Q&A: Kindle Tips: The Kindle's "Real page numbers"

QUESTIONS: DO YOU HAVE ANY?
  If so, add them to Comments area and I'll either reply with an answer or do blog entries on some.  I'd like to start a Question Bag in any case.

Q: I don't see real page numbers in my Kindle books. Shouldn't they be there now?

A: That depends on several things:
  1. Are you using a Kindle 3?
   I have no idea whether Amazon will upgrade older Kindle software for Kindle 2 and DX's to have these.  I would think they'd be included eventually.  Amazon often takes 6 months to get to the old Kindles with updated software and it's been longer than that for some changes that should have been added to the DX Graphite at least.  The Kindle 1 with its different type of screen probably would not be updated, as the added calculations could slow down more that slower model.

  2. Is your Kindle 3 using Update v3.1 ?
Press Menu button, then Settings, and your software version no. will be at the bottom right.   If by now, you don't have v3.1, I'd call Customer Support at 866-321-8851 but if you're outside the U.S., try Call me, which is able to call back people in several countries but provides an email form if your country is not on the Call-me list.  Ask them to help you with it, if a manual download (rather than automated) is required at this point.  Sometimes, they can send one to your Kindle, if the update should have been sent earlier.

  If you're comfortable with using your Kindle's USB cable (that is part of your power cord), to download an update and put it on your Kindle, see this blog's article on software update v3.1 for information on how to do that.

  3. If you have Kindle 3 with v3.1 software, have you tried pressing Menu button?
  That is the only way to see the real page numbers.  Amazon decided to keep the location and real-page numbers out of the way and showing only the percentage of the book you've read so far.  Press Menu and you'll see the page number *IF* Amazon has added them to that book..

  4. Most Kindle books don't have page numbers yet.
  Amazon is adding page numbers to books and they definitely prioritize them.
The books must be matched to a specific printed edition and its ISBN #.
  If a book has been processed by Amazon to add real-page numbers, this information will show up in the product page's Product Detail (you need to scroll down a bit to see that).

  In their original announcement, they said they've "“added real page numbers to tens of thousands of Kindle books, including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have matching print editions and thousands more of the most popular books.”"

  They've continued adding them at a fast pace, from what I read a couple of weeks ago, and they include the usual publishers and also university press books.

  5. NON-Amazon books definitely won't have them, as Amazon can't calculate page numbers on books they don't have on their servers.

Amazon wrote the following in a Kindle Post Daily over a month ago.

' We created algorithms to match the text of print books to Kindle books and organized all of this in the cloud, using our own AWS platform.  The results of this work are stored in Amazon’s Simple Storage Service, where we track the complete history of every page matching file we’ve produced.

  We even found a way to deliver page numbers to books that customers had already purchased – without altering those books in any way, so customers’ highlights, notes, and reading location are preserved exactly as they were.

  Some other e-bookstores have added virtual “page numbers” to e-books, but we’ve found that these approaches can be confusing and often inconsistent – they don’t map to the page numbers in physical books, and in some cases they don’t account for title pages, blank pages, and other nuances that we see in print books.

' [ Andrys' note here: Sony and iBook page numbers don't map to print-book pages. ] '

... We want you to lose yourself in the reading, so page numbers are only displayed when you push the menu button... '

Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Language Trainer Kindle Apps On Sale at Half Price Until May 11

Saw this at Amazon's Facebook page: "Save 50% on Language Trainers from 24-7 TUTOR and brush up on your Spanish, French, Italian, and German."

Below are two examples (See the page with the full set.)

24-7 Spanish - Basic Phrases  (A Language Trainer) by 24/7 TUTOR (Kindle Edition - Feb. 15, 2011) - Kindle Active Content - $1.99  (Regular price: $3.99)

  

24-7 French - Basic Phrases  (A Language Trainer) by 24/7 TUTOR (Kindle Edition - Feb. 23, 2011) - Kindle Active Content  - $1.99  (Regular price: $3.99

  

Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

William and Kate [Kindle Edition]

Product Description

I put it to William, particularly, that if you find someone you love in life, you must hang on to that love and look after it. . . . You must protect it. —Diana, Princess of Wales

Theirs was destined from the start to be one of the most celebrated unions of the twenty-first century: he, the charismatic prince who would someday be crowned king of England; she, the stunningly beautiful commoner who won his heart. Prince William and Kate Middleton defied all odds to forge a storybook romance amid the scandals, power struggles, tragedies, and general dysfunction that are the hallmarks of Britain’s Royal Family. In the process, they became the most written about, gossiped about, admired, and envied young couple of their generation.

Yet for most of their nearly decade-long affair, William and Kate have remained famously quiet and kept their royal relationship a tantalizing mystery. Now, as their long-anticipated wedding finally approaches, journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Andersen reveals the intimate details of their celebrated courtship and offers a mesmerizing glimpse of the man and wife—and future king and queen—they will become:

· William’s lifelong role as confidant and adviser to his fragile mother, and how it has shaped his relationship with Kate

· The lengths the couple went to to keep their affair secret, from their first days together as university students (when he cheered her on as she modeled racy lingerie at a fashion show)

· William’s romantic conquests before—and during—his decade-long romance with Kate

· The person who was really behind their headlinemaking breakup—and how Kate won back her prince

· The shocking sex-and-drugs scandals involving Kate’s wild relatives, and how the would-be queen survived them

· The long-troubling influence of William’s substance-abusing aristocrat friends and the depression Kate rescued him from

· Stunning new information on the threats to both their lives, the nightmare scenario that haunts William’s dreams to this day, and their narrow escape from repeating Diana’s fate

· Surprising details on the Queen’s historic plans for William and Kate, which will forever change the face of the monarchy

For many, William and Kate’s union represents an opportunity to recapture the magic—the compelling and complicated legacy—of his beloved mother Diana, Princess of Wales. Part glittering fairy tale, part searing family drama, part political potboiler, part heart-stopping cliff-hanger, theirs is, above all else, an affair to remember.

