How To Download Kindle Books from Your Local Library Website

How To Download Kindle Books from Your Local Library Website:
Library fans rejoice! The Kindle Lending Library service, announced in April of this year, has spread from its limited launch in Seattle to a far more accessible range of 11,000 libraries across the United States. The service mixes the routine and limitations of borrowing a book from a library with the lovely convenience of Kindle digital delivery. That is, libraries have limited digital copies of books, and only lend them out for certain periods of time, but you don't actually have to go to the library to check out a book.

Books can be checked out via participating library websites and synced to a Kindle via Wi-Fi or USB. And if you don't own the e-reader itself that's okay, too--anyone using the Kindle reading software can get in on the book borrowing action. Here's how to find out if your library's involved.
11,000 is a hell of a lot of libraries, but Amazon's not listing participating institutions on its website. You can either head to your local library's website and look around for some Kindle books, or browse to Overdrive, the digital delivery provider Amazon partnered with to make this whole Lending Library thing happen.
Head to the link above to perform a search for your library of choice by name or ZIP. If you'd rather browse, click on your region, select the country, and (assuming you're in the US) pick the appropriate state to find a list of libraries with Overdrive-supplied digital content.
As promised, all the usual Kindle features are available with library books. You can access private and public notes and highlights, see real page numbers, post to Twitter about how crazy the twist in the latest James Patterson book was, and so on. From what we've seen, lending periods range from 7 to 21 days. Is your local library Kindle-ready?

Two of my book reviews just got published on Amazon

Profile and Book Reviews

Ode to a Bookstore Death

Ode to a Bookstore Death:
This from Galleycat:

As Borders closed forever this weekend, one patron snapped a photograph of a bitter bookseller’s manifesto at an unidentified store: “Things We Never Told You: Ode to a Bookstore Death.”

So funny!

For Writers - Follow Your Passion... and the Market

For Writers - Follow Your Passion... and the Market: Happy Tuesday!

Given the turn of events since I returned from the Most Excellent SCBWI Conference in LA last month, I'm behind in sharing some of the nuggets of wisdom I picked up from the indescribable line-up of children's book industry luminaries who were there. Here's a wise bit of counsel from Jon Sceiszka:

Combine your passion with the market.

As writers, we are told time and time again not to chase the market, but this was a good reminder that we should at least be aware of it. For example, Jon loves history, but he found it was difficult to get boys to read chapter books. They tend to gravitate toward thinner books with fun covers. So, he wrote THE TIME WARP TRIO to appeal to boy readers while giving him the avenue to write what he wanted to write.

So, follow your passion. Write what moves you. But also have an idea how your work will fit into the marketplace.


UPCOMING EVENT REMINDERS:

This Weekend I'll be at the Northern Ohio SCBWI conference in Cleveland. Ohio SCBWI friends, I hope to see you there!

Next month I'll be presenting at the Emerald City Writers' Conference with Jen McAndrews. RWA followers, I'll look for you there!

We'll also be offering a month-long online class, digging into the mythic structure in YA fiction. You can register through Carolina Romance Writers.

Finally, check out the cover reveal for my next series, LIGHTS, CAMERA, CASSIDY (in post below). I'm lucky to have had all my book covers so far designed by the lovely and talented Theresa Evangelista, who has done it again with this new MG series (coming in March 2012.)


THIS WEEK'S LINKS:

"There are no new ideas" Ha. (Face the Page)

Children's Authors Who Broke the Rules (New York Times)

Simple Habits for Writers that Make a big difference (Change The World With Words)

Universal Story - Test Your Story (Plot Whisper for Writers and Readers)

Playing to Win (Kristine Rusch)

Best Advice I Ever Got (Anna Staniszewski)

When the Going Gets Tough (Writer Unboxed)

What Writers Can Learn From the Bestseller Lists (Alan Rinzler)

Up The Stakes (Genreality)

How I Learned To Read My Work Out Loud (Beyond the Margins)

Reading Fiction Improves Empathy (The Guardian)

A Writer's Main Objective (KidLit.Com)

The Deadly Sin of Writing #7 - Treating the reader like a Moron (Kristin Lamb)

14 Do's and Dont's for Introducing Characters (Anne R. Allen)

9 Essentials for Writing Your Climactic Scene (Publetariat)

7 Ways to Develop Dazzling Dialog (Jody Hedlund)

5 Writing Secrets from William Shakespeare (Tips and Tricks)

5 W's of Writing (Genreality)

5 Writing Tips Learned From a 2-Year-Old (Buried in the Slush Pile)

To Plot or Not to Plot #2 (Ingrid's Notes) (Part #1 from last week here)

Headhopping Gives Readers Whiplash (The Editor's Blog)

