The Kindle Chronicles

TKC 232 Seth Godin

TKC 231 Shantanu Bala

TKC 230 Garrett Riley

TKC 229 David Lynn

TKC 228 Jeremy Greenfield

TKC 227 Evan Ratliff

TKC 226 Russ Grandinetti

TKC 225 Neil Strandberg

News - 1) First impressions of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9". 2) The Waterstones-Kindle partnership unfolds in the U.K. with a free hour of reading eBooks in the stores. CORRECTION 11/17/12- Eolake Stobblehouse points out that I probably was not comparing apples with apples in my video comparison of the iPad 3 and the Fire HD 8.9". He emailed me as follows: "I was surprised at your report that the movie looked sharper on the Fire than on iPad 3. Because the Fire has a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels, and the iPad has a 2048-by-1536 resolution, slightly higher. I would thus guess that somehow the movie file that you got from Amazon was somehow better than the one Apple served. "If this is insulting, I apologize, but are you sure you got the HD version in both cases? Maybe Apple's was 720 lines HD and the Amazon was 1080 lines? "I’m only saying this because the result is so unexpected." Tech Tips - Brett McNeill has a better way to find the total number of locations on the Paperwhite Kindle than the one I offered last week. Also, the $69 basic Kindle's virtual keyboard has turned out to be no barrier to enjoyment of the device for at least one 85-year-old user, my father. Interview (starts at 14:15) - I spoke with Brian Mockenhaupt on the day after Veterans Day this week, to discuss his new Byliner Original, The Living and the Dead: War, Friendship, and the Battles That Never End. It's a moving account of three friends, Marines deployed in southern Afghanistan, and the dire toll war takes on them and their families. Highly recommended. Content - I didn't realize it when I recorded this week's episode, but the Kindle version of the poet John Ashbery's Planisphere that I bought in 2010 is no longer available at Amazon.com. Sorry about that. You can check out a paperback version of it here, or you might be interested in his The Tennis Court Oath: A Book of Poems, which is available for Kindle. Next Week's Guest - Neil Strandberg, Director of Member Technology at the American Booksellers Association.

News - Not much shaking this week. Go directly to Tech Tips. Tech Tips - How to highlight over multiple pages on a Kindle Paperwhite, and a tip from Jean Remple on buying apps for your Kindle Fire in France. Interview (starts at 7:33) - Richard Mason, the author of History of a Pleasure Seeker, has made a stunning iTunes Store app out of his book. Titled History of a Pleasure Seeker, Volume I: The Gilded Age, the "e-lumination" features narration by Dan Stevens, who plays the part of Matthew Crawley in the Downton Abbey TV series, as well as specially commissioned music, photos, and video answers to readers' questions. It is not yet available for Android devices such as the Kindle Fire, but Richard's exploration of this new medium raises intriguing issues that I enjoyed exploring with him. We spoke by Skype between Denver and New York City on November 5th. Mason's digital startup, Orson & Co., created the app. He also started an organization named after his late sister, the Kay Mason Foundation, which provides scholarships for disadvantaged South African children to attend some of the country's best schools. Next Week's Guest: Brian Mockenhaupt, author of a new Byliner original, The Living and the Dead: War, Friendship, and the Battles that Never End.

News - I offer my impressions of the newest eReader in town--the sleek, slim, and incredibly light iPad mini. I bought mine at a very low-key launch at the Apple Store in Cherry Creek Mall, Denver, and my report in the podcast includes a man-in-the-mall interview with a guy who was reading his Kindle Keyboard as he waited in line for a mini. BTW, M-Edge Accessories, our generous partner in E-Books for Troops, has an excellent selection of covers for your iPad mini that offer more protection than Apple's elegant but kind of flimsy Smart Cover. Tech Tips - Bufo Calvin has a creative idea for using FreeTime on the Kindle Fire to set up something like collections for books and other content (scroll down to the update at the end of the post). Or you might try Book Collections, a 2.99-cent app in the Amazon Apps for Android Store. (I think I had the price wrong in the audio.) Also, Jean Remple is happily listening to BBC Radio on his Kindle Fire HD in Paris, thanks to a 99-cent app named Tune In Radio Pro. Highly recommended. Interview (starts at 21:50) - Chris Brogan, CEO of Human Business Works and the co-author of The Impact Equation: Are You Making Things Happen or Just Making Noise?, spoke with me by Skype on October 30th, the day after Hurricane Sandy passed to the south of his home in Newburyport, Mass. He is reading only the following three books in the next 12 months: The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change by Pema Chodron, and You Are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren. Inspired by this novel experiment and by the quality of The Impact Equation, I have decided to spend time with this book steadily in the coming year, rereading it and letting its wide-ranging insights and tips sink in. Click here for a list of Chris's other books at Amazon. Other topics mentioned: Greg Pak's Vision Machine and Net Minds. Content - History of a Pleasure Seeker, an iOS app by Richard Mason, who will be my guest for the interview next week.