***

Theirs is the story of two young people who found each other in college, came perilously close to losing what they had forever, and pulled back from the brink at the last possible moment. Theirs is the story of private moments stolen for public consumption, of harrowing car chases, of scorching personal dramas played out behind the scenes, of calm heads prevailing in times of panic, and of a singular devotion made stronger by time.

The saga of William and Kate is one thing above all else: a love story.

—From William and Kate: A Royal Love Story

About the Author

Christopher Andersen is a journalist and the author of 28 books, including 13 New York Times bestsellers and the #1 New York Timesbestseller, The Day Diana Died. Andersen has written for a wide range of publications, including Time Magazine, People Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Life, and Vanity Fair. Andersen resides in Connecticut with his wife. They have two daughters

The Kate Middleton Handbook - Everything you need to know about Kate Middleton [Kindle Edition]

Product Description

Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton (born 9 January 1982) is the fiancée of Prince William of Wales. Since their relationship began, Middleton has received widespread media attention and there had been constant speculation that they would eventually marry. On 16 November 2010, the office of the Prince of Wales, at Clarence House, announced to the media that Middleton and Prince William intend to marry in 2011.

Middleton grew up in Berkshire, and after going to Marlborough College went to the University of St Andrews. She met Prince William, also studying there, in 2001. They soon started a relationship, media attention quickly followed, and in 2005 her lawyer complained of harassment. In April 2007, it emerged in the press that William and Middleton had split up. They continued to be friends, and later in 2007 the pair reunited. Since then, Middleton has attended many high-profile royal events. She has been admired for her fashion sense, and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists.

This book is your ultimate resource for Kate Middleton. Here you will find the most up-to-date information, photos, and much more.

In easy to read chapters, with extensive references and links to get you to know all there is to know about her Early life, Relationship with Prince William, Career and Personal life right away: Kate Middleton, Engagement, Prince William of Wales, Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton, Charles, Prince of Wales, Diana, Princess of Wales, Clarence House, Berkshire, Marlborough College, University of St Andrews, Second class honours, History of art, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, Berkshire, Bucklebury, Pangbourne, Jigsaw (clothing retailer), Mario Testino, Peter Phillips, Autumn Phillips, Lady Rose Gilman, Dorney, County Durham, Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department

Contains selected content from the highest rated entries, typeset, printed and shipped, combining the advantages of up-to-date and in-depth knowledge with the convenience of printed books. A portion of the proceeds of each book will be donated to the Wikimedia Foundation to support their mission.

Amazon offers $25 Gift Card with purchase of 3G Kindles for Mother's Day

Two images of text seen at Amazon's Kindle pages last night:



Amazon announces $25 Gift Card with Purchase of
a Combo 3G Cellular Wireless-and-WiFi Kindle

Amazon has made an entire page for Mother's Day ideas for gifts.  But here's something new.

I was surprised to see the new $25 Gift-Card offer in a pink-purple band and in the less colorful ad-box tonight (see above) on the Kindles product page -- with word that Kindles that have both cell-phone wireless capability and local WiFi network access (home/office/cafes) and which are therefore more expensive, will include a $25 gift-card for the Mothers Day holiday if one follows the steps there.  That last part is important.  The gift-card has to be included when adding the Kindle order to the cart.

  Be sure to read the underlined "details and terms" for the $189 6" model -- I'll point out a couple of them here.

  NOTE: The 3G capability is also part of the larger 9.7" Kindle DX Graphite model, so the $25 gift-card offer applies to that as well.  See the "details and terms" for that one if interested in that model.

This is, in essence, a $25 credit offer on both the 3G models but without "special offers and ads" as part of the Kindle as they are with the $114 deal (which has no 3G capability).

First: some important points cited in the 'details and terms" that you should be sure to observe if interested in the offer:

When adding a '...Kindle 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6")' or the Kindle DX (Free 3G, 9.7"), you'll need to include the "$25 Amazon.com Gift Card described in the promotion when adding the order to your Shopping Cart" by either selecting the $25 gift card offer on the applicable Kindle product page or by adding the Gift Card from its own product page (which I think is strange).

For gift-card terms and conditions, read www.amazon.com/gc-legal

Promotional offer limited to one Gift Card per customer.

The promotion is valid from 11:00 4/27/2011 to 23:59 5/8/2011.
  "Amazon reserves the right to cancel it at any time."

Does not apply to orders placed with 1-Click...

Much more at the linked "details and terms" for each model, as linked above.
I haven't seen any mention that this is limited to the U.S. but it may be.

The Kindle3 3G/WiFi at $189 minus $25 gift certificate = $164
  (usable for a case or a couple of books, say)
  See 3G or WiFi?  What does each do?

The Kindle DXG at $379 minus $25 gift certificate = $354

I've seen one question quite a bit on forums and customer-review comment areas in the last few days: Why would one want the 9.7" DXG model?

  The DXG model is expensive, but I prepared, almost a year ago, some
Questions you should ask yourself if interested also in the larger Kindle
but not sure which one would work better for you.

