The Twelve Days of Kindle

On the twelfth day of Christmas

My true love gave to me

Twelve Books To Download

Eleven New Subscriptions

Ten Free First Chapters

Nine Top Newspapers

Eight Gigs Of Memory

Seven Business Blogs

Six Music Files

Five Jealous Friends......

Four Levels Gray Scale

Three Days Of Power

Two Recharge Hours

And A Kindle Of My Very Own!!!

I hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday season!!!!

Oprah Endorses The Kindle

In late October, the Amazon Kindle was announced as one of Oprah Winfrey's favorite gadgets in 2008. I bet Amazon was jumping for joy due to all of that free advertising, especially so close the the holiday season. Oprah said that when the Kindle first came out, she wasn't really all that excited about it, but after a friend of her's gave her one with a preloaded book, her opinion quickly changed. A few of things she says she really likes about the Kindle is it's environmentally friendly nature, the fact that she no longer has to cart all of her books around with her everywhere, and, of all things, the built in dictionary. Who'd a thunk it? And, how cool is it that she already has an established book club where many of the books are already available for the Kindle? It seems like it was only a matter of time that the Oprah Book Club and the Amazon Kindle came together.

So why do I bring this to your attention today? Well, I find it to be an exciting time when a product receives such a high profile endorsement, because it usually means that the product is here to stay and worth considering for yourself. And, I really like the Kindle and want everyone else to like it as much as I do, and if I can jump on the celebrity endorsement bandwagon to promote how wonderful a Kindle will be as Christmas gift, the I am going to take full advantage.

I have been telling you for quite some time now that the Kindle is a fantastic item, one with a future. Also, I just wanted you to know that I wasn't the only one who thought so. And, you know what? Christmas is right around the corner. Isn't there someone in your circle of family and friends who just might like to give the Kindle a try? I mean, come on, if Oprah likes it, I am sure they will too!

Read more about Oprah's Favorite Gadget here.

Happy Kindling!

Upload Documents Right To Your Kindle

I came across an interesting blog that talked about how to upload documents to your Kindle, which has been very helpful to me, so I thought I would pass it along to you.

I have a job that requires me to read a lot of reports. When I travel, I find that airport and airplane idle time is a good way to get caught up on my reading of said reports.

One problem that I have experienced is that when I travel, I end up taking more stuff than I need, and I am not just talking about shoes (you know what I mean ladies!). So, my carry-on bag typically contains, books, paperwork, laptop, music, and whatever else I deem essential for my trip. Since getting my Kindle, I have been able to reduce the number of gadgets I take with me without sacrificing the quantity of items, because I can fit a lot of it on my Kindle.

For example, as you well know, you are able to download 100s of 1000s of books right onto your Kindle, so, I no longer have to take my physical books with me. If you don't know, you can also upload music onto your Kindle, so I no longer have to have an additional gadget for that. Wouldn't it be nice if I could reduce the amount of hard copy paperwork I have, by uploading that onto your Kindle as well? So, now when I travel, I have my Kindle, my laptop, and me. It really makes things a lot easier.

If you are interested in how to upload documents, i.e., word files, PDF files, etc., onto your Kindle practically free, please visit this blog, EduKindle, for instructions and information.

Now, some people may be wondering why not just use your laptop to read the reports and not worry about uploading documents to your Kindle. Whenever I can avoid lugging my laptop through an airport and not have to worry about taking it out of my bag and putting it in a bin by itself when I go through security only to have to put it back in my bag and lug it around some more, I'll opt for the Kindle every time. I still have to run it through security, but it is a lot smaller, easier, and lighter to deal with. That's just my preference.

I just wanted to make sure you knew your options and just how versatile your Kindle really is.

Working Out With A Kindle

I continue to be amazed at the places I see people using their Kindles. Today, I diligently went to the gym again in my quest to lose those few, or maybe more than a few, pounds that have crept up on me as of late. Typically, I attend a spin class or body pump class, both of which I highly recommend, but being a Sunday afternoon, neither class was offered so I opted to pay my dues to the workout gods on the Elliptical Machine. At the gym, all of the Cardio machines are hooked up to the bay of 8 big screen TVs so that you can at least entertain yourself while your heart rate is racing for the stars. Much to my amazement, there was this guy a couple of machines down from me that had his Kindle sitting on the built-in book rack on his Elliptical Machine. He was plugging along with his exercise routine and reading his Kindle all at the same time. I was duly impressed and thought I would share with you one more example that indicates the Kindle is invading our lives slowly but surely. Think about it...a great Christmas present coupled with a New Year's resolution could find you reading your Kindle at your local gym in early 2009!

