KINDLE FREE FOR ALL:
How to Get Millions of Free Kindle Books and Other Free Content With or Without an Amazon Kindle
For Use with the Latest Generation Kindle 3G, Kindle Wi-Fi, Kindle DX, and Kindle Apps
(Prices Apply to US Kindle Customers, But Much Free Content Linked Herein Can Be Downloaded Anywhere)
By Stephen Windwalker
Kindle Nation Daily
Formatted with links and an interactive Table Of Contents
For readers everywhere, and the authors who feed us
KINDLE FREE FOR ALL:
How to Get Millions of Free Kindle Books and Other Free Content With or Without an Amazon Kindle
By Stephen Windwalker
Kindle Edition Published by Windwalker Media
[email protected]
Arlington, Massachusetts
Visit Kindle Nation Daily at http://kindlehomepage.blogspot.com
Copyright 2010, Stephen Windwalker and Windwalker Media
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author or publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, article, book, or academic paper.
Table of Contents
Preface: How To Use This Book
Ch 1: How Can This Be? Amazon May Be Making Billions, But Kindle is the Key to "Free"
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Best Resources for Kindle Owners
Ch 2: Use Kindle Nation Daily's Free Book Alerts
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: No Kindle Required! How to Download and Use Free Kindle Apps for the PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Android and, Soon, the Windows Phone 7 and Other Devices
Ch 3: Find and Download Thousands of Free Books Directly From the Kindle Store
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Using Wi-Fi, 3G, or a USB Cable to Connect Your Kindle
Ch 4: Find and Download Free Books From Kindle-Compatible Free Book Collections
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Easily Find Free Kindle Store Classics Arranged by Author and Title
Ch 5: Find and Download Free Book Samples and Free 14-Day Periodical Trials From the Kindle Store
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Free for You: How to Ask for and Use a Kindle Gift Certificate
Ch 6: Use Calibre to Manage Your Kindle's Free Books and Other Kindle Content
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Email eBooks, Memoranda, Scripts, Manuscripts, Directions, Recipes, Legal Briefs and Other Personal Documents to Your Kindle
Ch 7: Read Blogs, Periodicals, and Other Web Content for Free on the Kindle
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Use eReadUps to Collect Research on Your Kindle or Build Your Own eBooks from Web Sources
Ch 8: Why Your Kindle's Free Wireless Web Browser is a Revolutionary Feature, and May Be the Key to What's Next from Amazon
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Use Your Kindle to Check Your eMail
Ch 9: Unlock the World Of Free Audio on the Kindle
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: How to Contact Kindle Nation
Ch 10: Ten Reasons the New Kindle 3 or Kindle Wi-Fi Is a Must if You Love to Read ... And a Few Minor Drawbacks
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Kindle Periodicals and Your Battery
Ch 11: The Politics of "Free" Books In the Age of the Kindle
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: The Future of Free in the Kindle Store
Ch 12: The Myth of the Kindle's "Standard" $9.99 Price, the Agency Model, and the ABCs of Kindle Store Pricing
Preface: How To Use This Book
Thank you for downloading my book, Free for All. And don't worry, I'm not going to insult you by providing a manual on how to use what is, essentially, a manual.
But one thing. Now that you own it, you are free to download it to an unlimited number of your Kindle-registered devices, and I want to suggest that you will be able to get the most out of it if you keep a copy with your Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac app. That will allow you to move seamlessly between the text and the web pages to which I provide links throughout the text.
For any book, like this one, that you have purchased in the Kindle Store, it's a snap to have Amazon send a copy to your other devices. Just use your computer to go to your Manage Your Kindle page and scroll down to "Your Orders." Find this title and use the "Deliver to" pulldown menu to select your device. Within a few seconds you should hear the sizzle of wires burning and the book will appear on the Home screen of the Kindle app to which you have sent it.
Okay, one other thing. I do want to apologize for the fact that, contrary to the overblown claim implicit in the title of this book, some of the free books mentioned are free only in Amazon's U.S.-based Kindle store, and then only for countries where various taxes, duties, and fees have not been added. However, much of the other web-based free content is free throughout the universe.
Ch 1: How Can This Be? Amazon May Be Making Billions, But Kindle is the Key to "Free"
Getting Started
Welcome to the world of the amazing Amazon Kindle. It's that expensive ebook reader you've been hearing about, or … maybe you just grabbed yours from under the tree and opened it up for the first time?
Expensive? Well, the earliest Kindle models did cost $399 to $489, but out of respect for the possibility that someone you love may have just given you yours, we won’t make a big deal of the fact that the price has now come all the way down to the $139-$189 range (and sometimes lower for refurbished, earlier-generation models). Or $379 for the considerably larger Kindle DX with the 9.7-inch display.