  Also, Reactions to DXG by tough Mobileread Forum folks


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Kate: Kate Middleton: Princess in Waiting [Kindle Edition]

 

Product Description

Kate Middleton is the girl everyone wants to be.
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton is living a perfect Cinderella fairy tale. She is the woman who won the heart of Britain's most desirable bachelor.
Academically gifted and sophisticated beyond her years, this dark-haired beauty possesses the natural poise and impeccable breeding necessary for the wife-to-be of the heir to the throne. She has charmed Prince William and his circle and captivated the entire House of Windsor. Yet there is a history behind her polished veneer that would surprise any royal court observer—an extraordinary, inspiring, and deeply moving tale of an impoverished working-class family that overcame deprivation and adversity to rise to the upper echelons of British society.
Based on exclusive and intimate interviews with Kate's closest friends and relatives, and containing photographs, many published here for the very first time, Claudia Joseph's Kate is a fascinating portrait of the extraordinary young woman who may be queen—and the story of a family's remarkable journey from the mining villages of Durham to an apartment in the royal residence of Clarence House.

About the Author

Claudia Joseph trained as a fashion journalist at the London College of Fashion before becoming a news reporter. She has worked at Tatler,The Times, and the Mail on Sunday, and contributes regularly to a number of British newspapers and magazines. She lives in London.

Kate Style: Chic and Classic Look [Paperback]

Product Description

Since her royal romance propelled her into the public spotlight, the world’s most famous girlfriend has blossomed from a fresh-faced student into a fashion queen. Kate Style: Chic and Classic Look is a beautifully illustrated guide to the making of a modern princess, telling Kate’s fashion story in full. From that famous strut down the catwalk in a little see-through number that caught a prince’s eye to the tricks she picked up as a buyer for Jigsaw, the glitzy outfits of her clubbing days, and the emergence of a chic and elegant look that has prompted comparisons with that other English rose, Princess Diana.

Whether she’s dressed for the country in a stylish and sporty tweed ensemble, attending a society function in a glamorous evening gown, or keeping it casual in jeans and her favourite knee-high slouch boots, Kate always looks picture-perfect, effortlessly blending high-street fashions with elegant designer pieces. This book picks apart the seams of the princess-to-be’s coveted look; detailing her favourite shops and designers, surveying the shoes, bags and, of course, hats that form an essential part of Kate’s wardrobe, and revealing the secrets behind her glossy locks and flawless make-up.

Including the sapphire blue engagement outfit that caused a sensation, the legacy of that ring, speculation about the dress and all the details on what promises to be a fairytale wedding, Kate Style: Chic and Classic Look is the essential guide to a royal style icon in the making.

Kate Moss: Style [Hardcover]

Product Description

An international trendsetter with an influence more powerful than any fashion magazine, Kate Moss is a one-woman style revolution who kick-starts global trends with each new look. She has made wearing vintage cool, dressing for festivals a headlining act in itself, and looking sexily disheveled a serious style statement. This look inside the most famous wardrobe in the world unravels the secrets of Kate Moss’s fashion formula by uncovering the stories behind her most iconic outfits, including the infamous sheer silver slip dress, the much-coveted lemon yellow prom dress, and the rock chick PVC leggings. Contributions from some of the most noted fashion designers, stylists, photographers, and vintage dealers in the industry—among them Manolo Blahnik, Donna Karan, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabanna (Dolce & Gabbana), Matthew Williamson, Kelly Osbourne, Britt Ekland, Katie Grand, and Marc Jacobs—help reveal how Kate chooses what she wears and why. Beautifully illustrated with hundreds of photos Kate’s iconic style campaigns and famous outfits, this is a celebration of a unique life in fashion that explores in-depth the evolution and impact of Kate’s look.

About the Author

Angela Buttolph has written for every major fashion magazine, from Vogue to i-D, and is the coauthor of Phaidon's Fashion Book. She is now a contributing editor for Grazia.

Kate: Style Princess: The Fashion and Beauty Secrets of Britain's Most Glamorous Royal [Kindle Edition]

 Product Description

Since Kate Middleton was thrust into the spotlight, her style has evolved from safe and conservative to elegant and chic. This unique book looks at her transformation from student to socialite and follows her ascent into the influencial fashion pack. Meet the girl who would grow up to marry a prince and see what it takes to become a style icon and modern-day princess.

New Arrivals: Why They Fought: The Real Reason for the Civil War (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Amazon.com Review

As students many of us were taught that the Civil War was not triggered by or fought over the central issue of slavery. However, David Von Drehle, TIME magazine’s editor-at-large, makes a compelling case that the conflict grew solely out of this issue. Von Drehle’s argument is informed by the speeches, news articles, and rhetoric leading up to the secession of southern states, which later took up arms to protect their right to own humans and to move that system of bondage west. What the North fought for was less clear--abolition on moral grounds (when the North itself was built using slave labor and had only decades before ended the practice?) or to prevent disunion, as any alternative may have proved more disastrous than a civil war. Von Drehle also tackles the question of how varying histories of the war’s cause (state’s rights, Northern imperialism) came to occupy our collective beliefs. Though deeply pragmatic, we’re a nation that takes many actions based on our moral principles, and the clear picture of history presented in this Kindle Single is a reminder of our missteps and values.  --Paul Diamond

Product Description

History textbooks say that the Civil War began with the shelling of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. What followed is the American epic, written in blue and gray and gore. So how is it that 150 years later, we are still fighting over why the war was fought? Few historical questions stir up as much passionate confusion as that one--even though scholars consider it a settled question. In this ebook, veteran TIME writer, David Von Drehle explores the process of forgetting, denying, and rediscovering the meaning of the Civil War.

