Kindle Ebooks Reader

How to get your PDF documents on the Kindle:
One of the things I love about the Kindle is that now I can read all my pdf files on it, instead of being forced to read them on my computer. Even reading them on a laptop is kind of a pain since you have to lug the laptop around.
Now you can read your pdfs in bed if you want.
Here is how to get your pdfs onto your Kindle ebooks reader.

There are two ways to get PDFs onto a Kindle.

The first way:
If you have the Kindle software version 2.3, you can simply plug your kindle into your computer with the enclosed usb cable. Once its plugged in, you will be able to see the kindle as a ‘disk drive’ in Windows explorer or the Mac’s Finder. At this point all you need to do is drag the pdf file you want onto the kindle. There is no conversion, nothing…. The Kindle’s operating system 2.3 can read and interpret a native pdf file.
The up side to getting the pdf file on your kindle this way is precisely that… no conversion. Just drag and drop.
The downside is that (depending on the particular pdf file) it will be formatted to fit the screen so that each page of the pdf file will be on your screen … that means in most cases the font will be small, if not tiny.
This is also the only case where I’ve found that the font cannot be increased in size.

I prefer the second method of transferring your pdfs to the Kindle

The second way:
When you first get your kindle, one of the things Amazon asks for when you register it, is a ‘kindle’ email address. By default, the ending part of the email address is @kindle.com and all you have to do is tell Amazon what you want the first part to be. So, you could create a kindle email address of Arts_kindle@kindle.com.
Once you have your Kindle email address, all you have to do is email whatever pdf file you want to it, and within just a few minutes (sometimes seconds) you will get a reply with your ‘converted’ pdf file.
The act of emailing your pdf file to your kindle email address tells Amazon’s servers that you have a file that needs to be converted to the Kindle format.
So here is how it works:
Step 1. From your regular email, mail a copy of the pdf file to your kindle email address. Let say my normal email address is art@yahoo.com and my kindle email address is arts_kindle@kindle.com.
I would write an email from art@yahoo.com TO arts_kindle@kindle.com with my pdf file as an attachment. You don’t need to put any subject line or any text in the email… Just the pdf file.
Hit the send button.
Within a few minutes you’ll get a reply from your kindle email address (in this case, Arts_kindle@kindle.com with an attachment that is the Amazon Kindle version of your pdf file.
Just download that to your computer, plug in your Kindle to your computer using the usb cable, and then drag and drop the converted pdf file over to your kindle.
(You can have Amazon deliver it wirelessly to your Kindle if you want, but Amazon charges a fee each time they do that with pdf files, so I don’t do it).
It sounds a lot more complicated in writing than it really is. Just try it and you will see how easy it is.
The downside to method #2? having to convert the pdf file.
The upside to method #2? Now that the pdf file is in the Amazon Kindle format, you can increase the font size and page through it just like a Kindle book.
To me the extra effort of going through the conversion process is worth the trouble.

When I bought my Kindle, I didn’t really think about how or where I was going to get books for it. I had this vague feeling that, yes, I would get them through Amazon, but I didn’t think much about how much they would cost me.

When I got it in the mail, of course, the first thing I wanted to do was load it up with books.

So, I logged in to Amazon and started looking for books that I liked and I’d say at least half of them were free! I read a lot of the classics by authors like Dostoyevsky, Dickens, etc… and what really surprised me was the amount of books that are in the public domain, and most books in the public domain are absolutely free.
I think the rule is that if the author has been dead for over 100 years, their works go into the public domain.
What you need to do is just log in to Amazon, go the the Kindle Store and then in the search box, just type Public Domain. All sorts of books will come up. Then just choose the ones you want and load them up onto your Kindle!

Here are the things you can do with an Amazon Kindle and how to do them…

1. How to Turn On Your Kindle

There is a slide switch at the very top of your kindle. Slide it over for a couple of seconds and it turns on.

2. How to Turn Off Your Kindle

Slide the switch at the top over for at lease 9 seconds and it will turn it off. The screen will go blank. I know the Amazon documentation says you have to slide it for 4 seconds, but thats wrong. With mine, its a good, solid 9 seconds.

