Posts Tagged ‘kindle’

One of the things I love about the Kindle is that it does one thing really well, which is be a book reading device. It doesn’t have to make bacon and change my oil and do a dozen other multimedia functions, so long as reading on it is a superlative experience. So while it does have a browser on it, I really haven’t cared much, other than to buy books. Until today, when I stumbled upon the perfect marriage of new tech and old.

PortableQuest is a game engine made for text-based interactive fiction that can be played on the Kindle. Just fire up Whispernet and browse to PortableQuest.com on your Kindle to get started. You can play Mini-Zork I, Zork I, Zork II or Zork III.

Best of all, you won’t have to worry about being eaten by a grue. Who said the Kindle needs a backlight!

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Amazon released a beta today of its Kindle software for the Mac operating system. As the press release states “Kindle books can now be read on the Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC and Mac, and soon the iPad.” I don’t know that I’ll ditch my Kindle in favor of reading on my Mac, but I’m glad to see the Mac love. With Whispersync technology syncing my bookmarks and last page read across devices, it just gives me one more option to get that latest novel read. Download yours today.

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Year-end has been crazy for me, with my primary posting computer on the fritz. No top 10 lists this year, but a few posts on what I accomplished throughout the year, starting with books I read. Between audiobooks and Kindle books, it was a pretty productive year, with about a book a month. And some of those were pretty big books (two were 1000+ pages!). Here’s the list

Ur by Stephen King (Kindle)

The Stand Complete and Uncut Edition by Stephen King (Kindle)

Gears of War: Aspho Fields by Karen Traviss (Kindle)

The Wheel of Time 1: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (unabridged audiobook)

The Wheel of Time 2: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (unabridged audiobook)

The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub (unabridged audiobook)

World of Warcraft: Arthas by Christie Golden (Kindle)

Daemon by Daniel Suarez (Kindle)

Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub (unabridged audiobook)

Song of Ice and Fire 1: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (unabridged audiobook)

Song of Ice and Fire 2: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (unabridged audiobook)

Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy Book 6 of 3: And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer (unabridged audiobook)

This weekend I was listening to the Sword and Laser podcast’s interview with Brandon Sanderson, who is the author chosen to finish the Wheel of Time series off after the death of WoT author Robert Jordan. I read and enjoyed the first two WoT books this year, and am going to continue to work on the series next year, so the interview was of interest to me. During it, he mentioned that he had a new novel that was released this year called Warbreaker that is available to download for free on his website. The hardcover lists on Amazon for $18.45 and the Kindle edition for $9.99, so this is a great deal. It’s got 4.5/5 stars out of 153 customer reviews on Amazon, so it looks like it’s a good book.

I downloaded the Mobipocket version on my Kindle and it works great. If you’re looking for a good free read, give it a shot.

The very first book I bought for my Kindle 2 was Ur by Stephen King. It is currently a Kindle exclusive, and being a sucker for all things King (a Constant Reader, if you will), I just had to pick it up.

The story revolves around college English professor Wesley Smith, who was chided by his former love as to why he can’t just “read off the computer like the rest of us.” He orders a Kindle from Amazon, and is surprised when a pink one arrives overnight. He soon discovers that not only can he download books from Amazon, but books from different Urs, alternate realities past and future. When he discovers that he can also download newspapers that way…

I never played any of the Warcraft PC games, but I’ve played World of Warcraft since November 2004. I own all of the Warcraft novels, but have only gotten around to reading one of them (Warcraft: Day of the Dragon by Richard A. Knaak). I was excited to read that Dick Hill had recorded 3 of the Warcraft books as audiobooks, only to be disappointed when their release was delayed indefinitely. So when I saw that World of Warcraft: Arthas – Rise of the Lich King was coming out, I thought it might be a good opportunity to read one that was highly related to the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion, without being tied to a three book series. Downloaded it to my Kindle and gave it a whirl.