Kindle Pictures Feature. .2 Free Tools that Convert Images to Kindle format.

Kindle 3 and Kindle 2 with same screen-sleeper
UTILITIES FOR PUTTING PHOTOS (not Screensavers) ON A KINDLE, USING THE RIGHT FORMAT
  (Windows utilities, though the first one can be done via a website.)

(Update/Correction: I fixed an E-nki site link to bring people to the right site!).

As Kindle owners learn quickly, Kindle screensavers (really, screensleepers) are not officially replaceable by our own images (unless one uses a 'hack' and that can be problematical in a few ways although some find it worth doing...and re-doing with each Kindle software upgrade).

  I don't recommend it, and only the computer savvy should tackle it; even then, there are disclaimers by the utility makers that your warranty can be voided if a problem occurs during installation.  It's not super-difficult but no one is going to be responsible for anything going wrong on it, so I don't get into the details.  You can always google kindle screensaver hack to see what's involved.  I personally don't think it's worth it.

 And now the latest Kindle (with Special Offers and ads) shows Amazon had a specific reason for not offering "screensavers" that could be customized by the Kindle user.

It'd be nice if Amazon were to offer customizable screensleepers for their higher-cost Kindles without ads, at some point. (The sad dream that never dies.)

Your Photos on your Kindle in the Pictures Folder - a Kindle Feature
In the meantime, Kindle owners CAN put favorite photos or illustrations on the Kindle in a special Pictures folder, and I've found that many don't know this is possible.

  The instructions for this are in the Kindle User's Guide (which is placed by Amazon on each Kindle during first wireless sessions and is also available for your computer in PDF format -- see Kindle User Guides at the Amazon help pages).

  Remember that Kindle books or files can be Searched for words like "pictures" and sometimes that makes it easier to find a feature.

  A Kindle customer posted step-by-step instructions at the Amazon Kindle forums.  In reply to an earlier post on Feb 9, Anthony Hansen wrote (slightly modified) :

' If you would like to add photos to your Kindle 2, it's pretty easy to do.  Here are a few short steps to getting some pictures onto your Kindle.

1. Connect your Kindle to your computer with the Kindle USB cable.
2. Go to the file folders for your Kindle on the computer and add a new folder called `pictures' (without the quotes).
3. Within the new `pictures' folder that you just created, create other folders which will be used to store your pictures.  The names of these sub-folders should describe what type of pictures will go into the folders.  These sub-folder names are what you will see on the Kindle's `Home' page and are the photo albums that you will put pictures into.
4. Add pictures into the newly created sub-folders (albums).
5. Safely remove your Kindle from the computer.
6. Go to the `Home' page on your Kindle and press Alt & Z keys together (alt-z) to see the photo albums.
7. Go down to the photo album that you want to view using the 5-way button [or the Kindle-1's mercury-like rolling column-cursor] and then select the album to view the pictures.

That's it.  This should take no longer than five minutes to do depending on the number of pictures [you're] adding '

KINDLE IMAGE CONVERTER

This is a nicely easy-to-use tool that converts almost any image you have (size does not matter much) to a Kindle-compatible black & white version in the right size and orientation for the Kindle display.  It works for 6" Kindles and the 9.7" Kindle DX's.

It does convert 'up' to larger sizes rather well, to my surprise, but sharpness and clarity will be more likely when you send a larger photo to convert 'down' (and something to remember if doing this for the larger-screen DX).

  It's also very fast, even using the method as seen in the image of the webpage above, uploading a photo to the website for conversion -- probably the way to do it for Macs.

  But the link below the uploaded filename field is for a download of the executable (a Windows file), which means you can have the tool on your Windows computer and do it without uploading the file to the webpage.

  If you decide to try it, let us know how that works for you.


E-NKI MANGA, COMICS, AND GENERAL BULK IMAGE CONVERTER FOR KINDLE
I haven't had a chance to try this one.  E-nki describes it this way:

"E-nki is an image processor designed for latest Kindle.
  "It converts common image documents (JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP) into optimized PNG files for e-ink displays, and more important, you can convert your compressed archives directly. (CBR and CBZ too!)"

  There is also a link to the FAQ, which does answer questions not addressed on the main page.  E-nki is a downloadable file and there's no web-style conversion tool.

On what, specifically, the utility does:
1) Converts pictures to grayscale
2) Tries to remove white borders
3) Resizes pictures while maintaining the aspect ratio
4) Rotates the pictures

  Author E-nki is on vacation but checking mail, so you can send questions to the e-mail address given at the webpage.

  As mentioned, I haven't tried it.  So, it's not a recommendation but a suggestion.  If you can, let us know (in the Comments area) what you think if you try one or both of the tools mentioned here.
  The feedback and useful info (and some raves) on SendtoReader (to Kindle) were very helpful.