3. How To Increase The Font Size

On the keypad in the front, there is a key that says “Aa”. If you click this key a little box will pop up. Then all you need to do is to move the cursor over to whatever size font you like. (The cursor is controlled by the little square ‘joystick’ to the left of the Kindle keyboard)

4. How To Check What Version Of The Kindle Operating System You Have

The most recent Kindle operating system is version 2.3

The way you can check what operating system you have is by clicking on the “Home” botton, then the ‘Menu” button, then scroll down to “Settings” and press the little “joystick” cursor (the 5 way controller).

Then, look at the very bottom of the screen and you will see on the right the version number of your operating system.

5. How To Delete A Book You Don’t Want From Your Kindle

Scroll down to the book you want to delete. Then move the 5 way contoller to the left and a little symbol will come up on the screen that says “Delete”. Then just press the 5 way controller.

6. How To Upload A Book

You need to make sure that your Kindle is registered to your Amazon account. If you bought it for yourself, then once you buy it, Amazon automatically registers it to your account. But if it was given to you as a gift, then you will need to get the purchaser to “de-register” the kindle from their account and you can then “Register” it in your account.

Once you have the Kindle registered in your Amazon account, then its easy to get a book.

You can either log in to Amazon from your computer or you can do it from your Kindle. If you log in from your computer, then from the Amazon menu choose “Kindle”, then “Kindle Store”. If you are using your Kindle, then press “Home”, then press “Menu”. Scroll down to “Shop in Kindle Store”.

From Amazon:

7. How To register or deregister your Kindle:

1. If you are not already on the Home screen, press the “Home” button.
2. Press the “Menu” button. Make sure that Whispernet is turned on.
3. Move the 5-way down until “Settings” is underlined and press to select.
4. Press the 5-way to select “register” or “deregister” from the Settings screen.
5. If you’re registering Kindle, enter your Amazon.com user name and password (the e-mail address and password associated with your Amazon account) using the keyboard.
6. Navigate the 5-way to select “OK” to finish the process or “Cancel” to abort.

Tip: If your Amazon user name or password contains characters not present on the Kindle keyboard, press the Symbol key to see a menu of additional characters. You can also register or deregister your Kindle on the Manage Your Kindle page.

8. How to Find Books In The Public Domain

Books in the public domain are VERY COOL since they are almost always free. I think the rule is that the author has to have been dead for 100 years.

All you need to do is go to the Kindle Store (Kindle… Kindle Store) then type “Public Domain” in the search box. It will probably be better if you type the name of the author or book title, but at first just type public domain and you will see all the choices. Scroll through it for a while and you’ll get a good idea of what’s available. (For FREE!)

The Amazon Kindle isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty darn close.   I have had one now for about six weeks and have been very happy with my purchase.  Usually I regret spending that much money on something, but in this case I wish I had gotten it sooner.

I wanted to write an ebook reader review of the kindle and I’m qualified to write about it since I have one and use it every day.

Here are the salient points about this ebook device:

It is lightweight – its about as heavy as a paperback Agatha Christie novel. Maybe an ounce heavier, but not much.

The screensize where you do the reading is a little bit smaller than an actual page in a paperback, but there is just about the same amount of text. The actual paper page of a paperback has a left and right margin and so the actual space of where the text is on the page of a paperback is about the same size as the Kindle screen. (I am talking about the smaller of the two Kindles… the 6″ screen model)

The screen is not backlit and basically it comes pretty close to replicating a paperback page. I think the Kindle’s screen is a bit darker, but that depends on the paper a paperback comes printed on. Its roughly the same coloring.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6″ Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

The Kindle is easier to read for a few varied reasons. They may sound strange, but each one makes it a little more efficient to read than a physical book.

1. You can adjust the font size. I love this feature.
2. There is not so much text on a page as to get lost easily while you are reading
3. It’s easy to turn pages (you just press the “Next Page” button with one hand).
4. The Kindle by default opens up to the last page you were reading when you shut it off. No more “figuring out” where you left off.
5. Its screen is completely visible in all kinds of light situations, even in low light.
6. This is one of my favorites… You can read pdf documents on your Kindle. You’re now no longer forced to sit at your computer to read a pdf. This feature is invaluable to me.

