Monthly Archives: December 2015

Daily Deals: Romances and Holiday ebook Deals

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nowhereIn order to accommodate new device owners, most e-tailers offer great discount on ebooks on Christmas eve and Christmas Day. Lots of bargains to be found! 🙂

For today, December 24, 2015:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deal is offering 80 Popular Romances, with prices starting at 99 cents and up. These seem to be part of a publisher promotion form Harlequin.* There are also over 1100 titles in all genres priced at up to 85% off in a special Year-End deals promotion.

If you still like actual paper magazines, Amazon is running a special Gold Box Deal on print magazine subscriptions. Prices range from $5 to $9.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie, part of the Grantchester Mysteries for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is Christmas Ladies: 3 Full-Length Holiday Regencies, a collection from Grace Burrowes’ Windham series for $2.99. There is also a selection of Nook Bundles at prices up to 70% off. Prices start at 99 cents.

Kobo has a religious-themed Daily Deal. The NRSV Daily Bible: Read, Meditate, and Pray Through the Entire Bible in 365 Days from Harper Bibles is $1.99. Kobo is also offering a large list of titles from all genres for up to 80% off in their Holiday Sale. The sale also includes some ebook bundles like The Hathaways Complete Series (5 book collection) by Lisa Kleypas for $9.99.

*Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.

(Note: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.)

Prime Perks for Kindle and Fire Owners

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paperwhiteThis year,  my son finally asked for a e-ink Kindle. So, for Christmas, I bought him a Kindle Paperwhite and one of the $50 fire tablets.  Since he is already a Prime Member (another gift from mom and dad), I wanted to fill him in on a couple of Prime benefits that only applied to device owners. Since this is the time of year when many people get Kindles for the first time, I thought I would share these with everyone.

Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) allows Prime members to borrow one (1) book per month for free.

  • Works on Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet, or Fire phone.
  • Only available for device owners with memberships to Amazon Prime.
  • Borrowed KOLL titles may also be shared with another adult in your household through Amazon Household and Family Library with select Prime memberships.
  • Eligible books display the Prime logo. There are over 500,000 books in the lending library.
  • Complete instructions with video are here.

A couple of important points here:  First, there is no master “list” of book available to lend (the books actually change all the time). Secondly, you are not able to pick books from the web or the Kindle app. You also can only browse the Kindle store from your device to see which books are available to borrow. This tends to be a source of frustration for a lot of people, but it is the way the program works.

Kindle First is a program that offers customers early access to new Kindle books across popular genres from Amazon Publishing.

  • Every month Prime members can choose one (1) of the books selected by Amazon’s editors for FREE.
  • There are generally four to six books to choose from. These are books that will be released the following month.
  •  Kindle First books can be read on any Kindle device or free Kindle reading app and become part of customers’ permanent libraries.
  • Prime invitees are not eligible for free downloads.
  • Prime members can sign up to receive a monthly e-mail newsletter announcing new Kindle First picks.
  • Kindle First on Amazon.com is available to US customers only.
  • Complete instructions are here.

Unlike the Kindle Owners Lending Library, these titles can not be shared with other household members. Non-Prime members can usually purchase one of these titles for $1.99.

Over the years, these programs have been one of my favorite features for Kindle owners. I have read entire series that I would not ordinarily have bought. I have also read books that inspired me to go out an buy the entire series after reading the first book. It can be a great discovery tool.

The Kindle Owner’s Lending Library and the Kindle First programs are not meant to be a substitute for subscription services like Kindle Unlimited or Scribd. Rather, they should be thought of as an added Prime membership perk alongside the free shipping, video and music offered with the program.

Daily Deals: Fern Michaels, Debbie Macomber and Peter Dickinson

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cedar_coveDaily Deals for Wednesday, December 23, 2015:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals for today include Debbie Macomber’s Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove Series Vol 1 (Boxset) for $2.99.

In other finds, there is also a collection of titles by award-winning author Peter Dickinson. First, two of the the James Pibble Mysteries: The Glass-Sided Ants’ Nest and The Old English Peep Show for $1.99 each. Also featured is The Changes Trilogy: The Devil’s Children, Heartsease, and The Weathermonger,  a YA series for $1.99. And for the horror fans, Tim Pratt’s horror anthology,  Sympathy for the Devil, is also just $1.99.

Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is a rare non-fiction title,  The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is A Curse Unbroken: A Weird Girls Novel by Cecy Robson for 99 cents.