As ever, when you enjoy and regularly use a free utility, support the software developer with donations if they feature a donation-method.  That tends to support improving the product and time giving user support.  That includes the popular Instapaper, which itself is used in a few other tools.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

New Arrivals: Trapped (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

  Amazon.com Review

Business owner turned thriller writer Richard Greener penned blood and vengeance galore in the two novels he wrote while awaiting a heart transplant. Complications during the surgery caused him to slip into a coma. To the outside world he lay motionless for a month, but Greener’s experience of that month was as graphic and tense as his novels. In his mind, he was furiously living out his days as a hostage of radical extremists or as a fugitive on the run from a ruthless, rifle-toting Dick Cheney. On awakening from the coma, things got impossibly more strange. In this fascinating and suspenseful personal essay, the author grapples with the reality of not quite knowing what is or was real. All the while this piece pushes forward another theme: that of learning to live with someone else’s heart. This deeply satisfying read combines suspense and existentialism with an Oliver Sacks-like inquiry into neurological curiosities. --Paul Diamond

  Product Description

Richard Greener tells the story of his heart transplant and the complications that turned him into a paranoid and suicidal quadriplegic who couldn't move a muscle, couldn't even swallow. He had violent hallucinations based on the Iraq war and the reports of terrorism and violence constantly playing on his hospital TV tuned into CNN. He believed his family to be in danger, but he had no way to communicate with them. For a long time after the whole ordeal, he had trouble knowing what had happened. What was real and what wasn't.

If part of the core of who we are is our memory, what does it mean when the memory is still there, but false?

New Kindle TV Ad airs tonight How it differs from previous ones.

LATEST TV KINDLE AD AIRING TONIGHT

In this latest tv ad -- click on the image at left to see the video on YouTube (unless you're reading this on a Kindle-edition blog, which doesn't do video) -- Amazon is introducing the $114 Kindle "with Special Offers" and ads by saying "from $114" at the end.

 They're not showing the special offers or ads on the Kindle in this ad, as it's presumably an ad for any of the Kindles.

  A viewer going to the Kindle product page will see the $114 model shown side by side with the $139 model, with the higher-priced 3G model mentioned below them and can tell at that point, in most cases.

What they're doing this time is talking a bit about what the Kindle can do, using a gal who just loves her "real" book and a guy who's enjoying his own "real" book too, via Kindle (nicely done).

 She tells him what a paper-based book can do and he shows that the Kindle is pretty good with those features, including bookmarks, but then she shows him how great it is to, with much ado, physically make a dog-ear-fold bookmark on her paper book.  He just smiles in a mild way :-)

  No heavily 'better than thou' bits or people jumping on precarious places while holding their Kindles but just a conversation about a paper book and a Kindle book.

  No cute animations with cardboard backgrounds that leave many wondering what on earth a Kindle is and is it a toy for kids. :-)

I'd love it if they showed the Kindle feature of Searching for a character's name in a book and seeing all the linked pages where it shows up or if they showed how easy the dictionary feature is, with a summary-definition showing, when the cursor is on a word, and then the expanded definition with "Origin" of the word when you press the 'Return' or 'Enter' key, ending by pressing the 'Back' button to return to your spot on the page you were reading.

  For one thing, I miss those features when reading paper books now.

  I imagine there'll be lots of different reactions though :-) ??


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Kindle: Best Books of April, 2011; The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan

  About the Author

KIM BARKER joined the Chicago Tribune in 2001 and was South Asia bureau chief from 2004 to 2009. She currently holds the prestigious Edward R. Murrow press fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations. She lives in New York City.

CHAPTER 1

WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME

I had always wanted to meet a warlord. So we parked our van on the side of the beige road and walked up to the beige house, past dozens of skinny young soldiers brandishing Kalashnikov assault rifles and wearing mismatched khaki outfits and rope belts hiked high on their waists. Several flaunted kohl eyeliner and tucked yellow flowers behind their ears. Others decorated their rifle butts with stickers of flowers and Indian movie starlets. Male ethnic Pashtuns loved flowers and black eyeliner and anything fluorescent or sparkly, maybe to make up for the beige terrain that stretched forever in Afghanistan, maybe to look pretty.

Outside the front door, my translator Farouq and I took off our shoes before walking inside and sitting cross-legged on the red cushions that lined the walls. The decorations spanned that narrow range between unicorn-loving prepubescent girl and utilitarian disco. Bright, glittery plastic flowers poked out of holes in the white walls. The curtains were riots of color.

We waited. I was slightly nervous about our reception. Once, warlord Pacha Khan Zadran had been a U.S. ally, one of the many Afghan warlords the Americans used to help drive out the Taliban regime for sheltering Osama bin Laden and his minions after the attacks of September 11, 2001. But like a spoiled child, Pacha Khan had rebelled against his benefactors, apparently because no one was paying enough attention to him. First he turned against the fledg-ling Afghan government, then against his American allies. In an epic battle over a mountain pass, the Americans had just killed the warlord’s son. The Pashtun code required revenge, among other things, and now, six days after the battle, here I was, a fairly convenient American, waiting like a present on a pillow in Pacha Khan’s house, hoping to find a story edgy enough to make it into my newspaper—not easy considering it was March 2003, and there were other things going on in the world. But Farouq told me not to worry. He had a plan.

Pacha Khan soon marched into the room. He certainly looked the warlord part, wearing a tan salwar kameez, the region’s ubiquitous traditional long shirt and baggy pants that resembled pajamas, along with a brown vest, a bandolier of bullets, and a gray-and-black turban. The wrinkles on his face appeared to have been carved out with an ice pick. He resembled a chubby Saddam Hussein. We hopped up to greet him. He motioned us to sit down, welcomed us, and then offered us lunch, an orange oil slick of potatoes and meat that was mostly gristle. I had no choice, given how strictly Afghans and especially Pashtuns viewed hospitality. I dug in, using my hands and a piece of bread as utensils.

