Every week so often I update our family members on their Kindle books. We each keep our own Kindle, but we share an Amazon account together. I keep track of who buys what. The cool part is that we can share the books with one another. Not only does it save us money, but it gives us something to enjoy with one another. Here is this week's email.
Dear Dad, Jillian, Tim, Jessica, Dave, Jennifer, Mike, Nancy, Patty and Cheryl:
The picture on the right is of Jillian with her brand spankin new Kindle 3 WiFi. Sadly her Kindle 2 met its demise while she was babysitting. The K2 sat helpless next to a glass of milk and Jillian's young client. This quote direct from Kindle Heaven: "I could see my life flash before my eyes as I laid there looking up at that tall glass of cow juice. It was like a bad dream. I couldn't mooove!"
So much has happened in our family book club as well as with Kindle over the last 12 days since I last wrote to you. First, let's quickly update some key stats for the Pierce Family Kindle Library. We've added 18 eBooks and one Audible book to our archives. You can check them out below. We are now up to 833 eBooks and 110 Audible titles.
Library Lending for Kindle is Now Available! Before we look at the new books in our archives, we should review the big news this past week. We've been waiting for this moment - especially Jonathan on Grayden's behalf. It will now be possible to borrow books from your local library and read them on your Kindles! According to Amazon more than 11,000 libraries are participating. All good news.
The few negatives I have heard about is that there sometimes is only one copy of a title in Kindle format with a long line of waiting patrons. You may not be able to get the latest release and read it right away. But then that's always been the case with libraries, right?
The way it will work is that you will need your local library card and your Kindle Account information to borrow a book. It will then be placed in our archives for whatever lending period the library will allow. (These lending periods differ from library to library.) You will then need to let me know so that I can go into our Manage Your Kindle account page and forward the book to your Kindle. The next time you turn on your WiFi on your Kindle (doesn't work over 3G), your book will be waiting for you. Cool!
I haven't had time this week to try this out yet. However, I have collected the most important news releases and commentary and put them in one place for you (and me later) to read. Here are the top reads on the new Kindle Library Lending Feature from this past week:
- The official Library Lending Page from Amazon. All the details are here.
- The official HELP page for Library Lending from Amazon. Even more details.
- Where and how to find libraries from the Kindle World Blog.
- The 8 Biggest Advantages of Library Lending from Beyond Black Friday.
- Personal experiences of borrowing books by Bufo Calvin, from I Love My Kindle.
- Finally this week's Kindle Chronicles Podcast - audio discussion by Len Edgerly
Big News From Amazon Next Week! Amazon has invited many bloggers and tech writers to NYC for a press conference next Wednesday. Speculation is great that they will talk about their new Kindle tablet. I hope we also hear about their plans for a new e-Ink reader as well. This could be the banner week Grayden has been waiting for. He has over $100 collected for his new Kindle. My 7-year-old grandson has been waiting for 2 things: Library Lending and the new Kindle. Inside of a 7-day period of time he may have received all the news he's been wating for!
Here are the new books we've added to the archive since September 12th:
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Purchased by Jennifer
Price $7.19
Fiction, Children's Literature, Youth
Chester Raccoon doesn't want to go to school--he wants to stay home with his mother. She assures him that he'll love school--with its promise of new friends, new toys, and new books. Even better, she has a special secret that's been in the family for years--the Kissing Hand. This secret, she tells him, will make school seem as cozy as home. She takes her son's hand, spreads his tiny fingers into a fan and kisses his palm--smack dab in the middle: "Chester felt his mother's kiss rush from his hand, up his arm, and into his heart." Whenever he feels lonely at school, all he has to do is press his hand to his cheek to feel the warmth of his mother's kiss. Chester is so pleased with his Kissing Hand that he--in a genuinely touching moment--gives his mom a Kissing Hand, too, to comfort her when he is away. Audrey Penn's The Kissing Hand, published by the Child Welfare League of America, is just the right book for any child taking that fledgling plunge into preschool--or for any youngster who is temporarily separated from home or loved ones. The rough but endearing raccoon illustrations are as satisfying and soothing for anxious children as the simple story. (Ages 5 and older)
Feast For Crows by George R.R. Martin
Purchased by Jennifer
Price $8.99
Fiction, Fantasy, Epic
Long-awaited doesn't begin to describe this fourth installment in bestseller Martin's staggeringly epic Song of Ice and Fire. Speculation has run rampant since the previous entry, A Storm of Swords, appeared in 2000, and Feast teases at the important questions but offers few solid answers. As the book begins, Brienne of Tarth is looking for Lady Catelyn's daughters, Queen Cersei is losing her mind and Arya Stark is training with the Faceless Men of Braavos; all three wind up in cliffhangers that would do justice to any soap opera. Meanwhile, other familiar faces—notably Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen—are glaringly absent though promised to return in book five. Martin's Web site explains that Feast and the forthcoming A Dance of Dragons were written as one book and split after they grew too big for one volume, and it shows. This is not Act I Scene 4 but Act II Scene 1, laying groundwork more than advancing the plot, and it sorely misses its other half. The slim pickings here are tasty, but in no way satisfying.
Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley
Purchased by Mark
Price $14.99
Nonfiction, History
This is one of the few books I now own in both print and Kindle format. It is one of my favorite books. I refer to it often in my basement office. I decided it was something I wanted on my Kindle. It was the book I read BEFORE I went seminary. It was the book that convinced me that I wanted to know more!
Description - It's about time that someone wrote church history that tells about people, not just about "eras" and "ages." Church History in Plain Language taps the roots of our Christian family tree. It combines authoritative research with a captivating style to bring our heritage home to us.
Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton (Audible Book)
Purchased by Tim and Mark
Price $15.00 (1 Audible Credit) Regular Price $55.99
Science Fiction
40 hours and 59 minutes
Peter F. Hamilton's superbly imagined, cunningly plotted interstellar adventures are conceived on a staggeringly epic scale and filled with fully realized human and alien characters as complex as they are engaging. No mere world builder, Hamilton creates entire universes - and he does so with irresistible flair and intelligence.
His previous novel, the acclaimed Pandora's Star, introduced the Intersolar Commonwealth, a star-spanning civilization of the 24th century. Robust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy.
Coexistence is impossible with the technologically advanced aliens, who are genetically hardwired to exterminate all other forms of life. Twenty-three planets have already fallen to the invaders, with casualties in the hundreds of millions. And no one knows when or where the genocidal Prime will strike next.
Nor are the Prime the only threat. For more than 100 years, a shadowy cult, the Guardians of Selfhood, has warned that an alien with mind-control abilities impossible to detect or resist - the Starflyer - has secretly infiltrated the Commonwealth. Branded as terrorists, the Guardians and their leader, Bradley Johansson, have been hunted by relentless investigator Paula Myo. But now evidence suggests that the Guardians were right all along and that the Starflyer has placed agents in vital posts throughout the Commonwealth - agents who are now sabotaging the war effort. Is the Starflyer an ally of the Prime, or has it orchestrated a fight to the death between the two species for its own advantage?
Caught between two deadly enemies, one a brutal invader striking from without, the other a remorseless cancer killing from within, the fractious Commonwealth must unite as never before. This will be humanity's finest hour - or its last gasp.
True Detective by Max Allan Collins
Purchased by Mark
Price $0.99 (Price back up to $1.99)
Mysteries and Thillers
In the mob-choked Chicago of 1932, private detective Nathan Heller may be willing to risk his life to earn a Depression dollar, but he never sacrifices his slicing wit. That’s why mystery fans and critics alike rank the historical thriller True Detective at the top of their lists —and why the book swept up a Shamus Award for best novel from the Private Eye Writers of America. Now, author Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition) reissues the contemporary classic that introduces the inscrutable, wise-cracking Nathan Heller in all his guts and glory. Mayor Cermak aims to scrub up Chicago’s rancid reputation for the World’s Fair, and that daunting task comes down to the youngest plainclothes cop in town, Nathan Heller of the pickpocket detail. When the Mayor’s “Hoodlum Squad” brings Heller along on a raid with no instructions but to keep his mouth shut and his gun handy, he finds himself an unwitting, unwilling part of an assassination attempt on Al Capone’s successor, Frank Nitti. Soon, he’s smack in the middle of a power struggle between the mob and the mayor, and it’s up to the young detective to upend a potentially nation-shaking political assassination in Miami Beach. In Collins’ eruptive and evocative large-landscape historical thriller, readers consort with the likes of “Dutch” Reagan, George Raft, and FDR himself, as the author weaves the intricate history of the Chicago’s Century of Progress with a classic noir mystery. Rich in riveting plot turns, including a beautiful female client and a heartbreaking romance, True Detective is one of the most highly entertaining and unlikely coming-of-age stories ever written.
