Category Archives: Kindle

Poetry On The Kindle

PoemHunter.com has a section that allows you to download free ebooks.  They are in pdf format so you do not have to have a kindle to take advantage.  You can read them on any device that supports pdf.  I run these through calibre and convert them to .mobi files and drag them over to my kindle to carry around and read whenever I have a spare moment.

There are over 300 pages of ebooks listed – some classic. If you will look on the right in the sidebar there is a section of top download poets and there you will find Langston Hughes, Emily Dickenson, Charles Bukowski, Walt Whitman and more. You can also find many of the familiar poets at the very end so click on the last page and work your way forward.  If you are feeling more adventurous you might click a random name and discover something new.  If you don’t see your favorite poet listed you can search PoemHunter and you may just find a treasure to download. Some ebooks may only contain one poem, others are entire collections.

http://www.poemhunter.com/eBooks/

for other kindle resources click the Kindle Resource Tab above.

Just added to resource page: Free ebooks at Smashwords

Another Reason To Love Wikipedia

Today as I was researching on Wikipedia, I was preparing to click on the print menu on the side and create a pdf of the page to load on my kindle.  When you click on the little arrow next to print you get a list of tools.  You can create a book, download page as a pdf, or get a printable version. Wait a minute.  Create a book?  Why have I not noticed this before?

When you click create a book you will see this:

Add this page to your book
Adds the currently viewed article (page) to your book.
Show book
Opens a new page which will show a list of all articles (pages) that you added to your book. On that page, you can change the order of the articles in your book and structure them using chapters. Further, you can download the books as a PDF or ODF, or order a printed book.
Suggest pages
This tool analyzes the current set of pages in your book and suggests articles that might be also relevant to the overall topic of your book. This tool allows to create books quickly.
Disable
This will disable the Book creator and delete your book (unless you saved it first).
Adding pages without visiting them
A quick way to add pages is to simply hover on a linked article. If you wait about one second, a small box will pop up with the message “Add linked wiki page to your book”. Click on this link, and the linked article will be added to your book.

Hovering your mouse over links is a convenient way to add pages to your book
Adding whole categories
If you are viewing a category page, you can add all the pages in that category at once. The Add this page to your book link will have changed into Add this category to your book. Click on this new link, and all the articles in that category will be added to your book. Relevant categories may be found at the very bottom of Wikipedia articles. Categories can also be added by hovering category links.

Each successive page will now have this handy link at the top:

When you have completed adding pages to your book, you can download the entire thing as a pdf.  Very nice for my Kindle 🙂
Click Show Book and the following page pops up.  You can tweak your title, sort your pages, preview, order a printed copy if you like, or simply download your book. Then if you are me, you convert it for your Kindle and read at your convenience.

Caveat: I do not advocate the use of Wikipedia at school as teachers have very strong feelings about the website.  I suppose the fact that even I can edit the site could be cause for concern but there are people constantly checking and fixing errors and misinformation.  Try looking up Hurricane Katrina in the set of Funk and Wagnalls I bought when my son was born.

Because Wikipedia is a massive live collaboration, it differs from a paper-based reference source in important ways. In particular, older articles tend to be more comprehensive and balanced, while newer articles more frequently contain significant misinformation, unencyclopedic content, or vandalism. Users need to be aware of this to obtain valid information and avoid misinformation that has been recently added and not yet removed (see Researching with Wikipedia for more details). However, unlike a paper reference source, Wikipedia is continually updated, with the creation or updating of articles on historic events within hours, minutes, or even seconds, rather than months or years for printed encyclopedias.

You should always check more than one website when you are doing research, but Wikipedia is a great place to start.

Congratulations Ann!!

Maelstrom is available for download as an e-book from FictionWise!

“When a genie grants you a wish, you don’t expect to return the favor. Struggling promoter Ricky Landon is on the verge of giving up his dreams when he dumps sexy genie Kalila from a junk store lamp. She grants his wish to manage a talented band, but she has a wish of her own?”

Congratulations Ann (BunnyGirl) – can’t wait to read it!

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/a56972/Ann-Pino/?

Kindle Fodder – ShapeShifter Demo Tapes

I woke this morning to a yard covered in snow and more falling.  The wind is blowing what is already there and I plan to keep my nose and all other parts inside in the warm today.  Spring?  Who knew?

Read an e-book week is over but I am still getting to know my Kindle and checking my mailbox for my prize from Nara Malone.  I filled my Kindle queue with several books from authors that sometimes hang out at some of the same places I frequent, such as Sunday Scribblings and Three Word Wednesday.

I just finished reading ShapeShifter, The Demo Tapes Year One and Year Two.  The Author, Susan Helen Gottfried, blogs at West Of Mars and I “met” her through Sunday Scribbling. I loved them!

Susan’s SS blogposts are outtakes that revolve around the story of ShapeShifter, a fictional rock band, the characters and their relationships and the situations they find themselves in. I had already been introduced to Mitchell and Trevor and the others but this it was fun to get to know them a little better, to see a bit of backstory, and catch up without having to scroll backwards through multiple blogposts. From her website:

The Demo Tapes were born out of the demand of the groupies who hang around the Meet and Greet. They are collections of short fiction that introduce you to Trevor, Mitchell, and the rest of the fictional band, ShapeShifter — as well as the world in which they inhabit.

Susan’s book, Trevor’s Song has not been published YET but I hope it will be – the Demo Tapes were enough to whet my appetite and make me want the full meal deal.  If you are a wanna-be band groupie or would just like to hang out from a distance click the picture of the books to go to a page that will show you how to get them for yourself, either in print or on your favorite e-reading device.