But just because Pacha Khan fed us, didn’t mean he would agree to an interview. The Pashtun code required him to show us hospitality. It didn’t force him to talk to me. Pacha Khan squinted at my getup—a long brown Afghan dress over black pants, an Indian paisley headscarf, and cat-eye glasses. I kept shifting my position—with a bad left knee, a bad right ankle, and a bad back, sitting on the floor was about as comfortable as therapy.

Farouq tried to sell my case in the Pashto language. The warlord had certain questions.

“Where is she from?” Pacha Khan asked, suspiciously.

“Turkey,” Farouq responded.

“Is she Muslim?”

“Yes.”

“Have her pray for me.”

I smiled dumbly, oblivious to the conversation and Farouq’s lies.

“She can’t,” Farouq said, slightly revising his story. “She is a Turkish American. She only knows the prayers in English, not Arabic.”

“Hmmm,” Pacha Khan grunted, glaring at me. “She is a very bad Muslim.”

“She is a very bad Muslim,” Farouq agreed.

I continued to grin wildly, attempting to charm Pacha Khan.

“Is she scared of me?” he asked.

“What’s going on? What’s he saying?” I interrupted.

“He wants to know if you’re scared of him,” Farouq said.

“Oh no,” I said. “He seems like a perfectly nice guy. Totally harmless. Very kind.”

Farouq nodded and turned to Pacha Khan.

“Of course she is scared of you,” Farouq translated. “You are a big and terrifying man. But I told her you were a friend of the Chicago Tribune, and I guaranteed her safety.”

That satisfied him. Unaware of Farouq’s finesse, I proceeded with my questions about Pacha Khan’s deteriorating relationship with the Americans. Then I asked if I could have my photograph taken with the warlord, who agreed.

“Make sure you get the flowers,” I told Farouq.

In one picture, Pacha Khan peered sideways at me, with an expression suggesting he thought I was the strange one. I snapped Farouq’s picture with Pacha Khan as well. Souvenirs in hand, we left. But we still had two more hours of bumpy, unforgiving road south to the town of Khost, an experience similar to being flogged with baseball bats. Farouq taught me the numbers in the Dari language and told me about the real conversation he had with Pacha Khan.

“I don’t think it’s ethical to say I’m Turkish,” I said.

“I don’t think it’s safe to say you’re American. The Americans just killed his son. Trust me. I know Afghans. I know what I’m doing.”

I shut my mouth, but I still didn’t see what the big deal was. I had glasses. I was obviously harmless. And Pacha Khan seemed more bluster than bullet.

As we wandered around Pacha Khan-istan, calling me naïve was almost a compliment; ignorant was more accurate. This was only my second trip to Afghanistan as a fill-in correspondent for the Tribune, and I was only supposed to babysit a war that nobody cared about while everyone else invaded Iraq. With my assumed swagger and misplaced confidence, I was convinced that I could do anything. Meeting a warlord whose son had just been killed by the Americans was nothing but a funny photo opportunity. I felt I was somehow missing out by not being in Iraq, the hitter sidelined for the cham-pionship game. Like everyone else, I figured Afghanistan was more of a sideshow than the big show.

Back then, I had no idea what would actually happen. That Pakistan and Afghanistan would ultimately become more all consuming than any relationship I had ever had. That they would slowly fall apart, and that even as they crumbled, chunk by chunk, they would feel more like home than anywhere else. I had no idea that I would find self-awareness in a combat zone, a kind of peace in chaos. My life here wouldn’t be about a man or God or some cause. I would fall in love, deeply, but with a story, with a way of life. When everything else was stripped away, my life would be about an addiction, not to drugs, but to a place. I would never feel as alive as when I was here.

Eventually, more than six years down the road, when the addiction overrode everything else, when normalcy seemed inconceivable, I would have to figure out how to get clean and get out. By then, I would not be the same person. I would be unemployed and sleeping at a friend’s house in Kabul. Dozens of Afghans and Pakistanis I met along the way would be dead, including one translator. Other friends would be kidnapped. Still other people would disappoint me, sucked into corruption and selfishness precisely when their countries needed them. I would disappoint others. None of us would get it right.

When did everyone mess up? Many times, on all sides, but March 2003 is as good a start as any. From the beginning, the numbers were absurd: Post-conflict Kosovo had one peacekeeper for every forty-eight people. East Timor, one for every eighty-six. Afghanistan, already mired in poverty, drought, and more than two decades of war, with little effective government and a fledgling army that was hardly more than a militia, had just one peacekeeper for every 5,400 people. Then the foreigners cheated on Afghanistan. They went to Iraq.

Had they known anything about the country at all, they would have known that this was a really bad idea. Afghanistan was the so-called Graveyard of Empires, a pitiless mass of hard mountains and desert almost the size of Texas that had successfully repelled invaders like the Brits and the Soviets and seemed amenable only to the unforgiving people born to it. Men learned to fight like they learned to breathe, without even thinking. They fought dogs, they fought cocks. They fought tiny delicate birds that fit in a human hand and lived in a human coat pocket, and they bet on the results. They fought wars for decades until no one seemed to remember quite what they were fighting for. The national sport was essentially a fight, on horseback, over a headless calf or goat. Over the years, whenever Afghan men would tell me that they were tired of fighting, looking weary and creased, I would have only one response: Sure you are.