Amazon Kindle 2

Pandora's box has been opened and the new Amazon Kindle 2 was waiting for us inside. According to The Boy Genius, who has pictures of the new device, the new Kindle looks pretty good. The article goes on to give some specs on the new device which include some of the following.

• the clickwheel has been replaced by a joystick
• the size is a little wider and a little longer than the original
• the buttons on both sides of the device are a little smaller
• the keyboard has been redesigned
• the old charger has been replaced by a universal mini USB charger

For more information about the new Kindle, check out the article at The Boy Genius.

Knowing that each iteration of new electronic devices, whether it be iPods, iPhones, PSPs, Playstations, Wii's, etc., you get more and more functionality, typically for a lower price (according to Engadget, it could be as low as $249, but we shall see). It will be very interesting to see what the new price tag is for the Kindle 2 once it surfaces on the market. One can only assume that Amazon will try to launch it's new product just in time for the holidays. I, for one, can't wait to see it.

Again, if you haven't checked out the Kindleyet, you need to. It is an amazing device and one that is changing the way we read, learn, and help the environment. Happy Kindling!!!!!

The Musical Kindle

Lately, when I read about what people have to say about the Kindle, I constantly see new books available from Amazon.com, articles written about how there is a new version of the Kindle in the works, and how schools are promoting the Kindle as the next best thing for reading textbooks (What's In Your Backpack?), but I haven't seen a lot about its musical functionality.

I know when I was in college (and even now), I often listened to music while I read or worked on projects. The neat thing about the Kindle is that it not only stores books, it can store music too. So, if you have your textbook loaded on your device along with some supercharged educational enhancing music, there is no way you can fail. And, you don't have to have more than one electronic device to serve both functions, which is another nice feature.

If you need some help learning about the musical capabilities of your Kindle, I found a great blog offering some fantastic ideas. It's called Light My Kindle. Look for Tips and Tricks #8 and #9, Putting Music on Your Kindle and Maximizing Your Kindle Music Player, as well as other great information.

Don't forget to constantly explore the functionality of your Kindle and use all that is has to offer. If you don't have one, you should get one. If you have one, you have made a great investment, so use it!!!! Happy Reading and Listening!

Kindle Book Club for Kids

School has started and so has the Reading List that our kids are supposed to get through before the end of the school year. When discussing the list with my stepsons, they were none too excited. I know that is absolutely shocking since reading doesn't really hold a candle to their current sporting activities or Wii playing. However, I hoped that their earlier interest in the Kindle would be rekindled (see Share Your Kindle With Your Kids) if I found a way to make it cool for them to read. As I looked through the list and compared it to the list of available books on the Kindle, I was pleasently surprised to find some Kindle versions.

I thought I would start out with a classic for my initial experiment, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Bramblewood Press Classics). We went through the anticipated argument that they had already seen the movie, knew how the story went, blah blah blah, but reading the book, I told them, is very different. Both of them are currently in Jr. High School, so the book selection would count for both of them if they both read it. While they were somewhat hesitant at first, they agreed if I would purchase the Kindle version for them.

I am happy to report that one stepson has already finished the book and the other is about halfway through, and we are only 3 weeks into the new school year. It must be something about the fact that its electronic, kind of looks like a video game console and not the ole standard book that attracts them to it.

I shared my early success with a Kindle loving friend of mine who has some grade school aged children. She and her husband said, "Why not try it with our kids?" They have peaked their kids interest as well and are having similar early success. We joked about starting a Kindle Book Club for Kids, which may not really be a bad idea if it will continue to peak their interest and keep them reading.

So far so good. Fingers are crossed that our success continues. With new books being added everyday to the Kindle Store and the fact that textbooks are making their debut on the Kindle, who knows what the future holds for our children.