Why Writers Write and Readers Read (Writer Unboxed) Looking for a hero

How Do You Know When To Stop Tweaking Your MS? (Deadline Dames)

Sidekicks: Who is the Robin to Your Batman? (Plot to Punctuation)

First Novels - When to Hold and When to Fold (Project Mayhem)

Why I Pushed My Heroine off a Cliff (Almost) (Writer Unboxed)

Making Your Hero Sympathetic (Word Play) Why he absolutely must pet a dog

Curiosity Killed the Cat... (Harry Potter for Writers) ...But Captured the Reader

How to Avoid Dated Writing (The Literary Lab)

Voice Matters - Does Yours Fit Your Genre? (Fiction Groupie)

Word Choices Affect Voice (Writers' Notes)

Voice is Not Everything, (but it is vitally important) (The Sharp Angle)

Monologue on Dialogue (Fiction Muses)

Backstory - How Much and When (Paranormal Point of View)

I Said, He Said, She Said POV (The Other Side of the Story)

If You Can't Describe Your Story, There Probably Isn't a Story (Scott Egan)

Misconceptions About Outlining (Wordplay)


Now go. Write!

KINDLE LIBRARY LENDING IS HERE - It's Official today, at 11,000 libraries

KINDLE LIBRARY LENDING IS HERE - It's Official today, at 11,000 libraries: KINDLE SOFTWARE AND PUBLIC LIBRARY ACCESS

Amazon's press release today boasts the following:



"Kindle the only e-reader to deliver library books wirelessly; read on any Kindle or free Kindle app.

Amazon's Whispersync technology automatically stores and synchronizes bookmarks, margin notes and highlights -- all available the next time you check out or buy the book."



Since this is fairly momentous for Amazon's Kindle customers, I'll quote the entire press release so you can see how they're presenting this today. [Emphases in the quoted release are mine]

'SEATTLE, Sep 21, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

(NASDAQ: AMZN)-Amazon.com today announced that Kindle and Kindle app customers can now borrow Kindle books from more than 11,000 local libraries in the United States. When a customer borrows a Kindle library book, they'll have all of the unique features they love about Kindle books, including Whispersync, which automatically synchronizes their margin notes, highlights and bookmarks, real page numbers, Facebook and Twitter integration, and more. For more information about borrowing library books for your Kindle or free Kindle apps, go to www.amazon.com/kindle/publiclibraries. To start checking out Kindle library books, visit your local library's website.



"Starting today, millions of Kindle customers can borrow Kindle books from their local libraries," said Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle. "Libraries are a critical part of our communities and we're excited to be making Kindle books available at more than 11,000 local libraries around the country. We're even doing a little extra here - normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we're fixing this by extending our Whispersync technology to library books, so your notes, highlights and bookmarks are always backed up and available the next time you check out the book or if you decide to buy the book."



Customers will use their local library's website to search for and select a book to borrow. Once they choose a book, customers can choose to "Send to Kindle" and will be redirected to Amazon.com to login to their Amazon.com account and the book will be delivered to the device they select via Wi-Fi, or can be transferred via USB.



Customers can check out a Kindle book from their local library and start reading on any generation Kindle device or free Kindle app for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry or Windows Phone, as well as in their web browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.



"This is a welcome day for Kindle users in libraries everywhere and especially our Kindle users here at The Seattle Public Library," said Marcellus Turner, city librarian for The Seattle Public Library. "We're thrilled that Amazon is offering such a new approach to library ebooks that enhances the reader experience."



When borrowing a Kindle book from their local library, customers can take advantage of all of the unique features of Kindle books, including:

• Whispersync technology wirelessly sync your books, notes, highlights, and last page read across Kindle and free Kindle reading apps


• Real Page Numbers let you easily reference passages with page numbers that correspond to actual print editions


• Facebook and Twitter integration makes it easy to share favorite passages with your social networks


• Popular Highlights show you what our community of millions of Kindle readers think are the most interesting passages in your books


• Public Notes allow you to share your notes and see what others are saying about Kindle books

To start checking out Kindle library books, visit your local library's website. '

So, there it is ! It's actually here. I reported in an update to the previous blog article that Mobileread Forum posts from two members discussed downloading the library books with regular-Kindle-3 models using updated Kindle software version 3.3 (as opposed to the v3.1 for the regular Kindles), but a few Kindles remained at v3.1 and v3.2.1.



If there is any change in the software being quietly aired to some Kindle 3 customers using both types of Kindle 3 models, it's not part of any general update on their Software page today which allows you to download the latest official versions. I imagine downloading is no problem since that is normal, but non-crucial changes would involve checking for 3G downloads and preventing them as well as wording that 3G downloads won't be possible for this type of download and to use a USB transfer if WiFi access is not available. The Kindles before Kindle 3 had 3G wireless with no WiFi module, so this will affect many who have been used to wireless downloads. But this library lending is one feature upgrade that will include all Kindles for once, going back to Kindle Classic from 2007.





Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's) K3 Special ($114) K3-3G Special ($139) DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones

Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers. Liked-books under $1

UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones

Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday:

Sunday Status Updates: September 11, 2011

Sunday Status Updates: September 11, 2011:
Well, it’s that time again…

John: I’m starting Living with Ghosts by Kari Sperring.

Kat: I read the second book in David Weber’s HONOR HARRINGTON series, The Honor of the Queen. I will not be moving on to book 3 even though I have already purchased it at Audible. That was a waste of a credit (they were having a special 3 for 2 series deal). My kids and I read and loved Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I started William Gibson’s Count Zero and my husband and I are starting Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five on audio, but he watches so much football that I’m not sure when we’ll finish it. In print I’m still working on John Lambshead’s Lucy’s Blade.

Kelly: I’m currently reading With Fate Conspire by Marie Brennan, and also just starting Laini Taylor‘s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Taylor’s Lips Touch: Three Times is one of the most memorable books I’ve read in recent years, so I’m stoked!

Marion: This has been an indulgent reading week for me, starting with Labor Day weekend. I finished Ward Just’s beautiful novel, Rodin’s Debutante. Just’s flights of words rise off the page like flocks of snowy egrets. I finished Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Company Man. Despite candy-commercial quibbles (“You got Sci-fi in my noir!” “You got noir in my sci-fi!”) I predict that this guy is The Next Big Thing. I read the last Spenser novel completely written by Robert Parker: Sixkill. Now I’m in a quandary. Which do I start: The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan, or Hellbent by Cherie Priest?

Robert: This past week was not one of my better ones. Hurt my back on Monday and was largely incapacitated for a few days. Of course, the injury did give me time to finish reading The Sacred Band, David Anthony Durham’s rewarding conclusion to THE ACACIA TRILOGY. Currently I’m reading Black Light, an urban fantasy novel co-written by Stephen Romano and screenwriters Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan of Saw fame. After that, I plan on reading Joseph Nassise’s Eyes to See.

Stefan: Once again, I didn’t get nearly as much reading done as I’d hoped, this time thanks to the Labor Day/back to school madness, this time combined with a major power outage here in San Diego. Reading by flashlight just isn’t as much fun when you’re an adult! I spent most of the week reading The Highest Frontier, the long-awaited new SF novel by Joan Slonczewski. I had high expectations for this one, and I wasn’t disappointed. After that, I started on Acacia by David Anthony Durham, and I plan to finish it up and then read its sequel next week in anticipation of the third volume in the ACACIA trilogy, which is due out next month.

Terry: I finished Duane Swierczynski’s Fun and Games this week, and am looking forward to diving into the next Charlie Hardie mystery, Hell and Gone. Hardie is a wonderful character — seemingly indestructible, but in a middle-aged, out-of-shape way, if that makes any sense. Now I’m reading Jim Butcher‘s first DRESDEN FILES novel, Storm Front, mostly because Justin keeps talking about how great this series is. While I’m finding this book enjoyable, I’m surprised at Justin’s enthusiasm; it seems like a competent first novel, but not more than that, at least so far. I’m betting that Butcher is one of those guys who gets better as he writes more. I’ve also just started reading Lauren Beukes‘s Zoo City; it’s been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, and I’m planning to go to the convention (including the banquet, where the awards are handed out) at the end of October, and I’d like to have all the nominees read by then. As I’ve currently read none of them, that might be a challenge! But I’ll give it the old college try.

Tim: I’ve been getting settled back into the wild world of academics, which has left me painfully little time for personal reading. I did have a look at On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, which seems interesting and fast-paced so far, but as with a lot of Powers’s work somehow fails to grab me on an emotional level.

Cyberabad Days: Science fiction at its very best

Cyberabad Days: Science fiction at its very best:

Cyberabad Days by Ian McDonald

… Cyberabad Days is set in the same universe as McDonald’s River of Gods, a highly praised novel that won the British Science Fiction Award in 2005, and received nominations for the Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. In the seven stories of Cyberabad Days, linked by setting and technology but not by characters, McDonald imagines a mature India split asunder by politics and the ubiquity of artificial intelligence, but still a cluster of countries that constitutes a major world power. These are countries of immense contradiction, where the rich are richer than ever and the poor are completely left behind… This is science fiction at its very best, challenging intellectually yet stylistically well-executed. These stories make you think, imagine and wonder even as they entertain. This collection is not to be missed. Read the rest.