New lower-priced Kindle with ads arrives

Beginning today, prospective Kindle purchasers have another option: a lower-priced, ad-sponsored Kindle 3G model.

Priced at $50 below the standard model, AT&T's $139 Kindle 3G with Special Offers comes with built-in Wi-Fi and 3G without monthly fees, data plans or annual contracts. For the discounted price, buyers will see advertisements from AT&T and other companies.

Another feature that may attract the back-to-school crowd is the device's Kindle Textbook Rental service which lets customers rent books for up to 360 days at up to 80% off the textbook list price.

"With Kindle 3G, you never have to find or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot - you simply download and read books anytime, anywhere," said Amazon's Mike McKenna in a statement accompanying the announcement. "We're excited that AT&T will be offering its customers Kindle 3G with Special Offers. They will get all the features readers love about Kindle 3G - free 3G wireless, global wireless access, Pearl electronic ink display that's easy to read even in bright sunlight, access to over 950,000 'Buy Once, Read Everywhere' Kindle books, plus money-saving special offers."

Since all I use mine for is reading, I find it to be perfect.

...The biggest downside that he and his classmates found was the inability to search by page number. The instructor said she had not given it a thought that her students would be reading it electronically.

I love my library. But I am old.

I use to love going to bookstores and sitting on the floor reading bits of various books from isle to isle. Borders became our only real bookstore after all the others closed. Now Borders is gone too and I haz a sad.

I think eBooks and Kindle killed ‘um all

Ya’ll remember that when yer batteries die right in the middle of the good part!

I’m gonna miss getting lost in the bookstores

E-Book Writer Gets Paperback-Distribution Deal

John Locke, a self-published writer who has built a large audience selling only digital books, is turning his attention to the physical paperback business and has struck a deal with a traditional publisher.

CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster will distribute in paperback format eight of Mr. Locke's thrillers, which feature a former CIA assassin named Donovan Creed. Mr. Locke, through his John Locke Books imprint, will publish the books and Simon & Schuster will handle sales and distribution, including returns.

Mr. Locke, a Louisville businessman who put out his first book in 2009, was the first self-published writer to sell 1 million digital books on Amazon.com Inc. Still, he decided to enter the paperback field to capture readers who haven't yet embraced digital books. "These are people who wouldn't have the opportunity to find me otherwise," said Mr. Locke. The author noted that the agreement covers titles that he has previously written, and won't cannibalize his digital sales.

Mr. Locke, 60 years old, has self-published eight Donovan Creed thrillers, several Westerns, and a self-help book aimed at other self-published writers. Altogether he estimates his total e-book sales at about 1.3 million units, the bulk of them since Jan. 1. He has helped build his audience by pricing many of his works at 99 cents. On Monday, his novel "The Love You Crave" ranked No. 55 on Amazon's e-book best-seller list.

Jane Dystel, Mr. Locke's New York literary agent, said that she was approached by Simon & Schuster and that the two then came to terms on a distribution deal, which will begin in February 2012.

W4 - I told you when you visited FEMA Camp 17 that taking pictures were OK but that I didn't want them posted. This is a matter of my personal safety!

No diving board; no "big slide". Max. depth of water: 10 cm.

What is that thing in the water down toward this a way? A salt lick for the deer?

That's Stern sunning himself on a rock ...

That's Stern sunning himself on a rock.

I guess I'm just old and behind the times.

I love books. The feel and heft and smell. I can't imagine curling up with a Kindle.

Me too. Also.