Gotham by Mike Wallace and Edwin Burrows
Purchased by Mark
Price $1.49 (Price now back up to $14.30)
Nonfiction, History
Like the city it celebrates, Gotham is massive and endlessly fascinating. This narrative of well over 1,000 pages, written after more than two decades of collaborative research by history professors Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace, copiously chronicles New York City from the primeval days of the Lenape Indians to the era when, with Teddy Roosevelt as police commissioner, the great American city became regarded as "Capital of the World." The sheer bulk of the book may be off- putting, but the reader can use a typically New York approach: Those who don't settle in for the entire history can easily "commute" in and out to read individual chapters, which stand alone nicely and cover the major themes of particular eras very well.
While Gotham is fact-laden (with a critical apparatus that includes a bibliography and two indices--one for names, another for subjects), the prose admirably achieves both clarity and style. "What is our take, our angle, our schtick?" ask the authors, setting a distinctly New York tone in their introduction. No matter what it's called, their method of weaving together countless stories works wonderfully. The startlingly detailed research and lively writing bring innumerable characters (from Peter Minuit to Boss Tweed) to life, and even those who think they know the history of New York City will no doubt find surprises on nearly every page. Gotham is a rarity, reigning as both authoritative history and page-turning story. --Robert McNamara
House Rules by Mike Lawson
Purchased by Mark
Price $0.99 (Price back to $4.69)
Fiction, Mysteries and Thrillers, Political
At the start of Lawson's snappy third thriller starring congressional snoop Joe DeMarco (after The Second Perimeter), a series of three failed attempts by Muslim terrorists to attack Washington, D.C.—one by plane, one by car, one by lone suicide bomber—causes nationwide panic. DeMarco wades into the mess when his boss, House Speaker John Mahoney, asks him to check out the possibility that the terrorist onslaught may have been more homegrown than it appears. Quickly appearing on DeMarco's radar is a suspicious, high-profile piece of anti-Islamic legislation, pushed by the blowhard junior senator from Virginia, that's on the fast track for approval. While the efficient plot takes some predictable turns, Lawson's engaging characters, with DeMarco leading the pack, come across as seriously flawed individuals trying to navigate a political world of high demands and constant distractions. Full of insider information, this novel reinforces Lawson's place in the upper rank of Washington thriller specialists.
Burger Recipes by Gooseberry Patch
Purchased by Mark
Price $0.00
Nonfiction, Food
Everyone in the family is sure to cheer when burgers are on the menu! We've gathered 25 of our very best recipes in this latest chapter of our Circle of Friends cookbook. You'll love Open-Faced Lone Star Burgers, Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburgers, Mexican Fiesta Burgers, Savory Chicken Burgers and many more!
When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
Purchased by Nancy
Price $8.08
Christian Fiction
A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.
It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. But the little girl's pretty yellow dress can't quite hide the ugly scar on her chest. The stranger understands more about it than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.
Before it's over, they'll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry...and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Purchased by Mark
$0.99 (Price now back to $6.39)
Children's Book, Youth
Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon. The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement. Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo by Brian Allain
Purchased by Mark
Price $4.99
Nonfiction, Communications, Blogging
Hone your blogging voice, find your true audience, and develop the strong community of readers you've always hoped for. Each day's chapter of 31 Days to Mojo gives you insight into the strategies and mindset that humorist Bryan Allain has used to develop a strong following for his own blog and provides you with an action item to work on for quick wins and long-term growth.