But now, on this road trip, I didn’t worry about any of that. I was like a child, happy with my picture, showing it repeatedly to Farouq, who repeatedly laughed. Hours of bone-crushing road after leaving my first genuine warlord, our driver, Nasir, pulled into Khost and the so-called hotel. It was a second-floor walk-up on Khost’s dusty main street, a place that looked as if a gun battle might break out at any second, as if High Noon could be filmed at any hour. Khost was a small city just over the border from Pakistan’s tribal areas, the semi-autonomous region where insurgents and criminals could roam freely. In Khost, as in the tribal areas, laws were more like helpful hints. Everyone seemed to have a weapon, even the two men sleeping on the hotel balcony, fingers twitching near their triggers. We walked past a room where two Afghan...

For more information and to order The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan for your Kindle, Click here

FREE Kindle book - Student Travel Guide to Europe, 2011

Let's Go Europe 2011 - Normally $21.95, FREE currently

Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide (Kindle Ed.), is authored by Inc., Harvard Student Agencies whose Kindle books with more specific European locations cost between $9.66 - $9.99.  They're providing this Kindle book for $0.00 right now, on what is likely a temporary 'price.'

  Released in January 2011, it has 9 customer reviews with 4 stars out of 5. It's quite large (at 1,232 pages), as most Kindle books that are mainly text average less than 1 meg, and this one is about 3 megs and will take longer to load, which indicates it has more than the usual number of images. Product description:

' From Portugal to the Ukraine, from Norway down to Greece, Europe is a lot to take on.  Luckily, the student adventurers behind Let’s Go Europe 2011 know that any traveler can handle it — with a little help.  Whether whipping through London, Barcelona, and Prague in five days or spending a leisurely year abroad, travelers get all the info they need from Let's Go.  Their wit and irreverence can brighten even the drabbest Renaissance museum — if travelers didn’t take their advice to skip it.  From German beer halls to Roman ruins, Let's Go Europe 2011 is the ticket to adventure. '

  CAVEAT The two Kindle book reviews I see (the rest are paperback reviews) say it's well worth downloading as a free book, but is written by Harvard students for other students and one reviewer thinks it's mainly for students with money to spare -- I used to go on the $5/day books :-) And the paperback version had less information on hostel locations than a couple of people wanted.

On the other hand, another reviewer says:

' However, to be honest, the listings for stuff like accommodations and nightlife are just UNBEATABLE, so I'm willing to deal with the flaws in order to get those recommendations.

  I was trying to keep to a budget, so maybe I'm biased, but when I opened the Lonely Planet and Frommer's guides in the bookstore, their idea of "cheap" was like...65 euro a night. Even the "shoestring" book was borderline. That's just not the sort of budget I'm operating on.
  Let's Go, on the other hand, listed hostels and cheap mom-and-pop places that got me through most of Western Europe on 20 euro or less a night. No complaints about those prices. '

  Some think the writing is fun while others find it geared toward those who look for drinking places.  The maps and even some icons are said to be very hard to read on the Kindle (I recommend viewing these in Landscape mode, which may handle better some bad layout problems mentioned.)

  For $0.00, it's worth a look.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

New Arrivals: Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way (Kindle Single)

  Amazon.com Review

Greg Mortenson is the bestselling author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, a tireless advocate for improved education in impoverished areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the founder of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), a non-profit that builds schools in these areas. He's also, according to Jon Krakauer, not all that he appears to be. Krakauer is himself a bestselling author (Into the Wild, Into Thin Air), with a well-deserved reputation for penetrating nonfiction. Motivated by his own humanitarian concerns, and having donated considerable sums to CAI, Krakauer now applies his investigative skills to the unmasking of what he calls the "image of Mortenson that has been created for public consumption… an artifact born of fantasy, audacity, and an apparently insatiable hunger for esteem." Did Mortenson discover the village that inspired his crusade while wandering lost down K2? Was he abducted and held for eight days by the Taliban? Has he built all the schools that he has claimed? Tempered by Krakauer's fairly giving CAI credit where it's due, Three Cups of Deceit mounts an extensive, passionate exploration into these questions. --Jason Kirk

  Product Description

Greg Mortenson has built a global reputation as a selfless humanitarian and children’s crusader, and he’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is also not what he appears to be. As acclaimed author Jon Krakauer discovered, Mortenson has not only fabricated substantial parts of his bestselling books Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, but has also misused millions of dollars donated by unsuspecting admirers like Krakauer himself.

This is the tragic tale of good intentions gone very wrong.

100% of Jon Krakauer's proceeds from the sale of Three Cups of Deceit will be donated to the "Stop Girl Trafficking" project at the American Himalayan Foundation (www.himalayan-foundation.org/live/project/stopgirltrafficking).

Kindle: Best Books of April, 2011; Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India

 Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2011: With Great Soul, Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph Lelyveld accomplishes the difficult task of humanizing the fabled "Mahatma." Utterly unafraid of depicting Gandhi's less palatable tendencies--shameless self-promotion, inscrutable sexual mores, and an often narrow and ethnically specific application of his evolving political tenets--Lelyveld instead stands the man up against the myth. Comprehensively researched and confidently written, Lelyveld's exploration of Gandhi's politically formative years in South Africa, and the international profile he later secured in India, demonstrates laudable (if not unflinching) critical distance from his subject. It takes a brave biographer to pull this off respectfully. (See Christopher Hitchens’s book on Mother Theresa for a contrary and maudlin example.) Lelyveld is up to the job, delivering an ultimately indispensable take on the flesh-and-blood man who may have been his own best hagiographer. Everyone with an interest in Gandhi--from incurable skeptics to unabashed devotees--should find much to learn from one of the year’s best biographies to date. --Jason Kirk