Or FREE, if you are -- for now -- skipping the Kindle device itself altogether and downloading a free Kindle App for your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android device, BlackBerry, PC, or Mac or using the new "Kindle for the Web" browser.
(For your convenience, we will include a section here on how to download these free Kindle Apps for other devices and, just in case you are still making up your mind, another section on 10 reasons the latest-generation Kindle is a must if you love to read. But this isn’t rocket science: in fact, you’ll find that the Kindle App comes already onboard with up-to-date devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Dell Streak, and many Windows 7 smartphones.)
So, the Kindle may have been rather expensive for early adopters back in 2007 and 2008, but it has become a very affordable staple for avid readers, including the Kindle Nation citizens we like to refer to as "the greatest readers in the world." And the chances are very good that, with the help of this book and the daily Free Book Alerts on our Kindle Nation Daily blog, a new Kindle could actually save you hundreds of dollars over the course of a year or two.
For starters, did you know that the latest-generation Kindle 3G model also comes with a free built-in “Webkit” web browser and a free wireless "Whispernet" service that provides you with almost anywhere, anytime connectivity?
• Connectivity with Amazon and the Kindle Store, of course, so that you can keep buying Kindle books, magazines, newspapers, games and blogs, and be reading them on your Kindle within 60 seconds.
• Connectivity with Wikipedia, so you can look up anything that comes to mind or that you read about, within seconds.
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�� Connectivity with Amazon’s Audible.com subsidiary, so that you can buy any of thousands of professionally-read audiobooks, download them wirelessly to your Kindle without a USB cable or computer, and start listening to them within moments.
But that's not all.
• You can also connect with Google, with your email, Facebook or Twitter accounts, or with just about any other text-based website!
• You can check scores, stocks, news, or weather, and then -- if you have a bit of patience and nimble fingers -- send an email, a text, or a tweet to share the news.
• You can read blogs, online documents, and news sources any time and any place you please.
Don't get me wrong: this is not a lightning-fast, full-featured browser. It's great in a pinch, but you aren't going to start using it to send dozens of email messages each day. But it is free, it is there when you need it, and it is quiet.
If, for instance, you are trying to read a real book on your Kindle, you will find the Kindle's connectivity is a lot less intrusive and distracting than most connected devices. It rests quietly in the background until you decide you need to use it for something.
And at that point, there's no need to find a Starbucks or other wi-fi connection.
There's never any need to pay a monthly wireless charge, a data fee, or an activation fee.
There's never a need to do anything but enjoy your Kindle.
Free.
But still, that's just the beginning.
Now that you've purchased and downloaded this ebook, you are about to learn about millions of free books, games, blogs, articles, music tracks, podcasts, periodicals and research documents you can download to your Kindle in a snap, whether you are stocking up on beach reading or in the middle of a daunting research project.
Whatever you paid for your Kindle, the purpose of this ebook is to provide you with all the information, tips, tricks, and links you will need to make sure it begins paying for itself today and continues for each and every day you use it.
So, if you are still on the fence about whether to buy your first Kindle, or whether to upgrade from a Kindle 1 or Kindle 2, you may want to skip ahead for a few moments to Chapter 10, “Ten Reasons the Latest-Generation Kindle is a Must if You Love to Read.”
Otherwise, let's get started.
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: Best Resources for Kindle Owners
This is a subjective list from someone with strong opinions. And, yes, I'm including a couple of my own free resources in this list. But the price is right on all of these, and you'll save money and time if you begin using them right now.
1. Check out the Kindle Starter Kit at the Kindle Nation eBook Emporium for accessories and warranties.
2. Make a daily appointment to check the free Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert each morning, or spend 99 cents a month for a Kindle edition subscription to have each post pushed directly to your Kindle.
3. Check out the Internet Archive for an incredible array of free content (details in Chapter 4.)
4. Follow podcaster Len Edgerly's The Kindle Chronicles each Friday.
5. If you are interested in reading Kindle content on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, check out our sister blog Planet iPad.
6. If you want to tap into some extremely intelligent deep thinking about the Kindle and other ebook readers, follow Abhi's Kindle Review.
Ch 2: Use Kindle Nation Daily's Free Book Alerts
Okay, you can call this a commercial if you want, because I'm touting my own Kindle Nation Daily blog, but at least it's a commercial that will lead you to even more free books and content for your Kindle, such as the daily Free Book Alerts published on the blog. If you don't want to bother checking the blog online each day, you can subscribe to Kindle Nation Daily and have each new post delivered direct to your Kindle automatically.
Every morning we start things off at Kindle Nation with a Free Book Alert that is automatically updated to include the latest free contemporary titles in the U.S. Kindle Store.