Topics covered in the book include:
- Focusing one or all of the 3 Core Elements of your blog
- How anyone can add more humor to their writing.
- The secret to getting a 'YES' to your guest post request.
- How Cheater Posts can keep you from burning out as a blogger.
- Why people aren't commenting on your blog posts and how to compel them to do so.
- The trick to using your older content to help generate new ideas.
- How blogging for 30 minutes a day can get you 6-pack abs, whiter teeth, and healthier hair. (I'm kidding...please don't sue me for false advertising.
In addition to the blogging knowledge, you'll also get a steady dose of the humor and nonsense that has made Bryan's blog a favorite among people who like to spit out mouthfuls of coffee while laughing, at no extra cost to you! This will be the funniest book on blogging you'll ever read. At least until Jerry Seinfeld and Louis CK co-write one of their own.
If you're frustrated because it feels like you're no closer to achieving your blogging goals than you were 3 months ago, the principles and strategies in 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo will help you make progress like never before from Day 1. It's time to focus your content and your voice on the things that move you. It's time to extend the reach of your blog. It's time to build a strong community with readers who resonate with you and your message.
Outspoken by Tim Schraeder et al.
Purchased by Mark
Price $4.99
Nonfiction, Communications, Christian
The church has the greatest story ever told: the message of the gospel. Unfortunately, most churches aren't doing a great job of communicating it. The way the world communicates has changed dramatically in recent years. With the rise of the web and social media, many churches are in the dark about where to go or what to do next. Drawing on the wisdom and insight from over 60 leading experts in various fields of church communication, this book provides a comprehensive resource for church leaders sharing how the church can leverage new media to effectively connect people with the gospel. From branding and design, to websites and social media, there are endless ways your church can cut through the static and help the message of the gospel be heard clearly. We've got a message worth sharing. It's time we learn how to communicate it and communicate it well. It's time to be outspoken!
Prayer Begins With Relationship by Cynthia Bezek
Purchased by Mark
Price $0.00 (Price now back to $7.99)
Christian Living, Nonfiction
Product Description.Connection and communication are vital in relationships, but what about in your relationship with God? Is it more of a duty than a delight? In this 6-session Bible study, the first in a series from Pray! Resources, you'll discover greater joy and intimacy in your most important relationship.
From the Back Cover. Many believers agree that God made us for relationship with Him, but they may not be aware of just how deep and satisfying the friendship can be. Come alongside author Cynthia Hyle Bezek as she shares her struggles and successes in learning to connect with God. In this six-week Bible study, you’ll discover soul-satisfying intimacy and great joy you never could have imagined possible. Draw near, grow deeper, and watch your life transform as you learn to walk more closely with God through prayer.
Bike Snob by BikeSnobNYC
Purchased by Mark
Price $1.99 (Price now back up to $8.53)
Nonfiction, Humor, Bicycles
Cycling is exploding in a good way. Urbanites everywhere, from ironic hipsters to earth-conscious commuters, are taking to the bike like aquatic mammals to water. BikeSnobNYC cycling's most prolific, well-known, hilarious, and anonymous blogger brings a fresh and humorous perspective to the most important vehicle to hit personal transportation since the horse. Bike Snob treats readers to a laugh-out-loud rant and rave about the world of bikes and their riders, and offers a unique look at the ins and outs of cycling, from its history and hallmarks to its wide range of bizarre practitioners. Throughout, the author lampoons the missteps, pretensions, and absurdities of bike culture while maintaining a contagious enthusiasm for cycling itself. Bike Snob is an essential volume for anyone who knows, is, or wants to become a cyclist.
When All Hail Breaks Loose by Pat Day
Purchased by Mark
Price $0.00 (Price now back to $8.95)
Christian Living, Nonfiction
Storms can come suddenly, unexpectedly, and catastrophically. We are never the same after suffering the shock and after-shocks of such earth-shattering experiences. And it is during these times that we need the assurance that only our faith in God provides. When All Hail Breaks Loose offers practical, proven life strategies for not only surviving, but also thriving, in the midst of major life challenges. When we are going through a storm, we can’t help but wonder: How does my faith help me when everything is falling apart? How does trusting God in prayer really make a difference? Where can I turn to receive the strength and direction that will help me hold my life together when everything is coming apart? Where is God in the midst of my suffering and pain? How can I make it through the long nights of fear, doubt, and uncertainty? How can I keep going when everything in me wants to quit? God provides the resources to weather life’s storms: faith, prayer, friends and family, courage and fortitude, and the determination to persevere. It is reassuring to know the battle is not ours but God’s.
