Kindle Shipped Today - Just Looking Around

honeybunny · 05-13-2008, 09:28 AM

Hi all, I'm a Kindle-owner-to-be. Just ordered it yesterday with my Bush Bux. I had not realized the Kindle was out of stock until mid-April (according to the Wiki) and consider myself fortunate to be able to get one! Until it arrives, I can only read about it and make a list of all the books I want to buy!

By the way, I have been reading eBooks since 2000, using first a Palm III, then a Sony Clie SJ22, and currently a Palm TX. Can't wait for the bigger screen!

Ervserver · 05-13-2008, 11:00 AM

Hello honeybunny, some folks waited 2 months to get their Kindle, hopefully you'll have yours within 2 days, enjoy!

Elsi · 05-13-2008, 11:55 AM

Hi there. This Kindle user is waving to you from Texas.

I waited 5 weeks for my Kindle, but have been really enjoying it since I opened the package on 21 February. Yesterday, I ordered a second Kindle for my sister. We're going to share the expense of books which is why we're keeping them on a single account. Her Kindle has shipped and should arrive tomorrow.

Although Amazon has some very tempting current releases in their catalog, don't get suckered into paying $3.49 or even $.99 for any of the classics. You can get most of those here or at FeedBooks or at ManyBooks. And, if you're reasonably technical, you can get the text from Project Gutenberg and create MobiPocket format books for yourself and to share.

Regards,
Elsi

Alisa · 05-13-2008, 12:54 PM

I ordered the day after release and I still had to wait a few weeks. I'm so glad they're in stock now. Congratulations! One of the nifty things about the Kindle store is the free samples. They send the samples to your Kindle. It's almost like a reading list, plus you get to read a bit of the book before you actually spend money.

Like Elsi, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the free book sites. I'm a big fan of Feedbooks.com. Every book I've had from them was well-formatted and they're easy to download directly to the Kindle with their download guide. It's a document with links to all the books. Click the link and it downloads it to the Kindle. Very convenient. When I first got my Kindle, I found many of the Mobipocket books on other free sites didn't have the metadata set correctly for the author, and sometimes not even the title, so they didn't show correctly in the menu. Many also lacked working tables of contents. Maybe they're getting better now, but I never had that issue with books from Feedbooks.com.

HarryT · 05-13-2008, 02:00 PM

Ahem! You'll find that most of the Mobi books here work quite well, too

. And our books are "hand-crafted masterpieces"!

Alisa · 05-13-2008, 02:11 PM

Actually the books I tried from here at the time had this issue.

Alisa · 05-13-2008, 02:14 PM

I just went and checked the old thread. At the time, Nate said it was a Book Designer thing. The author wasn't being set. I also had issues with the ToC working but not being recognized as a ToC by the Kindle so I couldn't go directly to the ToC from the menu.

HarryT · 05-13-2008, 02:20 PM

Mobi books created with "Book Designer" do indeed have that issue. Most people uploading books these days, however, are using much better tools. Try anything I've uploaded in the last 3 or 4 months (eg any of the Dickens or Austen books) and I think you'll find that they work just fine on the Kindle, have working contents links, properly-sized illustrations, cover pictures, library information, and everything else required to make you a happy bunny. Try downloading, say, the version of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" I uploaded a few days ago and take a look at that. Great book and I think you'll find that it looks just fine on the Kindle.

honeybunny · 05-13-2008, 02:28 PM

Thanks for all of this info. I was under the impression I could read text and Word .doc on the Kindle, and was planning on just ising the .txt from Project Gutenberg for the classics. Alternately, can I not read the .html ones? I can't wait to get it and see what it really CAN do.

Are you taking the PG books and making .mobi's out of them here, then? I wonder if PG has a way to link to you as that would be very useful. I know they have Pluckr format books there.

HarryT · 05-13-2008, 02:36 PM

Yes, many people here created "hand-crafted" versions of PG books for both MobiPocket and Sony, with enormously improved formatting over the PG originals, illustrations, tables of contents, etc.

Alisa · 05-13-2008, 02:36 PM

I just downloaded Vanity Fair. It's quite lovely. Nice work!

HarryT · 05-13-2008, 02:42 PM

Thanks!

honeybunny · 05-13-2008, 09:48 PM

Thanks for the tip! I'm getting antsy for my Kindle now. I looked and Amazon reports that it shipped, but with no tracking info. It suppoedly should arrive tomorrow.

wallcraft · 05-13-2008, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeybunny

I was under the impression I could read text and Word .doc on the Kindle, and was planning on just ising the .txt from Project Gutenberg for the classics.

I think .txt is supposed to work on the Kindle, but the best alternative is to make a DRM-free MOBI file. You can e-mail a .txt/.html/.doc file to Amazon and they will convert it for you (free if you download it manually via e-mail, 10 cents if you download via WhisperNet). Or use Windows MobiPocket Reader to "import" it and produce a .prc file (in your MobiPocket directory with the other MOBI ebooks). Or, if you want more control over the result, use Windows MobiPocket Creator.

honeybunny · 05-13-2008, 10:16 PM

I went on Amazon and set up all my Kindle stuff so I am all ready to go! Thanks for your help.

I have MobiReader on my laptop so I think I may be able to convert some things with that too. Cheers!