Now where did I put my ShapeShifter t- shirt?  It’s almost time for the concert….

If you can’t see the image – go here:  http://westofmars.com/west-of-mars/the-books/

Sunday Scribbling Springing Forward

Beautiful Sunday even with the silly clock changing mess.  Early service with a wonderful speaker, Gayle Erwin. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him it will be a joy.  After lunch a walk around the track, sun shining, families playing soccer, and trees budding out.  There was just enough of a cool breeze to keep from breaking a sweat.

The prompt at Sunday Scribbling is a life changing book or collection of words.  There have been too many books over the years to choose just one.  The first book I can remember reading is The Witch on Blackbird Pond which makes the list because it made me fallin love with books. The Bible, The Stand, Alas Babylon, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values mentioned by Solitary Panda is on the list, and so many more.  Those are just a few that gave me joy, epiphany, a good cry, and just became good close friends. The Twilight Series.  Yes I know, you now have absolutely no respect for me, right?  It was my introduction to YA literature.  When I was a YA, either it was limited or I just skipped it somehow.  I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in high school.  A friend loaned it to me saying she knew I would never give it back.  I didn’t really understand what she meant but over the next three years I bought four copies, loaned each one out and never saw it again.  It was that kind of thing.  So YA lit was a revelation to me and it came at a time when I had been entirely too serious for entirely too long.  I woke up and now I’m trying to learn to write it. It has been a gift that keeps on giving because of the wonderful “online” friends I have made and the thump on the head that said if your feet will no longer dance, you can still dream and that is what being young in your heart is all about. You can check out some of these talented people by taking a stroll through my blogroll.  You will not be disappointed!

I have begun to feed my Kindle ebooks by authors that I have “met” online.  I’m planning to post about each as I read it. I just finished Paschal‘s Scarred Angels.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I was reading it on my kindle. I absolutely LOVED it – hear that Professor?  You need to publish that thang.  I grew to love the characters  and realized – REALLY realized how incredibly important character is. I knew it, I did.  I now KNOW it.  I just have to learn how to do it. I really enjoyed the book and it was only near the end that I had my ah ha moment. By then I had already gone over the edge.  This merits much more than a paragraph – it has it all going on, relationship, betrayal, redemption, sex, and a little bit of murder thrown in.  I would buy this and pay extra to have a signed copy! Most of all, the author has a deep love for humans – especially the broken and it comes through the words on every page. If you would like a romp through words that are bent and tangled and dancing to their own kind of music you can click the Paschal link above or look for Murat11 on my blogroll.

Now if I have embarrassed Professor P enough I have a couple of shout-outs to some local bloggers.  One is a lovely young woman, mother, and student who shows off her photography at LifeStylesPhoto.  Stop by and give her a little encouragement.

The next is the North Texas Food Bank blog.  The blogger is smart and tough and compassionate (and went to high school with my son).  She is presently at SXSW learning about building online communities. The following is from their about page:

The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a nonprofit hunger relief organization that distributes donated, purchased and prepared foods through a network of feeding programs in 13 North Texas counties. The NTFB supports the nutritional needs of children, families and seniors through education, advocacy and strategic partnerships. Close the Gap is the NTFB’s 3-year initiative to unite the community to narrow the food gap by providing access to 50 million meals annually.

Founded in 1982, the NTFB is a certified member of Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network). Last year 26 million meals were distributed. Each month agency pantries distribute food to more than 50,000 families and on-site meal programs serve 435,000 meals/snacks.

Every dollar donated to the NTFB provides four meals for the hungry. Out of every dollar donated, 97 cents goes directly to hunger relief programs.

You want life changing?  Those words could change a life if you follow up with action.  If you are in the area, donate, participate, or at least pass on the info.

Now I’m off to write another chapter for Night Wings. To end this post, I will leave you with a favorite poem.

Blessed Lord, what it is to be young;
To be of, to be for, be among
Be enchanted, enthralled
Be the caller, the called
The singer, the song, and the sung

David McCord

Namaste

What’s On Your Kindle?

I am a Kindle newbie and as with anything new, I have been searching the web, joining groups, and generally learning about my new toy.  I will be sharing resources once a week here.

I am not promoting one e-reader over another.  I chose the Kindle because of the ease and large selection of available books, and because a friend was selling hers and the price was right.

My very favorite feature on the Kindle is being able to enlarge the font size and I was excited to learn that you could read PDF files on it.  The first time I loaded a PDF and found that the whole page was shrunk to show on the screen, I was very disappointed. What good is a PDF on my kindle if I can’t make the type large enough to read comfortably?

I found an Open Source Application that solved my problem. AutoKindle is available from the link below.  It will be a file that needs to be unzipped.  I also created a folder on my desktop for the files it converts.

This is the icon you will need.  Double click it and the first time you run it you will be asked for an input source and an output location.  The output location will be the folder you created.  Your file will be converted to a .mobi file.  Connect your kindle to your PC with your usb cable.  The Kindle will show up just like a flash drive.  Drag your .mobi file into your documents folder on your kindle and it will then show up on your home/contents page.

There may be a few weird formatting things going on and I have not tried this with a pdf that is graphics heavy. I have no desire to view pictures on my kindle – I just want to read and so far AutoKindle has worked wonderfully for me.

The app is only available for the pc.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/autokindle/

Presently reading on my Kindle:

70 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes by Bob Mayer
Scarred Angels by Paschal
Content by Cory Doctorow

I just received an email telling me I am the first drawing winner of an e-library preloaded on the cutest jump drive. Thank you Nara, what a wonderful Monday morning surprise!  Nara Malone has a contest running on her blog and more information about Kindles.  She is starting an email newsletter so you might want to swing by and sign up!