Borrow Kindle Library Books

I can't tell you how excited I am about Amazon.com's announcement that library books can now be checked out to a Kindle or Kindle app!

Borrow Kindle Books from Your Local Library

You can check out a Kindle book from your local library and read it on any generation Kindle device or free Kindle reading app.

When you borrow a Kindle public library book, you'll have access to all the unique features of Kindle books, including real page numbers and Whispersync technology that synchronizes your notes, highlights, and last page read. After a public library book expires, if you check it out again or choose to purchase it from the Kindle store, all of your annotations and bookmarks will be preserved.

Kindle books are available at more than 11,000 libraries in the U.S.

How It Works

You can borrow Kindle books from your local library's website and, with the click of a button, have them delivered to your Kindle device or free reading app.

• Visit the website of a U.S. library that offers digital services from OverDrive.

• Check out a Kindle book (using a valid library card).

• Click on "Get for Kindle" and then sign in to your Amazon.com account to have the book delivered to your Kindle device or reading app.

Note: Public library books can be sent wirelessly to Kindle devices via an active Wi-Fi connection or transferred via USB.

Help

For technical assistance and frequently asked questions, please visit the Help page.

For questions about availability of Kindle library books, loan duration, and terms of use, please contact your local library.

We welcome your feedback at kindle-publiclibraries-feedback@amazon.com.

I'm so excited that I've already put 5 Kindle books on hold with my local library:

• The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff
• Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen
• The Paris Wife: A Novel by Paula McLain
• The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks

Yippee!

Nook Tablet!

I have an Android phone and an iPad.

I want an Android tablet.

I think I'll wait to purchase one for myself, but for Father's Day I'm getting my dad one of these nifty Nook Tablets from Barnes and Noble.

At $249 it's one of the most affordable tablets you can get! (At least until Amazon.com comes out with it's Kindle Tablet.)

Fast Company - More People Are Listening to Books

Just came across this interview with Audible founder and CEO Donald Katz on Fast Company's website.

I'm surprised that audio book sales grew by 20 percent last year -- just seems like a lot.

I also hadn't heard that Amazon Kindle plays Audible audio books, but I suppose I should have known since I had heard that Amazon acquired Audible.

And the idea that one day you'll be able to use the Kindle to read a book from the same point that you left off listening to to the audio book excites me!

How do y'all feel about audio books?

Listening to Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance sold me on audio books.

NYTimes.com - Amazon Kindle

Just read yesterday's New York Times article "Electronic Device Stirs Unease at Book Fair" by Edward Wyatt about BookExpo America, the publishing and bookselling industry’s annual trade show, which took place at the Los Angeles convention center over the weekend and specifically the excitement and concerns about the Amazon Kindle.

I think publishers are rightfully concerned that Amazon, currently selling most books in Kindle format at at 25% loss, will eventually push publishers to lower their prices.

The article also says that Jeff Bezos believes that after buying a Kindle, Amazon customers purchase just as many physical books and two and a half times as many books overall, or three electronic books for every two physical copies. While publishers dispute that claim, I believe it to be accurate.

I have wanted an Amazon Kindle for months now and have so far restrained myself from buying one. But if I had one, I don't think I would stop buying paper books. But the lower price and convenience of a Kindle would surely mean that I would spend much more money on books, both in Kindle format and normal paper books. If they had some kind of package deal where you could buy a book in both Kindle format and paperback or hardback at an overall discount, I'm sure I would opt for that choice in many situations.

But as I mentioned last month, I think what will really get me over the edge is if Kindle was compatible with borrowing books from the library.

Amazon Kindle - $359

I have wanted an Amazon Kindle for months now.

I still haven't purchased one, but every now and then I go to the Amazon Kindle product page and debate the splurge.

I looked at it during lunch today and was rewarded with a new price for the Amazon Kindle. Just $359!

I think it's still too much for me to buy one just yet, but enough of a drop to make me consider it. :)

If you own one, I'd love to hear about how you like it so far!

Amazon Kindle

I want an Amazon Kindle.

I want one even more than I want a Lightwedge Book light. And that's saying a lot.

Lust may be the most appropriate word to describe my desire for a Kindle.

When Amazon first introduced the Kindle last fall, I immediately turned to the New York Times to find out more. I found "An E-Book Reader That Just May Catch On" by David Pogue who got me even more excited about it. Sure it costs $400 but man it's so cool!

It can hold up to 200 books and with a SD memory card hold thousands more! And it weighs just 10 ounces. It's thin as a No. 2 pencil!

To get a new book all you do is log-in to Amazon's WhisperNet and buy a book in Kindle format. And you get to read the whole first chapter of books before you decide to buy!

While there are no service fees for using Amazon's WhisperNet, you can't add the books you already own to your Kindle, but books for Kindle are so much cheaper than normal books (unless of course you shop at used book stores).

And you can email yourself Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF documents and files in other formats for viewing on Kindle.

Unbelievably Kindle sold out in the first five and a half hours and only now have they gotten ahead of the manufacturing game.

Which is why I've been thinking about the Kindle again. I went to Amazon.com today to purchase a few books and was greeted by this letter from Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO:

Dear Customers,

Ever since we launched our wireless reading device Kindle last November, we've been unable to keep it in stock, and we've had to work hard to increase manufacturing capacity. Today, we're excited to announce that Kindle is in stock and ready for immediate shipment.

We've also been adding selection. Since launch, we've added 25,000 additional books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers that you can download wirelessly to your Kindle, bringing the total to more than 115,000. To learn more about the device and what you can read on it, visit Kindle's product page. You'll see that more than 2,000 customers have reviewed Kindle - I encourage you to take a look at what customers have to say.

For those of you who are interested, I invite you to read Amazon's just-released annual letter to shareholders. I don't normally link to a shareholder letter from the Amazon home page, but this letter is all about Kindle. If you're curious, it will give you some insight into how we think about the business and our long-term vision for Kindle. It's a short letter, and I hope you find it worthwhile.

Happy reading,

Jeff Bezos

Founder & CEO

The letter to shareholders is particularly inspiring.

Now, I'm not a big technology person. I like some toys, like my Palm pilots (which I am loyally devoted to), but generally I don't spend my money on them. I usually spend my money on books. When all my friends went out to purchase iPhones, I stuck it out with my old phone purchased in 2003.

But somehow Kindle is different. I can't decide whether to buy soon or to buy it when the second generation (perhaps with color monitor??) Kindle comes out.

Of course, if Kindle was compatible with borrowing books from the library then I would absolutely go out and buy one today -- I've cut back on my book buying by borrowing books from the library before purchasing.