05-13-2008, 09:28 AM	#1
honeybunny Connoisseur Posts: 96 Karma: 76 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brisbane, AU Device: Kindle 2 GSM	Kindle Shipped Today - Just Looking Around Hi all, I'm a Kindle-owner-to-be. Just ordered it yesterday with my Bush Bux. I had not realized the Kindle was out of stock until mid-April (according to the Wiki) and consider myself fortunate to be able to get one! Until it arrives, I can only read about it and make a list of all the books I want to buy! By the way, I have been reading eBooks since 2000, using first a Palm III, then a Sony Clie SJ22, and currently a Palm TX. Can't wait for the bigger screen!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
International Kindle - it shipped!	Ea	Amazon Kindle	169	07-30-2010 11:36 AM
Sell Kindle 2 (US) plus case $200 shipped	Canyoncarver	Flea Market	0	05-03-2010 12:47 PM
PRS-600 Woot. My PRS-600 shipped out today!	komugi	Sony Reader	14	09-06-2009 03:10 AM
My Kindle 2 Has SHIPPED!	Lilly	Amazon Kindle	89	02-25-2009 10:53 PM
Kindle 1 $200 shipped	twostep376	Amazon Kindle	15	02-10-2009 10:31 PM

05-13-2008, 11:00 AM	#2
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	Hello honeybunny, some folks waited 2 months to get their Kindle, hopefully you'll have yours within 2 days, enjoy!

05-13-2008, 11:55 AM	#3
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	Hi there. This Kindle user is waving to you from Texas. I waited 5 weeks for my Kindle, but have been really enjoying it since I opened the package on 21 February. Yesterday, I ordered a second Kindle for my sister. We're going to share the expense of books which is why we're keeping them on a single account. Her Kindle has shipped and should arrive tomorrow. Although Amazon has some very tempting current releases in their catalog, don't get suckered into paying $3.49 or even $.99 for any of the classics. You can get most of those here or at FeedBooks or at ManyBooks. And, if you're reasonably technical, you can get the text from Project Gutenberg and create MobiPocket format books for yourself and to share. Regards, Elsi

05-13-2008, 12:54 PM	#4
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	I ordered the day after release and I still had to wait a few weeks. I'm so glad they're in stock now. Congratulations! One of the nifty things about the Kindle store is the free samples. They send the samples to your Kindle. It's almost like a reading list, plus you get to read a bit of the book before you actually spend money. Like Elsi, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the free book sites. I'm a big fan of Feedbooks.com. Every book I've had from them was well-formatted and they're easy to download directly to the Kindle with their download guide. It's a document with links to all the books. Click the link and it downloads it to the Kindle. Very convenient. When I first got my Kindle, I found many of the Mobipocket books on other free sites didn't have the metadata set correctly for the author, and sometimes not even the title, so they didn't show correctly in the menu. Many also lacked working tables of contents. Maybe they're getting better now, but I never had that issue with books from Feedbooks.com.

05-13-2008, 02:00 PM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Ahem! You'll find that most of the Mobi books here work quite well, too . And our books are "hand-crafted masterpieces"!

05-13-2008, 02:11 PM	#6
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	Actually the books I tried from here at the time had this issue.

05-13-2008, 02:14 PM	#7
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	I just went and checked the old thread. At the time, Nate said it was a Book Designer thing. The author wasn't being set. I also had issues with the ToC working but not being recognized as a ToC by the Kindle so I couldn't go directly to the ToC from the menu.

05-13-2008, 02:20 PM	#8
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Mobi books created with "Book Designer" do indeed have that issue. Most people uploading books these days, however, are using much better tools. Try anything I've uploaded in the last 3 or 4 months (eg any of the Dickens or Austen books) and I think you'll find that they work just fine on the Kindle, have working contents links, properly-sized illustrations, cover pictures, library information, and everything else required to make you a happy bunny. Try downloading, say, the version of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" I uploaded a few days ago and take a look at that. Great book and I think you'll find that it looks just fine on the Kindle.

05-13-2008, 02:28 PM	#9
honeybunny Connoisseur Posts: 96 Karma: 76 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brisbane, AU Device: Kindle 2 GSM	Thanks for all of this info. I was under the impression I could read text and Word .doc on the Kindle, and was planning on just ising the .txt from Project Gutenberg for the classics. Alternately, can I not read the .html ones? I can't wait to get it and see what it really CAN do. Are you taking the PG books and making .mobi's out of them here, then? I wonder if PG has a way to link to you as that would be very useful. I know they have Pluckr format books there.

05-13-2008, 02:36 PM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Yes, many people here created "hand-crafted" versions of PG books for both MobiPocket and Sony, with enormously improved formatting over the PG originals, illustrations, tables of contents, etc.

05-13-2008, 02:42 PM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Thanks!

Advert

Advert

05-13-2008, 09:48 PM	#13
honeybunny Connoisseur Posts: 96 Karma: 76 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brisbane, AU Device: Kindle 2 GSM	Thanks for the tip! I'm getting antsy for my Kindle now. I looked and Amazon reports that it shipped, but with no tracking info. It suppoedly should arrive tomorrow.

05-13-2008, 10:16 PM	#15
honeybunny Connoisseur Posts: 96 Karma: 76 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brisbane, AU Device: Kindle 2 GSM	I went on Amazon and set up all my Kindle stuff so I am all ready to go! Thanks for your help. I have MobiReader on my laptop so I think I may be able to convert some things with that too. Cheers!