News - 1) Amazon reports disappointing earnings. 2) Kindles arrive at Waterstones in the U.K. 3) Apple unveils the iPad Mini. Tech Tips - The Kindle Fire HD gets updated software, version 7.2.1. "How to Touch a Kindle Paperwhite" will be the title of the video I plan to make soon with tips on using the touch screen. This is an audio run through. Also, some help for Jean Remple with his Kindle Fire HD that is having trouble with Adobe Flash. Interview (starts at 23:58) - David Risher, CEO and co-founder of Worldreader.org visited with me via Skype on October 23rd with an update on this worthy and ambitious project to bring digital reading to a million kids in the developing world. His last interview on the podcast was in March, 2010, for TKC 88. I expect you will be inspired enough by the Worldreader story to click here in order to make a contribution. Content - Bond, James Bond, is looking good on the Kindle! Next Week's Guest - Chris Brogan, author of The Impact Equation: Are You Making Things Happen or Just Making Noise?

News - 1) Amazon is the first to send "good news" emails regarding credits for past purchases of eBooks as a result of  a settlement between several eBook publishers and the Attorney Generals of most states (sorry Minnesota). Later, I received one from Kobo. Click here for the AGs' website about the settlement. 2) Whispercast will help schools, businesses, and nonprofits handle distribution of eBooks across fleets of Kindles. 3) R.I.P, Kindle DX. 4) More about that really cheap eReader coming from Germany, in which you get what you pay for. Tech Tips - Tom Semple points out a nice refinement of information you will find about titles listed in your "Cloud/Archive" on the Kindle Paperwhite. Tap and hold on any title, and one of the options will be the Book Description at Amazon.com. Marcy McKenzie has created a homemade fix for the Kindle Paperwhite Kindle cover that tends to slip along a slippery surface in landscape mode. Email me at PodChronicles AT Gmail.com if you'd like details. Also, Safari now has a Send to Kindle capability, and Citrix has an app for controlling a Mac or PC from your Kindle Fire. Interview (starts at 20:19) - Anthropologist Guven Witteveen last year helped the Paine-Gillam-Scott Museum in St. John, Michigan, create a Kindle eBook titled Civil War Memories on Foot and by Horse, 1862-1866, by Civil War veteran Francis W. Redfern. I visited in person with Guven on Wednesday, October 17th, at Schuler Books in Lansing, Michigan, about the project. Content - Traveling with my on my Kindle are Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.  And the more I use it the more I like Mindmaps by Endare for the Kindle Fire. Future Guests: David Risher, founder of WorldReader.org, will be my interview guest next week, followed by Chris Brogan, author of The Impact Equation, available for preorder with delivery scheduled for October 25.

  Intro Links - Zeo and the Zeo sleep monitor I have been using for two years, available (with Associates commission for TKC) at Amazon. News - 1) Jeff Bezos goes to the U.K. and France to bring glad tidings of Kindle Paperwhite and Fire HD availability. Among the media outlets who took note were the BBC and Le Figaro. 2) An E Ink eReader for about $13? It's the txtbeagle, and it's coming from Germany by year's end. Click here for coverage in Engadget. Tech Tip - It's been a while since I've tried to read a PDF on an E Ink Kindle. On the Kindle Paperwhite, I found it works very well indeed. Interview (Starts at 20.36) - Stephen Windwalker, creator of Kindle Nation Daily, stopped by the house for a chat on Wednesday, October 10th. We discussed the new lineup of Kindles, KND's new daily web format, and April Hamilton's in-depth coverage of the Kindle Fire for KND, among other things. Content - I took advantage of a day laid low by a cold to read The History of a Pleasure Seeker a beautifully written novel by Richard Mason. I hope to have him on the show soon to discuss an innovative enhanced version of his book. It may look something like an earlier, free version available on iOS devices. I have also been hooked by a Kindle Serial, Option to Kill (A Nathan McBride Novel) by Andrew Peterson.    

News - 1) Tech bloggers like Joshua Topolsky of The Verge have raved about the Kindle Paperwhite, but I have also heard from quite a few listeners who are disappointed in the newest E Ink Kindle. What's YOUR opinion? Please leave a comment here or email me at PodChronicles AT gmail DOT com. 2) Google and the Association of American Publishers reach a settlement in a case brought by the publishers challenging Google's book-scanning project. If I'm reading the details as reported by The Financial Times correctly, a trove of new eBooks may result, accessible on Kindles as well as other eReaders. (To access the FT article try Googling "Financial Times Google eBooks.") Tech Tips - Is your Kindle software up to date? Check here for latest versions for all models. I had practice updating Kindle 2s and Kindle Keyboards this week as I prepared donated Kindles for an E-Books for Troops shipment. Also, Tom Semple shares a handy tip for finding Book Descriptions for titles in your Cloud/Archive. Interview (Starts at 27:27) - Yael Goldstein Love is Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Plympton, a literary studio offering serialized fiction for digital readers. Plympton created three of the first eight Kindle Serials, in response to an invitation from Amazon. The Plympton titles are Hacker Mom by Austen Rachlis, Love is Strong as Death by Carolyn Nash, and The Many Lives of Lilith Lane by E.V. Anderson. My interview with Yael took place in Cambridge on October 1, 2012. Since then, Plympton's Kickstarter project has blown past its goal of raising $30,000 and you can still participate in supporting this worthy initiative aimed at reviving serialized fiction for the digital age. People and topics discussed in the interview: Byliner, The Atavist, Plympton Co-Founder and President Jennifer 8. Lee, Kindle Singles editor David Blum, Amazon Publishing VP Jeff Belle, and The Pickwick Papers.  Listener Survey - I want to thank those of you who filled out the four-question survey I posted last week. There is still time to add your answers here.