You may have heard that many of the free books in the Kindle Store are classic public domain titles that are out of copyright and do not change from one week to the next. That's true, but there are also dozens of new contemporary freebies that are added each month. As of this writing in mid-December 2010, there are about 200 such free titles covering just about every reading taste and genre.
But these titles change from day to day: Amazon (and the authors and publishers who offer them free) giveth, and they also taketh away.
So, how do you make sure that you don't miss out on these free listings?
The answer is that we have your back at Kindle Nation, and all you have to do is make sure that you check in with us each morning, because there are many times when a free listing lasts only for a day or two, and some cases where it is gone within hours. To make sure you don't miss them, you can do one or both of these things:
• Bookmark Kindle Nation Daily on the web and make checking it part of your daily routine on the computer; and/or
• Even better, click here to subscribe to the Kindle edition of Kindle Nation Daily and each Free Book Alert post will be pushed directly to your Kindle 24/7 in real time. Your blog subscription begins with a free 14-day trial. After that, the full cost of this Kindle-compatible convenience is just 99 cents a month on your Amazon account, and it is likely to save you many times that amount as you build your personal Kindle library.
In addition to helping you keep up with what's free and what's worth reading in the Kindlesphere, our Kindle Nation Daily blog also mixes in other posts with useful tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Kindle, Kindle news, free excerpts, and a popular "From the Kindle Nation Mailbag" feature where you will find answers to questions that have been posed by your fellow Kindle owners, and possibly even by you. (We're always happy to hear from readers who email us at [email protected].)
Thousands of Kindle Nation citizens also find it useful to receive a weekly digest of these posts in the form of a free weekly email newsletter. You can check out past newsletters, and sign up for future issues, at the Kindle Nation Archive site.
Between the Chapters, and Just Between Us: No Kindle Required! How to Download and Use Free Kindle Apps for the PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Android and, Soon, the Windows Phone 7 and Other Devices
The Kindle Store isn't just the best ebook store for the Kindle itself. It's also the best ebook Store for the iPad and all the other devices noted above. You can use one or more of these other devices to supplement reading on your Kindle, or -- just as easily -- you can make one of the other devices your primary ebook reader and get along just fine without a Kindle!
You can also start building a Kindle library now with one or more of these apps and decide later about whether you are ready to commit to a long-term relationship with a Kindle or some other gadget.
Just follow these steps to download the Kindle reading software and store interface to the device of your choice, absolutely free of charge:
• On your computer, sign into the Amazon.com account that you use, or will use, for buying Kindle books.
• Visit the Kindle's main page for downloading free apps for other devices and select your device.
• Follow the prompt on the specific device app page to download the app directly or select it from the device-specific app store noted (such as the Android Market or the iTunes app store).
• Once you install the app on your device, you will be able to see all of the Kindle books that you own under "Archived Items" and move any of them directly to that device's Kindle Home screen.
Happy reading!
Ch 3: Find and Download Thousands of Free Books Directly From the Kindle Store
Have you heard that most books in the Kindle Store are priced at $9.99?
If so, it might seem like a lot to pay for a digital book, when neither the publisher nor the author incur any expense for printing, paper, shipping, returns, or warehousing. Eboo
ks at $10 a pop can add plenty to your monthly credit card bill in a hurry.
Well, here's some good news.
Over 39% of the books in the Kindle Store are priced at $4.99 or less, and among those there are -- as of December 2010 -- over 16,700 free books.
Another 46% are priced between $5 and $10, and of those that are priced above $10, the vast majority are technical books whose paper editions are far more expensive. That's right: about 85% of the books in the Kindle Store are under 10 bucks.
Each morning at Kindle Nation we publish a Free Book Alert focusing on the latest contemporary or promotional titles to be added to our Free Book listings, and as I write this in December 2010, that list has grown to nearly 200 titles. It's one of the most popular things we do on the Kindle Nation blog, and it's a good feeling to know we are helping to keep Kindles everywhere, including our own, filled to the gills with good reading. (Watch for a future post that will help you locate your Kindle's gills).
You may also want to bookmark the Free Book Listings in Kindle Nation's eBook Emporium dedicated Amazon store -- at http://bit.ly/KNDeBookStore -- where you can find free book lists sorted to include or exclude certain categories, such as free erotica listings.
But the other 16,500 free books in the Kindle Store are nothing to sneeze at, either. While it is true that they are public domain titles, many of these are classics that make great leisure or enrichment reading. And if you happen to be an English, philosophy, or humanities major or graduate student, those classics could save you a bundle when it's time to buy textbooks. Not to put too fine a point on this, but these are not junk titles -- just type the name of one of your favorite classic authors into your search and you will likely be pleased with the return, especially when you see the prices.
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