Kindlerama (Kindle free books, techncial stuff, etc.)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Kindlerama, by Chris Walters

WEB ADDRESS: http://kindlerama.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: KINDLERAMA keeps you up-to-date on Kindle related news, the latest software and hardware developments from Amazon, and great ebook bargains from the Kindle Store.

IF YOU OWN A KINDLE, you'll appreciate the tips and guides that will help you get the most out of your device.

* case and accessory reviews
* shortcuts and easter eggs
* how to guides and instructions
* how to convert unfriendly file formats
* tips for creating a killer ebook library

IF YOU USE THE KINDLE APP on another device, you'll find out the latest about the Kindle platform with up-to-the-minute posts about new developments.

* new operating systems
* updates
* what the competition is doing

And if you're just a general ebook enthusiast, you'll enjoy the random posts about industry topics such as DRM, publisher/retailer battles, pricing, and alternative devices.

MY REVIEW: There are a few Kindle related blogs that alert you to free books, and there are others that tell you about hacks and such like stuff. This is one of the second kind, and believe it or not there's a lot of technical information about your kindle that can help you get greater enjoyment out of it, so frankly I'd suggest giving this blog a try.

Sample post:

Have you read an indie or self-published book from the Kindle store recently? You should review it! Other Kindle readers will thank you, you’ll be famous (at least to that author), and you’ll be doing the entire Kindle community a huge public service.

In my daily trawling through Amazon’s Kindle store, I’m constantly coming across indie and self-published titles. Sometimes they look abysmal and I wish their authors well and click over to another page. But sometimes they catch my eye, either because of a well-designed cover (which is rare, sadly), or a compelling title, or a tightly written product description.

Now usually this is the point where I jump to the reviews and start skimming to get an idea of the book’s tone, sophistication, entertainment value, and so on.

Not so with indie and self-pubbed titles; more often than not I hit a blank review section, or a couple of reviews that are so effusive and exlamatory that they seem written by relatives and writing group friends.

Big publishers and the people who love them frequently argue that the indie/self-publishing world doesn’t work because there are no gatekeepers. Any old dreck can be pushed out to the Kindle store and sold for 99 cents. And they’re right, sadly, which you can see for yourself by drilling down to any random category on the Kindle store and sorting by price, low to high.

But that description is unfair because it paints with too broad a stroke. There are some terrific works out there waiting to be discovered by readers. They’d be easier to find if readers left good reviews–and not so good ones, if that’s called for–on the pages for these smaller titles.

If you’ve been following the daily deals I post in the sidebar, you might have noticed that I tend to focus a lot on indie and self-published works. That’s because they’re more likely to be bargain-priced, but also because I want to help readers discover new writers who aren’t going through the old fashioned big-business channels.

So please write reviews. Your honest opinions will help all of us make smarter decisions about what to read next.

RECENT POSTS:
--Just how cheap will the Kindle get?
--Amazon drops price of Kindle 2 to $189
--How to re-install the screensaver hack on a Kindle running 2.5.2
--Why your book reviews are important
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Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space SciencesTopical Murder and Dated Death

How To Go Back to A Book's First Page

Note: This has turned out to be one of the most popular posts on this blog. I guess everyone who gets a new Kindle needs to know how to do this!

Since you're here, I thought I'd put in a plug for Kindle Blogs. Amazon has removed them from the Kindle "Stripe", which is pretty damn annoying, but if you want to subscribe to a blog on Kindle, just make sure you're in the Kindle store, type in the subject you're interested in, and type "blog" at the end of it, and that should bring up any blogs on the topic.

Now, how to go to a book's first page.
Press the menu button. That's the one where you Turn Wireless Off or On (supposedly if you keep it turned off except while you're downloading books, it saves the battery), and can shop in the Kindle store.

On the MENU, you'll see:
Turn Wireless On
Shop In Kindle Store
Go To...

[If you're not in a book and you press the MENU button, there will be no "Go To..." choice. You have to be in a book for that option to appear.]

Choose "Go To" and you'll get another dialog box that will enable you to choose (using your 5 way controller) Cover, Table of Contents, Beginning, Location.

Toggle over to Beginning, press the 5-way controller down, and there ya go.

What's "location"? Note the numbers at the bottom right hand corner of a book. That's the "page number". If you want to skip ahead til nearly the end, say for example of a mystery book, just type in a number about 300 less than the last page, and that'll take you to near the end.)

Now, another couple of plus. ; )

I'm a writer of science fiction - check out my novella, The Coldest Equations: The Labyrinth Makers, and the novel, The Coldest Equations: The People Out There. Fun stuff!

And what blogs should you subscribe to?

Well, improve your mind, try my science blogs.

Go to the Kindle Store and search on:
Volcano Seven (sunken treasure)
Seaborn (oceanography)
Star Trek Report (space exploration)
Miniscule Guide to the American Civil War

or just do a search on Volcano Seven and you'll see *all* my blogs!