Kindle Kindness

In a previous post about being Kindle resistant, I firmly and proudly stated my opinion about loving books and bookstores and not being a fan of the Kindle. What I have come to realize is that there was one unspoken (and unwritten) reason I had snubbed these types of reading devices.

The cost. I have such a love affair with books that I was bothered by the fact that price might stop some people from reading more frequently when they travel or don't have time to browse at a bookstore or wait for the paper copy of the book.

I was aware of this underlying resistance when I felt my own excitement at learning that you no longer need to have a Kindle to download books. Hoorah! You can now purchase digital copies of a book from Amazon by using a free software program on your PC, Mac, Blackberry, iPhone, or iPad (my sister's new favorite gadget). You don't need a separate, pricey piece of technology to get access to more than 500,000 Kindle books. You can also read free books including some great classics as well as read book samples before you make a purchase. With this software you have the same ability to save your last page, bookmark pages and scan highlights on your existing digital devices.

As a lover of reading, I am excited to see the potential benefits this new technology has on the different generations of readers. It may encourage some of the younger readers who have been raised in front of a digital monitor to become a book lover simply because they could download them and take them anywhere. My mother is also reading again because she can adjust the font size to make reading easier and she avoids the high cost and inconvenience of having another electronic device to manage.

This is also great news for authors who have readers in foreign countries who don't want to pay high shipping fees.

I am still a bookstore advocate and that will never change, but I am so pleased to see that you no longer need a $300 device to read a book!

For more information, and to download the free software go to this page on Amazon

Arielle Ford has launched the careers of many NY Times bestselling authors including Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Neale Donald Walsch & Debbie Ford. She is a former book publicist, literary agent and the author of seven books. To learn how to get started writing a book please visit: www.HowToWriteMyBook.com

 

Comments

[Chauncey Mabe]

10:11 AM on 05/20/2010

Et tu, Arielle? It's impossible to applaud any digital books development and still describe yourself as a "bookstore advocate." Can't you see that Amazon's real evil plan is to put bookstores out of business? And that will be a cultural catastrophe beyond reckoning. Before you know it, three massive companies -- Amazon, Apple, Google -- will have a stranglehold on books, publishing and reading. This is a battle for the future. Pick a side, because you're on one side or the other, whether you know it or not. I urge you to not sell your literary birthright for a potage of convenience and bargain pricing.

[SF TKF]

02:32 PM on 05/19/2010

You don't need any device at all: just buy a paper copy. You can even buy them used, or get them free from the library. I own an eReader and love it, but it's not like paper books have suddenly become impossible to get leaving people with only the option of buying a Kindle (which I will never buy or use).

[Allen MacDiarmid]

04:29 PM on 05/18/2010

Every one of your alternate ways to read Kindle books costs more than a Kindle. It is not a good assumption that we all have the alternative devices to start with. To use the iPad as an alternative to the Kindle on the basis of price is really funny, seeing as it costs more than twice as much. In the meantime if one is stuck with buying large print books, the Kindle will pay for itself in savings pretty fast. Not all literate people are computer literate or even own a computer.

[ESerafina42]

07:40 PM on 05/18/2010

Amen. I have a PowerPC-based Mac, but their new Mac software only works on an Intel-based one, so even if you do have a computer, unless you can afford the latest and greatest equipment, you can drop dead as far as Amazon is concerned.

Barnes & Noble, on the other hand, released its software for PC and Macs (including mine) simultaneously and BEFORE they released the device. The selection isn't as good, but I can read library books (something you can't do on a Kindle), and hopefully things will improve.

All of that being said, I *still* prefer printed books.

[ImNoBody]

12:00 PM on 05/19/2010

Amazon is not the only source for Kindle(able) books … check the formats available for your textbooks and you may find that you can “download and transfer” to the Kindle (via the USB connection). Check out http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page for your classics and devices supported.

I love my Kindle (especially for reading on the beach) but I still buy hardbacks and paperbacks.

[Countess]

01:45 PM on 05/18/2010

Libraries and bookstores are great places and I hope our obsession with new technology and gadgets never takes the place of these palaces of pleasure.

[Christine Hohlbaum]

11:27 AM on 05/18/2010

As long as people have access to the works I've written, I'm thrilled. Libraries are another great way to get exposure to super literature (thankfully hundreds of libraries around the globe carry The Power of Slow!). Thanks for sharing this great free app for reading books on your digital device, Arielle!