Thursday, January 12, 2012

What I'm Reading - Kindle Style

Guess what I got for Christmas?  Yes.  I.  Did.  !  This is one of those things that I've tossed about for awhile and wasn't 100% sold on getting one but, my parents were looking for some ideas so I decided that it would make a great gift :-)  I was actually very surprised to get one. 
Isn't it pretty?  I got the Kindle Touch and am beyond happy with it!  I have a few friends who got the Kindle Fire, and at first I thought maybe that was better but I recently had a chance to actually hold and use one - I would much rather have mine.  The Fire is heavy and it doesn't really search online well.  Plus, it is like reading a computer screen whereas the Touch is like reading a book.  Can I just say that I love it :-)  I really, really do!

There is something else I love and that is free books!!  One of my concerns with getting a Kindle was how to afford buying books.  I knew you could get inexpensive books and sometimes free books but the way that I read . . .well, I thought I would run out of books.  I was wrong.  I've found a few Blogs that are daily sharing free books - I just download the ones that interest me and now already have well over 100 books on my Kindle and have spent less the $50.00.  Yes, I have actually purchased a few books - books I had been waiting to get by authors I love - but otherwise, I rely on the free books to get me through.  Do you see a huge PRO to this?  I actually get to read new books all the time - as much as I love re-reading some  books, I was really getting ready to have lots of free stuff to read and this is the perfect solution.

I wanted to share the links I've found just in case there are any Kindle uses out there and I would LOVE it if you would share links that you have found too.  Just leave me a comment and in future weeks, I'll make sure and share those with my readers. 

The very first one I want to share is The Literature Lady.  Currently this is a Facebook page but don't worry if you don't have Facebook - this is a Public page so anyone can access it and use it.  Isn't that great?  The person who hosts this page lists tons and tons of books DAILY!  Some days I end up downloading up to 10 books just from her. 

The next one is Inspired Reads and is a way to get Bargain Christian Books.  Generally this site only posts one or two a day but I love it because I know they will be good, clean books.

The last one is Pixel of Ink.  This is just general reading; they also post anywhere from 1-10 books a day. 

Please note that "free" books do not stay free.  When you click on the link that takes you to the link in Amazon to purchase/download the book, always double check to make sure that it still shows a price of $0.00.  It is my understanding that Amazon will refund your money if you purchase a book you thought was free as long as it is within three days of the purchase.  Sometimes books are only free for a few hours and sometimes they are free for 2 or 3 days - so always double check :-)

Next week I'll start sharing some of the books I'm reading and I'll also post the kindle price  as of the date of the post :-)

Enjoy!

7 comments:

jlwilmer said...

What made you choose a Kindle as opposed to a Nook?? Looking into these for myself and there are so many choices, it's really hard to decide.

Anonymous said...

Jackie,
Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing these sites. I was also surprised to receive a Kindle for Christmas. I got the Fire and I totally agree with you that it is very heavy and uncomfortable to hold on to but I am getting used to it. I haven't downloaded any books yet 'cuz I wasn't sure how to. Is it pretty simple? Also, I did look into downloading some books from the library but all the titles I was interested in have waiting lists. I will definitely check into the sites you suggested so thanks again for that. Have a great day!

Jackie Koll said...

I chose a Kindle after talking to quite a few people and learned that Kindle had a lot more books to offer and I've seen that true on the sites I've mentioned in the post. Sometimes the book is not offered on Nook but more often, even if it is, it isn't free. With the Kindle, if it is listed on Amazon (as far as books, etc) you can buy it for your Kindle.

Jackie Koll said...

You are very welcome!!! Yes it is SUPER easy to download books. From those sites, you can click on the link and it will take you to the Amazon page and just click "click to buy" - it will show up in seconds on your Kindle. If you want to search for a book, I just go to amazon (or you can search through your Kindle) and search for it, and buy it the same way. If you want to limit your spending, buy yourself a Amazon gift card; you can load it into Amazon and only spend that much each month :-)

I did hear recently that on the Fire, you can change the bankground to grey, and the print to black and it makes the books easier to read??? I think if I did not have a laptop, the Fire might still be a "want" but I really just needed the Kindle to read :-)

If you need more help - let me know - I'm trying to figure out more on how to manage all of my books too - when I do, I'll share it!

Jackie Koll said...

One more thing - did you get a case for your Fire? I know that without a case, my Touch would be harder to hang on to, the case protects it but also gives you something else to hold on to :-)

Anonymous said...

Jackie, I can't thank you enough for your help. I downloaded 9 free (I love free for experimenting with) books after my previous comment and was amazed at how super simple it was. I did almost click on one that wasn't free so thank you for that head's up.
Thanks for the tip about changing the background color for easier reading. I'll be sure to give that a try. And I did look for a case but the only available ones were more like a carrying case that you take your Kindle out of to use it so I'm still looking for one. Thanks for all the great advice. I really appreciate it!

Jackie Koll said...

I wasn't sure if the Kindle Fire had a case - I hope you can find one you like. I'm so glad I was able to help :-)