a question to me while reading. But after looking at Amazon’s description of this new tool, I can see how it could have its drawbacks, from my point of view:

Posting a question from the Kindle:
1. Place the cursor at the beginning of the passage you’d like to ask a question about using the 5-way controller, then press down to anchor it
2. Highlight the passage using the 5-way controller
3. Enter your question about the passage you highlighted, beginning with the phrase “@author”…
4. Select “save & share” from the options at the bottom of the note window when finished

So the reader can highlight an excerpt while reading and ask about it (and everyone will see it). Um, can you say “spoiler”?

My first reaction is to wonder who would use this. I have read books where I really wondered where the author was going, or if they’d ever get around to closing a loop they started early on – but I wouldn’t stop reading to ask them. If I really wanted to know, I’d just skip ahead. The answer should be in the book in my hands, right? All I have to do is read it.

If I do have a question for the author, there’s usually umpty-seven ways to reach them – if they want to be reached. But right in the middle of a book? I don’t know.

What do you think? This feature is still in the testing phase, and hasn’t really been touted by Amazon (yet?). Would you stop in the middle of a story to send the author a message about the story? Do you see another benefit to this feature as readers or writers that I’m missing? Or is this just a different version of twitter/facebook/forum?

Meet an Author Monday

Check out what other authors are chatting about today. Whether you’re a reader or a writer, there’s a lot of great stories out there!

Click here for the Author hop

3 Comments

Filed under Reading

Tagged as Amazon Kindle, E-book, reading

September 8, 2011 · 7:39 AM

Kindle Goes to School

This probably won’t be a surprise to many, but I love my kindle. I still read “real” books, but I love the convenience and selection I get on my ereader. It’s so great that I even loaded my high-school-age daughter’s summer reading books on it – the classics, like Dante’s Inferno, were free!

What I didn’t take into account was that when school started, she’d need to take her summer reading books to school.

Now, I trust my daughter. I warned her not to drop her backpack with the kindle in it, and keep it under wraps – I didn’t want prying eyes and sticky fingers to get any ideas. “YES MOM!” was her answer. But my main concern was her teacher. What if he took it? (Okay, I’m a little paranoid, but as I said, I LOVE my kindle!)

You see, the high school has strict rules about many things. No drugs. No weapons. No suggestive clothing. AND…no electronics. I knew the intention of the rule was to keep kids from playing video games or listening to their iPods during class, but would the school be discriminating enough to know the difference between an MP3 player and an electronic book? Luckily, the answer was yes.

In fact, the instructor’s response was “I was wondering when these would start showing up.” Another student also had her kindle in class, and everything was fine.

Now I’m left with a different dilemma. I know a kindle (or nook) is in both my kids’ futures. They’re avid readers, and would definitely use them. I’d also like to think their rooms might be a little cleaner without the piles of books everywhere (yeah, right). It’s just a matter of time.

My question to you today is, how do you manage a child’s ereader? Do they have their own amazon/B&N account, or do you connect them to yours? I wish amazon had a way to lock individual books or collections with a password – then I wouldn’t have to worry about my kids picking up my kindle and reading one of the hot romance novels I have on it.

If you have a nook, I’d like to hear from you, too. The library lending feature is something I think would be great for kids.

And, just so you know, Christmas is only 108 days away.

Author! Author! Blog Bounce

Click here to check out the Blog Bounce

What’s the Author! Author! Blog Bounce?? Well, it’s a fun way for readers to find new authors and for authors to connect with their readers!

Authors, all you have to do is grab the icon, grab the link, make a blog post (don’t forget to include the link!), and enter your blog on our list. Easy peasy!

Readers…you have the easy job. Just follow the bounce and visit the authors. Leave a comment and let them know that you were there.

11 Comments

Filed under Parenting, Reading

Tagged as Amazon Kindle, E-book, Literature, reading, school

August 29, 2011 · 2:32 PM

The Hunger Games are Coming

Cover of The Hunger Games

Did you see it? The flames? The arrow? The trees?

Are you thinking “What the heck is she talking about?” 🙂

I’m talking about The Hunger Games teaser that debuted last night at the end of the MTV VMAs. Based on the book by the same name, it features a female lead named Katniss. But before I say any more, how about a peek at the teaser?

CLICK HERE FOR THE TRAILER

Like Twilight, The Hunger Games is another Young Adult book series trying to cross over to film. Instead of discussing the book or even the movie, per se, I’m curious about your reaction to this teaser. If you’ve read the books, did it make you excited for the movie? What struck you about the clip?

If you haven’t read the book, did it pique your interest? It’s pretty hard to tell what the book or the movie is about, so let me help you out. From goodreads.com:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Personally, I was hoping for a little more than trees on fire. I’m guessing fans of the book would probably have liked to have seen the “love interests” – Peeta and/or Gale. (I use “love interests” very liberally. The Hunger Games is not really a love story, in my opinion. But that’s a discussion for another day 🙂 ) Me? I might’ve shown Kat volunteering to take her sister’s place in the deadly games and then a shot of the dangerous foes she has to face. Something just a little more telling about the actual plot.

More will come, I’m sure. This wasn’t an actual movie trailer, only a teaser. A few seconds meant to whet the movie appetite.

Did it work?

Happy Monday,

Robin

ps. if you’d like to read my review of The Hunger Games, click HERE