 From Publishers Weekly

In this rigorous biography of India's beloved political and spiritual leader, Lelyveld (Move Your Shadow) offers an unexpected perspective on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948), one that focuses more on his failures and vexations than triumphs. Gandhi dreamed of Hindu-Muslim solidarity in a united, autonomous India (a hope dashed with the 1947 partition that split off Pakistan); acceptance of lower castes by upper-caste Hindus (still only partially accomplished); an economy built around cottage industries in self-sufficient villages (a quixotic fantasy). This program proved far more difficult than evicting the British, Lelyveld notes, and earned the Mahatma hatred—and, finally, assassination—in an India riven by sectarian animosity and caste prejudice. Lelyveld pairs a sympathetic but critical analysis of Gandhi's politics with a vivid portrait of the Mahatma's charismatic strangeness: his makeover from business-suited, English-educated upper-caste lawyer to loincloth-clad sage; his odd diet and abhorrence of sex; his strained family life. A stirring, evenhanded account that relates the failure of Gandhi's politics of saintliness while attesting to its enduring power. Photos. (Mar.) 

For more information and to order  Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India

 for your Kindle, Click here.

Kindle News Roundup: NYReview of Books Kindle Ed., More on rumored Samsung/Amazon tablet; Kindle for Android Update; Amazon Germany's Kindlestore opens; publishing in Amazon.de Kindle Store

KINDLE NEWS THIS WEEK

New York Review of Books
This excellent resource is finally available in a Kindle edition.  The New York Review of Books reviews "...the most engrossing new books and the ideas that illuminate them."  There's a 14-day free trial and you can unsubscribe during that time.

Kindle for Android
The Kindle for Android app has been updated to tailor it for tablet-computers, with enhancements that take advantage of the larger screen. New features include
  . the Ability to pause, resume download at any time
  . enhanced word look-up capability (for Android-based phones and tablets)
    with built-in dictionary with over 250,000 entries and definitions.

Amazon.de Launches German Kindle Store
Amazon's press release says that the Amazon.de Kindle Shop will have the Largest Selection of Any E-Bookstore in Germany.
  It launches with "650,000 titles, 71 of 100 Spiegel bestsellers, and over 25,000 German-language titles with thousands of German classics downloadable for free only on Kindle.  Top German and international newspapers and magazines are also available for single purchase or subscription including Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Handelsblatt and Die Zeit."

 Also, Amazon announced yesterday that authors and publishers worldwide are now able to make their books available in the Amazon.de Kindle Books store in Germany, using the (kdp.amazon.de) Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service.

  "German-language authors and publishers can utilize the new German KDP website to make their books available in Germany, Austria, the U.K., U.S. and over 100 countries worldwide. The popular KDP 70% royalty option, which allows authors and publishers worldwide to make more money on books sold to Kindle customers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, is now also available for books sold in Germany and Austria. Additionally, publishers can now receive their payment in either Euros, British pounds or U.S. dollars. For more information and program terms, please visit kdp.amazon.de."

MORE on that Rumored Kindle Tablet via Samsung
Peter Rojas, who wrote the article this week about the probability of a Samsung-built Amazon tablet, was the co-founder and former Editor of Engadget and is now co-founder of gdgt.com.  He has very good connections in the industry and, while there's always the small chance he can receive bad information, his sources are probably more solid than the usual.

Also, on November 5, 2010, I wrote a blog article about the rumor of an Amazon Android tablet being quite strong because Computerworld's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka cybercinic, had quietly included in a column the following:

' Sources at Amazon tell me that the company will indeed produce a mass-market Android tablet.  I can't tell you its size, pricing, when it's expected to ship, or anything else of substance.  The one thing I do know is that, like the Kindle, it will run Linux with a Java-based interface.  In short, this new tablet Kindle, let's call it "KinTablet," will run Android. '

 Some have said that Amazon would not want to upset its OEM partners by releasing a 'competing tablet' but Kendrick feels it would not be so much a tablet built to compete but "would be intended to extend the company’s retail operation into the next logical space."

  To speculation or hopes that this would be a particularly mighty tablet, ZDNet's James Kendrick writes, "Amazon’s intent would not be to produce a state-of-the-art mobile device" but would instead "be designed to have the Amazon retail system completely ingrained into a decent, economical tablet.  Amazon's own Android Apps store would probably be 'curated' (as Apple's is and B&N plans to be, for Non-rooted NookColors), but in effect, competing with Google's Android market, which is 'open' but also leaves non-computer-intense customers to their own security measures and is disorganized and confusing to many.

  In another article, about the Kindle with special offers and straight-out, large ads on its screensleepers and on the bottom area of the Home screen of book titles, Kendrick writes:

' If only 1 percent of ... Android activations resulted in a Kindle customer, that is over a million new customers every year for Amazon content.  That’s a conservative number, but the size of the Android market is huge.  Most Kindle app users probably buy multiple ebooks from Amazon...it’s no surprise that Amazon is selling so many ebooks..."

"So this ad-supported Kindle reader will probably get more devices in the hands of new customers, but that’s not the real story.  I wonder if this is Amazon’s first baby steps into developing its own ad network for its future mobile devices that it is probably working on.  I firmly believe Amazon is about to disrupt the mobile space by entering into the mobile space with a tablet device, and take Apple on directly.  An ad network would be another piece of the ecosystem to go head-to-head with Cupertino. '

I wondered the other day if Apple's sudden lawsuit against Samsung (a supplier for Apple), for look & feel concerns, might be explained by this rumored tablet partnership with Amazon.  I wasn't the only one wondering out loud.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   K3 Special, $114   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.