The Kobo Daily Deal is Fern Michaels’ Forget Me Not for $1.99.

(Note: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.)

Daily Deals: Cross and Burn, Val McDermid

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mcdermidThe daily deals for Tuesday, December 22, 2015:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals for today include Val McDermid’s Cross and Burn (Tony Hill / Carol Jordan Book 8) ($1.99)  and Robert Maurer’s One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way ($2.99).

Also found at discounted prices:

Today’s Barnes and Noble Daily Find is Before We Met: A Novel by Lucie Whitehouse for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is Sharing Sam
by Katherine Applegate, $1.99.

The Kobo Daily Deal is The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon for $2.99.

(Note: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.)

Daily Deals: Blu Unlocked GSM Smartphone, more

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woukTodays deals for Monday, December 21, 2015:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals include The Hope by Herman Wouk and Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise Part 1, for $1.99 each. In other deals, Monday the Rabbi Took Off (The Rabbi Small Mysteries) is $1.99.

One of Today’s Deals is a BLU Vivo Air LTE Smartphone for $149. The phone is GSM and unlocked and will work on any network. (See the band requirements if you have AT&T to ensure compatibility.) There is also a special deal on various bluetooth speakers today, with prices starting at $14.99.

At Barnes and Noble, the Nook Daily Find is When Elves Attack (Serge Storms Series #14) by Tim Dorsey($1.99).  The Romance Daily Find is Second Chance Brides–2 Book Boxed Set by Wendy Lindstrom for 99 cents.

The Kobo Daily Deals is Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison for $4.99.

(Note: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.)

Daily Links: Weekend Edition

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daily_links_1This weekend’s interesting article finds:

The Smartphone Lifetime Challenge (ReCode) _ The future of the smartphone market may be driven not by innovation, but by how often we choose to upgrade our devices.

Reservoir Devs: Why apps really hit iOS before Android (The Next Web) – As an Android owner, I always get frustrated by the IOS-first tendency for apps. This is an interesting look at why.

Streaming TV Isn’t Just a New Way to Watch. It’s a New Genre. (NYT) – Fascinating article that looks at the evolution of how we are watching.

Abbott and Costello heirs lose copyright suit against Broadway play over ‘Who’s on First’ bit (USA News) – What? Is it any wonder we are confused about what constitutes fair use?

The Evolution of Autoplay (Nieman Lab) – A look at that feature we all love to hate…

Decode those weird symbols on the back of your phone (CNET) – We see these all the time, but do you know what they mean?

Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

 

 

Daily Deals: Final Jeopardy and Winter at the Door

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jeopardyDaily Deals for Sunday 12-20-2015:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals include Linda Fairstein’s Final Jeopardy (Alex Cooper Book 1). There are also some last minute featured digital deals that include ebooks, video, software and music.

Barnes and Noble’s Nook Daily Find is Winter at the Door by Sarah Graves for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Girls of Mischief Bay by Susan Mallery, also priced at $1.99.

The Kobo Daily Deal is Lisa Jackson’s Never Die Alone for $2.99. They also have a selection of Great Reads at $1.99 or less.

(Note: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.)

Library Corner: 12-19-2015

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Library corner image

The Library News Corner will be on vacation until the first week in January 2016. Happy Holidays!

Here is this week’s roundup of library news:

US Library News:

After Closed-Door Negotiations, Brooklyn Heights Library Will Likely Become Luxury Condo-Library (Gothamist)

In Another Giant Leap, Apollo 11 Command Module Is 3D Digitized for Humankind (Smithsonian Magazine)

Michigan: New Space: DMC’s Personal Studio (University of Michigan)

International Library News:

UK: PRH Expands UK Library eBook Pilot to Schools, Sabotages it With Restrictions (The Digital Reader)

Canada: Memorial University to cancel thousands of journal subscriptions (CBC)

UK: Pearson woes deepen over UK ebook price row (The Telegraph)

Sweden: New Issue of Scandinavian Library Quarterly Available Online (All Articles in English) (Infodocket)

Policy and Privacy:

ALA: Policymakers: 3D printing in libraries advances education and entrepreneurship (ALA)

NISO Releases User Data Privacy Principles Related to Use of Library and Library-Related Systems (Infodocket)

Copyright:

Federal Jury Finds Cox Communications Guilty of Willful Copyright Infringement (Digital Music News)