7. The Kindle can read to you, but I don’t really like this feature too much. I don’t use it. The voice sounds “put together” since it can’t read with “natural” intonations that a human would use while reading aloud. However.. that being said, it’s fantastic for people who are visually impaired and can’t read on their own.

8.  The absolutely BEST thing (for me) is that you can hold it with one hand!

Another thing about the Kindle that sets it apart is that it has a very long battery life. You can go about two weeks without charging it (if you aren’t using the wireless feature). Unless you’re looking for books to download, there’s really no reason to keep the wireless feature constantly on. I turn it off and then only turn it on when I want something specific or want to use the internet.
I forget for a week to charge it and it still has plenty of battery life left.

Me holding my Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader

Everybody will have their own reasons for loving the Amazon Kindle e-books reader, but here are the top 10 reasons I love it.

1.) You can get FREE books.  Just try walking in to Barnes & Noble’s or Borders and getting a free book.  It won’t happen.  But Amazon has THOUSANDS of free books… and I don’t mean useless or worthless books either.  I was able to get over 75 of my books free and they are books I would have bought, too, like Crime & Punishment by Dostoyevsky, Oliver Twist by Dickens, Pride & Prejudice by Austen…

2.)  You can upload your pdf files to the Kindle and then read your pdf files AWAY from the computer.  Until now, your only choice with a pdf file was to read it either on your computer or print it off.  Now you can upload it to your kindle and read it whenever or wherever you like.  No more being chained to your desk.

3.)  If you can’t find the book you want free, chances are it is cheap.  One of my favorite writers is P.G. Wodehouse.   I found a collection of ALL of his 96  books for $4.95.  Now I have every book he’s written (I think!) for just $4.95.  If I had paid for each book separately in a bookstore it would have been well over $500.00

Get a Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6″ Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

4.)  I love reading before I go to sleep.  But one of the things that has always annoyed me is that you have to hold your book open with both hands.  Not so with the Kindle ebooks reader.  Small and stupid as this may seem, now I can lie on my side and hold the kindle with one hand. Not only that,  you can take it to lunch and read it while you are eating or drinking because you can hold it with one hand.

5.)  If you want a book, forget the hassle of going to the library or book store.  Just log in to the “Kindle Store” from your Kindle (which connects from just about everywhere WITHOUT an internet connection) and download your book in SECONDS!! For someone as lazy as me, it’s a dream come true.

6.)  If you read a quote or paragraph that you really like, with a regular book you can highlight it with a highlighter pen.  On the kindle you can select whatever text you want and save it to what they call “Clippings”. The great thing about that is that now you no longer have to search through a book you haven’t read for a long time to find your highlighting… you can go straight to “Clippings” and find exactly the quote you were looking for in seconds!

7.)  I’ve moved a lot in my life.  And other than a piano, books are just about the most thankless things you have to move, especially if you have a lot of them.  Now, with the Amazon Kindle you can have hundreds of full length books and it’s as easy to move as your cell phone.

8.)  As we get older, our eyes just don’t seem to be able to read as well.  If you love reading and misplace your glasses, then reading becomes a chore.  BUT, with the Amazon Kindle, all you have to do is just choose a larger font and instantly, you can read…even without your glasses.

9.) One of the features I love about the kindle is that you can download for FREE, the first chapter of just about any book…even the latest NY Times bestsellers.  You can then read it and decide if you want to buy the whole book.  It’s a lot easier to do this from the comfort of your living room than it is standing in the aisle at Barnes & Noble trying to read enough to decide if you should buy it.

10.)  You can connect to the internet from your Kindle … and even though its functionality is primitive (works best for Text web pages), you can still access google and do queries to find out something or look up something… even in places that don’t have internet.

The Kindle uses the same sort of technology as cell phones and so you don’t need to find wi-fi or a hotspot in order to access either the internet or the Kindle Store.

See some pictures of my Kindle for a good idea of how it will look for you.