You Can't Do Everything So Do Something by Shane Stanford
Purchased by Mark
Price $0.00 (Price now back to $9.99)
Christian Living, Nonfiction
Shane Stanford says: “On my office wall is a picture of a small child who lives in a remote village in sub-Saharan Africa. She is an orphan, having lost most of her family to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Each day, the little girl eats only half of her meager lunch. She takes the other half and puts it into her travel sack, so that she can take the leftovers to her dying aunt. The world might look at this child and assess that her little life has little to offer. But don’t tell the child’s aunt. Without this child’s sacrifice and maturity, her aunt would have no food and would die. In spite of this child not being able to do much for her dying aunt, she does something, every day. The real need for our world is not that we do every part; it’s that we just do our part. And working together to do that something God calls us to do--all of us working together--we will transform this world.”
Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
Purchased by Nancy
Price $2.79 (Price now back up to $7.99)
Romance, Psychological Thriller
It's summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local boy, home from college. Burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues, the women--two sisters and one friend--make their way to the sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, discovered her husband's infidelity and then her own pregnancy; Brenda embarked on a passionate affair with an older student that got her fired from her prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister Vickie, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, something more, while the women confront their pasts and map out their futures.
The End of America by Naomi Wolf
Purchased by Mark
Price $2.79 (Back up to $9.99 now.)
Civil Rights & Liberties, Politics
In a stunning indictment of the Bush administration and Congress, best-selling author Naomi Wolf lays out her case for saving American democracy. In authoritative research and documentation Wolf explains how events of the last six years parallel steps taken in the early years of the 20th century's worst dictatorships such as Germany, Russia, China, and Chile. The book cuts across political parties and ideologies and speaks directly to those among us who are concerned about the ever-tightening noose being placed around our liberties. In this timely call to arms, Naomi Wolf compels us to face the way our free America is under assault. She warns us with the straight-to-fellow-citizens urgency of one of Thomas Paines revolutionary pamphlets that we have little time to lose if our children are to live in real freedom. Recent history has profound lessons for us in the U.S. today about how fascist, totalitarian, and other repressive leaders seize and maintain power, especially in what were once democracies. The secret is that these leaders all tend to take very similar, parallel steps. The Founders of this nation were so deeply familiar with tyranny and the habits and practices of tyrants that they set up our checks and balances precisely out of fear of what is unfolding today. We are seeing these same kinds of tactics now closing down freedoms in America, turning our nation into something that in the near future could be quite other than the open society in which we grew up and learned to love liberty, states Wolf. Wolf is taking her message directly to the American people in the most accessible form and as part of a large national campaign to reach out to ordinary Americans about the dangers we face today. This includes a lecture and speaking tour, and being part of the nascent American Freedom Campaign, a grassroots effort to ensure that presidential candidates pledge to uphold the constitution and protect our liberties from further erosion. The End of America will shock, enrage, and motivatespurring us to act, as the Founders would have counted on us to do in a time such as this, as rebels and patriotsto save our liberty and defend our nation.
Buck Naked Faith by Eric Sandras
Purchased by Mark
Price $0.00
Christian Living
Take off your designer, postmodern phoniness. Strip off your pretty-sounding words. Get your faith naked. Honest and gritty, Eric Sandras encourages a generation of believers to drop the layers of make-believe nonsense that stunts our spiritual growth. What emerges is a positive alternative to life-crushing counterfeit faiths many of us are trying our best to work through. To do this, there's no secret handshake or magic formula, but there is vision and encouragement to take the risk and get dangerously real with God. He exposes the naked truth: We need to dress our lives with a real friendship with God and nothing else.