Reference and Statistics:

All About the FDA’s “Drug Trials Snapshots” Database, Demographic Data About U.S. Trials (Infodocket)

New Filters for Creative Commons Articles for PubMed Central and PubMed articles (NLM)

Local Business Data Now Available for Entire Nation and Every Industry as 2012 (Infodocket)

New Data: Number of American Homes with Only Wireless Telephones Continues to Grow (Infodocket)

Digital Collections:

Hoover Archivists Innovate For The Preservation And Access Of Rare WWII Recordings (Hoover)

2015 National Film Registry: “Ghostbusters” Gets the Call – “Top Gun,” “L.A. Confidential” and Edison’s “Sneeze” Among Film Additions (LOC)

Jane Austen’s family music books digitised and online (University of Southhampton)

16 Great Star Wars Fan Films, Documentaries & Video Essays to Get You Ready for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Open Culture)

About once a week, I post links to digital-related library news articles and information about digital collections available online.  I also post other links of interest about the digital life daily on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Last Minute Holiday Gifts for the Ebook Lover 2015

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christmas-presents_smallLast year, I wrote a popular post called Last minute Holiday gifts for the e-book lover that was full of gift suggestions. I just updated that post and I think all of those are still great ideas. Trust me on this – I bought most of the list for myself last year and finally just ordered some touch screen gloves …

I have done quite a few posts on covers (here, here and here). Covers start for as little as $5, depending on the device model.  I have to confess that I am a cover fashionista when it comes to electronics. Every device HAS to have a cover and they are ALL different. Personally, I think they make great gifts, either for someone else or yourself. All you need to know is the Kindle model (see my post here).

Here are a few other items that I personally use that I think make great gifts:

I live in a house built in 1921 and even with the remodeling and re-wiring that’s been done over the years, it seems that there are never enough outlets to keep all my gadgets plugged in, especially in my office. I use USB wall chargers like this one from RAVPower for charging items that don’t need to be connected to the computer.

One of my desktops crashed and is going into the repair shop after the holidays. In the meantime, I have been using a Fire HD 6 with a bluetooth mouse and keyboard as a replacement.  I got a Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Bluetooth Mouse because my research said that some brands of bluetooth mice had compatibility issues with the tablet.  This one works like a dream. Copy and paste on the Fire was always hard for me without the mouse buttons and this solved that problem. Because I wanted a keyboard that was both compatible with IOS and Android and inexpensive, I bought an Anker® Bluetooth Ultra-Slim Keyboard. (only $16) and splurged on a carrying sleeve for it. I also use it to take notes on my phone, which I absolutely love! These are a great gift for someone who finds typing on a small tablet surface difficult.

Voice recognition has come a long way over the last couple of years. Another great accessory for tablets like the Fire HD 6 is a set of earbuds or headphones with a microphone to use with the voice recognition feature. Mine also doubles as a spare for my Dragon NaturallySpeaking software.

One of my favorite new tech accessories is a combination stylus and ballpoint pen. I’ve received a couple of these as gifts and carry them everywhere! They are great to have, especially at the doctor’ s office when I have both my phone and my checkbook out at the same time. It is the perfect bridge between my digital and analog worlds.

While I talked last time about what a great idea I think gift cards  from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes are. Pick the store the person you are buying for shops at and let them have all the fun. My husband and I have several friends who are avid Amazon shoppers who love getting Amazon Prime from us as an annual gift for the holidays.

And finally, ebook lovers love ebooks. How about a gift subscription to a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited or Scribd? Both are available in 3, 6 and 12 month memberships. Time to read all of those books is not included. 🙂

Happy holiday shopping!

Daily Deals: Agatha Christie Mysteries and more

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murderDeals for Thursday, December 17, 2015:

The Amazon Kindle Daily Deals for today include All My Puny Sorrows by Miram Toews for 1.99. I also found Jacqueline Susann’s classic, Valley of the Dolls, (normally $9.99) for $3.99.

The movie tie-in ebook of Patricia Highsmith’s Carol is Barnes and Nobles Nook Daily Finds. The price is $3.99. B & N also has a limited-time coupon for $10 off purchases of $75 or more. Expires December 19, 2015.

The Kobo Daily Deal is The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty for $1.99. The YA Deal of the Week is The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones at $4.99. There is also a selection of classic Agatha Christie mysteries for just $1.99 each.

(Note: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.)